Liquid Plumber

• Genres: Rock

Biography

The story of Liquid Plumber focuses around the friendship guitarist Greg Giles forged with brothers Mikey and Rob Piontek. Highly inspired by the tongue-in-cheek approach of Blur, Douglas Adams, and the Pixies, the fellows began to play a string of shows in the Midwestern United States, combing the two influences and developing their own sound in the process. After battling with several mediocre drummers, the group discovered local talent Jeff Poirer playing covers in a local mall talent show and knew he was perfect for the group.

Re-energized and refocused, the group recorded Prime Cuts, a release that is highly sought after by collectors to this day. The EP captured the spirit of not only their intense live performances, but their sharp sense of humor. The group once again hit the road and developed an even stronger cult following not only in the United States, but abroad as well. In 1995, the group followed up with their first proper full-length, MMM...Good. The album was met with critical acclaim and propelled Plumber into the indie music spotlight for a brief period of time (and also spurned an argument with a certain cleaning products company for trademark infringement). After an exhaustive tour, the group temporarily put things on hiatus to focus on other personal endeavors. However, they re-emerged in 1999 with And the Dangerous Mike Walsh, a multimedia extravaganza and a fine return to form that found the group stronger than ever. Inexplicably, the band decided to call it a day in 2000, with the elder Piontek becoming an astronomer, Giles an aerobics instructor, and Poirer a linguistics professor. Mikey Piontek re-emerged in 2002 with his New Century Hairpins project. ~ Rob Theakston, All Music Guide