Did you ever wonder who made those CRAZY SPIRIT action figures? Yeah, neither did I. I just judged it as total Youth Attack-eque garbage bag nonsense — until I found out it was Weird Luke! So, I thought I’d interview this genius punk. My first memories of him were from my days booking at ABC No Rio in New York City. He stood out — an awkward kid decked out in red plaid in a sea of soapy leather and studs. Here’s a mutant love story involving punk and resin, by Amelia…

Crazy Spirit action figure by Weird Luke!

How old are you and where are you from?
I’ll be 20 in June, and I’m from Gowanus section of Brooklyn in NYC.

Happy early birthday! How did you discover punk?
When I was eight, my uncle gave me a MISFITS CD for my birthday.

What was your first punk show?
DAWN OF HUMANS at ABC No Rio.

What was the last punk show you went to?
CÜLO, twice, at the New York’s Alright fest.

Most memorable show ever?
Right before I moved to Philly for a year, I saw CRAZY SPIRIT and PERDITION play at a stupid venue called Secret Project Robot, in Williamsburg. When PERDITION started playing, Ian smashed the mic stand against the stage and threw it like a javelin into the crowd. From what I heard, it hit someone in the face. It was the perfect send off to a shitty year of cutting class and wanting to come home from art school. The bands played okay too, I guess.

When did you discover resin as a material you wanted to use to create?
Sometime in high school.

How were you exposed to resin as a medium?
I had an internship with the bootleg toy master, Sucklord, in my senior year of high school. He taught me everything I know about toy making, and helped me make a ton of connections in the toy world. Check his stuff out at suckadelic.com.

What were the first few things you made with resin?
The first figure I made was a punk guy in a studded jacket saying “Fuck You” in sign language. The packaging was made to look like a shitty flyer. The next figure I made was a skeleton in a space suit. I called him “dead astronaut/cosmonaut.”

How do you get the colors that you use? Can you customize colors or do you have to buy resin in specific colors?
Both. You buy the pigments in basic colors and then you can mix them.

Weird Luke himself

How did you wind up teaming up with Crazy Spirit to create the action figures?
I showed them a couple of the figures at a show and then a week later I asked them if they’d be cool with me doing a figure. They said, “You don’t have to ask our permission to do that, go ahead.” Another week later I showed them the final sculpt and made the mold the next day. Band’s generally give me free reign, but I try to keep a policy of making them take a good look at it before I make the mold, just to make sure everyone’s happy.

What other bands have you made figures for?
I’ve made a figure for PERDITION. I just released the one for the HAMMERHEADS and I’m doing one for SAD BOYS, but it hasn’t been released yet. I’m presently working on figures for DRAPETOMANIA, BAD NOIDS, WHO KILLED SPIKEY JACKET?, and CÜLO.

How many did you make for Crazy Spirit?
At least a hundred at this point, probably more. I haven’t been keeping exact numbers, but it’s been quite a few. I’ve gone through three or four molds, and you get about thirty to fifty castings out of each mold, so that’s what I’m basing my numbers on.

Where can our readers get their mutant fingers on one of these figures?
You can see pictures of most of the figures at resin-trash.tumblr.com, and you can buy them at resintrashdistro.bigcartel.com.

Mutant Reich action figure by Weird Luke

Do you think they are a novelty item or a way of life?
For me they’re a way of life. I’ve been into toys for as long as I can remember, and I never really gave them up or got rid of them. I just started making my own instead of buying them.

Can punk be a novelty?
Punk is only a novelty if you aren’t punk. If a person is actually interested in and enthusiastic about punk, they don’t need to make excuses like, “Oh, it’s shitty because it’s punk.” Punk shouldn’t be an excuse for poor quality, or a justification for exerting less effort, it should be the celebration of making something rad from the bare minimum of materials available.

When are you going to get a motorcycle to match your motocross boots, Mr. Weird?
As soon as I learn to ride one, or as soon as I can get my hands on one. Whichever comes first, I’m not too picky.

What do you have to say about the future?
There’s too much future. North Korea had better get their act together, I’m getting sick of doomsday predictions that don’t pan out!

Last words, punk?
If there’s a figure you want that isn’t in the Resin Trash Distro, feel free to email me and we’ll see if we can’t work something out. And keep your eyes peeled, there’s plenty of new stuff coming down the pipe. Also, I got run over by a car this past weeks, so if you’re going to try and kill a mutant, invest in a tank and make sure to finish the job.

Since I already interviewed Jeremy Hush for MRR in print, I thought I’d give our readers an update over a year later. In case you live under a rock and never saw a Slug & Lettuce or missed the interview with Jeremy in MRR #340, Jeremy’s art has been featured in Slug & Lettuce, Profane Existence, and on a slew of punk records. Amelia presents to you Hush Illustration… (Click here to read more in our Create to Destroy series!)

What was the last tour you went on?
My last tour was in 2012 with BARONESS. They were touring with MESHUGGAH and DECAPITATION. It was a month long US/Canada tour.

How long did you tour with Baroness?
I roadied for BARONESS since nearly the beginning. That was around 2003 I believe? Before that I was with KYLESA from their start. Being from Savannah, Georgia, I was close with a lot of those Southern bands…

What is it like not being on tour nonstop and being able to have more time to do art?
It’s a whole new world not having to constantly be on the run! I love the adventure of traveling and seeing far off friends and strange sights when I’m on tour. But, it was difficult to do art and tour at the same time. I drew a lot of postcards. But, the van is too bumpy a ride to draw anything too substantial! Although, I believe my post cards are some of my best drawings. Now I’m showing in more and more galleries and I need more and more time to sit and really work on my pieces. It’s a tough job to work all day at my day job then stay in and draw all night. I don’t really sleep. If I didn’t have to sleep I wouldn’t. I have a million projects eating away at me at all times. And I love it. I could never just sit around. I’m always fiddling with something. Luckily, I live in a good city for shows (Philadelphia) and I see the BARONESS dudes around a good bit. I need live music in my life and if the BARONESS guys weren’t such good people, I would have quit touring years ago. Art and music are something I can’t live without.

Do you have a day job or are you able to live off your art? Did you ever think that you would get to a point where you could support yourself off your art?
I do have a day job that I love. And having a good job really makes it hard to tour. I’ve spent the last several years kinda broke because I traded it for free travel. Now I have a good job and an art career so I have to plan my own travels. I have to live my life for my art and let the band do theirs.

I do design work for a high-end woodworking shop. I work with good people and get to do really creative jobs. I just designed a circle of swans tile pattern for a pool in Palm Beach, Florida, that will be tiled in lapis and precious stones. A job like that is just bizarre!! But the key again is working with good people. There’s no other way to do it. And, thankfully, my art is doing really well right now and is showing on both coasts regularly. I stick with a day job to keep my art free. My job foots the bills so my art doesn’t have to. I pick and choose what happens with my art. I can’t just prostitute my art out there. All the album covers and zines I ever worked with were on my terms. I could never do work for something I didn’t truly feel…

What are you working on now? Do you have any shows coming up? Are you working on any art work for any punk albums right now? What was the last album cover you did?
Right now I’m stressing over a number of shows about to hit this summer. There’s a group shows at Gristle Tattoo Gallery in Brooklyn in April, a Philly group show at 309 Gallery in May, a big solo show at Thinkspace Gallery in LA early June, a July group show at Parlor Gallery in Asbury, NJ, and a Halloween group show at Last Rites Gallery in October. I’m pretty sure I missed something in that line up. But basically I’m grounded for the rest of the year! I did just finish a new cover for Austin Lucas. I’m looking forward to that one coming out soon too. Just recently finished album art for NUCLEAR DEATH TERROR LP, WARTORN/HELLBASTARD split LP, BLACK TUSK/DEAD YET? 7″, and the INNARDS ON THE PLAGUE DOGS LP. So, I still manage to squeeze in record covers here and there!

Have you done any recent artist collaborations?
I only collaborate with punk. It’s the route to my heart. Otherwise, I tend to work alone. Working with others is really difficult and takes a long time. Time is what I’m always short on, it seems. There is a good art community here in Philly. It’s been nice to be around other like minded artist. Helps keep my art moving forward. It’s not competitive, but when you see others producing work it makes you not want to be the slacker in the bunch. I’ve never known how important it was to be around others that think and work in the same ways.

Do you do trades with your art?
I’ve done a lot of trades with my art over the years. I’ve always kept my work for punks super cheap (sometimes for nothing) and accessible through prints and zines.

Yes, I’m very lucky to have a piece or two of yours. On a more musical notes, what are you listening to right now? You live in Philadelphia now, any cool new bands in the North East?
Maybe it’s the weather but lately my music has been a little on the dark side. A mix of AMEBIX, ALIEN SEX FIEND, ANTI CIMEX, BEXEN, SHADOW PROJECT and any other thing with Rozz in it. XMAL DEUTSCHLAND or something. It’s been an interesting turn in music lately. A lot of spiky DISCHARGE punks are playing with some 80s goth influence. It’s about time!! Just saw LOST TRIBE again the other night. Amazing stuff! A little while back, I caught ANASAZI with CULT OF YOUTH. SWANS killed it recently too!! Here in Philly, my latest favorites have been PLAGUE DOGS and THE BROOD! Not to be missed!! And I’m sure if you watch out BLACK TUSK will be stomping through your town anytime now.

Any final words? DIY or die?
Dodge the slings and arrows and stay punk!

To see more of Jeremy’s art:
hushillustration.blogspot.com
jeremyhush.bigcartel.com