GG Allin

Later life GG Allin

Controversial punk rocker GG Allin.Template:Unverifiedimage

GG Allin (29 August 1956 – 28 June 1993) was a punk rock singer and bandleader for a plethora of groups (see below). He is perhaps best known for his live shows which were some of the most shocking of his time.

Childhood

He was born Jesus Christ Allin at Weeks' Memorial Hospital, in Lancaster, NH.

He was given this messiah name because his father, Merle Allin Sr., then 32 years old, had told his wife, Arleta Gunther, then 20 years old, that an angel had visited him (see vision (religion)) and told him that his new-born son would be a great man in the ilk of the Messiah.

As a young child, his older brother, Merle Allin Jr., was unable to pronounce his name, Jesus, properly. Hence, the origin of the 'GG' nickname.

Shortly before Jesus Christ Allin had started school, his mother changed his legal name to Kevin Michael Allin (on 3-2-1962 by his birth certificate). Arleta had allowed his birth-name to stand up till this point in case there was credence to her husband's claim. However, with her husband's deteriorating mental health, and the lack of any messianic qualities within the boy, Arleta emphatically insisted on giving the child a chance at a normal, mockery-free life, by changing his name.

Early Years

Some of his earliest recorded musical endeavors were as a drummer. With the band Malpractice he cut two tracks in 1977. He also performed drums for the band Stripsearch in 1981.

His first years as a front man were with the Jabbers (1977 - April of 1984). They released many tracks, most of which had Allin playing drums as well as singing. The Jabbers were a productive band for a number of years. Out of these years came Allin's debut release, Always Was, Is And Shall Be. At the time, Allin was a standard punk rock frontman in the vein of Iggy Pop and Stiv Bators. He was even managed at one point by industry veteran (and Dead Boys producer) Genya Ravan. Tensions within The Jabbers began to swell as GG became increasingly uncontrollable, vicious, and uncompromising. The Jabbers discontinued, and the members parted ways. GG's drug use (see drug abuse) began during this period.

Between the early to the late 1980's, Allin had fronted many acts. These included early famous releases such as those with The Cedar Street Sluts and The Scumfucs in '82, and The Texas Nazis in '85). However, GG remained in relative obscurity outside of the upper east coast (see East Coast of the United States) punk scene. On 13 March,1986, GG Allin and Tracy Deneault's daughter, Nicoann Deneault, was born. Little information is known about this child. After Nicoann's birth, GG and Tracy divorced. Allin retreated to a cabin in Vermont where he wrote what he considered his first "masterpiece", the infamous Eat My Fuc album.

Allin's first national notoriety came with the release by Reachout International Records (ROIR) of Hated In The Nation, a cassette-only release at the time, which contained several tracks from Allin's then-out-of-print back-cataloge with The Jabbers, Scumfucs, and Cedar Street Sluts. The tape also featured several new recordings, both in-studio and in-concert, with an all-star band assembled by producer, MaximumRockNRoll columnist, and early GG patron Mykel Board. This band featured J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr on lead guitar, and Bongwater producer/musician Kramer on bass.

Mid Era

By the mid to late 1980's, Allin was a heroin user, alcoholic, and generally abused all intoxicants given to him. He was poorly groomed and rarely cleaned himself. At this point, GG began eating laxitives before shows, as defecation was becoming a regular stage act for him. GG attributed himself as the last true Rock and Roller left. By this he meant that 'rock n' roll' itself had started as a thing of danger, anti-authoritian, rebellious, but had become mass-corporatized. His music and performances were thus meant to return Rock 'n' Roll to its roots. He viewed himself as similar to country icon Hank Williams Sr. He associated with him because of lifestyle similarities: both were relative loners/outsiders, both were habitual users of intoxicants, both lived with few, if any, possessions, and both travelled the country relentlessly. GG Allin's acoustic output, documented particularly on the EP, The Troubled Troubador, was heavily influenced by Williams. He recorded his own rewrites of Hank Williams Jr.'s "Family Tradition" and David Allan Coe's "Longhaired Redneck", calling his own versions "Scumfuc Tradition" and "Outlaw Scumfuc" respectively.

GG's musical output was drastically different from earlier attempts in this era. His work with Bulge (aka Boston hardcore punk trio Psycho under a different name, on the album Freaks, Faggots, Drunks and Junkies), The Aids Brigade (the infamous 7" EP Expose Yourself To Kids), and The Holymen (You Give Love A Bad Name) are examples of this. In this era, GG began performing many spoken word pieces. Video footage of these is available, but rare. It was during this period that GG recorded his "Murder Junkies" album, released by New Rose Records and featuring the band Anti-Seen. This album contained 10 brutal punk rock tracks and 10 brutal spoken-word pieces. Other than "Freaks, Faggots, Drunks and Junkies", GG considered this album to be his most polished, professionally recorded album that explored his persona and stated his philosophy on life. It was also during this period that GG recorded the "War In My Head - I'm Your Enemy" album, released on Awareness Records and featuring the band Shrinkwrap. This particular album consists of one 45 minute track that is a collage of spoken-word pieces which Skrinkwrap put music to.

To sustain himself, GG claimed to have committed criminal acts like breaking and entering, robbery, and mugging. He also sold, by hand, his own records, as he was unwilling to occupy a "normal" job and have a "normal" life. Allin was also fascinated with serial killers. He wrote and visited John Wayne Gacy in jail a number of times. Gacy also painted a portrait of GG - see American Serial Killer Art.

Allin, gaining publicity by this point, stated, "The police and the media are what made me." His performances were regularly stopped by police, and charged with assault and battery or indecent exposure many times. The venue owners, or the sound technicians, frequently had to stop shows after only a few songs because Allin destroyed too much equipment. His constant touring was only stopped by long hospital stays (broken bones, blood poisoning, excessive trauma) or jail time.

Another attraction to GG Allin shows was his continual threats of suicide. In 1988, Allin had written to Maximum RocknRoll stating that he would commit suicide on stage on Halloween 1989. However, he was jailed during this time. He continued this threat each following year, but was imprisoned each following Halloween. When asked about his threats and when he would follow through with them, Allin stated, "With GG, you don't get what you expect - you get what you deserve." He also stated that suicide should only be done when one had reached their peak, meeting the afterlife at their strongest point not at their weakest. He felt, therefore, that every passing year fueled his fire more, that he still had more to accomplish in his music and life.

During the late 80's and early 90's, Allin's imprisonments became longer in duration. He served a particularly long sentence from December 22, 1989 to March 26, 1991. It was during this confinement that GG had a renewal of strength within himself, and about his "mission", as he put it. He wrote the GG Allin Manifesto (1990) during this period. Meanwhile, Allin's growing notoriety led to appearances on Geraldo, The Jerry Springer Show, and a memorable episode of the Jane Whitney Show.

At the end of this period, Allin's appearance became definitive. He shaved his head, removed the middle of the moustache on his goatee a la Genghis Khan, dyed his beard red, and shaved his entire body. In addition, he was increasingly covered in poorly done, cheap "home-made" tattoos, and scars from his violent stage performances. By this time, he was slightly overweight and dressed to his own unique fashion sense.

Last Years

Between the years of 1991, and his death in 1993, Allin had become a viable underground icon. Near the time of his death, Allin was getting paid sums of $1000 for one-night gigs. This was the most violent period in Allin's career. During this time, ex-The Ramones songwriter and bass player, Dee Dee Ramone joined the Murder Junkies for a week as a rhythm guitarist.

After a 1992 tour was interrupted by Allin's arrest in Texas after a performance, he was extradited back to Michigan to serve out the remainder of his jail sentence, since he had skipped parole the year before to go to New York and take part in the filming of a documentary, Hated: GG Allin And The Murder Junkies, and to return to the concert stage. After finishing his sentence, he told interviewers that he was no longer considering committing suicide onstage. He explained that his prison stay had only made him realize that his being alive was both more beneficial to rock and roll and "more of a threat" to his enemies and critics - since those critics wanted him to kill himself anyway.

Allin's musical output in this era is considered to be his ultimate statement. With his most famous backing group, The Murder Junkies, he released his most ambitious and professional work of his career. Many of the tours from 1991-1993 were recorded and are available for purchase. Topics documented on these recordings include: pornography, scatology, drug use, extremely violent behavior, music, America, politics, and his deeper philosophy on life.

Despite his repeated threats of an onstage death, Kevin "GG" Allin died of a heroin overdose on 28 June 1993, in a friend's New York City apartment, at 29 Avenue B, Manhattan. His last show was on the eve of his death; video footage of the soundcheck, concert, and subsequent escape was appended to the DVD release of Hated. In his last show he did a few songs and the power went out so he trashed the venue and walked the streets of New York naked and covered in blood and feces, surrounded by fans that he openly embraced (all in the documentary.) He was 36 years old.

At his funeral, his bloated, discolored corpse was dressed in a black leather jacket and a jock strap. He had a bottle of Jim Beam beside him in his casket, as per his wishes (openly stated in his self-penned acoustic country ballad, "When I Die"). The video of his funeral is widely available for purchase and is an extra feature on the Hated DVD and some bootleg VHS tapes.

GG Allin was buried July 3, 1993 in the Saint Rose Cemetery in Littleton, NH. A reunion is held each year, and fans are encouraged to come. [1]

Overview

While GG Allin had limited commercial success, he became notorious for his violent, confrontational performances, and his relentless, singular personality.

GG Allin has a large discography, the original pressings of which often command high prices from collectors. The scarcity of copies of his original releases with the Jabbers and Scumfucs are partially what led to the compilation and release of Hated In The Nation in 1987. Alongside his official releases, many bootleg videos and albums have been independently released with and without consent.

Audiences often attended Allin's performances less for the music/art aspect than to witness his regular stage antics which included: Allin performing nude, attacking the audience and his own band members, defecating, urinating, throwing feces at the crowd, and self mutilation, among other distasteful acts. While many regarded these acts as mere performance art, shock rock, or vile entertainment, GG Allin regarded himself as someone who lived the life he sung about.

Most GG Allin albums are amateurishly recorded, even by punk rock standards - which often sees these traits as virtues. This was due largely to his recordings being self financed, or on an extremely low budget. He never received major label backing for distribution, although at one point Enigma had a deal with him for a release, which he signed while serving his prison sentence in Michigan. A magazine advertisment for this particular release exists even though the album was never manufactured in GG's lifetime; the album, the live recording Anti-Social Personality Disorder, would later be released posthumously first by Ever Rat Records, then by Awareness Records. Much of his discography was either self-released on vinyl or cassette, or through small independent labels like David Peel's Orange Records and the New England-based Black And Blue Records.

Currently, his recordings with the Jabbers, Cedar Street Sluts, and Scumfucs are kept in print by Black And Blue Records, while Awareness Records have the licensing rights to his recordings from 1987 to 1991. ROIR have continuted to keep Hated In The Nation in print ever since its release, and Allin's final studio album Brutality And Bloodshed For All has remained in print since its September 1993 posthumous release on Kim Fowley's Alive Records imprint.

GG's DIY attitude was an extension of his philosophy on life - in which he rejected conformity and mental/emotional falseness. He travelled the USA non-stop in Greyhound buses, often with nothing more than the clothes on his back, living day-to-day, as a preferred lifestyle to what he perceived as a weak, soulless, standard life of birth-school-job-materialism-marriage-mortgage-death. He often spoke out against the "American System" as he saw it: a pre-established order of how one was supposed to live their life according to the government and society at the time.

It has been attested by sources, such as bandmates and his brother, Merle, that GG Allin possessed extraordinary pyschosomatic resistance considering the amount of times he had been shot, stabbed, poisoned, self-mutilated, and consumed large amounts of hard drugs. To this end, GG Allin often exacted an obscene amount of punishment towards himself as a deliberate intent to toughen oneself up - pain and danger regarded as equally welcomed experiences as pleasure. Onstage, he once clenched his teeth and bashed his front teeth in with a microphone. In a psychological examination, during an infamous trial of a supposed rape and torture of a woman in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Allin was seen to be largely intelligent, though somewhat of a megalomaniac, confessing even that a lot of his self-mutilation was due to his compassion for the suffering of the world.

Since his passing, the likes of skate-punk band CKY and outlaw country/punk artist Hank Williams III have mentioned GG Allin as a major influence on their music.

GG Allin backing groups

The Jabbers
The Cedar Street Sluts
The Scumfucs
Bulge (better known as Boston hardcore punk band Psycho)
Antiseen (aka The Carolina Shitkickers on one acoustic EP)
The Murder Junkies
The Criminal Quartet
The AIDS Brigade
The Disappointments
The Holymen
The Fuckin Shitbiscuits
The Texas Nazis
The Toilet Rockers
The Sewer Scum
The NYC Sheiks
The Drug Whores
Afterbirth
The Southern Baptists
Shrinkwrap
The Primates
The Swankfucks
His Illegitimate Kids
Bloody Mess & The Skabs
The New York Superscum
David Peel
Mark Sheehan.

External links

Media