Zephyr Interview @149st

ZEPHYR INTERVIEW

©1996, 2003 @149st Do not republish without permission.

What age did you start writing?
I started messing around with it around age 14 1975. You go through those years of tagging in your stairway but not venturing out too much I didn't start getting my tag around until 1977.

What were your influences?
Since I started as an inside writer other inside writers MOVIN, JESTER, DEAN, Go club writers, SHADOW, TEAM, AZTEC, and LSD OM my mentor pretty much that got me into it. A lot of old Rebels(TR) that hardly ever got up that much that had really good tag styles. Writers like CURSE, REBEL he got up a bit, PUMA 107 from the 6, HURST 1 TOP. I think everybody in all facets of art, they take little things from different people I would always look at things like AZTEC's Z and JESTER's R and I would interpret it and make it my own.

What crews did you first put up?
When I first started out before I started writing ZEPHYR I wrote SKY and a bunch of other names. Eventually I got down with The Rebels, RTW Rolling Thunder Writers; SAGE (BIL-ROC) was the prez. Eventually I got into other crews CIA, MAFIA, THE MOB and a few others.

What were your favorite brand of paints to use back in the 70s?
Supreme quality Red Devil because it was thick dripless and produced a very thin line. Rustoleum because it was thick and covered quickly, Krylon because the made so many colors.

What were your favorite whole cars?
One of CLIFF 159's whole car with a Beetle Bailey character next to it, the TRACY 168 window down with a Yosimite Sam character next to it. LEE and the Fabulous 5,s work. BLADE 1 I give a lot of credit because of his originality.

What was the first line you ever hit?
4 ,5, 6 motion tagging, I also motion tagged on the 1 line, riding it to the last stop South Ferry. I did my first pieces in the One Tunnel,1 lay-up, 1 yard; then I went all city with other crews.

Do you have any words of advice for the writers of the 90s?
I could actually get advice from them because I'm just now trying to come back from a 10 year hiatus so probably I could use some advice from new writers. The graffiti thing's really changed since the 10 years I've got out of it. Now I'm trying to come back. Some of the developments are pretty sad like the whole flick thing of piecing on clean trains just for flicks. Other than that I would say that the freights although a lot of the old writers think that freights are a stupid place to paint. I'm enjoying it. It is a train and has a national audience its a viable alternative I guess?

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