Interview: Jigl and Wasp MFK

We’ve all heard the phrase “don’t talk about it, be about it”. Well up until a couple weeks ago, Jigl and Wasp MFK only talked about doing a multi-city open agenda road trip together. The good news? It was time to “put your money where your mouth is”.

This road trip had them stopping through 5 cities over 12 days and covering 3,000 in between. If anyone is to do a trip proper, it’s these guys. Their work can be seen all over the states via thousands of train panels and more than likely a street spot in a city near you.

The original objective of this trip was to finally link up with Bozo and Gets ETC after being in contact with them over the last few years. But also in general sense to simply GET UP, and NOT just in the yard. This included the opportunity to travel through cities that neither of them had been to before, not to mention cruising home on the infamous Route 66.

They painted every day from start to finish and wanted to leave their mark where ever they went. Sometimes that meant tracksides, street corners, abandoned apartment complexes or local train yards. Tired late at night driving but still have another 2 hours before stopping for the night? Simple. Pop out the car for some rally tags.

The breakdown looked like this, first up on the navi was St. Louis. While there, they were able to kick it with Horse, Kink and Dozer (Jigls’ LD Crewmates). “Paint Louis was 4 days away so we figured might as well make a couple easy grabs along the route to the event” laughed Jigl.

Next stop was Kansas City to meet up with Rakn and Gier. Both Jigl and Wasp mentioned this was a major highlight of the trip, being able to see all the history still running in the Groove; one of the oldest graffiti spots in KC.

“We got to see a lot of the real deal graff that we both saw in videos growing up; old Mayhem spots, the God Bless the American Railroad Mural by Elk. Vizie. Dr. Sex. Distort. Frost.” Wasp remarked

Then to Denver to meet up with Bozak MFK. “The mural work in Denver is quite impressive…” Wasp starts. “Not as impressive as the Labor Day Special-an ounce of 5 fires for $143 at the dispensary” laughs Jigl. After Denver they found groups of abandoned highway exits running through New Mexico. What would any normal writer do? They pulled off to rock a highway spot…daytime. Envision an iconic western movie with a cowboy about to come around the corner with tumbleweeds blowing while they were painting.

Welcome to the Wild, Wild West, right? “The trip wasn’t just about painting though, we did some hiking through the Rocky Mountains and made “touristy” stops to art places like Cadillac Ranch along the way. One of my favourite stops was hiking up along the Continental Divide in Colorado to sit at a spot where to your right was the flatlands of the Midwest and to your left were nothing but jetting mountain tops marking the start of the West Coast” added Jigl.

Then it was onto the long awaited stop; Albuquerque; to meet up with Bozo and Gets. “I was really into seeing the atmosphere that these dudes put their work out under. They’ve been monsters on the lines for the past 8 years and seeing the conditions they paint under makes their body of work that much more impressive” notes Jigl.

He and Gets did a car while Wasp and Bozo did another. You might notice that those pics haven’t been included. “You’ll have to keep an eye on the rails for those panels.” Wasp informs us “Not to mention we got our asses SMOKED!” Last but not least, a stop in Memphis to link with Paser and Sepia MFK before heading back home. “Memphis has killer food, killer warehouses, great layups and history for days. It was the perfect cap for the trip” they both noted.