Ethyl Meatplow was an American dance, rap and noise inspired/industrial music band best known for their sole album, Happy Days, Sweetheart, released in 1993 by Dali Records, a division of Chameleon Music Group and distributed by Elektra Entertainment. The album's songs "Devil's Johnson," "Queenie" and "Ripened Peach" were made into music videos.
Ethyl Meatplow toured nationally with Nitzer Ebb; Thrill Kill Kult, Front 242, Steel Pole Bathtub, Foreskin 500, and gained coverage for its sexually explicit, burlesque-inspired, anything goes/first your money then your clothes live performances. The band played Lollapalooza and attracted criticism from Kim Gordon and Julia Cafritz of Free Kitten for its naked dancers and "recorded music." Some defended the band by pointing out that found sounds, sound bites, and/or muzic contrete/re-appropriated sounds were either played live, or triggered live via an early midi set-up through an array of keyboards or midi drum triggers by the band (when their "primitive" midi set-up was not crashing). The band attracted a cult following and continues to do so to this day. They were reviewed positively in Rolling Stone, who described Happy Days, Sweetheart as a "smorgasbord of unbridled lust and dance-floor fun." The video for "Devil's Johnson" featured on the Beavis and Butthead episode "Young, Gifted & Crude" and was aired on MTV's 120 Minutes. Their cover of "(They Long to Be) Close to You" was featured in a Season 2 episode of Daria.
The album label lists band members as Carla Bozulich, Harold "Biff" Barefoot Sanders III and Wee-Wee (John Napier). Bozulich later went on to found the band The Geraldine Fibbers, co-created Scarnella with Nels Cline, Red Headed Stranger with Willie Nelson, The Night Porter with Jessica Catron, Shahzad Ismaily and Ches Smith and has made 4 albums as Evangelista while integrating musicians from the American and Canadian post-rock underground of Constellation records. In 2014 and 2016, Bozulich released 2 solo albums with various collaborations on the Constellation Records label. Biff Sanders was a founding member of Eric Avery's side project Polar Bear and continues to win awards for his soundtrack contributions for Project Runway. Wee Wee was in the band E. Coli which released an album, To Drool on Triple X Records in 1996 as well as helping form; record, and tour with Buccinator which boasted several "all-star" members from well-known bands. Wee-Wee was also a touring member of Nitzer Ebb for several of their U.S. and European tours for their "Big Hit" album. Wee-Wee (John Napier) eventually took a break from music; went back to school and received his bachelor's and master's degrees in social work from Humboldt State University. The death of John Napier due to uncertain causes was announced on November 11, 2012.