Michael Bishop (bassist)

He attended Thomas Dale High School in Chester, Virginia. Most notably, he was the bass guitarist and, after a 20-year hiatus, is currently the lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Gwar.[1] Bishop's first band was the Hopewell, VA-based hardcore outfit The Guilty. As a member of Gwar, he was the first to play the role of "Beefcake the Mighty".[2] The name of Beefcake was taken from Bishop's nickname during his punk years. Bishop was the bassist and lead vocalist for Kepone from 1991 through the band's breakup in 1997.[3] All three members of Kepone later performed together again as American Grizzly until that band's breakup in 2005. He played with the Misery Brothers, a country/soul band local to Charlottesville, Virginia from 2007 to 2009.[4][5][6]

Bishop earned a Ph.D. in music from UVA in 2012 and taught writing and topics in American music history at the university, specializing in popular music ethnography and performance studies.[7]

Since 2011, Kepone has reunited to play occasional shows, although it remains unknown if the band will create any new music. Outside of performing Bishop:

• teaches undergraduate courses in American music history and writing at the University of Virginia;
• is the Learning Strategist and Lead Technical Writer at education technology company Interfolio

As of August 2014, Bishop is the lead vocalist for Gwar as a new character Blothar, replacing the late singer Dave Brockie who played the role of Oderus Urungus due to his death of heroin overdose on March 23, 2014.

Gwar

• Hell-O (1988)
• Scumdogs of the Universe (1990)
• America Must Be Destroyed (1992)
• This Toilet Earth (1994)
• We Kill Everything (1999)
• The Blood of Gods (2017)

Kepone

• Ugly Dance (1994)
• Skin (1995)
• Kepone (1997)