Damo: So what else did you write besides New Two?
New: Antix, BuffDiss/BD ( with Tame), Damage, Dob, Nu, Noo, Knew, Newsance, Tor(ment), Mentor. I think that is about it?
Damo: How did u get involved in graff?
New: Like most in Australia then, via b-boying. I saw early videos, and album covers then tried to tag and piece in my local area. I hadn't seen any books about writing. Initially breakdance was the main thing for me.
Then I began drawing from food packaging fonts etc, anything to learn lettering.
Later on I met Tame and Cure, and that's when I got put down with D.M.A. (DA 'Magic' Artists at the time). From then on I became properly involved with the train writing culture.
Damo: What years were you active?
New: I don't include the early '80's, somewhere around the end of 85, start of 86 is when I first entered a lay up. I slowed and didn't do much in the '90's as the bullshit in the scene was boring for me. I explored other aspects of life. I'm still active now, and painting better pieces than then. However my focus is more on style writing now than being an all rounder. I did that for a long time, and I'm too busy to and have a family to look after. So the hard work is redirected.
People suggested Tame and I where past our getting up 'use by date', somewhere around the start of the '90's, so to highlight their ignorance we came up with BuffDis and went all city with tags and throw ups(end to end, t2b, the works). The keep it realers are tiresome and generally backwood looking. My work still explores and attempts to move forward aspects of tradition, but it definitely isn't attempting to prove anything to them these days.
To be honest, although I'm really glad people such as you are documenting it, I really don't care to much for the past. It wasn't some rosy picture for me. I can comfortably leave that with the people who want to live off memories of their teens. Of course there are aesthetic / cultural issues as always but I find writing is as healthy and as interesting as it ever was. So when was I active? 4 nights ago and I'm really looking forward to my next chance.
Damo: Who were your influences?
New: Dr. Revolt. Later on I would say Skeme, his attitude in Style Wars was very influential on me as a teen, Dskiz and Prime. Bio, Mack. Phase 2 for his ideas and education on what writing is. I liked the not quite right, awkwardness of Sak's simpler stuff, perfect in it's imperfection. Tame DMA. Man, the list could on and on.
Damo: How many panels do you think you have done?
New: Compared to guys who do over 1000 these days....not many!!!
Damo: Is it true USA didnt like DMA coming on to the scene?
New: Not to my knowledge, I was friends or an acquaintance with Prime, Dskiz, Skez, Sioz, Trust, Jive, Bez, Ransom etc..
Damo: Did DMA ever have beef with any crews?
New: We battled with AC, but I wouldn't call it beef. We often hung out and sometimes got up together. But, I think a couple of people took it more serious than the rest of us. It was a great motivator. It pushed everyone to get up.
Damo: What do you remember of All City coming onto the scene?
New: I remember Saipan left DMA to start his own crew. They were a good bombing crew. They remind me of the kind of writers we liked to be around, the real deal. Out there, practically living on the train system (actually some of us often did sometimes). Tango was fun to bomb, rack etc with.
They got the respect of the kind of writers that where at the bench and out doing loops.
Damo: Any stories about Peter Stevens the Transit?
New: I was never one to be a smart arse to him, I never wanted that kind of attention. He seemed decent and straight forward enough to me. It was definitely different with some of my mates, bombing his fence etc..
I remember him saying to me he felt like our motivation was about them too (being reactionary to authority). Like some kind of cat and mouse game was important to us. I wanted to make my art for myself and friends before I ever heard of them, they are simply a thorn in the side. I'ld have preferred to not run out of yards and do better quality all the time. I would of liked if they weren't camped out the front. It would of saved me jumping the back fence, every time I wanted to paint.
Damo: Any memories, chase stories you would like to share?
New: Now that I'm started on the authorities stuff...I took three writers for a walk in Jolimont one night. An innocent outing this time. We went to check out a window down I had done with Brink the previous night. It was buffed, so I did some lines up and down the car, throw-ups etc.
We checked out the Blue Harris trains around the maintenance sheds. Two of the guys were around the front of a bluey somewhere. I was with the other, a big guy, looking at some panels or something on the first car. He then also walked around the front of the train.
As he returned to the side of the train we walked up to each other and then he yelled "who the fuck are you?" Shit, the guy if front of me was now a plain clothes cop of similar size!
For anyone who never got to see Jolimont, this was a big yard, you could never really scope the whole place. You could see checks come, usually.
I turned and run, he yelled at me to stop or he would shoot. I knew he wouldn't shoot some kid for being in a yard. By now, i had about 20 metres on him and was almost down an aisle when his baton bounced along the rocks beside me. I turned and threw my can at him, but i also missed! He was yelling at the others, giving directions to cut me off, 'use the car', 'you go to his right' etc.
Meanwhile, the guy I was with and one of the others were handcuffed to a pole and the third was hiding in the under carriage of a train, ( he got away ).
I lost the guy on my tail but pretty much ran out of trains to hide me. There was car lights and movement ahead toward Richmond and transits behind. There were 2 hitachi cars out in the open, a bit closer to the Tennis centre fence. I ran and hid in the front car.
12 ( I think) of them 'emu walked' the yard from the Richmond end and passed by me. Two unifoms doubled back, got in the carriage and put their torches on me. I huddled in a corner, pretending i was homeless and sleeping ( something i had to do for real in the past ). They cuffed me and found the dark coloured top i had on during the chase, ( i was still yawning etc, oscar winning performance, i thought).
The cops all met up. The plain clothes cop confirmed i was the one he chased and his partner started on me with his baton, which was the first of many times i got winded that night while they were trying to get me to answer questions. His partner ( the chase guy ) told him to stop hitting me, then grabbed me by the hair and said "let me fuckin' do it" and began pounding my head against the car over and over. They wanted my bag of paint, but i didn't have one, only a can.
Unfortunately for me, batons were issued to transit patrol only 4 days previous. Normally the cops carried the weapons and accompanied transits.
So, they had me handcuffed behind my back, kneeling down in the yard and many of them encircled me. The cops proceed to teach the transits how to use a baton on someone, twisting up cuffs etc. They were asking things like, does this hurt more than that? If i swore they hit harder, then i'ld accidently swear from being hit and they'ld even hit harder! This comedy went on for some time. A bunch of armed adults smashing a skinny handcuffed kid! This kind of thing was a pretty common occurence in Melbourne writing then.
Anyway, i bled a little, said no comment a lot back at 301, got a good punch in the face to round off the night. I woke up pretty sore, and got $50 fine for trespass.
Damo: How do you see the Melbourne scene compared with the rest of the world?
New: I have been away for so long, so I'm not one to say. For my last few visits in the 2000's, I didn't even have an Australian passport anymore. I've lived in France for maybe 8 years now..but..
There are obviously always been some dope stylists in Melbourne and the place has a proper history.
I've talked with some other old Aussie writers living around neighboring countries and they say Melbourne has a fair bit of underground respect out there. Amsterdam and Melbourne had very similar scenes early on. I met an old school German writer the other day who told me they had Hype mags and knew my stuff from that, not the modern internet first.
Melbourne had an expectation of originality within the parameters of traditional writing aesthetics. Being reasonably cut off from the rest of the writing world served us well, and did things a little different for reasons such as not having female round caps. From what I've seen, for such an anti-writer media/ culture, the place has got in your face quality and quantity. Melbourne trains are difficult in comparison with many, many cities.
Damo: Anything you would like to add?
New: Keep up the work on the blog, It's a nice historical database, and it's important to have this documentation of the art form for the future. Cheers.
