Monday, October 28, 2013

Casey "Headcase" Johnson Interview Part 1

1. Where were you born and raised? ~ I was born in Sierra Madre, California and raised in the Pasadena area aka the SGV...

2. How long have you been painting? ~ I've been in the biz for about 11 years and have been painting for about 8 years.

3. What got you started in painting? ~ I had worked at a custom body shop called Custom & Classic in Pasadena and was exposed to a few custom paint jobs and loved it! I come from a graffiti background and have been an artist for as far back as I can remember. Since then I've worked with some of the best painters in the game and have had to pay a lot of dues to learn from these greats. My love for bikes and classic custom cars seemed like a great platform for my art to take shape.

4. Who are your influences? ~ Influences are tough because they span over a whole life time.  From my old man and his buddies wrenching in the garage, going to swap meets on Sundays, running the streets with the homies and people I have meet and worked with. So for me I'd say my life and passions are my influences. Artistically, I'd say Danny D is my biggest influence, but I try not to look too hard at what other people are doing so that I can keep my art mine as much as I can considering that in this day in age we are all just emulating the past greats in our own way.

5. How did you get your job at West Coast Choppers? ~ Like most people, a friend got me in. I needed to work and had a chance to work with crazy talented people, which was an amazing experience.

6. What was the biggest thing you learned there? ~ I'd say that I learned what real talented tradesmen are, and that not everything is how it seems.

7. What projects do you have going on now? ~ Work wise I have a Buick Rivi that I'm painting for tattoo artist Tim Hendricks, a job for Zero Engineering, a couple of sets for Spitfire Motorcycles, and a couple bikes for some friends.

Casey's "Boni Killer" 67 BSA.  It was featured on Chop Cult recently.  Read the article here.












Tune in on Wednesday for the rest of the interview.
Click here to Casey's website.  or follow him on Instagram @headcase220.


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