at a glance...

Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Formed: 1980

Members:
Curt Kirkwood -guitar, vocals
Cris Kirkwood -bass, vocals
Derrick Bostrom -drums

Notes:
The Meat Puppets were one of the most eccentric combos to participate in the SST records punk scene during the early 80s. They were attracted to the attitude and energy of punk rock, but most of their music owed more to classic rock, country and western, and even fusion jazz than it did to punk. The group attained prominence fairly late in its career, when Kurt Cobain invited them to participate in Nirvana's Unplugged appearance. Following a tour with Nirvana the Meat Puppets fell apart. Drummer Derrick Bostrom, who supervised the reissue of the band's SST releases on Rykodisc, no longer plays with the group, and Cris Kirkwood is currently MIA with a serious drug problem. Curt Kirkwood is reportedly readying a new line-up of the band.

Early in their career the Meat Puppets got lumped in with roots rockers because of their skewed take on country music, but Huevos is where the band's real roots show. Its loose, off-the-cuff sound is a 180 degree turn away from its slick pop predecessor, Mirage. In place of carefully arranged electronic drums, synths, and layers of guitar you get the Meat Puppets virtually live in the studio, cranking out boogie riffs and spiraling classic rock guitar solos that'd put a grin on any old ZZ Top fan's face.

It turns out that even though they were running in punk rock circles, the Meat Puppets had been classic rock fans all along. But they hadn't completely purged punk from their system - every song on this record moves at a full-tilt clip that'd wind those Texan beardos in a minute. "Look At The Rain," "Automatic Mojo," and "I Can't Be Counted On" are infused with palpable glee; the Meat Puppets were at home at last, smoking in the boys room and glad to be there.

If you like the Meat Puppets, check out:
Meat Puppets Up On The Sun
Meat Puppets Meat Puppets II
Meat Puppets Monsters
Meat Puppets Live In Montana
Meat Puppets Mirage
Giant Sand Chore Of Enchantment
Oranger Doorway To Norway

-- Bill Meyer

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