Mojo Nixon

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Mojo Nixon bigraphy, stories - Music

Mojo Nixon : biography

August 2, 1957 –

Mojo Nixon (born Neill Kirby McMillan, Jr., August 2, 1957 in Danville, Virginia) is an American musician, known for playing psychobilly music. He has officially retired from playing live and recording, though he does host several radio shows on Sirius Satellite Radio and has come out of retirement for one-off events, such as an event to support fellow musician Kinky Friedman’s candidacy for Texas governor.

Cultural references

Mojo Nixon is mentioned in four songs:

  • The 1988 Dead Milkmen song, "Punk Rock Girl."
  • The 2002 Todd Snider song, "Vinyl Records."
  • The 1996 Wesley Willis song, "Mojo Nixon."
  • The 1992 The Dick Nixons song, "MTV"

In the final episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Mike Nelson has a suitcase monogrammed with the initials M.N., which he says he bought at Mojo Nixon’s garage sale.

Post-musical career

Nixon officially retired from the music business in 2004, playing his last live show on March 20 of that year at the Continental Club in Austin, Texas. His first comeback was in 2006 when he came out of retirement in support of Kinky Friedman’s bid to become governor of Texas. As Nixon said at the time, "If supporting Kinky for Governor is what it takes to drag my ass out of retirement, consider my ass dragged."

In the late 1990s Nixon worked as a radio DJ in San Diego (on KGB-FM) and Cincinnati (on WEBN-FM). As of 2008 he hosts three shows on Sirius Satellite Radio: The Loon in the Afternoon on Outlaw Country (channel 60), the NASCAR-themed Mojo Nixon’s Manifold Destiny on SIRIUS NASCAR Radio (channel 128) and the politically themed Lyin’ Cocksuckers on Raw Dog Comedy (channel 99). In October 2005, Mojo Nixon began appearing on the Sirius Howard 100 channel as the “General Manager.”

Later career

Shortly after Otis was released, Enigma Records went bankrupt, which in turn left much of Nixon’s early catalog in legal limbo. In the 1990s Nixon released a handful of albums on several labels with a backup band known as the Toadliquors. These later albums included songs such as "You Can’t Kill Me," "Orenthal James (Was A Mighty Bad Man)," and the controversial "Bring Me the Head of David Geffen," which was ultimately released on a B-side collection due to pressure from album distributors. Also among his later work was "Tie My Pecker To My Leg," which featured lyrics about bestiality, incest, and coprophilia.

The nineties also saw Nixon appear in a further five films including Super Mario Bros. (1993) and Car 54, Where Are You? (1994).

In the mid-1990s Nixon collaborated on albums with Jello Biafra (Prairie Home Invasion), Dave Alvin, and members of the Beat Farmers, including Buddy "Blue" Seigal (Live in Las Vegas by the Pleasure Barons). Country Dick Montana of the Beat Farmers, who was a close friend of Nixon’s, was eulogized on Nixon’s 1999 album, The Real Sock Ray Blue, after his 1995 death onstage of a heart attack. Before his death the two enjoyed poking fun at each other such as Country Dick saying on stage that he’d been "fucking Mojo’s Mama" which led to Nixon to retort: "Country Dick can keep on fucking my mama, as long as he keeps on sucking my dick".

In 1998 he had a short run as an advice columnist with "Life Fixin’ with Mojo Nixon". Only two columns were authored, and both ran in the short-lived Peterbelly Magazine.

Acting and cultural parodies

Nixon made his acting debut, as drummer James Van Eaton, in the 1989 Jerry Lee Lewis bio-pic, Great Balls of Fire!Mendoza, Bart. San Diego Reader. 2009-01-28. Retrieved on 2010-09-05. The film starred Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder, with Ryder also concurrently appearing in Nixon’s video for "Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child."

Throughout the late 1980s, Nixon and Roper produced several satirical pieces lampooning contemporary celebrities, such as MTV VJ Martha Quinn ("Stuffin’ Martha’s Muffin"), Rick Astley, and Deborah Gibson ("Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child"). Nixon appeared in several promotional spots for MTV during this period, but the network’s decision not to show the video for "Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child" prompted him to sever ties with the network. Meanwhile, the duo also lampooned contemporary American culture and social issues in songs such as "I Hate Banks", "Burn Down The Malls" and "The Amazing Bigfoot Diet."