California's Punk-metal Pioneers

How’d you get set up with Mike and this book?

I met Mike through my good friend and neighbor, Erik Brunetti who I met at a punk show in ’86 or so. We were both graffiti artists and he had a bookbag with graffiti on it. Then when he started Fuct, I went to work with him. We’ve been friends ever since.

What’d you do for Fuct?

I did some graphics. I was the operations manager in the original warehouse. I’d already started working with streetwear companies in the late ’80s when I was still in high school. I worked at Dogtown in their warehouse and kind of worked my way up. I’ve done graphics for Stussy and XLarge over the years as well.

How’d you organize what you showcased in the book?

It’s representative of the different eras. It’s like the path that we took through the counter culture. In 1978 my dad started skating at Marina Skate Park and it just happened to be where all the Z-Boys were. We ended up becoming locals there. ’79 or ’80 is when they went from stoners to punk rockers. We were exposed to punk rock as early as anybody was, that we knew of, on the west side of Los Angeles. Then the skate park closed in ’81, and by ’83 I was Xeroxing a punk-band zine. We were writing to the bands we liked. We were fans of the original hardcore scene. By ’85 we started Excel and the rest of the book is the rise until the original lineup split up.

What was it like growing up in west LA?

I grew up in Culver City in west Los Angeles. It kept changing. Gangs were fist fighting and then they had automatic weapons. When cocaine was introduced, everything got way more militarized and crazy on the streets. You had to maneuver to get through it all. I think being into punk rock and skateboarding and being in a band kept us out of trouble. We always had shows coming up and we were recording. It gave us something so that we didn’t have too much time on our hands. We didn’t get involved in anything too criminal.

You were also in the graffiti crew Kings Stop at Nothing?

Yeah they started at Fairfax High — our guitar player was from Hollywood — and it was one of the first-generation Los Angeles graffiti crews. Everyone would come to our shows; we’d all be hanging out all the time. Excel was one of the first cross-over bands.

Can you tell me about your sound?

We were punk kids that were discovering Slayer and other metal bands. Our thing was crossing over punk with metal, which wasn’t common back then. You were either one or the other. We just tried to do our own thing. Our lyrics were frustration with relationships — or lack of relationships. Just a product of being a picked-on guy in school. We were fans of a lot of the straight-edge bands like Uniform Choice and Seven Seconds, but we weren’t straight-edge. We weren’t interested in preaching to people, we just wanted to be positive, you know? What was it like to tour in Europe back then? We never felt like we’d get there. But then demand just grew. Our record was produced by Mike Muir from Suicidal Tendencies and distributed through Caroline Records, which was a Virgin subsidiary. We were label mates with bands like Smashing Pumpkins and they eventually just put us on the road.

And you recorded with HR from Bad Brains — how’d that happen?

Bad Brains was bigger than music. When you’re not exposed to anything religious or spiritual previously, you hear that and it’s like more than music, with the message and the way it’s delivered. So anyways at the time, a friend of mine said he was with HR in Venice. We told him to bring him to the studio. And we ended up doing a song with him.

So you weren’t even planning it?

No, it just kind of came together. This is when I was living in the Fuct warehouse. After we recorded the song with HR, we were all heading home and it turned out HR had nowhere to go. And I felt like it was my punk civic duty to take him in. You know, I was in my early 20s and was kind of squatting. It just didn’t matter. He ended up staying with me for six or eight months. He thought I had money and like owned the company or something. And he came to me looking for a record deal. So I contacted the Beastie Boys who were partners with Fuct and were involved with XLarge at the time. Those efforts set off in motion Bad Brains signing to Maverick Records for the God of Love record. It was trippy and special. Someone like HR, you hold him high — especially being from the West Coast because we didn’t see him around. He wasn’t hanging at shows like he was on the East Coast. So this was a huge deal to us.

What was your reaction to Metallica ripping you guys off?

I mean, there’s nothing new under the sun. And it’s not a unique situation. But when we played in the Bay Area, they’d been at our shows; they were aware of us. Dan (Clements) was in touch with people in their camp because he was a huge Metallica fan. It was weird because the original Excel line-up broke up shortly after. So those two things at the time were a heavy blow. It was kind of funny putting it in this book, because if it were a documentary, it’d be entertaining. I mean if we’re writing songs that are reworked to become one of the greatest rock hits in history, how come we can’t get a break? But that’s just life I guess; shit like that.

Culture

Vans Skate and Anthony Van Engelen: AVE 2.0 Release & Gallery Tour in LA

Marking a special moment in their twenty-year-long relationship, the AVE 2.0 is Van Engelen’s latest signature shoe. Commemorating the release, Vans presented the inaugural installment of its “Commitment to Progression” gallery tour with an archival AVE exhibition and talk with Catherine Acosta (Vans Chief Archivist and Historian) and Neal Shoemakers (Director of Design, Vans Skate), followed by a Vans Skate team demo, and an open-call, cash-for-tricks session at the brand's DTLA flagship.

AVE, Catherine Acosta (Vans Chief Archivist and Historian), and Neal Shoemakers (Director of Design, Vans Skate

The "Commitment to Progression" tour will land in Shanghai and Seoul later this year.

Check out scenes from the cash-for-tricks session that closed out the night below.

Culture

Moss Grows In Midtown

At the club’s inaugural salon in their interim Midtown space (a 59th floor penthouse, no less) supporters and friends of the club gathered for a panel discussion with designer and researcher Mindy Seu, in conversation with culinary artist and producer Angel Dimayuga. The conversation floated between topics grounded in love and relationships, Seu’s latest work, “Cyberfeminism Index”, and humorous explanations of the menu that guests received throughout the panel.

Sipping on “Reverse Aging” cocktails (algae and coconut fat-based), attendees sampled earthy mochis bathed in broth, a grassy custard mixture seductively dolloped into a curved glass (meant for licking off), and strewn-high piles of radishes and leafy greens on a grazing table.

Moss’s permanent location will open at 520 Fifth Avenue in 2025, a five-story clubhouse that promises a cocktail of intrigue and unexpected flavor.

Culture

Empowering Artisty at Free Arts NYC's 2024 Benefit Gala

For the gala, the guest list and committees (including a particularly slick afterparty board) spanned the realms of culture, art, and fashion in New York. The organization counted Larry Gagosian, Kim Gordon, and SUPREME’s James Jebbia among its event roster, as well as stylists Danielle Goldberg and Beverly Nguyen, the Salon21 and Visionary Projects teams, and art advisor and editor K.O. Nnamdie.

Artists across a range of disciplines and backgrounds contributed work to the auction, supported by Artsy. This year’s range included pieces by Shaniqwa Jarvis, Bill Saylor, Jamie Nares (warmly accompanied by her daughter at the gala), and Tariku Shiferaw.

“We’ve established a relationship where I’m able to mentor a team of interns, and I was invited to donate a piece for the auction. Their programs are about gifting the next generation with the skills and knowledge to succeed,” Shiferaw shared.

Between a festive dinner by Tillie’s and a cheeky speech from Wool’s close friend Richard Maxwell, a guest took the stage to share her story: Yaqueline Hernandez, an FIT graduate now on the design team at Derek Fordjour Studios.

Emigrating with her family from Mexico at age two, Hernandez shared during a moving speech, she never imagined a future that included college or a career in the arts. With a hunger to achieve and the warm patronage of the organization, she made a new future possible. Raucous cheers and raised glasses accompanied her closing statements, before guests moved on to the afterparty to finish off the evening.

“It’s not just a non-profit organization, but a dynamic community of students, artists, and supporters. Everyone's enthusiasm and participation is key – we grow together,” the group’s Development Manager Rachel Park shared.

The evening coincided with the opening of Wool’s latest exhibition, See Stop Run, a survey of the artist’s works over the past decade. Throughout the show’s run over the next four months, he will invite Free Arts NYC school groups, community centers, and emerging young artists from around the city to visit and participate in specialized workshops.