Mighty Sphincter

Infobox musical artist
Name = Mighty Sphincter


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Origin = Phoenix, Arizona
Genre = Punk
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Label = Placebo
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Mighty Sphincter is a punk band from Phoenix, Arizona.

History

The name "Mighty Sphincter" was conceived by Doug Goss and Dirk Clark, some two years before the band actually formed. About '79 or '80 when the respective Dougs were close friends. Joe Albanese invited both Dirks to his place for an "experiment". Neither of them knew the other would be present, so shortly after their posturing, Joe Albanese says that he assumed the obligitory role of mediator, host, and instigator. Both Dirks apparently possessed a justifiable ego, so according to Albanese, it wasn't difficult to grapple them each and give each a good stroke. Somewhere in the transition of the band's initial dialogue, Joe suggested the creation of a band to meet up with the Mighty Sphincter name because of the way it made the initial band members feel. The bass player and drummer were part of the Brainz. .. the AMOK compilation and/or The Teds 45 was their first release.

The Brainz 45, was on Wakefield records, not the fledgling Placebo label, although the release was included in the Placebo inventory, it was recorded in 1979. This 45 had 2 songs , "elementary monster" and "terra".

Bill was playing guitar for a pop outfit called the Out Crowd, & before that had played guitar in a couple of bands with the Nervous' former bassist, Vital Signs, Pebble Culture, and International Language. Bill was only part of the later incarnations of Mighty Sphincter, MS was Dirk Clark and support, according to most info available.

George & Bill used to run with the same crowd as Dirk Clark. George and Dirk were in a band called Keening at some point mid 80's and featured a now S.F. resident Jeff who went on to form "Panda" a neo-psychedelic band with an album produced by Kramer of Bongwater, Shockabilly, and other Shimmy Disc bands.

Dirk and Dan Clark started the band to open for the Consumers in '77, Dirk was 16 at the time.

During this time Dirk played guitar for a band called Victory Acres (named for either a local housing area or local cemetery) that also included his brother Dan on bass & vocals and featured Michael Ochoa of Nervous Gender fame. The lead singer was Mary Clark who was married to Dan Clark The rest of the band consisted of Meat Puppets' Chris Kirkwood on keyboards & Derrick Bostrom on drums.

"The Exterminators", was the precursor to Mighty Sphincter, and The Feederz and formed in '76. Joe Albanese was 16 and Dirk Clark was 14. This band featured 45 Grave members Rob Graves, and Don Bolles (Germs, 3 Day Stubble, Celebrity Skin. ..etc). The line up was Dirk Clark, Joe Albenese, Doug Gauss and Dan Clark (who did vocals, and also sang for Sphincter once when they played as the Pop Sicles). Doug Gauss quit after the first show, Dan remembers him puking on the stage and Johnny P (then going by the moniker "Art Neuveaux") slipping in it. The Consumers drummer at this time was Johnny P. and Jimmy and Johnny lived together so both bands rehearsed at the same house aptly named Satan's Disco, An old house in downtown Phoenix where "drunken Indians" would walk right in and sit right down. Joe Albenese soon left the band and Rob Graves (Jimmy's friend from Detroit) replaced him.

The Consumers moved to LA and soon Don Bolles and Rob also left for the promised land. The Exterminators split and the Feederz were formed by Frank Discussion and Dan. Dirk started at guitar but soon quit before ever playing. Dirk also soon left for Hollywood and lived with Don Bolles at the famed Canterbury Hotel (with Black Randy, Geza X, Wylie, Pat Bag, and the Drummer for the Wierdos). Dirk taught the Gogo's bass player how to play there. Dirk returned to Arizona by the end of the summer '78.

This really ends the first phase of Phoenix Punk circa 1978, only two bands, but they caused quite a stir and set the pace for what was to become a great scene in a few years. Dirk had a band called The Anniliators with Joe Albenese and Jessie S. (Paris 42) sang, they opened the first Feederz show. Jessie was also in Destruction.Jessie also invited Dan to a party, he said these brothers are going to play some Zappa songs and Dan should check them out. Sure enough sitting in the living room playing Cheapness by Frank Zappa were Chris and Kurt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets. .. Dan moved to Hollywood with Mary and they formed Victory Acres with Paul Cutler and Michael Ochoa (Nervous Gender, Vox Pop). Dan and Mary lived with Wylie and Paul, and rehearsed at the Monitor house. Mary and Dan later moved back to Phoenix after hearing a tape called Elmo and the Electrocutioners, which was actually an early incarnation of the Meat Puppets that Wylie got in the mail. Back in Phoenix, the Brainz had broken up, so Victory Acres was reformed in Arizona with Cris, Derek, Dirk, Mary and Dan. This was a great line up, (reportedly with most of the shows being performed with the entire band on acid). A live tape is coming out hopefully, recorded at the Salty Dog on the same same night Dan Clark introed 45 Grave. It took about a year for the Meat Puppets to get going, then Curt wanted his boys back. This is when Dirk played in Maybe Mental and Mighty Sphincter was just around the corner.

Dirk Clark speaks: (note that I'm paraphrasing this information from notes I took from a phone call, so some details may be a little off - Sam - ) "When Dirk Clark got back from living at the Canterbury in Hollywood in 1977 there really was no punk scene in Arizona. The memories of all the bands from the mid-to-late seventies was pretty much unknown. Meanwhile Dirk had been living at the heart of the LA scene with Darby Crash and all the other neer-do-weels at the Canturbury (read more about the Canturbury in "We've got the Neutron Bomb" and "Lexicon Devil"). When I came back, I brought Albanese and others into the punk scene and reintroduced others to it as well. The idea to form Mighty Sphincter was solely Dirk's idea according to interviews. Around 1980 D was working at a drag bar and the idea of forming a band that used aspects of drag mixed with my fascination with monster movies and characters seemed like a perfectly acceptable reason to start a band. Dirk brought some of my friends like Joe and Greg into the fold and they started practicing immediately, just in time to open for the Feederz who Dirk had played with before. Dirk brought Ron Reckless into the band because we wanted to make fun of all the incredibly annoying hardcore bands that started touring all over the country. It had become so that the emphasis wasn't on presentation or content of the bands or their songs of the time, but just on how fast you could play. So Mighty Sphincter started playing with all these touring hardcore bands in order to make fun of them and to show that we knew how to play. Mighty Sphincter was started to make fun of the entire punk scene in general, if you look at the lyrics of every song on the first two albums, it's just that apparent. "Impetigo" was actually a song that made fun of one of the local girls who had to be "punk rock" and had gotten impetigo from a homemade piercing. Anyways, making fun of the entire punk scene worked. All of the band has always focused on making fun of everything, even themselves. Christians, gays, punk rockers. .. Nothing was sacred when it came to being made fun of and Mighty Sphincter took every opportunity to do so.

Placebo Records had heard Maybe Mental in the years past, but when Mighty Sphincter was formed a little later, Tony Victor was extremely impressed and immediately offered to put the album out on the Placebo Label.

According to Joe Albanese, the Brainz preceded the Meat Puppets. This had to be so because when Joe left Phoenix in 1980, he left Dan Clark with a copy of his then current band's recent recording of "The God Wads," a predominantly instrumental band with a smattering of female vocals by "Elaine DiFalco", also on keyboards (she appeared later on as the predominant vocalist in "The Almighty Sphincter" incarnation of the band). Shortly after having arrived in Portland, Joe received a phone call from Chris Kirkwood whose reason for calling was to tell Joe that Dan Clark had played him the GodWads tape, and that he had felt compelled to let Joe know what he thought, which was really personally flattering for Joe. Chris Kirkwood also informed Joe that he had attending either the "Trout-o-rama" or the "X-o-rama", two punk shows featured in around '78 where the Brainz had played and Kurt Kirkwood hadn't been able to persuade his brother Chris to accompany him on bass. The Brainz were one of the prime influences that the Meat Puppets began playing at all according to members of the band. When Chris had seen Joe playing bass, he was "at that moment" inspired to play bass also. Joe was apparently very flattered.

Ron Reckless is alive and well in North Scottsdale with his girlfriend and 80 cats, he spends his time painting pictures. ..

Dillon died of a heart attack in 1991.

There was also 45 Grave connection (most or all of that band came from Phoenix), as Dan Clark appears in a non-musical role of that band's Debasement Tapes CD, announcing them at a Phoenix club called the Salty Dog run by David Wiley, sometimes-keyboardist for International Language, better known as the vocalist for an old California band called Human Hands &, before that, for a seminal Phoenix punk band called the Consumers, whose recent posthumous LP on an Anaheim label includes thank-you's to Dan & Dirk Clark & Johnny Precious. The Consumers' guitarist, Paul Cutler, wound up in 45 Grave & handled sound for an International Language show at the Roxy, opening for Wall of Voodoo in December 1981. Paul Cutler is doing weird drum ambient stuff playing out now and again. His ex-wife and former lead singer Mary Simms, aka Dinah Cancer was also in an L.A. band called Penis Flytrap, but now tours in a revamped version of 45 Grave. David Wiley was the lead singer of the Very first Phoenix punk band "The Consumers" with Greg Jones, Mickey Borens of 45 Grave, Johnny Precious, and Paul Cutler (of 45 Graveand International Metal Supply). David Wiley was also in the L.A. band "Human Hands" who performed in the late 90's at the Garage Club in Los Angeles. There is some question on whether David Wiley was part of MS at any time during this period, but just to include, Wiley died of medical complications related to Aids in 1986. Dave Oliphant only appeared on the "In the Kingdom of heaven" release.

Dirk Clark currently resides in Portland, after an extended amount of time traveling and hanging out in places like New Orleans and living in Salem Oregon recording with a local Portland speed metal band.

Robert Judd was in a band with Dirk Clark called "Secret Ceremony". Ron Reckless played guitar, Robert Judd played keyboards and Dirk sang. They opened for the Circle Jerks at a church in Phoenix where they dressed as pallbearers and carried a coffin up the stage, with Dirk inside the coffin.

Members of Mighty Sphincter were for a short time in a band called Skeletones in 1986. Joe Albanese on Bass, Dirk Clark on guitar and vocals, Rick Bishop from The Sun City Girls on keyboards, Brian Brannon from JFA also on keyboards and vocals, and Greg Hynes from Sphincter on Drums.

Greg Hynes played drums & sang lead for the Teds, who had a 7", "The '80s are Over", on Placebo circa '82.

After moving to Portland and the God Wads broke up, Joe joined an all lesbian band called Dutchboy Fingers. The singer and guitar player were the only two with talent, so Joe somehow managed fired all the useless members and added himself and two of the players from another Portland band, Village Idiot. They were doing exceptionally well, but out of nowhere they disbanded because Village Idiot wanted to reform. They ended up regretting that move. Joe and his wife then tried to outrun a curse by moving to Seattle, reasoning that "Surely they could find some worthy players there." After the move, Joe nearly died of depression, no will, and heroin addiction before Elaine DiFalco hooked him up with the Circus Contraption, with whom he still works with and is consistently on tour. Joe says that he is more content with his current project that he has ever been with any other.

The photo on the cover of the "This is Phoenix, Not The Circle Jerks" comp is Mighty Sphincter playing in an actual wrestling ring called the Mad Garden (short for Madison Square Garden), which lent its name to a JFA release, presumably on Placebo in 1985. It was hosting punk shows on weekends in the early eighties. There are a few recordings of shows at that venue floating around.

At a reunion show in 1993 at the Mason Jar, Mighty Sphincter reenacted a scene from a Marquis de Sade play that Greg had been acting in. Judd played "torture sounds," while Dirk and Greg threw a naked old man (the actor who played the Marquis de Sade in the acting troupe) into a bathtub and murdered him.

Not long after the Kingdom of Heaven EP there was a new lineup called Almighty Sphincter. They recorded a few songs that were released on a very limited basis.

The song "Hitler Painted Roses" comes from a short story of that name by Harlan Ellison.

Robert Judd was the keyboard player on the "House of no Return" 7 inch recording, although the keyboard and effects were very minimal. Robert Judd also did a stint as one of the lip-syncers for Southpark.

A sort of cover of MS "when the clocks have run down" off the "kingdom" LP was briefly available by the experimental industrial band psywarfare, the music is incredibly hard to find currently.

Dirk and Greg are the only ones on all recordings except for the first recording with drummer Doug Goss (which has never been released). The recordings with Butler and Gully have also never been released.

Supposedly, Rob Zombie of White Zombie is a big Mighty Sphincter fan, and apparently Mighty sphincter was one of the major influences of the early Marilyn Manson and the Spooky Kids.

There was a fanzine out of San Francisco that apparently had a two page "tribute" to Ron Rexless in it, they said he had died in a car accident in 1985. Fortunately Ron is alive and well and has a career as a painting artist in Arizona.

Discography

* The "Mighty Sphincter" 7inch
* "Ghost Walking Double EP" LP/cassette
* "The New Manson Family" LP
* "In the Kingdom of Heaven" tape/EP
* "House of no Return" 7inch
* "The Almighty Sphincter" EP
* "The Holy Unholy"

* Amuck (Compilation)
* This is Phoenix Not the Circle Jerks (Compilation)
* More Coffee for the Politicians (Compilation)

Members

These brilliant minds combined together create an absolute terror, certain to inflict permanent impressions, whether they be damaging or inspiring. A confrontation with the mighty Sphincter for any length of time shall certainly result in insanity.

Mister Wonderful AKA Gregory Hynes (drums Tympani) whose abilities far surpass those of mortal men, A God. Joseph Vito Albanese (Bass guitar, Cello, legs, bondage) (Currently working for Circus Contraption, check out: http://www.circuscontraption.com/ ) Often compared to a Jocko P., Stanley C., Wetton, a god.original bassist replaced later by Wayne Frost. Dirk Clark(Guitars, Vocals, synth, Acrobatics, Delusions) Who makes Jimi Hendrix look dead, comparable to no man, living or dead, a god. Numerous people refer to Dirk as the quintessential "Sphincter" (in some cases for more reasons than the band's brilliance). (RIP)

Ronnie Rexless?or (vocals) Commonly referred to as Mr. Show Business, a lyric genius, a god. Now doing a radio show now on KFNX radio. Has his own home studio, and plans on putting out old Mighty Sphincter material at a future date. He has been working on a book about the history of the Phoenix punk scene which has involved interviewing everyone from Killer Pussy to the guys from JFA... His ongoing project is called Venus Trull, and the first CD is called Ur-ine-Analyisis.

Terry Kloth (Drum Kit) Who also was the drummer for JFA, a god. (currently living in North Carolina)

Anthony Cabara (guitar) who was also Rabid Rabbit and a band named Project Terror.

John Gillian (drums) (whereabouts currently unknown)

Bill (the thrill) butler (drums) (whereabouts currently Unknown)

Sean Gully (bass) (whereabouts currently Unknown)

Bob Judd (keyboards) (currently residing in Phoenix)

Bam Bam (of Jodie Fosters Army) (Drums) Currently working with Phoenix's Vox Poppers!

Bill (Bored) Yanok (vocals) (whereabouts currently Unknown)

Doug Gauss (drums) found dead in the Arizona desert in the mid/late 80's. (whereabouts known)

Debra Qualtire (backing vocals)

LINKS:

[http://www.mightysphincter.net Mighty Sphincter website]
[http://www.myspace.com/mightysphincter Mighty Sphincter on Myspace.com]