I first heard “The Joker’s Wild” at approximately age 13. I was hanging at my mom’s new trailer she bought after she left my dad. My brothers came over and said something like “you’ve gotta hear this”. I was probably instantly hooked. Soon I had my hands on Tunnel of Love, Carnival of Carnage, Beverly Kills etc. Twiztid came a bit later. That’s about the time when your fresh ears begin to decipher who the hell the people involved are, and their voices become immediately recognizable.

Like with Wu Tang. At first you can maybe just understand Method Man and ODB’s voices from the group. Next thing you know, GZA and U-God become available.

Anyway…. I fell in love with the CD liners. All that mystery and fun.

How did listening affect me? Well, it reinforced an epiphany that I had subconsciously been brewing in my psyche: these guys also shared my feelings about not giving a fuck.

Not as in: don’t care or respect evwrythijg. Not at all. They spoke of just doing the right thing ultimately. Not some kind of dogmatic super rules like religion. They reinforced and helped me better become accepting and even PROUD of being an outcast. They gave it the better moniker of “scrub”. 

I found out that these girls were secretly calling me “PissPot” at middle school (aka the worst time of an American child’s schooling). I asked why. They said “because you smell like piss and look like you smoke pot”. At that point I had not tried weed, I just liked to wear tie dye and had feathered wolf hair. Was far as the urine scent, that one still baffles me. I never missed a shower in those days. Ah well… anyway, refer to the stories in Behind the Paint, about floobs and J rocking those same jeans everyday lol. I love it. 

I could RELATE. 

That’s what good music is for me. Whether metal, blues, country or polka: if it sounds good, has heart, and is relatable, I dig it.

“Poor Man’s Therapy” – ABK, on what music is. Love it.

The music never MADE me do anything. I never stole. I had always defended myself and got into fights. One with another Juggalo at school, actually. But I’m perceptive enough to understand that these rapping men were using fantasy elements to get their message across and stand out in a crowded and cutthroat world of hip hop music.

Finally. I’ve never been into wrestling. But I remember watching Stranglemania and laughing a ton at their commentary. At the first Gathering I was signed up into a random match with a huge guy by my sneaky brother. It was a blast.

I was 11 when the Disney stuff happened and saw their brief interview on MTV News and just had to know. Sure this was the jumping on point for a lot of juggalos that weren’t in one of the clown towns