When you think of cancer, you probably don’t think of industrial music. Heck, given the niche status of the genre, you may not think about industrial music at all. But maybe you should, because here in Pittsburgh, industrial musician and owner of Distortion Productions Jim Semonik has been quietly rallying musicians from around the world behind an effort called Electronic Saviors: Industrial Music to Cure Cancer.
The project brings together international greats of the industrial music scene, in giant box-set compilations and short tour runs around the Midwest, to raise money for the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, as well as newer, Pittsburgh-based nonprofit Young Adult Survivors United. After a five-year hiatus, the Electronic Saviors project is back with Volume VII: ReUnion, which dropped via Semonik’s Distortion Productions on May 2 of this year. On July 23 at SideQuest in Lawrenceville, they’ll commemorate the effort with a live show, featuring luminaries of the scene such as gofight, Red Lokust, Interface, and Sapphira Vee.
Instances of cancer in people under 50 have been on the rise in recent years, especially among women. Earlier this year, the American Cancer Society released data indicating that cancer incidence rates “in women under 50 are now 82% higher compared to their male counterparts, up 51% from 2002.”
But it’s not just among women. Rates of cancer in young adults are growing across the board. And Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center says, “Our forecast predicts cancer for this age group will increase by 30% globally from 2019 to 2030.”
As this population grows, new organizations are emerging to address the specific needs of cancer patients and survivors in this age group. That’s where Stephanie Samolovich, founder and executive director of Young Adult Survivors United, steps in.
“Their issues involve everything from dating to financial toxicity,” Samolovich (herself a survivor of leukemia) says of the patients her organization serves, “because these are younger adults and they don’t have the resources of someone from the older generation who has had more time to put away savings. So many of our members have young kids — two months old, two years old. I had a client who had five kids under the age of ten. We have spaces for them to connect with peers and be facilitated to talk about their lives, and celebrate milestones with peers like finishing a treatment, ringing the bell, finishing a medication.”
Semonik is also a survivor of young adult cancer; he was diagnosed with stage 2B (what would now be considered Stage 3) colorectal cancer in 2008, losing 18 inches of his large intestine in the the treatment process.
“My idea [for Electronic Saviors] was to have bands from all over the world submit exclusive tracks that would only be found on this recording. I thought it would turn out to be like maybe a disc or two, but it has blossomed,” Semonik tells Pittsburgh City Paper.
Indeed, following the release of Vol. VI in 2020, Electronic Saviors had raised over $100,000 for organizations that treat and support survivors of cancer. Vol. VII will add to that total at a time when, as Semonik points out, it couldn’t be more crucial.
“This ridiculous bill [the One Big Beautiful Bill Act] that just got passed — it’s gonna yank Medicaid out from so many people,” he says. “So I love the ways YASU is picking up the slack for the shortcomings of what we call the government now.”
YASU is not only filling in those kinds of gaps; the programming they offer is much more expansive than the kinds of services covered by Medicaid, or even private insurance.
“We offer anything from virtual paint nights, craft workshops, bingo. This Sunday we’ll go on a walk and talk in the city. This is the social part of the mission,” Samolovich tells City Paper. Other programming includes Rae of Hope, an initiative honoring Raelene Lauer, who was 32 when she died of breast cancer in 2021. Through Rae of Hope, cancer patients are granted funds to take a trip of some kind with a caretaker or loved one.
“We’ve had people see Usher with their partner, go to water parks, cabins. It’s a memory maker for them. Sometimes this is a last opportunity to make memories,” Samolovich says. Over half of YASU applicants for benefits are simply asking for help with basic needs and living expenses.
Ultimately, both projects are about not only helping provide for the most basic needs of young adult survivors of cancer, but also, and largely, about quality of life. Speaking of his own experience with cancer, and of organizing the albums and shows, Semonik says, “There’s a very good chance that I wouldn’t be here [without Electronic Saviors], because this music has done incredible things for me. And not only me, but the whole community that it serves.”
This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2025.
