March 29, 2024
79 Guests and 1 Member Online

Editor’s Note: 10 Things I Learned From The Juggalos

Last week a writer by the name of Tim Anderl wrote an article for the Dayton City Paper about the Aaron Spencer Benefit Show. You can read that article by CLICKING HERE.

Well, Tim attended the Aaron Spencer Benefit Show this past Saturday night. He decided to write a follow up article about the 10 things he learned from the Juggalos. You can read his full article below.

From Youindie.com

On Saturday, March 15, 2014, I attended my very first Insane Clown Posse show at RockStar Pro Arena in Dayton, Ohio.  Truth be told, I’ve been aware of them for a long time, almost 17 years.  My first interaction with the band was at a CD signing event in Cleveland, Ohio.  At the time I was interning at Alternative Press Magazine, and the web intern they’d hired to develop their very first website was, as they say, “down with the clown.”  Being from Pittsburgh, and not in possession of a vehicle, he needed a homie to take him to the event, and I obliged.  It was intimidating…

And truthfully, I didn’t get it.  Faygo sipping, clown rappers that tell horror stories in their rhymes was about as opposite a universe as you could have imagined for me at the time.  I was sporting a blond, Caeser cut, polyester pants, and button up collar shirts every day, working at Burger King in the mornings, interning at A.P. in the afternoons, and sharing an apartment with two to three crust punks in the evenings.  Promise Ring’s 30 Degrees Everywhere was my primary jam until I saw The Get Up Kids (on tour with Braid) twice that Summer and became an emo convert forever.

I would have ignored the clowns for a lifetime, until I struck up a friendship/bromance with an incredible writer in 2012, who was freelancing for the same alt-weekly I wrote for (http://www.daytoncitypaper.com/from-the-mayors-office-to-the-big-top/).  Sadly for me and happily for him, he left his job in Dayton, as assistant to the mayor to become the PR mouthpiece for ICP.  In keeping tabs on him, I’ve seen the media tides turn from “most hated” status to “maybe just misunderstood” for the clowns; an unbelievable uphill battle for even the best in the game, and I assure you, J-Webb is THE BEST in the game.

Anyway,  he invited me to the Aaron Spencer benefit concert, where ICP performed (http://www.daytoncitypaper.com/fa-mi-ly/).  While I was there for four hours and never did get to see ICP’s performance, I did have an “epiphalo” along the way.  While I don’t count myself a Juggalo, everyone in “hatchet gear” who crosses my path from here on out will get an enthusiastic “Whoop, whoop!” from me.  These are some things I learned after four enjoyable hours with those “down with the clown”:

1) Juggalos don’t particularly like cops, but they are respectful of the laws of the land.

I spent almost an hour in line with the rowdy bunch while under observation of no less than five police vehicles. In this environment, the Juggalos go out of their way to find a crosswalk and to pick up empty energy drink cans left discarded by other less conscientious Juggalos. Did not observe a single arrest.

2) Juggalos will travel.

I overheard Juggalos from as far away as Detroit, Pittsburgh and possibly Texas.

3) Some Juggalos cook.

One young woman in line was sharing homemade cupcakes…black cherry Faygo flavored. While I didn’t have one, according to the guy in line behind me, they were “dank”.

4) Juggalos have a sense of humor.

The same girl was seen showing off her “Psycho Bitch” hatchet man tattoo, in which psycho was misspelled. It hadn’t been fixed and she laughed it off.

5) Juggalos are generous.

Given this evening was a benefit, I don’t know if the spirit of giving was just in the air, or if this was common place, but one h.s. aged Juggalo gave his last $15 dollars as a donation to the beneficiary family. When another Juggalo overheard this, he stepped in and bought the generous young man a tribute t-shirt (the only one being sold at the concert, with all proceeds going to the family).

6) Juggalos are accepting of the outsider.

They’re clearly a large group of outsiders themselves, but as the ONLY person in the audience without hatchet gear on, I was never once challenged as to whether I was “down with the clown.” In fact, a Juggalo with a hatchet man cheek tattoo and red contact lenses asked me where I got my “All Hail Dayton” sweatshirt.  I promptly told the friendly dude, who I’d not have wanted to meet in a dark alley prior to our engagement, where I got it.

7) There are pro-female Juggalos.

It was pointed out to me that one of the women in the audience runs a pro-female Juggalette website and one of her missions is to encourage women at the gathering, the annual Juggalo get together, that they don’t have to show their t nor their a.
8) The life of a Psychopathic insider is interesting.

At one point, J-Webb received an urgent request from his bosses…going back stage to sample from one of the 300 bottles of Faygo used in the stage show to make sure it was room temp and not too cold.  Don’t want the Juggalos getting hypothermia from cold soda.  Good looking out!

9) Juggalos make friends easily.

The guy in line behind me came to the show alone, with a homemade shirt in which he’d emblazoned clown lyrics. This isn’t confirmed and certainly not meant as a slight to an extremely friendly and cool person, but I’m pretty sure he was clinically, mentally impaired.  He told me about all the Psychopathic shows he’d been to and all the fun he’d had, and I told him that was awesome.  I saw him a few hours later, and he’d brought a pen and was having members of the crowd sign his shirt. In nearly all of the messages were encouraging Juggalo endorsements like “Woop, woop” “Love your smile” and “Stay fresh ninja.”

10) Juggalos know that largely society sees them with disdain.

Look no further than lyrics and stage comments by Big Hoodoo for this one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kIltMRF1KY). They know they are hated outside of the walls of the carnival, they know that some of them are poor and disadvantaged, they know they come in all shapes and sizes. When they’re with their “fa-mi-ly”, it is their escape, and they feel safe and loved, for many probably for the first time. That to me, is pretty “fresh”.

 

Share

Enjoy the article so far? Recommend it to your friends and peers.

Subscribe

Be the first to our articles and get the latest updates.

    Faygoluvers Comments

  1. Doc RenoK

    Comment posted on Monday, March 17th, 2014 08:12 pm GMT -5 at 8:12 pm

    Fuck yeah, I mine as well just quit going to shows cause its gonna be quite hard to top the freshness of that night.

  2. BlackSand

    BlackSand

    Comment posted on Monday, March 17th, 2014 09:44 pm GMT -5 at 9:44 pm

    Nice article Tim, thanx for the positive vibe.=)
    Standing in line with the Juggalos always gets me geek’d for the show. Even if there’s an alphaTard in the line bringing me down (which happened once) the love from all the other Juggalos kept me on the positive and greatly made up for it,thankfully. If you are an outsider and approach us with an open mind we’ll accept you. The Juggalo vibe is one of a kind.

  3. dramaman127

    dramaman127

    Comment posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 06:37 am GMT -5 at 6:37 am

    this was a ggod read really felt the love when reading this, we need more events where the juggalo name shines than being shunned upon

You must be logged in to post a comment.