BL!SSS Magazine | January 2010 | #29 by Blisss Mag

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S I X T Y

N E V E R ’

www.thecomune.com/blog/drop-city

2 0 1 0 A D S _ HLON

Drop City was introduced to attract like–minded creative people to the comune artist community and collaboarte on special projects through COMUNE’S clothing brand. With participating artists including Hunter Longe, Jason Lee Parry, Noah and Nathan Rice, Shelby Menzel, Jimmy Fontaine and Gareth Stehr over time Drop City will continue to evolve its’ community, creative platform and influence.

L O N G E

C I T Y

P 1 - H U N T E R

D R O P

Video Installation by Hunter Longe

‘ N I N E T E E N

P H O T O _ 2 0 1 0 A D S _ GHLON

A Spring 2010 collection by COMUNE.

www.thecomune.com

Our goal is to provide clothing that reflects this lifestyle of carefree idealism and to support the people that choose to live it.

D R O P

P U R P O S E

COMUNE was formed from the idea that there will always be people out there who not only embrace the rawness and imperfections of every day life but use it to creatively push the boundaries of whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible in skateboarding, fashion, art, and music their own way, with complete disregard of the consequences.

C O P Y R I G H T ÂŠ 2 0 1 0 P 9 4 9 . 5 7 4 . 9 1 4 2

C I T Y

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gravisfootwear.com

coming soon

the new arto series

Artist Artist :: Nicholas Nicholas Pol Pol

5500 AAATM Junior Sheer Jersey V-neck Tee 4.3 oz. 100% Ringspun Cotton.* Sizes S-2XL *Athletic Heather 90/10 Cotton/Polyester *Charcoal Heather 60/40 Cotton/Polyester

Available colors:

Athletic Heather Black Charcoal Heather Dark Chocolate Hot Pink Purple Turquoise White

New for 2010 - All garments will be available with a Tear Away Label for

easy removal to help with your re-labeling and heat transfer programs. Contact us today for a copy of our new 2010 catalog to see what new styles and colors we have to fulfill all your blank apparel needs.

速

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF nick kalionzes nick@blisssmag.com

EDITOR

joey marshall joey@blisssmag.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR mark paul deren madsteez@madsteez.com

EDITOR AT LARGE liz rice liz@blisssmag.com

SKATE EDITOR chris ortiz chris@blisssmag.com

SNOW EDITOR jon francis jon@blisssmag.com

MUSIC EDITOR tim bergevin tim@blisssmag.com

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CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Jason Kenworthy, Dominic Petruzzi, Daniel Russo, Toby Ogden, Tom Carey, Brian Beilmann, Jack Coleman, Andrew Mapstone, Adam Moran, Dave Nelson, Pat Eichstaedt, Andrew Miller, Julien Lecorps, Ryan Boyes, Zach Hooper, Tim Peare, Michael Lallande

CONTRIBUTORS /:3F 9<=AB 7 >6=B=5@/>6G B6=;/A 1/;>03:: @/3<=>B71A 1=;

Matt Patterson, Willie Marshall, Josh Spencer, Aaron Astorga, Daniel Russo, Liz Rice, Jason Arnold, Greg Escalante, Tom Carey, Travis Millard, David Choe, Kai Garcia, Mickey Neilsen, Peter Townend, Hamilton Endo, Tawnya Schultz, Mike Murciano, Geoff Shively, Casey Holland, Steve Stratton, Robbie Sell, Andrew Miller, Pat Towersey BL!SSS Magazine 413 31st Street Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.blisssmag.com

JANUARY 2010

Disclaimer: Although all best efforts are made to avoid the same, we reserve the right to publish unintentional mistakes and/or factual errors which may occur on a monthly basis. No responsibility is assumed by the publishers for unsolicited materials/articles/letters/advertising and all submissions will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright and/or appropriate licensing purposes subject to Blisssâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; right to edit and comment editorially. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine reďŹ&#x201A;ect the opinions of their respective authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editorial team. Blisss Magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising matter which may reďŹ&#x201A;ect negatively on the integrity of the magazine. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form [print or electronic] without prior written consent from the publisher.

Cover Art : Nicolas Pol If your favorite shop isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t receiving BL!SSS Magazine please contact info@blisssmag.com

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MICKTORIOUS

SNOW YAKS After a very successful showing at Japan’s legendary Koyama Gallery in Tokyo in the beginning of this year, we were extremely excited about past cover artist Mark Ryden’s sixth microportfolio, The Snow Yak Show. Consisting of 17 postcards from the acclaimed Snow Yak Show, these are quite the visual treat for any Ryden fan and can be purchased directly from his website at markryden.com. Just a glimpse into the Ryden world, each one of these images are quite the must-have for any collector.

BLIZZARD BIZZARE TOUR He’s done it again! Mick Fanning has sealed his second win on the World Championship Tour. Making for an exciting year, it was a back and forth battle for Mick and Joel Parkinson all the way up until the ﬁnal event at Pipeline – which of course always makes for a much more interesting year. It sure seems like the Aussie’s have become quite the force to reckon with as they sealed the top four spots when all was said and done. It has got us scratchin’ our heads wondering when Kelly is gonna put his skim board project aside and win number 10. Till then, it looks like down under is gonna be on top.

If you’re in the mountain regions of the western United States, you better get ready for Volcom’s 2010 Blizzard Bizarre Tour coming to a town near you in January and February. The BBT is a free “rock and ride” tour that travels across the mountains and through the snow and will feature Volcom Ent bands ASG & Kandi Coded and very special guests High on Fire. The bands will travel alongside the Volcom Snowboard Team: Gigi Ruf, Zac Marben, Seth Huot, Jamie Lynn, Bryan Iguchi, Bjorn Leines, Pat Moore, Curtis Ciszek, Scott Stevens, and Johnny Lazzareschi. Blizzard Bizarre kicks off in Denver for the SIA Tradeshow and will hit many resorts and events including the X-Games in Aspen and the Olympics in Vancouver, BC. Don’t miss this one...

DANE LOVES BL!SSS

COOK BOOK

We got an email the other day from an anonymous source with a link to Dane Reynold’s blog, Marinelayerproductions.com. Seems that Dane is not only a regular BL!SSS Mag reader – but it’s his favorite magazine in the world! Ok, we may have made that last part up, but nevertheless, it’s nice to see the best surfer in the world (in our opinion) give some credit to us little guys. Dane took a liking to the interview we did with Ed Templeton a few months back and wanted to share with his audience – pretty much the best form of ﬂattery we can think of.

Legendary Aussie surfer Nat Young’s daughter Nava has just released a killer cookbook “Surf Food” with recipes for breakfast and smoothies, salads, starters and sides, mains and desserts. There’s everybody from ASP World Champions: Lisa Anderson, Rabbit Bartholomew, PT, Mark Richards, Stephanie Gilmore, Andy Irons and Layne Beachley to the likes of Gerry Lopez, Simon Anderson and a host of others. The secret might be out on Slater’s “Avocado Smoothie”, (maybe that’s the key to nine ASP World Championships?) and Andy’s “Chocolate Brownie Supreme” but it still a must have for every surf turkey.

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Hardcore Alert: Skateboards? We’re getting tired of making those. Look out for our new line of shoes called Grove at your local shop.

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ABRAHAM OBAMA

KERSHNAR X GIANT

When these posters went up throughout the streets in Boston’s South End neighborhoods it sparked the interests of thousands. Originally created by Ron English, the blend of two such extraordinary men, Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama, could not be ignored. A staple portrait in his campaign to success, English’s image is now traced from Boston to LA, New York to San Francisco and ultimately to the Democratic National Convention in Abraham Obama: A Guerrilla Tour Through Art & Politics. The book follows the campaign and serves as an unﬁltered look at the power of street art and serves as inspiration for all.

EMERGING WEBSITE

Like most of you desk-jockies out there, we waste a lot of time browsing websites all the day. There’s the usual art, gadget, surf report, porn, industry gossip etc… One brand new site that has recently caught our eye is actionsportstoday.com – it’s basically an all in one site to get your news and regurgitated press releases from everyone in our industry. The hook here is that you can customize it exactly the way you want, so you can manage the content that you want on your own homepage. Action Sports Today is your personal web portal... your brands, your sports, your content, check it out.

NIKE 6.0 SNUGGIE

We just got a little update from one of our past featured artists Mike Kershnar – He has relocated up to the Bay area and has teamed up with one of his idols Mike Giant and the two are busy collabing on a new project. They’re in process of putting on a couple of little shows at The Skullz Press on Haight Street and Divisadero in San Francisco. If you ﬁnd yourself up in the area swing on by and check out what these two talented boys are up to.

NIXON EARS

After years of leading the industry with ﬂawless timepieces, the Nixon crew sent us some of their newest accessories and things have never sounded better. You don’t gotta take our As the winter storms word for it, with big move into Southern names like Mos Def, California bringing cold Santigold, and rain and wind, our little Little Boots reprebarren ofﬁce turns into a freezer from Novem- senting, you know ber until the spring that these headthaw. Luckily for all of phones are legit. So us, a nice little pack- next time you’re in age arrived the other the market, check day from the folks at out what the folks Nike 6.0 with a bunch at Nixon have of bright orange Snug- perfected, your gies. Yup, the blankets ears will thank with the arm holes in them that you’ve seen you. on all the late night infomercials. These ain’t no cheap imitations either, these bad boys are the real deal – super soft and warm and fuzzy, they are exactly what we needed around here. Thanks Nike!

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GNARLY TEES

JONESY’S JUKEBOX We’ve been logging a lot of ofﬁce hours at iamrogue.com ever since the addition of legendary music icon Steve Jones has inﬁltrated their air and video waves. It was nearly an 11-month hiatus since we had heard Jonesy’s Jukebox after the collapse of Indie 103.1. Funny enough I still have 103.1 still programmed in my car and occasionally it gets switched to the now Mexi-mix. There’s just something about the old Sex Pistol’s guitarist and his choice of music and that crazy British accent that keeps us coming back. If you’ve missed him as much as we have then we’re sure you’ll be tuning in as well.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Right about this time last year is when Coco Ho made the ASP World Tour and we were claiming that she was going to be in the top three her first year. Well, that might not have happened (she finished 4th), but after an awesome first year of competition, (complete with a win in Portugal) Coco Ho has clinched the ASP Rookie of the Year title. She was the only rookie out of five on the 2009 World Tour to win an event, proving that at only 18-years-old, she is going to be a force to reckon with for many years to come. Way to go Coco, we can’t wait for next year – we may actually watch some of the women’s events now.

We’ve been hearing quite a bit of industry hoopla about the newest snowboard, lifestyle, apparel brand hailing from good ol’ Laguna Beach. Up and coming shred superstar Keegan Valaika is at the helm of this ship and seems to be making a steady push with his new company Gnarly Tree. Attending college in Boulder, Colorado, making big moves as a professional snowboarder and now his own apparel line - it looks like Keegan has got quite a bit on his plate. It sure is awesome to see such a young guy so motivated and we’re backing these guys 100 percent – so next time you’re in Active check out all the new threads the Gnarly crew has been working on.

BUZZ SHOE After nearly 80 years in development, the folks at Nike 6.0 are making space shoes. Well, not exactly but they are dropping the Buzz Aldrin Rocket Hero collab for 2010. An icon for exploration, a space pioneer, and a maverick always looking toward the next frontier, they couldn’t pass up the collaboration with the legendary astronaut. This shoe even holds a little history on it with one of Buzz’s own photos shot in 1969 from the Apollo 11 mission printed on the upper shoe and toe. It’s also has his actual footprint (the same one that is forever stamped into moondust) emblazed across the insole. Pretty damn neato if you ask us.

PENN WIN BJ Penn put on what one could only call a “beating seminar” during his last fight against fellow UFC competitor Diego Sanchez in Memphis, Tennessee. The fight lasted 5 rounds, but to be quite honest I’m surprised Diego was still standing after the first flurry of exchanges. We gotta give props to BJ’s training crew and boxing coach Jason Perillo for getting him in what has got to be the best condition of his life. Looking forward to seeing the St-Pierre rematch, you know whose corner we’ll be rooting for.

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BAKER HALL OF FAME In the ﬁrst ever evening induction for the Surfers’ Hall of Fame at Huntington Surf & Sport, the late surf industry icon Dick Baker was inducted in front of an audience of the key players of the industry. This special ceremony was attended by Dick’s widow Una and sons Ryan and Jack, where they inscribed in wet cement one of Dick’s favorite references to himself as “The Suit.” Emotional speeches from Bob McKnight, Wooly, Fernando and SIMA’s Sean Smith went down with Una’s closer bringing a tear to many eyes. The event, hosted by Aaron Pai with MC duties by PT, concluded with celebration into the evening with killer Duke’s food and Robert August wines. It was a night to be remembered at the HS&S store, which continues to put “special” back into specialty.

CRONK BONK Cory Cronk just revealed his new signature feature, the Cronk Bonk, this past month up at Mountain High. It’s a vertical jib with two diagonal takeoffs leading up to a floating log stall. It is now one of the more technical features at Mt. High and is hydraulically wired to be raised up to 12-feet for the more advanced riders. The first session went down at the unveiling of the feature and highlights can be seen at mthigh.com. But if you’re like us, you’ll wanna head on up the hill and check it out for yourself.

Our boy Nathan Spoor, who has helped us out immensely on several occasions, won the Artsprojekt’s Lab contest a while back and had a super limited edition tee on sale for a week this past month. If you weren’t on it, then you missed out and you’ll have to hunt long and hard on eBay to score one these. In the meantime, check out some more of Nathan’s newest pieces at the Corey Helford Gallery during the Multi Plane Group Exhibition, now showing.

AQUA VI PHONE We just got word that the crew at Aqua-VI have been diligently working on their new iPhone app set to drop this month. It’s kind of a neat little feature to check out that will give you a behind the scenes look into this season’s latest collection and the inner workings of the design room. There will also be some top-secret features as well as special promos for app users only, so download this new one today.

COOL GATOR The team at Gatorade has been shipping us a few cases of Gatorade G each and every month to keep our staff properly quenched and busy at work. They must have caught wind of our weekly line-up meetings and sent us a nice little cooler so we can stay hydrated at the beach. It’s perfect for a six-pack of the good stuff and keeps it ice cold, thanks guys.

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Dean Quinn

12/21/09

4:49:23 PM

Photo: Johnny Brewton During his downtime on early worldwide tours with DEVO, Mark Mothersbaugh began illustrating on postcards to send to his friends and family, often during the time spent waiting in airports and sitting in airplanes for hours. Eventually, when Mark didn’t have actual postcards at hand, he illustrated on postcard-sized pieces of paper, cardstock, etc. He still creates these “Postcard Diaries” and has been making more every day for over 30 years. It’s an obsessive habit/ hobby, which still yields anywhere from one to a couple dozen new postcard-sized images per day. Mark has archived nearly all the original postcard-sized works, ﬁled neatly in spiral-bound folders at his home in Hollywood, CA. It is an astonishingly obsessive collection of private thoughts featuring Mark’s plethora of provoking & unusual imagery. Mark explains, ”Usually, the only way someone can get an original sketch is if I give it to them myself. I’ve sent a few in the mail, and handed others out to friends and family. I’ve probably got around 30,000 of them ﬁled away now… and I keep making more every day. The limited edition prints are my way of sharing these personal images with other people around the world.” The cards were originally created as his personal diaries, and were never intended for public viewing. That all changed when Mark decided to share high quality prints of his postcard works in his critically acclaimed solo shows during the 1980’s & 1990’s. His solo art shows returned to galleries in 2003 when he launched his worldwide Homefront Invasion! Tour, which hit 17 cities in 12 months. The tours continued through the years, and Mark Mothersbaugh continues to expand on his Postcard Diaries theme. Mark latest experiment has yielded a limited number of custom art rugs, all of which feature imagery from his Postcard Diaries image bank. Huge 4’ x 6’ renditions of over 60 Mothersbaugh titles can be found at mutatovisual.com. Get your favorite for $850 each plus shipping.

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Words & Photo: MADSTEEZ I remember first meeting Evan “STINK” Rossell when he was a wide-eyed, mexistached, 17-year-old shitd!k who nervously came up to me at the skate park and asked, “Are you Madsteez?”. He invited me to his high school art show at Huntington Beach High and I quickly noticed that this lill shitd!k had some crazy raw skittles. Over the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity of taking STINK under my Weeneze arm and showed him the ropes. While doing so, he’s become one of my best homies. STINK is one of the nicest, humblest, chillest doods I’ve met and he’s down for the get down whether it’s late night bombing missions or working till 5 in the morning for a week straight. He’s a true artist, constantly drawing, doodling, sewing, watercoloring, painting and tagging on anything and everything within reach. He’s got the Ashy Larry itch and can’t stop creating. I’ve seen him do 20 paintings on the same wall over and over again only to finish one and bust a new piece right on top only to leave another masterpiece behind in the drywall archives. So much has changed since we first met. He’s now a tall lanky-ass, XXXL wearin’, pants draggin’ noob who still sports a mexistache but is coming into his own as an artist. He recently did the artwork for the Midget Mafia’s new Smokin’ Snowboards. He’s also done graphics for JSLV, Hurley and is probably one of the only 21-year olds who’s done a production shoe with Nike when we collaborated on the StinkWEEN’s. He even sold three pieces to top Nike execs. Expect nothing but greatness from this kid in the future and be sure to check out his blog at http://stinkween.blogspot.com.

Alexandra Cassaniti is doing her fourth collection of beachwear, which includes her signature “Summer Bummer” neoprene wetsuits. Lightweight shirting & tunics, and sunglasses are Alexandra’s inspiration for the line, born out of her interest in crop circles, agriculture, and sustainable materials. “Crop circles pull at my heartstrings for so many reasons. Their use of geometric shapes, the fact that they exist outside intellectual property law (and outside in general) and cell phones do not work when you stand inside them.” They truly are inspirational. “The agriculture thing, I think, is just tapping into our collective consciousness of what we are all interested in: dirt and growth.” For summer number 4, Alexandra debuts her ﬁrst collection of shirts and suiting constructed from agrarian fabrics, such as a ﬂax seed-based Osnaberg and cheesecloth. Items come with hand drawn, iron on patches for sustainability and individualization. Alexandra also introduces a new hand-dyed “Ocean Camo Blue” in her unisex neoprene jumpsuit and bikinis, as well as an updated variation of her “FACE IT” sunglasses with the signature mirrored “X” lenses and frosted frames. Alexandra Cassaniti is based out of out of Los Feliz in Los Angeles - All items are made in California or Duluth, Minnesota by sewers paid appropriately for their craft. They are limited edition, and encouraged to be worn at the beach. Make sure to check out Alexandra Cassaniti’s upcoming collection that can be found at alexandracassaniti.com.

2010

WeA ctiv is ts JA S O N LE E & PE T E R S T O R MA R E S HO T B Y C HE RY L D U N N www. we s c. co m

Words & Photo: Joey Marshall Greger Hagelin is not your typical Swede. He is not the reserved type who wears a suit and goes about his life with a serious look on his face and daily business occupying his mind. Greger likes to have fun, he laughs everyday and I’m gonna bet he really, really enjoys his life. He is a man who has found success after skateboarding and in doing so has catapulted himself to the forefront of the European action sports market. Along with a few close friends, Greger Hagelin started WeSC, We Are the Superlative Conspiracy, over ten years ago and the rest has been history. I’ve been fortunate enough to know him for a few years now and would be inclined to call him a friend. I recently had the opportunity of spending several evenings in Sweden dining with him and the crew from WeSC and in the process learned quite a bit about this little company making big moves in America. With the majority of the companies suffering during these economic times one might look at WeSC for inspiration. With phenomenal growth in recent years, I got a chance to dive into what is driving WeSC and had the opportunity to get an in depth look behind closed doors at their headquarters in Stockholm. From what I can gather good things really do happen to good people. Greger has surrounded himself with intelligent people that have similar ambitions and live by the same simple motto. Relying heavily on environmentally friendly products and going above and beyond standard laws and codes of conduct, WeSC has an internal structure that is downright amazing. Everyone I saw at their ofﬁces was smiling and between inner ofﬁce ping pong battles were working their asses off. His approach to business is one that should be sought after by all – “If you’re not having fun then shouldn’t be doing it.” With Greger at the helm and his loyal crew by his side, his ship is bound for what will undeniably be a very long, very successful voyage - something we should all be aiming for. Thanks for leading the way Greger.

Photo: Dominic Petruzzi : dominicpetruzzi.com // Model: Emily :: Agency: Ford Everyone who works at the BL!SSS HQ has a great job. We gripe a lot and are all very hard workers but when we get a moment to step back and look at the big picture we have all got it made. True, we will all be diligently working right up until the end of each and every month but when photos like this come across our desk we again realize how lucky we are. This isn’t the ﬁrst time we’ve published Emily in our magazine and I’m gonna go out on limb and say that it won’t be our last either. Truth be told, we’ve become our biggest critics in our old age and usually scrutinize each and every Super Taste to an extent that would make the average man question our sexuality. When this month’s choices were laid in front of us there was not one bad thing that could be said about this photo. Actually, for the most part we were all speechless. And that my friend is how we chose this month’s Super Taste. Makeup: Jessica McDonough

Photo: Ortiz

Interview: Dan Shetron Lets start off with the basics, where are you from and who do you ride for? I am from Pennsylvania originally, Glen Mills to be precise, but I currently reside in Tempe Arizona. I ride for ERGO, World Industries boards and shoes, Theeve Trucks, Bones, Dakine, Armourdillo, and Fairman’s Skate Shop. So originating on the east coast and now living in Tempe and visiting southern California often, which coast do you prefer? It depends on what we are talking about. I love the west coast for skateboarding purposes and for the time being, but growing up on the east coast was rad. Even

though we all complain about the weather it just makes you a different kind of person. And although I moved away because I needed something new, I do miss the seasons a lot. For food purposes, east coast food or west coast food? East coast. Chain food sucks, even though I love the Mexican out here. So I hear you’re engaged? Indeed, it’s on. How did you do it? At a casino outside of Vegas. I waited for one of us to hit 21 and then swiveled toward her in my chain and asked. She hit 21 on

her ﬁrst hand, which kind of threw me for a loop, and then she didn’t believe me. So it was not like how you see in the movies... it was better. 21 ﬁrst go? Lucky night. Do you guys already have a date lined up? Indeed, we are going to get hitched back in Pennsylvania on July 17th, 2010. It’s going to be fun don’t you think, best man? Just wait for what I have in store for you. Haha, oh man, if only the people reading this knew you... I don’t want to give anything away so we’ll move on... how

is it working as a full time teacher without the pay? Does your skating suffer? Well, student teaching rules, I love that this is going to be my job someday. The kids rule, the stuff I get to teach is fun (for the most part) and I get to listen to metal during class. As for the skating aspect, yes and no. It suffers because I have had to do so much work that I have had to make mature choices and spend a night doing lesson plans instead of skating. Shit, I’m planning a letter-writing lesson right now. But at the same time, it makes me really excited when I do get to go skating. So it’s a double-edged sword.

Have you ever been bad and gone skating instead of doing school work? Of course, it just keeps me up at night a little longer doing work. I have been going to bed around 10:30 and 11 for the past couple months, which is funny because I used to be just leaving the skatepark at 10:30. I’m like an old man now. The real world is harsh, I too just switched schedules not too long ago, but you gotta grow up at some point right? You don’t have to, but there is something to be said for doing it. I think getting older is badass. There are so many perks.

What’s the best perk about growing up in your eyes? Freedom. And we have been doing transcendentalism in school so I’m kind of on this freedom/individuality kick, so yeah, its all about getting older and not giving a fuck what people think and just being you. So graduation is rapidly approaching; any big plans when you are no longer bound to ASU? Well the one I am the most excited for is to be able to skate at ASU again. There are so many good spots there, and I got my “next time you come back you will have to talk to he dean” speech a year and a half ago. So if I have already graduated they can’t expel me. Big plans though, just skate everyday and make memories. Try not to take

my time for granted. The other night you were telling me you were super psyched to go to the doctor for the ﬁrst time in your life, care to explain? Well, I have really gnarly feet. I sometimes can’t skate because they will dry out so much that they will crack and I have trouble putting weight on them. And I have a really huge pinky toe. Maybe there should be a picture of it in here just so people can see it. But I went to a podiatrist, a doctor who specializes in this stuff. So I now have 3 things to put on my feet and I had to get an MRI on my toe. He is saying its some sort of growth that is not bone and that if it gets too big it could cut blood circulation and then I only have four little piggies on

Peterblunt :: Photo: Joe Hammeke

F.S Ollie :: Photo: Ortiz

Tail Slide - Heel Flip :: Photo: Joe Hammeke

Blunt Fakie :: Photo: Joe Hammeke

my right foot. So they may have to do surgery. I’m not super concerned, I’ve had it for 8 years. But it has gotten bigger for sure. Wow, that’s crazy. How’s the current condition of your feet? Really rough, that’s why I went to the doctor. I can’t even wear dress shoes to school. I have to wear my running shoes because they take the pressure off of the balls of my feet where the problem is.

Fucked up Toes :: Photo: Joe Hammeke

Well let’s hope the treatment starts to work, would you says it’s a gamble? Like black jack, your hidden addiction? Haha, that’s not a hidden addiction. I think if anything it’s our addiction because the only time that I ever get the urge is when you and I are together. You’re part of my gambling wolf pack of two. Should we let anyone into our wolf pack? Wow wow wow, gambling wolf pack? Or friendship wolf pack? Gambling of course. I’m judgmental, if you can’t play blackjack you cant be in our wolf pack. I guess we could let people in if they drive long distances with us in the car. But lets be real here, who would want to spend that much time in the car with us? Charlie (Thomas, World Industries Team Manager) could have

K-Grind :: Photo: Oriz

made it in if there were any casinos in Texas. Texas is the worst state to drive through, it never ends, casinos would deﬁnitely help that state out. Haha, or maybe just one really good broken down strip club where the ladies have less teeth than the tips you plan on giving them. That would have been an experience. We still need to check one of those out on a road trip. I’ve been dying for a good road trip, let’s plan something, and plan it around old grimy strip clubs and casinos, maybe an occasional skatepark to do wallie backtails at. Oh man... I’d love to do some kind of road trip when I’m done with school. I need to get out and live. Kiss my lady goodbye for a bit, and just go experience what life has to offer. Road trip while listening to the new Slayer? Fuck yes! The new album is amazing. World Painted Blood! You were telling me that you actually got to interview Tom Araya (lead singer and bass player) from Slayer, how was that? It was awesome. He was super cool and it was pretty much a dream come true. The best part about it was I had to ask my mentor teacher at school, the guy who has taken me under his wing for the semester, to teach part of two of my

classes because I had to interview him while I was at school. It was awesome. Slayer is the greatest band of all time. I’m sure you take Slayer everywhere with you don’t you? Of course, it’s tattooed on the front of my right shoulder. They will be with me forever Who is your mentor? I would have to say my life mentor, although this sounds stereotypical, is my dad. He rules. He has provided for my family since I was a child, he’s a self made man, he’s a great dad, and he’s funny. I would love to be able to do that for my family someday. Your dad is the man; big ups to Mr. Cannon for keeping you in line and not letting you fall off the deep end. Haha, I’m going to say I agree. But we have to give my mom credit too; she listens to me when I am going nuts. So thank you Mom and Dad, I love you both. And your mom of course. Words to live by? Envy is ignorance, Imitation is suicide. -Ralph Waldo Emerson I feel like that’s too much of a cliché ending so I will end with this, and reply however you see ﬁt - Hank Moody. Everyone of his books are named after Slayer albums. Hank Moody is a legend.

“Eddie Went” : Words: Brad Beylik The Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, better known as “The Eddie,” is Hawaii’s most beloved and famous big wave event. It returned to Waimea this year after a ﬁve-year hiatus with what was hailed as the swell of the century. All around the Paciﬁc Rim, in the weeks leading up to the event, groups of techdependent surfers huddled

around their computers drooling over the bright purple that saturated Surfline’s LOLA models. Excited whispers rushed through the surfing world, predicting that the waves would equal or surpass any in the last century. Sean Collins of Surfline wrote that it would be even “bigger than the 1969 Makaha Swell,” which forced

the evacuation of the North Shore beach communities. The little two-lane highway that runs the length of Oahu’s North Shore was washed out, covered over with sand by the bombardment of long interval swells. The Eddie, named for Hawaiian surﬁng legend and lifeguarding hero Eddie Aikau, only sets up

shop when the waves at the North Shore rise to monstrous proportions. The 2009 Eddie was held 25 years to the day after the very ﬁrst Eddie, which saw 50-foot waves pummeling the famous shoreline, and was remembered as one of the biggest swells of the century. The December 2009 swell will no doubt go down as one of those

Greg Long :: Photo: Bielman

Andy Irons :: Photo: Russo

Garrett McNamara :: Photo: Bielmann

Peter Mel :: Photo: Servais

Mark Healey :: Photo: Bielmann

Greg Long : Winner :: Photo: Servais

Top 3 : Greg, Slater & Sunny :: Photo: Servais

ultra famous oceanographic events. Greg Long, the 26-year-old from San Clemente who has been stacking up a string of big wave victories in recent years, edged out Kelly Slater late in the contest to take home the first place trophy and the $55,000 winner’s purse. One of Long’s insane, breath-sucking rides earned him a perfect score of 100. Ramon Navarro of Chile won the “Monster Drop Award” for gnarliest (but successful) takeoff. The former empanada baker who came to the North Shore in 2004 took fifth place overall, solidifying his own place among the greats of big wave surfing. He earned $10,000 for the big drop, and another $2,000 for placing fifth, a whole lot more than a day’s work folding his empanadas probably earned him in the past. Kelly Slater took second, earning a $10,000 check. He held the lead for most of the contest but was passed by Greg Long in the last moments of the event. Hawaii legend Sunny Garcia took third with $3,000, and fourth was Bruce Irons, the incumbent Eddie champion from the island of Kauai, who also earned $3,000.

Ramon Navarro : Monster Drop :: Photo: Servais

Bob McKnight :: Photo: Servais

Ramon Navarro :: Photo: Bielmann

Slater & Reef :: Photo: Noyle

Slater & Reef :: Photo: Bielmann

Keoni & Bruce Irons :: Photo: Bielmann

Burle, Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Brien & Alexander :: Photo: Servais

Shane Dorian :: Photo: Russo

Makua Rothman :: Photo: Russo

Clyde Aikau :: Photo: Noyle

Words & Photos: Tyler Heffernan

For such a shitty start to my season, I got a turn around phone call to work with the Flow Snowboard team. I got back from Europe with two days to repack my gear, gather thoughts, pay bills and get back to shooting. I headed down from Tahoe to Mammoth to meet up with the whole team: from the cornrowed Minnesota kid who never saw or rode jumps before to Scotty Lago who can shred blindfolded. There was every bit of twenty plus shredders from all over to get some shots rolling for in-house use. When I had met up with everyone they were already in the middle of ﬁlming for Bad Reputation. Such a great name for a great crew! It is cool to see so many different riding styles and how the team rides together and pushes each other into different obstacles. Oren Tanzer from Mammoth hooked us up with two night shoots, one being a sunset pipe shoot

and the other being a kicker shoot, where it started snowing which worked in favor for a few shots. With Mammoth being such a scenic place you have tons of shooting possibilities, whether it be on the mountain or going out for a trip to the hot springs there are tons of awesome areas to photograph shredding as well as lifestyles and or portraits. Flow team manager Andrew Mutty drew up plans for a really cool channel gap jump that was built on the backside of Mammoth. The ﬁrst day of shooting some of the riders weren’t “feeling it” due to inconsistent winds. The following day it all worked out for the better with perfect weather and conditions. If we weren’t on the mountain shooting we were staying occupied with shooting lifestyles. With a full day set aside for an event at June Mountain, we were able to shoot in the perfectly groomed park with no one around.

Scotty Lago shows up late and leaves early. This is a front 7…or 9, who really counts after 5 besides the judges anyway?

Jeremy with a frontside 3.

Parking garage portrait: Jeremy Thompson.

Similar to how June always is but this time after everyone was done hitting the jumps it was time to move the party down to the parking lot and start to BBQ up some dogs and burgers while the jibbers were helping out the park staff set up the bottom rail into the parking lot. I love hearing jibbers bitch at other jibbers about how high or low the take off is into the rail. It is actually really funny on how pissed off someone gets instead of adapting to it. Brandon Reis danced his way down the rails and banged out every trick he wanted to do. That kid has so much talent on rails and it always looks like he isn’t trying because his style is so laid back. Scott Brown - Wow, that kid is also a dirty all around shredder who has no problem putting in the extra

time to pull off some sick shots! It is great working with motivated riders who are always willing to put in that extra effort, it usually pays off. After our last night shoot we had enough time to download from the cat and get all the gear back to the hotel and at that point it started to get hectic. Everyone’s bags were consolidated from all the hotel rooms into 1 room with 20 people scattering to see whose bags are whose. At this point everyone started to pack up all their shit while some dinner was being cooked. We eat some grub and ﬁnally get out of our shred attire and then it was time to pack up the trucks and venture out to Reno to get to the airport in time. Everyone was then headed into a

We ran when we should have rocked. Time to kill in the airport. Antti Autti silhouette after a long day of shred and nowhere to change with 50 people in one hotel room.

Kade Madsen inverted in Mammoth.

different directions, a board bag fell off of Mutty’s car while on his drive to drop off some riders in North Lake Tahoe before heading straight to the airport. As my car was packed like Sanford ‘n Son, Claire Bidez was very sick and we were constantly pit stopping/ puke stopping. When we ﬁnally got near Reno I was able to hear my phone messages about a missing bag. Well, it happened to be the sick girls board bag that went missing. Not a great day for her at all. Now let me get to the beginning part of the ﬂight to Switzerland. Nothing less of priceless times on this trip, starting with Jeremy Thompson pretending to be retarded and nearly getting the boot out of Reno Airport from

Tim Humphreys being ﬁlmed a ways behind Laax.

Scotty Lago livin’ the dream.

Tune up time with Mutty and Brandon.

Tim in the great, green outdoors.

They call him Stompson (Jeremy Thompson), but not by choice.

Again, stompin’ a cab 7 tail.

Scotty Lago spinning to win!

Humpy with a little fast plant through the forest in Switzerland.

the security. Leaving with a small group of the team was no easy task, we arrived in Washington DC for our connecting flight which we missed, so with nothing else to do in the airport we get loaded and cause a scene where the airlines put us up for the evening. All of us were anxious about getting to Switzerland and we weren’t too stoked on hanging out in Virginia for the evening. There was one good thing about missing the plane and that was because humpy forgot his passport at his home in NJ and he would have to fly alone. Well, with some finagling he was able to have his parents put his passport into a medical folder and get it on the plane as medical records. We did what anyone else would do at a hotel all day and that is to drink at the bar. Scotty, a true comedian who knows how to have a good time, helped everyone with their insanity. Brandon Reis didn’t mind one bit because he never put his phone down from talking to his girlfriend the whole time – giving her updates on what gate he was going to be at, etc. Somehow

Mary Sallah brought a bottle right through security and from that moment on United Airlines no longer liked us. We finally took off and flew in circles for 30 minutes before returning back to our gate to sit there while they attempted to fix a computer problem. Mmm sounds like fun, right. Not until they took everyone off the plane to unload all of the luggage and then re-issue tickets to all the passengers did the next flight process begin. Well, with a few cocktails under Jeremy’s belt he decided to grab the microphone during the boarding process and ask if anyone would prefer to be in the mile high club. With tons of laughs and dirty looks it was time to re-board, once again. As soon as I got on the plane the flight attendant was asking who had the alcohol and tried to stress me out, it was cool that they went on to question all of the guys in the crew as Mary casually got on the plane and acted like she didn’t know any of us. It was classic since they were going to throw the person

off the plane who had the bottle. Jeremy was on ﬁre this trip, ﬁnding a random chick to make out with and making the whole plane laugh on several occasions.

through while Jeremy was getting warmed up when he almost killed himself.

Going back to partying, Scotty stayed up all night because he is a Finally, after planes trains and true rock star and decided to climb automobiles we got to our spot in a crane about 100 feet off the Laax. The riders got to go riding ground to come back inside and and check out what was available call up a heli service to see if there to start shooting on and whatnot. was anything in the backcountry We were all under the impression to check out. The next day Greg that the Pleasure Spring Session Wheeler from Transworld, Humpy, was going to be ﬁlled with decent Scotty and myself all headed out sized end of the season jumps. for the day in search for good Well, we guessed wrong. It was a snow. During the rail jam we all mini shred park and geared more watched from inside our condo as toward partying than shredding. It Brandon was racking up the free was time for Mutty to have a talk beers and destroying anyone that with the park staff and explain why would try to step to his moves. All we traveled so far to be there. A in all, it was a fun trip with tons few days later we returned to the of memories. I don’t think I could little small jump to see that they ever forget when Jeremy stripped had in fact listened as the jump down to just his underwear at the grew drastically and the sketchy Italian Restaurant and waited for factor was through the roof! Scotty the waitress’s puzzled look. This and Jeremy were the only two trip was now complete and Mary riders to step to the jump, Humpy was ready to get back to Tahoe still with a bruised heel. Scotty hit and vent on how shitty their park it and destroyed it on a few passes was.

Words: Thomas Allan :: Photos: Mike Gan November 20th marked the opening of “mindthegap”, an exhibition of work from Barry McGee and Phil Frost, curated by RVCA founder and CEO, PM Tenore. The night celebrated the public opening of both the show and PRISM, the stunning three-level gallery space situated behind a Gehryesque façade on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. And although the show’s opening party was thrown to symbolize a new beginning, it really felt like more of a bookend to a memorable series of events. Back in the Spring, PRISM’s owner, PC Valmorbida was standing over an empty lot on the famed Sunset strip with a vision of bringing some of the buzz of New York’s art scene to Los Angeles. As construction of the space was underway, PC got in touch with PM Tenore to curate the inaugural exhibition, and the concept of “mindthegap” was developed. “mindthegap” has set out to unite a group of artists whose work ﬁlls the metaphorical gap between the deﬁnitions of high and low art. It is art that straddles the line of being both publicly accessible yet also edging its way into the traditional artistic canon. The type of work that until recently has been sidelined by the mainstream art world but whose intrinsic effusive spirit has broken through boundaries and fundamentally impacted popular and artistic culture. PM’s intuition led him immediately to exhibit Phil Frost and Barry McGee.

Philip Frost is a self-taught artist who began his career in the early ‘90s by aggressively blanketing New York City’s streets and doorways with strips of brightly colored wheatpasted posters. Phil went on to create highly personalized paintings and sculpture where he often employs the use of found material. His works are at once beautiful and illegible - they trigger a host of non-related associations and unexpected correspondences. In preparing for the show, Phil spent about six weeks working in an empty warehouse space in a non-descript business park nestled in the industrial zone of Costa Mesa. Opening a big bay door to ﬁnd literally hundreds of Phil’s pieces in various stages of completion was as much inspiring as overwhelming. Barry McGee was born in 1966 in San Francisco, where he continues to live and work. First known as “Twist,” the moniker under which he attained cult status among his peers as a grafﬁti writer, he subsequently received formal training at the San Francisco Art Institute, where he earned a BFA in painting and printmaking in 1991.

Rising out of the Mission School art movement, McGee has shown extensively at galleries and museums. Whereas Phil spent so much of his time in his studio preparing, Barry had an ominous installation planned for PRISM that would prove to be quite a project. His signature geometric prints in wildly bright colors were mounted on wood, cut into literally thousands of pieces, and blanketed onto several walls and pillars in the gallery. While the visuals are incredible, the installation is truly appreciated in person where you can get a sense for the scope of the work. Barry also provided RVCA with a little surprise as he and AMAZE blessed both sides of the rented delivery truck with their signatures, turning a $100 rental bill into a $5k cleaning bill. U-Haul would have been better served to sell the truck to Sotheby’s… After nearly a week of dialing in the show at PRISM, it was time for the private opening. PC and his team put on an incredible event

attracting a literal who’s-who of collectors, media, and celebrities of all sorts. Phil and Barry’s work was instantly shared around the world online everywhere from Hypebeast to Vogue and the comment feeds and message boards were lit up with praise from all continents. The buyers were also frenzied when the likes of Larry Gagosian, Pharrell Williams, Corine Roitfeld, Dasha Zhukova, Brian Grazer, Anthony Kiedis and the numerous private collectors popping up in the photos from the event. The night that followed was a display of stars as PRISM hosted the red carpet after party of MOCA’s 30th Anniversary Gala. At this event, Barry and Phil’s work was the attraction for Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, Chloe Sevigny, Christina Ricci, James Franco, Kate Bekinsale, and the list goes on… Two days into the gallery’s opening and the space had already seen more headlines than most of its peers do in years. Both artists spent the next week making slight tweaks to the space and their work, preparing to show it to the world. It was really great to see the evolution of ideas and emotions to ﬁnished pieces,

and then another transformation of finished work to refinished work as it finds its home within the walls of a gallery space. It’s like watching the timeless debate of nature versus nurture unfold in an eight-week time lapse. As the dust resettled, it was time to unveil “mindthegap” to the public for its three-month run at PRISM (November 20th – February 20th, 2010). RVCA and PRISM combined to present a much more relaxed atmosphere this go-round with free-flowing beer and the melodic voice of RVCA ANP musician Peggy Honeywell filling the gallery. And although that night marked the start of something incredible, there was also a collective sigh of accomplishments as the party marked the end of that memorable series of events. “mindthegap” is open to the public through February 20th, 2010, Tuesday – Sunday at PRISM, 8746 W. Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, CA 90069. Pick up your copy of RVCA’s ANP Quarterly while you’re there. Very special thanks to Barry McGee, Phil Frost, PC Valmorbida, PM Tenore, Stavros Niarchos, and RVCA for making mindthegap a reality.

Portrait Photos: Cobra Snake Phil, Barry & Kelly Slater

Slater, Pat, P.M & Peeps

Barry, Takashi Murakami & P.M. Tenore

C.R. Stecyk, lll & Stavros Niarchos

Photography: Joshua Spencer

Styling: Alicya Blake theslateagency.com Assistant Stylist: Sarah Clark Makeup: Leah Vautrot beautydecoded.com Hair: Boyde

joshuaspencerphoto.com

Photo Assistants: Chris Steidle & Carson Leh Models: Amanda George :: LA Models // Thom Wyatt :: DNA Model Shot on location at Factory Place Arts Complex Digital Retouch: Steffanie Walk

Her Denim Vest – Fox fox-girl.com Dress – 213 213industry.com Ring – You Macbeth youmacbeth.com Socks, Shoes, Earrings – Stylist’s own Him Sweater – Comune Denim – Comune thecomune.com Boots – Esquivel esquivelshoes.com

Him Shirt – Comune Denim – Comune thecomune.com Her Hat – Tulle tullehatcompany.com Top – Fox fox-girl.com Scarf – Stylist’s own

Her Top – Ezekiel ezekiel.com Ring – You Macbeth youmacbeth.cm Earrings – n.Om Dress – Stylist’s own Socks – Stylist’s own

Her Shirt – RVCA rvca.com Dress – Volcom volcom.com Boots – Anne Michelle Socks – Stylist’s own

Her Top – Ezekiel ezekiel.com Earrings – n.Om Rings – You Macbeth youmacbeth.com Him Button Up – Comune thecomune.com

Her Dress – Hurley hurley.com Socks – Stylist’s own Boots – Stylist’s own Him Top – Comune thecomune.com Denim – Comune thecomune.com Shoes – PF Flyers pfﬂyers.com

ERGO-0912-Blisss.indd 1

12/17/09 12:34 PM

Photos: Ortiz :: Words: Adam Hoyle Although we don’t technically come from the land down under, let me assure you, beer ﬂowed and men chundered. (Did you know that “chunder” is an Aussie term for alcohol-induced puking? Neither did I.) Can’t you hear the thunder? For 2009’s Bondi Bowl-A-Rama, we took a bit of a departure from our usual plan of attacking Australia’s annual bowl contest. Instead of

Bob Burnquist : F.S Blunt Bondi Bowl

the usual footage-centric routine of skating the contest and street spots with the goal of acquiring as much footy as possible, we decided to go about things in a much more relaxed manner. Yeah, we skated the contest and some street spots, but the one and only focus of this year’s trip was to have fun. If footage comes as a result, so be it. If chundering all over the hotel bathroom comes as a result, so be it.

Dave Bachinsky : F.S H. Cab H. Flip Big 4

Rune Glifberg : F.S Pop Shuv Hip

On board were the usual cast of characters: Bob Burnquist, Rune Glifberg, Chris Senn, Collin Provost, Dave Bachinsky, Tyler Hendley Jorgen Horowath, Jackson Pilz and Renton Miller. As the trip progressed, however, the Oakley ship acquired some castaways in the form of Rob Loriﬁce, Jimmy the Greek and Daniel Cardona. Regardless of the relaxed, pressure-free outlook of the trip, everyone in attendance tore shit up. If you’ve never seen Jimmy the Greek skate in person, do yourself a favor and add that to the list of things to do before you die.

Jimmy the Greek Crail Slide Half Pipe 5 Docks

The Bowl-A-Rama series in New Zealand and Australia is a must see event to see some of the best pool skating go down as well as hitting the famous 5 docks as you can see we did. Since your ADHD is probably kicking in right about now, I’ll cut this short and let the photos speak for themselves. G’day.

Chris Senn - Feeble Baricade

Rob LorďŹ ce B.S Smith Cradle 5 docks

Jorgen Horowath : Lien Channel 5 Docks

Tyler Hendley : Wallride Black Wall

Jackson Piltz : 360 Flip Hip

Daniel Cardona : F.S Ollie Hip

Collin Provost : B.S T. Slide Shuv Jersey Barrier

Interview: Stavros Niarchos Congratulations on your first show in New York, “The Matvs Maw” that was presented by Vladimir RestoinRoitfeld and RVCA. For those who don’t know you, could you tell us a little about yourself: Where are you from? Where do you live? What does your typical day consist of? Well I was born in Paris in 1977 and I’ve lived in Paris for most of my life, though I was raised in Africa (from zero to three) in Zambia, Kenya, and Ouganda. I have the weirdest memories of these places, a combination of nature greatness and extreme human violence. I mean Kalachnikovs, grenades, flames and blood! On the other hand I was lucky enough to have the sweetest grandparents based in LA. They had settled there in the 1960’s leaving France. So, you know, I’d go there each summer with my grand brother and we’d be in the fantastic California hypnosis. At a point I even studied there. I was sixteen and couldn’t stand Paris, I mean my life in Paris at the time, or you know, I just hated being at school and would skip on it all the time. I was send in LA as a punishment! Now I live in Paris and I love it. I occupy two studios in different near suburbs, Montreuil and Vincennes. It’s great to have separate places when you love to waste your time. Really, even if I can go through isolation periods in one place painting, I’m a kind off a fugueur. I can’t stand routine, and also, it’s when I’m driving the triporteur or moped, trapped in traffic, or wondering by or waiting for someone that never comes, that words, ideas or abstractions come visit. In that sense there’s not one typical day. The only thing I can say is that it seems like I’m privileging night as my working time. Some paintings are like vampires. They are looking beautiful in the dark, screaming like, and diminished in clear light. They are usually the ones you’ll need to work over nights before to give theme your blessing. So I can write stuff waiting for the evening, poems like, or nothingtexts to be painted on canvases or boxes. I visit the Check Morris bureau, they’re two graphic designers (one of them being my grand brother) and I always have them working on one of my things. So it’s like work and courtesy visit. One thing I hate though, is having friends coming to my place unannounced, like it’s fun or something. I don’t tolerate other artists looking at my work in progress. They are judging you no matter what they say. And they never come back to pay attention at what you’ve really achieved. Makes me feel like a mental handicapped. Also the place can be so messy and upside down dirty. You really need to love being filled with dirt as a painter. Following your solo show in London in 2007, this was your first solo exhibition in NY. How did it come about? How did it differ from the show in London? Meeting Vladimir, in ten minutes I was convinced I wanted to show with him in New York. I had another show planned there about the same period, I just cancelled my participation to it right away. Because Vladimir told me “I do everything myself”. No assistant, no associate, no other point of view involved in any way. Great. Like me. Now the gallery in London was terrific. I mean I have great memories off shows we’ve done there. I tended to work ‘till the last minute on everything when we would display it in that quite huge space. Cause my studios were smaller then, and time over there would always run short. I wouldn’t sleep for nights trying to push the limits in the process. Good exercise. But I’m so happy it didn’t have to go that way in New York. I think a question a lot of people would like me to ask you is about the name of the show: “The Martvs Maw”. How did you come up with the name and what is it about? I tend to give names to figures in paintings, you know like characters in movies. I love people’s names. The evocation and impact they project on a person. It’s abstract and it can be really powerful. I mean funny or sexy, scary or ridiculous. Martus was an imaginary family name. Edward Martus. The poor Edward, it’s a sad song by Tom Waits about a guy

under the influence of an evil woman. He loses his mind and life. And Martus is the ancient Latin word for witness, the root of the French word martyr. Witnesses of their own faith were the first Christians tortured and killed in ancient Rome. The word collage Edward Martus would bring sort of a masochistic feeling to me, even if it’s just a detail and I wasn’t planning on explaining anything about its origin. It became the secret name of the self portrait-like sculpture “You look better that way” reinterpreting an old torture device à la mode under Louis XIV, where sins and misbehavior were painted on a wooden gown to humiliate the guilty one and offer him slow death. It was a way for me to settle inner conflicts. Even later to me that Martus was still carrying a whole chorus of images. I could feel I wanted to dig deeper in its mythology and the classical background of martyr representation in painting history (St Jean Baptiste, St. Sebastien, the Prophet in Hell or other characters from the Divine Comedy) to use it as a funny material and violent excitement. Still that’s just one angle, I didn’t want to remake things from the past, but to confront them with my ignorance. The Martus Maw, it’s like Arthur Rimbaud right, the poet never ceases to “empuantir les sphères”. It’s dissection time: let’s open the Martus guts and observe the diseases they’re hiding. What I think added to the powerful

atmosphere of the show is that it was presented in the old Essex Meat Market. Can you take us through how you chose this space? Well it’s a strange coincidence. I didn’t explain to anyone what I was going to draw or paint, as I had very few idea, but Vladimir just guessed it all anyway! Seriously, the choice he had made to avoid white walls gallery space lead him to visit several more industrial areas until he discovered that shut down Essex Meat Market and decided to go for it. Then it has worked a bit like a telepathic experience. Not knowing of his choice and the story of the space, I’ve painted like a butcher, an ode to meat and black sausage or visions of porks cooking people, you know, while Vlad is thinking of opening in this abandoned place where you can still see hooks for meat coming down from the ceiling. Even some colors on the walls would reappear on the paintings. I don’t know if that’s a good thing but it was funny. And then with the lighting it would jump to an even more spectacular and dramatic feeling, to a scary point. Like entering into a Church, Edward Munch’s dream, and taking off your hat with respect or superstition, you know, for paintings. Vladimir’s curating choice was bold in a way and classical in an other, like out of time, a black mess. I noticed that your work for this show became a lot darker and complex. One really feels a sense of struggle and suffering. Does the work reﬂect a

period of your life that your were going through? Do you think that art intrinsically conveys the emotions that the artist is feeling during the time that he produced the work? Well, yeah. I dig you can read paintings like confessions or intimate notes of abstract and hidden feelings. I never plan on being dark or anything. I do feel attracted to ugly figures, masks, weapons, or animals because they’re powerful and I feel I can serve that power or use it as poetry tools. But I do have planned to create a piece that would be a definite expression of bliss and joy. An attempt on achieving my “Luxe calme et volupté”. I really admire Matisse and his key to happiness in painting. But it’s never the good moment, and I can’t cheat on myself so much even if I’m slightly learning to. So the work certainly describes a mood, like music would do, like blues or whatever. And sure there’s a period in my life where I’ve started to fear myself. The period is probably never going to end, but now the evil works for me in a way, meaning to say it gives me strength. I’m sure some great works of art are made without any of the biography or emotions of the author entering into it… Though from Duchamp to Warhol you can’t erase their subtle game with emotions and thoughts even in any of their emblematic machine like or cynical pieces. L’urinoir is a self portrait to me and a funny one; warm fountain of that crookery art mocking bird. Is your art very personal? Oh yes it’s very personal. Cocteau would say “One can only exhibit his wounds…” By the way he didn’t appreciate the use of family name for characters, thought it was too evocative and easy. That’s why Thomas l’imposteur has no last name. How did you get into painting? At what point in your life did you decide to make a career out of it? Well as far as I can remember, you know, yes it’s very personal. I loved dirt, bandages with dead blood on it, Mercurochrome, I mean close ups of unusual things, crabs, worms, snails… And cheese… So I think at a point you recognize yourself as a painter, meaning that you’ve always been in the disposition or weird illness to react to forms and matter a certain way. I loved seashells… Anyway, acting, disguising, singing, writing, whether you’re good at it or not it’s the same. It’s like, do you like cheese or not? Some people are disgusted by cheese as they are with painting, saying it’s dead and all smelly. Well I’ve always loved smelly cheese. Georges Bataille would love really smelly cheese “it’s like a tomb”. Death and paintings are fascinating. That’s probably what I’m trying to do, reach fascination. Great paintings sometimes really seem to be sent from beyond death like Van Gogh’s starry night. As a kid in school I would go to the library and open a Claude Monet book for it would be like freedom to me. It’s so sensual, like getting drunk. I’ve never thought of making a career out of it. Are there any artists that influenced you as you developed as a painter? There are so many of them… I could make a list of those who didn’t, it would be easier. Curiously enough, I’m thinking a lot about filmmakers right now. Visconti, Hitchcock, and specially Lynch (the great master) and also Cronenberg. I still want to do paintings looking exactly like Cronenberg’s tools… Spines, mammals, General Optical, or new sexual orifices and organs maybe. All the Videodrome or scanners companies I’ve tried to copy that in a certain way. And I had done that scary figure on white isorel or formica called “You’re the Weak.” I wanted to do like a Tarantino painting… I wonder where that one can be now… But also, of course I remember copying a lot of Toulouse Lautrec lines as a teenager. Harring, Matisse, Basquiat, Picasso, Gauguin, Stan Lee… This was one of the rare successful shows in today’s economic environment. The playing field for artists as yourself is obviously very different from a couple of years ago. What did you take or learn from this show? Do you walk away inspired or do you foresee any change in direction in the future? It’s great; I’ll have more freedom. I’m about to experiment new volumes. Still, you know, I’m really concerned in not thinking too much about all of these boring but never-theless very important aspects of an artist’s life and reality. There is no other field in my life than the floating swamp of appetite and doubts. Devolution. Learning to forget. It’s great to be surrounded by titans. And paintings are so friendly sometimes, even if they are at war. I just hope to carry on working more and more and push it to the wildest point. How was it working with Vladimir? I can only describe it as an enchantment. Vladimir really looked after me. He’s kind, he’s funny, he shares what he

loves and he’s very free. Once I had decided to trust him in every situation that would occur later in the curating process we just went on a wild adventure. That’s magic. I’ve been scared but I knew it would be useless to try being smart or to think different than him to like push the both of us. He knows what he wants and just ignores what leads to doubts, or what just might take away his dreamlike vision from him. How do you feel about working with RVCA’s artist network program? RVCA has been such a great support all along for Vladimir and for me. So many good artists are involved, it’s really impressive. It makes me feel very proud, a great honor you know. I understand that this was your first trip out to New York? What did you think of the city? Yes, it was my first time. I remember walking from the Meatpacking to the Lower East Side the first night, following Vladimir. The city is so great, I’d like to see it in the springtime. Did you get to visit any other places while you were in the US? I went in LA and Vegas and Bryce Canyon. Great trip. I love the USA. I’d like to visit the south. Did you document your trip in anyway? I made movies with a cellular phone and drawings when I was in hotel rooms. So what can we expect from you in the near future? Oh I don’t think anyone can change, or just a few so… Same story in different versions… If I’m lucky enough.

WESC’S 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Words & Photos: Joey Marshall // WESC popup store at “The Pub” // Lady Tigra on the mic // Erik Ruhle & Andrew Delgado // Daniele & Masahiro // Mattias // Jason Bates stealing a kiss from Lota // Model // Friend & Mike // Matt, Jessie, & Michelle // Jessie Cohen & Joey Marshall It’s not every day that I get a phone call from one of our advertisers inviting me to Sweden to help celebrate their ten-year anniversary and check out the beautiful city of Stockholm. Then again, it’s not everyday that a Euro-based brand gets to celebrate the ten-year mark… especially in our industry… especially in this economy. Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I can’t really think of one other brand from Europe that has made it this long that is still in America. For those of you who haven’t quite ﬁgured it out yet, I’m talking about WESC, We Are the Superlative Conspiracy – A Swedish-born brand that ten years later is making big moves in the US. Back to the story – I did what anyone would do in my position and packed my bags and headed for LAX. A short 20-hours later and I found myself wandering the streets of Stockholm. The 72-hour stink I was there ﬂew by like the blink of an eye. Jessie Cohen and the US PR team planned everyday in advance. I did everything one could do in 72 hours and then some. No seriously, I think I slept a total of 10 hours. I was warned in advance about this lack of sleep punishment yet I threw caution to the wind and experienced everything I could.

Day one consisted of me walking around the entire city and getting lost at nearly every opportunity possible. Google Maps on my phone was my only savior, which of course died at only half way through the day. I spent the majority of day two at WESC headquarters (which, by the way, has the very best view of Stockholm) playing ping pong and popping my head in the international sales meeting to hear about WESC’s success story and how life after skateboarding does go on. The third day I found myself on a never-ending boat ride with journalists from FHM UK, Dazed, Nylon and Weactivist’s Lady Tigra and Par Stromberg. We sailed from somewhere in Stockholm to what must have been Norway. We ate like kings, drank like fish and told many a wonderful story. That night we celebrated the decade mark and goddamn do those Swedes know how to throw a party: Hoffmaestro, Millencolin, Timbuktu & Chords, The Lady Tigra, Smoke L.E.S. and David Roiseux just to name a few. I don’t think anyone got a wink of sleep and off we were to the airport again. There was so much that happened that I could easily fill twenty more pages of stories from the threeday trip – but they’ll just have to wait for another time. I wanted to thank everyone at WESC for their hospitality and support and also congratulate the crew on their first ten years of success, and I’m sure the next ten will be just as wonderful – The Superlative Conspiracy continues…

REPEAT AFTER ME : I AM FREE

Words: Milk :: Photos: Mark Nisbet // Rain refugees // Mike Piscitelli’s photography // Mark Nisbet’s skate memories // Jacob Jahn ﬂirting with Pabst dude while Nick Potash sells jewelry // CRAP art // Corey Cady workin’ till the end // DETHKILLS keepin’ it MURDA // Carole Anne Pecchia’s claymation short // J.Strickland // Greyboy contemplates family life // Curb 1 (left) Eric McHenry (right)

Sugar cookie? Hot toddy? Your fat uncle’s disgusting musk? Ah… gotta love it, the season of giving and fortunately this wasn’t the standard holiday party. The cannibals over at Inisght spread the holiday cheer with their second installment of “Garage Art Show” and the Los Angeles premier of their new campaign, “Repeat After Me: I Am Free.” The walls of an empty LA warehouse became home for 26 erection inducing artists. Standout pieces from Dethkills, Eric McHenry, Mark Nisbet, Scott Chenoweth and Tyler Mumma had partygoers reconsidering life. Dj O-Raj supplied sound waves for dancing while Pabst Blue Ribbon drained down human gullets just like Tiger Wood’s career. Adding to the evening’s festivities, the Tijuana Panthers slipped by and played a set for a crowd of interestingly tanned females and appreciative males. Finely manicured humans snow skied across the dance floor until the live music ceased and DJ Greyboy took over on the wheels of steel. Some of the choicest tunes ever compiled flowed out of undeserving speakers and the world finally made sense. As people filtered in and out like a line of ants, the night disappeared as quickly as it came and once again a total knockout ensued… Tis the season.

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SURF STORY RELEASE PARTY

Robb Havassy & daughter // Crowd goers // Surf Art // Greg Escalante signing “Surf Story” // Mike Lossness art // PT & Brazil Babe // Bill Ogden Art // The Aaron’s Family // Friend with Dr. Brian Doonan // Surfboard art // Anamique and Josh Hoyer

Surf Story is not your typical surf-coffee table book, it is not your typical artcoffee table book either. I would say it is somewhat of a blend of the two but even better. In 440 pages it is a collection of wonderful stories that features the likes of artists, surfers, photographers and iconic ﬁgures in the surf industry. The tales are a priceless collection of magical days, lost breaks, beautiful imagery and timeless imagination – the true essence of the surf culture. Robb Havassy, local Newport artist and surfer, is the mastermind behind the masterpiece and when the mainland release party went down this past month at the Hurley headquarters and I couldn’t resist.

The event was benefiting the Surfrider Foundation and it didn’t take long before the house was packed. There were more than a handful of contributors in attendance signing the newly purchased books and having their photos taken with their fans. Music filled the air with live performances by M Phase, Tornado Rider, and Iodine69. Art adorned every inch of wall space while a silent auction and raffles were happening the entire event. There was beer and wine for the elder crew and tacos for all who were hungry. I was only there long enough to make a few laps, snap some photos and congratulate a few of my friends but it was long enough to gather that this is definitely one of the better “surf books” put together by our generation – a must have for every surfer.

Interview: Tim Bergevin At the young age of twenty-four, Dev Hynes is smart, obscure and very articulate but hasn’t lost his appreciation for pop culture or what it’s like to be British. Breaking onto the scene with electro punk outﬁt Test Icicles, Dev’s taken a decidedly different path on his solo work under the moniker Lightspeed Champion. Channeling classic Britain, his music is grandiose and full of texture. It may not be palatable for everyone but that doesn’t really seem like a concern for him.

Rather than copying them musically, it’s more like the idea behind them.

Are you concerned that fans of your last record or even from Test Icicles days will find this is too complicated or are you challenging them to come along on this ride with you? I kind of just see it as open. Artists that I have always been a fan of have always tried different things. Their career is not really progressing and that every thing they do is better than the last. They are just trying to do different things and they This record feels like a film score or are aware that there are different things. a musical. Was that the idea going I understand why most people would in? say what they are doing now is better I’ve always loved soundtracks and have than what they have done, but I always always approached song writing like that thought that was a very narrow minded most of the time. I always have stupid thing to say. Nothing is really better it is images in my mind of what I want the just different. So to a lot of people the songs to come across as, so that is why last album is probably way better than it probably sounds that way. Some of this and in some ways it probably is, the things I do picture are child like, like but in other ways this one is better. It dreaming in your bedroom kind of stuff. just depends on taste and it’s just there I find it funny. I did want this album to to listen to. I always use my Mom as be really over the top though. a musical barometer, she reminds me that a large portion of people listen to It does have a certain vaudevillian music with no pretense. My Mom doesn’t quality on a few tracks and it does put a record on and then think about if make you feel as your watching what they were doing two years ago was theater. cool. Yeah that is good! I wanted it to sound quite British and European and I wanted Have you thought about abandoning to take influences from things musically the pop format and doing a that I thought were really cool but that musical? no one else does. I think recently when Yeah, I think about that everyday. people have made really British sounding I really, really want to do it. I kind of music they always reference scrappy only want to do it if I get asked to do it guitars and going to the pub, very rather than just do it. I love the idea of working class. I find that really boring deadlines and having to do something. - I grew up in Essex which is pretty If someone approached me than oh my much what that type of music usually God I would dive straight into it. describes, and I don’t want to focus on that. I have always seen Britain as kind You’re the first musician that I have of having a stiff upper lip. Almost like ever spoken to that loves the word the stereotypical image of England that deadline, that’s amazing. people don’t talk about. I was listening to (Laughing) I know I do loads of stuff by Gilbert and Sullivan and Michael Nyman myself when I’m bored or to kill time and the principles behind like Queen. but I’m always just trying to challenge

myself and stick to these stupid rules. I’d love for someone else to give me the rules; it would be really interesting. You could do your own ELO and Xanadu thing. Oh my God, what a reference! I was listening to the song Marlene on the album and the string/synth parts just jumped out at me and reminded me of an ELO part. I was singing that song yesterday, no joke! I was singing Xanadu on the street at like midnight! That movie and Jeff Lynne are pretty amazing! Blows my mind that ﬁlm!

Reviews: Tim Bergevin

Motion City Soundtrack My Dinosaur Life Columbia Records

Dawes North Hills ATO Records

The Get Busy Committee Uzi Does It Tokyo Sex Whale Records

Vampire Weekend Contra XL Recordings

Minneapolis, Minnesota pop punk act Motion City Soundtrack drop their major label debut on us. Produced by Mark Hoppus of Blink 182 fame, the boys show up with a well written record that doesn’t abandon what made these guys popular with the kids to begin with. Singer Justin Pierre’s Elvis Costello inﬂuence is in effect and not just because the two wear similar glasses. Beefy guitars and self reﬂective lyrics will help you forget about all that bad emo you’ve been hearing for the past few years.

These LA boys wear their influences on their sleeves for all to see. From the first track That Western Skyline it’s easy to see the affinity these boys have for Gram Parsons and all the alt country that he’s inspired. The record has a lot to offer and it is by no means unoriginal. Tracks like Give Me Time and Take Me Out of the City feature great harmonies and weeping guitars that will make you want to break out your Telecasters and grow your hair out.

This record is pulsing through the BL!SSS office from Joey’s desk all the way back to Madsteez’s. Thank God I don’t work out of that office and post up under the 17th Street lifeguard tower drafting free WiFi from the unsuspecting home owners up and down the boardwalk. This is something of a rap super group featuring Ryu from Styles of Beyond and producer Scoop Deville. The album opens up with a sample of The Knife’s Heartbeats on the track My Little Razorblade and that alone should be enough to reel you in. Cool beats, cool flow and lyrics that are fun not trite make this a hip hop record I will actually listen to.

If you thought Vampire Weekend would be a one and done, overhyped hipster band I guess you were wrong. I can’t say I wasn’t skeptical myself, but upon hearing this latest effort you’ll come to realize that all that hype a few years back was spot on. From the ﬁrst single Cousins to the track Horchata that they dropped earlier in fall, their quest to take their Paul Simon quotient to another level is clearly on display. This album may even be a bit sunnier than the previous effort if that’s possible.

The Flaming Lips/Stardeath and White Dwarfs Dark Side of the Moon iTunes Exclusive

30 Seconds to Mars This is War Virgin Records

CLIPSE Til the Casket Drops Columbia Records

Blakroc Blakroc V2

Wayne Coyne has a license to do whatever her wants and we should all be thankful for this! After teaming up with fellow Oklahoma natives Stardeath and White Dwarfs for an amazing cover of the Madonna hit Borderline earlier this year, the two bands have teamed up again to tackle yet another classic - Pink Floyd’s, Dark Side of the Moon. You probably don’t even have to play this record to ﬁgure out what it will sound like, but with the addition of Henry Rollins lending his voice on a few tracks and even a guest spot by Peaches, it’s probably a good idea to go straight to iTunes and throw down your cash. Props to iTunes for being creative and putting this out there, at least someone is trying to save the music business.

When Jared Leto isn’t acting he is working on his music project. It’s his third release and if you thought the trend of actors making music was over, it will never be. At least kids actually like 30 Seconds unlike Keanu’s Dogstar. Not to compare them as musicians or as actors because let’s face it - if we did that we would be insulting Jared! If you’ve never experienced this band then the best reference point would be a well produced, less technical Muse. They are absolutely serious about what they are doing and the single Kings and Queens will absolutely prove that. The best part of this band for me is their epic videos that they continue to churn out. Check them out for yourselves.

Pharrell’s protégé’s are showing up with a third album. Pusha T and Malice come strong and this collection features not only guest slots from Cam’ron and Kanye but production from DJ Khalid and even Diddy. I’m still a fan of Lord Willin, but with artwork by KAWS these Virginia dudes are taking long strides. Check out the tracks Kinda Like a Big Deal and I’m Good and then ask me about the time I booked them for a teen soccer event and they dropped F-bombs, N-bombs and everything else on the crowd of thirteen-year-olds. Awesome.

This record has the hipsters doing back ﬂips. A collaboration between the Black Keys and over seen by former Roc-A-Fella Records CEO Damon Dash, this record features the Keys backing artists Rza, Mos Def, Ludacris and a host of others. I’m not going to lie I was skeptical as shite, but what they have delivered is some hard blues with some serious ﬂow on top. Finally a record that lives up to the hype and now all my black friends actually have a record they want me to share with them.

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AGE: 14 HOMETOWN: HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA SPONSORS: QUIKSILVER, JACK’S SURF SHOP, WATERMANS SUNSCREEN, WAXY WAX FAVORITE SURFER: KELLY SLATER

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S M O BY: R D G E T S RESEN S S ! L P B

Photo: Sardelis

Switch F.S Flip :: Photo: Ortiz

AGE: 18 HOMETOWN: LAFAYETTE, LA SPONSORS: EXPEDITION-ONE, DC SHOES, RUKUS BOARD SHOP, FORCE TRUCKS, FKD BEARINGS, 8103 CLOTHING, NATURE HARDWARE FAVORITE SKATERS: DANNY GARCIA, FORREST KIRBY, CAIRO FOSTER

Switch Switch F.S F.S Flip Flip :: :: Photo: Photo: Ortiz Ortiz

AGE: 18 HOMETOWN: SALT LAKE CITY, UT SPONSORS: NITRO FLOW, GNARLY FAVORITE RIDER: KEEGAN VALAIKA

5050 Pop Over :: Photo: Plumb

Electric 10 Year Ad_Bliss.indd 1

E L E C T R I C V I S U A L . C O M

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