state your name gangster? TRAVIS.
2.how long has young trav been in the game?
I have been painting since I was 14, or 15, but I couldn't go hard at first, cause I was on probation as a juvenile, and my Mom acted like the Warden to the most Secure Prison on earth, and I was the only prisoner this nightmare.... I hated it. I got caught several times as a juvenile, because I would go tagging around town in the day time because It was the only time I could get out of the Prison.
I remember when I was around 13, or 14 I went with a friend to a females house, and she was hooking me up with this other girl who decided to give me a hand job, I had never even gave my self a hand job at this point in my life, and I busted as fast as I had arrived. I was like; "what the fuck! That was great!" Then, I looked down, and I saw this load of babies on my shirt, and was thinking: What's this shit? Did I piss?...I remember being super embarrassed. I grabbed my bag, and skirted out with out an explanation, or a "goodbye" I was Ghost! I was so embarrassed. My homey caught up, and I explained what had happened, and we laughed about it....I started tagging on shit around the neighborhood to get my mind off of my humiliation , I covered a good amount of ground, and it was probably 2:00 in the afternoon I got a few miles away at a local shopping center when I heard the "Bloop-Bloop!" of a cop car, and took off even faster than I had bounced on those girls... I got away, but my friend didn't. His Mom who had to get him from juvy, and she told them who He was with, and it wasn't long before I was found... looking back It was a great day.... My first hand-job, Orgasm, and Vandalism Charges....
3.after painting nearly every city on the west coast and traveling extensively in the east what city is your favorite to paint and party?
I really enjoy to paint pieces, and painting them with friends, and collab on shit. I have had some fun doing that in Portland with Mink, Sucre, and Regal. Portland is somewhat of a playground for me... It's fun there, but it rains way too much.
4.whats the last thing you painted and where was it?
I painted a Smoke shop in Fresno, and I got payed for it too. It's a win win.... I haven't been active in graffiti lately. I was in jail for a good chunk of the year, and I am now trying to figure out legitimate ways to fund traveling, and painting for the future... Crime didn't pay for me.. It may have worked for Jay-Z, but not Me...
5.i first saw a trav piece on a freight train in 1999 i believe, how do you feel about trains in the late 2000s?
I Iike freight trains. the American freight train scene is a league of it's own... I had a lot of fun painting trains in the past, I hope to go hard on them in the future, when I get older, but it isn't my focus at the moment. You may see a couple here, and there pop up, but don't expect me to get all "Jase" on the scene though...
6.you have recently been blowin up as far as your graphic design work is concerned is this a natural progression?
Fuck I wish I had blown up. I am just getting started, and I am really taking my time with it. I want to produce 100% quality work. Quality over quantity... I am only getting started, so I don't really know where I am going to take it.. I know at this moment in my life it has consumed it. It is why I haven't been too active in Graffiti, or why I haven't been hanging out with a lot of my friends, or traveling. I look at it as an evolution of graffiti for me, it is my concepts applied on legitimate mediums, and mass produced, and shipped all over... It really is an amazing craft, and I am glad I decided to start doing it. Plus I will be able to go further as a graffiti writer because of this. I just have to apply my self solely to this at the moment...
7.ive recently seen your designs on merchandise adorning the shelves of stores ive also seen you rack from is that a wierd transition
It's a really interesting concept, and I don't think the transition was weird, I think I am just a product of my environment. As a child I wanted things, and I was mad at the world, I didn't think any job was good enough to have me as an employee, and I hated the fact that I had to slave my time, and energy to get this Currency. So I started stealing anything I wanted, I started stealing so I would never have to use money to get the things I wanted. I hated money, and I hated the thought of having to need this currency to acquire the things you needed, or desired, so I would just take them. Clothing definitely was one of the things I stole the most. My desire, and greed recently landed me in jail, and it was my second time I had been caught as an adult. I was also on felony probation in another county for another fraudulent crime... I was facing a lot of time, and I was rotting away thinking about this. I had come to a fork in the road, and I had to decide to gamble with my life, and continue to steal, or become even more passionate about design work, jump on that boat 100%, and use that, as another way to express myself, and putting my thoughts on legitimate mediums all while funding my life, and now receiving free clothing with out having to take it. It was an easy decision.
8.how do you feel about the whole gallery scene?
I like to see what people are up to in the gallery world. I am not one to do that many paintings at all, but it is something I will be getting in to in due time. If I had a to do list for my life, I would put doing some art shit on that list. Plus there is an array of free booze, food, good people to shoot the shit with on the opening nights. And for those who know me, know I love a good champaign jam....
9.i was lucky enough back in 06 to see some of your works on canvas,i remember being taken back that you hadnt shown them are you at a point in your life that fine art is something youd like to explore a lil further?
Yes, I have recently painted a good sized canvas for my friend CALM, and I was feeling it a lot more than that junk I did back in 06. I am really glad he asked me to do it, because it opened my eyes to doing paintings in a good way. I definitely will be doing more, but It's kind of overwhelming for me at this time, that there is so much I want to do, but I can't find the time. But It gives me something to look forward to, and that's a big plus in my book, and like Stunt Man Mike, I too have a book.
10.whats next for young trav?
Paying a friend some loot asap, getting my credit score up, and having lot's of protected sex. I honestly just want to produce as much quality shit as possible, whether it's graff, design, paintings, or slow jams mix tapes... I want to get it done, and do it right...
heres some randoms
11.jay z or lil wayne?
Any one who thinks for a second that Lil Wayne is better than Jay-Z is a complete fucking moron. With that said I do think they are both dope, and I do listen to more wayne than J, but It doesn't make him better...
It's the ROC!
12. s.f. or l.a.?
Goshen.
13. euro or rusto?
Rusto. I rarely fuck with that euro paint. but from the times that I have I have come to realize that it makes outlining so much easier. i couldn't believe the difference. All my pieces I do primarily with Rusto, and cheap buff that i buy for 5.00 I haven't done an all spray paint piece in a minute...
14.blonde or brunette?
Any one who knows anything about me knows I don't fuck with white girls.( Depending how you look at it) I need a spicy dark haired number to get me remotely interested.... I don't know why, and I don't really care. I cant fuck with blondes, they are just gross to me, they look like dirty beach sand, or ugly mayo sandwiches...Gross! -DARK MEAT ONLY!
15.domestic or import?
Lately I have been balling on a budget, so it's been Budweiser, and I ain't mad at that at all. It's the KING for christ sake... But when I get a good chunk of change I'll reach for a saporro. There is nothing better than going on a short stroll to the corner store to grab a saporro, and cracking that bad boy just before you touch back at the crib.... just thinking about it makes me want to work that much harder....
16 any shout outs or fuck yous??
Shout to My Son Alex. He's is the best child in world. Seriously.
follow the homie at www.youngtrav.blogspot.com
