He joined the high school choir in order to avoid study hall, and from then on, singing became his main passion. After completing high school at 15, he travelled around with a number of bands. By the time he settled down in New York, live rock music was no longer in so much demand as before. “That’s one reason I went into theatre,” he remarks. “Another reason was because someone hired me and I didn’t have a job.” As a singer and actor, Meat performed in some 10 Broadway and Off Broadway productions, including Hair and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, in which he also appeared in the 1975 film.