Biography

For the better part of a decade, Austin's The Meat Purveyors were the skunk tossed into the tent of stoic bluegrass revivalism. Always more Brothers Ramone than Brothers Osborne and more comfy in jack boots than cowboy, TMP are still able to out-lament most of the current crop of high lonesome pretenders. Top shelf musicianship, razor sharp songwriting, and a total lack of concern for the confines of genre, make the Meat Purveyors one of the most entertaining and energetic plying the dark corners of the roots underground.

Whiskey-fueled and case-hardened deep in the heart of Texas, TMP boast a personal history that would shame Fleetwood Mac, and wood shedding that sends so-called roots revivalists, snooty bluegrass purists, and alt-country poseurs into paroxysms of self-doubt and years of expensive therapy.

And just who are these Texans who dare to breathe fresh life into the overly stoic, staid and mossback world of bluegrass? Anchoring this dysfunctional lot with his percussion guitar and gift for lyrics is recent Austin Music Hall of Fame inductee Bill Anderson (we're guessing it can't be THAT hard to get into, fer crying out loud). Diva Jo Walston is a honky tonk angel gone wrong under a towering beehive, while Miss Cherilyn DiMond delivers piledriver stand-up bass and harmonies directly from the choir (and banter directly from the truck stop parking lot). Mr. Peter Stiles, a reformed Deadhead, presents a flabbergasting prestidigitation on the mandolin and it is rumored that he has never played a bad solo. Ever. Darcie Deaville provides the fiery fiddling and the wild-eyed stares that fans fear to love and love to fear.

The Meat Purveyors are doing their best to keep bluegrass from tottering meekly into a dust-covered coffin. Help them, won't you? You don't want them to get too riled up.

“Guaranteed to lighten up even the sternest-visaged among us, The Meat Purveyors provide enough pure sensory overload to batter back whatever bummed you out to begin with.” —St. Louis Riverfront Times

“Most folks are sure to notice how sweetly the voices of singer Jo Walston and bass player Cherilyn DiMond mix, but the real brawn behind the band is mandolin player/album producer Pete Stiles and guitarist Bill Anderson. Stiles’ picking is what keeps the band in the bluegrass tradition, while Anderson has a fancy way of melding perceptive lyrics and hooky melodies.” —Austin Chronicle

“Musically they stay close to the roots with their stellar ensemble pickin’ and the high lonesome sound of lead vocalist Jo Walston, but their snappy original material and their ability to transform pop chestnuts proves that there’s nothing retro or neo in this gang.” —Stereo-Type