HTML> Interview with Theory and Rove


For the record, what do you write, what crews are you down with and how long have you been writing?


Theory: got into graff in 95 i think or begining of 96........just tagging, going allcity........i forget when i hit my first freights..i think in 97..??..i got up in the jasper yard with a bunch of old toss ups..almost got crushed by a freight there too......its not a good idea to crawl under the wheels in an active yard......."no shit". as far as crews....tga.tko.pjf and the freight molesting freightophile gang,,....

Rove: i write rove, i'm down with fr8ophiles, tko, pjf, and tga, ftc which is just me, theory and boner...



Roughly how much of your work is done of freights?

Theory: pretty much everything i do is on freights.....once in awhile i venture onto a wall but not to often...so i would say sbout 99% freights..

Rove: 99.9%...it's pointless painting walls in saskatoon....but we're stoked off huge roller shit..



Being in the middle of the country, how do you feel you fit into the freight scene as a whole? do you feel isolated or is that a thought that doesnt enter your mind?

Theory: its alright being in the middle of it all but lower costal spots get way more freights that i would like to get up on.......we rarely get american freights..once in awhile bnsf rolls in..gvsr's have rolled in{very rarely}....blah blah blah.....

Rove: i think for the most part we're well received in the freight community.. I love it.....out here it's just me and theory..no one to bother us... i don't feel isoloated because you go to the yards and it's like being among friends... freights get our stuff out... it's our way out.. although i would like one or two more people here to paint with just for variety and end to ends... oh well..



Being in a very rural province, and a young scene, do you see alot of anger towards graff from the general public? I hear you were havingtroubles with workers dissing graff at some yards.

Theory: the public for the most part doesnt notice the freight graff that much,,,..as for walls..i think alot of people disaprove and that is to be expected but there is alot of people who really like it as well...rover and i even got called into a school to teach the kids how to write there names "graffiti style".... the workers crossing stuff out is stupid...makes the freights look really sloppy,,but they did that to dicourage kids going into the yards to paint or flick graff.....

Rove: Fuck yeah!...yesterday i went to that yards and saw a freight i did, lined out.... this is not the first one... and the general public isn't seeing our freights so all they can judge graff by is all the disgusting tags in this fucking city...i find i walk down the streets here and think....i fucking hate graffiti.... there's a new breed of toys this year...



You two seem to be on the same page as far as painting goes, is that somthing that developed as a result of painting together alot, or was that the reason you started painting together?

Theory: we both love are freights.............freights fregihts and more freights.......

Rove: We started bombing together many moons ago... it was all thanks to crum, nave and the rest of tau... i'm not sure how or why we started... but we just clicked..



Numbers or quality? how do you go about striking a balance between them?

Theory: numbers and quality depend on different things such as the surroundings the freight is being done in as well as time..and whatever else might come into play... i think the freights i do are fairly simple..so i guess i'm kinda in the middle of producing a half decent freight,,and getting the numbers up..although in the new year{once it's warmer}..i want to work more on some theme freights and just put more time in overall......ect..ect...

Rove: This year is all about a nice balance... it's cold right now so quality is gonna suffer a little...but once it's warmer, shits gonna get baraka!



Theory, Your starting to do alot of streak characters. Do you get more satisfaction out of those than streaking your name? Where has your inspiration for these come from? is it an deeply personal thing or can you explain a little?

i can thank kwiz for inspiring the streak characters..but other writers have inspired my streaking...thesis puts out some really awesome streaks,and of course other was a great inspiration.....also everyday life is the greatest inspiration..just interacting with people...... .i started doing streak characters during my last trip to vancouver..and have enjoyed them ever since....often if i write a qoute it was something from that day or from something going on in my life...i think these characters are a bit of a comic relief as well........ i have gotten bit of critisism from doing these charcters...lots of people saying i bit other and so forth...blah blah blah....think what you want i guess..........



What is your favorite type of car to hit?

Theory: i like rare cars that we dont get to often up here...rover and i hit up an iatr smoothie,,,both sides...that was a treat.... i am sick of hoppers..i see to many....a nice flat car is always a treat

Rove: RBOX... those things fly



Are you sick to death of hitting wheaties or do you just accept it as a part of where you are?

Theory: yeah...wheaties are everywhere...i love hoppers for rolling though...especially the soo lines.......

Rove: We hardly hit wheaties anymore...we streak them, but as far as pieces go we've been getting a healthy stock of boxcars..white soo, hs, atw, flat green cp, iatr, shit that never use to come through..



I hear you guys like to hop freights. Any experiences or stories you wanna share about that? warnings?

Theory: hopping freights is super fun.....you meet al kinds of people.......... my advice is to research what your doing..know the lines....... dont heat it out for other hoppers by sitting in a too visible of a spot,,ect.

Rove: yeah..don't do it..



Any good chase stories?

Rove: yeah

Theory: one time when i was painting with rover and another fellow,,the cops pulled in along the first freight that was being painted..that dude jumped under the freight,,the cops pulled ahead to me and hit there brakes..i ran directly at them then cut away on an angle..then they drove to the car rover was painting and he also ran away on an angle,,,,...i ran down the backside of a building and hid in a ditch.{as the cops circled up... rover and the other dude ended up in the same ditch shortly after..the cops pulled along the ditch..put there spot light on and then after a bit they drove away....... we hid for a bit..then left the area...we had to go back to get some hid paint..i put a final on my piece, then went to grab the paint.....we ended up being chased outta the neigborhood by some guy with a big vest on....but we got away........i went back to flick the freight the next day but it had already left....



Final comments, shout outs?

Theory: hello to my fellow freight fiend brothers. you know who you are.......

Rove: um.. graffiti isn't cool...it's a life threatening addiction...don't do it.....A definate shout out to the crews, fr8ophiles,tko,pjf,tga,.... Visual Orgasm,Tic Tac,Haver,Sebo(for giving us so much eye candy at an impressionable age), TAU-you've done more for us than you'll ever know, RATPACK, DJ LIFE, and AFTERLIFE RECORDZ....... fuck a cop..