The Hundreds - VOL. 02 / ISSUE: 01

EDITOR’S NOTE....................................................................09

CONTRIBUTORS.................................................................. 10

FOCUSThe.World.Through.ScoTT.caan’S.eyeS...............................12

A WEEK IN ThE LIFE OF... naTalIa.BruTalIa..........................................................................................14

POP GOES ThE EASELThe.arT.of.Mark.dean.Veca.............................................................16

hORIZONSfall.2010.......................................................................................20..

FALL 2010................................................................................ 30

BETWEEN ThE STRIPESSITTIng.doWn.WITh.JIM.daVIS,.creaTor.of.garfIeld...38

FALL/WINTER FOOTWARE 2010.........................44

JESSICA LOWNDES............................................................46

ANImAL’S hOUSEThe.IconIc.PhoTograPhy.of.Paul.chan................... 50..

STREET LIGhTSWInTer.2010.................................................................................52

WINTER 2010........................................................................ 60

SOUND OFFWhere.IS.MuSIc.headed?....................................................68

ThE hUNDREDS LA, SF, NY.......................................74

RETAILER LIST......................................................................75

15 ALBUmS ThAT I LIKEWITh.rayMond.roker............................................................76

EAT WITh mESan.francISco..........................................................................78

ThE DIRTY DOZENWITh.MIchael.raPaPorT.....................................................80

LAST OF ThE BUFFALO PLAIDgarfIeld.edITIon..................................................................... 82

» FALL / WINTER 2010» VOL: 01 / ISSUE: 03

COVER:.JeSSIca.loWndeS.In.The.“PaInTer.hoody,”.PhoTograPhed.By.BoBBy.hundredS.aT.The.hundredS.STudIo

8 » THE HUNDREDS MAGAZINE

» THERE’S THAT OLD Thrasher T-SHIRT, yOU kNOW? “SkATE AND DESTROy.”

We had this old tee graphic, we flipped it to say “Create and Destroy.” I patted myself on the

back for that one, how oh-so clever. But it was a mantra that well-served our brand ethos.

Get out there, be proactive, make stuff. And break down the walls.

If.you’re.reading.this.magazine,.there’s.a.great.possibility.that.you’re.the.creative.type...Maybe.you.doodle.

naked.girls.in.your.spiral.notebook.or.write.raps.in.the.confines.of.your.office.cubicle...or.maybe.you.don’t.

even.realize.it.yet,.you’ve.just.always.thought.it.was.weird.that.you.were.oddly.talented.at.constructing.

lego.portraits.of.american.Idol.contestants...Whatever.

our.cover.girl.Jessica.lowndes.is.right.there.with.you...The.stunning.actress.is.most.noted.for.her.TV.cred-

its,.but.she’s.also.coming.into.her.own.as.a.singer/songwriter...Mark.dean.Veca.is.another.example,.if.not.

the.archetype...The.post-pop.artist.is.as.detailed.with.his.fine.brush.stroke.as.he.is.with.the.substantive.

story.behind.his.prolific.works...In.this.issue,.we.also.bring.in.our.musically-gifted.friends.Mike.Shinoda,.

nipsey.hussle,.and.Mickey.avalon,.to.grant.us.their.own.perspectives.on.the.future.of.sound..In.a.business.

where.numbers.are.down,.how.can.we.keep.the.creativity.flowing?

and.then.we.have.Jim.davis,.the.hand.that.introduced.garfield.to.the.world...This.man.could.very.well.be.

the.most.influential.person.in.my.career,.and.countless.others’.lives.over.the.past.3.decades,.and.it.all.came.

from.his.willingness.to.create...he.was.inspired,.and.that.inspired.others...It.all.kind.of.progressed.from.there.

That’s.really.what.it’s.about,.isn’t.it?.Progress...Without.creativity,.we.can’t.move.forward,.we.can’t....build...

argh,.that.t-shirt.should’ve.said.“create.and.Build,”.huh?!..for.The.loSS.

WWW.THEHUNDREDS.COM « 9


NATAlIA BRUTAlIA:Natalia takes you through a day in her life for this issue’s pictorial.

» Natalia is a 22-year-old kitten lover born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She enjoys

taking photos, blogging, picking her nose, and driving around LA in her white Saturn. She

is currently saving her money to make the upgrade from manual to automatic windows.

Top 5 Work SongS:

01 » “Mysterons” – Portishead

02 » “Don’t Bother Me” – Bad Brains

03 » “So Bored” – Wavves

04 » “It’s Not Going to Work” – SoKo

05 » “C.R.E.A.M.” – Wu-Tang Clan

MARIA CARMEl:Maria shot both the Fall 2010 and Winter 2010 fashion features.

» Maria Carmel likes to take pictures. She likes photography almost more than anything else

she can think of: more than sleeping, more than ice cream and tacos, and more than hanging

out at the beach. Fortunately, she gets to do it for a living, because she probably wouldn’t be

able to afford a camera if she made a career of sleeping under a taco stand at the beach.

Top 5 Work SongS:

01 » “Knife In My Back” – The Delta Fiasco

02 » “Gravel Pit” – Wu-Tang Clan

03 » “Telephone” – Lady Gaga ft. Beyoncé

04 » “Drop The Pressure” – Mylo

05 » “Sexual High” (Radiohead vs. Marvin Gaye) – Go Home Productions

QUANG TRINH:Quang shot our Fall and Winter 2010 Footware collection for this issue.

» Quang Trinh is a photographer who relies on innovative thinking to get the most out of

a photo. His photos posses creative concepts with limitless possibilities by adding the ele-

ments that can make a great image.

Top 5 Work SongS:

01 » “Feel Good Inc.” – Gorillaz

02 » “Juicy” – Notorious B.I.G.

03 » “The Red” – Jaylib

04 » “Crazy” – Gnarls Barkley

05 » “B.O.B.” – Outkast

RAyMoND RokER:Raymond wrote about 15 life-changing albums for this issue.

» Raymond Leon Roker barely graduated from Fairfax High eons ago but he still lives in the

‘hood. His tags and pieces are long gone from the alleys around the school where he made

his name as a graffiti writer in LA’s first wave. He’s probably better known as the founder

and publisher of URB Magazine, the longest running electronic-based music and culture

magazine in America. He blogs about media, race and politics on the Huffington Post, Medi-

aite, Facebook, or at www.raymondroker.com. He also spends his time photographing street

culture, music and urban landscapes.

Top 5 Work SongS:

01 » “Wheels of Confusion” – Black Sabbath

02 » “The National Anthem” – Radiohead

03 » “Let It Be” – The Beatles

04 » “Ten Crack Commandments” – Notorious B.I.G.

05 » “War” – Bob Marley

WWW.THEHUNDREDS.CoM « 11

PUBlISHERSBenjamin Shenassafar

Robert K. Kim

EDIToR-IN-CHIEFBobby Hundreds

EXECUTIVE EDIToRBen Hundreds

MANAGING EDIToRJohn Hall

CoNTRIBUToRSMaria Carmel, Paul Chan, Natalia Mantini,

Raymond Roker, Quang Trinh, Maurice Pendarvis

DESIGN530medialab

THE HUNDREDS HQ:Ben Hundreds, Bobby Hundreds, Scotty iLL,

Jon Hundreds, Corgishoe, Benjie Escobar, Baby D, Tony Rodriguez, Patrick Hill, Vito Nguyen, Switch, Brien Mo, Maria Vergara, Nathan Nice, Robert Velasquez, Lil’ Mike, Wallace, Charlotte, Kimiya Ayubi, Keith Marzo, John Hall, Kristin Findley, Natalia Brutalia, Boss, Micha

1729 S. Wall St.Los Angeles, CA 90015

[email protected]

THE HUNDREDS lA:Mike Enriquez, Julian Smith, Alexander Spit

7909 Rosewood Ave,Los Angeles, CA 90048

(323) 230 [email protected]

THE HUNDREDS SF:Micah Davis, Dorian Hood, Kahim Smith, Bryan Gabbac

585 Post St.San Francisco, CA 94102

(415) [email protected]

WWW.THEHUNDREDS.CoMpublished by Mixed Media productions, a division of The Hundreds is Huge, Inc.

» I just wanted to tell Bobby thanks for his post on the May Day rally. I was looking forward to him posting something about the march, and I wasn’t disappointed. I like how it’s all straight from the heart, from someone who truly believes in the cause. not afraid to against public opinion on a controversial matter. That’s why I like The Hundreds (even if I can’t afford the clothing right now!). It doesn’t just represent the LA aesthetic, it also represents the people of LA too. It’s cool that even with the success of the brand, we see through the blog that he’s still grounded and has ideals. Wish you guys lots of prosperity and keep doing what your doing!peace! La lucha sigue! — Abraham

TH » SI SE PUEDE Abraham!

» I just wanted to message Ben and Bobby Hundreds and say great job to you two. I have been a long time follower of not only your site but your apparel as well. My name is Arthur, and I just really wanted to ask, “How did you do it?” You inspired me in countless ways, I created my own clothing line in following your footsteps. Thank you, you two gave me a lot of hopes and dreams, and you guys should be rewarded. please keep up the good work. You guys rock.Thanks so much,— Arthur

TH » Thanks Arthur. How did we do it? Passion, perseverance, and purity. We worked hard and continue to do so, we haven’t lost our faith and enjoyment in the project, and we believe in brand integrity. Basically, whether or not anyone is buying or reading The Hundreds, we’d still be do-ing the same thing every single day. Fortunately for us, we have fans like you to keep us going.

» Hi, I was wondering if The Hundreds would ever consider bringing back your women’s line TEnS. — Sami

TH » I’m sorry, but TENS is on an indefinite hiatus. So, unfortunately not anytime soon Sami...

» I’m on a thin line, thinking maybe I look like a groupie sending in a picture, but I can’t help myself. I’m showing BIgggg love from the East (Woodbridge, VA) and I keep posted with the blog. Love you guys. Bring the Tens baccckkkk! LoL— Emily

TH » OKAY MAYBE WE WILL CONSIDER BRINGING TENS BACK.

» I’m researching for my college degree to design clothing and merchandise. I would like to know what major did you guys fall into to begin The Hundreds?— Justin

TH » Majorly sucking at life. Seriously, there was no major to prepare us for The Hundreds. This has been a learning process in itself, everyday is like a giant exam for us, and we count our lucky stars if we barely pass.

» HEY WHAT WoULD YoU Do IF U gUYS CHAngED Ur goDDAMn CLoTHIng BrAnD nAME To “THE DoZEnS?” Would you get scared? You know I would!— Charles

TH » We are definitely scared right now.

12 » THE HUNDREDS MAGAZINE WWW.THEHUNDREDS.COM « 13

» SCOTT CAAN. YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE HIM fROM THE Ocean’s eleven TRIlOGY, OR GOne in sixty secOnds, BOiler rOOm, varsity Blues, AND entOuraGe. But here’s a few things you might’ve not known; he went to high school with

Angelina Jolie, was a roadie for Cypress Hill and House of Pain, and in 1993, formed the rap group, “The Whooliganz,” with The Alchemist.

The son of legendary actor James Caan, Scott Caan has not only become an established actor,

writer and award winning director, he can now add another accomplishment to his already impres-

sive body of work: photographer. And all it took was a gift from his father (his first camera) and

spending time with a photography legend.

“Jim Marshall was one of my favorite photographers,” Caan relates, “He was a rock n’ roll photogra-

pher. I knew a lot of people in bands, so I started mimicking what Jim Marshall did.. but I never was

really any good at it. Most of my rock n’ roll shots pretty much sucked, but I loved taking photos and

loved doing it. So, I kept shooting, and I found out what I liked to shoot. I found out what moved me

to shoot, what I thought was actually good. But, it started just from buying art from Jim Marshall

and talking to him about photography.”

Caan’s photography has been well received, so much in fact that last year, he released a collection

of his photos: Scott Caan Photographs Vol.1, chronicling his work from 2003 to 2009 and display-

ing the raw, voyeuristic, life-in-the-moment attitude that encompass his photography. This style has

become his modus operandi with who, what, and how he likes to shoot.

“...My friends, and going on trips, and shooting documentary style. On the streets of whatever city

I’m in, just catching little moments.” He continues, “You know, driving cross-country, and going into

little towns and shooting people…girls that I know that I think are beautiful.”

In this day of digital cameras and Photoshop, picture-takers can manipulate photographs with a

few simple clicks of the mouse, but Caan prefers to stay true to photography’s origins by only

shooting film.

“I mean, I think it’s cool that people use digital. I don’t have anything against it, it’s just not me. I

never got into photography to make money, it was never a business to me. So, for me to use digital,

it would be pretty stupid. I love film, that’s how I got involved in it... Look, I love loading film into

a camera, I love looking at proof sheets, I love shooting a roll and going, “I hope I didn’t fuck this

up!,” going home, wondering what’s on my roll, taking it to the lab, and seeing it for the first time...

Another reason I like photography so much, it’s the purest art that I do. Everything else I have to

appease people, and work with other people. But with my photography, I shoot what I want to

shoot. I don’t really care who loves it or not. I want people to like my photos but at the end of the

day, I’m not getting paid for it.”

WORDS » MAURICE PENDARVIS » PICTURE » BOBBY HUNDREDS


This is my homegirl Paloma, the bass player of my favorite local band ever, Bombon from San Pedro, California. I’m their groupie.

I don’t know if you know but I love kittenz more than you know. This is my boy Swag.

My little cousin Sophia, aka Midget Hobo Rison aka Midget aka Hobi Wan Canobie, is my everything. We kick it on the regular.

« My fiancé/ best friend Billy Roper. He’s hot.

»

» »


» See, there’s Swag.

I’m constantly taking pictures of my girlfriends cos they’re hot like this one here Mia. She rules.

Sometimes I take pictures of boys and usually it’s these fools, Torey, Billy, and Carlos. Getting toasty.

« Some good friends gathering at a barbeque at Bill’s in beautiful Echo Park. Look how glorious they are.

Two of my best friends Ren and Danae. Together they are Renee. I swear I was friends with Ren before I knew she was on ANTM. This is my roommate/muse Lauren skating in front of our ghetto pad.

» »

»

»



» MARK DEAN VECA IS AN ACCOMPLISHED LA-BASED ARTIST WHOSE WORK HAS BEEN EXHIBITED IN GALLERIES AROUND THE COUNTRY AND THE GLOBE. Born in Louisiana and raised in Northern Cali’s East Bay, his art school experience

led to his painting of one of LA’s iconic freeway murals in the early ‘80s. In 1996, he unleashed his own iconic wall art alongside Barry

McGee in a group show at the Drawing Center in NYC. Today he’s best known for his surreal references to pop culture, reinterpretations

of traditional decorative patterns, and his impressive installations. We caught up with him to chat about his project with The Hundreds,

while he prepares for his upcoming When the Shit Hits the Fan show at Western Project in Culver City, opening September 11th.

TH » how did the project with the hundreds come about?

MDV » I did a show at UCSD last year, it was sort of an overview of a lot of

stuff I had done in the past. We had reproductions of a lot of the major murals

and installations that I’ve done, plus I did installations there, onsite. And we had

some paintings, and drawings, and a lot of T-shirts as well - stuff that I’d done

with Recon, Original Fake, Nike, and Burton.

Keith [Marzo] happened to be at the opening and he emailed me and asked if

I’d be interested in doing something. I came by and met Bobby, and talked about

doing some shirts, a skateboard, and some sneakers. I always liked the idea of

taking the work out of the elitist kinds of venues, and getting it out there in

different ways.

I think a lot of people really don’t go to museums or galleries. I know I never did

when I was a kid. I also like the idea of having my work exist in a different form,

like doing a drawing, and then having it realized on some other kind of object.

Some of the work that I have done for quite a long time, is based on18th century

French Rococo toile de Jouy wallpaper and textiles. I was taking something out

of a decorative arts tradition, something functional and utilitarian, and making

fi ne art paintings out of it. So the idea of taking that back into its original con-

text was interesting to me, to do fabric and textiles with it.

TH » can you talk about the artwork for this project?

MDV » Well, the Adam Bomb was a no-brainer, as far as relating to what I’m

doing in my paintings - taking a cartoon-y or pop image and using a little

brush, and India ink, improvising on that structure and allowing these forms and

shapes to evolve out of that, while still retaining the overall image. Then, “The

Hundreds,” just the words, is similar to stuff I’d done back in the ‘90s, when I

was doing some word paintings. My techniques have developed over the years,

so it’s interesting to see what it looks like now, using that same idea. And for

the 3rd shirt, I was working on a painting for the show in September, and the

Presidential Seal was the icon that I was playing with. I thought about doing a

detail of that painting, as a drawing, and putting in “The Hundreds.” It has a sort

of biker kind of feel, or a tattoo feel to it. I’m totally happy with it.

For the skateboard decks, we’re taking a painting that I had done a few years

ago, and dividing it up into three skateboards that will fi t together to make the

whole. That painting is called “Psycho Farm” and it’s based on 18th century

WORDS » JOHN HALL » PICTURES » BOBBY HUNDREDS


French decorative art, just using that as a structure. I was just sort of letting the

shapes and forms take shape, through some sort of stream of consciousness.

For the sneaker, we’re doing a toile de Jouy pattern. We’re taking details out

of some older drawings and, because they originated as a textile pattern, we’re

doing them on the canvas shoe as a pattern. From a distance, it looks like a real

traditional pattern, but if you look up close, you’ll find imagery in a more hal-

lucinogenic, psychedelic, pop, cartoon, underground comic kind of look. Maybe

that’s a Bay Area ‘60s-‘70s influence.

TH » Is the Presidential Seal reference indicative of a political statement?

MDV » It’s funny because I’ve never really done any kind of political art. In the

past, it’s been more about art about art, where I’m putting together the high art

and the low art, with the idea of blurring the boundaries and saying that pop

images are as valid as anything else. Politics is something that I feel strongly

about, it is something that is on my mind, so in that way, it’s important to me. I

started feeling like it was important to me to be putting more content into the

paintings as well. As a straight white male in the 21st century, this is something

that really relates to me and my world, because it just seems like that’s been

the dominant culture, and that so much is being pissed away. And I don’t expect

my work to change anything, but I feel like it adds another layer and another

level to my work.

TH » Art played such a massive role in Obama’s campaign; do you think

some artists might feel responsible for the current government?

MDV » I don’t think so. I wasn’t involved in the campaign. Obama was the

first candidate that I really felt strongly about in my lifetime. I think for a lot of

people; that’s why he won. He was able to make it happen, against all odds. It’s

crazy. It was amazing. I’m still a huge fan, and I really still believe in what he

is doing, and I trust him. Even if he’s doing something that doesn’t sound like

something a Democrat would do, he’s got my trust. His idea was to work togeth-

er, and if you’re working together with the other party that means you’re going

to have to make compromises. Hopefully he’ll be around for a while. I really want

him to be around for 8 years. I just don’t want to get another Republican in after

4 years, and ruin everything.

The other thing I was going to say about the Presidential Seal painting, is that’s

the same image that the Ramones use for their logo, and that’s why I used a

black background on that painting, whereas normally I’ve been using really bright

red, or other colors. So when you see it, maybe it looks like the Ramones logo, but

it’s really the Presidential Seal, which some people don’t even realize. But then I

thought some people are going to see it as the black President, you know? They

might see it as me being critical, I don’t know. People see these things and they

interpret things, but I kind of like that as well, because it does add another layer

that you can read into. That was more just by chance than by design.

PeOPle See theSe thIngS And they

InterPret thIngS, but I kInd Of lIke thAt

AS well, becAuSe It dOeS Add AnOther

lAyer thAt yOu cAn reAd IntO.




PHOTOGRAPHER » Maria Carmel

HAIR/MAkEUP » Sarah Hawkins

WARDRObE » Sarah Hawkins & Patrick Hill

PHOTO ASSISTANTS » Thomas Yuan and Keelin Murray

MODElS » Nick Bentley and Adam Murray

NICk:MEDICAL » TEE » BLACKJohnny » CrEwnECK swEATshirT » AThLETiC grEyBEnton » sLiM » DEniM » grEyJohnson » LOw » BLACK



ADAM:FrAnkFort » TEE » AThLETiC grEyPALMEr » JACKET » BLACKJohnson » LOw » BLACK

NICk (TOP lEFT):PhoEnIx » sungLAssEs » BLACKstAtE BIrD » TEE » whiTEDoC » LOng sLEEVE wOVEn » BLACKkrUGEr » PAnTs » KhAKiJohnson » LOw » BLACK

ADAM (TOP RIGHT):sUBtLE » CrEwnECK swEATshirT » AThLETiC hEAThErorAnGE » sLiM » DEniM » inDigOVALEnZUELA » LOw » rOyAL BLuE

lEFT:WAVErLy » sLiM » DEniM » BLACKWAynE » high » BLACK


ADAM:FrAnkFort » TEE » AThLETiC grEyPALMEr » JACKET » BLACKJohnson » LOw » BLACK

NICk (TOP lEFT):PhoEnIx » sungLAssEs » BLACKGrIFFIth » FLAnnEL » BurgunDyBEEZ » TEE » whiTE

ADAM (TOP lEFT):GrID » BEAniE » BLACKDUCk » JACKET » nAVy/BOnEBEEZ » ZiP-uP hOODED swEATshirT » AThLETiC grEy

RIGHT:PhoEnIx » sungLAssEs » MATTE TOrTOisE



NICk (lEFT):PAtCh » TEE » Ash hEAThErhoUnD » snAPBACK hAT » BLACKWAVErLy » sLiM » DEniM » BLACKWAynE » high » BLACK

ADAM (RIGHT):GrIFFIth » FLAnnEL » BLACKCLAssIC » sLiM » DEniM » inDigO


NICk:5th PErIoD » TEE » BLACKChAFFEy » shOrT sLEEVE wOVEn » BLACKWAVErLy » sLiM » DEniM » BLACK

ADAM:GrID » BEAniE » BLACKPhoEnIx » sungLAssEs » TOrTOisEGrIFFIth » FLAnnEL » BrOwnhALF tIME » TEE » BLACKDIVErt » JACKET » BrOwn

NICk:WooLnUFF » JACKET » BLACKBrAWny » FLAnnEL » BurgunDyWAxy » TEE » whiTEWAVErLy » sLiM » DEniM » BLACKWAynE » high » BLACK



ADAM:CInCo » snAPBACK hAT » BLACKPhoEnIx » sungLAssEs » TOrTOisEBEEZ » ZiP-uP hOODED swEATshirT » AThLETiC grEyshIP » TEE » whiTECLAyton » sLiM » DEniM » inDigO

NICk:PhoEnIx » sungLAssEs » MATTE TOrTOisEGrIFFIth » FLAnnEL » BLACKVErtICAL » PAnTs » BLACKPoPs » TEE » AThLETiC grEyWAynE » high » BLACK


andy » Tee » black brigade 2 » Tee » aThleTic heaTher united » Tee » hunTer green johnnies » Tee » burgundy

hugo » Tee » purple hard daze » Tee » black logo » Tee » royal blue mania » Tee » aThleTic heaTher

pops » Tee » aThleTic heaTher sugar tooth » Tee » burgundy swoop 2 » Tee » purple medical » Tee » hunTer green


plot » Tee » aThleTic heaTher smile » Tee » royal blue ship » Tee » navy spirit » Tee » whiTe

moon » Tee » black the view » Tee » whiTe cinco 2 » Tee » royal blue dip » Tee » hunTer green

angel devil » Tee » whiTe state bird » Tee » hunTer green kidsplay » Tee » charcoal heaTher les » Tee » burgundy

simple adam » Tee » black waxy » Tee » royal blue nuclear » Tee » black offset » Tee » purple


biff » Tee » burgundy frankfort » Tee » burgundy patch » Tee » black cascade » Tee » elecTric blue

5th period » Tee » purple havta » l/S ShirT » blue griffith » Flannel » black brawny » Flannel » burgundy

doc » l/S ShirT » black alpha » Flannel » dark purple chaffet » S/S ShirT » orangejohnny

» crewneck » MuSTard heaTher

lanky » crewneck » STraighT Teal subtle » crewneck » burgundy yesterday » crewneck » black solid » crewneck » navy


brawny » Flannel » burgundy

solid » crewneck » navy

elementary

» hooded SweaTShirT » charcoal heaTher

painter

» hooded SweaTShirT » heaTher

dart » hooded SweaTShirT » navy

duck » JackeT » green/orange

brigade

» zip up hooded SweaTShirT » True hunTer

trilly

» zip up hooded SweaTShirT » elecTric blue

brookhouse » cardigan » purple

divert » JackeT » brown

beez

» zip up hooded SweaTShirT » heaTher

sQuare

» zip up hooded SweaTShirT » black

palmer » JackeT » khaki

woolnuff » JackeT » grey32 » THE HUNDREDS MAGAZINE WWW.THEHUNDREDS.COM « 33

scott » SliM » deniM » indigo

benton » SliM » deniM » grey

orange » STandard » deniM » indigo

scott » STandard » deniM » indigo

benton » STandard » deniM » grey

waverly » SliM » deniM » black

clayton » STandard » deniM » indigo

classic » SliM » deniM » indigo

waverly » Skinny » deniM » black

side adam outline

» new era » dark green

hound » haT » navy

cinco » haT » blue

monkeyface » haT » purple


kruger » panTS » khaki verticle » corduroy panTS » brown kick it » SweaTS » heaTher

side adam outline

» new era » dark green

hound » haT » navy

cinco » haT » blue

monkeyface » haT » purple

adam

» new era » black

player » haT » black

show » haT » blue

circle » haT » navy

grand slam

» new era » purple

team » haT » grey

swoop » haT » black

town » haT » burgundy

chopped adam

» new era » black

needta

» new era » dark purple

adam snap » haT » black

bogey » haT » purple


jags » beanie » hunTer green triple » beanie » purple warm up » beanie » brown

glomgold » walleT » brown/black

comfort » ScarF » variouS colorS

jags » belT » variouS colorS

phoenix » SunglaSSeS » brown TorToiSe

brutus » walleT » brown/black


leather strap » keychain » brown/black

taylor » belT » variouS colorS

jon » backpack » green

paige » MeSSenger bag » olive

luggy » luggage » black

adam » Tri-Fold » variouS colorS




» I can’t search far wIthIn my chIldhood memorIes wIthout runnIng Into tabby orange fur and black strIpes. As a product of the ‘80s, Garfield was ubiquitous. Not just in the Sunday comics, but on Saturday morning television, the

bookshelf, and everywhere else in my bedroom. To this day, I still can’t eat lasagna without feeling a little bit Garfield.

Garfield not only inspired but also taught me how to draw cartoons. And decades later, it’s painfully obvious that much of my sense of

humor came from the fat cat as well. So I got on a plane and flew across the country to Muncie, Indiana, to visit Garfield’s headquar-

ters, Paws Inc., located in a massive wooden complex, oddly reminiscent of an Indiana farmhouse. This is the house that Garfield built,

all at the hand of his creator, Jim Davis. The cartoonist still lives not 100 yards away with his wife Jill. His brother across the road, his

daughter next door.

In 1978, Davis started drawing a small, unknown comic strip about single guy Jon Arbuckle and his sarcastic pet cat. 32 years later, he’s

still doing the same, although Garfield has now manifested into a household name that’s as recognizable as, let’s say, Mickey Mouse (No,

really, Garfield’s familiarity is 94% amongst Americans. Mickey’s about 95%. Chevrolet, by comparison, is 76%). I think it’s fair to say

that Garfield is a big fat hairy deal. »

WORDS & pICTURES » BOBBy HUNDREDS


th » how important is the comic format for Garfield? Is that still

integral to its life?

Jd » You’re talking about the 3-panel strip? Yeah. It is for my timing and style.

To me, working on the animation stuff is much easier than the comic strip be-

cause you can let Garfield run, he can try to stop, there’s music, sound effects,

all kinds of things. But with the comic strip, there’s no audio, no animation, plus

you have to freeze-frame the character in the perfect position with the perfect

expression to get the idea across. You have about 25 words or less. You only

have about 7 inches within which to work. You have to set up the plot, twist it,

and resolve it in that space, so it’s very tough. I love the challenge of using the

economy of not only words, but of line, to get the point across. If you ever read

a comic strip to someone, you realize it’s not as funny when you say it out loud

as it is when you say it to yourself, in your head. So I write it for performing in

your head, plus I try to get to the punchline an instant before the reader does.

That’s the trick. That invokes the involuntary laugh response. If they see the

gag coming, you’re dead on arrival. If it takes too long for them to get the gag

after you’ve hit them with it, now they’re struggling with it or give up on it. So,

it’s great fun.

In newspapers, there was only so much real estate. Obviously with the internet,

we could do animation, all sorts of stuff if we wanted. Fortunately, the 3-frame,

4-frame comic is still alive and well, because the young cartoonists have (like you

growing up drawing Garfield) started with that style. I think we have this honey-

moon, at least for the rest of my career, of being able to work in that style. Who

knows what the comic strip’s going to be. If you add sound effects and you actu-

ally act it out, you’ve lost that kind of timing (Not that comics won’t be animated

in the future).

What I like about it as well, even with everything being digitized, you still have to

be able to draw. It still takes an artist to draw the line. That’s going away as well.

We actually have software for kids, on our website, which allows them to create

comic strips by simply picking shapes, eyes, ears, you know, all the stuff for the

avatars. They can create their own without having to draw it out, at least the way

we’re doing it. It’s still preserving the art because cartooning, and the comic strip,

is a uniquely American artform. We created it, with The Yellow Kid, and then the

Katzenjammer Kids, so that’s something that needs to be preserved.

th » on the topic of running the joke in your head, I was probably

reading Garfield for three years as a kid before I realized that the cat

was just emanating thought bubbles. once I figured that out, it totally

changed my perspective. that’s something that’s just uniquely Garfield.

Jd » That’s true. Snoopy actually never talked. I didn’t do it because he didn’t talk

but I always felt like you watch pet owners and they talk to their animals like they

understand. I always thought that was funny because people attribute human

thoughts and feelings to cats anyway. You can’t really read them. Dogs, you can

read. You know what’s on a dog’s mind. If he wants to bite you, it’s painfully obvi-

ous. Or if he’s done something wrong, you know, they’re terrible liars. But cats,

they’re pretty special when it comes to that, so I figured I could get away with it.

Garfield is a human in a cat suit.

th » why did you focus more on garfield instead of investing in the

other characters?

Jd » Actually, I don’t really talk about it very much, but I originally created the

strip to be about Jon. I was going to call it Jon, about a single guy who’s kind

of shy, not socially adept, so I gave him this cat. Obviously humor comes from

contrast, humor comes from conflict. If everyone’s agreeing and they’re all happy,

there’d be no more jokes. So I did, I created contrast to Jon, in the cat. But every

time we got to the punch line, the cat had the funny line, just zinging Jon. So as

many other characters as I tried to add, Garfield literally took the strip over.

I worked for T.K. Ryan at that time on the Tumbleweeds comic strip. I was his as-

sistant. I did his backgrounds, borders, and things like that. When I showed it to

Tom, I said, “Every time I write this strip, the cat’s got the punch line.” And Tom

said, “He’s telling you something. Go with it.” So I did. I changed the name of the

strip from Jon to Garfield. I ran it in a local weekly paper to see what it looked

like (I don’t think they paid me). And he was right, the cat had the funny lines,

so I started focusing on the cat. More often than not, when we laugh at a gag,

it’s because we’re saying, “Isn’t that true?” I just hold a mirror to the reader, is

all I do, so that’s what Garfield does, particularly these days, when we’re made

to feel guilty about overeating and oversleeping. Garfield says, “Hey, that’s the

way we’re made.” He’s cool with that. He’s not perfect, but that’s ok. He’s really

comfortable in his own skin, which I think sends a good message. He doesn’t

have the best habits, but none of us do. But he has the courage to openly be

that way.

th » my wife tends to believe I grew up a garfield fan because of his

dark humor. have you ever considered the comic to have darker under-

tones?

Jd » He takes great delight, yeah, in a lot of other people’s pain. He’s a bit of a

sociopath in that respect. Interesting thought, I never really thought about that,

because I personally laugh about everything, but that’s not what I put in the strip.

It’s the edgier, the funnier me, but the trick is to make everyone laugh. One day

I want to write the gag that makes the whole world laugh, I think that’d be cool.

I don’t get too dark with it. Plus, I think, that’s the easier laugh. It’s really easy

to make people laugh at bodily humor or a shocked kind of a laugh, or an em-

barrassed kind of laugh. A lot of people are doing it. South Park, obviously, is

a great example. I try to do it through situational humor. Have them overeat.

Now what’s funny about that? Send him up a tree! What, in that situation, is

really funny? So he reacts to things. But you’re right, he just randomly kicked

Odie off the table and he said, “I’m not known for my compassion.” So I guess

he’s not compassionate, which opens him up to a little…yeah, he’s certainly got

a dark side.

th » there’s something to be said about the cross-generational appeal

of garfield…

Jd » In the 21st Century Comics Poll, this really big poll that was taken by the

National Cartoonists Society, and it was newspaper editors finding out what

people liked about the comics. One of the things they liked, the fact that there

was something they could count on. They expected to see Snoopy on his dog-

house and they expect to see Garfield go for the lasagna. In these days when

there’s so much uncertainty, it’s nice to go to a place where you can go back.

And I think that’s why it was such a shock when Sparky [Charles Schulz, creator

of Peanuts] passed away. He’d been doing it for fifty years, he was supposed

One day I want tO wrIte the gag that makes the whOle wOrld laugh, I thInk that’d be cOOl.



to do it for another fifty years. For me, it was terrible, it was just crushing. Fifty

years! That’s not like a sitcom that goes two seasons, or has a great run of 8

years, it’s like fifty years, that’s your life. You grow up, you learn to read, you get

married, you raise kids, reading the same comic, you know, with Snoopy laying

on the doghouse.

It’s interesting, though, because of your interest with The Hundreds. There was a

teen study and the biggest appeal to teens for Garfield, he makes them laugh,

one, and two, he’s hip. It totally caught me off guard. There’s nothing hip in his

dialogue, because nothing will date you any quicker than if you use “tubular.” So

I avoid that, because people will be eating and sleeping a few generations from

now. I guess it’s his attitude, so it’s not the way he says it, but what he feels. He

resents authority and that’s always going to be in. He doesn’t obey Jon, who is

the parental figure. He’s hip in that respect, so that’s cool.

th » on somewhat of a tangent, I was as much a u.s. acres fan as gar-

field in the ‘80s. but it always seemed like the redheaded stepchild,

and it disappeared as quickly as it came about. can you tell us the

story?

Jd » I’ve never actually told this story. It was Sunday morning, I was reading the

Sunday paper, and my son James goes, “Dad, what’s a transvestite?” “Pardon

me?” It was in the comics. I forget what the strip was. At that point, it occurred to

me that the comics were done for adults, by adults, by and large. I’ve always tried

to do the Sunday for kids as well, by letting the pictures tell a story, and let the

dialogue go where the dialogue goes. A lot of times, kids and adults will both laugh

at our Sunday strips, but for two different reasons. Sometimes if you just look at

Garfield’s pictures, he’ll tell a story or do something funny to make a preschooler

laugh. I like to keep something a little kinetic in the Sunday, just for kids. That was

25 years ago. Even then, kids were moving away from newspapers because of

Atari. The Apple IIe was out. I saw early on, newspapers were going to be in trouble.

I did it just to do something for very young readers and to do something big. I

grew up on a farm, big and bright, and at that time, we had a very successful

run with our primetime specials, you can see the Emmys over there (that was

for the writing on four of the specials). CBS wanted us to do Saturday morning.

I said, “Half an hour is a lot of time with just one cat.” I think every Saturday,

we’d wear them out, plus it’s a lot of material. However, if you put U.S. Acres in

there, we could hop back and forth at least, and break up the monotony. Because

Garfield has his unique pacing. He’s a little slow compared to the Warner Broth-

ers characters, especially. And they said OK. So we put together a great cast of

voice talent. We had more fun with the U.S. Acres characters and we did that for

seven years for CBS. But I did it for the young readers. In fact, the strip only ran, I

think, for three years. It started with a lot of papers, but I was sitting across from

the editor of the Boston Globe, and he said he didn’t think he was going to be

keeping U.S. Acres. I said, “Why not? It’s for young readers.” He says, “Kids don’t

buy our advertising.” And that was the mentality. We were winning comics polls

with young readers.

th » unfortunately, that’s still the mentality with newspapers.

Jd » They’re really struggling with that, because now they’ve lost a generation

of kids who just moved away from the papers. At any rate, circulation was down,

Garfield was taking as much, or more time, and we just made a really tough deci-

sion. We were still in several hundred papers, but I opted to end the series just

because of all this stuff going on. I didn’t want to do a second-rate job on Garfield,

so I just had to end it, but I loved doing it. The shows still run today in syndication.

People still know the characters. We had more fun with Wade the Duck, pana-

phobe, afraid of everything…

Actually, they’re going to do a little cameo appearance in our TV series coming

up. We’re gonna go find Thom Huge out in Wyoming and bring him back to do

Roy, so it’s gonna be fun to get that crew back together. Actually Orson is Odie,

so some of the voices are still doing the Garfield voices anyway because it’s a

repertoire group. He’s been doing Odie since day one, since 1980. So that’s neat.

We’ve got a lot of the old crew still together. Mark Evanier, he did the CBS series

years ago.

So the U.S. Acres was just for the kids. Did it for my son. Today he starts Ball

State University, in the art department. He’s in his first class right now. I’m really

proud of him.

th » I want to talk about brand integrity, ‘cause I also read bill wat-

terson’s comic (calvin and hobbes) and the approach watterson took

to licensing and merchandising was obviously a completely different

philosophy. he didn’t authorize calvin to be on one product. were you

ever concerned that the amount of garfield licensing would harm the

integrity of the comic and brand? obviously, it’s something that we

ourselves deal with everyday just within our own brand.

Jd » Oh absolutely. Doing plush allowed us to do them in 3D so I got to turn

them over and feel them and things like that. Doing the books was the perfect

venue for continuing the comic strip behavior. Obviously the TV shows are great.

The posters and cards, that’s taking his attitude and doing really fun stuff with it.

Doing office stuff just drives his personality further. He has the courage to say

things people wish they could so they want stuff with him saying it so they don’t

have to. That kind of stuff helps drive the personality of the character.

I thought if we could design Garfield to the product for the product’s market we

would have something that would be good quality and be very appropriate. And

also, would allow me to get to do things for the property that maybe I wouldn’t if I

just did the comic strips. Because I thought, “If I do this, maybe I’ll get to do that,

if I get to do that.” And as a result I had the opportunity to do lots of things. And

certainly get to grow a staff.

That, for me, is a lot more fun and a lot more challenging: growing and logistics.

There’s a thing called the Aristotelian Mean, meaning just to stay where you are,

you have to keep moving ahead. Because everything else is marching ahead. So

just to stay where you are, you gotta keep growing. So Bobby, you’re an empire

builder (laughs)! You can understand that everything’s relative. If I were to just

rely on the comic strip and just do that, oh I’d probably be retired by now. I’d

be a poor handicapped golfer by now, but wouldn’t have had nearly as much

fun getting to this place. So, honestly it wasn’t so much the money as it was

the challenge, the opportunity to do things. Just that part of me saying “Hey if

you wanna do it, you have to do it right.” If we take care of the cat, the cat will

take care of us. So we don’t worry so much about production budgets or end of

the month statements as we do about something that’s really good for the cat.

Because if it’s good for the cat, then it’s good for us.

If we take care Of the cat, the cat wIll take care Of us.


» JACKSON lOw » SYNTHETIC » BLACK

» JOhNSON lOw » CORDUROY » PURPLE

» VAleNzuelA lOw» SYNTHETIC » BURGUNDY

» JACKSON lOw » SYNTHETIC » TEAL

» JOhNSON MID » SUEDE » BLACK

» VAleNzuelA lOw» SYNTHETIC » ROYAL BLUE

» JACKSON lOw » SYNTHETIC » WHITE

» JOhNSON MID » SUEDE » NAVY

» wAYNe hIGh» CANVAS » BLACK

» JOhNSON lOw » CORDUROY » BLACK

» JOhNSON MID » SUEDE » WHITE

» wAYNe hIGh» CANVAS » PURPLE

» JOhNSON lOw » CORDUROY » BROWN

» VAleNzuelA lOw» SYNTHETIC » BLACK

» wAYNe hIGh» CANVAS » GREY

» JACKSON lOw » SYNTHETIC » BLACK

» JOhNSON lOw » CORDUROY » PURPLE

» VAleNzuelA lOw» SYNTHETIC » BURGUNDY

» JACKSON lOw » SYNTHETIC » TEAL

» JOhNSON MID » SUEDE » BLACK

» VAleNzuelA lOw» SYNTHETIC » ROYAL BLUE

» JACKSON lOw » SYNTHETIC » WHITE

» JOhNSON MID » SUEDE » NAVY

» wAYNe hIGh» CANVAS » BLACK

» JOhNSON lOw » CORDUROY » BLACK

» JOhNSON MID » SUEDE » WHITE

» wAYNe hIGh» CANVAS » PURPLE

» JOhNSON lOw » CORDUROY » BROWN

» VAleNzuelA lOw» SYNTHETIC » BLACK

» wAYNe hIGh» CANVAS » GREY


» JACKSON lOw » SUEDE » BLACK

» JACKSON lOw » SUEDE » NAVY

» JACKSON lOw » SUEDE » HUNTER GREEN

» JOhNSON lOw » SUEDE » BLACK

» JOhNSON lOw » SUEDE » BURGUNDY

» JOhNSON lOw » SUEDE » TEAL

» JOhNSON MID » SYNTHETIC » BLACK

» JOhNSON MID » SYNTHETIC » BROWN

» JOhNSON MID » SYNTHETIC » HUNTER GREEN

» VAleNzuelA lOw » HEMP » BLACK

» VAleNzuelA lOw » HEMP » GREY

» VAleNzuelA lOw » HEMP » PURPLE

» wAYNe hIGh » SYNTHETIC » BLACK

» wAYNe hIGh » SYNTHETIC » BROWN

» wAYNe hIGh » SYNTHETIC » NAVY


Words & Pictures » BoBBy Hundreds

» it’s Hard to get Past tHose smoldering eyes, but if you ever manage to do so, she’s in there. Amidst the aura of bud-

ding celebrity and under the glow of the simmering Hollywood spotlight, Jessica Lowndes is very confusingly girl-next-doorish in person.

The Canadian-bred starlet is front and center on 90210 and her upcoming film Altitude, but you’d never guess that from her warmth and

personality. She has a hearty hometown laugh, a rustic Canadian charm,... but then again, those eyes. Those eyes are the dead giveaway. »

46 » tHe Hundreds magaZine WWW.tHeHundreds.com « 47



Jessica’s coming into her own as the girl of the moment. Well, let’s be real, the

girl of now and forever. We’re already aware of Jessica’s successes as an actor,

having recently tackled controversial issues ranging from drug addiction to preg-

nancy to her sexuality as her character Adrianna on the Beverly Hills re-up. But

did you know she sings? “Since age 3, I was singing and putting on plays for my

family,” she tells me from her spot in New York where she’s recording her first al-

bum, “I’ve been in the studio, working with some amazing producers and writers...

It’s definitely another thing because with acting, it is very vulnerable but you can

hide behind other peoples’ words. Whereas with singing, it’s your voice, it’s your

words, and how you’re feeling.”

And that’s another thing about Jessica, she’s been using those words for as long

as she can recall, writing her entire life, whether it be substantive poetry or sugar

pop-coated lyrics about love and heartache. All these outlets, I ask her if she’s

artistically inclined on a visual level, and she quickly responds, “I am a painter. I

paint!” Of course she paints! “I always say I’m a very creative person, if this were

all to go away tomorrow, I know for me to be fulfilled and happy, I would have to

be doing something creative, and creating something.”

“I’m somebody who...” she pauses, “I’m obsessed with the challenge.”

And we’re obsessed with her.

PHotograPHer » Bobby Hundreds

stylist » Caley Lawson

Hair » Laini Reeves

makeuP » Stevi Christine


LIL WAYNE » This was taken on my first trip to New Orleans. Lil Wayne wasn’t a solo artist yet, he was in a group called The Hot Boys with BG, Juvenile, & Turk. He was 15 years old and driving a Lexus sc400 coupe on 20-somethings.


» PAUl “ANIMAl” CHAN works for Will.I.Am at DipDive.com, and also runs Lurker Vision - his own online show on The Skateboard Mag

website. Back in 1997, Paul became the Art Director at start-up hip-hop magazine Kronick. Badly in need of some good original photography

to use in the magazine, Paul decided to pick up his dad’s old Nikon and do it himself. For the next seven years, he “lived the dream,” flying

cross country, meeting his idols, and documenting it all along the way. The publication eventually crumbled, but his memories continue on

through these photographs.

WORDS » JOHN HAll

GURU » This photo was taken just after Full Clip was released. The gold door that Guru is standing in front of was the lobby of D&D studios.

SLUM VILLAGE » Taken around the corner from the A&M studios in Hollywood. I just remember thinking how cool the wall looked.

SNOOP DOGG » Snoop was on some weird home makeover show about how he takes over someone’s liv-ing room and “Snoopifies” it, and we were supposed to interview him between takes. I get there early and his publicist tells me to hang out in Snoop’s trailer. As I’m sit-ting there, I notice people are coming into the trailer and dropping off huge aluminum trays filled with Roscoe’s. I asked the publicist if I could get on some of the grub and he said, “Sure.” As I’m going down the chow line piling on the food, the door opens up and Snoop stomps into the trailer, yelling “Who the fuck is this eating up all my damn Roscoe’s?!” I remember all the makeup girls, publi-cists, and my boss laughing at me as my face turned red and I felt hella uncomfortable.

THE LOX » The crew, holding it down in front of the liquor store. It was the Lox and a bunch of their cohorts in Yon-kers, NY. The liquor store was across the street from the laundromat that they used to hang out in front of all the time. I guess there ain’t much to do out in Yonkers.

NAS » Catching a flight from NY back to LA, Nas was sitting all by himself in first class. The stewardesses let us roll up to first class once the plane was high enough. We showed him our ‘zine and we did the interview and took photos while sipping on champagne.

THE NEPTUNES » They were virtually unknown at this point. This photo was taken in a parking garage outside the studio they were working at. I remember Kelis was there too and I was flirting with her.



kEITH:STITCHES » JACKET » BLACKDOBIE » PULLOVER HOODED SWEATSHIRT » HEATHER GREY

PHOTOGRAPHER » Maria Carmel

GROOMER » Julie Murray

WARDRObE » Patrick Hill and Sarah Hawkins

PHOTO ASSISTANT » Adam Murray

MODElS » Nicq Hale and Keith Marzo


NICQ:FIGHT BACK » TEE » CHARCOAL HEATHERROMPER » FLANNEL » BURGUNDY/WHITELEXINGTON » SLIM » DENIM » INDIGOJACKSON » LOW » BLACK



kEITH:WHY » ZIP HOOD » CHARCOAL HEATHER

NICQ:BOSS » TEE » WHITEKACY » LONG SLEEVE WOVEN » BLACKJEEZE » JERSEY ZIP-UP HOODED SWEATSHIRT » ATHLETIC HEATHERFLANK » SNAPBACK HAT » BLACKADAMS » SLIM » DENIM » INDIGO


NICQ:BOSS » TEE » WHITEKACY » LONG SLEEVE WOVEN » BLACKJEEZE » JERSEY ZIP-UP HOODED SWEATSHIRT » ATHLETIC HEATHERFLANK » SNAPBACK HAT » BLACKADAMS » SLIM » DENIM » INDIGO

kEITH:ELWOOD » CREWNECK SWEATSHIRT » ATHLETIC HEATHER/NAVYWOWIE » PANTS » OLIVE


kEITH (TOP):SMOOTH » TEE » BLACKTHOMPSON » LONG SLEEVE WOVEN » HUNTER/NAVYWOWIE » PANTS » KHAKIJOHNSON » MID » BLACK

NICQ (bOTTOM):ADAMS » SLIM » DENIM » INDIGOJOHNSON » LOW » BURGUNDY


NICQ (lEFT):FOLD » BEANIE » GREYBIG BLUE » FLANNEL » REDLEXINGTON » SLIM » DENIM » INDIGOJOHNSON » MID » BLACK

kEITH (RIGHT):HALFY » ZIP-UP HOODED SWEATSHIRT » ATHLETIC HEATHERSANTEE » SLIM » DENIM » INDIGOWAYNE » HIGH » BLACK


killuminati » Tee » charcoal heaTher

push » Tee » royal blue

josh » Tee » black

dobie 2 » Tee » navy

dairy » Tee » hunTer green

cali » Tee » black

hobby » Tee » navyfight » Tee » burgundylogo » Tee » black


pia » Tee » charcoal heaTher

venus » Tee » black

boss » Tee » aThleTic grey

rocka » Tee » hunTer green

butterface » Tee » royal blue

salute » Tee » WhiTe

wreckers » Tee » royal blue

plate » Tee » black

smooth » Tee » hunTer green

starry » Tee » burgundy

wallacide » Tee » aThleTic heaTher


halfy » ZiP-uP hooded SWeaTShirT » black

dobie » hooded SWeaTShirT

» aThleTic heaTher

romper » Flannel » burgundy WhiTe

mucho » ZiP-uP hooded SWeaTShirT » navy

jeeZe » ZiP-uP hooded SWeaTShirT

» dark PurPle

big blue » Flannel » black hunTer

why » ZiP-uP hooded SWeaTShirT

» heaTher charcoal

kacy » l/S ShirT » blue

thompson » l/S ShirT » red


elwood » creWneck » charcoal heaTher black

drowsy » creWneck » deniM heaTheryouth » l/S PockeT Tee » red

stitches » JackeT » MiliTary green

one time » JackeT » khaki

leland » Tee » black


leXington » SliM » deniM » indigo

bar logo » neW era » blue

wowie » PanTS » olive

state » neW era » cardinal

adams » SliM » deniM » indigo

leXington » STandard » deniM » indigo

adam » neW era » caMo

santee » SliM » deniM » indigo


push » haT » grey

fold » beanie » blue

flank » haT » burgundy

grid » beanie » burgundy

team » haT » black

braid » ScarF » variouS colorS

flaky » beanie » blackvigo » WalleT » variouS colorS

mcgote » ToTe » red panic » bag » black


TH » What are you working on right now?

MS » Well, by the time this comes out, God, I hope our iPhone/iPad game has

come out. It’s about to come out.

TH » What’s your iPad game?

MS » It’s called 8-bit Rebellion, and it’s a little bit of an homage to our favorite

games growing up. The premise of the game is that, the world in the game was

an 8-bit world, and this massive corporation came in and sold everybody on high-

res, and basically told you, “You can do better. Buy this. Buy high-res.” And they

got everybody kind of addicted to that, and so as a character in the game, you’re

trying to fight to bring the world back to an honest 8-bit version.

TH » That is really cerebral, and out there.

MS » And the funny part is, it sounds kind of crazy, and it’s not supposed to

be this double-entendre, this weird metaphor for like, the music industry, or the

entertainment industry. You can take it however you want to take it, but for me,

it’s more about setting up a cool thing, like a cool theme for the game so that

when you go in and you see all the 8-bit next to the high-res, that gives the game

its character, visually. You go in, and you fight against high-res characters, and

the more you win, the more you get stuff that looks low-res. So you’re basically

working backwards. You start more high-res, and the better you get, the lower

res you get.

TH » I think you guys are the only ones who really have this sensibility

of game culture…

MS » We’ve made a lot of decisions with our heart that people on our own team

don’t understand, necessarily. I don’t fault anybody for it, it’s not something I can

expect them to understand. They can’t read my mind, and you can’t read Joe’s

mind. To get specific about what I’m talking about, I think the next record hope-

fully will be artistically the most consistent thing we’ve ever done. That’s our goal,

to make this record a visual experience as much as it is a musical experience.

That’s happened, on and off, for us, but it’s never fully clicked. We can get into

something really interesting with this.

Here’s the deal. On normal records, what happens is there’s an art director who

designs the packaging. That guy does the packaging, and maybe he does a

couple of other promo pieces, but that’s the extent of his involvement, or her

involvement. Then after that, the merchandise gets done by the merch company,

and the website gets done by a web company, and the tour posters get done by

promotion/tour poster companies, etcetera. And that shit gets watered down. By

the time the assets even get into the hand of the tour promoter in Singapore, it’s

passed through three people’s hands who have changed it and manipulated it,

and the vibe is lost. So what we did is, we built a nucleus team that will oversee

and have their hands on everything from the album packaging, to the video, to

the button on the website. We want our team, which is headed by Joe Hahn and

me, to be involved. I don’t know that most people do that. If they do, hopefully I

can start hearing about them. I know for us it’s pretty revolutionary.

TH » It just makes sense, though, right? Because it always feels so dis-

connected.

MS » For a lot of artists that’s the case, and coming into this world where, on the

horizon, the artist is going to have more responsibility to be more and more in

control of their community, I think that in the not-so-far-away future, where the

artist sells their music direct to consumer on their website, the artist sells the

merch direct to consumer, everything is direct, you’re gonna need to know how to

do all that stuff. Fortunately for us, we definitely know how to do it, it’s just a mat-

ter of there’s so many people out there, that in the past we had trouble keeping

up with the demand. We finally figured out a way to build a team that we know

can handle the demand. So that’s new. And that extends to a lot of multimedia

stuff. Not just prints, but video, and motion graphics, and web. We’ve got all the

major artists and designers in place.

» Where is music headed? For generations, music and the associated subcultures stratified trends, social movements, and other

determining cool factors amongst youth. But with the advent of Internet downloading, record label implosion, and MTV’s murderous turn

on itself, we are left with a mere shell of what music once stood for. We caught up with 3 leading musicians in their own right, artists

who have carved their own core niche, who continue paving the way for new means of sonic success. All on their own terms. Listen,

they have the answer: »

WordS & PIcTureS » BoBBy HundredS » off VenTura BlVd.

68 » The huNdreds maGaZiNe WWW.ThehuNdreds.cOm « 69


miKe shiNOda:PHOENIX » SUNGLASSES » BLACKTHOMPSON » L/S SHIRT » RED/NAVY

TH » I know you fell out of the music and got into hustling and at a

certain point you decided to get back into music. What made you move

back into focusing on music again?

nH » I feel like once I became a teenager, and started to grow up, I felt like I

needed money. I needed the things that I felt was important, like cars and jewelry

and spots, and you know, shit that, when you’re young, you feel like you need. So

when I started grinding and getting into the streets and making money, I started

getting that shit. And once I got everything I had envisioned for myself, I still felt

like I wasn’t doing something, like I was missing out on something I was supposed

to be doing. That led me to feel like it’s bigger than just me. I need to do music. I

felt like I got back to what I was supposed to be doing.

So I made a decision, sold all the shit I had bought, sold my Lincoln, sold my rims,

sold my jewelry, left my spot, moved back in with my Granny, and bought all the

studio equipment. From there on, I decided I was going to go headfirst into the

music. I was 18 at that point. From that point on it was Slauson Boy Records, it

was emcee hustle fulltime, it was music. It was like an on-and-off type thing, but I

never went a month without doing something music-oriented.

TH » What helped you get your name out there and build buzz?

nH » I mean, shit, it was just basically a full-court press. A decision I made was

that I wasn’t going to try and take the whole country at one time. Number one,

I wanted to start with my neighborhood, because I knew my neighborhood was

important to LA. Where I come from, Crenshaw and Slauson, it means something

to the city. I wanted to become known in my area first. Once I was known in my

area, I was like, “I need to be the hottest nigga in the city now,” because LA means

something to the country. LA’s the number two market in the United States. That

was conscious, like if we just get the city, we’ll have the whole country, because

LA means something to this country. And once you have America, you have the

whole world, and that’s basically where we at.

TH » Is there one vehicle that really got you out there, or is it just a bit

of everything?

nH » I think it’s a little bit of everything. One of the big things was me leaking

music through the internet and through the streets. I leaked a lot of music through

the “Bullets Ain’t Got No Name” mixtape. That was kind of my introduction to the

people, but it wouldn’t have been so respected if it wasn’t for the internet. So

everything kinda went hand-in-hand. And the DJs that endorsed it kind of bridged

the gap into the industry for me, and got me buzzing in those circles – the people

that actually play the records and the people that actually set the taste of the en-

tire industry. I got my name ringing in those circles through DJs and my industry

connections with Big U, Steve Lobel, Johnny Shipes, Cinematic, Jen McDaniels…

TH » Is that how you ended up getting signed to epic?

nH » Most definitely. The way that that transpired was just kind of like, we met

half way. They were looking for somebody that was hot in LA, that had their own

movement, that had a vision for what they were trying to do. And I was looking for

a team of people who could take what I was doing and put it through a machine

and basically increase the amount of people that we were reaching with what

we were doing. So we kind of met in the middle. We both served each other’s

interests.

TH » I wanted to ask about Twitter because you have a huge following. It

seems like you use it to communicate with other artists and dJs and to

take submissions for beats. How are you using that as a tool?

nH » Oh yeah, Twitter is excellent. Man, Twitter is A-1. It’s basically just like a

network, it’s better than an email list because people are following you. They can

choose who they follow. So it’s not like you’re just blasting out to random people

who don’t care what you’re talking about. This is your base. These are the people

who are interested in you. Anything I’m doing is relevant to these people. It gives

me a gauge on who’s really interested, and who’s riding with us. Certain things

we do, we’ll see a spike in the followers, like, “Ok, that worked.” It’s a good tool

to test your temperature. When you leak a record, you can see the reaction on

Twitter, like people loving your shit and quoting your lines. It’s an excellent tool to

check where you’re at. And I get beats off Twitter, I leak records off Twitter, I get

contacts – producers and DJs. Whoever invented that, shout out to them!

WordS » JoHn Hall » PIcTureS » BoBBy HundredS » In SouTH cenTral loS angeleS



NiPseY hussLe:TEAM » HAT » BLACKTH x SUPERMAX » BANDANA » BLACKCLASSIC » STANDARD » DENIM » INDIGOVALENZUELA » LOW » ROYAL BLUE

TH » What do you think about the state of the music industry?

Ma » First of all, I got in at the end of the old way. I think I probably got one of

the last record deals that wasn’t a 360 deal. Record labels used to make a ton

of money on the record sales and the artist didn’t really see any of that money,

and then artists would make money on the merchandise and touring. Now record

labels don’t really make so much money on record sales, so they’re trying to tap

into artist touring and merchandise, which is all fine and dandy if they’re putting

a bunch of money behind you and they’re making you a bunch of money. Then

obviously share it. You know, a hundred percent of zero is zero, so you’re better

off with people helping you and then taking the percentage.

But the thing is, if they’re not helping you, and you’re out there busting your ass,

on the road, for you to have to send a check back to someone who’s not doing

anything is pretty shitty. I don’t have a deal like that and I’m happy. But I think,

for the most part, artists have been getting fucked-over since the beginning of

time, so I think this, if anything, is screwing over the record labels more so than

the artists. If you do something cool, and you get it out there, and people respond

to it, then you don’t need a label. There’s more garbage out there, because, like I

said, you used to have to go to a studio and be at least kind of serious and put out

some money, so there wouldn’t be that much garbage, but now since anyone can

do it, the internet’s just flooded with garbage. You don’t have to listen to all of it.

Only a few things are going to float to the top and if something’s good, people

are gonna respond to it. I think it’s a good thing for music. I think the thing that

kind of sucks, and I think that will come back around too, because I think enough

people agree with me, is that with everything going digital, it’s nice you could

have 1000 songs or 10,000 songs on your iPod, or whatever, but there’s nothing

tangible. It used to be you get a record, it had a cool picture, you could hang it

on the wall, you could roll joints on it, you could do whatever you want. I thought

CDs were kind of a drag, but now looking back, that was at least still a tangible

thing. Now it’s like a little thumbnail on your computer. I guess you could print

out the cover, but I don’t think anyone really does that. So I think it will go from

little hipster companies pressing records to more popular stuff for the masses. I

don’t think vinyl will totally go away, just because people like listening to music

that way. All it takes is some people liking that to keep it alive.

Right now I’m on a major record label, I wouldn’t necessarily tell other people to

go in that direction. Those are kind of things they could think about after. If you

like to make music and that’s something you want to do, just try to make it as

good as you can. You know, burn some CDs, hand them out, play some shows,

it’ll become an entity of its own, and you can make those decisions then. It’s like

deciding you want to be a painter and then finding the galleries you want to be

in when you haven’t even done a painting, you know? Focus a little on the work.

So many people are like, “I want to be a rock star,” or whatever, and you’re like,

“Alright, do you play an instrument or sing?” They’re like, “I don’t know, I wanted

to get a band together.” It’s like a fantasy, not something real.

Most people, if they want to be an actor, they actually go to acting classes, or

try to act. So I think it’s a pretty straightforward process. Obviously it’s better for

young people because it takes all your time and energy and if you don’t have bills

to pay it’ll be easier. That’s why there are a lot of people that might play guitar in

high school, and then kinda get over it. Especially us living in LA, a lot of stuff’s

here, I’d say just make the songs and get them out there. Then go play the Viper

Room, go play the Roxy, go play wherever. Once you see some faces in the crowd

that aren’t your friends, and they’re mouthing the words of your songs, then obvi-

ously something’s starting to happen. And if that’s happening in LA, chances are,

you can do that other places. I definitely would just focus on the work and then

not really put any money in. Try to use other people’s money I guess, if you need

it. I wouldn’t get in over my head with that.

WordS » JoHn Hall » PIcTureS » BOBBY huNdreds » PuLse sTudiOs



micKeY aVaLON:ADAM » TEE » BLACK

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PB » THE HUNDREDS MAGAZINE WWW.THEHUNDREDS.COM « 75

01 » GOLDIE » TIMELESSTimeless changed the game in jungle/drum & bass music and introduced

me to a kindred spirit and fellow b-boy Goldie. Most hardcore underground

music up to that point in 1995 had heavy reggae elements, R&B hooks or were

simply techno overheated (not that there was anything wrong with that). But

Goldie produced nothing short of soulful electronic cinema over a breakbeat

frame. The title track marked the watershed moment where drums and bass

took a giant evolutionary step into the future. The former graffiti artist and

global hip-hop ambassador Goldie epitomized everything my magazine (URB)

stands for.

02 » THE BEATLES » THEIR GREATEST SONGSI don’t have a “favorite” Beatles album. It’s impossible. Sure, there is Abbey Road,

and The White Album, long players that are fantastic in their entirety. But there’s

also “Let it Be” and “Hey Jude,” which sit better as amazing singles than on their

respective LPs. I’ve always absorbed the Beatles as individual slices of a larger

puzzle, one that spanned eras, moods and influences. And by extension, the solo

work from Harrison, McCartney and Lennon has been on my playlist since I was

a kid. You can discount some of the Beatles’ lore as bandwagoning hype or sheer

momentum, but show me another band that delivered such a wealth of musical

depth over their lifetime.

03-06 » BLAck SABBATH » VOL. 4 (SABBATH BLOODy SABBATH, BLAck SABBATH, WE SOLD OuR SOuL fOR ROck ‘N’ ROLL) Hard to find a Sabbath album or track I don’t like. At least while Ozzy manned the

mic. It was the fateful loan of a We Sold Our Soul for Rock ‘n’ Roll cassette that

lured me to the dark side. The early Sabbath albums remain part of my musical

diet decades after I was first consumed by their brooding beauty. The gothic riffs

and bluesy melodies are some of the sickest doses of proto-metal crude that ever

oozed out of England. And long before the Ozzman allowed MTV to lampoon his

slurred speech, he was belting out classics like, “Wheels of Confusion,” “Para-

noid,” “Changes,” “Snowblind” and “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” (perhaps their

best ever). Black Sabbath still stands as my favorite all time band. Long since

disbanded from their original line-up, I got a lucky glimpse in 1999 when they

rejoined for a minute to play together.

07-08 » LED ZEppELIN » LED ZEppELIN IV (OR pHySIcAL GRAffITI) In the age long before iTunes, this was almost the only way to own “Stairway to

Heaven,” and that alone meant every bell-bottomed cool kid you knew had a copy

of the gatefold vinyl. But epic song-of-the-decade greatness aside, let’s talk nitty

gritty. The satanic backmasking (hidden lyrics recorded into the mix in reverse!)

and other Beelzebub nonsense also made this album package legendary. Think

I’m kidding? Borrow your uncle’s copy and slowly spin Stairway backwards near

» RAyMOND ROkER IS THE fOuNDER, cREATIVE DIREcTOR, AND puBLISHER Of ONE Of NORTH AMERIcA’S

LONGEST RuNNING INDEpENDENT MuSIc puBLIcATIONS – uRB MAGAZINE, which he started in LA in 1990. The

successful entrepreneur is also an accomplished DJ, club promoter, and graffiti artist. These days you can also catch him writing

for the Huffington Post. Here are Ray’s 15 life-changing albums:

ALBUMS THAT I LIKE ( BUT MUSIC SNOBS WILL HATE ME FOR ) WITH » RAyMOND ROkER15

76 » THE HuNDREDS MAGAZINE WWW.THEHuNDREDS.cOM « 77

the beginning. “He is my friend Satan...” Then hold the open gatefold against the

mirror and notice how the painted scenery comes together as a devil’s head.

Fucking A is right.

09 » pINk fLOyD » THE WALLDid you see Pink Floyd co-lead singer/bass player Roger Waters’ epic Dark Side

of the Moon set at Coachella a couple of years back? If not, you can catch him

doing The Wall this coming fall. For an old man, he still sounds incredible. And

if none of this matters to you, then the words, “Hey, teacher, leave those kids

alone!” won’t either. But for me, Floyd was a rite of passage back when I was

learning how to smoke pot and discovering what acid was. And as a kid getting

his first musical education in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, you had to at least once

drop a dose while listening to this album. But I’m not recommending that to fans

of The Hundreds. Drugs are illegal, you know.

10 » HAIR » ORIGINAL BROADWAy cAST REcORDING SOuNDTRAck My mom wasn’t technically a hippy but she had the tendencies. One of her gifts

to me was this vinyl. Yes, this might be your parent’s musical, but it isn’t Cats or

some bullshit. The music is by the genius Galt MacDermot (who was sought after

by none other than the Stones Throw Records camp, Busta Rhymes and many

others). And the lyrics are a time capsule of a nation at war. Hair was produced

at a time when kids were dying daily for a bad war while a nation turned its

head away from the conflict. The album tells stories of a changing guard where a

new generation wasn’t playing by their parent’s rules. And where technology was

demanding a new understanding of your surroundings. Sounds familiar.

11 » RuN-D.M.c. » RuN-D.M.c. This is the rap record that started it all for me back in 1984. Yeah, I heard Sugar

Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” Grandmaster Flash’s “The Message” and Doug

E. Fresh’s “La Di Da Di,” but it was “Rock Box” off Run-D.M.C.’s freshman album

that turned the lights completely on for me. As a kid who was knee deep in heavy

metal at the time, the squelching guitars of that track made me understand hip-

hop’s force and its ability to be a bridge. But you can’t sleep on the group’s lyrical

power too, with cuts like “Hard Times” and “Wake Up” taking over where Kurtis

Blow and Flash were leaving off. Fresh. For you.

12 » DE LA SOuL » 3 fEET HIGH AND RISING Perhaps the most perfect and wonderful tracks ever birthed by the Native

Tongues, “Plug Tunin’” was the just one groundbreaking De La cut that set 1989—

and my mind—ablaze over 20 years ago. I remember asking around trying to find

out who did the song back when all you had was hip-hop on mix shows on the

radio. Beyond that timeless classic, there is not a weak track on this album, from

“Potholes in my Lawn,” “Jenifa Taught Me,” “Ghetto Thang,” “Buddy” to “Say No

Go.” De La taught us all the emerging art of the sample (thanks to production wiz

Prince Paul), which Wikipedia devotes considerable space listing. But, more than

that, they introduced us, however somewhat unintentionally from the band’s point

of view, to hip-hop’s softer, more flowery side.

13 » DAVID BOWIE » ZIGGy STARDuSTA friend gave me a cassette of Ziggy Stardust back in college. I wasn’t knowing.

But after one listen to Bowie sing about the spiders from Mars, I was hooked. Even

though it’s considered glam rock, there is a soulful quality to the music on this

disc. The songs also blend together like an album should, which is why I almost

always listen to it front to back. Sure, Bowie’s ‘80s hit “Let’s Dance” can still rock

a party, but put this ‘70s platter on, light up a hookah and kick back on a bean

bag chair for a really good time.

14 » ARcADE fIRE » fuNERALHearing the back story behind this album may have colored its meaning for me

a bit. Supposedly, several friends or family of the band members had all died in

the months leading up to the recording sessions. Funeral was an emotional and

cathartic creation, one they aptly named lest they ever forget. When I first heard

the opening strains of “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels),” I was immediately swept up.

And by the time I got to “Haiti,” my emotions were hitting their peaks. If an album

can be incredibly uplifting and deeply melancholy all in one, this is it. Definitely

one of my favorites from the ‘00s.

15 » MöTLEy cRüE » TOO fAST fOR LOVE You can’t blame me, or any other ‘80s metal kid, for thinking these guys were

European back in the day. I mean, they had the fake umlauts in their name

(I guess biting Motörhead and other bands at the time) and the fancy “crew”

spelling. But these were leather and stud clad long hairs from the Sunset Strip,

dreaming up this masterpiece almost three decades ago. Few records from that

hair metal generation are even listenable these days, much less full of hits. But

tell me if “Merry-Go-Round,” “Starry Eyes” or “On With the Show” aren’t about as

good as metal gets. Devil horns up!

1576 » THE HuNDREDS MAGAZINE WWW.THEHuNDREDS.cOM « 77

01 » FARMER BROWNFarmer Brown, you’ve never done me wrong! Everything on the menu is ab-solutely amazing, but their fried chicken tops the list. Don’t forget to use their in-house hot sauce.

02 » PEARL’S DELUXE BURGERLA may have 8oz, Umami and 25 Degrees, but it doesn’t have Pearl’s Deluxe Burger. It may very well be, my favorite burger… ever. Play it safe with the Phat Bobb and a side of onion rings. 12pm or 12am, this place is a 10.

03 » HOUSE OF NANKINGI’ve waited in line for tickets… I’ve waited in line for shoes… I’ve even waited in line for hot dogs, but, I’ve never waited in line for Chinese food…until I went to the House of Nanking. I always wait in line at least 20 minutes, and forget every second once I get to the food. Between their sesame chicken and crispy sole, you can’t go wrong. Trust me.

04 » SAKANA SUSHIIf I’m going to SF, I’m going to Sakana Sushi. No questions asked. I experi-ment a bit on every visit, but I always have my staples: Toro, Kani and Hama-chi Negi Rolls. You can even come for a good meal without any sushi; their tonkatsu is the best in town.

05 » POSTRIOWolfgang Puck’s, Postrio, has two things for going itself: it’s right by The Hundreds San Francisco, and it offers classic dishes with a sophisticated twist. Case in point: their roasted garlic, potato pizza. Who other than Mr.Puck himself fathoms putting potato on a pizza? Genius.

WORDS » BEN HUNDREDS

01

02

0405

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» Mike Rap. You know hiM. if You don’t, he’s “oh, that guY! i love that guY!” to You. He’s front and center

in some of my, and should be your, favorite movies. True Romance, Beautiful Girls, Higher Learning. He was Phoebe’s boyfriend on

Friends I think (I’ve never seen a full episode of that show). Anyways, that’s Mike. Here, off the top of his head, he breaks down his

top 12 actors of all time:

01 » John tuRtuRRoAlright my top 12 actors, first I’d say my first favorite actor, John Turturro.

Who’s been extremely inspiring to me for the diversity of his roles, the in-

tensity of his roles, and just his commitment to doing various kinds of films

and various kinds of roles. Independent films, small films, big films, quirky

films, you know. Good guys, bad guys, always complex characters, always very

human. He’s just been a huge inspiration to me especially when I was a

little younger.

02 » RoBeRt de niRoSecondly, I’d go with De Niro. Needs no explanation.

03 » al paCinoAnd Pacino, needs no explanation.

04 » dustin hoffManSo that’s three. Then I’ll go with Dustin Hoffman who is the quintessential

New York actor although he’s from Los Angeles. You know, Midnight Cowboy,

Kramer vs. Kramer, very very important movie to me. Uh Lenny, I mean ev-

erything that he’s done, he’s just a big inspiration and always been somebody

who I’ve gotten something from watching. That’s four.

05 » RoBeRt duvallThen I’ll go with Robert Duvall who is a giant. His whole entire career, The

Great Santini, everything that he’s ever done, The Godfather obviously, but

the icing on the cake for me with him was when he directed and starred in

The Apostle. Just such a strong performance. He did a film called Angelo My

Love, a small, small, small independent movie that I don’t even know how to

get on DVD, that he directed. Not a lot of people know about that. Not that

I’m a big smart alec or anything like that. Is that five, that five? That’s five.

But I just wanna just say if I was gonna do the, uh, what the hell is it with the

presidents? The statues? The Mt Rushmore of acting for me? De Niro, Pacino,

Duvall, and Hoffman. Obviously Marlon Brando, he gets his own mountain.

Because without Marlon Brando there is nobody in regards to the method

acting, intense, brooding guys. Paul Newman as well. But I’m not gonna put

Paul Newman and Marlon Brando in here because they get a separate sort

of thing. They can’t even be grouped together. That’s how much respect I

have for them.

06 » denZel washingtonSo then I’ll do Denzel, who I think is the best actor acting right now, who is

one of the few people who can make a shitty movie good singlehandedly. He’s

in great movies, I don’t wanna say that he’s not always in great movies. But

I’ve seen him, he’s like a guy who can score seven points and make a shitty

team win a game, that’s how good of an actor he is. You could put him in a

bad movie and his performance can make you think it’s actually a good movie.

07 » MeRYl stReepThis is in no specific order. Meryl Streep, who is kind of like the method actor of

actresses. Still fantastic, Sophie’s Choice, The Deerhunter, so many great perfor-

mances and even something silly, not si-, yah I’ll say silly like It’s Complicated. She’s

like a fine wine, she gets better and better with age, she’s beautiful. Kramer vs.

Kramer, you know she did with Dustin Hoffman.

08 » John CaZaleUm, John Cazale, who was in The Deerhunter and The Godfather and Dog Day

Afternoon, who passed away, if he was around would still be one of the greats. Great

character actor, very inspiring, legendary, stage actor in New York. He’s in there. I

think that’s seven or is that eight?

09 » sean pennSean Penn, who is just shockingly good. Always good. Variety in his performances.

Ever since Fast Times At Ridgemont High to Milk to everything in between. I mean,

he doesn’t need any explanation he’s just, a monster, a giant, and uh, he’s just young-

er than the other guys. I know I’m forgetting dudes because I forgot my list. Shit.

10 » MuhaMMad aliMy number ten favorite actor is gonna throw you for a loop but it’s Muhammad Ali.

No better performer, no better, he’s probably the best performer ever. Best actor,

best speaker, most charismatic, best looking, he inspires me as an actor just because

when he was in his prime, the way he would talk and the insight and the cockiness,

the bravado with which he would talk with, he goes in my top ten.

11 » ChRistopheR walkenI’ll go with Christopher Walken. Has his own way of saying lines. Has his own

cadence. You know his grammatical way of speaking, the way he fucks around with

periods and commas and pauses, it is just you know, you can’t even copy it. You

could do an impression of him but you can’t copy it.

12 » MiChael RapapoRtAnd number twelve is myself! And the reason why I say that is because in this busi-

ness, you gotta be your biggest fan and your biggest critic. So as much as I have my

self-hate I always gotta back myself up. So I’ll put myself in the top twelve, not that

I’m as good as those dudes but that’s just what you gotta have if you wanna maintain

sanity in this business. You gotta back yourself.

So I’m gonna squeeze myself in there. I could keep going on. I mean I could do

Laurence Fishburne, Samuel L. Jackson, and I didn’t even go into any of the younger

actors like the Javier Bardems and the Benicio Del Toros. Did I mention myself?

Anyways so there’s a lot more. I have a lot of respect for a lot of actors and actresses.

So that’s my top twelve favorite actors of all time.

[Editor’s note: About an hour after the interview, Mike texted me. “Jack Nicholson.

I forgot Jack Nicholson.”]

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The Hundreds - VOL. 02 / ISSUE: 01