The Weirdo

Photography by Michelle McCarron

When his classmates voted Jason Vance “most unique,” they hit the nail squarely on its head. Today he dons a black mask and chains and fronts a thrash-metal rock band made up entirely of mechanical robots. Did I mention that he is also an ordained minister? “I was a weirdo,” says Vance. “Back then I was different from a lot of people. I had a Mohawk and all that stuff. I wore trench coats. I was a punk-rock kid.” Besides, he adds, “in those days I was very angry.” He continues: “I don’t do well with authority, and back then I was having all sorts of authority issues. Those years sucked pretty bad.”

At Southern Illinois University, Vance studied music and played the upright bass. Two years into college, he recalls, “I realized I was the best player down there and I couldn’t get any better in a vacuum.” So he transferred to DePaul and earned a degree in jazz studies. (“That and 25 cents buys you a piece of gum.”) After living at home for a while and playing with the popular Chicago-based ska band the Blue Meanies, Vance headed to San Francisco and hooked up with Skankin’ Pickle, a ska-punk band with a sizable cult following. “The money was way more than I had ever seen playing music,” recalls Vance. But he couldn’t stand the egos and drugs that went along with the group, so he decided to become a one-man band—his robot group, Captured! by Robots.