Interview with publisher Carlos Hunt

HIP: What kind of satisfaction do you get from putting out Angerbox?
Mostly the letters from people who write to tell me how much something I wrote meant to them, or people asking to reprint parts of it. I've gotten good reviews in Factsheet Five (zine reviewing publication), so I've gotten requests for it from a lot of different states, Canada, Portugal, and even someone in the army.
HIP: What is your basic message behind it, or what are you trying to get across?
To provoke thought. It should be obvious to any conscious, thinking individual that the world is a pretty fucked up place. I don't have the answers, but bringing the problems to people's attention is an important step in the process of getting them solved.
HIP: Do you consider it a form of art?
I don't usually think of it in those terms, but yes, it's art as much as a book or a painting is art. People need to understand that even commercials on TV are art. The fact that they are manipulative propaganda doesn't make them not art. Just dangerous art.
HIP: I read that you only planned to put out one issue, why the second? and will there be a third?
The first issue came out in 93' because I had access to a free printer. I poured so much into it that I never really thought there would be a second one. After that, though, more and more things just started building up. Things that were almost kind of polluting; things that I just had to get out of my system. Making a second zine also gave me the chance to explore certain things for myself, like my interview with my friend Chris about his activism. Unfortunately, I no longer had the printer, and my copying scams fell through halfway through the printing, so I had to shell out some serious bucks to get it finished. There will probably be a 3rd issue, but not for a few years. It'll most likely be centered on the year I hope to spend volunteering somewhere in South or Latin America.
HIP: What would you say to people who say that what you're doing is a waste of time and that it's foolish to try and wake people up out of conformity?
Well, for me it's a matter of those few people that I do reach. People are flooded with such massive amounts of information and entertainment these days that its hard for things to stick. While I'm sure that most of my zines wound up lining someone's litter box, there are still those few kids out there who it really meant a lot to; who will save it and re-read it. It's worth all the hard work and sacrifice because of them.
HIP: I think I remember something being written about you in the L.A.Weekly, what was it about and how do you feel about the notoriety?
Well Darby from Ben Is Dead listed my title at the end of her zine paragraph in the Weekly's Best of LA issue, but I think you're probably talking about the piece in the 96', Feb. 23-29 issue of the LA View where I received the Rusty Bicycle award. It felt pretty fucking great for awhile - a nice boost to my usually questionable self-esteem. But I've never really known how to accept compliments; it felt good, but weird too.
HIP: I kind of look at you as an artist/activist, kind of like that guy who puts up political posters about town here in L.A., Robbie Conal I think it is. How do you see yourself?
I'd love to think of myself that way, but unfortunately I get to see all the unglamorous parts of my life that my readers don't see. I mean, I have a day job, I clean the bathroom, I buy groceries, I pay taxes... All of that un-punk stuff that gets left out of our visions of those we admire.
HIP: You seem like a man of thought. Ever wish to not care or give a shit? You know, ignorance is bliss.
In high school, the problems of the world would stress me out so much that I'd get stomach pains and not be able to sleep, but even then I never really wanted to be ignorant and happy. I had too much disgust for those kinds of people. Now, I'm in a stage in my life where I'm questioning just what it means to give a shit. I mean, I feel bad when I sometimes can't handle the famine articles in papers and magazines, and I skip past it to the entertainment section. Is that not giving a shit? What if I force myself to read the article, but I don't, or can't afford to, send any money? Is that really giving any more of a shit than skipping it if they both have the same end result? I'm still kind of working these things out.
HIP: When did you start giving a shit?
I guess I always have, though I don't feel it was something I had a choice in.
HIP: What was your childhood like?
My family was "normal", which means that my parents were abnormal enough to stay married. I was unpopular at school and was always the last to get picked for sports. A lot of teasing, getting pushed, ridiculed, beat up. Books became my friends. And then later, music.
HIP: Who do you respect? Anybody you admire?
Volunteers. People who are active in progressive organizations like Amnesty International, Food Not Bombs, Habitat For Humanity, Greenpeace, the Sierra Club. Vegetarians. Jello Biafra, Ian MacKaye, Michael Ventura. Too many people to name. Even that British singer, Jarvis Cocker, who won best British album of the year and gave the trophy and $3,500 cash prize to a Bosnian relief charity. I have no idea how his band [Pulp] sounds, they probably suck, but I still admire him for doing that.
HIP: What's the driving force behind Carlos Hunt?
I'm not sure. It's not always there, and I wish it was.
HIP: What goes on in your head?
A lot of brooding, a lot of unnecessary stress. Part of doing the zine is motivation for others, but part of it is motivation for myself. It's something for me to live up to and strive towards.
HIP: Are we getting too personal here?
No, but could you please turn off the mood music and take your hand off my leg?
HIP: Do you have any respect for people who need to have their eyes opened for them. People who need to have something shoved under their noses for them to realize what's going on instead of them finding out for themselves?
I guess I wouldn't not have respect for anyone just because they hadn't learned anything yet, just like I wouldn't not have respect for some kid who hadn't been taught to read yet in school. I think the bigger problem is that we're dealing with a society that does know that things are wrong, and yet chooses not to include this knowledge in their world view. The problem isn't so much not knowing as it is knowing, and being in denial about it.
HIP: What would you consider to be your biggest accomplishement to date?
Umm... I put out two issues of a publication that I'm very proud of I made a short film that won a small award. I learned Portuguese in two and a half months. I've never lied to the people I've had relationships with...
HIP: What would you like to accomplish in life?
To make art that in some way enlightens, empowers, and nourishes people, and makes them want to become active in making this world a better place. To be able to look at myself in the mirror.
HIP: One wish at the expense of your life, what is it?
That people feel outraged enough to do something about the fact that we live on a planet with enough food to feed everyone where 40,000 children die each day, and that I become a flesh-eating zombie who feasts on the brains of those who don't.