Mephiskapheles

Mephiskapheles
Background information
Also known as	Skatterbrains 8 Iron Men
Origin	New York City, New York, United States
Genres	Ska Ska punk
Years active	1990–2001
Labels	Moon Ska Records Koch
Associated acts	The Shaved Pigs SKAndalous All-Stars Skull-A-Ball Burn Guitars Tirade
Past members
Brendan Tween Mikal Reich Brian Martin Michael Bitz Alexander McCabe Greg Robinson Andre A. Worrell Osho Endo Wayne Dunton Dan Jeselsohn Dave Hahn Nathan Breedlove Bill McKinney Ian Hendrickson-Smith Rick Sanford Dave Doris Gina Latessa Vattel Cherry Stu Klinger Ray (last name unknown) James (last name unknown)

Mephiskapheles was a third wave ska band based in New York. Originally called "Skatterbrains," their later name is a portmanteau of "ska" and "Mephistopheles", of Goethe's Faust. As their name suggests, their lyrics are often playfully Satanic in nature.

The band began when New York hardcore band The Shaved Pigs split up, and guitarist Brendan Tween and roommate Mikal Reich decided to start a ska band. After recruiting several friends, the band was formed under the name Skatterbrains. The name changed to Mephiskapheles once the band realized that another band had already taken the name. In 1990, after a small lineup shuffle, the band recorded their demo tape titled The DEMOn. On January 3, 1991, the band made its first public appearance at a venue in Long Island. The band continued to play live and build a fan base over the next few years. It wasn't long before they struck a production & distribution deal with Moon Ska Records. In 1994, Moon Ska released the band's debut album, God Bless Satan, produced by Bill Laswell. A video for the song, "Doomsday", saw airplay on MTV. Soon after the release of the album, drummer Mikal Reich left the band. He was temporarily replaced by Dave Karcich of Spring Heeled Jack before the band brought in full-time drummer Wayne Dunton.

In 1997, the band released their sophomore album Maximum Perversion. A video was filmed for the track, "Break Your Ankle Punk".

By 1999, the band had gone through a major lineup change with Brendan Tween, Michael Bitz, Alexander McCabe and Osho Endo all leaving the band. New members Bill McKinney, Dave Hahn, Dan Jeselsohn, Nathan Breedlove were brought in and led to a drastic change in sound that infused hardcore and metal with ska. This lineup recorded the 1999 release, Might-ay White-ay. After continuing to play live performances for two years, the band stopped playing shows without any official announcement of a breakup.

After Mephiskapheles

After Mephiskapheles, vocalist Andre A. Worrell, trombonist Greg Robinson, bassist Michael Bitz and guitarist Bill McKinney played in the band Skull-A-Ball although Robinson played guitar in this project. The band recorded one demo before disbanding. Worrell later appeared with Micheal Bitz in the band Burn Guitars. The band featured three bass players, a drummer and no guitars. This band also disbanded after recording one demo. A third band, named Tirade, spun off from Mephiskapheles and featured Bill McKinney, Dan Jeselsohn and future Bouncing Souls drummer, Michael McDermott, performing more heavy metal based material. This band also recorded one demo.

Discography

• God Bless Satan (1995, Moon Ska Records)
• Maximum Perversion (1997, Moon Ska Records)
• Might-ay White-ay (1999, Koch Records)

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