Brian Tristan (Kid Congo Powers) was born March 27, 1959 in La Puente, California. His stage name is Kid Congo Powers. He is a queer American rock guitarist, singer, and actor best known as a member of The Gun Club, The Cramps and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He has also played with Divine Horsemen, Angels of Light, Die Haut and Knoxville Girls. Powers is a second generation Mexican American. One of his  earliest influences was the Chicano rock band Thee Midniters. In 1976, he was president of the unofficial West Coast Ramones fan club, then ran a fanzine for The Screamers. These days Powers' primary musical project is the band The Pink Monkey Birds.