For the uninitiated, G.G. Allin was the notorious punk rock 'performance artist', everybody associates with a number of vile acts, notably, shit eating. (His own, not that it matters, shit is shit, right?) And for some reason, don't ask me why, but I'm obsessed with the man. No, I'm not a faecal philiac. Nor do I have an inexplicable compulsion to mutilate myself or others (well, unless I'm on public transport). Maybe it's a maternal thing. Those strong nurturing instincts that say, "Anyone who acts like that and hates that much, must surely be lacking love. Come and get a cuddle..." Or perhaps I'm just a sick socially inept weirdo, in dire need of psychiatric assistance. I like to think the former applies to me.
G.G. Allin performed with a number of bands; The Jabbers, The Scumfus. The Motor City Bad Boys (featuring legendary MC5 axeman Wayne Kramer), The AIDS Brigade, The Holy Men etc.... The last band he fronted before his death in 1993, was The Murder Junkies. The Murder Junkies were the proud owners of a naked drummer named Dino Sex and bald headed, multi tattooed bass player with ridiculously long sideburns named Merle Allin. Merle was G.G.'s brother and the Murder Junkies are still going. I pulled on the sterile gloves and shakily dialed Merle's number. How pleasantly surprised I was at the warm reception I received from such an enigmatic and misunderstood individual. I took full advantage of this and decided to interview him. So here it is, enjoy!
CHLOE: So, Merle, are the Murder Junkies doing many shows?
MERLE: Well, we've done a few show recently. We have a new singer. We had problems with our old singer.
CHLOE: Like what?
MERLE: Drugs! Drugs, drugs, drugs. Heavy duty, hardcore. Drugs and jail. He spent a year at Rykers. He had a really bad heroin problem, so we fired him. Then we had another singer who was filling in with us for two years and it enabled us to do a lot of shows but we weren't really recording any new music. Now we have a new singer and we're starting to do shows in the (New York) area. We've got a lot of new songs and we're hoping that sometime this winter, we can record a new C.D. and then in spring/summer, we can get on the road and start touring again.
CHLOE: I hope you do.
MERLE: Me too. I'd like to come to Europe and play. You know, I get so many calls from people in Europe saying, "When are you coming to play in Europe?" and I'm like, "Well, as soon as you find us a booking agent and get us a tour, we'll come." But people over there are a little bit slow and everyone thinks we're a bunch of drug addicts and we're not. I mean, we smoke weed...I had a letter from a booking agents in Denmark who wanted us to do a tour with a couple of notorious 'drug bands'.
CHLOE: Who were they?
MERLE:Ohh let's see. One of them was EYEHATEGOD and I forget the other ones he mentioned. There was like, two or three and I know they're all drug addicts but we're not into that scene.
CHLOE: What's the current line up of the Murder Junkies?
MERLE: Well, there's Dino, the naked drummer...
CHLOE: Ahh, how is Dino?
MERLE: Dino is as crazy as ever.
CHLOE: Do you love him?
MERLE: Oh, I love Dino. Dino's been with me since 1991, We're like family, I mean. I can say, "Fuck you, Dino, you're an asshole!" I can yell at him. I can threaten him with physical violence and five minutes later, grab his dick!
CHLOE: And what a dick it is!
MERLE: It's a nice dick, yeah.
CHLOE: How about you?
MERLE: No. Dino's got the big dick in the band. (Laughs)
CHLOE: Well it's what you do with it that counts.
MERLE: Yeah. I like oral sex a lot.
CHLOE: Giving it or receiving it?
MERLE: Both! I love to give it.
CHLOE: I love to get it! (Both laugh) So, tell me about your serial killer artwork.
MERLE: Well, my hobby is collecting serial killer artwork and writing to serial killers. I also collect horror movie memorabilia and thinks of that nature.
CHLOE: Who's your favorite serial killer?
MERLE: Umm, I'd say, Richard Ramirez. The Nightstalker! He's probably my favorite on. Sex and drugs and rock 'n' roll. That was his thing. I can relate, you know?
CHLOE: Do you like the song by Ian Dury?
MERLE: Oh sure. (Starts singing in fake cockney accent. Dick Van Dyke would be envious) "Sex and drugs and rock and roll, doo doo do do do do do..."
CHLOE: I liked your American/cockney accent there!
MERLE: (Laughing) It's funny, you get all these American punk bands nowadays and they all try and come off with these stupid English accents. It's like; "What the fuck is wrong with you, man? You grew up in Brooklyn. Get fuckin' real!"
CHLOE: Yeah, there's loads of those bands. The one that particularly annoys me, has to be, Rancid!
MERLE: (Disgusted) Oh, Rancid! They're just a fuckin' cheap imitation of The Clash. Jesus Christ! I mean, I had the first Clash record when it came out and loved it! This is not a knock against English punk, but when held up against America punk, the latter has withstood the test of time. All those English bands like The Pistols, The Clash, The Vibrators etc., all of them apart from The Damned, just sound so dated. But The Dead Boys, MC5, The Stooges, The Ramones; you can still listen to them today and they're still as good.
CHLOE: Ok. Hypothetically speaking, if a big Hollywood director wasted to make a biopic of GG Allin and you got to choose who got to play all the characters who would play you and GG?
MERLE: Oh my god! That's tough. I'm not hip on the Hollywood scene. I never watch movies, at least new movies. I don't know. That['s] a really tough question!
CHLOE: It's a good one though.
MERLE: It is a good question. I'd have to research that one because I can't think of anybody that could actually play GG and pull it off. I think you'd have to find some new actor who was on his way up, who was somewhat of an unknown that would...
CHLOE: Have that edge?
MERLE: Yeah. If you could find a famous actor that would have an edge like that. I mean first of all, that really is an hypothesis because you would never find a real "star" actor that could even take on a role like that you know? (laughs)
CHLOE: Yeah, even though I think someone should make GG Allin the movie!
MERLE: Well I think someone should make somewhat of a low budget movie about him.
CHLOE: I would if I had the means to do so. You could play yourself.
MERLE: I need to be in movies. After that little cameo shot of me in "Tromeo and Juliet", I thought that I'd be getting offers from Hollywood but the phone just hasn't been ringing!
CHLOE: I haven't seen that! What are you doing in it?
MERLE: It's a shitty movie. I couldn't even watch it, it was so bad.
CHLOE: But all their films are bad, That's the magic of Troma.
MERLE: Yeah but the Toxic Avenger movies were pretty cool but most of those films suck. But in this move I have this little one line walk through in the police station. These cops are trying to restrain me from attacking this blind girl and I yell something like "Bitch stole my Harley!"
CHLOE: Would you say it gave you a taste for being an actor?
MERLE: (Laughs) Yeah right. I don't know, I think I'd need acting lessons.
CHLOE: I've been taping this by the way.
MERLE: I figured you were. That's cool.
CHLOE: But every thing that you've said has been brilliant.
MERLE: Well, I enjoy talking to you.
CHLOE: I enjoy talking to you, I don't want to go.
MERLE: I don't either. You need to come to New York . You'd be welcome to stay at my apartment - it's small but it's cozy!
CHLOE: I bet it is. How big is your bed?
MERLE: It's a queens size.
CHLOE: Good, good. And what's your bathroom like?
MERLE: My bathroom is very nice.
CHLOE: Is it clean?
MERLE: (Shocked that I would even ask) Oh, very clean! I'm a very clean person. You probably wouldn't think that knowing who I am and everything. But someone from the New York Press actually came here to interview me and they wrote in the article how clean and neat I was. I was like "man, you don't need to do that! Don't spoil my image!"
Chloe Matheou - 1999
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