Then As I Got Older,

To This Day, We Get Letters At Alternative Tentacles From Young Teenagers Who Hide Their Dead Kennedys Albums Behind Their Mirror Or In The Mattress Of Their Bed. Wouldn't It Be Better If The Parents Just Discussed This With The Kids Instead Of Creating This Culture Of Sneaking And Dishonesty Within The Family? The Moral Of The Story Being, You Don't Hide Reality From Your Kids Because Then They Grow Up To Be Smarter, More Aware Adults.

Looking Back, I Didn't Realize Until Years Later What A Huge Influence Red Skelton Was In My Stage Demeanor With The Band. I Mean, I Always Liked Things That Were Funny, And Later I Realized That Having A Sly Sense Of Humor Was A Way To Get Attention And Even Respect In School.

I Don't Know Whether I See It As Slipping Inside The Villains, But Part Of What Makes Ralph Nader And Michael Moore Such Effective Speakers And Communicators Is That They Know How Corporate Culture Works, How Our Lawmaking Bodies Really Work, And Where The Bones Are Buried.

News Footage Came On The Tv During Dinner Of Bloody Bodies Coming Back From Battle In Vietnam, Or The Race Riots In The South, People Getting Hosed In Selma, Alabama, Or The Biafra War, Where I Got My Name. In My Household, It Was Explained And Discussed With The Children, As A Way Of Educating Us From When We First Started Grade School Why Racism And War Were Wrong, What This All Really Means.

I Think One Of The Most Important Things Punk Brought Back Was The Whole Concept Of Staying Independent And Doing Things Yourself. It Made Music A Lot Less Boring In Any Category You Can Name.