Kung
Fu Breakfast editor-in-chief Jay Kantor sent me exploring the darkest
caverns of the internet for information on a San Diego, CA band subtly
named TittyFucker. They were a grind trio who played totally in the buff
(apart from ski masks, which looked way cooler on them than on the
bikini clad human props in Spring Breakers).
I use the past tense because as soon as I discovered them they had
announced their final show. Fascinated with the concept, I reached out
to Christian, drummer/composer/co-founder of the band. Read on for
descriptions of explicit nudity, betrayal, and Christian’s account of
the band’s rowdy/randy shows and their future prospects:
Mr. Growl: The wisdom of the internet tells me TittyFucker was formed in 2011. How did all of the members meet?
Christian: We did indeed form in 2011 and started off in the Chula Vista House Show scene.
As
for our history, I grew up with the vocalist Charlene here in San
Diego. In fact she is still my neighbor. As for Andrea, I actually met
her at an Ecstasy party. That was a crazy evening/morning.
Mr. Growl:
Who was the first to pitch the idea of "Bare Naked Grind Violence" and
how did you all decide to move forward in that direction?
Christian:
It was I, as me and Charlene always took nude photographs of us and our
friends for her nudist collective "La Vita". I figured since we are so
desensitized to being buck-ass nude in public - why not do it in a band
for the sake of an aesthetic statement? That statement being that we
"don't give a fuck."
Mr. Growl: Apart from that aesthetic statement, how would you describe the attitude of TittyFucker?
Christian: Well, I'll speak for myself; I do not fear the judgements nor the restrictions that people will hold against me.
As
for the other members I can say that Andrea had agreed upon that before
in another interview. As for my vocalist, after I left the band, she
said - "We milked it for a couple months." That could mean anything.
Mr. Growl:
Your Facebook page has an awesomely detailed list of musical influences
for each member. Who were your inspirations from a performance aspect?
Christian:
For me, GG Allin is somewhat a dead give away for rockin' out with my
cock out and the message that you can do whatever you want. I will also
include Maniac from Mayhem for the self-mutilation and fear instilling
theatrics.
Mr. Growl: How would you describe general crowd reaction to your band?
Christian: Angry, aroused, impressed, disturbed, and inspired according to the conversations that I've had post-performances.
Mr. Growl: Were there any horror stories where the crowd was out of line during a show?
Christian:
Never. At least things you wouldn't expect at grind-violence show in
the buff - such as - objects being thrown at us; overly hyped crowds
that knock over the equipment; perverted cat calls... Yeah. All standard
for TITTYFUCKER.
Mr. Growl:
It looks like after a while you started playing with ski masks. Was
this purely an aesthetic choice or have you had trouble with law
enforcement and protecting your identities?
Christian:
It's a 50/50 blend of theatrics and practicality. You see, it was my
idea due to Charlene complaining about all the photos people would post
online. So I suggested we'd wear ski masks since photos are inevitable.
Plus on both my and Andrea's part, we figured it'd be safe to keep our
band life, and work life separated within hidden identities.
Mr. Growl: Could you describe your local scene and how your location influenced the band's sound and approach?
Christian:
It's generally White Boy Reggae bands all day everyday. As for the
punk/metal/indie scene, it's young and will forever be in the maggot
stage since this town is constantly in and out with tourists. The DIY
spaces are mediocre, and vain with the exception of a great place called
The Steinhaus. It's hard to book underground touring bands here for a
reason - it's just a scene/market. It's not a way of life as music
should be.
Mr. Growl: You recently announced that the band will be breaking up after your show on June 7th. What factors resulted in this decision?
Christian: Terrible
band etiquette that fans and friends would complain about is one factor
(horrible punctuality and snootiness for example), and the fact that
Charlene was embezzling the band funds behind my back. Let alone lying
about its whereabouts, I just can't be in a band with someone that I
can't trust nor rely upon. After the fact that I wrote all the music,
and lyrics; designed the art for our shirts and vinyl, did equipment
tech (they couldn't tune a guitar to save their lives) I couldn't bear
such an amount of greedy disrespect like that. The integrity was not
there.
Mr. Growl: What do you each have planned after Titty Fucker's last show, short and long-term?
Christian:
I know the girls are doing what they call "Folk-Metal.” I
quote-end-quoted that because it's not the majestic Folk-Metal we all
know, it's more like that angsty Folk-Punk stuff mixed with Metalcore
according to my assumption. I think they recruiting members and will
continue to play naked.
As
for myself, I have my band CELL. To give you an idea, we sound as if
Dystopia, Darkthrone, and Converge spliced their DNA, and developed the
final product in the womb of SUNN O))). We're chiseling the tracks to
our debut EP which will be released on vinyl and tapes within 2013.
Editor:
How bad ass does this dude’s new band sound? Will definitely follow up
with more information on CELL as I receive it. Many thanks to Christian
for taking the time to answer our questions. I also have to say that the
name of the picture above the interview (Christian TittyFucker) is my
favorite JPEG name ever.
Check out a track over at Bandcamp to see what you missed: http://tittyfucker.bandcamp.com/
