R. Grimes, a Juxtapoz favorite, recently answered some questions for design team Blackbooks Stencils. Garner a little insight into his world here…

BB :  Could you give us a brief look into your background?

RG : My name is Rocky Grimes (short for a lengthy family name), I am a lone wolf. I was born in Columbia, SC on September 25, 1974 and was raised in Key Largo, the first of a series of islands located at the southern tip of Florida.

BB : Who were some of your earliest influences and where are you currently pulling influence from?

RG : My earliest influence would be Thrasher Magazine and the art that the skateboard community was creating during the time period of 1985-1989. During that time I began to get into punk and hardcore music and was greatly affected by the stark black and white contrasted imagery used as artwork for 7" and 12" record covers and inserts. Furthermore, the cut and paste style collaged flyers I would see when going to punk hardcore shows influenced me as well. As far as naming names... Raymond Pettibon, Seth Tobocmon, Gee Vaucher, Winston Smith, Glen E. Friedman, Sam McPheeters, Neil Burke etc. are all past influences. Currently, I am pulling influences from my head.

BB : What does a day in the life of R. Grimes consist of? Could you give us a detailed rundown?

RG : Hectic and it depends on the day. On a day that I am not teaching... Wake up by 8 am. Next make a strawberry, banana and spirulina smoothie for breakfast. Next, shower. Then either head to the studio to print and work on art or stay at home and work on email, website or graphics. Lunch... vegetarian or vegan. Around one pm take a break to play with my son or go push around on the skateboard. 2-7 work on art in some form or another(printing, taking photos, building silk screens, making fine art pieces, prepping images etc.) 7 to 9 home to make dinner and eat with family. 9-11 shower and anything from read, watch a movie, work on more art, getting intimate etc.) Usually in bed around midnight or shortly thereafter.

BB : What is the last great book you read? Why? Maybe supply a favorite excerpt or quote from that Book?

RG : The last book I read was The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot by: Namoi Wolf.This is a great book because it draws attention to the fact that our real freedom is under attack by the politicians that claim to stand for liberty. The book outlines ten steps that dictators, or those hoping to be dictators, take in order to close down a democratic or open society. The comparisons to Pinochet's Chile and Nazi Germany are shocking. This is a book that all people of America should read before they wake up and their civil liberties are gone.

Quotes:

"People need to watch what they say, watch what they do." Ari Fleischer; former White House Press Secretary, 2001.

"I warn every animal on this farm to Keep his eyes very wide open."  Squealer; from George Orwell's Animal Farm.

BB : Can you hook us up with one of your favorite recipes?

RG : HAPPY CHICKEN SALAD
8oz. Tempeh
1 Cup diced celery
½ cup vegan mayo
1-2 TBS lemon juice
¼ tsp sage
1/8 tsp rosemary, crushed
¼ tsp thyme, crushed
¼ tsp salt or to taste

Steam tempeh for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool. In a small bowl whisk together remaining ingredients. Cut colled tempeh into ¼ " cubes. Toss gently with dressing. Chill. Adjust seasoning before serving, if necessary. Serve on whole grain bread.

If you missed Juxtapoz’ recent exclusive interview with R. Grimes, you must check it out…
 

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