To have Cris Kirkwood back as the bassist of the Meat Puppets is nothing short of a miracle. The band he founded with his guitarist/vocalist brother Curt in 1980 broke up in 1996 due to Cris’ addiction to heroin and crack cocaine. In the ensuing years, Cris’ life spiraled far out of his control as he lost his wife to a drug overdose and spent 18 months in prison for attacking a post-office security guard. Now, almost four years clean and sober, Cris is gearing up to hit the road in support of the band’s 12th studio album, Sewn Together. Before he does, Cris will spend the week guest editing magnetmagazine.com. Read our new Q&A with Cris and our 2007 career overview of the Meat Puppets.
Cris Kirkwood: Touring can, occasionaly, not be only the hell of trying to make a little music in the face of the abject horror of what it is to be, let alone the stench of stale beer. Coming upon Stonehenge unexpectedly was definitely one of those times. The damn thing is just right there, sandwiched between a couple of English motorways. Coming over a little rise in the road, not realizing it was there and then, “Wow, hey, look at that. Fucking Stonehenge! I’ll tell ya!” So we stopped, paid our admission, walked through the little tunnel under the road that accesses it and spaced the fuck out. It was getting on to evening, brisk and blustery, and the place didn’t fail to exude whatever the fuck it is that a place like that would. On our way again, buoyed by our chance encounter, we stopped to refuel and promptly wound up stuck in the English countryside again, having put gasoline in our diesel rental. Shucks. Fuckin’ cosmic.
