can2 interview
It's really hard to think of good questions when I don’t really know what the scene is like over there in Europe. Can you tell me a little bit about the scene over there?
Graff started in Germany in about 1983...that was when the media brought Break dance over here and of course Graff. And that was also when I started...so there was this hype from 1983 till 1985...in 1986 nobody wants to see breakers any more...the media said it's dead, and most of the people who had started writing and breakin stopped...but still some people went on and it was real underground at this point...from 1986 on there are started to be Jams...first they were small, but within a few years they went really big...and the scene is still growing...lots of generations of writers had been born and right now it's really big...with the rest of Europe it's pretty the same...but you can tell that Graff started in the north of Europe and came down to the south...for example in Holland it has started there around 1982 and in Portugal it has started about 4 years ago....
Where exactly are you from? Have you always lived in Germany?
I'm from Mainz...that's near Frankfurt...I've always lived in Germany
The reason I ask this is because you have a really unique style as far as Europe. You look like your straight out of NYC. Does this have anything with Idols when you were growing up?
My idol still is SEEN and he always has been...I love his style... I saw from your web site that you started way back in the early eighties, what was it like when you were writing back then, and what got you even started into the art? I can’t imagine it being a very popular thing to do. I started with Breakdance, cuz back in 1983 I was 13 years old and I was totally fascinated that people spin on their back and head...and then actually ZEBSTER brought me to Graffiti...I grew up with him and one day he showed me a sketch he has drawn...so I got kind of jealous and since I have drawn since I was 8 years I wanted to proof him and most of all myself that I can do Graffiti too... ZEBSTER and me were the first ones in Mainz to write tags...but we soon infected other people to do it...
Where did you start picking up those characters? Were you always good at
them?
One of my idols when it comes to characters was Skid from Giessen...he did
mad characters back than...and soon I drew the characters my style...and it
took some years to develop them and to make them the way they look now and I proudly can say that these characters are totally my shit...
Did your letters come first, or your characters?
As I said before, I was drawing since I was about 8 years old and of course I was doing first some characters...but when this Graff thing started I changed the style of the characters and gave them more the B-Boy-look.
Do you like letters more or characters? Or do you just like them equally the same?
I love to paint both.
What is your favorite thing about graffiti?
All the traveling Í had made in the past and will do in the future and meeting some mad cool people everywhere in the world....
I know that you’re really gaining in popularity right now. So who are you
painting with these days?
I never cared a lot whom I was painting with...for me the most important thing was to paint with cool people....with people I can also talk about other things than Graffiti...
How old are you? Do you have any wife or kids or anything?
I'll turn 30 this year....I got a nice girlfriend but no kids yet (as far as I know)... :)
What are you doing as far as work? Are you painting and doing graphics for a living?
I'm freelancing, I'm working a lot with the internet right now, especially Flash...but I also do a lot of graphic work for different companies...
It seems like your really busy. You told me a week back that you were painting with SEEN. MAN! How do you find time to do little lame interviews like this?
That's right, I'm really busy doing a lot of stuff....actually I'm at work right now typing this interview...I hope my boss won't notice...
What’s your favorite type of music, and who is your favorite group or band?
Since I was a breaker from the beginning on I love those electro stuff from the early 80's...still my favorite song is "Play at your own risk" by Planet Patrol....
What do you see in the future of graffiti?
As far as Germany is concerned it's still growing...it's getting harder to bomb trains...it has become a big theme for politicians to win their votes, but I hope that won't stop anyone from writing their names......
Thanks Can2, Anomie really appreciates the time you put in. Do you have any last remarks or shout outs?
I hope there always be some writers out there who keep the real Bronx Graffiti from the 80's alive....cuz to me that's the only REAL Graffiti...PEACE
