Editing Madonna Wayne Gacy

{{Musician
| Name                = Stephen Bier
| Img                 = Merc_pogo.jpg
| Img_capt            = Stephen Bier aka Pogo 2001	
| Img_size            = 200
| Background          = non_vocal_instrumentalist
| Birth_name          = Stephen Gregory Bier Jr.
| Alias               = 
| Born                = March 6, 1964 (age <yearsold d="06" m="03" y="1964"/>)
| Died                = 
| Origin              = born in Maywood, New Jersey<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/stephen.bier.1/posts/1397713453622821 Stephen Bier: I still don't understand why my family moved to FL, this place is great! //  I was born in New Jersey, I'm finally back in my homeland!]</ref>; Fort Lauderdale, FL<ref>Moved to Fort Lauderdale,
 FL in childhood</ref>
| Instrument          = Keyboards, percussions, programming
| Genre               =	industrial metal, industrial rock 
| Occupation          = Musician, music producer, sound engineering
| Years_active        = 1989–present
| Label               = Faultline, [[Interscope Records|Interscope]], Scorpian Rising, Empire MusicWerks, [[Nothing]], WYNF, [[Beat Up Your Mom Music]]
| Associated_acts     = MMII, [[Faultline Productions]], [[Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson]], [[Mrs. Scabtree]]
| URL                 = 
}}

'''Stephen Gregory Bier Jr.''' (born March 6, 1964), better known by his stage name '''Madonna Wayne Gacy''', is a professional musician. He is the former keyboardist for [[Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson]], and a current member of mmii (m<sup>2</sup>i <sup>2</sup>). His stage name is formed from the names ''Madonna'' and John ''Wayne Gacy''. Though he prefers to be known as "Pogo," Gacy's clown name.

== Biography ==

Stephen Bier was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to a Jewish father and Catholic mother. His mother taught first grade and his father was a school teacher also. He was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) when he was a child, and was given Ritalin by his parents. As he grew older, he stopped taking the medication because of the way it made him feel. Supposedly having an IQ of over 150, Bier attended college for six years,<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghaq9572_GY Kurt Loder interviews Marilyn Manson]</ref> achieving a degree in industrial engineering. After completing college Bier initially applied for a job at NASA, but decided to join Marilyn Manson &amp; the Spooky Kids as keyboardist instead.<ref name="shaunaodonnelinterview">[http://sbjrfanpagemedia.webs.com/interview2010byshauna.htm Shauna O'Donnel interviews Pogo], from [http://sbjrfanpagemedia.webs.com/ sbjrfanpage]</ref>. Bier has a fascination with all things German, Japanese, and Kabbalah. He is currently married to a woman named Kim for three years as revealed by his Facebook page. (Currently married to Melissa Mayumi-Bier!)

== Career ==

=== In music ===

Gacy did not play keyboards until he joined [[Marilyn Manson (band)|Marilyn Manson]]. It has been said that it took less time for him to master the keyboard than it took for him to save money to buy one. He was nicknamed "Pogo", early in the history of the band, as neither Madonna nor Gacy seemed to suit his personality, and ''Pogo'' was the clown alter ego of John Wayne Gacy.

He has played the following other instruments or sound-shaping techniques on Marilyn Manson's albums as well: acoustic drums, bassoon, calliope, electronic drums, Hammond organ, idiophone, keytar, mellotron, music loop, overdubs, piano, sampling, saxophone, synthesizer, theremin, and other various brass instruments.

He is responsible for much of Esoteric and numerological aspects of Marilyn Manson's work.

In an exclusive conference conducted by [[Marilyn Manson]] in April 2007, he revealed the upcoming album ''[[Eat Me, Drink Me]]'' was recorded in collaboration between himself and [[Tim Skold]]. Essentially this meant Gacy did not partake in the album, but not ruling out the possibility of him performing as live keyboardist on the [[Rape of the World|upcoming tour]]. Later, Manson revealed that [[Chris Vrenna]] (who previously drummed for the band during [[Ginger Fish]]'s hiatus in 2004) would be performing as live keyboardist on the tour, in Gacy's place. This stirred fans' speculations as to whether or not Gacy, who up until this announcement was considered the only member of the band other than Manson himself to never leave for any cause and has been in the band since 1990, had finally left Marilyn Manson.

== MMII ==
[[File:Delta9.jpg|thumbnail|right]]
In June of 2011, Bier and his band MMII released "Delta-9" which features Stephen Bier on vocals. The artwork provided by MMII contains the imagery of a triangle or a delta with the number 9 on the upper right. It can be inferred that the title of the song "Delta-9" stems from the chemical name of the psychoactive compound found in marijuana, "delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol" in the center of the triad lies the symbol for Pluto, which a sample is heard in the beginning, ''"This is the planet Pluto, the ninth planet from the sun."'' The song can be heard in full at the following link [http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_details/8864097 Listen to MMII Delta 9 on Reverbnation]

As of July 14, 2017 Bier is no longer apart of MMII and in his own words said "I was not even given the proper paperwork for the forms/project, let alone paid for it, and then tonight I get the insult of being removed as an administrator, as if I have ever posted s*** there. It is all part of that Bells into whatever thing... this man is another f****** rip-off artist".

== Lawsuit ==

On August 2, 2007, Gacy filed a lawsuit against Marilyn Manson seeking a back pay of $20 million dollars. Gacy claimed Manson has been using the band's money for personal interests, among which are his collection of Nazi paraphernalia, his drug addictions, his wedding with [[Dita Von Teese]] and the production of ''[[Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll]]''.

Manson and Bier settled out of court in 2009 for the sum of $380,000 [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/dailydish/detail?blogid=7&entry_id=54288#ixzz0bBjTF9MK Source].

== Discography ==
=== Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids ===
* ''[[Big Black Bus]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Grist-o-Line]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Lunchbox (demo)|Lunchbox]]'' (1991)
* ''[[After School Special]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Live as Hell]]'' (1992)
* ''[[The Family Jams]]'' (1992)
* ''[[Refrigerator]]'' (1993)
* ''[[The Manson Family Album]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Lunch Boxes & Choklit Cows]]'' (2004)

=== Marilyn Manson ===
* ''[[Portrait of an American Family]]'' (1994)
* ''[[Smells Like Children]]'' (1995)
* ''[[Antichrist Superstar]]'' (1996)
* ''[[Remix & Repent]]'' (1997)
* ''[[Mechanical Animals]]'' (1998)
* ''[[The Last Tour on Earth]]'' (1999)
* ''[[Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death)]]'' (2000)
* ''[[The Golden Age of Grotesque]]'' (2003)
* ''[[Lest We Forget – The Best Of]]'' (2004)

== Equipment ==
=== Keyboards ===
* Roland AX-1
* Sequential Circuits Pro-One
* Yamaha CBX K2
* Roland PC-200
* Waldorf Pulse

=== Percussions ===
* Premier 15" × 14" and 16" × 16" floor toms
* Zildjian Z custom china cymbal
=== Samplers, mixers ===
* Akai S950
* Kurzweil K2500RS
* Mackie 1604-VLZ
* Peavey PC-1600
== Trivia ==
[[File:okNEBiQtvHk.jpg|150px|right]]

* Pogo's first sampler was the Akai S950.
* Pogo is heavily interested in the Occult including but not limited to Numerology, Alchemy, and Kabbalah.
* Gacy's musical influences include Big Black, Black Sabbath, Buffalo Tom, Butthole Surfers<ref name="shaunaodonnelinterview" />, Pink Floyd<ref name="shaunaodonnelinterview" />, Fear and Ramones.
* He has been described by Manson as ". . . a genius too mad to use his intelligence in any constructive way."
* He hates when people call him Steve, or if people spell his name with a "v" instead of "ph", according to ''[[The Long Hard Road Out of Hell]]''.
* Gacy speaks some German.<ref name="shaunaodonnelinterview" />
* He's a big fan of early 20th century horror author H.P. Lovecraft.
* Other than Manson himself, Gacy was the longest lasting member of the band.
* Due to the money issues and not being paid by Manson what he claimed to be entitled to, he has come under less than friendly terms with Manson, with Manson even saying "I wouldn't piss on Pogo if he was on fire"

== External Links ==
* Official [https://www.youtube.com/pogobabbles/ YouTube channel].
* Official [https://twitter.com/pogotheasshole/ Twitter account].
* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0300476/ Stephen Bier] at Internet Movie Database.
* [https://www.instagram.com/other_phucker/ Stephen Bier] at Instagram.

== References ==
<references/>

{{Members}}

[[Category:Band members]]
[[Category:Males]]
[[Category:Musicians]]