HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING ART?
I have been making art since I was a little kid. My mom just uncovered a sketchbook from my youth that I had to convince her to let me ‘borrow.’

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME AN ARTIST?
It has been a life-long process of inspiration and motivation for me. In the beginning, I was surrounded by art at home; both of my parents are highly creative. My dad is an amazing photographer, as is my mom. My mom also paints and sculpts also. My folks would also take me to museums and galleries since I was a baby. They also have a huge collection of books on art and photography that I read over and over.

As a kid I consumed large amounts of anything visual I could lay my eyes (and hands) on: comics, anime, cartoons, old and new movies, book and album covers, toys, gig flyers, ‘zines, video games, signage, porn, packaging… Pretty much the things that most kids growing up in the US are bombarded with.

When my family moved to the US (I was 6), gang writing both scared me and impressed me. Seeing Beat Street when it came out at a downtown theatre got me onto a form of graffiti I found more positive (although later on I found out the writing in the movie was mostly faked.) My grandma would take me around the city on the bus and walking, and I began to discern a few names that finally made me want to start writing: Mando and Neo MAK and Krenz aka Yem AM7. Linking up with two kids in my neighborhood, Gloze 54 OTR and Modem SH, encouraged me even further. We started linking up with cats from LOD, OTR, and SH; I eventually became a member of Seeking Heaven. Everyone in my crew continues to teach and inspire me.

A family friend, artist and musician, Leon Chavez Teixeiro, particularly inspired and influenced me through his art, which often consist of stark images of urban environments, often in bold black and white with minimal color. He also taught me many techniques that I have incorporated into my fine art and print work. His political activism and its relationship to art is also a big inspiration.

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS?
Oh man, this list is gonna be long as fuck! I’ll keep it to visual artists/designers:  León Chávez Teixeiro, Swank, Ashley Wood, my parents, Luna One, Leopoldo Méndez, Jose Guadalupe Posada, Panic, Precise, Size, Asylm, El Lissitsky, Bash, Peter Saville, Vaughn Oliver, Vaugh Bode, Dave Stevens, Käthe Kollwitz, Modem, Kofie, Cab, The Street Phantom, John Byrne, Bill Sienkewicz, Josh Middleton, Futura 2000, Jis and Trino, Syd Mead, Twist aka Barry Mcgee, Dondi, Margaret Killgallen, Ian Lynam, Gail Swanlund, Atlas, Glenn Barr, Derek Hess, Midzt, Axis, Skypager, Yem, Neo, Katsuya Terada, Haruhiko Mikimoto, Ozamu Tezuka, Acme, Haeler, Jamie Hewlett, Saturnino Herrán Tempt, Jim Mahfood, Kara Marks, Robert Crumb, Patrick Martinez … I think I’ll stop here for now, this list could go on forever!

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE SUPER HERO?
Some of my heroes are Ian Mackaye, Subcomandante Marcos, Michio Kaku, Noam Chomsky, my Mom and Dad, and My Grandma. Again, this list could go on and on!

WHEN WRITING GRAFFITI FOR A GRAPHIC DESIGN, DO YOU PREFER A DIGITAL PAD OR DRAW IT AND SCAN IT?
I prefer to draw by hand and then scan.

A LOT OF YOUR WORK CONTAINS DISTINCT LINES AND SHAPES, AND AT THE SAME TIME HAS A VERY ORGANIC FLOW. THIS TALENT WOULD LEND ITSELF TO COMIC BOOK WORK OR STORY BOARDING, HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT MOVING TOWARD THESE MEDIUMS OF VISUAL STORY TELLING?
I did a long stint in animation at various studios, so maybe that influence seeped in subconsciously. After working in that field, I very much do not want to ever do it again, unless I am directing and working with my own images/stories/characters and have a huge team to do all the work, ha!

IF YOU COULD RE-DESIGN THE COVER OF ANY BOOK, WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
It’s a toss up between Brave New World and 1984.

WHEN CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE A TOY RELEASE FROM EYEONE?
If I have my way, quite soon!

WHATS YOUR FAVORITE BRAND OF SNEAKERS/SHOES?
Whatever I can get for free or cheap.

WHAT IS OR WOULD BE YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO VACATION?
As long as there’s a swimmable ocean nearby, green trees providing fresh air to breathe, lots of places to walk, benches, and hard-to-get-to computers, I’m good anywhere. As far as cities, I dig Mexico City, Havana, Montpellier, Barcelona, Chicago and San Francisco. L.A. is actually pretty cool to vacation in too!

WHATS IS YOUR HIGHEST GOAL OR ACCOMPLISHMENT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE AS AN
ARTIST. IF THE SKY WERE THE LIMIT?
I want to go to Mars and take photographs.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PAID JOB AND WHY?
I pretty much take gigs only if I’m way stoked about them, so they all usually turn out to be enjoyable.  That said, being invited to go to France in 2007 to exhibit and paint has definitely been a highlight in my career. It was dope because I can’t speak French, so I was definitely kicking the brain cells into high gear trying to understand and be understood.  I got to travel and paint with good friends and fellow artists Asylm, Mear, and Yem (whose piece near my pad kicked me in the face so hard it made me jump from drawing/tagging on paper to actually trying out spray paint in my neighborhood.) We created a mural that is now a permanent fixture in the city of Montpellier.

Also, a more recent highlight was being commissioned to paint a mural at UC Riverside. I enjoyed this project primarily because I was given absolute freedom to do whatever I wanted. I pushed myself to conceive a mural that incorporated educational elements while remaining pure graffiti. This is an on-going project, as I will be lecturing there soon on graffiti and my work with my publication Lost.

BIGGIE or TUPAC?
Sorry but I’m gonna have to go with the Fat Boys.

HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU LOST YOUR VIRGINITY AND TELL US THE STORY?
I carry my virginity with me at all times, in case of emergency!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE?
I was straight edge for 3 decades, so I am a toy when it comes to drinking. I started pretty much drinking anything thrown my way in the last few years; I could probably say I only actually like some beers (Optimator stands out) but honestly, most booze reminds me of getting a vaccination at the doctor and smelling the rubbing alcohol. One of my best homies just got a DUI, ironically after we went and saw old California straight edge legends No For An Answer, so I’m seriously contemplating re-edging (did I just make that up?) We’ll see if I can get a renewal from the straight edge authorities if this happens.

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