| Michael Bishop | |
| Landscape: | yes |
| Alias: | Beefcake the Mighty Blothar the Berserker |
| Birth Date: | 7 September 1968 |
| Birth Place: | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Genre: | Hard rock, shock rock, heavy metal, punk |
| Occupation: | Musician |
| Instrument: | Vocals, bass |
| Years Active: | 1984–present |
| Current Member Of: | Gwar |
| Past Member Of: | Kepone |
Michael "Mike" Bishop (born September 7, 1968) is an American bassist and vocalist and a member of the heavy metal band Gwar.
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 the University of Virginia 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:
In August 2014, Bishop, portraying the character Blothar, became the lead vocalist for Gwar, replacing Dave Brockie due to Brockie's death of a heroin overdose on March 23, 2014. Brockie had portrayed the role of Oderus Urungus since the band's 1984 inception.