For the record, what do you write, and what crews are you down with?

I write EMPOWER and i'm a battalion of one. I'm presently crewless for a variety of reasons. i got nothing but hate for politics, so i just try to handle my business and steer clear of the drama. Also, I'm a bit of a drifter and I don't have much in the way of social skills so i've never really had a core of people that i've fallen in with. i think a lot of kids start crews or join up just so they got something else to write next to their pieces. That's twisted, why rep something that you're not willing to back up 100%? That's not really what i'm all about so...if something right comes along, i'll push it; but this is how it is for now.

Roughly how much of your work is done on fr8s?

i'd say about 40%, i'd say another 30% is rooftops and line bombing. 10% chill spots or permission walls for a change of pace...and the other 20% is secret.

I know that chicago graff scene started very early on, with a subway scene exisisting in the 80s before most cities even had an actual scene. Do you feel that, that history has had an impact on your development as a writer, or your style?

i'm actually a chicago transplant, so i didn't get to witness a lot of the history that went on pre buff (1996) I'd say the rooftop scene and setup of the city influenced my style more than any particular writer (although i dig agent's stuff a lot). You only see pieces on the line for a couple seconds so you gotta make sure everything you want to communicate can be noticed in those couple seconds. That's why my color schemes are generally pretty contrasty and a lot of pieces are simple. That's also where i picked up doing straight letters. it's all about communicating your message effectively. i think that's a good mindset to have for freights. i see a lot of kids doing these teched out pieces that look good in flix but you see em rolling and it's like "what the hell was that?" There's a time and place for those styles and sometimes i just feel like burning the fuck out of the train so i get wild but... Personally, i like most of my train pieces to be stripped down.

Are you very involved in the chicago scene, or do you try and do your own thing and avoid the politics of a local scene?

i just handle my business. Chicago is an awesome city and i miss it every day. As far as graffiti goes, there always seems to be a lot of beef, which is preposterous because the lines get buffed so much there shouldn't be any competition over space. It seems that crew beef is the only reason people really get motivated to wreck the city. Politics don't seem to make it into the freight yards. People aren't as into freights out there. Chicago has always been an isolated city. Very few writers could care less about what goes on outside of the city.

Some people have labeled your style as "abstract", do you feel your work is abstract (do you even agree with the label), and do you think its a natural progression of your style, or a big departure?

uhhh...i don't think people are talking about me long enough to be labeling my style. . I've been doing some pretty wacky stuff lately but if you follow my style for the past couple of years it all makes sense. The letters are all there. I try to do something new every time out and sometimes it works out and well...sometimes it doesn't. As far as abstract goes, i don't see it like that. I always try to make my pieces look like something. For a long time I was trying to make my name look like a landscape (it worked well on trains), then i was on this stained glass style for a while, lately my pieces have been looking kinda spidery. Every new style I do is just another ingredient to drop in to the EMPO "style cuisenart" for when i really want to get nasty. I got a couple new styles in the lab that are waiting to be unleashed upon creation. Lock your doors.

Chicago is widely accepted as the railroad capital of america, how does that work out for writers? Is it paradise or do the railroads have things locked up tight security wise?

There's a lot of yards. You just have to do the research as to which ones are cool to paint. Some of the yards havea lot of security but it's mainly because of thievery. And a lot of yards are in straight up gang land. You can get over pretty consistently if you're smart. But then again, it's a big city and anything can happen at any time. This past summer some dude pulled a shotgun on Wyse when we were painting at my favorite spot and i've been hearing from friends that rail police are catching on at certain yards. You just gotta keep on moving.

W hats your favorite type of car to paint?

Transit

I heard you recently made the pilgramige to mecca and painted with a few ny/nj cats, what was that like?

It was the first time I'd ever been to new york so i wasn't really sure what to expect. I'm a big transit nerd so i spent a lot of time just exploring the MTA. I would just wake up in the morning and ride the lines and at night i would scope yards. It was a blast. I met some real cool kids out in jersey that hooked me up with some freight action so that was good. It was sick, i had a lot of fun out there. It's like a whole different world than New York. They have their own scene with a lot of super talented writers just crushing shit. I was very impressed.

Where do you see the freight scene going over the next few years?

To hell in a handbasket. There are just too many kids painting too many freights. For now, freights are still relatively easy in most areas and writers (and toys) are taking advantage of it. Trains are plentiful and you just have to crush SO much to get noticed so kids are just destroying whole lines of good cars. Unfortunately, the quality is suffering. For now there's enough trains but...for how long.

Where do you see your involvement in the freight scene going?

better, bigger, more. I have a feeling i'm gonna be around for a minute but you never know. i could get run over tomorrow.

Any good chase stories?
yeah, i got a lot of em. unfortunately i'm a horrible story teller. i'll just give you the important details. if you want a more complete story you can ask Ali. He works for the MTA at the "-" yard in the Bronx.

-too good to be true setup.
-SPOTTED!
-trapped in a scrapcar.
-running
-falling
-climbing
-2 14 foot razor wired fences with a moat of razor wire.
-falling
-grabbing
-tearing
-bleeding
-bleeding
-mayhem
-chasing
-attempted climbing
-falling
-running
-bleeding
-one handed climbing
-track running
-bleeding
-hiding
-3 hours later I got to the hospital and caught about 40+ stitches in my hand along with another 10-15 covering the rest of my body. I had completely torn my hand open when i grabbed on the razor wire after falling into the moat between the two fences. i got flicks. it's nasty.
-scarring
-healing
-healing
it all turned out ok though. gave 'em a couple subway series joints a couple days later. it's kinda hard to paint with one hand but i still managed to come off.

Any final comments/shout outs?

yeah. i don't really deserve this interview. There are hundreds of kids out there painting WAY more freight than me, my hat goes off to you. You all have way more dedication than me. Keep on keepin on. Hopefully one day i'll be able to measure up. Special credit goes to: ELK, EXPERT, WYSE, CRAE, TEMPER, KYM, XIDE, KLAS, JUNE, SONIK, JAR2, POSE, CON, JASE....and everyone else who's helped me out along the way. Thanks to everyone who's put up with me being stupid and annoying (i'm sorry), everyone i've stolen from or been inspired by, everyone who's given me another chance when i don't deserve one and anyone who cares enough to stand up for me. The fire that burns, cleanses.
jack of all trades, master of none: EMPOWER ONE