Writer Nancy Semin interviewed John Dial, founder of FluffertraX porn music site and participant in the South By Southwest Interactive Festival.

Nancy Semin: Where did you get the idea for your web site?

John Dial: I helped start student radio at UT (University of Texas at Austin) and I was always into funky music and having a little exposure to porn I just thought you know, this music is so awesome, you never hear it anywhere. I didn’t have the idea for the web site initially. I wanted to have a radio show but I couldn’t get anybody to buy it, because it’s controversial, and then streaming came around, MP3 came around, and I guess… Micro65 came around, and it just kind of happened by accident. I had been buying the music for 10 years, and had no outlet for it.

NS: What is your interest in porn?

JD: My interest in porn is mostly the music. I mean the porn is fun. On my porn site I like software, I don’t know, I just like the music, it’s just a thing. But what happened is I started to buy the music and I started to realize, it’s so different. It’s not just 1970s genre porn; you know that kind of music which is what I thought it was. There’s Italian, there’s German, there’s 1960s, now it’s more hip-hop.

NS: We now have a genre called “classic porn.” Your game features what kind of music? Recent, or newer porn music?

JD: Yeah, it’s a mix. I have a bunch, I have “Behind the Green Door,” and then I have “The Candy Cottage,” that’s a new kind… it’s almost like dance music. Some guys called Klondike, they’re in England. They found out about FluffertraX, emailed me, sent me their music. It was great. I had their soundtrack before the movie was even out.

NS: How successful are the participants who play FluffertraX? What are the chances of winning?

JD: To be honest, I get emails from people, and most people are doing one out of three, so… that’s pretty good. That’s all right. But I also have high scores, and things like that later, so players can get more interactive with it.

NS: What do you think your web site says about the ubiquity of porn in America? Do you think we’re a nation of pornographers?

JD: Yeah, to some degree. I think repression breeds obsession, you know? So I think we’re big consumers. I’d say that. But I also think that subcultures like porn, they bleed into the main status quo, and I think that’s happening. I heard that Jenna Davison or someone like that is doing Nike ads or something.

NS: Right, that was in The New York Times.

JD: Yeah, that to me is more interesting because it means the bleeding is happening. So maybe in 10 years it won’t be any big deal. I don’t know. We’ll see.

NS: You’ve received a lot of media attention in Rolling Stone, talk shows…

JD: Mostly radio shows.

NS: Radio shows. Have you received a lot of negative press? Have you received a lot of flak about this from right wingers?

JD: I thought that I would. That’s why I used the handle DJ von Yanovich initially, because I was worried. Because I have a day job and stuff, and I haven’t had anything. And I get emails every week from all over the world and people love it. So I don’t know. I mean, I’m sure it’s out there, but nobody’s talking. My contention is look, it’s just music. I’ve kept it about that, and they can always turn the channel.