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Meat Puppets was formed in the very early '80s in Phoenix, Texas USA,
by guitarist+singer & main songwriter Curt Kirkwood, his younger brother
Cris on bass and Derrick Bostrom on drums. The threesome delivered its
eclectic iconoclasm with an increasingly sophisticated level of instrumental
interplay, highlighted by Curt's inventive guitar runs and his and Cris'
rough-hewn vocal harmonies. The trio's dynamic interaction was further
reflected in their adrenaline-charged live shows; all of this led to a
recording contract with SST Records.
Although Meat Puppets would later become best known for their intriguing
blend of psych-Rock, Punk and Folk, the trio's 1982 self-titled full-length
debut was a furious hardcore album.
Their sophomore release, "Meat Puppets II", came out two years
later but rose to popularity in the '90s when Nirvana
covered the album's three best tracks on their historic "MTV Unplugged
In New York": "Plateau", "Lake Of Fire" and "Oh,
Me".
1985 saw the release of "Up On The Sun" and in 1987 Meat Puppets
unleashed "Mirage", an experimental album which was followed
a few months later by "Huevos" a 9-track set comprised almost
entirely of heavy-Rock numbers.
Two years later the Texan trio returned with their sixth LP, "Monsters"
the final release for SST.
After nearly a decade of do-it-yourself success, Meat Puppets made a successful
transition to major-label status in the first half of the '90s, signing
with London Records and releasing "Forbidden Places" in July
1991, this album included "Sam", the band's first single which
leapt into The Modern Rock chart at #13.
The follow-up album, "Too High To Die", made unexpected inroads
into the Rock mainstream upon its January 1994 release; the CD peaked
at #1 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart and reached the #62 position
on The Billboard 200 on the strength of the surprise hit "Backwater";
the track shot to #2 on The Mainstream Rock chart, peaked at #11 on The
Modern Rock list and also crossed over to The Billboard Hot 100 reaching
#47; "We Don't Exist", the second single off the album, was
another top 30 Active Rock radio hit.
In October 1995 Meat Puppets released "No Joke!" but the record
failed to capitalize on its predecessor's success and made a brief appearance
in the U.S. Billboard 200 chart producing a Mainstream Rock top 20 hit
in the single "Scum" and Cris began sinking into drug addiction.
Despite Curt's initial efforts to help get his brother into rehab, Cris
continued disappearing into a haze of addiction. He and his wife, Michelle
Tardif, became increasingly reclusive. Sadly Michelle, died of a morphine
and cocaine overdose in 1998.
With all the turmoil and tragedy surrounding his family, Curt Kirkwood
assembled a new quartet version of Meat Puppets, featuring guitarist Kyle
Ellison, bassist Andrew Duplantis and drummer Shandon Sahm. Despite a
year and a half of rehearsal before the band debuted, Curt admits that
the new line-up never realized the chemistry of the original Puppets and
they lasted for only one album, the lackluster 2000's "Golden Lies".
"Rise To Your Knees" is the first album of new material to
bear the Meat Puppets name since 2000 and the first in a dozen years to
reunite Curt with his brother, Cris Kirkwood, who recently rejoined the
band after a lengthy struggle with substance abuse. New drummer, Ted Marcus
arrived in an appropriately organic fashion, initially entering the band's
orbit while working as soundman on a new Meat Puppets documentary, which
had been shooting during the early stages on "Rise To Your Knees"'
birth cycle.
Meat Puppets biography is an exclusive of 100xr.com
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