| The Meatmen | |
|---|---|
| Background information | |
| Origin | Lansing, Michigan, United States |
| Genres | Hate Rock, racism, homophobia, skinhead, Hardcore punk, Violence against LGBT people |
| Years active | 1980–1997, 2008–present |
| Labels | Touch and Go Positive Caroline Pravda Go Kart Meat King |
| Associated acts | The Fix (band) Blight |
| Members | |
| Tesco Vee Leighton Mann Daniel Gillies John Lehl |
|
| Past members | |
| Rich Ramsey Gregg Ramsey David Howse See below |
|
The Meatmen are an American punk/skinhead band headed by Tesco Vee originally from 1981 to 1997, and reformed in 2008. [1] They are currently still touring and recording.
The Meatmen formed in Lansing, Michigan in 1981 [2]. The band was known for their stage antics, their vilification of minorities and gay people, and for songs with titles such as "Tooling for Anus", "1 Down, 3 To Go" (a reference to the murder of former Beatles member John Lennon), and the Suck Trilogy of "Crippled Children Suck," "French People Suck," and "Camel Jockeys Suck." They also covered "What's This Shit Called Love?" by The Pagans, as well as The Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?" for the compilation The World Still Won't Listen: A Tribute to The Smiths.
The Meatmen were principally known for the promotion of the scathing racism and homophobic violence through their music (see section below.) They are praised by their fans as pioneers in the frontiers of "hate rock" [3]
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The original band that existed for two years was formed by Rich and Gregg Ramsey, David Howse and Tesco Vee. After making their name, the Meatmen later had a revolving door cast when Tesco moved to D.C. Other members of the band after Tesco's move to D.C. included Brian Baker and Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat, Todd Swalla of Necros, Jim Forgey, Eliot Rachman, Mike Achtenbourg, Graham McCulloch, Eric Zelzdorf, Stuart Casson, James Cooper, Mark "Gooly" Kermanj,Tommy "Dog" Cohen also TVHP days, Norman Voss, Mark Davis, Mark Glass, and Rob San Pietro.[4]
Reuniting in 2008, new members included, Ian "The Pit Viper" Sugierski on drums (of Superchrist and Wolfbait), Dave Malosh on guitar (of Wolfbait and The Paybacks), and Andy "Lord Vapid" Lucas on bass. This lineup went on to tour the U.S. through 2009 and performed on the "Cover The Earth" album.
In 2010, Vee recruited 3 members of Detroit-based rock band, CHAPSTIK, not long after touring the U.S. together the previous year. The lineup quickly became the newest iteration of "Tesco Vee's Hate Police," and transformed into "The Meatmen" shortly after. The current lineup includes guitarist Leighton Mann (aka Hal Seitan), bassist Dan Gillies (aka Biff Baloney, although recently adding the name Danny Dirtbag to his short list of aliases), and John Lehl (aka Swarthy "Bun-Length" Franklin) on drums.
A signiture element of the Meatmen's music was the promotion of hatred and violence against minorities.
The song "Blow Me Jah" begins, "We would like to see Reggae people stuck on a Christian Church steeple, then we'd stone 'em to death. Dreadlocks and narrow minds, muggles brains is all you'll find, Haille Sailassie is up my ass." [5]
According to Metro Times writer Michael Jackman, the Meatmen will no longer play this song. Jackson states that lead singer Tesco Vee is no longer interested in flirting with what Jackman calls "race humor," and noted the singer's disappointment that the track is still played on XM radio. [6]
In an interview with Robert "Bo" White, Tesco Vee stated, "I wont play the race card overtly – OK, I may have used a few ethnic slurs along the road to punk rock infamy but only out of necessity." [7]
Nevertheless, after a 2007 show in Detroit's St. Andrews Hall, where the re-formed Meatmen played an opening act, a review observed of Tesco Vee, "his stage banter was some of his worst... I lost a little respect for him when he used words like 'wetback' and talked about fat women. How original, right?" [8]
In keeping with the harsh racist tone of typical of the Meatmen's music, the lyrics to the song "Camel Jockeys Suck" read-- "Camel Jockeys Suck And I'll do what I can to send their stinkin armpits Back to Iran. Drivin cabs crazy, they're the ultimate dorks, I wanna jab 'em in the eyes with AIDS tainted pickle forks. Last time I hitched a ride, last thing I really wanted was a turban-headed guide, he took me twice as far as I had to go. Just give me semi-automatic and away I'll blow, Camel Jockeys suck!" [9]
Despite Tesco Vee's current claim that he is not racist or homophobic [10], the lyrics to his songs explicitly single out gay people for harassment.
The lyrics to the Meatmen's song "Lesbian Death Dirge" read-- "Twisted women in a line. Emotionally traumatized, Mom and pop think you're slime, We'll steamroll you. You'll eat our poop, Look at those tracks, I'm gonna drive my motorcycle up those saggy glad bags, get your sh*t together, sucking a good stiff will do you good"[11]
The anti-gay song "Tooling for Anus" celebrates gay-panic. The lyrics state, "I'm not a fag and I'll never be, afraid to hit the can to take a pee, afraid some sissy'll grab my ass, I'll stick his face with broken glass"[12]
In the late 1970s and 1980s major record companies began recycling music from glam metal bands to sell "greatest hits" albums and alleged live bootlegs. Such albums required a minimal effort to produce and could be quite lucrative. 1988's We're the Meatmen ... and You Still Suck! fit brilliantly with the motif. Its overproduction, perfect timing and execution of the music, and "arena-style" crowd noises suggest it may have been recorded completely in a studio, or at least doctored to create the illusion of performance in an arena or other large venue.
Smith (2005) claims that "throughout different media contexts, the laugh has been presented as the ultimate expression of the human, and its mechanical reproduction serves as a lightning rod for anxieties concerning authenticity and the social dimensions of mass media consumption."[13] On the other hand, Lieberman, et al. (2009) have found no significant effects of laugh tracks on perceived humor[14] but suggest that it may be a moderate enhancement of comic appeal under certain narrative conditions. The audience sounds on We're the Meatmen and You Still Suck are the cock rock equivalent of a laugh track. Applause acts as a sort of "confederate of masses" in the listening experience. It provides a concert-like experience that occurs between the listener and the physical (or digital) medium. Yet, in the case of We're the Meatmen and You Still Suck, one might argue that the audience sounds have an effect on some listeners precisely because of the album's existence and placement within the greater context of American consumerist culture.