Hunx and His Punx are a Bay Area punk band fronted by Arizona transplant and sometime hairdresser Seth Bogart, a.k.a. Hunx, that have a Ramones-like musical philosophy: take 60s Phil Spector-ish girl group music and simplify and speed it up. Their songs are mostly direct odes to love and sex, sung in Hunx distinctly nasal delivery, supported by the lovely harmonies of his all-female backing group. Having just released their first full-length album, Too Young To Be In Love, and played a solid week at SXSW, Hunx and his punkettes are now embarking on a nationwide tour -- so I was lucky Seth found a few minutes to talk with SuicideGirls about why SXSW sucks, getting stoned, and French perverts.
Keith Daniels: So where are you at right now?
Seth Bogart: Im on my dressing room floor.
KD:[Laughs] What city?
SB: Im in San Francisco! I mean, Im on my dressing room floor in every city.
KD:I have to tell you Im a little nervous because Ive read that you dont like phone interviews, or music writers either.
SB: Where did you read that?
KD:An interview with you I was just reading. You said you thought phone interviews were boring.
SB: Weeeeell, Ill be nice to you. Im not mean! I just like to be face to face.
KD:Yeah, well I wish we could go to the bar or getting fucking stoned and do this, too.
SB: That would be so much better!
KD:Believe it or not, its often boring for the people asking the questions, too. People dont want to say anything too interesting or they might get in trouble.
SB: Thats true.
KD:I read that you quit smoking cigarettes recently. Hows that going?
SB: I quit, like, a month ago! My butt got way bigger. Its so cool.
KD:You do tend to gain little weight. Ive been eight days without and its killing me.
SB: It all went to my butt. So youve been eight days without a cig?
KD:Yeah.
SB: Did you just quit? Oh my god, let me turn down my music. [Silence] Sorry. I was up in my closet. So, are you having a hard time [not] smoking?
KD:I wasnt having too hard of a time, but this is the first interview Ive done since...
SB: ...ooohh yeah, you always smoke when you do it.
KD:Yeah, I know, man. Its such a good prop to talk.
SB: Youll get over it. How did you quit?
KD:Just stopped, yknow?
SB: Yeah.
KD:I really like your music because, to me, its about what rocknroll is supposed to be about: sex and love, simple emotions.
SB: Thank you.
KD:Is that how you feel about it?
SB: I dont know what rocknroll is supposed to be like, but I know were really good. I know that live were way better than most stupid dude bands.
KD:Youve got all these guys with these long beards trying to be so serious.
SB: So boring. I just want to entertain like its Poison playing or something. You know what I mean?
KD:Like its the Sunset Strip in the 80s?
SB: Yeah, like some costumes and stuff.
KD:If you had a big budget, what kind of show would you put on?
SB: Ohmygod, I dont even know. There would be, like, elephants and motorcycle entrances and a million dollar light show. It would be crazy.
KD:Youve said that youd like for people to either hate your music or be obsessed with it. Do you feel like indifference is the worst reaction?
SB: Dont you think? I think it is. When we play, people either get really into it, or theyre in the back shaking their heads in disapproval. And... Im wondering if I should eat this chocolate weed thing I found in my room.
KD:[Laughs] Like a pot brownie or something?
SB: Mmm. Its like a truffle. I bought it the other day, and I ate a little bit of it last night and got really stoned. Then I realized that me and my friend were imitating a Gremlin for, like, an hour. Then I was like, Oh, I think were stoned! [Laughs]
KD:[Laughs]
SB: What was I saying? I dont remember what I was saying.
KD:We were talking about indifference.
SB: Oh yeah.
KD:But as you get bigger thats going to happen more, as you get out of your home town. You get those guys who just stand there with their arms crossed. What happens when people who dont get it start coming to your shows?
SB: I dont know, because thats never really happened. I dont notice, anyway.
KD:What are you thinking about when youre onstage and youre looking out at the first couple of rows?
SB: Usually Im so wasted I dont know whats going on.
KD:[Laughs] So you usually get drunk before a show? Stoned?
SB: I get wasted. I dont get stoned because one time I did that and then I was laying on the floor screaming at my band -- telling them that they were playing way too fast even though they were actually just playing regular. I dont think [were] very good music to get stoned to.
KD:Do you [do that] because youre nervous? Or to get in character...?
SB: I feel like its an anxiety-slash-nervous thing, and I also feel like... I dont know, Ive actually been thinking about this a lot because I kind of dont want to be drunk for a whole month, but sometimes when you go on a tour youre like in a car all day. Then you get to a club and youre there for like, six hours, and its so much funner if you can just get wasted. I just feel like it can be so boring to be stuck in a bar all night -- so why not get wasted? But I get scared because sometimes I get bummed out when I drink that much. Im kind of struggling with it.
KD:How was South by Southwest?
SB: The worst. Hated it.
KD:Why was that?
SB: Weve done it the last three years in a row, and every year Im like, Im never going back here, but we had a record coming out so we got pressured into going.
KD:But why do you hate it?
SB: Because its a bunch of assholes! You play, like, 20 shows a day and then have to do a bunch of really stupid interviews, and its just not fun. We didnt even get to hang out. Also, we were taking the bus and, like, walking everywhere, and sleeping on our friends floor. Meanwhile, all the record label people have, like, some fancy hotel. It doesnt make any sense. Maybe Im just being a baby.
KD:Youre going to be playing in Tucson in a couple of days. Thats where youre from, right?
SB: Yeah, hometown!
KD:Is this your first time going back with the band?
SB: We played there a year and a half ago with the band Girls. My mom and my brother were there. Hopefully they wont come again.
KD:Did you feel like that held you back a little?
SB: Oh! I just found a Valium on my floor. Cooool. Um, it didnt hold me back, but it was just, like, weird.
KD:From reading your Twitter, though, they sound pretty supportive.
SB: Yeah, theyre rad, but its just awkward or something.
KD:I would have a hard time getting up in front of my mom...
SB: My mom thinks Im a porn star.
KD:[Laughs]
SB: Im not kidding! She saw my weiner. She saw me naked on the internet.
KD:Well, so did anybody who saw that Girls video.
SB: She didnt see that, thank God. She saw some photoshoot that was in Paris.
KD:Is that the thing you mentioned for Playgirl?
SB: No, it wasnt Playgirl. She saw that, but she was cool with it because I was wearing a jock strap and you could only see my butt. She saw this one where Im in this old car and had a boner, in Paris. She saw that because someone posted it on my Facebook thing. So she was disappointed.
KD:Oh well, not like its the first time your moms ever seen you naked.
SB: I know. I just told her it was art, but the truth is this French guy was a total pervert and it made me horny. He told me to take my pants off and I was like, OK!
KD:Youre touring with four girls now. What have you learned about women from being stuck with them in such close quarters for so long?
SB: Well, I feel like I already am like a girl, so its just like being with the girls, you know what I mean?
KD:Nothing surprising?
SB: Well, Ive been touring with girls forever, so its nothing to me.
KD:Ive read that youre... 31? Is that right?
SB: Wow, you know a lot.
KD:[Laughs] I do a little research! Were actually the same age. Im wondering if youre as scared of getting old as I am.
SB: To some extent. I feel like an old lady and a young teenage guy at the same time. I guess Im scared, but not that scared.
KD:How do you feel like an old lady?
SB: Just... like an old grandma.
KD:9 oclock, time for bed?
SB: Time to get under the covers and watch some TV!
KD:If you were God and could recreate the world, what would you change first?
SB: Id probably make money, like, gone.
KD:Something like Star Trek where money doesnt even exist?
SB: Yeah, because I feel like thats the root of every problem. Not every problem, but a lot of them.
KD:So tell me about Hollywood Nailz. Is that coming along? I saw your Kickstarter.
SB: Were halfway done with the first episode. We had like a 1-900 phone sex from outer space commercial. We had a gay judge... its like Judge Judie but with Judge Barry. We still need to do the other half. Well do it when I get back from the tour in July.
KD:So it sounds like youre doing skits, SNL style?
SB: Yeah, its skits, mostly. Therell be some talk-show elements to it.
KD:Do you watch a lot of reality shows?
SB: I love Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Have you seen RuPauls Drag Race? Because its my favorite show.
KD:Just the clips they play on The Soup, to be honest. I dont watch a lot of TV.
SB: Neither do I, but ohmygod, its, like, the best show. Oh my god I just opened my email... crazy.
KD:Youll never win that battle.
SB: So, what I was saying? Oh, RuPauls Drag Race. Youve got to see it. I only watch that and Gossip Girls.
KD:Are you planning on doing more Hunx & His Punx records, or will you move on to another project?
SB: Ive written two more records that Im going to finish when I get home. Theyre like solo albums. Ones like 90s high energy dance music. The other one is really sad, acoustic... not all acoustic, but like Hunx & His Punx, only sadder and not as oldies-sounding.
KD:Are you a decent guitar player?
SB: I can play every instrument but, like, really shitty. [Laughs]
More information on Hunx and His Punx can be found at Hardly Art.
Keith Daniels: So where are you at right now?
Seth Bogart: Im on my dressing room floor.
KD:[Laughs] What city?
SB: Im in San Francisco! I mean, Im on my dressing room floor in every city.
KD:I have to tell you Im a little nervous because Ive read that you dont like phone interviews, or music writers either.
SB: Where did you read that?
KD:An interview with you I was just reading. You said you thought phone interviews were boring.
SB: Weeeeell, Ill be nice to you. Im not mean! I just like to be face to face.
KD:Yeah, well I wish we could go to the bar or getting fucking stoned and do this, too.
SB: That would be so much better!
KD:Believe it or not, its often boring for the people asking the questions, too. People dont want to say anything too interesting or they might get in trouble.
SB: Thats true.
KD:I read that you quit smoking cigarettes recently. Hows that going?
SB: I quit, like, a month ago! My butt got way bigger. Its so cool.
KD:You do tend to gain little weight. Ive been eight days without and its killing me.
SB: It all went to my butt. So youve been eight days without a cig?
KD:Yeah.
SB: Did you just quit? Oh my god, let me turn down my music. [Silence] Sorry. I was up in my closet. So, are you having a hard time [not] smoking?
KD:I wasnt having too hard of a time, but this is the first interview Ive done since...
SB: ...ooohh yeah, you always smoke when you do it.
KD:Yeah, I know, man. Its such a good prop to talk.
SB: Youll get over it. How did you quit?
KD:Just stopped, yknow?
SB: Yeah.
KD:I really like your music because, to me, its about what rocknroll is supposed to be about: sex and love, simple emotions.
SB: Thank you.
KD:Is that how you feel about it?
SB: I dont know what rocknroll is supposed to be like, but I know were really good. I know that live were way better than most stupid dude bands.
KD:Youve got all these guys with these long beards trying to be so serious.
SB: So boring. I just want to entertain like its Poison playing or something. You know what I mean?
KD:Like its the Sunset Strip in the 80s?
SB: Yeah, like some costumes and stuff.
KD:If you had a big budget, what kind of show would you put on?
SB: Ohmygod, I dont even know. There would be, like, elephants and motorcycle entrances and a million dollar light show. It would be crazy.
KD:Youve said that youd like for people to either hate your music or be obsessed with it. Do you feel like indifference is the worst reaction?
SB: Dont you think? I think it is. When we play, people either get really into it, or theyre in the back shaking their heads in disapproval. And... Im wondering if I should eat this chocolate weed thing I found in my room.
KD:[Laughs] Like a pot brownie or something?
SB: Mmm. Its like a truffle. I bought it the other day, and I ate a little bit of it last night and got really stoned. Then I realized that me and my friend were imitating a Gremlin for, like, an hour. Then I was like, Oh, I think were stoned! [Laughs]
KD:[Laughs]
SB: What was I saying? I dont remember what I was saying.
KD:We were talking about indifference.
SB: Oh yeah.
KD:But as you get bigger thats going to happen more, as you get out of your home town. You get those guys who just stand there with their arms crossed. What happens when people who dont get it start coming to your shows?
SB: I dont know, because thats never really happened. I dont notice, anyway.
KD:What are you thinking about when youre onstage and youre looking out at the first couple of rows?
SB: Usually Im so wasted I dont know whats going on.
KD:[Laughs] So you usually get drunk before a show? Stoned?
SB: I get wasted. I dont get stoned because one time I did that and then I was laying on the floor screaming at my band -- telling them that they were playing way too fast even though they were actually just playing regular. I dont think [were] very good music to get stoned to.
KD:Do you [do that] because youre nervous? Or to get in character...?
SB: I feel like its an anxiety-slash-nervous thing, and I also feel like... I dont know, Ive actually been thinking about this a lot because I kind of dont want to be drunk for a whole month, but sometimes when you go on a tour youre like in a car all day. Then you get to a club and youre there for like, six hours, and its so much funner if you can just get wasted. I just feel like it can be so boring to be stuck in a bar all night -- so why not get wasted? But I get scared because sometimes I get bummed out when I drink that much. Im kind of struggling with it.
KD:How was South by Southwest?
SB: The worst. Hated it.
KD:Why was that?
SB: Weve done it the last three years in a row, and every year Im like, Im never going back here, but we had a record coming out so we got pressured into going.
KD:But why do you hate it?
SB: Because its a bunch of assholes! You play, like, 20 shows a day and then have to do a bunch of really stupid interviews, and its just not fun. We didnt even get to hang out. Also, we were taking the bus and, like, walking everywhere, and sleeping on our friends floor. Meanwhile, all the record label people have, like, some fancy hotel. It doesnt make any sense. Maybe Im just being a baby.
KD:Youre going to be playing in Tucson in a couple of days. Thats where youre from, right?
SB: Yeah, hometown!
KD:Is this your first time going back with the band?
SB: We played there a year and a half ago with the band Girls. My mom and my brother were there. Hopefully they wont come again.
KD:Did you feel like that held you back a little?
SB: Oh! I just found a Valium on my floor. Cooool. Um, it didnt hold me back, but it was just, like, weird.
KD:From reading your Twitter, though, they sound pretty supportive.
SB: Yeah, theyre rad, but its just awkward or something.
KD:I would have a hard time getting up in front of my mom...
SB: My mom thinks Im a porn star.
KD:[Laughs]
SB: Im not kidding! She saw my weiner. She saw me naked on the internet.
KD:Well, so did anybody who saw that Girls video.
SB: She didnt see that, thank God. She saw some photoshoot that was in Paris.
KD:Is that the thing you mentioned for Playgirl?
SB: No, it wasnt Playgirl. She saw that, but she was cool with it because I was wearing a jock strap and you could only see my butt. She saw this one where Im in this old car and had a boner, in Paris. She saw that because someone posted it on my Facebook thing. So she was disappointed.
KD:Oh well, not like its the first time your moms ever seen you naked.
SB: I know. I just told her it was art, but the truth is this French guy was a total pervert and it made me horny. He told me to take my pants off and I was like, OK!
KD:Youre touring with four girls now. What have you learned about women from being stuck with them in such close quarters for so long?
SB: Well, I feel like I already am like a girl, so its just like being with the girls, you know what I mean?
KD:Nothing surprising?
SB: Well, Ive been touring with girls forever, so its nothing to me.
KD:Ive read that youre... 31? Is that right?
SB: Wow, you know a lot.
KD:[Laughs] I do a little research! Were actually the same age. Im wondering if youre as scared of getting old as I am.
SB: To some extent. I feel like an old lady and a young teenage guy at the same time. I guess Im scared, but not that scared.
KD:How do you feel like an old lady?
SB: Just... like an old grandma.
KD:9 oclock, time for bed?
SB: Time to get under the covers and watch some TV!
KD:If you were God and could recreate the world, what would you change first?
SB: Id probably make money, like, gone.
KD:Something like Star Trek where money doesnt even exist?
SB: Yeah, because I feel like thats the root of every problem. Not every problem, but a lot of them.
KD:So tell me about Hollywood Nailz. Is that coming along? I saw your Kickstarter.
SB: Were halfway done with the first episode. We had like a 1-900 phone sex from outer space commercial. We had a gay judge... its like Judge Judie but with Judge Barry. We still need to do the other half. Well do it when I get back from the tour in July.
KD:So it sounds like youre doing skits, SNL style?
SB: Yeah, its skits, mostly. Therell be some talk-show elements to it.
KD:Do you watch a lot of reality shows?
SB: I love Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Have you seen RuPauls Drag Race? Because its my favorite show.
KD:Just the clips they play on The Soup, to be honest. I dont watch a lot of TV.
SB: Neither do I, but ohmygod, its, like, the best show. Oh my god I just opened my email... crazy.
KD:Youll never win that battle.
SB: So, what I was saying? Oh, RuPauls Drag Race. Youve got to see it. I only watch that and Gossip Girls.
KD:Are you planning on doing more Hunx & His Punx records, or will you move on to another project?
SB: Ive written two more records that Im going to finish when I get home. Theyre like solo albums. Ones like 90s high energy dance music. The other one is really sad, acoustic... not all acoustic, but like Hunx & His Punx, only sadder and not as oldies-sounding.
KD:Are you a decent guitar player?
SB: I can play every instrument but, like, really shitty. [Laughs]
More information on Hunx and His Punx can be found at Hardly Art.