Excerpt from transcription, audio
recorded on Saturday, March 29, 2025
Miles: Hi, I’m Miles, or Yucky Zine. (right side in photo above)
Sam: I’m Sam, or Pseudotumor. That’s the name of my zine. I’m in a band called Mental Floss. We’re pretty new, but we have some shows coming up. (left side in photo above)
Ameer: First question—do you think queercore has made a significant impact on the Houston, Texas scene?
Miles: I haven’t been in the scene for very long. It’ll be two years in August, but I do think it’s had an impact. I feel like it helps create a safer space for a lot of people.
Sam: I think the concept of a scene is naturally tied to queerness. “Queer” literally means “other,” so being different—whether that’s in your gender, sexuality, or something else—kind of goes hand in hand with forming a scene. I think they’re deeply connected. I don’t think one could really exist without the other.
Ameer: How has your experience been as a queer artist in Houston?
Miles: I’ve vended once, and honestly, it went pretty great. I like being an artist. It’s been a good experience. People are really nice. I can’t vend again until summer because I’ve got school and I don’t want to overwhelm myself, but I do plan to do more.
Since I haven’t been vending, I just carry a lot of my zines and give them out. People usually give you stuff in return, which is pretty cool. They’re always really kind about it.
I think being an artist is really rewarding. People are super cool. You might be scared to talk to them—I am. I’m really scared of people. But most of the time, they’re not scary or intimidating like you might think.
Sam: In my band, three of us are trans, one of us is disabled, and we’re all queer. We’ve gotten a lot of support from other queer bands, organizers, and show hosts. Everyone’s been really kind. As a queer artist, I’ve felt supported by people from all backgrounds. That’s been inspiring. Sometimes you’ll see someone in the scene and think they might not be cool with queer people, but I haven’t really met anyone who’s treated me badly.
Miles: Yeah, I haven’t met anyone rude yet either. That’s pretty awesome.
Ameer: That’s nice to hear!
Miles: Like, at first I was scared to talk to you. I think the first time I saw you was at one of Tyler’s art markets. I think my best friend might have drawn you. Did that happen?
Ameer: Yes.
Miles: Oh, you remember that? Oh, shit. [laughter] But now you’re super cool. And then you gave me photos just because. That’s awesome. You’re amazing. And everyone’s really nice. I love that.
Ameer: You’re actually the second person who’s told me they were afraid to come up and talk to me. I don’t know what that means. [laughter]
Miles: I’m just nervous to talk to everybody.
Ameer: How has being queer and punk affected your experience in the Houston scene?
Miles: That’s a really great question. It’s made me realize there’s a lot of stuff that’s way more messed up than I used to think. And it’s connected me with other people who are just as angry as I am, which makes me feel better about being upset all the time—because I know it’s not just me.
Ameer: Do you think that constant feedback loop of anger is a good thing, or more of a negative thing?
Miles: I’m gonna be honest—I don’t remember anything I just said. I don’t know.
Ameer: How does being angry make you feel?
Miles: Wow. Well, it makes me feel angry. [laughter] I don’t like being angry. I feel like I’ve spent most of my life, for one reason or another, being mad about something.
And I don’t like it, but it’s really hard not to be incredibly upset by a lot of what goes on. It’s sickening, honestly. I always say I hate hating—I really do. But I don’t know. Yeah. It’s horrible.
I hate being so angry all the time, but this stuff is happening and it’s not going away.
Sam: It’s led to so many friendships and relationships. I was at a show with a bunch of friends—I don’t remember who was playing—but we were at a hardcore show. All these people I had met because I was a queer punk. I was there with my bandmates, who I met because I was queer like them, and punk, which is the only reason I even went to a show in the first place. It was all because of the people I met. And I’m at this show, I turn, and I see him (Miles), and he gets punched in the face—like, as hard as possible.
Miles: I was standing with a friend, and my friend turns to me and goes, “I’m gonna go get something from my car. I’ll be right back.” And the second she leaves, I get hit in the fucking jaw. And I got hit in the right side, but the left side hurt more. And I was about to cry, but I went outside and I sat down and I was a big boy about it and I didn't cry.
Sam: So because I saw him and had spoken to him for a second, I was like, "Oh, I’m Sam."
Miles: She was the first person to ask me if I was okay before I left the inside.
Sam: Yeah, I walked up to him and said, “That looked like it hurt. Are you okay?”
And he said, “Yeah, I know, it hurt really bad, but I’m alright.”
So we started talking, and that’s the reason we know each other—and why we started dating—because we were queer punks in the scene. I mean, it’s literally changed my life, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.
Ameer: I want to ask you about your band, Mental Floss. I know you’re still kind of new, but as you’ve gotten further along, how has the reaction been from the greater Houston scene?
Sam: Really welcoming. Our first show was technically in Alvin, which is really close to Houston. So we just consider ourselves part of the Greater Houston area. We did our first show in a backyard on the outskirts of Alvin in December. It was cold as hell—like 50 degrees.
Miles: It was 50 degrees, and this woman was outside in jeans and a short-sleeved T-shirt. I was wearing her big jacket, and I was still cold.
Sam: So we were doing our show—again, it was our first one, and no one knew who we were. We played with Los Kalaveras, LFM, and Cheese Grater. Who else did we have? Plomazo. Some huge bands in the scene. LFM was at the first show I ever went to for The Queers. I love The Queers. That was a great show.
Miles: I was there, and she’s in the foreground of one of my Pinkie Promise videos before we even met.
Sam: Yeah. It’s such a small scene. Well, not small, but connected. It was inspiring that we could reach out to these people—or have people reach out to us—and say, “Hey, you’re a new band. Let us play your show.”
We’re doing our third show in April, and a few of my favorite artists from the scene are happy to help and join us. That’s been really inspiring—to see the kindness we’ve been met with.
Ameer: That’s nice to hear. I was talking to Jasmine from Lagrimas, and they mentioned they had a more negative experience when they first started. But that was six years ago, so it’s good to hear things have changed a bit.
Sam: Yeah, I think the scene is a lot more accepting than it was even five or six years ago.
It definitely feels like things are changing. A lot of the problematic people and bands that have been around—the community is starting to recognize that and kind of usher them out. So I think it’s becoming a safer scene for small queer artists.
Ameer: Yeah, that's good to hear.
Miles: Can I say one more thing about how we met? So, one of her friends tried to set me up with her bassist. She looked at me and said, “Do you like boys?” Then she pointed to Spencer, the bassist for Mental Floss, after I said yes, and goes, “This is a boy-liker. Like this boy.” And then... I didn’t. Spencer's a gorgeous man, but you know.
Ameer: Stole your heart, huh?
Miles: Yeah.
Sam: And his arm warmers.
Miles: Yeah. I was wearing arm warmers, but I was really overstimulated and sweaty, so I took them off. I didn’t want to throw them away—that would be a waste of clothing—so I thought, I’m going to find someone to give them to. I walked inside, and she was the first person I saw. I thought, wow, she's really pretty. So I gave them to her.
Sam: I feel very happy in this relationship—more than I’ve ever... It’s not even just “I love it.” It’s like—God, I’m going to get really sappy—but I feel a lot safer and more serene than I have in any other relationship.
