Seth Bogart of Hunx and His Punx on Being a Gay Punk and Jay Reatard Giving Him a Foot Massage

Suzy Poling

Our music feature this week is on Seth Bogart, Hunx of Hunx and his Punx. Bogart is too much man for one story. He talks a lot, as any hairdresser worth his salt should, and almost everything that comes out of his mouth is hilarious, raunchy, and fascinating. And sometimes it's even a little sad. Below are excerpts from the interview that didn't make the final story.

On his experiences as a hairdresser:
"Everyone's gotta make a living somehow and Hunx ain't exactly paying my bills. I went to beauty school when I was 19 because I thought it seemed funny, not because I thought I'd be good at it. I was terrible at first. I gave a girl a perm and she cried. I was cutting this man's hair and he grabbed the clippers outta my hand and finished the haircut himself! But eventually I got really good at it. Being a hairdresser is really fun, especially if you don't work at a stupid rich-lady place. You basically just get paid to hang out and talk with a bunch of cool weird ladies and help them with their looks."  

On the beginning of Hunx and his Punx:
"It's hard for me to talk about because I was writing songs with Justin [Champlin] at the time and we were romantically involved and the whole time is a huge blur in my memory. All I know is that some of those early songs were written for teenage girls to sing, but lucky me, I got to attach my annoying voice to them and call them my own."

On being a gay guy in the punk scene:
"There have been a lot of gay punks before me, and there will be a lot after. Members of the following bands are/were a least somewhat gay: Limpwrist, The Buzzcocks, The Wipers, Pansy Division, The Germs, The Dicks ... the list goes on. I'm honored to be any part of this. The important thing no matter you are is to just be yourself."

On his friend and band-member Shannon Shaw of Shannon and The Clams:
"She's an incredible songwriter and obviously has the most amazing voice. She's like my sister at this point and I love her with all my heart. Same with Erin Emslie, our drummer and all the girls and guys that have been in my band. I don't fuck around with assholes or let jerks in my band. Only friends."

On the differences between Los Angeles and San Francisco:
"I moved here six months ago and was totally depressed and thought L.A. was the worst place in the world. Recently though I became obsessed with it and am proud to call it home. I miss SF a lot but it feels so tiny now."