The Meanies are an Australian punk rock band formed in 1988 by D.D. Meanie (a.k.a. Dennis DePianto) on lead guitar, Link Meanie (a.k.a. Lindsay McLennan) on vocals and guitar, Ringo Meanie (a.k.a. Mark Hobbs) on drums, and VB Meanie (a.k.a. Dave Christopher) on bass guitar and vocals. As from September 2015 the line-up is Link, Ringo and Wally Meanie (a.k.a. Roderick Kempton) on bass guitar and backing vocals. The Meanies had a hiatus from 1996 to 2006.
The Meanies | |
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| Origin | Melbourne |
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| Website | themeanies |
The band provides energetic performances, with Link injured on stage on several occasions. The group have issued four studio albums, Come 'n' See (1992), 10% Weird (1994), It's Not Me It's You (2015) and Desperate Measures (2020).
Founding member D.D. Meanie (Dennis DePianto) died in February 2008 after being diagnosed with cancer. Their guitarist from 1993 onwards, Tasman "Tas" Blizzard, died in August 2008 in a car accident.
History
edit1988-1991: Formation and EPs
editThe Meanies formed in Melbourne in 1988 as a punky power pop group by D.D. Meanie (a.k.a. Dennis DePianto) on lead guitar, Link Meanie (a.k.a. Lindsay McLennan) on vocals and guitar, Ringo Meanie (a.k.a. Mark Hobbs) on drums, and VB Meanie (a.k.a. Dave Christopher) on bass guitar and vocals.[1] According to Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, they "were the undisputed kings of the inner-city/all-ages circuit. The band's frantic, Ramones-inspired power pop and hyperactive live shows drew capacity audiences of alacritous fans. The Meanies were also one of the most productive independent recording bands of the day."[1]
Chris Johnston of Rolling Stone opined that their songs, "will all be short, between two and three minutes every time. Each burst of savage punk/pop noise will also be a potential anthem; an unclean riff with a beating heart of pure melody."[2] Frenzal Rhomb cited them as one of their five influential bands.[3]
During 1989 VB Meanie (Dave Christopher) was replaced on bass guitar by Kinky Meanie (later "Wally" Meanie, a.k.a. Roderick Kempton).[1] Christopher moved to Adelaide where he founded Free Moving Curtis as Dave Plague.[1] In the early 1990s, the Meanies performed primarily in their hometown, where they contacted local label owner, Bruce Milne, of Au Go Go Records, which issued three tracks, "Big Bertha", "Mr Authority" and "Our New Planet", on a Various Artists' split extended play, Boogie Wonderland (April 1990), with three tracks each by tour mates, the Throwaways, and Nice Girls from Cincinnati.[1][4] McFarlane felt, "the Meanies weighed in with the best track, the short, sharp and very catchy 'Our New Planet'."[1]
Kempton remembered how the split EP came about, "We never even thought of taking anything to a major label. Even that EP we recorded, Dave Kendall from the Throwaways suggested we put out a split 7-inch, with us... He investigated how much it would cost to get the record pressed... it was going to cost this much for a 7-inch, and only this much more for a 12-inch, so why don't we do a few songs each. Dave just happened to have it on him one day when he went shopping in Au-Go-Go and got talking to Bruce [Milne] behind the counter, and Bruce said 'yeah, I've heard of those bands' and he asked to listen to it. And it was pretty much the same day when Bruce rang up and offered to put it out."[4]
A Various Artists' split album, Oh God Part 3 / How 'Bout It Baby, followed in September 1990, which included three more tracks by the Meanies, "Macho Wankers", "Mantra" and "Fade In, Fade Out", as well as additional material from Bored!, Nice Girls from Cincinnati, and the Dirty Lovers.[5]
From November 1990 to March 1991 they released a run of EPs and singles, as limited edition 7-inch vinyl discs.[1] Most of their material was written by Lindsay "Link Meanie" McLennan.[1] They toured Australia, including appearances at Big Day Out festivals in 1992, 1993 and 1994.[1][2][4] They supported local gigs by international artists from 1992, Nirvana, The Lemonheads, Pop Will Eat Itself, Redd Kross, Beastie Boys, Pearl Jam and Bad Brains.[1][4]
1992-1996: Come 'n' See, 10% Weird and hiatus
editThe Meanies' debut studio album, Come 'n' See, was released in April 1992, which was produced by Michael 'Ded' Kennedy and the Meanies. A PBS reviewer, described how they "had established themselves as one of Australia's pre-eminent underground rock bands through cultivating a huge all-age following and upsetting the rock establishment by breaking attendance records in the nation's capital cities."[6] They supported a tour of Australia by the 5.6.7.8's, a Japanese rock trio, in August 1991 and followed them to Japan in next month.[6] This led to a local label, Time Bomb Records, issuing their material into that market and further support slots backing Jackie & the Cedrics, Concrete Octopus, Blow One's Cool, and Rise from the Dead.[6]
In January 1993 Tasman "Tas" Blizzard joined on lead guitar (ex-Seaweed Goorillas).[1] The Meanies toured Europe and the United States in late 1993.[1][4] While in the US they travelled to Seattle to record their second studio album, 10% Weird, which was released in August 1994, with Conrad Uno producing.[1] Blizzard had left the group earlier in January of that year to return to Seaweed Goorillas but he rejoined the Meanies in mid-1995.[1] The group went into hiatus in January 1996 with members undertaking individual projects and reformed in 2008.[citation needed]
1998-present: Desperate Measures
editIn 2006 they released a DVD, The Meanies: A Seminal Australian Punk Tale,[4] which features a documentary, Sorry 'bout the Violence, 11 music videos and a live concert filmed in 1994. They toured the Australian east coast in August–September 2006. In 2008 the Meanies promoted a series of 7-inch singles featuring previously unreleased tracks and cover versions of the Meanies' tracks performed by Cockfight Shootout, Digger and the Pussycats, The Drones, Dan Kelly and You Am I.[7] Kempton told Emery of Beat Magazine, "The way we chose the bands was me finding out bands who loved the Meanies when they were younger... So Augie March are going to do a song because Glenn Richards was a Meanies fan when he was younger. Angie Hart is going to do a song because she used to come and see us, plus You Am I, Digger and the Pussycats, Double Agents, Snout, and we keep asking the Spazzys, but they still haven't got around to it."[7]
On 14 February 2008 original member Dennis DePianto (D.D. Meanie), died at St. Vincents Hospital, Melbourne.[8][9] He had been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy as a child, and towards the end of his life he contracted cancer.[9] He was in the Meanies from their inception until 1995.[9][10]
Guitarist, Tasman "Tas" Blizzard died on 1 August 2008, as a result of a car accident.[8][11] His car had lost control in wet conditions along the Bellarine Peninsula and spun into a dam alongside the road. It was almost completely submerged – Blizzard was the only person in the car.[12] First responder, Alistair Drayton of Mannerim CFA, swam into the murky water, but "discovered the victim deceased, still trapped in the driver's seat."[12] The band added Jaws Meanie (a.k.a. Jordan Stanley) on guitar and continued as a four-piece – his first two gigs were tribute shows for DePianto and Blizzard, respectively.[10][11]
Rolling Stone's Ryan Saar found, "[they] are surely one of Australia's favourite treasures. Stumbling upon their brand of grotesque power-pop is a venerable goldmine for any music fan seeking the loud and thrilling. Emerging during the moment at which grunge began to seep from an underground culture into mainstream acceptance."[13] Saar felt that on their third studio album, It's Not Me, It's You, released in September 2015, which is "skating in at just over twenty minutes, [the group] re-introduce their thrashy punk soaked in pop fervour. With only a handful of songs breaking the three-minute mark, [they] do what they do best: rousing rock played to a lean and frenzied degree."[13]
A 30th anniversary tour took place in 2019, followed by a fourth studio album, Desperate Measures in 2020.
Band members
editCurrent
edit- Link Meanie (Lindsay McLennan) – vocals and guitar (1988–1996, 1998–present)
- Jaws Meanie (Jordan Stanley) – lead guitar (2008–present)
- Wally Meanie (Roderick Kempton) – bass guitar and vocals (1989–1996, 1998–present)
- Ringo Meanie (Mark Hobbs) – drums (1988–1996, 1998–present)
Former
edit- VB Meanie (Dave Christopher) – bass guitar and vocals (1988–1989)
- D.D. Meanie (Dennis DePianto) – lead guitar (1988–1995, d. 2008)
- Tas (Tasman Blizzard) – lead guitar (1993–1996, 1998–2008, d. 2008)
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Details |
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| Come 'N' See |
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| 10% Weird |
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| It's Not Me It's You |
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| Desperate Measures |
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Live albums
edit| Title | Details |
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| 25 Live: Live At The Hi-Fi |
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Compilation albums
edit| Title | Details |
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| The Meanie Of Life (Long Gone Singles + Other Bits) |
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Extended plays
edit| Title | Details |
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| In Search Of... |
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| Six Suitable Tracks |
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| Secrets of the Ancients Revealed |
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Video albums
edit| Title | Details |
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| The Meanies: A Seminal Australian Punk Tale |
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References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n McFarlane, Ian (1999). "Encyclopedia entry for 'The Meanies'". Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop. St Leonards, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-072-1. Archived from the original on 30 September 2004.
- ^ a b Johnston, Chris (August 1994). "100% Danger". Rolling Stone. Sydney, NSW: Tilmond Pty Ltd: 23.
- ^ Donovan, Patrick (23 May 2003). "Atomic Rhomb". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g Emery, Patrick (9 August 2006). "The Meanies". Beat Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 October 2009. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ "Discography – Other Bits". The Meanies Official Website. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ a b c "Nursery Crimes & the Meanies team up at the Northcote Social Club". PBS 106.7FM. Archived from the original on 31 October 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ a b Emery, Patrick (9 January 2008). "The Meanies". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 25 November 2017 – via The Meanies Official Website.
- ^ a b Turner, Aaron (16 January 2009). "The Meanies @ the Espy, Melbourne (16/01/09)". FasterLouder. Junkee Media. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2017. Alt URL
- ^ a b c Busby, Cec (19 February 2008). "R.I.P. DD Meanie". Faster Louder. Junkee Media. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ a b Bell, Steve (17 October 2014). "Silver, Rock It!". theMusic.com.au. Street Press Australia. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ a b Connoley, David (4 August 2008). "Geelong show to become a tribute to dead The Meanies guitarist Tasman Blizzard". Geelong Advertiser. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ a b Whalley, Jeff (2 August 2008). "The Meanies founding member Tasman Blizzard dies in peninsula crash". Geelong Advertiser. News Corp Australia. Archived from the original on 6 August 2008. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ a b Saar, Ryan (21 September 2015). "First Listen: The Meanies It's Not Me, It's You". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
- ^ "The Meanies: No Half Measures". Rolling Stone Australia. 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.