Cujo is Life
INTERVIEWS
By Olivia Lee
5/18/26
The beloved Seattle hardcore band talks to The Paperblog Writers about their origins, being an Asian-fronted band, and scary movies amidst the thrilling chaos of the Real Asian Hate show.
Cujo and Olivia Lee at the Black Lodge (Photo by Mas Yamada).
After three interviews and hours inside the Black Lodge at the Real Asian Hate show (March 17th, 2025), I arrived at my interview with Seattle hardcore band Cujo a little frazzled and overstimulated by the chaos of my first hardcore show (they don’t teach you how to navigate a hardcore moshpit in journalism school). Luckily for me, the band – made up of Kevin (vocals), Cody (guitar), Ben (drums), and Jarvis (bass) – were incredibly laid-back, likely coming down from the intensity of their aggressive performance an hour prior.
Half of our interview was just laughter at some outrageous quip from Jarvis but honestly I didn’t mind the merriment; it gave me a much needed humorous break from the chaos of the evening. Keep reading for our conversation on Cujo (the band), Cujo (the dog), and Cujo (the movie).
How did you guys meet/form?
Kevin: Jarvis kind of needed a place to stay in Seattle, so he stayed at our place and we kind of just sat in his room and just jammed around and started getting a band together.
Cody: And then Kevin and I used to play in a band back in 2010, 2011, 2012. And so we met each other long before that in high school, and then we met Ben through his other bands and then met Jarvis when he was living with Kevin. So we've known each other for quite a long time.
How would you guys describe your sound, and how do you feel like it connects to who you guys are as a band?
Kevin: Cujo is just life. It's just the sound of life. It's hard. It's scary out here, and that's what we try to portray in ourselves.
Being from Seattle, are there elements of the local scene that you feel like have shaped the way you guys make music?
Jarvis: Yeah, all the homies is filthy. Seattle got the sickest style. You know, all the homies, man, we be rocking and shit. They be looking so cool. So I wanted to join the crew and be like, "Hey, let's rock," and then we end up rocking out with us. You know, ten years later, boom. Man, Seattle, the wave. I'm gonna start making new words. Yo, the wave you know, when we waving and shit, like shit's sick bro. Like, straight up.
Kevin: Seattle traditionally has fast bands, so we're just carrying on the tradition of playing fast. We don't wanna be heavy, all that. We just wanna play fast and have it be hard music, period.
You guys mentioned that you've been around for a while. How have you seen the scene evolve over time?
Kevin: The scene evolved a lot. There was a really dark period in hardcore where you would have just the bands that are, like, your audience. You know what I mean? Like there would be ten people at most, maybe twenty, but now shows have gotten a lot. Kids know a lot more. They're coming out and yeah, it's a good time.
Your guys' name, Cujo, is that a reference to the book at all?
Jarvis: Oh, yeah
Why did you decide to go with Cujo?
Jarvis: 'Cause motherfucker, like, it's a scary movie. You like scary movies? Jump scares and shit. Ah!!! Hell yeah. We rocking.
Kevin: It's just the kinda aggression we wanna bring. There's a lot of fucking things to be angry about, and we just wanna portray it kinda like the dog.
Do you guys draw inspiration from other forms of media like literature, like Cujo, for your work?
Kevin: Yeah. We draw from all sorts of inspiration. There's inspiration on the streets, there's inspiration in books that we draw from, movies, everything. Life. It's life. Cujo's life.
You mention scary movies frequently. Are there some that have inspired you guys in your music?
Jarvis: Straight up, I watch jump scares every day when I go home. I watch jump scares in my sleep, homie.
Kevin: He just writes songs to that.
Jarvis: Yeah, right? We sit there and, and sit there in the dark, right? And just watch jump scares and nobody talks.
Nah, I’m just playing around. I don’t know man, we just rock it man! Goddamn.
You guys are obviously proud of your identity as an Asian-fronted band. So I wanted to know, why is it important to you to cultivate community within the Asian hardcore scene?
Kevin: When I first came around, it was literally just like two Asian guys at hardcore shows, and now there's so many other ones, and I just want to see more and more of it. I like looking down and seeing a sea of Asian people. I’d never seen that before. It's awesome.
What can fans expect next from Cujo?
Cody: New music at the end of the year. We got several new songs coming. So we finally can release new music after three years.
Which one of your songs should I play on a boombox outside my crush's window?
Cody: “Nine Mil.”
Jarvis: No, no...
Cody: What’s one of our love songs?
Kevin: Just put on “Hounds.”
Cody: It’s got the funnest riff. 'Cause then your crush will be head banging in the window.
Ben: Maybe play Al Green’s "Tired of Being Alone?"
Kevin: We can cover that.
Anything else you wanna add before we end the interview?
Cody: Support Seattle hardcore. Always.
For all you hopeless romantics out there, skip the flowers and try pulling a Say Anything: blast Cujo’s “Hounds” at maximum volume on your boombox outside your crush’s window. It’s a foolproof, Cujo-approved method. And if it doesn’t work, then congrats! You avoided dating someone with questionable taste. Because who would wanna date someone that doesn’t like Cujo?
Listen to Demo 22
