My phone goes off around 9 p.m. and it's a text from Estevan Oriol: You ready to do this? "Not really," I thought to myself, but it has to get done. I immediately text him back: Yeah, I'll meet you at the cafe in 20. I jump in my car and drive down the 110 freeway in L.A. at a high rate of speed trying to obey all the traffic laws, as well as respecting the fellow commuters. Nevertheless, I arrive at the cafe in 15 minutes and then it dawns on me, Estevan is never on time. Damn it, I would have gotten a speeding ticket for nothing! I have never known that man to ever be on time. I went to his wedding not too long ago and he was about an hour late.
After an hour and a half, three ice teas, and a basket of starter bread, I knew he was coming down the street. In a very quiet cafe in the art district of downtown Los Angeles you could hear from a distance a very loud car stereo with Led Zeppelin blaring out the windows. Everyone in the cafe stopped their conversations to see what was going on, and who this person could be. As they stare directly outside awaiting the arrival of the unknown Led Zeppelin fan, I knew that this was going to be classic Estevan at his best. Within seconds the mystery man arrives at the valet in his Cadillac, and there's no stopping the high disciples of Robert Plants "Gallows Pole." The door swings open and out crawls a 6-foot 4-inch, 275 pounder who looks at everyone focused on him at the cafe. He grabs the ticket from the valet and walks directly into the center of the vortex with his beautiful daughter Angela. As he makes his way to my table he knows he's in total control of the moment, making everyone nervous and uncomfortable for just that moment. He sits down with his daughter at his side and says, "Let's get this over with, I got bigger names to attend to." I didn't know if he was referring to me or not, so I started with no hesitation.
I've known Estevan Oriol for about 15 years. He is a very close, personal family friend. He is a gifted photographer and video director who has worked with everyone from Eminem to Blink-182. He's photographed such celebrities as Robert De Niro and Adrien Brody. He's also the owner of the clothing line Joker Brand, and co-owner of SA Studios. I knew this interview was going to go smoothly because of our friendship status, but the beast needed food and drink at once or I wouldn't get a word out of him. I ordered the Ahi salad and he wanted the pasta with the white sauce and a Margarita pizza. You must understand one thing about Estevan and that is that he's an eating machine with no boundaries, and that includes your meal if not carefully watched. I asked if he was ready and he replied, "Yes," with a spoonful of tomato basil soup in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other.
LRM: Where were you born?
EO: St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, California.
LRM: Where did you grow up?
EO: Pretty much on the West Side of L.A., except for a few years in Southeast L.A.
LRM: Growing up, your dad owned an art gallery. How was that?
EO: My dad left when I was 3 years old. My mom divorced him and he moved back to San Diego where he is originally from. My mom and I grew up together here in L.A. In 1987, my dad opened the gallery ULALA with my stepmom, Angelica.
LRM: What does ULALA stand for?
EO: United Latino Artist of Los Angeles. It was a non-profit organization. They had a gallery at the Pico House in Downtown L.A. on Olvera Street. That's where they did the first graffiti show in Los Angeles called "Burning Desire" in 1989. It had original pieces from Los Angeles graffiti artists Hex, Slick, Skill, Mandoe, and Duke.