Graham Meyer: Detroit to Bangkok 

Leading up to the release of “NIGHTED Life 9: Gone” on March 1st, we’re posting one interview a day with each contributor. In this zine, 8 shooters respond with photos and writing to one of three questions.

What’s the closest you’ve ever come to dying?

What do you want done with your body when you die?

Which death has had the biggest impact on your life and why? 

1. Without going into detail, can you share which question you decided to answer for NL9? 
‘What do you want done with your body when you die and why?’ 

2. What do you remember about growing up in Detroit in the 90s?
I grew up in a small suburb outside of the city. There wasn’t much happening around there, but I remember when Eminem released his first album I saw kids all over the place dying their hair blond and dressing up like him. It was really strange and a handful of people claimed to be his cousin on the daily. There was a gated community filled with mansions where Kid Rock and Eminem both had a house. On Halloween we’d jump over the fence and hit up those places. I remember getting a $5 bill instead of candy.
It wasn’t until the early 2000s that I found the warehouse parties in downtown Detroit and I was lucky enough to go to DEMF (Detroit Electronic Music Festival) while it was still free. I used to see police officers breakdancing to street DJs while thousands of people a couple hundred feet away were all smoking up. Just being in the city during that time would give you a contact high. Those days are done though. It’s all corporate now.

3. How did you find yourself residing in Bangkok, Thailand?
To make a long story short, I met a girl in NYC. We moved here together. Things didn’t work out but I stayed anyway. It’s been 5 years now! Life’s crazy.

4. What, if any, differences have you found between Western and Eastern attitudes towards death?
When you see 6 kids crammed onto a motorcycle with their dad and he’s the only one wearing a helmet, you realize they don’t give a fuck. In Thailand, a great deal of people are trying to “make merit.” It’s essentially an after death point card of good deeds. They spend more time preparing for the afterlife than living the one they’ve currently got. In the west, we spend too much time trying to prevent our death, all these detox health trends and attempting to live forever. Death is part of life; it’s surprising that the Western world has such a hard time accepting that.

5. In 10 words or less, what do you think truly – as far as you can explain or imagine – happens to a person after death?
1s and 0s until we’re downloaded into another meat bag

Instagram: @falsedigital