Mr. Chi Pig, frontman and co-founder of Canadian punk band SNFU, died Thursday at 57.
A cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
“It breaks my heart to say this, but our beloved friend has left this mortal coil just a short while ago,” SNFU bassist Dave Bacon shared on Facebook. “He is now at peace. May he live on in our hearts and memories forever.”
Born Kendall Chinn in Edmonton, he formed punk band Live Sex Shows with brothers Marc and Brent Belke in 1981 before the trio renamed themselves Society’s No F**king Use, and then SNFU.
The band released three albums and toured extensively before splitting up. Chinn moved to Vancouver in early 1990 and fronted several short-lived bands before bringing SNFU back to life and releasing four more studio albums.
SNFU disbanded again in 2005 for a couple of years. The group’s final album was 2013’s Never Trouble Trouble Until Trouble Troubles You.
Chinn, who came out as gay at 20 (SNFU’s song “Painful Reminder” was about a crush on a male teacher in Grade 8), battled drug addiction and schizophrenia. His life story was told in the 2010 documentary Open Your Mouth and Say… Mr. Chi Pig.
In the months before his death, Chinn was known to create pieces of art in a booth at Vancouver’s Pub 340. In November 2019, Chinn told BeatRoute that doctors told him his days were numbered.
“So, I’m drawing myself to death,” he said.