Mephiskapheles takes ska to new levels

Keeping with the tradition of Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Elvis and the numerous other musical acts accused of collaborating with the devil, comes the band Mephiskapheles.

This New York-based ska band brings its show into Detroit on Friday evening. Its music, however, isn't typical hardcore devil rock; in fact, the band has a sound that could easily be seen as a mix between Harry Belafonte and Glenn Miller.

By combining many styles of calypso, ska, jazz and punk, as well as lyrics that have demonic undertones, its members have created a distinctive blend of music that has elevated them to prominence on the underground ska scene.

One doesn't necessarily have to sell his soul to the dark prince in order to listen to Mephiskapheles' music.

Courtesy of Moon Ska Members of Mephiskapheles take on the Detroit scene Friday night.

"All of the Satan stuff is to draw you in and get you curious. We used to do some weird Satan stuff on stage, now you just come to the show and get this musical experience. It's up to you to decide what it means to you," said trombone player Greg Robinson. "We don't kill small animals and stuff like that. It's more like a concept."

This idea of devilish undertones has existed since the band's inception in 1990. "The whole thing started off as a Satan band, but not a death metal band. They don't really play dance music," Robinson said.

The history of Mephiskapheles isn't overly different from that of many other bands, but it does show how the group has come to include so many different styles in its music. "It was basically four guys: the lead singer, the guitarist, the keyboard player and the old drummer. They met on the ska scene and it just happened to work out. They put an ad in the paper for a bass player, and wound up getting this guy who knew a lot of jazz musicians. That's how the horn section came about."

One of the major changes the band has gone through in the past few years is its evolution from a small-time local band to a nationally touring act. "Back in those days, it was really a weekend thing," Robinson said. "Everybody had jobs, now we've really made the transition so its a full time thing."

Since the release of its debut album "God Bless Satan" in 1994, the band has become one of the leaders of the East Coast ska scene. This album is best known for its tracks "Saba" and "The Bumble Bee Tuna Song," a punked-out version of the canned-fish jingle. "God Bless Satan" is a more traditional ska album bearing similarities to the older Jamaican sound with elements of punk.

PREVIEW
	Mephiskapheles The Shelter Friday at 6 p.m.

This past fall the band released its follow-up, "Maximum Perversion." It varies in great degree from the band's debut in that it explores the band's roots as jazz players, as well as ska performers.

"The first album was made up of songs that we were playing for years," Robinson said. "It was, like, simple tunes that the rhythm section had come up with, then the horn section had put their line on it and we'd been playing them for years." He said that on the second album the horn section created a more jazzy feel. The new album still keeps in tune with the ska and punk sounds.

With the breakthrough of ska as a mainstream musical genre, the group has also gained commercial success. Its video "Doomsday" received rotation on MTV, and the song was also included on "The Real World."

Although the religious elements of the band's music haven't stirred up much controversy, the group's last visit to Detroit, when it opened for Gwar at Harpo's, led to a near-riot. "It's traditional for Gwar fans to boo the opening act," Robinson said. "Gwar paid us a big compliment: they said we did better than most other bands, even though we got booed just about every night - except for on the East Coast when we'd get a lot of out fans at the show."

The band's show at Harpo's bears a striking similarity to the Blue Brother's performance at Bob's Country Bunker. "We got on stage and it was chaos, our bass player got hit with a bottle, and there were a bunch of nazi skinheads in the audience who were spitting on our lead singer," he said. "The whole tour was kind of like that. That was just the low point of it."

With the recent blitz of ska bands on TV and radio, Mephiskapheles' Detroit show should give fans a firsthand glimpse at a band that has experimented with the ska sound and taken it to new levels.

03-25-98