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History of writers.

" JOUST "

Started : 1976

Area : Flatbush Brooklyn, New York.

Main lines : M's, J's, E's, F's, RR's, D's, B's, RR's

Writing Groups : G.N.D - Graffiti Never Dies, NSA,

Alias : JD, JOHN DOE.

1) Where and when did you start writing?

  In flatbush Brooklyn the beginning of '76.

2) Do you remember the early names that you seen when you first started and who would you say inspired you?

I remember a garbage truck in my neighborhood had a big King Kat tag on it. (That's 1 K with an arrow on it) I remember the side of the grand army plaza library in B'klyn had SCOOTER, LES, GEM, DINO - NOD, & CANEGO tags on it. The Brooklyn Bridge had a lone " ALL I" piece. As far as M trains go, I only remember them as far back as when I started writing. I remember pieces by JESTER 1,TRACY 168, KING 2,

 P.NUT 2, CLIFF 159, TEE, BEN, STONE, UNCLE JOHN 178, TEAR, SHIP, REPEL aka HEAT, DANGER 59, PINTO a/k/a DP 2, TERO, HASH, NO 1, CLASH, CALL, IZ,VINNY ,  IN. I remember a full(end 2 end) car by ABC 3 & BROTHER LOVE, Diamonds Inc., and also one that said WAR 2 Hell on Wheels! A year or so later JESTER & DEAN really were running allot of nice pieces ,throws and insides .Around 78-79  LEE and THE FAB 5IVE had allot of full cars running. About that same time HURST (OI TOP), MICKEY (TO TOP), and HATE 168 were doing allot of blender end 2 ends  together. At that point also IZ THE WIZ had several full end to ends with Black Sabbath themes.
 

3) How did you find the name JOUST?

I was originally TEX7 with a lil' cowboy hat over it but the name TEX2 was up then, so my friend PAWN I
came up with the name JOUST 1 for me in 1975. The name became me and I became the name.
 

4) Can you tell us about your first time hitting the trains and who were you with & where was it? 

 I actually began motion bombing solo and with my friend STORM 7. Eventually I met a guy in school, YES7, who was president of the G.S.A. (Graffiti Strikes Again). When visiting the G.S.A neighborhood ( Bay ridge ) one day after school I was introduced to  SNAKE 1 a/k/a KRAZY SNAKE 3 and DICE 7. There were kids like me, around age 14. Immediately they invited me to their layup-- through a hole in a fence, down a hill, down some open tracks, into a tunnel with LSD3, FLINT..., and CHOPPER tags flanking the entrance. We got chased out after a few tags - but that experience
raised the bar for my whole Graff career afterwards.

5) What train line did you focus on mainly and what are all the lines you hit? 

The Brighton Line (M train) mostly, also the J's, RR's the D's and E's & F's.

6) Who were all your writing partners and who would you say was your  best writing partner and why?

 KEON was my "homeboy" from Flatbush... we used to hang out almost everyday. I had put Graff behind me, 'cause me
and STORM 7 had been busted and had to go to family court, etc. Then I got really into skateboarding. Me, KEON, my brother and a few other kids pioneered a lot of street skating and Bowl Riding... but KEON also knew a lot about Graff back then and we would occasionally tag during those years. KEON came back with me in the '80's for some classic street and  hi-way action... SAM3 (later known as SAM 147 of NSA) was also an old friend. First he did an end 2 end on the M's with our friend NEBO I. Then he did throws w/ MR DEAL N.S.A. on the ridgies and insides with ZEPHYR. I did some nice train pieces w/ SAM (several 3/4 cars).

I would love to find a photo of our piece with the Krazy Kat, Ignatz cartoons, One guy I brought onto the scene was MR ARROW 145. I did trains, and probably my best highway piece, on the Henry Hudson with him. While doing this piece a police chopper put the spot on us and started yelling over the megaphone... we split to go back and finish it a few hours later! KGEE  was a kid I brought on many missions- he had a great tag but couldn't piece. Once we polished off Sheepshead & City Hall in one night! Finally I hooked up w/ TRIKE I. He was a writer who went way back. He had highway pieces in Bklyn in the early '70's, but in the early
'80's we did the F trains and a lot of streets. I thought our hand styles looked unbeatable together. But really all my partners had great style.

 7) Would you have any racking stories you can tell us?

 The first can I ever racked was a 'little can of model spray paint, orange, out of LH
Martins. I was with my unsuspecting mommy! At one point KEON had a friend who would throw us cans out the back door of a store he worked at! My best move was rolling cases out of Martins on the bottom of the shopping cart.

8) Can you tell us all the writing groups you were in ? 

Me and my boys rocked NON STOP ACTION ( MR. DEAL, Pres.) and also GRAFFITI NEVER DIES (which was a reincarnation of the original classic 70's crew, original pres. MR. ICE, brought back by also original member TRIKE 1)

 

9) What writers do you feel had the best hand style?

 STAY HIGH 149, SUPERKOOL 223, AJ161, DON 1, ROTO, SNAK, STAF aka NACO, JESTER, DEAN, TJ159, AZTEC, EARL aka POET, LSD, PERIL, CLYDE, MOOSE 106, SEX II , HASH 131 ... but my favorite tag style of all time has to be WHIZ I (of GND).

11) What other names have you written under?

 DESPOT II was a name I wrote just to break up the monotony. Also "ARTIST OF FORTUNE" and "KID TWIST 2". My name JD was actually formed or forged in the tunnels while bombing with TRIKE... he did his T.O.'s (for TRIKE ONE) so fast I couldn't keep up so I started doing J for JOUST and D for DESPOT. Then 718 for Brooklyn.

14) What writers do you feel are truly underrated in history?

The MG Boys (MARK 198, BOOTS 119, KIT 17, BILLY 167). I loved BOOTS 119's style.TRACY168, JESTER, and IZ THE WIZ for longevity and style.


 

15) When was the last time you hit the trains and when did you stop?

 The last time I hit subways was '87 I think, but I've HEARD that JOHN DOE is still up on freights!

16) Would you have any closing words?

 Props to RENT aka NT for showing me how to work Sheepshead. What's Up to all my partners and writing
friends, especially those who went to MURROW H.S. where we used to watch the trains go by right from the classroom windows and practice styles on the desks. Peace! GRAF NEVR DYEZ!