BL!SSS Magazine | May 2018 | #129 by Blisss Mag

E R I K PA R K E R ISSUE 129

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No. 129 Editor-in-Chief

N ICK K A L IO N Z E S nick@blisssmag.com

Editor

JOEY MARSHALL joey@blisssmag.com

Creative Director

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L IZ R ICE Mc CR AY liz@blisssmag.com

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CONTRIB UTING P HOTOGRAP H ERS 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, PETER MORNING, BRYCE KANIGHTS, ARTO SARRI, ANTHONY ACOSTA, CAMERON STRAND, BRIAN FICK, DEVILLE NUNNS, GAGE THOMPSON, DEREK BAHN, TOM COZAD, BRUCE BEACH, ROBBIE CRAWFORD, RYAN DONAHUE, JOE FOSTER, SEAN SULLIVAN, STAN SIEVERS, CHRIS LOMENZO CONTRIB UTORS WILLIE MARSHALL, DANIEL RUSSO, 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, RICHIE OLIVARES, ERIC MEYERS, KELLY SHANNON, JP OLSON, BRUCE BEACH, BONES

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01. GLOBE X SESAME STREET

Globe and Sesame Street have joined forces and have just released a limited-edition six-deck collection. Featuring a holographic prism foils, transparent and pearlescent ink details and of course your favorite cast of characters from the classic American educational television series Sesame Street, these skate decks are a must-have for any serious collector and a nod to classics of yesteryear. Available now, choose from the likes of Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, Count Von Count, Big Bird or our favorite, Elmo. The very best part about this entire collaboration is that a portion of the proceeds are going directly to The Sesame Street Yellow Feather Fund – a nonprofit organization which brings educational materials to children in need around the world. Do your part and collect them all where finer skate decks are sold.

02. THE FANNING LOW

Reef and Mick Fanning have had a very long and very prosperous relationship – translating to over eleven million pairs of Mick’s signature sandals sold over the last decade and a half or so. Which, to be completely honest, is the most popular single item to ever come from the surf industry. Let that soak in for a second. And with no signs of slowing down, it’s no surprise that Mick and Reef have teamed up again and released The Fanning Low Collection. It’s a redesign of the oh-so-popular bottle opener signature sandal, put together with a lower footbed and slimmer strap. It features all the comfy, key, must-haves: rubber outsole, arch support, air bag and of course, the bottle opener with a slew of new colorways. Click over to www.reef.com or head to your local shop to pick up another pair today.

03. LASERWOLF X SLOWTIDE

One of our very favorite towel companies, Slowtide, has been an absolute tear this year and continue to team up with select artists to bring us unique, must-have towels, blankets and ponchos. One that really caught our eye was the Laserwolf X Slowtide collaboration. It’s not often you see a towel that makes you do a double-take but that’s exactly what happened when this thing showed up at our door. It’s an iconic Laserwolf image of the raw power and beauty shot from above the mighty Waimea Bay. And at over five-feet in length we’re guessing we’re not the only ones doing the double take – check it out for yourself at www.slowtide.co.

04. BIG GREEN EGG

With summer just around the corner it’s time to upgrade those old BBQ’s, and there’s no better place to do so than Crown Ace Hardware. Let us introduce you to one of their hottest selling grills, the Big Green Egg, the world’s highest-quality ceramic kamado-style charcoal grill. The Big Green Egg reaches perfect cooking temperature and is ready to use in just minutes. Their 100% lump charcoal is made in the USA from only the best cuts of natural oak and hickory for superb performance and results. Lighting the charcoal is always quick and easy, as the design of the Big Green Egg allows airflow to circulate efficiently. Grill, smoke and bake on your EGG at exact temperatures by easily adjusting the patented air flow systems. Many indoor ovens cannot match the accuracy of the EGG’s temperature control! Interested? Big Green Eggs aren’t easy to find but Crown Ace Hardware has ‘em in several locations, including Huntington Beach, Corona Del Mar, Newport Hills, Newport Westcliff, Point Loma and Clairemont in San Diego – check ‘em out.

05. VANS X SPITFIRE

Back with the heat, Vans and Spitfire Wheels have reunited once again to deliver a new assortment of footwear, apparel and accessories. As leading brands in skateboarding, Vans and Spitfire Wheels celebrate an extensive collection of footwear and apparel honoring team icons Anthony Van Engelen, Kyle Walker, Chima Ferguson and legend John Cardiel. Featuring enhanced performance technology and timeless style, the new Vans x Spitfire collection is certainly in good company, encapsulating the spirit of each brand and honoring the greats.

06. JOHN WAYNE FOUNDATION

The John Wayne Cancer Foundation has been around for a while now and if you live anywhere near the beach in SoCal you’ve probably seen their orange and white van making stops at all the beaches to teach the kids about skin cancer. It’s awareness and education that focuses on prevention and self-screening, teaching today’s youth why and how to be safe in the sun while they are outside doing what they love to do. Every June, this effort kicks into high gear with their Block the Blaze program and by the end of summer over 22,000 California Jr. Lifeguards and thousands more are educated through this initiative. We all know cancer sucks, and skin cancer is the most common but also most preventable. With the month of May being Skin Cancer Awareness Month, remember to screen up while in the sun. To learn more about Block the Blaze check out www.johnwayne.org/blocktheblaze. ISSUE 129

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01. INCASE DIAMOND RIPSTOP COLLECTION

The boys and girls at Incase have caught our eyes once again with their latest collaboration of new bags and travel luggage. Their ever-growing repertoire now includes the Diamond RipStop Collection; a perfect example of fashion meets function. This collection consists of backpacks, duffle bags, computer bags and laptop sleeves that have us begging for more. Keeping it simple and sleek, it’s why time and time again we click on over to www.incase.com for all our travel and accessory needs and suggest you do the same.

02. FOUNDERS’ CUP OF SURFING

The very first, open-to-the-public, surf event at Kelly Slater’s wave pool is going down just about the same time this ink should hitting your fingers. Named The Founders’ Cup of Surfing Presented by Michelob Ultra Pure Gold, it’s a team event consisting of twenty-five of the world’s best surfers with regional-based teams comprised of three men and two women. The team breakdown is: USA, Brazil, Australia, Europe and a World Team. Names you might be familiar with are Kelly Slater, John John Florence, Kolohe Andino, Jeremy Flores, Filipe Toledo, Mick Fanning, Joel Parkinson, Gabriel Medina and so many more. This is a game-changer people, so pack your weekend bag and head on up to Lemoore, California for an action-packed weekend. Tickets are available at www.wslfounderscup. com, we’ll see you there.

03. BEYOND THE STREETS

One of skateboarding’s most iconic and historically relevant west coast locations is being recreated as part of a two-month installation called Beyond The Streets. Anyone and everyone in the skateboarding/ graffiti world during the 80’s and 90’s was familiar with the Venice Pavilion, as it’s where skateboarding and graffiti paralleled and inspired one another so strongly that even today it’s hard to imagine one without the other. But it’s not just the recreation of the “Venice Pit” that’s got us all fired up, Beyond The Streets is a 40,000 square-foot indoor/outdoor installation [curated by Roger Gastman] and will be on display from May 5th through July 6th. It will include original artwork, photography, sculptures and installations from Shepard Fairey, Revok, Futura 2000, Retna, Lady Pink, Dash Snow, CR Stecyk III, Guerilla Girls, Barry McGee, Mister Cartoon, Swoon, Invader, RISK, Todd James, Dennis Hopper, Takashi Murakami and so, so many more. And with that many heavies in one place at one time, we’re sure we’ll be able to spend hours upon hours in awe at such an incredible exhibition. Tickets are available at www.beyondthestreets.com as we highly suggest that this is gonna be one that you don’t wanna miss.

04. STICKY BUMPS X COBIAN SANDAL

Sticky Bumps and Cobian Footwear have teamed up just in time for summer to release their collaborative sandal. It’s got all the functionality and durability you’d expect from the Cobian team with the looks and feel of Sticky Bumps Wax. Inspired by those perfect beads of a well-waxed surfboard, these new sandals have our feet jumping for joy. And let’s not forget about that wonderful Sticky Bumps smell, they’ve got that covered as well – with each pair of sandals purchased comes a Blueberry Sticky Bumps air freshener. Get them today at www.stickybumps.com or wherever finer products are sold.

05. S’WELL ROAMER GROWLER

We’ve seen more than a handful of insulated beverage containers but S’well has just dropped one that tops them all. The S’well Roamer Growler is a beastly 64-ounces of triple-insulated deliciousness, boasting of keeping hot things hot for up to twelve-hours and/or chilly things chilly for up to twenty-four. With five different color ways to choose from and the capacity for nearly an entire six-pack, it’s the only beverage container you’ll ever need again.

06. IKON PASS

There’s a new annual lift pass that we’ve been hearing more and more about that has got all the powder junkies salivating. It’s called the Ikon Pass, and it consists of 26 destinations in the northern hemisphere and can be purchased as two different options: The Ikon Pass, with unlimited use at twelve resorts and the Ikon Base Pass, with unlimited use at ten or the twenty-six. Both come with additional days (up to seven with Ikon and five with Ikon Base) for the remaining resorts and a slew of other benefits and discount, making it a must-have if your local resort is part of this program. Check for yourself at www.ikonpass.com and get psyched for the upcoming 2018/2019 season.

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BLISSS MAGAZINE // ISSUE NO. 129

THOMAS CANTO:

INTERVIEW // LIZ RICE MCCRAY

Thomas Canto transposes his personal vision of his environment on canvas, proposing an abstract and duplicate vision to the disorganized entanglement of the mixtures of his urban life. On one hand, the city in sections of walls or blue prints, on the other, humanity and its individuality. The concept of space and movement is rarely confined, defined or limited in Thomas Canto’s work. In fact, his deeper origins founded in urban sensitivity reaches back to the classical form of optical art and kinetic art, formed in Paris in 1955 by artists who called into question how form and line would create optimal movement in a work of art. The organic structures of Thomas Canto’s works are also inspired by urban architectural environments, which interplay humanity and functionality. For him, the dialect and exchange between human and architecture is as prominent a subject matter as the elements of color, line, form and shadow in his work. Many thanks to Thomas for taking the time to answer our questions. Dear reader, if you get a chance checkout more of Thomas Canto art at www. thomascanto.com. Hi Thomas, perhaps you could describe where you are right now? This way everyone reading along can imagine the setting. Right now I’m in my studio in Boerum Hill. It could be described as a white cube located on the first floor of an old Brooklyn factory. My studio has no furniture except for a working station, a black sofa and a massive table, which I designed. The table is a composition of glass, wires and mirror lines that reflect the light depending on the angle. On the walls there are some recent works of mine hanging, which I usually keep on sight to experience how it is to have them in one’s own space. In fact, sometimes I decide that something needs to be added to a finished piece after looking at it for a few days. On the floor, there are some pieces of black and white cardboards that I cut today to prepare models for several installations I’m working on. The studio smells like a mix of varnish and coffee. Through my studio window I can see the typical red brick factories, which are so predominant in Brooklyn’s landscape. Smells of varnish and coffee… You work in many different mediums; will you tell us about your optical and kinetic art; your creative process and techniques? What are some of your favorite materials to work with? The kinetic and optical part of my work came naturally while I began to develop human size installations. When I first created these spaces, my initial idea was to translate what I experience when I’m confronted with contemporary city landscapes like Hong-Kong, New York or Dubai. The superposition of different layers of materials that these installations entail, such as painted walls, plexiglass panels and cables, are what creates the optical effects of my works. In particular, the kinetic aspect of my work is created by the spectator’s experience when he or she steps inside the installation. I knew I found my visual language when I realized that the optical layers of my installation created the intense feeling anyone experiences in these kinds of environments. What is the process you use to conceptualize a piece, refine it, “test it”, etcetera? So you don’t get part way through and discover, “this is not working?” For years, I used to work based on photographs I took during my trips to different cities. The last past years, however, I’ve been also creating some artworks by only using the memories I

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have from the places I travel to. This allows me to develop pieces that are more and more abstract and also integrate colors in my works since most of my memories are based on senses rather than on images. For the site specific installations, just like an architect, I usually work with models that allow me to experience what my ideas would look like in a tridimensional setup and improve some aspects I want to focus on, depending on each sculpture or installation. Depth, combinations of shapes and lines, geometry and illusion are all intertwined in each piece. Here’s a cliché artist question, but where do you draw inspiration from? I would say I’m inspired by everything that is around me, as a cliché answer… But, from the beginning of my development as an artist, I had a unique relationship with the city as a concept, in particular the public space used to do graffiti. From that on, I kept a close link with the elements usually found in graffiti street artworks: the ability of creating a piece of art including its surroundings, the mural aspect, the color ranges, the dimensions, the out-of-frame development of the piece of art and the privileged relation between outdoor and indoor. The city has also become one of my favorite subjects for photography projects. Did your interest and inclination towards painting start at a young age? I have been raised in a family in which art has always played a predominant role. So, art has always been around me. As a self-thought artist, I instinctively wanted to paint since I was young. I started doing interpretations of supremacists and constructivist masters when I was around nine years old. I would have never thought that, at that age, I was already looking for my way to express myself through art. Where can people check more of your art? On Instagram, @thomascanto, and at www.thomascanto.com. To experience some installation works physically; I’ll have some shows in USA, Germany, and China in the following months. Follow me to get updates and additional information on upcoming shows.

SALLY WEST:

BLISSS MAGAZINE // ISSUE NO. 129 INTERVIEW // LIZ RICE MCCRAY

Sally West is a leading Australian artist known for her thick impasto brushstrokes, textural surfaces, oil paintings of seascapes and still life’s. As we did this interview we imagined the wind the waves and Sally West plein air painting at Freshwater Beach, also referred to as “Freshy.” For our reader who has no clue what we are talking about, this is a lovely iconic beach in Australia on the East Coast of New South Wales. Sally has been the winner of many recent art awards and is a regular finalist in many prestigious prizes including the Portia Geach Art Prize (SH Ervin Gallery 2013, 2014 & 2015), New South Wales Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize, Paddington Art Prize (2016), KAAF Prize (2016), EMSLA (2016), Salon Des Refuses (Wynne) Prize, Charlatan Ink Art Prize (Manhattan NYC), and the Pacific Palms Art Prize (winner 3 years), Gosford Art Prize, Mosman Art Prize, Hornsby Art Prize and many more. Many thanks to Sally for taking the time to answer our questions we hope to see you someday painting in Australia. Hi Sally, perhaps you could describe where you are right now? This way everyone reading along can imagine the setting. I am currently staying on the farm where I grew up in Central NSW. It’s a sheep and wheat farm, 10000 acres, red dirt, vast open spaces, hot and dry. Many flies! Thank you. Now that we have a visual, will you please introduce yourself to our reader, a little synopsis if you will? I am predominantly a plein air painter; however, when the weather is bad I often work on producing still life works and portraits in my studio. I live in Sydney on the Northern Beaches. I love painting the ocean. However, I also enjoy painting the bush and street scenes. What affect do you hope your work evokes in viewers? I hope to evoke a response. Whether that be of like or dislike, as long as I move the viewer to respond in some way, then at least I know the work is speaking.

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I like that answer. So tell us what would your theme song be, or song to take into the fray of activism to help change the world. “One Love” - Bob Marley. Where can people view more of your art? On my social media, @sallywestart. Very last question. Any last words for our readers, shout outs, declaration of love or hate? Love our planet. Thank you.

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STEPHEN FOX:

INTERVIEW // LIZ RICE MCCRAY

The paintings of Stephen Fox are an exploration of the contemporary nighttime landscapes, and the people and objects that inhabit that after-hours world. Stephen lives and works in Brooklyn, NY and many of his landscapes in recent years are drawn from the mountainous Hudson Highlands area adjacent to the Hudson River, as well as the Adirondacks, coastal Maine, and many drive-in movie theaters throughout the country. Will you describe where you are right now? This way everyone reading along can imagine the setting and have a visual. I’m seated in my art studio, a former kitchen in a first floor apartment in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. There are paintings in-progress all over the walls, some nearly complete, others with a long ways to go. Sunlight streams in through a south-facing back door, through which is a petite backyard. It’s cool spring weather out there, just beginning to hint at cookouts to come. We are blown away by your paintings. Will you please tell us about your creative process? I suppose it would be right to say that every painting emerges out of three fairly distinct chapters of engagement. To begin with, there is the time spent out in the landscape, a kind of hunting and gathering mode. Sometimes this is a specifically targeted location, like a particular outdoor theater for the drive-in movie series I’ve been working on, while other times I just drive into the unknown with my camera and tripod, trusting that I’ll eventually stumble upon a “fortunate” configuration of light and atmosphere that can serve as the seed from which a fully realized painting might grow. Next comes time spent sketching and computer-composing from these references, until I have a composition that engages a certain kind of feeling in me, a sense that some version of this image needs to exist in painted form. Then, finally, the engagement on canvas or panel, the longest part of the process by far, where I rough that composition in very abstractly, and the painting gradually emerges into refined form through many layers of paint application. When did your fascination for light within the nighttime landscape begin, and how has it evolved? When I was studying painting and printmaking in college, I tended to leave the art buildings very late. It was an urban campus and I loved the quiet that descended upon the streets in the wee hours, with the artificial lighting turning otherwise “ordinary” places into scenes with a kind of quivering stillness. My very first nightscapes came from wandering around these streets right where I parked my car, or where I lived. With those beginnings, I had no idea that I was tapping into an exploration that would carry on for decades. Various themes have emerged from the larger umbrella of painting the night—highway or railway landscapes, glowing phone booths, playgrounds emptied of activity, drive-in movie theaters where film imagery literally beams into a nighttime environment… I was twenty-two when I painted my first night landscape. I’m sixty now, and feel like I’ve still only scratched the surface of the magic that can be drawn out of these night paintings. On so many levels it’s an elemental part of human consciousness to wish for light to emerge out from darkness, and it continues to amaze me how the headlights from one approaching car, or a bit of mist gathered around a streetlight, can transform visual nothingness into a world that glows with mystery.

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What kind of art do you like? Do you collect anything in particular? I have my favorite artists, and perhaps it’s no surprise that they are painters whose work dealt with capturing qualities of light – Vermeer, Monet, George Inness, Edward Hopper… But really, my tastes are eclectic, and what stirs me the most is seeing the fruits of sincere creative engagement, whether that takes the form of a soulful painting, or a mathematically complex bamboo basket, or a Lohan sculpture with a quality of presence… When it comes to collecting, my wife and I are living a New York apartment life, which creates certain limitations. We aren’t minimalists – we do have wonderful art on our walls, objects that feed us in the way that fine art can. But by nature we’re creators, not collectors, and live accordingly. Many thanks for taking the time to answer our questions. Lastly, any sage wisdom for artists just starting out? And where can our readers check out more of your art. I find myself smiling, recalling being outdoors in a valley while facing a particular life-direction conundrum, and from high upon a nearby mountain trail I heard someone call out: “You’re going the wrong way!” They weren’t speaking to me – And yet, of course, they also were – which is perhaps a strange preamble for saying that for young artists, try to know the difference between a direction that only comes from what could be called mere head-brain thinking, and possibilities that you feel must be engaged with for reasons you can’t even quite explain to yourself. Be drawn like a moth to a flame – it’s art, and half of the fun is in not knowing where touching a live wire like that is going to take you. As for seeing more of my paintings, I have a website, www.stephenfoxart.com. And to see works in person, it might be convenient for some of your readers to drop into Arcadia Contemporary in Culver City, CA, where a different Steve can show them what I’ve been up to recently. Two of my paintings are included in a landscape exhibition there titled, “This Land Is…” which runs through May 10th. But they almost always have examples of my work on hand.

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TOBIAS KROEGER:

INTERVIEW // LIZ RICE MCCRAY

Some start small; Tobias Kroeger started rather large. Inspired by the New York City subway graffiti’s of the 1990’s, he sprayed his first works of art in his hometown of Bremen, Germany at the age of 12. Kroeger spent his youth exploring the boundaries of the genre. Out of the typical imagery of graffiti, he developed his own iconography and eventually transported this style on to classic canvas in 2013. His focus has been on using oil and acrylic paints. Kroeger has catapulted the classical portrait, in which he often inserts quotes, into the digital world of ones and zeros. When speaking about his works, Kroeger talks about data fragments and machine elements of heteronomy and life dreams that have little space under the conditions of mechanization and, therefore, get lost in standardized conditions. He repeatedly plays with strong abstractions but inserts figurative elements and color schemes to guide the viewer. Unlike in previous phases of his work, he uses an impasto technique, incorporating intense yellow, orange, blue or pink, and then binds them together with various shades of grey. This mixing of traditional analogue techniques and bold colors creates a three-dimensional image that online appears to be two-dimensional. Also on this level Kroeger allows a more complex analogue artwork compared to its digital pendant. Through the filter of his early urban art influences, Kroeger takes the historically important theme of portraiture and combines it with a binary presence to create a contemporary portrait of man in the 21st century – both on large walls and on canvas, and by the standards of actual, artistic greatness. I’m curious, where are you at this very moment while I’m interviewing you? This way, everyone reading along can imagine the setting and have a visual. I just sat down, the brushes were washed out and I quickly took a photo of my daily work so I can better plan further steps on my picture. My studio is quite small, no bigger than the studio of Francis Bacon back then. But not so messy, I like to work tidy. The size of my studio is currently helping a lot. It prevents me from painting pictures that are so big they cannot pass through the doorframe anymore. That’s always very tempting to get that big, but I save myself for later. We were taken aback with your current body of work – the colors, abstraction, figurative elements… will you tell us about it? I try to paint contemporary, that’s my main concern. It is very important with clarity and the renunciation of a stroke. I do not want to emotionalize the viewer too much; I would rather create a cold world. My work is often about dystopias. I work on a process of figuration; cold mask-like structures that have evolved from something into a new form – shapeshifters.

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How does your street mural work inform your studio practice or vice versa? At the moment I do not paint murals. The hype is too big and murals do not help my work any further. The paintings painted on canvas are the results of a long process of working that were previously planned and designed very precisely on my iPad and then perfected on the canvas, in which I hold the intermediate steps and reworked again and again. All this is not possible on the walls in the city. What kind of art do you like? Do you collect anything in particular? I am very interested in contemporary painting from Germany. I like Thomas Scheibitz, Franz Ackermann, Tobias Rehberger and many more. Unfortunately, I cannot collect them because they are all very expensive. Where can people check out more of your art? In the US, I am currently being represented by the Mirus Gallery in San Francisco, CA and of course my Instagram, @tobiaskroeger. Many thanks for taking the time to answer our questions, any last words for our readers? The best is yet to come.

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BLISSS MAGAZINE // ISSUE NO. 129 photography / bryant nix / @angelicallylit model / makenna brae / @makennabrae agency / mp management los angeles

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What’s your name, age, birthplace, home, sponsors – all that good stuff? Kaimana Henry, 39, born and raised Maui. Sponsors are Volcom, Meeks Surfboards, Varial Foam, Huckleberry and Da Hui Wax. You grew up in Maui right? What was in like growing up in Maui in your era? Yeah, it was cool because there were so many fun little waves and it wasn’t as crowded as it is now but as a grom you were definitely in the back of the line and always getting tortured. Were you friends with Justin Roberson and Eric Diaz? How did their passing affect you? Justin was a lot older than me, he pretty much paved the way for us and was one of those guys that didn’t take shit from anyone but was very humble about it so that kinda gave us that mentality to hold it down but be respectful. Little “E” was a year younger than me so he was like my little brother, we were really close. Both Justin and Eric passed at such a young age and were so talented in and out of the water; we had some big shoes to fill. Weren’t you on the US National Team or something like that? Uh, no, fuck I wish. I was on the Hawai’i World’s Team with Andy, Bruce, Paul Cheplic, Braden Dias, Kalani Robb, Daniel Kelakoma and a few more. That year it was in Brazil. Who did you grow up idolizing? Johnny Boy Gomes, Pottz and Matt Archibold were my favorites. I remember answering the phone at the old Volcom house and you were calling from jail. Everyone was pissed at me because I didn’t pass the phone off to anyone for you to talk to. What landed you there? Just being dumb and not thinking before I react is what happened. I definitely learned my lesson, having to go through the system is a nightmare. Anyone that knows you knows you’re a really nice guy. Would you rather be known as that guy or a big scary tatted-up dude that surfs Pipe? Haha, I’m definitely trying to be a nicer person and I think being around people like Tai and Gavin helps me a lot with that. Do you have any big regrets? My biggest regret was probably… not “giving up” on surfing but just not being stoked on it after getting dropped from Rusty Surfboards in 2001. The whole surf scene just kinda left a bad taste in my mouth so I was super over it.

How did you get back on track after your stint in the pen? After my little vacay in county I was still stuck in the system for a couple years on probation doing all kinds of classes and having to check in every week. But I learned the only people that the system doesn’t know how to deal with is people that comply. If you do everything they ask they’re just baffled because they’re so used to people fuckin’ up. I never really fell off track; it was just a little bump in my track. I’m stoked I got that shit over with.

IT’S IN YOUR FRONT YARD JUST BLOWING GUTS, F@CKING HAUNTING YOU, CALLING YOU OUT,

YOU CAN’T HIDE FROM IT.

And how did you get back on Volcom after such a long hiatus from the professional surf scene? Tai would always hook me up with Volcom clothes and he kinda had me on the flow trip so that was the only thing that kept me stoked on surfing. I think it was around 2011 I moved back to Oahu and started to get amped again, surfing every day and having fun again. Shortly after Volcom started giving me a little cash. What’s it like riding for such an amazing brand? It’s super sick because they’re so family oriented and everyone gets along and they have the two best houses on the North Shore, what more could you ask for. What’s the heaviest thing you’ve seen go down on the North Shore? There have been so many heavy moments that have gone down in the past but the most recent had to have been when Dusty Payne hit the reef. Me and Noa were surfing Off The Wall and watched it all go down. Lucky thing that Keoki was swimming, shooting photos and got to him so quick. It goes to show you that it can happen so fast to any one of us. I’m glad that Dusty’s doing good and I heard he was surfing recently so that’s amazing. How hard is it to pay your dues at Pipe? It’s all about putting in your time out there, knowing your surroundings, establishing your spot in the lineup and just wanting it. You pay to play, eventually you’re going to wipeout but you just got to get back out there. You now call Pipeline home right? Home sweet home. What’s it like living right there full time? It pretty gnarly, it’s not like you live down the road and didn’t know it was pumping. It’s in your front yard just blowing guts, fucking haunting you, calling you out, you can’t hide from it. To tell you the truth it’s very nerve racking, but I love it and I wouldn’t change a thing. What’s next for Kaimana Henry? I don’t know, just trying not to worry about the future and not dwell on the past. Hopefully get some more barrels and keep laughing.

Any cool projects coming up? I’ve been stacking clips the last couple years and want to put together something cool, just trying to find some good music and figure out how to put it all together. Hopefully by October I’ll be done. What would your biopic be called if one were made on you? Fuck, I don’t know. I kinda had a couple titles in mind for my project but I still gotta think about that one. Any last words? I just want to say thank you to everyone who help me along my journey and sorry to anyone I’ve wronged along the way.

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I try to make the kids experience the best it can be.

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photos & interview / brian zelandi Alright Ebon let’s start with how old you are, and where you grew up? I’m 20 years old and I grew up in Fairfield, California. What was it like growing up skateboarding in Fairfield? Growing up in Fairfield was really weird for skateboarding, we had a very good skate park, and there were not too many spots. The spots we did have where mainly gaps and stairs. So I mostly grew up skating gaps and stairs. When did you realize Skateboarding was your passion and this was something you wanted to pursue? I realized that skateboarding was my passion after my first summer at Woodward West as a Camper in 2012 because of all the positive energy Woodward captured and brings together. Are you filming for any local videos or projects right now? Right now I’m filming a video part with my friend Luke Lacasa, but mainly just trying to have fun skating every day. I know you are a huge part of Woodward West Staff in the summer time, tell us what it’s like teaching and working with the kids in the summer. Working at Woodward is a blast because there are kids that come from all over the world, and they are willing to work hard for their passion, which creates an environment for everyone to get better. So why wouldn’t anyone want to be there? How did you start working for Woodward West? I started working for Woodward West when Brian Johnson, the Skate Director, told me I would be a great fit for a skateboarding instructor. I took the offer and have been trying my hardest to bring the energy I have to the table. I try to make the kids experience the best it can be. Tell us a funny memory or story about Woodward. My favorite memory was having a great birthday, hanging with all the boys just kicking it skating the parks, and hanging at the Chill Top with all the staff. What kids stand out most to you from some of your skate groups this past summer? Some kids that stand out to me from summer are Cypress Blanco, Liam Pace and Riley Tidwell. There are honestly so many it is hard to name them all. Who are some of your biggest influences in life outside of skateboarding? My main influence is my boy Vern because not only is he clean but he always keeps me looking fresh and stocked up with tees and gear. He is also my mentor for school, makes sure I’m always getting my schoolwork done, and he has always had my back if I’m in trouble. You’re going to S.D.S.U. right now, what are you studying? I’m studying Civil Engineering because I want to build skate parks for California Skate Parks. It has always been a dream of mine. How hard is the schoolwork? It’s hard, hella schoolwork. I’ll always get bummed if I fail a test or not study hard enough, but you know the skating always keeps me happy. Where do you see yourself in five years from now? In five years, hopefully I’ve put in enough work to ride for Real, Spitfire, Thunder and Dickies. I hope by then I will have my college degree and still maintain my skateboarding, while balancing a real life job. What are your sponsors? Bold Brew Coffee, IkonLa, and Ethnik Limited. top: gap to front bluntslide, woodward west. bottom: backside wallride pop, woodward west.

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When you look down from the top it looks like a leap of faith.

What is it like to be sponsored by a Coffee Company? It’s so awesome riding for Bold Brew Coffee because it’s run by the homies, and it’s an S.D.S.U. started business. It’s really starting to take off, we have an amazing team and the homies Jack and Jake are always hooking us up with coffee. You were recently featured on the Berrics Instagram trying to Ollie El Toro. Tell us what it was like trying to Ollie down 20-stairs? Oh my gosh… Trying to Ollie 20-stairs is more of a psychological game. When you look down from the top it looks like a leap of faith. You don’t know if you are going to make it down. Also, after every attempt you will feel the stress your body has taken from that one try. Lastly, I started so far back because I didn’t know the speed I needed for it, but now I know for next time. VX1000 or H.D.? Vx1000 because VX is just so sick, and the footage comes out way better than H.D. especially for lines. Who are your favorite skaters? My favorite skaters are Evan Smith, Ishod, Ben Raybourn, Grant Taylor and Tom Knox. What is your ideal setup? Currently I’m riding a Vagrant shaped deck size 8.375 with 151 Thunder Trucks pretty loose, with Spitfire formula four conical full size 56. What does your diet consist of? My diet is constantly changing because I love to indulge in burritos, acai bowls, rice and beans, also that herb… you know what I’m saying? I really love alkaline water because it keeps me hydrated and skateboarding. Who would you like to thank? Thank you, Woodward West, Jake and Jack from Bold Brew, Vern and Jason at IkonLa. Thank you to my Grandmother and my Auntie Jane. Thank you all my friends that are always down to kick it with me. And thank you Brian Zelandi for being the man, always making sure I get this footage and making this interview happen. Keep skating every day, and make things happen too better yourself.

this page - top: ebon with his skate group. bottom: no comply, jokers hydrant HB. opposite page: frontside rocknroll, santa ana riverbed.

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Tell us about your show right now, “New Mood” at Mary Boon Gallery. I like the name, the title; it’s a really good title. Yeah, that came from this medicine, it’s this herbal kind of thing, it’s always on my Instagram feed when I’m looking through stuff. I don’t know why, you know how you get those sponsored things on Instagram? You’re like, “why is this thing coming up?” This is the first time I’ve ever worked for the art dealer Mary Boone, and I think that she wasn’t sure how I worked, so she would just call and be like, “What’s the title of the show?” And I was a little frustrated to have to tell her it just seemed so early, so I was just like “New Mood.” And she was like, “Great!” And then so, yeah I just took that from there. And it seems kind of correlated with what’s going on with the work. New Mood like medication. Yeah, yeah, that’s what it is. I lifted it from this herbal thing that’s supposed to make you calm or something. An antidepressant for coping with the world. Exactly, and the world is supposed to be this way. We just find out about everything so fast now. It’s always been messed up. I know, we’re living in real time. You can’t take time to process anything anymore. No, ‘cause it’s just there. And that’s just how a lot of these paintings I think work for me, the ones that I make. If you look at the pyramid-shaped paintings, you can’t find a hierarchy except for the form of the pyramid, which implicates hierarchy right away, because of the structure, right? At the top, that’s a hierarchy, the bottom is the not hierarchy, the low-archy. And so on, but if you go within that, if you take away that structure, it’s just bombardment of little images over and over again, a lot like our Instagram feeds. A lot like, even if we watch the news today, you’ll look at the news, if you’re looking at it on your television or your laptop, there’s more news at the bottom, it’s going up the side, it’s banners of more information.

Ring, ring… Jazz sax playing softly in the background. Erik Parker: Hello? Liz McCray: Hi. Sorry, had to call you from another phone. It’s okay. That’s fine. [Rhythmic Saxophone plays free jazz in the background…] Okay, perfect. So let’s start... [Awkward laugh…] Now that I’ve told you so many times how awkward I am prior to this interview. It’s like whenever the comedian Louis CK, who no one can like anymore, says his most difficult thing is starting the show. Those awkward timings, it’s like okay, we’re just going to start the show. I guess it’s weird right? If you’re going to talk somewhere, the period of waiting around before the talk seem to be the most awkward time of actually giving the talk. Yeah, I always psych myself out. So, you’re awfully comfortable. I have it easy man, because if I were to really prep for this thing, if I can’t answer your questions then I don’t know. I do this all day every day, so… You’re good; you come off great in interviews. I’m just going to stick my foot in my mouth about 20 times in this interview. That’s okay. The questions are really good. I love that you’re giving me validation in this interview. I’m the one that’s supposed to be validating you. It’s pretty funny. So let’s start… And I’m not that good at free styling, so therefore I’m going back to my questions. I thought that we started already. Yeah we did, we did, we did. Okay, so where are you right now? I’m in a storage closet in my studio. Oh, really? In my studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on the North side. I’ve had this studio since 2001 so the whole world around me in this neighborhood has completely changed since I’ve been here. How big is the storage closet? This particular closet is probably ten by five. Wow. Nice. It’s completely filled so I have just to kind of, it’s just filled with my stuff.

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I like it. I’m in my 1985 Mercedes Turbo Wagon. Diesel or...? Diesel, yeah. And it’s really hot and I have no windows down, so. All right, well let’s make this short so you don’t suffocate. Ha-ha ok let’s see… How did you get into painting in the first place? Well, here’s how it goes short answer: dropped out of high school, got into a little bit of trouble, and probation officer said if you get your GED we’ll knock off half the time of your probation for these things that you’ve done. So I got my GED and then he said we’ll knock off the other half if you get enrolled in community college. So I went to a community college and the only thing that I was told I was good at was drawing, by my mom. So I went to a painting studio, and I was like dude, awesome. You guys are going to cut my time off. Then you get a grant because we’re kind of a lower income family. I don’t think I would have got as much help today but basically, I made more by just painting than working in a dry cleaning plant – that’s what I did before that. So yeah, the idea was do you want to work in a dry cleaning plant or do you want to paint? So I just walked in the painting studio, I was like, “I want to paint”. This was in San Antonio, which would probably have been 1991.

“Privacy might be a commodity, because they’re selling it all, we’re taking part in this stuff, they know everything about us.” Crazy. Yeah. And I was born in 1968, so how ever old that puts me. Yeah, you’re 50? Sorry - foot in mouth. I’ll be 50 in September, yeah. Didn’t mean to throw in numbers into conversation. It’s okay; I’m very comfortable with it. Okay good, I’m glad you’re comfortable with your age. I have no choice. Yeah, you got to embrace it. You can’t fight it, and as my husband says, “Logan’s run, you die at 30.” Right.

Sensory overload. Yeah, so it’s like an asymmetrical information system that we have. Probably 50 years ago, no one could read it. If you showed someone a Snapchat feed 50 years ago, they wouldn’t even know how to register it, make a narrative of it. But now you can do a whole advertisement in that duration of time. We can sell a product in that quick of a time. It’s mind blowing. Yeah, it’s cool. I was going to actually ask you about your positives and negatives about technology. Positives are Apple Pay or whatever. Also... you know it’s weird, I was just thinking, now I have this thing in my house where I go, “Hey Siri, play whatever.” So if you were a jazz nerd before all of this, it was a lot of work. You had to spend money and be like, I don’t know this version of this record in mono is not that good, but now it’s just… so the positive is that I could be a jazz nerd, get it done within six months. Like how you binge watch TV, as a music head you can just find out everything you need to find out immediately, and go through the whole catalog and find out the next person or whatever. So to me that’s really great. But the downside is that they are gonna be selling privacy at some point. Privacy might be a commodity, because they’re selling it all, we’re taking part in this stuff, they know everything about us. That is where they make their money. So I don’t think we’ve figured out how to really deal with that, as you can see right now with Facebook. So downside is that probably. But it’s worth it. [Laughing] I got all of John Coltrane’s albums in a second. So let’s talk about your creative process, do you use music with your creative process? Yeah, constantly. That’s why I just left the closet and went out into the street. Because we have people working in there and I don’t want to set the vibe and turn off the music and everyone get self-conscious. Yeah, every day mostly in the forms of these radio stations that are basically NTS Radio or Lot Radio, which is right across the street from my studio which are just radio shows with people spinning records or whatever. And I listen to a lot of that. NTS radio is out of London. I’m just nerding out constantly on everything. I’m at 10-hours a day listening to stuff or podcasts, like Democracy Now. I’ve been into Free Jazz a lot lately. So new music is kind of weird, I tend to go towards stuff from the 70’s. I really like a new jazz musician on the West coast called Kamasi Washington, he’s pretty badass. This electronic musician called Fourtet, he’s really good. All types of stuff, man. I don’t know if you really listen to a full album like you used to anymore. PREVIOUS SPREAD: New Mood, 2018 , 78” x 84”, Acrylic and collage on canvas. Courtesy Mary Boone Gallery, New York. OPPOSITE PAGE: Good Vibrations, 2018 , 84” x 72”, Acrylic and collage on canvas. Courtesy Mary Boone Gallery, New York. ABOVE: Cahoots, 2018, 78” x 84”, Acrylic and collage on canvas. Courtesy Mary Boone Gallery, New York.

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I have a question, what’s your biggest accomplishment as of now in your life? My professional life? Either one, professional, non-professional, something that you want to brag about. Having my family, creating my own family. Yeah, that’s rad. And keeping it stuck together, I have three daughters and an amazing wife. I was just thinking that the other day, everyone’s there in the living room, everyone was dancing and we were listening to the new Cardi B record and I was watching the girls dance, and their ages span from 25 to 11. Wow. Everyone seemed happy, you know? That’s number one, and everyone’s healthy and stuff like that. So on the personal level that’s extremely rewarding, yeah. That’s huge, and what about professional? You know, I can’t believe that I even know Mary Boone or Peter Saul. It’s just crazy. Or my friend Kenny Scharf, just so grateful that any of this ever happened. It wasn’t supposed to be this way at all. The cards are not stacked that way and I don’t know, I guess if you’re kind of like a cockroach with something, they can’t kill you, you just keep fighting. Next thing you know you’re like, I’m having lunch with Mary Boone, KAWS or someone. Yeah, I like you; you have a lot of gratitude. I like that. Man, so much. Listen, yeah, our jobs are pretty cool. What offends you? Let’s go into that one. Offends? Yeah, what offends you? What pisses you off? Listen, not a whole lot. If we can call it an industry, what I do, the art industry, they like to say it’s not but it really is. They pretend like it’s not, it’s supposed to be culture or whatever, but let’s just call it an industry. And you see, a lot of people operate on some negative vibes, and we don’t have to at all. Listen, you can’t like everything, that doesn’t mean someone else can’t like it. As corny as it sounds, just negative bullshit is whack, especially when we’re all talking about painting or whatever. We’re kind of privileged and lucky we’re not born in Syria. They just were born and next thing you know drones are bombing the fuck out of them, governments gassing them, whatever’s going on, we don’t even know ‘cause we got 14 kinds of water to choose from or I can’t believe the lattes here, they don’t have hemp milk. So as you said, you grew up in Texas. Yeah, that’s right. Your paintings are super loaded, there’s a lot going on. Certain color shades, penetrating lines, rock climbers, and curves. Lots going on, intertwined, and it’s all connected. And when you look deeper you see something else, and it’s more stories and more stories inside of this painting. How do you start? How do you conceptualize the piece? Do you start with the detail or do you… do you have an idea of where you’re going prior to creating? Well, if you’re looking at some of the images I sent you, the ones with the head shape or portraits, I just find a head shape from the Internet, stock photography, because behind that, if they’re using it in advertising it probably works as a simplified form. So I look for a shape that is simple, that we all can kind of recognize for whatever reason, not who it is but the form itself. And then slowly break that apart and twist it and rebuild it. So you kind of take the familiar and make it strange, I guess. There’s not really one way I go about making it. I just have a bunch of things going on at one time and kind of just think. I’m not gonna really push it because there’s no need to if you have something else to go work on. Painting is a process that you feel like a genius and then three seconds later you’re a complete idiot, all day long.

When I’m working with in the studio, I kind of just remove myself, that’s kind of a luxury. I don’t work with a goal like, today this painting is going to be done. It’s not that way. And the way they finish, you can’t even tell if it’s done or not, strangely. It’s like there’s a whole bunch of seeds planted all the time and then there’s a harvest season, I guess it seems like. I start finishing them all after the other but it’s a lot of struggle. It’s spread out over a period of time, in the middle of it you’re like, I’m never going to do these again, this is ridiculous. Why do these take so long, and then as soon as they’re done, you forget you even did them and next thing you know you’re committed to do more of them. You forget instantly what that was like. It’s like having kids. You’re like, oh we should have another one, and then you do and you’re like, what the fuck. You just forgot years one to seven, gone. Or like a puppy, I want a puppy. And then the dude who has the puppy right then will be like, “No dude, you don’t, they suck. They’re assholes.” Like, what the hell did I get myself into…

“The cards are not stacked that way and I don’t know, I guess if you’re kind of like a cockroach with something, they can’t kill you, you just keep fighting. Next thing you know you’re like, I’m having lunch with Mary Boone, KAWS or someone.” It’s pretty cool you give credit to a lot of different artists that have influenced you, so which artists? On a lot of different levels I feel like I get influenced by people, and the people I’m close to, like my friend Todd James, Tomoo Gokito and KAWS, Greg Bogin, Peter Saul, Dana Schutz, Joyce Penato. The guy who made the Funkadelic record covers, his name is Pedro Bell. I hear he’s not doing too well health-wise, but you look at those old Funkadelic record covers, they’re out of control. There’s nothing that looks like that. And also, it’s a perfect match to what the music is, which, there’s nothing that sounds like Funkadelic. To this day, you can’t touch those guys. They’ve got better guitar riffs than most rock music at that time, intertwined with, they’re just Funkadelic, man. I like Pedro Bell a lot. Christine Ramberg, she was an artist from Chicago that passed away at young age in 1995. I really love her paintings; she is one of the best and is starting to get more mainstream attention, which is awesome! No to be depressing, but when it’s all done how would you like to be remembered? Any way at all, as long as someone’s remembering the work. I like that answer. Just a remembrance would be fine. PHONE DISCONNECTS

PREVIOUS SPREAD: The Secret (detail), 2017 , 78’ x 84 , Acrylic and collage on canvas, Courtesy Bill Brady Gallery, Miami. OPPOSITE PAGE: Oh Yeah, 2018, 68” x 68” , Acrylic and collage on canvas, courtesy Mary Boone Gallery, New York.. LEFT: Shake Down, 2018, 102” x 102” , Acrylic and collage on canvas, courtesy of Mary Boone Gallery, New York.

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urf trips from the outside looking in are the most ideal things in the world. But a lot more goes into them then what everyone sees - it’s not all crystal clear tubes with your best friends and having breakfast and coffee at a five-star resorts. But last year myself and the Vissla crew took a trip down to Indonesia and I will say it was pretty close to exactly that. It was one of those trips that make you realize how lucky you are to have a job as a professional surfer.

As most surf trips do, everything started at the wonderful Tom Bradley International, aka Los Angeles Airport. You have your homie drop you off, say your goodbyes and get into surf dog mode. Drag your 75-pound board bag through a bunch of people with bluetooth headsets that are pissed off because there Starbucks latte has soy milk and not almond. But then you see your people, all in line, dressed like surf dogs and arguing with the ticket lady because our bags are three pounds overweight. We all high five and ask the typical questions like, “Have you been surfing? Where’d you surf on that last south?” And, “How’s that video on Instagram?” Blah blah, you get it. Then the journey begins. Sixteen-hours to Singapore, five more to Jakarta, stay the night in Bali, hour flight to another island, three hour drive to fairy, two hour fairy, followed by the final hour drive to hotel. Then, you finally get to the zone you’re at and put the bags away and head down to the bar and everyone is just zombied-out. But luckily, with the crew we were with we were always making the most of those travel days. It’s actually pretty fun and entertaining. One of the highlights was sitting in a parking lot in the middle of Indonesia waiting on the fairy, where most people would be loosing there marbles we had quite the circus. You have Eric [Geiselman] with his guitar and an amp and three different loop petals just ripping on the guitar. Bryce has his skateboard, and looking like Daewon Song, just ripping on this small piece of asphalt. Brian [Elliot] and Derrick [Disney] playing the catching game with a lighter and Corban [Campbell], Miah [Jeremiah Klein], and Steve [Neily] running around taking beautiful photos. I mean, it was quite impressive to see how well we could make literally nothing into something. But I think that’s the only way to travel, or by the time you’re there you’re ready to leave.

Then there’s the first morning, waking up at the break of dawn. And here is the most difficult part of our job. We are there for one reason and that is to create content for our sponsor – Vissla. So if we aren’t wearing the right gear it’s pointless. I know, sounds like we are bitches. But anyways, the big dogs get the right trunks for us and tee shirt and all that fun stuff, strap the boards on the roof and head down to the beach. Now the first two days of the trip were magical – the waves were just pumping. It was the first time I’ve surfed absolutely perfect waves. Literally, you are on the wave asking yourself if this is real. And life is good – just trading off perfect waves with your friends. The best part about Vissla is the smorgasbord of people that is on the team. Everyone on the team has their own job. You have Derrick Disney, just an all out legend, amazing shaper and a very stylish surfer. I’ve known Derrick for a long time but have gotten really close with him since Vissla started. He is so fun to watch surf; he goes so fast like Ricky Bobby, but looks damn good while he does it. And Derrick used to be a very high-performance shredder, so when you mix those two things together you get something very fun to watch. He was ripping the whole trip; some of the barrels he was getting on the funkiest boards were unbelievable! But it’s funny how when I’m riding on a wave and if I see Derrick or Bryce I will put my hands to my side and try to get souled-out and impress them, haha. Which brings us to Bryce. And I don’t know what that kid eats for breakfast but I want some of it. He is a magician. Anything he touches he is amazing at it – skateboarding, snowboarding, music, pingpong, you name it. He is honestly one of the most fun persons to watch on a surfboard. It just seems like everything just comes natural. Honestly, it’s hard to put in words; you just have to see for yourself.

And we cannot forget mister Eric Geislman, aka LARK. Always good to have him on trips cause it gives me someone to talk about redneck shit, since we are both east coasters. He brings the x-factor to the trips. I mean, come on, we all know Erick G and what he is capable of but that is what makes it fun. Cause I’m going to be honest, I grew up watching him, seeing him at contest and watching his videos. I mean, he’s one of the best high-performance surfers in the world so I try to send it in front of him. And not just because we are all best friends, but come on, at the end of the day we want to have the best clips possible. So when I see him pull something I just try to pull something bigger. But that usually doesn’t work out, but man is it fun to try. I absolutely love the guy, he’s fun to have on trips, he’s always good for a few laughs and you don’t even need to bring your Nixon blaster cause he’s ripping on the guitar all day! But yeah, summing that up, being on trips with a diverse crowd like that is honestly the best. And I’ve noticed improvements in my surfing because I try so hard to impress each and every one of them. We also can’t forget about the work crew. There was Brian Elliot, a great lad and a world-class filmer. I always get stoked when I hear he’s on a trip. The poor guy sits on the beach all day, everyday and then when we get home he just wants to have a beer and go to sleep, we are all bugging him like flies to see the clips from the day, which is every filmer’s nightmare. But he handles it great.

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Miah Klein - just the nicest guy you will ever meet and a beast behind the lens. You will come in from a surf and think you blew it and didn’t get any work done then Miah pulls his computer out and shows you gold and you think he used Photoshop or something. He sees things that not many other people do. And it’s really funny cause there have been so many times that I’m having a surf and just so pissed splashing water, punching the board, and if a surfer can say they have never done that, they are liars. But anyways, while I’m doing that I’ll look over at Miah and he just smiles and says some super dry-humored joke and you just can’t help to laugh. Which is really nice to have on a trip. Corban Campbell, Vissla TM and Marketing Creator at Large, is the biggest grom I know – he’s just so fired up on surfing. He pretty much motivates us to paddle out every time. But the best part about him is that he can switch to work mode very easy and whip out his camera and make magic. Oh, and by the way, the guy probably has had more tube time then anyone I know. Steve Neily came along as well, another amazing person. If it weren’t for him who knows how much work we would actually get done. He has everything dialed in. He’s always on it, making sure we are in the right product and taking super cool photos. Just an all-out, very creative guy. It’s nice to have people like him on trips also because he’s the one that keeps the wheels turning.

Back to the surfing part, the wave out front was unbelievable. When you see the photos and say to yourself, “Oh, it probably wasn’t that good,” well, you’re dead wrong. It was. Unfortunately we only had only two days of that while the rest of our trip was surfing the most picturesque right-hander you could ever dream of. The actual wave was super fun, yet challenging. Mornings were beautiful glassy conditions then the air-wind would come and you would just have to send yourself. But it was super fun, like our own skatepark. And we made the most out of the days that weren’t good. We had super fun little motorbikes and would zip through the windy roads on the island and check out all the beautiful sights and the amazing island culture. It’s always a wake up call going on these trips and seeing how these people live. And of course, on one hand you feel really bad, because it is rough – limited water, food, no air-conditions, and just your typical third world problems. But then, another part of you says, man they are so lucky they don’t have to deal with all the crazy bullshit we have over here in the states. They aren’t worried about how many “likes” they’ve got on their Instagram photo, or if Kim is gonna drop a bomb on you, or how bad the traffic is going to be at five o’clock. There life is pretty damn simple and that don’t sound too bad. But honestly, most days on the trip are the same, nothing-to-interesting. Wake up, surf, eat, surf, eat, play ping-pong, take photos, watch clips and then go to bed. Then you have the journey back home. Always the best/worse, you’re pumped to get back but you really wish you could teleport, everyone is fried. Not many people are talking we are just counting down the hours. You get home and don’t even want to look at your board bag you just want to crawl into bed for a few days. I probably haven’t written a paper like this since senior year in high school. It’s probably horrible but just tried to make it real. The trip was fucking amazing and we all have the best job in the world! There’s really no other way to put it.

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OPENING SPREAD: PARADISE - JUST A HOP, SKIP AND A JUMP AWAY. PREVIOUS SPREAD: RIGHT - CAM RICHARDS, TOP LEFT - HARD NOT TO STARE, BOTTOM LEFT - ON THE HUNT. THIS SPREAD: LEFT TO RIGHT - ERIC GEISELMAN, BRYCE YOUNG, DEREK DISNEY, QUIVER CHECK, THE BOYS MAKING THE MOST OF SOME DOWNTIME.

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previous spread - left: Austin loves jumping. right: Bryan loves slashing. this page - top: Austinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s little fire truck he turned into a home for a winter. He said he did it to get away from people. Instead everyone walking by wanted a tour and a pancake. bottom: Bryan and Austin. Watch their wandering hands. opposite page - top: Bryan bagging some airtime in Retallack lodge. Probably 1 of 30+ days he spent living lodge life. bottom: This Miller flip photo would have been a cover except Bryanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tracks are in the frame.

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In Chinese philosophy, yin yang describes how seemingly

opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected and interdependent in the natural world and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Many tangible dualities such as light and dark, fire and water, expanding and contracting, and Bryan and Austin are thought of as physical manifestations of the duality symbolized by yin and yang. Austin Smith – born in Bend, Oregon near the mountains, to a couple of hippies. He’s a fun caring soul who enjoys listening to NPR over music. Bryan Fox – born in Southern California far, far away from mountains, to a couple of blue collar Americans. He loves punk music and Adele. Austin grew up snowboarding and playing hockey. He planted gardens in his beautiful mountain town. He lost his virginity at age 16 in warm cozy house. Bryan grew up skateboarding and was on the high school wrestling team. He enjoyed doodling on his sketchpad. He lost his virginity at age16 in the back of a Camaro. Then, magically, one year the both decided to go to Mt Hood to be diggers, they meet and the ying and yang unite. Though they have little in common besides the 16-year-old virginity thing and snowboarding, somehow it works out. They have traveled the world together, going on bizarre trips. I’ve found myself on these trips often. I still can’t figure out if they are friends or working associates. It’s a perfect relationship. They both know what they want to ride. Austin likes to be sketchy. Bryan is very calculated. Austin lived in a fire truck he converted into a house while Bryan was flying in helicopters all over BC. Both are stacking footage. It’s hard to not find them with a GoPro on their heads filming each other riding, filming themselves. They are a self-sufficient, well-oiled machine creating FOMO for people around the world. Half the time I’m with them I watch their insta-stories and think, “Damn that looks insane. I wish I was there!” Then I realize I am there and it was not nearly as fun in reality as it was in virtual reality. They both are willing to drop whatever they are doing in the blink of any eye to go someplace else. They are also both pretty good at bailing on trips early. They do Drink Water together and though I’m not exactly sure what Drink Water is, I know they donate a portion of sales to www. water.org to help build wells for fresh drinking water for people around the world. That’s a pretty nice, philanthropist thing to do. What else can I say? Personality-wise, Bryan and Austin are polar opposites with not much in common but snowboarding has brought them together and they are always good for a random fun trip. Thanks for the many adventures boys!

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this spread - top: method battle. who has a better method?!? bottom left: brother from another mother... and father. bottom right: like I said, well oiled machine. Bryan and Austin filming each other.

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EVENTS // ISSUE NO. 129

HOT WHEELS JUNIOR SERIES:

The first Woodward/Hot Wheels event kicked off at the Vans Skatepark at the Block at Orange, California. The event started off with a line out the door and a bunch of groms fired up and ready to get things going. First up was the street course with multiple divisions taking over the entire course until the age-determined rounds were decided: advanced (all ages), ages 11-to-16, ages 10 and under, and finally followed by a womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event. Myles Strampello took it all in the Street Advanced while Zach took top honors for the 11-to-16 age group. Once that completed, the event then moved over to the mini ramp where collisions and chaos stole the show with over 75 kids participating. The mini ramp was jamminâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and packed with action and it was Milo Daluiso who took top honors in the 11-to-16 age group. With the advanced division finished, the mini ramp portion of the day was next on the agenda and completed with Luke Kahler atop the podium. The final part of the event was at the good old Combi Bowl, which saw Sota Tsuji absolutely dominating the 11-to-16 age group. The advanced kids put on a show and ended the night with all top three ruling the ball section that Combi is so well known for. But when the dust finally settled it was with Taylor Nye getting top honors and taking home the win. Combi Bowl Advanced 1st - Taylor Nye 2nd - Toby Ryan 3rd - Gavin Bottger Combi Bowl 11-16 1st - Sota Tsuji 2nd - Milo Daluiso 3rd - Thomas Augusto Mini Ramp Advanced 1st - Luke Kahler 2nd - Gavin Bottger 3rd - Taylor Nye Mini Ramp 11-16 1st - Milo Daluiso 2nd - Christian Grenier 3rd - Jarek French Street Advanced 1st - Myles Strampello 2nd - Drew Beilfuss 3rd - Austin Turgon Street 11-16 1st - Zach Beilfusss 2nd - Mason Springman 3rd - Matthew Franchek

PHOTOS // CHRIS ORTIZ left to right: 11-16 Combi Bowl winners Myles Pacheco Taylor Nye Gavin Bottger Advanced Combi Bowl winners Luke Kahler 11-16 Mini Ramp winners Hosoi with the advanced Mini Ramp winners Toby Ryan

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EVENTS // ISSUE NO. 129

TYLER GUNTER X THE YOUNG AND THE BRAVE:

With the annual restart of the southern hemisphere, we find ourselves in the beginnings of the SoCal summer surf swing. You can count on the summers in Southern California to bring warm water and surf to the wave-starved and quite frozen surfers that have endured the reality of this years’ slow winter months of surf. With the surf season comes surf contests and the one contest that kicks off summer for us locally is brought to us by Newport Beach’s very own Tyler Gunter. And as there was no main title sponsor at this years’ event, it was young Tyler himself that helped front the bill for the annual Young And The Brave Charity Surf Event. This year marks number four of the annual event and as always, it brings in some top surf talent from all over. And even though this event is for a good cause, with so much talent in each and every heat, the surfing competitiveness seemed to be at an all-time high. Some of the event standouts were the likes of the World Junior champ Finn McGill as well as local hometown heroes Victor Done and Dylan Hord amongst a slew of others. With head-high, south swell on tap and pretty darn good conditions, it made for great event. Tyler is someone we’re really proud of, starting this event back when he was just fourteen years old, bringing the community together teaming up with The Young and The Brave to promote cancer awareness and raise money through sponsorship, entry fees and personal donations with goals to help improve the lives of others who aren’t as fortunate as the rest of us. Good on ya Tyler!

PHOTOS // ANDREW NICHOLS left to right: Finn McGill Quiad Fahrion Max Beach and JoJo Whelan Nathaniel Curran and Chase Wilson Dylan Hord Victor Done Max Colvin Grom Finalist Women Finalist Samantha Sibley

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ISSUE NO. 129

MUSIC INTERVIEW:

SURFBORT

INTERVIEW & PHOTOS // DAVID EVANKO

What’s the story with Surfbort? How did you come together and how have you evolved? It’s started when Dani Miller and Matt Picola moved to New York with their cat and met Charlotte Wimberley, but it has evolved into a glorious raging Texan flame ball now. Members Alex Kilgore, Sean Powell and David Head power through the freak music letting Dani Miller continue to scream at the moon and dance with friends. What’s the songwriting process like? Sean Powell is a genius punk ballad songwriter! He’s been coming up with a lot of good Surfbort songs lately. Alex Kilgore has written some staples that will be on our new record. Dani writes lots of words and makes alien noises during the song writing process. We also have kept an original Surfbort song on board written by Matt Picola.

I’ve seen you perform to groups of like-minded people here in LA, but do you ever find yourselves performing in front of a mostly conservative crowd? Any stories from shows that have gone wrong? Well, we discovered something in the last four years of Surfbort. We will play for anyone, anywhere, any corporate functions or super conservative crowds, even ones with opposing life views – we’re there! Human connection is important; holding a conversation, dancing together in song is powerful! If you accept our freak-asses as the face of your corporate show then we did our job – the freaks infiltrated! We’re here to have fun and inspire people to let their frustrations out, to let go of hate. We aren’t an exclusive performance only for da punks!

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What is a Hippie Vomit Inhaler? Muahah, we actually had a side project with Alex Kilgore before he joined Surfbort and basically we stole that from Gibby Haynes. Kilgore asked Gibby what a good band name would be and he said HIPPIE VOMIT INHALER. That just inspired us to write an anthem about fuck hippies, but we actually love them and are half hippy, also the song is mostly about waking up and not being able to find any of your shit, muahah. I’ve heard about your cool basement. What goes on down there? Ohhh yaaa! Well lots of things happen in the trash dungeon, lots of friendship and music, deep discussions, tattoos, dance parties but on the everyday we create. Sean Powell makes paintings, our housemate Alex Herzog develops and scans photos… Oh, and we screen print all of our merch, hard style. It’s always filled with T-Shirt’s hanging to dry! But I can’t really describe the magic that happens, come on by to find out!

Since you spend a fair amount of time playing in both New York and LA, can you give us some comparisons/ contrasts between current music in both cities? Well the shows we have been playing in LA are packed warehouse shows with the youth! It’s been sick and inspiring! New York gets like that too but I feel like the regulations and all-ages shit in New York gets shut down so much it’s horrible. They hit sick DIY spots with so many fines charging them to exist, instead of protecting DIY spots and realizing music venues are an important place for the youth/entire community to come together. I’m not gonna say one place is better than the other, all I can say is keep raging and enough with the easy listening music! Save that for playing a tape in your bedroom as you fall asleep. Also, we have been so lucky and grateful to play in both New York and LA, our main goal hasn’t been to go to “the better place for music,” just been spanning time with both sides of the states to have as much fun as possible. Gonna expand that to Europe, Australia, China, Japan, Mexico and everywhere soon!

Who are some of the New York bands we are missing out on? Promiseland, Gnarciasissts, Hankwood and the Hammerheads, Boytoy, Thick, Lord Fasicinator, The Voidz, Mystery Lights, Chorizo, Tall Juan, Blackout, Daisy, Glaze, Diet Choke, Ice Balloons, Angel, Lola Pistola, Foster Care and What does Surfbort have planned for this summer? Habibi. We are working on finishing our first full length coming out on Cult Records! And WATCH OUT, WE WILL BE BRINGING THE FREAK CIRCUS TO YOUR TOWN SOON! Let’s hangout, Muahah!

MUSIC REVIEWS:

LIVE SHOW // ALBUMS // ISSUE NO. 129

MOANING

LIVE REVIEW // WORDS & PHOTOS // DAVID EVANKO

THE ECHO // MARCH 9TH 2018 To accompany their debut record, Moaning released a fistful of pent up anxiety on March 9th at The Echo. The wall of audible angst accented with modern frustrations remained just as heavy as their Smell punk backgrounds. The trio is familiar around LA. However, they are fresh to Sub Pop Records and are a hopeful premonition of things to come from both the label and LA’s DIY scene.

REVIEWS BY ROB MOLT Kendrick Lamar / DAMN (Collector’s Edition Reversed Track List) / Interscope Since 1943 Classical music has been the only genre to receive a Pulitzer Prize except three times. Two were for Jazz recordings and now in an unprecedented leap, a street kid from Compton has received the honor, for his rap album. Let that sink in. The clarity, complexity and honesty of his lyrics alone merit the highest award for the hip-hop star and “greatest rapper alive.” Sleep / The Sciences / Third Man In 1995 weed was an illegal nuisance and the little known doom metal pioneers, Sleep, recorded what would be the stoner metal high watermark, Dopesmoker. It was a one song, one-hour masterpiece with an unacceptable name in the year Marry “Tipper” Gore got her incredibly lame “Parental Advisory” sticker all over everything. Sleep’s label shelved the album and the band broke up. Twenty-three years later, on April 20th, 2018 [4.20], pop stars share Snapchat videos of themselves getting legally high with electronic pens in Slayer t-shirts. But luckily Sleep, (Matt Pike, Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius,) drop a surprise album, The Sciences, in time to make weed and music scary again. The musicians are now grown men in god-like riff form achieving a new state of consciousness through the best stoner-doom record we’ve heard in a long time. Since their last one, really. Rage Against The Machine / Democratic National Convention 2000 / Legacy This year protests have become necessary again. It’s inspiring to see kids, minorities, woman and other freedom fighters take to the streets to create change. What better to listen to while painting your sign than Rage Against The Machine. They waged their own protest in the summer of 2000, staging an incendiary concert in protest of the American political party system across from the Staples Center while the Democratic National Convention was held inside. This raw, uncompromising set is now available for the first time anywhere, pressed exclusively on vinyl for Record Store Day 2018. FIDLAR / Self-Titled Record Store Day 2018 Reissue / Mom + Pop Music For how messed up FIDLAR always seemed to be, they pulled off their work. Their debut was a perfect example and it’s re-released for Record Store Day. The SoCal group drives forward with the kind of nihilism that has good times jammed on repeat and little else. The special release hits blues riffs and surf-rock reverb with the same dirty paws that they wipe their face with and immediately resonate with anyone who’s ever found themselves on the beach alone picking up empties after the party’s over.

REVIEWS BY MAX RITTER Sparklehorse / Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot /Capitol Records Mark Linkous’ was quite the underrated indie rock songsmith. His simple and somber approach paired with great lyrics made him a truly special songwriter; “it’s a sad and beautiful world.” Fair enough assessment. Neil Young / Roxy: Tonight’s The Night Live / Reprise Neil Young continues to unleash some of his long kept material from his seemingly endless archives. The latest, released for this years record store day, is a live recording and debut of songs that would mostly make up the forthcoming Tonight’s The Night album from a show at The Roxy in 1973. Young was backed by a short-lived band called the Santa Monica Flyers that included Nils Lofgren on guitar and piano with Ben Keith on steel and the Crazy Horse rhythm section. Sleep / The Sciences / Third Man When I get my long sought-after job cutting montage videos for the jumbotron at Dodger stadium, first one will be cut to Dopesmoker. Then I’ll probably be fired. This is Sleep’s first new album in about two decades. Iceage / Beyondless / Matador A little boggling to think I wrote about Danish post-punkers Iceage’s debut in this magazine about seven years ago. Really? Where the hell did the time go? I guess it’s not hard to believe they’re still making good stuff four records later. Sky Ferreira joins along with some horns for backups on the single, “Painkiller.”

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GROMS:

BLISSS MAGAZINE // ISSUE NO. 129

NoLAN

RoDGERS @nolanrodgers_

Age: 15 Hometown: Laguna Beach, CA

Sponsors: Volcom, Rumaner Surfboards, Electric Eyewear, Shade Sunscreen, Banzai Bowls, DaKine and Laguna Surf & Sport

Photo: luke forgay

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GROMS:

BLISSS MAGAZINE // ISSUE NO. 129

KRISTIAN

JoRDAN Age: 9 Hometown: Pasadena, CA

Favorite Skaters: Andrew Renyolds, Nyjah, Jamie Foy

Sponsors: Baker, Vans (flow) Photo: chris ortiz

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BL!SSS Magazine | May 2018 | #129

Articles inside

Tobias Kroeger

Hot Wheels Junior Series

Sally West