Canadaās punk scene is mourning one of its legends with the death of legendary SNFU lead singer Mr. Chi Pig aged 57 June 16.
Kendall Stephen Chinn was an enigmatic musician and artist known for higher-than- high-octane performances with the hardcore punk band formed in 1981 in Edmonton, relocating to Ā鶹“«Ć½Ó³»in 1992.
Social media reaction to news of Chi Pigās passing was fast.
āHe was a true fucking East Van Bohemian & Punk Rock Queen in the very best sense of those words,ā wrote Anna Stewart on Facebook. āIāll never forget his live performances at the Smilinā Buddha and other Ā鶹“«Ć½Ó³»spots, his blistering energy and dope style.ā
Chinn was born on Oct. 19, 1962 to a German mother and Chinese father, both now dead. He was the second-youngest of 12 children.
He met brothers Marc and Brent Belke through skateboarding in Edmonton in 1981 and formed the band Live Sex Show. The short-lived group soon transformed into Societyās No Fucking Use or SNFU. Chinn was a lyricist and a charismatic frontman, frequently incorporating masks, puppets and other props into shows. A prolific artist, he also created much cover art.
The hardcore punk band became a burgeoning skatepunk subculture mainstay.
Between 1985 and 2013, the band released eight albums as well as one live and one compilation release. Almost 30 members have come and gone through the band through the years but Chinn remained the centrepiece.
While the bandās success began to mount, Chinn began a long battle with hard drugs.
He also began open identification as a homosexual. His early life was marked with trauma and later received a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Heād been given a month to live in late 2019, a diagnosis that shook him somewhat, but did not preclude fleeing hospital earlier this year for a run to his East Ā鶹“«Ć½Ó³»haunts.
Long-time friend Chris Walter has documented much of Canadaās punk scene in his books, including āSNFU . . . What No One Else Wanted to Say.ā
āSNFU did not seem like obvious candidates for punk rock stardomāyet by combining the flamboyant stage antics and political lyricism of singer Chi Pig with the infectious guitar attack of Marc and Brent Belke, SNFU rose up to take not just Edmonton but the entire world by storm,ā reads the back cover of a re-release memorial edition due out in several weeks.
Chi Pig was not a stage presence, Walter said. Chi Pig and Chinn were one and the same.
āHe was 100% Chi Pig and zero percent anyone else,ā Walter said. āHe just absolutely had a desire to create and an urge to create.ā
But, he was happiest on stage, Walter said.
āThatās where he belonged.ā
āHe was a total pro.ā
Walter said his friend was frequently a mystery to him and many others.
Sometimes, Walter would be observing the singer creating art. āIād be watching him and wondering āwhere did he come up with that?' It was hard to fathom. He had an active imagination.ā
And that fertile mind translated to the lyric process as well. Walter said Chinn would take fragments of ideas, concepts heād noted in his scrapbook and create from there.
Chi Pig, right. Photo via FacebookāHe assembled his songs like Frankensteinās monster,ā Walter said.
It was this enigmatic presence that attracted people to the singer, Walter said.
āHeās generally just different from everyone else,ā Walter said. āHeās just kind of a mystery. He was so weird, they just wanted to get to know him.ā
But, woe to the fan who pushed him or invaded his personal space.
āIf you pushed him too far, heād lose it,ā Walter said. āHis bandmates kept overzealous fans away.ā
No specific cause of death has been released. āHe had a lot of medical issues,ā Walter said. āIt wasnāt COVID.ā
He often held court at Vancouverās Pub 340 or perhaps The Cambie Pub, liked steak tartare, loved to travel, and had read chef Anthony Bourdainās Kitchen Confidential repeatedly.
Chinn was the subject of a 2010 documentary entitled produced by Prairie Coast Films and directed by Sean Patrick Shaul. It featured such punk luminaries as Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys, Brendan Canning of Broken Social Scene and now Burnaby city councillor Joey Keithley of D.O.A.
