SABER

TYKE

Interview: Saber and Tyke
Interview by: Eklips and Sync

Q- What do you write?

Saber Awr Msk

Tyke Awr

Q- How long have you been writing for?

Saber- At the year 2000 it will be ten years.

Tyke- Huh, probably more than 10 years now, since 87.

Q- Why do you do graffiti?

Saber- Basically I have no choice too many feelings to many unanswered questions eating away at you you have to go challenge them if you don't either you go crazy or just drop everything, die, or do something else, who knows, it has to be that (graffiti), it has to be full force. Graffiti is the perfect medium for expressing full force type shit. I always wanted to clown around like and idiot be straight.... and now its like were doing that for a good reason, expressing ourselves.

Tyke- Why do I do graffiti? like going out and painting? drawing and shit? I guess to keep occupied I enjoy it.

Q- What's your greatest enjoyment about graffiti?

Tyke- Just keep producing work, try to change my work keep evolving it until I'm happy with it.

Saber- Two things, influencing other people like younger generations, and getting feedback and also just always adding to the bulk of work and always knowing that its invisible money to yourself; putting into yourself always having a product. Something you care about that's the best thing, just to sit back and look at it, that's the best thing.

Q- You said its like invisible money, but you're not a person that really cares about money so do you really mean money money?

Saber- No I didn't mean it like that, it's hard to describe, theirs no word for it, maybe it's just more respect for the craft, or just props, just building the voice; echoing it larger and larger and watching where the echoes go, and watching the repercussions of your actions of what you paint and the reaction it causes in its environment.

Q- So its like an asset to you?

Saber- Right, right; everything we do from scribing on a bus to doing a mural for three months, its all asset, because its put in the environment; it's put their subjectively. That's basically adding to the whole collection from the first step of actually doing the process of graffiti; its just adding to yourself and your crew.

Q- Tyke, how do you think graffiti has changed since you started doing graffiti?

Tyke- I don't know, maybe I think in L.A. things have changed because their is not as many yards anymore. So when I first did graffiti what inspired me was just burners at yards, shit that KSN and WCA were doing, whoever, shit at Belmont, like all that old shit was fresh those productions was what inspired met to keep producing and that's the level I wanted to get to with the art. Master shit like the way Slick use to do shit, Krush, Rise, Eklips, you did shit that influenced me a lot, all these dudes, Mystic influenced me a lot back then. And now its just a little bit stagnant, but I think its starting to change now because there are yards now; there are spots now, people are going up more, shit is starting to evolve again in L.A..

Q- So would you say that graffiti was hot then it went cold, now its warm again working its way up?

Tyke- Yeah, yeah I would definitely say so.

Saber- It's working it's way up; because as these times are growing closer and closer to a new age these people that are producing the images that we all see, their images are slowing down, there getting stagnant, stale, so people are starting to need us to create these knew images and these high energy situations. So basically its growing for as being accepted, and more accepted as an art form, and even going more neurotic and being accepted for being twice as neurotic as the next guy; and this is acceptable because you're proving it through your actions of your art; so its just expanding in different ways , its good, toys are starting to catch onto certain aspects of graffiti like moving it forward to rollers, whatever, just venturing out, trying new mediums just trying new things. That's the only way it's going to survive.

Tyke- I think what's changed is a lot of its just they way letters are, a lot of the knew shit I see I cant read it; I don't understand the graffiti. I might be out of it, but the only shit I understand is the shit my crew is doing; what I appreciate and understand. Back before when I was younger there was a lot of shit that inspired me, today the only thing that inspires me is the people around me.

Saber- Its rare to see somebody that really shocks you or that your are really impressed with. A lot people are kinda scratching they're way up to their little top with their little ego, but its rare that we see somebody coming through with true heart ready to go full force, its rare, but I guess you just keep watching keeping your eyes I open for those certain people who have that spark. There always will be new people like that, its going to be one in a million, but there are those people some where out there, maybe not even around yet.

Q- If you were to list 5 people in the past 5 years that you think had that spark, who would they be?

Saber- Revoke, Zes, Ayer (rip), Tie (rip). I think Tie and Ayer especially had and enormous amount of spark, probably too much for their own space. It was too much for their spirit, too much for their body thats..thats why there not around cause it was just too, too much energy in one body you know. Zes is a maniac, he is doing things that people wish they could do. Things that aren't even suppose to be happening like climbing obstacles that don't even exist to people and doing full 5 color wild styles. Its almost unheard of; He's doing things that people ten years ago would think that some alien did the shit and this is like really shit happening now, modern shit, the most advanced shit yet. Tyke- That's so hard to say; I'm mostly in touch with just people in my crew. So I would have to say guys like Saber and Gkae; Krush is still doing his shit, still burning man. Mear, for sure mear.

Q- Where do you see graffiti in the next ten years?

Saber- I see graffiti controlling the corporate realm, I see graffiti making political moves, I see graffiti being 80ft. sculptures, I see graffiti writers designing fuckin' architecture. I see the next Frank Lloyd Wright's, Picasso's, Dennis, fucking you name it man...there's a lot of us, were all going to take our position in society. Regardless if its underground or above ground, were all going to take our position, and its going to be significant; our voice will be heard...we cant help it...our voice will.. be heard.

Q-Explain your artist terroist idea?

Saber- Just nighttime stuff, taking over; its a mystery, its all mystery- that part; who what where when why and how type shit, like how the fuck? Its all about baffling, baffling. Baffling citizens. Baffling commuters, baffling whoever, its just all about baffling, straight up; making people think what the fuck is going on in these kids heads.

Tyke- That shit is maturing, like graffiti in L.A. I could tell you. The people who did graffiti and who were fresh they've matured and moved on to different things like Rich from Nasa.. he's doing shit for Vans. These graffitiartists are controlling and creating the images that younger generations are going to see, kinda like the way I used to see skateboard graphics, the visions, the pictures they put in my head; like those guys are controlling shit, they in a sense had a lot of influence on people like me who started doing graffiti; these graffiti writers are going to start doing cartoons...

Q- What do you think about corporate America jocking graffiti?

Tyke- Jocking graffiti is one thing, but they can't market it as graffiti. They just got to get the artist, who's got his style, to do something. Maybe the artist just doing that job knows how far he should go with it. He's not going to bring real graffiti to the table; it's just good art.

Q- On the bottom of a jnco shoe there is like some little piece, have you seen that? that's not graffiti?

Tyke- That's definitely not graffiti; its a replica of graffiti...

Saber- That's not graffiti...its a clone, a clone...

Tyke- Exactly its a clone of graffiti. Real graffiti I guess, is on a wall, or on a surface, probably illegally, is real graffiti.

Saber- You wouldn't go to the corporate table with your best shit... you would not go there and spend a 100 hours on a oil canvas for some corporate motherfuckers. They would say we want a soft drink logo, there gonna get just a soft drink logo. You're not going to give them some super way out shit, you're not going to give them your heart. I wouldn't give a soft drink co. my best shit I would give them what they want to see, just play them, humor them, I don't give a fuck about them. I need to put food on the table now, I would never come to them with my best shit never, I would never show them my best shit, I would never show them my illegal graffiti.

Q- What if a soft drink co. came to you and said they wanted you to rock some L.A. River type shit?

Saber- I would never do it...never do it.

Q-You'd be like fuck you, even if they wanted to give you 5 grand?

Saber- If L.A. County came to me and said, "you have permission to go in the daytime and will supply you oil paint..." I would do it for L.A. County.

Tyke- That jnco shit is not you're real graffiti. I think that the real graffiti artists who have the skills they're going to make the right business decisions and they're going to control their own shit, and they're going to control what they are putting out, and they don't have to put out some fake ass graffiti shit that someone is like, "yo we want tags and some arrows and sparkles..." there just doing some raw shit. People wont even understand that its graffiti. Images that like... Dr. Zeus is straight up graffiti to me, that shit is just as much real graffiti, like character wise, you see burners and shit, creativity and originality is where its at.

Q- What do you think makes a graffiti writer valid?

Saber- Innovation, prolificness, getting his ass kicked, eating shit, getting cut by razor wire from hiding from helicopters, watching your friends go to jail, everything you've done, getting dissed. Tyke- I like style man, piecing, burners, and bombing too, a little bit of those two pretty much. Kids who take it really far in bombing and kids who just take it really far in burning, and if you can do both the more the better.

Q-You said going to jail, you have a member from your crew in jail how do you fell about that? Gkae;

Saber- My brother Gkae is in maximum security prison and I pray every day for him. That hurts, it hurts my heart a lot, without him I wouldn't be me, I wouldn't know how to push my limits. I know without Gkae a major portion...he was my right arm and my left side of my brain at the same time. Without him I would not be here, that's plain and simple; he's the whole motivational source of what happens within our crew, he's the engine of everything he's like grrrhhghgh...Eklips is the steering wheel, Eklips is the head lights and the steering wheel.

Q- Tyke how do you feel about Gkae?

Tyke- I feel really bad for him, because I think he's got a lot of talent and being locked up is in a sense wasted. Like what he did I respect him a lot for it anyone that puts that much on the line really deserves to be taken careof. I wish he wasn't there, I wish he was just here with us just chillin'; that's more important you know, there's other ways to get up.

Saber- Yeah I think these experiences, though, will change him. I'm sure he's definitely learning a lot bout himself spending all this time by himself; he's going to come out sick, he's gonna come out ready to handle life. .

Q- You lived in Frisco for a while, how would you compare San Fran graffiti to Los Angeles graffiti?

Saber - Well, L.A. graffiti its at a more advanced state as far as images go and technical type of aspects, bombing aspects, climbing, all those type of situations pretty much spawn from here. San Francisco is very fast, very fast moving, a lot more layers than L.A., a lot more kids coming in and out its such a smaller city; that city is meant for graffiti its a graffiti playground they love it their. The DA doesn't recognize felony vandalism so its just basically a playground you can do what you want and have good time and be safe. You can be in the worst part of San Francisco with a million fiends around you and they'll watch you're back. Here fuckin fiends cook dog; straight up they cook dog, its competition for that type of shit out here. People in the streets are very hostile towards graffiti out here, police, cameras, helicopters, there's no helicopter in San Francisco; completely different elements. But bringing the elements of la to San Francisco? was very fun; it created a whole new aspect and repercussions. Kids caught on really fast over there, kids catch on very fast in San Francisco because its such a small city. Kids put a lot effort into it; there's a lot kids that bomb hard that really do care about the city. San Francisco is definitely on its way to being top type shit, there's a lot of shit going on there; a lot of shit. But L.A. is moving forward too, L.A. is on some alien shit, L.A. is on some whole other type of shit, its different its like apples and oranges.

Q- What s your most memorable graffiti situation or experience?

Saber- There's a bunch, probably going to Tie's (rip) funeral, finishing the L.A. River piece, the 5 freeway bridge with me and Gkae that was definitely a mind bending experience, the shit was fuckin an acid trip doing that shit. Pretty much those three stand out the most in my head, Tie's death is kind of a big deal.

Q- Tyke what's your most memorable graffiti experience?

Tyke- They all kind of blend into one its all the same to me. The way that they all built up the way it is today. I guess the last one is the most memorable having everybody down there its all the same.

Q- Our friend Tie's death, can you talk about that explain it briefly?

Saber- yeah uh.. our friend Jonathan Lim, Tie, he was an 18 year old Asian young virgin Buddhist he was a good kid. He had more energy than I ever seen in any graffiti writer in my life. If you put all us together, he would be four our five of us energy wise and nobody could stop him, he was an unstoppable force. Yet fate seem to stop him uh a man named... uh.. William, William Porter, that's his fuckin name, well he executed my friend while doing raffiti, and blew his head off and he was acquitted. It was in the newspapers it was a really big deal within our scene we've had a lot of memorials, and he was there and he would videotape us and talk shit I don't know he's just a very evil person, he got away with murder.

Q-Why did he shoot him?

Saber- ...you know San Francisco is very tight its very ghetto, ghetto as fuck, a lot of dirt a lot of crack sales, fiends, in this neighborhood, specifically, it's very crack infested neighborhood and this guy lived there and um he (Tie) was just walking up the stairs and climbing up the pole and he didn't know that he lived there and the guy came out and pulled him off the pole, hit him with the butt of the gun and executed him.

Q- Shot him?

Saber- Shot him in the back of the head as he was running, and this man has been in Vietnam; he has shot people before, he has targets on his door, he shot a fiend there two years before, he videotapes his premises, he has sensors on the stairs, he's also a famous photographer in San Francisco, so uh, he got away with the shit man straight forward. I seen him with male hookers I seen him with all kinds of hookers. And every time I see him I scream at more about that, him, I scream my heart at his ass, he'll just be like , "fuck you I murdered your friend..." I don't know what to say much , who knows where that guy is going to go from this point, who knows, he's definitely got some serious karmatic justice heading his way.

Q- Is graffiti worth dying to you?

Saber- I don't want to die so I cant say no, but that's been an issue that's definitely been an issue many times. I don't want to make that an issue any more, but that will always be any issue; anytime your in the public and your painting its always going to be an issue.

Q- Have you been shot at painting before?

Yeah I have been definitely been shot at doing graffiti...

Q- Tyke do your parents know about you doing graffiti?

Tyke- Yeah they definitely know.

Q- How do they feel about it?

Tyke- They don't really get into it man...they try to get me to do other things, definitely (everybody laughs), they try to get me to do other things. I cant do other things you know? so I kinda juggle what I do with graffiti and what I do scholastically, they're not really on my case. I take care of what they want me do, I try to, they let me do what I want to do, I guess they do support me because I remember when I was young they used to take me Levitz and Belmont at night to take pictures or to look at graffiti, they're always real cool about that, I don't think most parents would do that.

Q- Any last words?

Saber- Revoke, Zes, Gkae

Tyke- Don't ever talk about Fight Club....

-end of interview-

saber@guerillaone.com

tyke@guerillaone.com