Sneaker Pimps BOSTON!

Saturday September 25, 2004 . Boston Massachusetts . If you have ever been to Boston certain aspects of the city would remain in your memory. If you have ever been to Boston on a night the Red Sox were playing the Yankees, certain aspects of the people would remain in your memory! Tonight, I'm trying to find Dana Woulfe, a graphic artists who created www.illsideink.com . Waiting in front of Boston Beer Works, in my wet pack AF 1's, im asked if im selling tickets at least a dozen times. Maybe I have one of those ticket selling kind of faces?! I get the privilege to observe several of these tickets sales going down in front of me, I can't tell whose happier, the guy who just paid $200 for box seats or the wannabe gangster counting the money.

Whats even more exciting about this night, other than the Red Sox game, is tonight is the Sneaker Pimps tour at Axis nightclub. My boy Dana is a contributing artist in the tour and invited me to check it out, I got to ask him a few questions while we watched the game, before the show openedŸ..

How were you approached to enter a shoe in this collection?

About two weeks ago I was asked to participate in a show called ‚Tightly Laced Kicks' in Boston with several of my crewmates from Project SF. I showed several canvases in a  gallery which also showcased a shoe collection.. I guess someone who was organizing the Sneaker Pimps show was there and liked my stuff so they contacted one of the organizers to get me involved..



Do you feel there is a natural progression from graffiti artist, to a graphic designer, to clothing designer?  (i.e., echo, stash)
I don't really know if its a ‚natural' progression.... I mean I don't think graffiti artists ever start off thinking ‚I'm gonna go into fashion'.. But I do think that anyone who is really approaching this as an artist and trying to get their work out there..has to start thinking about other mediums (fashion, design, etc.) if they want to evolve.  Lately though,  graffiti and street art has really come into the spotlight and there has been an abundance of opportunities for people to market their graffiti skills and get jobs for it. So who knows maybe someday kids will start writing on walls saying (I'm gonna work for Sean Jean someday..).. But lets hope not.


Do you have any thoughts on the ècustomî sneaker craze?
Its cool... I don't think custom shoes are  for me personally..but I can appreciate it. I definitely enjoy being able to take part in all this ‚custom' craze (tshirts, hats, sneakers) as an artist..gives me a great opportunity to take my work to another medium and get more eyes on it. Plus, I think it will lead to more innovative shoes/clothing design... as more and more custom clothes appear it will push the major brands to start changing their designs up to compete.


Having a supporting role in the èSneaker Pimpsî tour, what did you think of the other artists, or the way it was displayed in the night club atmosphere?
I think it was fresh. It was a little tough to see all the shoes in that atmosphere but it made for a much better party than a gallery would have.   

What kind of kicks are you wearing right now?
my trusty Etnies LO-CUT II.

 

A few other heads join us and we are on our way. Nothing would prepare me for what I was about to see.

Standing in line I notice the kid in front of me has some nasty SB Dunks, the green and yellow ones that say BUCK on the back. The kid next to him is straight pimpin' some 95' air max with the neon greenŸ.. Inside was more gangsta than any scarface or goodfellas movie, because it was wall to wall sneakers. The D.J., Mr. Lif was spinning what I can only claim as the sickest sneaker sound track ever created. Some local crew of breakers were dancin' in the middle of the floor, just to add flavor to the ambience. Dana brought me over to his shoe, it was a Puma, and not too over the top so its still wearable. But to be showing your art on the same wall as artists like CopeŸin indescribable.

Who's is that kid in the bathrobe? That is èSpungieî, im told. He owns the sneaker store Concepts in Harvard Square in Boston . He had two racks on display and right next to the Bearbrick SB nikes, were Nike Rayguns which he held like a newborn baby to show me their nastiness up close.Ÿ Most of the shoes were custom one of a kind joints, Like the old school Nintendo NES shoe, or the Blinged out Phat Pharm with the diamond chain for laces and a real dollar sewn in. S.Carters' signed by JZ, BBC Ice Cream, and the always elusive JB CLASSICS were welcome additions to the tour. I wish I got the story behind the Kill Bill kicks.

Through out the evening I got to talk with some of the biggest heads in the industry, like Donny Brooks, who is the Product Development Mgr- Atsco Design group. Kangaroos' (roos) shoes. He was interested in getting some customized roo's featured on the tour, and is gonna hook Dana up with a few pairs. That's politic'en yo!

Finally, I was introduced to Peter Fahey. Peter, who organized this whole thing, and has been traveling around the world showing off what is absolutely the greatest collection of footwear ever brought together. The final show will be next week in Portland Oregon , here is the upcoming schedule for the cities. You'll need to check www.sneakerpimpsusa.com for the actual dates and places.

after this we go to:

 

- China/Thailand/Korea nov/dec

- Australia (3 cities) Jan/Feb 2005

- Europe : London , Paris , Berlin , Bareclona Feb/March 05

- Hawaiii: April 05

- Canada : April/May 05

- USA : 20 cities June/July/August/September

- Japan : 2 cities Oct/Nov 05

 

 

I can't wait for this to come back again next year, its only gonna get BIGGER. Peter said his future plans are è to create an amazing set in which we will display and present the Sneaker Pimps show which will blow peoples minds and introduce a completely new angle on the show.

A Sneaker Pimps cross over sneaker with a footwear company i.e. Adidas or Nike. Having some of my favorite artists involved in the show i.e. Futura, Barry Mcgee, Yoshitomo Nara.

 

Stumbling out into the street I catch glimpses of bapestas', g units, and were those adidas micropacers? My head is spinning from the greatest night of my life, oh yeah, and the red sox won!