Paradise: Land of the Meat Puppets
Flipside Interview 1982
I Met the Meat Puppets and Lived To Tell About It
by Helen
Early December, the Meat Puppets drove in from
Phoenix in order to record some tracks at SST Records and perform around town.
Chris, Scott, Kelly and I spoke to the M.P.s after a rousing set at Al's bar.
The band comprised of:
Curt Kirkwood: Guitar and vocals
Cris Kirkwood:
Bass and vocals
Derrick Bostrom: Drums
Our talk was very disjointed and
extremely entertaining, but don't count on the interview to help figure out
their perplexing and rather demanding form of
music/noise.
F.S. : What's your biggest influence in
music.
Curt : Mommy. My mommy made me what i
am.
Derrick : My mommy's heart beat.
F.S
.: What gives you more satisfaction, live performance or studio
recording?
Curt : I like live performance, except I want to
be able to hit people with my guitar. I like it ALL a lot. Most of the time in
interviews people deal with "like" and "dislike" and recently I've been thinking
of things more in terms of "up" or "down." Today when I was driving here I
couldn't figure out if I was right side up or up side down and i couldn't figure
out how to pull the car over. i lost all my will. My will to drive. My will to
steer. Only my motor reflexes were working.
F.S. : How do
you feel about your recent recording session on SST?
Derrick
: It was wonderful. SPOT's a real nice guy.
Curt : I like
this picture i saw today in this book. It was picture of Charles Manson. It was
the only picture I ever saw of him when he wasn't staring real mean at the
camera. They got a picture of him with this guy he went out in the desert to
collect lizards and stuff with. You can tell he respected the guy because he was
older and he's got a western belt.
F.S. : How do you like
Gary Gilmore?
Curt : He's dead.
F.S. :
Do you think SST is aligned with Manson?
Curt : No way. The
recording session was super.
F.S. : And so was the Manson
picture. Did you see the interview with Tom Snyder?
Curt :
Yeah. i thought it was an accident. It was the only accident that ever
happened.
F.S. : I there some deep basis for your music or
is it just for fun?
Curt : It's deeper than we can figure.
We hear it the same as you do.
F.S. : What are your vocal
influences?
Curt : Almost 23
years.
Derrick : Our main influence is the
desert.
Curt : The main influence on my vocals is smoke. I
have a natural ability to sing. I was born with that
talent.
F.S. : Do you believe there is a
God?
Curt : I believe there are many
gods.
F.S. : Do cowboys hassle you in
Arizona?
Curt : There's no cowboys there. I am a
cowboy.
F.S. : What do you do when you're not doing music in
Phoenix?
Curt : Well - we smoke pot, trade pornographic
magazines.
Derrick : Draw pictures, read
comics.
Curt : My uncle Jack says that any kind of reaching
out is good because there's no handbook on
communication.
F.S. : Thus far, you have played at the
smaller clubs like Cathey de Grande, Al's Bar, and the L.A. Press Club. Is this
a choice?
Curt : No. We even get invited to play at
notoriously small places like Whiskey A Go Go too. They begged us. They sent us
different colored yarns to try and entice us over. They were refused a lot of
times. Until they send us enough yarn.
F.S. :
?????????????????
F.S. : What constitutes a good performance
for you?
Derrick : Our liking it.
Cris
(finally): We came here to play the freeways. With regards to audience, we play
it with all our hearts.
F.S. : What is your favorite local
L.A. band?
Curt : I can take just about anything. It just
depends on what I've eaten.
F.S. : Your favorite movie
actor?
Curt : Clint Eastwood.
Derrick :
Robert Reed.
F.S. : Do you have a fan
following?
Curt : Just flies.
F.S. :
What's your favorite food?
Curt : Bee
pollen.
F.S. : Who don't you like?
Curt
: i can't think anymore. It's too much of a pain in the butt to think about
things I don't like.
(from FLIPSIDE No. 29, 1982)