Contrast: Congratulations on your book deal with Chronicle Books. We noticed a bit of Hawai‘i content in it. How did you end up painting an ice cream truck on the side of the road on Oahu’s North Shore?
David Choe: [Laughs] Someone just asked me to do it, so I said okay. Plus I got to paint it with EWOK and REVOK, two of my favorite artists. And I love ice cream. Painting for ice cream, perfect trade. Perfect day.

At the back of the book there’s a page of handwritten thank yous that mention a few of Hawai‘i’s finest. Some of which are Tino and Francis of Chinatown’s Nextdoor, Phil Pendleton of Bamp and BJ Penn. What are you most thankful for from the people you’ve befriended in Hawai‘i?
On my first attempt back into Japan, one year after getting out of prison there, I got deported from the airport, to the first flight leading back to the US which happened to be to Hawai‘i. It was the first time I was anywhere in a long time without having to work. I almost got my ass beat by some locals for hitting on their women on the beach and somehow ran into Crazy Ted in the middle of a storm in China Town. He introduced me to all the local artists and musicians. I even ended up playing drums for him that night. We did a killer version of “A Light That Never Goes Out” that I wish we recorded. But everyone was so cool and inviting. I felt so welcome. Tino took me swimming, cliff diving and let me crash at his place, and I had just met the guy. Phil is just the best. He hooks the food, clothes, surf and transportation up every time. BJ is always the joker. His friend Bad Manners is one of the funniest people I ever met. Crazy Ted is one of the most talented and disturbed person I ever met. And Nicole Naone is the sweetest person ever. She always drives me around everywhere and shows me all the cool spots. I didn’t even know there was a museum in Hawai‘i until she showed me. I can go on and on, but basically I have nothing but love for Hawai‘i, it’s the place I’ve felt most at home in all my travels.

Speaking of Nicole Naone, she makes an appearance in the book next to an awesome painting. Was she the inspiration behind it?
Yes! She’s so beautiful it’s inspiring. Nicole is fucking hot but she also has the ferociousness of a Korean jindo! And all this shows through in her look and personality. I love painting and drawing her whenever I see her. She looks like a living work of art. I feel like I was painting her before I ever met her. Also, she makes the best furniture!

I hear that you’re obsessed with oxtail soup from Zippy’s, and Boots and Kimos pancakes. Your book also features illustrations of loco mocos and spam musubis. Do you have any other local favorites?
There’s a bar, I wish I could remember the name, next to a strip club and they have this mushroom steak, which I still remember to this day. And Nicole, even though she’s so skinny, she loves to eat, and she knows I’m a fat porker, so she takes me to every dope spot on the island. Liliha Bakery has the best choco cream puffs. Mitsu-Ken has the best breakfast and garlic chicken. The Original Pancake House is off the chain with its lilikoi butter. I just like that there’s kimchee on the menu at most places. Sucking poi out of a Ziplock bag on a hammock is always nice. I’ve yet to go to a real luau, but the entire Choe family is coming to Honolulu for Christmas this year, so maybe this year!

Have you ever tried surfing while here in the islands?
Phil tries to take me out all the time to what he calls a “chill spot” and all I do is hug the board and cry the whole time. One time, 30 of us went out. Mickey Avalon, REVOK, Mark the Cobra Snake, Shwayze, and the entire RVCA surf team, and that was awesome because we had real surfers protecting us from all the other locals calling us fags. The first time I ever went surfing in Waikiki, I was having a real tough time getting up, and this fat Hawaiian fireman on a boogey board cruised over and kept giving me pushes. That was fun and real nice, until he tried to finger my butthole and asked if he could snort meth off my cock.


デイビッド•チョー
デイビッド•チョーはロサンゼルス出身のマルチメディアアーティストで、彼らの世代の中で最も人気のアーティストの1人だ。彼は、グラフィックノベルやグラフィティ、さらに水彩画、油絵、アルリル画、造形、写真、手書き等の多種多様なアート作品から影響を受けている。彼の作品や彼の人格は素晴らしく、純粋だ。彼はハワイが好きで、殆どのレストランでキムチがメニューにあるのが嬉しいと言う。