Indie Filmmaker Will Mecca Captures Texas Punk and Hardcore Culture by Analog Means and Unleashes it on VHS with the Live Performance Mix-Tape PARANOID ANXIETIES!
Most of us magnetic maniacs all have our go-to music tapes, whether it be the ever-present MINOR THREAT LIVE tape from Dischord or the stack of MISFITS bootlegs hanging out next to your MORTIIS and GWAR video cassettes. Those classic slabs of audio visual analog awesomeness will always have their place on the shelf, but perhaps Tapeheads should clear off some room for the thrashing Texan Will Mecca’s newest analog effort PARANOID ANXIETIES. Will’s been busy capturing his local punk and hardcore community on Hi8 and VHS, dishing out an array of fast and loud shit-kickers shredding it up, laying it down and having a fucking blast. Harkening back to the grainy, greasy and raw as fuck second-generation live performance tapes that we grew up watching, it seems Will along with an army of underground filmmakers are again documenting their musical culture and pushing it out via the VHS format… and that’s pretty groovy, man. Read on, my fellow rewinders, and get ready for Lights… Camera… ANALOG REVOLUTION!
. As far as “pose” just don’t try to be something you’re not really.
Word up on that! What was the first punk / hardcore band you really got into, and what was it about them that made you delve into the whole culture?
I found punk through thrash metal, y’know the crossover bands like D.R.I., GANG GREEN and SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. But it wasn’t until I saw WICCANS back at No Thanks Fest in 2011 that everything clicked. It was a bunch of dudes way into sci-fi and other nerdy things making just visceral music and I fell in love.
that one yet. I recently saw REPO MAN for the first time at a friend’s house and fucking loved it.
Helly yeah, mang. That one’s a classic! So, if an omnivore punk farts in a vegan punk pastry shop, do you think the regulars could sniff him out?
I’ve cut gas in this local vegan spot called Spiral Diner a couple times and I haven’t been called out yet, so… I dunno.
. I’ll be going on tour with this band COMMON IGNORANCE and filming their shenanigans, maybe put that out as a limited run kind of thing. But also have started work on PARANOID ANXIETIES 2, started hitting up some people for interviews and started looking over some footage I have. It will be a while yet, but know it’s coming .
Anything else you wanna shout out to all the Videovores eyeballin’ this blog?
Do what you love and let no one stop you from something you enjoy. Whenever I first started dabbling into analog film so many people told me to drop the idea and that I was a moron. I am indeed a moron, but I’ve been filming on analog for over a year now and it’s something I truly enjoy.
That's Will surfin' on top with the killer boots about to kick some shit. This pic OWNS.
LM: Tell us a little bit about yourself, Will. What’re you all about, mang? WM: Well, my name is Will Mecca; I come from a small town that lies near the Red River in Texas. I’ve always had a fascination with photography and video work, and I’ve had little to no formal training in either field. I shoot shows in the North Texas area on old analog cameras and as my day job buy old video games and related equipment and flip the stuff. I’m going to be 21 in one month.
You heard it here, folks! And it's all true! Clickity-click and see for yourself already!
Tell us a little bit about the release. What can people expect from PARANOID ANXIETIES? You shot a lot of this on video, I believe? Well, PARANOID ANXIETIES for the most part was shot on Hi8, with a little bit of VHS/VHS-C stuff thrown in. It’s for dorks like myself that have a true love for punk and hardcore, and it’s me giving something back to a community that has given me everything.
Some grainy, wonked out rippin' wreckage on stage as featured in PARANOID ANXIETIES. Peep the teaser HERE.
When was the bulk of this shot? The trailers look balls out ruckus, mang. The earliest bit of the footage is from April 2013, I believe; it’s of Stagnant Youth and Back to Back playing in a Taqueria in Denton. Much of the other footage was from different times around 2013, but I wrapped everything up for the filming in March of this year.
STAGNANT YOUTH in the middle of ripping it. DIG IT.
Do you know of any other dudes putting together punk / hardcore video zines? Well, I kind of got the idea from a friend of mine named Brandon Young, who put out this VHS love letter to classic horror called VISCERAL CUTS with his roommate Justin. It was the two of them writing songs about their favorite old horror movies, then playing the song over clip collages from the films and then dubbing it onto VHS. Brandon has been a big help to me in getting this project done. I have a friend from SoCal named Marco Gonzalez… he’s been filming the same kind of stuff on the same kind of equipment for about as long as I have. He told me he’s going to start work on his own very soon. I have a friend from Australia who is in this band VAGINORS who’s working on his own, as well.
The cover art for VISCERAL CUTS. Damn, this looks rad. NEED IT.
Are you a tape collector yourself? What is it about the VHS format that you really dig? Kind of just dabbling into the hobby, really. I have a lot of uncommon, oddball tapes that I watch on occasion for giggles. Recently picked up VIDEODROME at a flea market and that’s tight. As far as the quality, it’s hard for me to grasp what I really like about it. I love the way analog looks and sounds.
Some more kick-assery captured via analog means for PARANOID ANXIETIES. Watch out for that head stock, mang! SHIT IS LETHAL.
What’s your take on all the VHS culture that’s been re-animated over the past couple years? It initially surprised me, really. Kind of like audio tapes and vinyl, as well… to not only find that they all had come back but in such a thriving force. Okay, so you say PA is made for punks, by punks, and not to pose. What’s punk, and what’s to pose? Punk is someone who likes punk rock, and not your cliché dude in a Mohawk and plaid jeans, but dudes who are just sick of the world, wanna jam some TOTAL ABUSE or SSD, and just go build a community up from the ground. For the most part true punk is something with a D.I.Y. aspect behind it, or at least that’s my view of it anyway
Dude from WICCANS givin' it the old whole mouth treatment. Dude to the right RULING.
What’s your favorite punk rock flick of all-time? Have you checked out Zack Carlson’s book DESTROY ALL MOVIES? I haven’t
A scorching on-stage bass slam from one of the scenes in PA. Damn, it was awesome.
Live and let fart is what I always say. What’s next for you, duder? Well, I’ve been working on getting the copies of PARANOID ANXIETIES dubbed and shipped out, which sucks when you have one functioning VCRNo doubt on some huge analog ups to Will for keeping that anti-digital dream alive, and for documenting a shit ton of gnarly gnashing tunes for the magnetic munching masses! Will: We VHSalute you! Be sure to groove on over to Will’s Storenvy to grip up your copy of PARANOID ANXIETIES and hit up his YouTube channel for a taste of the thrashin' and bashin' tunes you' re apt to see on his newest release. And, as always, stay tuned to this here analog-obsessed blog as we’ll be in touch with Will and keep you up-to-date on all his aural analog adventures as they unreel. We can’t wait to see What Happens Next.
Groove and Groove and DO SOMETHING OR DIE.
Josh Schafer