The Meatmen

Punk pranksters the Meatmen had one of the nastiest, most offensive senses of humor in all of hardcore -- and that's saying something. Politically incorrect before the term existed, frontman Tesco Vee -- the one constant in the band's lineup -- kept things as gleefully stupid and tasteless as possible, cracking graphic jokes about various bodily functions while baiting women, minorities, homosexuals, rival punk bands, and handicapped children. The Meatmen's music was generally standard-issue hardcore punk, with nods to heavy metal in their latter years; much more important, however, was their sheer outrageousness, which was the real basis for their following.

Meatmen founder Tesco Vee was born Robert Vermuellen, and grew up mostly in Lansing, MI, where he discovered the music of Detroit proto-punkers like the MC5 and the Stooges. Starting in his teenage years, he published several punk fanzines, chronicling the Midwestern scene in one called Touch & Go. In 1980, he adopted the stage name Tesco Vee (the first part after his favorite record store) and teamed with brothers Rich and Greg Ramsey (bass and guitar, respectively) to form the Meatmen. Initial drummer Jim Forsey quickly gave way to Eliot Rachtman, and the Meatmen soon built a following for on-stage antics that had little to do with Vee's day job as a fourth-grade teacher.

Later in 1980, Vee teamed with Necros bassist Corey Rusk to found Touch & Go Records, which released the Meatmen's 1982 debut EP, Blood Sausage. It was followed in short order by another EP, Crippled Children Suck; it was later reissued as part of an LP that also included demos and outtakes. By this time, Rachtman had been replaced first by Mr. X and then by ex-Necros drummer Todd Swalla; meanwhile, Greg Ramsey had also quit to have brother Rich take over his guitar slot, at which point Mike Achtenbourg joined on bass. Vee, uninterested in the business aspects of running a record label, also ceded control of Touch & Go to Rusk, who would build it into one of the most influential indie labels of the '80s. The Meatmen's -- and Touch & Go's -- first full-length LP, We're the Meatmen...and You Suck!!, appeared in 1983, and contained both Blood Sausage tracks and live versions of Crippled Children material. Following its release, the first version of the Meatmen disbanded, and Vee relocated to Washington, D.C.

With help from ex-Minor Threat guitarists Lyle Preslar and Brian Baker, Vee recorded the solo EP Dutch Hercules in 1984. Preslar and Baker subsequently formed the backbone of a musically potent new version of the Meatmen, which featured bassist Graham McCulloch and drummer Eric Zelzdor. Leaving Touch & Go for Homestead, this lineup released War of the Superbikes in 1985. Baker subsequently left the group to start the early emo band Dag Nasty, and was replaced by Stuart Casson. Casson, in turn, left halfway through the recording of 1986's Rock & Roll Juggernaut (now on Caroline), and was replaced by James Cooper; when Cooper left in 1987, Casson came right back. Also in 1987, Zelzdor departed and gave way to Mark "Gooly" Kermanj. This lineup embarked on a farewell tour in 1988, which produced the live album We're the Meatmen...and You Still Suck!!!

Two years after the Meatmen's breakup, Tesco Vee emerged from retirement to form the Hate Police, which recorded several singles and an album over 1990-1993. Meanwhile, Touch & Go compiled the entirety of the Meatmen's recordings for the label on 1991's evocatively titled Stud Powercock: The Touch and Go Years. In 1993, after the Hate Police disbanded, Vee teamed with a Meatmen-influenced band called True Grit to form a third version of the Meatmen, this time featuring guitarist Norman Voss, bassist Mark Davis, and drummer Mark Glass. Vee formed his own Meatking label to issue the new lineup's first effort, the limited-edition Toilet Slave, in 1994. The follow-up, 1995's Pope on a Rope, featured new drummer Rob San Pietro and landed the group support slots with the likes of Gwar and Butt Trumpet. War of the Superbikes, Vol. 2, released by Go Kart in 1996, featured the entirety of the original album plus a selection of new songs to fill out the CD. A final EP, Evil in a League with Satan, appeared in 1997 before the group broke up once again. A decade later, the Meatmen returned to the studio to begin work on Cover the Earth, which was released in 2009 and followed by a mammoth U.S. tour.

from Wikipedia:

The Meatmen are an American punk band headed by Tesco Vee originally from 1981 to 1997, and reformed in 2008. They are currently still touring and recording.

History

The Meatmen formed in Lansing, Michigan in 1981. The band, originally comprising Tesco Vee, Rich Ramsey, Gregg Ramsey and David Howse, was known for their outrageous stage antics and offensive lyrics. After releasing two EPs, Tesco relocated from Michigan to Washington D.C., releasing solo EP Dutch Hercules before reforming The Meatmen with a rotating cast of members, including Brian Baker and Lyle Preslar of Minor Threat, amongst others. In this period, the band changed their sound dramatically to heavy metal with their first two albums, War of the Superbikes and Rock & Roll Juggernaut. In the 90s, Tesco initially released a solo album under the moniker Tesco Vee's Hate Police, entitled Gonzo-Hate-Vibe, before releasing three albums with The Meatmen in a metal-influenced punk style, Toilet Slave, Pope on a Rope, and War of the Superbikes, Vol. 2.

Members

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.

Reunion

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.

Lyrical content

Several of the band's songs include lyrics which target gays and minorities for ridicule and harassment. While not disowning the songs, Tesco Vee currently expresses disappointment that one of them, "Blow Me Jah", a virulently anti-Rastafarian song, still receives airplay today. Vee claims he is not racist or homophobic.

Vee states that his racist and homophobic rhetoric is just part of a stage persona and an act. In an interview with Robert "Bo" White, Tesco Vee stated, "I won't 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."

Nevertheless, the words to Tooling for Anus and Lesbian Death Dirge openly express violently anti-gay perspectives , and the song Camel Jockeys Suck graphically describes violence against Arabs.