TIT PIG INTERVIEW 12-2-10

When I had initially asked Sean Envoy to be the next Tender Validations interviewee, I assumed we would conduct the interview the same way we always do: email the questions, and wait for the reply. Sean wanted to do things a little different to keep things more real. I met up with three of the boys from Tit Pig before their show at the Comet last Thursday, tape recorder in hand (thanks, Lisa Orth!). Here is what they had to say.

The Comet 12.02.10 | all photos courtesy Sunny Facer

TV: So I was doing some interview research about Tit Pig, and one of the things I came across was a very  a sexy porn star by the name of “Tit Pig”…a gay male porn star bear. Are you guys familiar with him? 

Sean: Steven Hurley? Oh yeah.

TV: I was wondering if you guys have any common interests. He likes cigars, bare backing, massage, hiking, wrestling, nipple play, etc.?

Sean: Chris can field this question.

Chris: I have a common interest--that I like to fuck men.

Sean: It’s funny because we have this reputation for being this chauvinistic, disgusting band, and granted we are, but at the same time we have Chris in the band, and most of the ideas of the band are jokes and are to be taken lightly. Chris wanted to talk about this earlier.

Chris: Anyone in the Seattle queer community that has heard about our band probably has a pretty bad idea of us. You know, thinks we’re assholes, which again I guess we are, but obviously I’m queer and queer rights and recognition are important to me. I know that I’m in this band that makes fun of that kind of shit, but it’s a fucking joke. I wouldn’t be in this band if it actually pissed me off, you know?

TV: Right, you guys are just trying to have a good time.

Eric: It’s like when there was a girl who commented on what you said about rape not being funny, and you’re like [Sean] “Well yeah, rape’s not funny. Rape’s just really hardcore, and that’s what this band is all about!”

Sean: It’s like a feeling. Like more of a mood. When we go out there to play, we’re projecting this energy of violence and hatred so people get riled up and fucking throw bottles at us and get crazy…for people to vent. You know, life is stressful. You got all this bullshit constantly going on, people nicking and diming you, and then in this town you got the goddamn PC police that want to be offended by everything.

Chris: It’s true.

Sean: People are so liberal in this town that they become their own Gestapo. 

Eric: This whole movement is where the whole idea is to be really extreme. Look at Genesis Breyer P-Orridge of Throbbing Gristle…they would vomit on stage and cut each other and shit.

Sean: TOTAL QUEER!

Eric: And now he’s transgender.

Chris: He’s got tits now.

Sean: And he thinks that’s the most progressive way to live your life. He thinks that if you don’t live that way, then you’re not forward thinking. I did a 45 minute long interview with Baby D who’s also transgender and fucking awesome and she was talking about how she hired this neo-Nazi kid to trim trees in her tree trimming business in the interview. So it’s like, these other people look up to you…they don’t really have any idea what’s really going on with artists. Don’t put us in a box, because we don’t put anybody in a box.

TV: Is there anything, person, or band that everyone should boycott?

Sean: I was thinking about boycotting Reviver.

Chris: Dude, fuck no. I’m good friends with Reviver. 

Sean: I just like to cause tension between me and Chris. The thing is, it keeps our creative juices going because it keeps everything interesting. I like to be in relationships the same way where it’s a constant push and pull.

Chris: I KNOW! We can boycott SPURM! Spurm is probably collectively our least favorite band.

Eric: Uh, I dunno. I think they’re alright.

Chris: Oh, jesus. 

Sean: Trent apologized about the whole Stefan thing, so that’s squashed. Jordan T. Adams--love the guy. I love almost everybody in Spurm. Music is a little circus-y for my taste. Gotta be honest here. Tit Pig is the most die-hard honest band. Ever.

Chris: Maybe this shouldn’t go to print talking shit about people who are in our fucken circle of friends.

Sean: No, don’t edit it! We love all these guys. There’s plenty of people. Our main attack isn’t against bands like Spurm. Our main attack is against bearded fucken crap. Singer…Ballard shit.

Chris: Fuck Ballard.
 

TV: Boycott Ballard?

Sean: Tit Pig will never play a show in Ballard. Ever. Not even if we got paid a ton of money.

TV: Not even if you got paid a million dollars?

Sean: Ballard is where hipsters go to die. 

TV: Awesome. Any closing comments?

Chris: Again, I think it’s important to emphasize we’re just in this band to have fun and rile people up. Anyone who has any serious issues with us politically, (I guess I tend to focus on queer politics and stuff) if you just do a little bit of fucken research you will figure out pretty quickly that we are named after a gay porn star, there’s a queer person in the band…

TV: Wait, was if before or after you named your band that the gay porn star thing was realized?

Chris: NO, we named it after fucken Steve Hurley. We did that on purpose.

Sean: It wasn’t by chance that we are named after Steve Hurley. Yates didn’t even wanna be called Tit Pig. 

Eric: I wanted it to be called Dead Bitch originally

Sean: And I was like “NO, we’re gonna be called Tit Pig!”

Eric: I didn’t know what Tit Pig was originally, and then when I found out what it was, I was like, “Okay”. 

Sean: I made Tit Pig shirts before we were even a band!

Chris: There’s a reason why our shirts is an image of a dude fisting another dude. It’s definitely not an accident. 

Sean: But at the end of the day, it’s all about making good music. We make good music, and for us it’s re-establishing a community that isn’t fucking bullshit based on how long your beard is and how sad you are and how many songs you write about your girlfriend. It’s about re-creating a punk community. For instance, tonight, there’s touring bands: we got Milk Music, White Boss, and Christian Mistress, and we are selling our shirts for $4 if you purchase something from the touring bands cuz we’re trying to re-establish…Punk should be cheap. Shows shouldn’t cost money. They shouldn’t cost a lot of money. They should cost $5 or under. We don’t want money. That’s not what we’re after. We want people to have a fucking good time. It’s like you go to shows where everybody has their arms crossed and they’re bummed out and it sucks. It kills the vibe.

Eric: You know, you gotta be on a label too…I mean like Milk Music put out their record themselves; we’re putting out our record ourselves. Just do it your fucking self. It’s not that hard. 
 

Sean: We’ve been contacted by labels trying to put our stuff out. But we’re probably going to do it ourselves. Rape Face Records.

Chris: Also, I think an important thing to keep in mind: The whole reason that punk music and the punk community got started is because these poor kids (punk kids and queer kids) were getting the shit kicked out of them in school and were fucken pissed. So they started this community and started this music scene that’s a very aggressive kind of music. And they had every right to be fucking angry and play this kind of shit. We feel like it’s an important thing to keep in mind. This scene that we are trying to re-establish is pretty aggressive. Our music is aggressive, but we definitely have a lot of reasons to be pissed off. I think anger is pretty healthy. It sucks that we’re getting this bad rep about being assholes. 

Sean: Yeah, we’re total assholes!

Chris: I’m fucking queer, I got picked on for that shit all the time, and it fucking pisses me off!

Sean: By me. We’re like brothers. Our band is like our family. We know how to treat each other. We’re the fucking nicest dudes, ever. The second you fucking cross us though, it’s the last time. It’s a fucking knife to the fucking spleen. I will cut you down any way I can. Any way I can affect you and hurt you, I will.

Chris: This went in a weird direction.

Eric: It’s our black metal side.

TV: Awesome, any of you have any interest in participating in this month’s assignment for Tender Validations Mix of the Month Club?

Sean: I am!

Chris/Eric: What the fuck is that? 

TV: It’s what you’re being interviewed for. Me and my friend Jason started it awhile ago, and we collect mix tapes and mix CDs from people based on a theme that we assign.  Whether or Not the Weather is Naught (music about the weather) is the assignment for December/January.

Sean: I’m not going to have any songs about the weather, so if you get my mix it’s going to be my own philosophy.

TV: Well, you can interpret it however you want, you just have to have the means to back it up. 

Chris/Eric: I’m IN!

TV: Yay! Thanks, guys. And thanks for the interview!

The interview ended, but then, Sean had something really important to say, and had me turn the tape recorder back on…

Sean: The fact that we don’t have…

Chris: Spit it out!

Sean: You’re fucking me up, Chris. What we wanna say is we are normal people. We have normal-- (well I guess my job’s not very normal), but Chris makes lattes, Yates checks the dates on your milk, and the second people find out that you’re not this special human being that has this awesomeness to you, they discredit you. So that’s why one of the reasons we’re not gonna have a Facebook page with our fuckin sweet hot girlfriend, because, I gotta be honest, you know, girlfriends aren’t that hot most the time. And I don’t want a hot girlfriend!

Chris: I’m in love with this conversation!

Sean: I don’t know what’s going on! I don’t know what I’m saying….

TV: This is gonna be good, though! That’s why I turned it [the tape recorder] on.

Chris: By the way, for the record, Prawn’s [Sean’s] girlfriend is TOTALLY HOT!

"hot girlfiends" in the crowd

TV: And that’s all that matters….

Sean: I just want to have an ordinary life. We don’t want this Bon Jovi status. 

Chris: We’re not being asked to play the fucken arenas quite yet.

Sean: No, we’re ugly dudes. We’re just gross. Honestly, I’m really into anal blasting, and I wanna go up in there….I’m like a sick freak. If I wasn’t doing this you could find me down at the bins picking dirty underwear, taking a couple sniffs when no one’s lookin. You know, we’re gross. 

TV: So all in all, what you’re trying to say you guys are normal people, and you don’t want all the hype by having a Facebook page and hot girlfriends? 

Chris: You did a better job than Sean over here.

Sean: You guys should say some bad things about me that you have been wanting to say to my face, but haven’t been able to say. 

Chris: I tell you everything that I hate about you all the time.

Eric: I haven’t wanted to say anything bad about you. 

Sean: I want you guys to say bad things about me cuz it will be fun.

TV: Maybe everyone should say something bad about each other?

Eric: I don’t have anything to say bad.

Sean: I actually love these guys. I love you guys. 

TV: Perfect. That’s the perfect end.

Thank you, Tit Pig, for being Tender Validations' first live interview. It was a lot of fun. 
Thank you, Sunny Facer, for being Tender Validations' first photographer! Check out her work here.