(Bryan Gregory) the Cramps - Garbageman
Lyrics
You ain't no punk, you punk
You wanna talk about the real junk?
If I ever slip, I'll be banned 'cause I'm your garbageman
Well you can't dig me you can't dig nothin'
Do you want the real thing, or are you just talkin'?
Do you understand? I'm your garbageman
Yeah, somethin' from the garage and down the driveway
Now get outta your mind and get outta my way
Now do you understand? do you understand?Louie, Louie, Louie, Louie the bird's the word and do you know why?
You gotta beat it with a stick
You gotta beat it 'til it's thick
You gotta live until you're dead
You gotta rock 'til you see redNow do you understand?
Do you understand?
I'm a garbageman. aw, jump on and ride
Yeah it's just what you need when you're down in the dumps
One half hillbilly and one half punk
Big long legs and one big mouth
The hottest thing from the north to come out of the south
Do you understand? do you understand?
Woo, I can't lose with the stuff I use
And you don't choose no substitutes
So stick out your can 'cause I'm your garbagemanLouie, Louie, Louie, Louie the bird's the word and do you know why?You gotta beat it with a stick
You gotta beat it 'til it's thick
You gotta live until you're dead
You gotta rock 'til you see redNow do you understand?
Do you understand?
Do you understand?
All right, hop off
Songwriters: Ivy Rorschach / Lux InteriorGarbageman lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
Bryan Gregory (Gregory Beckerleg, February 20, 1951 – January 10, 2001) was an American rock musician, and founding member of and guitarist for The Cramps.
Biography
Gregory took the name Bryan after Brian Jones from The Rolling Stones of whom he was a fan. He met Cramps member Lux Interior at a record store job they shared in NYC.
He shared his birthday with fellow Cramps guitarist, Poison Ivy. Bryan took up second guitar in April, 1976 and was a distinctive addition in the early incarnation of the band, along with his sister, Pam Balaam (Pam Beckerleg) on drums.
He was known for his sleazy guitar sound, wild stage antics and long black and white striped hair.
He appeared on The Cramps first albums Gravest Hits and Songs the Lord Taught Us.
He abruptly left the band in 1980 with a van full of most of the band's equipment; no police report was filed.
He was later replaced by Kid Congo Powers from the Gun Club.
A rumor circulated that he had left to pursue an interest in Satanism, but Poison Ivy maintained that it was more likely due to his addiction to heroin.
After the Cramps, Gregory went on to play in Beast from 1980-1983.
Bryan collaborated with producer Robyn Hunt, an Australian whom he married in Cleveland, Ohio, March 6, 1984.
The project also included volunteers to make "Frezzer" with writer Char Rao, a former Cramps associate who was in the video--it never took off .
He played a zombie in George Romero's Day of the Dead with fellow zombie fans Mike Metoff (Pagans guitarist, and at the time, temporary guitarist with The Cramps) and Char Rao in Pittsburgh.
After moving to Florida he successfully managed an adult book store in Sarasota, Florida where he settled for several years and joined his sister Pam Beckerleg in Osprey after his divorce.
Gregory had a social reunion with Lux, Ivy & Nick backstage at a Cramps show in St. Petersburg, Florida in the early 1990s.
Lux dedicated the last song of the night to Bryan.
Gregory moved to Los Angeles forming The Dials from 1992–1995, joining Shiver with former musicians James Christ and Andrella (former band members of Beast and The Veil).
At the time of his death Gregory had been losing interest in his music goals.
He reported he was feeling "exhausted and run down", according to his ex-wife, Hunt (with whom he remained close friends), having put it down to working nights and taking care of a sick friend.
Gregory drove himself to the emergency room for a check-up at 4 a.m. Once there he was transferred to another hospital, Anaheim Memorial Medical Center, where he died from heart failure at the age of 49.
His brother Rick Beckerleg, a veteran and fireman from Detroit, Michigan, was by his side at his death.
He was also close to his sister Pam Beckerleg, whom he referred to as "Little Wing" (a tattoo he wore in her honor).
Gregory was an avid science fiction and horror film fan and especially fond of characters such as Frankenstein's Monster.
In addition to his love of music he also designed jewellery, did charcoal drawings, clothing, art design, theater makeup and horror costume design in Cleveland, Ohio and Florida.
Gregory supported Native American causes and was reported by his mother (now deceased) to be a descendant of Civil War general, William Sherman.
Although his religious background was Catholic, he experimented in several religious cults but found them unsatisfactory.
Gregory's ashes are buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California.
Legacy and influence
His noisy style of guitar playing was an inspiration to people like William Reid of The Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Boom of Spacemen 3, as well as numerous other artists who would go on to make up the British shoegaze scene of the mid-to-late 1980s.
References
"Remembering The Cramps' Bryan Gregory". Worleygig.com. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2017.