I first heard of Ed Trask when I was in school at VCU in the early 90s. Like every other Richmonder, I saw his work all over town and wondered, “Who is that guy who paints all of those murals?” When I asked around to find out, the
answers ranged from “he’s the drummer in that band” to “he’s the cook over at that restaurant”. As an ar tist trying to make my presence known in the world, I was determined to meet this legendary ar t nut who was painting up my hometown and pick his brain, find out some tricks of the trade and see just how to get ar t out into the world! Sadly, when I finally did meet Ed, I was only able to come up with, “Hey, you’re the guy that paints those murals.” I don’t know if I was distracted by his hat or the curious tattoo on his elbow, but I wasn’t able to ask the things that I wanted to know. I finally had the opportunity to ask a few questions of the guy I had always heard about.
Matt - You have traveled the globe and undoubtedly seen a lot of great places – why do you live in Richmond?
Ed Trask – I live in Richmond because I feel it has a social sensibility that is more conducive to how I want to live and is located close to every angle of life I need. I can surf an hour and half away and see the greatest art in a 6-hour radius up and down the Eastern Seaboard. I can also be constantly inspired by the overwhelming number of talented musicians, painters, graffiti writers, fabricators and designers. I love being a graduate of VCU (though I might not fully agree with its business of late), for they yearly produce a talented crop of painters and has placed many of them into the New York beat and path. There is also a nice, conservative kind of money developer in-crowd here that can give endless inspiration to rebel against. I mean c’mon, if you feel depressed you can go to the river. Want to paint a mural? There are endless walls. Want to hear great music that has inspired the world? It’s here. If you have the need to get piss-faced drunk, there are many cheap places. And there certainly is a camaraderie in Richmond that I don’t feel anywhere else. I can feel happy supporting my family in a cheaper Southern city. I have been here since late 1985, and it has taken a few years, but I love and would do anything for the good of this city.
ML – In light of the upcoming 25th anniversary, which is yourfavorite song from Thriller, and why?
ET – I think I only know the zombie thriller video song. I guess that’s Thriller, right? Hell, I don’t know, I wasn’t supposed to like Mr. Jackson in my punk rock circles, and now being a dad, I feel a bit creeped out by his fake nose plastic-assed pedophile ways.
ML – If you were in Senator Barack Obama’s position today in this tight Democratic campaign, what would you do to finally put Senator Clinton away?
ET – I would ask her to be my Vice President, so Bill could work his diplomatic magic and Hillary could help me with her Washington insider ties. This has been a hard election for me, because I was in support of Hillary, but I have been swept up by the Obama message of hope and change. I do feel along the lines of Maureen Dowd (New York Times) that Hillary is solely responsible for her own downfall and, if left alone, will simply implode, lose her superdelegates, and finally give in. Barack’s recent speech defending his ties to Reverend Wright was great, and I hate to say it, but you have to agree with a lot of what Wright has to say, maybe not in thirty-second sound bites taken from one hour sermons, but on the whole, what his congregation stands for and has accomplished.
ML – If you never painted or picked up a drumstick, what field would Ed Trask be succeeding in?
ET – Plumber, writer, baseball player, mason, baker, hot dog vendor, newsstand owner, soup car t owner, salesman for anything, teacher, cab driver, salsa maker, hair stylist, lumberjack, lineman, steelworker, professor, drywall, etc. You see the problem is my ADD ass is constantly distracted by something else. And I’ve thought about being all of these things at one time. The idea that I can be an ar tist/musician and be as flaky as I am is wonderful. I also abide by the simple fact that you’re only going to get what you work for, and with a strong work ethic and a bunch of luck, you can be anything you want.
ML – You are a Richmond art icon, made an entire city your personal gallery, re-routed the Queen, played drums on other continents, have a beautiful family, and you wear a funny hat. What advice can you give a young Richmond artist that decides to put the video game controllers down and out-do Ed Trask?
ET – Well first off, you could never out-do what I have for a wife and a kid (and kid on the way). I somehow lucked into the greatest wife I could ever imagine having. But, if you really want to out-do me, go buy a bunch of vintage hats, start painting on walls all over the city (starting illegally and working up to the legal stuff). Meanwhile, tour seven months out of the year and work any job you can to support yourself until you have a big enough client base to simply paint, play music and work a couple of restaurant shifts. Then raise a couple of kids (harder than any of the other shit), be a good husband, and still strive to be a better artist and person. Try to read as much as you can and travel, travel, travel. Let your life be defined by your experiences with how other people live around the world. If you do all of this, I don’t think it would be too hard to out-do me. I think there are millions of better painters and artists out there than me. I know this, but I have found a cool way to paint, play music, survive and have a great life in Richmond. If anybody can live a better life than this, fine. Let me watch so I can learn something.
