Salvador Rodriguez > Painting The Town

Painting the Town

or

"If a tagger writes on a wall,

and no one is there to see it,

does he leave a mark?"

Sal Rodriguez

He didn't spend much time in high school. He was too busy - too busy tagging. He'd love to tell you that, in his thirties, he has no desire to tag, but he'd be lying. For the layperson, tagging is a form of graffiti writing, not to be confused with mere gang writing, although gang members also write their names on walls. Tagging, in and of itself, is not used to mark a particular territory, but rather used as a way to achieve fame for the writer himself - mark, paint, smear, carve, etch your name on as many streets, signposts, walls, buildings, busses, and trains as humanly possible...

It all starts with a nickname. He tagged Soar. Between 1988 - 1993 he was one of the most prolific taggers in the San Fernando Valley (a suburb of Los Angeles). He was up, which meant street-famous. Even people outside of the tagging community had heard of him - much to his mother's dismay.

He chose Soar because it contained only four letters, which made it quick to write. He liked the fact that it meant something positive and uplifting - flying, sailing, floating, gliding - spreading his wings. Sure there were the jerks that would jokingly call him Sore (which was actually the name of some other guy, over the hill, near Downtown Los Angeles), but it really didn't bother him much. He knew what Soar meant, how it was spelled, and what he wanted to convey.

A couple of years into his writing career, Soar was recruited by NSR, or Non-Stop Rulin', a new tagging crew. (A crew was a group of taggers who would band together for no reason, other than for unifying their destruction. Being in a crew gave taggers a degree of self-respect. It showed that his peers thought enough of him to allow him to write their crew's initials next to his name. One of the basic initiations was to analyze the graffiti style of the writer, how artistic he was, and how dedicated he was to the tagger lifestyle. However, these exclusionary tactics can be easily bypassed by starting your own crew - "You won't let me in your crew? I'll start my own!")

Four teenagers founded NSR: Raz, who was a well read, quasi-Mexican revolutionary. 357c, who was a white kid with a ponytail, the c in his tag name representing his girlfriend Carla, whom he later married. Reno, also known as Droopy from the Blythe Street Gang, a Mexican kid known for his obsessive ironing of his clothing, who was later shot and killed. Ant (short for Anton), a soft-spoken black kid and gifted graffiti artist, but not much of a daring tagger.

Raz and 357c were highly regarded. More specifically, they were revered, almost as Paul Bunion-like legends. The real kids behind these names on the bus and the walls were urban folklore. People know people, and taggers know taggers but, for a time, no one seemed to know who these two were. Adding to the mystery was the way that 357c wrote his name - in Roman numerals. For a few years, it was thought that 357c was Raz's gang - 357^th Street. When that myth was squelched Soar was told that they were grown men, then told they were gay lovers. None of which turned out to be the case. Raz and 357c were just two rebellious youths. And aside from a few years age difference, no different than Soar and his friend Sase - who were also rumored to be gay lovers.

They knew of Soar through the Valley streets, in particularly through the RTD, the predecessor to today's LA Metro - with Soar written on every line. He'd certainly seen the work of Raz and 357c, who were sort of a duo - a tag team. Often their names appeared together, as did his and Sase, or Claudio, as his mother called him. If your name was featured next to, or beneath that of a celebrity tagger, it elevated your own status. When Sase and Soar met Raz and 357c they jumped at the chance to tag side-by-side with them, let alone join their crew.

NSR had recruited two of the craziest taggers in the San Fernando Valley: Soar and Sase, known not only for their quick-draw marker tactics, but also for their shoplifting skills. Being a tagger was synonymous with being a thief. In fact, if they bought anything, they would lie and say it was stolen. No way would they want to be called weak-ass toys and lose their credibility. No, if you were in NSR you'd better steal. It was called racking, and they racked everything. They even had contests where they'd meet at the mall in the morning, discuss the rules of the game, then meet later that night and compare merchandise. One day Soar challenged Sase and Tri (who was an Asian kid named Jeff, and one of the biggest thieves he'd ever known. Ironically, his mother told him to hang out with Tri because he was Asian. If he's Asian he's got to be a good influence, right?)

Soar had to go head-to-head with two competitors, because his partner for that day was a weak-ass toy, who flaked-out at the last minute. It didn't phase him though. He returned at the end of the day with thirteen pairs of pants, about eight shirts, many cassette tapes, and a stomach full of 7-11 sandwiches. Sase and Tri also returned with plenty of items. "No way," said Soar, "You shouldn't get credit for a Kenny Rogers tape. I'm sure you guys are really going to listen to The Gambler. What's next, a Dolly Parton tape?"

NSR, in particularly Soar and Sase, became so widely known, that they were recruited by NTS (which was short for Notorious), a crew from Highland Park, and some of the most troubled youths they'd ever met. Soar and Sase liked to think that they had class or some sort of dignity: they didn't write on churches, they didn't steal from their friends, they took showers. But these kids, they would storm into stores, forty deep, grab and run. It was called mobbing. Where was the covertness? Where was the finesse? They would literally cause fully loaded busses to stop, in the middle of the intersection, while they spray-painted on it, breaking-out windows, and terrorizing passengers. They were like fire ants with baseball caps.

They each had something the other wanted. NTS taught them how to be ruthless: "If someone tries to stop you from tagging, kick them in the ribs." NSR taught them how to be less conspicuous: "Maybe you shouldn't go into a store with thirty-nine other kids. Travel in pairs, it's easier to rack that way." NTS showed them Downtown Los Angeles: "Take the 94 to the 23 and get off on Figueroa, turn left. There's a shoe store with only one guy working." NSR showed them the San Fernando Valley: "Take the 424 all the way up Ventura Boulevard, get off on Topanga Canyon. There's a stationary store on the corner that still sells Mean Streaks." NTS taught them about 'softball tips': "Take the nozzle off of a can of starch and put it on a paint can. It'll make the paint blow three times as thick." NSR taught them about fashion: "Try not to look so ghetto. Take off the black baseball cap and put on a polo shirt, that way the police won't pay as much attention to you."

For about a year Soar and Sase would go back and forth between The San Fernando Valley and Highland Park, representing both NSR and NTS. This union of juvenile delinquents led to many arrests, with Soar spending time in juvenile hall, where he had time to think about his life, his future, and his choices. His personality didn't match those of his fellow inmates. Soar would walk through juvenile hall, joking with the kids and staff. Being humorous by nature, he didn't know that you were supposed to keep a tough face. Jail was no place for laughter. Smiling and giggling showed weakness. He knew his criminal life couldn't hold out much longer. He felt he didn't belong in there. He needed to spread his wings.

Although he was headed in the wrong direction, the life was alluring, the fame addictive, the goods too easy to come by. If he didn't steal, he thought, there was no way his mother could ever afford to buy him Guess Jeans, Ray Ban Sunglasses, Fossil Watches, or the latest Nike basketball shoe. And girls didn't date guys with patches on their jackets, ragged shoes, or hand-me-down bell-bottoms.

The escapades continued, but soon thereafter Reno was killed, Raz and 357c grew up and got jobs, and Ant faded away, leaving the leadership of NSR to Soar and Sase, with the two of them arguing about who was in charge. They recruited a few other guys: Xceed, RC, Busy, Air, Tager, Werse, World, Serge, Ozone, Germ, Testor, Magic, Snope, Breed, Dem, Gator, Akae, Waster, Dek, and Toner. So, for a while, Soar and Sase headed a gang of thieves and vandals, which had it's perks. They'd give out assignments: "The two of you tag all over Panorama City. The three of you tag up the 234 bus line. The four of you steal some meat for the barbecue this weekend. While you're out racking today, get my girlfriend some shoes; she wears a size seven. If you see that guy Sore, tell him I'm gonna kick his ass. Stay away from the Aaron Brothers on Victory, they've got cameras. You two rack some Krylon paint, because we're battling STP next week." (STP - Setting The Pace, was a rival crew from Burbank/North Hollywood. They were an offshoot of the older and respected UTI - Under The Influence).

Yes, Soar and Sase and had their power, for a time. Then, the inevitable happened - they got older. They lost contact with NTS, which was undoubtedly a good thing. They probably avoided prison. They handed over the control of NSR to a new generation: kids named Detek and Spade. They destroyed it's reputation, and ran it into the ground. Later, it was said, if you were found to be from NSR, you risked getting shot.

Sase, despite graduating Magna Cum Laude from UC Berkley, was having trouble getting into medical school, due to his arrest record. 357c recorded a few rap demo tapes under the homegrown Now Sound Recordings label. Raz works at a hospital. Soar became a fitness consultant, and still lives in the San Fernando Valley. He hates graffiti.

When a tagger finds a nice spot to hit-up, and it remains, year after year, without getting buffed, it's called a landmark. Landmarks are coveted, and rare. Near the corner of Reseda and Burbank, in the San Fernando Valley, carved in cement - SOAR 1989. Every few years, if he's in the area, he'll stop by and reminisce - his only remaining landmark; his very own star on The Walk of Street Fame...