Faggot

Fuck amps that go to 11 — Tim Carroll lives life with the volume ratcheted up to 20. The 48-year-old gay vocalist for Minneapolis punk foursome Faggot is hardly shy about his sexual orientation, jamming it down the throats of anyone attending their riotous gigs, during which Carroll and his bandmates (two guys and a gal) frequently wear skimpy leather and lingerie. That’s not the only thing both out and outrageous about Faggot, as the front man flails around nearly naked, and has reportedly fellated audience members and jammed objects in his orifices. It ain’t all for shock value, however, as Carroll says everything about the group — from its caustic name to his G.G. Allin-gone-gay exploits — has a greater purpose of reclaiming and devaluing the term “faggot,” ultimately “exorcising it ’til it finally drops dead.” The band’s abrasive three-chord punk also lets Carroll air his demons, whether it’s venting about finding his longtime boyfriend dead on a couch (“You’re Gay, You’re Dead”), or how his mother considered killing him before he was born (“Have an Abortion”). Who needs therapy when you’ve got a punk band?