photo by Mark Del Lima
Over the years, you may have seen me like this, playing on streets and in alleys, at rallies and parades, on trains and in parks, and in libraries and museums because . This is what I’ve called my “punk uke”…which I’ve shortened to “𝗣𝗨𝗞𝗘”. Who would have thought that the person deems “San Francisco’s Queer Cinema Poet” would be most associated with vomit?
The next few months are going to see the PUKE setup in various forms. Hopefully you’ll be a part of all three!
1) BUILT THIS CITY: An SF Pride Variety Spectacular!
San Francisco Pride and Peaches Christ Productions are teaming up next month to put on a spectacular spectacular and I’m going to be performing an ode to the queer filmmakers of San Francisco on stage at the Castro on June 10!
2. PUNK PRIDE at Mosswood Meltdown
PUNK PRIDE is back, and we’re performing on the second day of Mosswood Meltdown (7/19) alongside Bikini Kill, The Return of Jackie and Judy (Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker and Fred Armisen!) and The Dead Milkmen!
I had a blast performing at last year’s Punk Pride alongside Kochina Rude, Cream, Miss Rahni, Mama Celeste and Trixxie Carr , who is currently playing Hedwig on stage in San Francisco and we’re thrilled to be back.
3. SEAN SAN JOSÉ AS A PUKE H.P. MENDOZA
How thrilled am I that actor Sean San José (“Mike Mike” in Sing Sing) will be playing the Puke version of ME in a film that can right now only be described as a “social justice stoner comedy”. I already wrote the music he’ll be playing and singing (screaming) and we’ve already rehearsed one of the songs .
On top of starring in A24 and Netflix films, Sean San José is the luminary writer-director and actor who co-founded Campo Santo, a San Francisco group that develops new works including the work of Denis Johnson (Jesus’ Son, Tree of Smoke and this year’s Oscar® nominee for Best Picture, Train Dreams). The new film is a Campo Santo production in collaboration with Ersatz Film and will be shooting in the fall of 2026. Per usual, I’ll be writing, directing, editing and composing. I’m thrilled to be working with Campo Santo players I’ve only seen on stage for the past thirty years and it was an extremely moving experience to share a room with everyone during our first read through. We can’t wait for you to see what we’ve got cooking!
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That’s about as much damage as I can do for now, so keep an eye out for me (or some version of me) with an electrified ukulele and a portable amp as we move through the rest of the year. And with that, I leave you with one of my “Puke” songs, “Hoi Polloi”.
Rage responsibly.
Ingat.
気を付けて
Take care.
H.P.