Fashion Designer and Lead Creative at Sweet Tooth - Stew Frick #013

In this episode, you have the opportunity to meet Pittsburgh local artist Stew Frick. Stew is a Pittsburgh based artist who works primarily with clothing. They use a combination of hand painting and sewing patchwork to create wearable art. With experience in band merchandise, brand collaborations, and custom pieces, Stew has a multifaceted background & is always looking to expand their artistic horizons. Listen in to hear about their passionate distaste for Coca-Cola and Police Officers, their views on pride and when to expect their upcoming art. 

Stew Frick:

IG: Stew_Frick

Host: Kevin Stalker / @kstalker9 /

Production Manager: Mike Kampas / @kampasm

Beats: Joe Cal / @josephj_callahan

Production Venue: Brian's Studio

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Remember, Stay Raw with Reality

Transcript

spk_0:   0:00
I don't I don't give a shit. If you know, Coca Cola is putting out a marketing campaign with a, you know, flag for bisexuality on it because they're still exploiting their workers. They're still terrible for the world. They're still shit. And I don't care if they, you know, support career people for the purpose of a marketing campaign that doesn't make them good.

spk_1:   0:24
Welcome to Episode 013 For rawness of reality, I'm your host, Kevin Stalking. And in this episode, you have the opportunity to meet Stew Frick stewards at Pittsburgh based artists who primarily works of clothing. They use a combination of ham paining and sewing patchwork to create wearable art. But enough from me. Here's different. Big shout out to stew Frick for being on the podcast today. A sweet tooth. Yeah. Uh, what's up? It's me. I'm here. Uh, do Frick is a fashion designer, huh? And he creates his own designs painting, sewing, uh, using materials at his fingertips to create the most fashionable items in Pittsburgh. You don't believe that. Check out his store stew. Frick dot com is under the sweet tooth customization dot com Also, I

spk_0:   1:20
should have gone over this before we started recording. But I used a then pronounce you what? I used a then pronounce Hey, them. Yeah, instead of he him. Okay. It's like they

spk_1:   1:30
all right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that works for me. So

spk_0:   1:32
I I generally trained do that in, like, pre show ops. This honestly, it was a quick from, like in the door and then recording,

spk_1:   1:42
You know, there wasn't the usual like, downtime. Could you tell us about the day, then pronounce? Yes. Oh, identify as

spk_0:   1:50
non binary means. You know, I, uh, within the gender spectrum of men, man's a woman. I don't really fall in a distinct spot there, so yeah, I like the name, you know, non binary, like within the gender binary man woman. I'm neither. Yeah, it's kind of similar to being like gender fluid, where people will identify as certain genders. You know, depending on there, there you internalized gender expression on a specific day. I'm just a little more non committal than that, I guess. You know. Not really, man. Not really. Woman, I'm just out here just today.

spk_1:   2:32
All right? I'll remember that on If I don't call me out on it please Will do. Will do. Appreciate. We're all learning. Yeah, Dave, I'm reading out of the things

spk_0:   2:41
that, you know society has taught us to thio use, you know, like like for a long time. And even still, it's not like, you know, like for most of my life, pronouns weren't ever even liked. Considered something that was like up for debate. Like like, you know, like like, you know, it was that this is just how it is, you know, like there was never any discussion about it, never any, Like, some people, like, don't use thes pronounce, But let's not talk about it like it was just never discussed. So, you know, society has a lot changed, Theo and everyone's Landon as we go.

spk_1:   3:20
Yeah. Would you say in the past 5 to 10 years with changed for the better of the worst? I mean, societal growth in America. Yeah, um I

spk_0:   3:29
mean, it's overall change for the better, but, um, you know, I mean, it's spent like 5 to 10 years within a societal or political spectrum is a pretty incredibly short amount time. So there's there's all kinds of tumult within that, you know, and especially Whenever you have movements towards social progress, There's almost always reactionary elements that move against that. So, you know, like I feel a lot were accepted. I mean, like, I didn't begin identifying is known binary or, you know, like start, uh, properly acknowledging that within myself until three years ago. I think now, whenever I like actually, you know, started exploring my my gender a dandy. But you know, things have gotten a lot better for a lot of people within the last 5 to 10 years you had simultaneously. Whenever things get better for underprivileged, marginalized groups, people that do not want that to happen well often react more strongly against it. So, you know, like there, you know, there's the plus side of, like, clear people being more accepted. And they're being, you know, more like open pushes for diversity and things like that. But simultaneously, there's no higher hate crime rates than there have been in, like the last 15 years right now, so you know it's a given to take, but I think overall the world is on a positive positive arc, but it requires constant work and constant activism. You know, if we take our victories and sit back and feel like we want. Then we will be doomed to, you know, eventually have those rolled back against us. You always gotta keep pushing forward and keep on fighting for what you have achieved and fighting too protect and better the people that are still under privileged all the time.

spk_1:   5:25
Well said. Thanks. Of course. Well said three years ago. What brought you to that point where you were comfortable? I mean,

spk_0:   5:33
a big thing was moving out from my home. Where's your home? Oh, out in Moon Township. Moon Township? Yeah. Yeah. Korea Polis. I

spk_1:   5:43
was actually sorry, e I was I was in a its construction junction. It's in pits. Very. Yeah. I love that place. That creative reuse. Yeah. Those in stomping grounds I love. They're both awesome. The visit and I was there today, and a lady was talking today about how when she she was in greater Pittsburgh area of the moon township and when she moved out of the city, she was talking with the cashier. She was able to one feel more accepted in two. It was just, like, refreshing to her. Yeah, I mean it. It's A. It's a

spk_0:   6:20
totally different environment here. Think Korea Polis. And I mean, like, you know, in a general sense it was like moving away from home. So it was a large period of, you know, self realization, self discovery. You know, like, you know, you have that, like, sort of inherent freedom of college that you go through but moving like actually moving and just living like I wasn't moving out for school. I just moved here to live and, you know, becoming more involved with in the artistic community and stuff like that. You get to be around a lot more queer people, a lot more people that have knowledge about those things that help you explore them. You know, like my family is like old and religious, you know, they're they're kind people and you know, the like. My experience of being queer within that space has been good, but there's just a distinct lack of knowledge. I don't expect, you know, people. They're like 65 years old and never got any kind of education about, you know, the gender theory or anything like that to to be able to help me in my journey ends understand what my gender identity is. So, um, that, you know, that definitely helped a lot Just being able to be around people that were like me and help me understand myself rather than feeling like I was different than everybody else. You know, I got to feel like I was the same as the people in my community. Yeah, and helped me realize that you know who I am is is okay. And the way that I have always felt isn't, you know, anomalous or or negative, you know, because because I felt like this forever. It was just very hard to categorize it and understand what it waas and fed it within my world view. You know, like, I grew up religious, so I didn't even want to, uh, acknowledged that I was queer whenever I was growing up, let alone that I wasn't a man, you know, like that. Like, there's, you know, there's levels to this shit. Uh, yeah. So, yeah, just being able to be in the artistic community, going to, like, do Kane's gender for meetings and shit, just like being able to get educated from people that were in a position to educate me. Help me. Yeah. Just become more comfortable and loving. A few am

spk_1:   8:43
So then going back home is that, uh you said your friend was very kind, so I can't see that being too difficult. But what about them? Understanding about how do you identify now? I

spk_0:   8:53
mean, like, you know, I don't think that all them understand it. I mean, I don't really talk about my gender. I Danny, with my family, some of them know that I'm bisexual, but that, you know, it just doesn't really come up. Yeah, Essentially, at this point, there's there's a bit of a, uh, like an unspoken agreement. You know, I have my life. I have the people that I know, but, you know, I don't know. It's hard to explain. I don't necessarily want to go into all that. You know, it's fun, but yeah, it's definitely It's very positive experience going back and seeing family for sure.

spk_1:   9:30
So are you excited? Are you gonna sell you our protest? I don't have any. I don't have any events that pride fest. No, I honestly, I, like, have have

spk_0:   9:40
very diverging feelings on pride. Occasionally, like overall positive, tight love, pride you know, like obviously you know, it's it's good that queer people have a time in a space to safely celebrate themselves, but kind of like to my point before where I was saying positive social progress requires constant work. Sometimes pride can feel a bit like resting on our laurels a bit, you know, just, like

spk_1:   10:12
resolved. Embracing that victory. Yeah, yeah, And like, it's good to embrace the

spk_0:   10:16
victory. And it's important to do that, but occasionally and like like you know, pride is celebrated by, like millions and millions and millions of people. So it's impossible to like this still, but it can't occasionally feel like, uh, there's sometimes like celebration without acknowledgment of the continuing problems. You know, it's sort of like, Oh, like gay marriage is legal. It's solved, you know, like there's no problems anymore number. It's like Trans people are still getting murdered, you know, like were people have still getting kick out of their homes and homeless and have higher rates of drug abuse and things like that, like there's still problems that need to be addressed and its partners. It's important to celebrate, but and I mean like a big aspect of that is just the corporatization of it. You know, I have no inherent respect for a company just slapping a rainbow flag on something and being like happy pride. I don't give a shit. Most of those companies never did anything for queer people. A lot of companies do that. Yeah, yeah, I don't know. It's fine. It's It's fun deceiving both stuff out, I guess. And it's

spk_1:   11:18
like like they're fine with

spk_0:   11:20
us. But like, no company has an inherent moral compass. A lot of the companies actively. You know, I like run or supported by people that do not like queer people. And collectively, everyone just realized Oh, Cory people, they're a large market segment and it improves our image to openly support them. So we're gonna do this, you know, like Trump still, you know, holds rainbow flags and shit. That doesn't mean that he's good for the career community. Obviously, he's a bucket monster, like in similar thing of like, I don't give a shit if you know Coca Cola is putting out a marketing campaign with a you know, flag for bisexuality on it because they're still exploiting their workers. They're still terrible for the world. They're still shit. And I don't care if they, you know, support career people for the purpose of a marketing campaign that doesn't make them good. And, you know, as time has gone on, uh, pride has become more and more and more and more inundated with that type of feeling. You know, it's not about the activism. It's not about, you know, the continuation, pushing for goals or the acknowledgement of the difficulties of still being queer or, you know, l know it. Sometimes it can just feel like a celebration of the path of least resistance. As long as people are celebrating. You know, White says, queers being able to do their thing and get married, then everything's fine. Coca Cola is never gonna be putting out an advertisement that's like, Hey, black Trans people were killed at a higher rate than anybody else in this country. They're gonna be doing that shit because that doesn't actually sell coke. Moving a rainbow flag on some shit sells coke. Yeah, and that's why I just have no respect for pride isn't just about having a rainbow on something and having it feels really good. Pride is about acknowledging the struggles and sacrifices that queer activists and primarily black were. Activists have put forward and sacrificed their lives for, to get us to where we are and what we have to do to keep moving that forward. And a lot of the activities and aspects of pride now don't seem to be for that same purpose. I feel like I have an idea of pride of what pride could be like. What I want pride to be that is a lot different from what it is in reality, you know, it isn't just a parade. It's, um it's about all this other stuff and, uh, you know, the more that you know, E Q t gets to slap their logos all over everything, and it just becomes a vending opportunity for everybody to go down and sell. Unless I respect less, I care about it.

spk_1:   13:55
Do you think it will transform into what you view it does? I mean, like, it's sort of it's It's always like

spk_0:   14:00
a bit of a give and take, you know, because, like like I talk about these things Maur around pride because there's, you know, like you're more likely to get questions like, Hey, how do you feel about pride and then gives you an opportunity to talk about it. So, like, you know, the fantastic activists, activists that do do a lot of work often do more work around pride because, you know, they realize on a logistical level that they're more likely to have a slightly bigger microphone. You know, be as queer People generally have a slightly bigger stage round pride. So it's the chance for activists to be able to be like, Hey, like, look at this other stuff, you know, like like two years ago, I think it was I got to be a part of a protest march that was put on by a sister's Pittsburgh really great queer activism organization that was going on, like after the Pride parade, you know, So like, that shit was tight. It was awesome. It was run by people that I really respect. The values behind it were really good. So, like, there, you know, there's like both simultaneously. That's what I mean by, I guess, just like a love hate with pride And guess what? Whenever we did that protest march, with all the values backing it, they were really good and working forward for, you know, like more progress within the queer community in progress, like four career people in this country. You know, we were stopped by the cops because they didn't want us to be even that it was all fucked. But, like, that's another thing. No cops of pride. Cops have never been on the side of Korean people, ever. They were. They were the people that were, you know, fucking people up with the Stonewall riots. They don't get to be a part of the celebration for it. Fuck the police forever all the time, always and especially fuck them during pride. They don't get to be a part of this, you know?

spk_1:   15:43
Will they be there? Yeah, there's always cops. A pride. I mean, like, you know, on a logistical level

spk_0:   15:49
again, like any time that you have an event that that that is as largest pride, there's always gonna be a police presence because of city ordinances and stuff like that. But on an ideological level, you know, it's you know,

spk_1:   16:02
it's Zoe. Don't necessarily. Yeah, it's the It's

spk_0:   16:06
like the you know, like my I like distaste for, like, coca cola slapping and pride flight on it. That's multiplied by many factors. One of we're talking about police putting pride flags on their ship. Whenever you know, queer people are still more likely to be targeted and victimized by the police. And the police have always been enemies of queer people. You know that whenever whenever the institutions that have put people down acknowledge the harm that they've had to their own communities and actively work too, you know, move away from that, then maybe they can put a pride flag on their shit. But you don't just get to forget about the past and not acknowledge the harm that you've caused people. And suddenly be a part of the celebration and have a nice photo up. Fuck that. Fuck the police. I

spk_1:   16:55
heard that. Sorry. I, uh I got I have feelings about you. Good. Yeah. Ee, uh, I can see a passion, and you're passionate about it, so yeah, you clearly then have a voice in the community that you use. Would you say your art gives you more of a voice in the community? Um I mean a

spk_0:   17:16
bit e. I mean really like like in the sense that, you know, if I didn't make art, I wouldn't have a microphone in front of me right now. Do you say anything? I mean, truthfully, I don't I don't really, Um I don't have much substance of, like, activism within my art. I have a pretty difficult time finding my voice in that regard. Yeah, which is, like, inherent of all sorts of different. You know, I don't know it. It can be very difficult to simultaneously try and make things that are beautiful and things that, you know, cut to the deeper parts of, like, your political and social ideology. And there's Yeah, there's definitely really good artists that are better than I do that well, but in the sense that it it, you know, having some amount of, uh, publicity associated with my art. Yeah, it gives me a bigger stage. Yeah, sure. It's

spk_1:   18:15
hard to kind of mesh the feelings and the political ideologies along with those things that are beautiful that you make. But I did see some of your jean jackets. They didn't do that, but they were beautiful, like a jean jacket. Paintings? Yeah, those were those were awesome with thanks skylines in the back. And thank yeah, shoes like that. Chuck Taylors? Yeah, it honestly, I mean,

spk_0:   18:38
in some ways, that's just a aspect of, like, weakness of my art, that the path of less resistance is too. Just make things that are beautiful that don't necessarily say anything. You know, like a painted skyline on some shoes.

spk_1:   18:51
I don't know. Beauty speaks to me like, Yeah, yeah, like it's not

spk_0:   18:55
impossible to make things that are beautiful and also meaningful. You know, I think that in a lot of ways that can amplify each other, I'm just more so just like personally speaking, it can. It can feel a lot more difficult to make something that is personally like emotionally important and also beautiful, you know, trying to like tackle two things simultaneously, and sometimes it can be easy to be a bit cowardly and just put a skylight on it. But yeah, that is definitely something that I want to shy and encapsulate more if not in the realm of social and political. There's also another aspect I run into a lot with expressing, like social and political views through my art. Is that inherently one of the purposes of my art is to profit off of it. I sell the clothes that I make and things like that. So in some ways I would almost rather do things like this, where whenever I get the opportunity to have a platform because of my art, used my voice then. But if all I'm doing is just like slapping a pride flag on my hat, you know at least that the money would be going to a queer person in that it would be going to me. But I don't, uh I don't necessarily want to make, like political activism, part of a monetary brand are connected to the monetary brand, which is difficult because inherently, you know, my artistic brand is myself. So if I'm saying things like this, then it gets tied to my artistic brand. But it can. It can feel kind of, you know, Vicky to be profiting off of things like that. It's definitely something that a I want to learn more about, understand how to do responsibly and well, you know, because there there is an inherent desire to make art about political and social situations that affect me emotionally and that I care about emotionally, and it could be difficult to separate that from the sort of look at meanness of making art. Because I don't know that there's a fine line If I were to, I have a show and, you know, I make a clothing piece talking about the injustice of Antoine Rose getting murdered. Is that an imbalance of Is that more so? Using my platform to draw attention to the social thing or using the social thing to elevate my platform of like, oh, like well will both in terms of like the audience perception of Are they just playing a card to look more, you know, politically progressive under the guise of this show? And then also, you know, like, if someone sells a piece like that, then aren't you just profiting off of the political act? Political activism surrounding you know, the murder of this child, Andi. It's a very fine line to walk and essentially one that I don't feel like educated enough to no, the the way to walk properly, let properly yet, so I just avoid it. I try and use my voice in my you know, like social media or whatever you bean in the relatively small ways that it can affect anything to affect things and figure out how to leverage my art to create positive social change in whatever way I can. But

spk_1:   22:20
I really appreciate your perspective on that. And I really enjoy the word that you, Kiki, I think that actually encapsulates and I can see just, like, visualized operation, getting stuck till these different ideas and then getting detached from them. And, yeah, and And I saw it, I saw what you were talking about the other day we were driving through East Liberty, Some friends and I and we're looking at different shops, and the shops didn't really match up with, like, the talk. A lot

spk_0:   22:50
of the shops in East Liberty, like homage. God damn! That place is trash

spk_1:   22:54
throughout those shops that you would see these posters on the side, and it says Antoine Rose the second underneath his face is to say my name. Yeah, and I thought to myself, these shops might not necessarily identify with the community that they're trying to speak to, but then what is the purpose of? And it's like it's a really weird dichotomy, but there's like there's an inherent, you know, like like

spk_0:   23:20
those posters are emblematic of a political movement around the murder of Antoine Rose that is positive calling for justice in this crime. But then, whenever it's being co opted by a business, how how much of the sincerity behind that does it lack, especially a business that's actively gentrifying a black neighborhood?

spk_1:   23:43
That's exactly what, especially whenever the

spk_0:   23:45
businesses like depersonalized homage doesn't have political beliefs. Homage is a brand name that is trying to sell T shirts. So you know there is some positivity of potentially attaching positive political beliefs to that. You know, if the store images you know, donating money to good political candidates tight, that could inspire positive change. But if the positive action of that store begins and ends with putting up one poster in your storefront that makes you look good to the people walking by, then that's not true and meaningful political activism. And I don't yeah, like that's essentially where I follows. I don't want to be, you know, even though I hold these beliefs, I don't want to be putting it alongside the business of what I do and inherently relate them. You know, because there's sort of an inherent, uh, immorality to business in general. So icky is very much so. The phrasing, you know, especially concerning political and social issues that don't directly affect me. You know, Aiken, it's much more easy for me to speak about being queer through my art, even though I don't do that much either. But it would feel a lot more Ricky to be co opting a political struggle of a community that isn't even my community. And using that as like a side aspect of my business just doesn't feel right that it doesn't feel right at all. Now let's Ah, let's take this off in a different

spk_1:   25:29
area. Where could you tell us about your creative process? And how does the name sweet tooth come? I love that name. I say it again. Sweet tooth. I could see myself like announcing that somewhere. Yeah, we have sweet tube. It's a nice combination of

spk_0:   25:47
being like a well known phrase and also, like, not so ubiquitous that it loses any meaning. You know, it isn't just like a clothing brand. It's like

spk_1:   25:57
honor. Hey, hey, No, no, no. Shade of someone has a clothing brand new dawning. I'm sure it's fantastic. Pointing of him, Yeah, I came

spk_0:   26:08
to the name Sweet tooth through I wrote a poem. It's actually weird because it is like a very like, personally emotionally difficult thing that led to being the most public facing aspect of what I do. You know, I have difficulty making that kind of art. But it was about I was once like drug and almost killed. Once when I was in college, it was it was a rough time and I wrote a poem about it was called Sweet Tooth. But you know, there's all kinds of, like, extended metaphor relating to it in the poem. But it was my favorite poem ever made. I I wrote poetry and performed it for a bit. Wasn't very good at it. But that was like the one where I was like, Hey, this ship was actually good and, like I feel good about what I wrote, felt very like true to myself, and I was toying around with different names for what I would put my clothing under an end up falling on that for practical purposes. On one aspect, you know, it's it fits well onto on the stuff. It's a low amount of letters, so I can paint it very clearly, things like that. And it held all of that practicality while simultaneously being meaningful to myself. So I was like, I feel like I'm not gonna get a better chance than this at something that both represents me and isn't cumbersome to the rest of my art. So I want with that, and I really like it. Do you know the poem? But my heart? Yeah. No, no, it's quite long, you know. Line, huh? You know, line for us. Could you, uh, can I can look one up while we talk, but and then the other part was my creative process. Yes. Yeah. Depends on the peace. Wildly sometimes. Especially now, because I'm so busy like him working full time. I'm There's a lot of drug ling to do whenever you're working full time trying to run a business, maintaining all of your personal relationships, trying to maintain your health, trying to have fun, still somehow. So honestly, I mean that the time that I have to make things right now is so limited that I've definitely moved away from experimenting as much as I used to, uh, you know, for a while whenever I was like, hella broke working at Starbucks, not getting that many hours and would just have, like, two days straight of free time and not enough money to, like, go out and do stuff. So I was like, I'm gonna be at home anyways, let's paint for 14 hours straight. Yeah, on you know, then I would just ruin stuff just like take shirts. Try something completely. Fuck it up. Try it again. Fuck. You know,

spk_1:   28:36
just like trying new things

spk_0:   28:37
and iterating it. Where is now? I'm or so going to pieces with, like, a solid idea of what I want to do. You know, I use a lot of recurring patterns you do a lot of, especially with my synesthesia work. I do a lot of very tedious on dhe over laid and visually cacophonous pattern work. It's very easy for me to kind of thoughtlessly do it, you know, they sort of like there's always this sort of duality to art where occasionally your making are in the stage where you have to make the decisions, and then sometimes you're just doing the decisions. You know. So like it's like, OK, you know what? What pattern am I doing? And what color am I doing this layer in? Once you pick that, sometimes it's doing one brush stroke 500 times in a row. You know, if you're doing a scale design, you're just going. It's not like that requires a lot. You know, like you. You have to practice it and have it be informed by something. But at a certain point, it becomes almost automatic. So I've enjoyed doing a lot more like rigorous pieces in that regard. And also, I've been working on my collaboration with Benji a lot, too. And that's what a lot of those pieces are

spk_1:   29:51
because the the artists Yeah, I'm his name seems to come up in every episode I have. Yeah, it's because he's amazing. Hey, man, it's It's so nice

spk_0:   30:02
to just see everybody collectively realize and agree how good someone is from everyone's like Yet they're Yeah, they're shit. I'm working on a collaboration with him for his upcoming album. I'm doing a series of Jack. It's all based on my sin aesthetic experience with, um yeah, very

spk_1:   30:22
good. Could you talk about the word sin aesthetic. And yeah, I actually don't know the way. Yeah, So synesthesia

spk_0:   30:29
is a mental phenomenon that I have where your sensory inputs will overlap sometimes. So I have promised the usual, which is the most common subset of it, where occasionally my auditory inputs will become visual inputs, so I can see sounds sometimes

spk_1:   30:48
that's fucking sweets pretty tight. Yeah, maybe my sweet tooth. Yeah, eh, Yeah, it might be. It might be like partially caused by the fact that

spk_0:   30:57
I have psychotic depression. But like, jury's out on that there. There's like a lot of research around the connection between psychosis and synesthesia, moving, et cetera, et cetera. But you

spk_1:   31:09
know what that was like seeing sound pretty tight, huh? Yeah, I already heard it my whole life. Yeah. I mean, like, it's not like it happens constantly. Like it's not like right now. Like, Wait. Yeah, yeah, but I mean it. It can really enhance. I mean, I mean, like, I get it. You know, it's sort of like it's always

spk_0:   31:30
been there for me, so I'm not necessarily sure how much better. Worse

spk_1:   31:35
it is there, anything like that, But it's I love it. So do you know when you're doing like, when it's different, Like when you're seeing Oh, yeah, Yeah, I can tell. Yeah, like, shows

spk_0:   31:44
up in my field of vision. Um and I mean, it makes listening to music really fun. Sometimes

spk_1:   31:50
I probably feels like you're tripping. Sometimes you got, like, a little bit a little bit. Especially like

spk_0:   31:56
at live shows. Like whenever the music is, like, very encompassing you. And like the bases in your chest and you, especially whenever I'm in a space where I don't like from listening to music in the car, you got it like focus through it. Given candidate, I can only control how much it happens at least a bit, and then let myself focus in on that more and less unlike my actual surroundings. So it live shows. I love live shows for that. Because not only is it an opportunity to really sink into what I'm seeing from the music, but it can also be, you know, a more intense or or uh um, night distinct version of what I see. You know, like listening on my laptop or something because of how much more, uh, in your face the sound is apparently, you know it gets a little more in my face and how I see it

spk_1:   32:52
when you're making these jackets based Benji's new album, Are You Are You listening to his music with each jacket? I mean, not always like, especially for a

spk_0:   33:02
larger project like this. It's required a lot more planning.

spk_1:   33:06
So I mean, like, I have his

spk_0:   33:07
album really good, by the way.

spk_1:   33:10
It's not, you know, you know, which is

spk_0:   33:13
another reason I'm, like, really hyped about working? Yes, with how it's gonna be. It's gonna be a fun time whenever it comes up. I listened to his album a lot and, like, you know, like took notes and did, you know, like sketches and potential color palettes and stuff like that, because, you know, there's always sort of whenever I'm making art about it. There's a lot of different ways I can go about it. I can, either. Sometimes I'll just go like full vision like train represent the whole thing. And sometimes different patterns can work better for that. Sometimes it's just about the colors because I don't necessarily get patterns. It will just be sort of like a hazy color way so focused more on the colors that I'm using in the mixing between them and the patterns that I use their more. So just like a delivery method for that. Sometimes I take one part of a more in depth and spread out pattern, and I focus on one part of it and extrapolate that and test elated and things like that. So I listened to his album a lot in my preparation for it. I don't like always. Just listen to the one song on Repeat while invading the Drac it because it kind of becomes, you know, superfluous. At a certain point. You know, I have this sketch and I have the colors I'm doing and I have all this I I already like. You know what it's gonna look like?

spk_1:   34:31
It's going. I have to be listening to the

spk_0:   34:32
song to, like, pick the right orange whenever I like, already listened to it and like, mixed the orange that I wanted you have employed on a color palette. Then I could just reference that be, like, yes, they weren't yet. Okay, so you've enjoyed that project. It's so fun. It's so fun.

spk_1:   34:49
Is this your first project working with a musician. I've

spk_0:   34:53
worked with musicians before, and I've made a lot of synesthesia pieces, just like in my free time. Like I would just take that. That was actually how how this got started was I made a Hoody based on Mimosa, and Benji saw it on just like on Twitter, and he hit me up and asked if he could buy it, which I was like,

spk_1:   35:11
Oh, shit, like, you know, like like I didn't you know, like it's based off of his

spk_0:   35:17
art. So it's always this weird combination of like I did make this, but it's like a collaboration. Do not just like assault, you know, like I couldn't make it without the song being there. But it is all coming from me. So it's especially artist buying things that are based on their own music. I'm always like I'm gonna give you a

spk_1:   35:35
big discount because you're kind of the reason why this exists. But I'm sure they appreciate that. Yeah, I

spk_0:   35:42
imagine it's cool to have art made about your well, but it was It was very cool, especially because, like, I wasn't all that established yet. I've had like, you know, to store releases and stuff like that didn't even have a website or anything. So it was cool to just get reached out to buy this artist that I already was, you know, a big fan of essentially and offering to give me money for my heart that I made about their It's a cool dynamic. Yeah, yeah, just a lot of a lot of mutual respect and it's really tight, but it is. It is my first, like, full album project, working with synesthesia. I've made ones about, like, specific songs for artists before and stuff.

spk_1:   36:20
So how many pieces then? Are you working? I can't I can't say that. Yeah, Several. Okay, enough enough to keep me really busy. Yeah, yeah,

spk_0:   36:32
it is a lot of fun and, like, it's something that I've wanted to do for a while. Like since I started painting and painting clothes. And, you know, I've had synesthesia forever. So it's all I've always just wanted to make something based on an album because it's really interesting to see cause a lot of the way. A lot of the colors I see it could be affected by people's voices, so they will usually be, you know, like like thematic consistency throughout an album through the colors of it. Also, because musicians are often using, you know, like similar sound throughout an album, and they want, you know, like like they have some consistency there. So it comes through in the colors that I see. So I've always wanted to, like, represent that and have, like, a full visual exploration of an album, a

spk_1:   37:21
whole album. Thio be cool. Yeah, it's like it's like an album of

spk_0:   37:24
Close Alongside an album of music. Yeah, and yet, I mean, I'm making some of the the best pieces I ever have. It's challenging me a lot in terms like the construction, the time management, this scope the, you know, like planning of everything that will be surrounding the release of it. It's, ah, the biggest project I've gotten to be a part of and the most satisfying artistically. Yeah, I'm really excited to see how that turns out. Yeah, I'm very excited to get the chance to show the world. It's also like the longest form project. For a while. I was just doing whenever I got a custom order, I'd make it and I get out in, like, two or three weeks or something. This was like, you know, we started working months ago and it's not gonna come to fruition for months. Still, so there's, like, so much buildup and planning, and also that gives us the time to hone what we're making and make it really special. Yeah, and like the album, it's so good. Like just the idea that my art will be presented alongside something that is so good is the album. And then there's Ah, Videographer is, well, Dean Bog. That's like making a film about all of it to process. And he is amazing. He did the family ties video Avenger released. He shot that, and

spk_1:   38:51
he's like, That was awesome. Yeah, that was That was so cool. He's

spk_0:   38:54
fantastic, So like like it's incredibly satisfying artistically and like, nerve racking to sort of be alongside these two amazing artists, like All right, my shit,

spk_1:   39:09
like it can't be like two great things. And then, like a bunch of terrible clothes, like it's got a hold out. Yeah, it's all gotta match together. Yeah, so

spk_0:   39:18
it's It's been the most enjoyable challenge have undertaken.

spk_1:   39:22
That's that's really cool. I'm one excited to see what they work like into happy for you. They get in the work with two really talented people making three talented people working. Yeah, yeah, of course. What's your favorite record of all time? Yeah, it's

spk_0:   39:39
a tie between more adventurous by Rilo Kiley and Lifestyles of the point. Dangerous by Big O is it? It's the best.

spk_1:   39:51
So let's say you were gonna hang up a poster in your room. What would that poster be? I may not have some

spk_0:   39:57
poster in my room.

spk_1:   39:59
No, but like like that you have a clean slate. Ugo poster is like your food first poster in your room. I don't know. I'm honestly like I you

spk_0:   40:10
know? So, like, talk shit a little, their bodies laying. I have a poster, but I'm

spk_1:   40:13
not much of a poster person. Uh, any of my thing is anything can go on a post it. Yeah, that's true. That that's how I look at it. Probably like lake Live laugh, love. No kidding. My mom would put that. Yeah, Ee. Uh, no. I mean, uh I mean, probably just like

spk_0:   40:35
a like a tight print of someone from around the city. Okay, Maybe like a kung fu Joe? Yeah. Like like a chew shoeprint. Maybe. Ah, gems. Or, I mean, my my favorite poster I have up is one of the cleric. Hence, from whenever she was releasing Aura, I got Thio going to goto her like, pre album listening party, just like on a whim. I think Britney Shawntel invited me to it, and I had never heard of Clara before, but I was just like, you know, Britney makes great music, so I trust that your taste is good. And I went It was like it was I mean or was one of my favorite albums that last year and I got Thio. I got, like, a like a signed poster at that event, and it's definitely one of my favorite. Her

spk_1:   41:23
song, loner type always gets me in my fields. Yeah, man, that shit so hard, I I love

spk_0:   41:29
ah, outside and humanity. I could see all my favorites. Okay? Yeah, that that album is so good. It's just like, man, I don't know. It simultaneously makes you, like, contemplate things about your soul that hurt and

spk_1:   41:43
then heels you as it's doing. Yeah, she she's got a amazing talent. Honestly, Yeah. Yeah. And not only is it it's just just her being who she is, like like her aura, Yes. Yeah, literally. Like the performance style and ability like That's one of my favorite

spk_0:   42:04
things about being into local musicians and shit isn't just like in the stream, everything and all that, but getting the like Goethe performances and see how people like progress and change their live performance and developed and make it better and better and better and better is, like, so rewarding, like go to a show and be like that was hard and then, like, go to a show two months later and be like, Oh, they changed the way they do this song like they added a transition here Or like they, you know, like added one were instrument to their backing band and stuff like that, like it's so cool. You really

spk_1:   42:41
like seeing the transformative process. Yeah, and then also seeing them, like buildup fans throughout that time to, you

spk_0:   42:48
know, going from like, uh, one of my one of my favorite, uh, processes that I've gotten to see is with my favorite color. I like got I got really into him really fast. One of her go came out and I went to his first show we ever had at Pitt, which was really impressive. Like like literally like first show he ever played. First show that 1 800 was playing and they came with a live band. They did like almost the entire album that came like I know plenty of people that don't have live bands for hardly any shows to come to like your 1st 1 ever decked out impressive and then to go from there were like he had just released his album. So not that many people have heard of it yet to now, seeing him just like rock shows killing people like shouting lyrics. And there's dozens of people they're there, they're there to see him.

spk_1:   43:42
It's like it's very Didn't he just release a new album? He released two new songs. Songs? Yeah,

spk_0:   43:50
um, he does, Yeah, yeah, two new songs and yeah, it's It's so silver warding about. See, people become even better at representing and expressing their art, and then also see them begin to get some of the recognition that they deserved for it. Yeah, I don't know it's Yeah. It's very rewarding to be a fan of people here.

spk_1:   44:16
Yeah, I think the city of Pittsburgh, uh, is really growing. And the creatives here have really seen the reason for collaboration. Yeah, people are catching on people. Prime example of you and Benji collaborating. Yeah, yeah. If you're to pick 11 color in the paint, Lynn, Uh, you only have to use this color and every piece that you make for the rest of your life, but you can use other colors, but this one, it has to be there way. That's a cop out and say I would say maybe,

spk_0:   44:58
Oh, like not quite navy blue, but like deeper blue like like not not like a like a couple Hughes darker than Royal Blue. Okay, Yeah, that's definitely my favorite. And I could paint skies more easily. Still

spk_1:   45:14
means guys Yeah. Yeah, And you do skies really well to make it. And if you guys who are listening having seen his work sweet tooth customization dot down their work there were ways. Call me out. Yeah, always. I almost I almost had it. Thio, you're good, you're good. That's why that's why we call out, People get better. Yeah. So, ideal day to be eating outside to be eating outside? Yeah. I mean, okay. 60

spk_0:   45:53
four degrees. Not Yes. 64 degrees. Partly cloudy. First

spk_1:   46:00
true. Pittsburgh. Yeah, that's the best I can ask from Florida. I'm looking for a 90 degree Oh, sons hitting me? No, baby, no. I'm also, like, totally German. Very pale. I can't. I'm glad that Pittsburgh is as overcast as it is sometimes because I burn easily Fun. Fact about pits? Very. We only got about 1 90 sunny days a year. Yep. Yeah, I like it. I like overcast. Which might just be like weather. Stockholm syndrome, where it's like, No, I love it. I love it. I totally love

spk_0:   46:33
it. That would be it. Eaten like lost promise and, uh, in Oakland. Got street tacos,

spk_1:   46:40
lots palms. Yeah. Check those you know is really good. And

spk_0:   46:44
I'm like, Oh, man, they're Cherries. Oh, the best in the city. 100%. I'll give it

spk_1:   46:50
a shot. Eyes there anything you want to tell our listeners about? Anything that's coming up in your life or Yeah. You're like, Wait, Is this like my plug spot? I wasn't adding the life in there was like, Wait, is this supposed to be You can also, if you could also talk about your life to you plug whatever you want. All

spk_0:   47:09
right, plugs. So I'm I'm gonna be live painting from live painting on Wednesday at wiggle whiskey. Uh, June June. What? June, what day is it? Right now? June 3rd, our beach 5th June fifth and live painting at wiggle whiskey at the barrel house on the north side with wicked Pittsburgh come through by some art. I am going to be having a solo show at boom Concepts for their September un blurred Siri's. That is gonna be September 9th. I want to say it will be the first Friday in September, part of the whole Garfield art crawl. I course have that project with Benjy coming out that's gonna be coming out when the album does. I can't say when that comes out yet, but keep an eye out for that. I'm going to be at Thrive all fest through Wicked Pittsburgh as well. I am going to be, you know, some clothes, online and stuff. Check. Check out my socials at Stew Dash Rick on Twitter at stew Underscore Frick on instagram Hit me up If you want anything customized, all that dress donate to boom concepts They're the shit Go give them money because they deserve all of it. RMP Malaysia Booker I think that that is all I have going on.

spk_1:   48:31
All right? Big Thank you to stew Frick for coming out today. Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. I enjoyed speaking. Look to see what you do that I appreciate it. Always looking forward to it. Boom. Sweet tooth sweet too sweet. Tooth customization dot com is where you can find all of stew freaks. I enjoyed speaking with Stew Frick, and I hope you all enjoyed listening. If you did, please subscribe. Radius five stars are Episodes can only get better from here. And a big thank you to Mike Campus, our production manager, Joeckel on beats and Brian's studio for our production venue. And remember, stay wrong with reality