Steve Powers aka Espo interview
Steve Powers is a legendary east coast hustler, a word smith , he plays a major role in the art of getting over when he was younger, now he is a father and a fine artist with a style like no other, he is very good on snapping on people and has a big hand with fingers like sausages , know for his looks with clothing and a very high flat top do.
The 7-11 at 64th and Lebanon ave, Overbrook Philadelphia 1984,
I’m boosting mallo-cups and that’s a soft pretzel in me gob
1. 1968 or 1981?
1968 is my born year. I’m really proud of it, easily the darkest year in 2 decades. well, 1977 is a contender. look at video montages from the 60’s. 67 is people smiling, maybe they show that girl with the flower painted on her face and flashing a peace sign. and then 68 its all molotov cocktails, burning buildings, assasinations. 1968 babies were brought into a world that their parents thought was about to burn to the ground. 1981 babies are great for a similar reason. Their parents probably though they were gonna be on welfare their whole lives. The top 30 lists from both 1968 and 1981 look like this:
1968
1. Hey Jude, The Beatles
2. Honey, Bobby Goldsboro
3. Love Is Blue, Paul Mauriat
4. (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay, Otis Redding
5. People Got To Be Free, Rascals
6. Sunshine Of Your Love, Cream
7. This Guy’s In Love With You, Herb Alpert
8. Stoned Soul Picnic, Fifth Dimension
9. Mrs. Robinson, Simon and Garfunkel
10. Tighten Up, Archie Bell and The Drells
11. The Good, The Bad And The Ugly, Hugo Montenegro
12. Little Green Apples, O.C. Smith
13. Mony, Mony, Tommy James and The Shondells
14. Hello, I Love You, The Doors
15. Young Girl, Gary Puckett and The Union Gap
16. Cry Like A Baby, Box Tops
17. Harper Valley P.T.A., Jeannie C. Riley
18. Grazing In The Grass, Hugh Masekela
19. Midnight Confessions, The Grass Roots
20. Dance To The Music, Sly and The Family Stone
21. The Horse, Cliff Nobles and Co.
22. I Wish It Would Rain, Temptations
23. La-La Means I Love You, Delfonics
24. Turn Around, Look At Me, Vogues
25. Judy In Disguise (With Glasses), John Fred and His Playboy Band
26. Spooky, Classics IV
27. Love Child, Diana Ross and The Supremes
28. Angel Of The Morning, Merrilee Rush
29. The Ballad Of Bonnie And Clyde, Georgie Fame
30. Those Were The Days, Mary Hopkin
now, 1981
1. Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes
2. Endless Love, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
3. Lady, Kenny Rogers
4. (Just Like) Starting Over, John Lennon
5. Jessie’s Girl, Rick Springfield
6. Celebration, Kool and The Gang
7. Kiss On My List, Daryl Hall and John Oates
8. I Love A Rainy Night, Eddie Rabbitt
9. 9 To 5, Dolly Parton
10. Keep On Loving You, REO Speedwagon
11. Theme From “Greatest American Hero”, Joey Scarbury
12. Morning Train (Nine To Five), Sheena Easton
13. Being With You, Smokey Robinson
14. Queen Of Hearts, Juice Newton
15. Rapture, Blondie
16. A Woman Needs Love, Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio
17. The Tide Is High, Blondie
18. Just The Two Of Us, Grover Washington Jr.
19. Slow Hand, Pointer Sisters
20. I Love You, Climax Blues Band
21. Woman, John Lennon
22. Sukiyaki, A Taste Of Honey
23. The Winner Takes It All, Abba
24. Medley, Stars On 45
25. Angel Of The Morning, Juice Newton
26. Love On The Rocks, Neil Diamond
27. Every Woman In The World, Air Supply
28. The One That You Love, Air Supply
29. Guilty, Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
30. The Best Of Times, Styx
In this light 1981 is looking kinda ass. weird that “angel of the morning” is on both charts, nearly at the same slot- hmmmm.
2. Why don’t you live in LA?
First of all, I want to express genuine appreciation for the genuine people of LA. I can probably fit them all in the Roxy in lay-z-boy recliners and still have room for waitresses on track bikes delivering them smoothies. They will be my guests for the Genuine Festival, featuring every good band that came out of LA (including Orange and Riverside counties) The band line up that would play in alphabetical order:
Ariel Pink
Adolescents, The
Agent Orange
Bad Religion
Bags, The
BARR
Beach Boys, The
Black Flag
Bread
Buffalo Springfield
Byrds, The
Channel 3
Descendents
Dickies, The
Dils, The
Doors, The
Fear
Fishbone
Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention
Germs
Guns N’ Roses
Ice T (strictly first record)
Jane’s Addiction
L7
Lobos, Los
los Illegals
Love
Mars Volta, The
Metallica
Minutemen
NO Age
N.W.A.
Ozomatli
Plugz, The
Saccharine Trust
Screamers, The
Slayer
Snoop Dogg
Social Distortion
Sublime
Suicidal Tendencies
Tool
TSOL
Van Halen
Vandals, The
Voodoo Glow Skulls
War
Wasted Youth
Weezer
Weirdos, The
X
Youth Brigade
Zeros, The
I would also let Cypress Hill play if they just did their first record (Muggs is on my list of genuine people, so it’s his call), and Ice T is in the genuine category, but if he wants to perform he’s gotta wear that shit he wore in Breakin’ and he can only do “6 In Tha Mornin’” and Hole can play if courtney confesses to killing kurt. Thats every good band in LA, and I’m giving some of them the benefit of the doubt. Half of the best bands contain dead frontmen, but without them, this show is gonna be over in a week. In 50 years, thats all you got LA? I Blame it on the sun.
3. What do your parents think you do for a living?
my mom is a retired school teacher, she would tell her kids in the last couple years she was teaching (in a defeated tone) “don’t listen to me-my son never did and he turned out great.” when I was a kid and she knew I was fucking up she’d say “tell me what you did today?” and when I said anything except the truth she’d say “try again” and this would go on until I told on myself. Last year I won a pew grant (Philly based non-profit org that gives out prestige and paper) and I forgot to tell my mom. She called me up like I was in trouble, “tell me about the pew grant” I feigned ignorance, she said “try again”. we both busted out laughing.
4. What’s in your pockets right now?
atm card, metro card with $13.03 on it (that new bonus system make it so you can’t zero out, really the most bullshit tactic by the most bullshit TA in america, including St. Louis, where they just shut down half their bus lines. Though I am down for the kids on canal street scooping up discarded metro cards to get the balances) Hercules Laundry card with 20.00 on it (Laundry in the building, I feel blessed). 342 dollars cash (I hit the atm for 200 yesterday. forgot and hit another one an hour later for 200. and I was sober.) My 2 year old just walked in with my blackberry, mashing the buttons like he’s texting, so now thats in the pocket too.
5. Have you ever been to Staten Island?
Bunch of times. I used to troop out to the wu store to drop off On The Go’s in the 90’s. I knew they would never pay for them, but they had a desirable demographic. I painted one gate out there in 1999. I wanted something by stapleton houses, where wu tang is from, but they didnt have any good gates out there, so I painted a gate in front of the police academy by the terminal. some of the cadets asked if I had permission, but my g was so strong that they helped me fill in. no pause.
6. If you had to get a tattoo with words on your forehead what would you get?
probably a 5. people been calling me 5 head forever.
7. If someone shot you who would you want the shooter to be?
Stevie Wonder.
8. So you’re on a hott date, where you going?
La Cirque. Get a couple of the nice embroidred washcloths from the bathroom, you’ll need them. Then we take the bus home.
9. If you got to pick your name what would you choose?
My older brother asked me this when I was 10-11 years old. I thought about it for awhile and answered “Jack Of Spades” (real talk). He laughed me out of the room, what a sucker. I’m still one guy who hasn’t been paid.
10. Who’s better looking Mayor Dinkins or President Obama?
I havent seen dinkins in a speedo, so I’m gonna say barack
11. So you’re on a desert island, what now?
I carve a blackberry out of a cocoanut and start texting
12. Why do you think you’re qualified for this position?
I showed up early with my pencils sharpened
13. The new Mickey Rourke, yea or neh?
definitely meh.
14. Does the pressure to impress cause you to clam up– or do you have everyone at hello?
I even have Lionel Richie at hello.
15. Have you ever taken Peyote?
no, thats a real perishable fruit, like khat, and Philly wasn’t on the distribution route. maybe when a whole drugs opens in the west ville, I’ll try both at once, then put on an 8 ball straight jacket.
16. Are you able to lift a 50-pound weight and carry it 100 yards?
yeah, thats a 5 gallon paint bucket or a box of the finest independent graffiti rap magazine, On The Go. sometimes I’d have to carry both up all 360 steps of the Temple Of Hip Hop. (I was a double major).
17. Have you ever been arrested?
4 times. If cops weren’t liars it would’ve been the one time I was tripping and arguing with a cop in south philly until he got so flustered and tongue-tied he ordered me arrested. it said on the arrest report I was using profound language. Guilty as charged.
18. Where were you before you were born?
chilling near an ice-cream filled upper intestine
19. Do you like love games like master – slave, doctor– patient, teacher –student?
what about Bert and Ernie or Wendy and Lisa? I’m more down for colleague and trusted peer.
20. Can you tell me in a few seconds what a brick is useful for?
bricks are for laying.
21. What did you dress like in the tenth grade?
I was in a catholic school uniform and hunting down the ugliest ties I could find in order to defy the dress code the best I could. I had one monstrosity with tennis racquets on it that won ugly tie contests in 2 different catholic schools. It would’ve won at West Catholic except they felt bad for some kid that was dying of cancer.
22. You meet by chance a girl friend of mine at the disco. She is very happy and she is flirting with you. What are you doing?
Im being a gentleman and being loyal to my friend, while gathering material for the stroke file.
23. If Tom Cruise made art what would it look like?
hopefully paintings of the volcano on the cover of the dianetics book. maybe he’s a performance artist that puts a giant couch at 76 grand and jumps up and down on it for 30 days.
24. What’s your favorite color?
black one shot on aluminum. if its applied right you can shave looking at it.
25. Why do people like the band Vampire Weekend?
I was at nobu and they were playing that shit. I was criticizing something on the menu, and the waiter got pissed and said “thats a very popular dish.” I said, “Oh yeah, like this music, huh?” My girl laughed and the waiter dried up and floated away like a piece of seaweed. Oh, the question? right. people are fucking morons.
26 Where do you plan on riding out the apocalypse?
hopefully on a horse called war.
27 If you were stranded on a deserted island with one other person, who would you want it to be? Why?
Charles Darwin. he’d make the most of it. or shaun ryder, he’d make the best of it too.
28 Where is your favorite place in New York City to hang out at in the morning?
just walking around is the best, especially when I can take my time and really look around. New York looks best overcast. If Its raining I love being in the back of a cab, stuck in traffic, with a cel phone jammer to screw up the driver’s phone calls.
29 In ten years I will…(complete the sentence)
be telling Larry Gogasian to hurry up with my bags. I’ve won the Venice Bienniale golden Lion and he’s making me late for the ceremony. Jeffrey Deitch is flicking him in the ear.
30 If you could get on a plane tomorrow and travel to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
mumbai. go chill in the slum that slumdog millionaire was filmed in
31 What’s your favorite thing about yourself?
my hands. I earned these sausage patties and these sausage fingers. they’re good slappers for sure.
32 What’s your standard exercise routine?
walking, lifting 24 oz weights.
33 Last time you said “that was the last time?”
2 nights ago. I decided to stop drinking. I said “2/8 is not too late”.
34 Where’s your favorite place in NYC above 14th street?
Cloisters. really nice.
35 If you could live in any movie “world,” what movie would it be?
Im cool right here, thanks. but I had a good time living through rocky 1 through V
36 Place in New York City where you would mostly likely be found at any random point during the day?
w.10th street, beercan on the stroller passing by the precinct
37 Best/worst thing you have done in a movie theater?
I love yelling snaps at the trailers. I treat the movies as sacred unless its real trash. In Ireland they loved that shit, like nobody ever thought to do it. I had people coming up to me after the movie saying “nice one”.
38 First career plans/goals as a child?
I was always going to be an artist, from like 3. I still cling to an aspiration to have a #1 pop single. even a novelty song is fine, and probably my best chance.
39 Why can’t you survive anywhere but NYC?
You can get snapped on brutally by anybody here, I’ve gotten murdered by old ladies here. (Some 60-something bensonhurst irish woman on the R train looking at me and talking to her friend, “you seen eraserhead?”) I love that everybody’s game is so developed. I go anywhere else and it’s like I’m picking on special ed kids.
40 Go to song (or album) when you are feeling down?
nothing like some joy division to make you glad to be you.
41 Who is your ultimate hero or role model?
William Blake is cool. Jesus is good too. But really, John Coltrane, flaws and all, is my man. Im his age when he passed. He wrote love supreme. I wrote superfeen.
42 If you could have any talent or skill, what would it be?
sing in key
43 What was your best excuse when you didn’t do your homework?
When MOVE jumped off for the 2nd time in Philly (google MOVE philadelphia), it wasn’t too far from my house. I stayed out of school for 2 days and said my homework got burned. I even burned my algebra book halfway as a sight gag. my mom was a math teacher and she had the teachers edition, so I had the back up. I still failed.
44 If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
ripe avacados
45 Next thing you want to achieve in your life?
I’ll tell you after I do it.
46 In high-school, were you a jock, punk, theater geek, or prep?
I was class clown. so all the above were fair targets
47 If you could “punk” any celebrity, who would it be?
Last year I was showing at Art Basel in Miami and Pharrell walked in. I said to my co-workers “Hey guys look it’s Pharrell” He got so pissed he asked for a price list and when it was brought to him he said “no I dont want anything”. Thats not much of a punk, but it was a great way to fuck up a sale.
48 what is aNYthing to NYC?
the last schmatte hope.
via whatyouwrite, the glob
