Interview (#4)

This interview is of my good friend Raul Garzon. I met Raul my freshman year at the School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York City. Being a black kid from Detroit, Michigan, which is densely populated with African Americans, moving to New York and particularly going to SVA, was a hard adjustment for me. I remember pulling up to the George Washington dorms on Lexington and 23rd Street, and seeing very few people who looked like me. I'm stepping out of my dad's truck with my Jordans, Brendan Shanahan Red Wings jersey, Rocawear shorts, and my Detroit hat turned to the back. Let's just say, I felt out of place. Raul is a kid from Cliffside, New Jersey, who grew up watching and playing sports, listening to rap and r&b, and of course rockin' Jordans. Even though I wasn't in my complete comfort zone at SVA, it was easier making the transition after having something that was familiar to me.

Now, Raul is out in L.A., working for a well-established motion graphics company. So let's hear what he has to say.

JC: So, i think you told me this before, but what does your screen name nossa85 mean?

RG: (way to put my screen name on ur blog) Haha...in Portuguese, when people say "nossa" it’s like saying " wow " in a sarcastic way…it’s something you would say if i told you i did something foolish and 85 is the number of women i've slept with. Haha....no its the year i was born

JC: Haha, yeah i know...nossa. In a sec i'm gonna ask you about your new job being out in LA, but before that I wanna ask some questions about what you've done before then...If you could describe high school in 5 words or less, what would say?

RG: Can i do 6?

JC: Sure why not, it's not like it's my blog...

RG: Haha...ok ok…" a lot of hype "

JC: Ok, and what about college?

RG: "i've arrived."

JC: So now it's Thursday, August 14, 2008, at 9:10pm my time, and 6:10pm your time...what's life like out in L.A. working at a well-established motion graphics company?

RG: Um…It’s hectic. You have to earn respect. [It’s] fast paced. Los Angeles is a different planet. Very different in terms of energy I think. Working in New York, you can walk outside and be inspired by everyone and everything around you.
LA works a little differently I feel. No ones in the street as much, everyone is driving...very flat and spread out.

JC: I know you been in Jersey and New York most of your life...is the pace of L.A. the biggest adjustment that you had to make?

RG: The biggest adjustment so far is redefining myself. New York and New Jersey knew who I was and I knew who I was in the East Coast, but out here I’m finding that I can always change and that there’s a lot of room for growth…in all aspects of my life. In a few months though I want it so that LA has to adjust to me.

JC: Exactly, I know what you mean. Alright so now I'm gonna ask you some un-work related questions. At SVA we were probably the only 2 people that wore Jordans and we're in to sports and stuff...What are your favorite pair of Jordans? What's you favorite player? And if you could get season tickets for any team, what team would it be?

RG: Easy question…favorite Jordans: 4's, in the white black and varsity red…something about the tabs, and the tab in the back and I love the way they're slightly rounded in the front; honorable mention…8's. Favorite player: D. Wade (Duane Wade of the Miami Heat; he's very tough, very quick, unselfish. That’s the most important thing about him, he trusts his teammates. Ironically enough, I don’t think I’d get season tickets to the heat though. LA has great fans…and a great atmosphere. So I’d have to say I’d get season tickets to the Lakers; because if I’m gonna be spending a shi* load of money on season tickets I want it to be sold out every night. Basketball is an all around experience It’s not just about who's on the court. It’s about the fans, the players, the energy, the intensity…it’s a co-dependent relationship between the fans and the players.

JC: I gotchu. Alright, these are probably no brainers, but I'll ask them anyway, and then I'll ask a couple of hard questions.

RG: Ok.

JC: What do you like better, Coke or Pepsi products?

RG: Pepsi.

JC: Adidas or Nike?

RG: Come on now.

JC: Haha, ok, New Balance or Nike? Just kidding.

RG: Yea ever since I saw Jordan playing in New Balances....

JC: Lol. Favorite movie?

RG: Tough…Rocky 4.

JC: Why Rocky 4 over 1,2,3, 5, and 6?

RG: Well...there was no Rocky 5.

JC: You know what I mean, with Rocky street fighting…

RG: I choose to erase that movie from my memory, but 4 just had great corny lines, great action, Apollo Creed dies...it has all those elements…the movies in the 80s had what every
single movie...well major movie lacks…so yea...Rocky 4.

JC: Now that you bring up decades of events, what's your favorite 90s television show?

RG: FAMILY MATTERS!!!!!!

JC: Haha, T.G.I.F. was the best line up ever.

RG: SERIOUSLY. Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Boy Meets World, Family Matters…

JC: And don’t dare to leave out Step by Step.

RG: Oh you wanna go there…? Sister Sister, Blosom, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. They were all good, I can’t narrow it down like that.

JC: Yeah I know, we grew up in a pivotal time in American culture.

RG: The best…That’s one of the problems, with the younger generation today they don’t have something that they can own, no identity, unless it’s wired to a computer. Everything they know now from the computer and from videos on the internet..that’s why the 80s and 90s stuff comes back..because they want to see if they can experience that themselves…not through stories that we tell ‘em.

JC: Yep very true. I think I saw some new remake of the ninja turtles and Leonardo was fighting with the Wii controller.

RG: See what I mean…honestly, Leonardo would never ever fight with a Wii controller. That would be Michaelangelo; not only because of the video games but because it resembles the chucks…damn it…haha.

JC: Alright..last couple of questions. Favorite fast food restaurant?

RG: Now... .In and Out Burger, it used to be Taco Bell.

JC: What do you like better: After Effects, Illustrator, Photoshop, In Design, Final Cut, or any other program I left out, Quark was deliberately excluded.

RG: Illustrator…shout out to Eric Demartino.

JC: Haha, yeah he taught us well. I know graduating from SVA, and getting a response from Blur exactly a week after graduation was huge for you and kinda just reinforced that hard work pays off. If you could give anyone advice in going into a creative field, what would you say besides "work hard" or "grind it out"?

RG: I would say trust yourself. You have to believe in yourself before anyone else can believe in you. Stay humble…but confident. Pace yourself. Just because the solution works, doesn’t mean it’s the best way to solve it.

JC: Nice. 'Preciate it kid.

RG: Yup…no prob bob.