Photos by Calixtro Romias / 209Vibe.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This story also appears in the June edition of the 209Vibe newspaper. To find out where you can pick up a copy, click here.)

“Sometimes in this life, you’ve got to shake stuff up to make it change.”

Ernie Mancuso’s talking about the inspiration for his pen-and-ink drawings and the designs on his Ernie Brand T-shirts, but he might as well be discussing his life. Mancuso, 37, has been shaking stuff up since he was growing up on the tough streets of Stockton.

He’s made the most waves as the lead singer of the Shambulls, a fixture in the Stockton hardcore scene for more than a decade. The Shambulls perform June 7 at the Blackwater Cafe in Stockton.

Recently, Mancuso’s settled down with a steady job and a family. But in some ways that’s helped him do more to set off an artistic disturbance. He has now has the income to create and promote more of his art.

It’s led to the exhibition of Mancuso’s work at Slip Skate Shop, 1515 N. Lincoln St., Stockton, where his Ernie Brand T-Shirts also are for sale. His slogan for his T-shirt line is “Ernie Brand: The Name You Can’t Trust.”

“Hopefully, it pisses somebody off that looks at it, or gets them to think, or it intrigues them,” he said.

Mancuso’s pen-and-ink drawings are forceful and aggressive, with slashing lines, curves and angles. His subject matter ranges from the understated (his portrait of Iggy Pop) to the imaginative (the characters on his “F***ed Up Gnomes” skateboard) to the streets (the brawling thug on his “Knuckles” T-shirt.)

“I just want people to think that you can do it your own way. You can do your own thing and be your own way,” he said.

That’s a philosophy Mancuso has been following since he was in second grade, when he won a Haggin Museum art competition with a drawing of a dog.

“It wasn’t too flamboyant. It just kicked ass,” he said.

Mancuso said as he grew older he gravitated toward hustling, stealing cars and selling drugs. In high school he discovered urban clothing lines like Stussy which proved their was a culture for his art.

Eventually he began designing fliers and T-shirts for The Shambulls.

Today Mancuso is focused on expanding his art, and he hopes to have Ernie Brand hats and an online store set up by the end of the year. He said he’s grateful for the support and recognition he’s receiving as an artist.

“People respect me now and what I do,” Mancuso said. “It feels damn good.”

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