On July 16, 2020, Ken Chinn aka Chi Pig passed away. The punk rock community has shown an outpouring of grief for the influential SNFU frontman. Now The Black Halos have announced the release of a charity single celebrating his life and raising money for the Chi Pig mural fund.
Ken Chinn aka Chi Pig (1962-2020)
1981 saw the first incarnation of Society’s No Fucking Use (SNFU), a highly influential band in the hardcore punk scene. Ken Chinn, known on stage as Mr. Chi Pig, was SNFU’s high-energy frontman, lyricist, and creator of much of the artwork on the band’s albums.
Across that and two further incarnations, SNFU was a key and formative influence of the skate punk subgenre. At the height of their popularity, they would tour with bands like Green Day and Bad Religion. All the while, Chi Pig lived with the scars of growing up in an unstable family with manifestations of what would later be understood as schizophrenia, and the challenges of being gay in a homophobic society. Through this he lived his art and the resulting career was a gift to punk fans and musicians alike. His passing saw an outpouring of memories and thoughts from Faith No More, Bif Naked, NOFX, Propagandhi, and many others.
He was the subject of the documentary, Open Your Mouth and Say… Mr. Chi Pig (2009).
Charity single from The Black Halos
“How do you reach closure when you lose not only an inspiring and amazing artist, but someone who’s been a very personal part of your day-to-day irregular life for so many years? Well I tried to write an anthem singalong to cheer myself and everyone up, but it was just a bandage or mask for my real feelings. Rich, hearing this, tore it off and poured out some disinfectant guitar my way and as it stung true I found myself writing the lyrics and crying in the grocery store. There will never be another – and there never was anyone truly like Chi Pig. He was unique and I’m honored for having him in my life. Just know this; whether you cry or smile when you think of him it’s because he reached you. And you should never let go of that.” – Billy Hopeless
The A-side of this single is the titular “Ain’t No Time To Say Goodbye”, which is inspired by late SNFU frontman Chi Pig. The B-side is a cover of SNFU’s “Rusty Rake”. All profits are pledged to the Chi Pug mural fund. Follow Yeah Right Records on Bandcamp to see further news, including the public stream of this single on August 7th.
The Vancouver-based punk band The Black Halos have also recently re-formed in 2019 to release the single Geisterbahn II. After the release of the charity single, they will continue to work on their next album, their first since 2008’s We Are Not Alone.
Visit Yeah Right Records’ Bandcamp to purchase the single.
Thanks for helping us honor our dead brudder