Great Googly-Moogly Mojo Nixon is Dead
Singer, songwriter, occasional actor, one-time call-in radio show host, and psychobilly pioneer Mojo Nixon died Feb. 7 at age 66 from a heart attack shortly after performing onboard an outlaw country cruise. Nixon’s antics were not for everyone, and clearly his old antics have not held up well as society’s mores have evolved, but his music and radio persona were an integral part of my formative years. He was, unquestionably, one of a kind.
Even though Mojo Nixon (born Neill Kirby McMillan Jr. in Danville, VA) was not originally from San Diego, he was living in my hometown when he met and started recording music with San Diego native Skid Roper so I’ve always felt like Mojo was an honorary San Diegan. One of the earliest songs of his that I loved was called Jesus at McDonald’s and included call-outs to both the Barbeque Pit on University Ave. and Roberto's Taco Shop on El Cajon Blvd.
I saw Jesus at McDonald's at midnight...
He said he wasn't doing alright
He said he didn't feel so fine fine fine
Said he's about bout bout to lose his mind
Mojo and Skid wrote insanely crazy songs like I Hate Banks and Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child, Burn Down the Malls, The Amazing Bigfoot Diet, and Don Henley Must Die. He clearly took inspiration from both his anti-capitalist views and supermarket tabloids. Mojo never really had a hit per se, but his song Elvis is Everywhere became something of a signature tune for him and Skid and it certainly had some underground cache.
In college I got the chance to see Mojo and Skid perform live for the one and only time in my life. The duo on banjo and washboard played the Spartan Pub at San Jose State and we packed in to witness this crazy man. He spent more time wandering around the pub than on stage, and at one point blew a snot rocket at us and we loved it. After the gig Mojo signed a flyer for me and wrote “Do Some Sin” on it. I still have that flyer 30 plus years on.
Mojo Nixon never had a hit song, but he had a huge underground following. His music was far too off-color for MTV, but Mojo didn’t care and to prove the point he wrote the song Stuffin’ Martha’s Muffin about famed MTV veejay Martha Quinn. Look, it’s disgusting and misogynistic, but he was making a point about mainstream music. I’m not going to condone it, and I feel bad looking back today that I loved the song and thought it was hysterical.
"Uh, yo, this is Mojo Nixon, can I speak to Martha Quinn?"
They said, "Martha Quinn? Yeah, here she is!"
"H-he-hello Mojo, th-this is Martha Quinn, what can I do for you?"
I said "Martha, Martha baby, how am I gonna get on MTV?"
She said, "Mojo, you're too nasty, you're always talking about masturbation, and fornication--you're never gonna get on MTV that way, Mojo!"
In the early 2000s Mojo had a radio call-in show on Sirius XM called Lying Cocksuckers where he went off on politics and hypocrisy and I listened all the time and laughed out loud while driving home from work.
Maybe the best reference to Mojo Nixon was in the song Punk Rock Girl by The Dead Milkmen. In the song Joe Genaro sings:
We went to a shopping mall
And laughed at all the shoppers
And security guards trailed us to a record shop
We asked for Mojo Nixon
They said, "He don't work here"
We said, "If you don't got Mojo Nixon then your store could use some fixin'"
Mojo Nixon was never going to win any Grammys. He was never going to be played on MTV, or even mainstream radio. But his music was an important part of my life and I still listen to his old songs today when I’m in the mood for irreverence. Again, he’s not for everyone. But he did his thing unapologetically and lived a genuine outlaw life. That isn’t easy. I’m going to miss him, but his music will live on forever.
Ladies and gentlemen, Mojo has left the building.