Mark Pirro is a Dallas-based musician, bass player in The Polyphonic Spree

The Polyphonic Spree

The Polyphonic Spree is a choral symphonic pop rock band from Dallas, Texas that was formed in 2000 by Tim DeLaughter. The band's sound relies on a variety of vocal and instrumental color by featuring a choir, flute, trumpet, trombone, violin, viola, cello, percussion, piano, guitars, bass, drums,...

, and former member of Tripping Daisy

Tripping Daisy

Tripping Daisy was a neo psychedelic pop rock band that was formed in Dallas, Texas, USA by lead singer/guitarist Tim DeLaughter in 1990 along with Jeff Bouck , Wes Berggren and Mark Pirro .-History:...

. He is also the inventor and manufacturer of the copperphone

Copperphone

The Placid Audio Copperphone is a hand crafted specialty microphone designed and built by The Polyphonic Spree bassist Mark Pirro. The Copperphone uses components from vintage communications equipment as well as a mechanical filtering device to achieve a limited bandwidth frequency response...

 microphone. He runs Placid Audio studio in Dallas.

In August 2004, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport is located between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, and is the busiest airport in the U.S. state of Texas...

 was shut down after Pirro's copperphone was mistaken for a pipe bomb

Pipe bomb

A pipe bomb is an improvised explosive device, a tightly sealed section of pipe filled with an explosive material. The containment provided by the pipe means that simple low explosives can be used to produce a relatively large explosion, and the fragmentation of the pipe itself creates potentially...

. Its owner, Polyphonic Spree percussionist Brian Teasley

Brian Teasley

Brian Teasley is an American musician from Alabama. He is a founding member of Man or Astro-man? , The Boster & Servotron . Brian has also recorded and performed with the CauseyWay, ShannonWright, Japancakes, Tyro, Watts, The Mono Men, Har Mar Superstar, the Vue and The Polyphonic Spree...

, was later questioned by the FBI. The device was eventually identified as just a microphone

Microphone

A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...

.

He is not to be confused with the filmmaker of the same name, best-known for the film "Nudist Colony of the Dead

Nudist Colony of the Dead

Nudist Colony of the Dead is a 1991 horror-comedy musical film written and directed by Mark Pirro . The film was shot on Super-8 film and produced on a budget of $35,000.- Storyline :...

," the title song of which is regularly played at Halloween by Dr.Demento, who says the song is the best part of the film.