JOUST INTERVIEW ©2002, 2003 @149st Do not republish without permission. Where and what year did you start writing on trains? I started motion bombing the beginning of 1976. What inspired you to become involved in writing? MICO and SHORTY 13 had tags on Newkirk plaza as far back as I can remember, also the track side pieces between Newkirk through to Prospect Park on the Brighton line were really inspiring! Did you have a mentor? JC 1, who later wrote with KARADO 135. He saw my little imitation graffiti pieces on my books the first day of high school and asked me "You write?" He was a great storyteller, filling me in on the legends, mythology and history of graffiti. Also PAWN 1 was great for this and he could imitate practically anyone's style on paper. Both these writers stressed graffiti had ethics and I needed to practice on paper for at least 6 months and learn to rack paint. Who influenced your style? I was an M train fanatic, so anyone who hit them between '74 and '79. When I came back in the '80s I wanted my tag styles to come off like DANGER 59 and CHINO 13 and my throw and piece styles to come off like JESTER 1, TJ 159 and UNCLE JOHN 178, TEAR. How did you get your name? I was originally TEX 7, but TEX 2 was going strong then. PAWN 1 gave me the name. List all the other names under which you have painted? DESPOT 2, KID TWIST 2, O-SNAP, ARTIST of FORTUNE, JD 718 and JOHN DOE 718 What borough are you originally from? Brooklyn. What lines have you hit? Mostly Ms, Ds and Fs. Who were your most successful partners? My first partner was STORM 7 GSA I would say TRIKE 1 GND and SAM NSA were the most up. Also KEON 1 was always there. What crews have you written for? Graffiti Strikes Again was the first crew I was down with. YES 7 was the president and he took me under his wing for a while. Other members had great names such as KRAZY SNAKE 3, DICE 7,and MR. MINT 58. I later wrote for The Crew, being put down by KARADO 135. How did you join the Graffiti Never Dies crew? Every kid into graf from Flatbush East to Coney Island copied the Graffiti Never Dies crew, but greats such as NO, HASH and WHIZ 1 were all pretty much retired by '75 although their stuff ran for a long time. TRIKE 1 was an original member claiming "king of the busses" in Brooklyn in '76. He brought it back in the '80s and put me down. The name says it all.. How did you join the Non Stop Action crew? MR. DEAL started Non Stop Action about 1979 at SAM's house, which was a kind of writers corner for us as his brother was FOX The Rebels (r.i.p.). There were old LSD OM and SCOOTER tags in the basement. Other notable NSA members included BUSTER 1, STAYKOOL 3 aka SMIZ, CATCH 22, MR. ARROW and BUF 1. Did you have any memorable conflicts with other crews on the subway? I was a very low key writer, mostly painting solo, late at night. Are there any writers of your era that you feel need more acknowledgement in history? I'm just really happy some of the old BMT writers are finally getting recognized. CLASH and CALL had beautiful pieces running. ROTO and SNAK 1 NCB had awesome tag styles, which I think, were very influential. When did you quit painting trains? I painted my last subway about '85 to '86,continuing on streets and highways a little bit longer. Do you have any closing words? I love graffiti from its most primitive to its wildest styles. I hope I inspired guys who came along after me. GRAFNEVRDYEZ! Back to JOUST main page | Home |  Artists |  Crews |  History |  Links |  E mail | Glossary |