Mojo Nixon

Mojo Nixon stood out among the most flamboyant figures on college radio throughout the 1980s, drawing a devoted cult audience through his loquacious hillbilly image and an over-the-top style of mockery that carried all the delicacy of a sledgehammer. He possessed a special talent for crafting novelty successes built around celebrities, including “Elvis Is Everywhere,” “Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child,” and “Don Henley Must Die,” yet he also launched gleefully vulgar tirades against assorted societal grievances such as “I Hate Banks,” “Destroy All Lawyers,” and “I Ain’t Gonna Piss in No Jar,” while extolling the raucous, working-class side of America in its most garish, alcohol-fueled splendor. Every track rode a high-octane mix of rockabilly, blues, and R&B that earned him allies within the roots-rock scene, though his punk-inflected outlook—however unconventional—kept him a fixture on college playlists during his peak years. As his following expanded, Nixon accepted offers to host programs on MTV, took on minor parts in what he termed “sh*tty movies,” and drew sporadic mainstream notice, most memorably when he debated Pat Buchanan on CNN regarding record censorship. Contractual difficulties reduced his profile during the 1990s, yet he kept touring and releasing material for a loyal core audience while also working in radio.

Born Neill Kirby McMillan, Jr. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on August 2, 1957, Nixon spent most of his childhood in Danville, Virginia, where he began absorbing rock & roll at an early age. After completing degrees in political science and history at Miami University in Ohio, he traveled to England in 1979, performing old-time rock & roll covers and aiming to enter the punk world. That attempt failed, so he came back to the United States in 1980. Briefly based in Denver, he played in the punk outfit Zebra 123, which provoked Secret Service scrutiny after promoting an Assassination Ball gig with posters showing exploding heads of Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. Relocating to San Diego in 1981, he encountered fellow roots-music devotee and future Beat Farmer Country Dick Montana. While pedaling across the country, Nixon devised his stage name—a blend of “voodoo and bad politics”—supposedly during an inebriated episode in New Orleans.

Back in San Diego by early 1983, the newly renamed Mojo Nixon started playing dive bars alongside washboard and harmonica player Skid Roper (born Richard Banke), who provided basic support for Nixon’s guitar and occasionally contributed vocals. The pair recorded a demo late in 1984; early the following year Enigma Records discovered them while they opened for Tex & the Horseheads. That demo appeared later in 1985 as Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper, and the anti-corporate track “Jesus at McDonald’s” gained traction on college stations. Nixon and Roper toured as the opening act for the Beat Farmers before heading to Los Angeles to cut their second album, the fittingly named Frenzy. Issued in 1986, Frenzy broadened their cult reach considerably thanks to the novelty success “Stuffin’ Martha’s Muffin,” an explicit ode to effervescent MTV VJ Martha Quinn. The set also contained enduring Nixon numbers such as “I Hate Banks,” “Where the Hell’s My Money,” and “The Amazing Bigfoot Diet.” Later that year came the Get Out of My Way EP, which earned Nixon his first MTV exposure via “Burn Down the Malls.”

In 1987 he delivered the even stronger Bo-Day-Shus!!!, his first album to reach the national charts on the strength of what became his signature song, “Elvis Is Everywhere.” MTV not only embraced the clip but asked Nixon to produce a series of short rants aired during commercial breaks. He ultimately served as an occasional host for the network throughout 1988—an ironic development given the target of his debut hit. For his subsequent album, Nixon traveled to Memphis with producer Jim Dickinson after a detour to appear as a musician in the Jerry Lee Lewis biopic Great Balls of Fire. Released in 1989, Root Hog or Die sustained his college-radio momentum with the tabloid-flavored “Debbie Gibson Is Pregnant with My Two-Headed Love Child.” MTV nevertheless banned the video, which featured Winona Ryder, prompting Nixon to end his association with the channel.

Nixon and Roper parted ways late in 1989; Nixon sought to assemble a full backing band, while Roper exited the road to launch a solo career that yielded two albums for Triple X. On his debut solo outing, Nixon assembled an all-star cowpunk ensemble that included Country Dick Montana (Beat Farmers), John Doe (X), Eric Ambel (Del Lords), and Bill Davis (Dash Rip Rock). The resulting Otis arrived in 1990 and stirred controversy with the notorious “Don Henley Must Die,” a pointed jab at the Eagles frontman-turned-solo artist. Two years later the initially incensed Henley surprised Nixon by joining him onstage in Austin, Texas, to perform the tune; Nixon subsequently withdrew his fatwa. Also in 1990, Nixon portrayed the Spirit of Rock ’n’ Roll in the little-seen sequel Rock & Roll High School Forever, while a retrospective of his work with Roper, Unlimited Everything, appeared.

He assembled the permanent touring unit the Toadliquors, yet his recording schedule stalled when Enigma declared bankruptcy, stalling Otis’s progress and entangling his earlier catalog in legal disputes—ironically, Otis had featured the rallying cry “Destroy All Lawyers.” In 1992 he reached an agreement with Triple X to issue the seasonal album Horny Holidays!, mixing original material with classic rock & roll covers. Still lacking a stable label, he pursued side projects in 1993 and 1994, among them the Pleasure Barons alongside Dave Alvin, John Doe, and Country Dick Montana, which released the one-off Live in Las Vegas. He also collaborated with Jello Biafra on the country-punk album Prairie Home Invasion and the EP Will the Fetus Be Aborted?. During the same period he appeared in unsuccessful films such as Super Mario Brothers and Car 54, Where Are You? and served as a guest host for the USA Network.

Nixon resurfaced with a new album in 1995, Whereabouts Unknown, after establishing his own Blutarski imprint to release it. His rendition of the Smiths’ “Girlfriend in a Coma” signaled a fresh target in Morrissey, but anxious distributors strongly objected to another track slated for the record, “Bring Me the Head of David Geffen.” That song was removed, only to surface later on 1997’s Gadzooks: The Homemade Bootleg, a varied collection of B-sides, outtakes, singles, re-recordings, and fresh material. That same year Nixon supplied the voice of Sheriff Lester T. Hobbes in the contentious hit video game Redneck Rampage. In 1998 he starred in the low-budget Buttcrack: The Movie and received the honorary title of captain for the Olympic men’s luge team. He relocated to Cincinnati for an afternoon talk-radio slot but was soon shifted to mornings after his left-wing libertarian opinions proved unwelcome. Meanwhile he signed with Shanachie Records and issued a new album, The Real Sock Ray Blue, in 1999. In 2002 Nixon returned to his former San Diego haunts, resuming radio work as an afternoon drive-time DJ. He achieved greater longevity in satellite radio, hosting a long-running program on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel. He became the focus of the documentary The Mojo Manifesto: The Life & Times of Mojo Nixon, which premiered at the 2022 South by Southwest Film Festival, and remained a regular on the annual Outlaw Country Cruise, serving as both performer and host. Only hours after appearing on the 2024 cruise, Mojo Nixon passed away following a cardiac episode on February 7, 2024, at the age of 66. ~ Steve Huey