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Q- You're from Carson?

Carson...next to Torrance

Q- When did you live in L.A.?

I've been in L.A....I was born in L.A.

Q-When you first took off on graffiti what year was that? When did you get serious about it?

85', 86'

Q- What city were you living in then?

uh...L.A.

Q- Who were you writing with back then?

Mek

Q- You guys used to write Reck and Rust? I had to bring that.

yeah.

Q- When you guys were writing Reck and Rust what kinds of things were you doing back then?

Breaking, djing, mek was rapping.

Q-Did you used to go to Hollywood and meet any writers?

yeah

Q- Who did you used to meet?

A kid name Zodiac; I remember some kids from New York...recko. I forgot his name, but it'll probably come to me later on...some other guys.

Q- What crews were you writing with back then?

It was just me...we were just independent toys tryin' to get recognized.

Q- What was the first crew you got in?

I guess its West Coast.

Q- West Coast Artists?

Yeah...

Q- What year was that?

87', 86'

Q-What other crews were you writing back then in 86'?

RTDk

Q-When you were writing RTDk what writers were you writing with back then?

Of course Wisk, Mek; I don't know man we were just solo, you know, we didn't have time to baby sit kids we just did our shit. That's why I can't really name any other writers; I don't want to offend anybody but if you pick my brain I can give up some answers.

Q- Did you used to meet a lot of writers at benches? What benches were around back then?

Yeah...Gower and Santa Monica, of course Olympic and Fairfax.

Q- Would you meet up with any writers when you used to go there?

Yeah...like Triax, Price, Rase, even Cezar.

Q- What do you remember the most about that bench at Olympic and Fairfax? What's the first thing that comes to mind?

It was a good vibe...writers came there...people came there to meet other people and wonder who that person was behind a name. You know for a long time people thought Ser was black.

Q- When did you join Ifk?

When did I join? we made that shit up.

Q-Who else was writing back in the city back then?

Before I met you guys, there was Soon, Legit (rip), there was Alski, there was Miner, Prime, Rick; I remember seeing those names up at the Radio-Tron, you know, on the eastide...over there off Beverly. Details are sketchy but those were pretty much the people I liked buggin' out on; Alski (?) and Miner and Frost from CBS when he first came out.

Q- When did you start piecing, what year was that?

Oh we started pickin' up that shit right when we began, you know me and Mek sketchin' and tryin' to do pieces.

Q- Do you have any influences from anybody?

Besides Subway Art?

Q- Yeah.

Soon, Cooz, I like Cooz's shit; West Coast. Yeah...and who's that kid who came out he did some shit at Venice Beach once, I forget his name, Ned?

Q- Yeah?

And then Brim, he did some shit I remember, I was just buggin out; and then Hex from Carson, the original Hex, not that San Francisco Hex or whatever, the Hex that people now know. Dream was from Carson too and Green

Q- Do they bring any influence at all from the early days?

Yeah you know as a young buck, man, 12 or 13, you just lookin at shit, and you barely have any handwriting style to do your homework. When you see these high school kids, they have mad control of their hands, they know coordination or whatever, and they had good perspective on size, shape and colors, overall piece; and that's what you pick up.

Q- When you started writing back then in the....what year was that?

-84

Q-84, when you started writing back in 84, did you think that you wanted to do or be what you ended up being? What did you think you were going to do, what kind of goals did you have?

Back then, to be...to be writing on the bus...you know its hard to say man, you know, when your just bombing your just getting up. You know, your not just thinking...cause back then we didn't have any rules or someone to look up to. We just kinda did our own thing; I mean everyone helped develop the whole shit. Like when I saw Miner get up, and Alski, I was just like, "...damn these kids are...", you know, around the whole bus route or whatever; and so I figured that's something to look up to.

Q- You seen the names like going different places and stuff?

Yeah, they were at certain bus stops like Santa Monica west, they were at the beach, they were at the major stops; and I figured that's the way to start, but...just to see your name back then with a mini or a pilot drippin' on a bus panel or bus bench. To finally execute it the way you wanted it to come out in your mind, that was the best part. Really bombing, graffiti vandalism was the shit that was most intriguing, not piecing. I was mostly into destroying shit.

Q- But yet you pieced at the BC battle against MAK?

Yeah, that was alright; I think Ash rocked some style, you know, I liked his shit.

Q- Who do you think won the BC vs MAK battle?

Well, I wasn't really down for the fruity colors, like MAK, you know the rabbit and shit; I didn't think that was real hip hop, like b-boy type shit, like were accustomed to. So its really hard to say, I mean, if someone was to judge it from the outside they'd probably say they (MAK) won, but overall writers? I'd say I won. I've done it all, we've taken over the city, we've fuckin' made it what it was. So for me to comedown to a yard, was like coming back to earth, because yards weren't my thing in the first place. Me and Meks always said it (yards) was for the birds.

Q- Yard Birds?

Yard Birds, right; so my thing was just illegal. I don't know it seems to me anyone can pick up a spray can, go to a yard, and do a piece. Its no myth, you know; my daughter, when she get's old enough, and my son can do it. But to go out there and do your shit illegally and not get busted, rack your shit, don't buy that shit; do it the right way, scheme or whatever...

Q- Take the bus there?

Take the bus there, you know; kids don't understand; I mean just cause you got up with one can with a fat cap a hundred times with that can, oh cool woe! But if you got up all city with a pilot, then you saw your name with a fuckin' mean streak, then a mini wide, a uni, spray can, throw-ups, like god damn these mothafuckas. A scribe on Olvera St....you know what I mean?

Q- What were some of your favorite accomplishments that you've done in your career?

Hmmm...Heavens, just destroying the RTD lines thoroughly. On every bus almost, you could count on seeing one of our names, or the crew. Hmmm...dissing Geso from Downtown to Venice beach in one night, destroying all his shit. A lot of shit man, I mean, racking a couple hundred cans in a day, was like the big shit. The colors you wanted too, not just some whack ass clear or whatever. You got your prime Rusto's and Krylon, you're like, "...yo man I got over"; and even racking shoes yo, when we'd go to Footlocker, you know that was some shit. Or just even going to Campos after a fuckin' hard day, those were the times. I don't know what else there was, that's part of growing up.

Q- What year did you go all city?

Can't even say; people told me I was all city when I didn't think I did shit. I think you told me, and I didn' believe it till people started backing it up. I don' t know, I can't tell you, but you know to be all city, you got to keep it up, its maintenance; you gotta keep bombing the shit they buff. In LA they buff...

Q-How do you define the city limits?

City limits- Long Beach, gosh all the way north, Sylmar/Sun Valley. Pomona to the east. Del Monte all the way east and Venice to the west.

Q- That was all city for you? And you traveled all those places?

Yeah, by bus; and then we got cars, we were off and running like even further out.

Q- What kind of things do you feel you brought to LA graffiti or like innovated?

I didn't play it out, fuckin' commercialize it. I didn't wanna be in interviews, I didn't want to my picture taken. I guess its the shit I didn't do. I liked the fact that people now to this day go damn those kids, they weren't about getting bitches, not that we could, you know what I mean. That's what it wasn't about, we were all into our profession, which was getting up everyday and bombing when ever we could.

Q- How did you feel when you did your first heaven? And when was it?

Like a boner man; over there on the 405 freeway and Santa Monica, an old freeway sign. I did three that night , the first night, and it was pretty fresh. I just decided to walk on the freeway and try it; the first time I didn't even have all the colors, just black. And then I managed to get some more paint out of the car, and that's when I did some fill ins, or whatever; same freeway, 405 (1989).

Q- What were peoples reactions when you first did that?

Just the school reaction? the normal kids? they were buggin' out man; they couldn't believe that someone could get up there. They always thought I had a ladder or some shit like that.

Q-On the west side you were in BC, how was that crew for you? who did you run with back then?

Ash, Dye, Doom, Ever, Bay, Wisk, Clae, Pablo, Vex...-like west coast BC.

Q- Well, you've pulled all these crews you were in together in all the times you done graffiti and all the places you've been, what do you think about that, what do you reflect on that? what kind of thoughts come to mind?

It puts a smile on my face man, to think back when graffiti was all about just hand style and getting up, and people like you and me can get down together, you know, or get down with another race, without even bugging out, you know. There were so many writers back then, compared to now, that a kid from Long Beach wanted to come out to LA to figure out what's goin on, and it was just fun, that's what it was. It wasn't about making money, but I could tell you its a big part of my life, it still is, graffiti...its hard to get the writer out of me. To this day I wanna still rack and do shit; I look at spots...I go, "...man these kids ain't doin it right...", but I can't do that any more you know what I mean.

Q- Right. What kinda things do you see that you wanna do out there?

Just some spots , some things that kids still haven't done yet. I mean I'm not taking notes as I go down, I'm just going, "...some one's slippin' they should've did that...". I think LA graffiti is kinda weird now. There's too much consequence when you get busted; I don't know man it isn't the same, that's all I can say.

Q- Do you think those kids have it harder now than they did back then? Or do you think its an even handicap now that they (kids of today) use cars instead of buses?

I think its pretty even; they say spots are burned out for paint, I still got to spots, there's still places to rack. I mean the police can't be everywhere. They put weird penalties when you get busted but its all the same to me. I don't see why aren't more writers like us out there.

Q- What do you think happened?

People think they know it all already; its like a new writer came out today and got born, he would just go "yeah that fool", lets say X, he rocked a fat cap on the back of a freeway sign filled in with black, white outline or silver outline. But then he didn't realize the history behind that. Who rocked the fat cap or who did the first image, who did that particular "E" or "R". He just came out and it was common knowledge.

Q- Or scribing on the buses?

Or scribing on the buses, yeah man that's just common knowledge. They didn't have to work at it; so they pick it up and go, "...oh, now I'm fresh, I've mastered my tag, now I can hang it up...", you know. It wasn't like that for us, we were just kinda searching and developing, buggin out if it worked. If it didn't, you know, It got scrapped; toys bit on it, or whatever.

Q-Is that what kept you developing different styles back then?

Fuck yeah, these kids would just bite the hell out of me. That just comes with the territory; now that I realize, and its the same with the business world, it doesn't matter who made that shit up, its who makes it famous, and who's benefiting from this shit. But deep down inside, I know what I fuckin' did, no one can take that shit away from me. I know inside I rocked it, that's all I have to say about that.

Q-You have any final comments?

I'd like to say peace out to Gin, Triax, Price, that nigga had heart; but when you finally meet people you really understand, damn that...man, he's almost like me you know. Its weird how we kinda levitate at a certain level, and you meet them finally; like Miner he was what I thought he would be, very methodical, he knew exactly what he wanted to do and he executed and just never got caught. That's the thing, never get caught kids...

Q- What do you think about Gkae being busted? He's from IFK.

I never met him, but what happened?

Q- He's in prison for like three years.

For what?

Q- For graffiti.

What did they bust him for they caught him in the act?

Q- Not exactly. *****How do you feel about kids going to prison for three years for graffiti?

Well that's the price you pay right? I mean I know the thinking behind the system. They start now thinking they'll end up doing bigger things, bigger crimes. And to tell you quite honestly, graffiti writing covers a lot of ground. You got racking, which can turn into bigger things, you and I know, we've racked some shit, you know, that we've turned into cash. That's considered grand theft? grand larceny?

Q-I don't know, burglary?

Burglary, right; So there you have it, now as a kid unsuspectingly crossed into it and you've learned how to scheme, right?

Q- Uh huh.

Now you know how to steal, so when you get to school, or you go home and you're mom's like, "...where were you?" Now you know how to lie; it (graffiti) covers a lot of ground. So I could see why they wanna put that on you, and destroying other peoples property, that's not really right.

Q- Ha, ha ha ha (laughs).

But the shit is fun...

Q- There's a lot involved though.

There's a lot involved in graffiti.

-end of interview

SER@guerillaone.com