The Art of Queer Punk Rock

In the kitschy, campy, riot grrrl universe of Hunx and His Punx, the hair is teased, the girls ride motorcycles, and the flight attendants rock bubblegum pink suits.

The garage punk band—made up of Seth Bogart, Shannon Shaw, and Erin Emslie—has been making music together for over 10 years. Around 2014, they went on a five-year hiatus that ended with an invitation befitting their wacky aesthetic: to play at the birthday party of John Waters, filmmaking legend and so-called “Pope of Trash.” They’ll be performing at the Getty Center as part of this year’s Off the 405 concert series on June 13.

We chatted with Bogart (pictured above, top right) about what viewers can expect at their upcoming show, what it means to make queer music, and how his work as an artist intersects with his life as a punk rocker.

What made you interested in doing a concert at the Getty Center? And how are you preparing for the show?

Seth Bogart: Well, I’m also a visual artist, and I haven’t actually been to the Getty Center in a really long time, so part of it was just wanting to go.

I’m trying to order a fog machine right now. Our friend made us these Man-Eater vests that are inspired by this film from 1968 called She-Devils on Wheels. It’s about a girl biker gang. And then we have a leather look and a polka dot look. We were going to do a cookout look, but we decided four looks was a little extreme for our nine-show tour.

What does “queer music” mean to you? How is queer music different from other types of music?

I think I’m just referring to this queer punk/riot grrrl music that I discovered in high school and got really obsessed with: Bikini Kill and Limp Wrist and Huggy Bear and bands like that. I think gay guys are drawn to a woman’s voice naturally, but I feel like I’m drawn to, beyond that, just flamboyant sounds. I think it’s not just the music, but also what the band’s bringing. At least for me, when you see a guy in a G-string, you probably assume he’s queer.

We were never really a political band, but when we emerged in 2008, around that time in the punk and rock ‘n’ roll worlds, it was still pretty homophobic. So I think our politicalness was just existing and being in mostly heterosexual spaces. But I’ve always felt like we’re a little too punk to be gay and a little too gay to be punk.

How did you come up with your aesthetic as a band?

The aesthetic comes from just things that influence me, like underground queer culture, Kenneth Anger films, teeny-bopper magazines, She-Devils on Wheels, John Waters. I think the aesthetic is just kind of an extension of my visual art practice.

What’s your creative process like? Where do you get your ideas?

I’m thinking of some of the last videos we’ve made. We made a video called Wild Boys and that was really inspired by the Kenneth Anger film Scorpio Rising: hot people greased up and motorcycles. And then we made another one called No Way Out where we were flight attendants for our own airline called Punkette Air. We go nowhere. I’ve always been drawn to flight attendants, and I’ve always wanted us to have flight attendant costumes. Another video we did was called Alone in Hollywood on Acid, and we shot it at my friend’s wig shop called Outfitters Wig. I’ve always been drawn to hair salons and wig shops. I went to beauty school when I was a teenager. That used to be my job before I could survive as an artist/musician.

We also did all that during a really dark time. Shannon’s fiancé passed away three years ago in a really tragic way. And then my house in Altadena almost burned down in the Eaton fire and I was out of my house for over a year. I think part of this band is just trying to find joy in a horrible world, being with your friends, and laughing and getting through hard things.

When we went on tour last September, I had been so depressed before. And then the second I got on stage, I was like, Ah, I missed this. Just being able to let people escape for an hour and hopefully forget about everything bad feels really good. And we forget too because we’re just having fun and being stupid.

How do you describe yourself as an artist?

I’m an artist who can’t pick one medium. So I make paintings, ceramics, sculptures, installations, music, videos, all that. My favorite way to make art is to combine them all in one. I’m doing this project for Meow Wolf that’s opening in December, so it’s an exciting opportunity to combine every one of those mediums. I describe myself as someone who’s all over the place, very wacky and colorful.

What inspires you to create art?

A lot of times I just sit down and start going at it and see what happens. I also have this magazine rack with old zines and underground queer stuff and magazines and art books. Sometimes I’ll just flip through that until I find something to be inspired by. But I usually just have a whole list in my notes app of art to make and what I want to do. I really want to make a movie and a waterpark. I wrote a book last year. After I finish those three things, I’ll be good. We’ll see about the waterpark. That seems a little hard, but you never know.

How does your artistic side influence your musical side? Do they complement each other or are they totally separate?

They really go together, honestly. And it started first with music. When I was younger, I was like, Art is so boring. I hate it. I was in punk bands and then I started making sets for music videos and art for T-shirts and painting stuff for record covers. And then I was like, Oh, I love making art actually. So for me, they really go hand in hand. When a band hires someone else to do all their art, I get it, but I also don’t relate because to me it all goes together. Everything I do sort of lives in the same world.

What message do you want to share with anyone who’s planning on attending your show or thinking about attending?

Bring us candy and get ready to have fun.

Get advance tickets for Off the 405. Although free reservations for entry are required, if there is capacity the day of a sold-out event, visitor services will allow walk-ups. We recommend arriving early to do so.