US musician Brontez Purnell’s music makes me very, very happy! It’s infectious, his tunes get caught in your head all day long (hear for yourself at the end of this post). Brontez is currently working on his band The Younger Lovers’ new record as well as projects with his dance company (he’s a dancer/choreographer). The dynamo has also played in bands Social Lies, Panty Raid and Gravy Train. He creates Fag School zine, wrote a column for Maximum Rock n Roll and is a writer/author. Brontez definitely makes the world a brighter more fun place!

You’re a musician, zine maker, writer, film maker, dancer/choreographer –what motivates you to do all you do? Have you always been drawn to the arts? How did you first come to performance?
I’m equally inspired by love and boredom and I’ve been a dramatic person all my life and I can’t really pinpoint the exact thing that kicked it off. I just always ‘was’.

What was the first record you ever owned?
I think it was Salt N Pepa’s “Very Necessary” the one with Shoop on it. It was 6th grade?

Can you remember when you first decided that you wanted to be a musician? When did your musical journey begin?
I remember I was hanging out in Montgomery Alabama for the summer (1993?) and I was staying with my aunt and my older cousin who was so tight! I got there and I had only really been listening to RnB Top 40 radio. She was in college and was listening to like the Pharcyde, Cypress Hill, The Breeders, Nirvana, and a shit ton of other alternative stuff—I was like “Oh girl! You like white people music?! The Breeders grew on me and by that next summer I had bought a bass guitar.

Did your parents have musical or literary interests?
My dad is a fucking maniac! He has the best taste in music. I would go on excursions with him (he’s really into hunting and fishing) and he’d blast so many tight bands: Sly & the Family Stone, Bill Whithers, Fleetwood Mac, Jimi Hendrix, The Police, The Time – just all very classic, y’know. My mom was more into strict soul/gospel; I think Sam Cooke is her all-time favourite. She wore a couple of his tapes growing up. Her mother was a (very humble) choir diva. I copied.

You were born in Alabama, from there you went to Tennessee and now call Oakland home, how did you end up there?
I took a midnight train going anywhere!

Tell me about your first introduction to the punk scene/community and your experience as a part of it.
I was in this band with the only other black riot grrrl in Alabama called the Social Lies. We used to sneak up to Chattanooga Tennessee (right across the state line) and play shows after I got out of class in high school. That experience is what changed my life the most.

You’ve play in bands – Panty Raid, Gravy Train and The Younger Lovers – in a previous interview you mentioned “all of them brought different things to me” tell me what each brought to you? What was your experience in each?
Panty Raid was me forming, I had these mini-pop riffs that I was playing with and it was where I really got to show case them. Gravy Train!!! was rad cause I got to bounce around and decompress years of social anxiety and awkwardness by dancing around in my underwear and saying “Fuck you, this is F. U. N.”—it was good therapy – for a time. The Younger Lovers fulfils me in this way ’cause it’s where I get to hear all the doodles in my head come together. Not to sound too stoner-ish, but it’s a ‘groovy thing’.

Panty Raid was with Seth Bogart (Hunx & His Punx)… is Seth a musician that influences you? Who else? Riot Grrrls? I know you wrote for Jigsaw online.
Yeah. I met Seth back when people used to write each other! I remember we met on the Kill Rock Stars’ message board (Or was it, Book Your Own Fucking Life?) He was one of the first people I came out too and yes it was awesome. At the time I started breaking out to have another ‘kool’ queer boy who was somewhere else doing really powerful and ‘kool’ shit-though I have to admit I wasn’t a shrinking violet myself! Yeah riot grrrl—all punk in general really!

What do you love most about zines? Have you always found the zine community supportive? Do you consider yourself a part of that world?
Not so much now! I mean I love zines and people who take the time to do them but I don’t keep up with it as much as I did say even two years ago. I’ve scammed too many Office Maxs!

A recent interview I read with you mentioned that you would start recording a new Younger Lovers record this month for label Southpaw?
I was practicing for it right before I sat down to type this!

You also mentioned in another interview that you start with drums ’cause it’s your favourite instrument… is it currently your favourite? What feeling do you get from playing the drums? Is it different to that of when you play guitar, bass etc?
I’m a dancer too and I think a song just isn’t right until the rhythm is set y’know. It’s more of a full body/mind engagement to play drums. I’m kind of addicted to it right now.

Do you have any ritual preparation before you record?
Fuck yeah! I was soooo wasted on that first record! I would take a shot of whiskey light candles and say to myself, IM THE FUCKING GREATEST—it worked! For ‘Rock Flawless’ it was ‘Hippe Speedballs’ (i.e. coffee + pot), and for the new disc ‘Sing Sweetly’ it will certainly be yoga.

Tell me about your songwriting process.
I mostly write songs from other bands misheard song lyrics.

Do you have a personal motto, mantra or life philosophy?
GIVE THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS HELL.

In regards to writing, do you do much writing with a pen and paper the old school way?
YES! I can’t afford a lap top right now if ever.

What projects are you currently working on?
My dance company, a new LP, and a trip to Europe. Join me?

For more The Younger Lovers.

Create forever!

It caught me by surprise. I wasn’t looking for it. It kind of just snuck up on me. As the saying goes: true love comes when you least expect it. In the summer of 1994, I embarked upon one of the greatest love affairs of my life. It struck like a lightning bolt in the form of a girl as I waited for the bus home after a fruitful day of record rummaging and op shopping in the city centre.

I sat on a bench listening to my walkman starring at my feet to pass time. Over the buzz of crunchy, distorted guitars and inaudible vocals, I could hear the sound of wheels on the pavement coming my way. As force of habit, whenever I hear the sound I can’t help but stop what I’m doing and look in its direction. I grew up surround by skateboard culture—my family has owned skate shops since the ‘80s—and have always been fascinated by skateboarders. In my eyes they were the coolest of the cool: they can fly (pulling off amazing gravity defying feats), they make movement an art form, do what they want, don’t care what you think about them and listen to punk rock. I looked up from my Doc Marten boots and saw a lady rolling towards me. I’d met her through mutual friends that frequented indie rock shows. I was—and often still am—in awe of her. Whatever was ‘happening’ she always seemed to be at the centre of it. I knew her by the name ‘Maggie’. Enter the lightning…

I waved; she saw me, smiled and sat down beside me to chat. I can’t quite remember what it was we spoke about but I do remember the moment she pulled out a little crumpled photocopied booklet kind of thing from her backpack and handed it to me—it hit me… KAPOW! She told me it was her ‘zine’ Mz. Obscure. At this time I had no idea what a zine really was. I flicked through its pages filled with her words, drawings, photography and articles on local bands. It was one of the coolest things I had ever seen! Sensing my cluelessness M enlightened me about the world of zines. Just as I was getting swept up in it all—to me it all seemed so magical—my bus pulled up. M and I hugged, said our goodbyes and I spent the next forty minute bus ride home pouring over each and every page. By the time I’d reached my suburban bedroom I’d decided that whatever this awesomeness was in my hand I wanted in.

The concept of making my own publication blew my mind! I’d grown up with a definite magazine addiction—I loved everything about them right down to the new magazine smell. I’ve always been obsessed with magazines and I love writing, and sharing my thoughts and observations with others. I had it figured out that when I finished school and started working I wanted to work at one. Having discovered that you could make your own [maga]zine open up a whole new word of possibilities for me.

Over the next few weeks I made it my mission to find out as much as I could about zines. I wanted to know everything! I started frequenting Rocking Horse Records and Skinnys Records snapping up any zine I could find and reading it from cover to cover. During this time I found Maximum Rock N Roll and Punk Planet. These two publications opened up a direct life line to the worldwide punk community for me. Punk Planet (as well as Slug & Lettuce) in particular brought the world to my doorstep with its take on progressive issues such as politics and feminism; Maximum Rock N Roll quenched my thirst for new music—all three provided me with a path to more zines which I ordered through the mail. Along with the music I was listening to (mostly punk and hip hop), zines helped educate me about the world and turned me on to new ideas and ways of thinking.

My best friend around this period was a girl called Ms. Lizard. I’d met her at an all ages punk show at the Crash n Burn (a legendary live music venue among Brisbane locals). We’d go to every show we possibly could—punk, hardcore, ska, rockabilly, rock—it didn’t matter to us what label, to us it was all equally exciting and allowed us a chance to get out of the house and fend off boredom. Lizard and I grew together and did most things together. We were pretty inseparable so when I fell down the hole to zine land Mz. Lizard came too.

One afternoon sitting on my bedroom floor listening to Green Day, we started putting together our very first zine. We named it Social Stupidity. The name came from a drunken discussion I had one night with an older punk dude from the scene named Ben about the ‘evils’ of our society and how most people just go along with what they’re told to and do what is meant to be done. Both of these things never appealed to me so the name seemed fitting. It makes me cringe to think of it now, but at the time I also liked the name simply ‘cause it seemed pretty punk rock—against society and all that.

Before the issue was even a quarter done, Ms. Lizard bailed on me to go do her own things and I decided to continue onwards solo—by now I was hooked on cutting, pasting, writing, venting my thoughts and reorganising other print media to make my own. The first issue was a mere 16 pages long (which I thought was a grand achievement!) and featured three of my favourite Australian bands Blister, Gilgamesh & Godnose, two (really bad) live reviews of local shows and some demo reviews of cassettes a couple of local bands had given me. I charged $2 for it.

I remember being out one night (and sneaking into) the old Treasury bar in Brisbane (that Blowhard seemed to have a residency at forever!) with my friend James. We ran into Mike Palm from Agent Orange! His band was in town playing Crash n Burn and he decided to seek out some locals before the show for hangs. I’ll never forget showing him my zine and him buying a copy. I tried to give it to him but he was like, ‘It’s important that you support people that put in effort and that are trying to do positive stuff.’ He did add that for $2 I may want to add a few more pages next time… ha! It was nice that he was kind enough to buy it though, and that he was honest enough to call me on the lean content and that he offered me advice in a constructive way—I’ve definitely had more than my far share of haters over the years; people offering their opinions and thoughts in a not-so-nice way about my work (I’ve been threatened with violence on more than one occasion and I’ve even had someone say they wanted to kill me if they ever saw me in the street). Meeting Mike will always stick in my mind and be a fond memory.

Today his advice is as right on as ever—support those that are out there doing something positive and make sure you give folks quality (and value).

Zines;I was totally and utterly in love.

to be continued…