Kirkwood keeps substance at forefront

When part of your legacy includes influencing one of the most noted bands of the last 25 years, going back to square one can't be easy.

Curt Kirkwood, former frontman of the Meat Puppets, one of Kurt Cobain's favorite bands, is currently touring the country with not much more than his guitars and a few changes of clothing. There are no tour buses or entourages, no venues filled with fans brimming with anticipation, not even musicians backing him. The memory of that stardust-laden night in 1993, when Cobain invited Kirkwood and his brother, Cris, onstage for what would become Nirvana's most glorious moment, is now distant.

These days, Kirkwood says, "There's way less bombast, so when you do engage (fans) they're not preoccupied with the onslaught of the noise. They're able to take a little more in, I think. There is that opportunity, for sure, and it's a lot of fun. I'm having a blast doing a solo tour."

Kirkwood's fame might have peaked with "Unplugged in New York," the live Nirvana release that showcased three Meat Puppets' songs. But in terms of his art, Kirkwood's skills have not diminished. "Snow," his debut solo effort, packs the dual emotional and musical punch that marked the Meat Puppets' music. With the assistance of producer Pete Anderson, who has worked with Dwight Yoakam, Lucinda Williams and Roy Orbison, Kirkwood has produced a stripped-down album that resonates because of its ideas, not its flash.

"Pete just has a sense of economy that's hard for me to get," Kirkwood says. "I'm a guitar player and a singer, so I want to put harmonies on everything, I want to put a bunch of guitar on everything, and then I want to pretend that I'm a drummer and get in the way there. A lot of it is just the economy that Pete brought to it, making me stick to my guns, saying, 'Don't worry, it will hold its own with just guitar and vocals.'"

The minimalist approach allows Kirkwood's lyrics equal, if not greater, prominence than his music. Thus the images are enhanced as in the line "what a beautiful weapon you've got in your eyes," from the shimmering "Beautiful Weapon," or "we can paint a checkered future/the same old windows, brand new glass, from "Here Comes Forever."

Kirkwood says his lyrics are often experimental. A line from the title track about "snow settling on barbed wire" is more imagined that experienced because "I haven't grown up around snow, I wasn't around it when I wrote that song," he says. "That song was more about taking a chance, the realization that a lot of good stuff is hard-earned. There are good things that come your way, but a lot of things in my life that are really decent are a balancing act."

The Meat Puppets were, of course, one of those good things, but the band tested Kirkwood's equilibrium beyond the bounds of any tightrope walker. After Cris Kirkwood succumbed to the madness of drugs, Curt Kirkwood could not put the pieces back together himself.

Still, the legacy endures. Critically acclaimed, admired by musicians such as Cobain and Black Flag, the Pups, as they were affectionately known to their hardcore constituency, attracted a small, loyal following that was in no way commensurate with their ability. Live Meat Puppets show were part hoedown, part punk, and all sweaty, with slam-dancing mosh-pitters vying for space with swing dancers.

Kirkwood, when prodded, agrees that live concerts were special and beyond the norm of the average rock concert.

"We always understood that, "he says. "We thought we were the best thing there was. That helps, having that kind of confidence and actually knowing it. We didn't have to believe in ourselves. We really were sold. We thought what we were doing was on to something. I've been in other bands, and I'll play music with anybody ... but with the Puppets, we started doing stuff we'd seen our heroes do."

No wonder Cobain loved them.