Reviewed by Ian Whitwood

Long-in-tooth CR readers will remember that punk rockers One Bad Pig from Austin, Texas were pioneers in getting the major Christian labels to notice that the sound of rock music was changing. They made considerable impact Stateside and definitely won some fans when they played Greenbelt in 1989. This book written by long-time fan Carl Phelan chronicles the band's history and is enhanced by an introduction featuring biographies of the band members (originally Carey 'Kosher' Womack, Paul Q-Pek, Kevin Phelan and Phillip Owen). The book documents the difficulties and challenges the band experienced. Radio DJ Erin McRae (AKA Lynn Miller) points out that One Bad Pig were "too edgy and destructive for the church youth groups, and too intensely Christian for all but the most daring clubs. Hence, debut LP 'A Christian Banned'." One Bad Pig Forever is unflinching in setting out the difficulties the band experienced, eg, the sound engineer from '88 and bass player from '90 Daniel Tucek explains: "Once we broke into the hardcore music scene, we saw how hard it was to show Jesus to people who had been burned by the cold, dead, dry, hypocritical religion of man; but the more we stuck with what God called us to do, the more we saw hearts start to change."

The author pursues a generally chronological course through the rest of the book; but, in piecing together information from an impressive range of sources (listed at the end of Chapter 25) he inevitably repeats some details, such as the band's on stage antics: "silly string, confetti, kiddie pool sized ice cream sundae (link to song 'I Scream Sunday'), guitars smashed/set alight, giant beach balls, skateboard mayhem", which were balanced with powerful music of a high standard which reached a pinnacle in 1991 with their recording of "Man In Black" with Johnny Cash.

This is an impressive compendium of information for One Bad Pig fans and supporters, but also an inspirational read for the uninitiated. The band's lead singer Kosher sums it up. "In a world that is getting darker and darker grey on a daily basis, there is even more of a need for followers of Jesus to boldly speak the truth in a relatable way to both the Church and the lost, without equivocation, but always with love and humility." Carl Phelan's chronological narrative bears testimony to this controversial but impactful Christian punk rock band whose influence has reached far beyond the insular Christian music scene.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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