By Staff | 12/22/2025

Amy Harris is a multifaceted creative professional whose work spans the realms of music, video production, photography, and social advocacy. A true jack of all trades, she seamlessly utilizes various mediums to foster connection, understanding and empathy. With over a decade of experience in the film and television industry, Amy has established herself as a skilled video editor and post-production specialist, particularly within unscripted content. Her musical identity is equally prominent; she is a guitarist, producer, and songwriter involved in multiple projects, where she blends technical production skills with raw artistic expression.

Beyond her creative output, Amy is a vocal advocate for the transgender community. Having documented her own transition, she uses her platform to provide educational resources and personal support for trans and questioning individuals. Her commitment to advocacy is rooted in a desire to build a more inclusive world, often sharing her journey to help demystify trans experiences and offering herself as a mentor to those seeking guidance. Whether she is capturing a moment through her lens, editing complex visual narratives, or composing new music, Amy’s work is characterized by a deep-seated passion for authenticity and a drive to leverage her visibility for the benefit of others.

Your portfolio highlights a transition through many roles - editor, musician, producer, storyteller. If you were to summarize the story of your career so far, what would you say is the central theme?

Digging into the nitty gritty of any project and finding a way to make the project “sing.” I’ve always been fascinated with the technical details of how things get made. I remember watching all the special features of the Matrix DVD over and over again as a kid and being fascinated by how that movie was made. I spent over 10 years grinding away at a career editing reality tv and a large part of that job was making magic happen with limited footage to make a seamless story. In the past year, I’ve been focused on spending more of my time on projects that are more personal and I have a deeper connection with. I’m currently producing an album for Bad Static and an EP with Goof Goblin and that same ethos of making the best of what is available to me is at the heart of my passion. Through my current creative endeavors there’s many limitations I’ve encountered. Producing these albums, which would normally be big budget productions, we find ourselves doing it in a crammed studio space completely DIY. And I think that these limitations don’t necessarily have to be a curse, I believe creating art is the central point. Whether it’s the big budget network productions I started with or something smaller, but holds more sentimental value to me.

You’ve mentioned the privileges you’ve had in being open and proud of being transgender. How do you use your visibility to support those who may be in less accepting environments?

Just being on stage as a trans person unfortunately can feel like a radical statement. When I was a kid in the ‘90s there was almost no trans representation available to me, certainly not anything positive if it did exist. I can’t imagine how differently my life could have been if I saw a trans person ripping on a stage at a young age. One of my goals as a performer is to proudly wave trans flags on stages all across the world especially in places where it might not happen otherwise.

I’ve also recently started a project called Bunny Punk Collective which is a new project where I focus on highlighting/documenting the queer and trans music/art scene in NY and beyond. It started in the summer at Punk Island where I helped provide the backline for the Brooklyn Transcore stage. I was able to set up a 360 camera and record all the sets in 360 with the live mixed audio. I’ve continued capturing live sets. I recently did a multiple camera capture of “Vile” a trans focused party/music/art event at TV Eye. In addition to providing the bands with footage for their own use I will be releasing multicamera on Bunny Punks Youtube channel by the new year. I hope that documenting events like this will help grow the queer and trans scene in NY and create similar events in other locations.

Amy Harris, Nico Mac of Bad Static. Photo credit: @lacapturerouge

You’ve described your work as "storytelling across many different mediums." How does your approach to storytelling change when you move from unscripted post-production to a live musical performance?

It’s way more personal. In unscripted reality TV there is a big focus on telling other people's stories and balancing those real stories with network executives' visions of what they think will sell a reality TV show. Live music on the other hand, especially at the local level, is raw, passionate, and so much more “real” than any “unscripted” television shows. It has such a deeper connection for me.

You’ve expressed a desire to help create a truly accepting and inclusive world. How do you use the Bad Static and Goof Goblin stage as a platform for this specific mission?

I have a small trans flag I keep in my pedalboard case, when I don’t forget in the frenzy of setting up for a live show I will display that trans flag somewhere on stage, for any performance I can.

In Goof Goblin, we always strive to work with trans artists and creators. All three of us in Goof Goblin are trans and will always talk about something trans related in between songs and many of our lyrics discuss these topics as they are dear to our hearts. We also always prominently display a large trans flag hanging off our keyboard table.

In Bad Static, I often use time in between songs to speak to trans rights including loudly announcing: “Fuck JK Rowling” at all of our shows in London during our recent UK tour. (editor’s note: fuck JK Rowling).

l-r: Amy Harris, Rhythm Heaton and Yolanda Grace of Goof Goblin. Photo credit: Jenna Murray

You’ve spent over 11 years in post-production. What is one specific lesson from the editing suite that has unexpectedly helped you in managing a DIY punk band?

Being extremely organized can really save your ass in a crisis.

Having worked in both film and digital spaces, how do you think the rise of social media and digital platforms has changed the way independent artists in NYC need to present their story?

Digital platforms have been a blessing and a curse in my opinion. On the one hand, it’s so amazing to be able to share music, videos, and content across the globe instantly. As a kid I never would have imagined people overseas seeing any art that I made.

However, with algorithms driving so much of our connection, it can be tough to break through the noise if you don’t have a team of social media creators behind you. It feels as though creating content is an entire artform in of itself and can certainly shift focus away from creating music and art to feed what the algorithm wants. I hope the future brings less reliance on algorithms to connect people and more local in person driven connections become more popular.

You’ve noted that you might one day write more about your experiences being trans. Has any of that narrative already begun to find its way into the lyrics or the rage of your music?

It’s starting to. The best example I can think of is “Small Again” by Sludge Bunny, which was the first music project I started after I transitioned. Sludge Bunny is unfortunately no longer actively playing, but I wrote “Small Again” with Naomi Joan of Sludge Bunny. It started out as some of my personal struggles and experiences of transitioning while in a committed marriage. Naomi then added her experiences of transitioning and getting divorced. The craziest thing about this song is that it was unintentionally telling my own story before it happened as I also ended up going through a divorce not much too long after releasing the song.

You offer to lend an ear to those who are trans or questioning. What is the most common piece of advice you find yourself giving to young queer or trans artists trying to break into the NYC creative scene?

Go and make the thing! Seriously, what is stopping you from getting on that stage? Or making that art project, or doing that photo series, or that weird project in your head? Figure out what your limitations might be (budget, access to equipment, etc) find a box and build the best thing you can in that box!

New York City has a legendary punk history. How does the current NYC punk scene in the 2020s compare to the gritty energy of the past that you draw inspiration from?

Punk has always been about breaking the mold and being abrasive against what a society finds acceptable or not. That ethos still drives so much passion in the scene today. However, today's punk scene has cast a wider net to be more inclusive, or at least I hope so, I know there is still work to be done in that realm. I think there’s some interesting connections to be made about the satanic panic back in the ‘80s & ‘90s and the demonization of trans people in our current society.

Your music is described as socially conscious and confronting double standards. Is there a particular song in your current setlist that feels most urgent to perform in today’s political climate?

Bad Static - Anatomy Autonomy

Goof Goblin - Rolling Pumpkins

Sludge Bunny - Pink White & Blue (not an active band anymore, but def worth highlighting)

Bad Static was formed in 2021. What was the spark that brought the band together during a time when live music was just starting to return to the city?

I actually wasn’t in Bad Static when it initially formed, but Nico Mac has some words to say on it:

“The Bad Static in 2021 was vastly different then it is today. The old project was in part my ex-boyfriend's project as well, but when we broke up in 2023 I thought the project was OVER. In many ways I thought I couldn’t do this project without him because I was insecure about my musicianship. Which retrospectively is crazy since as this is and always was a riot grrrl band. After about a year of grieving this project, which felt so deeply tied to my identity, I decided to stop and go back and get involved in my scene again. I went to see the trans band Eeevie Echoes and the Locations at a Queer Punk Outlaws event (which is actually where I first saw Amy play with the now-defunct Sludge Bunny). Amy and I didn’t meet that night, but I met Gigi Barwald of t@b grrrl who pushed me to restart the band we see today. I guess the spark was knowing this was the place I needed to be, regardless of my insecurities about being a woman in a heavily male dominated music scene.” -Nico Mac

Being in bands that amplify feminist themes, how do you balance the fun of a high-energy punk show with the serious weight of the injustices your lyrics address?

It can definitely be a tough balance to strike, especially on days where the constant string of oppressive legislation is non-stop. However, taking the rage and energy into a room of people who want to fight and rage with you is one of the best medicines to the current political landscape.

Anyone you’d like to thank?

Bad Static: https://www.instagram.com/badstaticband/

Goof Goblin: https://www.instagram.com/goof.goblin/

BunnyPunk Collective: https://www.instagram.com/bunnypunkcollective/

Links:

Goof Goblin: https://www.instagram.com/goof.goblin/

BunnyPunk Collective: https://www.instagram.com/bunnypunkcollective/ | https://www.youtube.com/@BunnyPunkCollective

Nico Mac (founder/front woman of Bad Static): https://www.instagram.com/thenicomac/

Sludge Bunny: https://www.instagram.com/sludgebunny4ever/

Amy Harris: https://www.instagram.com/undercover_amy6/ | www.Amymharris.com

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