Lansing’s hardcore-punk roots can be traced back to one man: Tesco Vee. Aside from founding and fronting the Meatmen — a band known for its shocking, tongue in-cheek anthems like “Tooling for Anus” and “Crippled Children Suck” — he also founded Touch & Go magazine and record label, a staple in the early punk movement, in 1979.
The Meatmen headline Sunday at the Loft, its first Lansing show since 2011. But the band hasn’t been on vacation. In support of its latest album, “Savage Sagas,” the group has toured both coasts in the last 12 months, as well as Texas, New Orleans and Canada. City Pulse talked with the 59-year old front man/vocalist about growing up in the punk-rock scene and one of the Meatmen’s most famous fans.
What’s a typical Meatmen show look like?
I always try to put on a production. We use confetti cannons and sight gags — kind of like if Rip Taylor was a punk rocker. I guess there’s some kind of a parallel there. I’m not a joke guy but I’m kind of a quip one-liner guy. It’s like, how many words for penis can I come up with? How many different penis guitars can I come up with? My goal was to go out and shock and offend people, package it in a punk-rock vehicle.
At the genesis of the Meatmen, you were a school teacher. Why did you decide to gravitate toward music instead?
I remember performing on the roof of a garage in Okemos. I had my pants down and a microphone sticking out of my butt cheeks. I thought, “You know what, worlds are starting to collide here.” Later thereafter I got laid off, but I don’t think there was any correlation.
Why did you release records under the Touch and GO imprint?
It was just filling a need. My friends the Necros and the Fix had no one to put their records out, and I said “I’ll do it.” Now both the Necros’ and the Fix’s 7-inches are worth a lot of money — it’s because of their limited quantities. Punk as an outsider movement just continues to get new fans. I picked a genre that has legs, not like hair metal or something. Someone sold a Fix single on eBay for $4,200 one time.
What was the late ‘70s early ‘80s punk scene like in Lansing?
There wasn’t a whole lot of it in Lansing. We kind of had to pull our resources from all over the state to get a scene together. I mean we had the Fix, the Meatmen, we had the Crucifucks. I think the most famous alumni is drummer Steve Shelley from Sonic Youth, he started out in the Crucifucks.
In your early Meatmen days you crossed paths with Henry Rollins, then in Black Flag, and Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys — what do you recall about those guys?
I hung out with Jello not too long ago for the first time in over 30 years. It was really fun. He and I are kind of kindred spirits and kind of have the same political views, although I’m not quite as proselytizing on stage as he is. We both hate Ann Coulter, which is like the universal language. Rollins and I haven’t really hung out with each other in a long time. Back in the day it was fun to hang out with him. He was a very intense dude. When we first went to D.C. we stayed at his apartment and talked to him all night, then crashed on his floor.
Why did you move your family to Washington, D.C., in 1982, and why did you eventually move back to Lansing?
It was partially because of the D.C. music scene. I went out there and I saw Circle Jerks, Minor Threat and Youth Breed at the old 9:30 Club and I had always worshiped their scene. I started doing the band again and kept doing Touch and Go magazine for a couple more years. We were there from ’82 to ’99. Then we were like “screw this.” It’s a really gross place to live. The traffic is heinous, there are so many people crammed in there and I just knew George Bush was going to be elected, so I left.
What inspired the songs on the latest Meatmen LP, “Savage Sagas”?
“I’m Gonna Fuck You Up” is just a song about day-to-day life — being behind a car going too slow or people in Walmart pissing you off. We refuse to adopt a cookiecutter sound and that’s what I love about us. We’re not pigeonholed into one style. There’s everything from early punk to Judas Priest-style anthems.
I heard Stephen King is a Meatmen fan. Is that true?
So our bassist Danny Dirtbag is at a gas station in Vermont, and he’s toppin’ off the van while on tour with a different band, and he’s wearing a Meatmen hoodie. Suddenly he hears, “Meatmen! I got all your albums.” And he looks over and it’s Stephen King at the next pump. He was like, “No shit man!” and Stephen was like, “Yeah, I’ve been listening to you guys for years. Are you an original member?” And he goes, “No, I’m only 30.” So he got a picture of him and Stephen King both flippin’ the bird. Who knew? It was pretty cool.
Is there an end in sight for the Meatmen?
I’m not fading away into the sunset anytime soon. I’m not done yet. I see people a lot older than me still rocking.
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