Ayds Interview
Anomie1: What do you write and what crews are you in?
Ayds: I write Ayds and I am in TBK, KD and MI.
Anomie1: Who are some of your influences when it comes to graffiti and what inspires your styles?
Ayds: I have a lot of influences, I don't steal or bite anyones style, I'd just say my friends styles rub off on me now and then. My friend Epsons style rubs off on me the most. I also get a lot of good inspiration from Sem, also he keeps me trying to paint as clean as possible. I'd say as far as poeple I admire, I would say Gkae, Cope2, Zori4 and my friends Menc, Epic and Sice who got me into graffiti.
Anomie1: Thats cool. Now, how do you feel about doing graffiti for a profit? For example, shit like murals, canvases & promotions Do you think you can see yourself making money due to art sometime in the future?
Ayds: I think its futile. I give props to anyone who can make money off of graffiti, but its a hard thing to do. Yeah some people can make 500 or a thousand dollars here and there from murals, but the money is not steady at all and also they are usually real artists. I don't consider myself an artist.
Anomie1: In your opinion, what is the differencence between "graffiti artists" and "real artists"?
Ayds: Not a lot, don't get me wrong there are people who do graffiti who are artists. They are graffiti artists. I just don't consider myself an artist. I just like to write my name on shit, whether its ugly or not does not matter. Although I do admit, I try to make it look good most the time, and I do work at advancing my style! My number one priority is to get up and be known. My number two priority is to advance my style. If I quit getting up, for me, I quit graff.
Anomie1: If you don't mind sharing, Do you have any crazy stories of close encounters?
Ayds: Where to begin? I don't know. There are a lot. I'll share a couple. One time when I was in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was on the side of the freeway doing throws with my friend Sez. We had to duck from a few cops who were driving by. My knee straight popped out of the socket while we were running up the hill. We were laying there next to one of the busiest freeways in San Juan and I had to have him help me pop my knee back into socket! Luckily it worked out and we got away. Another time I was in another city and I had done a freeway heaven. I was taking my time doing a fill-in up there with cars honking at me the whole time because the lights on the freeway sign were on. After we were done, we drove by and the spot was covered with cops. There were 3 to 5 cop cars there and cops running all around with their flash lights all over the place. They missed me by only a few seconds!
Anomie1: So, are you a boob guy or an ass man?
Ayds: Both but boobs come first.
Anomie1: What kind of music gets you through the day?
Ayds: I don't listen to a lot of music.
Anomie1: How do you feel about the recent hipster movement?
Ayds: Thats kind of an odd question. Well its hard to stereotype a whole "scene" and I would be hard pressed to classify it as a movement, but, there are many elements that I don't really care for. Exploiting anything thats ironic, recycling elements of rehashed style...it all sucks. You'll find that most of them are priviledged kids whose parents gave them money to move downtown, and they use their allowance to suck coke up their noses. Not that I look down upon drug usage... But like I said, thats not all of them. Just most. Oh, and they all never think they are a hipster, but they all are!
Anomie1: Should our viewers be expecting anything new from Ayds?
Ayds: Always expect new things. I would like to collaborate with many different artists in other states and countries. I am also interested in other creative ways of putting my name out there. Now that I am residing on the east coast it is a whole new game over here for me. I love it. I don't know when I will be back in California but maybe I'll be back someday.
Anomie1: To wrap things up, do you have any shout outs?
Ayds: Epson, Sem, Risico, Zori4, Nori, Duns, Reson, Eyns, Deface, Remis, Pier, Astek, Trouble, Mad, Gonesix & Mons, all in no particular order. Also everyone in ADK, MI & KD.
