Art, skateboarding and music have always coincided. It almost seems criminal to lack a soundtrack for everything you do, whether it's skating, painting or simply driving in your car. Artist Don Pendleton embodies the trifecta. The West Virginia native started skating as a teenager, but also had an undeniable penchant for art. At this time, music was a good friend, always close to everything he did. Artists like The Smiths, Boogie Down Productions, The Cure, Eric B. & Rakim and Public Enemy shaped his musical tastes (and in fact, still do). In college, he majored in graphic design and took a position with skateboard company Alien Workshop in 1998. Since then, he's developed his own signature style and branched out into other areas, including fine art and album artwork. His work on Pearl Jam's tenth studio album, Lightning Bolt, earned Pendleton a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package. He has also produced signature collaborative products with companies such as Oakley, Stance Socks, The Hundreds, Mountain Dew, Logitech and has worked with the most popular companies in skateboarding and action sports. Needless to say, Pendleton's resume is sharp. The busy man had some time to talk to RAPstation about the first time he heard hip-hop, Morrissey and why his Grammy is sitting in his closet. Visit http://www.elephont.com/ to check out his work.
RAPstation (Kyle Eustice): When was the first time you heard hip-hop?
Don Pendleton: The earliest I can remember is around 6th grade when "Rapper's Delight" was out. I had a friend who had an LP and we would listen to it at his house all the time. I grew up in a really small town so you're mostly exposed to what's on the radio, but I had friends who had moved there from other areas and they would bring other types of music in. That's how I would get introduced to it. As I grew up, I started skating when I was 14, that kind of brought me into rap a little bit more. I was introduced to stuff like BDP, Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy and eventually N.W.A. and all that stuff.
I learned a lot about hip-hop through working at a skate shop in Omaha. I discovered Del and Souls of Mischief, The Pharcyde, stuff like that. But I got my first Beastie Boys and Run-DMC albums in 1986.
For me, especially in a small town, I think the Aerosmith/Run-DMC was a huge thing because it put that stuff into popular culture, which wasn't on MTV and I remember having a Biz Markie tape early on. For me, when I was being introduced to it, one group would lead to another.
Remember those singles you could get in paper covers?
Oh yeah.
I remember getting Biz Markie and Tone-Loc's "Funky Cold Medina."
That's true. I guess there was a commercial side to some rap like Young MC. There was some that was on MTV, but for the most part, I feel like the core rap stuff was harder to find in a small town.
You're from West Virginia, right? What town?
It's a town called Ravenswood, about two miles from Ripley.
That must have been hard to find new music, especially without the internet. How did you go about that aside from friends?
I think after I got into skateboarding, there was this network. We had to travel to different spots and parks so we met people from other towns. They'd be like, 'Listen to this.' I remember something even like 2 Live Crew before they were even known. I remember listening to that. Some of it was just because it was so funny. But BDP was really good. People hadn't heard of that at the time.
You could definitely not take 2 Live Crew seriously.
At the time, you're like 15 and the lyrics are just so hilarious that you just can't help but listen.
I was a young girl though listening to it like, 'I cannot believe this.' It was just a tad misogynistic [laughs].
Some of it was just so offensive, it was hilarious. When I turned 18 and went to college, I had a friend named John Drake, who eventually was a pro-skateboarder, he was a huge rap fan so EPMD and all this stuff I wouldn't have heard if he hadn't played it in his car. Then we would use them for skate videos and stuff, too.
That's another good way to find out about music. Skateboard videos always had the best soundtracks.
There are so many good rap duos and bands. I don't know. Do you consider rap people bands? I don't know.
I've heard Public Enemy be called a band before so I guess that's ok.
Yeah, I'm not sure. I probably wouldn't refer to them as a band, it's more like a group of people doing one common thing.
Well, your career has won you a Grammy for Pearl Jam's album art. What was that moment like?
It was weird because I loved working on the project. It was so much and I had a great time. To have someone recognize it in that way, it was kind of, I guess, fulfilling. But I didn't pay much attention to it, to be honest, because I didn't think we would win. I didn't go to the ceremony or anything. I was sitting here working and people started texting me when they announced it. That's how I found out.
What did you do with your Grammy? Where is it?
Um [laughs] it's in my closet right now actually.
Oh no!
The first thing I did was I took it to show my mom. I feel like that's the kind of thing it's good for. She was really proud. I was glad to be involved and I was proud of the project. I talked to somebody today about it because I was doing a podcast. It's just a different world than what I'm used to.
I went to the Maha Festival to see Modest Mouse in Omaha last Saturday and my uncle had died the day before so it was good timing. Do you find music to be cathartic, too?
Oh sometimes I felt like music was all I had. My favorite bands have been The Smiths, The Cure and my favorite artist is probably Elliot Smith; these more intimately written songs you can relate to.
That's awesome. I saw a video with you and you were wearing a Joy Division shirt. I thought, 'Oh we can be friends [laughs].' Also, anyone that's a fan of Morrissey is cool with me. I finally just got to interview him.
I read that.
Oh wow, thank you!
It's so awesome. People are so torn about him. You either understand him or you don't. People find anything like that offensive. If they can't halfway relate to something, they write it off. He's the ultimate person that exemplifies that.
Don Pendleton: The RAPstation Interview
Art, skateboarding and music have always coincided. It almost seems criminal to lack a soundtrack for everything you do, whether it's skating, painting or simply driving in your car. Artist Don Pendleton embodies the trifecta. The West Virginia native started skating as a teenager, but also had an undeniable penchant for art. At this time, music was a good friend, always close to everything he did. Artists like The Smiths, Boogie Down Productions, The Cure, Eric B. & Rakim and Public Enemy shaped his musical tastes (and in fact, still do). In college, he majored in graphic design and took a position with skateboard company Alien Workshop in 1998. Since then, he's developed his own signature style and branched out into other areas, including fine art and album artwork. His work on Pearl Jam's tenth studio album, Lightning Bolt, earned Pendleton a Grammy Award for Best Recording Package. He has also produced signature collaborative products with companies such as Oakley, Stance Socks, The Hundreds, Mountain Dew, Logitech and has worked with the most popular companies in skateboarding and action sports. Needless to say, Pendleton's resume is sharp. The busy man had some time to talk to RAPstation about the first time he heard hip-hop, Morrissey and why his Grammy is sitting in his closet. Visit http://www.elephont.com/ to check out his work.
RAPstation (Kyle Eustice): When was the first time you heard hip-hop?
Don Pendleton: The earliest I can remember is around 6th grade when "Rapper's Delight" was out. I had a friend who had an LP and we would listen to it at his house all the time. I grew up in a really small town so you're mostly exposed to what's on the radio, but I had friends who had moved there from other areas and they would bring other types of music in. That's how I would get introduced to it. As I grew up, I started skating when I was 14, that kind of brought me into rap a little bit more. I was introduced to stuff like BDP, Eric B. & Rakim, Public Enemy and eventually N.W.A. and all that stuff.
I learned a lot about hip-hop through working at a skate shop in Omaha. I discovered Del and Souls of Mischief, The Pharcyde, stuff like that. But I got my first Beastie Boys and Run-DMC albums in 1986.
For me, especially in a small town, I think the Aerosmith/Run-DMC was a huge thing because it put that stuff into popular culture, which wasn't on MTV and I remember having a Biz Markie tape early on. For me, when I was being introduced to it, one group would lead to another.
Remember those singles you could get in paper covers?
Oh yeah.
I remember getting Biz Markie and Tone-Loc's "Funky Cold Medina."
That's true. I guess there was a commercial side to some rap like Young MC. There was some that was on MTV, but for the most part, I feel like the core rap stuff was harder to find in a small town.
You're from West Virginia, right? What town?
It's a town called Ravenswood, about two miles from Ripley.
That must have been hard to find new music, especially without the internet. How did you go about that aside from friends?
I think after I got into skateboarding, there was this network. We had to travel to different spots and parks so we met people from other towns. They'd be like, 'Listen to this.' I remember something even like 2 Live Crew before they were even known. I remember listening to that. Some of it was just because it was so funny. But BDP was really good. People hadn't heard of that at the time.
You could definitely not take 2 Live Crew seriously.
At the time, you're like 15 and the lyrics are just so hilarious that you just can't help but listen.
I was a young girl though listening to it like, 'I cannot believe this.' It was just a tad misogynistic [laughs].
Some of it was just so offensive, it was hilarious. When I turned 18 and went to college, I had a friend named John Drake, who eventually was a pro-skateboarder, he was a huge rap fan so EPMD and all this stuff I wouldn't have heard if he hadn't played it in his car. Then we would use them for skate videos and stuff, too.
That's another good way to find out about music. Skateboard videos always had the best soundtracks.
There are so many good rap duos and bands. I don't know. Do you consider rap people bands? I don't know.
I've heard Public Enemy be called a band before so I guess that's ok.
Yeah, I'm not sure. I probably wouldn't refer to them as a band, it's more like a group of people doing one common thing.
Well, your career has won you a Grammy for Pearl Jam's album art. What was that moment like?
It was weird because I loved working on the project. It was so much and I had a great time. To have someone recognize it in that way, it was kind of, I guess, fulfilling. But I didn't pay much attention to it, to be honest, because I didn't think we would win. I didn't go to the ceremony or anything. I was sitting here working and people started texting me when they announced it. That's how I found out.
What did you do with your Grammy? Where is it?
Um [laughs] it's in my closet right now actually.
Oh no!
The first thing I did was I took it to show my mom. I feel like that's the kind of thing it's good for. She was really proud. I was glad to be involved and I was proud of the project. I talked to somebody today about it because I was doing a podcast. It's just a different world than what I'm used to.
I went to the Maha Festival to see Modest Mouse in Omaha last Saturday and my uncle had died the day before so it was good timing. Do you find music to be cathartic, too?
Oh sometimes I felt like music was all I had. My favorite bands have been The Smiths, The Cure and my favorite artist is probably Elliot Smith; these more intimately written songs you can relate to.
That's awesome. I saw a video with you and you were wearing a Joy Division shirt. I thought, 'Oh we can be friends [laughs].' Also, anyone that's a fan of Morrissey is cool with me. I finally just got to interview him.
I read that.
Oh wow, thank you!
It's so awesome. People are so torn about him. You either understand him or you don't. People find anything like that offensive. If they can't halfway relate to something, they write it off. He's the ultimate person that exemplifies that.
