Madonna Wayne Gacy

Stephen Bier

Madonna Wayne Gacy live in 1995
Background information
Birth name Stephen Gregory Bier Jr.
Also known as Madonna Wayne Gacy, Pogo
Born (1964-03-06) March 6, 1964
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Genres Industrial metal, industrial rock
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Keyboards, percussions, programming
Years active 1989–present
Labels Nothing, Interscope
Associated acts Marilyn Manson, MMII, Mrs. Scabtree, Faultline Productions
Notable instruments
Roland AX-1
Sequential Circuits Pro-One
Yamaha CBX K2
Premier 15" × 14" and 16" × 16" floor toms
Zildjian Z custom china cymbal
Akai S950
Kurzweil K2500RS
Mackie 1604-VLZ
Peavey PC-1600

Stephen Gregory Bier Jr. (born March 6, 1964, Fort Lauderdale, Florida), formerly known by his stage name Madonna Wayne Gacy and by the nickname Pogo (John Wayne Gacy's clown name), is the former keyboard player for Marilyn Manson, from 1989 to 2007. His stage name came from the names of the singer Madonna and the serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

Personal life

Stephen Bier was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to a Jewish father and Catholic mother. He earned a degree in engineering from the University of Florida.

Career

Bier joined Marilyn Manson in late 1989 as a live prop actor. Bier has played the following instruments on Marilyn Manson's albums: calliope, Hammond organ, saxophone, theremin, various brass instruments, overdubs, loops, bassoon, drums, electronic drums, keytar, piano, sampling, mellotron, shaker, and synthesizer. He is responsible for much of the Kabbalic and numerological meanings behind Manson's albums.[1] He did not contribute to Manson's album Eat Me, Drink Me having been replaced by Chris Vrenna.

On August 2, 2007, it was reported that Bier filed a lawsuit against Manson for unpaid "partnership proceeds". Bier claims Manson spent the band's earnings on "sick and disturbing purchases of Nazi memorabilia and taxidermy (including the skeleton of a young Chinese girl)" and on various other luxurious items. Bier claimed that Manson "devised a campaign to drive Bier out of the band and rob him of his entitlement".[2]

On December 19, 2007, Manson filed a counter suit against Bier, accusing him of breach of contract.[3]
According to metalunderground.com, the lawsuit was settled for a sum far less than what was originally sought by Bier with the total being $380,000. $175,000 was paid out by Marilyn Manson while the rest was ordered to be paid by Stephen Bier's former Business Managers.[4]

Bier later founded a music project called MMII, with Brian Diemar.[5]

Discography

References

  1. Manson, Marilyn, "The Long Hard Road Out of Hell" (1999); ISBN 0-06-098746-4:
  2. BLABBERMOUTH.NET - Marilyn Manson Sued By Former Keyboardist/Drummer Over 'Partnership Proceeds', roadrunnerrecords.com; accessed September 14, 2015. He currently works for Faultline Music Group LLC.
  3. Marilyn Manson files suit against ex-bandmate, NME.com, 2007-12-21, retrieved 2007-12-21
  4. Marilyn Manson Settles Lawsuit With Stephen Bier - in Metal News ( Metal Underground.com )
  5. "MMII". facebook.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/12/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.