Mucky Pup began as an American hardcore band formed in Bergenfield, New Jersey in 1985, when brothers John (drums) and Chris (vocals) Milnes joined up with Dan Nastasi (guitar) and former Hades member, Scott LePage (bass).[1] The band went through various incarnations and several musical style changes while gaining minor success in both the USA and Europe. Arguably, their breakthrough moment occurred when Berke Breathed picked their songwriting contest entry for release with a 1987 Bloom County comic strip compilation. However, their European success, based on strong tours and charting for the 1989 A Boy in a Man's World album, surpassed all recognition achieved in their home country.
History
Early years
The band recorded two demos, Live And Mucky and Greatest Hits, which sold a combined amount of over 1200 copies. The band would also play "battle of the bands" competitions in and around New Jersey. It was during one such event in 1986, while playing with the band Trixter at the Paramus, New Jersey roller rink, that a representative from Torrid Records first saw the band. The band was offered a record contract and several weeks later, they signed their first record deal with the independent label.
Torrid Records
Signing with Torrid brought a distribution deal in Europe with Roadrunner Records' sister label, Roadracer Records. The band's first album, Can't You Take a Joke?, was released in 1987. Around the same time, the band also won a song writing contest for the Bloom County comic strip. Entrants to the contest were to come up with a song for the fictional band Billy and the Boingers. Their winning song, "U-Stink-But-I-♥-U," was included as a flexi-disc in the Bloom County book, Billy and the Boingers Bootleg (ISBN 0-316-10729-8).
In 1988, the band released their second album, A Boy In A Man's World. The album featured a re-recorded version of "U-Stink-But-I-♥-U", for which the band shot their first music video. MTV played the video two times. A Boy In A Man's World also featured cover art by friend and future DC and Marvel comic book artist, Nelson DeCastro, who had previously created t-shirt art for the band as well.
Before the recording of A Boy In A Man's World, LePage, who had never been considered an official member of the band,[2]left due to touring conflicts. He was replaced by Dave Neabore. Shortly after the album was released, the band found themselves on their first tour of Europe. Although Mucky Pup never had a hit in the U.S., their European distribution deal, combined with this tour, helped the band attain success in Europe. When the band returned home, Nastasi resigned and helped co-found the band Non-Fiction with former members of Hades. Nastasi stayed with Non-Fiction for a short time, before leaving to briefly join Murphy's Law. Nastasi's position in Mucky Pup was filled by band friend Sean Kilkenny. After a year or so, Neabore and Kilkenny left to form the band Dog Eat Dog and Nastasi returned to Mucky Pup while simultaneously joining Dog Eat Dog as well.
The band's third album, Now, was released in 1989. Now featured new bass player Marc DeBacker, of Belgium, in the lineup, and featured guest appearances by Evan Seinfeld and Billy Graziadei of the band Biohazard, whom Mucky Pup had befriended and regularly used as an opening act. In the past, various clubs had refused to let Biohazard play, thinking that their performances would lead to violence, but Mucky Pup would sneak the band on stage for a few songs before their own set. Ultimately, Biohazard and their singer/bass player Evan Seinfeld gained larger mainstream attention than Mucky Pup were able to attain. The band shot a second video, "Hippies Hate Water," which MTV never played.
The band began playing shows with bands such as Primus, GWAR, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Murphy's Law, Bad Brains, 24-7 Spyz, and Scatterbrain. While Nastasi had returned to record Now, he no longer toured with the band, as he was performing with Dog Eat Dog at the same time Mucky Pup was touring. As a result, new guitarist Splatter toured with the band. Splatter's time with band was brief though and it wasn't long before he was replaced by Terry, who would remain their live guitarist until 1992.
After the release of Now, Mucky Pup ended their association with Torrid and Roadrunner Records.
Century Media Records
In 1991, the band signed with Century Media Records and released Act Of Faith. Once more, the lineup shuffled with DeBacker being replaced by Christopher "Junior" LaPlante and the addition of Kevin Powers as a keyboard player. Powers had previously played in smaller local bands such as Articulate Violence. Videos were shot for the songs "Freakin' at the Peepshow" and "Mr. Hand", which only received airplay in Europe. Once again, the band toured Europe, appearing many times with Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, with whom the band became good friends.
Shortly after the recording of the album, Nastasi stepped down from both Mucky Pup and Dog Eat Dog to focus on his family and his business. It wasn't long though before he re-joined the original lineup of Non-Fiction, now calling themselves #9. #9 was in the process of recording their debut when Nastasi accepted a solo record deal with SPV Records.[3] Nastasi named the band Nastasee and recorded two albums, featuring collaborations with members of both Mucky Pup and Dog Eat Dog. Trim The Fat and Ule Tide were only intended for European release and as a result, the band embarked on four tours of the continent. Before Ule Tide could officially be released, Nastasee was dropped from the label and the album was never officially released outside of promotional and mail order copies. As a result, Nastasi disbanded the band.
1992 saw the band take a turn away from humorous pop songs to focus on more aggressive, emotional and angry songs with their fifth release, Lemonade. The album brought another lineup change, as John Milnes moved to guitar and Kevin Powers took the drummer's position. It also saw the return of Marc DeBacker on bass. Since his first run with Mucky Pup, DeBacker had moved on to replace Nastasi in Dog Eat Dog and had taken part in the band's second full length album, Play Games and the European tour that preceded it.
After releasing two albums in as many years with Century Media Records, Mucky Pup ended their association with the label.
Mucky Records / SPV Music
In 1994, the band released the album Alive & Well under their own imprint, Mucky Records, through SPV Music. The album was a collection of live tracks recorded during their 1993 tour of Europe and studio versions of several cover songs. New additions to the lineup were Eric "EVS" VanSteenbergh and Glen Cummings, both on guitar. Cummings had previously been a member of both Ludichrist and Scatterbrain and would tour Europe with Mucky Pup, on two occasions, as a part time member of the band. Alive & Well was the only Mucky Pup album available exclusively in Europe.
The band's final album, Five Guys In A Really Hot Garage, was released in 1996. The final lineup saw John Milnes return to the drums and also featured the additions of Jack "Hinge" Pitzer, formerly of New Jersey thrash metal band, The Beast[4], on guitar and Joe Mama on bass. Marc DeBacker had since left the band a second time to return to Belgium and form the band 10,000 Woman Man. Bass player Bill Bergmann appeared on two of the songs and was pictured on the album cover. Bergmann would remain the bass player for what would be the last several months of the band's existence.
Post-Mucky Pup
After the final album, the band members continued to collaborate on different bands and projects. Members of the final lineup became tour managers and road crew members for artists such as The Bloodhound Gang, the Genitorturers, Type O Negative, Monster Magnet, Liz Phair and Tracy Bonham.
In 1998, Chris and John Milnes formed a band named Bully with Bill Bergmann & Kevin Powers. Bully was an attempt to continue recording together without the Mucky Pup name which they felt, at the time, had run its course. This lineup recorded a five song demo, consisting of the final original material by the band, but no album ever materialized. Mucky Pup's website now retroactively refers to the recording as a Mucky Pup demo titled Bully.
Also in 1998, Dan Nastasi & John Milnes joined forces with former Mucky Pup and Dog Eat Dog bandmates Dave Neabore & Sean Kilkenny to become All Boro Kings. The project was a throwback to the early days of Dog Eat Dog as it focused on the hardcore style that Dog Eat Dog had displayed on their first two releases. The band was soon signed to Century Media Records who released their debut album Just For The Fun Of It in 2002. The album was released exclusively in Europe due to the strong European fanbase the members had in their other bands. The band would also appear on several compilation albums. The band played most of their shows in and around New Jersey before embarking on one European tour with Biohazard, Agnostic Front, Hatebreed, Discipline, Death Threat and Born From Pain, as part of the EastPak sponsored Resistance Tour. In 2004, All Boro Kings quietly disbanded.
In 2000, Chris and John Milnes would once again join Dan Nastasi and Bill Bergmann to form The Hasbeens, a cover band that would perform popular songs of the 80's & 90's, as well as the occasional Mucky Pup song. The band played bars and small clubs in the Bergen County, New Jersey area for a year or so before disbanding.
In 2005, Kevin Powers directed the music video for the Bloodhound Gang's song Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss Uhn Tiss, a single found on their Hefty Fine album.
Dog Eat Dog continues to record and tour Europe, but of the three former Mucky Pup members who helped found the band, only Dave Neabore remains. Dog Eat Dog released their fourth full length album, in Europe, on June 23, 2006.
Chris and John Milnes now co-own the website development company True9. Pitzer and Powers also contribute work for the company, which has been instrumental in the development and maintenance of websites for actor Joe Pantoliano, the Charlotte Bobcats and boy band, 'N Sync.
Reunions
Since their breakup in 1996, Mucky Pup has played several reunion shows, each time featuring a different incarnation or combination of previous lineups. Most notable are shows that occurred in 1999, 2000 & 2002. In October, 2008, the band updated their website for the first time in several years. Along with the update, the band announced that they would embark on a European mini-tour in the summer of 2009. The band, consisting of Chris Milnes, John Milnes, Dan Nastasi, Dave Neabore and Kevin Powers, made one US appearance at Mexicali Live in Teaneck, New Jersey, on April 11, 2009, performing to a sold out crowd. In July, 2009, the band performed at the Rock for People and With Full Force festivals. The band returned to Europe in late August to play a handful of festival dates with bands such as Municipal Waste, Gorefest, Flotsam and Jetsam, Sodom and Martyr, before ending the tour with a string of dates along side Superbutt. The band lineup for the European tour dates featured Chris Milnes, Dan Nastasi, Mark DeBacker and Kevin Powers performing songs voted on by their fans.
The band returned to Mexicali Live in Teaneck, NJ on December 11 to perform their final show of 2009. The show was a release party for Live At Mexicali 2009, a DVD and CD recording of the show held at the same location, the previous April. Towards the end of their set, the original lineup of Dog Eat Dog reunited onstage to perform two songs.
Mucky Pup will return to Europe during the summer of 2010 for several festival dates. The most notable appearance will be on June 25 at the Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium where the band will be appearing alongside acts such as Bullet For My Valentine, Killswitch Engage, Sepultura and Kiss.
Band members
- Original lineup
- Chris Milnes (vocals) (all releases and tours)
- John Milnes (drums, guitars) (all releases and tours)
- Dan Nastasi (guitar) (Can't You Take A Joke? - Act Of Faith)
- Scott LePage (bass) (Can't You Take A Joke) (not considered a full-time member)
- Later members
- Dave Neabore (bass) (A Boy In A Man's World)
- Sean Kilkenny (guitar) (live during the A Boy In A Man's World tours)
- Marc DeBacker (bass) (Now and Lemonade)
- Christopher "Junior" LaPlante (bass) (Act Of Faith)
- Eric VanSteenbergh (guitar) (Alive & Well)
- Joe Mama (bass) (Five Guys In A Really Hot Garage)
- Splatter (guitar) (live during the Now tour)
- Terry (guitar) (live during the Now and Act Of Faith tours)
- Glenn Cummings (guitar) (Alive & Well) (not considered a full-time member)
- Final lineup
- Chris Milnes (vocals) (all releases and tours)
- John Milnes (drums, guitars) (all releases and tours)
- Jack "Hinge" Pitzer (guitars) (Five Guys In A Really Hot Garage)
- Bill Bergmann (bass) (live after Five Guys In A Really Hot Garage)
- Kevin Powers (keyboards) (Act Of Faith - Five Guys In A Really Hot Garage)
- 2009 reunion tour lineup
- Chris Milnes (vocals)
- John Milnes (drums) (United States dates only)
- Dan Nastasi (guitar)
- Marc DeBacker (bass) (European dates only)
- Dave Neabore (bass) (United States dates only)
- Kevin Powers (keys/samples/drums)
- Jack "Hinge" Pitzer (live sound)
Discography
Demos
- Live And Mucky (cassette only demo)
- Greatest Hits (cassette only demo)
- Bully
Studio albums
7" Singles
- Short Attention Span (1996)
Live
- Alive & Well (1994) (Europe only release)
- Live At Mexicali 2009 (2009) (CD & DVD)
Compilation appearances
- Hard Hitters CD (1998, Disky Records 88786)
- Track 11 - "M.B. (Ballad of the Moron Brothers)"
- Guitar Club Classics CD (2000, SPV Records 29432)
- Track 31 - "Hippies Hate Water"
Related bands (and shared members)
- #9 (Dan Nastasi)
- 10,000 Woman Man (Marc DeBacker)
- All Boro Kings (Dave Neabore, John Milnes, Dan Nastasi and Sean Kilkenny)
- Articulate Violence (Kevin Powers)
- Bully (Chris Milnes, John Milnes, Bill Bergmann and Kevin Powers)
- Candypants (Bill Bergmann and Kevin Powers)
- Dog Eat Dog (Dan Nastasi, Sean Kilkenny, Dave Neabore and Marc DeBacker)
- The Hasbeens (Chris Milnes, John Milnes, Bill Bergmann and Dan Nastasi)
- LowBuz (Dave Neabore)
- Ludichrist (Glen Cummings)
- Murphy's Law (Dan Nastasi and Sean Kilkenny)
- Nastasee (Dan Nastasi, John Milnes, Bill Bergmann and Sean Kilkenny)
- Non-Fiction (Dan Nastasi)
- Scatterbrain (Glen Cummings)
- The Skels (Eric VanSteenbergh)
References
External links
