Spunke + Punk = Skunk

"Nearly everyone in the band has been trained in jazz," Spunke says, "but almost everyone is a dropout from college 'cause they all felt stifled."

They certainly have busted out on their records. The Meanies' first two albums -- the live Peace Love Groove and the lo-fi six-song EP Pave the World -- were both issued on the band's own No Record Company label. Then St. Louis's Shadow/Razorboy Records signed them and put out Kiss Your Ass Goodbye! but the company began to fall apart soon afterward. As Meanies manager Jeff Stepp remembers it, "We had a CD release party with no CDs. A few months later, we had another CD release party and still no CDs were available." Fuse Records snapped up the rights to the album, selling 2500 copies almost immediately.

Spunke says the band has plans to release a seven-inch single in the near future. Titled Urine Trouble, it will be issued on poster artist Lindsey Kuhn's No Lie imprint. Each cover will be individually urine-stained by a member of the band (Spunke's brainchild). "They'll pee in cups and stain each cover with eyedroppers," explains Stepp. Fascinating.

The Blue Meanies perform with I Don't Know and Quit at 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 15, at Cheers, 2490 SW 17th Ave; 857-0041. Tickets cost $5.