Interview Courtesy of SandiWho are you, where are you from and what crews do you rep?
Zone, I’m from San Diego, I rep Wild Style Technicians, Lords, MCI, and OS crews.
How did you first get into graffiti?
I started as a BBoy in 1983, and my study of Hip Hop culture led me to study and learn about Graffiti. It was something that I knew I was going to do.
If you could describe your style as a type of music, what genre would that be and why?
Old School Hip Hop. That’s what continues to inspire me and the esthetic that I like to see, so naturally that’s the type of style I like to push.
What kept you painting while others may have taken different avenues in life?
I’ve been through some crazy things in life, especially with the career path that I chose, being in the Marines for 23 years. I think I chose to keep painting through it all in order to keep my sanity and to keep my soul from being totally absorbed by the system.
What is the craziest thing to happen to you while painting and/or bombing?
Back in high school My partner Terock and I were street bombing in the San Diego Neighborhood of Paradise Hills. A cop pulled up and we jumped over the wall we were doing throw ups on, and ran through an apartment complex and to the next block. The cops headed us off at the pass and one of them hit Terock with the cop car knocking him down. I ran up a hill of ice plant into a neighborhood of small houses, running through back yards and jumping fences. One of the yards had a chicken coop running between two fences. I figured I could save time running across the coop to get away. Wrong answer, the coop caved in and I fell through and ended up in a cage with a bunch of chickens flying around me and the cops shining flashlights on me. They exacted payment on me with the night stick strikes to the legs. They threw us into a holding cell, and called our parent to come pick us up since we were both minors.
What is next in the works for you? New location? New Series? Festival?
Right now I’m in the middle of the “100 Piece Project” I’m shooting to complete 100 pieces before the end of 2015 and documenting the process as I go on 100pieceproject.com
What comes first for you; the letters, the colors or the theme?
That’s an easy one. Letters first and foremost always.
If you could collaborate with anyone who would that be?
Kase 2 (Rest in Peace), he was someone I idolized as a kid and always wanted to meet and paint with.
Where would you be without graffiti? What would you be doing?
Probably not too far from where and what I do now. I don’t need to make money from graff, and any money I make from it just goes to buy more paint. I do it because I love it. I would probably be doing a lot more bass fishing if I wasn’t into Graffiti. The friends I’ve made in graff are like brothers to me and that’s not something that could ever be replaced though.
Have any beef? If not, how was the last one handled?
Not currently, and past beef is not really something that I would like to discuss publicly. Once beef is settled that’s it, end of story. I don’t hold a grudge, and once things are settled, it’s over.
If you were president for a day, what would be your first decree?
Haha that’s a crazy one, I would fire the white house staff and cabinet and install WST and Lords Crew members in all positions of power and influence, and take command of the USMC. I probably would get assassinated before the day was over.
How open are you about your graffiti life?
I keep it under wraps professionally, I was in the Marines for 23 years and during that time frame only 2 or 3 of my closest friends in the Marines knew I wrote. I was living a double life of sorts.
How do you feel about street-art?
It doesn’t interest me at all, so I don’t really pay attention to it.
For those who are unaware, what is the 100 piece project and where can we keep up with it?
The 100 piece project is Idea I got from Rapes ATT who did 120 pieces in 2011. At the time I thought that was some crazy shit. But the more I thought about it, I thought I could do at least 100, and I thought it would be dope to document and blog the process as I went along to give people something to follow as the project progressed. Time will tell if I will be able to meet the goal. For a young active writer 100 pieces in a year is probably easy money, but I think it’s a pretty good benchmark for an older writer like me.
Out of the pieces so far, which has been the most satisfying?
So far I would have to say #30 since it was on a raw virgin concrete wall that I recently discovered.
When or where does it end?
Project ends when I reach 100 or midnight December 31st 2015. Whichever comes first.
Do you think you can make the deadline, if so, what is the biggest challenge in completing it?
Yea I think I can do it, I work a 9-5 now so I’ll have to get creative with scheduling and spots.
