"I tapped her on the shoulder and said, 'Do you have a beau?'
She looked at me and smiled and said she did not know.
Punk rock girl, give me a chance,
Let's go slam dance,
We'll dress like Minnie Pearl,
Just you and me, punk rock girl..."

When Nobel-prize winning author Toni Morrison named one the characters in her book Song of Solomon “Milkman Dead,” she could have never fathomed what would come of it – certainly not a band like The Dead Milkmen. The raucous punk-influenced quartet certainly weren’t anything that would be considered cerebral, or even serious for that matter, although over the span of their career, they provided a deliciously humorous catalog of songs that slyly mocked the world around them. Besides, sometimes being taken seriously is pretty over-rated anyway.

The roots of The Dead Milkmen were sprouted in a place that certainly knew a thing or two about dairy products - Wagonstown, Pennsylvania, an Amish community that was probably the least likely place one would expect to spawn a punk band. Two of the band members, Joe Genaro and Rodney Linderman called Wagonstown home, and rather than raising barns in the local community, decided to start a band with some post-high school buddies, Dean Sabatino and Dave Shulthise. Deciding that they needed some flashier names, they each took on a pseudonym, with Joe becoming Jack Talcum, Dave becoming Dave Blood, Dean becoming Dean Clean and Rodney becoming Rodney Anonymous.

The underground music scene in Philadelphia became their stomping grounds, and after developing a following with the local college kids, they released their first album, Big Lizard in My Backyard in 1985. The album never got any mainstream recognition, but it did spawn what would become their signature tune, “Bitchin Camaro.” It was clear that the Dead Milkman were far more interested in getting laughs than making any serious social commentary and their small but growing following ate it up.

They followed up with more examples of their humor on albums such as Eat Your Paisley! Bucky Fellini, Beezlebubba (which produced their first MTV video, “Punk Rock Girl” and Metaphysical Graffiti. From this collection of material, they offered the world such unforgettable song titles as “The Thing That Only Eats Hippies,” “Smokin’ Banana Peels,” “If You Love Something, Set It On Fire” and “Instant Hit Club (You’ll Dance to Anything).”  Despite a little MTV popularity, the mainstream never really embraced the Dead Milkmen – perhaps because they were consistently being cleverly skewered by the band’s lyrics.     

Soon after Metaphysical Graffiti, the band was dropped by Enigma Records, but undeterred, they quickly got picked up by the Hollywood Records label (a subsidiary of Disney, no less.)   They released three more albums, Soul Rotation in ’92, Not Richard, Dick in ’93 and finally Stoney’s Extra Stout (Pig) in 1995 before breaking up the same year. The bandmates went their separate ways, recording and performing in other various endeavors, but reunited in 2004 under tragic circumstances – to play a benefit concert for various mental health organizations after bassist Dave Blood committed suicide.

But the final chapter has not yet been written on these witty lads. Surprising their loyal fans, the band started playing shows again in 2008 to an overwhelming response, and have since announced that they are working on new material. And if history is any indication, that likely means that the band that never took themselves too seriously may still manage to make us laugh like we did the first time we heard such moving lyrics as "Uh, what kinda car do ya' got? I've got a bitchin' Camaro, bitchin' Camaro, bitchin' Camaro." The world may be filled with seriousness, but certainly there will always be a place for The Dead Milkmen.