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| Photo credit: Die Mannequin (Twitter/Instagram) |
Die Mannequin was a Canadian alternative rock band formed in 2006, led by singer and guitarist Care Failure (born Caroline Slezak Kawa), who was known for her wild and dynamic stage presence and powerful vocals.
I listened to the band extensively in the early 2010's. I think the first song of theirs I heard was Do it Or Die off their debut "Unicorn Steak" of 2008, and it might just have been my last ever MTV discovery. The song was simple but effective and caught my attention. It was on their subsequent albums "Fino + Bleed" and "Danceland" of 2009 and 2012 respectively, that the band really came to their right, though, with more diversity and more fleshed-out songs. Their third album "Neon Zero" of 2014, was even more eclectic and would sadly enough become the band's final effort.
I followed the band fairly closely in the early-to-mid 2010's, and even had some conversations with frontwoman Care Failure on Instagram in 2016. Although, as the years went by after the band's final release Neon Zero, Care seemed occupied with other matters than music. As a result, she as well as Die Mannequin slowly started to fade away from my music radar, so to speak, and over the last five or so years I've been out of the loop on what they were up to.
Shocking News
Like a lot of people, I have insomnia from time to time, and as I was lying awake the other night, I came to think of Die Mannequin again and started wondering what they were up to these days. Are they still around? Maybe they have new music out? My curiosity got the best of me and I eventually reached for my phone and looked them up.
To my shock, I learned that Care Failure had passed away just a few months ago, on March 30th, 2023. I was absolutely gutted and devastated to discover it. Apparently, she had some sort of infection that caused several organ failures. Born on April 30th, 1986, she was an exact month away from turning 37 and would instead only become 36 years of age. Such a tragedy!
Plenty of fellow Canadian artists showed their sadness over her early demise on social media, including Billy Talent, Bif Naked and Sum 41's Cone McCaslin, according to Yahoo News.
My Personal Connection with Care Failure
As I touched upon briefly earlier, I had some contact with Care through Instagram some years ago. In a post, she asked what song they liked the most, out of "Suffer" and "Orson Welles & 2012". I responded, saying that I liked Orson Welles & 2012 a lot and liked playing along to it on the guitar - that and some other songs of theirs. Care responded back saying it was really cool I liked playing their music and that she would love to hear my cover. As I had already made a guitar video for one of their other songs, called "Dead Honey," I mentioned I could share that. We went on to write a bit in the PMs as well and she even followed me back and would leave comments on my pictures. What other artists show this kind of dedication to their fans?
Not to mention the cover video I posted, which Care reposted on the band's Instagram, saying it was the best cover video of Die Mannequin she'd probably seen! The post is still up here. She also mentioned in the PM's she liked the random inclusion of Winnie the Pooh I had in the video as well, thinking it was a funny touch.
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| The old guitar video of mine that Care Failure shared is still up on the band's Instagram. A lot of the comments have been hidden since, but you can still see a bit of our little conversation. Her warm words of appreciation really made my day! |
She was a tough gal but seemed to care very much for her fans and treated them like her personal friends, essentially.
Or as someone who has met her both before and after she turned rock star chose to put it:
She was always as friendly and cool as she was the first time, even after she really WAS a rock star. Not a mean or snobby or pretentious bone in her body.
- Keith Richards (Source: RDCNews)
Dead Honey - the song I covered, and probably my favourite of the band. You can still check out my cover of it here.Hard and Fast Life
It is hard to understand and accept how an infection can be fatal to someone at the mere age of 36. Maybe she had other underlying health issues, who knows. Much like her live shows, her life itself seemed to be rather chaotic and rough. I would guess that she probably had lived and experienced more than most people will in their lifetime.
If you take a look at the band's bio on Spotify, you'll see that it mostly covers Care and gives an idea of the life she had.
She left home when she was 16, for a life of drugs and homelessness, it is stated.
Her luck would eventually come as she met a guy called Pat M, also known as Ghostwolf. He let her crash at his place and even offered his room to allow her space from the half dozen or so guys staying in the house. Care would end up staying for over a year, and as the two became friends, they inevitably began collaborating musically as well. This was the starting point of Die Mannequin, essentially.
She would later stumble upon Jesse Keeler of Death from Above 1979, who would produce the band's first EP "How To Kill."
Die Mannequin's live shows were quite wild, much like Care's life.
Dark Lyrics
The band's music also often explores themes of personal struggles - and even drug abuse. The most evident examples would be songs like Bad Medicine and Caroline Mescaline, where the latter seems especially personal and to the point:
I never claimed to be anything
Being Caroline Mescaline
"Heroin's heroine..."
Even though the lyrics are really dark at times, the songs are often very upbeat and catchy, and Care's voice further sweetens it. That is someting that needs to be stressed as well; what an extraordinary singer she was!
Revisiting Die Mannequin's discography and listening closely to Care's lyrics now will definitely add a new layer of darkness to it all.
My thoughts go out to Caroline Kawa's (a.k.a. Care Failure) nearest and dearest.
Rest peacefully, Care!
Love,
Jonas (theJo)
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