Paradise: Land of the Meat Puppets
St. Louis Maneater, November 26, 2000
"'Puppet' show hits The Blue Note" by Austin Ray
Curt Kirkwood talks about the band's past, present, and future.
After 20 years and 12 albums, the Meat Puppets' music has made quite an impact on modern rock music. The Meat Puppets will bring their influential sound Wednesday to The Blue Note, 17 N. Ninth St.
The band is currently touring with a new lineup. Curt Kirkwood, the band's lead singer from the beginning, is the only remaining Puppet in the group. Kirkwood recruited guitarist Kyle Ellison, drummer Shandon Sahm and bassist Andrew Duplantis.
When asked what influences his musical creativity, Kirkwood responded in a rather unusual way; that is, by describing counter influences.
"Being an artist is kind of creepy because you get a little too critical sometimes," Kirkwood said. "A lot of people don't look at influence this way, but I can run and hide from it. I tend to be alienated 99 percent of the time."
On the topic of influences, the Puppets had the privilege of collaborating with Nirvana, a band invluenced by the Meat Puppets, on Nirvana's 1994 release, Unplugged in New York. Kurt Cobain, Nirvana's lead singer, was a fan of the band, and Nirvana ended up covering three Meat Puppets songs for the release, "Plateau," "Oh, Me" and "Lake of Fire."
"I was catching that Cobain was really charming and really talented," Kirkwood said. "The band could play one note and it was like an eternal gong. I think that's why they called themselves Nirvana."
Even with the 20 years of music and experiences that Kirkwood has seen, his most memorable moment isn't even music-related.
"I would say that being there when my kids were born [was] the most memorable event for me," he said. "[It has] to be straight up there, even though it has nothing to do with the band. It was in 1983 when I was pretty young and not married. I had been a hooligan all my life, and it was pretty memorable."
The band's latest album, Golden Lies, was released this year. It marked the first release for the band's new lineup.
"I think it's a little bit more heavy-handed all the way through; just a little bit though, not too much," Kirkwood said. "These guys are younger, so there's a little bit more of a visceral attack instrumentally."
In the coming months, the Meat Puppets are going to be working on the "road warrior" status once again, promoting the new album.
"Right now, I think we're going to be touring," Kirkwood said. "If you want to get truthful to the key to longevity, it's all about tenacity and being impatient. You just keep kicking until it happens."
With all the craziness of a new album and tour, Kirkwood plans to maintain his sanity with a little time to himself.
"I hope to return to the land and let my soul free," Kirkwood said.
The Blue Note will open at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday for the Meat Puppets' show. Kelly Hogan opens and tickets are $10.