"SIC" was the Clique we Created.
"Aski" and Me
I use to be a proliferate graffiti artist. Every weekends in the morning at around 6:00 AM, I would go jogging with a backpack. In that backpack was a small "Manstarr" stencil, a black spray can, and a fat marker and USPS stickers in my pocket. The reason for this wasn't for destruction, intentions to vandalize public property, or to piss off people for the hell of it, but for the adrenaline, the art, and the feeling I get when I see it the next day. Hearing about my "Star Character" in school from other school mates alsoencouraged me to continue. They had no idea it was me. I always kept a low profile about my hobby but weeks passed and I decided to share this rush full experience with my brother and my friends because it would've been greedy of me to keep it all to myself. My brother and friends, always down for whatever, decided to try it out.
After school on a Friday night with the boys, we decide to "hit the walls" for the first time together. There were 5 of us, it was me, "Aski", "Yarps", "Dirt" and "Basic", getting prepared at "Aski"s house, psyching our selves out to "get up"(to be known). We walked, a few blocks, talked, laughed, and was sort of nervous. We "bomb"(painted all over) a green electrical box with stencils except for "Aski."
(photo taken from the video "Skate for Food")
I see a van coming towards us and caution them whispering,"van, van, van. Hide behind the box. Is everybody here?"
Unfortunately, "Aski" was on the other side of the street about to do a "throw up"(big bubble letters) on the wall. "Aski" doesn't see the van heading towards him, so he pulls his spray can out of the pocket of his gray hoodie sweater, stretches up to begin spraying but before he could press on the tip, the van stops, and high beams him and he stops, stares at the van, looking like a frightened deer, stunned. He slowly puts his hands and his can in his pocket, puts his head down, and walks towards us briskly. After he walks across the front of the van, we all made a run for it hoping the driver didn't call the cops. "Yarps" ran his full speed. Although "yarps" is fat and round, he managed to get in front of me. While he was running, he attempted to put on his backpack back on his back. Yarps then, steps on his shoulder strap, wobbles forward then stumbles on the sidewalk and falls off the curve. I was already laughing at "Aski"'s situation but "Yarps"s fall made me laugh hilariously. Laughing, I jumped over "yarps" forgetting to have stopped to help him back up. When we all got in the clear, we started walking because we were all tired. I couldn't breathe, because i still couldn't stop laughing at the both of them.
After the run, "Yarps" sarcastically says "Thanks alot John..."
PROJECT SB
A lot of my close friends got into this underground hobby, so we decided to name our crew "Soldiers In Cantrol." "SIC" was the clique we created. We soloed small individual tasks. Then one day, I decided to step it up. I've been talking to this girl who I really liked and wanted to ask out to Senior Ball. She knew I was a graffiti artist(me bein humble and all) and she said she wanted to see some of my pieces. That gave me an idea. I wanted to be romantic and ask her out in a very special way. I created a blue print, looked for a big spot to paint in, asked my whole crew for help, bought tips (skinnys and fattys) and bought 50 cans of spray paint. The final night, we got together at my friend's "Juice" house to get ready.
We walked under the bridge with a duffle bag full of fresh new spray cans. There were 7 of us, I started with the outlines, then they did the "fill ins." We were nervous because it was taking forever to finish and every foreign sound we hear would get us paranoid. Fear of getting caught was always in the back of my mind and we weren't use to staying in one spot for that long either. I was rushing to go because I didn't want any of them to get in trouble because of me, so I rushed them after they did there little pieces on the side. It took us 1 hour and 30 minutes to finish such monstrosity. It was 50 feet wide and 5 foot tall. We came back the next day and looked at our crew piece with pride. The beautiful illustration stayed up there for more than 2 weeks which is amazing because of the fact that they're usually buffed within the 5 days it was put up.
She said, "Wha? Are you asking me out to Senior Ball? Why Yes!!"
We used many military tactics during the nights when we did painted pieces together. We went by the school "Janitor! DOWN!!, in the school "GO! GO! GO!", laying on the side of a 65 degree canal "Car! DOWN!!", bridges "SHH! What's that? K go!", rolled in the back of a pick up truck full of aerosol (*giggles nd coughs*) etc... I retired spray painting because of... but my friends continued on doing it. Until one day, they got caught...END OF "SIC." Aski made loud noises on the way out hitting a stop sign with a can, cops came, they ran, Juice's car got caught, Juice confessed to the cops and told on the rest of the members he was with that night.Punishment was Community service because they were under the age 18.
I liked my very simple drawings but I knew I couldn't sell them if I put them on canvases... so i put them on public property to share with the whole community.lol. I had to stop because the aerosol was endangering my health and I knew I wasn't going to go pro if I proceeded. I learned that planning now for your future will help you learn when to quit. God is good
Big thanks to "Holmes" and SIC's "Emerge" "Aski" "Yarps" "Dirt" "Juice" "Physics" "Basic" and "Panda."Started small ended BIG!
Big thanks to "Holmes" and SIC's "Emerge" "Aski" "Yarps" "Dirt" "Juice" "Physics" "Basic" and "Panda."Started small ended BIG!
video ft. from left to right: Basic, Juice, Dirt, and Yarps!
