Meat Puppets on display
Cris Kirkwood talks about new album, and more
By Amanda Dyslin
The Free Press (July 2009)
The setting was macabre, even funereal. Kurt Cobain had requested bouquets of stargazer lilies, black candles, low lighting and a crystal chandelier for the set of MTV’s “Nirvana Unplugged” concert in 1993.
When Cobain shot and killed himself at his Seattle home four months later, rock writers and fans looked to that performance for signs. Many suggested the set of the intimate concert, which was critically acclaimed and beloved by fans, was a self-made memorial service for Cobain. A suicide note.
Cris Kirkwood has no idea if that’s true. Having been a part of the concert, he really doesn’t think so. He and his brother, Curt Kirkwood, two-thirds of the Meat Puppets, had been on tour with Nirvana, and Cobain asked the two to come on “Unplugged” because he wanted to cover several Meat Puppets songs at the show and didn’t want to bother to learn the intricate guitar work, Cris said.“It seemed like he was a little bit stressed and what not,” said Cris, the bass player. “But he didn’t have designs on that being his memorial. We practiced, and that was fun. And we all hung out, and that was fun.”
They were just a couple of bands on tour, playing gigs and passing the time between shows.
Cobain was a big fan of the Meat Puppets, who will perform today at the What’s Up Lounge. The Puppets had come long before Nirvana, having formed in 1980. They’d released seven albums before that tour and “Unplugged.”Cobain grew up listening to albums on the indie SST label, known for recording bands like Hüsker Dü and the Meat Puppets. “Meat Puppets II,” released in 1984, was an important album to Cobain, Cris said. Which is why he wanted to perform “Oh Me,” “Lake of Fire” and “Plateau” at “Unplugged.” His vocals were actually strikingly familiar to that of Curt Kirkwood’s.
The concert was a breakthrough to the hard-working band that had already been around 13 years. Nirvana’s global fame level and the success of the performance cast mainstream light on the Meat Puppets.
“It definitely didn’t hurt,” Cris said, “to have that kind of exposure.”
That was Cobain’s goal, Cris said. Nirvana had just been a scrappy rock band like so many others in Seattle before everything seemed to change over night.“Suddenly, they were ‘Nirvana,’ and it was like this thing. They were maybe the biggest band in the world,” Cris said. “They decided to use their popularity to expose all these bands.”
Cobain learned from the Meat Puppets that music didn’t have to be about the volume or intensity, which had always been integral to Nirvana’s music. It could be quieter and still be raw and powerful. That was the bridge the Meat Puppets had always spanned, Cris said. And they’re still doing it.
“Sewn Together,” released in May, is a collection of more mellow indie-rock songs sung in harmony. Critics and the band — the Kirkwood brothers and Ted Marcus — are happy with the album, which is the band’s 12th release in 28 years, minus a couple of hiatuses. But Cris wouldn’t say this is the sound they’ve always wanted to achieve.
“This is just the direction we went in vocally,” Cris said. “Having new places to get to is what keeps you going in a way. ... We haven’t settled on a sound in any way.
“The sound we settled on is the sound of unsettledness.”
Having said that, and adding that he doesn’t pass judgment on the band’s albums as their best or worst work, he is pretty proud of it.
“(The albums) are like our offspring,” Cris said. “One child might look suspiciously like the postman, but ultimately you like it anyway. It still stands well with the rest of your work. ... They’re like touchstones to me in that way.”
“Sewn Together” marks a reunion of sorts between the brothers. They got back into a cool groove, Cris said, after time apart. The fuel that brought the band back together?
“My release from prison helped,” Cris said. “I wanted to tour and play rock shows, hang out with my brother. But the cops were just insistent. ...They were loath to let me go.”
In December of 2003, Cris got into an argument with a woman over a parking space in Phoenix. A security guard got involved, and the fight escalated when Cris allegedly took the guard’s baton and hit him in the head with it. The guard reportedly shot Cris in the abdomen.
In August of 2004, Cris pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and received two years in prison, where he reportedly performed in several jail bands. “I livened up the place,” he said. He was released several years ago, and the band reunited shortly after.
“I managed to get back to the point where Curt was willing to deal with me and where I could tolerate myself,” Cris said.
Original drummer Derrick Bostrom was replaced by Marcus, and they set off to record “big Meat Puppets stuff,” Curt was quoted as saying. “Rise to Your Knees” came out in 2007, followed by “Sewn Together” this spring.
“They’re sonic markers,” Cris said of his recent work, just like all the other albums throughout his career. “We’re just trying to keep ourselves amused.”
Accessed: July 9, 2009
http://www.mankatofreepress.com/features/local_story_189144539.html?start:int=15
Cris Kirkwood talks about new album, and more
By Amanda Dyslin
The Free Press (July 2009)
The setting was macabre, even funereal. Kurt Cobain had requested bouquets of stargazer lilies, black candles, low lighting and a crystal chandelier for the set of MTV’s “Nirvana Unplugged” concert in 1993.
When Cobain shot and killed himself at his Seattle home four months later, rock writers and fans looked to that performance for signs. Many suggested the set of the intimate concert, which was critically acclaimed and beloved by fans, was a self-made memorial service for Cobain. A suicide note.
Cris Kirkwood has no idea if that’s true. Having been a part of the concert, he really doesn’t think so. He and his brother, Curt Kirkwood, two-thirds of the Meat Puppets, had been on tour with Nirvana, and Cobain asked the two to come on “Unplugged” because he wanted to cover several Meat Puppets songs at the show and didn’t want to bother to learn the intricate guitar work, Cris said.“It seemed like he was a little bit stressed and what not,” said Cris, the bass player. “But he didn’t have designs on that being his memorial. We practiced, and that was fun. And we all hung out, and that was fun.”
They were just a couple of bands on tour, playing gigs and passing the time between shows.
Cobain was a big fan of the Meat Puppets, who will perform today at the What’s Up Lounge. The Puppets had come long before Nirvana, having formed in 1980. They’d released seven albums before that tour and “Unplugged.”Cobain grew up listening to albums on the indie SST label, known for recording bands like Hüsker Dü and the Meat Puppets. “Meat Puppets II,” released in 1984, was an important album to Cobain, Cris said. Which is why he wanted to perform “Oh Me,” “Lake of Fire” and “Plateau” at “Unplugged.” His vocals were actually strikingly familiar to that of Curt Kirkwood’s.
The concert was a breakthrough to the hard-working band that had already been around 13 years. Nirvana’s global fame level and the success of the performance cast mainstream light on the Meat Puppets.
“It definitely didn’t hurt,” Cris said, “to have that kind of exposure.”
That was Cobain’s goal, Cris said. Nirvana had just been a scrappy rock band like so many others in Seattle before everything seemed to change over night.“Suddenly, they were ‘Nirvana,’ and it was like this thing. They were maybe the biggest band in the world,” Cris said. “They decided to use their popularity to expose all these bands.”
Cobain learned from the Meat Puppets that music didn’t have to be about the volume or intensity, which had always been integral to Nirvana’s music. It could be quieter and still be raw and powerful. That was the bridge the Meat Puppets had always spanned, Cris said. And they’re still doing it.
“Sewn Together,” released in May, is a collection of more mellow indie-rock songs sung in harmony. Critics and the band — the Kirkwood brothers and Ted Marcus — are happy with the album, which is the band’s 12th release in 28 years, minus a couple of hiatuses. But Cris wouldn’t say this is the sound they’ve always wanted to achieve.
“This is just the direction we went in vocally,” Cris said. “Having new places to get to is what keeps you going in a way. ... We haven’t settled on a sound in any way.
“The sound we settled on is the sound of unsettledness.”
Having said that, and adding that he doesn’t pass judgment on the band’s albums as their best or worst work, he is pretty proud of it.
“(The albums) are like our offspring,” Cris said. “One child might look suspiciously like the postman, but ultimately you like it anyway. It still stands well with the rest of your work. ... They’re like touchstones to me in that way.”
“Sewn Together” marks a reunion of sorts between the brothers. They got back into a cool groove, Cris said, after time apart. The fuel that brought the band back together?
“My release from prison helped,” Cris said. “I wanted to tour and play rock shows, hang out with my brother. But the cops were just insistent. ...They were loath to let me go.”
In December of 2003, Cris got into an argument with a woman over a parking space in Phoenix. A security guard got involved, and the fight escalated when Cris allegedly took the guard’s baton and hit him in the head with it. The guard reportedly shot Cris in the abdomen.
In August of 2004, Cris pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and received two years in prison, where he reportedly performed in several jail bands. “I livened up the place,” he said. He was released several years ago, and the band reunited shortly after.
“I managed to get back to the point where Curt was willing to deal with me and where I could tolerate myself,” Cris said.
Original drummer Derrick Bostrom was replaced by Marcus, and they set off to record “big Meat Puppets stuff,” Curt was quoted as saying. “Rise to Your Knees” came out in 2007, followed by “Sewn Together” this spring.
“They’re sonic markers,” Cris said of his recent work, just like all the other albums throughout his career. “We’re just trying to keep ourselves amused.”
Accessed: July 9, 2009
http://www.mankatofreepress.com/features/local_story_189144539.html?start:int=15