If anyone's ever threatened to "open a can of whup-ass" on you, you've got Roy D. Mercer to thank. Taking the example of his Yankee cousins The Jerky Boys one step further, Roy turns telephone terrorism into a service for hire, and has brought that expression into the American lexicon. Got an enemy? A friend who could use a scare? Give their number to Roy.
Armed with just enough information about his victim, Roy calls them, usually at work, with a bizarre, unreasonable request related to their job. For example, here on HOW BIG A BOY ARE YA, VOLUME 4, he calls a photographer to take pictures of a recently deceased pet goat, harangues a veterinarian about a bill he's received for "teat reduction" on a Basset hound, and berates a pawn shop owner about a lice-ridden fur coat. Invariably met with confusion, Roy quickly escalates into physical threats, wherein he sizes up his opponent (hence the album titles) and utters the now-ubiquitous "whup-ass" line. Unlike his merciless compatriots to the north, however, Roy always lets down his disguise, telling his mark who put him up to it, and letting them in on the laugh.