Jerry A discusses Tom Pig, Poison Idea

via Williamette Week

OK, Poison Idea isn't breaking up, but Pig Champion is dead. We think.

[PUNK] For the past month, rumor and tragedy have surrounded local hardcore punk institution Poison Idea. A show at Sabala's at Mount Tabor on Jan. 9 was billed as the group's last show but ended up being postponed due to a purported lack of practice. Word had it that vocalist Jerry A., a group founder and its backbone, was moving to New York and the band was splitting up. Amid this uncertainty came the news of the passing of Tom Roberts, known to Poison Idea fans as Pig Champion. As the group's guitarist, Roberts became as famous for his obesity and alcohol-driven antics as for his downstroke-heavy crunch guitar sound. WW got ahold of Jerry A. to discuss his bandmate's passing and quiet the rumor mill. JASON SIMMS.

WW: So Poison Idea is finished.

Jerry A.: [Laughs] No, we're still going on. We have a new record that's coming out. We have a European distributor, but we don't have an American distributor right now, and I went to New York for a while to talk to some labels. It kind of got blown out of proportion. Everyone was saying I was leaving, but I'm not leaving.

What about Tom?

He's had kidney problems for a while. When we went to Japan last year, we just did it without Tom because he was too sick to travel. We just played as a four-piece, so we can do it.

Why was Jan. 9 billed as your last show?

That was [Jason] Sabala trying to get people to come to the show. When I went to New York, we didn't get to practice, but there was no reason to think we were breaking up. Like I said, we have a new album coming out.

What's it called?

Believe it or not, it's called Last Will and Testament. It was called that before [Tom's death]. The sheet inside the record is written like a funeral page. We didn't plan it to be like that, but it's already being pressed.

Would Tom have thought was funny?

Oh definitely; he named it. We all threw out a few names, and he came up with that one and we all liked it. That's the cool thing about Poison Idea: the sense of humor. We don't take too many things too seriously. But, I've been thinking, maybe he knew something we didn't.