NYC ska legends Mephiskapheles play all-day Punk Rock BBQ at Border Bar in Pittston on June 22
From a press release:
“Satanic ska” band Mephiskapheles is coming down from New York City to Pittston to perform at the second annual Punk Rock Bar-B-Q at the Border Bar on Saturday, June 22.
Hosted by local music promotion and production team Camp Rattler, the event will feature live music inside as well as outside on this warm summer day and “dancing from one side of that hot-ass parking lot to the other.”
Northeastern Pennsylvania punk rock bands Death Wish Birdie, Standoff, Cut Up Naked Teenagers, The Haunting, Rudy and the Gansetts, and Decomposition make up most of the lineup, along with regional acts like Manikineter and The Damn Long Hairs.
The event runs from 4 p.m. through 2 a.m., and tickets are $10 for 21+ at the door and $12 for those who are 18+ at the door. For more details, see the Facebook event page.
The first Punk Rock Bar-B-Q at the Border Bar (170 Laurel St., Pittston) featured the all-female Ramones tribute band Rockaway Bitch and a different lineup of local bands, including Dance Hall Devils, Reach for the Sky, and The Dismissed.
2019 Punk Rock Bar-B-Q schedule:
4:30 p.m.: Rudy and the Gansetts
5:30 p.m.: The Damn Long Hairs
6:30 p.m.: Decomposition
7:30 p.m.: The Haunting
8:30 p.m.: Standoff
9:30 p.m.: Cut Up Naked Teenagers
10:30 p.m.: Mephiskapheles
11:30 p.m.: Death Wish Birdie
12:30 a.m.: Manikineter
Mephiskapheles is back in red and black. The band that helped define third-wave ska, then defied critics by exploring even greater possibilities with its darkly original ska fusion, forges ahead with amazing shows and new music now available.
Formed in the East Village of New York City in 1991 by a group of punk rockers/artists/ad guys/jazz musicians, Mephiskapheles played its first show on Long Island. From day one, the band began attracting a diverse, dedicated fan base.
Sold-out NYC gigs led to tours with the Buzzcocks and GWAR and hits on the Hawaiian Island charts with three singles from the band’s first album, 1994’s “God Bless Satan,” produced by Bill Laswell (Mick Jagger, Motörhead, Ramones, Iggy Pop, Yoko Ono, White Zombie, Buckethead).
While touring relentlessly, Mephiskapheles followed up in 1997 with “Maximum Perversion,” a jazz-influenced work that didn’t take long to be hailed as a classic. A deal in 1999 with Koch Records resulted in the band’s hard-hitting, exploratory third album, “Might-Ay White-Ay.”
Fronted by lead singer Andre A. Worrell (Invidious, a.k.a. the Nubian Nightmare), along with the hottest rhythm section in New York and the Horns of Hell, Mephiskapheles spreads its evil seed with an ongoing reissue program, epic shows, and new music out now. The band released its eponymous EP, the first new Mephiskapheles music in 16 years, on Meph Records in 2015.
Over the years, Mephiskapheles has shared stages with T.S.O.L., Rancid, Blink-182, Less Than Jake, NOFX, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Bouncing Souls, Anti-Nowhere League, Cro-Mags, The Pietasters, Mustard Plug, The Adicts, and Voodoo Glow Skulls, among many others.
