In terms of style, attitude and philosophy, what defines or makes The 5?
If you look at a TC5 production, you can see that there is a similarity in style that we all have. Different, but similar. The cleanliness of lines, eye poppin' colors, perfectly designed letters, ill characters, and amazing themes. TC5 is the cream of the crop in the graff world. Our letter structure is different from any other crews'.
What is the crew’s hierarchy structure? How has that played an important part in the crew’s longevity over other crews?
SEEN is the prez of the 5, but Doc and Aevon basically run the crew. I know that Psycho was a vice prez, but has "retired" or stepped down. Juice and Doze also have/had power. I believe that having these brothers in charge has kept the crew in an elite status. You are basically hand picked to be down in The 5. It also goes beyond graff. Most of us have known each other 20 - 30 years.
Did all graffiti crews back in the day have a President, Vice-President, and so on?
As long as I remember crews had Prez, VPs and recruiters.
How did you get down with TC5? Were there any initiation rites or official formalities?
DOC TC5 put me down sometime in late 1983. Initiation.....lol...1988 beach party Rockaway Beach. Thrown in the water fully clothed. Thanks guys!
What was the influence of Art & Design High School on The 5 and the world of graffiti?
Are you kidding? A&D? Personally it influenced me, because if I didn't go to A&D, I would have never become a writer. I knew of graffiti as a kid, seeing it on the trains, but I never knew the culture of it. I would say that A&D between the years of 1977 and 1986 produced some of the best writers AND bboys ever. SEEN TC5, Doze, Lady Pink, Fome, Par, Abby, 2Cute, Myself, Tack, Airborn, Daze, Mr.Wiggles (Rek), Pop Master Fabel, Lady Heart, Ence, Erni, Sizer, Tab.
Who were The Crazy 5?
The Crazy 5: Vamm, Tull, Crachee, Death, Blade. Later came Ajax, Comet, Silver Tips, Maze, Z73 etc.
How did TC5 come to be?
I believe that The Crazy 5 were neighborhood friends that were really close. I know some of them were in a band.
How have TC5 influenced graffiti?
TC5 influence has been there from day one. Everyone was trying to imitate the whole cars that Blade was doing. Clothing wise we have the shirt king Phade. After Phade, all these places started popping up doing shirts. Then we have Wane's Writer's Bench. An actual writer, with his own clothing line. After that, writers wanted to do their thing. So The 5 has been a big influence overall in the graff world. And of course Doze. ALL bboy characters can be traced back to Doze. He's one of the most influential writers around.
How did you get your name?
I got the name Web from one of my best friends that gave up on writing when we started at A&D in 79.
How would you describe your style?
My style. A little bit of TC5, FBA, CIA, and TMT mixed together with some WEB seasoning. EVERYONE is a son of a son of a son (stylewise)
What are your favorite types of paint and colors?
I'm not committed to one brand of paint. I was dedicated to Belton Molotow due to an affiliation with the first North American distributor. I use Sabotaz80, Montana Gold and Black, and the new Montana 94. And of course I'm always going to use Rustoleum. Back in the train days I used Rusto, Krylon, Red Devil, Wet Look, Wet Paint and Martin Paint silvers and Avocado.
What are you doing these days for work?
Manager of Production Center at well known law firm in Atlanta.
How would you describe the evolution and or destruction of graffiti in New York City over the past 30 years?
I would say the evolution of graff in NYC was just everyone (crew) trying to outdo the next person or crew. Competition. That always takes it to the next level. The destruction ... toys. You got these toys doing throwies everywhere. It looks bad. I'm just old school. I believe that the proving grounds were the train yards. That's just me. There's a lot of cats that never hit live trains that are good. The destruction of the trains started with Cap MPC. Writers got tired of wasting time doing fresh burners and whole cars only for it to get dissed. So writers started doing more throwies than pieces. Trains looked a mess. The few remaining diehards kept going until the end and beyond (clean train era).
What is your view of the news coverage of graffiti over the years? How has the Internet affected graffiti?
Press coverage about graff has usually been negative. Especially in the train days. Now it's like a cool thing. You can see graffiti influences all over. You see how they wrap trains and buses in these advertisements?They copied that from T2B whole cars. And I think that the media and people don't get the correct info AND facts. Perfect example - SEEN TC5. My man was a tour de force on the trains, inside and out. But who gets the credit??? Think about it...
Any stories you'd like to share?
Hmm...5 stories...so many, but the one that sticks out was one night in '85 or '86 we were going to painting one night. It was going to be DOC, EBN, and myself. DOC's house was usually the hangout or meeting place. So we were there and the phone rings. DOC answers it and after a few minutes hands me the phone. This really weird voice comes on and says WEEEBBB. I recognized who it was right away ... DOZE. He says he was coming painting with us that night. I knew something special was going to happen.
Doze shows up and he starts sketching out this nasty BAGEL outline. That was only the beginning. Then DOC told DOZE to pick his colors for the piece. I don't remember what colors he took, but DOC was left with like 5 or 6 cans. I looked at him and he was like "It's all good.No problem". That night, or should I say early morning EBN and I did the OH RATZ / HOLY SHIT car, and DOC and DOZE did the ARAB / BAGEL car. To this day I still tell DOC that's the best piece he ever did. 5 colors and he killed it. It just goes to show you that you don't need 15 colors in your piece to rock. AND he used an orange tip for fill ins, designs and outline.
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