BL!SSS Magazine | April 2011 | #44 by Blisss Mag

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*FEATURED STYLE: GALAXY / PHOTO CHILDS

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The Wheel Wash Yes, actual skate wheels are used in this process to soften and fade the denim. These skate wheels are used as a substitution for stones that traditionally wash and break down the denim in the wet processing cycle. The difference between the stones and wheels can be felt in the denimâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the stones break down the denim, while the wheels act as a softener and add a smooth, cool hand feel to the jeans.

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D I N O

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D A N I E L D A N N Y F O R D

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M A K U A

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J O N E S F U L L E R

K A L A N I

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R V C A . C O M

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O P P O S I T E S

jakedark johnson arto/ navy// gravisskateboarding.com gravisskateboarding.com

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Bikini - Insight insight51.com Photo: Jack Coleman

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west coast 800.225.1364 east coast 800.621.6578 www.alstyle.com STYLE SHOWN: 1701

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E Z E K I E Z E K I E L

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A S O C I A L M E D I A F U N D R A I S E R F O R J A PA N E S E R E D C R O S S .

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C L O T H I N G

EZEKIEL is excited to launch Ezekiel “LIKES” Japan, a social media fundraiser via Facebook to help continue to raise money and awareness for the JAPANESE RED CROSS. This fundraiser will take place from March 25-April 15 2011 on Ezekiel’s Facebook page at w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m / E Z E K I E L U S A

Ezekiel Likes Japan is a facebook fundraiser to raise money following Japan’s magnitude 8.9 earthquake and resulting tsunami on March 11. For every LIKE on Ezekiel’s facebook page between March 25-April 15, Ezekiel will donate $1 to the Japanese Red Cross.

I K

Almost two weeks after the disaster struck Japan, thousands of displaced survivors are still struggling to find adequate food, water, and shelter, while facing the scare of radiation and diseases. Japan’s disaster has left 261,118 people homeless, 16,094 people missing, and more than 9,500 dead. During this time in need for Japan, the Japanese Red Cross has provided shelter and comfort to people forced to evacuate their homes. People are being provided three meals a day, but medicine, fuel, and water are running out.

E EZEKIEL wants to reach out and provide support to the Japanesse Red Cross in the efforts to restore Japan from the immense humanitarian tragedy caused by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear radiation.

S Please visit our Face book page, www.facebook.com/EZEKIELUSA, c l i c k t h e “ L I K E ” b u t t o n , a n d w e w i l l d o n a t e $ 1 t o t h e J A PA N E S E R E D C R O S S . Those who want to help out org or text “REDCROSS“ to and support the Red Cross’

more, visit www.redcross. 90999 to donate $10 disaster relief efforts.

J A P A N

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 mcCray liz@blisssmag.com

SKATE EDITOR chris ortiz chris@blisssmag.com

SNOW EDITOR jon francis jon@blisssmag.com

MUSIC EDITOR max ritter max@blisssmag.com

ADVERTISING ads@blisssmag.com

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

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

CONTRIBUTORS

Matt Patterson, Willie Marshall, Daniel Russo, Liz Rice, Jason Arnold, Greg Escalante, Nathan Spoor, 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, Raul Montoya, Ian Dodge, Spencer Pirdy BL!SSS Magazine 413 31st Street Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.blisssmag.com 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 Blisss’ right to edit and comment editorially. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine reﬂect 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 reﬂect 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.

APRIL 2011

Cover Art : Conrad Ruiz

If your favorite shop isn’t receiving BL!SSS Magazine please contact info@blisssmag.com

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BL!SSS CAPS

HOPE Incubus front man Brandon Boyd has many talents. Not only does he have millions of adoring fans listening to his music but he’s acquired quite the art following as well. Not one to let his talents fall by the wayside, he has teamed up with Hurley to release an exclusive, art-inspired fashion collection beneﬁting H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everywhere). Available now, this limited collection can be found at Buckle, specialty retailers and at Hurley.com. If you were watching the Quiksilver Pro webcast this past month in Australia then you might have noticed our friend Shane Beschen wearing a brand new BL!SSS hat. Our boy Stink did the art on the hats, and our friends over at Freedom Artists helped us out with the screen-printing. Now we are very selective of who gets hats here at BL!SSS so unless you’re a good friend, a die-hard fan, or have something we want then the odds are not in your favor. However, springtime is here and if you catch us on the right day then you might be given your own personal BL!SSS hat.

GIVE THE DRUMMER SOME Travis Barker is one of the most talented drummer’s in music today and he’s also had some bad luck in the past few years including a brush with death in a plane crash that left four other people onboard dead. Travis has forged ahead and he’s come out with a new album entitled Give the Drummer Some. The album has had allstar reviews and features tracks with some of hiphops ﬁnest like Snoop, Tech N9ne and Lupe Fiasco to name a few. Tilly’s has the new CD in stock and right now when you purchase one you’ll receive a VIP wristband that gives you access to meet Travis Barker. There are autograph signings all the way through the month of April so head down to your local Tilly’s ASAP and ﬁnd out how you can meet Travis.

KELLY’S BOARDIES Kelly Slater is a freak of nature, in fact we’re kind of sick of saying it over and over again but he is amazing. The bald guy has ten titles now and just started the season off with a win at the Snapper Rocks event on the Gold Coast. Everyone idolizes Kelly and now you can take this one step further by wearing his signature boardshort from Quiksilver. The Cypher Alpha short is now available in 4-way diamond dobby stretch and a sweet map of the Hawaiian Islands is printed on there as well so you can dream of surﬁng like Slater in the worlds gnarliest surf… dream being the key word. Anyways, we’ve got ours for summer and we highly suggest you go out and get yours!

OAKLEY/MAMMOTH What do you get when you mix a world-class snow resort and arguably the biggest eyewear company on the planet? You get California’s own Mammoth Mountain and one of the leaders in the eyewear industry, Oakley, joining forces. Oakley will now be the ofﬁcial eyewear sponsor of Mammoth and you can bet your frozen buns that there will be even more fun contests and events going down on that mountain. If the deal wasn’t good enough, now all of Mammoths staffers will be rocking goggles and shades courtesy of Oakley through 2014. The future is looking bright for these two and we can’t wait to be there for all of the good times.

surf photos: nelly

His style is effortless. He's a man of few words. He's got his banjo locked down like Backdoor. He values his people over his paycheck.

NECKFACE FOR ALTAMONT

ESKUCHÉ 45

Neckface is mysteriously creepy in his anonymous manner and the way that he evades the law has him in some ways resembling a comic book hero. We can’t help but be intrigued by the way his art catches our eyes and we all know that Neckface and his grafﬁti will be around for ages. A little known fact is that since the birth of Altamont Clothing, Neckface has been a key member of their family. The two have come out with a new line inspired by Neckface’s love for cheap wine and skating. The clothing looks insane and they even threw in a custom designed Neckface scarf with cutout eyelets so even you can disguise yourself. Keep an eye out for the Altamont line and for more of Neckface’s work to be coming to a street near you!

A STEAL OF A DEAL

2 FOR 1 The finely dressed Andrew Schulenberg made another visit to the BL!SSS headquarters to show us his newest headphone he’d been working on for the past couple of months. Keeping it real with the classic, 70’s inspired hifi design, it looks like the 45’s are gonna be another must-have from the eskuché crew. Not only are they easy on the eyes, but the ear cup has 180º rotation for DJ functionality. Whether you’re on the ones and twos or just looking to impress the cute girl sitting next to you on your flight to nowhere, these are the headphones for you.

DESTRUCTIVE CREATURES

We’ve had quite a great snow season this year with plenty of storms and record snowfall at resorts in California. The crew at BL!SSS have been trying to make it up to the local mountains whenever possible, but now we may have a reason to make our Mountain High visits much more frequently. Mountain High is now offering a Dual Season Pass for skiers and snowboarders for the rest of this season PLUS all of next season! The price is astonishingly low at $299! A regular pass for one season is normally twice that much! With that being said we’re sure you guys are already scurrying to get yourselves one and we hope to see you shredding at Mountain High real soon!

SKINNY TIES

We received another little care package from our northern brethren from up at Nobis. You may already know that they’ve been pumping out the sweetest gear from Canada but have just recently been dialing in their accessories too. First to hit our ofﬁce desks are their new skinny ties. We don’t play business dress-up (sorry Pat Lloyd) all that often but when we do we’ll be looking really sharp. Anyone with a real job might wanna click on over to nobis.com and see where you can pick up one for yourself.

The boys from DC have been raving about their new Clay Marzo TV commercial they busted their asses on for the past couple months. The new campaign is called Destructive Creatures, and while we all might fall into the category as Destructive Creatures at some point in time, we think this little reel is quite amazing, even constructive. Not only does it have all the super mental surﬁng that you’d expect from Mr. Marzo but our old friend Gerrard Secretario did the voiceovers – so expect to laugh your ass off. You can click on over to the blisssmag.com blog or search for the DC YouTube channel, it’s time well spent.

BONDING IN THE SNOW Our buddy Ryan Groat from Bond Clothing sent us over the latest snow kit from the company’s earth conscious mind. Bond is a carbon neutral company with every piece of outerwear being recycled. Their approach is to develop a line with plenty of style and the environment being the center of attention. The pieces we were given were the Bodie jacket and the Compund pants. The jacket is made with 100% recycled polyester fabric from PET (plastic bottles) and the the pants are 50% recycled/50% virgin polyester. Both were a hit with tons of durability and a comfortable feel. This is just the beginning for the Bond crew and we can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next!

JACK POT The Arnette Cash Pot Series stopped in Newport this past month and the BL!SSS crew was on hand as the official media sponsor and also to give ourselves a shot at the $500 dollar first place prize. Unfortunately for us, top amateurs and pros from all around showed up to enter the comp and we were ousted in our opening heats. The sore feeling of losing soon left us as we kicked back and enjoyed some stellar weather and high-level surfing. Josh Hoyer and Pete Mussio were standouts from the day. Hoyer seemed to be pulling the rabbit out of his hat every heat with his air reverses looking very on point, and Mussio landed a superman in his early round heat that set the tone for the rest of the day. In the end it was Pete Mussio taking the win and a sweet $500 dollars that we’re pretty sure he spent at the bar later that night. Local grom Colin Moran came in first in the under 16 division and pocketed a solid $250. These cash pot events seem to be getting bigger and better every time so we suggest you put on your game face and make sure you’re at the next one!

ULTIMATE BOARDER RETURNS The Ultimate Boarder is the only event on this planet that brings together the world’s best surfers, skaters and snowboarders all into one week long competition. The 4th Annual Ultimate Boarder will start on April 2nd at Mammoth Mountain. The event will then move to Seaside Reef for the surf and skate portion from April 4th to the 9th. This is the ﬁrst time that the event has partnered up with Mammoth Mountain and the spectator friendly atmosphere at all three venues will allow for a fun ﬁlled week of shredding. Such names like young guns Greyson Fletcher and Kalani David along with legends like Dave Downing and Todd Richards will be in the contest. The event will be free to the public and there will also be a live webcast starting on April 2nd from Mammoth Mountain at ultimateboarder. com.

DYLAN RIEDER TOTE We’re all familiar with Gravis’s extensive line of high quality sneakers, but were you aware of some of the fashionable bags the crew is coming out with? We present to you the Dylan Rieder Tote. The oversized bag was designed by pro skater and Gravis team rider Dylan Reider and is ﬁlled with many nifty pockets and functional features. Highlights of the bag include a waxed ﬁnish, a padded laptop pocket and a skateboard strap. The bag is the perfect balance between the streets and elegance, and we’re stoked to add the tote bag to our ensemble. Check out the rest of the bags in Gravis’s Spring/Summer 2011 line set to come out soon!

SONNY VS GOLIATH

There are a lot of big corporate skincare companies in this world, and every once in a while we get to see a core brand rise up above the big wigs and put a new spin on protection from the sun. We give you the folks of Sun Bum, a brand that has taken the East Coast by storm and is on the verge of taking over the world with a little help from their fury ape mascot named Sonny. Sonny can be seen on the front of all of their products, but the true allure lies in the premium quality of the screen itself. The very essence of outdoor living is put into each bottle and you’ll rest assured that the people at Sun Bum do care about the people they’re making products for.

Photo: Steven Thomas

BLADE COMPRESSION

NOLL SURFBOARDS Jed Noll has just opened the doors to his new ﬂagship store at 1709 Camino Real in downtown San Clemente. The shop is what you’d expect from the son of legendary shaper/surfer Greg Noll. The walls are lined with classic shapes and recreations from a bygone era. Walking inside the shop is more like a step back in time, when Woody’s lined the California highway and if you were a surfer there was a good chance you were riding one of Greg’s original shapes. Things have come a long way since then but it sure is nice to stop in and get a little history lesson on where the current surf world originally comes from. This is the ﬁrst of many shops to open in strategically located areas worldwide so keep checking back at jednollsurfboards.com for future locations.

JULIAN KNOWS Usually when you think of Nike marketing you envision multimillion-dollar commercials and towering billboards. However, at this year’s Quiky Pro they took things back to the basics, passing out hundreds upon hundreds of 6.0 Julian Knows hats. With this year’s ﬁrst event being the closest thing to a home court for WT rookie and newly signed Nike athlete, the hats targeted the masses of Julian fans that swarmed the beach. With the simple logo of “Julian Knows” the hats played off his welcome to the team Nike commercial (go to nike6.com if you haven’t seen it) and added a pink twist to help raise awareness for breast cancer. Everyone from surf-stoked groms to older fans were amped to get a little extra protection from Australia’s vicious sun and to support one of their favorite surfers.

When you hear the word Blade a few things that come to mind might be something sharp like a razor, something that you put on your feet and roll down the boardwalk with in your 80’s styled workout short-shorts or the blockbuster vampire trilogy that Wesley Snipes starred in. Now you can add a cutting edge pair of Oakley boardshorts to that list. The new boardies that we received are ahead of the curve as far as fashion and technology go. The shorts came with Oakley Compression shorts to wear underneath that supposedly increase your body’s balance, agility and muscle coordination when you have them on. This along with the boardies 4-way stretch, water repellent fabric, welded seams and stretch ﬂy make for a must have in the lineup and on the beach this summer. The Blade will be out in stores soon so make sure your boardshorts cut through the water as clean as this Blade.

OHMLOP Are you constantly downloading pictures from your G11 or videos from your GoPro to post up to your blog? Or syncing your iPhone to keep your tunes up to date, but worried about all those hundreds of millions of PVC sync cables polluting the environment? Then Ohmlop cables are for you. Our friend Mark Fewell is the man behind Ohmlop and he just got back from testing his equipment by following the Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile where the cords worked ﬂawlessly. Designed with the environment in mind, Ohmlop cables are made from braided cotton and recycled PET ends, and are made for iPod/iPhone/iPad and any devices with USB to micro or USB to mini connections. With a percentage of all sales going towards environmental causes and education, now you can connect and care. Check them out at ohmlop.com.

VOLCOMUNITY

Volcom knows how to create outlets of knowledge and entertainment and they’ve done this again with volcomunity.com. Volcomunity is a site designed for girls by girls who have a love for life, music, fashion, creativity, traveling and other miscellaneous journey’s. The girls themselves include models, musicians and artists such as Natalie Suarez, Jennifer Herrema, The Posso girls, Chelsey Salisbury, Savannah Grace and numerous Volcom athletes. There are constant event reminders and updates that will keep you in the know and they’re always proﬁling everyday girls wearing Volcom so even you could be blogged about. The site is uniquely designed and has plenty of content to keep any woman browsing through the different blogs for hours on end. Move over People Magazine and Vanity Fair because Volcomunity is taking over.

Interview: Liz Rice McCray When and why did you start painting slums? I started painting slums after seeing a large self-portrait painting in the Indonesia National Gallery in Jakarta back in 1993. It was a longhaired Indonesian artist relaxing on a balcony overlooking a slum canal with lots of shacks on stilts going off into the distance. It was a lifechanging event for me; it made me want to paint things just like it. My ﬁrst slum paintings were just large close-ups of the material that made up slum-shack walls juxtaposed with cartoon characters screen-printed over them. I sold one of these, then during a tumultuous time in my life, I threw all the other pieces in a dumpster. Since then, I’ve focused on scenes of slums, mostly from photographs I have from traveling to third-world countries. Why Disney characters? Is Disneyland one of the happiest places on earth for you? Do you feel Anaheim/Orange County is headed for overpopulation and poverty? Disney to me is nothing bad or evil, just vulnerable. In many of my works, especially my small collages of funny situations populated with lovable cartoon characters, people assume I’m a begrudged ex-Disney employee. Not true. I never worked there, and as a matter of fact, I’ve only been to Disneyland once. I liked it, but I was much too old to really get into it. Having spent my ﬁrst 30 years in Southeast Michigan (near Detroit), going to Disneyland wasn’t possible. As a kid, I liked watching the “Wonderful World of Disney” at 7:30 every Sunday night, and I saw a bunch of the movies. Having lived in Southern California for the last 20 years, I’ve grown familiar with the corporation and have felt it becoming a bigger part of young peoples’ lives as well as a potential

shaper of society in general. I guess the reason I use it time-to-time is that it is the perfect symbol for an (unattainable) order or health, cleanliness, and sanity (not to mention happiness). As a metaphor, it stands for the extreme opposite of the sick, filthy, chaotic mess that epitomizes how f’d-up the world really can be, illustrated by the “heaviest” places on earth: third-world urban slums. I can’t imagine Anaheim or anywhere in America getting as bad as what I’ve seen in Asia and Africa and the Middle East, but I can imagine certain areas getting terrifyingly desperate. You are well traveled - where is your favorite place and why? How did you start going there? When I lived in Michigan, I spent a year working for General Motors building Pontiac automobiles. It was good money for someone like me, a college student. When I got laid off in the late 1980’s, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I got lots of money to “retrain” and I got to focus on college, but not without a diversion or two. Most of my friends sunk their money into real estate and business ventures; I spent mine on traveling, with my first trip to Nepal and India. That was my first trip to Calcutta, which now, still, has a bad reputation for squalor. Five years later, after college (I took a long time) I joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Nepal. Whenever I had a vacation, instead of trekking in the most beautiful part of the world, the Himalayas, I’d drop down to India and check out every big, ugly, slum-drenched city there: Delhi, Bombay, and my favorite, Calcutta. I’ve been back to what is now called Kolkata ten times. It is just so intense and in many ways so beautifully horrible that wherever else I go, it just can’t compare, even places like Nairobi,

Cairo, Bangkok, Lima and (yawn) anywhere in Europe... You are married to a sculptor, and both your studios are at home, how does that work? My wife of ten years, Laurie Hassold is a sculptor that works with unconventional materials. Lately it has been bones and found objects. Since we don’t have kids, we each use one of the bedrooms in the house as a studio. I’ve also, somehow, taken over the garage, since I’ve started sculpting too (small, toy-like shacks, hundreds of ‘em). It is great to get immediate feedback on projects, and neither of us are shy to offer an instant critique on any idea of the other person’s. I’m best at giving formal criticism while Laurie gets more into conceptual ideas behind the work and the process. The only problem is the house is running out of storage space and we often argue over wall space and who gets to hang their work on which wall, but it all works out. How long does it take you to create one of your paintings? When I have summers off from my high school art teaching job, I can finish a painting in a few weeks. During the school year, I devote a substantial part of my weekends to art making, so pieces take a lot longer. Often, I am working on a half-dozen paintings at once, until one gets nearly finished then I focus just on it. I’m prolific, but slowing down as I get a bit older... Is Daisy Duck peeing in your painting? I noticed naked woman urinating? The peeing people in the slums came about from two influences: During my last trip to Mumbai, India (to take the Reality Travel and Tours “slum tour” and private tour) I took a bunch of pictures

from the roof of a shack in Dheravi, Asia’s largest slum. One of my pieces had a guy standing in the picture with his back to me and his hands in his front pockets. It looked like he was taking a leak. So I made a painting of that photograph. On that same trip, I was wandering through a fishing village slum, surrounded by high-rise condos on the bay and when I finally got to the water, I was overlooking a filthy, debris-strewn shoreline with a dozen people out taking a morning shit, right on the ground, all squatting in front of me. I didn’t take a picture for obvious reasons, but the image really stuck in my mind. I imagined adding this element to my all-too-real slumscape paintings, but thought what a turn-off it would be to really have to look at somebody taking a dump. So I traded the third-world bathroom-goingsquatter to a woman, either as a fully-costumed Disneyland Character (Minnie or Daisy), or a scantily-clothed or unclothed model. To create an added surprise, the women are all crouching over what looks like multi-million-dollar Jackson Pollock paintings or Pop Art paintings. There’s an element of obscenity here that I’m playing with, whether it be the nakedness and poses of the models, the use of the beloved characters, the objects of our art-world heritage being pissed on, or best, how about the obscenity of people (like over a billion of them) having to live in such horrible places. Where can people check out your work? The best way to see my work is to just “Googleimage” my name. I don’t have a website but can be contacted on Facebook. If anyone emails me directly, I would be happy to put them on my mailing list for upcoming shows, of which, I’m still looking for the next one... Contact me at jeffgillette@hotmail.com.

Words: Troy Luke Griffith Jeremy Enecio is an enigmatic illustrator of allegorical proportions. He is heavily influenced by a childhood that delved frequently into tribal cultures and ancient mythology. His treatment of paint is waterthin, despite the appearance of his bodies of work feeling textured to the point of tangibility. Part of the reason Jeremy’s works are so thin is because his preferred mediums are acrylic and watercolor. Surprisingly, his digital work gestates like that of an oil painting. One of Enecio’s many genius strokes is focusing on abstract meanings of one’s life experiences and making them subliminal and unanimous to the viewer. He has a strong palette worn deep with variations of crimson red and phthalo blue that often separate the difference between good versus evil or life versus death. The use of color culminates cryptically up to the point that you discover your own zenith through his kaleidoscope. Not unlike the popular TV brand you’ll find yourself enchanted in front of, the ethereal qualities of his work echo with their spiritual nature and yours (if you don’t have any then get some). Enecio’s characters are sometimes described as nymphs or nymph-like, which, within imagery wrought with much symbolism may be his way of literally implying innuendo. Enecio cultures your emotions through imagery of rites of passage and nuances of sexuality. In the end, Jeremy creates a society of his own making specters real and spectators curious for more haunting discovery. In a world of dreams filled with the minds of demons, Jeremy paints the body for what it is meant to be, a colorful calamity of embrace. To check out more of Jeremy Enecio’s work got to jenecio.com.

Interview:

Words: Liz Rice McCray

“In the spring of 2010, I made a decision to keep new work out of the public eye for a year. This was an attempt to allow myself to grow as an artist in private. I spent the next several months studying ﬁgurative art on my laptop, smoking tobacco pipes, raising my son, and painting nothing. At some point I became really depressed and considered giving up art all together. The suffocating Texas heat was ﬁnally vanquished by fall. Winter came and with

it returned the familiar craving to make art. My new work focuses on the ﬁgure, character ﬂaws, emotion... really just the human condition. The 2011 collection has been called beautifully destructive and honest. I guess that’s a matter of opinion. One thing is for sure though, after everything I experienced over the course of last year, I can say without a doubt that making art has never meant as much to me as it does now.”

After almost a decade of rambling, playing, booze-hounding, and “drugs sex and rock n roll”, C. Kirk stopped his drifting, settled down, married, and directed his energy towards art. This was just the beginning for him. C. Kirk’s past experiences give edge to his artwork. His history, combined with the artist’s present world, helps him create dysfunctional, emotional, and honest

paintings with another perspective of the obvious. When C. Kirk hit the Dallas art scene, he quickly became sought after by local collectors, galleries, and passer by’s. C. Kirk’s art adorns the walls of corporations such as Absolut Vodka and Pepsi, and hangs in private collections and galleries all over the world. C. Kirk is currently living and working in Texas. See more of his artwork at ckirkart.com.

Words: Liz Rice McCray Ohio-born artist Alex Roulette paints photorealistic paintings that are so alluring it’s almost like watching “Stand By Me” without River Phoenix and Corey Feldman. Boy based imagery - the all-American road trip with your childhood best friend - a coming of age adventure with moments of the absurd “gracefully juxtaposing reality with sophisticated surrealism.” I stumbled past Alex Roulette while researching… and was instantly distracted from the task at hand and took a detour to scan over his captivating

portfolio and never made it back to whatever else I was doing. Roulette is currently based in Brooklyn, New York and just finished his third solo show “A Freeway’s Reach,” which was held at George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles. “My current series of paintings depict fabricated American landscapes. The invented landscapes arise from archetypal citations of past and present cultural influences. Placing figures into these landscapes is an attempt

to take advantage of the viewer’s natural ability to extrapolate narratives. By creating the paintings using a conjuncture of various photographic references, I continue to explore the distinctions between photographic and painted space. The disjointed nature of the source images, contrasting with the way they are realistically uniﬁed, take on a contingent sense of reality. Inventing landscapes allow memories of places and events to be ﬁctionalized.

Coalescing unrelated photographs is done in a way comparable to the process in which the mind synthesizes images when recollecting memories or imagining new images. As opposed to culling images from an abstract memory bank, I utilized tangible sources, many of which come from the vast image resources our contemporary culture offers. The current expanding abundance of accessible images is allowing the imagination to expand the ability to visualize unseen places.”

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Interview:

Matthew Burrows is an artist living and working in the UK. He studied as an undergraduate at Birmingham School of Art in 1990-93 and graduated with a Master’s Degree in painting from the Royal College of Art London in 1995. Over the course of his career he has continued to explore the relationship between the figure, story-telling and contemporary culture. Burrows’ creates images of historical and fictional characters. From the protagonists of myth to the saints of history and legend, his work attempts to find a means of picturing our complex and paradoxical relationship with desire. He has exhibited widely nationally and internationally and has been the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including:

artist residences at Gloucester Cathedral and The National Gallery London and a prize-winner of the Royal Over-Seas League Travel Scholarship, The Hunting Art Prize and the John Moores 24 – the UK’s most prestigious painting prize. He is represented by Alexia Goethe Gallery, London and Marc de Puechredon, Basel. “I paint, I make paintings.” That is how I describe what I do, and whilst it hides a complex world of images and ideas that I struggle to deﬁne in words, it seems the most appropriate pronouncement to make. It is of course never enough and along come the questions of what, who

and how? What I do is paint people, they are my subject. They are not real in any historical sense, they are ideas, ideas of people, images and bodies - portraits of desire. They ask what desire might be and how it looks. Who they are is a fluid mix of fact and fiction. My characters find their origins in the legends and myths of old, the news we see each day and the people I know. They are like us, not clear and logical, but complex and sensory. They ask, like us, not to be explained, but to be acknowledged. How I do this, is to look, listen, smell, taste and touch; and I know of no other more appropriate means of doing this, than that of paint. Primitive, sensory and always frustrating, it seems a fitting media and metaphor for our own

experience of being. In saying I make paintings, I am aware that I cannot underestimate what it means to make. We make love, homes and war. We also make tables, chairs and food to eat. To make is to produce, to convert and bring into being. It is both simple and complex, it tells of an action and bestows value. As such, I am conﬁdent that ‘to make a painting’ is always richer, more complex and exciting than the mere words suggest. For more information and details about Matthew work go to: www.alexiagoethegallery.com

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Photo: Dominic Petruzzi : dominicpetruzzi.com // Model: Jessica Marie :: Otto Models If you’re busy surveying the mountains in the background in an attempt to pinpoint where this shot was taken then we think this might not be your genre of magazine. Here we take a BL!SSSful sunrise and insert a provocatively positioned lady ready to spoon with you. Days like these around here are few and far between and so are girls like Jessica. We suggest you make the best of the spring weather and go out and ﬁnd your own little piece of heaven. Who knows it could be closer than you think… Hair/Makeup: Jessica McDonough :: Retouch: JasonSchorle.com

Photo: Brian Bielman

Words: Daniel Russo I can’t say I knew Sion since we were kids but this last decade sure felt like a century. Sunday, the 27th of March, was the Celebration of Sion Milosky (SI). It wasn’t to be sad or upset but it was a day to celebrate the breath of life Sion shared with family, friends, and the ocean. Sion was always positive, always motivated and never judged anyone by the cover of their book. He found the positivity in everyone and never let anything negative get between him and enjoying life. Sion created a lot of great memories for everyone to hold onto and share with others. Many people who will read

this have a big connection in the action sports industry. The term “action sports” is action and it’s to the fullest, without looking back. It’s extreme, dangerous and yet rewarding and progressive. Sion filled every one of those definitions of what is to be expected from an action sports athlete. No one in the history of surfing has paddled into a bigger wave than Sion Milosky. On January 11th 2010, Sion Milosky made history and ignited the rebirth of paddle-in surfing in large waves. It was with extreme respect for the ocean and

positive initiatives that Sion was able to be in the right spot at the right time. But the one thing that may separate him from the rest of the pack is his approach of being humble. He never pushed himself because he wanted a cover shot or sponsors. He’d never smoked-bomb anyone so that he could get the swell and sneak off away from everyone else. Sion wanted everyone to have fun and share life with him. Sion loved his family dearly and was a loving father who adored his two beautiful daughters and wife. Sion’s

spirit will live forever and will live on through his family. His legacy will shine through all of the love and light he brought to everyone around him. Sion Milosky passed away on March 16th 2011. His legacy still lives on as the greatest big wave surfer - the GUY who paddled into the biggest wave ever. He inspired others in so many ways to be better people. Now that he is gone his family needs your help – you can help by donating just $1 at volcom.com/sion or by going to any Bank of Hawaii branches and mentioning the Sion Milosky fund. Thank you for your help.

Photo: Russo

Seq: Andrew Christie

JEREMY FLORES MOONDAK

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Art in the Park at Mammoth :: Words: Brooke Geery For conventional purposes, it’s a complete snowboard park with features snowboarders of various abilities can enjoy. But there is really nothing conventional about this colorful spot hidden amongst Mammoth’s vast terrain. I’m referring of course, to The Art Park, a first-of-its kind undertaking blending snowboarding and art into one completely rideable gallery. The Art Park is literally an art museum on snow, right down to small placards explaining each piece. This is not the museum you visit on Sundays with Grandma or for a school fieldtrip, though. On any given day, the crowd ranges from weekend warriors cruising through slowly to check it out and read the information signs by each piece, to top pro snowboarders filming video parts and shooting photos and some of the seriously gnarly features.

Using 8270 pounds of steel, 206 feet of rail and 1880 sq feet of plywood, the ﬁrst incarnation of Art Park debuted in December 2010, celebrating the life of Mammoth local Jeff Anderson with the I AM Snowboarding show on display. The JLA Project’s I Am Snowboarding was a collaborative art Photos: Peter Morning

Garrett Warnick

project in which artists and photographers worked together to create pieces based around the life and snowboarding of Jeff Anderson. For each piece, an artist and photographer were teamed up. The original photos of Jeff ranged all the way from his childhood to his ten years as a professional snowboarder. Taken by legendary photographers such as Blotto, Trevor Graves, Shem Roose and more, all of whom knew Jeff personally, the photos rose from the archives and slides and ﬁlm were enlarged onto a canvas. The photographers then handed off the photos to an artist to ﬁnalize the work. Mediums were as varied as the artists, ranging from oil paints to welded steel,

and each finished piece was completely unique. The show traveled across the US and even to Japan, appearing in galleries filled with friends and admirers, but it didn’t truly come to life until it made it to a trail at Mammoth. Though The Art Park wasn’t conceived specifically for the show, the pieces were the perfect kick off to the concept. Jeff, who passed away tragically in 2003, is already remembered throughout the Mono Lakes region in everything from the Brothers Skatepark, to Volcom Billboards on the highway. Bringing the traveling art show on hill was another great way to keep him alive in the

hearts of his hometown. And by blending two of his greatest passions, The Art Park is the perfect medium for the mission. “The best thing about the Art Park is that it is something that Jeffy would have loved,” Mammoth local pro snowboarder Eddie Wall said. “If he were here, it would have been all his art work up on those features and he would have made this happen. The best part is riding through and seeing Jeffy and his art on the features and just realizing what an amazing kid he was.” To put together the exhibit, Mammoth worked with AR4T (Artists Republic for Tomorrow), an art advocacy program

with roots in youth culture, namely Torrey Cook. Torrey worked alongside the JLA Project to bring the ﬁrst show to fruition and will curate future shows as well. “Snowboarding has always been about creativity – ﬁnding your own line. Art is the exact same,” Cook said. “The great part about the Art Park is that there are no rules; we can get as creative as we like. The artists can go nuts, Dustin – the person who makes the rails come to life and who is an amazing artist himself – can push the limits, and hopefully the folks who come through the park will have fun and go home inspired, feeling a part of the whole experience.”

Greg Bretz

Garrett Warnick

Scott Blum

Garrett Warnick Jared Dawoud Though the word “art” is in the name, it is not to say the park is not fully functional for snowboarding, nor is it like anything else you will ﬁnd at Mammoth, or anywhere else for that matter. The resort has always been known for its great parks, and when it came to the construction of the Art Park, wasn’t about to just take existing boxes and rails and slap art on them. Each feature for the Art Park is custom built around the art by contributing I Am Snowboarding artist and Mammoth Mountain fabricator Dustin del Giudice. As an ornamental ironworker, Dustin’s background in both art and snowboard feature construction, enabled him to create one-of-a-kind features that functioned as well. Though it took months of planning, the construction of the features for the JLA park actually came together in a matter of a few weeks. Once Dustin completed the features, the Mammoth park staff brought them on hill and under the supervision of Torrey and Dustin, assembled the park. Unlike most of Mammoth’s snowboard parks, there is no size rating on the Art Park. Because the features are made to ﬁt the art, there is everything from a giant double kink handrail to small ride-on butter boxes, right on the same trail. The art pieces are mixed with some smaller snow features as well, to make the Art Park an experience that riders of all abilities can enjoy.

Dustin Del Giudice

When arriving at the top of the Round Garrett Warnick

Robin trail near Canyon Lodge, where the park lived all season, riders are greeted with billboards explaining the show and faced with a choice: cruise through the park slowly and take in each piece of art, or shred it, enjoying boxes, rails, hips and more along the way. Chances are, you’ll choose to do both, as you can take as many runs through as you want, “appreciating” the art a different way each time. “The Art Park gives riders a clear perspective on features that were once only in (Jeff Anderson’s) movies parts,” Mammoth local pro Kimmy Fasani said. “By using images and features, this park showed a glimpse into the life of a rider through an artist and that’s something I’ve not really seen in a terrain park.”

be seen on board graphics, clothing and even in some legendary tattoos. Soon his ﬂowing and colorful work will be shredable statues. “Jamie Lynn is an insane artist and obviously a legend in the snowboard world! I can’t wait!” Wall said. Two features of the Jamie Lynn park will begin appearing at the end of April, mixed in with the existing JLA show. The bulk of the construction will be completed over the summer, and the full show will open in November 2011. Mammoth also plans to have a second show over the 2011/12 season, and is hoping to branch out from artists already heavily involved in the snowboard world.

Over the course of the season, the Art Park was a destination for Mammoth’s visitors, and celebrated with events, video contests and more. There were even t-shirts and other products available for those who wanted a souvenir. Needless to say the ﬁrst installment of the Art Park was a success and Mammoth plans to continue the project indeﬁnitely with new shows.

“We’d love like to get someone bigger and more mainstream and expose the broader art world to the experience,” Mammoth’s Action Sports Brand Manager Josh Chauvet said.

Already under construction, the next installment of the Art Park features another of snowboarding’s greats, Jamie Lynn. With arguably the best method in the business, Jamie is a true artist on and off the hill. His distinctive art has already made a mark on snowboarding, and can

“I feel that anyone who rides through the Art Park, whether they are hitting the features or not, are taking in a lot more then just cruising through a normal park,” Wall said. “It’s almost as if you are inside of an art exhibit, it’s basically like snowboarding through an art museum!”

No matter what art is featured, the Art Park will remain a unique experience for those who visit.

Intro: Anthony Shetler :: Interview: Charlie Thomas What can I say about Cody Davis? He is very talented, he can kill a contest like it’s no big deal. I’ve seen him switch big heel ﬂip a lot of stairs - like I said, he is very talented. More importantly, Cody seems to have a lot of drive and passion for skateboarding. He also loves music, every time we are in the van he is singing some Lil Weezy or some R&B song. Cody came into skateboarding’s limelight at a young age, most people that this happens to can’t handle it and end up falling off the map because of drugs, alcohol, big head syndrome and several other reasons. Well, all I can say is since I’ve known Cody he has graduated from a freshman skater to a sophomore shredder. I’m

excited to see his new video part in the new World video It’s Your World. The way I see it is Cody is not gonna end up a drop-out and we all will be front row at his graduation! First off Cody what’s your New Years resolution for 2011? I think that would be to ﬁnish getting my license and to graduate! What projects are you working on for 2011? My new video part for the World Promo video It’s Your World! They are releasing it in parts online. I am really excited to put something out.

Photos: Ortiz

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Ollie

B.S Smith

Where are you from and what was it like growing up in MN? I was born in Minneapolis and lived there till I was 7 and then moved more in the suburbs. It gets beyond cold in the winter and too humid in the summer. Drastic changes in the weather made it tough on skating growing up. Who did you skate with out there and who are the guys you looked up to when you first started skating? I always looked up to Chad Benson, Emeric Pratt, Steve Nesser, and Jamiel Nowparvar. I still skate with those guys sometimes and they all shred, but I usually skate with my buddy’s Eli and Kevin. There’s a whole crop of new young rippers coming out of MN? Why do you think that is? It’s mainly because of the skate shops out here: 3rd Lair, Familia, and Cal Surf. All of the shops have sick teams and everyone pushes each other. It seems that you have been around for a while, how old were you when you first got sponsored? Yes, it’s been a while. Time has flown by fast and I got sponsored by 3rd Lair when I was 10. Who were your first sponsors and who are the current ones? My first sponsors were Globe, Bones, Destructo, World and 3rd Lair. And currently I ride for World, Destructo, Dakine, Neff, Mt Dew, Osiris and Sabre. Over the past year you’ve have been living between Long Beach and MN, what’s the biggest difference be-

tween the two? The land and the weather. They are both so very different and the winter in MN is so brutal that some days you don’t even want to go outside. What’s a typical day like when you’re in MN vs. Cali? California is more skating everyday and ﬁlming. Minnesota is more chill time with the family and friends and skating at the park. Where do you stay when you’re out in Cali? Slime house or Charlie Thomas’ house. Tell everyone about Slime House? Who lives there? Nick Merlino, Ricky Webb, Rashad Turner and a few others!

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Give us a good story or two from there. Ricky and Rashad getting ﬂipped over the balcony backwards to their heads on top of each other is by far the gnarliest thing I’ve ever seen. Why did you go back to MN? To get my GED and license, it was easier for me to do it back home. It seems like a lot of the younger skaters look up to you and that they recognize you from the Woodward Show. What was it like being on the show and now not even being able to go there? It’s deﬁnitely not something I’m psyched about, but I made some bad choices and I should have followed the rules. I’m young F.S Blunt B.S Flip Out

F.S Boardslide K-Flip Out

and people f*ck up, it’s just life. It’s cool that kids saw the show and recognize me though. Tell us when your first video part is coming out? My part is going to drop on April 20th 2011. I’m super excited to be filming and I have got as much footage as I can. Are you feeling the pressure or is it more exciting to have your first part? No pressure, I’m happy about it. It’s not my first part, ha-ha! You’ve been all over the world skating and your only 17, do you ever think about how different your life has been because of skating? Yeah, I always think about what I’d be doing if I didn’t skate. I’d probably be a hockey player, ha-ha. I am very grateful to have been able to see so many places just because I skate. Where’s your favorite place you have been and why? Yosemite National Park is my favorite. It’s so earthy. Anything you want to say or shout outs? Of course, thanks to all my sponsors, family and friends for all the support, I really appreciate it!

Words: Spencer Pirdy :: Photos: Jason Kenworthy Gabriel Medina is a name that few of us Americans are very familiar with. He’s not always the center of attention and he’s even harder to find sometimes. In fact, our friend Kevin Voegtlin was all set to do an interview with Gabriel for this issue, but the little bugger was out in a remote town in New Zealand where sheep outnumbered cell phone service bars by the thousands. Yep, Gabriel was slugging it out once again with the best in the world, scrapping to get some valuable QS points. If you don’t know who Gabriel is then you should log onto YouTube and type in “King of the Groms 2009”. You’ll then be introduced to the high-flying Medina who makes the French beachbreak look more like a local skate park. The highlights of the clip include two perfect 10-point rides and a throw away score of a 9.5… yes a 9.5. The perfect 10’s are flawless with speed, flow and a mix of tricks that would boggle anyone’s mind. A superman to an Indy grab 360 had my jaw hitting the floor, and keep in mind this was all in a 25 minute heat and not a 3 hour free surf where he would’ve had multiple attempts and runs. Basically, Gabriel picked his waves and rode them to perfection. 2009 was a huge year for Medina who won the ISA World Junior Championships for his division and made it to the semifinals of the ASP World Junior Championships. Gabriel’s biggest win might have come when he won the Maresia Surf International in Florianopolis. The Maresia Pro was a 6-star event that had Gabriel beating one of Brazils most respectable seasoned veterans, Neco Padaratz. The kid pocketed a whopping 20 grand and 2500 World Qualifying Series points. Such a young kid winning such a big event was unheard of and not even Slater had done so well so early on in his career. This was his debut to the world and his status changed and put him with the premiere upper echelon crew of surfers. People around the world knew who Gabriel was after the 2009 season.

His surfing style is nothing like what us ignorant Americans stereotypically think of when we imagine Brazilian butt wiggling. When you watch him surf his body posture and gracefully linked turns resemble a Machado-esque style while his moves and tricks are as plentiful as Jordy and pack just as hard of a punch. While his surfing may not be what you have in mind when you think of a Brazilian, his roots lie in his Latin upbringing. Gabriel hails from Sao Paulo, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and he fought to get himself to the beach everyday and hone his skills as a grom. He is bilingual, speaking both Portuguese and more recently having mastered the English language. When first approached Gabriel has a reserved manner, but the curly haired, dark-skinned kid has turned into a man in the past few years. His surfing, along with his demeanor are well beyond his years, which says a lot about dealing with the pressure of being a surf star that he will soon inherit, if he hasn’t already. Case in point, after Gabriel beat CJ Hobgood in the 2010 WCT Bells event, Gabriel squeaked past throngs of media and fans without hesitation and was unfazed by what he had just done. He later exclaimed that it was the “biggest win” of his career. What Gabriel might have seen as another confidence booster was something much more significant. The kid from Brazil had beaten

a world tour competitor and a 2001 World Champion at the same time. Although Bells was more of a beach break that day, Gabriel showed he had a lethal backhand attack with his highest score being a right in his heat. Truth be told, he did not go on to win this contest, and Mick Fanning took him down handily in round 3. In recent times we haven’t heard too much from Mr. Medina. Kolohe has hopped into the driver seat and taken center stage with a victory at the Van’s Pier Classic in both the Juniors and QS divisions. Gabriel’s gone silent, he’s not in the limelight right now, was he just a novelty gift? We think not! In fact, we’re pretty sure Gabriel is just ﬁne with his under the radar approach for now. This past August saw Gabriel boost his way to a win at the Nike 6.0 Cash for Tricks in Lacanau, France. He’s getting another shot at the world’s best this month too, where he’ll go back to Bell’s in an attempt to play the role of giant killer once again. He’s got nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Gabriel has kept his poise even in trying times. His very first trip to the Mentawai’s started off in a disastrous way. He was told upon arrival that one of his board bags and all of his clothes had been lost. News like this would have put any grown man on the verge of tears. Gabriel laughed it off and his excitement and stoke on visiting the island chain for the first time took over. He charged into session after session with a gung ho attitude and on his last session of the trip Gabe was forced to borrow a girls board (all his were broken) and stroke out as the swell increased. He started the session off by launching judo airs at low tide over the razor sharp coral heads and finished off by weaving through overhead shacks. The trip turned out to be a great success and saw Gabriel mastering the sketchy reef breaks of Indonesia, a weakness that he once had in the eyes of his critics. For Gabriel Medina it’s not a question of “if” but more of “when.” He’s currently number 44 on the world rankings and with a few more results could solidify himself on the dream tour for 2012. He doesn’t have all of the glam that goes with being the blonde haired American surfer kid, but he has the ability and he has the drive. For now, if you’re lucky you’ll be surfing a mushy reform somewhere in Australia and Gabby will come paddling out. He won’t say a word to you. He’ll maybe give you a smile and a head nod. He’ll seem polite. Then he’ll proceed to turn the place into his own aerial test grounds. Superman’s, rodeo’s, judo’s, you name it. He’ll quietly exit the water and you’ll be awe struck. Just another day in the life of Gabriel Medina.

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Shirt – Zippo Apparel zippo.com Beanie – Brixton brixton.com

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Interview: Liz Rice McCray Imagine the most magical man-date (I credit Jimmy Arrighi for this term), the wild ride, filled with adventure, wrestling, a boyish friendship, our generation of fasttalking, video game playing, MTV and more… Then throw in some celebrities, your favorite basketball player, the funniest man you can think of, maybe some kind of explosion or ride, and this is just a start in describing what you see in one of Conrad Ruiz paintings. For those unfamiliar with the term “man-date” the loose definition is, two or more men having a great time together, without females or grown-up distractions, and with a lot of enthusiasm mixed in. These man-dates for most people become less and less frequent after high school, when you get a job, maybe a girlfriend or a wife, and at some point they may fade into your past (unless you are Jimmy Arrighi). Ruiz keeps these man-dates alive with watercolors (yes, I said watercolors). You wouldn’t think that such masculine subject matter could be captured through delicate watercolors and be so large in scale, another rarity for watercolors, but they are and are done beautifully with great detail. Ruiz is outside of the box with his subject matter, his medium, and his “man paintings”, and people have taken notice. Conrad Ruiz has hit the art scene with a buzz and it is well deserved. He is talented, motivated, dedicated, smart and charming, a killer combo for an artist. After graduating with an MFA from California College of the Arts, Ruiz sold out his graduation show and his painting “Overload” was scooped up by the Berkeley Art Museum. So Conrad Ruiz will you please introduce yourself, tell me a little something about yourself that most people don’t know. (Sorry to get so personal in the first question.) There is more to me than the Four Loko Conrad. I can say that although in public my behavior is ridiculous, at times I can be very serious and professional. That’s the only way I can get stuff done. That and coffee. I also love Skittles. Where did you grow up? What was that like? Will you tell us a little about your childhood? I grew up in the suburbs of LA (LA Puente, Baldwin Park area) and moved further east during high school, closer to the city of San Bernardino. They were always pretty good neighborhoods where I would find a Latino circle to keep me company. My buddies typically were up to no good. I was a rotten kid who got the best grades in all my classes. My teachers hated me, and this continued through undergrad as well. Where are you currently living? How do you compare it to where you grew up? I actually moved back with my parents to finish a commission piece that is the largest watercolor painting in the world. It didn’t fit in my studio in Highland Park (LA). With the money, I’m going to invest in a house in the same neighborhoods of North East LA. I like it there. Did you play sports in high school? Tell us a little about your high school experience? I’ve always been involved in sports. My mom wanted me to focus my energy somewhere on something. Track, Boxing, and Taekwondo helped a lot. Later in high school, I wanted to chill with my Mexican posse and I gave up most of the sports. At the time I developed a

The Wild Ride: Conrad Paints the Perfect Man-Date

Photo: Benito Barco : benitobarco.com

great drawing practice by drawing my teachers having sex with animals. I was a jerk. Somehow I was also in the National Honor Society. I was the only member who missed meetings because I was in detention. I was good and bad. Sweet and sour, like Sour Patch Kids. I love those candies. So when did you really get into art? I was an art education major at CSU San Bernardino and was graduating a bit early at 20. However, the last class I took was painting, and that ruined everything. I stayed an extra year

to paint and that helped solidify my understanding of contemporary art and I knew it’s what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

good looks, success, physical prowess and combinations of the like helped me choose my characters.

How do you pick the cast in your paintings? It seems like a mix of athletes, comedians, actors, celebrities, The President on wild rides… Will you elaborate? My project has been to create ‘man paintings’ that celebrated our glory, insecurities, and sexual tension between one another. The cast has always been people I thought of as manly or had desirable traits that I envy. Cheesy

I’ve noticed some Corgis in some of your paintings – do you like that breed of dog? Do you have a Corgi? Reminds me of Falkor from The Never Ending Story… I love Corgis! My close friend and fellow artist Kristofferson Sanpablo has a Corgi named Dwight and that doggie hangs out with the gang a lot. He’s our mascot. The Never Ending Story reference was completely unintentional,

but I’m happy, it all ﬁts together cohesively. I’m interested in things on top of things. It’s hard to explain, but Obama on a Corgi scratches that itch. Are Corgis and bunnies friends? Corgis can be a little mean if you are an outsider. Corgis and bunnies are friends on cuteoverload.com. I worked at the Wattis Museum in SF when I was making that painting. My friend Hillary Wiedemann and I would look at that website all day. The name of the painting ended up being ‘Overload.’

“I’VE THOUGHT OF THIS BODY OF WORK AS A MALE UNIVERSE THAT ENCOMPASSES A PSYCHOLOGICAL TIME PERIOD OF MY LIFE BEFORE PERFORMING ACTS OF A SEXUAL NATURE.”

Tell me about the Matt Damon ﬂag/basketball hoop? While shopping for eggs at Safeway, I noticed that Matt Damon was awarded the distinguishable title of ‘Sexiest Man Alive.’ I thought that was really great, so I made a painting that was a tribute to the tribute of the sexiest man alive. In the meantime, the Lakers lost the ﬁnals, and my parents were mad at Kobe. Also my dad hired some gardeners that messed up their lawn. It’s all in there: one big sexy weird explosion. Your subjects are all male, will you elaborate? Do you ever paint woman?

I’ve thought of this body of work as a male universe that encompasses a psychological time period of my life before performing acts of a sexual nature. An adolescent limbo where pizza and video games on a Friday night was the past time, instead of trying to hook up with chicks. With that said, I am currently working on a painting with women in it. The personality behind my work is growing up. Large-scale watercolors, I must say I like it, not the traditional medium for your subject matter and size - how did you get into watercolors? How long does it take to ﬁnish one of your pieces?

I’ve always been a fan of Tim Gardner who did a bunch of frat boy paintings with meticulous detail in watercolor. They’re amazing and very small. I thought that since I was making man paintings, the large scale would add something new. Also, my fascination with epic history paintings, advertising and Hollywood Blockbusters inspire me to take on these large projects. A painting usually takes a month to complete.

I heard rumors that you painted the biggest watercolor in the world, will you explain? I actually just ﬁnished the largest watercolor in the world! I’m working on documenting it right now. However, that is a group project. The painting is a San Francisco Disaster piece. An earthquake during three events: The Bay to Breakers run, Critical Mass Bike Ride and a destruction derby. It was initially inspired

by a historical Russian painting called “The Last day of Pompeii,” by Karl Briullov. I wanted to recreate a similar effect of beauty and hysteria on a large scale. What would you say is your biggest accomplishment? I’ll be a dork and say that my biggest accomplishment is literally the largest painting I completed last month. It’s the largest watercolor painting in

the world. It was a beast. What would you say you are least proud of? Although I may seem unpredictable, I’m very careful and crafty with my decisions. I have no regrets. I sleep well at night. Can you explain to me your average Monday? My average Monday is boooring! I work at my day job, and then

Photo: Benito Barco : benitobarco.com

paint till I fall asleep in my chair. Sometimes I forget to eat. I’m terrible with that stuff. When it is all said and done how would you/your work like to be remembered? My project is far from over, but when I’m done, I want there to be posters of my face at Target like Selena, Bob Marley, or Jimmy Hendrix. I might have to die early to make that happen. In

this Internet age, I ﬁrmly believe that all my images will live on, no matter what. However, being in a few more museums would help also. Where can people check out your work? Any shows coming up we should keep our eyes open for? I’m represented by the hottest gallerist of all time, Jessica Silverman in San Francisco. I have

another solo coming up with her, so she keeps track of my work. I highly recommend visiting her gallery. The artists she represents are beautiful and intelligent. I’m the Bart Simpson of the bunch. My next solo show is in Mexico City at Yautepec Gallery this coming May. I’m painting every day to get ready for it. This new body of work is focusing on China’s ﬂexing during the Beijing opening ceremonies of

2008, and their inevitable process of taking over the world. It’s going to have my best work yet. I am very excited. My website is conradruiz.com, give it a look why don’t cha? I’m updating it this weekend. Thank you so much for the interview it was a pleasure. Thanks for the interview, let’s get drinks.

Interview: Danny Davis :: All Photos: Blotto (*unless noted) Jack Mitrani, aka J-Town, aka Towninsteen, aka Jackieberg, aka the man! My name is Dan Davis and I have been so lucky to know Jack Ryan Mitrani for about 7 years and I don’t know if I have ever had a better friend. Jack is not only a great friend, excellent beer pong contestant, talented ﬁlmer, insanely creative editor, Frendsvision founder, ladies man, big brother, and known to do the biggest half pipe airs, but he is also just a regular standup human being.

Come on over and sit with Jack and I while we eat these pasta salads and wait for our burgers here in Kelowna, Canada. I am accompanied by rising snowboard star Jack Ryan Mitrani. Jack, give me your name, age and where you’re from and your favorite food. That’s easy Dan, my name is Jack Ryan Mitrani, I am 22 years old and I am originally from Vermont, in Stratton, which is on the East Coast.

To be what? (thinking)

I don’t know anyone who works as hard as Jack, he shreds all day while tending to his twitter updates and answering to Frends fan mail and then ﬁlming the rest of the crew and then going back to the house make a feast for us and then sitting down and editing what we shot that day and puts it on the Frendsvision website by midnight. He is quite like the energizer bunny in the sense that he keep going and going and going. He is down for anything and is usually motivating everyone else to get up and ﬁlm a skit for the day. Jack is one of a kind, and he is just all about having fun and having a good time.

Jack, I’m gonna stop you there and ﬁnish this for you. You’re from New York. If you’ve forgotten, you’re from Long Island, New York… Atlantic Beach. It depends on how long you wanna go back.

You just came off your ﬁrst avalanche. Just came off my ﬁrst avalanche too, yes.

This interview took place in the Kelowna, Canada airport after a sick heli trip we had including myself, Eric Jackson, Luke [Mitrani], and Jack. Jack didn’t want me to record the interview; he wanted me to just type out questions like every other damn snowboard interview. But that’s where I took charge and forced him to sit down and talk with me while we waited for our ﬂight back to America. Luke, Jack's little brother, chimes in here and there with his little comments. I tried to get in to Jack’s soul but he is like Fort Knox sometimes, I hope you like this little conversation between my great friend Jack Mitrani and I.

Well Jack, that’s what this interview is about. It’s about getting down to the core of who Jack Mitrani really is. You wanna get down to the core? Okay, well I was born in New York City actually and moved to Long Island when I was 2 years old. We did weekend trips up to Vermont and then in third grade we eventually ended up moving there because we loved snowboarding so much. And how old were you when you moved to the beautiful green state of Vermont? Are you going to keep asking me these questions or are we going back to the ﬁrst question of what is my favorite food? Nope, I’m gonna keep asking you this. I was 8 years old when I moved to southern Vermont (aka Dorset, Vermont) and went to the Dorset school there with my younger brother Luke. It was a very small school, which made it easy to be...

Popular? Earning a higher education because there was so much attention for each student. (sarcastically) So Jack, you just came off your ﬁrst heli-trip. Yeah I did. And your ﬁrst time in the bird? First time.

Tell me about riding pow and riding halfpipe, what’s the big difference there? What do you like more? What is the pro and cons of each and what is really your passion? Where is Jack going what is his plan? Wow that is a big question, Dan, that is a lot to cover but I will do it. Did you just get so sucked into pow? Are you not going to do contests at all or what? I did Dan. I got really sucked into pow there in Baker with an avalanche. I got sucked right under the powder, so that was the start of my powder experience. It was deﬁnitely a scary one but nonetheless, I got the worst part of it out of the way ﬁrst and made it out alive and then continued on to Tahoe and went snowmobiling with you and had the time of our lives - we built some jumps. The pros of powder compared to halfpipe are you can fall and just tumble down a mountain and it almost feels good. It’s almost a free visit to the chiropractor. This is true. Luke (Jack’s brother) - It’s not going to be free at all.

This is not your interview. Haha, so yeah, you didn’t answer the rest of my question. So for the future of Jack Mitrani, I do see my self experiencing more powder riding and hopefully progressing more into the backcountry as far as you know… scoping lines and building jumps and most importantly landing tricks. So tell me a little about Frends Vision, where are we going with Frends Vision and who is behind it? You’re the brains behind Frends Vision, how much work is it? How many emails do you answer a day and how many facebook frends do you have? Go… Well, um, it’s actually... I’m going to start with uh... I have around 3000 twitter followers. You’re rounding up. I have 5000 facebook frends which is b.s. because I still have pending requests that I cannot accept because your only allowed 5000, other than that uh... What was the other question? Oh, Frends Vision. Yes I do have a little bit to do with the brains behind it but I’m also accompanied by my friend Dan Davis - I don’t know if you’ve heard of him. Yeah, that guy is a shmuck! He is a shmuck but he does help out behind the scenes there. I answer about 6-700 emails a day. Frends Vision is taking a leap here in the future, we are going to be adding different categories and a new layout and a ton of content and we have been storing up content for this whole season so we should have a bunch of new content. Well Jack, we hear you’re making a movie. This is true Daniel, actually I started making this movie last year. It is a

Photo: Aaron Blatt

documentary of myself and my frends (no I in friends) going to the Olympics and the road along the way. In the movie, this is a true story, our frend Kevin Pearce hits his head, during training, and enters into a deep coma. Three weeks later, after we hear Kevin is starting to come out of his coma, Danny wanted to celebrate after winning a Dew Tour. No Jack, that’s false. I was training for a motocross race and everyone knows that… Okay, don’t make it sound like I’m some sort of terrible person. Okay, so Danny was training for an ATV race and what happen was

there was an obstacle in the road that was not um… that no one was aware of and Danny, being the ﬁrst one to test the course... um accidentally ran into it and… Severed his head. No… broke his back. Now Jack, here Magazine we uh… It’s actually BL!SSS.

Blitzed

Right, we like to get um... actually get into the hearts of our fans. Let’s get in the hearts. Okay, word is you’re starting a band?

Yes, me and three of my frends are starting a band. We just played our ﬁrst gig in Eagle Pass at the Saloon and we call ourselves not the 1, not the 2, not the 3, but the Fourskin. Luke - I heard Forest Bailey was going to play synth? Well, that would make it ﬁveskin so it doesn’t really work, so Jack what kind of music are you into and what type of instrument do you play? I play guitar and I’m into classic rock style music and you know I have been jamming a lot of Deer Tick lately and really I listen to anything that promotes good times.

So, where are you headed to next? …Oh Santa Maria there are our cheeseburgers! Yes! So Jack, you got a burger in your hands, maybe you’re a little happier now and not so stingy about me recording this interview. (Chuckles…) So you’re headed to the Open, you love that contest, it’s your hometown. What are you going to do? We’re going to have a Frends party this year. Burton and Frends are combining forces on Saturday and doing a Frends psychedelic party.

So does that mean you will be like tripping on mushrooms or what? No, we are just going to have a good time and uh... party I guess. Luke – Psychedelic party… BYOL haha. So Jack, what’s going on this summer? You going to some festivals? You gonna be doing some camping? Where you gonna live? I heard you were living down in Encinitas last summer, where can people ﬁnd Jack Mitrani this summer? Well, it’s going to be very hard to keep track of Jack. Luke – Did you guys only get one ketchup packet? This is Canada Luke, that’s how they do it. Okay, now I know you call Boulder home right now and I know you’re not going to stay there for the summer, so where you going? Well, my friend Kevin Pearce bought a house last year in Southern California and he really wants me to move in with him. So your friend Kevin has a house down in the Carlsbad region? Yes, that is correct. Okay, glad that’s cleared up. So Jack, some might say you’re a ladies man, or that you get a lot of ass. So, tell me what’s up, like, are you on the single train right now? Well. Are you in a relationship? Not in a relationship, but for the ﬁrst time in a few years Dan, I have found a lady

friend that I am very fond of. Oh? So I’m being very... mature and responsible and I’m not partaking in any of the other single ladies of the world right now. I’m staying true to my boo, if you will. Hmmm… I see. Luke – So you’re in a relationship? No, on Facebook... It’s complicated. Anybody you want to say hi to? Thank? (Shakes his head.) No, okay asshole. I didn’t say no. He said “no” for the record. I didn’t say no. Yes he did, he shook his head. No, I was shaking my head about something else. For the record he shook his head. Well Jack, I hope you get upgraded to ﬁrst class on your way to Albany. Thank you Daniel. I will see you when we get to the Open. Sounds good. Enjoy the rest of your burger and I will talk to you in 2 seconds. OK. Luke – Haha. Shut up squid. Photo: Cole Barash

KERRAZY KRONICLES PREMIERE

Words & Photos: Spence Pirdy // The infamous Lido Theatre// Josh Kerrazy & Lomenzo// Joe Hubner, Shaddy & Aaron // Charlie Setzler and Rusty himself // Dooma! // Nate Yeomans // Dooma and Josh center stage // Rusty Girls // Blake, Bobby Okvist, Todd Miller, Erik Adolph & Colin Moran // Kerrazy Party People // Nick Greeninger and John Hechtkoph

Everyone from Tijuana to Santa Barbara County cruised into town for Josh Kerr’s first signature film, which premiered mid-March at the Lido Theatre in Newport Beach. The night started off with a fun filled pre-party across the street from the theatre where big name industry gents and fine ladies mingled in excitement before the premiere. Finally, around 9 o’clock everyone hopped across the street to the theatre where the Rusty girls gave away free swag and Damien “Dooma” Fahrenfort rocked the mic to pump up the crowd. After stoking out a grom with a brand new Rusty Josh Kerr surfboard, Kerr introduced the film chronicling his exciting 2010

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year. What ensued was some of the most mind blowing and well-rounded surfing that we’ve ever witnessed. From Hawaii to the Caribbean, this film had all of the airs, barrels and fin wafting turns that one could possibly stomach. The film had a lot of folks scratching their heads in amazement and craving another drink. After the flick ended the whole crew headed over to Blue Beat for a good old-fashioned dance party where booties shook and judgment was impaired. The night was a great success and we congratulate Rusty and Josh Kerr on a job well done!

CASBAH

UNTITLED PARTY

Words: Milk :: Photos: JT Rhodes // Jamie Thomas & Vanessa // Adam Winn of Blorr // Chris Cole & Drew // Lady Dottie // Insight’s Keegan, Purvi, Vanessa & Larry // Chris Hess of Blorr // El Dorado Crowd // Nixon’s Domonique // Bryan Ellis from Surﬁng & Surfer Mag & Dylan from AMBSN // Chad Foreman & Wife // Frecks & Stoddard

Pushing and weaving through a maze of half intoxicated beautiful girls I ﬁnally reached the front doors of the El Dorado bar in downtown San Diego. To my distress, none of those playful females pawing to get a look at Insights new UNTITLED campaign were let in. Unshaven, unkempt and looking for booze and dancing I quickly forgot. Unfortunately for me the ﬁrst 30 partygoers on the list got a bag chalk full of gear from Insight, Brixton, Raen and 5&A Dime - those lucky fuckers. Personally, I think it should be the last 30 people but that’s probably because I can’t pull my shit together till midnight. Soon enough I was keyed up on a well-poured whiskey and began to explore Insights UNTITLED campaign imagery cleverly displayed around this sweat cave. I was a kid

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in a verbal and visual candy shop. Propaganda to the tune of “Unfuck My World”, “Only a Rat Can Win a Rat Race” and “More Trees Less Assholes” poised amongst half naked, well-tanned models had me feeling like an activist with a boner. Fired up and on the verge of starting a riot, the buzz of a microphone reminded me that I was there to dance. The opening act, Bastard Love Child of Rock & Roll, were a Floridian funfest. Twisting and shouting I longed for the playful babes I slid by at the door but minutes later my thirst for a female was quenched in the form of Lady Dottie and the Diamonds. Heaven sent an angel just for me. The night drifted away into a full on rock and soul dance party. Once again Insight, you “Unfucked My World.”

PHOTO: DRAGONETTE

BLISSS.indd 1

ACTIVE TEAM RIDER: DAKOTA SERVOLD TUCK KNEE

3/16/11 4:28 PM

SO-GNAR TOUR @ MT HIGH

Photos: Chris Garrison // Tour founder Pat Milbery // Tsuyoshi Komiyama // Magic carpet ride with young campers // So-Gnar critter // Corey Whetstone // Young camper Javier getting some schwag // Coach Justin Rightsell // Coach Milberry with camper Cyrus // Steve Cummings // Chillin’ & Relaxin on the Zumiez couch // All smiles

The SO-GNAR Mighty Midwest Snowboard Camp Tour surfaced for it’s ﬁrst ever camp in Cali. The tour was born in 2005 out of Pat Milbery’s love for snowboarding and his need to generate greater amounts of local community involvement. Mountain High was the 12th and ﬁnal stop on the 2010-2011 tour. There were about twenty-four campers that showed up to shred and hang out with coaches Pat Milbery, Corey Whetstone, Yoshi Komiyama, and Justin Rightsell. The campers ages ranged from as young as 5 all the way to 47. The tour travels with a handful of custom build

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features they set-up in private parks just for camp members at each location, which differ from stop to stop. Lots of tricks were learned, knowledge of snowboarding was passed on from one generation to the next and new friendships were created. Big up’s to Robby and John at Mountain High Resort, Skullcandy and all of the tour sponsors for the support and all the free schwag. Be sure to join the So-Gnar camp next year! For more photos, videos, other tour stops and upcoming events, please visit so-gnar.com and snowboardcamptour.com.

BROKEN EYE ART SHOW

Words: Jason Arnold :: Photos: John Steele // Johnny Munson & Father // Milby Shannon // Eric Melhberg, Christine Ayayla, John Dowell & Ian Foulke // Half Blonde // Mike Wetzel & Rich Galligan // Jeff Hall & Bowen Ota // Repulbik of Kalifornia // Corbin Campbell, Dustin & friends // Mike Losness, Daniel Lippert & sister // Jon Steele & Jason Arnold // Greg Long & Mike Garrett

An often over looked condition, anyone who has surfed most their life will likely be suffering from pterygiums, also known as "surfers eyeâ&#x20AC;?. Pterygiums are a noncancerous growth over the white part of the eye nugget caused by prolonged exposure to sun and wind. They are relatively painless, but can lead to vision disruptions if not removed. Republik of Kalifornia, a new surf/skate shop in downtown San Clemente owned and operated by DBC alumnus Bobby, decided to bring some attention to it by hosting a skateboard art show/silent auction with the

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net proceeds going towards research and diagnosis. Featuring works by Tim Bessell, Robb Havassy, Joey Jorgensen, Mike Losness, Kris Markovich, Johnny Monson, Jon Steele and Christian Wach, the joint was packed as SC locals came out in force to support RoK, imbibe in the now legendary Peligroso margarita concoctions, mack some Nalu's grinds and enjoy the jazzy stylings of the Hennings Brothers. Special thanks go out to supporting sponsors Sector 9, Peligroso, Nalu's, Ergo, Mica and GrifďŹ n Optometric Group.

Job Number:

Arnette 11-3122

Part Number:

BLEED:

11in. x 14.125in.

VANS PIER CLASSIC PRESENTED BY BODY GLOVE

Words: Matt Patterson :: Photos: Brent Hilleman // The Man of the Event: Kolohe Andino // Brother with the dough // Damien Hobgood // Conner Cofﬁn // Adriano DeSouza // Andrew “Droid” Doheny // Koa Smith // Tim Curran // Luke Davis // Evan Geiselman // Last Years Champ: Dylan Goodale

March 23rd – 27th Huntington Beach played host to the newly upgraded 4-star WQS event at the Pier. This former 2-star event drew surf celebrities and CT’ers alike, and for more than one day of the early rounds the surf turned picture perfect. Southern California upstart Kolohe Andino made a solid run at the field of Juniors, easily taking the win and blowing minds by turning in the same first place performance in the Pro event as well. This man-child is apparently filling the shoes we all hoped he would when he signed those illustrious contracts not so long ago. The highlight of the event, however, wasn’t the final day when Kolohe showed us glimpses of his uber-bright future to come, but rather Thursday (round of 64) when Huntington Beach did it’s best impression of Off-The-Wall. “I think that may

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have been the best Huntington Beach I’ve ever seen,” claimed event director Darren Brillhart. The event went off without a hitch, once again solidifying the Southern California surf landscape as not only a place of importance but also one of contention. Vans Pier Classic Final Results: 1 – Kolohe Andino (USA) 2 – Adriano de Souza (BRA) 3 – Taylor Knox (USA) 4 – Damien Hobgood (USA)

Vans Pro Junior Final Results: 1 – Kolohe Andino (USA) 2 – Conner Cofﬁn (USA) 3 – Luke Davis (USA) 4 – Jake Halstead (USA)

OCEANIC AWARENESS COLLABORATION

Words: Clay Wendel :: Photos: Dustin Downing, Katie Wenzel, Denis Thorp, and Janelle Cuba // Tanner Hoss & Clay Wendel // Artwork by Craww // Art for Awareness // Janelle Cuba and her work // Artwork by Jason Limon // Artwork by Thomas Pathe // Attendees // Jim Warf and his artwork // Artwork by Roland Tamayo // Artwork by Ryan Bryant “D.I.Y.” // Artwork by Cat Cult Oceanic Awareness Collaboration hosted their first major public event this past month (on February 26th) in downtown Pomona at the AC Projects gallery with great success. Art for Awareness boasted a huge lineup of well-known and up and coming artists from around the world as far away as the UK & Indonesia. The likes of Blaine Fontana, Roland Tamayo, Clayton Brothers, Arkiv, Craww & Adam Wallacavage all had their work on display. The event was held with an aim to raise awareness about the North Pacific Garbage Patch, more specifically the plastic plague in general that our oceans are currently enduring. Art for Awareness kicked off with a line out front before the doors even opened and the flow of foot traffic didn't stop with live DJ's and heat lamps on the patio. Bids started coming out of the woodwork in the last hour and the frenzy was on. With a packed house all in attendance were impressed and more environmentally

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conscious of what OAC is built around. Seventy pieces of art, a great cause, drinks and music pulled 400 heads to downtown Pomona. When the night ended over half of the shows art was sold, raising a grand total of just under $11,000. With that, OAC will be able to send 4-5 under privileged students to CIMI camp this coming summer and launch the Paddle Against Plastic Campaign, which is an assembly of teams kayaking from Catalina to Newport to raise awareness and funding for more youth focused projects. With guidance and much appreciated help from Derric Swinfard and the family at Monster Media, Sea No Evil, Obey, Red Bull, & many more, OAC is on track for it's second show in San Francisco followed by the annual southern California show in April 2012. To keep up with OACs coming collaborations and projects visit oacollabo.com.

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Interview: Max Ritter Since The Shys disbanded near the end of 2009 their front man Kyle Krone has been quietly at work completing a collection of songs for what has become his debut solo effort. After recently coming across some of KK’s new work I was eager to ﬁnd out more. Talking with Krone I found he is admirably passionate about taking a DIY approach to this solo project with the goal of retaining the power to do things his way and at his own pace - a level of control that he says can be lost to everyone else involved in the more conventional methods of making and distributing music. After soaking up Kyle’s record I was stoked to hear a solid ‘play-through’ album of his addictive tunes that seems to come from such a genuine space. You can purchase two of Kyle’s singles online to get a taste while you wait for his release, which he says he will drop, “whenever I feel like it”. More musicians should adopt Kyle’s intuitive attitude. So I came across some of your new tracks from your recent solo work; they are great, tell us a little bit about that and what’s going on with you. I wasn’t one hundred percent sure what I was going to do when the band was done. I guess it kind of started with one song while the band was still going and we had a last tour that we did in December of ‘09. I had this new song and a few other ideas that were clearly not Shys stuff … it just didn’t sound like it. That kind of got me thinking because I was psyched on it. I spent a few months just recording and letting it happen naturally not really knowing what I was going to do. In May or April of last year I decided I was going to do this because I had quite a few songs building up and it started to sound like it could be a record. I started recording Photo: Justin Smith

at home and then in August I finally took it to the big studio in LA with the help of an engineer friend I have worked with forever, Mark Rains. I had a couple friends come out and play and basically went in there and made the record on my own with some friends. It was really fun and it was so different than the way it was in the band before. From there I have just been taking things one step at a time and trying to let it all happen naturally as the time feels right. Since then I started my own little imprint called Young Volcano to put this stuff out. I have put out two of the singles so far; one is called “Hiding in Plain Sight” and the other is called “1963”. Just taking it one step at a time. So this project is definitely different, as you’ve said. You have been through a major label deal and now at this point in your career you’ve decided to do this solo project totally DIY, production and all. Why did you decide to go that route? When you have all these other people involved throwing their opinion around it can be difficult to do exactly what you want to do despite your best efforts. I think I was just ready to do exactly what I wanted to do. I knew exactly how I wanted it to sound and how I wanted the artwork to look. What happened is I started peeling away the layers one at a time of all the people who have their opinions about what they think you should do or what they think you should be. For me this go around I just wanted to make something that was exactly the way I wanted it to be. With the band you have things you like and you have to make compromises and I just didn’t want to do that anymore. I wanted this to be one hundred percent me and

hopefully not in some terrible control freak kind of way but in a ‘following your own vision’ sort of way. Talk about this new sound you are after and what influences you’re drawing from. The sound is different than The Shys. Less organic I would say. You are playing with some drum machines and synths. This is stuff that I have always been into but, you know, when you have a rock band with two guitars it doesn’t really work; Shys just kind of did their thing. This thing was something I was always doing but knowing full well it wouldn’t really fly with the guys because like you said there is drum machines and drum loops and synthesizers and things like that going on. I guess what I am always trying to do with these songs is make something that I like and I really want to listen to. I will be driving in my car and think “What record would be perfect right now?”… and sometimes that doesn’t exist for me. So I try to make that sound. As far as influences, it’s really hard to put my fingers on where things came from. It’s all over the map. While I was in the studio I was listening to everything from new stuff like Washed Out and Beach House to old favorites like Joy Division and Men At Work singles. You’ve been releasing singles… When does the album drop? The short answer to that is I don’t have a set release date. The record is done and I can put it out whenever I want. I just want to put it out when I feel its right and not subscribe to any of those rules as far as the promotion. For me, I just want to do it when the time feels right. I also like the fact that one song at a time gives people the time to

digest and it creates excitement for the next. It seems silly to try to plan a date and anticipate when people are going to want to hear something. An event might happen tomorrow that would spur the proper timing of a release … and this goes back to the appeal of having the control to make those kind of calls. Will you version?

releasing

vinyl

Absolutely. I want to press it up and make it a special thing for the people who are interested in that. It’s a shame to say it but it really all comes down to cash. In your mind you have all these lofty amazing ideas. You want to do a book with a DVD and a crazy fold out and have it all come in a glass box (Laughs). You do that stuff if you can afford to do it and hopefully you can. For instance, I was looking at that Brian Eno box set that came out a couple years ago and it was amazing. You’d want to hang it on your wall. Hopefully we can put something cool together. It inspires people to take it more seriously and give it more time. It’s a rad experience that I feel like a lot of kids don’t have these days. Any shows lined up? Same theme of what I have been talking about before. I have some ideas I want to do and I am putting it together one piece at a time. It is going to be a little bit of an undertaking to pull it off as I went a little crazy with the layering in the studio. I am thinking the earliest will be May it is just a matter of putting all the pieces together. Late Spring/ Summer! Get onboard Kyle’s latest, and keep an eye out for his new album it’s a banger!

Reviews: Max Ritter

Weedeater Jason… The Dragon Southern Lord

Tyler The Creator Yonkers Single XL

Suedehead In Motion 7” Vinyl EP Self-Released

The Strokes Angles RCA

This is just so raw and heavy. It ﬁts somewhere in the metal genre but I would have to say it just sounds pretty much like death itself. With song titles like “Hammerhandle,” “Turkey Warlock” and “Palms of Opium” you immediately know you’re in for some thick face melting metal. Play it for granny. Enjoy.

It has been hard to ignore the recent hype and presence of the rising hip-hop group Odd Future, better know as OFWGKTA (Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All). They are in essence a collective group of dirty-mouthed skateboarding packrats led by this dude, Tyler The Creator, and they basically spend every day of their lives trying to purposely create some sort of controversial media that will drive all parents insane. Does anyone remember WuTang Clan? It’s all somewhere between genius and retarded. Be appalled at http:// oddfuture.com.

Here are four catchy songs from Costa Mesa’s own British transplant songsmith DaveyBoy Warsop. Davey’s clean mod rock style carries a Motown undertone that makes for an uplifting feel. The running baseline on the Costello like rocker, “Can’t Stop,” sounds so good under Hammond organ it will have you sold in no time. The self-produced production really seems to be a more natural ﬁt for Davey’s sound and it’s great to see him moving forward with his music again. Find it on iTunes or pick up a Vinyl at their shows.

Perhaps one of the most anticipated releases of this year is Angles. The Strokes return after a long hiatus during which members were involved in solo records and side projects like Little Joy. Some songs like the single “Under Cover of Darkness” sound more collaborative and closer to songs off their debut record while most of the other tracks have an synthy eighties vibe that would probably ﬁt better on Julian Casablanca’s solo record. Regardless, it is nice to have new stuff from The Strokes.

Sic Alps Napa Asylum Drag City

J Mascis Several Shades Of Why Sub Pop

Hanni El Khatib 7” Build. Destroy. Rebuild. 7” Innovative Leisure

GenerationalsRoll Actor-Caster Park The Van

Liking this new record from the San Francisco trio Sic Alps. It’s got a skuzzy trashed out sound and a handful of quality tunes, some a bit more noisy than others. If your poison is fuzzy rock then this record is deﬁnitely one of the unique standouts of late. I like that the Alps don’t really follow the conventional rules of songwriting and they are not afraid to experiment on the production front.

Dinosaur Jr.’s legendary front man J Mascis is best known for wailing a crunchy Marshall guitar sound. However, here he shows off his soft side with an album full of mellow unplugged takes. His signature grungy rasp will slowly melt you as he sings heartfelt and deep over pretty acoustics layered with strings. The allstar contributions from Ben Bridwell (Band Of Horses), Kevin Drew (Broken Social Scene), and Kurt Vile add a nice touch.

Khatib is a ﬁrst generation American who is the son of Palestinian and Filipino immigrants but ironically his sound and image are just so classically American. Khatib does a minimalist take of raw garage rock, blues, and soul. When he is not rocking, the San Francisco native skateboarding aﬁcionado is working as a creative director for the brand Huf. This is the latest 7” he has put out. Let it marinate while you wait for his full length Will The Guns Come Out.

These two guys from New Orleans continue to make some seriously infectious loﬁ pop tunes on their newest LP. I am really digging the creative aesthetic of the video for the song “tentwenty-ten” as well. I won’t be a bit surprised when the commercial world begins to eat this one alive, but well deserved.

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AGE: 8 HOMETOWN: AGOURA HILLS, CA SPONSORS: FREEDOM ARTISTS, WRV SURFBOARDS, BODY GLOVE WETSUITS, DVS, ANARCHY EYEWEAR, VAL SURF, FAMOUS SURF AX, GROM BOMB, OLAS MEX GRILL FAVORITE SURFER: KELLY SLATER, ANDY IRONS, BRUCE IRONS

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

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Photo:Steve Reyes

CHAD OAKLEY

AGE:18 SPONSORS: BILLABONG, SK8MAFIA, CONVERSE, SKATEPARKOFTAMPA HOMETOWN: COSTA MESA, CA FAVORITE SKATERS: ALL THE ONES THAT PAVED THE WAY FOR ME TO BE HERE TODAY! Photo: Brian Fick

AGE: 16 SPONSORS: VOLCOM, FREESTYLE WATCHES, VON ZIPPER, 118 BOARDSHOP HOMETOWN: MAMMOTH LAKES FAVORITE RIDER: SCOTTY LAGO Photo: Peter Morning

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3/3/11 4:20 PM