M.I.R.V.

M.I.R.V. is a band based in the San Francisco, California, Bay Area. Founded in 1994, it initially consisted of the band's namesake guitarist and singer Marc "Mirv" Haggard, bassist Craig McFarland, drummer Jeff Gomes, and guitarist Bryan Kehoe, who also contributed vocals and keyboards. Kehoe left the band in 2001 to form The Kehoe Nation and was replaced by Spent Poets singer Adam Gates, aka The Filthy Ape. Their musical style is diverse, and includes elements of hard rock, heavy metal, funk, country, opera, experimental, electronica, and polka. Kehoe era M.I.R.V shows often featured songs punctuated by interludes of lunacy, usually featuring a verbal interchange between Haggard and Kehoe. Often Haggard would announce a contest for the women in the audience, after which the winner would be cajoled into grabbing Kehoe's groin, causing him to sing in a high pitched operatic voice. Kehoe would often sing the Neapolitan standard "'O Sole Mio" following the antics. M.I.R.V. shows would regularly feature Haggard playing an electric saw during portions of the concerts.