Naomi Punk

Phone interview by Sander van Dalsum
Photos shot by Drew Reynolds in Chicago, USA

Isn’t growing up the same as killing your darlings? Staying young might be appealing, but growing up and shedding a few personality traits is pretty liberating. Olympian punks Naomi Punk can relate. Their Television Man LP is a visceral stab in the gut, channeling anarchic values without sounding overly political. We called members Travis and Nick to talk personal growth and living the life of a classic American cowboy.

Hey guys! Weird question: what kinds of cliques were you part of in high school?

Travis: Nick wasn’t in any clique; he was barely even at school as he went to community college. But I was, like, a punk kid, you know? I was already punk when I was in the eighth grade .

Were you nice to your parents as a little punk?

Travis: No, I was not. When I was, like, seventeen, I moved out of my parents’ house and didn’t talk to them for three years. But now I’m pretty friendly with them! I was kind of a dramatic kid, you know? I took a lot of stuff really seriously, and I wanted to be my own person. I was living the classic American cowboy story, but in more of a punk way. There are a lot of reasons for a young person to despise society.

I was living the classic American cowboy story, but in more of a punk way.

In what kind of place did you grow up, then?

Travis: We actually grew up in this small town east of Seattle, and there was nothing to do there. The people who live there are really traditional and have really shitty ideas about what life should be like. When you’re really young you don’t have access to resources and knowledge that can expose you to different cultural ideas and inspire you. But you know there’s something out there.

Ah, so curiosity sparked your rebellion?

Travis: Yeah, there’s no alternative to growing up, finding a wife, having kids and living this normative existence. And when you’re a teenager in this rural, suburban area, it’s pretty easy to hate that and feel there’s a conundrum in this situation. It’s actually kind of nuanced, but for the sake of this interview we’ll just say that is how it goes .

How would you compare the person you were then with the person you are now?

Travis: Now, I feel like I’m a more developed human being. If I saw myself when I was a teenager, I’d be pretty stoked. I have a lot of access to opportunities and I do cool things; I feel like I’m part of an existential community or something. I feel really empowered to do what I want and that’s not how I felt when I was 16. I feel Nick was cool back then, and he’s cool now.

Nick: Yeah, I’m pretty similar, but less confused.

Travis: Oh, yeah. People who thought they understood everything in their world and weren’t curious about anything outside of that. People who told me I was wrong about stuff. Now my frame of reference is much larger and I’m not compelled to be in a place I don’t want to be.

‘You have to make sacrifices, and sometimes you actually have to throw things away that you love.’

You actually grew up!

Travis: Yeah, and part of it is avoidance. I don’t live in a place where shitty, homophobic, religious people live. I have a little more perspective now on why those people are the way they are, and I see them more as victims. Plus, I have zero seconds in the day to waste my time getting stressed out about people who suck.

Any other significant turning points in your lives?

Travis: I quit two other bands I was in, and just focused on Naomi Punk. That was kind of intense. I quit my job in Seattle and I moved to Olympia and there was all of this unknown stuff. It was pretty much reordering everything I was doing at that time. I had a lot of eggs in one basket, so to speak. But things happen in small ways all the time. You have to make sacrifices, and sometimes you actually have to throw things away that you love.