THIRST gets quenched: Jared Hernandez arrested in St. Pete for vandalism.

Soon after Jared Hernandez, the artist formerly known as THIRST stopped by the podcast a slew of mural defacements started happening around town.  I got a few messages asking if I thought it was Jared who was doing them.  I dunno, I still don’t…but if I had to place a bet I’d say, “yup”. 

No arrests were made in the defacement's in spite of a lot of local media coverage and comments from numerous residents naming Jared as the perpetrator on the Facebook posts.  Things seemed to cool down after Derek Donnelly’s building and van we’re vandalized.  Things seemed to get back to normal.  Murals were getting repaired and new ones were on the way to competition.  It appeared to be over.  Then I saw a cryptic Instagram story on Jared’s account which is now lost in the ether but hinted at an arrest.  A photo of a painting of Rasta that lived outside the 1 of 1 Customs shop with a freshly painted mustache and glasses was posted on Jared’s Instagram page with the caption:

“Biggest imposter award goes to Gary Taylor I Faithfully dedicated my time and efforts in helping this man make his own business prosperous. But you can& #39;t expect someone to remain faithful to you if you consistently undercut them on jobs maliciously. But when I express myself in an artistic way, people can& #39;t even take it with a smile and keep it moving. There& #39;s only grown babies who can& #39;t handle Street ethics. Which results in two Undercovers, seven officers, and a SWAT officer with a shepherd. The most expensive doodle I know 2,000”

Jared was caught in the act early morning on Feb. 22nd by a local resident who followed him after allegedly spray painting the ‘stache and glasses the Rasta sign.  Police arrested Jared soon after and since he had a previous conviction for Criminal Mischief back in 2015 the new charge was been upgraded to a felony.  According to Bay News 9, Jared is now under investigation for the mural defacement's.

Photo from Creative Pinellas

So, did Jared do it?  I dunno, but if I had to place a bet, I’d say, “yup”.  I guess we’ll all find out soon enough.  I reached out to both Jared and Rasta but haven’t yet received a response from either.  If they do, I’ll be sure to update this post.  Check out the podcast with Jared here:

#HMB 219: St. Pete Art War! Language Police! Emergency Poop Stories!

This got out of hand.  Quickly.  After the THIRST podcast I got a call from another local artist here in St. Pete who wanted to counter some of the qualms that were voiced on the show.  Absolutely, I want to hear what everyone has to say.  Derek Donnelly stopped by earlier this week and we had a chat about the art scene, his counter to THIRST.  He gave THIRST a lot of props for being one of the originators of the scene and it was pretty civil for the most part.  It sounded like the axe was on it's way to being buried and it was time to move on from this whole beef.  Then the mural defacement's started happening.  Most of them being THIRST's own work, some not.

I don't know.  The vandal remains at large.  Over $10,000 dollars in damage and now the St. Pete Policy are asking for help in finding the perpetrator.  So. Yea. I don't know.  Everyone involved is staying pretty quiet.  Derek said I could release the episode after he sent me pictures of his defaced van:

These are all allegations.  No one knows exactly who is doing this, although people think they have a pretty good idea.  All I know is that it's just a flat out shame.  Look for a future podcast with Derek soon on HMBradio.com.

Anyhoo, my buddy, comic and writer Zac Townsend came by to talk about some of this craziness going on, the language police are angry with comic Tom Segura over some language in his last Netflix special so we dive into that and finish up with some good Ol' Fashioned Poop Stories. Check out the podcast: 

The #HMB airs Sunday's on Radio St. Pete @ 6:15PM & Monday's at 10:15PM or on demand via Stitcher (http://bit.ly/2wuLR7a) or iTunes (https://goo.gl/xKN5OY) Leave a voice or text message for the show @: (813) 693-2124 or hit me up on our Facebook page or on twitter.  Don't forget to tune into Stay Woke with Anna Hummel & myself weeknights after the Johnny B Show at midnight on 102.5 The Bone.

#HMB 217: Art is Dead & Government Unintentionally Helped to Kill It with THIRST

I like St. Petersburg.  It may sometimes sound like I don't but I do.  I have reverence and respect for it.  A few of the people that live in it I wish would sometimes disappear in a rapture but instead of heaven, they would just reappear in Portland, Oregon or something.  I think they would be a lot happier there and so would I.  I can't take the cold and they already have those stupid, big wool hats they wear even in the summer on their heads like a yarmulke.  Anyway...

I watched St. Pete turn into a hub for the arts over the past decade.  I don't really know exactly why it happened and most of the people I've talked to aren't entirely sure either but I think it had a lot to do with the expansion of the USF St. Pete campus and making it a more appealing option to kids.  People like being near the water.  There were some taller building in town.  It has a bigger city feel while remaining relatively small.  It has a lot of the best of both worlds.  It was easier to organize because of that.  Creatives linked up and started doing things.  Murals, music, whatever.  The ball started rolling and didn't stop.  It had the right mix of performers and venues and "do-ers", who organized it all.  Sometimes things just come together in a strike of luck and chance.

With the expansion of the arts, new business' opened, mostly bars and restaurants.  They can be an art form in their own right.  The city saw in influx of visitors spending money at these new and hip places and went from meticulously painting over graffiti to allowing it to live in the alleyways of the city done by vandals looking to make their mark.  More people started coming to look at those illegal murals and spending more money in town.  The city, in a smart move fully embarrassed the organic movement and even started giving grants to artists.  They chose a few to lead the arts movement.  Some say that's where the problem started...

Government, however well meaning, has an innate ability to bungle anything it touches.  With the grants, it created a hierarchy within the art scene.  It made those artists more important and influential.  Peers became competition for the grant money and animosity bloomed between some artists.  It's a shame.- I have mixed emotions about it.  I like that creatives are getting paid for their work but in-turn it has made some artists change their styles based on what is getting attention via grant money.  THIRST saw it and called it to attention.  He released a series of drawings on his Instagram mocking the work of many of the more prominent artists in the St. Pete Art Scene.  Some laughed it off and others threatened violence in retaliation.  I thought, at first, it may be a well played marketing move to highlight the scene in a different way like the Rap beefs of the 90's.  So, #HMB 217 asks what the hell is going on with the current State of the St. Pete Art Scene?  

What do you think? Are you worried about the direction of the arts in St. Petersburg? Leave a text or voicemail: (813) 693-2124 or hit me up on Facebook or Twitter and listen to the podcast with THIRST below.  

Get your FREE #HMBradio/Radio St. Pete stickers! Email thehomemadebroadcast@radiostpete.com your address and we'll send some out. Follow us on twitter: @home_made_man & check out the HMBradio Facebook: facebook.com/hmbradio

The #HMB airs Sunday's on radiostpete.com @ 6:15PM & Monday's at 10:15PM or on demand via Stitcher (http://bit.ly/2wuLR7a) or iTunes (https://goo.gl/xKN5OY)