Mike and Pushead of SEPTIC DEATH were interviewed at the MRR crew house by
Martin early one morning. There have been some rumors that the band has
broken up which is false. They will be having new songs on MDC's compilation,
and Pushead's own "CLEANSE THE BACTERIA" compliation. Before this interview I
had some preconceived ideas of the band, but after meeting Mike & Pushead and
spending 3 hours talking about ideas and opinions, these preconceived ideas
quickly faded to ones of respect.
Leading Edge: So what's the deal, is SEPTIC DEATH in limbo?
Pushead: Yea, it's stagnant right now because Mike & I are down here.
Leading Edge: So you guys haven't broken up?
Pushead: No, it never got to the position where everyone wanted to
stop doing the band. There is still a lot of enthusiasm and creativity to
do it. With paul still going to school and John working, during Christmas
vacation or sometime comde down and play some shows so we can get all the bugs
out from being away. Wee talked about making up tapes and sending them back
and forth.
Leading Edge: Is it going to take a lot of commitment to keep the
band together?
Pushead: Well, I don't know. But if you find a lot of English bands
or even some bands back east, some of the members live quite aways away.
Leading Edge: So it would be like getting back together at Christmas.
Practice for awhile...
Pushead: Well, it's not like "get back together". It's just the
continuation of what was going on. in a way, there a lot more things
you can do with a band than what people do with bands. We do the
literature type thing and we do the music and the shows. Right now,
we're in a position where we don't do the shows but we can still do
the literature and we still can do the music. we can still express
our opinions, do the graphics, and the artwork and different things
that deal with that.
Leading Edge: So many people see Septic Death as "Pushead's Band".
How do you feel about that? (Mike)
Mike: When people say Pushead, it depends on what the people want
to see. With a lot of people, that is what they want to see.
Leading Edge: To see the guy sing who has done all these drawings.
Mike: Yea, exactly. but then there's other people out there who
want to see Septic Death. Sometimes at shows the three of us will be
sitting there going DUUH and everbody is talking to him (Pushead). There's
not really any bad feelings. it's hard to explain.
Leading Edge: Sort of like bad feelings towards that person that's
talking to Pushead, but not towards Pushead.
Mike: Yea, towards the people.
Leading Edge: because they aren't seeing it as a band, but as Pushead.
Mike: Yes, except that I read a review in a magazine that said,
"Septic Death...headed by Pushead, but Pushead is not the main thing of
this record as by the first song", and it went on to compliment the musicians.
I think that;s the first time I've seen something like that.
Pushead: That's one of the reasons why the record opens up with an instrumental.
Leading Edge: Pushead, how do you feel about this?
Pushead: Well, we've never had any hard feeling. In a way I became
the spokesman for the band because I am the PR man of the band so i deal with
a lot of people. Like when we went on tour, it's like "Sure, I am talking with
a lot of people, but it's also like I don't get to see a lot of the bands play
because I am talking to a lot of people, answering their questions which they
ask that either deal with Pushead or Septic Death."
Leading Edge: One thing I noticed (Mike) all this time I've been with you,
you haven't told anyone you're in Septic Death. And you don't wear a Septic
Death T-Shirt. I talk more about Septic Death than you do.
Mike: It's just the way I am. I don't want someone to like me because of
that. There are so many bands that will come up to you and only talk about
themselves and that's lame.
Pushead: We don't do that unless somebody will come up and ask a question.
Mike: Even when people ask me about that I won't want to talk about it.
I don't know if it's different attitudes with people when they see you on stage,
they think you're better than them.
Leading Edge: Another thing I noticed is that you guys are really into
fashion when you play live but right now you guys aren't at all. Is that a phase
you went out of or will you dress up if you play live tomorrow night?
Mike: It's like when you see the Misfits live, they might play shitty,
but that doesn't matter becuase they are all show, with breaking guitars and
dressing up. Then you see so many bands that it's just like they got out of the
truck with a t-shirt and pants, then they get up on stage and play and don't really
look like they're enjoying themsleves. What kind of enthusiasm is that? That's why
we got into it. We want a little bit of show. You're a band that is performing...
So many people say that any band that dresses up are egomaniacs. That's the dumbest
attitude because it's your performance, it's not the ego thing.
Pushead: We're the attention.
Leading Edge: Also there's creativity in the way you dress. You're just
not putting on leather jackets and spiking your hair.
Pushead: We sat down and figured it out and when we put it all together it
had a lot of reasoning with what we were doing. And how it had to deal with
what we are doing.
Mike: It's easy, it's cheap, it's fun. That's the whole idea of the band.
You have to enjoy yourself and get into it, not just play and look like you're
extremely bored while you're playing. So many bands are doing that and that's
depressing.
Leading Edge: It sounds like you guys have put a lot of thought into the band.
Mike: It hasn't really been thought out. it just sort of developed. We
started out with the music, then the name, and then it's like the ideas started to
develop.
Pushead: We had the ideas all along.
Mike: Yea, but they came out a lot heavier. (Talk continues on about Boise,
Backstabbing, The Exploited, Death piles, and develops into the definitions of
punk and hardcore.)
Pushead: Both Mike and I have grown out of what's called the "punk phase."
I can't really say that I've been a "punk" for quite a long time as in the term of
what i see "punk" is. Punk is rebellion where you're angry with what you are.
Mike: A girl in salt Lake asked us, "What's the difference between punk and hardcore?"
Leading Edge: And you said...
Pushead: To me, hardcore is a dedication.
Leading Edge: Hardcore is "Core", a feeling.
Pushead: A positive feeling.
Mike: Hardcore is your own feelings, where punk is what the record is saying.
"Need So Much Attention. Acceptance of Whom" a lot of time it's not yourself or your
own rebellion, it's attention of your friends.
Leading Edge: How do you see Septic Death as?
Mike: Hardcore.
Pushead: Still positive. Look at what the lyrics say, with philosophical edges.
I try and deal in a positive way, like you can not have peace in the world until you
have peace with yourself and most people don't.
Mike: The songs are about yourself, not politics or things like that.
Pushead: Politics are smart and people should be aware of them, but politics
can be another form of rebellion. The big thing with the Subhumans is that they say
all this stuff about animal vivisection, then they wear leather jackets. Were they
told to project an image like that? I don't understand that. Then they say "We had
them before we got to this stage so there's no use wasting them." Well, if that's your
belief, then maybe you should pass it on to someone else who can use it.
Mike: A lot of people will read the lyrics and compare them to other people.
But not enough people read the lyrics and think about themself. If you read the
lyrics and think about yourself and what the lyrics are saying, then it strikes.
That's the whole idea and that's why people get into this political thing. So they
can blame other people for things.
Leading Edge: You guys seem to be really sincere.
Pushead: We don't live up to our song "Quit". I wrote that about so many
different people that I saw that said, "I don't want to do this anymore so I'll just
quit'" which is a lot easier than putting out a little extra effort.
Mike: I was just saying to Tim(MRR) that hardcore has ruined my life because
I've gone through so many things and studied and realizzed things in life that are
now deep in me and there's no way I can change them.
Pushead: It didn't ruin your life.
Mike: It's a good improvement but there's something that will never be the same.
Pushead: But with some people punk has come in and it's totally destroyed
them. they rebel and need the attention.
Leading Edge: They just see the negative aspects of it and then take off on them.
Mike: Yea, exactly.
Leading Edge: Any last comments.
Pushead: Make an effort and show your hardware.
Mike: Support what you're into and think about what you are doing. Anyone
who has any movie paraphenalia, such as posters, etc. please write.
