Schick One Interview @149st

SCHICK ONE INTERVIEW

©2002, 2003 @149st Do not republish without permission.

Where and what year did you start writing on trains?
I began writing on trains in the year 1971. I was a toy for a few years until I learned how to play the game. The first trains I ever wrote my name on was the number 6 train, from the Elder Avenue station.

What borough are you originally from?
I'm from the Boogie Down Bronx, though I am currently living in Greenville, South Carolina.

What inspired you to become involved in writing?
Everywhere I went I started seeing tags of EDDIE 181, EVA 62, BARBARA 62, CHARMIN 65, PHASE 2, STATIC 1, THE CRUSHER 2, JOHNNY 800 I could go on and on but I will stop here.

Did you have a mentor?
Not really, I just kept an attentive ear and tried to learn whatever I could from whomever I could.

Who influenced your style?
In the beginning I just tried to copy the pioneers, but as time goes on you tend to develop your own style.

How did you get your name?
I walked into a small candy store on the corner of Elder Avenue and Jerome, I bought a marker then I started looking around the store for a name, and I saw the SCHICK razor blades and that's how I got my name.

List all the other names under which you have painted?
DANNY 172 and SCHICK SALSA were the only names I ever used.

What lines have you hit?
I hit the 1,2,3,4,5,6 and 7 lines; I also hit about half of the BMT lines.

Which crews were you affiliated with?
The Killers, Latin Action, The 12'O'clock crew and of course SALSA there may have been a few others but it has been so long I may have forgotten.

How did SALSA start and who were all the members original and subsequent?
Five guys that began hanging together started SALSA. I can't remember who thought of the name, but once we got it, we started bombing the city with it, tagging SALSA wherever we went. We had no president we were all equal. The original five members were KROME 100, GAME 5, FDT 56, PAX, and yours truly SCHICK One. Other members were my boy WASP ONE, there was also WHIZ 3, BLUE BEARD 183, OZ 109 there are so many more too many to put down. Forgive me if I missed your name.

Who were your most successful partners?
Through out my graffiti career I've been with a lot of successful writers, but my best partner has always been WASP ONE because we have always been like brothers, till today I still miss hanging out with him.

When did you quit painting trains?
The day I saw FDT in the newspaper. The headlines read man gets caught writing on wall. I thought, man I'm getting too old for this. Ever since that day I quit. I can't tell you what year it was cause I don't remember.

Who were the most popular writers of your era?
EDDIE 181, EVA 62, BARBARA 62, CHARMIN 65, PHASE 2, SUPER KOOL 223, STAY HIGH 149, STAFF 161, AJ 161, TAKE 5. There were a lot more, these are just a few.

Are there any writers you feel made significant contributions to writing that have been over looked by history?
A lot of times pioneers are forgotten by the new schoolers. But if you want to check out some real old school graffiti artist check out the book The Faith of Graffiti.

Are you currently involved in art in any capacity?
Yes, thanks to graffiti when I moved to South Carolina I got involved in doing graphic arts. I did that for about 10 years. Now I am doing advertisement on vehicles in other words your vehicle becomes a rolling billboard. The correct terminology for what I am doing now is vehicle wraps.

Do you have any closing words?
There is no such thing as ugly art; all art has beauty, You must take the time to find the beauty in the art.

Yours truly,
SCHICK! SALSA

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