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The Lookout: an interview with Banksy’s former Lookout London, England – Football (not soccer), Bruv (not bro), The Underground (The Tube), driving on the opposite side of the road (the right side) and cameras (CCTV) watching your every step. These are only a few of the differences I noticed as soon as I stepped off the undergrounf train arriving into town. It took me a while to make it down here and after grabbing a few pints and a good meal, it was time to get to my first order of business; to take get as many photographs as possible of works done by the acclaimed street artist "Banksy." This should be easy as I have been a fan of his works for years now and even though I am not familiar with this city, this man has made a name for himself, so much so that all I had to do was ask anyone (18 - 27 years old), “Where can I find some Banksy pieces?” Most individuals asked would pause for a few seconds while going through their mental rolodex, and more times than none they would share a page from their memory (with detailed instructions) of where to go to see the legend’s work. Unfortunately, every time I got to a location I had seen in magazines or from the internet, the works would be painted over or vandalized, “What the hell is going on!?" I'd ask myself, "Who would be doing this?”. Trust that it was a shock to arrive in London with high hopes of not only watching some good football matches (never happened, England was eliminated from the World Cup) but having to face the fact that my favourite street art pieces have been removed or vandalized; not by city officials or graffiti clean up crews, but by individuals with something to prove. I needed answers, I couldn’t figure out who in their right mind would be painting over REAL art. The days started to fly by with me seeing a few tags & pieces here and there, but nothing from Banksy. The days went by and still no answer, however life is funny in that you never know whom you will run into. In this case I had run into an individual who could answer all my questions, while on a stroll in these London city streets. I did not have too many days left in the city and wanted to find out what was happening with the street art scene in London and the rest of the U.K. Was it on its way out? had street art died on this end of the world? What I had been thinking for the past few days had been far from the truth. The identity of whom I met that evening in an art/gift shop will be kept confidential but I could tell you that this one Mr. Damian is not only highly educated in many things graffiti & street art, but that he was also a former lookout for the world famous street artist Banksy. While in store, Damian educated me on matters concerning the modern street art world in London & surrounding areas, techniques on finding quality graffiti & street art, as well as the Banksy vs. King Robbo feud. Getting along right off the bat Mr. Damian and I had a long conversation while I shopped for reproductions of Banksy’s previous works. “I’ve always had an interest in street art, not only locally but worldwide,” said Damian. “I’ve been a fan of many artists in the game including Banksy, Blek le Rat, Invader, Robbo, Obey (Shepard Fairey) and of a few other street artist out in your neck of the woods in Canada, there are a few really good artists in Vancouver as well.” As well as being a fan of street art, Damian also tries to teach and educate those new to the art form. Ironically enough Damian informs me of one of his previous occupations, which included running a popular shop where street art lovers (young & old) from around the world would come visit and pick up some of their favourite art pieces. “Young and old have started to embrace what's being 'Bombed' daringly on our streets and stand in disbelief at the different mediums used. I've noticed an increase in interest for Urban Art/Street Art/Public Political Commentary/Stylized Tagging/Street Colourization,” says Damian. “Whatever we want to call it, there is no real way to label what's happening, but it is happening.” There are a lot of changes happening in the world of Art including rivalries and confrontations, not only involving young punks, but individuals sticking their nose where they shouldn’t. Many times you’ll hear stories of entire crews showing up to one’s door all with spray cans in hand, just to prove their point. There are many instances of encounters like these, “If you heard it out here and it had to do with graffiti, it is probably true!” One instance of confrontation and rivalries include the recent King Robbo and Banksy feud. For those that don’t know, According to certain sources this spat stems from a confrontation in 2009 between Robbo and the now-famous artist. “I was out one night with a load of old writers and got introduced to Banksy,” said Robbo. “He asked what I wrote and I told him, he cockily replied “I never heard of you” so I slapped him and said, ”You may not of heard of me but you will never forget me.” This confrontation had later escalated this year when Banksy painted over a piece King Robbo had done 24-years ago on the banks of London's Regent Canal. In retaliation, several Banksy pieces in London and other cities around the world have been painted over by 'Team Robbo' The rebuttals have been rampant and harsh, with many of Banksy’s pieces being altered and/or defaced; for example one of his rat pieces has been done over with the title “Banksy la Rat” which is calling Banksy out for apparently stealing Blek le Rat's original work/style. “Basically, Banksy visited the Camden part of the Regents Canal and 'Bombed' around there,” said X. “One of the bombs was over a very respected Tag done by Robbo over 20 years ago. Team Robbo formed (from reputable street artists) and took revenge by altering Banksy's work – mostly in North London, The 'Global warming' writing on the canal, was actually done over by one of Banksy's former helpers, probably better I don't mention his name, but many other works around London have been “Robbo’ed”. The feud had continued for months as Banksy even responded with a piece, an image of a child looking down at a clock, which begged the question “How much longer will this continue? (destruction of Banksy’s works)” The response from Robbo and his crew was “Six Months” From then on Banksy’s most famous works have been vandalized or destroyed by Team Robbo, or so most people thought… “Now this has escalated into something more, something Robbo and his actual crew do not want to be involved with anymore,” explained the former lookout. “There's a bit more to the story but Team Robbo eventually stopped going over Banksy’s pieces and some other young 'Minded' …. Let’s call them "barely humans', decided to pick up where Team Robbo left off," says Damian. "I've met some of these individuals and they have nothing to do with the original Team Robbo and are actually an embarrassment to them. There's a lot more drama going on in this low-budget soap opera.” As one can see the drama has become a lot, and drama is something Drama can do without, as putting up pieces is already a challenge and an occupational hazard not only for artists, but also for their lookouts. These artists go through everything and anything to get these pieces up, “When on the lookout if you encounter any trouble or authority types approaching your responsibility is to get “them” to follow you far away from the point of interest,” says X. “Often times you get away but if you don’t it is not a friendly encounter, especially when they find nothing on you and return to the spot to find the piece completed.” On the subject of his experience being a lookout for some of the most talented in the game, he had this to say, “It is hard work, a lookout involves a few things not just simply “looking out.” There are definitely adventures, as well as many surprises as to where the artist your working with will want to bomb next, it can be anywhere, up, down, in-between, behind and sometimes out in the open. I remember having to get up extremely early one morning to slide/scrape on an icy channel, all for one piece!” The reason for his removal from the wild world of street art? “I’m starting to get old, the adventures were definitely unforgettable but they really starting to take it out my body, it ain’t for the weak or slow.” Many “confrontations” with authority figures, as well as beat downs/interrogations with police as well as with rival crews all played a part in his decision to change his lifestyle. “My focus has shifted now, but I am still an art lover and still keep my self very much involved.” Damian continues on by showing me some spray painting techniques and photos of some of his favourite pieces around the U.K. and around the world, all the while educating me on ways to tell if the piece is an original Banksy or an imposter; teaching me things I had seen but had often overlooked, as well as the exact measurements that are often used by the mysterious street artist in almost all his works. “In an attempt to show the world an eye beyond Banksy, I have been trying to write a lot about this type of art, its history of the people I 'Watched' for in the '80's and some I knew about then as well as those that I know now. The mediums and the psychology of artist's viewers/spectators from around the World. So far I have 3 books worth, but alas, most of it is in my head! Maybe one day I could write an article for a magazine, maybe yours!?" He says while laughing. “It’s a whole different world and being where I’ve been and seeing what I have, I have a million stories to tell and this is only one chapter in many.” Damian encourages people to keep drawing and making art, not garbage “tits and cocks on walls is not art” and neither is other types of 'visual pollution' for those who are just fans of art, Damian leaves you with a few simple tips for finding Graffiti, “It’s usually behind you and not where your looking. Two more tips for finding graffiti artists: use your nose not your eyes. Paint stinks! and Approaching a group of Illegal street artists on a Skateboards or BMX is much more acceptable than a 4x4 Truck!” As for the CCTV and the thousands of cameras around London, our friend says, “Yeah there’s a lot of those too, makes you wonder how some of us never get caught, "HA!”. Nas & Damian Marley perform their album 'Distant Relatives' at the Rock The Bells Tour in Vancouver, BC. 2009.
J. Steeles w/ Jay Electronica (Roc Nation) after his legendary bumbershoot set. 9.5.2010 - Seattle, WA
Pharell Williams throwin' up the Star Trak 'V' w/ J. Steeles throwing up the Vancity 'V'. Vancouver, B.C. 2008.
Russell Peters hosting the Juno Awards @ Rogers Arena. Vancouver, B.C. 2009.
Esthero & Co. - Vancouver, B.C. 2005. The Pink Pirate by Jamal Steeles Honest, Unique and thoughtful are just a few of the words used to describe Toronto's very own, Esthero. I was able to catch up with the Canadian songstress better known as the Pink Pirate. Are you currently in the studio working on anything new? I am. I can’t really talk too much about it, other than I am falling in love with music again. It’s not that I fell out of love with it, but I have been re-inspired and falling in love again. What brings you to the city of Vancouver? I am in Vancouver to work with Chin Injeti (Bass is Base), and I also happen to be here at the same time as Maestro Fresh-Wes’ birthday bash, which is the 'cherry' on top of the cake. What made you want to start doing a lot more collaborations on your recent albums as compared to your previous ones? Well in the beginning I didn’t really know anybody (laughing), my first album was very insular, and on the second album I felt like I needed more people. I was out there a lot and met all these people and had the opportunity to work with them; I became friends with people like Sean Lennon and Andre 3000 and I knew I had to work with these individuals so I took advantage of the opportunity. The whole process took around seven years, but they wanted to be part of it. What are some of your influences? I really don’t know... It’s one thing to say who you love and who you’re a fan of. Then there is the reality of what influences you, because it’s not always what you like. Like I really love Nina Simone, Billy holiday, Marvin Gaye, and Prince, I can say those are my influences, but the reality is that I was a chick who grew up in high school listening to underground weird shit. The first 13 years of my life were spent in a small town listening to a lot of Top 40 music that I fucking hated at the time, there was a lot of Bengals, Mariah Carey, Phil Collins, etc and it’s funny ‘cause now I hear it sometimes in my music, and I love it. But that’s the funny thing about influences, you gotta be honest about what influences you, ‘cause those are two different things. Are you honoured when someone like Farnsworth Bentley says you have the most beautiful voice ever? It’s pretty awesome! Every once in a while it’s awesome to be me, a couple weeks ago I met someone and they said “Hey your Esthero! That’s awesome” and I was like “Yeah it fucking is!” What makes that even more special is that Bentley was a fan of mine before we even met and then we became friends, and then he still goes on to say that I am one of his favourite singers and he means it! and I respect him as an artist too, so it’s fantastic. It’s funny ‘cause when you friends with someone when they make music, you're kinda scared, wishing “please be good, you're my friend” and he is! Bentley was a fan and became my friend and now I am his friend and a fan of his as well. Do you think your hard upbringing affected your music? Would it be a lot different if you had grown up in a different city? It was a very tortured cliché of a kid, I was 16 in faux cafes, writing lyrics out and so dark. I think what formulated me musically and what I owe it most to was coming to Toronto at a young age. Especially now that I live in the U.S. I have to speak specifically about something most people don’t usually talk about; I could have never been a white woman growing up in L.A. or N.Y. or anywhere in America and made the record that I made. It’s because of my city, that I love, that is so multicultural, that is so accepting and integrated, that I was introduced and welcomed to such great shit. When you go to America you realize it’s not like that, it’s still a strange place, it’s still segregated, I wouldn’t be allowed to learn about country, dancehall, soca, and other types of music all on the same block. I would have never been as musically diverse, and my palette would not be nearly as wide if I was not Canadian. What do you want people to hear in your music? Authenticity, genuinity. I think that’s all that matter. I want people to hear my music and believe it. Authenticity is #1, I want people to be like “Oh that bitch is serious, she means that shit, she really means it!” (laughing). Anything else you’d like to tell your fans? I love you! And I am grateful to be self-indulgent for a living. Black Eyed Peas performing at Bumbershoot Music Festival. Seattle, WA. 2009.
Talib Kweli performing at Venue Nightclub in Vancouver, B.C. 2017.
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TALES FROM THE TRIPAround the globe with Jamal Steeles. Archives
July 2024
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