Because of its improvised dialogue intro, the song remained a favorite at live shows.Įat Your Paisley, their second album, was released the following year. The album received college radio play, with the track " Bitchin' Camaro" becoming especially popular. After several self-released cassettes, their debut LP, Big Lizard in My Backyard, was issued in 1985 on Restless Records, a subsidiary of Enigma Records. The band played frequently in Philadelphia's punk rock circuit and eventually began touring nationally. He completed the lineup as lead vocalist in 1983, in time for their first public performance.Įarly career and albums (1983–87) Linderman collaborated sporadically with the three during this period. Sabatino was the only member with experience in rock groups, having played previously in the two-piece new wave band Narthex. The three began loosely rehearsing together in 1981, taking their name from Genaro's home-recording project. While in Philadelphia, Genaro met Schulthise and Sabatino through mutual friends. The project became inactive when Garth departed to join the United States Air Force and Genaro relocated to the dormitories of Philadelphia's Temple University. Linderman, who attended high school with Genaro, later participated in this embryonic stage of the group.
According to Genaro, the band's moniker came from a character named "Milkman Dead" in Toni Morrison's novel Song of Solomon. Then based in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Genaro and his high school friend Garth created an imaginary band called The Dead Milkmen with a mythological back-story, recording homemade cassettes in keeping with their fictional characters. History Formative period (1979–83) Ĭonceptually, the group began in 1979 as Genaro's home-recording project.