CLEVELAND – The local punk scene was fractured and irreparably divided after Fight for Disorder’s long-time frontman Gary Hench was caught praising the establishment and authority a little too much during a hot mic moment at his home-town show, disillusioned and outraged sources confirmed.
“I don’t know what the big deal is,” said Hench in regard to the incident. “We were tuning up and about to start our set, and one of the security guards told me I was triple parked. I told him it was no biggie because I have one of those little blue shields on the corner of my license plate and I know that this is Officer Klein’s block today. It was a private conversation that happened to get picked up by the hot mic. You can criticize me all you want, but hey, Klein’s my buddy. We literally live in the same cul de sac. I don’t give a shit that the crowd was booing me, they don’t know Officer Klein like I do.”
Venue staff believes this is a flagrant disregard to the values that Hench preaches to his audience each and every night.
“The guy goes from talking about his cop friend to railing about abuse of power. Then the band launches into their song ‘Blue Lives Splatter,’ said security guard Omar Leeson. “This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. He’s always backstage talking about how the minimum wage is too high already, that CEOs are technically ‘underpaid,’ and that Ronald Reagan was the greatest American president. I understand the difference between the on-stage persona and the real person, but you have to at least act like you give a shit.”
Scene Sociologist Sara Michley states that this kind of behavior change in the old guard is more common than one would think.
“It’s one of the unfortunate things that happen as we get older,” Michley asserted. “Sometimes it’s guys like Gary Hench being a little too chummy with the cops, and other times it’s guys like Danzig refusing to play a festival because there’s no French onion soup in the dressing room. The hard truth of the matter is that when your band becomes a legacy property, you simply just might not believe the same things you did when you were 18. This isn’t always true, but in Gary’s case it would be more suiting if he wrote a song called ‘I’m a total fucking dick to the staff when I take my family to Olive Garden.’ It doesn’t take much to become exactly what you’re rebelling against.”
At press time, Hench was seen selling unsigned guitar picks that he used that night for $35 each.
Photo by Jana Miller