Mandible began as a two-piece (Michael Coleman and Jason Mullinax) who frantically recorded endless hours of experimental music, made with an array of toys and effects. Within the realm of 'incidental music for non-existent films,' the duo tried to create sounds they had never heard before and assemble them in ways they thought interesting. CD's by the Boredoms, the Residents, and John Zorn were in heavy rotation. It was an ongoing struggle to push everything they could through the microphone to splat it onto tape. The releases ORPHEUS, ART NADA, and the more recent THE PRESSURES OF NEED contain some of the early material. As the music went from 4-track to stage, members were both added and subtracted. The band went from duo to trio to quartet, then back to trio, and into a duo/trio. Instrumentation, always in attempt to be dynamic, included combinations of drums/percussion, guitars, bass, keys/synths/devices, drum machines, and toys. The sounds created went from schools of ambience, layer, and improvisation to schools of composition, song, and arrangement. The current line-up of Jason Mullinax, Rusty 'Corpsefinger' Jones, and Spencer Madsen might recall the influence of King Crimson, the Ruins, Rush, and Ween, and the music has a tendancy toward the comparison of Primus and Mr. Bungle.

Current Line-up: Spence(r) Madsen: guitars, gadgets, vocals, toys, pick squeals,technical difficulties Jason Mullinax: percussion, keys, vocals, electronic dissaray,toys, various rumblingsRusty 'Corpsefinger' Jones: bass, vocals, tweaks, intestines

Press excerpts. . . The State (Columbia, SC), Friday, July 11 2003Michael Miller:'A self-described 'quasi-ensemble,' Mandible makes experimental music. Wait a second, that's an understatement. Mandible makes improvisational rock 'n' roll from another planet. One song might churn along in a punk-metal vibe, while the next skitters to a chaotic array of electronic noodlings. Distorted guitars, thick, heavy bass lines and kicking drums are all part of the package.Influences: Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Rush, Metallica, Laurie Anderson, Primus'Connect Savannah (Savannah, GA), June 25-July 1 2003Jim Reed:'One of the standout participants in Savannah's first annual Fringe Fest, this Columbia, South Carolina art-rock unit strives hard to thwart audience expectations. With an intense, metallic style that can be extremely demanding of listeners, they come off as merry pranksters combining the tempo and meter shifts of Zappa and Mr. Bungle with the goofy absurdity of Ween.The group uses loud and bombastic distorted electric guitars and drums, but has been known to incorporate everything from found objects and toy insturments into their live shows. The members who are wont to swap instrumets throughout their concerts descibe themselves as playing 'open-minded music,'and say they see themselves as being 'dark and metallic yet playfully toungu in cheek.'They have released a number of extremely independent CDs since they got together in 1997, which serve as a testament to their thought-provoking noise.Plus, somewhere whithin their Syd Barrett drones and Minutemen explosions, there's a touch of the lyrical technique of Snakefinger's Vestal Vergins, and how often will you get a chance to hear anything even remotely related to that?'Free-Times (Columbia, SC), April 10-16 2002Kevin Foster Langston: 'Batting second is the avant-garde rock enigma that is Mandible. Pinning the donkeys tail in the vicinity of Mr. Bungle and Frank Zappa, these art metaleers have recently streamlined into a three piece.' Free-Times (Columbia, SC), February 13-19 2002Kevin Oliver: 'This show's headliner, Mandible, is a prolific, local ensemble that recently released two new CDs, ART NADA and ATHIRST. Both discs contain the off-kilter rock that has become Mandible's calling card, but the latter is possibly the strangest thing they have every done. The lineup for that disc replaces their human drummer with a drum machine on more extended pieces that, for lack of a better term, I'll label techno-prog rock.' At the ART BAR (Columbia, SC), Summer 2001Some guy:'Dude! You guys are totally tripped out! I'm so into that whole whuh-whuh-whuh-whuh thing. Totally! Man, you guys need a drummer. Whoa!! I'm a drummer, dude. . . ' Free-Times (Columbia, SC), August 16-22 2000Greg Broom:'The four piece features an expanding and revolving collection of obscure and not so obscure instrumentation. The sound may shift from experimental quietude, Floydian waves of drone, or uncomfortable klang and gnashing of teeth--all dependent on the band's needs and mindset. You've been warned.'