PERFECT PUSSY // The Cold in Our Bones

I really wanna ask synth/noisemaker Shaun Sutkus why his band is called PERFECT PUSSY.

I’ve sworn never to ask such a pedestrian question, on the lips of university students who think a journalism degree means a golden ticket to bore musicians to death. Instead, we talk about punk and how the harsh winters of Syracuse have bruised him. Pussy is less obscene than the word perfect, anyway. Nothing is perfect and without asking him, Shaun explains it to me anyway.

Hysteria: I think people get confused by what punk is. Or who gives a fuck who started it. The most punk rock thing you can be is to be exactly yourself, be honest and be kind. (Everyone should be doing that.) What do you think?

Shaun: Yeah totally. Honestly, you stole the words outta my mouth. That’s like a really important part of it. I mean, you can talk forever about what’s punk and what’s not punk but who the fuck cares! [Laughs] Why does there need to be label on something?  It’s just stupid, if there’s a debate about it.

People need shit explained to them in understandable terms. The spirit of it is to be a good person.

Yeah, like a lifestyle, I guess. It’s like taking responsibility for your actions. That also goes outside the definition of punk. There’s gotta be accountability in everything, but there’s not.

I was thinking about men who are comfortable with dating or fucking someone that has got their shit together and is swinging swords at doors, even if they are closed. And the names I came up with were never lovers, only friends. Do you think there is an undercurrent of ownership between lovers, like, you can be who you are to a certain degree but if you fuck off on tour for too long, your partner wouldn’t understand?

I think that’s dependent upon the relationships you have right? Because like, there’s so many factors in relationships that make them difficult. Being on tour is hard for a lot of people but it also requires support of each other. It also builds a stronger relationship. Sometimes.

Do you think people that label themselves misanthropic are actually a contradiction on the whole thing, in the sense that if you feel the need to identify yourself as that, it means you care enough to say so?

It’s a trust thing too, right? You words only go so far and of course you have to have actions. If you’re never having interactions between each other, then how do you expect someone to trust you? There’s ways of building that trust. It’s not easy though, I can tell you that, and it’s not for everybody.

I really do believe that everyone has a fraction of compassion in them, unless you’re completely sociopathic.

I don’t have sociopathic people in my life. Although, I tried to unfollow everyone on my Instagram the other day but my phone wouldn’t do it.

They thought it was a glitch.

But then I was like…wait. What would I do on Instagram if I’m not looking at cool pictures? And then I got confused and didn’t know what to do.

So are you merciful?

I guess when…when it’s needed. To my discretion, when it’s deserving.

When do you show no mercy?

“It depends on how much I trust a person. I don’t even think I can generalise it. It’s my different interactions. There is never a blanket statement for me.

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“I mean, you can talk forever about what’s punk and what’s not punk but who the fuck cares!”

[SHAUN]

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How does Syracuse affect the sound or the style of a band? Like, how would you describe the influence a city has on it musicians? Like Brooklyn and The National or like Johnny Cash and the South?

It’s the worst winter in the United States. We have the longest and the coldest and the biggest snowfall. It makes you feel trapped and it’s hard to move around and travel. That totally affects our sound and what sounds other people around us make because it’s a release and it’s totally defined by your environment. Bands write songs for where those songs are performed. I think you could even go further to say that bands write songs because of where they are going to be performed,. Everything around is going to influence your  sound and experiences before that to the point your arriving at your guitar and into that space in time, everything you’ve done before in your entire life is a part of that.

Environment also effects mood, like the suicide rates in Seattle.

Definitely, it does. I also think it’s important not let it affect you too much. To use it in a healthy way. There are a lot of people that this type of weather affects then, especially negatively. They never get out of their shell. The never make it a positive thing.

Some people can’t get the cold out of their bones. so even if someone left Syracuse or Chicago in the winter, it’s really imprinted them. Perhaps mentally as well.

What happens in Australia then?

Well, we all live on the coast as the central continent is almost uninhabitable. The east coast is similar to Miami, right? So it’s all these assholes with fake tans and fake breasts and it has an incredibly superficial element to it. That’s not obviously applied to everyone but each city has its own culture. There’s an undercurrent of ego there. Where I’m from (Melbourne) is really dark and has a European vibe. It’s a music city.

Yeah! That sounds super rad. We’re gonna be there for St Jerome’s Laneway Festival. I think we’re gonna have days off. I’m doing a split release with this dude from Melbourne called Todd Anderson-Kunert. He played with us in Miami. Come say what’s up when we’re out there!

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Catch Perfect Pussy at St Jerome’s Laneway Festival on the following dates:

Saturday, 31st January 2015

Brisbane Showgrounds, Bowen Hills, Brisbane (16+)

Sunday, 1st February 2015

Sydney College Of The Arts (SCA), Rozelle, Sydney*

Friday, 6th February 2015

Harts Mill, Port Adelaide, Adelaide (16+)

Saturday, 7th February 2015

Footscray Community Arts Centre (FCAC) And The River’s Edge, Melbourne

Sunday, 8th February 2015

Esplanade Reserve And West End, Fremantle

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Perfect Pussy Laneway 2015 Sideshows

Tickets on sale now

Thursday, 29th January 2015

Supported by Todd Anderson-Kunert, Exhaustion and Ausmuteants

Corner Hotel, Melbourne

Wednesday, 4th February 2015

Support by Todd Anderson-Kunert, Tanned Christ and Low Life

Oxford Art Factory, Sydney