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Rodney Linderman

American musician

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Rodney Linderman (born 21 May 1963), also known by his stage name Rodney Anonymous, is an American musician, journalist, and humorist currently based in Philadelphia. He is best known as the lead vocalist, keyboardist and co-songwriter of the satirical punk rock band The Dead Milkmen.

01Early life and education

Linderman grew up in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. He attended Coatesville Area High School with future bandmate Joe Genaro. He went on to attend West Chester University.

Linderman performing with The Dead Milkmen in 2010
Linderman performing with The Dead Milkmen in 2010

02Musical career

With the Dead Milkmen (1983-1995)

Linderman joined an embryonic version of Genaro's basement group the Dead Milkmen while in high school around 1981. Briefly serving as drummer, Linderman had become the group's lead singer by the time of their first public performance in 1983.

Following the success of their 1985 debut LP, Big Lizard in My Backyard, the group toured extensively and enjoyed college radio and modest MTV-based success behind eight LPs. Linderman played keyboards and split vocals with Genaro.

Later activity; Dead Milkmen reformation (1995-present)

Shortly before the Dead Milkmen disbanded, Linderman founded the group Burn Witch Burn with his wife Vienna and four other musicians. The group blended American roots music with Celtic folk, Pogues-styled punk and gothic leanings. They released a demo tape, one CD-EP and one full-length album before breaking up in 2001.

After two reunion shows in 2004, the Dead Milkmen officially reformed in 2008. Linderman, Genaro and drummer Dean Sabatino were joined by bassist Dan Stevens who replaced the deceased former bassist of the group, Dave Schulthise. They have since resumed performing regular concerts and working on new material.

Linderman also played in the group 25 Cromwell Street with Bill Fergusson of Burn Witch Burn.

He was also played synthethizers and drum machines in an industrial duo called 7th Victim with Janet Bressler on vocals.

03Journalism

Linderman keeps an active comedic/topical blog, Rodney Anonymous Tells You How to Live, as well as a radio show of the same name on Y-Not Radio. He regularly contributed to the Philadelphia City Paper, writing about music, as well as political, social and local issues.

Watch videos about Rodney LindermanExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Rodney Linderman, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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