Kid Congo
"For us, first wave punk rock gays, we weren’t interested in being 'out' because to us, labels were strictly taboo." -Kid Congo (Huffington Post)
Shortly mentioned in Gay LA as a "...male rocker who appears to have been primarily or exclusively homosexual" (25), Kid Congo rejected such labeling, for he believed in a traditional notion of subcultures not needing to seek acceptance from the normative world. His separatist attitude, revolting against an imposed system, nevertheless did not ensure safety or openness. Rarely discussing his sexuality, Kid Congo insulated himself within a scene masking an authentic queerness.A member of band The Gun Club who joined the Cramps as a Guitarist, Kid Congo (ne Brian Tristan) performed themes of horror, garage rock, and BDSM with famous songs like Goo Goo Muck and She Said. Known for his look, Kid Congo became a punk icon partly through his fashion, a notion validating Hebdige's argument that [youth] punks show revolt through style or symbolic resistance. Kid Congo made his own clothes and claims that he was attracted to the punk scene because of the look and not the music (Vogue).
Rumor has it that the Cramps, style icons for Kid Congo, sought Kid Congo out, remembering his 1950s thrift shop gold blazer.
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- Network Brita Loeb
