Party animal
"I'm by no means a 'fashion dude,'" says Jeff Wichmann, "but if you're gonna be a rock star, you'd better kick it up." As the trumpet player of the battle-scarred "psycho-rock-marching-band" Environmental Encroachment, he says, "I have two rules. One, never wear shorts onstage. Two, sneakers are for clowns." A constant in his look is "something animal related: gorilla, bird, snake, deer, or ferret." His mink fur, a favorite accessory, he named Monk. "It's dead and so will I be someday. Maybe someone will wear me around their neck–if they hunt me down." As for the life span of Environmental Encroachment, he says: "It's just one big freaky art experiment that will be around when the aliens take over."
Originally published in the Chicago Reader.
