I'm a musician. I refuse to use this symbol but see it all the time; my drummer, a Christian, uses it multiple times a day. To some, it really is "rock and roll." That's not its origin but it's what the symbol has become in pop culture.
I don't know about Hicks. If he really did turn himself into AJ, then this is suspect. But Tool's Aenima (embed) is based on Hicks' words, which ring awfully true these days.