The Meatmen
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| The Meatmen | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Lansing, Michigan, United States |
| Genres | Punk rock, Hardcore punk, Heavy metal |
| Years active | 1980–1997, 2008–present |
| Labels | Touch and Go Positive Caroline Pravda Go Kart Meat King |
| Associated acts | The Fix (band) Blight |
| Members | |
| Tesco Vee Leighton Mann Daniel Gillies John Lehl |
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| Past members | |
| Rich Ramsey Gregg Ramsey David Howse See below |
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The Meatmen are an American punk band headed by Tesco Vee originally from 1981 to 1997, and reformed in 2008.[1] They are currently still touring and recording.
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[edit] History
The Meatmen formed in Lansing, Michigan in 1981.[1] The band, originally comprising Tesco Vee, Rich Ramsey, Gregg Ramsey and David Howse, was known for their outrageous stage antics and offensive lyrics. After releasing two EPs, Tesco relocated from Michigan to Washington D.C., releasing solo EP Dutch Hercules before reforming The Meatmen with a rotating cast of members, including Brian Baker and Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat, amongst others. In this period, the band changed their sound dramatically to heavy metal with their first two albums, War of the Superbikes and Rock & Roll Juggernaut. In the 90s, Tesco initially released a solo album under the moniker Tesco Vee's Hate Police, entitled Gonzo-Hate-Vibe, before releasing three albums with The Meatmen in a metal-influenced punk style, Toilet Slave, Pope on a Rope, and War of the Superbikes, Vol. 2.
[edit] Members
The original band that existed for two years was formed by Rich and Gregg Ramsey, David Howse and Tesco Vee. After making their name, the Meatmen later had a revolving door cast when Tesco moved to D.C. Other members of the band after Tesco's move to D.C. included Brian Baker and Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat, Todd Swalla of Necros, Jim Forgey, Eliot Rachman, Mike Achtenbourg, Graham McCulloch, Eric Zelzdorf, Stuart Casson, James Cooper, Mark "Gooly" Kermanj,Tommy "Dog" Cohen also TVHP days, Norman Voss, Mark Davis, Mark Glass, and Rob San Pietro.[2]
[edit] Reunion
Reuniting in 2008, new members included, Ian "The Pit Viper" Sugierski on drums (of Superchrist and Wolfbait), Dave Malosh on guitar (of Wolfbait and The Paybacks), and Andy "Lord Vapid" Lucas on bass. This lineup went on to tour the U.S. through 2009 and performed on the "Cover The Earth" album.
In 2010, Vee recruited 3 members of Detroit-based rock band, CHAPSTIK, not long after touring the U.S. together the previous year. The lineup quickly became the newest iteration of "Tesco Vee's Hate Police," and transformed into "The Meatmen" shortly after. The current lineup includes guitarist Leighton Mann (aka Hal Seitan), bassist Dan Gillies (aka Biff Baloney, although recently adding the name Danny Dirtbag to his short list of aliases), and John Lehl (aka Swarthy "Bun-Length" Franklin) on drums.
[edit] Lyrical content
Several of the band's songs include lyrics which target gays and minorities for ridicule and harassment. While not disowning the songs, Tesco Vee currently expresses disappointment that one of them, "Blow Me Jah", a virulently anti-Rastafarian song, still receives airplay today.[3] Vee claims he is not racist or homophobic.[3]
Vee states that his racist and homophobic rhetoric is just part of a stage persona and an act.[4] In an interview with Robert "Bo" White, Tesco Vee stated, "I won't play the race card overtly – OK, I may have used a few ethnic slurs along the road to punk rock infamy but only out of necessity."[5]
Nevertheless, the words to Tooling for Anus and Lesbian Death Dirge openly express violently anti-gay perspectives [6] [7] , and the song Camel Jockeys Suck graphically describes violence against Arabs. [8]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- 1985 – War of the Superbikes (Positive)
- 1986 – Rock & Roll Juggernaut (Caroline)
- 1990 – Crippled Children Suck (Touch & Go)
- 1994 – Toilet Slave (Meat King)
- 1995 – Pope on a Rope (Pravda)
- 1996 – War of the Superbikes, Vol. 2 (Go Kart)
- 2009 – Cover The Earth (Meat King)
[edit] EP
- 1982 – Blüd Sausage (Touch & Go)
- 1983 – Crippled Children Suck (Touch & Go)
- 1984 – Dutch Hercules (Touch & Go)
- 1997 – Evil in a League With Satan (Go Kart)
[edit] Live
- 1983 – We're The Meatmen...and You Suck!! (also contains tracks from the Blüd Sausage EP) (Touch & Go)
- 1988 – We're the Meatmen...And You Still Suck!!! (Caroline)
[edit] Compilations
- 1991 – Stud Powercock: The Touch And Go Years 1981-1984 (Touch & Go)
[edit] Other releases
- 1981 – Demo
[edit] Video
- 2008 – The Devil's in the Details, Vol. 1
[edit] References
- ^ a b http://www.tgrec.com/bands/band.php?id=80
- ^ Huey, Steve. "Biography" Allmusic. Retrieved on April 30, 2007.
- ^ a b Michael Jackman (March 19, 2008). "True Grit: Legendary Meatmen frontman Tesco Vee returns to Detroit". Metro Times. http://www2.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=12614.
- ^ Mark Prindle. "Tesco Vee Interview 2007". Mark's Record Reviews. http://www.markprindle.com/vee-i.htm.
- ^ Robert "Bo" White (August 11, 2011). "Tesco Vee: Cascading Episodes of Punked Up Instability & The Psychology of Suck". The Review. http://www.newreviewsite.com/articles/Tesco-Vee/800.
- ^ http://www.lyricsmania.com/tooling_for_anus_lyrics_meatmen_the.html
- ^ http://www.musicmademe.com/song/lyrics/26475
- ^ http://www.musicmademe.com/song/lyrics/26543
