Dead Milkmen

The Dead Milkmen is an American satirical punk rock band formed in 1983 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They initially consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Rodney Linderman ("Rodney Anonymous"), guitarist and vocalist Joe Genaro ("Joe Jack Talcum"), bassist Dave Schulthise ("Dave Blood") and Dean Sabatino ("Dean Clean").The Dead Milkmen Biography - AOL Music

The band quickly established their jangly, driving punk rock sound, which they coupled with prominent humor delivered in heavy Philadelphia accents. After garnering an underground following through extensive touring and college radio attention, they enjoyed international success on the strength of 1988's "Punk Rock Girl", a single from their Beelzebubba album which entered into MTV rotation. Health problems and an ill-fated stint with the major label Hollywood Records in the wake of their success led to the group's 1995 breakup. In total, they issued eight studio albums, one live record, and numerous peripheral releases before disbanding.

In 2008, the group reunited and began working on new material, with new bassist Dan Stevens replacing the deceased Schulthise.

History

Formative period (1979–1983)

Conceptually, the group began in 1979 as the bedroom home-recording project of Genaro, who was then based in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He and a high school friend named Garth created an imaginary band called the Dead Milkmen and its mythological back-story, and the two recorded lighthearted home cassette recordings in keeping with their fictional characters.Deadmilkmen.com - A History Lesson Genaro later revealed that the band's moniker came from a character named "Milkman Dead" in Toni Morrison's book Song of Solomon

. Linderman would later participate in this embryonic home-recording stage of the group prior to Garth's departure to join the United States Air Force and Genaro's relocation to the dorms of Philadelphia's Temple University. While in Philadelphia, Genaro met Schulthise and Sabatino through mutual friends and began loose rehearsals with the two late in 1981. Sabatino was the only member with previous experience in rock groups, having played in the two-piece new wave band Narthex. Linderman collaborated sporadically with the three during this period, and completed the lineup as lead vocalist in 1983, in time for their first public performance.

Early career and albums (1983–1987)

After several self-released cassettes, the group's debut LP, Big Lizard in My Backyard, was issued in 1985 on Restless Records, a subsidiary of Enigma Records. The album received modest college radio attention, most notably surrounding the song "Bitchin' Camaro". Because of its improvised dialogue intro, the song remained a favorite at live shows.

Eat Your Paisley, their second album, was released the following year. "The Thing That Only Eats Hippies" was released as the band's first proper single and music video, and became a hit in Australia in addition to receiving domestic attention. 1987's Bucky Fellini followed, yielding the single "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)", a genre spoof of electronic dance music.

Commercial success (1987–1991)

As the band toured extensively behind their records, they began to accrue increasing attention, which often came through unconventional routes. In 1987, Major League Baseball player Jim Walewander, a Detroit Tigers rookie, became a vocal fan of the band; this was noted on his baseball card, which described the group as "an obscure punk-rock band". Walewander invited the band to Tiger Stadium to see a game in which he hit his first and only major league home run, and the Milkmen had a short conversation with Tigers manager Sparky Anderson.

1988 saw the release of Beelzebubba, a comparatively polished record which featured their most successful single, "Punk Rock Girl", a track that featured Genaro on lead vocals. The song's music video saw extensive rotation on MTV. This was followed by the "Smokin' Banana Peels" single and music video. The followup, 1990's Metaphysical Graffiti, failed to receive the same commercial attention as Beezlebubba, but the group nonetheless remained a mainstay in the independent rock scene.

Stint with Hollywood Records, breakup (1991–1995)

In 1991, the band left Enigma and Restless and signed with Hollywood Records, which was owned by the Disney Corporation. 1992's Soul Rotation, their first release on Hollywood, focused more heavily on Genaro's singing and songwriting, with Linderman used predominantly as a keyboardist. The resulting record was much more pop-oriented than the group's previous efforts, but failed to produce a hit single. Not Richard, But Dick was issued the following year, and did not fare any better than its predecessor. Relations between the band and label quickly soured, and the two albums went out of print shortly after their initial releases. The band was later unable to feature any of the songs from either of the Hollywood albums on retrospective or compilation CDs, although the group did smuggle an unlisted version of Soul Rotation's "If I Had a Gun" onto their 1994 live album Chaos Rules: Live at the Trocadero.

Later this year, the Dead Milkmen announced their decision to break up following a final tour and album. This was due in part to the tendinitis Schulthise began to suffer in his hands, which made performing intensely painful, as well as the band's increasing frustration with commercial and industry struggles. Restless Records released what was planned to be their final studio album in 1995, ''Stoney's Extra Stout (Pig). Several compilations of both hits and rarities were later released.

Post-breakup (1995–2008)

The band then took a 13-year hiatus. During this time, Linderman performed with the gothic, Celtic punk band Burn Witch Burn and worked in journalism and blogging, including writing for the Philadelphia Weekly. Sabatino played with the Big Mess Orchestra and The Hunger Artists, two sporadically active projects, as well as Genaro's post-Milkmen group Butterfly Joe. Genaro remained the most musically active member of the band during its split, consistently recording original music and performing live with groups such as Butterfly Joe, Touch Me Zoo, the Town Managers and The Low Budgets, while also maintaining a solo career.

Schulthise attended Indiana University to study Serbo-Croatian language, literature, history, and culture. In 1998 he moved to Novi Sad, Serbia, where he taught English. His writing was published several times in Svetigora, the magazine of the Serbian Orthodox Church.The Official Dead Milkmen Website » Dave Blood He hoped to contribute to the country’s regrowth and development. He fled in April 1999 when NATO bombed the country. For the next few years he worked as a custodian in Philadelphia. He committed suicide on March 10, 2004. His death was featured in The New York Times and Rolling Stone Magazine.

After Schulthise's death, the surviving Dead Milkmen reunited for two consecutive shows in November 2004 at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia. The shows were intended to pay tribute to Schulthise, and proceeds were donated to a variety of mental health organizations and to a Serbian monastery that he supported. Dan Stevens of The Low Budgets played bass with the Dead Milkmen for these performances.

Reunion (2008–present)

In late 2008, the band announced its plans to play the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX,Dead Milkmen Free For All:: View topic - Dead Milkmen to play the Fun Fun Fun Festival in Austin TX their first performance since the Schulthise memorial shows, with Stevens again on bass. They played two back-to-back warm-up shows in Philadelphia shortly before this festival, including one billed under the pseudonym Les Enfants Du Prague.

Following their success in the Austin and Philadelphia performances, they decided to continue as an active group, playing regular concerts and working on new material.

Members

Current members

Joe Genaro – guitar, vocals, keyboards (1983–1995, 2004, 2008–present)
Rodney Linderman – vocals, keyboards, tin whistle (1983–1995, 2004, 2008–present)
Dean Sabatino – drums, percussion, vocals (1983–1995, 2004, 2008–present)
Dan Stevens – bass guitar (2004, 2008–present)

Former members

Dave Schulthise (deceased) – bass guitar, vocals (1983–1995)

Discography

Full-length studio albums

Big Lizard in My Backyard — 1985
Eat Your Paisley — 1986
Bucky Fellini — 1987
Beelzebubba — 1988
Metaphysical Graffiti — 1990
Soul Rotation — 1992
Not Richard, But Dick — 1993
''Stoney's Extra Stout (Pig) — 1995

Live and compilation albums

Now We Are 10 — 1993, retrospective
Chaos Rules - Live at the Trocadero — 1994
Death Rides a Pale Cow (The Ultimate Collection) — 1997, compilation
Cream of the Crop — 1998, compilation
Now We Are 20 — 2003, compilation
The Dead Milkmen Present: Philadelphia In Love— 2003, music video compilation

Singles and EPs

The Thing that Only Eats Hippies — 1987, Australian single
Instant Club Hit — 1987
Punk Rock Girl (single) — 1988, 1989
''Smokin' Banana Peels EP — 1988, 1989
If I Had a Gun EP — 1992

Self-released cassettes

Living Death in the Cellar of Sin — 1983
Funky Farm — 1983
A Date With The Dead Milkmen — 1983
Death Rides A Pale Cow — 1984
The Dead Milkmen Take The Airwaves — 1984
Someone Shot Sunshine — 1984

Portal Philadelphia

Signed Music Artists