Poison Idea

I really can't say enough about Portland's kings of punk Poison Idea. On record they played a brutal blend of punk, hardcore and metal (depending on which record and era, one of those sounds was more prevalent). And live P.I. always put on a great show, often with lead singer Jerry A breathing fire, cutting himself open, or jumping out into the audience. I saw them at least a dozen times, probably more. Seattle audiences always went insane for them. Huge slam pits, beer flying everywhere, the whole crowd singing and dancing along to the music, totally eating the whole experience up. I'll never forget their show at the OK Hotel with Naked Aggression when the whole place was going nuts and I'd just recovered from almost knocking myself unconscious from running into a wooden post at the side of the pit... as kids bodies were flying everywhere, Jerry A looked out over the chaos and got the biggest shit eating grin on his face. He was soaking in our energy and used it to propel the band's set to an even heightened level of excitement. Over the years the line-up of the band changed drastically and a few years ago guitarist and founding member Pig Champion died, while the band still plays on, they are nothing quite like they were back in the day.

This photo is of Poison Idea in their later years playing at the Crocodile Cafe with Steve from the Gits on guitar.

Best Poison Idea albums to pick up: Pick Your King (The Early Years CD has this on it), War All The Time, The Best Of Poison Idea CD