Sike Interview @149st

SIKE INTERVIEW

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

Where and when did you start writing on trains?
I started writing on subway platforms in 1975 and in '76 I started writing on trains, end of '75 in to '76.

List all the alternate names you have written.
I only wrote SIKE. I'd write SK but, that was only if I didn't have enough paint left over for a throw-up.

Who got you into writing?
My brother NIP. My friend Sean BONES who used to write ST. SI and SO, PI-3.

What borough are you originally from?
I'm from Queens.

What lines have you hit?
The J was my major line. Then a little bit on the A and very little bit on the Es.

Where were your favorite locations to paint?
111th Street and Jamaica Avenue.

Who were your best partners?
Best partner I had was myself. To go by myself was the best way to do it, 'cause sometimes some of the guys would get too crazy, They'd burn it (the painting location). and I didn't like that. I just wanted to hit it. Hit it and run and do it again the next day. Some guys wanted to bust windows and a whole lot of other stuff that I wasn't down with.

What crews have you written for?
I really wasn't in any crews or anything like that. I used to write for myself.

How did you develop your style?
I copied from SI and SO and any writers of that era.

Do you have any interesting 149th Street Bench stories?
I don't know the bench. I mean I know of it, but I was never there.

Were there any stations in your area where writers met and benched?
I just meet my friends from in the neighborhood, like at 111th Street station. SAR could be there, IZ could be there, FANE could be there, it would just be like guys from a small radius. You wouldn't see guys from like the Bronx, I mean in my experience I never met guys like that. Maybe you'd meet some Brooklyn guys, but not too many. Like everybody kept to themselves.

What year did you quit writing?
I stopped writing in I think like '79-'80, came back in '91 a little bit with SAR.

What are the most memorable pieces you've seen?
Williamsburg Bridge - LEE, Heaven is Life - Earth is Hell - LEE, HE 3 whole car top to bottom side to side, a couple of SEENs that I'd seen when I was a kid takin' the 6 train in Manhattan workin' in the city. They blew me away! That was some of the nicest stuff I ever saw. Ever!

Name a few writers you feel deserve more recognition.
IZ THE WIZ deserves more recognition, because he was the most prolific writer of all time. I've been all over Manhattan. I've been all over The Bronx. I've lived all over New York City hung out. He is the most up writer of all time bar none most pieces, that's the end of that.

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