"The end is the end, and when I'm dead, to me that will be the end of the underground until somebody else can come along at take it a little further, which I don't see happening."
So say rock singer and song-writter Kevin "G.G." Allin, 32, currently of Oak Lawn, who claims he will commit suicide in a performance Halloween night, 1990, in New York City.
Allin has been the toast of various media for a few weeks, since his arrest last month for disorderly conduct at a club in Milwaukee.
Jonathan Brandmeyer, morning disc jockey for WLUP AM and FM radio in Chicago, has interviewed him twice on the air in the last month, including last week in the station's studio (although Allin says that he was locked in a room and forced to talk via telephone to Brandmeyer).
Allin says USA Today has written about him recently and that he appeared on "The Morton Downey Jr. Show" last summer. He says he turned down a request to appear on "The Phil Donahue Show."
"The thing that bugs me is that everyone says I'm a publicity hound," Allin said in an interview last week. "But it's not an act. It's the same way I live my lfie. The demons just seem to come out on stage."
Allin is of course referring to his live stage show, which consists of a variety of sometimes lewd, generally offensive physical acts. At the very least, Allin is known to cut himself and beat himself with the microphone."
"Rock 'n' roll performances are too safe," Allin says. "I'm gonna leave the stage with blood all over me."
While he considers his unique contribution to rock 'n' roll history, Allin concedes that others before him have performed similarly violent and sexual acts on stage.
Allin cites Jim Morrison of the Doors, Iggy Pop during his days with the Stooges and MC5 as influences of his live performances. "Growing up I liked the people who sort of always threw the monkey wrenches in," he said.
Musically, he says the artistic connections date back to Hank Williams and Jerry Lee Lewis ("10 times better than Elvis") in the 1950s, Morrison an Jannis Joplin in the '60s and the Sex pistols and the Dead Boys in the '70s.
Allin believes that various band with which he has played since starting his career in 1976 deserve a place in that chornology.
"We're there, but nobody wants to admit it," Allin said. "We did many of the same things as the Sex Pistols, but we didn't get any credit. In the '80's, it would be GG Allin."
The singer, who is a native of New Hampshire, move to the Oak Lawn eight months ago after living in New York and Boston. "I moved out here because there were five warrants for my arrest in the East coasts," Allin said revealing traces of his native accent.
For the next 30 days, Allin will be living on the road during a tour that will take him to Detroit; Toledo, Ohio; Pittsburgh, Philadelphia; Albany, N.Y.; Boston; New York City; and New Haven, Conn. The tour has put on hold a performance slated for a local cable TV channel in Matteson.
When he returns, Allin plans to move from Oak Lawn to Chicago to record what he says is his 14th album, his third for Homestead Records.
On May 13, he is scheduled to play two shows at Medusa's 3257 N. Sheffield Ave. in Chicago, with his local band, the Toilet Rockers. He says the first show is an afternoon.
"But when I do two shows, it's best to come to the first one, because the second one doesn't usually happen," he added.
Allin says he is bored by the current "underground" rock 'n' roll scene. "I see nothing going on, nothing scary," he said. "I don't see people leaving the clubs with broken bones."
His intent is to shock or disgust people who attend his shows. "I see it more as a confrontation between the audience and the performer," Allin said. "I want to bring reality to the stage. I want to definitely offend people."
"The purpose of rock 'n' roll is to be rebellious. It's not a company thing. It's not supposed to be commercial. To me it's for the outlaws. If you're a singer, on stage in should be portraying what your life is."
While critics suggest he is a media monger trying to make a buck with his outrageous antics, Allin insists he is totally sincere.
"I feel if you believe in something strong enough, you should be willing to die for it," he said. "I think people thought that G.G. Allin would go away after a while, but it's 12 years later and I ain't going away until 1990."
Phil Rockhor
Return to The GG Allin SuperSite Media Guide