Flyer Than The Rest Of Them

If you take a close look at most of the flyers for parties being thrown, on or around St. Johns' campus you will notice the signature, Art Boy Cali designs. But who exactly is the man behind the hot designs on the flyers? College Love recently sat down with the artist, to get the full picture.



"The harder I work the more I get paid, and it shows"-Art Boy Cali

CH: For those that may just know you by, ArtBoyCali what's your full name? Where are you from? What's your age and your major?
CALI: My full name is Carl Elie, and I am 19 years old from Roxbury, MA. I'm a graphic design major.
CH: It seems like you do a lot, what have you been doing recently?
CALI: Recently I've been doing a lot of public relations for school organizations. Promoting, graphic design work.
CH: What got you interested in making flyers?
CALI: I started in high school. I've always been an artist. I had an internship at Massachusetts Art College, and it really took off from there. I was fascinated with photoshop. It was a challenge I wanted to conquer.
CH: What do you want to do in life?
CALI: I want to do motion graphics. Storyboard layouts for music videos. Motion graphics is taking an image and putting it in motion, motion-graphics. Sort of like the T-Pain and Ludacris, "Chopped and Screwed" video. I would also like to continue making flyers and web designing.
CH: Out of all the things you do, what's your favorite?
CALI: Designing, I make about three designs a day. Whenever I come across a picture I like I am influenced to make it extra.
CH: What was the best party you've been too since you've been at St. John's?
CALI: The best party I went to would have to be the Get Wet Anniversary. I got to meet people from all walks of life, I met Ryan Leslie, and DJ Enuff, it was a real diverse party.
CH: What was the best party you've thrown?
CALI: My first party, the pajama party at Deriver night club. I was able to take an event that was supposed to be at a house and we sold the first floor of Deriver out by 1:30-2:00 a.m.
CH: Are you the hottest flyer maker on campus?
CALI: Definitely! I don't degrade anyone else's work, I just feel since it's a passion of mine I take more consideration. I never sell anyone short, and I always do flyers to my best ability.
CH: What do you think about the site www.CollegeLoveEnt.com?
CALI: Brilliant idea, I like the name a lot it's catchy. Definitely something that can take off, a lot of people should definitely look into it. There's a lot of promotion for me without me even having to ask.
CH: What was the first flyer you did for a party?
CALI: The first flyer I ever made would have to be when I used to DJ, it was for my own event, "A Night Called New Tings A Gwan". My first flyer for a St. John's event was for the Guyanese Student Association, "The Red & White Affair", I also was the DJ for that event.
CH: I heard you DJ also, how come we havent seen you spin at any parties recently?
CALI: Art is my passion. Being a DJ is a hobbie, my passion is more lucrative than my hobbie. If it comes down to it I can and will.
CH: How much have you made off of your flyer business. Which one of your hustles makes you the most money, and how much do you make from it?
CALI: I do 2-3 flyers a week at a charge of about $50-$70. On average I am making $1,000 every 3 months, sometimes more or less.
CH: I noticed you advertise for Boston and New York, do you have many customers up there? Are you doing your thing in two states right now?
CALI: Yes I do work in Boston, I'll never forget where I came from. Thats my home, I interned for a radio station (102.9 Choice) I designed flyers for DJ's in Boston, and did logos and flyers. I still have customers in Boston.
CH: Where else do you work?
CALI: New England to New York. Which includes Rhode Island, Mass. and all of the borough's in NY.
CH: What exactly is Oh Gawd TV, and what are your goals for that?
CALI: It's under production. I wouldn't release anything without it being to my liking. I had actually came up with this idea around the same time CollegeLoveEnt. came out. It is interactive promotion. I've taken my networks and moved promotion to a place everyone can access, youtube. Other representatives and I take pictures of parties and rate parties. We let the audience viewers on youtube, myspace, and facebook know about what promoters are up and coming and who is falling off. In a nutshell, if your a viewer you'll see the flyer for the party, you'll see footage and pictures and feedback. You'll get what you missed out if you didn't go to the party.
CH: Where'd you come up with the name Art Boy Cali?
CALI: It's a funny story, when I started getting better and I declared myself a freelance graphic designer I had to identify my skills as solely me. I'm not an entertainment or a corporation, it's just me. I was able to come up with a creative name that will stick with me forever. Art Boy Cali comes from my mom. Me being the only child and only boy and art being my passion, it's what my mom helped me build. Yes, my mom sees most of my flyers.
CH: What events are you promoting coming up?
CALI: Caribbean Students Association's "Dance battle", it's at St. John's on March 26th. and the "Get Wet Anniversary" the date for that is T.B.A.
CH: What upcoming projects do you have?
CALI: I'm falling back on Oh Gawd TV, making sure it runs correctly. I won't let that idea go to waste. It will really make people say Oh Gawd if I let it go to waste.
CH: I heard you used to be apart of Get Wet, are you still affiliated or what happened?
CALI: I never wasn't affiliated. I started on Oct. 28th, but for a while I just fell back from promoting to focus on art and school work. My friend Jay-P is the St. John's icon for Get Wet, after working with him since I was a freshmen he introduced me to them. We're not a street team, and we're not your common promotions team, we are something bigger and better. I'm excited to be apart of a new family.
CH: Where did the nickname Cali come from?
CALI: Carl Ellie=Cali. "r" is not pronounced at all in Boston. My mom is Bajan so the nickname would've been Carli but her accent makes it sound like Cali. I've been called Cali since age 5, since I can remember.
CH: How do you have time to do all of these things and your school work?
CALI: Not sleeping. I have a lot of ambition and I'm a go getter. It wasn't easy, my hustle was more important than school and it showed in my grades, but now I prioritize to do both and make it work.
CH: How do you define success?
CALI: It's an old saying, A-B-C "Ability-Breaks & Courage".
CH: Who do you look up to?
CALI: My biggest role model would be my mom. She's layed out the footsteps for me. She's where I get my drive from and ambition. It's always been me and her growing up, and watching her hustle, it's always been an instinct for me to do the same.
CH: Is there any competition out there in the flyer business around campus?
CALI: I don't look for competition, I look for ways to improve myself. If I come across another designer that has reached points I haven't, I reach higher.
CH: I've heard rumors you're a cocky guy is that true?
CALI: A good way to describe me would be a book. A lot of people judge me by my cover, but not a lot of people know what I'm all about. They know I'm an artist and a lot of assumptions are made off of that and my promoting. Those who really know me know that 95% of the time I'm happy and smiling. I don't believe in stress or down falls, there are times in life that are hard, but A-B-C (Ability-Breaks & Courage) is exactly how I live my life.


"It's more than a job, it's a passion"-Art Boy Cali