The Dead Milkmen is an American
punk rock band formed in 1983 in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. Their original lineup consisted of vocalist and keyboardist
Rodney Linderman ("Rodney Anonymous"), guitarist and vocalist
Joe Genaro ("Joe Jack Talcum"), bassist
Dave Schulthise ("Dave Blood") and drummer
Dean Sabatino ("Dean Clean").
The band distinguished itself in the
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...
scene of the early 1980s through its jangly punk sound and sardonic humor delivered with thick
Philadelphia accent
Philadelphia English is a variety or dialect of American English native to Philadelphia and extending into Philadelphia's metropolitan area throughout the Delaware Valley, including southeastern Pennsylvania, counties of northern Delaware (espec ...
s. They attracted college radio attention with their 1985 debut album, ''
Big Lizard in My Backyard'', and the song "
Bitchin' Camaro". Extensive touring and further releases helped the band garner an underground following.
The band enjoyed international success on the strength of "
Punk Rock Girl
"Punk Rock Girl" is a song by American rock band the Dead Milkmen. It was the first single released from the band's fourth album '' Beelzebubba'' (1988). Released in December 1988, the track was primarily composed by guitarist and vocalist Joe ...
", a single from their 1988 ''
Beelzebubba
''Beelzebubba'' is the fourth studio album by the American satirical punk rock band the Dead Milkmen, released in 1988. It peaked at No. 101 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album contains perhaps the band's best-known song, "Punk Rock Girl".
Fiv ...
'' album which entered into
MTV rotation. After an ill-fated stint with major record label
Hollywood Records, health problems and industry frustrations in the wake of their success led to the group's 1995 breakup.
The group reunited in 2008, with
Dan Stevens replacing the deceased Schulthise. In 2011, they released ''
The King in Yellow'', their first studio album in 16 years. The band remained active thereafter, touring sporadically and releasing further records.
History
Formative period (1979–83)
Conceptually, the group began in 1979 as Genaro's home-recording project. Then based in
Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County (Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Tscheschter Kaundi''), colloquially known as Chesco, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the Delaware Valley region of the state. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53 ...
, Genaro and his high school friend Garth created an imaginary band called The Dead Milkmen with a mythological back-story, recording homemade cassettes in keeping with their fictional characters.
According to Genaro, the band's moniker came from a character named "Milkman Dead" in
Toni Morrison
Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...
's novel ''
Song of Solomon''. Linderman, who attended high school with Genaro, later participated in this embryonic stage of the group. The project became inactive when Garth departed to join the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
and Genaro relocated to the dormitories of Philadelphia's
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...
.
While in Philadelphia, Genaro met Schulthise and Sabatino through mutual friends. The three began loosely rehearsing together in 1981, taking their name from Genaro's home-recording project. Sabatino was the only member with experience in rock groups, having played previously in the two-piece
new wave band Narthex. Linderman collaborated sporadically with the three during this period. He completed the lineup as lead vocalist in 1983, in time for their first public performance.
Early career and albums (1983–87)
The band played frequently in Philadelphia's punk rock circuit and eventually began touring nationally. After several self-released cassettes, their debut LP, ''
Big Lizard in My Backyard'', was issued in 1985 on
Restless Records
Restless Records is a record label that was started in El Segundo, California in 1986 by Enigma Records and primarily released alternative, metal, and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from Bar/None Records, Metal Blade R ...
, a subsidiary of
Enigma Records
Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s.
History
Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/d ...
. The album received college radio play, with the track "
Bitchin' Camaro" becoming especially popular. 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" became the band's first proper single and music video, and was a hit in Australia in addition to receiving domestic attention. ''
Bucky Fellini
''Bucky Fellini'' is the third studio album by The Dead Milkmen. It was released in 1987 by Enigma. The album peaked at No. 163 on the ''Billboard'' 200.
The album produced one single, "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)". An EP was rel ...
'' followed in 1987, yielding the single "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)", a genre spoof of
electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded da ...
.
Commercial success (1987–91)
![Zipperhead south street philly](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Zipperhead_south_street_philly.jpg)
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
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player
Jim Walewander, a
Detroit Tigers rookie, became a vocal fan of the band; this was noted on his baseball card (1988 Score, #571), 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
George Lee "Sparky" Anderson (February 22, 1934 – November 4, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third ...
.
In 1988, they issued ''
Beelzebubba
''Beelzebubba'' is the fourth studio album by the American satirical punk rock band the Dead Milkmen, released in 1988. It peaked at No. 101 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album contains perhaps the band's best-known song, "Punk Rock Girl".
Fiv ...
'', a comparatively polished record that yielded their most successful single, "
Punk Rock Girl
"Punk Rock Girl" is a song by American rock band the Dead Milkmen. It was the first single released from the band's fourth album '' Beelzebubba'' (1988). Released in December 1988, the track was primarily composed by guitarist and vocalist Joe ...
". Featuring Genaro on lead vocals, the track saw extensive rotation on MTV and propelled the album to number 101 on
''Billboard'''s Top 200.
They later released the ''Smokin' Banana Peels'' EP and music video from this album. The 1990 followup, ''
Metaphysical Graffiti'', did not yield a hit, but also charted
and helped solidify the group's presence in the independent rock scene.
Stint with Hollywood Records; breakup (1991–95)
In 1991, the band left Restless and signed with
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
-owned
Hollywood Records. ''
Soul Rotation
''Soul Rotation'' is the sixth studio album by the Dead Milkmen, released in 1992. It was their first album to be released on Hollywood Records. The album was digitally re-released in 2013, after being out of print for many years.
The album peak ...
'', their Hollywood debut released the following year, was 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 in 1993, 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 Rotations "If I Had a Gun" onto their 1994 live album ''
Chaos Rules: Live at the Trocadero''.
Later in 1994, The Dead Milkmen announced their decision to break up following a final tour and album. This was due in part to the
tendinitis
Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elbo ...
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)
![Joe Jack Talcum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Joe_Jack_Talcum.jpg)
The band then took a 13-year hiatus. During this time, Linderman performed with the
gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
,
Celtic punk band
Burn Witch Burn
Burn Witch Burn were an American Celtic rock/ goth/ Appalachian/ Gypsy/ folk/ punk rock band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and active between 1994-2001. The band was a side project of Dead Milkmen singer and keyboardist Rodney Linderman.
...
and worked in
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...
and
blogging
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...
, 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 and performing with groups such as Butterfly Joe, Touch Me Zoo, the Town Managers and
The Low Budgets, while also maintaining a low-key solo career.
Schulthise attended
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universi ...
to study
Serbo-Croatian language
Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia a ...
, literature, history, and culture. In 1998 he moved to
Novi Sad
Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; hu, Újvidék, ; german: Neusatz; see below for other names) is the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pan ...
,
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
, where he taught English. His writing was published several times in ''Svetigora'', the magazine of the
Serbian Orthodox Church.
He hoped to contribute to the country’s regrowth and development,
but fled in April 1999 when
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
bombed the country.
In 2003, the band issued ''Now We Are 20'', a repackaging of their self-released ''Now We Are 10'' retrospective CD from 1993. They also collected their music video output and released it on the ''Philadelphia In Love'' DVD. Talks of reunion shows briefly emerged, but ended when Schulthise died by suicide on March 10, 2004. His death was reported in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' and ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
''.
The surviving members reunited for two consecutive shows in November 2004 at the
Trocadero Theatre
The Trocadero Theatre (opened as the Arch Street Opera House) is a historic theater located in Chinatown in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It offered musical comedies, vaudeville, opera, and burlesque. The Trocadero Theatre was refurbished for us ...
in Philadelphia, with Dan Stevens of The Low Budgets playing bass. The shows were intended to pay tribute to Schulthise, and proceeds were donated to a variety of mental health organizations and to Studenica, a Serbian monastery that he supported.
Reunion (2008–present)
In late 2008, the band reunited to play their first performances since the Schulthise memorial shows, with Stevens again on bass. After two back-to-back warm-up shows in Philadelphia, including one billed under the pseudonym Les Enfants Du Prague, they played the
Fun Fun Fun Fest
Fun Fun Fun Fest (often abbreviated as "FFF" or "F3F") was an annual music and comedy festival held in Austin, Texas, United States. The festival was the only genre based festival in the United States, featuring stages that focused specifically ...
in
Austin,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. Following these concerts, they decided to continue as an active group.
They spent the following two years composing new material before entering the recording studio late in 2010. On March 19, 2011, a new album, ''
The King in Yellow'', was released in digital form on the band's website, with a self-released CD following shortly thereafter.
In late 2012, they released "Dark Clouds Gather Over Middlemarch" and "Big Words Make the Baby Jesus Cry", the first two installments in a series of limited-run singles. This year they also appeared on
nerdcore
Nerdcore is a genre of hip hop music characterized by subject matter considered of interest to nerds and geeks. Self-described nerdcore musician MC Frontalot has the earliest known recorded use of the term (to describe this genre) in the 200 ...
rapper
MC Lars
Andrew Robert Nielsen (born October 6, 1982), known professionally as MC Lars, is an American record producer, rapper, cartoonist, podcaster and educator. Lars is one of the self-proclaimed originators of "lit-hop", and is the founder and CEO of ...
' EP, ''
Edgar Allan Poe EP'', for a new recording of Lars' song, "Mr. Raven", which was originally released on his 2006 album, ''
The Graduate
''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from W ...
''. "The Great Boston Molasses Flood", the third release in their singles series, was released on March 15, 2013; the fourth, "Welcome to Undertown", followed on June 21.
The band released ''
Pretty Music for Pretty People'', their tenth studio album, on October 7, 2014. The following year, SRA Records issued their split 7-inch with the 1980s Philadelphia hardcore band
Flag of Democracy
Flag of Democracy, sometimes abbreviated as F.O.D.,) is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1982 and originally from Ambler, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia.
In November 1982, the band played their first show, opening for Minor Thr ...
(also known as F.O.D.)
In July 2017, The Dead Milkmen joined with philanthropic record label the Giving Groove.
Members
;Current members
*
Joseph 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 – bass guitar, vocals
(1983–1995; died 2004)
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''
Big Lizard in My Backyard'' (1985)
* ''
Eat Your Paisley!'' (1986)
* ''
Bucky Fellini
''Bucky Fellini'' is the third studio album by The Dead Milkmen. It was released in 1987 by Enigma. The album peaked at No. 163 on the ''Billboard'' 200.
The album produced one single, "Instant Club Hit (You'll Dance to Anything)". An EP was rel ...
'' (1987)
* ''
Beelzebubba
''Beelzebubba'' is the fourth studio album by the American satirical punk rock band the Dead Milkmen, released in 1988. It peaked at No. 101 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album contains perhaps the band's best-known song, "Punk Rock Girl".
Fiv ...
'' (1988)
* ''
Metaphysical Graffiti'' (1990)
* ''
Soul Rotation
''Soul Rotation'' is the sixth studio album by the Dead Milkmen, released in 1992. It was their first album to be released on Hollywood Records. The album was digitally re-released in 2013, after being out of print for many years.
The album peak ...
'' (1992)
* ''
Not Richard, But Dick'' (1993)
* ''
Stoney's Extra Stout (Pig)'' (1995)
* ''
The King in Yellow'' (2011)
* ''
Pretty Music for Pretty People'' (2014)
;Live albums
* ''
Chaos Rules: Live at the Trocadero'' (1994)
;Compilations
* ''Now We Are 10'' (1993)
* ''
Death Rides a Pale Cow (The Ultimate Collection)'' (1997)
* ''Cream of the Crop'' (1998)
* ''Now We Are 20'' (2003)
* ''The Dead Milkmen Present: Philadelphia In Love'' DVD (2003)
* ''"Depends On the Horse..."'' (2020)
;Singles and EPs
* ''The Thing that Only Eats Hippies'' (1987)
* ''Instant Club Hit'' EP (1987)
* ''
Punk Rock Girl
"Punk Rock Girl" is a song by American rock band the Dead Milkmen. It was the first single released from the band's fourth album '' Beelzebubba'' (1988). Released in December 1988, the track was primarily composed by guitarist and vocalist Joe ...
'' (1988, 1989)
* ''Smokin' Banana Peels'' EP (1988, 1989)
* ''If I Had a Gun'' EP (1992)
* ''Dark Clouds Gather Over Middlemarch'' (2012)
* ''Big Words Make the Baby Jesus Cry'' (2012)
* ''The Great Boston Molasses Flood'' (2013)
* ''Welcome to Undertown'' (2013)
* Split 7-inch with
Flag of Democracy
Flag of Democracy, sometimes abbreviated as F.O.D.,) is an American hardcore punk band formed in 1982 and originally from Ambler, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia.
In November 1982, the band played their first show, opening for Minor Thr ...
(2015)
* ''Prisoner's Cinema'' (2015)
* ''Welcome to the End of the World'' EP (2017)
* ''(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang'' EP (2020)
;Self-released cassettes
* ''So Long Seventies'' (1979)
* ''Folk Songs for the 80s'' (1980)
* ''Sour Milk'' (1980)
* ''Music for the Mindless'' (1980)
* ''For Die Hard Fans Only'' (1980)
* ''Doctor Talcum's Studio of Fear'' (1981)
* ''Cows and Gals'' (1981)
* ''Raging Cow'' (1981)
* ''Paradise Lagoon'' (1981)
* ''The Salamander Sessions'' (1981)
* ''Living Death in the Cellar of Sin'' (1981)
* ''Nine New Sins'' (1982)
* ''Purgatory Beat'' (1982)
* ''Wisconsin'' (1983)
* ''A Date With The Dead Milkmen'' (1983)
* ''Millersville Delivery'' (1983)
* ''Funky Farm'' (1983)
* ''Death Rides A Pale Cow'' (1984)
* ''The Dead Milkmen Take The Airwaves'' (1984)
* ''Someone Shot Sunshine'' (1984)
References
External links
Official Dead Milkmen websiteJackTalcum.comRodney Anonymous websiteDead Alive: Interview w/The Dead Milkmen(11/08/08) on MonsterFresh.com
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dead Milkmen, The
Cowpunk musical groups
Punk rock groups from Pennsylvania
Musical groups from Philadelphia
Hollywood Records artists
Musical groups established in 1983
Restless Records artists
Enigma Records artists
Comedy rock musical groups