God Lives Underwater was an industrial-rock band from Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania formed in 1992. The band consisted of David Reilly (vocals / keyboards / guitar), Jeff Turzo (keyboards / guitar), Andrew McGee (guitar), and Adam Kary (drums). Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, and David Bowie heavily influenced their sound. David frequently used the term "techno-pop rock" to describe their sound.
They recorded their first album, GLU, in 1993, and it included the single, "No More Love," which also appeared in the film Johnny Mnemonic. MTV placed two separate videos (a band version and a movie version) for "No More Love" in moderate rotation. Another song from the album, "Drag Me Down," appeared in the film The Doom Generation. Rolling Stone Magazine gave the album 7.5 stars out of 10. God Lives Underwater went on one major tour during this period, coheadlining with the band Maids of Gravity. They also opened for Slayer in Florida.
The band released their second album, Empty, in 1995, which included the singles "All Wrong" and "Don't Know How to Be." The video for "All Wrong" on MTV, as well as significant airplay on radio stations across the country, helped catapult God Lives Underwater into the mainstream. The second single, "Don't Know How to Be," wasn't as popular on the radio, and MTV played the video much less frequently. Another song from the album, "Tortoise," appeared in the film National Lampoon's Senior Trip. The soundtrack for the film Mortal Kombat, titled Mortal Kombat: More Kombat, included an outtake from the album, called "Weight." AllMusic gave the album 3 stars out of 5. God Lives Underwater played with KMFDM, Lords Of Acid, Life Of Agony, Filter, Korn, Sublime, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, Spacehog, and Social Distortion. Adam Kary, God Lives Underwater's drummer, left the band after they completed the Empty tour cycle. The band recruited drummer Scott Garrett (previously from the band The Cult) as their new drummer.
While they recorded their second album, David and Jeff recorded two songs under the moniker Heavy. These two songs remained unreleased until after David's death.
They released third album, Life in the So-Called Space Age, in 1998. This album was the band's highest-charting album, which landed at #137 on the Billboard charts. It also contained the band's biggest single, "From Your Mouth," which peaked at #17 on the Billboard charts. MTV played the video in heavy rotation. The song appeared in the Daria episode "Pierce Me," as well as in the film Gossip. The second single from Life in the So-Called Space Age, "Rearrange," wasn't nearly as popular, even though radio gave it significant airplay. They didn’t make a video for it, either. Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ score. The band played with Semisonic, Fuel, Stabbing Westward, Econoline Crush, Creed, Jimmie's Chicken Shack, Type O Negative, Deftones, No Doubt, Scott Weiland, Green Day, and Soul Asylum.
God Lives Underwater recoded their fourth, and final, album, Up Off the Floor, in 2000. It contains the single, "Tricked." It only received minimal airplay, and they did not produce a video for the song. The film 15 Minutes used an outtake from the album, a cover of David Bowie's "Fame," in the movie and featured the song on the soundtrack. The director of the movie, John Herzfeld, shot a video for the song, using spliced scenes of Robert DeNiro from the film into shots of the band playing live. AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5. The band only played one show, in Hollywood CA, to promote the album. It was their final show, on July 13, 2000.
David Reilly released his first solo album in 2001—an electronic instrumental project, called Robot Teen America. The album consisted of four tracks, all titled "Living in Syn" (1-4), and he limited the release to only 77 copies. He sold them through the God Lives Underwater website on a first-come, first-serve basis. He dedicated the album to his fiance, Monica "Seven" Young, who died in 2000. David didn't play any shows to support Robot Teen America.
On September 1, 2001, David played a solo acoustic show at TT The Bear's Place in Cambridge, MA. The show featured 9 God Lives Underwater songs, spanning the band's four albums, as well as a Depeche Mode cover of the song "Stripped," and the very first song David ever wrote at 16 years old, called "Ordinary Man."
In 2002, David birthed a new project, called Fluzee. It consisted of David on vocals and guitar, Adam Kary on guitar, and Patrick Halsup on drums. Fluzee released only one album, titled 7, and they sold it as a limited edition. The title of the album was another tribute to David's fiancé. Fluzee didn't tour, but they played a handful of shows in the Philadelphia area before they broke up.
In 2004, David released his first official solo album under his name. The album Inside didn't produce any singles or videos. However, David embarked on a national tour to promote the album. He put together a band, which included David Trusso on guitar and Bejamin Juul on drums. During the tour, he played every song from Inside, as well as numerous God Lives Underwater fan favorites.
David completed the recording of his final solo album, How Humans R(x), just weeks before he died on October 16, 2005. The record label shelved the album, finished but unmastered. In 2007, Jeff Cavanaugh mixed and mastered the album himself. How Humans R(x) was released independently in 2009 and limited to only 100 CD copies.
In 2007, David's friend Brian Paone published a novel, called Dreams Are Unfinished Thoughts—available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook—about God Lives Underwater and David’s musical journey.