BL!SSS Magazine | June 2012 | #58 by Blisss Mag

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5/15/12 9:56 AM

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DYLAN RIEDER

design unlikely futures / analogclothing.com

5/9/12 9:11 AM

B A J A

T H E

S U R

B A L A N C E

R V C A . C O M

O F

O P P O S I T E S

B A R R Y

M C G E E

LET’S SOCIALIZE

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jake johnson / gravisskateboarding.com

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jake 5/9/12 9:17 AM

Unnatural s The all-new acid

ÂŠ2012 Oakley, Inc. 800.320.9430

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TOC RANDOMS // 32 PRODUCT REVIEW // 38 GREG ‘BATMAN’ DAVIS // 40 PAT PERRY // 42 TIM HENDRICKS // 44 DOUG GARTH WILILAMS // 46 INSTAGRAM @OLSONSTUFF // 50 SUPER TASTE // 54 NIKE LOWERS PRO // 56 VANS PRO-TEC POOL PARTY // 58 VQS VOLCOMANIA // 60 LAST NAME FIRST // 64 THE ART OF BARRY MCGEE // 70 RILEY STEVENS // 78 FASHION // 84 JUSTIN BENNEE // 92 BARRY MCGEE AT PRISM GALLERY // 98 SESAME STREET AT KNOWN GALLERY // 100 RIVIERA CATALINA CLASSIC // 102 ACTIVE BRO-DOWN SHOWDOWN // 104 VOLCOM’S ANTHONY AUSGANG PARTY // 106 COMUNE PRESENTS OFFSET // 108 ALLAH LAS // 110 CD REVIEWS // 112 GROMS // 116

Photo: Barry McGEE

2012

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COMES WITH EXTRA SET OF INTERCHANGEABLE ARMS

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ALL WE IS NO PRODUCED IN CALIFORNIA // UNITED STATES SUMMER TWO THOUSAND 12 // ALL WE HAVE IS NOW EZEKIEL CLOTHING CO X JAY DIEBEL WWW.EASY-KILL.TUMBLR.COM

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E HAVE NOW W W W . E Z E K I E L U S A . C O M

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EDITOr-IN-CHI EF nick kalionzes nick@blisssmag.com

EDITO R joey marshall joey@blisssmag.com

CREATIVE D IRECTOR mark paul deren madsteez@madsteez.com

ASSISTANT E DI TOR spencer pirdy spencer@blisssmag.com

EDITO R AT L ARGE liz rice mcCray liz@blisssmag.com

SKATE E DITOR chris ortiz chris@blisssmag.com

SNOW EDITOR jon francis jon@blisssmag.com

MUSIC EDI TOR max ritter max@blisssmag.com

ADVERTI SI NG 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, Peter Morning

CONTRIBUTORS Matt Patterson, 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, Raul Montoya, Ian Dodge, Spencer Pirdy, Richie Olivares, Eric Meyers

BL!SSS Magazine 413 31st Street Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.blisssmag.com

ALEX KNOST WEARING THE DORSET IN BROWN + WHITE Through The Eyes of Jon Johnson

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.

JUNE 2012 Cover Artist: Barry McGee

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

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EXTRACT

TWO JOHNS TAKES BRAZIL In a true sign of how well rounded young John John Florence is, the Hawaiian just took out tour veteran Joel Parkinson in the final of the Billabong Pro in Rio de Jainero, Brazil. Florence, who’s been seen tearing up every wall of water from Southern California to South America, is really on a roll. He came blazing out of the gates in the Brazil final with his first wave netting him a 9-point ride for a full rotation backside 360 air, after that he never looked back, and Parko was never able to find himself back into the heat. With John John’s versatility in any and all conditions and the fact that he’s now ranked 6th in the world, we have a feeling that John has as good of a chance as anyone at taking the top spot by the end of the year.

It seems like juice bars are sprouting up everywhere nowadays, but luckily we’ve found one just down the street from our ofﬁce that is top notch. Our friend Mike is the owner of Extract Juice Bar and he gave us the grand tour of their new spot located right off of Balboa Blvd before 32nd street. The interior of the place is fashionably decorated with comfortable couches and a welcoming environment, but the real game changer came when we sipped our ﬁrst few gulps of the sweet juices they’re pumping out. The drinks are epic and they offer the perfect remedy to help you feel great throughout your day. It’s a perfect addition to the area and we’re excited to see another healthy option close to us.

HAPPY BEACH Jack Coleman stopped by the office to give us our own copies of his latest and greatest portrayal of some of surfing’s most animated stars, entitled “Happy Beach.” Summer is here and Happy Beach will definitely revive your inner child and have you sprinting for the waters edge. This film is a cinematic adventure featuring diverse forms of hedonism with the likes of Andrew Doheny, Ford Archbold, Josh Hoyer, Mr. Reynolds, Chippa Wilson, Ozzie Wrong and Al Knost. Make sure to get a copy for yourself and if they’re all sold out just look for Mr. Coleman to be parading along the shores of Newport with his moppy hair and camera in hand and we’re sure he’ll be able to lend you a copy.

NEXT UP FOUNDATION

OLIV ER TO AN ALOG Analog has been making some well-calculated moves lately. They’ve finally relocated their offices to a much more centrally convenient spot in Costa Mesa, aka they’re closer to the beach, and they’ve acquired young Floridian Oliver Kurtz as a big addition to their surf team. Oliver is known for his ferocious carves and committed above the lip surfing, and we think that’ll mesh just fine with likes of Chippa, Nathan and the other AG crew. Moysa and Oliver stopped by the office to let us know that things are now official and that Oliver will be making his presence known in SoCal over the summer months. Check out him and the rest of the Analog team at analogclothing.com for more action.

Our good friend and worldclass skater Andre Genovisi and his friend Vina, who’s not too shabby on a skateboard himself, came by the ofﬁce to let us know about a new foundation Vina started called Next Up. The Next Up Foundation provides kids with after-school and summer mentoring programs that teach today’s youth life skills through the power of skateboarding. The foundation is entirely grassroots and really focuses on giving back through a common bond and love for the sport of skateboarding. Kids are getting hands on mentoring from present day pros and legends alike, and we couldn’t be more stoked to see Vina and Andre doing what they do best and helping the younger generation to prosper. To ﬁnd out more about the foundation visit nextupfoundation.com.

DEMO DAY Our friend Mike Vavak let us know about a demo day going down in Sunset Beach this month that’d be a great event for the whole family. It’s called the “Demo Day of Epic Proportions” and it involves Body Glove Wetsuits, …Lost Surfboards and Future Fins coming together to bring you all of their latest suits, boards and ﬁns. Come down to Anderson St. in Sunset Beach on Friday, June 15th and try products from three of America’s favorite brands. The demo starts at 8am and ends at noon. All you need to shred is a valid ID. So make sure to make it down to Anderson St. for a test run of some of the ﬁnest gear and products that the surf industry has to offer.

RUSSEL SURFBOARDS Following the untimely passing of legendary surf shop owner, Robert Russell Brown, the boys at Russell Surfboards have stepped up to the plate to keep the ship running. With owner JP Roberts putting a fresh spin on the timeless aesthetic of the Russell Surfboards storefront and Ryan Reynosa managing and working in every area of surfboard production, the boards are looking as good as ever. Not having to subcontract the work is what keeps the prices low and the quality top notch. Top of the line and affordable wetsuits, leashes, traction pads and more have been added to the retail store menu as well. Stop in this summer as Russell celebrates 45 years of hardcore board building and great customer service.

HFL HARDCORE HFL is returning to the stage after a seventeen-year hiatus. After the death of bass player Mike Bell and lead guitar player Joey Hughes, HFL decided it was time to light the torch in their memory by getting back together, writing a new record, and playing some live shows. Check out their ﬁrst live show with Smut Peddlers, Dissension, Love Canal and Rat City Riot. You’ll be able to see the likes of Joel Bull, Jeff Bell, Pat Hall, Sam Marrs and Mark Blaster. It’s all going down Friday, June 15th at the Observatory. All ages will be welcome and the show will begin at 7pm. Make sure to stop by and partake in what is guaranteed to be a night to remember!

TRAIN WITH IRA Our friend Ira Daugherty came by the BL!SSS headquarters this past month to say hi and catch up with the boys. He ﬁlled us in on what he’s been up to and we wanted to let all of you out there in BL!SSSville know that if anyone is looking to train Jiu Jitsu, Ira is your man. He’s been training in martial arts for over 14-years and has competed all over the globe, from Portugal, Australia and even Japan. He spent over a year living in Brazil, learning the history and original techniques from Jiu Jitsu masters and obtained his black belt over a year ago from Hawaii’s legendary Kai Garcia. Moskova’s got his back and so do we. For private lessons and to get more information contact Ira at iradaughertybjj@gmail.com.

WYWS While You Were Sleeping was a grafﬁti and pop culture magazine started in 1997 by Roger Gastman. Well, after a brief hiatus from WYWS Roger is back to give the people what they want and he has compiled all of the best and worst of While You Were Sleeping stories that were published over the years for “The Worst of While You Were Sleeping.” These are stories, images and interviews that pushed the envelope to the other side of the room. We’re talking interviews with the best grafﬁti and street artists, stories on “admirable” serial killers and all the other inexplicably hilarious debauchery that WYWS is known for. The book is 496-pages of eye-popping madness and we can’t wait to get our own. Rest assured this will be one that everybody will be talking about so get a copy before they’re gone.

TAYLOR BINGAMAN brixton.com

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5/18/12 4:19 PM

VESTAL SNAGS MITRANI

YOURIDING.COM

For the past few seasons, Mammoth Mountain local Luke Mitrani has been leaving quite a mark on the world of snowboarding. He blew minds in 2011 by posting the highest recorded Dew Tour score ever, getting a 97 and winning the half pipe event all in one spectacular display of talent and he’s backing it up every time he drops in. Being big fans of the 21-year-old, the folks of Vestal have meticulously waited for the right moment to bring Luke onto their team. Well, now it’s ofﬁcial and Luke will be joining the likes of Danny Kass and Eddie Wall as part of the elite Vestal snow team. Luke ﬁts the Vestal music, action, fun culture perfectly and we’re sure to see the duo blowing up big very soon.

OWEN MAXFIELD Long-time public relations super-stand-out Ashton Maxﬁeld and his lovely wife Tammy welcomed their ﬁrst son Owen into the world this past month and are now among the ranks of the sleepless. Ashton cut his teeth at Quiksilver and spent the better part of a decade heading up public relations for Etnies before branching out on his own with Master Plan Communications. Now he really has something to brag about. A big congratulations goes to Ashton and his wife on their new baby boy Owen!

HURLEY ART OF NOISE/ BLACKED OUT

DEATH SQUAD As most of you know, we’ve recently seen a huge crossover from action sports and the motorcycle world. Out of the dirt comes a company called Death Squad, who hasn’t had to buy or fake their way into the motorcycle world. Death Squad is the actual 1% out there that knows motorcycles and can build a bike from scratch. They’re also huge supporters of skateboarding and surﬁng and have big names on their roster like Corey Duffel, Bobby Worrest, and Gareth Stehr. They’re continuing to grow their team with guys who ride bikes fast as hell and ﬁt the Death Squad mold. All their products are made in the good old US of A and they manufacture parts for almost all high performance bikes. Keep your eyes open for the Death Squad Doom Riders or check them out at deathsquadmc.net.

Hurley has two events to kick start your summer with – the bigger of the two being Blacked Out, is in conjunction with the launch of the Phantom Fuse Boardshort. It’s a collective of drawings and paintings inspired by the Phantom Fuse, the newest generation of Hurley’s 4-time SIMA award-winning boardshorts. This free, one-nightonly, all-ages event features original works of art, creatively focused on black and one-color designs as showcased on the Phantom Fuse. Big name artists with featured work include: Dalek, CR Stecyk, Vizie, Pose, Big Foot and many more. Blacked Out will take place at the Hurley headquarters on Friday, June 22 from 6-9pm. Next up, The Art of Noise, is a group show of photographers, painters, screen printers and craftsmen deﬁning the face of music. This all-ages exhibition will take place on June 7th at 225 Forest Ave in Laguna Beach, with the opening reception from 6-9 pm with live music and snacks. It will remain on display through August 5th. Make sure to start off the summer right by making it to both events and we’ll see you there!

HANDPLANT Long time supporter and dear friend of the magazine, EG Frantantaro, has just opened his new skate shop in Laguna Beach. Handplant is located on PCH, just south of Thalia Street at 1025 South Coast Highway on the ocean side. With brands such as Sector 9, JSLV, Habitat, Alien Workshop, Creature, Independent, Supra and Project Canvas there’s something for everyone. Not only a full-service skate shop, the store also dubs as an art gallery with a new artist rotating in every month. First up was legendary photographer Jorge Salas and on deck is professional skater Kris Markovich. Next time you’re in beautiful Laguna Beach we highly recommend you stop in and check it out, you might even catch EG with a beer in hand telling shop stories.

LAID OUT

Analog: analogclothing.com

Volcom: volcom.com

Summer Teeth: summerteeth.com

Hurley: hurley.com

LRG: l-r-g.com

Electric: electricvisual.com

RVCA: rvca.com

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In the mid 1950’s, at around 9-yearsold, Gregory Davis began his fascination with the newly emerging TV show Batman. Greg mimicked the cape crusader at school and while on the streets in South Central. At that age, Gregory began getting the nickname of “Batman” for his resemblance to the character by bringing a towel wrapped around his neck to school as well as for his tenacious fighting skills and defiance of authority. Greg took a liking to the dangerous lifestyle - he saw older boys in his neighborhood living and closely followed the gang movement that was emerging prior to the Watts riots of 1965. In the summer of 1969, when his friend Raymond Lee Washington started the Baby Avenue Cribs, Batman became one of the first original 10 members. The Cribs were modeled after the Black Panthers and the Avenues Gang and wore leather coats. By 1972 the Cribs were a legitimate street gang and Batman was right there in the thick of the gun smoke. The Cribs eventually came to be known as the Crips after a newspaper referred to them as “young cripples” and from then on the name stuck.

By the time Batman was 16 he had been expelled from almost every school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Armed robbery, fighting and cruising the streets packing was second nature. Soon he was being sent away to Job Corps in Utah and finally, Youth Authority in an attempt to derail his gangster aspirations but it was no use. One night Batman was picked up by a few crooked cops – they attempted to get rid of Batman for good and dropped him off in a rival gangs neighborhood. Instantly, Batman was surrounded by 15 Bloods and was beaten to a pulp, leaving him with scars that are still visible from the incident today. For years Batman played chicken with the law, going from jacking cars to selling PCP or whatever the lucrative route at the time called for. He did some time, but for most of his bigger charges of assault and murder he was able to evade hefty sentences in the pen. However, Batman was forced to serve years at a time with the likes of the infamous Skid Row Stabber, Bobby Joe Maxwell, and even Charles Manson, who he interacted with at times. While Batman was in prison for weapons

charges, he caught wind that Crips cofounder Raymond Washington had been murdered. This was a big reality check for Batman, because he knew that if he’d been out of prison he probably would’ve been right next to Raymond when the shooting went down. Once released, Batman met up with a man by the name of Fast Eddie, the owner of a local steakhouse, who was convincing Batman to start a new life. Batman was getting older and ﬁgured he might as well give it a shot. It was then that he met his wife-to-be, Karen Stewart, and became friends with ex-NFL player and actor Jim Brown. Jim opened up Batman to serving his community by participating in proactive panels that could help to steer troubled youths in the right direction. Batman spoke in schools and prisons nationwide and eventually went on to start his own non-proﬁt organization called “Let’s Save the Babies.” He married Karen and had the wedding in Jim Brown’s backyard in the Hollywood Hills. Now, over 40 years after the Crips started, Batman is still residing in Southern California, alive

and well, with plenty of exciting stories and wounds to show from his gangbangin’ days. It’s a life that he’d at times rather forget, but he now uses his past experiences and wisdom to help others. The life of a gang member, while usually short, can be extremely thrilling and rewarding. Women, money, cars, guns and drugs are just a few of the alluring gifts the lifestyle teases you with. But for the most part, gangsters follow a way of life that usually leads them into being stuck behind bars or their graves being dug much too soon. The future of a gangster is not a bright one, but sometimes there are those who seem to defy the norm, and in this case Greg “Batman” Davis has achieved just that. Batman is now looking at the brighter side of life. Of course, he still has all of the scars and police records to prove that he is and always will be one of the most notorious original gangsters to still be walking this earth today. For more on Batman and his tales check out Roger Gastman’s “Greg ‘Batman’ Davis: Original Gangster.”

Words: Pat Perry Memories shape our thoughts, but even memories fail us over time and are eventually shut off forever. What is important now, for reasons of survival or pleasure, is not important indefinitely. This blurs the importance of our days and questions the normality of routine habits. Ephemera places all things on an equal plane. On an equal plane, paper, board, or surface, I bring together what has passed and soared above the rigorous filtration process this awareness of transience has created inside of me. With my paintings and drawings, I aim to pull an audience the same way I strive to pull myself. Pull them out of normality and transport them to an unfamiliar place in which they can experience wonder on a small scale. A place where memories can be an activator. I record and survey my perceptions through many different places and situations. I then share them with others in hopes that they find these recordings eye opening and will be encouraged to revisit their own assumptions pertaining to how they measure importance. The nomad and vagabond do not believe in the secure object. In the way that Arte Povera challenged the settled order of things, so must the nomad in lacking to find residence in facades of everyday life and the institutional fallacies we all rely on. I value the process of life and of living, as Richard Long did when he went for walks. My art is only the documentation and survey of the experience itself. The real beauty is in the experience, and I’ll attempt

to translate this beauty in hopes of making a real connection with my audience. Wherever the particular place may be, and whatever the survey is focused on with each new body of work, the search goes on. My process starts out with lots of sketching, writing and photographing. These three activities are the main ways I can collect data during times that would be inconvenient to create a full, completed artwork. When beginning paintings, I work from this data. I combine these fragments of place or object with an allegorical vocabulary and patterns from my imagination. Whether using paint, graphite or ink as a medium, I combine imaginative subject matter with scenes and objects from everyday life to instill a balance of familiarity without the fallacy of assumption. Ordinary or extraordinary, insigniﬁcant or signiﬁcant, these decisions are for each of us to make on our own. Too long have we apathetically let societal foundations overbearingly decide these for us. In deciding for myself and making it apparent in my artwork, I am promoting to restart the conversation. All is on an equal inescapable path to completion, and thus all place and feeling is equally worth interpreting. Finally, each person within themselves is equally worth interpreting it. To check out more of Pat Perry go patperry.net.

www.HOBIEPOLARIZED.com

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Interview: Liz rice McCray My name is Tim Hendricks, I’m a Southern California native that has pretty much always wanted to be an artist since I can remember. With the limited amount of time twenty four hours of a day allows, I try and create as much as possible. I tattoo, hand make tattoo machines, put together tattoo art reference books, draw, paint, run a small tattoo supply business, work on my lowrider, and surf as much as possible. Lately I have been working on tshirts and other apparel accessories. It only seems natural that you would start doing your own t-shirts, can you tell us how it all came about? Have you been thinking about this for a long time? I’ve wanted to make shirts for myself for such a long time, just aching to. I’ve been designing for RVCA for a long time now and they’ve been awesome and so great to work with, they give their artists such creative space. In recent years though, I’ve realized that a good chunk of the drawing and paintings I create are too distinct of a style to be on any different brand of shirt other than my own. I looked at it from an artist’s perspective and said to my friend, “Why can’t we just put paintings on shirts, or my drawings? Why do they have to be conﬁned to a rectangular piece of paper or Photo: Steve Rogers

canvas?” And that is where it all sparked from. I’m so sick of the same old stuff on shirts, I wanted to do something different. How have the shirts been received? What has been the feedback? I know you have a crazy, cult fanbase following, have people caught on to your t-shirts yet? Yeah, I received a lot of great responses. Especially from the designs that are somewhat of unorthodox compared to the usual tees you see people wearing. If there’s a “cult” following out there then bless every one of them! I’m just very grateful people would want to wear my art on their clothes, let alone their bodies too. You are well known as a tattoo artist and have been featured on such shows as Miami Ink. Personally, I have known you from your art career and not necessarily from your tattoo career, you do much more than people know. You’re a husband, tattoo artist, reality TV star, build oneof-a-kind tattoo machines, surf, sculp, create art and now a t-shirt line, how do balance all of these things? And where do you get your inspiration and drive from? I don’t know about reality TV star, I’m just

a bad actor who knows how to tattoo well, haha. I don’t really balance all this too well, it’s a mess really, but there is a method to my madness and I have great help from great friends. My inspiration now just comes from life in general. I’ve already milked all the inspiration out of my drugged-out, sad and lonely years, I am over that shit. If I keep myself open visually and mentally on a daily basis then there is inspiration everywhere. I know you are a second generation artist, your dad, Don Hendricks, was a brilliant watercolorist. Would you say his work influences yours? If so, how? What do you think he would think about your shirts? Yes, my father was an awesome artist. He influences me on a daily basis, even if I don’t notice it. Not only just in art but also in the way him and my mom taught me how to live life. They gave me confidence to pursue this life and not pay too much attention to what our society tells you is a safe path. I can’t be certain what he would think of the unique artistic path I chose, but I can say he made it clear to me that he didn’t care what I did in life, just as long as I enjoyed what I did and I was a good person he would be proud.

You have created thousands of paintings and drawings, how are you choosing the designs for each shirt? Are you going through your art chronologically or are the designs you have chosen symbolic? Sadly enough, a lot of my work has been sold or lost or given away long before I could get a photo or scan of it. So I am using images, paintings and drawings I’ve been saving just for this moment. Some of them I’ve never even made prints of. One of the designs we call “Daily Habit” is actually a drawing I made in the nineties in pencil, it’s on my oldest friend’s wall in his house. In fact, come to think of it, you have one of my personal favorite watercolor/pencil drawings on your wall, huh? Yes I do! Thank you, and if you ever need to scan it, I think it would be amazing shirt. Thank you Tim for taking the time to do the interview, we are excited to see more of your shirts, where can people buy your shirts and check out your art? You can purchase the shirts on saltwatertattoosupply.com and you can view all my art and tattoos on timhendricks.com.

CAT PARTY AMBIG ADDICTED A RT I STS AS S O C I AT I O N PHOTO_BRIAN HANSON FA C E B O O K . C O M /C AT PA RTY M U S I C AMBIG.COM

Still From : “Four Generations”

Doug Garth Williams is an eccentric artist based in the San Francisco bay area. His work consists of predominantly video-based explorations of both the fundamental properties that unconsciously direct human behavior, and the way those properties can be consciously manipulated to alter perception, sway opinion and achieve compliance.

happen nearly enough in those spaces. Whether it’s laughter, alarm, or bewilderment, they get a real response. In his own words, one of Doug’s aims is to “playfully confound expectations.” As a result his work often catches us by surprise in unguarded moments.

The work is nuanced and clever but easily accessible. Often humorous and unsettling in equal measure, it seems to appeal equally to art gallery regulars as well as… let’s say art gallery irregulars. It is uncommon and refreshing to see smart work that carries such a wide appeal. According to Doug, his favorite moment from his last show was seeing a pair of young children entranced by his mildly disturbing interactive installation. “If a ﬁve year old likes it I know I’m doing something right.”

Along with an impressive number of single channel videos created over the last few years, his projects have included interactive video projects, multimedia installations, and public interventions. He is the recipient of several recent fellowships and awards including the Franklin Furnace Fund Award. He has also won jury prizes at festivals and has had 18 pieces shown in more than 40 exhibitions and screenings in galleries, museums, and ﬁlm festivals around the world.

Each time his pieces are installed in a gallery or museum setting, they seem to provoke a range of genuine outbursts, which frankly doesn’t

Doug also professionally crafts music videos and other projects for hire. You can see much of his work and contact him at dougisfamous.com.

www.spyoptic.com

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T H E

J U I C E

I S

W O R T H

T H E

S Q U E E Z E

/ BEN BOURGEOIS wears the HELM

5/11/12 2:09 PM

@blisssmag

2.2.

Instagram photos by:

Alex Olson @olsonstuff

Still got it // Atiba // My creator // Fake Scott Oster

Bubbles NYC // Spanky // Aron the Won Ton Don // Jake

Donny Wilson AKA my babysitter // Charlie Smith // Bruce Webber // Sad face

Atiba // Kenny A // Dick head // Son of A

Mad art // LSD

Photo: Dominic Petruzzi : dominicpetruzziphoto.com // Model: Kelli // Agency: Pinkerton: pinkertonmodelandtalent.com

Kelli is a welcome sight to see for those of you who have been patiently awaiting the coming of summer. Summer means a few months of basking in the sun, enjoying long days at the beach and hopefully meeting some scantily clad ladies like Kelli. Yes, summer is a time of enjoyment and relaxation. So, whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re working a strict 9-5 job or living the free and easy life, be sure to reward yourself by indulging in the gifts that summer throws our way. So, hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s to Kelli and what will hopefully turn out to be a memorable summer for everyone.

Hair & Makeup: Lauren Breedon :: laurenbreedon.com // Retouch: JasonSchorle.com

Words: Spencer Pirdy :: Photos: Courtesy ©ASP/Rowland The final horn has blown and Gabriel Medina is being carried up the beach by a slew of ecstatic family members and friends. Many onlookers are smiling and applauding his feat for overtaking the world’s best during a week where Lowers dished out above picturesque, and at times excellent, rights and lefts for everyone from Freddy P to Julian Wilson to partake in. But right about now some of the smiles and positive body language we’re seeing are masking dark inner thoughts. Deep down inside some of you are saying, “Damn it, Miguel last year and Gabriel this year, really?” Or like a good friend of mine cursed post Medina victory, “He does the same effing thing every time!” People are hating and everything isn’t as it seems. Unless, of course, you’re from Sao Paulo or Rio de Janeiro or maybe you really are stoked for the young Brazilian. Most of you were pulling for Glenn though, the under dog, the Irish-Aussie who came virtually out of nowhere. Some of the other crowd favorites like Julian, who tactically self-destructed, went down early. Tanner and Pat looked destined to seek revenge on Tanner’s second place finish to Miguel in 2011, but it wasn’t meant to be. So, it was Glenn Hall, carrying the weight of upsetting a young superstar on his shoulders. He’s been slugging it out for years and is a world-class surfer worthy of recognition. But this result might’ve thrust him into the limelight that normally eludes struggling talents like Glenn.

John Florence

So, why are you rooting against Gabriel? Do you see the Brazilian contingent as evil? Is it because you can’t understand a lick of Portuguese? Or do you peg the whole nation as wave hungry heat machines that sit on fellow competitors? Whatever the case may be, we find any excuse to root for the opposing side. And with all do respect to Glenn Hall, who surfed spectacular, the event was Gabriel’s for the taking from the beginning. Gabriel surfed his round of 96 heat like it was an expression session. He could’ve easily racked up a video part from the amazing maneuvers he launched and pulled on the flawless Lowers walls. He was consistent from Round three all the way to the Final, with two heat totals in the event above 19 points (out of a possible 20) and his lowest heat score came during the final, a 15.67 - a noteworthy performance by any standards. He dominated the whole damn event. Never mind the fact that he’s not as adored by most Americans like Kolohe is, or by Australians like Julian is. He is Brazil’s biggest rising hope for a world title, and in a surf world full of rodeos and supermans as the norm, Gabriel brings all of that and the consistency and competitive savvy that I dare say mirrors some of the greats of surfing. So, put aside your preconceived notions about Brazzo’s, stop hating, and start accepting that Gabriel was the man of the event and has earned the right to hold the Nike Lowers Pro trophy high.

Gabriel Medina

Dane Reynolds

Glenn Hall

Tanner Gudauskas

Pat Gudauskas

Jeremy Flores

Gabriel Medina

Words: BLKPRJKT :: Photos: Ortiz In life, people will sometimes offer up this cautionary cliché, “Too much of a good thing is a bad thing”. The origins of this piece of so-called advice date back as far as Shakespeare, but the bard never had the chance to witness a little thing we call skateboarding. Of course, to those of us living in the present, the mere idea that there could somehow be “too much” skateboarding of this quality is ludicrous. That said, the eighth annual Vans Pro-tec Pool Party delivered every bit as much excitement and intensity as the prior seven. In a scenario that could not have been scripted better by Hollywood’s finest screenwriters, the Masters final featured 4 out of 6 of the famed Bones Brigade who are the subject of Stacy Peralta’s latest documentary effort. Over the past few years, a reunion has been slowly building as first Steve Caballero, then Tony Hawk, and this year, Mike McGill, joined the ever-present six-time veteran Lance Mountain in a throw-down of legendary proportions. This quartet of renowned heavyweights would eventually sweep the top four spots, fighting off the likes of dark horse Eric Nash who was simply on fire, the ever smooth and powerful Christian Hosoi, Tony Magnusson, Nicky Guerrero, and Lester Kasai. They also took advantage of a few uncharacteristic falls from the normally flawless, 6-time Pro-tec champion Chris Miller, who has taken six of the eight titles awarded at the Combi. When the dust finally settled on the decks, Caballero came out victorious, in spite of a nagging shoulder injury. Stevie celebrated the anniversary of his signature Vans shoe in style and took home $14,000 for his effort. Hawk, Mountain, and McGill took second through fourth respectively. Mike McGill brought the house down with an authentic McTwist to kick off an incredibly seat-of-the-pants run. A special highlight of this year’s Masters event came in the form of one Eddie “El Gato” Elguera who returned to competitive skating and displayed moves he pioneered like the frontside rock and roll, frontside invert, and his signature Elguerial.

Christian Hosoi

Rune Glifberg

As far as the ever-explosive Pro division was concerned, anyone looking for someone or something to keep this thing hot was rewarded with multiple examples of the forward progression and expression of the rolling art. In addition to the ten heavy finalists, the preliminary heats were peppered with hot shoes and upstarts, mavericks and maniacs. Greyson Fletcher, Kevin Kowalski, and Charlie Blair skated well beyond the possessed mode, padless as well as fearless. Pint-sized pre-teen phenom Tom Schaar dialed in lines well beyond his years and uncorked a 720 in the square. Top this mix off with servings of Brad McClain, and Alex Perelson, with a side of Tony Trujillo, and you’ve got world war three even before the finals got underway. The cut to ten yielded a selection of familiar faces including reigning 2011 champion Pedro Barros, 2010 victor Bucky Lasek and three-time winner Rune Glifberg. Of course this trio figured heavily in the hunt for podium spots, but consideration was definitely warranted for the newcomer and winner of the recent amateur Combi contest, Austin Poynter, who regularly hovers more than

ten feet out of the bowl. Austin’s debut landed him in the nine spot in the pressure-cooker environment of the Combi. By all appearances Rune Glifberg was out for blood this year, and with Bucky Lasek back from injury after missing 2011, the top three spots were going to be hard to crack for anybody but a past champion. Andy Mac and Nolan Munroe campaigned hard but fell just short and finished in fourth and fifth. Bucky’s unique lines and approach including “tricks YOU can’t do,” looked for a time as if it would hold up to the power onslaught laid down by Rune and Pedro. But deep into the final runs, Rune simply pulled out everything he had and held the gas pedal to the floor. It became a dogfight between him and Pedro, in which each scorching run laid down was answered by the next skater. It was Pedro Barros in the end, barely closing the door on Rune with first a massive, blindside alley-oop indy air transfer into the round, and then a tail grab variant of the same move blended into two flawless runs. Pedro defended his 2011 title with Rune taking second and Bucky taking the three spot. In essence, all things have a shelf life, but for the time being at least, and in the foreseeable future, the Pool Party has yet to become stale. Something new? Always. Something old? Of course. Something borrowed? Occasionally. Something black and blue? Certainly – Simply ask any number of the skaters involved. The Combi takes no prisoners, and no quarter is ever given. See you next year. 2012 Vans Pro-tec Pool Party Results Pro Division 1. Pedro Barros - $28,000.00 2. Rune Glifberg - $14,000.00 3. Bucky Lasek - $7,000.00 4. Andy MacDonald - $3,500.00 5. Nolan Munroe - $2,500.00 6. Steve Pineiro - $2,000.00 7. Zach Miller - $1,500.00 8. Mike Owen - $1,000.00 9. Austin Poynter - $1,000.00 10. Ben Hatchell - $1,000.00 Master’s Division 1. Steve Caballero - $14,000.00 2. Tony Hawk - $7,000.00 3. Lance Mountain - $4,000.00 4. Mike McGill - $2,000.00 5. Eric Nash - $1,750.00 6. Tony Mag - $1,500.00 7. Christian Hosoi - $1,250.00 8. Nicky Guerrero - $1,200.00 9. Chris Miller - $1,100.00 10. Lester Kasai - $1,100.00

Pedro Barros

Steve Caballero

Bucky Lasek

Tony Hawk

Greyson Fletcher

Nicky Guerrero

Lance Mountain

Photos: Carey

The 2012 VQS Volcomania World Championships presented by Muscle Milk has come to a close and what an amazing event it was! This year’s event had epic matches that led to three days of beating, bashing, breaking and bruising! After the broken tables and chairs were cleared from the ring, the winners walked away with their Championship belts in hands and their share of the $30,000 prize purse, while the other wrestlers walked away with broken bones and ring rash from the Battle Royal! Thanks to all the competitors and staff that made this happen, check out all the video highlights at Volcom.com. HEAVYWEIGHT (Pro-Am) 1. Alex Smith – CA $5,000 2. Oliver Kurtz – FL $2,000 3. Chase Wilson – CA $1000 4. Cory Arrambide – CA $500

VQS DIVAS (Girls) 1. Demi Boelsterli – CA $2,000 2. Quincy Davis – NY $1,000 3. Amy Nicholl - FL $500 4. Leila Hurst – HI $500

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT (Juniors) 1. Yago Dora - BRA $5,000 2. Taylor Clark – CA $2,000 3. Jordan Lawler – AUS $1,000 4. Natxo Gonzalez - PR $500

BOOSTERWEIGHT (Air) 1. Daniel Shea – CA $1,000 2. Mitch Coleborn– AUS $500 3. Chippa Wilson AUS - $250 4. Yage Araujo BRA - $250 5. Santiago Muniz – BRA 6. Torry Meister - HI

CRUISERWEIGHT (Groms) 1. Grifﬁn Colapinto – CA $3,000 2. Shun Murakami – JPN $1,500 3. Kanoa Igarashi – CA $1,000 4. Aldric God– FRA $500 Electric’s Maniac move of the event: Yago Dora – BRA $500

FEATHERWEIGHT 1. Cole Houshmand – CA 1,000 2. Noah Hill - CA 3. Micah Cantor - SC 4. Dylan Franzmann - HI

Daniel Shea

Alex Smith Santiago Muniz

Balaram Stack

Chippa Wilson

Bobby Okvist Kilian Garland

Carlos Munoz

Alex Tiger :: Koa: Zebra

Words: Spencer Pirdy :: Photos: Kenworthy

but he’s in no hurry.

When you’re able to spot a zebra trotting along the shores of San Clemente one of two things could be happening. Either the San Diego Zoo has a runaway on their hands or the Nike Lowers Pro is in town and 17-year-old Koa Smith is rocking his newest wild animal inspired Nike wetsuit. Luckily, it’s the latter and with a Goodyear blimp circling overhead and consistent south swell greeting competitors, it’s a green light for the second day of competition. Koa’s been entered into the event as a wildcard by his main sponsor, Nike, and is looking to flare up in his round of 96 heat that seems to be a considerably stacked one. With tough competitors Mason Ho, Michel Bourez and seasoned Euro Romain Cloitre, Koa is left in the dying moments needing a high score and tracks down a wave with opportunity. He generates speed off the bottom and right before his first sureto-be blistering top turn he digs a rail. Opportunity has passed. He continues down the line and then launches a stylish frontside grab reverse. Koa rides cleanly out, but it’s not enough to get him through the heat. Afterwards his older brother Alex meets Koa on the shore and a few words of encouragement are exchanged. Although disappointed, Koa knows this is just another experience to rack up. One that may not seem beneficial right away,

Back at the competitors area I chat with Alex as Koa collects his check. Alex is soaking up the Southern California lifestyle. With a backwards LA Kings hat on and a look of serenity on his face, Alex scans the Lowers line up. Alex’s mix of progressively polished rail work would wreak havoc on the clean walls that peel in front of him. Instead of being annoyed with the other less-qualified competitors surfing in the event, Alex shows poise and knows that his time is nearing. He’s without a main sponsor right now, but not due to a lack of offers. He is exercising patience, something that few surfers of his caliber have. Alex has showed perseverance in the past. He suffered from lingering effects of mono on and off for almost three years and was sidelined and at times forced to watch his brother and friends surf all day. “It was frustrating, but now I’m completely on the other side of it and look at not being with Rip Curl anymore as a huge opportunity to find a great fit.” He’s waiting for the right opportunity to pop up, one that is inevitably growing nearer by the day. In the mean time, when he’s not throwing hacks with the best of them, Alex is working on the design side of things with the folks at Globe, one of his sponsors, and is the brains and creator of his and Koa’s ever-thriving blog Lastnamefirst.

tv. With the insight and help of their filmer, and in particular their editor Dan Treanor, the boys have been pumping out consistent web gold for a little over a year now. “I wish we could update it a little more”, says Alex. “I am always wanting to add in more content.” But in a surf world where even the best of pros struggle to find relevant and worthy web footage, the Smith brothers keep us waiting for their monthly installments that just seems to be growing better and better each time. Less is, in fact, more. One of the latest episodes highlight the brothers after their winter long stint on the North Shore at the Nike house where they were welcomed with amenities like an in-house chef and a front row seat to some of the most perfectly challenging waves in the world. The editing, music and quality are superb. Young Koa’s tube riding and charging steal the show. This was Koa’s first year of fulltime North Shore charging and he did so in unique style that really took him to another level. “I’m just really comfortable in bigger waves and I love it”, Koa tells me as we walk up the Lowers path. His comfort level showed. In particular with his backside approach that had a slight resemblance to a young Bruce Irons. Koa elaborates on his newly found comfort for keeping his back to the wall by saying, “Frontside I feel like you’re limited to style and how deep you can be. Backside, at a

certain point you can just hold on to your rail and really take off under the lip and knife it.” He’s clearly plotted this surge out over the years of taking notes and has emerged on the scene now a key player in one of the world’s heaviest line-ups. Later on I meet up with Alex and Koa at Captain Mauri’s, one of San Clemente’s healthier, local eateries. It just happens to be the spot where most of the surfers in the event are fueling up. After Koa and Alex exchange pleasantries with Michel Bourez, Mason Ho and Jay “Bottle” Thompson, we savor our fresh juices and smoothies and talk about how it all began. After growing tired of the chilly winter’s that Michigan offered on a much too regular basis the Smith family relocated to the warmer weather and greener golf courses that Kauai had to offer. There they gave birth to three sons Alex, Travis and Koa. “Neither my mom or dad surf, but my dad’s a really good golfer. Our uncle was Phil Mickelson’s coach and growing up we played a lot of golf,” says Koa. Alex has fond memories of being carted around the course and watching his dad play, but acknowledges that his youngest brother Koa has almost matched his skills behind the driver. “Koa’s been playing pretty consistently lately,” Alex bragged as he took a sip of his juice. The two sit on either side of me and exercise a well-mannered

Koa

upbringing; one that I came to find was full of support and encouragement from both of their parents. The brothers continued to golf, but then began to excel at surfing and skateboarding. Hanalei pier was where the boys began honing their skills in the water, a place that has seen more than its fair share of surfing greats develop. More notably Andy and Bruce Irons were present in the boys lives from early on. “We got to learn and grow up around Andy and Bruce from a very young age”, says Alex. The boys utilized all of the strengths that growing up on a tropical island could offer. Alex had a strong NSSA career and has made a name for him in line-ups around the world, but is more notably seen as an eminent threat out at the everchallenging playing field that is Sunset Beach. “I love that wave. Just the lines that you can draw out there and the arcs that you can throw are amazing”, Alex remarked. He’s gone on to make

several finals at Sunset and he is one of the unique few that knows how to harness the waves unpredictably shifty energy. Koa, on the other hand, started his career as the adorable little-fella ripper we all saw interviewing people backstage at the Surfer Poll Awards, still dressed in zebra print, but this time in one of his own custom made suits. My how time has passed, Koa has sprouted and with the raising of his height so too did his level of surfing. He’s now a threat in all conditions, big or small and not just on the red carpet. One of his coming out trips was a strikemission he went on to Tahiti a year ago. “That trip was insane. Just big and perfect waves,” he remembers. On that trip Koa grabbed the rope and towed into a wave that baffled even the hardest of chargers. Koa was earning his stripes. Nike has now given him the opportunity to do everything he’s ever wanted to. “They’re doing so much for me. Like getting me wild cards into events like

Alex

Koa

Alex

today,” he says. At that moment Koa receives a text from his dad telling him that even with his loss today he’s acquired 380 points which puts him in the top 160 of the world rankings and will allow him to surf in the Triple Crown next year. Then there’s the middle brother Travis who is 19. While all three having been blessed with handsome genes, Travis has been capitalizing on his in the past few years. He has been living abroad in Paris and Singapore, starting a modeling career that has just inked him a large campaign with Versace. “We used to fight a little and not get along when we were younger,” Alex says of Travis. “But now we get along more than ever and we’re all best friends.” But it was on one of Travis’s trips back home to Kauai that Koa and Alex noticed something different in the demeanor of their middle brother. Travis was looking healthier, fitter and wasn’t being his lazy self. He had adopted a new way of living and thinking. The boys noticed and soon inquired about his changed ways so that they too could reap the benefits. “It’s just a whole different way of living, being positive, attracting good things to come your way and setting goals that

Alex

he’s shared with us,” says Alex. “We just try to always surround ourselves with positive people and never ever be negative,” Koa adds as Mason Ho throws the boys a shaka as he exits the restaurant. “Like him,” Koa laughs pointing to Mason. Alex and Koa are taking Travis’s newfound way of living and using it to their advantage, to ease the ups and downs of contests and traveling and being away from home. Lately, Alex and Koa have been experiencing the world and all that it has to offer. Alex went on a life changing trip to Samoa where the waves were machine like, yet it was the unique people he met, the landscapes he witnessed and the feeling he got from being in a new place that caught his attention. They’ve also found inspiration from other walks of life outside the realm of surﬁng. The boys have been listening to the new Kid Cudi album and have followed his journey from previous, more somber albums to a much happier and more upbeat

position that he’s in today. Alex even sprayed down a fresh new quiver of DHD’s with some Kid Cudi inspired artwork of his own. Alex has been getting into snowboarding as well and enjoyed a memorable trip to Sun Valley this past winter. Koa was recently sent on a Nike retreat to Idaho that covered sustainability throughout the brand. It was at this conference that Koa befriended skater Paul Rodriguez and they’ve remained close, skating together regularly in LA. The Smith brothers are not your average jaded surf stars. They see opportunity in even the gloomiest of days. I asked Koa about his earlier heat that day, if he felt like it was a missed opportunity. “I can only take that experience and learn from it, I don’t want to pound out results on the QS and then get on tour and quickly get kicked off,” he said. “I want to be in my prime when I’m on tour so that I can be winning

Koa

Alex Koa

events when I’m there.” Alex’s philosophy is the same, “We’re not going to be gym rats and just become all contest guys. We want to look to like-minded people in the action sports industry and make fun and interesting projects with them.” With that our conversation came to a close and the brothers drove off down Del Mar avenue, off to their next project, session, adventure, party or whatever they saw to be ﬁtting. They have plans to stay in SoCal for the majority of the summer, and in the next few days they’d enjoy the south swell that somehow continuously churned out waves. They pulled into throaty shore break tubes on Doyle’s, charmed the socks off of local ladies, skated with P-Rod in LA, had a full moonlit night surf session on Cinco de Mayo and Alex even had time to nab the heavyweight title for the Pro division at the VQS championships. All the while putting out an infectiously positive vibe that lets anyone with any sense of rhyme or reason know that we’ll be watching these brothers on center stage for a long time to come.

Interview: PM Tenore What brought you to the ocean Mr. McGee? My Skimboarder Magazine subscription had been converted to Action Now Magazine, a youth, music and all action sports inclusive format. A friend and I got excited one night and made skimboards. What beach did you and your friend first venture to and how old were you? Ocean Beach for its long and flat expansive fields of half-inch water made it perfect for skimming. We were no older than 15. How did you first land in the saltwater PM?

Eleven years old, moved here from the Bay Area, bought a $60 used checker board, Lance Collins, from the Frog House in Newport Beach and that’s how the relationship started // Who influenced you? One afternoon my friend and I had maxed out on 360’s and shin knots. A surfer was coming in near Kelly’s Cove, a darker skinned man with a red, pigmented single-fin with a pulledin tail and asked if he could try our skimboards. He showed us how to ride waves with skimboards instead of just cruising the flats. I think he did a somersault instead of wiping out. It left a big impression.

At what point did you graduate to a surfboard and where was your primary surf break? I bought a 7’6” purple Local Motion single-fin out of the used rack at the Old Wise surf shop on Vicente the following week. It was 3 inches thick. My friend bought a 7’ Sea Trend with a Pink Floyd airbrush. We had to be 16 by then, as one of us was driving and we never got cold. Who at the time were your early surfing influences and what would bring you stoke? It was not an easy path; there was a wooly pack of surfers that I was

fascinated with at this time at the Miramar jetty in HMB. This was before they reconﬁgured the jetty to the crappy thing it has now become. They had bowl haircuts and did power snaps like Joey Buran. There was Bad Vibe Bob and Snappy; I watched them with awe at OB. There was also this weird dude who used to take photos and have slide shows. I think his name was Cort Mast or something. Lots of strong early 80’s images at Fort Point. Who showed you the ropes PM? NorCal was the polar opposite of Orange County during that time. I mainly hung around Mark Caffey. It was good times from what I can

remember. What magazines did you take pages from to put on your wall? I think surfers are a pack of animals. Ocean Beach and the Northern California scene was more about solitude and black wetsuits during this period. My favorite surfer of that time was Kevin Reed from Santa Cruz. He pieced together surf and skate styles seamlessly on the last dying years of single-fins. As soon as my friend and I figured out how to stand and ride we traded our 7’ single-fins in for state of the art 6’ Bessel and Stussy quads. Our learning curve took a major nosedive. Your area

was littered with talent PM! I remember being fascinated with SoCal and Senor Lopez ponchos and No Bozzo’s stickers. That and the smell of Coppertone. Bessel and Stussy quads, rad. Shaun Stussy shaped me my ﬁrst custom surfboard when I was 14 out of Equipe in Laguna Beach it was hot pink and sherbet. At that time you could get the No Bozzo stickers at O-Zone Skate shop on Newport Peninsula. They were tragically everywhere // KROQ Pre-KNAC // What was happening during that time for you?

I think so many things were happening in the early 80’s that as a youth you could walk in any direction and be inﬂuenced. Copying Suicidal Tendencies white collared shirts, muscle cars, Bob Haro BMX products - it was all happening. Rodney on the ROQ, New-wave, Nu Romantic, Thrash Metal, Glam. Any way you turned there was a scene or situation. I had some weirdo friends who were into old Vespas and Lambrettas and then one night this one older guy decided we needed tags. 100% agree. Your art shows are somewhat like the 1986

OP Pro riots // Although cars were being lit on ﬁre and people were rioting I enjoyed the chaos // I remember my friend Scott Madison, aka Spides, was a bit rattled but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was chaos in a controlled setting… like your art shows. Do you remember the ‘86 OP Pro riots and does it have any similarities to what you naturally do in museums and galleries? Yes, I remember the OP Pro riots. Honestly, I think that the surf industry is ready for another. It’s a natural reaction for anything to snap that is

overweight and stretched beyond capacity. Bloated. Excess and overconsumption. I patiently await. It’s not that complicated if you think about it. I honestly believe the same thing is happening now. I know you see youth as a saving grace, rejecting what is being offered and making their own mark in this exceedingly excessive climate. Yes, the industry needs to change. Growing up did guys like Tommy Guerrero and the Bones Brigade

movies have an impact on you? It wasn’t just one person or thing. So many factors play into it. Style was coveted. Painfully obvious with TG. Style with everything you do and make. Grafﬁti was the same. These kids from Berkeley HEIST and RAKUS had the best hand styles. All youth can see that. Just fantastic tags in highpressure locations, without a care in the world look. A backside snap, a stoner with no shirt and cut-off jeans who could do perfect tabletops on

a rusted BMX bike. There is so much information in good style. I think you know exactly what I am speaking of Pat. At what age did you actually start writing and becoming a vandal? Do you remember your ﬁrst tag? My ﬁrst tag was Twist. The worst name ever. Shortly after I wrote DISARM and then MDMA. This was the 80’s. We did it all. It was a bit easier then. It’s way more impressive what kids do now. The stakes and penalties

are so much higher now for just the ordinary vandal. I did some grafﬁti. There are others that did heaps more. It’s more about masses doing it anyhow. That’s how I see it. Thousand of kids all doing something in mass to smash the status quo. Access is much easier today with the internet // research is easier // does that take away or add to what is happening now? I mean what is the most radical thing you can probably

do in SoCal? Ride a bike? That is radical to me, yet kids are into bikes. Hispanic, Asians, whatever… an entire infrastructure set up for the automobile and here are a bunch of kids riding bicycles. I love it. Doing the opposite of what is expected. I’m going to text you a few names or words // Can I get a few descriptions back from you? THR? The human race. THR? (again)

This harsh reality. I’m going to text you a few names or words. RVCA? Balance of Opposites. Reynolds Yater? 80 years in the making. Master minimalist sculptor. Josh Lazcano (AMAZE) Other Peoples Money.

Mark Gonzalez? Bomb a hill. Herbie Fletcher? King of the nose. Tommy Guerrero? Growing old together.

Joel Tudor? Blue Messiah. Alex Olson? Alex taught me how to hug properly.

DFW? Down for waves.

Alex Knost? All areas handled with grace, power and extreme style. One in a million.

Kevin Lloyd Ancell? Santa Monica Airlines, more grey hair than me but much better style.

DFW? (again) Down for whatever.

Buttons? Style master.

It’s 3:30 am // let’s ﬁnish this after breakfast --->

Interview: Brian Lotti The first time I saw Riley Stevens skate he made a real impression. He strung together a fast line of back-to-back-to-lip tricks and airs in the main section of the Wily Channel Street Park, then ended his run with a huge Madonna that cracked like a sonic boom. He popped out on the deck with his board and started laughing. Riley is a solid, stylish, and no-bullshit skateboarder whose enthusiasm for skateboarding is highly contagious. Rob O’Connell has said that Riley is “classically trained,” and people have been taking notice as of late. Be on the lookout for Riley, he’ll not only get you hyped to skate, but he might just remind you of why you started skating in the first place. What was the first thing that got you into skateboarding? My older brother and my neighbor James when I was a kid. They skated and there were always kids on the block shredding. There were kids always skating? Yeah, we lived in a cul-de-sac and James was good friends with Lance Mountain’s son, so there were always kids getting radical, making rails and jumps next door. Where was that and how old were you? In Glendora, when I was 8 or 9. James moved in

Crail :: Photo: Chris Whitaker

Ollie :: Photo: Chris Whitaker

Staleﬁsh :: Photo: MRZ

Eggplant :: Photo: Ortiz

next door and I would always get my brother or my neighbor’s hand-medown boards. I would skate the curb cuts in front of my house and skate back and forth and pretend it was a half-pipe. You would ride up the curb and just grind the edge or something? Yeah, I would ride up and grind it before I could ollie on to a 50-50. That curb is where I learned how to 50-50! Who was the ﬁrst skater you saw that could really rip? My brother’s friend Clinton was really good and could skate everything. He also surfed. He rode for the Stix Shop in Monrovia. I though it was so crazy to be sponsored! I remember one time he let me ride a new board he had just set up and I fell and his

board went into the street and a car ran over it and he didn’t even care. He said he could get another one. Clinton Chambers! He could do all kinds of ﬂip tricks really high, he grinded shit, and could skate everything. He was my hero when I was a little kid. What was the ﬁrst trick you learned that got you really hooked on skating? Boardslides on my neighbor James’ slider bar. Tell me about Arizona. I moved to Arizona when I was 13 and lived there until I was 18. There’s a ton of really good parks there. My cousin would pick me up from school and drop me off at the park at every day at 5. He would pick me up at 10 and bring a pizza. AZ is rad because all the parks have lights.

F.S Sugar Cane :: Photo: Ely Phillips

What’s up with Chris Livingston? He taught a lot of us to shred and looked out for us at the park. Any time anyone got in our way, he would yell at them. He was down to fight for his friends. What’s the raddest thing you saw Livingston do? He’s really good at backside disaster reverts and any kind of disaster trick. He does them all so fast with power and style. He pumps out of his tricks. What would you rather do, skate a perfect backyard pool barefoot with a couple hot girls hanging out or bomb a perfect mountain hill with ladies following you in a car? Bomb the hill barefoot? No, the hill bomb you can wear shoes, but you can’t have any pants on. Skate the pool barefoot or bomb the hill without any pants on? There are chicks following me down the hill? Chicks are filming you at the pool and chicks are filming you bomb the hill… Which would you choose? (Laughing) I’d rather bomb the hill! (Laughing) All right, so how did you end up starting to skate Channel Street? How did you take a liking to that whole scene down there? My friend Aaron Court made me go down there because he was really gnarly. I had moved back to Sierra Madre from Arizona and he said, “Let’s go skate Channel under the bridge,” and we went down there and it was better than any place

in Southern California to skate. I like to skate there and pools and whatever else is fun to skate.

F.S Boneless :: Photo: Ely Phillips

Who is fun to watch skate these days? Ah, little Rob (Russo). Elijah Berle is killing it. Everyone at Channel is killin’ it. My friend Rob in Arizona is killing it. What tricks are you into these days? (Laughing) Scraping your tail over a storm drain cap… going real fast! No, I’ve been into frontside bluntslides lately. And ollieing up to smith grinds from banks. What’s a trick you want to learn in the next 6 months? Not falling. No seriously, what about inverts? I can do them, I just gotta sack up and do it! I wanna learn to skate… I don’t know… I just have to be there, you know? What was the last trick you learned that you were super hyped on? Indy airs were fun. Back smith to backtails. Nosegrind backlips. Now I’m thinking… (Laughs) I wanna learn how to do a rocket-air backtail! I do wanna skate rails more. For sure. I wanna skate some rails! Any shouts to anyone? Yeah! Shout to all the SPSA dudes and everyone down at Channel. Everyone back in Arizona, Indy, Nike, Aaron Court, all my homies and my family, Brian and Laura Lotti, Bill and Agata Sargeant, my cousin Jake, and Buddy and Keisha at Transitions Skateshop in Carson.

B.S Tailslide :: Photo: MRZ

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Bikini â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Volcom volcom.com Kimono â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Insight insight51.com

Denim Jacket – RVCA rvca.com Sweatshirt – Oakley oakley.com Shorts – Hurley hurley.com

Shirt â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Lira liraclothing.com

Dress – Quiksilver quiksilver.com Boots – Stylist’s own

Shirt – Vans vans.com Bikini – Volcom volcom.com Shorts – Volcom volcom.com Sunglasses – Vestal vestalwatch.com

Shirt – Smith smithoptics.com Skirt – Volcom volcom.com Hat – Brixton brixton.com

Sweatshirt – Oakley oakley.com Shorts – Volcom volcom.com Boots – Stylist’s own

Photos & Words: Bob Plumb Where did you grow up? I grew up in Oahu, Hawaii. In a place called Laie. What was growing up in Hawaii like? Did you get called a “haole” a lot? Yeah, I grew up being called a “haole,” which basically is a white boy. Hearing shit like “we grew here you flew here” was a regular being the minority. Kids liked to pick on haole boys growing up. But aside from that, Hawaii is a magical place. My parents lived there for 25 years and raised me my brother and sister there. Did you surf as a kid? Nope, never got into it really. Still not really into it. I’ve tried a hand full of times but for some reason I suck. My dad and brother could tear it up though. How did you end up finding snowboarding? Well, when my pops got a good job offer in Utah we decided to move from Hawaii. When we got to Utah the job got pulled out from under my dad so we ended up being broke most of my childhood and stuck in Utah. Seeing snow for the first time around age 9 was crazy, I didn’t try snowboarding until I was about 14 or so. My parents couldn’t afford to set me up with all the shit to go snowboarding, but I was lucky enough to get some hand-me-downs from some of my older brothers friends, so I would go from time to time. My parents ended up getting divorced, and my mom remarried some asshole, he gave me a pair of wire cutters to clip passes up at the resort. I would hitchhike up there and wait until someone would let me clip their pass. And that was my way of getting away from the craziness at home, snowboarding was the one way I could escape from the trouble at home so that’s all I wanted to do. But I couldn’t as much as I wanted to because we didn’t have the money. Were your parents supportive of your interest in snowboarding? You said you used snowboarding as an escape. What were some things going on at home

you were trying to get away from? Well my stepdad was really abusive, physically and emotionally. He told me that I would never be good enough to become sponsored at snowboarding and that I wouldn’t ever amount to anything. He even bet me $100 that it would never happen. With that said, I made it my life goal to prove that motherfucker wrong. Which I did... My dad was really supportive though, he let me go to school every other day so I could focus on snowboarding and took a job doing ski patrol so I could get a free pass. My mom was supportive when she realized that it was going to be my career but when I was taking school off she thought that I should be focused more on school and wasn’t very happy that my Dad was letting me skip so much. None of them really knew how involved I was with it though, they were pretty shocked when I came home one day and told them I got sponsored. I’ve kind of managed to make my career on my own without my parents involvement. Like I said, it was my escape, so I didn’t have them taking me to contests or helping me make a stupid sponsor-me tape or any dumb shit like that. My stepdad is out of my life now, and I have nothing but full support from my mom and dad, they are very proud of me and are my biggest fans, but it wasn’t easy getting here. I guess you proved your exstepdad wrong. When I got my ﬁrst cover with Snowboarder Magazine my mom and stepdad had been divorced at that point, but she put a copy of my cover in his mail box and wrote some rather explicit shit on there. Something along the lines of “fuck you” or something. Now that is a true fan, I love my mom. Haha amazing. How did you end up getting sponsored? Well, I was always doing little local snowboard contests with a few friends one year just for fun. During one of the contests this dude T-Bone from Milosport saw one of my runs, I guess he liked what he saw. So the next week he told the rest of the homies

at Milosport, like Scotty Goodale and WIse and LJ. So the next time I went in there, Scotty told me I was on the team. It was pretty much the best day of my life. From there I picked up a few sponsors, just getting’ flow or whatever, and decided I should try to film a video part and really do this. You know, like actually make it my life. Your first part was in an old Technine movie? How did you link up with those guys? I started finding street spots with my friend Ian Rigby and just trying to make our own edit or whatever, not to make a sponsor-me video or anything though because I always thought that was lame for some reason. I guess I just wanted to do what I saw all my idols doing in snowboard movies. One day we ended up getting a shot that I thought might be worthy to maybe get me in filming with someone. I had heard that the SIA tradeshow in Vegas was a place where all the people I need to talk to would be. So I found a ride there with Bozung in hopes that I could find Cole Taylor to show him that shot, which I had on my camera. I got there and it was crazy, I just started asking random people if they knew where I could find Cole Taylor, after a while I found him. Super nervous and unsure what this guy is gonna say to me I just walked up to him and introduced myself to him. I pulled my camera out and asked if he’d be down to check this shot out. He was down to let me go out with them and give it a try. After that I filmed my part in “Livin’ Proof” with F.O.D.T. while going to high school, so I was filming a couple times a week at nights and on weekends. Cole Taylor and E-Stone brought me up in the game; those guys did a lot for me. That’s amazing. What was the shot you showed him? It was that kinked rail, I did a bs 50-50

on and landed in a little puddle. Matty jumped over the side off Redwood Road. Is Cole Taylor a thug? Hell yea, Cole is gangster as shit; he’s a good dude for sure. Speaking of gangster, didn’t somebody tell you to tone your style down, or something to that effect, because it wasn’t cool anymore? Yeah, I won’t name names but I was told that I need to stop being gangster because I might come across as intimidating or something. I wasn’t even aware that I was “gangster” or whatever. But I just said it’s not something you can change. All I know is that I’m just who I am. So you’re telling me there is no plans in the future for you to snowboard in jeans and get feather earrings? Not gonna happen man, that ain’t for me. But there is nothing wrong with that style, it’s just not me, I believe to each their own. People spend too much energy hating on what other people do. I don’t care what style you have because I’m positive that lots of people hate on the way I dress but I don’t really give a shit about that. People should just do what they feel and don’t take shit from anyone. Do you ever read all the shit talking that goes on the message boards on the different websites? Yea, I’ve seen some of that shit. I don’t really spend too much time looking at that shit. I think it’s hilarious though, people get so heated talking shit on people. The funny thing is that most of the people talking shit ain’t shit, they are wasting their time hating when they could just be down and actually do something productive instead of being worthless piles, running their mouths in

a chat room. I just laugh, haters are funny. You’re telling me you’re not sitting at your computer all day waiting for the next epic web video to pop up? Ha, not exactly, there’s more to my life than snowboarding. I love snowboarding, however, I feel that it’s healthy to be balanced. I don’t spend much time on the web watching snowboard videos, it’s kind of a waste of time. I don’t really ﬁnd myself being too involved with the “scene” or whatever you want to call it. It’s crazy to me how many kids watch those videos online. They will see a trick then just go out and copy it the next day. Yea, and I think that’s good for a lot of people; it’s a great way to get inspired. Don’t get me wrong, I watch shred videos but I’m not on there all day keeping up with everything that’s going on every second. As far as kids copying what they see on videos - that will happen with anything: music, art, skating. Whatever, it’s just how things go. I don’t really care if people copy what I do. If someone is going to like something I do in the ﬁrst place, they aren’t going to care if someone else did the same thing. I just do what I feel and don’t get caught up being worried about what other people are up to, that is weak.

Who were some of the people that inspired you while you were younger? Scotty Goodale - R.I.P., MFM, Scotty Wittlake, Gigi Ruf, Bozung, J2, Mikey LeBlanc, Ali Goulet, Jeremy Jones. I don’t know, those are the first ones that come to mind. I loved the Kingpin movies when I was younger, nothing got me more geeked to snowboard than watching “Revival” or “Destroyer.” Those, to me, were and still are the best movies of all time. Yeah, those are some legends fo sho. It’s pretty crazy to think that you have gotten to film with most those guys. Yea, no doubt! I still trip on that, and I still look up to those guys, they paved the way for us youngins in the game. I definitely feel lucky to have been able to work with some of those people, I have learned a lot from them. You got to share a part with most those guys in “More.” It was pretty much the whole BozWreck crew. That part came out then we didn’t see anything from you for a year or two. Yeah, after that part I had a pretty bad back injury with a herniated disc and two bulged discs. It just progressively got worse as time

went on, to the point where I literally couldn’t lean down to tie my shoes. I had probably five different back specialists tell me that I would never snowboard again. One doctor even said I might consider a wheel chair. All they did was give me prescriptions to painkillers, which lead to an addiction to those as well. I wasn’t for one second going to let some doctor tell me I can’t snowboard ever again, that wasn’t an option. I had to take a year off, not snowboarding at all, it was the worst year. I am healthy as can be now, which is a blessing that didn’t come easy. I found a guy in Salt Lake that was able to fix my back injury in under six months with extreme deep muscle work, and on top of that an intense pilates schedule with my girlfriend, which was the best thing I could have done for my back. Can you elaborate a little bit on how you got hurt and what dealing with an addiction was like? My back injury wasn’t from anything specific, it kind of happened from years of flat landings and impact. When I got hurt a lot of my sponsors got weary about if I was going to be able to come back from it, I lost

my board sponsor and fought to stay afloat with everyone else. That was rough. I was in so much pain from my back that I had my own doubts but knew that I was gonna make it through. I got a pretty crazy addiction to painkillers, and it didn’t start recreationally. I was in so much pain that I needed to take them. But after a while having doctors tell you that I just need to take them and live with it I was in so deep I couldn’t see out. I was definitely hooked, taking a ridiculous amount of painkillers on a daily basis. One day I just pulled my head out of my ass and looked at where my life was at and had to face the fact that I was an addict and injured. I had to find a way to fix myself, and hopefully find a doctor that could make me able to snowboard again. I quit taking pills cold turkey, going through the most horrific withdrawals you could imagine. I’m talking like no sleep for weeks, in constant throbbing pain every second of everyday, I can’t even put in these words how awful this shit was. My brother had just come off a heroin addiction and told me to prepare for the worst few months of my life... He wasn’t kidding. My girlfriend was huge for my recovery as well. She was by

my side through the whole process and basically got me through it, I couldn’t have done it without her. Months later I was clean with no rehab, my back was starting to feel stronger and it was the start of the season. Coming back into snowboarding was so hard. Everything seemed so much crazier than before. I felt like I didn’t know how to snowboard anymore; I hadn’t done it in a year. My video part in the ﬁrst Videograss movie was that year and I somehow was able to pull something together but I don’t think it was anything great. Finally, everything has come back years later and I’m a stronger person having gone through that shit and showing everyone that I wasn’t going anywhere. All I wanna do now is keep progressing and furthering my snowboarding adventures. Your new VG part has more jump shots than you have had in a while. Is this where you see yourself progressing and your new adventures headed, the backcountry? Yeah for sure, I have so much fun riding powder. There pretty much isn’t anything better. Although I have a lot of work to do, I can’t say that I’m super skilled in the backcountry. I mean, I can ride powder all day but as far as

Travis Rice’ing off a jump, there is some serious room for improvement. But I’m ok with that, I just need to keep going out with dudes that are better than me and I will catch up eventually. Didn’t you go on a trip with Gigi and Nicholas last winter? What was that experience like? Yeah, we went to Norway and Sweden, the conditions weren’t ideal but we managed to make some things happen. I’m not sure how I ended up on that trip though; those dudes are on a whole different level from me. Regardless, it’s always a good experience to see those guys ride in person. Those guys are the type of snowboarders I’m driving to achieve to be, but with my own ﬂavor. They are such good riders it’s crazy, it’s really inspiring to watch. Any shout outs? Big thanks to my family, my girl, Bobby Meeks and Nike, Jesse and everyone at LRG, everyone at Skullcandy, Tonino with Nitro, Neff, Lance and Mike at Ashbury, Celtek, Bob Plumb, Cole Taylor, E-Stone, Andy Wright, Justin Meyer, Sean McCormick, Shane Charlibois, White Owl, Milosport, SFK!, Ryan Kingman at Stance and Scotty Goodale, R.I.P.

Photos: Nolan Hall // Herbie Fletcher, Barry McGee & PM Tenore // Alex Von Furstenberg, Stavros Niarchos and Jessica Hart // Deanna & Ed Templeton // Aaron & Lucy Rose // Herbie Fletcher & Alex Knost // CR Stecyk, Jen Cox & Susanne Melanie Berry // The Marshall Brothers & Alex Olson // Casey Holland & Kesley Brookes // Deej Marshall & family // Makua Rothman & Kevin Ancell// Jeffery Deitch // Prism

For the 10th consecutive year, Active Ride Shop dragged their top players to Mammoth for some late season fun in the snow and sun. Players were treated to Oakley’s poker night at Lakanukie and an amazing live performance by Ezekiel’s band The Fling at Hyde Lounge. By the way, they saved the party weekend because Neon Indian had to cancel last minute. Go Mark Willingham for pulling strings like a boss! Partied out Active heads arose each morning to Analog/Gravis prepared bagels and Mimosa’s and Sabre got down with Bloody’s to put the pep back in their step, so heads could get out and shred. Another highlight of the weekend was the Matix Savage Games, which featured a brutal obstacle course of tricycling, pogo sticking, beer bonging and pie eating… Oh yeah, these boys and girls snowboarder too. A huge thanks goes to Oakley, Matix, Spy, Ezekiel, Vestal, Analog, Gravis, Vans, Signal Snowboards, Sabre Vision, Mammoth Mountain, Forum, Special Blend, 32, Penny Skateboards, Volcom, Rome Snowboards, LRG, and Gnarly for making this trip happen this year.

REEMOPEARSON

FRONTSIDE HURRICANE

ACTIVERIDESHOP.COM

PHOTO: DRAGONETTE

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REVOK, Shaun Neff & Oz // Mena Suvari // Chad Muska, Chip Neff & Alex Neff // Ryan Phillippe // Danny D // Samuel Rodriguez // MADSTEEZ // REVOK // POSE // Angel Cabada & Louie Vito // Caterina @ Aaron Levant // Emmanuelle Chriqui // Amy Smart // Taav & Tal Cooperman

The Sesame Street Art Show presented by Neff and The Seventh Letter was an incredible success. The entire weekend kicked off with a private showing of the Sesame Street inspired art collection to an invite-only crowd of art community supporters, celebrities and media on Friday night. With so many great pieces featured by artists like REVOK, MADSTEEZ, RIME and Mr. Cartoon, Known Gallery was completely packed for the duration of the night. The gallery doors exploded open for public viewing Saturday and maintained wall-to-wall occupants until the show ended Sunday night. All the paintings sold with proceeds beneﬁting City of Hope Pediatrics Department. Tal Cooperman and Aaron Levant curated the event that hosted Nightly celebrity news show, “Extra,” and CBS Los Angeles to cover the event. Celebs like Ryan Phillippe, Amy Smart, Ian Somerhalder, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Laura Prepon, Dirt Nasty and many others were in attendance to view the all the amazing art that stirs up at least one memory from everyone’s childhood.

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Photos: courtesy of Riviera // Catalina local Chris Arnold and a serious human payload // Ben Harper blessed a very fortunate crowd at Chi Chi Bar Saturday night // Mike Vallely putting on another show in his 25th year of professional skateboarding // Racers coming into turn 1 or Wrigley Road during an early Sunday morning heat // Resource Distribution and their friends Randy Seals and Chip Upton post “Haypocalypse” // Chris Pastras, Neil Hendrix & Mike V // Human trafﬁcking was allowed for one day on the island // Four of the fastest female downhill skater about to get down // Full speed scrubbing with style // KillMumma, David Garcia & Cody Hager - just another day

In 1977, a small group of elite downhill skaters took over the city of Avalon to participate in the original “Catalina Classic”. A 250-yard downhill racecourse tucked in the hills of an exotic little island located just 26 miles off the coast of California, yet a world away from the rat race just across the channel. These skaters, along with this event have inspired generations of riders and largely contributed to the lifestyle synonymous with our part of the World. With a huge nod of respect to the originals of downhill skating – Riviera Skateboards and our closest friends put on The Catalina Island Classic on May 5th-6th, 2012. A weekend long island skate invasion that brought this island community a mini-ramp demo featuring Mike Vallely of Elephant Brand Skateboards, a secret show at Chi Chi Bar with Ben Harper and 70 of the fastest male and female downhill skaters from around the world that competed in an invitation only downhill race event with a cash purse of $5000! Riviera Skateboards also donated the mini-ramp to the local Avalon skatepark for the kids to keep the good vibes going. The residents of Avalon, the spectators and all of the skaters helped to create what will hopefully stand as an annual event on one of the most beautiful islands in the world!

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Bro’d out grasser // The boys and their spoils // Bro ﬂippin’ out // Bro in the sky // Jenner Heller on his way to victory in the Oakley poker tournament // Frontside bro // Method bro // Shaka Gumbi // Little bros are always winners bro // Bonker fabulous

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Words: Richard Olivares :: Photos: Chris Martinez // Greetings from Anthony Ausgang // The Volcom Workshop transformed into a venue // Cheers ladies! // Dudes repping the Ausgang tees // Lacy & Lisa in proper style // Metal Jimmy bringing the vibe // Imperial Beer for the masses // Indian Burn leaving a mark // Spinning artwork, trip out!

Volcom teamed up with Anthony Ausgang for their Summer 2012 Featured buttons, vinyl and free hats for the takers. His art was also projected on Artist line. Ausgang is one of the founding fathers of the ‘lowbrow’ art the huge brick wall for an extra touch. movement. His colorful artwork puts off a warm psychedelic feel. Needless to say he is a leader in the underground art scene. Local Costa Mesa favorites, Indian Burn hit the stage and took the night to the next level. Their stage presence brought so much energy, the crowd On Thursday, May 3rd, Volcom threw a good old fashion party to show instantly started to twist and shout. Beer was sprayed, bottles were broken, off Ausgang’s masterpieces. In classic Volcom style, their workshop was and Metal Jimmy’s war cries had everyone stoked. With about 300 people turned into a stunning gallery of excellent art and good vibes. Many showed up at 8pm for the free pizza and endless amounts of Imperial Beer. My going off, it was hard for anyone to slow down. The music stopped at classic vinyl spun as the art did on the walls. As people checked out the midnight and the partygoers were told to bail. This was one for the books! art, Anthony greeted and shook many of hands. There were books, prints, People will be talking about that party until the next one…

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Photos: Mike Selsky & Alexis Gross // Hot property // Badass ladies of the night // Magda Wosinska of Green & Wood // Green & Wood // Corey Smith & Alice Davis // Magda Wosinska & Emily // Neen Williams & Al Partanen // Jacob McCabe & Noel Boyt hug it out // Wide-eyed crowd at the OFFSET premiere // Lizze and posse enjoying a cold one // COMUNE co-founder Sven Altmetz

The location of the premiere was in the notorious Kung Poa Kitty, located on Hollywood Blvd and Wilcox in Los Angeles. COMUNE converted the raw industrial space into a “Dada Wasteland,” complete with psychedelic lighting, a skate video, fog machine, and Corey Smith’s “Personal Pyramids” of all shapes and sizes. As the liquor flowed, the space filled with a plethora of skate folks, models, music junkies, as well as a colorful cast of athletes including Atiba Jefferson, Chad Muska, Neen Williams, Don Nguyen, and Nate Bozung. When the lights went dark and the roar of the crowd softened to a whisper, COMUNE’s skateboarding film “Offset” premiered. Skate rats and partygoers alike looked up wide-eyed as the film showcased COMUNE’s skate team in separate individual features surrounding one overall video. With no pause in the evening’s festivities, LA band Green & Wood, fronted by legendary Ethan Fowler, rocked the socks off attendees with their mind-bending Sabbath-like sounds.

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AR B OR

SU R F

RODGE R

R IDE R

E ALE S

P: Aaron Schall

A R B O R C O L L E C T I V E . C O M / S K AT E / A R B O R C O L L E C T I V E

Interview: Max Ritter :: Photo: Nolan Hall Allah Las wave the flag for the 1960’s Los Angeles that exists only in our dreams. The warm crackling hiss of their 45’s makes you feel like getting toes up and sunburned. Say hello to summertime and say hello to its significant other, the Allah Las. Happy June, let’s hope the marine layer burns off soon. Give us a quick run down on the band’s beginnings and how it all came together. The band came together more or less in Spencer’s parents’ basement, which serves as a storage space for his dad’s massive surfboard collection. It started with Spencer and Pedrum getting together and just riffing around on guitars in there once a week. Matt was asked to play drums because the three of them worked together at Amoeba Music, and Spencer and Matt had been friends since high school. After a week or so, Miles, who Spencer and Matt had also been friends with since high school, was asked to sing and play second guitar. Here’s a fun fact, some of the guys in the band didn’t even play instruments when you started around three years ago, correct? Matt is our Michael Clarke. The surf/skate culture of California obviously plays a big part in the band; do you find it hard leaving the coast for tour? It’s not really hard to leave home when you know you will always be coming back. There are elements of any place we go that we love and appreciate. But then there are those days when you’ve been freezing in the northern US for the last three weeks and you check the weather back home and it’s 77 degrees and sunny and you realize why California will always be home. Does the band keep the surfing and skating retro-ish as well, or are you guys shredding on the modern high performance sticks? We’re all avid retro-style hang gliders. It seems you guys really found the perfect producer to properly capture your sound in Nick Waterhouse. Talk about working with Nick and his contributions to your band. Nick’s great at running a recording session. Having an outsider’s opinion is pretty valuable in the studio, and it helps that Nick is someone whose tastes and opinions we respect, but with whom we are also close enough to be able to disagree with. We also love just hangin’ out with the guy, so studio time is something we all look forward to. Did he teach you the tucked in shirt steez? No, but he taught us how to tie our shoes and brush our teeth. We are seeing a whole new found appreciation for 60’s influenced music and analog recording techniques. This is something you guys are a part of. With that said, how do you balance the old with the new, put your own twist on things, and keep things fresh for modern ears? We do have a lot of old influences, but the fact that we’re a new band writing original music lends that balance. We started making music because we felt that too much of modern music sounds alike. We believe there is a fine-line between progress and regress, and because of that we tend to draw influences from many different places and time periods than those readily apparent to us. We strive to make music that’s timeless, not dated. Tell the good people when they can expect the full length and what’s next for Allah Las? Full length is due in September of this year. Until then, we’re going to be working on new material, heading across the pond for a minute and enjoying the summertime. You can get more updates from our Facebook and Twitter. Check out Innovative Leisure Records (innovativelesiure. net) for some Allah Lahs vinyl.

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Night Beats

The Satellite Los Angeles, CA May 5th, 2012

Is it a good show when there’s a handful of Bjork/Sinead O’Connor looking chicks lurking? I guess so. Or maybe you’re just in Silver Lake. One thing is certain - You can’t teach dance moves like the ones bass player guy was putting down. His pant’s fell off during the last song, drugs questionable. Night Beat’s from Seattle and is a jangly-fuzzygood-rukus. Chicks with shaved heads are also questionable.

Photo & Review: Max Ritter

Reviews: Max Ritter

Beastie Boys Licensed To Ill Def Jam

Mean Jeans On Mars Dirtnap Records

Cat Party / La Corde Rik L Rik 7” Resurrection Records

Still the greatest bunch of white dudes yelling rhymes. RIP MCA.

Are you living at mom’s, watching Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure yelling, “Mom! The MEATLOAF!” Me too. No worries, crack a tall boy and head to the record store because the sloppy Oregon pop-rockers Mean Jean’s new record is for you. While you’re at it you’ll want to scope their video for “Anybody Out There” and learn what goof-balling is all about. DAS WAS SUP.

Costa Mesa dudes remember inﬂuential punk vocalist Rik L Rik on their split 7-inch with SF band La Corde. Each takes a turn on a cover for the A-side and then lends an original for the B-side. It comes in all kinds of crazy colors. Also, be sure to sniff out Cat Party’s brand new full length entitled Rhapsody In Black where they get dark and throw shakas to post-punky bands like Wire, Joy Division, and Gang Of Four.

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Honey Badgers Crab Dudes EP 7” Cool Dude Records Don’t be stuck up because the Honey Badgers will call you out. They are anti-crab dudes and crab chicks, hence their theme song which we are backing 100 percent. The boys have uprooted their garage just over their fence to the Hurley campus where they shred guitars and skateboards daily and just get all weird. Their new 7-inch is quite good and a little bit in vein of classic punk like The Cramps and The Gun Club. Keep up with these maniacs and ﬁnd their music at loshoneybadgers.com

S M O R BY: G D E T S S N BL!S PRESE

AGE: 14 HOMETOWN: BARBADOS SPONSORS: LOST, ARNETTE, JAD A FAVORITE SURFER: JORDY SMITH & GABRIEL MEDINA Photo: Mark Harris

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AGE: 15 HOMETOWN: EL SEGUNDO, CA SPONSORS: OSIRIS SHOES, BON ES WHEELS AND BEARINGS, HOOPLA SKATEBOARDS, S-ONE HELMETS, 187 PADS, SOCAL SKATE SHOP, INDEPENDENT TRU CKS FAVORITE SKATERS: SEAN MALTO, BUCKY LASEK, LYN-Z ADAMS HAWKINS PASTRAN A photo: Russ Sakurai

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Rider: Tom Rezvan Photo: Robbie Crawford

Banzai Bowls Laguna Beach

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