Frankie Venom (Teenage Head) RIP
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 12:19 amDied yesterday of cancer @ 51.
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 12:19 amPosted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 12:24 amVery sad. Saw them a few times in their heyday. Always a good show.
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 4:12 amIt is so sad to see/hear about our fave late '70s and '80s artists passing on so young... [:(]
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 4:42 amOctober 15th, 2008
Francis Hannah Kerr, a.k.a. Frankie Venom, 1957 - 2008
“It is with great sadness that Gord Lewis of Teenage Head announces the tragic passing earlier today of Canadian icon Frank Kerr, a.k.a. Frankie Venom, of natural causes.”
So said a spokesperson at Sonic Unyon Records today.
According to news reports Frankie found out he had throat cancer about a month ago. He was able to spend Thanksgiving weekend with his family before slipping into a coma. He died earlier today. There is as yet no word on visitation or a funeral.
Frankie formed Teenage Head with Westdale High school buddies Steve Mahon, Gord Lewis and Nic Stipanitz, and apart from a break in the late-eightie and early nineties, continued to front one of Canada’s best bands up until concerts last month. They planned to perform at the Tiger-Town Room at the Grey Cup in Montreal in November.
Frankie talked the talk, and he walked the walk. He also climbed staging, hung from rafters, rolled on broken glass, and once, at the Colonial Underground in ‘76, either fell through the shoddy wooden stage (according to some), or crawled underneath and punched his way through, sticking his head out and saying “Teenage Head!” (according to Gordie Lewis.) Amazingly gymnastic, bursting with spontaneity, with that great voice — and beyond being full of the proverbial piss ‘n’ vinegar, Frankie had, to paraphrase Gordie “An amazing talent for making up lyrics on the spot, depending on whatever might be happening in the audience. Listen to some of the live recordings — he never missed a beat.”
We had the chance to see Teenage Head a number of times in the last few years while shooting our feature doc THE LAST POGO JUMPS AGAIN (and of course, many times back in the day.) Backstage there’d be the usual chatter and planning — and Frankie would mostly sit by himself quietly, sipping a beer, getting ready. But that was offstage: once the announcer introduced the band, out would come the Frankie we all knew and loved, the on-stage persona, and while not as full of energy as he was when he was 22 (who is?), he was a total pro, always entertaining, and always seemingly loving it.
On the number of occasion we interviewed Teenage Head for the doc, we heard barely a whisper of bitterness from any of them. But they never got the recognition (or the money that followed) that they fully deserved. And they still stuck it out. They wrote a couple of dozen great tunes, a few of which are classic; “Picture My Face” … how has that song not been covered by anyone notable? They’d play their hearts out to an audience of fifty or fifteen hundred — and in the case of the infamous Ontario Place riot show, closer to fifteen thousand.
In an odd coincidence, earlier today it was announced that Teenage Head would be the recipients of a Special Lifetime Achievement award next month at the Hamilton Music Awards.
R.I.P. Frankie.
Francis Hannah Kerr, a.k.a. Frankie Venom, 1957 - 2008
“It is with great sadness that Gord Lewis of Teenage Head announces the tragic passing earlier today of Canadian icon Frank Kerr, a.k.a. Frankie Venom, of natural causes.”
So said a spokesperson at Sonic Unyon Records today.
According to news reports Frankie found out he had throat cancer about a month ago. He was able to spend Thanksgiving weekend with his family before slipping into a coma. He died earlier today. There is as yet no word on visitation or a funeral.
Frankie formed Teenage Head with Westdale High school buddies Steve Mahon, Gord Lewis and Nic Stipanitz, and apart from a break in the late-eightie and early nineties, continued to front one of Canada’s best bands up until concerts last month. They planned to perform at the Tiger-Town Room at the Grey Cup in Montreal in November.
Frankie talked the talk, and he walked the walk. He also climbed staging, hung from rafters, rolled on broken glass, and once, at the Colonial Underground in ‘76, either fell through the shoddy wooden stage (according to some), or crawled underneath and punched his way through, sticking his head out and saying “Teenage Head!” (according to Gordie Lewis.) Amazingly gymnastic, bursting with spontaneity, with that great voice — and beyond being full of the proverbial piss ‘n’ vinegar, Frankie had, to paraphrase Gordie “An amazing talent for making up lyrics on the spot, depending on whatever might be happening in the audience. Listen to some of the live recordings — he never missed a beat.”
We had the chance to see Teenage Head a number of times in the last few years while shooting our feature doc THE LAST POGO JUMPS AGAIN (and of course, many times back in the day.) Backstage there’d be the usual chatter and planning — and Frankie would mostly sit by himself quietly, sipping a beer, getting ready. But that was offstage: once the announcer introduced the band, out would come the Frankie we all knew and loved, the on-stage persona, and while not as full of energy as he was when he was 22 (who is?), he was a total pro, always entertaining, and always seemingly loving it.
On the number of occasion we interviewed Teenage Head for the doc, we heard barely a whisper of bitterness from any of them. But they never got the recognition (or the money that followed) that they fully deserved. And they still stuck it out. They wrote a couple of dozen great tunes, a few of which are classic; “Picture My Face” … how has that song not been covered by anyone notable? They’d play their hearts out to an audience of fifty or fifteen hundred — and in the case of the infamous Ontario Place riot show, closer to fifteen thousand.
In an odd coincidence, earlier today it was announced that Teenage Head would be the recipients of a Special Lifetime Achievement award next month at the Hamilton Music Awards.
R.I.P. Frankie.
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 8:10 amVery sad news.
I don't think that that there was any band I missed seeing live more times than Teenage Head (except maybe the Forgotten Rebels) but their first couple of albums will always hold a special place in my music collection.
They aren't that good, but damn I loved them at the time!
RIP Frankie! [V]
I don't think that that there was any band I missed seeing live more times than Teenage Head (except maybe the Forgotten Rebels) but their first couple of albums will always hold a special place in my music collection.
They aren't that good, but damn I loved them at the time!
RIP Frankie! [V]
Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2008 1:10 pmSad to hear this. I used to see him around all the time and would talk to him quite a bit.
I remeber when he was living in his car and hanging around Horton's all the time.
I remeber when he was living in his car and hanging around Horton's all the time.