Yesterday, seminal Cleveland musician and visual artist John Morton launched a GoFundMe campaign. The campaign seeks $5,000 and by the end of its first day reached $2000.
“I am basically homeless, sad, and barely holding on,” the campaign states.
Morton, best-known as a member of proto-punk outfit the Electric Eels, wrote on social media that his home in New York is undergoing foreclosure and without heat or water. For the winter, he decided to stay with his partner in Canada. However, Morton was denied entry at the border, his GoFundMe page continues, due to a “recent ‘disturbing the peace’ conviction.” (The above photo is a mugshot.)
With the $5,000 sought, Morton intends to hire an immigration lawyer and seek temporary resident status in Canada.
Beyond the Electric Eels, Morton is known as a visual artist and a member of the short-lived X__X. The latter group received reissue treatment in 2014 and recently reformed, issuing a new disc of live material via Smog Veil Records this year. Also in 2014, archival label Superior Viaduct compiled the Electric Eels’ oeuvre as Die Electric Eels.
