![Potrebbe essere un'immagine raffigurante il seguente testo "MR. MR.CHIPIG CHI PIG OCT 19, 1962- OCT19,1962-JUL 196 JUL 16, 2020"](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!rsHw!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb0340bcb-3300-4fa2-8c54-a9da38e9abc5_1080x1350.jpeg "Potrebbe essere un'immagine raffigurante il seguente testo "MR. MR.CHIPIG CHI PIG OCT 19, 1962- OCT19,1962-JUL 196 JUL 16, 2020"")
Six years ago last week, on July 17th, Mr. Chi Pig, Ken Chinn, died.
SNFU are one of my all-time favorite bands, and Chi Pig was one of the reasons why. I saw them live in 2016 at Groezrock, in Belgium, with three friends I’ve had my whole life and you know, it wasn’t just the songs, it was him: thin, emaciated, clearly not a well man. I’ve seen a lot of frontmen in my life, and very few had a comparable charisma and scenic presence.
I came across this post a few days ago, written by Dave Bacon, who played bass in SNFU for years, on and off, starting in the eighties and coming back decades later. I asked him if I could share it here, and he said yes.
I’m not going to try to say it better than he did, because I can’t.
Read it here or in Dave’s Facebook page, and feel free to drop your Mr. Chi Pig or SNFU related memory in the comments.
In 1979 my friends and I went from Saskatoon to Regina for a Great North Country Skates skateboard competition. GNC would later become Skull Skates. We did our routines in the freestyle event; we weren’t very good. Then later on this Chinese kid from Edmonton came out for his turn and blew us all away. We all crowded around him after his skate, back patting him, and voicing our love for his talents. I got to shake his hand. It was quite something for a bunch of 14 year olds. He was very gracious.
Fast forward a couple years and I found myself at the Vice Squad, Social D, Youth Brigade show at Upper Mub at the U of S campus. A bunch of Edmonton punk legends made the trip down for the show. I met them all including Chi Pig. We had a ton of fun that night, partying till the wee hours with the bands.
Fast forward, again, another year, and I moved to Edmonton. The first night we got here, my good friend Scott Parker and I, we were taken to a party at the Ken’s apartment—Ken Chinn and Ken Hansen. We had a great time meeting all the Edmonton who’s who of the punk scene.
Fast forward another couple years and I found myself playing bass in SNFU. We toured a shit ton for two years. It was some of the best times of my life. Then I abruptly left the band in 1987 for health and other reasons.
Again, another fast forward, to 2014, and I rejoined the band, although with a completely new lineup. Before leaving on our first European tour together we went to Skull Skates to grab some of their merch for the trip. Chi was good friends with PD, the owner of SS.
Afterwards, we got to talking and Chi brought up that GNC skate comp in Regina. He regaled us with a story about how he had won the freestyle event. While listening a light bulb went on. “WAIT A MINUTE! You were the Chinese kid that blew us all away that day!” I was stunned. All this time had passed and I was just realizing this. I hadn’t remembered his name from back then, and when we met again he looked completely different, decked out in his punk rock regalia. I had no idea it was the same kid from 1979. So I told Chi my side of the story.
After that day, he would always introduce me and say “I’ve known David since he was 14 years old.” It was very sweet.
I miss that Chinese kid. Today it’s been six years since his passing.
Feel free to drop a note and let us know when you met the man.
📷: I took this photo at the Calais ferry terminal in France on our way to England.
Shortly after his death, SNFU released the acoustic track "Cement Mixer," Chinn's final recording.
Goodbye to all my beautiful friends.
My heart still breaks, every single time.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.