"Meat Puppet" redirects here. For other uses, see Meat puppet.

Meat Puppets
Performing in Memphis, Tennessee on November 2nd, 2007. Memphis is a City in the southwest corner of Tennessee, and the County seat of Shelby County. Photo: Ian Goodell
Background information
Origin	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Genre(s)	Alternative rock Cowpunk Hardcore punk
Years active	1980—1996 1999—2002 2006—present
Label(s)	SST London Atlantic Rykodisc Anodyne
Website	http://www.themeatpuppets.com/
Members
Curt Kirkwood Cris Kirkwood Ted Marcus
Former members
Derrick Bostrom Kyle Ellison Andrew Duplantis Shandon Sahm Troy Meiss

Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980, in Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix (ˈfiːˌnɪks O'odham Skikik, Yavapai Wasinka, Western Apache Fiinigis, Navajo Hoozdo, The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative; known primarily in the UK as indie) is a genre of Cowpunk or Country punk is a subgenre of Punk rock that began in Southern California in the 1980s especially Los Angeles. Hardcore punk (now usually referred to as simply hardcore) is a subgenre of Punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s In the Music industry, a record label can be a Brand and a Trademark associated with the Marketing of music recordings and Music SST Records is an American Independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach California by musician Greg Ginn. London Records is a Record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin Atlantic Records ( Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American Record label best known for its many recordings of Rhythm & blues, Rock Rykodisc Records is an American Record label, owned by Warner Music Group. Anodyne Records are a United States based record label whose office is based in Kansas City, Missouri. Curt Kirkwood (born January 10, 1959) is an American singer guitarist and songwriter Cris Kirkwood (born October 22, 1960) is the bassist and a founding member of the Meat Puppets, an alternative/punk rock band Ted Marcus is an American Drummer currently playing with the Meat Puppets. Derrick Bostrom (born June 23, 1960) is an American musician He was the drummer of the band Meat Puppets, which he founded together The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Phoenix (ˈfiːˌnɪks O'odham Skikik, Yavapai Wasinka, Western Apache Fiinigis, Navajo Hoozdo, The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). Curt Kirkwood (born January 10, 1959) is an American singer guitarist and songwriter Cris Kirkwood (born October 22, 1960) is the bassist and a founding member of the Meat Puppets, an alternative/punk rock band Derrick Bostrom (born June 23, 1960) is an American musician He was the drummer of the band Meat Puppets, which he founded together The Kirkwood brothers met Bostrom while attending Brophy Prep High School in Phoenix. Brophy College Preparatory The three 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. Tempe (tɛmpiː Oidbaḍ in Pima) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, with a 2007 population of 174091 Arizona State University ( ASU) is the largest public Research university in the United States under a single administration with total student 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), Meat Puppets started as a punk rock band, but like most of their SST peers, Meat Puppets established their own unique style, blending punk with country and psychedelic rock, and featuring Curt's warbling vocals. SST Records is an American Independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach California by musician Greg Ginn. Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. Psychedelic rock is a style of Rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. Meat Puppets later gained significant exposure when the Kirkwood brothers served as guest musicians on Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance in 1993. Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen Washington. MTV Unplugged is a series showcasing popular musical artists playing Acoustic instruments It was produced by Viacom and was directed by Beth The band's 1994 album Too High to Die subsequently became their most successful release. Too High to Die is the eighth Album by the Meat Puppets, released on January 25, 1994 (see 1994 in music) The band broke up twice, in 1996 and 2002, but reunited again in 2006.

Meat Puppets have influenced various alternative rock bands such as Dinosaur Jr^[1], Nirvana^[2], Pavement^[3] and Soundgarden^[4]. Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen Washington. Pavement was an American Indie rock band in the 1990s Although they experienced only moderate commercial success they achieved a significant cult

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early career (1980–1990) 1.2 Major label career (1991–1995) 1.3 First hiatus and reunion (1996–2001) 1.4 Break up (2002–2005) 1.5 Second reunion (2006–Present) 2 Lineups 3 Discography 3.1 Studio albums 4 See also 5 Notes and references 6 External links

History

Early career (1980–1990)

Meat Puppets 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. Hardcore punk (now usually referred to as simply hardcore) is a subgenre of Punk rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s Joe Carducci is a Writer, Record producer, and former A&R executive formerly most closely associated with the influential record label SST Records SST Records is an American Independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach California by musician Greg Ginn. Carducci suggested they sign with the label, and Meat Puppets released their first album Meat Puppets in 1982. Meat Puppets is the first LP by the Meat Puppets. The album is unlike any of their later and more well-known releases due to its Hardcore punk sound ^[5]

By the release of 1984's Meat Puppets II, the bandmembers "were so sick of the hardcore thing," according to Bostrom. Meat Puppets II is the second album by the Tempe Arizona band the Meat Puppets. "We were really into pissing off the crowd. "^[6] The band experimented with acid rock and country western sounds. For "acid rock" as a geologic term see Igneous rock. Acid rock is a form of Psychedelic rock, which is characterized Country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains. While the album had been recorded in early 1983, the album's release 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". SST Records is an American Independent record label formed in 1978 in Long Beach California by musician Greg Ginn. The Violent Femmes, formed in Milwaukee Wisconsin, in 1980 are an American Alternative rock band noted for laying the groundwork for Folk punk. For information on "gun clubs" see Shooting ranges ' The Gun Club was an American Punk blues band from Los Angeles Cowpunk or Country punk is a subgenre of Punk rock that began in Southern California in the 1980s especially Los Angeles.

Meat Puppets II was followed by 1985's Up on the Sun. Up on the Sun is the third Album by the Meat Puppets, released in 1985 by SST Records. The album's sound resembled the folk-rock of The Byrds more than punk, and some of the group's fans accused Meat Puppets of sounding dangerously like hippies and abandoning their punk roots. The Byrds were a popular American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964 The Hippie Subculture was originally a Youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world

Over the next decade, 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. Out My Way is an EP released by the Alternative rock band the Meat Puppets in 1986. The accident delayed the band's next album, the psychedelic Mirage, until the next year. Mirage is an album by the Arizona Alternative rock band Meat Puppets. The final result was considered their most polished sounding album to date.

Their next album, the heavier Huevos, came out less than six months afterward, in late summer of 1987. Huevos is an album by the Arizona Alternative rock band the Meat Puppets. In stark contrast to its predecessor, Huevos was recorded in a swift, fiery fashion, with many first takes, and minimal second guessing. Huevos is an album by the Arizona Alternative rock band the Meat Puppets. 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. Boiled eggs are eggs (typically Chicken 's eggs cooked by immersion in boiling water with their shells unbroken "Green pepper" redirects here For green peppercorns see Black pepper. Tabasco sauce is a brand of Hot sauce made from Tabasco peppers ( Capsicum frutescens var

Monsters was released in 1989, featuring a new sound with extended jams such as Touchdown King and Flight of the Fire Weasel. Monsters is a 1989 Album by the Meat Puppets. It is their last release on SST Records.

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 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. A monster is any of a large number of Legendary creatures which usually appear in Mythology, Legend, or Horror fiction. Forbidden Places is a 1991 Album by the Meat Puppets. It is their first release on London Records. "Forbidden Places" is now out of print. Forbidden Places is a 1991 Album by the Meat Puppets. It is their first release on 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). Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen Washington. Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20 1967 – c April 5 1994 was an American musician who served as lead singer, Guitarist, and songwriter for the Seattle Black Flag was a Hardcore punk band formed in 1977 in southern California, largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn: the guitarist MTV Unplugged is a series showcasing popular musical artists playing Acoustic instruments It was produced by Viacom and was directed by Beth Meat Puppets II is the second album by the Tempe Arizona band the Meat Puppets. The resulting album, MTV Unplugged in New York, served as a swan song for Nirvana, as Cobain died 138 days after the concert. MTV Unplugged in New York is a live album by the American grunge band Nirvana. The phrase " swan song " is a reference to an ancient belief that the Mute Swan ( Cygnus olor) is completely mute during its lifetime until the moment just "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 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. Too High to Die is the eighth Album by the Meat Puppets, released on January 25, 1994 (see 1994 in music) Butthole Surfers (also referred to as simply "the Buttholes" is an American Alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary Paul Leary Walthall (born May 8 1957 professionally known as Paul Leary, is an American musician best known as the guitarist for American The album featured "Backwater", a minor hit on alternative radio, and a hidden-track update of "Lake of Fire. " Backwater " is a song recorded by the Meat Puppets. " Too High To Die earned the 'Pups a gold record (500,000 sold), outselling their previous records combined. Too High to Die is the eighth Album by the Meat Puppets, released on January 25, 1994 (see 1994 in music) 1995's No Joke! was the final album recorded by the original Meat Puppets lineup. No Joke! is the ninth Album by the Meat Puppets, released in 1995 (see 1995 in music) and their third album for London 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. Heroin ( INN: diacetylmorphine, BAN: diamorphine) is a semi-synthetic opioid synthesized from Morphine, a derivative Crack cocaine or crack is a solid smokable form of Cocaine. It is a freebase form of cocaine that can be made using baking soda ( Sodium bicarbonate 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. No Joke! is the ninth Album by the Meat Puppets, released in 1995 (see 1995 in music) and their third album for London Stone Temple Pilots (commonly referred to as " STP " is a Grammy Award -winning American rock band consisting of Scott Weiland 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. Rykodisc Records is an American Record label, owned by Warner Music Group. 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. Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. Golden Lies is a 2000 Album by the Meat Puppets. After the You Love Me EP, in 1999, this was the second 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. Douglas Wayne Sahm ( November 6, 1941 – November 18, 1999) was a Musician from Texas. Sir Douglas Quintet was a rock band active in the late 1960s and early 1970s Texas Tornados was a Tejano band and its music was a fusion of rock, country and various Mexican styles The concluding track to Classic Puppets entitled "New Leaf" also dates from this incarnation of the band.

Break up (2002–2005)

Around 2002, Meat Puppets dissolved as Curt had gone on to release albums with the groups Eyes Adrift and Volcano. Eyes Adrift was a rock supergroup consisting of Krist Novoselic ( former bass player of Nirvana) Curt Kirkwood (guitar and vocals Volcano was a supergroup band formed by Meat Puppets frontman Curt Kirkwood and Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh after the breakup of Eyes Adrift In 2005, he released his first solo album entitled Snow. ' Snow' is the first solo album of Curt Kirkwood, formerly of the alternative rock band Meat Puppets.

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. A blog (a contraction of the term " Web log " is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary descriptions of

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 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. MySpace is a popular social networking Website offering an interactive user-submitted network of friends personal profiles blogs groups photos music and 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 Meat Puppets without original drummer Derrick Bostrom. See Billboard (Turkish magazine Billboard is a weekly American Magazine devoted to the Music industry ^[9] Primus drummer Tim Alexander was announced as Bostrom's replacement, a role that was later revealed be attributed to drummer Ted Marcus. Primus is an American rock band currently composed of singer and bassist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde, and Tim "Herb" Alexander (born April 10, 1965 in Cherry Point North Carolina) is an American Musician, best known as Ted Marcus is an American Drummer currently playing with the Meat Puppets. The new lineup recorded a new full-length album, Rise to Your Knees, in mid-to-late 2006. Rise to Your Knees is the Meat Puppets ' eleventh full-length studio album which was released on July 17 2007. The album was released by Anodyne Records on July 17, 2007.

On January 20, 2007, Meat Puppets brothers performed two songs during an Army of Anyone concert, at La Zona Rosa in Austin, Texas. Army of Anyone was a supergroup formed by Filter frontman Richard Patrick with two of the former members of rock band Stone Temple Pilots The first song was played with Curt Kirkwood and Cris Kirkwood along with Army of Anyone's Ray Luzier and Dean DeLeo. Ray Luzier (born 1970 in Pennsylvania) is an American rock drummer Dean DeLeo (born August 23, 1961 in Glen Ridge New Jersey) is an American Guitarist for the rock band Stone Temple Pilots 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 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. South by Southwest ( SXSW) is a set of interactive, Film, and Music festivals and conferences that take place On March 28, 2007, the band announced a West Coast tour through their MySpace page[3]. MySpace is a popular social networking Website offering an interactive user-submitted network of friends personal profiles blogs groups photos music and 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)	Curt Kirkwood - vocals, guitar Cris Kirkwood - bass Derrick Bostrom - drums	The original Meat Puppets line-up. Curt Kirkwood (born January 10, 1959) is an American singer guitarist and songwriter Cris Kirkwood (born October 22, 1960) is the bassist and a founding member of the Meat Puppets, an alternative/punk rock band Derrick Bostrom (born June 23, 1960) is an American musician He was the drummer of the band Meat Puppets, which he founded together
(1996-1999)	SPLIT
(1999-2002)	Curt Kirkwood - vocals, guitar Kyle Ellison - guitar Andrew Duplantis - bass Shandon Sahm - drums
(2002-2006)	SPLIT
(2006-present)	Curt Kirkwood - vocals, guitar Cris Kirkwood - bass Ted Marcus - drums

Discography

Main article: Meat Puppets Discography

Studio albums

• Meat Puppets (1982)
• Meat Puppets II (1984)
• Up on the Sun (1985)
• Mirage (1987)
• Huevos (1987)
• Monsters (1989)
• Forbidden Places (1991)
• Too High to Die (1994)
• No Joke! (1995)
• Golden Lies (2000)
• Rise to Your Knees (2007)

See also

• List of alternative rock artists
• List of musicians in the second wave of punk music

Notes and references

External links

• Meat Puppets reunited band's official web site, maintained by the band and Anodyne Records
• Meat Puppets original official web site, maintained by Derrick Bostrom
• Official Meat Puppets MySpace Page
• Bostworld- Derrick Bostrom's Blog
• Kirkwood Puppets - unofficial Meat Puppets/Kirkwood aggregator
• Flipside Interview - Meat Puppets interview from 1982
• A Conversation with Meat Puppets' Curt Kirkwood (9/2007)
• Shooting Star Article on band from Phoenix New Times
• Trouser Press entry
• Excellent listing of live Meat Puppets videos (Credit to dullsville)

The Phoenix New Times is a free weekly Phoenix Arizona newspaper put out every Thursday

---

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic