Mephiskapheles

Mephiskapheles arose in 1990 inside New York’s East Village as the spearhead of the city’s ska revival, launched by lead singer the Grand Invidious together with guitarist Brendog and keyboardist Brian Martin. The band’s definitive roster—bassist Michael Bitz, trumpeter Osho Endo, alto saxophonist Alexander McCabe, and trombonist Greg Robinson—locked into position within months, after which the group spent several years crisscrossing the East Coast with nonstop gigs that cultivated an intense grassroots audience. In 1994 the musicians enlisted producer Bill Laswell for their first full-length release, God Bless Satan, which appeared on the band’s own Pass the Virgin imprint. New drummer Wayne Dunton joined in time for a 1996 national tour supporting the Buzzcocks; the follow-up album Maximum Perversion surfaced the next year, and Might-Ay White-Ay arrived in 1999.