MEAT JOY formed in late 1982 amidst the vibrant Austin, TX post-punk music scene. It's core members were Mellissa (Cobb) DeMille, Tim Mateer, John (Perkins) Hawkes, Gretchen Phillips, and Teresa Taylor (aka Teresa Nervosa). In April, 1983, Meat Joy played the Houston leg of the "Rock Against Reagan" tour headlined by the Crucifucks. That autumn, Taylor left to join the Butthole Surfers. Jamie Spidle joined the band in November, cementing it's permanent lineup. In the coming months Meat Joy played shows with The Meat Puppets, Husker Du, The Dicks, The Mydolls, and The Big Boys. Meat Joy recorded and released an album in 1984. The LP featured eight different front covers, designed and silkscreened by the band. The back covers were each individually hand decorated by the band and friends. The record was distributed by Rough Trade and Dutch East India, and received critical praise internationally. The first run quickly sold out, as did the second. Today they're collector's items and command exorbitant prices. The band was also featured on two compilation LPs, "Metal Moo Cow" and "Bands On The Block" alongside Scratch Acid and a host of Texas bands. Touring the Midwest in the summer of 1984, playing shows with CH3, Sun City Girls, Jodie Foster's Army, Tales Of Terror, and many others, the group was voted "Best Avant-Garde/Experimental Band" in the 1984-85 Austin Chronicle Music Poll. The Chronicle Poll and the award show that followed laid the groundwork for what would become the SXSW Music Festival. Meat Joy was difficult to categorize. They were a leaderless collective. Often improvisational, they moved fluidly among many genres seeking joy and truth. Their sound was alternately queer and straight, dark and funny, heartfelt and biting. Loud soft fast slow beautiful ugly music, sometimes all in the same song. The band played their last show at Austin's Continental Club in April, 1985. "MEAT JOY were the DIY jewel of the Austin weirdo punk scene of the early 80's-essential, uncategorizable, and entirely insane." -Steve Shelley, SONIC YOUTH
