Philly’s finest weirdos finally get the book they deserve: Tyler Sonnichsen chronicles the Dead Milkmen

Philly’s Finest Weirdos Finally Get the Book They Deserve

If you grew up in the ’80s and ’90s with a mixtape in one hand and a healthy suspicion of authority in the other, the Dead Milkmen were probably already in your bloodstream. Now, author Tyler Sonnichsen has done the underground a real solid: ’The Dead Milkmen,’ the first-ever book on the band, drops June 30 via J-Card Press — and it sounds like it hits every note.

Punks, Nerds, and a City That Made Them

The Dead Milkmen crawled out of Philadelphia’s hardcore scene in 1983, and right from the jump they were something different. Guitarist Joe “Jack Talcum” Genaro, singer-turned-keyboardist Rodney “Anonymous” Linderman, bassist Dave “Blood” Schulthise, and drummer Dean “Clean” Sabatino had a kind of scrappy, sharp-tongued energy that didn’t fit neatly into any box. Their 1985 debut ‘Big Lizard in My Backyard’ introduced college radio to their burlesque chaos, and Bitchin’ Camaro became the kind of song you never quite shake.

They spent the better part of a decade on the road, releasing seven albums and doing what underground bands do — building a world out of sheer DIY will. 1988’s ‘Beelzebubba’ brought them their weirdest brush with the mainstream: Punk Rock Girl somehow made it onto MTV, a left-field moment that felt perfectly on-brand for a band that was always a little out of time with whatever was trending.

When the Scene Moved On (and What Came After)

When alternative rock blew up, the Milkmen found themselves in that strange purgatory — pioneers who suddenly didn’t fit the new landscape they helped create. They broke up in 1994. Schulthise eventually relocated to Serbia, got back to school, and in 2004, died by suicide. A memorial show brought the others back together, and by 2008 the band had officially reunited with Dan(drew) Stevens stepping in on bass as a full member by 2010.

Since then, they’ve released three more full-lengths, played plenty of festivals, and kept doing benefit gigs back home in Philly. The scrappy spirit? Still fully intact.

The Book

Sonnichsen — also the author of ’Capitals of Punk’ (2020) — brings exclusive quotes, photos, and anecdotes to tell this story in full for the first time. It’s the kind of deep-dive that fans have been waiting decades for, and the co-signs say it all: MC Lars calls it “essential reading for fans and students of punk and underground culture,” while drummer and comedian Jon Wurster (who ran with the band in their earliest days) says it’s “a heartwarming journey through the past and a revealing overview of one of alternative rock’s most important bands.“

J-Card Press, which has already put out acclaimed band biographies on Brainiac, the Apples in Stereo, Laughing Hyenas, and others, releases ‘The Dead Milkmen’ on June 30. Review copies are available upon request. Grab it directly from J-Card or wherever books are sold.