Pig Champion—Death of a Rat

The author is a jackass with some kind of personal vendetta against Pig Champion, one of the hardest guitarists in history and a beloved figure of mythical proportions among those who have ingested Poison Idea's Music for the last 20 years. You're a nothing author, mere dogshit on our shoes.

even after death you try to defile the big man. I cant believe you would try to steal one of he best american pun band evers legacy. Yeah when you first came on the scene with answer me! it was entertaining. Then you wewnt to far and ended up in the hoosgow . No judgement there , I don't want to give you a platform there. But to try to weave yourself into the best american hardcore sound by criticising the CHAMPION! you understatethe power of P.I. and bring up negative shit about probably the best hardcore punk guitarist ever
no fucking cool amigo. say what you want but your still a stiff writing about shit you dont do. Beating your old lady gets no points in my book. turn to your lame groupies and figure out what to shit on next but leave Pig and poison Idea out of it, pussy at best.

If I wanted to hear from an asshole, I would have farted.

YUK this whole artice is stinky, and where is the pic.
I knew Tom a bit and he was kind and mellow, he was doing his best to overcome his demons and had been clean for some time know. He did do alot of the yucky stuff that Jim is saying but I doubt he was a snitch, and for me the jury is out on whether or not I would tell the PIGS where a known NAZI wife beater was or not. I think I would cause they have all the weapons and facilities to deal with that shit, and can mobilize to stop a problem faster than we can.

Who the fuck is Goad? Never heard of him. On the other hand Tom Pig is a household word in use all over the world. Pig You'll be remembered.

Large in life, large in passing
Influential guitarist Tom Roberts, formerly of the punk band Poison Idea, dies at 47
Saturday, February 04, 2006
MARTY HUGHLEY


In describing Tom Roberts, guitarist of the Portland punk band Poison Idea, there's really no way to get around the word "big" or its synonyms. His sound was huge and fierce, his lifestyle was extreme, and his massive weight led him to go more commonly by the nicknames Tom Pig and even Pig Champion.

So it has to be said now that the Northwest lost a big piece of its rock community this week with the death of Roberts at age 47. He was found in his home Tuesday morning; cause of death has not been determined, but his sister Jo Ann Jones said Thursday that Roberts had been suffering in recent weeks from an untreated kidney infection and the flu.

Roberts' musical acumen, force of personality and uncompromising attitude were key factors in making Poison Idea one of the most influential and memorable forces in the Northwest rock underground for the past quarter century.


"He was one of the early punk celebrities in Portland," said Mike Jones of CD Forge, a longtime participant in the area's music scene. "He'd fallen on some hard times in the past few years, but it's always a real blow when the scene loses someone who made such a big contribution."

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. today at Omega Funeral & Cremation Service, 223 S.E. 122nd Ave.

Poison Idea was a foundation of the Portland punk scene, and an intensely admired band within the rock underground, earning praise from the likes of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and the Norwegian metal band Turbonegro.

The group was founded around 1980 by singer/lyricist Jerry A., and Roberts soon left his band, the Imperialist Pigs, to join. His bruising guitar work became the core of the Poison Idea sound. Through the years, numerous other musicians came and went around those two principals.

In a way, the group's widest success came indirectly -- when the multimillion-selling band Pantera recorded "The Badge," a song by Roberts and Jerry A. that was originally on Poison Idea's "Feel the Darkness," for the 1994 movie soundtrack "The Crow," which went on to platinum sales. But P.I. (as fans tended to shorten the group's name) already had earned its own measure of fame. Locally, it put on notoriously energetic, even chaotic shows -- often highlighted by Jerry A.'s onstage fire breathing -- at Portland clubs such as Satyricon, 13th Precinct and the Pine Street Theater, and shared bills with the likes of Nirvana and Motorhead.

The band also toured Europe, including a show at London's famed Marquee club, was reviewed in Spin magazine (recommended as antidote to the vacuous pop of Norway's a-ha) and even made the "cute band alert" column of Sassy magazine's June 1992 issue, an inclusion that might have been either sarcastic or truly fashion-forward.

Sometimes weighing 450 pounds or more, Roberts was known for his size as well as for drinking prodigiously and generally living life on the edge. But those who knew and worked with him describe him as a man of keen intellect and relentless curiosity, a gentle giant behind the brusque exterior.

"If anybody thought he was up there as some nihilistic, morbidly obese guy just flailing around, no," said David Wilds, who managed the band from 1988-91. "He was remarkable for his knowledge of any kind of music. It's been said that Poison Idea was a punk band that could really play, and a lot of that was due to Tom. He chose a simple, stripped-down sound for artistic reasons, not lack of ability. There was structure, the material was well-rehearsed, and he really cared what the audience thought.

Poison Idea disbanded in 1993, its farewell show commemorated with the live album "Pig's Last Stand." But by the late '90s it had regrouped and continued to perform and tour sporadically. According to Chris Loughner, a friend of Roberts and a former roadie for the band, a new album tentatively titled "Leveled Karma" likely will be retooled before its release to be more of a tribute to the guitarist.

A lifelong Portlander, Roberts was born Nov. 4, 1958. He attended Gresham High School, and began playing guitar as a teenager.

"He wanted to live large at every possible turn, and he did," Wilds said. "It was not as if he didn't recognize the frailties he was creating for himself. . . There were cartoonish versions of punk, and those kinds of guys would take days off. But in terms of his music and lifestyle, Tom never took a day off. That was Tom, onstage and off."

Jones, his sister, may have summed up Roberts best, saying, "He was a big man with a big heart, and he lived life on his own terms."

Roberts is survived by his mother and stepfather, Phyllis and Arthur D. Carlson, brother William F. Roberts, sisters JoAnn Jones and Lynn Roberts, all of the Portland area, and four stepsisters. Disposition is by cremation. Remembrances are requested in the form of donations to the Feral Cat Coalition, 503-797-2606.

Marty Hughley: 503-221-8383; martyhughley@news.oregonian.com