Meade Skelton: Richmond’s Most Underappreciated Talent?
The newest release!
Last night was kind of surreal. I ended up drunk, in a dimly lit basement of a Baptist church, at a table with a bunch of people from the internet, to hear Meade Skelton sing songs like From the Outside Looking In and Sweet Tea (twice!).
If you don’t already know Meade, check out his personal blog or youtube pages. I hadn’t heard of him until recently when he posted a comment on one of Jeff’s photos from the last SMCRVA event, but once I was linked to his blog he became a bit of an obsession and I needed to know if he was real. Here’s a paragraph from one of the first blog posts of his I read:
I went to Premiere Costume Shop today in Carytown and rented my costume for Halloween. I’m going as a “Native American” (incorrect term, but you know how people are these days). So I asked the lady in the shop who was 10 shades whiter than myself if the Indian costume was authentic with the head dress , and she snarled at me “Not, Indian, Native American ! “. She went on to say she was Native American herself. Well, I didn’t have the nerve to tell her I probably have more “Native American” blood than she does , considering my great great grandmother was half Cherokee and I’m a direct descendant of Pocahontas . Anyways, after that was over, she said it would do. I got the costume. I’m not crazy about enclosed spaces, and the costume shop is very snug. Feels like everyone was breathing down the back of my neck in there. Then I heard some coughs and sneezes. I sure don’t want to get sick! After I got my costume, I headed over to Walgreen’s where I picked up some bags of candy and stool softener.
Awesomely enough there was a record release party in mid-November at the Tabernacle Church were Jeff and I could go witness Meade Skelton live in person!
Pre-release party drinks were had by Jeff, EditorDee, and I at Bogart’s and then we headed over to meet up with Twitterers/bloggers FilthyRichmond, worldwidebrian, thebyurokrat, alisonkay, and a few other folks. We sat together at a table in the back and got labelled the hipster/blog table, which was especially fun when Hipsters Ruin Everything was sung. But the evening itself was actually pretty enjoyable. I was tipsy, there was lots of food, including Meade cookies that FilthyRichmond made, it was nice talking to others as fascinated by Meade as I was, and then I got to meet the man in person.
Meade Skelton has such a unique and strong personality online that I was surprised that when I introduced myself he seemed a bit nervous. Not the sauve character I had imagined! But we showed him the Meade shirt Jeff had made and worn for the occasion and Jeff bought a record that he got signed. I believe it read, “To Jeff, Musically Yours, Meade Skelton.” So sweet. And then we hightailed it out of there and went to Helen’s were, I for one, got drunk on bourbon and PBR.
Highlights of the evening: sweet dance moves, cookies, sweet tea, Hipsters Ruin Everything, sweat soaked clothing, livetweeting, rainstick usage
Sounds like an epic damn show! Let us know of future updates!
I’ve heard of Meade quite some time ago. I think hes talented, but he is a little eccentric when I met him. Almost shy . I also think hes a very handsome man. Either way, he is authentic as they come.
Meade is a riddle wrapped in am enigma. Wish I could’ve been at the show to see him in person. He’s been kind enough to comment on my blog a couple of times and I’ve visited his blog and heard some of his music samples, along with the Hipsters Ruin Everything video. I can’t figure the guy out, but I am intrigued.
As much as Meade puts himself out there on the internet I would have never thought that he would be so shy in person.
I, too, recently became obsessed with the man behind the Meade. Here’s hoping he plays around town again soon. Also, love the shirt.
All I’m saying is that we had fun…and it was definitely not our empty bottles in the church parking lot, we like bars. It was suprisingly good, made all the better by FilthyRichmond’s cookies, which I’m still craving today. What was in those things?
Meade Skelton actually makes me like Country Music. I never thought that would be humanly possible…
For those of you who just discovered Meade you missed out of some funny times over the years. Going way back, Meade trolled the old richmond.com forums and the fredtalk.com forums. Meade’s posts on fredtalk were usually written in third person and by his user name “mook”. He was banned several times but kept reappearing with a new user name to promote himself. A group of people from fredtalk went to one of his shows and they said that he acted like he didn’t know what the internet was when they approached him.
Meade is classic, it’s a shame that he doesn’t have a wikipedia page dedicated to him. No Meade on facebook, no Meade on Twitter. He only used twitter for a month before deciding that it was a tool used by the government to keep track of what we are all doing.
Does anyone else think that Meade is goofing on Andy Kaufman?
I’ve suspected that too. Is he too strange to be real or too strange not to be. Of course I wondered the same thing about Andy Kaufman.
I don’t think you could make Meade up. I think he’s the real deal, whatever that is.
Here’s the official Fairfax Underground thread about the show: http://www.fairfaxunderground.com/forum/read/40/271482.html
It’s hilarious and they even put my pic in the latest post! My favorite comment from user Jeester: “…A record release party is certainly good news. Because once you buy the record you have now way to listen to it.”
Jeester, why do you think I bought the record?! But really, it was fun being with friends and having something unique to do on a Saturday night.
Let me add that my parents have a record player and I WILL be listening to it probably later this week!
Okay, why the hate on Meade? You really need to make comments that you buy his record because you know you can’t listen to it? You might wish you had half the talent he has. But then again, people must have sad lives to go and crash a party and pretend to be fans so they can make fun of Christians at a Baptist church. Y’all suck. BAD.
Rivah, just a question. Do you know how to read? Like read properly? Because you would see that nobody has said anything negative about the show or about Meade. We posted a raving review about him and the show and have nothing but great things to say about him and his music. Back to the homeless shelter you go.
No offense, Chad, but this article seems rather insulting and so do the people here like it was some big joke. I’m so glad, though, that its not. Peace.
RivahDog, have a sense of humor Meade.
I think Meade Skelton is fantastic! Very skilled and original.
I am also a local artist, but nowhere as talented as Meade Skelton. I’m completely jealous!!
Ha ha, very funny, Kim. Im not Meade, never have been. But I do appreciate talent when I see it. Some of the comments here are downright insulting. He may not be perfect , but I think hes a good guy. And Jeff, you should actually invest in a turntable regardless of whether you care for Meade’s music or not.
I really do need to. All the bands I listen to these days usually package a record with their special editions, so if I had one I could get in on those. This might be the right time to get one!
RivahDog, I don’t think what I wrote is insulting. It’s all true and written in a humorous tone, but it’s not mean spirited in any way. I actually emailed a link to it to Meade yesterday. Stop being a negative Nancy all up in my comment section.
You could also try listening to some good music for a change : AKA Meade Skelton
crazyyo/RivahDog… I don’t get your comments. It’s like you haven’t read the post even though it’s only three paragraphs and located at the top of the comment section.
My apologies, atjoshka. My comments were directed to laptopmnky. The article was fine. CrazyYo aka RivahDOG.
I do listen to Meade! Some of my favorite Meade videos are from when he covers The Killers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqX65kORxs8
Meade should cover something by Jethro Tull !