Seth Bogart is a weirdo. I mean that as the highest possible compliment, obviously. If you spent any time in the late 2000s or early 2010s digging through the messier corners of MySpace or reading Pitchfork reviews while hiding in a college library, you definitely ran into Hunx and His Punx. They weren't just a band. They were a glitter-covered, leather-clad fever dream that smashed together the 1950s girl-group aesthetic with the nastiest, rawest elements of 70s punk. It was queer. It was loud. It was genuinely funny.
Most bands try way too hard to be cool. Hunx and His Punx tried to be "bad," and in doing so, they became iconic.
The Trash-Pop Origin Story
Before he was Hunx, Seth Bogart was a member of Gravy Train!!!!—a band that was basically a walking art project fueled by electro-pop and total chaos. When he transitioned into Hunx and His Punx around 2008, the vibe shifted. He traded the synths for distorted guitars and a backing band of "Punx" that featured a rotating cast of Bay Area legends, most notably Shannon Shaw of Shannon and the Clams.
The sound was specific. Think The Shangri-Las if they grew up in a dive bar in Oakland and listened to nothing but The Ramones and John Waters movies. Their debut collection, Gay Singles, wasn't even a proper studio album—it was a compilation of 7-inch records. But it felt vital. It felt like something that shouldn't exist in the polished indie-rock world of the time.
Honestly, the DIY nature of those early recordings is where the magic lives. You can hear the room. You can hear the cheap microphones peaking. You can hear a group of people who clearly didn't care about "professionalism" in the way a major label would define it. They cared about the hook. And man, Seth Bogart knows how to write a hook.
Why the "Punx" Mattered More Than You Think
It’s easy to look at the leather jackets and the homoerotic imagery and think it was all a joke. It wasn't. Or, rather, the joke was the point. For a long time, queer representation in punk was either hyper-serious and political or tucked away in the shadows of the "queercore" movement. Hunx and His Punx did something different. They made it fun. They made it bratty.
Songs like "Cruising" or "Lovers Lane" took the tropes of 50s teenage longing—the kind of stuff you’d hear on a jukebox in a malt shop—and subverted them completely. Instead of a boy pining for a girl in a poodle skirt, it was Hunx pining for a "bad boy" in a leather jacket. It was camp in its purest form.
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The Shannon Shaw Factor
You can't talk about this band without talking about Shannon Shaw. Her voice is a force of nature. It’s gravelly, soulful, and sounds like it’s been aged in a barrel of bourbon since 1962. In the context of Hunx and His Punx, she provided the perfect counterpoint to Bogart's nasal, playful delivery.
When they shared the stage, it was electric. They weren't just playing songs; they were performing a variety show. There were costumes. There was fake blood. There was probably a lot of spit. It was the kind of performance that made you want to start a band immediately, even if you didn't know how to play an instrument. That's the hallmark of great punk rock. It’s inclusive by being exclusive to the outsiders.
The Evolution to "Too Young to Fall in Love"
By the time they released Too Young to Fall in Love in 2011 on Hardly Art (a Sub Pop imprint), the production had leveled up slightly, but the heart was the same. This record is arguably their masterpiece. It’s short. It’s punchy. It doesn't overstay its welcome.
There’s a track on there called "Bad Boy" that basically summarizes the entire ethos of the band. It’s simple. Three chords, a driving beat, and lyrics about wanting someone who is clearly trouble. It’s a classic pop formula, but it feels dangerous because of the dirt under its fingernails.
Why the 2010s Garage Rock Revival Needs a Re-evaluation
We talk a lot about the Burger Records era (and the subsequent, very necessary reckoning that label faced regarding its culture). But in the midst of that West Coast garage rock explosion, Hunx and His Punx were outliers. They weren't just "dudes with fuzz pedals." They had a visual identity that was tied to queer history and trash culture.
- They channeled Divine.
- They channeled the New York Dolls.
- They channeled the Ronettes.
Most garage bands of that era were trying to sound like the 13th Floor Elevators. Hunx was trying to sound like a teenager who just got dumped at a drive-in theater. That distinction is why people are still buying their vinyl today.
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Street Punk and the Shift of "Street Punk"
In 2013, they released Street Punk. This was a pivot. It was faster, meaner, and way more aggressive. If the previous stuff was "pop-punk" in the 1950s sense, this was "punk-punk." The songs were shorter—some barely hitting the one-minute mark.
It was a polarizing move. Some fans missed the crooning and the "oooh-wah" backing vocals. But looking back, Street Punk was a necessary middle finger. It proved they weren't a gimmick. They could play fast. They could be loud. They could scream. Seth Bogart was moving away from the "Hunx" persona and toward something more multifaceted, which eventually led to his solo electronic work.
The Legacy of the Glitter and Grime
So, where are they now? The band never officially "broke up" in the traditional sense, but they moved into the "occasional reunion" phase of their career. Seth Bogart is a successful artist and designer, running his "Wacky Wacko" brand and making solo music that is much more synth-heavy and experimental. Shannon Shaw is a literal rock star with the Clams.
But the influence of Hunx and His Punx is everywhere. You see it in the current wave of "egg punk" bands. You see it in the way queer artists are reclaiming rock and roll spaces without feeling the need to be "polite" about it. They gave a generation of weird kids permission to be messy.
A Quick Reality Check on the Discography
If you’re looking to dive in, don’t expect a massive catalog. It’s lean.
- Gay Singles (2010): The essential primer. Raw, catchy, and perfect.
- Too Young to Fall in Love (2011): The "big" studio sound. The most accessible entry point.
- Street Punk (2013): For when you’re angry and want to break something.
There’s also a handful of singles and B-sides floating around YouTube—mostly recorded in bedrooms or tiny studios—that capture the band’s chaotic energy better than any high-fidelity recording ever could.
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How to Actually Support These Artists Today
In the streaming age, these bands don't make much from your clicks. If you actually want to support the legacy of Hunx and His Punx, you have to go to the source.
- Buy the Vinyl: Hardly Art still stocks many of their releases. Having the physical gatefold of Too Young to Fall in Love is a much better experience than a Spotify playlist anyway.
- Follow Seth Bogart's Art: His visual work is a direct extension of the Hunx aesthetic. It’s colorful, surreal, and deeply connected to the DIY punk spirit.
- Catch a Reunion Show: They still play occasionally, usually at festivals like Mosswood Meltdown (formerly Burger Boogaloo) in Oakland. If you see their name on a bill, go. It’s a religious experience involving a lot of hairspray.
The reality is that we might not get another full-length Hunx and His Punx record. And honestly? That’s fine. They did what they came to do. They took the "perfect" pop songs of the 1950s, dragged them through a puddle of beer and glitter, and handed them back to us as something new. They reminded us that rock and roll is supposed to be fun, queer, and a little bit dangerous.
If you're tired of the over-sanitized, algorithm-friendly music that dominates your feed, go back and listen to "Can I Kiss You?" It’s two minutes of pure, unadulterated joy. It’s a reminder that you don't need a million-dollar studio to make something that lasts. You just need a leather jacket, a couple of friends, and a really good hook.
Next Steps for the New Fan
Start by listening to the Gay Singles compilation in full. It's the truest representation of their sound. Once you've done that, look up their old music videos on YouTube—specifically "Cruising." The visual language of the band is just as important as the audio. If you're feeling adventurous, dig into the solo work of Seth Bogart to see how the "Hunx" persona evolved into a broader commentary on pop culture and consumerism. Support the surviving independent labels that housed them, like Hardly Art, because without those mid-sized labels, bands this weird would never get a platform in the first place.