Let’s face it—graffiti and all it encompasses doesn’t usually produce the most stellar people. To consistently and regularly commit a crime without consideration for the consequences, you have to develop some level of apathy and that usually doesn’t translate into the type of qualities that make someone a good friend, father, husband, or anything similar. Andy “Yesm” Miller was an exception, an anomaly in a world where being a bigger scumbag can be seen as a badge of honor. Born and raised in and around the West Coast graffiti mecca of the Bay Area (Santa Cruz, San Jose and S.F.), to his mother Terry and father Paul, he couldn’t escape graffiti and its influence on him. From an early age, art was a part of how he did things.
“He would draw something like a stick figure then start talking like the figure was a ninja or something, then he would draw another one and the two would have a battle,” Terry says. “He would be talking for both of them and he would draw lines back and forth like they were hitting each other. He would add more figures and keep on going, like a video game, on paper.”
Yesm Tribute by Mesr
This playful nature is something that never left Andy and stuck with him until the day he passed away. He was the type of guy that would say something that would make you ask yourself, “Is he serious or is he joking?” And then his stern, straight face would crack and start laughing, and you couldn’t help but join in in the laughter. It was obvious to all who knew Yesm that he valued his friendships by the way he stuck his neck out for his friends.
One of his best friends, Brandon, illustrates who Andy was really well when he says, “Andy was a special person who could make the best of any situation. His actions and intentions were totally selfless and he was down to do whatever it took to make others happier whether it was having your back at all times or doing something stupid just to get a laugh out of you.”
An Assortment of Tribute Pieces and Tags for Yesm
Andy would be the first guy to jump in and have his friends’ backs in times of need. He was as loyal as they come, the definition of a free spirit and it wasn’t an act; it was 100 percent genuine. So was his love for graffiti, which he demonstrated from a very early age.
As his mom Terry explains, “The day after his 18th birthday, I get a call from the sheriff telling me they have him and one of his friend’s down behind the local grocery store, skating. It was nighttime. The sheriff wanted me to go down there to get him. I’m thinking, ‘What the fuck, Andy? Why did you wait until you turned legal to get into trouble with the cops?’ So I go down there and the first thing I say to Andy is, ‘Where’s your car?’ His eyes about popped out of his head and he said to me that his car was at home. Well, I knew his car wasn’t at home, but I also knew not to go there with him. The cops tell me that Andy could go with me because he hadn’t done anything except hang out with a troublemaker. So Andy gets in my car and I ask him where his car is, and he tells me it’s parked out in front of the grocery store where we just were. You can probably guess why he didn’t want the sheriff looking in his car. He had spray paint, someone else’s, apparently (sarcasm).”
She went on to say, “He went to the city (S.F.) a lot. A lot more than I knew about. He was good about covering his tracks.”
Andy’s love for graffiti blossomed into a love for the city of San Francisco and a love of bombing, above all other forms of graffiti. He was all about hand styles, hollow throw-ups and covering a lot of territory in his efforts. Because of his regular trips and consistent presence in the city, he regularly met many of the most prolific writers in San Francisco and quickly became friends with them. It was hard not to be friends with Yesm. Topr from Lords/PCF was one of the first writers Andy encountered.
“A block up the way from my apartment there was a little restaurant where Andy worked, so I would slide through and kill time with him shooting the shit there all the time. That’s kind of where we started to get close,” Topr explains. He was considerably younger than all the PCF/FTL/BH guys that he ended up spending a lot of time with, but he was a lot sharper than a lot of the other younger writers. Most young kids tried to do and say over the top shit to impress the older dudes but he was a bit of an old soul, he just kicked it and soaked up game. 
He had a really good hand(style) compared to a lot of the writers his age and was always down to go put in work. He could heckle with the best of em, always had a quip or funny joke to throw into the mix, with a sarcastic sense of humor and a good natured smile. He was fiercely loyal; even before we were particularly close, and we had fought side by side on more than one occasion. He was always down to stand up for his friends, what he believed in and graffiti in general. I know its not the coolest thing to say in writing culture, but honestly, deep down, he was a real sweet guy. 
The kind of guy who would talk to homeless people on the street and treat them with respect, the kind of guy who would look people in the eye and take them at face value instead of being on some too cool for school bullshit. When I heard he passed it was real heartbreaking, because I know he was getting his life together and was a very involved and loving father. It’s a shame. Rest in Peace to my homie YESM WKT BH.”
Andy embodied the best of both worlds as a person, a huge heart with a ton of sensitivity, but the ability to be fierce and tough on your behalf when the occasion called for it. He had the ability to relate to you on the most human of levels and it should be no surprise that many people called Andy their best friend. He was that person for so many people, in and outside of graffiti culture.
One of many friends Andy had, Quincy, describes hanging out with him one night. “Andy wanted to hit tags and listen to songs I had made, complimenting them, giving me advice and telling me what he liked,” he says. “That’s the kind of dude Andy was. 100 percent genuine. He never played the guy who was too cool to chill with. He’d give you props for being yourself and that’s why I loved that dude. I never hung out with him once and didn’t not laugh.”
This type of account was typical of the people that knew him. He had his own interests ranging from books like You Can’t Win by Jack Black (not the actor) to all sorts of music, but when he was with you, he made it clear that he was interested in whatever you had to share.
ques rocking yesm up
Another one of Andy’s graffiti crew brothers, Breed IT, who spent a ton of time with Andy, shares some of his experiences with Andy.
“From the moment we met he became my brother and for the next couple years we had one goal,” he says. “We set out to change everything that was currently going on with the graffiti scene in S.F. Eventually he would end up moving in with me to be closer to his son. During the time he lived with me we had countless talks about life and what we imagined getting old would be like. 
During that time, he really helped me fight some demons when no one else would. Yesm was that type of dude that made sure all of his friends were well-off in life. As time passed, we would always call each other to celebrate our birthdays together with sake bombs and sushi. That cat loved sushi. I called him to tell him I was getting married and he started laughing and roasted me. It was a great moment to have shared with him.”
While Andy was a king of crushing the streets, he worked hard to maintain a behind the scenes sort of respect from his peers. He earned it from some of the most notable names in San Francisco graffiti, he also showed respect and wasn’t afraid to show other writers that he admired their work. Something that is sort of rare in the overly ego-driven world of bombing the city streets. 
No matter what level of fame he attained in the streets, he remained down to earth, humble and caring for his brothers. HIs character really made him stand out from the crowd of graffiti writers. One person who knew Andy pretty well was Drabs UND.
“Andy loved graffiti and everything about it, he took it seriously but also was the king of settling necessary beef with his peers,” Drabs says. “Yesm was friends with a lot of different folks in the graff game and it would be hard not to get along with a guy like Andy. Don’t get me wrong Yesm was no sucker if something needed to be handled it would get handled. He was just a bit wiser than your average young immature writer with something to prove.”
A lot of people loved Andy
Not the type of person to back down from trouble when it needed handling, Andy was also the type of person who knew better than to take some things too seriously, including himself, as his buddy Daer EMT explains when recalling a night they spent together.
“There was this one time I went out for the 4th of July crew BBQ and when I showed up, he was all giddy,” he remembers. “He took me under his shoulder and said you’re sticking with me. We were drunk and what not when we stumbled across this topless, big boobed lady. Or we thought it was a lady. The closer we got the uglier it got. Next thing you know the tranny was groping Andy all crazy. Both of them were laughing but I was cry-laughing, tears streaming down my face, next thing you know security from a near by bar yelled out, ‘Larry, leave those guys alone!!’ We both left Larry laughing.”
Andy was one of the originating members of the Bay Area graffiti powerhouse WKT. He helped establish and build the crew to one of the most respected in the area along with his friend GusAlen.
“Yesm was one of the first people in WKT,” GusAlen explains. “Without him and his passion it would not have become what it has today. He was one of my oldest friends, a person I could always call and know he would be there for me no matter what I was going to talk to him about (I miss those calls). He did not pass judgement or hold things against you. He was one of the funniest, most sarcastic fun loving people I will ever know. Yesm was one of my most solid friends and was always open hearted with everyone.”
Anyone who knew Andy will tell you he made them laugh incessantly anytime they hung out. He had the uncanny ability to turn any less than favorable situation or occasion into a good time. His ability to make his friends laugh was second to none, but there was much more to Andy, and his friend Bored’s recollection makes that clear.
“Andy was more than a graffiti writer,” Bored says. “Andy was a great human being. To talk about what he did in the streets sells him miles short of who he truly was. I’ll remember Andy as a guy who helped me in times of need when I didn’t deserve any of his love or care. Through drinking and doing dope, I burned lots of bridges, screwed lots of people over. No matter how unbearable I was to be around, he always helped fill my fridge when I was broke, and gave me a shoulder to lean on when I was depressed. You find out who really cares about you at your lowest moments. When I cleaned my life up 2 years ago, there weren’t many people I wanted to reach out to more than Andy. He was there for me no matter what. I knew he’d be happy to see me doing well. That side of Andy, on a personal level, is deeper than anything he ever did on the streets. He was one of the best people I’ve ever known.”
Andy didn’t keep this side of himself just for those who knew him well. He was as generous and big hearted as they come. He was a gentle giant—a sensitive, but tough guy who deeply cared for the people in his life. No one more so than his son Killian.
Andy had Killian fairly young with his then girlfriend Rochelle. Everyone knew about Andy’s son because he talked about him a lot and everyone in Andy’s life had either dropped him off or picked him up from visiting with Killian at Rochelle’s at one point or another. If Andy loved graffiti, his love for his son was immeasurable. He would have done anything for his son and wanted to make sure that no matter how much he himself was struggling in his own life, his son was taken care of, doing well, and feeling the immense support he had from his father.
Andy’s life was cut short on February 19th, 2016, when he unexpectedly passed away at his home in the Bay Area. In his short time on Earth, he managed to have a huge impact on everyone he knew—from his sisters to his son’s step-father and to anyone and everyone he came into contact with through graffiti culture. He was a scientist of the signature, and understood the value of a great hand-style and worked hard to perfect his own, completely original yet highly stylized tag. He earned a place in the annals of San Francisco graffiti history among the greats. But even more so, he earned the respect and the love of so many people, whose lives he touched, and left in mourning. One writer who knew Andy well was Steel M.S.K.
“Andy was a staple of the Bay Area, a character I had crossed paths with for longer than I can remember,” Steel says. ” With an eternal mischievous grin that warmed your heart, he was someone you were always glad to be around. We had a lot of fun nights together running around the city drinking, shooting pool and cracking jokes. I’m grateful to have become closer with him the past few years and shared some real conversations about this crazy thing called life. Andy always put a smile on anyone’s face he was around. With an abundance of energy, that crazy viking was a one of a kind prototype, not meant for mass production. One of the realest.”
Andy with his mom and sister
Andy may not have painted the prettiest, highly technical pieces, but he lived life like it was an art form, finding and creating beauty in the most unexpected of times and places, and savoring those not-so-small, intimate moments with trusted friends. His life and the way he lived it has left a legacy of people who are ready and willing to carry the torch on his behalf, both in graffiti and in supporting his family and his son because that’s what Andy would have done for them. The Bay Area graffiti world has a large hole now and is missing the person that was the heartbeat of the city. Rest Easy Andy “Yesm” Miller WKT AMC EMT IT BHL.
By Paul Lukes