I believe
Spinn would file this under
"Fine Soul Powder":-->The Crankcase and Cowboy characters are inspired by dead comedians Sam Kinison and Bill Hicks, respectively. They are two of my personal spirital guides. I don't agree with everything they ever said (Mr. Kinison's gay-bashing material in particular), but they both had a hand in shaping my sense of humor and philosophical/political outlook. You can blame them partially for the tone of this entire website.
I didn't worry about Sam's likeness at all; if anything, Crankcase looks like my mental image of me (just without the facial hair). He also thinks the same go-for-the-throat things I do; the difference is that I almost never,
ever actually say such things out loud (they can go here instead).
As for Bill, I consulted my CDs of
Rant in E-Minor and
Relentless-- which were released after Bill's death, and contain family photos with snippets of biographical info. I didn't need an exact likeness here either, just a vague resemblance.
This is the vibe I'm sorta going for (that's the current front page graphic for
BillHicks.com).
Anyway, one of those snippets:
Bill Hicks died of pancreatic cancer on February 26, 1994.He was 32 years old.
It's February. I'm 32 (about to turn 33).
...Shit.--hokie -->