The Meat Puppets are back, and the Kirkwood brothers are talking again.
To anyone familiar with the tragic tailspin that bassist Cris Kirkwood’s life became in the mid-’90s, that’s no small wonder.
His heroin habit sabotaged the Meat Puppets just as they were solidifying their status as one of the most important rock acts to come out of the Valley since Alice Cooper
“I cost us everything,” he said.
TOP Meat Puppets Songs:
Meat Is Meat (The Meteors, John Peel Sessions (1983-1985), 1985) Meat Market (live; Meat Market (live)) (New Age – Various Artists, Capitalist casualties, 1997) Right Here (Meat Remix; Right Here (Meat Remix)) (Various Artists, The swamp meat intoxication, 1996) The Perfect Drug (Meat Beat Manifesto Remix; The Perfect Drug (Meat Beat Manifesto Remix)) (Various Artists, The perfect drug versions, 1997) Pomme Fritz (Meat ‘n’ Veg; Pomme Fritz (Meat ‘n’ Veg)) (Various Artists, U.f. off best of the orb cd 1, 1998) Meat Katie (Dylan Rhymes Salty (Meat Katie Mix) Remix) (Fabric, Fabriclive 21 – Meat Katie, 2005)
His descent put the brakes on the national success he, his guitarist brother, Curt, and drummer Derrick Bostrom were enjoying: A radio hit with 1994’s Backwater, healthy rotation on MTV, concert bills with Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and hefty royalty checks.
Cris ended up being disowned by his brother and losing his wife to a heroin overdose and a close friend to suicide by pills. He finally landed in prison, with a bullet permanently lodged in his back.
But now, with the release of the first Meat Puppets album featuring both brothers in more than a decade, a cleaned-up Cris has an opportunity to make amends and return to something he loves more than drugs – the trio’s aggressive, irreverent mix of punk, psychedelic rock and country. And a legendary underground band with deep roots in Phoenix and an influence that reaches far beyond is once again being talked about in terms that don’t include pity and regret.
Curt calls Rise to Your Knees, which hits stores Tuesday, one of his favorite Meat Puppets albums. Cris sees the 15-song disc as a second chance to “grow old making loud noises with my brother.”
Originally from : Meat Puppets – reunated and back to stage
