eremy!! How are you? I’m good. What’s happening in Salem, or is it the North Shore? The North Shore is great, but I have mixed feelings about Salem, which is fine because I’m actually living in Maine at the moment. Maine has been really nice. I’ve learned a lot while being here. When’d you start painting? However old you are when you’re in the 5th grade? I always loved to draw, but became fixated with Bob Ross and oil paint. What he did really seemed like magic that made drawing feel so tedious and lifeless. So my folks got me a set of acrylic paint (which they told me was oil paint), brushes and a bunch of canvas boards for Christmas. I’m actually remembering that night—I went down in the basement to paint and discovered I had no palette, so my dad hurried into his workshop and made me a very professional wooden palette right on the spot. It really was one of those moments of bliss—all the new paint and a stack of canvases. I think I keep painting, hoping to relive that moment. Any art school up in the mix, or are you all self-taught? I have a BFA from Massachusetts College of Art. How much of your time is invested into the studio? It varies—usually ten hours, but sometimes four. Frustratingly, it’s usually the weird little forty-five minute spurts that have the best results. …Searching locations? I’m always looking… …Each piece? I work on a lot of things at once, so it’s hard to measure. I would say most paintings take about a month. Although, I’ve been working on a series of about forty paintings on paper that are purposefully done a lot faster. …R&D? It happens from dusk till dawn on walks and in dreams. It can be frustrating because you really can’t turn it off. Does photography play a role in your work? I use photographs as reference material, but they don’t dictate how I
paint. What exactly are you saying by combining man-made structures in nature with your work? The other day someone described the architecture in my paintings as “biophilic”, which I later learned is the urge to affiliate with other forms of life. Why are the structures often incomplete, or partially completed? I like things in decay, or half finished. What outside influences do you allow to affect you most? Color. Well actually, I want the complex color coordination in nature to affect me and to rub off on my paintings. But it’s such a struggle—nature’s terrifyingly sophisticated—I can never get close enough. Where does technology fit into your universe? I like to think that technology is a sad, clunky and tragic answer to nature’s superiority. What are you searching for? Something that feels like a memory from the future... For a mood, or a moment of bliss. Color harmony and something that feels old and new at once. How do you perceive time? Time is greedy. When you dream, what is it you dream of? I can never remember, plus my descriptions never work. Your dreams feel so real and then when you go to describe them it sounds like your setting up a stupid joke, “I was in my old house, but not in my house...” When are you at your best? When I am curious. …Worst? When I am nervous. Who’s climbing the ladder? The ladder is a metaphor for the “search”. How would you like your work to be received by others? It really doesn’t concern me. I guess I just really don’t like it when people describe my paintings as “whimsical” or “quirky”. Are you proud of who you are today? Sure. What do you do to let loose? The last time I got loose I embarrassed myself, so I’m sort of looking for a new way to get loose. Do you have any upcoming shows? Yes, I’ll have a few paintings in a group show at Nahcotta Gallery in Portsmouth, NH from June 7th-30th.
ryan!!! How the heck are ya? I’m quite swell. What’s happening in Charlotte? Small city trying to be a big city. When’d you get your start with collage work? January ‘11. Why bust out all this space/nature/sci-fi/ geologic/human/fun-time extravaganza? I thrive off of it. I have too many questions that are unanswered. The portal is open my friend... How much time is invested into each piece? Hours, days, weeks, months… Where do you muster up most of your materials? Abandoned houses, thrift stores and library “for sale” bins At what point do you decide that a particular piece is finished? When my gut says, “This is it.” How do you feel upon completion? Validated and ready to start my next piece.
Have you ever cut yourself on accident? Hell yes—blood, sweat and tears all day. What message(s) would you like your audience to receive from your artwork? To always look beyond the everyday riff-raff. Be a radical thinker. What do you hide of yourself from others? My severe addiction to pot. What’s up with time travel though? Did they figure that out? What’s your purpose in life? Create and conquer. Never be forgotten. Are you living up to your full potential? I would say so—I would like to travel a little more frequently though. What’s your current take on reality? A big stewing pile of bullshit. How has that evolved over time? It’s starting to get on my clothes dude… What’s new with your band, Cement Stars? We’re recording some new tunes… Blowing money on tape machines that don’t work! When’d you guys get together? In ‘06. My brother and I started the group right around the time I picked up a guitar. What instrument(s) do you play? Guitar, keys, vox—whatever I can get to make a decent sound. What’s the most rewarding aspect of your work as an artist? My work being seen all over the world. Mass inspiration… …Musician Getting folks to groove. How do the two compare as a release? I feel the two are similar, but very different. Music takes much more time and thought to release. What else do you do? I work at a science museum. Go figure... Where do you see mankind headed in the future? A technological singularity—brains without names. How have your six senses succeeded you? Are you talking about my ability to see dead people? …Failed you? I can’t see dead people :( Do you have any upcoming shows? Nope, I’m so bad when it comes to that type of stuff… Planning on touring with the band early fall though. Are you doing what you love? Day in and day out.
hadowrunners!! How’s beautiful Los Angeles, CA? Froskees: It’s pretty awesome, the sun’s out and it’s not too hot. Andre: Weather is perfect my guy. What have you been up to today? F: Recuperating from watching a great performance from the Based God. A: Currently at work wishing I was BBQing, but it’s all good. We caught a glimpse of Lil B last night—that was special. When did you get in the game? F: When Mista Fab was dancing on top of busses and shit. A: When tall tees and denim shorts were the dress code. How’s being a two-man click improve the quality of your music? F: We try to bring out the best in each other without losing our overall vision. We challenge each other. Andre would send me some crazy ass sample that I’ve never heard before and I’d have an obligation to flip it the most ridiculous way possible, or else it’d get scrapped. Just like if Andre would read me his lyrics and if I don’t like them, I’d break his monitor and tell him to rewrite the whole album. It’s all a very rewarding process. A: Basically, it makes it easier because we don’t have to bother with anyone else interrupting the process, but we have someone there to be like, “Hey, that sucks. Don’t do that.” Do you two typically work together or independently for each cut? F: Independently. Whenever we do try and work on something we end up drinking, eating pizza, watching something violent (anime or some ridiculous action movie) and playing old video games. A: I can’t even speak on it. Fro is too rare—he likes his privacy and comfort. I’m on my drinking Arizona Tea shit when I’m around though. What level of importance is placed on originality towards new music? F: We try to keep it as original as we can, but still try to retain the influences and ideas we’ve had since the start. Every time we decide to write a new album, we agree to take a different approach than its predecessor. We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel or anything—I just really don’t like when recording artists rewrite the same album over and over— shit becomes stale. A: It’s the most important thing to me, personally. I feel like me and Fro got so many styles and ideas that it comes
naturally. Other people riding waves that we were doing low-key three years ago. Cyberdine was slapping—how was the response? F: Thanks. Everyone was mixed with it... So good and bad? I don’t give a fuck though. I’m proud of it and that’s all that matters to me. A: It’s been our most successful album to date. Just the fact that people paid for it, even though it was free is pretty crazy to me. But there were definitely some flaws—it’s whatever though. How much time and effort went into the album? F: As far as instrumentals, not really much time. As far as effort, I was just happy to try and break away from doing an all 8-bit album. I wrote half the album in a day and a half. The real challenge was the recording. Andre is more than capable of recording his own vocals—he has a fucking setup in his room, but this was our first “studio album” and we wanted to be as close to our vision as possible. Constant conflicting schedules and blah blah blah made the whole process a headache. A: Yeah, it was a nightmare. The engineer is our homie and he is cool, but the thing was he was on tour and Fro was on tour and then I started working again—so shit went FUBAR for a bit. The writing process was tricky for me as well, since everything was broken up. I ended up writing some songs last minute in the studio. Overall, how do you feel about your efforts therein? F: Like I said—proud of the album—the effort really shows. A: I’m conceited, so I like it. I listened to it until I couldn’t anymore. [laughs] What are you currently working on (if you can let me know the new album title so I can insert it)? A: No title yet—we have some material, but it’s all secret for now. Me and Fro don’t like showing anything until it’s 100% done. When should we expect that to drop? A: I would say sometime in the summer— nothing’s for certain yet. What new are you guys bringing to the table with this release? A: I can’t say… It’ll be like our past albums, in that it won’t sound like anything that we have done before. Have you ever had to filter yourselves with musical content? F: Never. Why not? F: I don’t believe in it. A: Have no fuckin’ reason to. Anyone that doesn’t like it fucks off. What’s up with some new punk rock efforts though? F: Wha!? A: I done retired my Casualties CDs bruh. Is there such a thing as punk-hop yet?
F: I dunno—Waka invented punk rap though… A: Nah, hyphy was punk rap… Maybe Three 6 Mafia? Is it safe to say that your music is an accurate reflection of your reality? F: Most of the time, yes. A: I lie in my lyrics a lot. What games you on this week? F: Deus Ex: Human Revolution, The Last of Us, Guacamelee, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, DDR… A: Nothing really—I’ve just been getting drunk a lot. Thanks for mentioning ole’ Corbin Dallas—I hadn’t seent The 5th Element for a minute… How’s it make you feel watching the good guys always win in the movies? F: Love it. A: It’s tight when it’s ‘Merica winning. How would you feel about flipping that and letting the bad-guys win forever? F: I don’t like real life, so that’s why I watch movies. A: I fuck with heels in wrestling more than faces, so I can dig that. Nothing beats a good bad-guy. What the fuck is good or evil anyhow? F: Points of view really… But that’s a bullshit excuse for face-fucking a pregnant woman then punching her in the stomach—which is totally evil, BTW. I mean you could say you’re saving the child from a horrible life—this would not be evil, but nobody would see it that way. A: Evil is when these girls try and hide their booty. Let it go ma—let it show. How about them Nature Boyz—what’s your tie there? A: I am the Nature Boyz along with Antwon, Froskees, Cities Aviv, Nanosaur and City of Thieves. Our homies Carlos and Eddie also up in this bitch. Do you have any upcoming shows? F: We’re actually playing tonight somewhere in LA. A: Might do some touring during the summer—it’s all up in the air though. Are you doing what you love? F: Yes. A: Almost there. Any shout-outs? F: Nature Boyz, DFWC, Joey Meeks, anyone who’s supported us so far... A: Christian and Bob, Kian, Big Country and all the homies.
ezio!!! How the hell are ya man? All good! What’s happening in China? Not much… Writing here is slowly reaching maturity and some writers are now at an international level. There was a time when it spread fast, but unfortunately that didn’t last as the city buffs everything quickly—so the “virus” never fully spread. How’s the scene? Shanghai is slow—Beijing, Wuhan, Guangzhou and Shengzhen are happening at a faster pace and many cities now have a small scene composed of about five or ten writers: Nanjing, Changsha, Chengdu… What brought about your move? I lived in Asia when I was a kid and I really wanted to return as an adult and start a life here. I found a job that fit my desires and jumped on the occasion—even though I didn’t know anyone,
or have any contacts whatsoever. When’d you start writing? I started writing in ‘94, when I first arrived in Paris. Seeing graffiti everywhere intrigued me and as I was always drawing and sketching, I just naturally had to try. At the time, I didn’t know anyone who painted, so I had to discover everything alone. After three years of painting alone, I finally met Extrem who shared the same passion that I had for graffiti. We started painting together everyday and both joined the crew MCT (an old-school French crew created in ‘86). At that point, my passion basically turned into a lifestyle. What’s kept you at it? I don’t really know what’s been keeping me passionate for all these years... I guess the thrill of painting and the fame associated got me hooked in the beginning, but now I paint to relieve stress and have fun. Does your name have any special significance to you?
My name is myself—no matter what I write. I am Dezio. It’s me, part of me and only belongs to me. How often have you been going out? On an average, I try to paint at least once a week— sometimes I can do a little more, but usually that is only during holidays. When I was younger, I used to paint much more regularly, at least three to four days per week. You’re consistently pushing the envelope style-wise—how much of that is freestyled? Almost everything I do is freestyle nowadays. I am always sketching and drawing wherever I am—even when I don’t have a pen or anything to write with, I am thinking of connections, letters and colors. When I go painting, I never bring anything—it’s all freestyle. To me, the most important part is the actual creation—the making of a piece that truly takes on its environment. When you go to a wall or whatever with a sketch, you are more concentrated on reproducing your sketch, rather than letting your mind wander and catching on to lines and colors to push your style forward. Where are you taking your style for ’13? That is the big dilemma that I am having at the moment as I don’t have an actual direction for this year. Over the past two years, I have been developing a sketchy line style and I started working on blurs and fields of view. But now, I have yet to catch on to a new direction for my pieces, so I don’t know yet. I’ll have to let ‘13 tell me when it’s over. You’ve got it thoroughly covered in all aspects of graf, but what do you do to really let loose? That changes very often… I will get excited over one aspect for a little and push that for a while, then I will get a new idea and direction and push that way. I enjoy everything in the graffiti culture: tagging, throw-ups, block letters, simples, wildstyles, 3Ds, abstract—whatever. I don’t think there is only one way to paint—it’s all about graffiti as a whole. What spawned the pink kittens? The pink kittens came initially as a joke while I was dissing a toy. I had a couple pieces to dog and as I was painting over them the idea of doing a pink kitten as an insult to the guy pleased me. However, after having done a couple, I started to enjoy painting them. That night, I went out and painted about fifteen kittens throughout the city—most only lasted a day, but then I came to realize that others were not getting buffed. Also, while I was painting them, I found that I was getting great reactions from passersby and people approved of what I was doing, no matter the generation and cultural gap. So the kitty caught on and I started painting a lot of them. I love how they are easily accessible to everyone—how some will see them as innocent little animals and others as erotic pink pussies. Is there anything else in life that compares to street bombing for you? Girls and sex. Are you addicted to adrenaline? Not much anymore... It’s not the thrill of danger that pushes me—it’s my absolute need to see my ideas materialize. Adrenaline-wise, I think I have had my share already: I have been stuck in hiding for hours, dangled from a 30m crane, been shot at, yelled at, chased—you
name it. Now, I am just in it for the fun. Who’s got you on paint—or is it pretty much an all-out free-for-all? Umm, I don’t understand the question… I am not sponsored by anyone. How’d Meeting of Styles, Shenzhen go? Great. Actually, the actual meeting was just ok. The
spots were too small for writers, who had to cram themselves into tiny spots, so everyone could do just a quick piece. However, the next day was quite amazing as everyone went to another spot with a lot of walls and there some amazing pieces were painted. I missed out a bit as I concentrated on the first day, then went out at night and got mad drunk, so I took the next day nice and slow. When do you get a chance to travel with graffiti? It’s more like I travel for myself—and as I need to paint, I end up painting everywhere I go. Does anyone one place top the list for you? Nope, everywhere has its local charm and quirks. How’s that compare to China? China is quite different than everywhere else. In a sense it’s easier because the public—who simply don’t understand what you are doing—tolerates it.
However, it gets buffed so quickly that there is no real scene. What’s cracking with CLW? The crew is getting bigger and bigger as time goes on... I created it along with Fluke and Nine back in ‘11—now we are around twelve deep and growing throughout China.
new levels? Nope… I painted for the first four years in China with local car spray paint because I couldn’t get a hold of anything else. Therefore, I can easily say that the graf industry hasn’t done a thing for me. What pays the bills? My day job—graf is just what I do after work :)
Are you repping any other crews? Yes—MCT, AJT, XIT and KCW. Have you seen your influence through other writers? I don’t think I have influenced people style-wise, but I think I have influenced people by encouraging them to try new things and explore new possibilities—by showing them that there are many other things that can be done that aren’t all over the Internet yet. How do you see the culture advancing in China? It has its ups and downs. There are times when many writers are painting and other times when it seems like everyone quits. As much as I would like it, I don’t think graf will ever really explode here in China. However, I am sure that in the near future, we will see Chinese writers creating styles that are going to influence writers worldwide. Has the graf industry helped push your graffiti to
What other activities are you involved with? Drinking, blazing, screwing… Your websites looking sharp—did you put down the design on that too? Yes, I created the entire website, from the graphics down to the programming. What else have got popping on the graphic design front? Recently, I participated in designing a t-shirt for Tarestyles that should be coming out soon. Do you have any upcoming shows? Setting something up, but not yet ready to fully discuss it. Are you doing what you love? Yes. Any shout-outs? There are too many people to place individual shout-outs, but this goes out to everyone in my crews and to everyone I know and appreciate—they know who they are.
dam!! What’s really going on? Just working, living, loving and having fun. How’s Portlandia? I really like it here. It took me a couple years to realize that… But now that I’m settled in, I really feel at home. It rains a lot, which is actually really conducive to working in the studio. And the summers are inexplicably beautiful—lots of river days, bike rides, camping, etc. Many of the stereotypes about Portland are true, but that’s part of what makes it great here—good food, drink, coffee, music… There’s just an overall appreciation for craft and people take a lot of pride in what they do—kind of an old fashioned work ethic that’s lacking in a lot of other cities I’ve lived in/visited. Who are you? Artist. Lover of music, the great outdoors and adventure. Appreciator of mystery and the things I’ll never fully understand. I’m probably a lot of things… Who are you in comparison to those around you? Husband, friend, uncle, brother, son… Weirdo, maybe? Why did you initially start painting? Not really sure—I’ve been painting for as long as I can remember. My mom was a really good painter when she was young… So maybe seeing all of her work hanging in my grandparent’s house as a kid inspired me? What’s changed since then? In undergrad, I was painting a lot and eventually got really into printmaking (specifically intaglio and screen printing). I went into grad school thinking I was going to make prints. In fact, one of my first days there, the head of the printmaking department (Tim Berry) and I were chatting. He basically told me that there was no way I would leave the school still making prints. I was thinking to myself, “To hell with that.
I will be making prints!” But in the long run, he was mostly right. The work I was making when I left school was moving in the direction of painting (collaging screen prints onto wood panels). As time went on (post graduation), I moved more and more towards painting and away from printmaking. Now my work is 98% acrylic paint. I love how direct painting is compared to printmaking, but my technique is definitely influenced by my years as a printmaker, in that I work very tight and precise. How was art school? Art school was kind of a whirlwind. I did my undergrad work at the University of Oregon and had no real connection with the greater community or “art world”. Moving to SF and attending a really old private art school with a lot of history (SFAI), really blew my mind open as to what art really was, or could be. I struggled through my first year in school though—I didn’t pass my intermediate review and almost wasn’t allowed to continue. I think I just didn’t know how to work the art school system to my advantage. You kind of have to have a “fuck you” attitude and take
what everyone tells you, teachers and classmates alike, with a grain of salt. I had so many people telling me what they thought I should do—and I really tried to take everything to heart—but in the process, I lost track of what I wanted out of my work. Once I learned which faculty I worked well with and how to ignore feedback that wasn’t helpful, I began to hit my stride. When do you paint? I paint whenever I can. I work part-time for an art nonprofit, so I generally paint in the evenings after work, on my days off and on the weekend. I work best on a nine to five schedule, but I’ve had to learn to squeeze in studio time whenever I can. Why do you paint? I’ve always been drawn to painting and creating images. Recently, I’ve realized that the “why” is a lot deeper than that—painting is like my meditation—it’s the thing that keeps me focused and happy. If I didn’t paint or work in the studio in one form or another, I wouldn’t be me. It’s been part of my life for so long, that it’s just what I do. I can’t imagine my life without it. For whom do you paint? That’s an interesting question. I look at painting as a way to contribute something to the collective
consciousness, to say what I think is important and hopefully have an effect on the way other people see the world. That said—I paint for me. When I start to worry if people are seeing my work, or if I’m selling as much as I’d like, or getting good opportunities— the work suffers. When I just focus and make work because I love to do it, it shows in the paintings. Has your art helped to make you a better person? I don’t know about “better”, but it’s helped me to be more disciplined. It gives me a platform to research the things that I find important and question the way I see the world around me. It gives me a voice. Is it different times in space, or different spaces in time? Both… At once. Why are the planes overlapping? I’m trying to show an unconventional perspective of the natural world. Where do they touch? Wherever I want them to. That’s kind of the beauty of being a painter—you can paint what and how you want. How do you find energy towards new work? I read a lot. Then, I write down all of the quotes that stand out to me in my sketchbook. From those quotes, I start sketching. Often, my paintings are
named directly after the quote that they were inspired by. What do you think of inherent intelligence? There are a lot of different types of intelligence. Some people are inherently more inclined to do one thing or another, or have natural “gifts”. But I’ve learned that everything (even if you have natural ability) takes a lot of work. No one is an expert at anything without a lot of practice and devotion. Do you ever get the hiccups? Literal or figurative hiccups? I very seldom get the literal kind. Sometimes I find myself questioning what I do in the studio or how I do it. In the long run, I think that’s a good thing. How much of your time is spent thinking? Just enough—I hope. Where is it you think best? In nature. Or sometimes in bed, right before I fall asleep. When is the last time you had forgotten something or other, only to relearn it once again? Well, I always forget where I put things, so
I’m constantly struggling with being more organized. I try not to have to learn big life lessons more than once— because usually, I learn those the hard way. What rules are made to be broken? I think as long as your actions don’t hurt anyone else, you’re fine. I like to break rules of perspective in my paintings—does that count? Why are you here? I try not to focus on the why, but more on the “what” I want to do while I’m here. What are you currently reading? I read a lot and it’s a huge part of my life and practice. I’ve been nerding out lately—I read the first five A Song of Fire and Ice books over the last few months. I just picked up About This Life, by Barry Lopez. Some of my favorite authors include Edward Abbey, Barry Lopez, John McPhee, Bill Bryson and John Muir. …Slumping? Trying not to. Do you have any upcoming shows? I have a solo show coming up later this year at One Grand Gallery here in Portland, OR. There are other potentials, but I’d rather wait until they’re solidified to plug them. What makes it all worthwhile? Feeling inspired… I just feel lucky to be here. Any shout-outs? Big thank you to my wife Josi. My family and close friends. My colleagues/friends that are constantly amazing me with their work and progression: Ben Venom, Robert Minervini, Nicholas Bohac, Mary Anne Kluth, Michelle Mansour, Jon Clary, Ryan Jones, Jordon Domont and so so so many other amazing artists I’ve had the pleasure of meeting/knowing. Eleanor of the Eleanor Harwood Gallery. And big thanks to UNDR RPBLC for this interview opportunity.
ucas!!! What’s new dude? I’ve been really busy these months preparing three solo exhibitions, two in São Paulo and one in Rio, the one in Rio just opened on May 20th. How’s São Paulo treating you? The city is very nice, like a non-stop city—full of complexities and differences, but I don’t feel like moving from here soon. First things first—how was your exhibition? I’m really glad with the results of the weight, the time. It is a whole new research for me and although the concept is still inside the things I’ve been working on, the result is a completely new relation between the materials. Do you work well under pressure? Yes, but only if the project inspires me. What’s the correlation between your materials in probable horizon? In this series, I present objects of tactile memory (everyday objects), replicated and placed over a subjective topography (molds of hideaway horizons), that aim to create an abstract simulacrum of the capacity of internalization that the natural landscape has. These pieces of concrete and paper (world’s fragments) are abstract architectures that recreate the place of disconnection with the everyday life—the hideaway place to reflection. It is possible to imagine the scale of the real object replicated and to understand the possible architectural scale of it, generated by the “terrain” where it is implanted—the
miniaturization and gigantism as potency in the same object. Besides that, Styrofoam cubes and air bags replicated in concrete pervert the matter and then what you see is not what you touch. It destroys the everyday memory about these common materials. Each object is presented formally as the copy of the real, creating a hallucinated coincidence between the everyday memory and reality, because here they are made of heavy and dense matter. Does the word harmonious come to mind? Well, it is harmonious, but more than that it is perverse—talking about matter and sensation. Was your work received by others the way that you’d expected it to be? I never have much expectation about what people will think. I’m usually interested in knowing the ideas that I, myself, would never have from my own work—that amazes me. What’s your highlight from the exhibit? I like very much the big work with the zipper plastic bag over a pile of cut-out paper, as if the terrain is broken. How do you feel now? I feel I want to keep researching this—I had many ideas I couldn’t finish for this show, so now I feel like I have to work more. What role does perspective take on in your work? Well, I do not plan much what it will be. The experimentation part of it takes a long time and it’s quite slow, I think. The perspective is to keep experimenting… …Your life? To keep experimenting also—in the things that are not art. What’s you current outlook on life? Well, I would like to take some vacations before July and after that go for a residency abroad, but no long-term plans for now.
When’s destruction involved with your creative process? For me, it’s more deconstruction than destruction. Deconstruction is a main concept, together with a huge will to build something—as strange as it can be. What’s between you and me? Now? Words. Is that real? My real is not your real. How have you managed separation from others? It’s a need and it only happens when it is needed. …Others you? I’m many, always separating. Through the process of photographing friends revealing their secrets to you, were you ever shocked as to what was revealed? Actually, I didn’t listen to their secrets—they chose a song for me to listen in my headphones while they were revealing it. How much effort goes into planning vs. the natural progression of a piece? Planning is much easier than the natural progression… If I leave it to the organic way, it will never end. In which do you feel most comfortable? I really like the natural progression, but I need planning to make it happen. Not to see a result is really anguishing. What have you learned about yourself from your work? That I have the need to feel that I’m always close to an unknown step. When’s the last time you lost control? I do it often. I look very calm and quiet, but that can change considerably. [laughs] How does it feel to be “in control”? A little control is a pleasure—a lot of control is a bore. When’s your next exhibit? It’s on May 20th, at a cultural center in Rio de Janeiro. Are you doing what you love? Well it’s not about love—it’s more like a need.
ike!! What’s going on G? Does the “G” stand for Geezus? Cuz that’s racis... Whoops! Forgot what we were talking about—had to take a break already, to have sex with a unicorn lying naked on my couch. This email interview might get long now. (Big) Pun intended. But seriously, just had sex, so probably a lot better than you right now. But I feel like my luck is running out... How’s Minneapolis? It’s April 22nd and it’s snowing today. So yeah, it’s a fucking peach bruvv. How was the Strange Doom Sayers tour? Well it was strange, doom’y and… We said a lot—hardy har. But frreal it was really great getting to sit shotgun with B. Dolan and listen to rap and talk about rap and rap about rap. That guy is a really great guy, that guy. Which show was the best? Fargo, ND—the Nasty Nestor. Why? Because it was the worst show of the tour! Young Baby Ander Other, B. Dolan, Toki Wright and myself walk in to the Nasty Nestor (former bingo hall turned “venue/ bar/billiard/off-sale liquor store/shit-kicking convention center”) and right away this oversized midget rodeo clown weighing in at about four hundred metric Courics got all up in our personal space very aggressively, freaking out about what we were wearing, specifically me and Ander’s shoes. But definitely the worst thing that happened that night was Toki Wright getting all of a sudden assaulted by like five Fargo Police pigs while he was sitting behind the merch table looking at his phone the whole time—accusing him of stealing some girl’s hat. The promoter backed out right before the tour cuz he had a heart attack from meth or something, they were outta pepperoni pizza—man you name it. I had a great time obviously (not kidding). I laugh a lot, even when I’m pissed—it’s scary. Fargo definitely took the cake on that one… And shoved it in our face—racist-ly. Do you have any tricks up you sleeve to make yourself stand out to the crowd? Yes. I usually keep a little Vaseline, flash
paper and a baby marmot up there. Vaseline for my cheeks, the flash paper for lighting cigars and the baby marmot for a mid-performance protein rebuilder, consumed whole. Does performing live make it all worthwhile for you? After I get paid? Absolutely. Every red cent. Worth its weight in carbonated waters and child support. Snaxxx fucking knocks—where were you creatively during that process? Even though almost everything about the record is an inside joke, I feel like I was angry. I wanted to fuck with people—for better or for worse. It was my best attempt at “turning heel” in WWF good-guy turned bad-guy wrestler classic fashion. When I first moved to MN permanently in ’05, I wore a luchador mask when I played solo shows—I was the hero then. On Snaxxx, I tried to fill seats by becoming a villain. So I would say I was immature, villainous, misandric, drug influenced and sex fueled, creatively. How would you describe Snaxxx in twenty-three (or whtever #) words? 1. Pizza 2. Pizza 3. Pizza 4. Nasty 5. Pizza 6. Weed 7. Pizza 8. Rap 9. Pizza 10. Rap 11. Pizza 12. Pussy 13. Pizza 14. Cock 15. Pizza 16. Chlamydia 17. Pizza 18. Drugs 19. Pizza 20. Jail 21. Pizza 22. Sports 23. You guessed it: Pizza! Who did your cover art? My main shit stain on a BK train— Emmanuel Mauleón, aka Douglass Funny, aka D’Mitri, aka Peter the Mexican, aka Manny Mancha. He did all of the artwork and stickers and design work for the “Snaxxx Paxxx”. What are you currently working on? Ahhh! Trying to rap with alotta people—different side projects I’m in with my friends like Tha Clerb, 2Mex and Greg Grease. And an “official” LP produced mostly by Cory Grindberg (Audio Perm) and another one produced by Doomtree and Ryan Olson (Gayngs/ Poliça). Working hard or hardly working? “A kid who tells on another kid is a dead kid.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hz93o7HKq0 How much effort do you put into each song before recording? As much minimal effort as I can. I don’t like to edit. I don’t like to take too much time in a recording studio. It might take a long time to get writing out, or to get patterns out, but my attempt is always wanting to feel natural and not like it’s hard for me to
rap, or like I’m reciting. Is it safe to say that you’re exactly the same person in real life as you are in your music? It’s never safe to make those assumptions about me... Snaxxx is a result of those assumptions. Of kids coming up to me all over the country on Doomtree tours and assuming I was straight edge, or that they hear that “Dessa from Doomtree never curses in real life.” Now, I’m rapping about everything and you’ll never really know what is real and what is “hella frreal”. I am a performer who respects the relationship between the audience and the performance. From my records, to my live shows, even my social networking, I want to entertain people and make them think. How do you escape otherwise? In very bad, un-healthy ways… A vast array of shitty, classic, abused and abandoned child, poverty torn/stitched family, minority, existential-crisis, rapper, prima donna stereotypes. What initially drew you to hip-hop? From birth my influence has been my second oldest half-brother from a different mother, but same father—the world/bedroom infamous turntablist, Richard “DJ Rich-Dog” Marquez. Over the years has your opinion changed of the music by being on the business side of things? Of course. My wild childhood dreams of being a famous rapper constantly get shit on by the forever-more beneficial life lessons of doing-it-yourself from-the-bottom-up. I am jaded by it… But I am perplexed to understand it and break the code and destroy the Death Star on the final level without the warp whistles and without the princess and with hella lives left. Do you give a fuck? Yeah, actually—way too much I’d say. I’d like to say no because I take absolutely nothing serious, but I do actually give a flying fuck about shit that is important for everyone to give a fuck about. Like life, love, happiness—all that important basic human shit to promote.
And to quote my bruvv P.O.S, “We care like it’s cool still.” We been giving a fuck young world—how could you not babies? Babies killing babies, babies. Gotta stick together, babies—we are all we got. What’s success to you? Millions and millions of dollars, knowledge as a result and influence. Then, after all that, success is a little laugh like when someone farts at church. Fuck—I don’t know—success with rap to me is like this archenemy that I’ll always be chasing—I don’t wanna stop. When I kill the villain of the cartoon, the show is over. We go home. Only re-runs. How often do you gotta take a motherfucker out? Well, Spyder Baybie always be tryna steal a bite off the Chipotle nugget, but I don’t be taking that crackhead motherfucker “out” for dinner dates and shit. So nahhh… What popping with Doomtree? Well, our documentary DVD, Team The Best Team, that we just put out and will be available for digital download on Amazon very soon… Came with a free bag of personalized “No Kings” popcorn, so if you buy the DVD, hopefully the popcorn is evenly popping with Doomtree and quite enjoyable. When’d you get clicked up? I got jumped into a gang in CA when I was eight years old—I lasted about nine months. That life is strictly for killers or cowards—either of which I have yet to become. How does your crew compliment your abilities? Oh yeah, those guys give me alotta compliments. The whole crew is just full of compliments for ya boy. They love me, duh. I taught ‘em all how to rap the “Mike-Way”. What’s next for Doomtree? More interesting/weird rap music and one of a kind, explosive, intimate, life-changing shows. Duh. Do you have any upcoming shows? Playing a cruise boat residency in the Gulf of Mexico for the month of June with Pitbull, Mellow Man Ace, South Park Mexican, Psycho Realm and Macklemore—really looking forward to that one. Are you doing what you love? Every goddamned day. Any shout-outs? Shout-out to LL Cool J for becoming the most hated. You did it Todd—just when you thought Can-I-Bus lost.