Q- What do you write?

SEEN

Q- What crew(s) do you represent?

UA -But since I am the only original active member I don't put it up anymore.

Q- When did you start painting? Do you still paint?


In 1973, I crept into the #6 Train Yard to paint my first piece. Graffiti is my life! I have been very fortunate to make a living of Graffiti one way or another. I plan to go to the grave with a can in my hand!


Q- Why did you start?


My Mom used to say I started bombing as a child.

But in the summer of 1973, I went into the #6 Train yard and painted my first SEEN piece. Why I started painting is always a hard question to answer. Everyone starts painting for different reasons, I guess it is important to point out that age 12; I was doing custom airbrushing work on cars at my uncle's auto body shop. It just so happens that my uncleМs shop was right next to #6 train yard. So I guess watching the graffiti art movement beginning to emerge, along with my skills as an airbrush artist it was natural to go out and paint a train. I guess it was my destiny!


Q- What was you favorite writing experience?

The story of the "Retaking of Pelham 1-2-3."

"After the buff of the early eighties. We went right back to killing the line. We were blasting the line so hard that it got very hot again. Our mission was to take over the line and we did just that. So to let everyone know, I wanted to paint a "Retaking of Pelham 123" whole car. But every time I went to paint this car I got raided. This one night in particular, me, PJAY and MAD decided to try and pull off the car on the ZEREGA Lay Ups. The cops knew we were yard painters and we calculated that they would be staking out the yard that night. It was 3:00 in the morning on a Saturday. We got there and went right to work, we threw up the outline and started filling in the piece. We added a "Top to Bottom" Howard the Duck character on one end. There was a bunch off toys hanging out watching us, we didn't mind because if there were a raid their inexperience in that situation would get them caught as we took flight. We must of have been half way through the piece when suddenly the skies opened up and it started to downpour. PJAY and I jumped back up on the platform to get out of the rain, we figured it if it stopped we would continue but if it didn't we would come back the next day and try and finish. So as we waited on the platform for the next train or the rain to stop, my brother, MAD kept painting. Suddenly, through the trains I could see COPS coming up the stairs on the other side, when I looked at the stairs on our side I could see the tops of Uniform Police coming. PJAY and I immediately took off and headed for the tracks to escape. We jumped onto the catwalk in the pouring rain and started running toward the next station. You could hear the cops yelling "FREEZE" but we never looked backed and just kept running. The toys up on the station are usually the first ones to get caught and we knew that would slow the cops down but when we looked down on the street you could see cop car lights flashing and racing to the next station to catch us there.

We were in full sprint and we could hear the sounds of heavy boots right on our tails. As we approached the station we could hear the noise of police scrambling up the stairs to catch us so we kept going on the tracks to the next station. At this point we were on the tracks leading into the #6 train yard, I was thinking about running into it but PJAY was right behind me pushing me forward. The cops were back in their cars racing to the next station and someone was still right behind us. As we approached the next station we knew we had to keep going because the cops were going to beat us there. At this point we had been running at top speed for close to a mile now in the rain. The third person behind us turned out to be MAD in his MC boots. As we ran across the station we knew the cops were down below trying to figure out what we were going to do. We decided to keep going to the next station. About halfway there, we come to a power station that is supported by an extra "L" beam. With the cops racing past below us to beat us to the next station we knew this is where we had to make our move. We climbed out to the "L" beam and slid down to the street. We could see the cops jumping out of the car and heading up the stairs of the station to apprehend us. As we came down the beam there was a woman who was walking her dog watching us. PJAY gestured to her to remain silent. I could tell she was scared shit. We crept into the night but left an unfinished piece up on the lay-up.

But the story doesn't end there. At this point it was a matter of principle of pulling off this "Retaking of Pelham" car. But the #6 was so hot that I decided to go to the 5's and 2's and pull the car off there. We went to Esplanade stick out Lay Ups. These Lay Ups are much different then the #6 because they are on the ground as opposed to being on elevated tracks. There was a spot near a trestle where we would climb up and walk to the Lay Ups. PJAY and I caught the lay ups and painted uninterrupted. We had finally pulled off the car. I was finishing up, adding the highlights as PJAY laid down to relax over the third rail. When out of nowhere PJAY yells out my name and scrambles to his feet. Without thinking, I drop the can and take off right behind PJAY. This cop had crept up on us and was now breathing down my neck, as we were all running along the trains. PJAY and I were used to this routine and just kept going without slowing down. I could hear the cop stop running and go to his walkie-talkie. We ran to the spot where we climbed up, but this time we didn't even think about climbing we just jumped -Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid Style. We hit the ground pretty hard, and PJAY came up limping but his car was two blocks away and we couldn't stop now. As we jumped into his car, PJAY's hands were shaking so much he couldn't get the key into the ignition. I pulled the keys out of his hand jammed the key into the ignition and yelled get me the Fuck out of here! And again we escaped another close call.

But the story doesn't end there. At this point it was a matter of principle of pulling off this "Retaking of Pelham" car. But the #6 was so hot that I decided to go to the 5's and 2's and pull the car off there. We went to Esplanade stick out Lay Ups. These Lay Ups are much different then the #6 because they are on the ground as opposed to being on elevated tracks. There was a spot near a trestle where we would climb up and walk to the Lay Ups. PJAY and I caught the lay ups and painted uninterrupted. We had finally pulled off the car. I was finishing up, adding the highlights as PJAY laid down to relax over the third rail. When out of nowhere PJAY yells out my name and scrambles to his feet. Without thinking, I drop the can and take off right behind PJAY. This cop had crept up on us and was now breathing down my neck, as we were all running along the trains. PJAY and I were used to this routine and just kept going without slowing down. I could hear the cop stop running and go to his walkie-talkie. We ran to the spot where we climbed up, but this time we didn't even think about climbing we just jumped -Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid Style. We hit the ground pretty hard, and PJAY came up limping but his car was two blocks away and we couldn't stop now. As we jumped into his car, PJAY's hands were shaking so much he couldn't get the key into the ignition. I pulled the keys out of his hand jammed the key into the ignition and yelled get me the Fuck out of here! And again we escaped another close call.

In total we attempted that car 4 times before we were able to finally pull it off. Although, a couple months later I caught one of the unfinished cars on the #6 and threw an outline on it".


Q-What was your craziest/worse experience?


Being followed around by the Vandal Squad and having to stay one step ahead of them.


Q- How was LA for you and did you paint anywhere else when you were out here in 86'?


In 1984 "BLADE 1" and I went to Hollywood, California on a mission to make our mark. We bombed from Venice Beach to the Sunset Strip. We even decided to throw Hollywood a bonus and tag the Hollywood Star Tour Buses run by the famous Mannјs Chinese Theater. When I saw one of the buses drive past one day, I turned to BLADE and said, "those Rustoleum National Blue Buses need some color", he agreed and we planned to pay a visit to the bus yard. With KRYLON White spray paint and a 6 inch Fat Cap, we tagged the buses with full sided tags which read "SEEN and BLADE From DA BRONX" complete with a cloud. We hit every side on every bus in the yard that night. We would fight for fronts of each bus -but that was only natural being writers and wanting the better spots.

Q- Has Graff changed in your eyes?


Depends on what part of the world your in. But as we know nothing stays the same, Graffiti like everything else has evolved. What we started here in NY has gone to places unimaginable at the time. Today nothing surprises me. But people forget a big part of the essence of Graff was the element of racking paint, sneaking into the yard, painting your piece looking over your shoulder because of cops or knuckleheads, painting at odd hours of the night and working quickly. Today folks are out there getting permission walls and going out and buying their paint. TheyМre painting their pieces with a different head. But itМs ALL GOOD. Just as long as we keep GRAFF alive and going. Europeans have taken Graff to incredible levels; they even have a spray company "BELTON" creating paint exclusively for writers; that alone says a lot! Great Paint! Wish I had stuff like that back in the day.

Q- How do you compare the old school era of NY to the new generation of NY writers?

There is a lot of history that these new Jacks have missed. There are a few hot new painters out there, but what happens here in NY is we get a lot of the top European writers who make the pilgrimage to NY and they get a permission wall and blow shit up. I'm more impressed with what goes on across the world then what actually happens here in NY.


Q- Do you like the new styles out there?

I'm open-minded and I can appreciate what's being done. Very appealing to the eye. I like to see people exploring GRAFF. Especially being so active through out the course of the movement experiencing (and being part of Graff's evolution).

Q-I know this question gets debated a lot (at least with old schoolers) but who(m) do you think had the most impact in the NY scene?


There are a lot of folks out that deserve credit, but c'mon what I did and the way I did it and the amount that I did is a standard in which writers around the world still measure their accomplishments to. I was dropping TOP to BOTTOM whole cars at a pace that was unheard of. I was dropping pieces nightly one week then going into a bombing frenzy the next week. I was painting pieces with all the top writers, I was dropping wild styles one piece then a tight block letter with characters the next.

There are a number of writers who made style impact, others who made a getting up impact but I did both! I guess that is why people call me the "Godfather of Graffiti"!

Q- What writer/crew deserves more credit in your eyes for the Graff scene in NY?

BILLY 167 SLICK Inc.

This dude was dropping outlines on everyone, his styles would be tearing shit up today. This dude had vision and style but you rarely do you hear his name mentioned.

PROPS to BILLY 167!

Q- The Internet is becoming a new medium for Graff artists to expose their work. How do feel about this whole web thing and is it really part of getting up?


I think it's great! People are doing pieces in Brazil or Australia and a couple of days later people are getting a chance to see it all over the world. Graff is about style, about heart and about people seeing your shit. So it is definitely a form of getting up but for us old school folks you just remember the good old days of sitting on the platform as a train pulled up, and your boys shouting and giving you props and seeing it roll away heading to another part of the city. But again it's all good! GRAFF IS ALIVE AND ALL YOU HEADS OUT THERE ARE AS MUCH A PART OF THE HISTORY AS US OLD SCHOOLERS.

Q-- What does the future have in store for graffiti?


GRAFF will be recognized by the world as a part of our history. It becomes a natural part of culture. Scary enough, I could see some art teacher somewhere trying to give a lesson on piecing.

Q- Will you be a supporter? or a hater?

Always a supporter! That is why one of my goals in life is to be instrumental in creating the first ever GRAFFITI Museum strictly dedicated to showing GRAFF. I promise you this will happen in my lifetime and I want to be there to cut the ribbon. I'll keep you posted with my progress.

Q- Anything else to add?

GRAFFITI is my life, always has been and always will be! So all you writers out there, keep going strong! GRAFF is as much about heart as it is about style. Keep passing the knowledge on to the next brother and one day you'll open up your kids text book and see a section on GRAFF in there.

PEACE,

SEEN