Justice for Fred “FREAK” Smith.

The death of musician Fred “Freak” Smith, known for his contributions to hardcore punk and his ostentatious humor, remains unsolved. photo- Onam Emmet

I was blown away the first time I ever listened to him. Sometime in 1985, in Mrs. Johnson’s Algebra II class my friend Karl passed me a cassette containing a song called “Manic D.” by the Washington D.C. hardcore band, Beefeater. I was a heavy Hendrix fan, Karl knew it, and the cover by Beefeater piqued his interest in the original — so we swapped.