Dead Milkmen Free For All

[sparksfiend]

I've been playing guitar almost as long as I've been listening to The Dead Milkmen "6-7 years". And I've been trying to decipher Joe's guitar playing for the longest time! Can I please have some tips!?? What are some of Joe's influences? I'm guessing funk, but I'm not sure...
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[STH]

I too have studied the works of Mr. Talcum. His style is pretty unique in that a lot of guitar players try for 'perfection', where as Joe seems to embrace the occasional stray note or dissonant chord. Also, it seems that he does a lot of soloing over chords, at least more often than picking out single notes. The single notes are usually mixed with strums of full chords or partial chords. In interviews he mentions influences of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the Ramones (I'm sure there are more, perhaps Joe can elaborate). The guitars seem to be inspired by folk, punk rock, funk, and ska, though Joe truly makes it his own. Rarely can an obvious label be attached to a particular style of Joe's.

He also seems to change up the style a bit on each album as well:
Big Lizard has a lot of fast chord changes (Try playing "Tiny Town" at album speed... it takes a little while to get used to). Eat Your Paisley is a little slower and slightly more melodic (KK Suck 2 for example). Bucky Fellini and Beelzebubba have about the same feel, a little more technical in his playing but still embracing the "imperfections" of the DM style. On Metaphysical Graffiti, Soul Rotation, and Not Richard But Dick, Joe seems to be exploring a more "serious" style, with more precise playing and more conventional solos. Stoney's, in my opinion, saw a return to less conventional playing (The Girl With The Strong Arm comes to mind).

Examples off the top of my head... if you listen to "I Dream of Jesus" on Not Richard But Dick, you'll hear the last chord in the main verse riff sounds slightly dissonant. "Surfin' Cow" is a good demonstration of Joe mixing chords into his lead playing. "Where the Tarantula Lives" is another good example.

As far as Joe's strumming technique... he uses both upstrokes and downstrokes, in various combinations depending on the song. You'll just have to listen to whatever song and try to pick out the strumming pattern from there. Probably the easiest song to hear the strumming pattern is "The Guitar Song", because the focus is Joe's guitar, it is easy to pick out the strumming pattern on that one. Another easy one is "If You Love Somebody Set Them On Fire" because it is mostly upstrokes in a syncopated "ska" type of feel.

The way Joe plays guitar is always a pleasure to behold. Good luck Sparksfiend!