Dennis McNett

Unlike most of us with drug-addled pasts, Dennis McNett can actually revisit his fears and make art out of his nightmares.


Chief Magazine: So how the hell are you?

Dennis McNett: I’m OK... just got some coffee in me.

That ain’t a bad place to be. So to get this started, where you from originally and what kind of shit were you into then?

I grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I mostly into skating and surfing but never really great at either. Punk music. I skated almost everyday from like 13-18. Then I got into a bunch of shit I probably shouldn't have.

What kind of shit?

Well, like most teens I got into smoking weed and drinking and stuff, but by the time I was 18 I was into heavier narcotics... in the end I had been shot at more than once and had hand guns to my face several times... robbing dealers... ended up homeless... everyone I was running around with ended up dead or in jail for a long time.

Fuck. When did you get out of/away from that?
 
I haven't drank or touched a drug in eight years. Yeah, October 10th this year was eight years clean.

Wow, man. Congratulations. That’s great to live free of that shit.

Thanks.

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You’re a goddamn role model. (Pause) Wow. That’s actually, totally true.

You’re in trouble if I’m a role model and I don't know about being adult... still feel like a fucking kid half the time.

Well... young adult? How old are you?

34, old as dirt.

(Laughs) 34 ain’t dirt yet, brother.

The ladies keep me young.

Best answer around. And as far as you being a role model I meant it's just good to see someone be in their early thirties, creative, making good, interesting and upsetting shit who isn’t a complete fucking junkie. That’s a goddamn role model.
 
Well thanks... I appreciate it.

So how'd you get into what you do?

You mean making stuff?

Yep.

I’ve always made stuff. Since I was a little fucker. My great grandfather used to really encourage the hell outta me. I would draw stuff and show it to him. He would look at the drawings and flood me with compliments... I was like 4 or 5 years old.... then he would tell me to draw more. Oh and he was blind. Like couldn’t see a damn thing. I got all my encouragement from a blind man.

That’s amazing.

I still love making things. I think it keeps me from hurting myself or someone else.

Did you have any understanding that he was blind at the time?

Everyone told me he was blind but he would look in the direction of the drawing and act like he saw it... so I thought he could ... I thought maybe he could see the drawings but not much else or something.

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That’s really cool. Like “good stuff of legend” cool.  So give the people reading this a good breakdown of what you do, covering everything. All the shit you like working on.
 
I think the things that have been really fun the last couple years would be the series for antihero skateboards. I mean fuck I wanted to do that stuff since I was thirteen. I did a show in Brooklyn at KCDC skate shop. The owner bought a print from me and gave it to her friend in San Francisco. He was friends with the folks that own antihero and so I got an email from them a few days later. The email asked if I would do series of boards for their skate team and if one of the boards could be an evil skull. I freaked. I wrote back saying, "Fuck yes, I will do series of boards. I have been waiting 20 years for you people to contact me and 30 for someone to ask me to draw them an evil skull."

That’s fucking hilarious. Also, that was a kick ass show if it’s the one I'm thinking about.

I have collaborated with cannonball press, which has been a huge fucking inspiration. Those guys are amazing. Mike Houston and Martin Mazorra. Probably two of the most talented people I have met. I share a studio with them and their work ethic has me running like mad. They published some prints with me and we collaborated on this 11x17 foot woodcut banner.

I am currently doing some designs for vans shoes... for their skate team... I wanted vans so fucking bad when I was 13 to 18 and skating everyday but had to skate in converse 'cause that’s what I could afford... and when the bottoms and toes blew out I would just duck tape that shit and keep riding... now vans is sending me free shoes and having me design shit... fucking weird.

Is there a name for the kicks you’re making with vans?

I am doing four shoes for vans and each one will be the signature shoe for their skate team riders.

I make stuff almost everyday... even if it is sketching. I've recently curated some shows and that was fun but not something I want to do on a regular basis... meeting folks like the cannonball press fellas, Swoon, Bill Fick, Richard Mock and Kathy Carraccio are the reason I moved here.
 
I can’t agree more about that shit. That’s one of the parts that makes all the other bullshit worthwhile. It’s the whole community thing. If you give a shit and are making interesting stuff, it’s a small goddamn city.

It is. They are some of the best people on the damn planet. I would do just about anything for those folks.

Is there anything big that you have planned or dreamed up that you cant do yet but that's on the horizon? Or are you more of a "take shit as it comes" artist?

Man… I get to wake up, teach some kids how to use a medium that I love, make the art that I want with people around who support and inspire what I’m doing, have got to work with some god damn heroes of mine, I get to show regularly... I got it fucking made... I didn't think I would still be alive as I mentioned earlier, so anything on the horizon is going to be good. I just do the best I can every day and hope that more doors open up.... you know.

Who else, besides the people you've already spoken of, are you really into right now?

I mentioned Swoon, but she is getting the attention she deserves. Her stuff blows me away. Really heart-filled work. Cannonball press is rocking the fuck out of it--Mmike Houston and Martin Mazorra... Richard Mock passed away this summer and really should have gotten a lot more attention. He did politically charged work his entire life and didn't care who the fuck it ruffled. He did work for The New York Times for about 18 years. Bill Fick, The Amazing Hancock Brothers, Tom Huck, Maya Hayuk, Sean Starwars... He works his ass off, always has an encouraging word, and makes really kickass woodcuts. Bill McRight... fuck, I don't know...

That’s plenty, you did fine for getting put on the spot. Just apologize real quick to whoever you left out and I'll move on... (Laughs)

(Laughs.)

But yeah, God love Swoon. That girl's a sweetheart.

She’s amazing.

Oh, I know. It’s hard not to know. And she’s just getting better.

Just to switch it up, is there any shit in the city or on earth that’s been pissing you off lately? Anything you want to just call out as fucked?

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Something that bothers me on a deep level is that there a re 18-20 year olds dying everyday over in Iraq and some menial bullshit will make the front page.

Some petty shit that bothers me would be hipsters.... I mean when did it become cool to be a feminine dude? When did gay become the new black? And I'm not talking "gay" sexual preference.... God bless the homosexual community.... I’m talking about fucking gay.

Yeah I don’t know about that feminine guy shit, I usually end up doing really well in comparison though.

As a final question, tell me a quick story about a time that you thought you were going to be killed or a time that you pulled of some shit you'd love at least one more person to know about.

Okay here are two stories... You pick one...

When I was using really bad I would rob drug dealers with these two other guys. My running buddy Marcus knew this guy that was like 6'6" and 240 lbs. we would pick him up, Marcus would ring the bell of the dealers house, the dealer would open the door and the huge dude would punch the dealer out cold.... the two of them would run in and grab the drugs and money and I would drive off... sometimes with bullets being shot in our direction... Well one of the dealers recognized me one night really late in a sketch neighborhood and put a gun to my head and said he should blow my brains out.... I was so fucked up I looked him in the eyes and told him to do it.... that he would be doing me a favor...

The second story is a little funnier...

I was dating this girl from Ireland. It was her last night in town and she wanted to go out drinking, so we hit every bar down the Virginia Beach resort strip. By the end of the night I was blacking in and out. We ended our run in her courtyard between the two main drags. In the courtyard was this huge fucking stuffed gorilla. Bigger than me. I got it in my head to set it on fire.

There was a struggle between me and the other Irish folks and in the end I got the damn thing lit and burning pretty good. Then I threw it over this 8-foot privacy fence into an alley. Unfortunately there was a poor waitress getting off of work from the coyote cafe. So as she is driving down the alley, she sees a flaming gorilla coming at her car, freaks out and crashes into a building. Next thing I know, I was arrested for throwing a missile object at a moving vehicle.
 
(Laughing) Jesus, a flaming gorilla missile!

Yeah, retarded.

Website

www.howlingprint.com

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