Deacon Lunchbox was the stage name of Atlanta performance artist and poet Timothy Tyson Ruttenber (1950 – April 19, 1992). Ruttenber, a construction worker by day, was popular in the Atlanta area for his flamboyant spoken-word performances. He often punctuated each line of his poems by banging an old torpedo casing or metal bucket with a hammer. His onstage props included a chainsaw, and often a bra was part of his costume.
Deacon is credited with giving the Atlanta alternative country music scene its name - the
Redneck Underground.
Bubbapalooza, named and led by the late
Gregory Dean Smalley, is an annual Redneck Underground festival at Atlanta's
Star Community Bar in
Little Five Points
Little Five Points (also L5P, LFP, Little Five, or Lil' Five) is a district on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, east of downtown. It was established in the early 20th century as the commercial district for the adjacent I ...
, a three-night showcase for the Redneck Underground.
Ruttenber died in an auto accident, along with two members of the Atlanta group
The Jody Grind (drummer, Rob Clayton, and their bassist, Robert Hayes). The three were riding in a rented cargo van in
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...
, at the time of the accident, when a drunk driver crossed the I-65 median and struck them head-on.
He appeared in ''Words in Your Face'', a PBS documentary about spoken-word performers.
Film appearances
*
Alive from Off Center
''Alive from Off Center'', renamed ''Alive TV'' in 1992, is an American arts anthology television series that aired on PBS between 1985 and 1996.
Each week, the series featured experimental short films by a mixture of up-and-coming and establish ...
- Words in Your Face (1991) PBS TV Episode
*Benjamin
Smoke
Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...
(2000)
*Coffeehouse: Atlanta's Underground Poets (1992) Documentary of Atlanta's Spoken Word scene, containing the last interview with Deacon Lunchbox.
*Crash Course in Brain Sodomy (1990) by Kreg Thornley and Brett Lewis. Cameo appearance
Publications
*Some Different Kinds of Songs (1989) A collection of monologues. Publisher: Drewry Lane Book Makers
*The Complete Lunchbox: The Life and Works of Deacon Lunchbox, a Cornucopia of Southern Culture by Robert S. Roarty (Editor), Tim Ruttenber
Recordings
*Rantin' 'n' Railin' (1990)
*An Evening with the Garbageman and Deacon Lunchbox January 24, 1989 (WREK: The Underground Recordings)
*The Mother of All Flagpole Christmas Albums (1992)
Poems
*All I Want is Her Love and a Brand New Harley
*Death of an Amway Salesman
*I'm Bustin' Down the Road Doin' Sixty
*I'm Just an Old Redneck Hippy
*Lewis Grizzard I'm Calling You Out
*Life in Midtown Atlanta
*My Vacations Plans are Ruined
*Nadine and Tony
*Omni Beer
*Quagmire of Skankmud
*Yuppie Bastard
References
External links
A Celebration of Deacon Lunchbox- audio files and poetry
{{Authority control
American male poets