Derek Erdman is one of Seattle’s Renaissance Men. A writer for The Stranger, a painter and visual artist, a rap voicemail creator and much more, Derek is one of Seattle’s most prolific artists. We had a chance to chat with Derek about all his endeavors, where he met his wife, and when he plays video games. 

Jake Uitti: You’ve got hands in many projects, from your paintings, to Rap Master Maurice, to writing for The Stranger and more. Is there something specific you feel about working in many different areas of expression, or is this all one big coincidence?

Derek Erdman: I learned pretty early in life that I was really good at starting things and excelled quickly, but then there was usually a limit to the amount of good I could do in that field, so I’m a chronic starter. I owned a record store for two years but then sold it, I got really good at skateboarding and then stopped excelling after a while. Ultimately, I’m a fickle person with a the grass is always greener complex. I reckon that’s the reason. If I think more about a thing, it usually gets cripplingly depressing.

JU: I was in The Crocodile the other night for a show and noticed the paintings on the wall and had the suspicion that they were yours – and they were! What was the inspiration for the bright, big-faced, yet-still-somehow-eerie style you’ve become known for?

DE: I started making paintings simply coloring in the clip art of Tom Tierney. After awhile I learned to make drawings like Tom Tierney, but he’s my main source of style. He’s mainly a paper doll artist now and his paper dolls look a lot different than his clip art. So I guess I don’t feel too bad about aping his style.

JU: One of the paintings at The Crocodile was Steven Jesse Bernstein – what lead you to paint him?

DE: All of the paintings at the Crocodile were dictated to me. They wanted Seattle relevant images, a lot of which were people or acts who performed at the Crocodile (old & new). I’d just moved to Seattle at the time, so it served as a good primer for a lot of things that I missed while living on the other side of the country. Subsequently, I’ve become a big fan of Steven Jesse Bernstein after doing the research for that painting.

JU: What’s the weirdest piece of art you’ve sold to date?

DE: In 2005 my 1984 Volvo 240 DL caught on fire, causing me to buy another Volvo impulsively. That second Volvo was a real hunk of junk, so I never transferred the title into my name. I disabled the door locks and glued the key into the ignition. I then painted “COMMUNITY CAR” on the sides and on the hood. So technically, I didn’t sell it, but I guess that’s a “piece of art” that is out there.

JU: Who have you not painted that you really want to?

DE: Last night I watched two movies with people that I’d really like to paint. The first movie was the 1989 Christopher Guest produced The Big Picture. In that movie, Kevin Bacon is married to an actor named Emily Longstreth. She seemed really interesting but I realized that I’d never seen her again, research revealed a bunch of confusing leads, but what seems to have happened is that she moved to New York and developed Bi-Polar Disorder and now lives in and out of shelters. After that I watched Five Easy Pieces, which I’d never seen before. I really liked Karen Black in that, I’d seen her before but she’d never really registered. So, probably those two people, they both seem somewhat tragic.

JU: Do you spend much time not working – if so, what are some of your favorite time wasters?

DE: I spend three or four hours of the waking day not working. I currently really like to play the online version of Grand Theft Auto 5.

JU: You’ve gotten a lot of publicity for your Rap Master Maurice voicemails. Does the process of these still feel fun, fresh? Any thoughts on creating a new voicemail character?

DE: Oh, no. The opposite of fresh. I was thinking just last night of a way to kill Rap Master Maurice off. I have to pay extra money for a landline to do those calls, and they’re really pretty annoying to make. I was just thinking earlier of making a fake Tom Douglas hot dog truck where the hot dogs would be $22 and would have outlandish condiments. I guess I’d have to do that in person though. I get to talk to maniacs on the telephone all day at my day job, I think that fulfills my telephone needs.

JU: Maybe we could do a Rap Master Maurice fake suicide note! But more seriously, what’s your day job?

DE: I’m the receptionist at Sub Pop Records. It’s the only office job I’ve ever wanted!

JU: How long have you been living in Seattle and what do you like most about/wish you could change about it?

DE: I’ve been here for a little over three years. I do find the people to be totally standoffish, but I guess I knew that when coming here. But really, it’s so cerebral and overly politically correct. I like the pho though, and Central Cinema. And I met my wife here, and she’s great.