[BPA234]

Back in the mid-late 80's, I was in my teens, living in a sub of Boston and playing guitar. I was into metal and played with lots of different people, recorded demo's, played/hung out in rehearsal spaces for endless hours etc. etc.

One of the guys I played with knew GG and had hung out with him. After one visit to GG's "compound" he brought back a videotape that he shared.

The tape was basically a "hard-core Jackass" episode. Lots of drugs, rants/screeds, various acts of violence (mostly self-directed), some music performances, bodily fluids & fecal matter exchanges, and one brief, guy on guy BJ where GG had tied his friend to a tree (friend did not object) and after beating him for a while, he very briefly put the guy's penis into mouth.

I was fairly shocked/disgusted by the video and did not get why people were so into GG. Some time later I met GG during an informal party (alchohol+drugs+music=party) at a rehearsal space. He seemed like a nice guy. But, definitely very weird.

Long story semi-short, to answer your original questions, everything you saw with GG was 100% real. Even though I was not into his music or his lifestyle, I respected his integrity. He absolutely and totally lived the life he represented.

I do think the music was secondary and that his lifestyle, both personally and at his shows, was what attracted most people.