Few artists, if any, have sparked as much interest, curiosity, and controversy as the self-proclaimed leader of the "rock 'n' roll underground" - G.G. Allin.
To some, G.G. Allin is a performance artist; to others, he is a musician, lyricist, and vocalist; and yet, there are those who believe that he is simply an egotistical and self-destructive madman with questionable musical ability.
Whatever the case may be, no one can deny that in spite of the fact that most people in the music industry who even know of him absolutely despise Allin and will have nothing to do with his records or live shows, he is making his mark in rock 'n' roll history with numerous LPs, singles and CDs - in addition to his very unique live performances and his "socially unacceptable lifestyle."
An average G.G. Allin live show consists of him parading around on stage wearing no more than a filthy jockstrap and western-style boots - armed only with a microphone and his bodily excrements. He often defecates, urinates, or masturbates on stage, rolls around in his excrement, and throws what he can at the audience - an audience he refers to as his "enemy."
Allin also inflicts a great deal of pain on both himself and the audience while exposing them to his violent performances. He relentlessly pounds his face with the microphone, commonly breaks bottles over his head, and incessantly carves up his body with the broken glass.
Allin himself put it best when describing his live show in a USA Today article, "You've got to have an open mind and a strong stomach to attend a G.G. Allin performance."
In 1989, G.G. Allin caught the attention of the press and public when he bought advertisements announcing that he would kill himself onstage on October 31, 1990, in New York. But due to his being arrested on September 12, 1989, on charges of felonious assault against a Michigan woman (he reportedly tried to set the woman on fire), his onstage suicide had to be "postponed." However, Allin has scheduled his comeback "suicide performance" for October 31, 1992.
Ironically, Allin's time spent in prison has, in a twisted sense, made him more visible, recognized and accessible than ever. He has just signed the biggest record deal of his career and has two soon-to-be-published books being written about him - including The Ann Arbor Incident, which gives a well-researched and very detailed account of the eight months that led up to the arrest and imprisonment of Allin in Michigan.
Perhaps the most frighteningly true thing to consider about Allin is that the things he does during his live shows are not just done for the sake of performance - rather, they are all actually part of his everyday lifestyle. Unlike the live shows of performers such as Alice Cooper, Danzig, King Diamond, and The Dwarves, what G.G. Allin does both on and off stage is his true and everyday reality - according to Allin himself.
When asked why he does these types of things on stage and in his daily life, Allin responds that he is on a "mission" - he does what he does and is what he is because he believes that he is the only hope that is left for the "rock 'n' roll underground." Someone, he says, must stand up to superficiality, be a leader, and refuse to succumb to the people and laws trying to censor and dictate what can and can't be done with his life, in his performance, and in his music. Allin says that he is the person to do just that - because somebody mustdo it and nobody else is going to.
Allin was released from the Muskegon (Michigan) Correctional Facility on March 26th. He is currently serving parole and living in Ann Arbor, Michigan. On August 19th, Allin will be tried by a jury on charges of disorderly conduct stemming from an "ordinary" 1989 performance in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
His most recently completed LP - which has already been released in Europe and is due for U.S. release as well, was recorded with North Carolina underground band Anti-Seen.
The album, titled Murder Junkies, is the first authorized studio product to be released by Allin in approximately four years. All of the largely political lyrical material featured on the album was written by Allin while he was in prison. Murder Junkies is more coherent, less rambling than a "typical" G.G. Allin release. The band's grunge base borders on heavy metal, yet Allin works his own poetry into the spoken song intros.
July 27th marks the return of G.G. Allin to the Tampa Bay area, where he is scheduled to record (like Johnny Thunders before him) an acoustic album (including a Warren Zevon cover, it's said). Allin will be signing autographs and answering questions at the Alternative Record Store on Saturday, July 27th, from 2-4 p.m.
Allin's only other Bay appearance was a show at the Harbor Club in 1989, before which, he reportedly pawned his bandmate's guitar for money.
So the stuff of legends is made. It's a funny thing though - pictures of that performance are said to exist, but no one wants to make them public. Fancy that.
Shireen Kadivar and Mark Robinson
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