Meat Puppets tour dates for 2009

The Meat Puppets may very well be the "best-known underground band" of all time which, of course, is a complete contradiction in terms. While arguably not a household name, they are often referred to as one of the most influential groups of the last two decades. And as the main force behind this acclaimed alternative rock band, Curt Kirkwood has been cited as a major musical inspiration by the likes of Kurt Cobain, Soul Asylum, and Pearl Jam. With the release of SNOW, Kirkwood steps out of a band context and makes his solo debut, putting his talent as a gifted singer/songwriter front and center in a more intimate setting. Heres a modern day troubadour, writing and singing songs that reflect the world around him, filtered through his own idiosyncratic life vision the "psychedelic" Woody Guthrie of his generation.

On SNOW, Kirkwood has teamed with multi-Grammy Award-winning producer/guitarist Pete Anderson (Dwight Yoakam, Roy Orbison, Lucinda Williams, Michelle Shocked and Thelonious Monster, among others) to help capture his musical vision. Melding rock, pop, folk, blues and, even, jazz influences, SNOW proves that talent supercedes all musical genres. Being a "contradiction in terms" obviously works for Curt.

But Kirkwoods music has never been easy to define, combining a myriad of musical styles with insightful and provocative lyrics. SNOW is no different, taking the listener on a journey that runs the gamut of the musical spectrum and subject matter. "Beautiful Weapon" (a contradiction in terms?) is a twisted love song couched firmly in an irresistible pop context. "Circles" has lyrics that reflect personal pain and inner turmoil within a beautiful honky-tonk ballad. "Movin On" proves to be a traditional country waltz in the style of Willie Nelson, while "Light Bulb" is a warped folk/jazz excursion complete with string bass and trumpet. This is music which truly has no boundaries.

A solo record is the next natural step in Kirkwoods long musical career, which started 25 years ago in Phoenix, Arizona, with the formation of the Meat Puppets featuring his brother Cris on bass and Derrick Bostrom on drums. From the very beginning, "the Pups," as they were affectionately known by fans, stood out for their unusual sound. While they were inspired by the punk movement of the late 70s/early 80s, their music did not squarely fit within that genre. Instead, their music embodied a variety of influences including rock, blues, psychedelia, and, most surprisingly, country. Still, the band was embraced by the largely underground punk scene, which led to the release of a debut EP, "In A Car." Cutting edge punk band Black Flag soon joined the ranks of Meat Puppets fans and eventually signed the group to their SST label, which released their first full-length recording, "Meat Puppets," in 1982. This was followed by "Meat Puppets II" a year later. The Meat Puppets supported this release by opening for Black Flag during that bands My War tour. While performing a date in Seattle, they caught the attention of a teenage fan named Kurt Cobain. (Cobain was later quoted as saying, "The Meat Puppets gave me a completely different attitude toward music. I owe so much to them.")

The Meat Puppets continued to build a devoted following through their ceaseless touring and string of acclaimed indie recordings: "Up On The Sun" (described by NME magazine as " possibly the most inventive demonstration of the interplay between guitar, bass, and drums ever recorded), "Out My Way," "Mirage," "Huevos," and "Monsters." By the early 90s, the band had left SST and signed to London Records, where they released the highly-acclaimed Forbidden Places" (which marked Curts first collaboration with producer Pete Anderson).

In 1993, the Meat Puppets were introduced to a much larger audience as featured performers on Nirvanas sold-out In Utero tour. Kurt Cobain also asked Curt to join him on the legendary "MTV Unplugged" Nirvana session for acoustic renditions of three of Kirkwoods songs. Soon after, the Meat Puppets scored a mainstream hit with "Backwater" from their Gold-selling album "Too High To Die." The Meat Puppets then went on to open the 1994 summer concert tour for the Stone Temple Pilots and released their album "No Joke" the following year. With the beginning of the new millennium, the Meat Puppets released their last record, "Golden Lies."

After nearly 20 years of constant touring and a dozen albums, the Meat Puppets decided to take, as Kirkwood describes it, a "sabbatical." As the frontman and main songwriter for the band, Kirkwood found that he couldnt sit still for long, craving an artistic outlet. As such, he began working on new material on his own. In 2001, Kirkwood embarked on a solo tour and subsequently teamed up with Nirvana bass player Krist Novoselic and Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh for the short-lived band Eyes Adrift.

Again, Kirkwood found himself without a band and the ongoing drive to create new music. It was at this time that he became reacquainted with Pete Anderson, who was performing in Austin, Texas, where Curt now lives. They began talking about the concept of Kirkwood finally doing his own record his own music on his own terms. Soon after, Kirkwood came out to Los Angeles to begin working on his new material at Little Dog Records studio The Dog Bone. It quickly became apparent that Kirkwoods efforts working on his own had borne some real musical gems. Kirkwood and Anderson spent the next few weeks working furiously on the basic tracks for SNOW, playing the majority of instruments themselves. Working with these tracks as their musical palette, they then brought in specific musicians to add splats of "color" to give each song its own individual character.

Snow the meteorological phenomenon can be a beautiful, clean, white wonderland or a dirty, grime-ridden slush depending on your timing and point of view. Perhaps the same thing can be said about Curt Kirkwoods SNOW. The music is open to interpretation by each listener. As Curt concludes with a slight smirk, "Its not for me to explain my songs; I dont even know if thats possible. Making music has always been an intensely personal experience for me. Its like doing brain surgery on myself I dont know what Im doing exactly, but Im bound to hit a few nerves."

For more information, interviews, etc., contact Little Dog Records at 818-557-1595 or at info@littledogrecords.com.