The Birthday Massacre (abbreviated TBM) is a Canadian rock band , formed in 1999 in London, Ontario, and currently based in Toronto, Ontario. The current lineup consists of lead vocalist Sara 'Chibi' Taylor, rhythm guitarist Michael Rainbow, lead guitarist Michael Falcore, keyboardist Owen Mackinder, drummer Philip Elliott, and bassist Brett Carruthers. When the band formed in 1999, they were known as 'Imagica'. This name was inspired by the 1991 fantasy novel Imajica by Clive Barker. In 2002, they changed the name to The Birthday Massacre after one of their earlier songs in order to avoid confusion with another group. The song The Birthday Massacre was then renamed Happy Birthday. According to their vocalist Chibi: "it kind of works well for the music that we're making. Sort of contrasty, you know? Birthday, and massacre. Light, and dark. Cute, and evil". The band has released nine studio albums: Nothing and Nowhere (2002), Violet (2005), Walking with Strangers (2007), Pins and Needles (2010), Hide and Seek (2012), Superstition (2014), Under Your Spell (2017), Diamonds (2020), and Fascination (2022). They also issued the DVD Blue (2005), the live album/DVD Show and Tell (2009), the demo album Imagica, and the EPs Violet (2004), Looking Glass (2008), and Imaginary Monsters (2011). History Imagica (1999–2001) The group originated in London, Ontario, under the name 'Imagica', with members using pseudonyms and nicknames instead of their birth names; the members called themselves Chibi, Owen, and Dan Gilman, respectively. The group's original lineup formed when Michael Rainbow met Sara 'Chibi' Taylor at Fanshawe College, who was studying in the same fine-arts program. Rainbow recruited childhood friend Michael Falcore to join on guitar; they had already been recording music together in high school. Aslan, who was also attending the same college, became roommates with Rainbow and joined on bass. In mid 2000, Dank, a long-time friend of Chibi's, joined to play live keyboards but left the group shortly before they relocated to Toronto. After months of rehearsals and writing songs, they played their first gig on October 28, 2000, at Diversity night club in London. The band released a seven-song limited-edition demo CD at the show which had been recorded on a four-track cassette recorder during a time when the group was recording cover songs for fun. There were 40 hand-numbered copies of the demo which included the first recorded version of the song The Birthday Massacre (later renamed Happy Birthday).