a pen. I flew around the world thrice times and had the I honour of getting down with many of my heroes and a lot of seriously talented and seriously generous human beings. The reason why I’m telling you this shit is that part of my M.O. is that knowledge should be shared and not hidden. There is no secret to what I do: I’ve just worked hard for years to get to this point. Okay, so you need to be able to write and have respect for your gut feelings when you see something good, and to be interested in street culture and the world and people around you. Like the man said, you have to work hard and be nice to people.
HOT SPOTS
One of the philosophies I want to spread with this book is to turn people on to new and unknown experiences, so at the end of each city entry there is a ‘Hot Spots’ list and at the back of the book you’ll find a list of reference points, further reading or viewings to use as a starting point when planning your own adventure, on or off line. Once you’re out there you will find out that these lists are just the tip of the iceberg and the real adventure is totally one of your own creation. This is the best kind of voyage: one you and no one else owns.
Please remember that this book is just my personal view of the world of street life and obviously I can’t write about everyone who has ever had an effect on the culture, so there are going to be some people, events and happenings that I’ve not covered. I’ve tried to document the epic journey I have taken in the last 25 years of my life to present the past, present and future of street culture, looking at street art, music, fashion, film, design, the media, photography, craft, retail, street food, spots to hang out in the coolest cities, websites, events, subcultures and movements etc.
All massive hear me now! Hold tight!
Peace+Love
When it comes to Iran, there’s only one real street artist who is worth mentioning at the moment and that is Alone. He has been holding it down for many years on his own with no community support and is the most hardworking and dedicated street artist in Iran. In the west we know nothing about oppression and have been getting up (the process of putting up illegal art in the street) for as long as Alone has been living under an oppressive, watchful regime, something truly remarkable indeed. People disappear for much less and in 2007 Alone staged the first-ever stencil art exhibition in Tehran. Which says a lot about how he operates — the fact that he was the only person to stick his neck out and put on an exhibition dedicated to an outlawed art form. I have been friends with Alone for some years now and have seen him develop an original style: he started out just using stencils and now has allowed his work to be influenced by folk art and contemporary painting. I asked him who his influences are.
‘My work has been influenced by Van Gogh, Francis Bacon, Nietzsche, music, Blek le Rat, Logan Hicks, Jeff Soto…’
It is when I ask about his goals that I begin to underderstand about life in Iran.
‘Goals? Me? I really enjoy painting and finding more things from the act of painting and forgetting my urban self. To live and feel that I am ALIVE. In my social life I am trying to learn what I need and give what I have when I’m painting. I have many goals for my future and life but when I am at the desk I feel like I have no goals.’
This is the old pirate island where back inna day you could buy anything you wanted and anything went. It has changed a bit in the last 20 years but there is still something for everyone in the city of madness. I always liken it to an adult Disneyland: a place chock-full of adult rides (sex and drugs) and fantastic sights and parades (check out Queen’s Day on 1 April for complete mayhem). The Dutch are a creative lot and Amsterdam is where the best of them congregate to get it on. They love their street art, stickers, good food, football, drinking, legal and illegal drugs, galleries, clubs and advertising. They aren’t hung up about much and so this leads to a free-and-easy atmosphere.
But that said, Amsterdam is changing slowly from an open-air adult-orientated museum into a city of pure creativity. For a while, the city’s inspirational talents were jumping ship in favour of Rotterdam, but that is now over. The tourists are still arriving in droves but they seem to be contained to one or two areas of the ’Dam, namely the red light district and the coffee shops. These tourist areas are in the east and the south central area of the city. Just a few hundred feet east of the Centraal Station you’ll find the Warmoesstraat, the beginning of the red light and coffee shop area, in which to lose your mind. The sex and spliff aspect of the ’Dam has to be experienced before you can make up your mind about whether it’s cool or not. I’ve spent many trips to the ’Dam getting wasted back inna day and stumbling around the red light district, but these days I’m straight and the place still rocks. Remember that all the guys selling drugs on the street are just trying to rip you off. Okay, the first thing you gotta know is that all hard drugs are illegal, but if you’re determined to buy drugs then stick to the coffee shops. If you want something that isn’t on the menu then ask the dealers in the coffee shop if they have any info. There is a heavy heritage of culture within the city and all aspects of creativity are respected and encouraged. There are some killer advertising agencies here now (>p104) and the fashion and arts industries are gathering momentum.
If you go off the tourist route slightly you will find the real Amsterdam — a clean, civilized place, almost the opposite to the red light district.
Around the Spui (a square slap-bang in the centre of the ’Dam) is the place to be for book lovers, as there’s a ton of bookshops and a weekly book market on Fridays. There are some great places to eat and traditional style bars in which to spend the evening. Which is exactly where I was when I last hooked up with Michel van Rijn.
Amsterdam is home to my old pal Michel — one of the world’s last true adventurers: art expert, stolen antiquities hunter, multi-millionaire playboy. He’s a larger-than-life character with a heart of gold, and I’m truly happy to see him whenever I go to the ’Dam. We always mooch off to a pavement bar where Michel begins to tackle a long line of double bloody Marys without any visible effect. He then fills me in on his latest accomplishments, none of which I can speak about, let alone write about here. Let’s just say that he’s got his fingers in a lot of pies and one of the biggest and most complete collections of religious art in the world. A true bon viveur!
HOT SPOTS
Best homemade fries in town: Vleminckx, Voetboogstraat
Wicked bookshop: The American Book Centre, Spui 12
Great ‘hood: De Pijp, take tram 16 or 24 or 25 to Albert Cyperstr then walk east
Good Bar: Café ‘t Spui-tje, Spuistraat 318 (old-school ’Dam bar)
Great Hotel: The Lloyd Hotel. Oostelijke