Bishop

Biography

Just who is “Bishop?” Simply put, three Brothers from upstate New York who rock, and have been rocking together for quite some time.

Sometimes though, a simply put answer isn’t snicker – satisfying. For those who need it deep, read on.

It all started, as it had for many other bands, in a backyard shed during the year 1989. Brothers Tommy and Rocky started a band called “Atomic Rock” because as Rocky put it, “We wanted a band name with both of our names in it.” The band was Rocky on Drums and Tommy "...singing crazy shit and playing an old Casio keyboard. He actually jimmy - rigged it up through an old boom box, and used the boom box to distort the keyboard sounds". Atomic Rock actually recorded songs; Rocky states that there were 10-20 cassette tapes consisting of 6 Atomic Rock originals. Rumor has that some may still be floating around.

There was however, another small factor at that time to be considered, younger half brother Vinny. At the age of 5, Vinny was always being a little shit, trying to get into the shed to watch the guys jam. "Sometimes they would let me in and other times they beat me and threw me out,” Vinny recalled. “He was very persistent,” states older brother Tommy. "He would just bust in, always eating an ice cream or some snack, and want to watch.” Rocky also concurs with this recollection of events. “We played fucking loud, and our mother would get pissed at us if he was in there for too long. He had to go. A quick way that we got rid of him was to just clip him in the legs with a baseball bat.”

It wasn’t long, until Tommy strapped on a guitar and did double duty as lead vocals and guitar for an earlier incarnation of Bishop, known as Dead Bishop, which was Bishop sans younger brother Vinny. A "big Irish dude" named Tom Doyle took on bass duties. These guys made a name for themselves regionally, and put out two albums, "Dead Bishop", "3" and an EP titled "Anxieties" (the copies of which also still may be out there).

Eventually Tommy and Rocky came to a crossroads in their musical journey, and the inevitable happened. It was 1998, and Vinny, who had been playing bass since he picked up his first one in 94’, had been asked to join the band. Tom Doyle left the band for Vermont to head product development for a cutting-edge fledgling ski company called Line Skis. Vinny was only 14 at the time, and although he was interested in playing music with his older brothers, he had ulterior motives. “I wanted to get into clubs and drink, plain and simple, and then brag about it at school to my friends,” Vinny states. With this, Bishop was born. The boys' first show was on a third stage at the now infamous Woodstock 99’. Vinny looked back on this with fond memories. “I was 14, getting hammered and playing at the biggest rock show around. There were all sorts of whacked out people and crunchy chicks running around half naked. What more could you ask for?”

Since then, Bishop released three albums. 2001 was the year "Centipede" hit the streets. 2005 saw "Rock On" take the boys on a tour crisscrossing the United States. 2007 was when Bishop's latest album, "Steel Gods", was released to much praise and critical acclaim. The boys have played countless shows both regionally and nationally. They always leave crowds wowed by their sheer energy and raw power in their music. A person needs to see it, and they will believe in it. As one kind reviewer once put it, “They must look like 'Attack of the Clones' live. Heavy."

Bishop is currently in pre-production of their upcoming fourth album, which is yet to be named. Look for Bishop to hit a city or ghetto near you soon.

Tommy Lead Vox & Guitars tommy@bishopmusic.com	Vinny Bass & Vox vinny@bishopmusic.com	Rocky Drums & Vox rocky@bishopmusic.com