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STRAIGHTLETTERS and simples

Blaise Pascal

By Blaise Pascal
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Bump to one of my favorite threads (minus all the toy shit)

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Blaise Pascal

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Re: STRAIGHTLETTERS!

 

SASTER: How long have you been involved in Graff?

 

EWOK: Graffiti found me in about 1990 by way of tags around my hometown,

and further looking the into Subway Art book that got me hooked, about 91 I was driving to NYC a lot with my family taking pictures of tags in downtown and all the parking lots and especially the highway era, which influenced me to think about straight letters for impact value as apposed to throw-ups that I would look over when driving by highway walls fast. If I'm going to use paint I want it to stand out on a wall, instead of falling victim to a bunch of white noise. The str8 letter mentality is still ingrained in me to this day.

SASTER: What are the things that interested you most about Graff?

 

EWOK: What struck me the most was the mystique behind the “people” who came in the night and left their names. The other thing that intrigued me was hand styles, and how some people’s tags looked more stylish compared to others. Also, how some people were up so much, but their shit looked like a little kid did it, not concerned at all with making their name look good, I couldn't understand that. I wasn’t really into pieces until I went thru the Bronx in 91-93. I saw all the HARD ROCKS and KD walls with Louie 167, Cope, Sie, Trab, and Dero. Back then; I also saw alot of walls downtown in parking lots like Ces, Clark, and the IMOK guys who had a bunch of lots smashed, walking around the ville in the summers back then was the shit. This was the shit that sparked me to do pieces. I was already drawing shit like comics back then so it only made sense to put a character next to my letters.

 

SASTER: Are you a NYC native?

 

EWOK: Nope, and I always get a kick out of these guys who think their dropping some kind of hidden knowledge about where I’m from, like I got some reason to hide something. The truth to all you clowns is: EWOK 5MH was born in New Jersey. Picture that you big dummies… parents divorced around 78, I moved to upstate New York wit mom dukes to a shit hole town where I was raised up thru high school and broke out in the fall of ‘96 to Brooklyn to get a college degree. And. I’ve lived downstate for almost 12 yrs now, long before these herbs took over Williamsburg into Bushwick with their spiked belts and trucker caps. So you bitches can stop acting like this guy just got here, or that I’m from Connecticut or someshit, oh, the best of all that I’m from Connecticut and I come from a rich family, that’s one of the best ones I’ve heard. Pay attention… I have been paying my own rent for over a decade in New York City and that’s longer then 95% of these haters even been writing graffiti. Figure that out. No trust fund babies over here.

 

 

SASTER: How did Graff get to your hood, and who were some influences in your style?

 

EWOK: Well in my town I went to school with a bunch of knuckleheads who moved upstate from Brooklyn either in a group home or because they're family relocated. Three of these guys had dope hand styles back then: FREAK, his brother SELK, and this other cat SERNE. These guys hand styles where retarded back then. I used to bug out to see them just write normal shit, or even other people’s tags. I didn’t understand how you could be nice with writing everything, back then I thought you only needed to write your name fresh. They were a major influence for me. Other than that, we had freights pass thru so I was doing freights up there back in 92-95 in my town as well as in Poughkeepsie. At the time that was my only way of getting my shit out of the fishbowl I lived in. A huge influence for me was a Graffiti jam that went down in Patterson NJ in 1993 and 94 where a friend who wrote TED I first introduced me to Louie 167,Sie, Chad, Masta Ace, and Cope who was killing shit at that time, Ted was like a “character” painter who painted with Sie and the rest of HR guys around the time who was going to college upstate. Just from painting at that jam I met KEL5MH, and DOMS KOC, where I was put down with 5MH on the spot. And that was in 1993, again pay attention ’cause these are all facts that a lot of people love twisting around.

 

 

SASTER: Is 5MH your crew? Who’s down in this crew?

 

EWOK: 5MH is not MY crew, it's history began with KEL and BL in Marlboro housing around 1990ish, and it quickly became a bunch of little

derelicts running around the ville in the early 90’s vamping kids for polo and causing havok with RFC, KST, KGB and others at the time. Truth be told the mobile Police van that is now at Washington Square Park is because of these guys fuckin shit up. Anyways I was hyped to push 5mh outside of NYC . I seen KEL and BLAST motion bombing trains and platforms and subway booths in an old Video Graff and when I met KEL in Patterson I was definitely buggin out.

 

 

SASTER: Kel is one of the names I do know is down with your click. Why does he use a name that belongs to an old school icon? Any beefs because of this, with your crew?

 

EWOK: Ok, here’s the breakdown. KEL5MH’s name way before he wrote graffiti was “KEL” a name given to him by his grandmother, straight up so when graffiti crossed his path as a youth it was only natural for him to learn how to write the word KEL. KEL1st was to his knowledge long retired. I’m sure back then, to a little derelict running around the ville writing on shit at that time didn’t give a fuck or even had any thought to Kel’s 1st’s legacy. And probably didn’t think he would ever continue thru life writing graffiti, ending up what he is today. KEL5MH definitely did street damage. You cannot front on the work 5MH has put on NYC.

 

So respectfully, I know for a fact KEL5MH has NEVER once tried to claim any credit for what KEL1st has done for the scene. Kel1st is a cool brother that I’ve met on a numerous occasion, and we share mutual friends. Not once did he ever bring up anything concerning my man. It’s always silly to see people, whom not even involved act concerned talking all types of shit. The people involved don’t even make it an issue, the same with this East Coast West Coast bullshit. Everyone loves making a soap opera out of it, but you got heads like Frame 1 from L.A. cool with KET and GHOST, and I know some L.A. that show me love whenever I go out there. For the most part L.A. shows New Yorker’s respect the same way we show Frame respect. It’s only when people come from out of town acting like they have to prove something and don’t know how to conduct themselves properly that they catch slack from New York. It's simple don't fuck with people's shit and your shit will run. These days everyone wants to be involved with beef somehow, even if it’s only on a fan level.

So, anyways back to the Kel question. KEL5MH has ALWAYS placed a 5MH after his name to be blatant about his identity; in the same way someone would put a number after their tag to not be confused with someone else with the same name. I got the same issue, and all I ever hear is everyone else gossiping for pages and pages on these websites about it, give it a rest already. The problem is, people’s lives are so boring that they live through others by picking a side and starting arguments and rooting for a winner like a sports fan. An endless cycle of idiots arguing.

 

 

SASTER: You have done many major productions and works, but have you ever gotten involved in the clean train movement?

 

EWOK: I’ve done it to do it just as any real writer would have to do so. Plenty of insides, caught motions and smacked outsides with paint, but no pieces to date. Post 9-11 isn’t my idea of a place to play around on MTA property, at least not when you live here. Especially with the snitch factor in full effect these days. Maybe you’ve noticed there are not many pix of anything I’ve done on trains on the Internet anywhere. These pictures aren’t even in my house anymore, after what I went thru a few years ago I don’t have anything like that in my crib anymore, that’s my rule number 1. My homies know what I’ve done, but I’m not out to flaunt my shit. I know what I got under my belt and I’m cool with that.

 

SASTER: All writers have their own circle, who’s in yours?

 

EWOK: Not really my thing to name drop. Any one who pays attention can see who I’m loyal to and who’s just been my acquaintances, but I’ll tell you this… of the actual “graffiti writers” I roll with, I can count them all on one hand. it's much simpler this way.

 

 

SASTER: Are there any mediums you might be working on that are different than painting? What’s the next level for you?

 

EWOK: I’m a workaholic. I’m always messing with something. If its nice weather out, I’ll paint outdoors. If it’s cold, I’ll spend a lot of time on the computer or painting canvases for some of the private collectors I’ve accumulated over the years. My most recent venture is into the vinyl figure realm, which brings my name into a completely new fan base, and ultimately leads back to more buyers interested in my work on a canvas. The same goes for the fashion scene. I’ve done years of graphic design, some sneaker projects, one of those was a very limited release last year with DKNY. I have another deal being worked out as we speak with another company. If I get what I’m asking for, it’ll be another homerun for the kid.

 

SASTER: Where have your travels been?

 

EWOK: Well, after my court run-ins a few years ago, the only way I could write on shit was to travel. Basically, I’ve been all over the U.S., Seattle, L.A. like 10 times. Rocked Frisco for 11 nights straight with KEL5MH on a while back. I have been to St.Louis, Connecticut, Miami, Boston, Atlanta, and Los Vegas. Overseas I’ve been to Indonesia, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Jamaica and Puerto Rico 3 times, and most recently Vera Cruz Mexico.

 

 

SASTER: What countries do you really feel and why?

 

EWOK: I love all countries period. It charges my batteries to go someplace new. I just can’t help it. I have go out as much as I can until I feel like I’ve accomplished something there, then I'll settle down. I’ve seen other New Yorker’s out on my travels up in the strangest places, like

Ket ,Sento, Mickey in Puerto Rico, MQue,Rehab,Sabe and Jest in Japan. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from writers who’ve traveled in my footsteps and seen my shit as well. It’s been like the next step for me I feel like when I travel.

 

 

SASTER: What would you like to see more of in the Graff game?

 

EWOK: Personally, I would love to see the gates not get buffed anymore on major Ave’s. That’s the worst. NYC’s history getting wiped away overnight by some freelance buff team catching funding from the city. And of course the clean train movement to come back but that’s a given… Oh, and less ignorance in the New York scene. There’s a lot of ego coming from people who never did shit, and continue to not do shit, but manage to have some almighty opinion which they think means something behind these screen names. Ya’ll need to know your place in the scheme of things, and stay in the backseat where ya’ll belong…and stop trying to tell people how to drive.

 

 

SASTER: Do you like Street Art?

 

EWOK: Hell no, It’s bandwagon horseshit. This shit moved into New York when the first two stops of the L train in BK turned into the world’s worst fashion show. All these clowns need to move onto another subculture already, use up their pops money and move back to the wherever they come from. NYC is a fuckin Disney Land for adults now I hate it. The only "street art" cat who gets a pass from me is OBEY. I first seen his Andre the Giant heads back in the early 90’s when the Cross Bronx caught the 1st Red buff. There were these stencils from the city that said, “THIS AREA

IS NOW UNDER VIDEO SURVEILANCE”. These were done about every 400 feet, and right under it was this Andre the Giant stencil. From that point on, it was everywhere, so again this was WAYYYYYYYYY before the hipsters found out graffiti was cool. That’s why homie gets a pass from me, ‘cause he’s been around this long and dude never claimed to be a graffiti writer. He knows his place in the scene, and is a humble guy.

 

SASTER: How is business doing with you at the moment? Are you still working on gear?

 

EWOK: Business is booming! Put your stocks into EWOK 5MH yall, for real, I have more work then I can handle. As for gear I’m the senior designer with SCIFEN.

 

 

SASTER: I know you were working with Ecko for a minute. How did that treat you?

 

EWOK: I learned a lot about the industry back then… you could say that much. Raven from 12 oz. Prophet vouched for me and put my portfolio into Marc’s hands, the next day I had a job, worked on salary for almost two years, and left on bad terms. Since then, I think Marc has tried to make a few good gestures to make up for any bad history. I’d get contacted from time to time to do some random job that their art department couldn’t do, like paint a fuckin’ 900 lb. iron Rhino statue for a few gees. I’d get scooped up in limo and driven all the way out to some auto body shop in Long Island where the driver sits outside all day and waits for me to finish. Then I’d get dropped off back in the city at my crib. Bugged out Shit like that.

It’s the least they could do is throw me a few gees here and there. They’re still using my hand styles and str8 letters all over the place on their clothing almost 5 yrs later. I’m not talkin about a little tag here and there, I’m talking about full blown tags across the chest of a major item, like a track jacket with a matching bottom, shit like that. But like I said I’ve learned a lot about the industry, as well as realized my own worth. I got my stake in a few established endeavors (as we speak) going nicely.

 

 

SASTER: Whom have you worked for since?

 

EWOK: I freelanced for a few years and worked with all kinds of companies. I’m not even going to start naming shit. I’ve worked with everyone! I’m valuable baby!

 

SASTER: What is Ewok going to be up to 10 years from now?

 

EWOK: 10 more years from now I’ll be swinging for the fences with whatever I’m trying to work on at the time. And whatever it is I’m doing, I’m sure it will still be making grown men act like lil’ schoolgirls on these websites. But you know what? I rather them be bitchin’ about me then about someone else. Good or bad I want’m talkin about me. These people who will never meet me in person, but wanna act like they know who I am, and what my favorite color is.

 

 

SASTER: Any words to writers out there?

 

EWOK: I’ll let the body of work speak for itself. I been in this game 16-17 yrs now, and I’m not going anywhere…slow and steady wins the race.

 

 

SASTER It seems to me that there is some type of animosity towards some New York writers, is this the case? Or is it something that is being directed at a specific individual?

 

EWOK: Nah, nobody specific, just chatter that I’m either told about by people close to me, or stuff I read about myself on these sites. Just a lot of misguided hate from people who hide behind their computer, and even worse when you find out it’s someone who you respect for what they’ve accomplished for themselves. It’s sad to see them try to gain yardage by smearing people they find as a threat, when I’m not even out here like that. I’m directly competing with the world, not anyone in NYC. This is where my heart is. I want NY to shine bright, not sit around throwing rocks at each other.

 

 

SASTER: What do you suggest to the kid who wants to get into the Graff game?

 

EWOK:: Learn your history first. Study Subway Art book, Dondi book, Cope’s book, and T-kid’s book. These are your bible’s to understand letter structure and basic fundamentals, and PLEASE stay in books until it’s good enough to be in public where everyone has to see it. There’s too much toy shit out there already, in 2006 you got toys with more ups then people with style. It’s sad. And most of all, do what you do for YOURSELF, and not to impress anyone else. If you wanna go all city, go all city cuz you love writing on shit and seeing yourself up. Don’t do it to feed your ego, there’s enough ego on this island already.

 

 

SASTER: One final question for the time being. Your tag says a bunch for itself as far as style is concerned. Its unique and distinct like many other writers out there. Do you see others emulating on what you have created for yourself?

 

EWOK: I don’t know. It’s a hard thing to say… my E is a Brooklyn E, so I never really made that up, but my K used to look like a question mark or as RK9 says, “it’s a rabbit leg” that has since evolved into something more streamline for speed. I don’t think I see anyone emulating it, or maybe I’m not just paying attention. You obviously asked the question for a reason, so I’ll have to look around more. Now that I think about it, I’ve seen some variations of my K made into R’s, maybe that’s what you mean, I see that all the time, but they don’t do it right, it’s like JA’s tag, no one can really do the top of his “A” the way he does, so it’s sorta like a trademark protection.

 

SASTER: And indeed, that’s what we’re talking about… Thanks for the time.

 

EWOK: No doubt… good looks on the shine and peace to everyone who shows the kid love, and even you haterz, you just need a hug. haha.

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