Glen Meadmore is a Canadian musician, actor, and performance artist currently residing in Los Angeles. His music is often described as Cowpunk, though in a 2017 interview with the San Diego Reader Meadmore described it as "a blend of loud, raucous, distorted guitar and Appalachian melodies far removed from what most people think of alt-country or psychobilly. Think Carter Family meets Motörhead."
Biography
Glen Meadmore was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. As a teenager, Meadmore played bass and sang with Winnipeg punk band The Psychiatrists. He later became involved in performance art, and appeared on local community television on his own cable show. Glen is 6'8" tall. Meadmore moved to Los Angeles in the early 1980s. He continued working as a performance artist, appearing at the famed punk, avant garde, artist scenester hangout nightclub the Anti-Club where he became renowned for his outrageous performances. During this time, he met African American queer political performance artist Vaginal Davis and the two formed the band Pedro, Muriel and Esther, also known as PME, one of the earliest queer punk bands to emerge. Both Meadmore and "Vag" performed with the band in drag, and were photographed by Rick Castro in drag for the cover of their EP on Amoeba Records. Meadmore also utilized his drag persona for underground films he was making with director John Aes-Nihil, such as The Drift. He abandoned this persona in his later films, once again playing male roles. Meadmore developed a "country punk" persona for solo albums he began recording in 1985. Glen's first two albums blended country stylings and country-style "yodeling" with new wave synthpop production popular at the time, which proved to be an odd and striking mélange. Drag superstar RuPaul performed as a backup singer to Meadmore, along with Vaginal Davis. Glen's third album, Boned, dropped the synths and moved into loud, grungy country punk territory, with lots of feedback. On his fourth album, Hot, Horny and Born Again, produced by Jack Curtis Dubowsky, Glen showed off improved musicianship and performances, and some of these songs were included in the Bruce LaBruce and Rick Castro film Hustler White. During the 1980s Glen had corresponded with serial killerJohn Wayne Gacy. Gacy did several paintings of Glen, one of which appears on the cover of his album Hot, Horny and Born Again. Meadmore's most recent recording, Cowboy Songs For Lil Hustlers, produced by Steve Albini, continues in the vein set by Hot, Horny and Born Again. Glen continues to tour and perform as a three-piece in the style of these last two albums, which are a culmination of his unique style. Glen has performed and recorded with other artists and performers, including Helot Revolt. Glen's band includes Dave Kendrick a former drummer of Devo. June 2007 saw the reissue of Meadmore's first two LPs on CD. In February and March 2008 Glen did his first tour, playing concerts in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with the Munich rockband The Lazy and fan and radiomoderator Fritz Ostermayer as support on two concerts.
Obscenity trial
Glen was arrested February 3, 1989 in Santa Barbara for obscenity related to a performance at UCSB's Pub as part of UCSB's Gay Awareness Week. He was initially charged with indecent exposure, but this was reduced to Disorderly Conduct pertaining to "Lewd and Dissolute Behavior," according to the newspaper The Independent. His attorney was Public Defender Rick Barron. The case was heard by Municipal Court Judge Frank Ochoa. Glen was found not guilty. This was during the 1980s when many queer performance artists were being tried for their work and having their grants taken away.
