Yeah. I feel like music’s kind of the same right now; a regurgitation of everything prior. And we’re just a part of that cycle, you know? But I mean to stand out, you gotta be the shittiest. & I think that’s where we’re succeeding.
Bruno Bones
From the sewers of Hacienda Heights… Spunk is: Bruno Bones (vox), Julian Tarzan (bass/backup), Jacob Aranda (guitar), & Brian Torn (drums). We had a chat outside El Sauz after their first gig in Long Beach.
BB: Any publicity is good publicity. We make buttons with ‘I Hate Spunk’ printed across & sell them to people who don’t like us; we’re making money off of them. It’s a win… (smirk) win situation. Anyways, shows are more memorable when you see a band you really, really hate. You probably won’t mention a band you saw that was pretty good, but you’re probably telling somebody about a band you hate with a passion. Whoever you tell will look into it & they’re gonna catch us at one point or another to confirm. In return we’ll just keep pushing buttons.
BB: We’ve never played the same venue twice. Every place we play we either get chased out, blacklisted, or attacked after our set…
JA: Maybe it’s the dumpster diving, maybe it’s head-butting the security guards. Bruno tried pantsing this promoter one time. We’re not sure why we got kicked out.
BB: Every single promoter who books us-
JA: -regrets it. Deeply.
BB: You name it, we’re not in it. Especially today. Supply & Demand in Long Beach, California: you guys fucking suck & can suck it. I don’t give a fuck. Put it in the article. We’re not playing there again, so I don’t give a fuck.
BB: Okay, to recap… We get booked, show up at a reasonable time, & get drink tickets as payment, which we can’t even redeem… (every member is currently in high school) We want to support everyone else on the bill but they won’t even let us in with X’s on our hands; why the fuck did you book us?
JA: Halfway through the show, Bruno flipped over a trashcan, dug through the trash, started eating the trash, & the bouncer got really pissed off…
BB: ‘Hey, that’s my trash!’
JT: None of that was scripted. From my perspective, I thought he was gonna beat the living shit out of Bruno. It was scary but I started laughing after…
BB: I shoved a bunch of lemons & cups down my pants, just trying to take as many as I can.
JT: Bruno’s cups.
BB: My cups.
BB: Most of these bands now hang out in the parking lot the whole time, missing the other bands’ sets. There’s no support. Then they walk on stage for a little half-hour glam show. It’s another cycle, you’re seeing the same shit. The audience needs to wake up. Someone needs to slap the audience across the face & we’ll be the ones to do it.
Are your parents supportive of your music?
JT: My dad was in a band at the same age I am. He taught me how to play bass & guitar, showed me all my favorite bands with my mother… Black Sabbath, namely. That’s how I met Bruno in the first place… (Spunk allegedly started from a Black Sabbath T-shirt. Allegedly.) But yes, my parents are very supportive. They’re always willing to provide whatever I need.
JA: Prior to joining, my parents were already supportive of anything I wanted to do. & they still are. They drive me to every show, even if it’s hours out, & they drive these assholes when they can’t get a ride.
Why do you play music?
BB: Music is more of a tool to get at people. It’s about trying to cause as much confusion as possible. To destroy rock & roll. It’s not even about the music anymore, we’re too far in.
JA: We’re trying to destroy the scene right now. Hit the reset button. Bring back the core aspects of punk rock. We want people to participate in society, realizing their life is privileged & that another’s might not be.
JT: I’m just gonna be honest… (haha) I love rock & roll. Just trying to have fun. We get a lot of hate, but it’s all fun to me.
BT: It runs in the family. My brother, my father, my grandfather: all musicians. I just fell in love with rhythm.
BB: To elaborate on destroying rock & roll… Rock’s transformed into some youngblood ass scene. It’s mainstream now. You hear Led Zeppelin in airports, Paranoid in superhero movies. I mean, they’re selling Misfit records at Walmart. It can’t get much lower than selling Misfit records at Walmart. If something’s not working, you start again. We’re just trying to hit the reset button.
More Spunk at:
https://linktr.ee/Spunk_Official
