Mike Giant in conversation with Dalek at Mike's studio in San Diego, California on June 21, 2024. Topics discussed include: Tyke, pickup basketball games, Hurley (2009-2015), Mark Parker, Roger Gastman, Black Dot, fashion world, Spacemonkey racing yacht, apartment mural, Cycle, dominatrix girlfriend, sex in SF in the 1990s, unintentional harm, painting freights at night in Chicago, closing out bars, interaction with Chicago PD, etiquette with cops, backing away from a sketchy girl, exhilaration of release, picking up Semz and Nekst from jail, referrals from fellow graffiti writers, writing to T-Dee, meeting Kaws (1995), car stolen in Queens, The Limelight club, Leeway, Sume, flow among creatives in NYC, Alphabet City, squatters, Sidewalk Cafe, Z Bar, East Side Inc, 111 Minna Gallery, Move shows by Rich Jacobs, Chouinard, location flexibility, disinterest in public school, DODDS, 16 years old in Japan (1984), 6’6” white hair, sexual standards, 1982 World Cup trip to Spain, teenage drinking and topless beaches in Europe, Iron Maiden “Number of the Beast” Tour, engaging with a new culture, Japanese cartoons, food mascots, Naval Academy in Maryland, family roots in Annapolis, new wave/punk, MTV, Oceans Two record store, confrontational attitude to punks, trip to Ocean City, meeting skaters, acting out, sleeping on floors, Espo arriving in a limo, lack of compassion/discussion from parents, parenting, honest conversation with children, self discovery through trials, processing childhood trauma as an adult, pressure of life clouding clarity of mind, Let It Go meditation to help sleep, medication, blood disorder, masking vs fixing, chaos bringers, Old Souls, difference in how sons first responded, Shannon’s past lives, realizations on road trips, people watching, investigating emotions, discovering new places, memory recollection, casing neighborhoods before writing graffiti, mind mapping, Web3, global anonymous community, Tunny and Joe, importance of meeting in-person, Art Basel, Buffmonster, Bobby Tribal, Nate Lyons and Kris Markovich, Jay Strickland, Duffs team manager, Shepard Fairey, mailing canvases to artist friends, making connections, pulling off life as an artist, the blessing of support and the impact of murals.
