Canada had its turn: My goodbye to a Punk Legend

With the death of Frankie Venom last week, I wasn’t going to be like every other news outlet and write “At the age of 52 Frankie Venom of the popular ….”  because that is obviously old news by now. So this is my own personal goodbye to the man who was one of my idols.

 

 

This is probably the hardest piece of writing I’ve ever had to write. As I wrote it, I could feel the tears build up in my eyes.  For those of you who don’t know, it is to my displeasure to inform you that Frank Kerr a.k.a Frankie Venom lead singer of Teenage Head died last Wednesday from throat cancer at the age of 51.

This news came as a great shock to me. I didn’t even know that anything was wrong with Frankie, as I’m sure many others did not know either.

I was on Facebook at the time I found out. Robert Gronfors a.k.a Dolph, Road Manager and a good friend of mine, popped up on the Facebook chat and told me he had something to tell me.

“Sam. I hate to tell you this but Frankie died this afternoon.”

I remember reading this over and over again. The shock hit me in the face like a blunt object. The only words I could manage to get out over and over were Tell me it’s not true.

I cried so hard that night, I thought I wouldn’t be able to cry for years to come.

I had the amazing opportunity to have backstage passes to this years Y108 Rock and Roll picnic back in August and meet and hang out with the guys of Teenage Head. This was more than a dream come true. Hanging out with them, talking about their history and their music it was like time stood still that day.

Frankie was a hero to me. To this day he still remains a hero of mine. All of them do.  A punk rock band from Hamilton, forming back in high school, becoming as big as they are, it was always amazing in my eyes.

Frankie has always been an idol to me. I have never seen a man as unpredictable as him. He’s a courageous front man with the most amazing stage presence. He has the most amazing energy. Even in his fifty’s he was such a performer. He always kept us fans in suspense. You never knew what you were going to get when you went to a Teenage Head concert. But that’s what we loved about Frankie because he would always be a surprise. He had this raw attitude like “I don’t take shit from nobody” and he was a great guy. Frankie Venom wasn’t just a stage persona like Ziggy Stardust was to David Bowie. Frankie Venom was the man on and off the stage, who would tell you to Fuck off, spit on you or steal your beer when you went to the bathroom.

At the picnic, I got my picture taken with Frankie and I couldn’t wait to show everyone. As soon as I heard the news, the picture went up as my display picture on Facebook. Every time I look at it I get tears in my eyes. But I also can’t help but smile. In the picture he has his arm around me with a beer in one hand and a smoke in the other, like the true rock star he was. Told me I “seemed” like a good kid, but that’s how all rock stars start out.  

It was just one of the most amazing days of my life.

Last week I suffered from depression because of his death. I was just so miserable. I had Teenage Head songs on all throughout the week at school, I cried at random moments just thinking about him.

Dolph invited myself to attend his visitation this past weekend and it was hard to believe that I was there. It was like reality hit me. All week I could pretend it wasn’t true, that he wasn’t gone. However, once I was there, that’s when it sank in that he had really passed on, that might nightmares were a reality.  But I gave my respect like the fan I am and said my goodbyes.  I also attended a candlelight vigil in Gore Park in his honour. It meant a lot to all of us, just having other fans around who knew the pain you were going through having lost one of your idols.

I really wish Frankie could be here to see Teenage Head get their lifetime achievement award at the Hamilton Music Awards later next month.

“I wish so too. But just think of it this way, Heaven just got a great duet partner for Elvis.” Dolph said.

You’ve done a lot for the music world Frankie. I don’t think you ever realized how much your music affected the world.  Gone but not forgotten, our hearts silently weep for the lost of our punk rock idol.

Rest in Peace old friend.

 

 

Me with Frankie Venom at this year