Under The Fuzz

Photo by Jason Fisher

The internet has made everything too easy. Remember when you used to have to send a cheque off to some PO Box just to get hold of a zine and in the back of it you’d see a list of records by a bunch of bands you knew nothing about? You’d have to sort of guess whether or not you were going to be into them pretty much just by their names or (if you were really lucky and the zine was posh) the sleeve. It was great! Like a little adventure.

I first heard Sex Vid’s urgent and awfully recorded punk on seven-inch from the very kind of distro that relies on word of mouth and mail order. The band’s utter disregard for any sense of production values or standard hardcore precepts was totally refreshing. But I could find no more information on the band beyond the track names printed on the sleeve. Have you ever tried Googling “Sex Vid”? Then try “Sex Vid Hardcore”. After a hunt that finally led to the band’s singer, Judd, via a doom metal message board, I managed to carry out an interview via email with R.J., who plays guitars. Like the rest of the band, he couldn’t give a shit about “internet presence”.

Vice: How would you describe what Sex Vid are playing underneath all that fuzz?

R.J. (guitar):

We dig 80s American hardcore, but we want to take influences from other sources. All the retro 80s stuff is really fucking dumb. We just want to play heavy, loud music without any sort of costume bullshit or nonsense like that. Just give it our own deal. All that throwback shit seems too much like a one-dimensional reenactment or something. Weak.

You can go from pretty traditional hardcore to a Dead C cover in the space of a song. Are there any collective band influences?

Being under the influence is an influence.

Where did the name come from? Ever tried Googling it?

We did not intend that at all. A totally unintentional by-product of the name was the “impossible to search” thing. I am not even sure where the name came from. It just stuck. As a band, having an online presence isn’t a major concern for us. That kind of thing does not suit us, so we never messed with it. Maybe for some other band it’s cool, but not us.

JAMES KNIGHT

Sex Vid’s “Nests” is out soon on Dom America. Write to PO Box 971, Olympia, WA 98507, USA.