| Curt Kirkwood | |
| Birth Name: | Curtis Matthew Kirkwood |
| Birth Date: | January 10, 1959 |
| Years Active: | 1980–present |
Curtis Matthew Kirkwood (born January 10, 1959)[1] is an American musician, best known as the guitarist, singer and primary songwriter for alternative rock group Meat Puppets, and for playing with Nirvana on MTV Unplugged in New York.
Curt Kirkwood formed the Meat Puppets along with his brother Cris on bass, and drummer Derrick Bostrom. The trio went in a hiatus in 1996 after a long career where the band became hailed as one of the premier and innovative indie bands as well as briefly achieving mainstream success in the early 1990s. As the group's lead vocalist and primary songwriter (including solely penning most of the band's best-known songs: "Plateau," "Oh, Me," "Lake of Fire," "Up on the Sun," "Backwater," etc.), Curt is the sole member of the original trio to have played in all of the band's incarnations since 1980.
He re-formed the Meat Puppets in 1999 with Kyle Ellison (guitar), Andrew Duplantis (bass) and Shandon Sahm (drums) to complete one studio album, Golden Lies, released in 2000. The new lineup disbanded in 2002 after the departure of Duplantis. After the Meat Puppets, Kirkwood toured as a solo act before banding together with Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh to form Eyes Adrift. They released a self-titled album in 2002 and toured the United States. After Novoselic's departure, Kirkwood and Gaugh formed another band, Volcano, which released a self-titled album in 2004 before Kirkwood decided to focus on his solo career. His first solo album Snow was released in October 2005.
He is also an artist and created the cover art for several Meat Puppets albums and merchandise, as well as for Stephen Beachy's novel The Whistling Song. In 2006, the Meat Puppets re-formed with Cris back on bass and drummers Ted Marcus and Shandon Sahm serving as replacements for Derrick Bostrom until he returned to the band in 2018. Since reforming, the band has released five new albums, Rise to Your Knees (2007), Sewn Together (2009), Lollipop (2011), Rat Farm (2013) and Dusty Notes (2019).
Kirkwood was extensively interviewed for the 2012 book, Too High to Die: Meet the Meat Puppets, by author Greg Prato.[2]
Kirkwood is the grandson of Carl W. Renstrom, who was owner of Tip-Top Products and a multi-millionaire from Omaha, Nebraska.[3]
See main article: Meat Puppets Discography.