This interview was conducted with Greg Hynes via email awhile back. Greg was half owner of Placebo Records, and one of the founding members of Mighty Sphincter. Before Mighty Sphincter, he was in a band called The Teds, who released just one 7″ on Placebo that is quite rare and obscure.
The Kingdom of Heaven EP was such a different direction for the band, it was much more goth sounding than anything you had done previously. Why the long delay between Kingdom of Heaven and The Holy Unholy?
Kingdom was just a natural progression. All the records took big turns from the 7 inch to Ghost Walking. On Ghost Walking, each side is very different. Placebo not being around stopped our vehicle for releases, however we still wrote and recorded. It just never got out.
When Did House of No Return come out? I never heard of it until I bought a copy on eBay.
House of No Return was recorded about 1993. It was put out by Doug and a friend of his named Carl. I think they pressed 1000 and there are very few left. They all sold in New Orleans and Phoenix mostly word of mouth.
Why did you guys make up that story about Ron Reckless (first singer) dying, he is not dead!
We kicked Ron out due to his heroin problem. Ron is a great guy he is just held back by his problem.
What happened to Bill? Did I hear that Wayne Frost died?
Bill is still around in Phoenix. He has recorded with Dave Oliphant’s, Life Garden. We are still friends. Wayne is on this recording. maybe you mean Joe Albanese. I saw Joe recently and he is in Portland playing in some weird circus. It sounded very twisted but cool.
Why did you give up the drums and only sing on the new album?
I just wanted to do more singing. The way I play drums doesn’t lend itself to singing very well. We have been playing out, mostly in Phoenix. We did play in New Orleans recently on Halloween 1999 at the Westgate 20 year anniversary.
Is it true the state of AZ pays Doug to stay home because he was deemed insane?
It’s true about Doug, he is very unable to have a job. The best thing for Doug is to keep a guitar in his hands. A reviewer once said Doug writes music for the criminally insane. I like that, he is a one of a kind and I love him.
Any plans to do a reissue of all the Sphincter material? It is a crime that the music is unavailable. What do you guys (Tony and Greg) do now?
Placebo may do reissues some day but not in the near future. Tony Victor is a very succesful ticket broker. I am a railroad conductor. I also do theatre.
What does the future hold for Mighty Sphincter? Did you really only make 150 of Holy Unholy?
We are preparing to record more songs now. We did only make 150 of Holy Unholy. We might take the best songs off that and mix them with the best songs off the new recordings and do a national release.
Who writes all the music and lyrics?
Doug writes all the music. I do some lyrics, Leilah Wendall does some and Doug does the rest. We all work on arrangements.
Was the reason that Placebo stopped was when all the big distributors went under?
We lost money when Jem went under however it wasnt devastating. There weren’t any new inspiring bands ,JFA couldnt tour because Don had a job at Hughs Aircraft. Mighty Sphincter couldnt tour because half the band was insane.
