Gabriel Ros and Gem Starr

WBSL: How long have you two collaborated?
Gabriel: For about a year. Creative juices are constantly flowing between us.
WBSL: What do you do?
Gabriel: I sing, song write, and I produce a little bit.
Gem: I sing, song write, produce, and I play 21 instruments. My family was very, very musical, into the arts, into dancing and drawing…. I just wanted to take it seriously.
WBSL: Where is your family from?
Gem: Father is from New York City, and mother is from Arkansas.
Gabriel: Both my parents are from Haiti. I was born here in Brooklyn, New York. I actually lived in Haiti for one year from 11 to 12.
WBSL: Do you speak any other languages?
Gabriel: Yes, I speak Creole, some Spanish.
WBSL: Tell me about the song “Art of Gender.” It opens with the line, “I used to be a pretty boy.”
Gem: It’s a song about the way I used to be in the past with girls. I used to be a playboy type, and I’ve been hurt a lot, so I am trying to hide my scars and give a false image of who I am. So “pretty boy” represents hiding yourself.
WBSL: Do you have a day job? How do you sustain your music?
Gabriel: For a little while I was actually selling candy in the neighborhood so I could build a home studio. I got it.
WBSL: And Gem, are your parents funding, or what do you do?
Gem: I used to hustle, sell equipment, guitars, clothing and some of my production.
WBSL: Tell me about these 21 instruments you play.
Gem: Harmonica, piano, guitar, bass, saxophone, drums, violin, you name it…. I started piano when I was about 8 years. My dad was a musician, my mom’s a dancer.
WBSL: Do you adjust your diet before performance time?
Gabriel: I can’t have dairy or alcohol before performing because it clogs up and dries out your voice.
Gem: I drink a lot. A lot. Don’t party much anymore though. Can’t party when you have a girlfriend.
Gabriel: What is this interview for?
WBSL: I just want to cover real stories, talk to people outside of the glossies’ machine, read about life from a different perspective. You two struck me as a unique pair when I saw you on the subway….
Gem: So you don’t like the spoon-fed, spoiled, rich fuckin’ non-talented musicians that make it, that don’t have to work as hard. You want to get to the bottom, to the ones that work their asses off, from the ground up.
WBSL: (Can’t help but laugh) Yes, yes.  Do you encounter a lot of trials trying to do what makes you happy?
Gem: Hell yeah. When you have a sound that’s so different from what’s going on in mainstream music, you have to work harder and really convince the audience to come into your world and get them to accept your sound. It’s an uphill battle, but we will eventually win.
Gabriel: Basically, we don’t settle for less when it comes to music. For the most part, we like to be free with whatever we do. The people we’re influenced by did exactly the same, like Stevie Wonder and Prince.
WBSL: Tell me about your hair.
Gabriel: I’m influenced by Prince, Michael and James Brown– just let it free, fall where it may. I’ve been wearing it like this for maybe 4 months. Before that I had it in braids most of the time.
Gem: I used to have my hair out like his, but it took a long fuckin’ time, so I said ‘fuck it, I’m going to get a mohawk.’ I can just comb it and it’s done. I had it dyed blond and red before but it’s faded out.
WBSL: Do you guys get called hipsters?
Gabriel: No.
Gem: I fuckin’ hate hipsters. I was called a hipster once and I told the guy to fuck off.
WBSL: What is a hipster?
Gem: A hipster is like a male lesbian. It’s being something you’re not.
WBSL: Do you agree with that?
Gabriel: Yes. (laughs)
WBSL: Why do you take offense to it?
Gem: I hate labels—I hate the terms “emo,” “gothic,” and “punk” as labels. I want to be seen individually without someone putting a label on me.
Gabriel: I wouldn’t say we have a specific style as far as fashion or even in music. I wouldn’t say it’s driven by genre but emotion.
WBSL: So you were goth boy growing up?
Gem: Yeah, at one time–that meant Marilyn Manson, Slipknot, Him, Type O Negative, stuff like that. I used to wear black chains, black makeup…
WBSL: What did your parents think?
Gabriel: My mom actually really supports the way I am, because she realizes that I’m really genuinely interested in something for the first time and pursuing it with full force. She’s all for everything–even the black eyeliner.
Gem: My mother, she supports everything–makeup, everything. She supports every single thing because it’s art! It’s freedom, it’s art. There are a lot of girls that will ask me if I’m gay or bisexual. They need to realize that makeup and sexuality don’t go hand in hand. There’s a whole different world, and some guys can’t pull it off.
WBSL: Where did you go to school?
Gem: I went to George Westinghouse high school in downtown Brooklyn. I was the weird kid. I had my phases. I was once so-called “gothic,” then a so-called “pretty boy,” then I was just a weird kid that no one understood. I used to be a rebel and hated everything and hated kids who bullied other kids. One time when I was 15, I was being picked on by someone in my class, and I kept telling him to fuck off and stop hitting me, but he didn’t stop. So I waited after class, followed him down the stairs and beat the crap out of him. I got suspended for a month because of that.
Did your parents get mad?
Gem: I was living on my own at the time with my roommate.
When did you start living on your own?
Gem: About 15.
WBSL: Why?
Gem: My father wasn’t around–may he rest in peace–and my mother…. yeah, it’s a hard story to explain, but it’s just that…. I left at one point to pursue my career and be free.
Gabriel: Honestly, I appeared to be normal, but I was also really rebellious in high school. I was always the type of kid who caused distractions. One time I brought a couple of mice to the school cafeteria. I let them out, somebody saw them and went crazy. It just caused mayhem in the lunchroom. No one knew it came from me. I used to do things like that. I was the low-key type of person that would cause a major distraction. Trouble would never get traced back to me.
What’s your goal with your music?
Gem: My aim is just to bring back music that feels good and touches different parts of your soul. I feel today’s music lacks emotion and sincerity.
Who are some artists you have issues with?
Gem: You mean can’t stand? Justin Beiber, the Jonas Brothers, Rebecca Black. (Gem laughs.) I don’t like Lil Wayne. I can’t stand him. He’s just complete trash to me. He might be a nice person in real life, but I can’t stand his music. He has no musicality or lyrical skills. It’s just complete bull shit about drugs and hoes–the same crap in every song. I don’t like it. I hate Lil Wayne.
Are you a gentleman?
Gem: Yeah. In a weird way.
WBSL: Gabriel, are you a gentleman in a “weird” way?
Gabriel: I’d like to think so.
WBSL: What’s your goal with music?
Gabriel: I want to be able to affect the world in different ways. I want the world to understand my story. I sing from different points of views and just want people to listen.
WBSL: What are some of the challenges of keeping and developing your identity? Are others trying to shape you?
Gem: Well, yes, being that people don’t understand where we’re going a lot of times, they try to put us in a category or try to tell us which direction to go in. That’s the hardest part. But you have to always be true to who you are, no matter what, only stay true to who you are.
WBSL: What direction do people try to steer you?
Gem: They tell me maybe I should go emo, rock music, or try to be the next Prince or whatever. But I don’t like to be compared to artists like Prince, even though I like him, because I have a different sound and approach to music.
WBSL: I’m trying to understand who your influences are and where you want to go.
Gem: My main influences musically–my main two artists–are Prince and Marilyn Manson. They’re both very weird, contrasts, and I like them for different reasons. My influence is life as well, so I just put out whatever I feel. I’m always going to be changing, so I can’t really say where I’m going now, or what I will be because I’m changing constantly. I don’t even know myself, so I just can’t say.
Gabriel: I feel that as hard as people try to pinpoint what kind of artist I am, they’ll never be able to do it. I’m like a kid. One moment I’ll want to rap, another I’ll want to do reggae. I’m going to have a pretty random album.
WBSL: Does race play a role in your industry? Do you have any comments?
Gabriel: To me, race doesn’t exist. We all breathe the same air. I mean if someone breathes out green breath, then maybe I’ll judge them as different, but race doesn’t really exist to me, especially in this day and age. Everyone is equal.
Gem: I wish that were true to everyone in the world. In my mind, race doesn’t exist, but to a lot of people it does.
WBSL: Do you feel limited by your race to explore different genres?
Gem: Yeah, yes, definitely. I’ve been listening to a lot of white artists and black artists–it doesn’t matter the race to me, because it’s about the music. But I feel that when you’re trying to get your name out there, a lot of people who don’t know the history of music will try to label you as a black artist trying to be white or playing white music.
WBSL: What do people say?
Gem: I’ve played at showcases where the white people will say I’m trying to play “white music” or they’ve said that “metal is not for niggers.” That’s quote unquote.
WBSL: No way.
Gem: Yes, and black people as well. It comes with the territory I guess. I feel that on the larger scale, people are more open so it doesn’t really faze me.
Gabriel: I feel that when we come out, we won’t be held down by any racial barrier.
WBSL: So we know you engage in a lot of mental exercise with music, but do you guys exercise or do any physical working out outside of music?
Gem: I used do taekwondo growing up, also Chinese boxing. My dad was huge into martial arts. I worked out a lot, but now I’m just kind of lazy. But I still have my shape, still have my six pack.
Gabriel: I do martial arts at 85th street, Central Park West. It’s outside training in nature. We meditate to relax our minds before the physical practice.
WBSL: Are you guys spiritual?
Gabriel: Yeah. I don’t go to church regularly, but I feel I have a direct rapport and communication with god. I speak to him with my heart.
Gem: I don’t go to church but I am very spiritual. I am in tune with nature, life and myself. I’m not religious, I don’t believe in religion.
WBSL: What made you decide to be a musician?
Gabriel: I always liked the feeling I got from singing. It was always an indescribable feeling–I always felt liberated. But I didn’t feel alive about it till I performed at a talent show and got such a good response. After I met Gem two years ago, my mind opened up a lot more. I saw the different influences he had and the genius that he made, and it brought a different character out of me.
Gem: Prince was my first main influence when I was 14. Secondly I got into heavy, heavy metal: death metal, black metal, everything. After that I expanded to different genres of music–R&B, soul–I love funk, like Sly and The Family Stone and a bunch of others.
Gabriel: At first when I started to listen to metal, it was all just screaming. But then when I started to understand music, I started to hear the complex and classical chords, and I appreciated it musically.
WBSL: (Gem says something to Gabriel) Couldn’t help but overhear, but did you just say people think you’re an asshole?
Gem: Yeah, because I’m so opinionated and raw in what I say, but I’m not an asshole, I’m not a prick. I’m a nice guy who thinks a lot of people are full of shit. I’m a very loving, sweet daisy.
WBSL: What do you say to that?
Gabriel: I don’t know about the daisy part (laughs). But I know him pretty well and I know that he’s a good person.
WBSL: (Photographer Peter Yang joins us at this time) What music do you put on to relax?
Gem: I love variety, so I’ll maybe listen to Prince, followed by David Bowie, then Sly and The Family Stone, some Metallica and then Eminem. I like to mix things up.
Gabriel: If I want to relax, I listen to Stevie Wonder. He has a lot of relaxing music. I also listen to a lot of classical music–it opens up new ideas for me. I don’t know how to describe it; it’s like it activates another part of my brain!
Peter: I always grew up thinking classical music is “smart.” Have you guys seen A Clockwork Orange?
Gem: That is a weird movie.
Peter: Yeah, it’s a weird movie, and I feel like you have to see it every five years because it changes every time you see it. It scared the hell out of me when I was a kid.
Gem: That whole rape scene bothers me, but it’s also funny at the same time.
Peter: Rape scenes.
Gem: (laughs) Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Peter: It’s an old Kubrick movie made in the early 70s, and it was rated X when it was released. You know, you often see old movies that were controversial back in the day and now you’re like, ‘oh, that’s not really shocking.’ But this one totally is. The soundtrack is all classical, which is supposed to be enlightening, but they’re doing this evil ass shit in the movie. For me, it really showed how classical music isn’t just something to write off as “cultured and smart,” and that it can have these deep psychological implications.
Gabriel: I’ll be sure to watch that one.
Gem: Yeah, it’s a really good movie, and I do that, too, where the music will be bright but the lyrics will be dark. It’s playing mind games with people, so they can feel the pain I’m feeling.
WBSL: Do you want the audience to feel pain?
Gem: I want people to relate to me through my songs. I have a lot of pain from my childhood, a lot of abuse, a lot of problems. I’m just dealing with an abusive childhood. I don’t want to badmouth my father, because he’s not here anymore, but he was very abusive. But he was also very talented–a musical genius. He was so talented.
Gabriel: With me, I felt a lot of neglect. My mother is a very loving, but she always had it very rough. She always had to work to support me as a single parent. My father was very neglectful. He moved to Haiti when I was really young, so I didn’t really see him much. Even when I moved to Haiti for a year, he wasn’t around. I had to learn to be a man on my own, even being raised by my mother. There have been certain habits, like crossing my legs, that I didn’t naturally know not to do. I had to really observe people to see how I should be.
WBSL: Who are some of your male role models?
Gabriel: I’d have to say Bruce Lee… Michael Jackson….basically people who took their art so seriously that I looked at them like superheroes. So now when I get on stage, I want people to feel like they’re looking at a superhero, as if something impossible is being done. I want them to be inspired.

It’s the white picket fence that will first strike you, or perhaps the provincial teal shutters haphazardly fitted over the enormous front windows. It is, in all its trappings, a little house, smack in the middle of a concrete sidewalk lined with tall buildings. Pushing through white-washed dutch doors, you’re immediately greeted by the impeccably dressed proprietor himself—Mr. Din Yates.

Thus the sensory experience begins—through the threshold and into Din’s world of huge wall murals, bluesy music, and awesome sandwiches.

“We’re just sandwiches. I wanted it to be just a sandwich shop,” Din humbly shrugs.

Peering over a concrete countertop proudly displaying Big Shot soda cans and Zapp’s Chips, you can peruse a well-edited menu of seven carefully thought-out sandwiches, including some breakfast options. There’s definitely something for everyone—even two vegetarian choices. But the love is evident in neighborhood faves like the chicken biscuit or the pulled pork on challah bread—Din’s personal pick. His po’boy (fried oyster/ shrimp) keeps it real with bread shipped directly from the John Gendusa Bakery in New Orleans—the very same bakery from which the original po’boy is made. Still, his house-made biscuits are delectable—a gravy laden mountain of chicken-fried joy.

Though there is an apparent New Orleans inflection inherent in all that is Cheeky’s, Din insists that was never his intention. “Once the write ups came out, it changed. This became a New Orleans shop. It didn’t start off as a New Orleans shop. It was just a regular ol’ sandwich shop.”

You could say that Cheeky’s is more a reflection of Yates himself, than that of the vibrant Louisiana city. Which is why there are so many subtle as well as obvious references to his beloved hometown.

Yates agrees: “Yes, there’s a strong new Orleans influence. I’m from New Orleans. The chips are from New Orleans. I could get any kind of chips, but I prefer these. The sodas, I could get any, but I prefer to get ones I like.”

Growing up, Yates realized his love of food at an early age. The youngest of three children, he would self-appoint himself as sous chef to his tireless mother who cooked faithfully for her family everyday. He’d always keep the TV on after his Saturday morning cartoons to watch cooking shows.

When contemplating college, he entertained the idea of going to the esteemed culinary institute, Johnson and Wales College in Rhode Island, where Emeril Lagasse once attended. He was accepted with a scholarship, but instead chose to stay in New Orleans. He went to Xavier College and pursued a degree in chemistry. Upon graduation, he had two choices: grad school or modeling in NY. He chose the latter, doing shows and ads for brands like Nautica and Tommy Hilfiger, while also taking the odd construction work job, and has made New York his home ever since.

It wasn’t until after some years spent modeling and working as a line chef at the now-gone Café Lebowitz in Soho, that Yates finally came upon the chance of having his own culinary establishment.

Since his mid-20’s, Yates dreamed of owning his own place. He started working in kitchens just to see how they operated. Then, he happened upon an actual space one day when he was visiting a friend on Orchard St. He was the owner of Alle and Ange, a clothing shop, and also owned the bike shop a few doors down. The ex-bike store was being renovated and Yates, sensing an opportunity, asked him if he could have the place. Soon, Cheeky’s was on its way.

Sandwiches was his choice of trade as he thought it was the easiest venture he could manage:

“I did think that NY was missing a good sandwich shop, but my decision was largely due to the fact that it was easier to execute. If you open a restaurant–oh my god, all that work!”

Though he claims to be adverse to arduous tasks, Yates has certainly put his own sweat and blood into his creation. Using wood and materials he salvaged from construction sites he worked on, Yates built Cheeky’s with his own hands—from the floorboards to the metal ceiling to the “outhouse” bathroom in the back. He also had a small crew help him with the handiwork. Even though there was no set vision for the way the shop would look, Yates started with wood planks he had, then just looked for older things to match them. Even the bathroom is made from the face of that wood. He started building in July 2009. He opened that same year on December 14th.

Yates was able to recruit his pal, British fashion illustrator Blue Logan, to paint his walls and to help create the mischievous logo. They became friends while Yates modeled in London; he often visited the bar in which Blue Logan bartended. The word ”cheeky” itself is used as a double entendre between New Orleans slang and British vernacular- a coy tribute to the time he spent living in the UK. Down south, people use it when referring to someone egregiously cheap; across the pond, it’s used to describe rascally types.

These kinds of winks and nods are also seen through nuances like the unexpected ‘outhouse’ or the proverb painted in whimsical red letters next to the entrance: “A toast to the ducks that live in the swamp; never lose a feather and that’s the weather.” A cheery maxim from his uncle, and yet almost cryptic in its rhythmic cadence. In the back is a wall of portraits of Din’s and Blue Logan’s friends and lovers, jumbled in a mysterious web with Din front and center. Funnily enough, the ‘lovers’ panel has since been painted over.

Certainly, Yates himself is as much a part of the Cheeky’s décor as are the red benches and yellow cans of Chiceroy coffee. Perhaps it’s due to his time of being at the mercy of stylists and designers, but Yates now wears the same outfit everyday: white shirt, black tie, black pants, black shoes, black frame glasses. It’s not his work uniform but the uniform of his life. Even his latex cooking gloves are black. His home closet is stocked with 47 identical white shirts and black pants.

Such a stark look doesn’t exactly sound like it belongs in a homey, New Orleans-style sandwich shop, painted in weathered shades of red, white and blue. But somehow, you can’t imagine it any other way once you’ve seen them together—and either would be amiss without the other. His high energy and engaging persona are reflected in every cracked beam and metal sheet that hold this place together.

Yates’ engaging demeanor and warm greeting are what truly make this slice of storefront a sanctuary from the outside hustle and bustle. Affable and obliging, Yates will strike up a conversation with anyone who’ll listen. And he will be there for you, too, as evidenced by the number of devotees that pop in to visit throughout the day.

Whether it’s an aged Chinese woman who comes to sit by the window and read the paper, or an assistant from one of the several art galleries, people just want to hang out with Din.  He describes one frequent visitor:

“There’s an older Chinese lady, Jinny, who comes in all the time and cracks me up. She’ll come in, have her coffee or tea, leave it for like 30 mins. And then she’ll come back and sip it some more, then read her paper. She comes a lot. Not to eat all the time. But sometimes, she’ll take a bite of a sandwich and just leave it. She has a routine.”

He would love it if even more Chinese people from the neighborhood would come around. Then he’d truly feel like a part of the neighborhood, and not a ‘”sore thumb” in the midst of Chinese wholesalers.

And that’s what Din really loves—a sense of coterie and camaraderie, brought together to commune over good food. He has other projects in the works, but for now, Cheeky’s is where his heart is, and everybody is welcome. 

Before the overnighters were pushed out from the movement’s birthplace in mid-November, we took some time to photograph and speak with some of the protesters standing at the front lines of the encampment. After months of being portrayed as a young and misguided uprising of degenerates, what we found in New York was that, while the majority of those staying overnight were under the age of 40, most of the people standing and holding signs during the day were more mature individuals, often retired and/or with families. Many shared their stories, and some simply let their signs do the talking.

Below are closer looks at a number of individuals from the many millions of supporters who make up Occupy, which, though has its issues and shortcomings, continues to grow as an honest and undeniable force of the American public at large.

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