Sobriquet 24.1: Sobriquet News
But there have been a few nice developments. The Library of Congress finally awarded Sobriquet an ISSN number, we've had the good fortune to publish some wonderful submissions, and we've launched what promises to be an exciting project, The Sobriquet Magazine Encyclopedia of Punk Rock. As of this writing, we've posted entries on Screeching Weasel, Die Toten Hosen, and the Dead Milkmen, and hope to expand significantly over the course of the next few months.
Dead Milkmen
By Mike Dressel
The Dead Milkmen reached the height of their popularity in the late eighties, at the forefront of college rock jokesters like King Missile and Camper van Beethoven, playing pop-punk songs with tongues firmly in cheek. The Philadelphia foursome consisted of Joe Jack Talcum (Joe Genaro) on vocals, Dave Blood (Dave Schulthise) on bass, Dean Clean (Dean Sabatino) on drums, and Rodney Anonymous (Rodney Linderman) on vocals and synth. Often saddled with the labels of “sophomoric” and “juvenile”, the band gained popularity with the songs “Bitchin’ Camaro,” “Instant Club Hit (You’ll Dance to Anything)” and the MTV staple “Punk Rock Girl.”
The origin of the band’s name is shrouded in lore. Some believe it was a satirical swipe at the more “serious” punk band the Dead Kennedys. At times they’ve claimed the name is a reference to Milkman Dead, a character in Toni Morrison’s novel Song of Solomon. Whatever the origin, the concept existed years before the real band actually formed. Joe Genaro, attending high school in Wagontown, Pennsylvania, began recording comedy albums about a fictional band called the Dead Milkmen, fronted by the equally imaginary rock star Jack Talcum. To further the myth, Genaro cataloged the adventures of Jack Talcum in the Dead Milkmen Newzletter, a zine that parodied Paul McCartney’s Wings Funclub Newsletter. The tapes and newsletter came to the attention of fellow student Rodney Linderman, and the two began collaboration.
When Joe left Wagontown to attend Temple University, he and Rodney kept songwriting by mail. At Temple, Joe met future tour manager Dave Reckner and road manager Dan Mapp. Through Reckner, he was introduced to drummer Dean Clean, who played in a band called Narthex, and eventually to bass player Dave Blood. When Narthex disbanded, Joe recruited Clean to play with him and Blood. Rodney joined them later that summer, and in 1983 the Dead Milkmen played their first official gig.
The band built a loyal fan base by selling homemade cassettes at their shows. One tape, Death Rides a Pale Cow, contained the first version of “Bitchin’ Camaro.” The popularity of that song helped the band score a live studio performance on a popular local radio show, resulting in the recording Dead Milkmen Take the Airwaves. The resulting exposure catapulted interest in the band and helped them secure a deal with Fever Records.
Their debut album, Big Lizard in My Backyard, was recorded for less than a thousand dollars and contained material from their previously released cassettes. “Bitchin’ Camaro,” the half spoken-word, half explosive punk riff on an out of control car, and the tasteless “Takin’ Retards to the Zoo” earned the band a wider cult following. They launched a tour in the summer of 1985, but only played 23 of the 42 dates scheduled, canceling the rest.
The band followed up with the album Eat Your Paisley! In 1986, which contained the minor hits “The Thing That Only Eats Hippies” and “Beach Party Vietnam.” They continued their equal opportunity satire with the 1987 release Bucky Fellini, which landed them on the national album charts with the single “Instant Club Hit (You’ll Dance to Anything),” a spoof of the gloomy eurodance music that dominated the dance clubs and mocking the inherent pretentiousness of the scene. Their loyal fan base continued to increase, and even included Ex-Detroit Tigers infielder Jim Walewander.
The band signed to Enigma records, where they made the album Beezlebubba and released the single “Punk Rock Girl,” a love song of sorts. The video for “Punk Rock Girl,” filmed in and around Philadelphia, was in heavy rotation on MTV and put the Dead Milkmen on the verge a breakthrough. Unfortunately their follow-up album, Metaphysical Graffiti, didn’t meet expectations, though it did feature guest vocals by the Butthole Surfers’ Gibby Haynes on the track “Anderson, Walkman, Buttholes and How.”
Enigma folded soon after Metaphysical Graffiti was released and the band was left searching for a new label. They ended up at Hollywood Records, a subsidiary of Disney, where they recorded the 1992 album Soul Rotation. The band edged towards a more adult, indie pop sound, and even adopted new pseudonyms; Rodney Anonymous now called himself H.P. Hovercraft and Talcum took the moniker Butterfly Fairweather. The cleaner production and tamer lyrics ended up alienating much of the core fan base and didn’t help the band cultivate a new audience. Not Richard, but Dick, which followed in 1993, saw the Milkmen continuing to make music in a subdued vein. Sales were poor and the band was once again cut loose from their label.
To celebrate their tenth anniversary, the Dead Milkmen distributed Now We Are Ten, a limited edition compilation of their earlier cassette-only recordings with four additional live tracks.
Back with Restless Records, which had distributed their initial Fever label releases, the band put out the live album Chaos Rules – Live at the Trocadero, which captured the bulk of their more popular songs from the last decade. Their next studio album, 1995’s Stoney’s Extra Stout (Pig), would be their last; they disbanded shortly after it came out. Restless put out a 1997 compilation, Death Rides a Pale Cow – the Ultimate Collection, though the CD doesn’t include any of the 1992-93 Hollywood Records releases as the company refused to grant permission.
The members of the band each pursued new projects. Rodney Anonymous started the band Burn Witch Burn, while Dean Clean and Joe Jack Talcum teamed up as Butterfly Joe. The two also gigged with several local Philadelphia bands and the burlesque performance troupe Big Mess Orchestra. Dave Blood quit playing bass, due to extreme tendonitis in his hands, and cultivated an interest in Balkan History. He eventually attended graduate school at Indiana University.
2003 saw the release of Now We Are Twenty, a reissue that expanded on Now We Are Ten and the DVD Philadelphia in Love, featuring videos, live clips, and commentary by the band.
The Dead Milkmen reunited in 2004 under less than ideal circumstances: to play a tribute concert for Dave Blood. The news of his death was made public to fans by his sister Kathy on the band’s website. “This Morning Dave Blood is no longer with us,” she wrote. “He chose to end his life. He left a note that said…he just could not stand to go on any longer.” He had overdosed on pills. Blood had spent time teaching English in Serbia, but eventually returned home to live with his parents in Pennsylvania. Having a hard time adjusting to life outside the band, Blood had suffered from depression and according to friends, was troubled by the death of his mother to cancer.
The remaining Dead Milkmen, with musician Dandrew Stevens (the Low Budgets) filling in on bass, played a concert in honor of Dave Blood at the The Trocadero on November 21, 2004 supported by a collection of Philadelphia bands. The show sold out and the band added a second night, with proceeds from the concert going to the Studenica Monetary in Serbia.
Though still officially disbanded, the Milkmen’s website is updated frequently and the remaining Milkmen still pursue solo projects. Rodney Anonymous plays with his wife in Burn Witch Burn, a goth/celtic/bluegrass/punk/Slavic band. Talcum works for a video and web development company and plays with the band the Low Budgets. Clean works in an energy management and information company and still plays with the Big Mess Orchestra.
The Dead Milkmen, with their silly pseudonyms, brash, take-no-prisoners approach to songwriting, and DIY ethos served as a template for the bratty pop-punk bands that came after them.
Discography
Funky Farm (cassette), Jerrock, 1983
Death Rides a Pale Cow (cassette) Jerrock, 1984
The Dead Milkmen Take the Airwaves (cassette), Jerrock, 1984
Someone Shot Sunshine, (cassette), Jerrock, 1984
Big Lizard in My Backyard, Restless, 1985
Eat Your Paisley!, Restless, 1986
Bucky Fellini, Enigma, 1987
Beelzebubba, Enigma, 1988
Metaphysical Graffiti, Enigma, 1990
Soul Rotation, Hollywood Records, 1992
If I Had a Gun EP, Hollywood Records, 1992
Now We Are Ten, self-released, 1993
Not Richard, But Dick, Hollywood Records, 1993
Chaos Rules - Live At The Trocadero,Restless, 1994
Stoney’s Extra Stout (Pig), Restless, 1995
Death Rides a Pale Cow—the Ultimate Collection, Restless, 1997
Cream of the Crop—The best of the Dead Milkmen BMG Special Pproducts, 1998
Now We Are Twenty, Rykodisc, 2003
Sources
Arnold, Gina. “First Flight.” Musician Aug. 1988: 94-96
Brennan, Carole. “Dead Milkmen.” Contemporary Musician, Volume 22: 94-95
DeLuca, Dan. “Dave Schulthise dies at 47.” Philadelphia Inquirer. 3 Nov. 2004.
“Dave Schulthise, 47, Dead Milkmen’s Bassist. Arts/Culture Desk Obituary. The New York Times. 13, March 2004: A15.
Websites
Chinmusic! # 2. “The Dead Milkmen/Detroit Tigers connection.” <http://www.chinmusic.net/walewander.html>
The Official Dead Milkmen Website.<http://www.deadmilkmen.com>
Luerssen, John D. “Dead Milkmen’s Dave Blood Dies.” Billboard Magazine 11, March 2004<http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000460203>.
Rapa, Patrick. “Blood Brothers.” Philadelphia Citypaper.net 11 Nov. 2004 <http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2004-11-11/cover.html>
RobertChristgau.com “Consumer Guide Reviews” Ed. Robert Christgau.<http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?=1411&name=the+dead+milkmen>
Trouser Press.com. “Dead Milkmen.” <http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=dead_milkmen>
VH1.com. “Artists A-Z: Biography: The Dead Milkmen.” <http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/dead_milkmen/bio.jhtml>
Wikipedia.com. “Dead Milkmen” <http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dead_Milkmen>
Die Toten Hosen
By Martin Butler
Starting their career in the early 1980s, Die Toten Hosen (DTH)[1] have become one of Germans best-known punk rock bands. They also enjoy an international reputation, e.g. in South America, Australia and even in the United States, and have heavily influenced German punk and pop music.
In 1982, during the downturn of the first German punk movement, which had reached its peak in the late 1970s, DTH published their debut singles “Wir sind bereit” and “Reisefieber”. At that time, the band consisted of Andreas Frege (a.k.a. Campino) on vocals, Andreas Meurer (a.k.a. Andi) on bass, Andreas von Holst (a.k.a. Kuddel), Michael Breitkopf (a.k.a. Breiti) and Walter November on guitars, and Klaus Dieter (a.k.a. Trini) Trimpop on drums. Their early songwriting was very much influenced by the sounds of bands like Slade, Chelsea, Peter and the Test Tube Babies and Motorhead. In the fall of 1982, DTH headed for their first tour through Germany and, in the following year, after Walter had left the band, the remaining five recorded their third single, “Bommerlunder”, which is still one of their best-known and most popular tunes today. After that, and in spite of financial bottlenecks, the band recorded their first LP called “Opel Gang”, which turned out to be an unexpected success and certainly marked the beginning of the band’s rise to being one of the most successful German punk bands ever.
In 1984, backed up by the success of “Opel Gang” and endorsements of the German Goethe Institute, DTH toured France. Later that year, they were invited to the legendary John-Peel-Show at the BBC in London, which certainly contributed to their growing international popularity. After they had recorded and released their second LP “Unter falscher Flagge”, they started their second tour through Germany to promote the album in May 1985. At the end of that year, Trini Trimpop left the band to work for the management instead, and, shortly afterwards, Wolfgang Rohde (a.k.a. Woelli) took over his position as the drummer of the band. The band’s third album, “Damenwahl”, appeared in May 1986, and only a year later, DTH began recording their fourth album, “Never mind the Hosen – here’s the Roten Rosen”, which comprised 12 cover versions of more or less well-known songs from Germany’s Top-Tens.
In 1988, DTH entered the theatre stage and appeared in the performance of “Clockwork Orange” in the Federal Theatre of Bonn. The band provided the play’s title song “Hier kommt Alex”, which became another of their best-known songs. Only two years later, after an extraordinarily long tour through Germany, Switzerland and Austria, the band released their sixth LP, the double album “Kreuzzug ins Glück”, in May 1990. Despite the popularity that their single “Hier kommt Alex” had already brought about two years earlier, this album marked the final breakthrough of DTH, who, after eight years of band history, eventually became a big event. “I came to Germany expecting to see a small German punk band in a tiny smoke-filled German club”, an English journalist wrote in an article published in the magazine Kerrang, “[i]nstead I witnessed a great rock band in a gigantic, packed arena!”[2]
Though there were, to be sure, still a number of cheery sing-alongs in their repertoire at that time, the band’s political commitment had grown stronger by the end of the 1980s, which was eventually reflected in their songwriting, which was no longer characterized by simply structured melodies and rather light-hearted, nonsensical lyrics, but rather by complex musical arrangements and more profound lyrics expressing social criticism. In December 1992, DTH released one of their most political songs called “Sascha, ein aufrechter Deutscher”, which directly commented on the increasing right-wing tendencies in Germany at that time. Immediately after its release, the Republican Party of Germany unsuccessfully attempted to ban the song from public radio, and, in order to drive their point home, DTH published the lyrics of the song in a number of prestigious German newspapers.
In 1993, the band released their longplayer “Kauf mich” and their first “Best of” album called “Reich & Sexy”, which was published both in a German and an English version (“Love, Peace & Money”), consisting of 20 songs from nine albums. The popularity of the band increased continuously: three of their albums were in the charts at the same time, over 200,000 people joined their 24 concerts that year, and in September 1994, they started a world tour, which, besides Europe, South America and Japan, also covered the United States, where they played as supporting act for Green Day. Their album “Opium für’s Volk” (1996) contained the band’s first Number One in the German single charts: “Zehn kleine Jaegermeister”. Another highlight of the band’s career, which once more underlined their national and international reputation, was their support of the Ramones at their farewell concert at the River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1996.
After almost 15 years of band history and a continuous growth of popularity, which no one had ever expected, DTH eventually decided that it was high time they wrote down all their experiences on the road and published their autobiography, entitled “Bis zum bitteren Ende”, in 1997. Two years later, the band recorded their album “Unsterblich”, which definitely marked a change in the band’s musical style, as the songs were heavily influenced by the German singer and songwriter Funny van Dannen and also employed classical elements, swing and sounds from the sixties. The video to the fourth single taken out from the album (“Warum werde ich nicht satt”) was directed by Wim Wenders. The same year, the band’s drummer, who had long been suffering from a lumbar disc problem, was replaced by his long-standing drum tech, Vom Richie.
After Campino had recovered from a ligament injury, which he had sustained at the Whitsun Rock am Ring concert in 2000, DTH toured with AC/DC through Germany in 2001, followed by another trip to the Americas – this time, the band opted for Cuba. Meanwhile, back home, their favourite local soccer club, Fortuna Düsseldorf, was in dire need of a new sponsor, and the band decided to support the team from 2001 to 2003. Their sixteenth album, “Auswärtsspiel”, was released in January 2002 and immediately entered Germany’s Top Ten as Number One. The German Rolling Stone pointed out that “some of the songs are among the best – and roughest, tracks ever recorded by the band”.[3] The second Best-of album, “Reich & Sexy II – Die fetten Jahre”, appeared in November that year, together with a DVD featuring 28 video clips covering the years from 1982 to 2002.
With their four-track-EP “Friss oder Stirb”, which was released in February 2004, DTH returned to a more aggressive musical style. The video production to one of the songs on the EP, “Ich bin die Sehnsucht in Dir”, was captured in a sixteen-episode mini-series broadcasted on MTV, which was supposed to provide insight into the everyday life of the band. October 2004 saw the release of their new album, “Zurück zum Glück”, which continued the aggressive tone of the “Friss oder Stirb”-EP. The last gig of the following tour, which took place in Berlin at the very end of that year, was spontaneously turned into a charity concert dedicated to the victims of the Tsunami flood in South East Asia which had struck a few days before. Charity continued in 2005, when DTH participated in the Live 8 concerts organized by Bob Geldof in Edinburgh and Berlin. Yet, the definite highlight of that year was their MTV-Unplugged session at the Burgtheather in Vienna, which finally rounded off their record of success. Though 2006 started with a band holiday of sorts, it seems that, after more than two decades, DTH are by no means planning to quit the stage.
References:
Job, Bertram (ed.). 1997. Bis zum bitteren Ende. Die Toten Hosen erzählen ihre Geschichte. Köln: Kiepenheuer & Witsch.
Müller, Andrea. 1996. Die Toten Hosen. Punkrock made in Germany. Düsseldorf: ECON Verlag.
[1] literally “The Dead Trousers”; “tote Hose” is a German expression which could be translated as “to be lifeless”, “to be boring”, or “to be a washout”.
[2] www.dietotenhosen.de
[3] www.dietotenhosen.de
Screeching Weasel
By Douglas Cowie
Screeching Weasel are an often overlooked but seminal band in the development of the Ramones-influenced late eighties/early nineties “pop-punk” sound that eventually propelled Green Day to the status of one of the biggest bands in the world by 2005, and also gave rise to manufactured UK punk-lite pop groups such as Busted and McFly. Formed in 1986 in Palos Heights, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, after singer/songwriter and guitarist Ben Foster went to a Ramones gig, Screeching Weasel blended a short, fast three-chord style with the hardcore style of bands such as Black Flag and Minor Threat. The band also followed a rigorously anti-corporate do-it-yourself approach similar to that of the straightedge bands, albeit eschewing the straightedge ethic. Lyrically the band moved beyond the straightforward anti-establishment ranting of many of its contemporaries, favoring a content that was often obnoxious, sleazy and witty, and occasionally introspective and relationship-oriented, of the type usually associated with emo bands.
The band recorded its first demo in December 1986, with Foster (now called Ben Weasel; band members mostly adopted Ramones-esque pseudonyms) on vocals, Steve Cheese on drums, Vinnie Bovine on bass and Jughead (John Pierson, who along with Weasel was the only other mainstay in the band) on guitar. Six months later the same lineup recorded their self-titled debut album for Underdog Records, released in 1987. Shortly thereafter Bovine was fired due to drug problems and replaced by Warren “Fish” Ozzfish, the first change in a long series that would see Screeching Weasel go through almost as many bassists as Spinal Tap did drummers. Ozzfish remained in the band through their first tour and recording of the band’s second album, “Boogadaboogadaboogada”, which was released by Lookout! Records. Screeching Weasel was the first non-Californian band to release a record on the label. Ozzfish departed in January 1989. In the meantime, Cheese had also left the band and was replaced by Brian Vermin on the recommendation of Dan Schafer, singer in a Chicago hardcore band called Generation Waste. Schafer himself replaced Fish to become the band’s third bassist. Adopting the name Dan Vapid, he and Weasel together became the main songwriting force of the band. After a six week tour in the summer of 1989, the band split up for the first time, although they reformed for a reunion gig with a lineup that featured Weasel, Vermin, Vapid, Jughead and additional guitarist Doug Ward.
Screeching Weasel reformed in 1991. During the hiatus Weasel and Jughead founded the short-lived if delightfully named Gore-Gore Girls, whose bassist, Dave Naked, now joined Screeching Weasel, with Dan Vapid moving to rhythm guitar. Dan Sullivan, rechristened Dan Panic for Screeching Weasel purposes, became the band’s new drummer. They recorded “My Brain Hurts,” the band’s third full-length album. Personal differences between Vapid and Panic led the other members to oust the latter after three months’ service and replace him with Johnny Personality, with whom Weasel had previously played in The Vindictives. In this constellation the band recorded a five-song demo and also the 1992 release “Wiggle.” The album featured two songs that Weasel co-wrote with the Queers’ Joe King. Other Weasel-King collaborative efforts were recorded by the Queers.
Following the release of Wiggle, Personality left the band to continue with the Vindictives. Vapid moved back to bass and Weasel took up the rhythm guitar duties for the first time. This lineup recorded the band’s fourth album, “Anthem for a New Tomorrow,” generally considered by their fans to be Screeching Weasel’s best. It was also with this lineup that Screeching Weasel toured for the final time in the spring of 1993. Dan Vapid left the band in 1994, but with Mike Dirnt of Green Day playing bass the band recorded the songs that had already been written and rehearsed for that year’s “How to Make Enemies and Irritate People.”
With the album completed, Screeching Weasel broke up for a second time. Weasel, Vapid and Panic formed a new punk outfit, The Riverdales, while Jughead concentrated on acting, improv and theater direction. The Riverdales released an album on Lookout! and supported Green Day on the “Dookie” tour. Rather than record the second Riverdales album, and despite growing tensions between Weasel, Vapid and Panic, Screeching Weasel was reformed shortly after the tour, with Jughead returning on guitar.
The postponement of the Riverdales album led to a protracted legal entanglement with Lookout!, so the band recorded the album “Bark Like a Dog” without a contract, financed out-of-pocket by Weasel and Jughead. The album was released by Fat Wreck Chords in 1996, and is the most polished, both in terms of sound and songwriting, of the Screeching Weasel catalog, as well as being one of the most well-received in terms of reviews and sales. In the meantime, Lookout! dropped its lawsuit and, in a sign that the animosity had passed, helped Weasel and Jughead to set up the imprint Panic Button. The first release on the new label was a six-song Screeching Weasel E.P. “Major Label Debut”, released in 1997 with Weasel and Jughead joined by Mass Giorgini, a long-time Weasel friend and recording engineer on bass, Dan Lumley, formerly of Squirtgun, on drums, and former Zoinks frontman and guitarist Zac Damon on rhythm guitar and backing vocals. In 1998 this same lineup recorded “Television City Dream,” an album of short, fast and hard punk rock.
During this period Ben Weasel’s personal life was in turmoil, but the band still managed to record another album, “Emo.” The album was recorded live in the studio with almost the same personnel as “Television City Dream,” but with Weasel returning to guitar in the absence of the now-departed Damon. The album was released in 1999 on the Panic Button label, and is a stylistic departure from the previous albums; not only was it recorded live, but, as the title suggests, the lyrical content is of a more melancholic, personal nature than previous Screeching Weasel material.
The album “Teen Punks in Heat” was recorded by a lineup of Weasel (vocals), Jughead (guitar), Pillip Aaron Presley (guitar and backing vocals) and Dan Lumley (drums), and released in 2000. Screeching Weasel broke up again in 2001. The band reformed for a one-off reunion gig at Chicago’s Fireside Lounge in 2004.
In addition to ten full-length albums, Screeching Weasel released several E.P.s and “Beat is on the Brat”, a 1992 vinyl-only song-for-song cover of the first Ramones album, re-released by Panic Button on CD. The band also released two compilations of B-sides, live material, demos and outtakes, “Kill the Musicians” (1993) and “Thank You Very Little” (1999). In addition to his recording career, Ben Weasel was also a prolific writer, publishing the ‘zine, “Panic Button”, as well as writing a column in MaximumRockNRoll (a scathing letter he wrote to the magazine appears on the sleeve of Sonic Youth’s Masterdick single). A collection of his columns and essays, Punk is a Four Letter Word, was published in 2002, and he also published a semi-autobiographical novel, Like Hell, in 2001. Jughead also published a fictionalized account of punk band life, Weasels in a Box, in 2005. With the collapse of Lookout! Records, Ben Weasel reacquired the copyrights to Screeching Weasel’s back catalog, which was then re-released by Asian Man Records in 2005. “Weasel Mania”, a Greatest Hits retrospective, was also released in 2005.
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