Man Bites God is a three-piece band from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

; founded in 2000 by James Hazelden (guitar/vocals) and Chris Tomkins (drums/vocals) after the demise of Hazelden's previous band, The Drowning Hitlers. Mark Woodward (bass guitar/ recorder/vocals) was soon recruited and the group were spotted playing in an unassuming

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family ( Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) **Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

bar (Mayfields) by

Dan Brodie Dan Brodie is an Australian singer and songwriter from Melbourne, Australia, best known for his prolific solo career, during which he has released seven studio. In addition to releasing his own albums, Brodie's songs have been recorded by othe ...

who insisted the band support him at St Kilda's Esplanade Hotel (the 'Espy'). The band has a catalogue of six releases: ''Happy Songs'' ( EP, 2002), ''Ultrasounds'' ( EP, 2002), ''Man Bites God'' ( LP, 2003), ''Boob Job for Sweetie Pie'' ( EP, 2005) ''The Popular Alternative'' ( LP, 2005) and ''Peppermint Superfrog'' ( LP, 2007); and is notorious for twisted, dark and often

blasphemous Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religio ...

sense of humour. Consequently, religious groups have been known to deface or tear down posters advertising the band's performances. Man Bites God tours regularly throughout Australia and performed at the

2004 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. They are also played regularly on the Dr. Demento show in the USA. Their latest album ''Peppermint Superfrog'' was released on 2 June 2007 through

MGM Distribution MGM Distribution (Metropolitan Groove Merchants) is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase. MGM Distribution was specifically set up as a dist ...

. The band launched a podcast called "Theatre of the World" in August 2012.

Discography

* ''Happy Songs'' (EP, 2002) * ''Ultrasounds'' (EP, 2002) * ''Man Bites God'' (2003) * ''Boobjob for Sweetie Pie'' (EP, 2005) * ''The Popular Alternative'' (2005) * ''Peppermint Superfrog'' (2007)

Music videos

Man Bites God generally produce their own music videos as their drummer, Chris Tomkins is a professional director/editor. However some of the more recent clips have been created by long-time fan and friend of the band, Sarah Phillips. Phillips is a graduate of RMIT Animation School and member of the cult Melbourne animation guerillas, Animation Club. * Improvise – Shot on location at the Comics Lounge, Melbourne. This video features a huge cast of Melbourne comedians performing ridiculous vaudeville style acts as the band desperately try to maintain some semblance of dignity whilst singing about extreme contraceptive measures. Features the band's former manager, Rachel Barnes, as the girl at the romantic dinner. * Annoying Song – A surrealistic hypnotic hodge-podge of old video and super-8 footage from the band's family collections. It also features some timelapse footage shot when the band drove from Melbourne to Adelaide using a webcam mounted to the front of the van taking one shot every second for the duration of the 8-hour journey. The video was nominated for Best Independent Clip in the 2005 Belowground III Music Video Awards. * "Bride of the Dragon" (James Hazelden) – The ballad featuring

Deborah Conway Deborah Ann Conway (born 8 August 1959) is an Australian rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, and had a career as a model and actress. She was a founding member of the 1980s rock band Do-Ré-Mi with their top 5 hit " Man Overboard". Con ...

is supported with a slow-moving presentation of illustrations drawn by Sydney artist, Rhiannon McGuinness. Available on YouTube. * Cubby House – This dark, macabre clip was shot in one night with the entire budget spent on a collection of bizarre costumes and lollies for the children. This clip was lit by Sydney-based lighting designer, Allan Hirons. * Rock n' Roll Lifestyle – Created by Sarah Phillips using drawings of manga Man Bites God band members from their 2004 Adelaide Fringe Festival show poster for "Rock n' Roll High School".

Television

Man Bites God performed the theme tune (composed by Hazelden) for the Comedy Channel's "The Adventures of Terrence and Spider" Professional Bouncers". Man Bites God were the house band for Channel 31's live Saturday night variety show Darren & Brose. They also appeared regularly on Channel 31's ''Dream On''.

Politics

Angered by the outcome of the

2004 Australian Federal Election The 2004 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 9 October 2004. All 150 seats in the House of Representatives and 40 seats in the 76-member Senate were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minis ...

, members of the band created a Macromedia Flash application entitled ''Man Bites God's Anger Management'' which allowed visitors to the band's website to blow up

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

, the newly re-elected conservative Prime Minister. As a result, Man Bites God was named in a government report into innovative campaign methods. The report was prepared by Dr Sarah Miskin and entitled ''Campaigning in the 2004 Federal Election: Innovations and Traditions''.

Related artists

* Rob McComb from

the Triffids The Triffids were an Australian alternative rock and pop band, formed in Perth in Western Australia in May 1978 with David McComb as singer-songwriter, guitarist, bass guitarist and keyboardist.McFarlane (1999). Encyclopedia entry fo"The T ...

was guest guitarist on various songs on ''Ultrasounds''. * Bob Franklin performed dialogue on "Pathetique" from ''Man Bites God''. *

performed the vocals on "Bride of the Dragon" from ''The Popular Alternative''. * James Black from

Mondo Rock Mondo Rock are an Australian rock band, formed in November 1976 in Melbourne, Victoria. Singer-songwriter Ross Wilson founded the band, following the split of his previous band Daddy Cool. Guitarist Eric McCusker, who joined in 1980, wrote ma ...

and RocKwiz played electric sitar on "Girlfriend" from ''Peppermint Superfrog''. * Rev. Dr. Tim Harris performed the sermon on "Sleazy" from ''Ultrasounds''.

References

External links

Official website

Man Bites God on Myspace

Man Bites God on MP3.com.au

Man Bites God's Music Videos

Man Bites God's Podcast Series