Christopher Renstrom Kirkwood profile

Cris Kirkwood (born October 22, 1960) is the bassist and a founding member of the Meat Puppets.

Cris took up the banjo after seeing Deliverance, moved on to guitar, and ultimately picked up the bass when he started playing together in bands with his older brother Curt Kirkwood. In 1980, the brothers decided to form a band which they eventually named the Meat Puppets. Besides playing bass Kirkwood's role in the band grew over the years to include singing and songwriting. Unfortunately, his use of drugs in the mid-1990's had begun to spin out of control, and he developed a heroin addiction. His compulsive behavior led to the band entering a period of inactivity.

In December 2003, Kirkwood got into an argument with a security guard, which escalated when Kirkwood grabbed the guard's baton and began striking at him. The guard shot Kirkwood in the back. In August 2004, Kirkwood pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 24 months in prison. He is now clean and again working with the Meat Puppets.