You told me an entertaining story about trying to hide from cops while on LSD and having to sit in a swamp for two hours. What other horrible trips have you had and how often do you get the fear?

Part of the psychedelic experience is fear. No pain, no gain. I haven’t had many bad experiences on entheogens but almost all of them involve graffiti and water. I don't know why I keep putting myself into frightening situations, but I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. I was once painting with Gyer in a tunnel that split two ways. I was on 500 mics of LSD and right as it really began to take hold of my mind, I wandered off on my own to explore. Far into the tunnel, I slipped down a small ramp causing my headlamp to fall off in the water and rush away into the abyss. I found my way to my feet, soaked head to toe, in complete darkness. I was shouting for help but no one could hear me! I had to navigate blindly in the blackness, completely disoriented, hugging the sewer walls to keep upright. I thought my backpack was an alligator and realized the bugs that were crawling all over me were indeed real and not hallucinations. I remained calm, but ended spending what seemed like an eternity lost in the depths of reptilian hell. It was terrifying. Luckily, I came back from that one… somewhat.



Besides creating psychological terror, painting on entheogens can also be quite amusing. Once, my best friend and primary graffiti influence, Home, and I painted “the most amazing burners ever!” While we were spraying, it felt like a music video. We were the coolest guys ever! The “masterwork” we just did looked unbelievable! The following day, after the drugs had left our systems, we eagerly returned to the scene to see the art in all its glory. What we discovered were several abstract gestural scribbles placed sporadically across the wall. It was the most hilariously toy thing I have ever seen! I suppose it was a “masterwork” in its own way.



Terence McKenna’s writings changed a lot about how I reflect on my own psychedelic experiences. Are you into his findings or those of any other similar authors?

I enjoy exploring the ideas of Leary, Hofmann, Shulgin, Strassman, etc., but Terence McKenna is one of my biggest influences. From The Invisible Landscape to The Archaic Revival, I have read many of his books. McKenna teaches that mushroom spores can exist in the vacuum of space and were sent through the cosmos to propagate on habitable planets. The way he relates the worship of the cow in Buddhism to mushrooms is brilliant. He claims that primitive beings ingested psychedelic mushrooms and language was downloaded into their brains, automatically bridging the gap between chimp and man. Terrance was from another dimension. I am grateful to have gotten the opportunity to hear his brother Dennis lecture several times. Earthlings were lucky to have McKenna stop by the planet and bless us with some game.