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The Meat Puppets are an American Rock band formed in January 1980, in the Sunnyslope neighborhood of Phoenix, Arizona . The group's classic 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. 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.Reynolds, Simon. ''Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984''. Faber, 2005. ISBN 0-571-21569-6, pg. 469 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."Reynolds, pg. 470 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.Reynolds, pg. 471''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 Cow Punk . Meat Puppets II was followed by 1985's '' Up On The Sun ''. The album's sound and vision became closely aligned with that of The Byrds ; some of the group's fans accused the Meat Puppets of becoming dangerously Hippie -sounding, and abandoning their punk roots. Over the next decade, the Meat Puppets remained on SST and released a series of albums, 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. Subsequently, 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. 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 ), was 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 'Pups. 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 reached their brightest mainstream spotlight as the band achieved sudden 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 six months 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 '''' with Stone Temple Pilots , the free drugs, particularly cocaine, that surrounded the tour 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 to release 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 home page 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 with the following bulletin: "''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. [http://meatpuppets.com/puppets/?p=59#comments In April 2006 '' Billboard '' reported that the Kirkwood brothers would reunite as the Meat Puppets without original drummer Derrick Bostrom.1 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, TX. 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 and on their set list they listed the segment of the show as "Meat Puppet Theatre". 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 {Link without Title} . This is the first tour with original bassist Cris in eleven years. The website also promises Midwest and east coast concert dates later in the year. LINEUPS SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Meat Puppets Discography
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