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Meat Puppets

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For the Internet term, see Internet sock puppet.
Meat Puppets

The Meat Puppets are a American rock band formed in January 1980, in the Sunnyslope neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The trio met while attending Brophy Prep High School in Phoenix. They then moved to Tempe, Arizona (a Phoenix suburb and home to Arizona State University) where the Kirkwood brothers purchased two adjacent homes, one of which had a practice "shed" in the back where they regularly practiced. This same house would years later be the scene of at least two tragedies.

One of the more notable groups on the roster of SST Records (who released most of their albums), the Meat Puppets started as a punk rock band, but like most of their SST peers, the Meat Puppets established their own unique style, blending punk with country and psychedelic rock, and featuring Curt's warbling vocals. The Meat Puppets later gained significant exposure when the Kirkwood brothers served as guest musicians on Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance in 1993. The band's 1994 album Too High to Die subsequently became their most successful release. The band broke up twice, in 1996 and 2002, but reunited again in 2006.

The Meat Puppets have influenced various alternative rock bands such as Dinosaur Jr[1], Nirvana[2], Pavement[3] and Soundgarden[4].

History

Early career (1980–1990)

They began rehearsing together by learning songs from Bostrom's collection of punk rock 45s. After briefly toying with the name The Bastions of Immaturity, they settled on the name Meat Puppets in June, 1980 after a song by Curt of the same name which appears on their first album. Their early works were made up of hardcore punk, and attracted the attention of Joe Carducci as he was starting to work with legendary punk label SST Records. Carducci suggested they sign with the label, and the Meat Puppets released their first album Meat Puppets in 1982.[5]

By the release of 1984's Meat Puppets II, the bandmembers "were so sick of the hardcore thing," according to Bostrom. "We were really into pissing off the crowd."[6] The band experimented with acid rock and country western sounds. While the album had been recorded in early 1983, the album's released was delayed for a year by SST.[7]Meat Puppets II turned the band into one of the leading bands on SST Records, and along with the Violent Femmes, the Gun Club and others, helped establish the genre called "cow punk".

Meat Puppets II was followed by 1985's Up on the Sun. The album's sound resembled the folk-rock of The Byrds more than punk, and some of the group's fans accused the Meat Puppets of sounding dangerously like hippies and abandoning their punk roots.

Over the next decade, the Meat Puppets remained on SST and released a series of albums while touring relentlessly. After the release of Out My Way in 1986, however, the band was briefly sidelined by an accident when Curt's finger was broken after being slammed in their touring van's door. The accident delayed the band's next album, the psychedelic Mirage, until the next year. The final result was considered their most polished sounding album to date.[citation needed]

Their next album, the heavier, Huevos came out less than six months afterward, in late summer of 1987. In stark contrast to its predecessor, Huevos was recorded in a swift, fiery fashion, with many first takes, and minimal second guessing.[citation needed] These recordings were completed in only a matter of days, and along with a few drawings and one of Curt's paintings taken from the wall to serve as cover art (a dish of three boiled eggs, a green pepper, and a bottle of Tabasco sauce), were all sent to SST shortly before the band returned to the road en route to their next gig.

Monsters was released in 1989, featuring a new sound with extended jams such as Touchdown King and Flight of the Fire Weasel.

Major label career (1991–1995)

As numerous bands from the seminal SST label, and other kindred punk-oriented indies, grappled with the "going major" decision, so did the Meat Puppets. Two years after their final studio recording for SST, 1989's Monsters, the trio released its major-label debut, Forbidden Places, on the indie-friendly London Records.

In late 1993, the 'Pups achieved mainstream popularity when Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, who became a fan after seeing them open for Black Flag, invited Cris and Curt to join him on MTV Unplugged for acoustic performances of "Plateau", "Oh Me" and "Lake of Fire" (all originally from Meat Puppets II). The resulting album, MTV Unplugged in New York, served as a swan song for Nirvana, as Cobain died 138 days after the concert. "Lake of Fire" became a cult favorite for its particularly wrenching vocal performance from Cobain. Subsequently, the Nirvana exposure and the strength of the single "Backwater" (their only charting single) helped lift the Meat Puppets to new commercial heights. The band's studio return was 1994's Too High To Die, produced by Butthole Surfers guitarist Paul Leary. The album featured "Backwater", a minor hit on alternative radio, and a hidden-track update of "Lake of Fire." Too High To Die earned the 'Pups a gold record (500,000 sold), outselling their previous records combined. 1995's No Joke! was the final album recorded by the original Meat Puppets lineup. Though the band's drug use included cocaine, heroin, and many others, Cris' use of heroin and crack cocaine became so bad he never left his house except to obtain more drugs. At least two people (including one of his best friends and his wife) died of overdoses at his house in Tempe, AZ during this time.[8] The Kirkwood brothers had always had a legendary appetite for illegal substances and during the tour to support No Joke! with Stone Temple Pilots, the easy availability of drugs were too much for Cris. When the tour was over he was severely addicted to cocaine.

First hiatus and reunion (1996–2001)

Derrick recorded a solo EP under the moniker Today's Sounds in 1996, and later on in 1999 took charge of re-issuing the Puppets' original seven records on Rykodisc as well as putting out their first live album, Live in Montana. Curt formed a new band in Austin, TX called the Royal Neanderthal Orchestra, but they changed their name to Meat Puppets for legal reasons and released a promotional EP entitled You Love Me in 1999, Golden Lies in 2000 and Live in 2002. The line-up was Curt (voc/git), Kyle Ellison (voc/git), Andrew Duplantis (voc/bass) and Shandon Sahm (drums). Sahm's father was the legendary fiddler-singer-songwriter Doug Sahm of The Sir Douglas Quintet and Texas Tornados. The concluding track to Classic Puppets entitled "New Leaf" also dates from this incarnation of the band.

Break up (2002–2005)

Around 2002, the Meat Puppets dissolved as Curt had gone on to release albums with the groups Eyes Adrift and Volcano. In 2005, he released his first solo album entitled Snow.

Bassist Cris was arrested in December 2003 for attacking a security guard at the main post office in downtown Phoenix, AZ with the guard's baton. The guard shot Kirkwood in the stomach at least twice during the melee, causing serious gunshot injuries requiring major surgery. Kirkwood was subsequently denied bail, the judge citing Kirkwood's previous drug arrests and parole violations. He eventually went to prison at the Arizona state prison in Florence, AZ for felony assault. He was released in July of 2005.

Derrick Bostrom began a web site for the band about six months before the original trio stopped working together. The site went through many different permutations before it was essentially mothballed in 2003. In late 2005, Bostrom revamped it once again, this time as a "blog" for his recollections and as a place to share pieces of Meat Puppets history.

Second reunion (2006–Present)

On March 24, 2006, Curt Kirkwood polled fans at his MySpace page[1] with a bulletin that asked: "Question for all ! Would the original line up of the Meat Puppets interest anyone ? Feedback is good — do you want a reunion!?" The response from fans was overwhelmingly positive within a couple of hours, leading to speculation of a full-blown Meat Puppets reunion in the near future. However, a post made by Derrick Bostrom on the official Meat Puppets site dismissed the notion. [2]

In April 2006 Billboard reported that the Kirkwood brothers would reunite as the Meat Puppets without original drummer Derrick Bostrom.[9] Primus drummer Tim Alexander was announced as Bostrom's replacement, a role that was later revealed be attributed to drummer Ted Marcus. The new lineup recorded a new full-length album, Rise to Your Knees, in mid-to-late 2006. The album was released by Anodyne Records on July 17, 2007.

On January 20, 2007, The Meat Puppets brothers performed two songs during an Army of Anyone concert, at La Zona Rosa in Austin, Texas. The first song was played with Curt Kirkwood and Cris Kirkwood along with Army of Anyone's Ray Luzier and Dean DeLeo. Then the second song was played with original members Curt and Cris Kirkwood and new Meat Puppets drummer Ted Marcus. This was in the middle of Army of Anyone's set, which they they listed as Meat Puppet Theatre on the evening's set list. The band performed several new songs in March at the South by Southwest festival. On March 28, 2007, the band announced a West Coast tour through their MySpace page[3]. This is the first tour with original bassist Cris in eleven years. The tour continued into the east coast and midwest later in 2007.

Lineups

Dates Members & prominent instruments Notes
(1980-1996)

The original Meat Puppets line-up.

(1996-1999)

SPLIT

(1999-2002)
(2002-2006)

SPLIT

(2006-present)

Discography

Main article: Meat Puppets Discography

Studio albums

See also

Notes and references

  1. ^ "Dinosaur Jr at Allmusic.com" (HTML). Allmusic.com. Retrieved November 9. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Nirvana at Allmusic.com" (HTML). Allmusic.com. Retrieved November 9. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Pavement at Allmusic.com" (HTML). Allmusic.com. Retrieved November 9. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Soundgarden at Allmusic.com" (HTML). Allmusic.com. Retrieved November 9. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Reynolds, Simon. Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984. Faber, 2005. ISBN 0-571-21569-6, pg. 469
  6. ^ Reynolds, pg. 470
  7. ^ Reynolds, pg. 471
  8. ^ Shooting Star article at the Phoenix Times
  9. ^ Prato, Greg (April 26, 2006). "Kirkwood Brothers Reuniting In Meat Puppets". Billboard.com. Retrieved July 04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
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