Kista interview

The graffiti scene has obviously changed over the years in many ways, but how has it changed for you?

When I first started painting, paint wasn't as accessible as it is now. We used to rack paint from the car shops and steal the caps from our parent's aerosols. My old mans de-icer had a wicked fat cap!

Now with all the different coloured paint, caps, magazines etc I am still loving painting in the 21st century. Just being with some great writer's makes it all the better for me e.g. Spek's lettering is completely out there; this guy's gone full circle style wise. And Chek's characters just blow me away. He just gets better after every one.

I'm sure there are many things you wish you knew when you first started that you know now about graffiti and maybe about life in general; give us a few examples.

My life has completely changed from when I first started painting. I have children now and they are the most important things to me in my life. You eradicate your selfishness and your ego, before it was all about getting high trying to always out do someone, getting into the wrong shit. When I look back I wouldn't change a single thing as it's all been a lesson, a building process, into being true to yourself, and that's all that matters.

Kista - Scarborough

Kista - Scarborough.

Have you had any major run-in's with the law? Most memorable chase?

Yeah, quite a few!! The funniest one was when we were painting quite far out down the tracks and the closest place to run and hide was this barn, which I thought was completely empty, it wasn't, it was full of fucking donkeys, Spek had fucked off the other way and left me covered in donkey shit, "fighting for my life"!

Have you ever chromed anyone in the face to get out of a sticky situation?

No.

If you could, who would you love to paint with (past or present)?

Dondi (his lettering was way ahead of it's time), T Kid, Arab, Kaws, Tats Cru, Nace - the list is endless. I am really happy with the oddballs who I paint with now really. We've been together for 14 years as a crew, and it's a laugh from start to finish when we get together.

Kista, Spek & Chek - Scarborough

Kista, Spek & Chek - Scarborough.

Would you consider what you do art or vandalism.

Fuck knows! They are both two words which cause too much conflict, like right and wrong. What I do? I consider it graffiti.

How long have you had your name? Does it bother you that other writers moan about people with similar names, like Fista and Kista being similar or does it come down to style more than the name for you?

I've had the name since 1990. Before that I had various other tags. As for other writer's moaning about similar names, well that's their problem. For me it's all about style and trying to better yourself in every piece you do.

Where does graffiti come from in your opinion? There are many different views on this and most people seem to be in it because of the Hip Hop boom that chucked graffiti out into the world - but who or what got you into it?

Good question! I got into the whole graffiti thing through the influx of Hip Hop in the mid to late 80's, that's where it grabbed me and took over my life, but hey everybody gets into it for their own reasons past and present, and what influences them at their moment in time. I hear old school heads trying to tell some kid how it used to be or how better it was, but these kids are now living their moment this is the prologue to there memories. It's an evolution type of thing.

Kista - Scarborough

Kista - Scarborough.

Do you think as time moves on and more people get into graffiti than drop out of it/leave the scene, the harder it becomes for people to be original without people suggesting they have "bitten" their letters from another writer?

Everybody is influenced by somebody in some shape or form - that is how it works, it's called progression. It came over to this country in a sort of ready made way anyway, and as time has gone on you can see a difference between European graffiti and American graffiti in a massive way. There will always be trailblazers and there will always be people who rip people off, it's like that in all walks off life.

How fine a line do you think there is between, biting a letter and being influenced by the scene around you?

It depends where you are. I don't know what is happening in other cities and towns as they all have there own little scenes. This place is completely on its own geographically and has had a thriving graffiti scene since the mid 80's. There has always been a bit of biting by certain people, but you can also see influences spreading into some of the younger writers too.

Kista & Falik - Scarborough

Kista & Falik - Scarborough.

How has the internet changed things for you?

It's completely changed things for me. I've made some great contacts. You can get paint right to your door and you can upload your work at the drop of a hat. But it's also good for keeping people up to date with what's happening all the time, where as before you had to rely on a few magazines or trading photos through the post.

We last saw you around this time last year at the Yorkshire Junkies Bridlington jam, what have you been up to since then?

This year has been great for painting, we haven't stopped. Nearly every weekend we've been up to something. I've also been doing a bit of DJing and I spend most of my spare time working on my new mini LP, so it's been busy, but in a good way.

Tell us a bit about your music and how it's progressed what or who it's influenced by

Well I've been making Hip Hop music for about ten years. I put my first 12" out in 1997 and it's just gone from there really. I've just put out a 7" on art/goes/pop featuring Maspyke from New York and I've got a new mini LP coming out in January featuring Sum Majere from San Fransisco and Tableek from Maspyke, plus a few instrumental joints too. I've got a couple of other projects that I am working on at the moment for some other labels, which will keep me busy.

What are your plans for the future, graffiti/music wise?

Graffiti wise we've all come to the conclusion that we're going to get the ASM thing out around the country more next year. As a crew were like a bunch of fucking hillbilly's and we need to get painting at some of these jam's more. Me and Chek were saying the other day that we need to start doing some more productions and start getting ASM on the map, and hopefully meet some great people on the way.

Kista & Chek - Scarborough

Kista & Chek - Scarborough.