Biography
Raised in Paradise Valley, Arizona, Cris took up the banjo after seeing Deliverance, moved on to guitar, and ultimately picked up the bass when he started playing together in bands with his older brother Curt. In 1980 the brothers and their friend Derrick Bostrom, a drummer, decided to form a band, which they eventually named the Meat Puppets. Besides playing bass Kirkwood's role in the band grew over the years to include singing and songwriting. Their certified gold album of 1994, Too High to Die, featured two songs written and sung by Cris.
Unfortunately, Kirkwood's use of drugs began to spin out of control, and he developed a heroin addiction. Kirkwood retreated to his house in Tempe, Arizona, where he and his wife, Michelle Tardif, who was also an addict, lived in virtual isolation. Tardif eventually died of a drug overdose in August 1998. After the release of the album No Joke! in 1995, Kirkwood's compulsive behavior during what was already a stressful time for the band led to the Meat Puppets entering a period of inactivity. Despite numerous interventions and rehab stays, Kirkwood remained addicted to narcotics for a number of years.
Read more about this topic: Cris Kirkwood
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