Sexual Milkshake - (1992) ST LP

Formed in the late 1980s in Harrisonburg, VA, Sexual Milkshake originally consisted of three members: Sexua, Lmil, and Kshake (also known as Greg Allen, Chris Callahan, and Todd/Rusty Massie, respectively). Their musical philosophy could best be summed up in a comment Greg Allen once tossed off: "Tune schmoon, just play!" Too dumb to be called art rock and too smart to be called retarded rock, Sexual Milkshake walked the fine line that separated clever and stupid. The only conventional aspect of this band was the fact that they lived out the alt rock cliché of having a female bassist, a role originally filled by Ame Dread and later by Jill Murphy. After releasing a 7" on the influential Teenbeat label, they went on to release a full-length CD and LP titled Sing Along in Hebrew on the same label. Sexual Milkshake deserves a place in the footnotes of rock & roll history for their extravagant product packaging as much as their twisted musical creations. For example, their lead singer invented what he dubbed the "Gregtar," an unwieldy monstrosity of a guitar that was comprised of two guitar bodies attached to both ends of a guitar neck. Each end contained a separate pickup that could be plugged into a different amplifier. Sexual Milkshake are also noteworthy because their CD and LP are among the most lavishly packaged albums of all time. Sing Along in Hebrew contains a 12-page tabloid-sized booklet, chopsticks, a 3-D poster of the band, 3-D gorilla glasses with a scratch & sniff banana, a '60s-style nudie matchbook, a mermaid drinking glass companion, and -- oh yeah -- the record. After a moderately successful four-year career, the band stopped playing together in 1993. Drummer Chris Callahan co-founded Blast Off Country Style in 1992, and Todd/Rusty Masse formed the Gollypops with fill-in Sexual Milkshake bassist and ex-Blast Off Country Style member Phil Sweeney.