We were already painfully aware of our limitations, that the same “straight” critics who praised our album were coming away disappointed from our performances. We all pointed fingers at each other, but at the end of the day, the truth was obvious. For the moment at least, our reach had exceeded our grasp. Our only option was to close our eyes, hold our noses and roll up our sleeves. It would take a couple years and a lot of work before we really began to put it all together and become the band we wanted to be.

But not everyone back then shared this low assessment of our live shows. Plenty of folks dug the way we interspersed breakneck punk rock with long clumsy psychedelic jams and tentative workouts of future Puppets classics. For them, the sloppy sense of discovery found in these shows was the real deal. I happen to hold that opinion myself, which is why I regret not keeping more recordings from back then. I would tape every show I could, but I only kept the highlights for my own personal collection. I left the rest of them with our sound man. Unfortunately, we had a falling out, and I didn’t have the presence of mind to get our live tapes out of his house before we fired him. To make matters worse, I lost an entire box of masters when our van was broken into during a trip to Los Angeles.

Happily, every so often an old fan crawls out of the woodwork with a handful of heretofore unheard audience recordings. A new one just came to my attention just this week: witness Peteykins of the Princess Sparkle Pony blog, who shares three shows from 1984-5, and describes his preference for those years. Peteykins is like a lot of Puppethead tapers. For one thing, he’s somebody I probably once knew but have now completely forgotten (sorry man; it was a long time ago). Second, he was kind of afraid to post shares for fear of pissing off the band. So, my purpose here is twofold: first, to popularize his recordings (and maybe take down his blog in the process due to heavy traffic — again: sorry man), and second, to encourage the rest of you. Tapers: if you got shows, by all means rip em and put em up somewhere before the tapes rot!

As far as I can tell, the Sparkle Pony recordings of these shows are the only ones in existence. I’m pretty sure I don’t have copies of any of ‘em. So, I’m as anxious to hear this stuff as the rest of you are. I’m sure it’s terrible!

GET EM HERE, and remember: if you have issues, you’ll have to contact Peteykins yourself. I’m not your dad.

Yep, the Los Angeles Free Music Society was but the first in a long line of organizations that recognized the band’s undeniable greatness. And even as much as I love to pull out “Nevermind” or “Purple” every so often, you always tend to remember your first. That’s why I was so jazzed to find the Mutant Sounds blog. Among the obscurities to be found there are many works by the LAFMS, including work by Doodooettes, Solid Eye, as well as World Imitation alumnus, the amazing Steve Thomsen. Even folks who like their noise in small doses will enjoy the comparatively poppy Darker Skratcher album and of course the Light Bulb cassette, which contains the first-ever piece of music released by the Meat Puppets themselves.

Though some of the post-Nirvana Puppets fans might not give a shit about the noise contained on these records, I can assure you that it makes Your Truly a little nostalgic to put them on. Click on over to Mutant Sounds and check ‘em out. And if your really lucky, maybe one of the album cover scans will feature a legible address that you can send some money to. I’m sure they would appreciate it.

From the blog:
“The Los Angeles Free Music Society, formed around Tom Recchion in 1972, was a collective of underground artists loosely inspired by Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart (but also all jazz and classical avantgarde movements). Le Forte Four, who released four lunatic electronic-folk albums starting with Bikini Tennis Shoes (1974), Doo-Dooettes (two albums), Smegma (one album) and Airway (one album) were some of the performers devoted to free improvisation, abstract cacophony and demented chanting.”

“Shot prior to the release of their breakthrough “Too High To Die” LP at the Ventura Theater, in beautiful Ventura California in 1993. Contains the super-rare Cris Kirkwood original “David Beware (Film The Trolls)” overture. They also jam out “Attacked By Monsters” & “Sam”. Edited in camera, Mannequins and Trolls courtesy of the stores on California Ave.”

For a look at some of Dave’s more current work, check out his video for “Rotten Shame.”

The European cassette-only “Bethel” compilation dates back from 1983, and traces its origin to an offer to contribute to a collection of “industrial” artists. Since the Meat Puppets were busy mining country and classic rock at the time, we were somewhat unsure of our place alongside of such artists as Boyd Rice, Foetus and Nurse With Wound. But I dutifully snipped a few minutes from a warm-up noise jam from one of our home rehearsals and sent it in. At one point, Curt says, “I blow my nose in your soup.” After the recording cuts off, entirely by accident, the next thing on the tape is my voice saying, “I think I’ll have a bowl of soup.” Impressed by the odd serendipity, I left it on the submission. Unfortunately, the compilers didn’t catch on, and faded the track out before my spoken line. Disappointed, I listened to “Bethel” once then threw it into the archives. There were to be better Pups noise jams over the years, and this one had little to recommend it.

But fans have clamored for this track ever since I included it in my band discography. Thanks to Cranio and his “The Thing On The Doorstep” blog, I can cross that one off my list. And now that you’ve heard it, so can you. One interesting item of note: my copy came in a thin cardboard box with skeletons riding bikes printed on it. Cranio’s copy appears to have come in standard cassette packaging with a teal cover.

The Thing On The Doorstep: Various – Bethel

Since I am in Phoenix and the station is in Hollywood, the show is prerecorded. In keeping with Luxuria programming, the show focuses on bubblegum, lounge music, obscure rock, jazz, novelties, pure pop and cheesy listening music.

About Derrick Bostrom

Derrick Bostrom gained notoriety as the drummer and founding member of the legendary U.S. band the Meat Puppets. One of the longest-lasting bands from the indie scene of the 1980′s, the Meat Puppets released ten albums, including 1994′s certified gold “Too High To Die.” That album spawned the hit, “Backwater,” which can still be heard on classic rock stations to this day. The band was also featured on Nirvana’s best-selling “Unplugged” album, which included three Meat Puppets songs.

Though the original trio disbanded after fifteen years in 1996, Bostrom continues to maintain the group’s web site. In the late 90s, his solo group, Today’s Sounds, released ” Songs Of Spiritual Uplift” featuring versions of such songs as “Pac Man Fever” and “Let’s Turkey Trot.” He also produced the Meat Puppets reissue series for Rykodisc records.

Though retired from live performing, Bostrom retains a voracious musical appetite. He spends much of his spare time in the dusty corners of second-hand shops, thrift stores and dollar bins, gleefully scooping up the ephemeral leftovers not appropriated by other collectors. Bostrom shares the fruits of his labors on his program for LuxuriaMusic.com, “C’mon! Live A Little!”

In addition to the Meat Puppets web site, where he shares his archives and anecdotes relating to the band’s past, Bostrom also maintains Bostworld, a blog devoted to “trash, treasure, oddities, obsessions and obligations.”

http://derrickbostrom.com/

http://meatpuppets.com

About LuxuriaMusic

LuxuriaMusic programming is an original mix of music content not found anywhere else. LuxuriaMusic features an intoxicating and often hallucinatory blend of musical genres, featuring Exotica, Lounge, Space Age Bachelor Pad, Bossa, Bollywood, Bubblegum, Soft-Psych, Go-Go, Latin Jazz, Sophisticated Rock and Surf music.

Current programming is a mix of live, taped-for-broadcast and automated shows. Most live programming airs between the hours of 1PM – midnight, Pacific Time (-0800 GMT).

The LuxuriaMusic radio format was developed by Chuck Kelley (music consultant on “Pulp Fiction” and “From Dusk till Dawn”) and The Millionaire (from Combustible Edison) in the late 1990′s and launched an Internet radio broadcast on February 14, 2000. LuxuriaMusic ranked #73 in the November 2000 Arbitron ratings, and in the Top 30 among “internet only” stations. In December 2000, Clear Channel Communications bought LuxuriaMusic’s parent company Enigma Digital. LuxuriaMusic.com ceased operations in May 2001.

The LuxuriaMusic radio stream was relaunched in March 2003 after a 22-month hiatus. The relaunched LuxuriaMusic is owned and operated by LuxuriaMusic, LLC with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California and broadcast studios in Los Angeles, California. Chuck Kelley and Eric Bonerz (Program Director of the original LuxuriaMusic) are co-program directors. LuxuriaMusic is made possible by a staff of dedicated volunteers from around the world.

One show is from Phoenix in February 1985, and features pre-release versions of tracks from “Up On The Sun.” The band appears in characteristic dress: Curt in a blue tee-shirt and prescription sunglasses, looking every inch the popular high school preppie gone wrong that he was. Cris is in a suit jacket no doubt foisted upon him by his girlfriend. I’m wearing my beloved “GOAT” tee shirt, which I got from a fan but lost somewhere along the way. A simple statement of Satanism made properly palatable for the REM generation. Dullsville gets my highest commendation for bravely ignoring the crumbling quality of his video. The tracking errors are so 20th century.

Another from his collection, a show from the early 90s, is a typical example of the sublime offhand pyrotechnics we could produce when inclined. I’m pretty sure the performance is from McCabe’s in October of 1994, though the lack of gratuitously enthusiastic recognition from the audience when we play “Backwater” would seem to peg it from before that single was released. Also included among the standard fodder is our version of Neil Diamond’s “Longfellow’s Serenade.” Always the crowd pleasers, these guys. The footage also offers a very brief glimpse at the red boxer shorts with yellow polka dots I had on that night.

Along with the band footage is Dullsville’s own video artistry in the added title sequences, though on occasion he dares to add effects to the live footage itself. But the effects only add to the overall atmosphere of stoney fandom exuded by the collection. Get yourself a grabber and download these files to your video iPod quick, before your next road trip. You won’t want to leave home without them.


The Dullsville Collection (This account was deleted.)

The Dullsvillain Collection (Long live The Villain!)

Jack and I initially bonded way back in 1976, first over comics, then over rock and roll. But mostly we were into humor, and it showed up as much in our musical collaborations as it did our comics. Though most of Jack’s original songs back then were bittersweet and ultra-introspective, we attacked the rest of our material — cover versions culled from classic rock and my collection of punk rock records — with a zaniness that presaged my efforts with the brothers Kirkwood. Years before anybody was garnering kudos for a “roots” approach to punk, the Atomic Bomb Club attacked the Beatles, Hendrix and anything else that caught our fancy with a ridiclulous ferocity and sense of irony that strongly influenced the Meat Puppets. Cris and Curt even sat in on bass occasionally.

Over at Bostworld, I give tribute to this legendary musical excersize, revisit the old days, catch up with Mr. K, and pass along some audio links for your historic approval.

Head over to Bostworld to check out the Atomic Bomb Club

The first is Adam Hartmann’s new podcast, The Bottom 40 Rock Show. Half of the the current episode is devoted to You Know Who. Adam is just starting out, and he’s still getting his chops down (the volume balance between his voice and the music is WAY off, and he needs to watch is “P” popping), so check him out and give him lots of encouragement!

Geoff Cordner on the other hand is a professional photographer with a slew of great pix up on his Austin Punk Vignettes pages. There are three live photos of us from the legendary Black Flag/Nig Heist 84 tour, which has been so extensively covered on a previous post.

I don’t remember much about this gig. I do remember hitting my head hard on a low beam the next night. I remember haggling with Flag about money in Texas, and I remember Flag experiencing vehicular trouble which would vex them for the entire first half of the tour. Mostly what I remember about this leg of the tour was being hassled by the cops in Louisiana, both in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. One was simple posession beef, but the other was a full-blown harrassment, complete with physical abuse.

As I recall, Cris had been trying with no luck to find parking around the New Orleans club. Everything was “reserved” for the restaurant across the street. In fact, the local police were keeping punks out. Finally, Cris rolled down the window in exasperation and said to a policeman, “where the fuck do you expect me to park??” The next thing he knew, the cop was running towards him, weapon drawn.

Cris did what any fool would do: he tried to floor it out of there. But this gave the cop all the excuse he needed. Accusing Cris of trying to “assault” him with the car, he forced Cris at gunpoint into an adjascent alley and began kicking the shit out of him. Curt and our soundman ran up at that moment and made like to help him, but Cris screamed, “stay back!” Sure enough, the cop warned them off with his gun.

Needless to say, we did not play that night. Whatever arguing we’d done with Flag over money the few nights previously became somewhat moot, since it took a couple grand to get Cris out of jail. I don’t remember how it all got resolved, but I think it took another couple grand in lawyer’s fees to make it all go away. Once Cris was safe and sound the next day, we fled to Baton Rouge. There, we replayed the scene, this time with our soundman, who was hauled off to jail for posession of a small pot pipe and a pocket knife.

By this time, Rollins and the boy were good and fed up with the Meat Puppets. And we were barely a week into the tour.

Recently, Mr. DeVallance notified me of his intention of opening a wing on his site devoted to the old days. He asked for a glowing remembrance of his group the Junior Chemists, and I was happy to comply. You’ll find it here, along with plenty of photos and audio clips. If — like me — you’re one of the six or seven folks still alive from back then, Brendan’s pages are sure to take you back.

Along with his other group the Advo-Cats, Brendan started the Junior Chemists in the summer of 1980, around the same time as the Kirkwoods and I debuted the Meat Puppets. (I still have a tape of their very first gig.) And though I can find evidence that our two groups only ever played together once, that show remains clear in my memory.

Happily, Brendan had the presence of mind to bring his camera on that occasion, and took one of the few photos in existance of the Meat Puppets performing during their first year. It’s a cute one too. Since it was a Christmas show, you can see streamers and decorations against the walls. All three of us are babies — there’s just no other way to describe us. We’re just barely out of short pants.

Staged in Phoenix’s premiere dive of the day, the gig brought together not only the cream of punk revellers, but also some guys from our neighborhood. Though some of them were no strangers to the scene, one of two had yet to get their feet wet. Just the same, they were game to come along for the novelty. It made for an interesting contrast to have Curt’s geeky high school chums calling out for Yes and King Crimson covers admid the baleful stares of such local stalwarts as Marcy Murder and Charlie Monoxide.

The photo also captures us using our original gear — with one exception. Absent from the scene is Curt’s beautiful black Les Paul. Not long before this gig, he left it in the back of his truck one night while visiting friends. It didn’t stay back there for long. Its replacement, the Gibson you see in the picture, was flat piece of plank with little sustain and a brittle, unpleasant sound. It afforded Curt none of the majesty and mystery of the Les Paul, and proved to be a thorn in our side for as long as it remained in service.

Henceforth, we learned how important our instruments were to our sound, and to take good care of them. Well, some of us did.

Visit Brendan DeVallance’s Phoenix Punk Scene page

The stories of end of gig mayhem reminded me of one of my favorite Puppet shows. It was the “Forbidden Places” tour in Athens Ga at the new big 40 Watt Club. This may have even been the first big show there. They came out blazing, absolutely tearing it up. Everyone in the place seemed to be knocked back by the force of the music, literally. I’d already seen them many times before and this was shaping up to be the best show I’d ever seen.

Unfortunately the new PA could not handle it and it cut out completely. As the soundmen worked frantically to fix the problem the Puppets tried to soldier on, playing instrumentals with their amps turned up. Maybe “Six Gallon Pie” or “Flight of the Fire Weasel,” those kinds of guitar solo pieces. After a few minutes they realized it wasn’t working (no drums!) and completely devolved into noise. Curt threw his Les Paul into the crowd, turned up his amp and went to work on his Morely echo pedal. You know the sound. Cris, of course, went crazy throwing his bass around and eventually smashing it on the ceiling, shattering the flourescent lights above the stage. At that point he gave up on the bass and shakily climbed his amps, ending up swinging from the stage lighting truss directly above our hero Derrick. Derrick had been pounding out a nice beat behind the noise, but at this point he saw Cris dangling above him and ran out front. Smart considering what happened to Curtis Mayfield. If I remember correctly Derrick then grabbed the guitar or operated the pedals, he continued to make a contribution at any rate. At some point a couple of streakers ran out, hugged the band and then dashed off. The crowd was screaming the whole time, completely caught up in the chaos.

Finally the club workers ushered the band off stage to deal with the problem. Cris came back out with a cooler from backstage and started to hand out the contents. Eventually the PA was restored to a semi functional state and the band came back out, playing a more standard set ending with an “I Wanna Be Your Dog” jam with the openers Scrawl onstage.

Not a bad way to usher in the start of the major label Puppets, at least for fans like us.

Attending that particular Athens show was famous actress, local celebrity and girlfriend of Batman, Kim Bassinger. She was also friends with one of the owners of the club, REM’s Pete Buck. I introduced myself to her before the gig and thanked her for coming. However, she was forced to flee the premisis in the ensuing mele. As Kevin remembers it, “She took off in a hurry. I was at the side of the stage (stage left) and saw her being ushered out like it was a terrorist attack.”