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The Dead Milkmen were a satirical punk band formed in 1983 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The band consisted of Joe Genaro ("Joe Jack Talcum"; guitar, vocals), Dave Schulthise ("Dave Blood"; bass), Dean Sabatino ("Dean Clean"; drums), and Rodney Linderman ("Rodney Anonymous"; vocals, synth).[The Dead Milkmen Biography - AOL Music]
The band has claimed that the name comes from a character in Toni Morrison's book Song of Solomon ("Milkman Dead"), as well as from one of Genaro's high school projects.
The band's musical style could be described as jangly, driving punk rock with a steady supply of irreverent humor as evident from the song titles "My Many Smells", "Taking Retards to the Zoo" and "If You Love Someone, Set Them On Fire." Anonymous and Talcum both sang with heavy Philadelphia accents often sounding exaggeratedly snotty.
The group recorded eight studio albums, one live record, and a large number of EPs and self-released cassettes before disbanding in 1995
. They occasionally perform reunion concerts.
HistoryThe band began as a bedroom cassette project featuring Genaro and his friend Garth, who created characters and mythology in the band's name. Linderman (originally the drummer) joined the group in its embryonic home-recording stage prior to Garth's departure to join the United States Air Force; Schulthise and Sabatino, respectively, joined prior to the band's first performances.
After a few self released cassettes, the first official Dead Milkmen album, Big Lizard in my Backyard was released in 1985. Their music received some airplay on college radio stations but was rarely heard on commercial radio. Their best-known song from this record was "Bitchin' Camaro," which became their signature tune. Because of its improvised dialogue intro, it was a favorite at live shows. (Both the album and song were mentioned on the television show Midnight Caller in a scene featuring lead actor Gary Cole and guest star Robert Klein.)
Their next two LP's, Eat Your Paisley (1986) and Bucky Fellini, (1987) saw the band continue to embrace humor. Eat Your Paisley's single "The Thing That Only Eats Hippies" was a hit in Australia and got some rotation on the radio, it would also be the first Dead Milkmen music video. Bucky Fellini featured a tune that received some radio play, "Instant Club Hit (You’ll Dance to Anything)." This song attacked the supposedly shallow listeners of post-punk dance music for their lack of taste in music—done in a stereotypical post-punk dance style. Another track attacking a similar crowd (and mentioning the band Depeche Mode as well), "Moron", was featured on Eat Your Paisley, The song "Big Time Operator" was the Dead Milkmen's 2nd music video, and featured Rodney dressed up as Franken-Elvis, in a Jewish cemetery.
During the band's uprise, Dean "Clean" Sabatino kept a band journal, which he later posted on his website.
Sparky and "stardom"In 1987, Detroit Tigers rookie Jim Walewander, became notorious for being a huge fan of the band. This fact was even noted on his baseball card, which described the group as "an obscure punk-rock band". Walewander invited the Dead Milkmen to Tiger Stadium to see a game in which he hit his first, and only, major league home run. The Milkmen even had a short conversation with Tigers manager Sparky Anderson.
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In 1988 came Beelzebubba, which featured what would become the Dead Milkmen's biggest commercial hit and best-known song, "Punk Rock Girl." The song's video won rotation on MTV, and was later featured on MTV's Beavis and Butthead show. This album was somewhat more sophisticated, technically and musically, than previous work and featured two music videos, "Punk Rock Girl" and "Smokin Banana Peels". Following in this vein is 1990's Metaphysical Graffiti, which was even more technical than the last album, but didn't receive the same attention as Beezlebubba did. The album featured the song "Methodist Coloring Book"; the song and its music video received little rotation.
Up to this point, the band had been recording for Enigma Records and its subsidiary Restless Records. They signed with Hollywood Records, owned by Disney. Their next two albums, Soul Rotation (1992) and Not Richard, But Dick (1993), saw the further polishing of their production. However, many fans felt the band had lost its humor and vitality in an attempt to be more mainstream.
Soul Rotation featured Linderman on synthesizers and Genaro taking on more vocal responsibility. The resulting record is much more pop oriented. Hollywood Records soon went out of business and these two records went out of print not long after their initial releases. Afterwards, The Dead Milkmen were unable to feature any of the songs on either "Soul Rotation" or "Not Richard, but Dick" on any of their other Cd Compilations. The Milkmen were able to smuggle "If I had a Gun" onto their Live compilation Cd "Chaos Rules: Live at the Trocadero".
By the time Restless Records released their final studio album in 1995, ''Stoney's Extra Stout (Pig), the Dead Milkmen had broken up. This was due, in part, to Schulthise, who was suffering from tendinitis and could not play the bass guitar without intense pain in his hands. Since then, compilations of both hits and rarities have been made available.
Post break-upLinderman performed with a gothic, Celtic rock/punk band called Burn Witch Burn, from 1994-2001, and released two demos and a self titled studio album in 2000 on the Philadelphia label Razler Records.
Sabatino drummed with the Big Mess Orchestra, who sporadically performed in Philadelphia throughout the '90s and into the '00s, and also played with the Hunger Artists. Sabatino is also the only Milkmen alumnus to have played in a group prior to the Milkmen, being the '80s Philly band Narthex.
Genaro has remained the most musically active member of the group since its split, consistently recording original music and performing live. He and Sabatino formed a new band, Butterfly Joe, performing material based on Joe's solo home recordings, from 1993-1999, and releasing a self-titled album on Razler Records. Genaro played in Touch Me Zoo, which was a home-recording-only project from 1990-1993, and a live band from 1994-1996. Genaro also had a group called the Town Managers from 1996-1999. He is currently in a successful Philadelphia punk band called The Low Budgets, who've toured extensively and released three albums, and a home-recording project called The Cheesies with Brian Sprenger. Genaro also frequently performs solo under the name Joe Jack Talcum; he's released about a dozen self-recorded cassettes between 1984-1997, some of which was compiled onto a CD released on the Valiant Death Records label out of Richmond, VA. Genaro's first proper solo release since Butterfly Joe is a split CD/LP with Mischief Brew called Photographs from the Shoebox, released in 2008 on Fistolo Records.
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 re-growth and development.
Reunion showsAfter Schulthise's death, the surviving Dead Milkmen took the stage once again for two consecutive nights in November 2004 at the Trocadero Theatre in Philadelphia. Proceeds were donated to a variety of mental health organizations and to a Serbian monastery that Schulthise supported. Dan Stevens, bass player of Genaro's band The Low Budgets, performed on bass.
In 2008, the band announced its plans to play the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX [www.deadmilkmen.com/dmffa/viewtopic.php?t=4338&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0" class="PageLink" target="_blank">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 show, with Stevens again on bass. When asked if they were planning a corresponding tour, the band said they were not planning to do so. However, the band played two back-to-back "warm-up" shows in Philadelphia during a weekend in October, 2008 prior to November's festival. Both shows, including one at the small bar Johnny Brenda's billed under the pseudonym Les Enfants Du Prague, and another at the all-ages venue the First Unitarian Church, sold out despite the former's lack of proper billing.
TriviaTrivia
- During the Eat Your Paisley and Bucky Fellini tours, The Dead Milkmen toured in a converted ambulance.
- Dean "Clean" Sabatino's drum sticks are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
- Beavis and Butthead have watched Punk Rock Girl and Smoking Banana Peels, they seemed to have disliked both, but during Punk Rock Girl, Beavis asks "What is this?" Butthead says "It's college music" Beavis asks "Is it good" and Butthead replies "uhhh I don't know"
- Bass player Dave Blood switched his bass strings around so that they spelled out DEAD.
- The CDs Beezlebubba and Big Lizard in my Backyard can be seen floating around in an Ipod commercial.
- Joe Genaro is also known as Joe Jack Talcum, Jasper Thread, Butterfly, and Butterfly Fairweather. He has been in the bands The Dead Milkmen, The Cheesies, Ornamental Wigwam, The Headaches, Mosh The Hoople, Touch Me Zoo, The Fresh Breaths, We're Not From Idaho, Butterfly Joe, The Big Mess Orchestra, Jiffy Squid, The Town Managers, is currently in the band The Low Budgets, and tours solo under the name Joe Jack Talcum.
- Rodney "Anonymous" Linderman writes for a Philadelphia newspaper, was in the bands Burn Witch Burn, Mike's Honorable Discharge, and is currently in the band Parasite Lost.
- Dean "Clean" Sabatino was in the band Narthex before he toured with The Dead Milkmen, he also played with former Dead Milkmen guitar player and vocalist Joe Genaro in the band Butterfly Joe, and currently plays in The Big Mess Orchestra.
- The Song "How It's Gonna Be" from the "Soul Rotation Album" was featured in the movie "It's Pat."
- The Dead Milkmen were attacked by some theater students throwing raw eggs at a live concert at Penn State University.
DiscographySelf-released cassettes- Living Death in the Cellar of Sin — 1981
- Tracks:
- The Milkmen Moo
- Get Happy
- She Loves me Hard
- Help me Lord
- Cerebectocismio
- Idiot
- Mary is a Mushroom
- Plumb Dumb
- Bang Bang
- Girl With the Curly Hair
- Guitar Strings
- Middle Finger
- Stuffed Animal
- Mellow Fellow
- The Milkmen Moo (reprise)
- Get Happy You Jerks
- Funky Farm — 1983
- Tracks:
- Beach Song
- Labor Day
- Don’t Abort That Baby
- I’m Going To Purgatory
- Watching Scotty Die
- I Don’t Wanna
- Taking Retards To The Zoo
- Dance With Me
- Girl Hunt
- Stupid Mary Anne
- Fillet Of Sole
- Depression Day Dinner
- Rastabilly
- A Date With The Dead Milkmen — 1983
- Tracks:
- Filet of Sole
- Don't Abort That Baby
- Right Wing Pigeons From Outer Space
- I'm Living in Wisconsin
- Guns For Tots
- Girl Hunt
- The Beach Song
- I'm a Junkie, So What?
- Death's Alright With Me
- Ask Me To Dance
- Death Rides A Pale Cow — 1984
- Tracks:
- Labor Day
- I Don't Wanna, I Don't Wanna
- Veterans Of A Fucked Up World
- Bitchin Camaro
- Plumb Dumb
- Laundromat Song
- Land Of The Shakers
- Dance With Me
- Rastabilly
- I Hate Myself
- Ich Bin Ein Junkie, Was?
- Beach Party Vietnam
- Milkmen Stomp
- The Dead Milkmen Take The Airwaves — 1984
- Tracks:
- Beach Song
- Dance With Me
- Labor Day
- Bitchin’ Camaro
- Plum Dumb
- Swordfish
- VCW (Veterans of a Censored World)
- pit Sink
- Laundromat Song
- Fillet Of Sole
- I Hate Myself
- I’m A Junkie, So What?
- Right Wing Pigeons
- Radio Blast
- Dean’s Dream
- Rastabilly
- Takin’ Retards To The Zoo
- Violent School
- Bonus Trax! - assorted snipets include: an endless jam on the Surfin’ Cow riff, parts of the first DM show at the Harleysville Youth Center, comments from the band before leaving for that show, more radio blast/tuning, etc.
- Someone Shot Sunshine — 1984 (also known as 'Oh no! Somebody shot Sunshine!')
- Tracks:
- Serrated Edge
- Swordfish
- Dean's Dream
- Takin' retards to the zoo
- Surfin' cow
- Gorilla Girl
- Nutrition
- Spitsink
- Whitie's gonna pay
- Christmas Party
- Go tell it on the mountain
- Merry Christmas from the D.M. (Copied from original #7)
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
Other releases- 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
- 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
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