MRR:

Does your name mean anything?

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Pushead:

Pushead is pus, not puss, as many people confuse it to be, which
represents pushead as in a blemish on society. Like your precious
face is society, and when you get a pushead on the nose or wherever,
you rush to the mirror to pop it. You can't stand the supposed
beauty you believe in to be marked up like that. That is how I have
gelt for many years, where ideas I come up with or do are not accepted
by society at that time, so I am mentally punished for them. Someone
always has to think they are better, can do the standard repition mold,
and when there is a new bit of originality and imagination, it is kicked
aside either because it is not accepted, or at the moment you can't make
enough capital off of it. But I don't think that anyone who spends their
precious time in front of a mirror popping those hideous pusheads realizes
that they came about because they were germs or dirt in the pores of the skin,
and it was just the body function to protect it. But people take it so
personal and they might not get heir all too precious"fuck" when they go
a hustling. There are many people who feel just like myself, like a pushead
army. We just get tired of non-creativity in society, and how things regress
just so these capitalists can make money and totally burn something out.
Thus, this is a common issue, for instead of taking a chance or approaching
something different or even creating something yourself, people will stick
to the common issue, what someone else is telling them to do. So whenever
I do anything that breaks this mold or sequence, I am banished, punished,
laughed at, or thrown aside as a pushead would be squeezed. I do not do
these actions on purpose to rebel against whatever there is to rebel against,
but just that an individual has his form or creativity, ideas, and imagination.
It does not have to be so out of focus with everyone else to get attention,
but just so I get to think and create and not rely on someone else to do it.
But the world survives on the pus philosophy of "the jesters are the fools who
are laughed at by the kings, but the kings steal their ideas from the jesters
to continue their rule and not fail with power". When you stand alone atop a
mountain, you no longer think the way you did to get to the top, because
your conquest is complete,a nd your only desire is to keep that throne.
So you watch the others to steal their moves, for you can't come up with
your own, because instead of thinking you can win, you've won and you
can bathe in the glory of it all as you laugh at the others.
But they laugh at you, because at the top of the mountain, you'll take
the biggest fall of all. The competative nature really takes the fun out
of enjoyment, because once you've won, how far can you go when you
end up stealing from others?? When you're #2, you think harder, for you
wish to win. When you're #1, you think less, for you have won and who do
you have to look up to, to conquer??

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MRR:

How does someone who lives in an isolated part of
the country get so involved with the punk scene all over the world?
You correspond with folks in every part of the US, UK, Finaland,Brazil, etc.
How did this come about? What influence has your environment had on you?

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Pushead:

Isolated is right. This town(Boise, Idaho) is so far in the dark ages that
who knows if it will ever come out. Progress is five years behind here, and to
think that this town is run by a religion created only a century or so ago.
They call it Mormon..you know...you see their ads..Latter Day Saints. How much
of a saint are you when you monopolize the city you live in so nothing ever
happens. So it stays precious and secure, just the way "the" religion wants
it. You pay a percentage of your check to the church, you follow every rule,
you're just a brainwashed maggot. Does it ever make any sense to follow them?
The Mormon Church is the richest non-profit organization in the world. And why
does it continue? No, they are hypnotized. What is government? What is system?
What is anarchy? When a single religion can get people to do so much and get no
rewards except that when they die, they'll go to heaven and god will pat them on
the back and say "Thank You". Right, I live my life for that blessing. HAHAHAHA!!!
Living here is no excitement unless you create it yourself. But that can be true
anywhere. Why rely on somone else when you can rely on yourself??? The people in
this town are really down and spend most of their time drinking to escape reality.
But there is nothing to do-only new bars open up. What a racket, support the
government and their taxes. Liquor is taxed,a nd the license for liquor is highly
priced. just so you can be drunk and have nothing to show for it, because that is
a form of escapism or excitement or what??? I realized that for the sort of music
I choose to listen to, i would be beating my brains out to make it grow there. So
since I am an artist and I have ideas, no reason why I should leave it confined in me.
At first it started out after I moved back here from California. I had been drawing
for years and I enjoyed illustrating. A good friend of mine, Glen E. Friedman, always
sent me flyers of gigs in the L.A. vicinity. Some of these flyers were so bad I
couldn't believe that a band would represent themselves in such a form...saying
come see us, but we made this flyer in 2 seconds, because we couldn't really care
all we want is money. So I drew up a few illos and sent them down to G.E.F. to
see if he could find anyone who was interested in using them, not for money,
but just so a band had access to a decent piece of art for a flyer. Flen heped me
out alot, but one day he calls me up and says WASTED YOUTH just made and LP
and my art is on the cover and he doesn't know how they got it. They stole it off
the guitarists brother, who was a drummer in another popular L.A. band. They had
no permission, and just took charge...you know...WASTED YOUTH, no brains, right...
took advantage of my art, and now I see things like the Zed T-shirt catalog with the
cover as a shirt. For one, WASTED YOUTH had an artist make up the original
drawing, so the cover is pretty bad; and two, it really thrills me to see people like
Zed's making money off my art, where I made not a cent in the fact that that it was
stolen in the first place, and WASTED YOUTH gave me no compensation whatsoever.
But now someone is raking in the bucks. Think of how flabbergasted you would be?
Anyway, the art started to be used more, and I came into contact with more people.
So I decided to start a fanzine. When i sent out letters for info, I also sent
out art flyers, describing if they ever needed art, please contact me. Well,
more people were interested in the art than the fanzine, adn it took off. I still
continue to write to people, sending out flyers, etc. I came into contact with people
who really enjoyed my style and wanted to help also, folks like Abbie & Al, Tesco, Jimmy
Johnson, Shawn Stern, Nick Blinko, Vote, Laja, Shesk, and lots more. These people
were really into the entire scene, and are what I call hardcore-for hardcore is
dedication, how much you put into what you believe, and those accomplishments. Not
fashion as shock treatment, or all those other hardcore proof indicators that are
so labeled. The more your art is seen, the more people remember the name. But I
continued to always write to people, no matter where they lived. If you ask, folks
will always send you addresses, so you become in contact with a very large group of
great people from all over the world. It is very enjoyable. You should always treat
these people as you would want yourself treatded. It goes a long way.

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MRR:

Your art is now world know, appears on covers of records
from L.A., U.K., Finland, etc. How does this affect you,
motivate you?

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Pushead:

Well, it is a spectacular feeling just to know that people use your work and
others enjoy looking at it! it is a lot of fun drawing so others can use it.
There is a difference between drawing covers and the other(fanzines, flyers,
logos, etc.) for me. A record jacket can put out a lot of pressure, for I have
to create something that will sell the record of the band, make someone inerested
in the product. A lot of the times, the band doesn't even know what they want as
their sleeve, so it is a process that is well thought out and designed. I guess any
piece of art could be a record sleeve, but just knowing that that's its destination
makes it just slightly different in perception. As far as motivation goes, I'm always
motivated to draw, but to see the finished product always gives a good sense to continue
and I probably write a few more letters to help someone out again.

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MRR:

Your graphics are very 'GORY' or 'HORRORIFIC'. What are you trying
to communicate through your art? Also, how did you learn to draw, what are some of
your favorite drawings, and what might be some of your influences?

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Pushead:

Most Pushead pieces have a meaning in them. It's not there, stabbing you in the face
going, listen, listen. But it's there so each person can interpret it their own way.
A lot of people will comment on a particular illo, but with a completely different idea
from which I drew it. And that's great, and shows me a new story also. Each drawing
varies in what I'm trying to communicate, even the ones with rudimentary penises say
something. But if I wanted it to have a specific meaning, I would have to label it,
whereas someone might not agree, so it's better just to be an illo that each individual
can enjoy their meaning. People say "why the blood, why the gore, etc?" Well, if you
want someone to remember something, let them remember in horror. The #1 thing to
control people in th world is "fear", and no one has conquered that. So if I let out
my fears in a drawing or draw someone else's fear, it does something in the mind that
makes you think why it's there. I don't really have a fascination with violence or
blood, and I definately don't draw to influence those activities. They are just
subjects that are interesting to create ideas around, and people enjoy it also. Horror
really spellbinds a person's mind. Not everyone, but the fascination of fear really
gives you a desire to look through the Pandora's eyes. As far as drawing goes, I am
self taught, no schools or other programmed courses. I have spent a lot of time
sketching, learning, working out a style. I really used comics as a base, then
particular artists as I grew up. Those styles really interested me; their brush
strokes, their creativity and imagination. Those artists include Wrightson, Nino,
Eisner, kirby, Nerbes, Dore, and this new artist Dave Stevens, who all have unique
styles. Also the styles of Finlay and Fabian which are really great works of
illustration. It is really exciting to see good art, and through my involvement in
this hardcore scene, I have seen the great works of Marc Rude, Nick Blinko, Chet(XNO)
Darmstaeder, and Vince Ransid, who all have an abundance of talent and ideas!! I like
for different reasons...like new things accomplished, or techniques tried. They would
include "Garbage Babies", "Evil Eye", "Uncl' Pushead", "Record Warrior", and "Kill for
Christ".

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MRR:

What other endeavors, besides drawing, are you involved in?

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Pushead:

Currently, I have gotten into freelance writing. It started quite a long time ago, and
now I write articles and record reviews for various publications. I have a different
style, for I try not to say the basic "This is fucking great-get it", becasue it really
tells me nothing about what the music does to you when you listen. Most people listen
to music for enjoyment, and I try to bring out that expression of how it sounds.
I have been an avid skateboarder for 8 years. In that period, I have designed skateboard
wheels and decks, ramps, logos, worked with manufacturers as a team rider and designer
worked with the magazines including the current "Thrasher", where I am a regular
contributor and have a record review column called "The Puszone". I communicate with
skateboarders across the world, and all around have a very enjoyable time, for it is
the most creative sport in existence and you can really express yourself within it.
Then there is SEPTIC DEATH, the band which formed over a year and a half ago. I am
the vocalist or screamer, and write the lyrics and some of the music. The sound is
very fast but complicated, and has some eerie overtones, raw unrestrained surges of
fear. The idea behind SEPTIC DEATH is that religions were formed to create a god, and
god was created so you wouldn't fear death, and the reality of dying is SEPTIC DEATH.
When you die, you're dead, no guiding light, no angels of mercy, no god or devil. You
rot. That is the end of your existence. Millions flock to churches all across the
world to pledge their allegiance to fod so god will look down on them and accept them
into heaven when they die...living their lives for god, but never doing anything for
themsleves because god might not like it. And for these people to believe that such a
supreme being would create them, and the only purpose would be to grovel at god's wishes
they should repent now and rush to serve god. Oh, and of course god is human, white,
and looks like one of the gang, opposes all other races and beliefs, sure! The fear
in the blood of people who are scared to die created their savior, but wreck havoc
upon anyone else who doesn't agree with that belief. Centuries of brainwashing created
due to the unexplained fear. the terror of "SEPTIC DEATH", where maggots quench their
hunger with your rotten flesh. Horror's reality. SEPTIC DEATH's songs deal mainly with
fear and paranoia, the mental state of a person and how it functions. A few songs
deal with current issues, but those are so depressing just to read the paper, why
bring more attention than a song? If you seek to bring out solutions or terror to
open eyes of fear, that is well constructed. but just complaints do not have meanings
of knowledge. Strength away from fear or the acceptance of fear and what it creates
makes it wiser for the mind...not the preson who sings the song he writes but lives
in terror of them. Open the eyes and let the enjoyment in; the awareness is essential.

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MRR:

Who do you work for? What areas, etc.?

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Pushead:

Currently, I am unemployed. I just do the freelance artist and freelance writing stuff
basically to support my survival. i don't get paid much, for I am very against over
profit. Sure I deserve to get money if someone's making money off my art. But if
they're not making money, no reason why I should try to bleed them for cash. So in
those examples, I usually barter for their product. My ability is worth something,
especially if someone uses it towards their advantage. There is no reason why I
should go hungry while they collect the profit off my talent. Otherwise I am nonprofit
on my art's ventures. I don't consider myself a "punk" artist, but just an illustrator
who really enjoys creating, drawing, and putting some imagination down on the bristol
board. Please feel free to contact myself for samples or projects. Stamps or a
S.A.S.E. really helps. But I really like being in correspondance with all, and
anyway I could help out, let me know.