00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:09.839
What's up everyone?
00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:13.599
Welcome to our podcast Visual Noise Wall Talk.
00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:15.199
Trip and Ninja here.
00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:16.239
What's up, Ninja?
00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:17.359
Yo, what's up?
00:00:17.440 --> 00:00:18.000
How you doing?
00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:18.800
I'm good, man.
00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:19.359
I'm good.
00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:20.960
It is hot today.
00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:22.000
Holy.
00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:24.399
Yes, it's Toronto.
00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:25.920
35 degrees here.
00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:26.559
It's wild.
00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:27.519
Yes.
00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:29.760
I swear it snowed.
00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:33.520
We were at like a cottage for like a day and it snowed.
00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:34.799
I think that was two weeks ago.
00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:39.439
So you know, Ottawa, I mean Canada in general is crazy, but Ottawa is wild.
00:00:39.679 --> 00:00:43.920
In our podcast, we interview street artists, we talk about art, and welcome to the show.
00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:47.679
Today we have a West Coast homie, uh, Urban Mutant.
00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:49.280
What's up, Urban Mutant?
00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:54.880
Well, uh, it's um surprisingly cool today.
00:00:55.119 --> 00:00:55.840
Oh, okay.
00:00:56.240 --> 00:00:57.359
Expected to be warmer.
00:00:57.439 --> 00:00:59.679
It was warmer yesterday, but okay.
00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:01.280
Today a bit cool.
00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:09.439
Do you want to tell the listeners um, well, we know you're from BC, a little bit about yourself, what you do, uh just some background info.
00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:11.840
Okay, background info.
00:01:12.159 --> 00:01:13.519
There's a lot of stuff.
00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:15.840
I'm an old guy, you see.
00:01:16.159 --> 00:01:16.719
Join the club.
00:01:16.879 --> 00:01:20.239
So there's lots of stuff to omit that won't make any difference.
00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:24.239
So I've been in Canadian for 32 years.
00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:27.680
I'm originally from the Seattle area before that.
00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:27.920
Okay.
00:01:28.079 --> 00:01:31.519
So were you doing street art there in Seattle?
00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:32.799
Not really.
00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:36.480
I did some years ago once I moved to Canada.
00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:39.680
I did uh some political stuff here and there.
00:01:40.239 --> 00:01:51.840
But it wasn't until I started traveling to like France or I think it was France and Italy that really got to me, and I went, Oh, okay, gotta do this seriously.
00:01:52.079 --> 00:01:54.079
Because I just had to be part of it.
00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:56.000
How long have you been doing it for?
00:01:56.480 --> 00:01:57.359
It hasn't been long.
00:01:57.439 --> 00:01:59.599
It's been up to six six years or so.
00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:01.040
So not too long.
00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:01.599
Okay.
00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:06.319
The name Urban Mutant comes from a radio show that I that I still do.
00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:21.759
And so the stickers were originally made to promote a radio show called Urban Mutant, which is still run out of Seattle on Saturday nights, and now is rerun on CITR up here at UBC.
00:02:22.319 --> 00:02:25.840
So I do that every week, and it's on Mixed Cloud.
00:02:26.159 --> 00:02:28.159
What is the the radio show?
00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:35.120
It is uh it's a music show, but it's but it's more like uh it's less of a genre and more of a mood show.
00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:37.599
So it's about hypnagogia.
00:02:37.840 --> 00:02:42.800
It's uh I often call it haunted and damaged music for haunted and damaged people.
00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:44.639
Okay.
00:02:46.319 --> 00:02:54.960
So it's like I use whatever genre to put you in sort of a weird in-between consciousness state, you know.
00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:57.919
And uh, you know, I never get tired of it.
00:02:58.000 --> 00:02:59.599
It's it's a lot of fun.
00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:02.080
I always thought I wanted to do a radio show.
00:03:02.159 --> 00:03:13.360
I I I thought about it years ago and applied for it, and it was like only like crazy times, you know, like they were like, Yeah, sure, we'd love to have you at like two to four in the morning, and I was like, I can't.
00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:14.479
That's crazy.
00:03:15.280 --> 00:03:15.919
Yeah, exactly.
00:03:16.159 --> 00:03:23.919
Like I know you have to start somewhere, I guess, but I wasn't willing to do that because I love music, you know, like and just the idea of it.
00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:27.759
Yeah, no, I mean, you know, that's tough if they give you time like that.
00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:32.159
I mean, that's what they're looking for, but it's I don't know, it's not for everyone.
00:03:32.479 --> 00:03:33.840
No, no, that's for sure.
00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:37.840
But what I like about this one is I'm able to do it, I don't have to do it live.
00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:42.240
I can I usually produce it a day or two before and edit it.
00:03:42.400 --> 00:04:01.280
And it's a three-hour show, it's a long one of the longer ones, and then I say I you know send it through the software in Seattle, and then uh later I and then I edit it for Vancouver that plays at uh UBC, which is University of British Columbia, for people who uh are not aware.
00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:05.599
Are there any uh recent street artists that inspire you?
00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:14.479
Well, in town here we we have uh Ched who I like a lot, Uncle Ched or whatever we want to call him.
00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:16.160
He does a character.
00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:23.600
Um a lot of the stickers that I was inspired by were um I guess some of the European ones, so there was a lot of characters.
00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:58.800
And I look at some of the I haven't been down to Mexico or uh Latin America for a long time, but they also heavy into the characters, bold lines, nice designs, and so it took me a while to find my character, but I came up with this red frog, and I kept drawing it, and I knew that I finally decided I've had enough sort of borrowing images from like logos from the 30s or whatever, and said I can draw, so why not why am I not drawing my own character?
00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:01.199
And I went back to this frog again and again.
00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:05.360
So now I draw the frog, I don't use vector at all for it.
00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:13.759
I just uh I draw the frog out, I make the lines bolder, I and then uh that's how it comes out and try to improve it every time.
00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:18.240
It doesn't always work, but so are you using pro procreate or no?
00:05:18.319 --> 00:05:24.399
I I generally draw it out on paper, like in pencil, then I go over with ink.
00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:31.439
Then I just take a picture on my phone and I put it into uh PixArt program to do the rest.
00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:42.959
I I like how your frog often kind of has a leg hanging down, like it gives it kind of like movement and it just stretches it out a little bit, like his leg is always kind of hanging over something.
00:05:43.120 --> 00:05:43.680
I like that.
00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:45.040
It took a while to get there.
00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:51.519
I always saw the image in my mind, but was kind of unable to make it work just right as far as drawing it.
00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:58.639
If I I finally got it to where what I've seen in my mind's eye, so I finally got there, and so I've been using that more and more.
00:05:58.879 --> 00:06:00.399
It's a it's a great image.
00:06:00.639 --> 00:06:04.560
What's the most memorable experience you've had while doing street art?
00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:05.600
Wow.
00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:07.680
Uh memorable experience.
00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:11.680
Good or bad, you know, being chased by the cops.
00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:13.600
Or I know you hang out with red rum.
00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:14.639
Uh you guys go out.
00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:16.079
Hang out with red rum.
00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:21.279
Yeah, some of the uh most memorable experiences happen around red rum.
00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:31.519
I don't know what he's told you about himself, but he's uh struggled with epilepsy for a while, and uh so I was a couple times when he's had a seizure.
00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:37.439
Wow, the first time I wasn't quite sure what was going on, so it wasn't what I expected.
00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:43.839
He just sort of froze up and grabbed my shoulders, and I was kind of like, oh shit, what's happening?
00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:55.360
Yeah, but then I realized what was going on, so then I said, Okay, we'll just give him some room, give him a safe space to be, and uh and just be there for him, right?
00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:55.839
Sure.
00:06:56.079 --> 00:07:01.759
So I think we get along that way in that we sort of look after each other.
00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:07.600
Our relationships built on just friendship with no stress, you know, and that's good for us.
00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:11.759
We're both a bit uh anxious people, you know.
00:07:12.079 --> 00:07:14.560
So we just like I'm not here to stress you out.
00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:18.959
You just you know, tell me whatever you need to tell me, and I'll tell you whatever I need to tell you.
00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:21.199
We'll just sort of sympathico.
00:07:21.439 --> 00:07:28.079
And was it just uh this weekend we were in the garage, my garage, sort of uh setting up a silk screen?
00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:28.720
Sweet.
00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:31.920
Um, so we'll probably do some silk screening soon.
00:07:32.240 --> 00:07:32.879
Nice.
00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:51.279
He mentioned kind of having uh uh an episode um while he was stickering, but he didn't say he was with you, but yeah, he's had more that were quite dangerous from what I understand, the way I wasn't around, and I know that he's you know, I wanted to say this about him, and I thought about it for a while.
00:07:51.680 --> 00:08:05.759
For a guy that's been screwed by the system and by the world so hard and so viciously, it's amazing to me how kind he is to everybody around him.
00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:07.199
Okay, that's nice.
00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:08.480
I really respect him for that.
00:08:09.120 --> 00:08:16.399
Yeah, he seemed like a really great guy, and you know, from what he's told me, it sounds like some pretty fucked up shit has happened in his life.
00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:20.560
Unfortunately, extremely fucked up, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:21.199
True.
00:08:21.439 --> 00:08:23.839
So he needs your love, he needs all our love.
00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:25.920
Always, always definitely.
00:08:26.160 --> 00:08:30.399
How do you feel when someone covers your artwork on the street?
00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:46.159
I am not a vindictive person, so I usually just I don't want to start a war and I don't want any bad feelings, but uh there are times when I've been covered that I just sort of went to peeled it off something off again, especially if it's an advertisement, you know.
00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:52.559
Oh yeah, yeah, I just you know, come on, but you know, I get angry, it's like that this isn't what you do.
00:08:52.720 --> 00:09:03.759
Come on, and we try not to do it to anybody else, but there are cases where we do if it's like a hate speech or something, yes, we'll definitely fuck with that.
00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:09.200
Yeah, that I don't see a lot of it, but thankfully, yeah, that's actually kind of good.
00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:10.720
Yeah, that you don't see a lot of it.
00:09:10.879 --> 00:09:12.960
I I actually, so I've told the story before.
00:09:13.039 --> 00:09:18.000
There's this person that likes to put jail vandal stickers over my stickers.
00:09:18.159 --> 00:09:25.120
Uh and I was at blah blahs today, and there was like three over like I had two stickers on the stop sign.
00:09:25.200 --> 00:09:32.159
There was like three over one and three over the other one, and then there was this Jesus repent sticker on the stop sign too.
00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:36.480
Nothing over the Jesus repent sticker, but all these over mine.
00:09:36.559 --> 00:09:38.080
I'm just like, what the fuck?
00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:40.639
Like, I am not preaching anything.
00:09:40.799 --> 00:09:49.519
I'm not, you know, and you know, like assume that uh this this is a bad individual, this person that just puts up stickers without advertising anything.
00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:51.679
Yeah, god Jesus Christ.
00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:53.919
What's wrong with you?
00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:59.679
Some Jesus imagery in my in my uh yeah, maybe, you know, call collab with Jesus, man.
00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:00.399
OG.
00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:02.080
I should, I should, I'll reach out.
00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:04.080
Jesus strong, you know.
00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:12.799
If your art had a soundtrack, what kind of music would be blasting while you were stickering or making your art?
00:10:13.279 --> 00:10:21.759
That is a really interesting question, and it's a really difficult for the radio guy like me.
00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:22.960
Okay, how about this?
00:10:23.919 --> 00:10:24.960
A million different places.
00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:29.039
Pick one song that you can listen to for the rest of your life.
00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:31.039
Oh god, yeah, okay.
00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:33.360
For the rest of my loud.
00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:46.240
You know, I always go back to certain bands that I love, and and uh Joy Division is one, the monochrome set is another one, more of my happy times.
00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:51.919
And uh I really like Yola Tango and oh, I like a band called Flipper.
00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:53.519
Okay, let's choose Flipper.
00:10:53.759 --> 00:10:55.279
Flipper, okay, never heard of it.
00:10:55.600 --> 00:11:01.600
Flipper track in life, my friends, from the Gone Fishing album came out like 1983.
00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:06.960
It's San Francisco Weirdcore Punk, and that song I can listen to forever.
00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:08.480
Still gives me goosebumps.
00:11:08.720 --> 00:11:18.799
That that guitar, that sort of caterwalling guitar at the end, and the way the the bass and the drums are just keeping the pace, and the guitar is like just twirling every you know, just everywhere.
00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:20.639
It's it's a it's a wonderful track.
00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:21.279
I love it.
00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:22.559
Okay, it's my homework.
00:11:22.639 --> 00:11:23.759
Listen to Flipper.
00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:25.679
Yeah, that's right.
00:11:26.000 --> 00:11:29.039
What advice would you give uh new artists?
00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:33.200
Practice all the time, which I'm really bad at.
00:11:33.360 --> 00:11:38.720
I drew a lot as a kid because I was lonely and depressed all the time.
00:11:38.960 --> 00:11:41.200
So I would be alone a lot drawing.
00:11:41.360 --> 00:11:46.399
And so I I guess I practice more than times in my life where I just didn't do any.
00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:51.919
I made the wrong decisions, went into the wrong careers, and wasted a lot of time.
00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:56.080
So I wish I was drawing every day and I don't.
00:11:56.159 --> 00:12:03.279
You know, I get busy, I work and I do several hobbies, so and the radio takes up an awful lot of time.
00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:09.279
But yeah, um if for artists, get your craft down, but don't be dissuade.
00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:15.200
Don't worry about your art not measuring up to somebody else's.
00:12:15.360 --> 00:12:18.320
You've got your own style and you and you can work it out.
00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:21.120
You can be influenced by people for sure.
00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:33.679
Like I may be sometimes influenced by Walt Kelly of the old pogo comics from way back when my grandparents were reading comics, or it might be um Mad Magazine.
00:12:33.919 --> 00:12:38.799
But just just play around, find your own voice, practice, practice.
00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:39.279
I like it.
00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:40.080
Practice, yeah.
00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:42.639
What's your favorite type of surface to work on?
00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:46.879
Uh, electrical boxes, glass, metal, dumpsters.
00:12:48.159 --> 00:12:50.960
Well, I like the street signs.
00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:56.080
You know, I definitely and I like the poles, okay.
00:12:56.240 --> 00:13:06.320
Um, I like poles because I, you know, when I when I travel, I see a lot of stickers on poles and on those what do you call those barriers in the street?
00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:17.440
Like they have those uh big round uh barriers to keep cars out of places, and there's a lot in Europe, so I see a lot on those, so I like I like to put them on those.
00:13:17.919 --> 00:13:22.879
I like the alleyways in in France and uh Barcelona.
00:13:23.440 --> 00:13:24.879
Do you travel a lot?
00:13:25.120 --> 00:13:39.039
Yeah, I don't really, you know, when I listen to a podcast like City Kitty, nice, and it seems like they're always well, let's go over here, we'll travel here, we'll do this, we'll travel there and do that.
00:13:39.120 --> 00:13:42.399
And I'm like, how in the hell are you doing this?
00:13:42.639 --> 00:13:54.799
Yeah, and I always feel a little bit, you know, like well, you know, I get cynical about it, but uh I am I've been doing more traveling like once every three years now or so, and I never thought I would before.
00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:55.600
So yeah.
00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:56.639
Good, that's good.
00:13:56.879 --> 00:13:59.759
How do you define success as a street artist?
00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:02.559
Personal satisfaction, I guess.
00:14:02.799 --> 00:14:15.600
Well, for me, it's a lot about sending it out and getting up in other cities around the world, and that's where I'm probably the most satisfied because that's where I've been the most influenced.
00:14:15.919 --> 00:14:22.639
It is nice seeing it in a in a different country or you know, having a monument behind it that you're like, oh man, that is awesome.
00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:38.799
There's nothing I hate more though than I send a pack out and someone puts up stickers and they do this super close shot, and it could be fucking anywhere, you know, and you gotta like you know, think of the angles and think of what's behind you, and you know, I want to see like where it is, you know.
00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:39.679
Yeah, true.
00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:43.759
And yeah, a good good uh staging is is cool.
00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:58.320
Yeah, so yeah, I mean if you can like I took a few shots of my sticker and a few friends in front of the uh the cathedral in Barcelona, the not Barcelona, family Sagrada Familia, yeah, yeah, yes.
00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:09.360
So that's a great place to take a picture of absolutely any last words to leave the listeners with, any wisdom, any you know, ideas, thoughts?
00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.480
I'm usually a bummer when it comes to wisdom.
00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:16.399
I'm not I'm not terribly optimistic.
00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:19.519
Okay, give us some negative wisdom.
00:15:20.879 --> 00:15:26.240
You really put your mind to something, you may not be able to see it to fruition.
00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:31.200
I don't believe that you can you can put your mind to swimming your way to the moon.
00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:32.639
It's not gonna happen.
00:15:32.799 --> 00:15:36.480
You know, there's just practical things in life that depends on luck.
00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:48.240
Now, if I hadn't moved to Canada when I did, I'd probably be in rough shape in the States right now without health care and you know, unable to pay for those, you know, whatever, just the whole cost.
00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:49.840
So I've been very fortunate that way.
00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:54.000
And a lot of that was just luck of when finding my wife when it was.
00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:57.039
There is no divine intervention in that.
00:15:57.279 --> 00:15:59.120
There's nobody looking out for you.
00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:00.639
It's chaos.
00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:05.759
And do the best you can and be kind because we all got to get through this.
00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:06.960
That's great.
00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:07.759
I I agree.
00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:08.399
Be kind.
00:16:08.639 --> 00:16:10.320
We'll take that message and be kind.
00:16:10.559 --> 00:16:12.000
Any last words, Ninja?
00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:13.039
Yeah, I like that.
00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:13.679
Be kind.
00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:14.639
That's a nice one.
00:16:14.879 --> 00:16:15.440
That is nice.
00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:16.879
Yeah.
00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:23.759
Thanks so much for joining us today on Visual Noise Walls Talk, and we'll see you next time.
00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:24.879
Peace, everyone.
00:16:25.679 --> 00:16:26.320
Okay, guys.
00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:27.360
See you online.