Gibby Haynes

Butthole Surfers frontman Gibby Haynes is by far one of rock's most outrageous and unpredictable performers. Whether it be performing nude or in a woman's dress, firing blanks from a shotgun into the audience, singing through a megaphone, making a complete mess of the stage, or rambling on nonsensically in interviews, Haynes never disappoints with his wacky behavior. Surprisingly, the singer led a very normal life early on; raised in Dallas, TX, Haynes' father was the host of a popular local children's show, the Peppermint Place (his father went by the name of Mr. Peppermint). Haynes would go on to become one of his high school's top students, as he graduated with honors and received an athletic scholarship to play basketball at San Antonio's Trinity University, and even landed a job at one of the area's top accounting firms. But Haynes was quickly growing disillusioned with the "professional" path his life was taking, and soon became friends with a fellow eccentric at school who shared his same warped sense of humor, guitarist Paul Leary. It wasn't long before the two partook in such peculiar pastimes as publishing a fanzine that specialized in horrific medical photographs (called Strange V.D.) and made t-shirts and other garments modeling Lee Harvey Oswald's image. With the two putting college on hold, Haynes and Leary discovered they shared the same love of punk rock (Dead Kennedys) and cult artists (Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart), and sought to form a band.

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