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In 2004 Ben Weasel rescinded all of the Screeching Weasel and Riverdales masters from Lookout!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.
Pauline
Screeching Weasel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
An average girl in combat boots.
She photographed the punk rock bands that came through town.
Another time, another place,
Another fist aimed at my face.
But now and then I wonder if she's still around.
Does she publish her own zine or does she work for seventeen?
Is she rich?
Or selling crack to teenage kids?
When I've been kicked while I am down
I wonder if she left that town.
I wonder whatever happened to Pauline.
The opening lines of Screeching Weasel's song "Pauline" paint a picture of a girl who was interesting but not remarkable, someone who blended in with the punk scene of small towns. She is described as a cute girl who wears combat boots and takes pictures of the punk rock bands that come to town. However, the lyrics quickly take a darker turn as the songwriter reminiscences about another encounter with "another fist aimed at my face". While it is not explicitly clear who caused the violence or why, it can be inferred that this may have been a common occurrence in the punk scene of the time.
This nostalgia is then contrasted with a series of questions in the second verse that reflect the uncertainties and mysteries surrounding this girl named Pauline. Does she work for a magazine like Seventeen? Is she married or wealthy now, or has she started selling drugs to teenagers? The lyrics then take a turn again, as the songwriter wonders if Pauline has left their town and if she is still around.
Line by Line Meaning
She was cute but not too cute
She was attractive, but not overly so
An average girl in combat boots
She dressed in punk fashion and wore combat boots, but was otherwise a regular person
She photographed the punk rock bands that came through town
She took pictures of the punk rock bands that performed in their town
Another time, another place
On a different occasion and in a different location
Another fist aimed at my face
Someone else tried to harm him physically
But now and then I wonder if she's still around
Occasionally, he thinks about whether she's still living in the area
Does she publish her own zine or does she work for seventeen?
He wonders whether she writes and publishes her own punk rock fanzine or works for a mainstream publication geared towards teenage girls
Is she married?
He wonders whether she's married to someone else
Is she rich?
He wonders whether she's become wealthy
Or selling crack to teenage kids?
He wonders whether she's involved in selling drugs to adolescents
When I've been kicked while I am down
When he's feeling down or defeated
I wonder if she left that town
He wonders whether she moved out of town
I wonder whatever happened to Pauline
He thinks about what might have happened to her since he last saw her
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: BENJAMIN M. FOSTER, BENJAMIN M FOSTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind