At first glance, it could appear that The Meanies had a fairly typical exuberant Australian childhood – from shitting your pants to breaking bones, showing off in front of other kids and getting to meet some of your heroes – except this was all done on stage in front of often huge crowds.
Link Meanie reflects on the band’s growing pains and tells Jim Murray he’s not afraid of embarrassing 21st speeches; “I’m quite low-brow ya know.”
Forming in 1989, The Meanies were signed to the seminal label Au Go Go by Bruce Milne and Greta Moon after around only 20 gigs, first appearing on the Boogie Wonderland compilation along with The Throwaways and The Nice Girls From Cincinatti. The band released several 7” singles and EPs on Au Go Go, as well as their first two albums Come and See (The Meanies) and The Meanie of Life which both arrived on teenage stereos in 1992.
As one of Melbourne’s leading punk bands, The Meanies were best known for their boisterous live gigs and soon became huge drawcards on the local band scene, Link recalling the band regularly attracting “some big crowds at places like the Tote, Prince of Wales, Wall street (Hi Fi), The Corner etc.” The band were also mainstays of the massive all ages scene, which in the 90s had far less concerns about public liability insurance, security and kids having a good time. Faced with the restrictions placed on holding underage gigs these days, Link’s solution is pretty simple, based on a tried and tested method. “I would create a scene called “The Meanies all age scene” where we were the only band legally entitled to play all ages shows. Kids would also be rounded up and forced to attend our shows. They’d kinda be like the Nazi youth (but without the racism). We would be the Richard Wagner of the age (but without the nationalism).”
The Meanies had a well deserved reputation for their live show. Throwing himself around the stage with wild abandon, Link frequently ended up in the mosh pit, much to the delight of the crowd and tut-tutting of the triage nurse at the local hospital emergency department. “I’ve broken quite a few bones in the Meanies (and other bands) including my jaw, collar bone, fingers etc. but in a way the most problematic was when, at different times I did both my ankles. I had to wear a brace for quite some time.”
There was also the odd injury to dignity. Getting in first to avoid any embarrassing 21st speeches at their upcoming birthday gig at the Hi-Fi bar in Melbourne, Link offers to put it all on the table. “I compulsively tell everyone about my embarrassing moments, so they’re all out there. Shitting my pants a few minutes before a show was more funny than embarrassing. I’m quite low-brow ya know. I had this idea for a high energy pre gig diet, consisting of a mars bar, can of spaghetti and a can of coke, but let me tell you, that’ll go right through you.”
The band’s reputation as a massive drawcard on the indie scene also coincided with the huge growth in popularity of ‘alternative’ music as Ratcat then Tumbleweed, Spiderbait and other indie and punk acts broke through to the top of the charts locally, sparking ridiculous record company bidding wars; and the Pixies and Nirvana broke down the door for ‘alternative’ acts worldwide. It was a period described by Australian music journalist Craig Mathieson in his book The Sell In as a time when ‘the idea of independent music battling for recognition and struggling for survival, gaining ground through subversion and small steps, was done with. After 1991, the doors were open. It remained to be seen who was willing to walk through them.’
Live at least, The Meanies had the door held open for them. Overseas tours beckoned and led to support tours with some of the biggest names in music in the early to mid nineties; from the 5,6,7,8s to Redd Kross, The Lemonheads and Bad Brains to the Beastie Boys, as well as icons of a generation such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam. That’s not to say that the band didn’t cop the odd pot shot when sticking their head over the indie parapet: Pearl Jam’s Australian tour promoter was infamously heard to scream in his office – when told Pearl Jam wanted the band to support them on their Australian tour in 1994 – ‘Who the fuck are The Meanies?’
Link has fond memories of most of these bands, recalling “The Pearl Jam guys were lovely as were two of Nirvana (Kurt Cobain was just surly; He was pretty sick at the time). The Bad Brains chaps were mostly good eggs and one of the Beastie Boys was a nice bloke.”
Culminating with the release of much loved album 10% Weird in 1994 (if you haven’t got it, ask your older siblings or cousins – every music loving teenager bought or stole a copy of that album at the time), the band drifted in to hiatus, with members focusing on other projects, without ever breaking up. “So we just sort of trickled back into it. I was doing the Tomorrow People at the time which was my priority as was Even with Wally. The Meanies just moved along like an Arabian caravan at that stage.”
The trickle has remained steady, however, with the band gigging in spurts ranging from rarely to sporadically to frequently over the last 12 years or so. Alas, the period hasn’t been without the tragic deaths both in 2008 of original members DD Meanie from cancer and Tas ‘Blizzard’ Meanie in a car accident. Many bands would have called it quits after such a chain of events, but Link himself sees keeping going as the only option. “That was really hard for us, as you could imagine. It takes quite a while to learn to deal with that shit, if you ever can. I mean, I’d start thinking really futile stuff like “I’d cut off my fingers if I could get that person back”. As for what keeps me going, there’s nothing better to do. I’ve become quite the existentialist emo as I get older and I figure the least miserable option is to just keep playing music and having a party. You’d have to ask the other guys about their stimuli.”
Providing the metal pins and steel plates in Link’s body hold up, The Meanies are having a big 21st birthday bash at the Hi-Fi Bar in Melbourne on Saturday 19th June. Joining them for the party are a buzz bands Wicked City and Money For Rope, as well as a band billed as Jam, Kit and Wanet. We’ll leave you to figure out who they actually are, suffice to say that they’re mentioned in this story and no, Kurt Cobain is still dead so Nirvana aren’t reforming for the event, despite the lofty regard in which The Meanies are held.
Tickets are available here
