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The Meat Purveyors
(We covered The Meat Purveyors in 2005. This is a reprint of that original entry with updates of what the band's been up to in the past year. And sorry for all the reruns this week, Little Miss Rock'n'Roll and The Last Girl to the Party did some travelling over the weekend that was extended by some airline weirdness and are now thoroughly exhausted.)
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 - The Middle of Nowhere
The Meat Purveyors - We Kill Evil (live)
The Meat Purveyors - Working On a Building
(the following three tracks are posted at the Bloodshot Records website)
The Meat Purveyors - Tallboy
The Meat Purveyors - Circus Clown
The Meat Purveyors - Lady Muleskinner
The Meat Purveyors @ the Bloodshot Records site. The Meat Purveyors MySpace Page. Buy their latest album, Pain by Numbers, from Amazon or the iTunes Music Store.
Posted by Little Miss Rock'n'Roll at 02.07.06 at 3:24 AM
Comments
good lord... So far, most of the stuff here has been decent, at least. If not, it was just too sappy and sad and emotional... except for Annie, which I also couldn't dig... but these are the first mp3's I've gotten here that, after listening to once, I promptly deleted... just awful.
Posted by: jim at 02.07.06 at 12:12 PM
Thx for commenting Jim, and I'm sorry we don't agree on this -- no really! Honestly, this band (and bluegrass, really) aren't for everyone. And remember: De gustibus non est disputandum. Keep reading!
Posted by: little miss rock'n'roll at 02.07.06 at 12:21 PM
have to agree, sort of, about the 'bluegrass genre'
BUT
you must see them live - THEY ROCK!
One of the most entertaining live acts out there
do not miss.
Posted by: Phil at 02.07.06 at 8:33 PM
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