Through the years, the band went through many line-up changes, with Ben and John being the only constant members since the band's inception. Screeching Weasel officially broke up for (roughly) the third - and allegedly final - time on July 6, 2001.
The band did a few surprise shows between 2001-2009.
Ben Weasel reformed the group in March 2009 with a new line-up, and without John Jughead. Ben had released solo albums that were the same just in his name. John finally settled for T-Shirt money for being an original member of the band and a royalties for a handful songs he co-wrote, and let Ben play as Screeching Weasel with the hundreds of song lyrics and music has written.
Former Members include renowned punk rock record producer Mass Giorgini on bass guitar, Dan Panic (born Dan Sullivan) on drums, and Danny Vapid (born Dan Schafer,on guitar or bass, depending on the band's necessity. Dan is currently fronting The Methadones and formerly of Sludgeworth)
Members of Screeching Weasel have gone on to form bands such as: The Methadones, The Mopes, Even in Blackouts, and Sweet Black And Blue.
Screeching Weasel has also included members of Green Day, Sludgeworth, Common Rider, Squirtgun, and Teen Idols.
During one of the band's many break-ups, Weasel and Vapid also formed the Riverdales. Additionally, Ben Weasel released a solo record in 2002 entitled Fidatevi.
In 2004 Ben Weasel rescinded all of the Screeching Weasel and Riverdales masters from Lookout! Records in the wake of long-running financial and personal conflicts. The masters were subsequently licensed to and reissued by Asian Man Records.
On December 7, 2010, it was announced that Screeching Weasel will release a new album on March 15, 2011, the band's first album in eleven years. The album will be titled First World Manifesto and will be released on Fat Wreck Chords. It will contain 14 new songs and is produced by Mike Kennerty of The All-American Rejects. It was announced that the label will also be releasing the back catalogs of Screeching Weasel, the Riverdales, and Ben Weasel.
On March 18, 2011, during Screeching Weasel's South by Southwest Festival performance at the Scoot Inn in Austin, Texas, Foster reached from the stage and slapped a female audience member who had spit on him several times. This sent off a fire storm web frenzy from all of the self -righteous non Screeching Weasel fans. Ben apologized for his actions, but all of the perfect people who never loose there cool were not satisfied.
Ben and his hired band had a falling out. He found out who his true friends and fans were. After over a year of spending time with his family and raising a new baby, he released Carnival of Schadenfreude EP in 2011 with huge interest and has resumed his music career again full swing.
Bates Motel
Screeching Weasel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The opening line, "got 12 rooms 12 vacancies" immediately brings to mind the infamous Bates Motel, where the singer of Hitchcock's Psycho spends the night. The lyrics tie in perfectly with the setting of the motel, with the second line "you can do just what you please" hinting at the horror and danger that lurks in the rooms. The singer then warns the listener not to get "mother" - the deranged figure that the lead character in Psycho dresses up as - too angry, and to never call him "Master Bates", a reference to the term "masturbation" and the character's twisted sense of humor.
The song then takes a dive into the singer's twisted psyche. He admits to being bored and sharpening his mother's knives, which leads to a bloodbath. The line "I see mother's not a fruit but she's gotta go down" suggests that the singer sees his mother as someone who is past their prime and thus deserves to be killed. He then takes her body down to the cellar, where she won't be found. The singer is clearly aware that what he is doing is not right, but he takes pleasure in the "nasties that go on in Bates Motel".
Overall, "Bates Motel" is a disturbing insight into the mind of a deranged individual who takes pleasure in violence and murder. By referencing the setting of one of the most iconic horror films of all time, Screeching Weasel creates a song that is both disturbing and fascinating.
Line by Line Meaning
got 12 rooms 12 vacancies you can do just what you please just don't get mother to irate and don't ever call me master bates
I have a motel with 12 available rooms, and you're free to do what you want as long as you don't anger my mother or call me 'Master Bates'.
a man should have a hobby, true but i got so bored i needed something to do
As a man, I should have a hobby, but I was so bored that I needed something to occupy my time.
so i sharpened mother's cutlery now everywhere i look is blood
To quell my boredom, I sharpened my mother's knives, and now everywhere I look, I see blood.
i see mother's not a fruit but she's gotta go down down to the cellar so she won't be found
My mother isn't a fruit, but she needs to be disposed of in the cellar so she won't be discovered.
i know it's not right but i just can't tell of the nasties that go on in bates motel
I know what I'm doing is wrong, but I can't reveal the dark secrets that occur at Bates Motel.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: BENJAMIN M. FOSTER, BENJAMIN M FOSTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind