Mike Giant Podcast

Mike Giant interviews Rime MSK with special guest Persué at Mike's studio in San Diego, California on December 22, 2023. Topics discussed include:  Honesty, fear of conflict, Thich Nhat Hanh, porn, intimacy, self-reflection, self-work, squirters, transmitting feelings, bullying, running from police, aging graffiti scene, energy of youth, Futura, staying active on the street, studio paintings on canvas, blackbooks, bombing vs piecing, meeting Nace, cutting back, Agree, All-Out King, various stylistic games, Poor Things, catching a fill-in solo, the courage to break away from the 9 to 5, childhood, relationship with imagination, The Starving Artist, forecasting down times, life as a book, harmony, retreat, diversions, keeping your heart in it, being in nature, excitement of new places, reconnecting with pace of nature, experiencing death, animal vs human energy, Trenton deer, feeding squirrels in Mexico City, graffiti characters, Vivid Playful Depictions of Energy, original content, praise for replication, ball games, gyms, trademark styles, Egs, The Pocket, Ghost, arrows, personality in letterforms, how mood affects style, marker and sticker tags, traveling in an RV, online store, fulfillment from the road, interacting with fan base. @rime_msk rimemsk.com @persue1 @bunnykittyofficial bunnykitty.com

Mike recalls memories from living in London in 1998. Topics discussed include: Losing weight, skateboarding daily, Wandsworth, Tom and Honor, Brixton, Dogstar, Prince Albert, The Sun, Irish red cream ale, Guinness, Keri, crooked teeth, The Plumber, Soho and Covent Garden, black latex, after-hours bars, night bus, sneaky sex, Nicole, Wired magazine, Designers Republic, Attik, happy hour at the pub, house parties, housing developments, weed homies with American accents, spliffs vs joints, White Widow, Bored: Snow Skate and Surf Graphics, Patrick Burgoyne, Tomato, DJ Food/Ninja Tune, starting a record label, Will Bankhead, Mo’ Wax records, Futura2000, A to Zed guide, Dek from Art Crimes, Sensa, Irish homies, Valentine’s Day rave at Brixton Academy, Daniel Pemberton, Megatripolis, Sounds of the Asian Underground, Talvin Singh, Squarepusher, heart tattoo on big screen, Rough Trade records, Russell Maurice (Gasface) and Pinky, Egs, Camberwell College of Arts, Maharishi, zines, 12oz Prophet poster, blackbook collages, Photek Kung Fu Night, Wagon Christ/Luke Vibert show, Metalheadz night at The Blue Note in Hoxton, DJ Loxy, sweating ceiling, Fabio and Grooverider, Chemistry and Storm, Goldie, Ser, The Dole, murals, Chromes, Hammerite, undercoat black, radiator white, high security on Chunnel line, production with Ser, morning photo mission and a crazy chase.

Mike gives a recap of his recent road trip through the South. Topics discussed include: The Silver Skillet in Atlanta, heavy police presence, Little 5 Points, The Clothing Warehouse, poster sale at Swag Shop in Edgewood, @killermike (Run The Jewels), active shooter, barber shop vibes, cheap shots in plastic bottles, Benihana, the Blue Flame, smoking weed in the strip club, endless $5 lap dances, breakfast with @keet_313 at Folk Art in Decatur, drive to New Orleans, low water pressure, Gabe/Mortal Machine Studio, @BeeGats, Coop’s Place, alcohol to-go, French Quarter, The Ruby Slipper Cafe, Low Timers, White Lotus, Voodoo Museum, Café Du Monde, Bee’s rapport with street people, poster sale, M’s night out, @dum.slut, absinthe, Rick’s Cabaret, Maya, Summer, Indian Motorcycles, Sugar Bear choppers, drive to Houston, traffic mess, Slab Sundays, Christie’s, vintage row, House of Pies, indoor flea market, airbrushed T, construction crayons, Sylvan Beach, Third Planet, Dragon magazines, missed car show, Colorado strip club, $13 water bottles, Salt Creek Steakhouse, Whataburger, Fort Stockton, missing hotel, Paisano Pete, sopapillas, Lulu’s Stixx pool hall, Lotaburger, passing on our stash, The Thing, Tucson, Bianchi’s, Amy’s Donuts, pizza donation, hot tubbing, KG’s Westside Cafe, buying bullets in Yuma, dumped joint, clove cigarettes, Abby’s BBQ and seeing America from a car.

Mike has a conversation with Dr. Cole Marta and Brooke Balliett, LMFT of the California Center for Psychedelic Therapy. Recorded Sunday, April 2nd at the Center. Topics discussed include: Preparing set and setting for a psychedelic trip, dosage differences in individual people, Ego Death, surrendering to a trip, resistance, Creatives, sharpening by amphetamines, Alex Grey, the Community of trippers, experimenting with shrooms during COVID lockdowns, Ketamine use for preventing suicide, Ecstasy vs Molly, research chemicals, dancesafe.org, Schedule One Drug License, research pharmacies, variations in unregulated street drugs, regular doses, benefits of regulated drugs, clinical benefits for mental health patients, importance of set and setting, protecting friends from bad drugs, buying drugs online, Ketamine’s similarity to Nitrous, Spiritual connection, Ketamine therapy cycle, belief in God, ancient use of psychedelics, Ancient Greeks, Salem Witch Trials, Ketamine primarily used to treat depression and PTSD, common ground of psychedelic trips and deep meditation states, Default Mode Network, changes in cognition/perspective/emotionality, visuals, psychedelic replications, Replications Sub Reddit, trippy dream of Ketamine high, new client intake, prep before treatment, submitting to the process, the power of getting started, center vs clinic, unsafe feeling resulting from trauma, pre-verbal trauma, Ketamine as anesthetic, MDMA’s power to helping client feel safe, treating depression with psilocybin, “Being depressed is the opposite of being excited about being alive”, debilitating depression, spectrum of personality traits, Zendo, Burning Man, lack of guidance at raves, Adavan, duration of trips, staying up overnight on LSD, post-rave kit, inability to fall asleep, feeling a trip coming on, improved dancing ability, DJ RAW, raves as church, the body as a conduit for sound, fractals in nature, tapping into new levels of being, inability to understand language while on LSD, A-Ha moments/changing perspectives, seeing through cultural illusions, “Watching the news on acid is a bad idea”, DMT, feeling of immobility, short duration, NN (orange resin) vs 5MEO (frog venom), Hamilton’s Pharmacopeia, 5MEO flashbacks, using cannabis and psilocybin as entry points to the psychedelic experience, tardigrades, importance of good sourcing, situational awareness while high, Erowid.org and FiresideProject.org. Psychedelictherapyca.com Givebutter.com/CCPT-TYL

Mike continues to recall memories from living in San Francisco in 1995. Topics discussed include: 8th and Geary apartment, Kodik Joe, Clifton Carter, working at Think Skateboards, The Dirty Dildo, High Speed Productions, Conqr, RJD2, George Washington High School, Cram, regional handstyles, Club Deco, DJ Qbert, Invisibl Skratch Piklz, scratching in stereo, latex gloves, lying to cops, Psycho City, 4th of July, Fame Whore, Coliseum Yard, TDK crew, Dream, Meut, Friday nights on KUNM, Krash, painting on LSD, Susan Farrell, ArtCrimes (graffiti.org), nonsense words as tag names, symmetrical pieces, using brick walls as a grid, increased focus from cannabis use, consistent straight bars versus tapering curves, creating new styles, 20th and Illinois wall, Twist, Reminisce, KR, Sope and Felon, Front Street wall, Lords crew, Rules of Going Over, trippy Goth girl, The Blue Danube, Shoot a Tagger fliers, Tie’s murder, Amarjit and Narangkar, Sikhs, Sam Flores, painting trucks on Christmas night, refinishing and painting my 1965 Pontiac Tempest.

Mike recalls memories from the last half of 1994. Topics discussed include: Black and grey fineline tattoos in Albuquerque in 1980, weekend flea market, Catholic and prison imagery, tattoo magazines, Guy Aitchison, biomechanical style, first tattoo, Mr. Went, jail rigs, Sharpie backpieces, Joker IHU, graffiti armband, issues with visible tattoos, Gator, stretching skin, Mom cried, symbolic intensity, Everlasting Tattoo, bottle rocket battles, Mike Davis, Ed Hardy, simple vs painterly coloring, George Campise, Aaron Cain, robotic vs visceral biomech, tribal style, Borneo, Greg Kulz, Nalla Smith, shitty upper leg tattoos, Greg Carroll, Tattoo City, second armband, professional confidence, graffiti humility, how apprenticeships worked, cautious entry into the trade, shop styles, Chris Conn, Colin Stevens, what time of day to get tattooed, Think tattoo on E, MDMA therapy, Igor, Primal Urge, Marcus Pacheco, anti-cop tattoos, second level shop, Tim Lehi, Jeff Rassier, almost getting impaled, learning from tattooers, Adrenalin Skateboards, Sam Flores, Jaya Bonderov and bold tattoos.

Mike's interview with his old friend DJ Eldon. Recorded in Eldon's home in Albuquerque, NM on October 19, 2020. Topics discussed include: Meeting each other during the early 90s rave scene, born in 1959 in Albuquerque, growing up in a large Hispanic family, graduated top of his class at Del Norte, radio program at the University of Albuquerque, soul/r&b music, late night radio jumps, Neil Murray, Priests from the East, KUNM, FCC license, Eldon Otis Grier, on-air persona, Wolfman Jack, music director at KRZY, weekend on-air spot from midnight to 6am, meeting country music stars, The Caravan East, Willie Nelson, stagehand work, Waylon Jennings, University of New Mexico, Black radio, sending demo tapes, reel to reel editing, Frankie Crocker, seizing opportunities, moving to New York City, 220 Central Park South, Camp Rising Sun, Jeffrey Troy, Larry Levan at Paradise Garage (late 1970s), Richard Long sound system, good sound, David Mancuso at The Loft, creative mixing, Broadway dancers, locker rooms, baby powder, Body and Soul, Danny Tenaglia, Jim Burgess, playing in key and on beat, Jeno, Garth, Angel Marais, seamless mixing, personal vs. fan satisfaction, Marriott, cafe owner, long sets, London 1990, Beyond Ordinary, Toc and Nona, Industrial music, warehouse raves, resurgence of rave samples, housemusic.com, wallstreet.com, deep house, tea dance, rave inclusivity, tribal connections, outdoor raves, 9-11, musician producers, pandemic creativity, Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, selling mixtapes, Mary Boone Gallery, subway noise, heartbreak, Andy Warhol, Studio 54, flash cubes, Crash, Francisco Clemente, subway graffiti, early Albuquerque graffiti, rave fliers, Mark Farina, DJ line-ups, dawn sets, 4am, hiring an architect, Tadao Ando, Tom Ford’s house, Frank Lloyd Wright, SAMO, Doze Green, the AIDS crisis, Area, the day job and producing raves. Search for "DJ Eldon" on Soundcloud and Mixcloud to hear a few of his mixes.