Will Mecca Interview

Will Mecca is a man of many talents.

Besides running Left Hand Path Tapes, a distributor of some of the scummiest, most uncomfortable punk around, Will is the sole director of the Paranoid Anxieties tapes, a no-wave influenced, vhs shot documentation of the Texas punk.

I talked to him recently about his influences and his goals.

First off, could you introduce yourself and tell us what you do?

Hello, my name is Will Mecca. I'm from North Texas, I run a small label and distro called Left Hand Path Tapes and film/shoot shows I go to. I'm 22 years old. 

I was really attracted to your work because of how it stands out from a lot of punk/hardcore concert film. You use one camera that distorts the sound of the music. You generally take a position below the band while filming. What is your artistic goal in utilizing these methods, if any?

Well the angles I use to film I normally chose because it's safest for myself and my equipment while still being able to get the maximum footage I can out of a show. Even from where I stand I still tend to get hit by someone in a crowd. And rarely ever do I post edit sound from what I shoot (other than to pan it out from mono to stereo) a lot of the distorted sound I get is just the in camera mic.

Why do you think the vhs tape and other “dead” formats like the floppy disk have made a comeback in punk and hardcore?  So many powerviolence bands here put out floppies.

 Probably nostalgia in the beginnings. When I first started going to DIY shows I was taken aback that cassettes had made a comeback. But after working with VHS for two years I sort of like it more than digital, kind of gives a more organic feel. As far as floppy disks this is the first I'm hearing of it.

Would you describe yourself as a filmmaker? If so, what is your dream film project?

Not really at this point, filming stuff has been a hobby of mine since I was 13 and now it's taking off into something I can do, in my opinion, interesting things with. One day I'd maybe want to do some homage to 80's shot on video horror, or maybe a legit documentary, I have no idea at this point really.

Do you have a favorite movie? Favorite director?

I dunno if I have a favorite, there's a lot of movies I really like, like Clerks, Gummo, In The Mouth Of Madness, Repo Man. Kevin Smith in the 90's is probably a favorite of mine, as well as John Carpenter.

What is your affiliation with Left Hand Path Tapes?

I run it, well attempt to at least. So far it's just been me putting out my own stuff as well as things I like that I haven't seen represented in a physical medium yet. It's been over a year since I started and I'm at 16 releases now so I guess it's something now.

Punk obviously plays a huge part in your art. It’s your main focus. How would you define punk? Would you even want to?

 I dunno really how to define it. Maybe something along the lines of DIY ethics. If you're willing to get up yourself and do something you think is cool, that's punk. I don't know if I could describe it any other way.

What other film work are you involved in besides the paranoid anxieties tapes?

Not really, a couple years ago some friends and myself were going to make a short horror film together, but life happened. My friend Mitch had this project he was working on for years called Consuming Impulse that I got drug in as an extra a couple times but aside from that Paranoid Anxieties has been it.

What Texas bands do you think we should all check out?

Sin Motivo

Any final words?

Film what you love, take pictures of what you love, have some fun and do something dumb. And thanks for taking the time to interview me!