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“I don’t necessarily dress punk now, but I’m still punk at heart,” Eyedress, the self-identified “hood Asian” known for his hazy, shoegaze sound (infused with hints of trap, alternative rock and post-punk) notes after his Head In The Clouds performance in his UNDERCOVER x Slashjacket.
Fresh off his Vampire in Beverly Hills and partnerships with Vans, Nike and Johnnie Walker, the atmospheric artist is mid-tour with Freddie Gibbs and Madlib and is readying to embark on another run with The Glass AnimalsClocking in at 34 songs, Vampire in Beverly Hills marks the 33-year-old’s sixth studio offering and sees contributions from a wide range of the singer’s friends and long-time collaborators including Cuco, HOMESHAKE, Provoker, Rico Nasty and his wife Elvia.
Community is critical to Eyedress – be it his Filippino community, the punk community or, what he believes is the glue between it all, the skate community.
Drenched in duality and driven by his ties to “the same skater guys” at streetwear imprints including Supreme and VIOLET, the ever-so-chill Eyedress just abides by the simple mantra of “it’s not that deep.”
After spending nearly an hour shredding on stage courtesy of his Supreme guitar, he sat down to expound upon how all of the communities he’s a part of have shaped his sound and style.
How do you prepare for a show?
Sleep. Zone out heavy. I save all of the shenanigans for after the show.
Is your family around here somewhere?
They’re literally just over in the bed of my trailer. It’s super wholesome. My son comes out to watch the show in his headphones. He’ll be running around everywhere.
What are you wearing?
The jacket is a collab between UNDERCOVER and the punk magazine Slash. I’ve been into Slash ever since I was listening to The Germs and X.
How has the punk scene impacted your artistry?
I got into punk through skating. The skaters I looked up to wore tight pants and skated to punk songs or wore baggy pants and skated to The Velvet Underground. You don’t have to dress a certain way to be punk. I don’t necessarily dress punk now, but I’m still punk at heart. The first band that I joined was a punk band. We listened to a lot of Crass and Rudimentary Peni. I gravitated toward the political side of it, but that wasn’t until I got older. In my first band, they were singing sh*t I had no idea about. I was so young, just playing the bass and trying to be cool with the punks.
How has skate culture played into your work?
That’s what I grew up on. As a kid, I got into all of the music I’m into through watching skate videos. There would be guys skating to The Velvet Underground or Black Flag and that’s fully how I became passionate about music. It bleeds into everything.
Where do you skate in NYC?
It’s really rare that I’m here. My whole life is out in LA, so I really don’t come here much. That one spot under the bridge – the LES Skate Park. I’ve been there a couple of times, but I never really skate when I’m here. I never have time.
You’re linking up with Atticus Torre while you’re here. How did that come about?
He’s my photographer’s homie. My photographer works for VIOLET and the owner of VIOLET is the filmer of Supreme. All the same skater boys.
How has your Filipino background shaped your approach to music?
I was just talking about this last night. I’m an Asian, but I’m a hood Asian. I hang out with rappers, and I hang out with rockers. It’s all the same to me. We all make music to get away from reality. Being from the hood, that’s exactly why I got into music and skating. I don’t like violence, and growing up I had to fight a lot. It’s all love in my heart. I work with everybody because I’ve got love for everybody.
I was born in the Phillippines, moved to America for a bit, and then moved back home to the Phillippines when I was 15 and lived there until I was 28. I was such a brat when I moved back because I was already Americanized. As I got older, I had to learn to appreciate where I’m from. Being for the people – and for the people of the Phillippines – is very important to me.
You dabble in clothing design in your free time as well. Could you say more on that?
I design all of my merch with my friend. We like to flip stuff – especially nostalgic stuff. We just flipped the Goodwill logo. I used to go there all the time to buy blazers.
When did you get the Supreme guitar?
I love Supreme. I bought it before the West Coast tour I just finished. I was just like ‘ I think it’s time to take this guy out or else he’s gonna just sit in storage’, so I did. I beat him up a little.
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What inspires you the most?
Everything. A lot of weed. It’s just not that deep.
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