M.I.R.V.

M.I.R.V. is a band based in the San Francisco, California, bay area known for its somewhat eclectic musical style. Founded in 1994, it initially consisted of the band's namesake guitarist and singer Mark "Mirv" Haggard, bassist Craig McFarland, drummer Jeff Gomes, and guitarist Bryan Kehoe, who also contributed vocals and keyboards. Kehoe left the band in 2001 to form The Kehoe Nation and was replaced by Spent Poets singer Adam Gates, aka The Filthy Ape.

Their musical style typically includes elements of hard rock, heavy metal, funk, country, opera, experimental, and electronica, but has also included elements from other genres, including polka, mainly due to Kehoe's love of the bouncy 3/4 style.

Kehoe era M.I.R.V shows often featured songs punctuated by interludes of lunacy, usually featuring a verbal interchange between Haggard and Kehoe. Often Haggard would announce a contest for the women in the audience, after which the winner would be cajoled into grabbing Kehoe's groin, causing him to sing in a high pitched operatic voice. Kehoe would often sing the Neapolitan standard "'O Sole Mio" following the antics. M.I.R.V. shows would regularly feature Haggard playing an electric saw during portions of the concerts.

M.I.R.V.'s first album "Cosmodrome" was written and recorded mostly by Haggard and featured a character named Grandpa, later revealed to be Primus' Les Claypool, who also put the record out on his own Prawn Song label. The album features songs interspersed with skits and is generally regarded as a concept album. The next two records were released on Poison Eye, M.I.R.V.'s own label, and feature primarily music. It was these later two albums that saw the band form into a four piece touring outfit, as opposed to a studio project.

The band has toured worldwide alongside acts like Jerry Cantrell, Fishbone, Primus, and has played with groups like Cheap Trick, Run DMC, Papa Roach and Nuclear Rabbit. [http://cdbaby.com/cd/mirv2]

Discography

*Cosmodrome (1993)
*Feeding Time on Monkey Island (1997)
*Dancing Naked in a Minefield (1999)
*Million Pound Bomb (in production)

External links

* [http://www.mirv.com www.mirv.com] Official Website