Lüpüs Thünder

Lüpüs Thünder is the former lead guitarist of the band The Bloodhound Gang. He was born Matthew Wayne Stigliano on August 8, 1972 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Lüpüs's decision to leave the band was posted in a blog on the band's MySpace on October 9, 2008.

He is the second-longest serving member of the Bloodhound Gang, having joined in October 1994 (his first show was on Oct. 28). At first, he was the DJ, but never really scratched; he was basically there for backup vocals. On "Use Your Fingers", he was the only other member of the band (other than Jimmy Pop and Daddy Long Legs) to have a vocal part (aside from backup). Lüpüs also played guitar on "K.I.D.S. Incorporated" with future bandmates Jared "Evil Jared Hasselhoff" Hennegan on bass and Mike "Spanky G" Guthier on drums.

After the questionable success of "Use Your Fingers," the band lost three members in less than two weeks (in September of that year). Lüpüs and Jim were the only members to stay on.

In March 1996, Lüpüs and Jimmy Pop laid the groundwork for their second LP, "One Fierce Beer Coaster" in the basement of the company run by Jim's brother. The two slept on chairs in the room upstairs, having to live on meager rations. Lüpüs used borrowed equipment (he was, at the time, homeless, and couldn't afford a guitar—he was homeless for about a month; it was during this time that the first video for the album - "Kiss Me Where It Smells Funny" - was filmed, according to the "One Fierce Beer Run" DVD commentary). The album was a success, and the band went out on tour, which was also successful.

Around the time of recording "One Fierce Beer Coaster," Lüpüs started the Bloodhound Gang website, and has remained in charge of its updates to this day.

During the recording of their third LP, "Hooray for Boobies", Lüpüs, like the rest of the band, moved to Los Angeles, where he lived until 2002, when he moved back to Pennsylvania. The final song on this album, "Along Comes Mary," (which was recorded for the soundtrack to the film "Half Baked," and was never meant for the album) was actually Lüpüs' idea. He was the only member of the band who actually knew the song (having been, as he puts it, "weaned on hippie music"), and convinced Jimmy Pop to write new music for it.

Lüpüs is the least frequently seen member of the band in the "One Fierce Beer Run" DVD. Additionally, he is reported to be a decent cook (by his own account - he said, on a previous website update, that during the "One Fierce Beer Coaster" recording sessions, Jimmy Pop "gained weight, thanks to my quality Italian cooking").

He currently plays Paul Reed Smith guitars (he had always wanted to endorse their guitars, and had one custom-built shortly after the success of "One Fierce Beer Coaster") and Marshall amplifiers. In the past, he has used Fernandes guitars and Mesa/Boogie amplifiers. After the tour in July 2007 the band got rid of the Marshall Amps & Cabinets and changed to Line 6 Pod equipment.

Lüpüs is also a Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins fan.

Lüpüs claims to have nerve damage in his arms, and that this affects his endurance on the road. As tours progress, he ends up wearing braces for his wrists; much of this strain comes from his playing technique, as well as his computer use (as he runs the website, he is always typing; since he uses a laptop, his wrists are placed in less than favorable positions).

ee also

* Heavy metal umlaut