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The Meat Purveyors
Punk bluegrass? I can already see one incredulous eyebrow shoot up. Before you scroll past this entry, hear me out.
Okay, yeah, you may know The Gourds and their now-famous cover of Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice" or the raucous irreverence of the Bad Livers. (Sidebar: How is it that Austin is home to all these weird bluegrass-ish bands anyway?) Trust me, the song stylings of The Meat Purveyors are another matter entirely.
Could it be the sassy, world-weary vocals and on-stage shenanigans of frontwoman Jo Walston? Or the fearsome guitar work of Elvis Costello-bespectacled, Austin Music Hall of Fame member Bill Anderson? Perhaps it's the slappy stand-up bass lines of angelic-voiced, foul-mouthed Cherilyn Dimond, or the mandolin fireworks from Peter Stiles? (And don't forget the occasional assistance of Darcie Deaville's blistering turns on the fiddle!) Or perhaps it's the fact that, over the course of their wide and varied career, The Meat Purveyors have covered traditional tunes ("Working on a Building"), as well as offerings from Madonna, Abba, Ratt, Fleetwood Mac, Dolly Parton, and Ralph Stanley with aplomb -- all the while turning out sharp and witty original songs about ephedrine abuse ("Trucker's Speed" and "Little White Pills"), abusive relationships ("Little Sister" and "Circus Clown"), and excessive alcohol consumption ("Tallboy" and "How Can I Be So Thirsty Today?").
Well, maybe one can't pin down The Meat Purveyors' je ne sais quoi, but whatever it is, it's made the band big in Alaska. They were proud to announce, following a number of tour dates in the 49th state in early 2004, that they'd sold all TMP-branded underpants they'd taken along to hawk at the merch table.
And that, my friends, should clear up a number of questions you may have about The Meat Purveyors.
The rest can be answered by catching one of their live sets, which can only be described as a glorious, train wreck dance party -- be ready to throw down some whiskey shots and scream along with their cover of The Pocket FishRmen's classic yet all-too-timely anthem "We Kill Evil."
The Meat Purveyors - How Can I Be So Thirsty Today?
The Meat Purveyors - Daydreams About Night Things
The Meat Purveyors - Tallboy
The Meat Purveyors - Circus Clown
The Meat Purveyors - Lady Muleskinner
The Meat Purveyors @ the Bloodshot Records site. Buy their latest album, Pain by Numbers, from Amazon.
Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll at 02.07.05 at 2:15 AM
Comments
The Lady Muleskinner link is really another link to Tallboy.
Posted by: John Minne at 02.08.05 at 10:07 AM
An absolute MUST SEE live band; even if you aren't a big fan of bluegrass, fiddles, alt-country, whatever. They ROCK.
Posted by: Phil at 02.08.05 at 3:23 PM
I'd like to second this one. I hate, hate, hate bluegrass, or so I thought until I caught these guys in Austin. I like 'em better every time I see them. Too much fun. When Guided by Voices had to cancel their Austin gig last year, this group was a unanimous alternative choice for us.
Posted by: houstongoober at 02.08.05 at 3:36 PM
Thanks, John. I fixed the link!
Posted by: little miss rock'n'roll at 02.08.05 at 6:19 PM
"When Guided by Voices had to cancel their Austin gig last year, this group was a unanimous alternative choice for us."
hey ME TOO!
I was front row right side
Posted by: Phil at 02.09.05 at 10:40 AM
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