BLISSS_Fuse3Fade_Julian2.indd 1
JULIAN WILSON #FLYHIGHER 6/11/14 10:01 AM
T H E
B A L A N C E
CHRISTIAN FLETCHER DOMESTIC
O F
O P P O S I T E S
BEAU FOSTER FOREIGN
DUSK
DAWN
WAR
PEACE
RVCA.COM
F E AT URED A R TIS T
BERT KRAK The RVCA Artist Network Program is an ongoing venture which aims to showcase the talent of accomplished as well as emerging artists who inspire our generation and push the boundaries of creativity; providing something of substance and culture.
CHRISTIAN FLETCHER SIGNAT URE COL L EC TION
VSLA_BLISS_Gibbens_July14.indd 2
P L A I N S I G H T B O A R D S H O RT
Brendon Gibbens
Creators & Innovators
VISSLA.COM
6/12/14 5:23 PM
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
“WE’RE DOING WHATEVER WE WANT” SEE THE REST OF THE INTERVIEW AT YOUTUBE.COM/ARNET TE CONNECT WITH US | ARNETTE.COM | @ARNETTE | #LIVEARNETTE
ARN_14Q2_AD_Blisss_Decenzo_21x13_625.indd All“Pages
©2014
Š2014 Luxottica Group. All rights reserved.
6/19/14 5:03 PM
THE NEW PORTABLE BLUETOOTH SPEAKER FROM HOUSE OF MARLEY
#MUSICCONNECTS
Smith_BL!SSS_YADIN_JULY_21X13.625.pdf
1
6/9/14
10:03 AM
— Yadin Nicol
E = D I D
I D B 8 6 G : N
E = D I D
the Townsend
I D B 8 6 G : N
smithoptics.com
F E AT U R I N G
DVS_Bliss_Torey3_21x13_625.indd 1
P H OTO : YO O N S U L
PHOTO: SEU TRINH
TOREY 3
P H OTO : YO O N S U L
PHOTO: SEU TRINH
TOREY PUDWILL
Y O U J O I N E D T H E D V S F A M I LY T H E D A Y Y O U S TA R T E D S K AT E B O A R D I N G PA R T I C I PAT E @ D V S S K AT E B O A R D I N G O R D V S S H O E S . C O M / / PA S S T H E F I R E
6/24/14 1:30 PM
RANDOMS // 32 SUMMER ESSENTIALS // 38 HUEMAN // 42 LOVE LETTER // 44 THE GET TOGETHER // 46 NEVER2501 // 48 INSTAGRAM // 50 SUPER TASTE // 52 LEGACY // 56 SCAVENGER // 58 POW! WOW! TAIWAN // 60 JANETTE BECKMAN // 64 A YEAR ON THE ROAD WITH CHRIS BURKARD // 68 THE ART OF JEREMY GEDDES // 74
POWELL PERALTA EAST COAST // 82 FASHION // 88 A FIELD TRIP TO BOCAS DEL TORO // 96 DAN SPARANGA PHOTO PROFILE // 102 IM.PROMP.TU BALDFACE LODGE // 106 TOY MACHINE X VOLCOM COLAB PARTY // 112 MOAH : CELEBRATING THE SPIRIT OF SUMMER // 114 STANCE : OPEN HOUSE // 116 TILLY’S 7th CHARITY GOLF TOURNAMENT // 118 RAEN : I HAD TOO MUCH TO DREAM LAST NIGHT // 120 PLAUGE VENDOR // 124 CD REVIEWS // 126 GROMS // 132
Artist: Jeremy Geddes “Hypostasis”
T H E
B A L A N C E
MAHINA ALE X ANDER NAT URE SAND YIN
O F
O P P O S I T E S
ASHLEY SMITH INDUSTRY ASPHALT YA NG
RVCA.COM
Ezekielusa.com
-EZ-
T I M E -XIX-
JULY_BLISSS.indd 2
-KL-
Ezekielusa.com
EZEKIELUSA.COM
-XIX-
6/18/14 1:56 PM
masthead
EDITOR-IN-CHI EF nick kalionzes nick@blisssmag.com
EDITOR joey marshall joey@blisssmag.com
CREATI V E DIREC TOR mark paul deren : madsteez madsteez@madsteez.com
A SSISTANT E DITOR spencer pirdy spencer@blisssmag.com
E DITOR AT LARGE liz rice mcCray liz@blisssmag.com
SNOW E DITOR jon francis jon@blisssmag.com
MUS I C EDITOR max ritter max@blisssmag.com
ADV E RTIS ING 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, Bryce Kanights, Arto Sarri, Anthony Acosta, Cameron Strand, Brian Fick, Deville Nunns, Gage Thompson, Derek Bahn, Tom Cozad, Robbie Crawford, Ryan Donahue, Joe Foster
CONTRIBUTORS 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, Richie Olivares, Eric Meyers, Kelly Shannon, JP Olson BL!SSS Magazine 413 31st Street
JULY 2014
Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.blisssmag.com
DANNY FULLER THROUGH THE EYES OF CHRIS STRALEY
RAEN.COM
Disclaimer: Although all best efforts are made to avoid the same, we reserve the right to publish unintentional mistakes and/or factual errors which may occur on a monthly basis. No responsibility is assumed by the publishers for unsolicited materials/articles/letters/advertising and all submissions will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright and/or appropriate licensing purposes subject to Blisss’ right to edit and comment editorially. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine reflect the opinions of their respective authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editorial team. Blisss Magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising matter which may reflect negatively on the integrity of the magazine. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form [print or electronic] without prior written consent from the publisher.
ARTIST: JEREMY GEDDES “THE STREET”
If your favorite shop isn’t receiving BL!SSS Magazine please contact info@blisssmag.com
" ! "
" " " " ! " " " " " " " " " " " " " " ! " " " " " " " " "
nixon.com
HORIZON_MARBLEIZED_SUPERTIDE_BLISSS_10.5x13.625.indd 1
6/24/14 4:55 PM
randoms
DAGGERS RULE II
STRANGE RUMBLINGS There’s been a lot of excitement in the lead up to Globe’s newest flick Strange Rumblings in Shangri-La. So far we’ve seen some teaser footage that’s absolutely mindboggling. Basically, the Globe team has been scoring all over its namesake for the past two years, compiling golden footage and leaving it to director Joe G to serve us up with a film of epic proportions. And now, the time has come for us all to enjoy the likes of Nate Tyler, Creed Mctaggart, Brendon Gibbons, Dion Agius, Noa Deane, Taj Burrow, CJ and Damien Hobgood and more lofting, spinning, slicing and flowing all over the big screen. If you’ve seen a Globe film, you know they’re out of this world. And if you’ve been to a Globe party, you know they’re unbelievably fun. So, make sure to be at the world premiere of Strange Rumblings in Shangri-La on July 31st during the US Open of Surfing. It’s going to be amazing! Visit globe.tv for more info.
The Daggers Rule II event is coming to us this month, so get ready to rock and roll. The event will feature framed, hand-painted denim vests by the original Dagger skate crew. There’ll be a special Dagger honoree ceremony initiating new members into the Dagger crew, a showing of the 1986 classic Thrashin’, drinks, live performances and anything else you could want. Notable skaters who’ll be on hand include Tony Alva, Christian Hosoi, Greg Lutzka, Jake Brown, Steve Olson, while also in attendance will be artists La Chappa, Chloe Trujillo, Richard Villa III and many more. It’s all going down on July 26th at Exhibit A Gallery in LA at 1056 South Fairfax Avenue, so make sure to be there for what promises to be an insane event.
DOPE SKATE WAX We generally say nope to dope, but in this case we’re making an exception because we’re talking about Dope Skate Wax. Dope Skate Wax has been around since the ‘80s, and it is a big reason why skaters have been having fun on every nook and corner of skateable terrain from the South Bay to NYC for decades. They’ve got a wide range of blends with catchy names like Cali Green, Purple Urkle, Pineapple Express and Blueberry Kush. But don’t forget: we’re talking about skate wax here, ok? So, remember to say yes to Dope Skate Wax – it’ll enhance all aspects of your skate life. Visit your local shop or head to dopeskateboardproducts.com for all things dope.
MODOM
VANS US OPEN OF SURFING It’s time once again for by far the biggest surf contest on the West Coast, if not the entire world – the Vans US Open of Surfing. That’s right, this year it looks as though Vans will be taking the event back to its roots by gearing the atmosphere toward family and community, as it will feature movie nights and art exhibitions. Of course, the event will have all the usual action-packed lineup including the ASP men’s and women’s competitions, the Vans Joel Tudor Duct Tape Invitational, and Van Doren Invitational Skate and BMX contests. It’s all going down on the south side of the HB Pier from July 26th – August 3rd so make sure to stop on by to revel in some world-class action sports, art and culture. For more information, visit vansusopenofsurfing.com.
32
Odds are you’ve seen the brand Modom all around the Web or in your local surf shop, as the company has made quite a buzz since its inception. Modom is a surf accessories brand founded in Tourquay, Australia, that specializes in traction, leashes, board bags and more. They’ve got a pretty heavy presence here in the States already with their creative packaging, modern designs, quality materials and roster of ultra-talented riders allowing them to stand out. We were lucky enough to get a sweet little care package of our own, and we must say, the proof is in the pudding with their products. Next time you’ve got a new sled that needs a pad, leash or any other accessorizing, check out the Modom section in your local shop or visit modomsurf.com.
randoms
CPT FIN X DION Captain Fin is always popping out new products to keep us excited and on our toes. They’ve just released Dion Agius’s signature fin after plenty of R&D and handson input from Dion himself. Dion’s fin, which has a 4.5 base and a 4.5 height, is crafted to excel in all conditions but is ideal for fast, punchy beach-break punting. It’s basically a perfect fin set for Southern California, and it is versatile enough that you’ll want to bring it with you while traveling. Also new on the Captain Fin front is the addition of the FCS two-tab system to their arsenal. Now you’ll be able to choose whichever system you feel suits you and your surfing best. Look for the Dion fin in the two-tab FCS system to be hitting your local shops soon, and make sure to keep up with the Captain Fin crew at captainfin.com.
RED BULL SKATE SPACE International Go Skateboarding Day took place this past month on June 21st. While the day was being celebrated all over the world, a special unveiling of Seattle’s first skateable art structure went down at Jefferson Park courtesy of Red Bull Skate Space. After the piece was revealed to the public, Torey Pudwill, Ryan Sheckler and a handful of others put on the structure’s inaugural session. Pudwill and artist C.J. Rench were the masterminds behind the designing of the Red Bull Skate Space, and by all accounts they nailed it. Throughout the day the structure was put to the test by pros, kids and even spectating parents who sat on the art piece to watch their children rip. Overall, the Emerald City is gleaming from this new addition that fuses together art and performance. Until next year, keep on skating!
THE GET TOGETHER Summertime is in full swing, and you know what that means… Plenty of barbecues, parties, and all-around good-time gatherings. House of Marley is on the ball with a new product to spice up whichever form of hangout you’re throwing with a new, fresh-looking boombox, the Get Together. The Get Together merges portability and power, giving you supreme quality of sound wherever the party chooses to go. To make matters even better, this boombox has looks to kill with stylish wood paneling on the fronts and light grey highlighting the speakers and controls. House of Marley cares about the environment, so you can feel satisfied knowing that your favorite tunes are reverberating out of a boombox made of sustainable materials. We suggest you get jamming to your local retailer or to thehouseofmarley.com to grab yourself one of these today.
DUVIN DOG DAYS Our friends over at Duvin, a.k.a. Florida’s Filthy Flamingo Surf Gang, are primed and ready for summer with the arrival of their new collection, Dog Days. The line itself seamlessly meshes style with practicality, giving you tanks with the brand’s signature sunglass holders, uniquely colored button downs with matching shorts and surfboard, and five-panel snapback hats to give you a little shade while enhancing your style. The whole line does an excellent job of embodying the season we all look forward to, and it just seems fitting to have at least one of these items in your summer apparel arsenal. Make sure to look for Duvin’s Dog Days collection at your local shop, or navigate on over to duvindesign. com to elevate your summer vibe today. 34
BANZAI BOWLS SAN CLEMENTE Joe Bard and his lovely wife Tiana have furthered their Banzai Bowls empire, having opened up a new store in San Clemente just this past month. That’s right, the original acai cafe is now pumping out scrumptious bowls only a quick jaunt away from Trestles, so it’s perfect for anyone passing through in need of nutrition. With a great setup right in the heart of town, this’ll be the fourth and furthest-south location added to a roster that includes stores in Laguna Beach, Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach. Next time you’re famished from a long day at Lowers or in need of a healthy and wholesome breakfast, lunch or dinner, stop on by the new Banzai Bowls San Clemente store at 120 South El Camino Real.
LIRA 2014 SUMMER COLLECTION W W W. L I R AC LOT H I N G . C O M
randoms
BRUSHWOOD Here’s a brand that gets wood – tree wood, that is. They go by the name of Brushwood and are a band of backcountry Jersey boys that utilize every tree’s own unique grain, pattern and color in creating one of-a-kind wooden shades. They’re not like the rest of the composite all-wood companies out there; they’re creating shades from 100% hand-drawn designs that are as unique as the trees they’re coming from. The secret goes back to Brushwood’s roots in northern New Jersey where the company seed was planted in its rural woods. Each model is original, just like nature intended every tree to be. Make sure to look for the release of their brand new collection this month, and visit them online at BrushwoodUSA.com.
RIDE IT OR HANG IT
NEEDLE TO THE EYE I don’t know what ‘s going on with Corban Campbell, but he sure seems to have the worst of luck lately. The Vissla surf team manager was down in Nicaragua earlier this month, just enjoying himself and catching a few waves, when outta nowhere a needlefish comes greyhounding towards him and stabs him in the eye. Dumbfounded and blind, he made his way to the beach to assess the situation. Fast-forward two weeks – he’s seen two eye specialists and has had two invasive surgeries to remove over fifteen pieces of broken needlefish nose and needlefish teeth that were lodged behind his eye socket into his skull. Man, talk about a freakish mishap – wrong place, wrong time I guess. We just wanted to give Corban a little shoutout wishing him a speedy recover. See ya back in the lineup soon, buddy.
FLAMENT Anyone who’s been in, around or even paid slight attention to the skate industry in the past couple of decades knows of Tim Gavin. Tim’s signature shoe with DVS was one of the best-selling shoes they’ve ever had, and he definitely knows the ins and outs of the industry, especially when it comes to making a quality shoe. That’s why we were pumped to hear that his highly anticipated brand Filament will be hitting specialty skateboard stores this month. With a new approach to footwear, Filament is offering quality kicks with a focus on performance and technology, and they plan to have a point of differentiation with color, technology and distribution that focuses on the core specialty door. The Filament team is growing with more additions to be announced soon, but the current roster is Ben Nordberg, Jacob Walder and Alec Jamir. To keep up with all Filament news visit, FilamentBrand.com. 36
Our good friends Jason Cohn and Stanton Hartsfield are up to it again. The duo who, go by the name Scavenger, first burst onto the scene with their now iconic die-cut-shaped book titled Surf to Skate. The book features their collection of rare and original skateboards from the 1950s and 1960s and retraces skateboarding’s early roots. This time they have moved into the 1970s, but instead of producing another book they have been scouring local thrift shops and flea markets in search of vintage Hawaiian shirts that they cut up and put under fiberglass to create one-of-a-kind, surf-style skateboards suitable for riding or hanging. Their premium creations, called Scavenger Boards, are entirely handcrafted in Orange County and can be found for sale online at ScavengerBrand.com. Check them out on Instagram as well – @Scavengerbrand.
BEAR FLAG LIDO We’ve been lucky enough to have our office situated right next door to the original Bear Flag Fish Company since its opening, and Bear Flag owners Thos Carson is always popping his head in to share fresh fish with us. Needless to say, we’ve grown quite attached to their delicious menu. Over the years, Bear Flag has exploded in popularity as one of the top fish markets/restaurants in all of the Southern California area, with both the original store and the Crystal Cove location boasting lines out the door on a daily basis. Now, they’re moving to a third location just down the road in Lido Village. The new spot offers a fine dining experience with spacious seating, a full-service bar, plenty of parking and a case filled with the freshest seafood around. It’s basically the biggest and best addition to the Bear Flag family thus far. Check the new store out next time you’re in the area at 3421 Via Lido in Newport Beach. Thanks, Omar wey!
1. Spy Optics, Neptune - $169.95, spyoptics.com // 2. The House of Marley, Lively Up Leather Scout Pack - $199.99, thehouseofmarley.com // 3. RVCA, RVMBRELLA Beach Umbrella - $39.50, rvca.com // 4. ArtLife Clothing, High Dive Tank - $37, swell.com/artlife // 5. Volcom, Stone Surf Jacket - $85, volcom.com // 6. Freestyle, The Shark Clip - $55, freestyleusa.com // 7. Globe, Strange Rumblings Boardshort - $59.95, globe.tv // 8. Vans, JT Trimline - $64.50, vans.com // 9. Ezekiel, Payne Hat - $29, ezekielusa.com // 10. Vestal, Naples - $90, vestalwatch.com //11. Mission Belt, Americano - $39.95, missionbelt.com // 12. Matix, Lazy Days Tank - $27, matixclothing.com // 13. Hurley, Phantom Fuse 3 Sport - $125, hurely.com // 14. Arbor Collective, Axis - $199.99, arborcollective.com // 15. Raen Optics, The Vista - $125, raen.com // 16. DVS, Rico CT - $59, dvsshoes.com // 17. Otis Eyewear, Nowhere To Run - $180, otiseyewear.com 38
GAVIN GILLETTE IN THE FREMONT FLEECE
FEATURING * SLIM FIT * ZIP HOODY WITH MESH LINED HOOD SEE IT ALL AT ALPINESTARS.COM
1. Nike, SB Paul Rodriguez 8 - $160, nike.com // 2. Explosive Clothing, Flagship Hat - $28.99, explosiveclothingusa.com // 3. Neff, Galacticat Tank - $30, neffheadwear.com // 4. Rebel8, Life’s a Beach Towel - $38, rebel8.com // 5. Arnette, Drop Out - $99.95, arnette.com // 6. Alpinestars, Wedging Boardshort $59.95, alpinestars.com // 7. VISSLA, Plain Sight Boardshort - $55, vissla.com // 8. Crap Eyewear, No Wave - $60, crapeyewear.com // 9. iNi Cooperative, Brando ¾ Tee - $36.99, inicooperative.com // 10. Captain Fin Company, Original Anchor Towel - $32, captanfin.com // 11. Nixon, Marbelized Supertide - $200, nixon.com // 12. Roark, Hemingway - $62, roark.com // 13. Smith Optics, Chroma Pop Audible - $269, smithoptics.com // 14. Etnies, Scout Women - $59.99, etnies.com // 15. Imperial Motion, Mercer Denim - $69.95, imperialmotion.com // 16. Lira Clothing, Paisley Trunk - $50, liraclothing.com // 17. Black Flys, Santeria Fly - $80, flys.com 40
LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY
CORY LOPEZ
SHARK CLIP NB
100 M
NYLON BAND
NYLON BAND
NIGHT VISION
WATER RESISTANCE
FREESTYLEUSA.COM
Photo: Todd Mazer Words: Dustin Clendenen For LA-based graffiti artist HUEMAN, taking on a 90-foot wall as canvas doesn’t quite cut it any more. A few years ago, she started venturing outside the gallery walls and making a name for herself in the dude-dominated, street-art scene with some high-profile projects all over Los Angeles, including a prominent wall three blocks from City Hall during the height of LA’s mural ordinance fervor. In more ways than one, her work has gotten bigger with every project, and this perhaps finally culminated at the Ian Ross Gallery in San Francisco earlier this year, where HUEMAN spent five days on a hydraulic lift painting “Urduju Warrior Princess” on a massive two-story, 90-foot wide wall. For most of those five days, Hueman was hidden under a hoodie, baggy pants and a gas mask, the gritty counterpart to the beautiful
42
work she was creating. But when she showed up at Hollywood’s Project Gallery on June 5 for the opening reception of her new show, “Between the Lines,” she was in a simple, fashion-forward black dress, a stunning statement necklace and a pair of truly killer stilettos. In many ways, HUEMAN has always been a versatile character, able to seamlessly traverse the different worlds in which she works. When you talk to her, she’s incredibly polite, gracious and clear in what she has to say about the concepts she’s exploring. On the other hand, she’s able to work shoulder-toshoulder with some of the biggest names (and egos) in street art. At Project Gallery, the walls around her are adorned with 12 new artworks she’s been freestyling in her downtown studio for the past month, each one independent, confined to their own
canvas. Compared to the more than 1,350 square foot canvas she painted outside the Ian Ross Gallery in San Francisco, or the warehouse-filling RITUAL she created last summer, “Between the Lines” doesn’t seem like her most ambitious work to date. But looks can be deceiving, which is one of the themes of this new collection. According to the artist, “Between the Lines” is, “About finding hidden messages; obscurity and clarity; secrets; and looking deeper.” She explains, “When people look at art, sometimes they look for things that may or may not be there... I want to talk about the tendency to place meaning and significance in what we see. I want to examine the notso obvious: subtexts, innuendos, and the things that go unsaid. I want viewers to literally read between the lines.” Perhaps for this show, at least
subconsciously, HUEMAN is working with more than spray paint and acrylic. One of the new pieces, entitled “Pink Puppet,” depicts a fragmented, pink-haired beauty staring sadly at something we can’t see. Hueman’s own coiffe was dyed the same color around the time she started working on the show. Whether intentional or not, HUEMAN’s work is reaching the point where there’s much more to it than meets the eye. And that kind of depth has been inevitable. A freestyler to the core, HUEMAN’s process has always been to explore, splashing paint on her canvas and finding images in the random splatters. Reading between the lines, this might be the start of a whole new phase. To learn more about HUEMAN, follow her on Twitter @Hueman__, Instagram @Hueman_, Facebook. com/huemantart and her website, HuemanNature.com.
CHAOS MEETS CULTURE DERRICK DISNEY // PSYCHEDELIC SOLUTION DBLANC.COM
D'BLANC_BLISS_JULY14.indd 1
6/11/14 2:10 PM
Words: Liz McCray
What’s going on in Baltimore? Baltimore has great food, great painted signs and great music and record stores. It’s really diverse and cultural in spite of its small size. And people are willing to be engaged, which really helps with what we’re doing. For our readers who may not know, what are you doing? Talking to people and translating conversation into visual communication. Will you tell us the story behind “I AM HERE BECAUSE IT’S HOME” and “FOREVER TOGETHER”? The first line came from Mr. Chris, a neighbor that has put in 20 years of effort to make the community the livable place it is today. Just by living in East Baltimore he has forced the local government to provide for the neighborhood in many seen and unseen ways. The police told him to move because they didn’t want to risk sending in officers, and when they asked him why he would stay he said what we painted – “I am here because it’s home.” It works well with all that meaning or just at face value. That’s the same with the second phrase. I talked to as many neighbors as I could engage in three days and I got a vibe that people liked a lot of what East Baltimore had for them, but they wished for more unity. So “Forever Together” reverses the wornout phrase, and it speaks plainly and in an open-ended way so people can fit it to their own feelings. That strategy paid off in the hardest way imaginable when Janice Jacobs-Hudson, easily the person with the strongest voice
44
in the block, told us the sad story of Tonya, who in the house that now is the first T in TOGETHER, murdered her six children some 22 years ago, an act that probably gutted the block along with her house. Miss Janice sighed and reflected that we couldn’t have been more on the money with our phrasing. We were naturally devastated, but we took real heart in knowing that we spoke to the burden she has carried all these years, and she is ushering the neighborhood to a better place, and these houses, awash in memory and despair, will become a park, a place that will finally regain some peace. How did you come up with this particular Love Letter? Why Baltimore?
We were called. And when called, we answer. What kind of research goes into a project like this? Two parts listening, one part talking. How long did this mural take and who funded it? Five days. BOPA and the city of Baltimore, and our proceeds are going back into the neighborhood. Can you tell us what’s next? Painting at the Strand Bookstore and making paintings to advance art history.
SPY-2014-AD-CROSSTOWN-BLISSS-LINDSAY.indd 1
6/18/14 3:11 PM
ALLDAYEVERYDAY M SS NG P ECES
EXPOSURE
PSY-OP
Music is a universal language that drives and delivers us. The House of Marley celebrates that spirit of sound with the launch of The Get Together campaign, featuring the portable Get Together audio system. As one of the most recognized artists throughout the world, Bob Marley’s music has touched every continent, every country, and every culture. The Get Together celebrates his legacy and impact, and it goes beyond that to make it a personal exploration of your journey, your victories and your soundtrack. It’s about how YOU see and hear your world, and how that defines who you are and how you live your life. Get Together also celebrates the creative community at large as a connective and collective platform for inspired stories, new sounds and an organic energy drawing from disciples and ambassadors from the worlds of dance, film, sports, cuisine, and of course, music. It’s about the spirit
46
of sound amplified to a broader social movement that speaks to a fresh and unifying momentum. To celebrate the campaign, four acclaimed boutique motion studios were commissioned to each create an original video about The Get Together. Using the concept of how one person, one idea, one voice, one object can become a catalyst and magnet for connection and discovery, each piece reflects a distinctive, creative approach. The studios include PSY-OP, ALLDAYEVERYDAY, M SS NG P ECES and EXPOSURE and were shot in New York City and Jamaica. A microsite on houseofmarley. com features the edits, as well as activations, event information, and user-generated content. A dual-launch event will take place in New York City and in Kingston, Jamaica, so be sure to log on to HouseOfMarley.com to watch the videos and get more event info.
PSY-OP
Interview: Liz McCray
This has been a month of amazing murals. Between POW!WOW!TAIWAN and the amazing installations popping up all over Taiwan (featured in this issue of BL!SSS Mag), Art Scape Festival in Sweden, the mural festival in Montreal, Canada, Clare Rojas with Luggage store on Market Street… the list goes on and on, thus making the “Mural of the Month” an almost impossible decision. Going outside of the box with a bizarre process of elimination, some radio silence and inneroffice bickering, the decision was made and the choice is… Italian artist Never2501, whose most recent mural was done in Montreal, Canada. Never2501 is known for his signature monochromatic line art, his wavy lines that create zebraesque stripes, teasing the eyes with an organic 3-D effect. Where is this piece located and what do you call it? The peace is located in
48
Montreal, Canada, and was part of the mural festival. The title is “Adaptation1” or in Italian “Adattamento1.” Why the “Nomadic Experiment”? Will you explain? The Nomadic Experiments are ongoing projects that change over time. Lived days and visited places will be time and space within which the artist experiments different forms, materials and ideas based on the concept that space could provide the most precious of materials and time should be the main instrument for the transformation of the first. The development of sitespecific interventions, after a previous design phase, will be made in relation to the changes arisen from the encounter between project theory and its manifestation in reality. The creative intent of the intervention, would be it painting, sculpture, installation, print, responds to the need
to break away from reality to approach another reality. – G.Matta The elements really played a part in this mural. How did it affect the adaptation of this piece? How were you still able to do your lines? “Adaptation1/Adattamento1” is part of the Nomadic Experiment project. There were two days that I could not paint in the rain, so I decided to use it instead of waiting for the rain to stop in Montreal.
original plan? Will you give us a little insight into this piece? I never have a real project when I paint. My method is to elaborate several concepts for the same wall, and then when I am in front of the surface I decide which suits the best. Yes, this piece is “pokier” than others ‘cause originally I had in mind this image of a star inside a cave. It was one of the main concepts of the original wall.
This mural looks very large – just how big is it? Do you normally paint on this scale? Yes, I normally paint on this scale. For more check www.2501.org.uk. I don’t know really… maybe a couple of hundred meter square.
You painted this mural for the Montreal Mural Festival; can you tell us a little about the festival and how you got involved with it? The festival is super nice. I know the guys from Montreal since two years from Miami Basel. Canada has a lot of good artists, especially in Montreal – Labrona is one of my favorite artists for a long time.
This piece seems ‘pokier’ than your normal pieces with the pointing spheres. Was this a part of your
And lastly, where can people check out more of your work? www.2501.org.uk.
50
Photography: Dominic Petruzzi :: dominicpetruzziphoto.com :: @dominicpetruzzi Model: Brooke Hanmer :: @bhanmer :: Otto Models // Makeup & Hair: Bri Brancato :: @bribrancato
Remember when you were little and your friends would dare you to go into an abandoned house, but you’d get too scared at the thought of what might be in there waiting for you? Well, here’s what you were missing out on – a seductively poised goddess like Ms. Brooke Hanmer. That’s right, sometimes you just have to go in with blind faith and hope for the best. In this case, stumbling upon Brooke would definitely be a best-case scenario, as she is as well rounded a girl as you could hope to meet. Now that you’re a little older, a little braver, a little wiser, maybe you’ll start taking chances and getting outside your comfort zone. And the next time you’re trying to summon up some courage to do so, just use this photo of Brooke for inspiration.
52
Words: JP Olson :: Photos: Derek Bahn Sixty-nine ranflas from 12 different clubs sit on the ground on white walls outside a former airplane wing manufacturing facility. The last of Herbert Colby’s printing legacy radiates from palm trees and telephone polls rising out of West Side Mesa’s cracked ‘crete. As the lowriders glide right onto Hurley’s campus, Bobby Ruiz ushers them into one of their respective parking spaces, their resting place for the duration of the day ahead. C.R. Stecyk is seated on the asphalt, naturally poised behind his tripod, his camera an extension of his vision. Next to him, Mickey Hora, the legendary Aussie painter, patiently drags his cigarette with anticipation. Forty years ago, if a lowrider rolled up on you in Costa Mesa you either fought or ran; it meant somebody had called up a cousin in F-Troop to roll over from Santa Ana and quash a beef. Today is a different story; the Legacy show embodies a mutual respect between the different, yet similar, cultures. Some claim these cars come off as super flashy and ostentatious, but it runs a lot deeper than money; these cars are built, not bought. It’s an attitude thing. Both lowriding and skate and surf cultures are manifestations of the individual’s style, aesthetics, and grace; both have been regulated and legislated against since their genesis. Although surfing has deeper roots than its 20th century Southern California manifestations, you can’t describe the Califas lifestyle without it, nor can you deny the integral experience of seeing your first lowrider as a kid or bombing your first hill. The emergence of these cultures is how we define ourselves at large. We draw our strength from diversity; Legacy embodies the harmony that exists between these immersions.
Albert De Alba Jr. & his dad made huge contributions
56
Compton David supporting
Rolling in style
Carlos of Groupe
Julian and his father Mike Ness of Social Distortion
Mat Egan stops for a photo op
Some of the cars looked out of this world
Three wheel motion
Green Day’s Billie Joe representing
Stecyk was all about this Fleet-line
The Gypsy Rose in all her glory
Risk and Dakota representing peace on the westside
Love at ďŹ rst site
El Rey engine
Curators Bobby Ruiz and C.R. Stecyk III
Ryan Hurley and Bobby Ruiz
White girl wasted
Stecyk, Paul, Gus, Bobby, Franco, Compton, O.g. Abel
The Rag Tops
The Hurley Hogs
SCAVENGER: THE SEARCH FOR THE HOLY GRAIL Words: Spencer Pirdy :: Derek Bahn If you were at the Hurley Legacy show this past month then there’s no doubt that your eyes were agape with what was on display wherever you turned. It’s not everyday that you walk into a lot filled with custom lowriders crafted to perfection. But the lowriders weren’t the only four-wheeled classics stealing the show. Keeping with the Legacy theme, Scavenger was on hand to exhibit an installation of vintage skateboards that just about blew the lid off of every individual who beheld. Instantly, people gravitated toward the installation, as stories unveiling the history behind the boards emerged, and all the while founders Jason Cohn and Stanton Hartsfield sat back and watched their creation come to life, just how they’d envisioned it. A few years back, when Scavenger was still just a whisper in the mind, Jason was visiting his family back east for Christmas Eve, and after a hardy meal and a few rounds of eggnog, the majority of the Cohn family had gone to sleep. But not Jason, as he was midway through a crucial bid on a skateboard he’d been dreaming of acquiring for years – the Sidewalk Mustang. The bidding went on until midnight on the East Coast, and Jason excitedly put down $575 on the board, feeling confident about his offer, before laying his head down for the night. At 11:59 Jason’s phone got a ‘ding’ and he was alerted to the fact that he’d been outbid. The final bid, $576. He’d been beaten out by one whole dollar. The sting would not wear off quickly, but all was not lost. Jason eventually did find his Sidewalk Mustang when he met his future business partner, Stanton Hartsfield. Now, Stanton and Jason are the co-founders of Scavenger, and they have an exuberantly eclectic collection of vintage skateboards under the Scavenger label that’s growing every single day.
Their skateboards range from early 1960s surf skates, space race boards, car-inspired designs and just about anything and everything in between that’s highly sought after. The two still look to the Sidewalk Mustang as the unifying board in their broad collection though. “No matter who gravitates to it, we always kind of sit in the back and laugh about it,” Stanton says. Scavenger is far from any normal collecting partnership. Jason and Stanton have forged a path that’s unprecedented, and done so primarily on their own. From flea markets to late-night meet-ups in sketchy alleyways, they’ve scavenged in every way possible. They liken it to a never-ending search for the “Holy Grail” of skateboard artifacts. And there’s also the way in which they exhibit their collection that makes them so unique. It’s not done in a timeline fashion, nor in the way you’d see artifacts in a museum. Instead, they use an artistic method that seeks to provoke dialogue, taking the viewer on his or her own individual journey. “For us, we like to show it all together as an art installation and let the viewer interact with it, whether it’s as a holistic representation or maybe some people like to look at it in a segmented way, consuming it on their own terms,” Jason says. The whole process of telling a story, educating and sharing is what Jason and Stanton have always been attached to since day one, and the way they’ve stayed true to this idea is inspiring in itself. It’s not everyday that you find individuals going out of their way to offer a portal to the past, the heritage of skateboarding in this instance, while consciously connecting the dots to where we are today. With their ever-expanding collection and the possibility of parlaying into other sectors of the collectible world, the future of Scavenger is a sincerely bright one for all who come in contact. To find out more information on Scavenger, visit ScavengerBrand.com.
58
Words: MADSTEEZ :: Photos: Brandon Shigeta All I can picture is James Jean, topless with his silky, straight-black, waist-long hair equivalent to a prized-winning thoroughbred, singing like an angel just like Will Ferrell at the Catalina Fucking Wine Mixer in Step Brothers. Rewind to two weeks earlier, where I was passing through a double typhoid fever screening to enter Taipei for POW! WOW! Taiwan. A few minutes down the road from leaving the airport the first thing you see is a massive Chinesestyle building wearing numerous huge “Swastikas,” which is definitely strange seeing this even though in the Chinese culture the word swastika still means good. Next stop was the Treasure Hill Artist Village, which was our home for the next two weeks and was a newly renovated artist living space that looked like a cross between Mr. Miagi’s dojo and a luxury Brazilian Favela (if there is such a thing). I was extremely surprised how lush, green, clean and colorful the overall landscape was. Only in my dreams could I imagine purpleand-orange freeway overpasses, but in Taiwan that shit is real! Larry Chen and Jasper Wong led a diverse international team of some of the usual POW! WOW! suspects, such as Arron De La Cruz, Apex, INSA, Kamea Hadar Brendan Monroe, RONE, James Jean, Kristin Farr, Dabs1, WOES, Will Barras, Sheryo, The Yok along with regional talents such as Reach, Mr. OGAY, Bobo, Debe, Zishi and Seazk, to name a few. I don’t know how Larry did it, but he gained the authorization and approval from the Taiwanese government for us to paint murals on buildings throughout Taipei’s hotspots as well as the international zoo. I must say, the zoo location was absolutely amazing. Picture the San Diego Zoo, times the size by 1,000 and throw it in the middle of a Jurassic Park rain forest. We literally had “ALL ACCESS” at the zoo, which meant we could do whatever the fuck we wanted with whatever the fuck animal we wanted. And for future reference, I wouldn’t suggest trying to cuddle with a giant panda in the middle of the night after drinking a pint of cobra snake blood.
thinking, ‘Holy Fuck, there’s no way this is possible.’ INSA, conveniently wasn’t due to arrive for few more days so I was stuck figuring out all the logistics on how to actually make it happen. Since the wall was so big, the only way to paint it was to use a swing stage, which is similar to type of lift window cleaners use that’s anchored from the top and hydraulically lowered by two cables. When the two swing stages showed up they were fully assembled but had to be disassembled to be put into place since there was a pinballesque hell of shrapnel at the base of the wall. After they finished reassembling the stages, for some awesome reason, there were 10 or so bolts left over. When I tried to ask them about my concern of the missing bolts, they just smiled and laughed cause they had absolutely no idea what the fuck I was saying. INSA came the next night so the only way to stay on schedule was to start that night. Straight off from 20 hours of flying, I made INSA strap into our fake seatbelt harnesses (that would actually probably cut you in half if you fell), yellow hard hats, and we went up the wall with our hired driver. We asked the driver to take us to the top, which was a 20-minute-long Tower of Terror ride where I was ready to elevator drop to my death at any moment. The wind wasn’t even blowing that hard, but when you’re that high off the ground the swing stage would fly 10 feet away from the wall and slam into the wall hard enough to give you whiplash. I’m not particularly scared of heights but when we finally reached the top, I literally pissed out the left side of my short shorts because I was laughing so hard from being so scared. INSA was as pale white as if he had seen a ghost and couldn’t even speak in complete sentences. We talked like little schoolgirls contemplating if it was even worth painting since we both had kids. We had an unspoken “Who’s the bigger pussy contest,” waiting for the other person to throw in the towel so neither of us had to admit it. To add to our little episode, a monsoon rainstorm was drenching our pussy lips and when the swing stage is only held by two wires that were soaking wet, we felt that much safer.
INSA and I had coordinated a few weeks before that we wanted to collaborate together. We got to see the specs of the walls before and we thought why not, let’s do the biggest one. Not only did INSA want to paint the biggest wall but he wanted us to paint one of his infamous “GIF-ITI’S,” which would be the world’s largest. For those who don’t know, a “GIF-ITI” is a primitive form of animation where the mural is painted, photographed, re-painted and photographed up to eight times and then compiled into an animated gif where the painting infinitely loops and comes to life. The whole time up until actually seeing the wall in person, I was all for it.
After five 10-hour days of painting in 100 degree, 100% humidity and monsoon-like conditions, we fucking did it! We painted the world’s largest “GIF-ITI.”
Standing at the bottom of the building, I was looking up and
And as Aaron De La Cruz would say, “Go big or go RONE.”
Taipei
To see the “GIF-ITI” in action and everything from POW! WOW! Taiwan, go to powwowhawaii.com. A big thank you to the POW! WOW! crew, Larry, Jasper, Cherry, Miya, Vicky, Elaine, the 1XRUN crew, and the sponsors that made it possible: RVCA, Flexfit, Heineken, Montana and G-Shock
Candyland Overpass
Pissed Melody
60
WOES
Artist Village
MADSTEEZ x INSA
Jeff Hamada & James Jean
Dabs1 & Curly
Snake Blood
Apex
Will Barras
Debe
Rone x Aaron De La Cruz
Kristin Farr
James Jean
Bobo & GraďŹ nk
Kamea Hadar, Reach, Jeff Gress, Dzus, Debe, Easy & Bobo
Brendan Monroe & Candy Bird
WOES
r
Sheryo & The Yok
Mr Ogay
Big Daddy Kane
Words by Jen Disisto In her recent LA exhibit “Rebel Cultures” British photographer Janette Beckman showcased a cross-section of rebel movements that she has documented since the 1970s. Pollinated throughout her exhibition were iconic Punk and Hip Hop portraits of legends such as Joe Strummer and Run DMC. Somehow, what stood out equally from her expansive archive was another culture not documented nearly as much: the LA gang scene in the1980s. In the summer of 1982, Janette traveled to Los Angeles for her second time. While there, a writer friend took her to East LA where she was introduced to members of the East LA gang El Hoyo Maravilla and their crew and girlfriends. She brought with her a boxed set of 8 x 10 prints and proceeded to show them the British skinheads, punks, ska and rockabilly
64
kids she’d been photographing in England. She explained that these were the ‘gangs’ in the UK, and they agreed to let her take portraits of them to show people back in London. Janette was the first British person they had ever met and they shared a mutual curiosity for one another. They welcomed her that summer, and Janette naturally documented many facets of their life and the experience. She vividly recalls, “The gang members introduced me to their families, showed me the barrio and tried to explain how it was, ‘Livin’ la vida loca.’” In 2011, Dashwood Books published a collection of Janette’s photos of the HM Gang. One of the three girls Janette had photographed leaning against a car in the park contacted her after seeing the book. Tell us about reconnecting with the ‘Rivera Bad Girls.’ What were they like 30 years after you took their photograph?
Well, it was last summer that I reconnected with them. They told me that back in the day their friends in the HM Gang told them to come to the park, as there was a British woman taking photos. Apparently they thought I was crazy, as the gang was involved in a bitter turf war at the time with another gang and it was not a safe place to be. Of course, I was oblivious to all of this at the time. The girls – Vivian, Vicki, and Rita – are now mothers with kids and are successful working women. They have survived the loss of husbands to gang violence, and they are still best friends. I took their photo outside the HomeBoy Cafe holding the original photo I shot of them 30 years before. The women attended the ‘Rebel Cultures’ opening – how did they react? Do you have any photos of them standing next to their photo? Vivian came to the opening with her
sister Arlene and her son Mathew. I think they had a great time. To me they were the stars of the show, everyone was photographing them. Yes, I think there is a pic of them by the photo. Many people admire all of your now iconic photographs, forgetting that many of your subjects were part of a rebellious movement in some way, and that’s why you took their picture and not simply because they were famous or celebrities. How did those mix together in society at the time? I documented ‘rebels’ in the UK during the punk era. I was working for Melody Maker, a weekly music magazine shooting bands but I always shot the fans as well. In those days you were a fan, then next week you were in a band. There were so many youth sub cultures at the time: 2 Tone, punks, skinheads, rockabilly,
Keith Haring : 1985
Run DMC
Punks at Sid’s March : London 1979
Riviera Bad Girls mods, rockers, new wave. We really didn’t think of the bands as celebrities, they were just starting their careers. There was a huge wave of youth rebellion against the old ‘Queen and Country’ ideas and the class system. We were all in it together, the country was broken, unemployment was high and we had no money. Then, in 1982, I moved to New York and found the same thing happening. It was the dawn of Hip Hop, New York was broke, there seemed to be no future for the young black and Hispanic kids who were rhyming on the street, painting on trains, breakdancing on a sheet of cardboard in Harlem, inventing new styles, art and music to express themselves. Both Punk and Hip Hop gave a voice to the voiceless; they were rebel youth movement waves that could not be stopped telling their stories. Was the ‘Rebel Cultures’ exhibit a way of reminding people of the
true spirit and origin of some of your now famous photos? Yes, I think it also reminds people of a time before MTV, before the Internet and before big business took over the music industry. We’ve heard that you still take your camera with you most everywhere - when out and about in your hometown of New York now. What or whom are you currently drawn to? I do carry a camera and, of course, my iPhone for Instagram. I am still drawn to the same things – street styles, street art, rebel cultures like the ‘Go Hard Boyz,’ a street dirt bike gang in Harlem. New York is constantly changing and because we don’t drive we see so much more on the street. For more information about Janette and Rebel Cultures please visit: janettebeckman.com and Twitter / Instagram: @janettebeckman
HM Gang
Wood.
Photo by: @bbarreto
68
Words: Chris Burkard This last year on the road has taken me back to some of my favorite cold-water waves. It has taken me to unsurfed cold-water waves, given me time to explore some amazing places stateside and reignited my love for the new frontier and the amazing landscape of my own country. It has been a year of transitioning into shooting more commercial work, but it has given me the freedom to take more passion-filled trips to unexplored regions in Alaska and to many places in the US that I had, up until now, little time to explore. Traveling to the cold-water destinations in Alaska and Iceland always ignites my inner pioneer, thirsting for the new places and the suffering that accompanies scoring waves in places that few have traveled. I was able to take a trip to the Aleutians and surfed waves that very few humans had even seen in their lifetime, let alone surfed. Closer to home I found amazing destinations right in my backyard, as I traveled through Utah and Joshua Tree. Though I have been to both on previous trips, I was finally able to take more time as I hiked slot canyons in Zion, climbed in Joshua Tree and made sure to find any unique piece of landscape in between. This year has been a new season with my travels, as I
am finding it easier to only go to places I think align with my work and is worthwhile for me, as a photographer. Catering the trips to destinations that I am passionate about capturing has given my work new life. Each image is taken in a space of my full creative potential, as many of the places I travel produce an abundance of inspiration. The grander landscapes that dwarf my camera and I are what I search for. The places that make me work for an image and require every bit of me to photograph. Losing little bits of myself to my destinations is ultimately what I love. The risk and reward that comes with these often harsh environments is addicting and make the stories behind the images all the better. As I continue into this year I welcome a new baby boy and slowly find it harder and harder to leave home. My work has brought me to locations all over the world, but having children has given me a new appreciation for my own backyard. Everything outside of our home is a new adventure to them, and I have found myself adopting this perspective at times. Central California will always inspire me and I can’t wait to share stories from far-flung destinations just as much as I can’t wait to show my two boys the many adventures in our own backyard.
Dylan Graves sets his line for a long Caribbean tube ride.
2.
1.
3.
4.
5.
7.
8.
6.
9.
1. Dylan Graves enjoys a meaty Sandbar, Caribbean. // 2. Tanner Gudauskas poised for a crystal clear, Caribbean. // 3. Pat Gudauskas slotted in a clean barrel, Caribbean. // 4. Blue barrels, Pat G., Caribbean // 5. Dylan Graves silhouetted against the turquoise waters. // 6. Benny Bourgeois, Caribbean. // 7. Tanner G. racing in the Caribbean. // 8. Caribbean group shot. // 9. Benny Bourgeois amidst Caribbean colors.
1.
2.
3.
5.
7.
4.
6.
8.
9.
1. Alex Gray looking otherworldly beneath an Alaskan volcano, Aleutian Islands. // 2. Peter Devries looking golden in the Aleutians. // 3. The simple beauty of a sunset, Aleutian Islands. // 4. Pete Devries hacking in the Aleutians. // 5. Fox, Aleutian Islands. // 6. Josh Mulcoy on a clean slab, Aleutians. // 7. Surf transportation, Aleutians. // 8. The seasoned local, Bald Eagle, Aleutian Islands. // 9. Clean barrels in an empty land, as remote as it gets.
1.
2.
6.
5.
7.
4.
3.
8.
9.
1. Tanner Gudauskas turns on the booster on the California Central Coast. // 2. Pat Gudauskas lifting, Central Coast, CA. // 3. Big Sur stars. // 4. Dane Gudauskas looking powerful, Central Coast, CA. // 5. Jeff Johnson on the climb, Joshua Tree. // 6. Grizzly Bear, Grand Tetons, Wyoming. // 7. Utah Slot Canyons. // 8. Jackson Hole, Wyoming. // 9. Descending into Zion National Park slot canyons.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
8.
7.
9.
10.
13.
12.
14.
11.
15.
16.
1. Keith Malloy airborne, Alaska. // 2. Milo, the Alaska surf vessel. // 3. Christian Beamish humbled by nature in Alaska. // 4. Chris Malloy spraying, Alaska. // 5. Christian Beamish, Alaska. // 6. Keith Malloy rises, Alaska. // 7. The streets of Havana. Cuba showcases every color in the crayon box. // 8. Local haircut, Cuba. // 9. Taxi driver, Cuba. // 10. Timeless cars are down every street in Cuba. // 11. Local vendor, Cuba. // 12. Eric Soderquist making the surf commute interesting as he crosses a glacial lake in Iceland. // 13. Mikey De Temple slides past icebergs, Iceland. // 14. Icy foreground in Iceland, Eric Soderquist. // 15. Eric Soderquist taking it in post surf session, Iceland. // 16. Vik, Iceland.
Interview: Liz McCray This month we are featuring the works of Jeremy Geddes. After months (or maybe years) of tracking his haunting cosmonauts, explosions of fetal positions of comfort and discomfort, and spectating pigeons, we were ďŹ nally able to catch up with Jeremy and ask him a couple questions about his methodical painting process and strategies. Make sure to check out more of his art at www.jeremygeddes.com and on Instagram
74
@jeremyispainting. Thanks Jeremy for taking the time to do this interview, and a special thanks to MalĂŠna Seldin, Associate Director at Jonathan Levine Gallery. It appears your interest and inclination toward painting started at a young age. How did you get started in painting? Painting happened as a natural progression from
drawing, which I had been doing from a very early age. I honestly can’t remember when I began; it has just always been a central element in my life. Realism was not really prominent when you went to art school. Were you a bit of an anomaly there, and did you have to be strong in maintaining your interest in Realism? How much did you have to be self-taught at painting? Although I went to art school for five years I pretty
much regard myself as self-taught. As you say, the techniques involved in Realism had been dropped from the syllabus in the sixties. This meant that many of the lecturers now staffing art schools (in Australia, at least) hadn’t been trained in Realism, and therefore weren’t in a place to teach it. But I don’t necessarily think that a lack of formal training in realist technique is a bad thing. I spent quite a lot of time both during and after art school reinventing the wheel. It forced me to solve problems and approach issues in a different way,
and therefore possibly achieve results that are somewhat unique. The downside is that it takes a lot longer to get there. I understand you sometimes paint 12 hours a day for weeks. Do you need or have strategies to sustain interest, enthusiasm, concentration? I think it’s crucial to love what you are doing if it needs that kind of time investment. You obviously need to be invested and interested in the final
“A Perfect Vacuum”
“Failing Echo”
“Heat Death” product, but I’m not sure that a desire to make a good painting alone would be enough to hold me for the months of 12-hour days it takes to produce a piece. You really need to enjoy the day-to-day mechanical aspect of painting as well. The paintings I make constantly present me with endless little problems to solve as I progress... How should the glass be shattering if force is being applied this way? How should these shadows be falling on this object? What type of brush marks will best describe this form? It is these minor challenges that keep a painting dynamic to work on and interesting to come back to day after day. I love solving these issues, I love becoming lost in the dimensional qualities of the work and feeling my brain slowly resolve issues I previously thought were unfixable. It’s an amazing job to have. Given it can take so long to complete a painting, what is the process you use to conceptualize a piece, refine it, “test” it, etc., so you do not get part way through a painting and discover that, “this is not working”? Yeah, ‘this is not working’ is a terrible realization to have three months into a painting. I try to minimize it by having a very thorough preparation phase, which can easily take up to a year to resolve before I actually begin to work on any specific painting. It begins with small
thumbnail sketches to rough out the very initial ideas, which then evolve into small studies. I try to live with these studies for a month or two before I make any real decisions about them, as that initial excitement can be misleading. (You can all too easily launch into a work in the flush of enthusiasm without having resolved the outstanding issues and it can lead to disaster down the road.) At some point, usually after a progression of studies, if I find that the image is still grabbing my interest I will make sure I’ve collected what reference I will need and I then launch into the big piece. I understand you utilize music to help you identify, or refine, emotional feelings/ elements in your paintings. What kind of music do you use and how would you use it? Are there specific pieces of music that correspond with specific paintings? Yes, I use music extensively in this way. If I can find a piece that triggers the right emotional note, I can use that as a through-line whilst I am constructing the ideas and composition of the painting. It becomes relatively easily to test any element in the work against this emotional tone; it will either resonate with the music or it will feel off, and so it can be a great way to winnow potential concepts. The music I use for this generally ranges from modern classical, to ambient and drone. “White Cosmonaut”
“Acedia” Many of my works are partially named after pieces of music that helped me resolve the emotional components of that piece… Some examples are Acedia, which is named after a Sinke Dûs piece. Or the Misere/re series, which was partially named after compositions by Henryk Górecki. Obviously, the names need to have more resonance than just this, but when the music, the painting, and the name click, I tend to run with it. One element of your painting that affects me greatly is your use of light. How do you create that play of light in your mind? Thank you. I’m constantly concerned about light in my paintings. It sets mood and tone as well as acting as the visual glue for holding disparate elements together. If you are trying to convince the viewer that the scene you are painting has a unity, understanding how light behaves is crucial. Obviously you never paint light per se… you paint the behaviour of light on surfaces and forms, and achieving cohesion in this is something I strive for. The good thing about making a painting is that the interaction of light is always up for tweaking. There is a visual tolerance that the brain allows before an element begins to feel ‘off’ in a piece. This allows for some interesting manipulation as I can play with elements in the work, pushing their interaction with light to achieve an effect but pulling back before I begin to undermine the sense of reality. It is a delicate balance and something “Adrift”
I am constantly concerned with maintaining whilst I am painting. I also borrow from photography where I feel it is appropriate. The way light behaves in a photograph has become so embedded in our visual language and has become so integral to our understanding of images that I think it’s crazy for a painter to not pull from it when it can help achieve a desired effect. When viewing your paintings on the Internet, they have the impression of being very large paintings, yet they are in fact relatively small. How do you decide on the size of the painting? The size I decide on can come down to something as mundane as the way I make paint marks, the action of my wrist, and the way I sit or stand at a painting. However, I am also always thinking about how the work will be perceived in the flesh, how close people will stand, how much do I want the abstraction that occurs at the level of the individual brush strokes to be seen, etc. This is a part of my work that I feel is still in flux and is something I intend to experiment with. What do you think is most misunderstood about your work? That’s an interesting question. Perhaps it is that there is no resolution to the content of the images. There is no set ‘reason’ why the scene I have painted is taking place, and consequently there is no easy way to contextualize it. I am interested in
“Cluster” creating the work and then saying no more about it. Everything I have to say is put down in the paint. I am not giving an answer to the painting; once it is done I have no more to reveal about it.
multiple times before. Perhaps you can carve out a small niche that hasn’t been fully explored, but still you are constantly aware of the weight of art history – it is both inspiring and intimidating.
I was having a conversation about Kafka recently, and the frustration of students who want an easy conceptual out for his stories, to categorize them in some way (they are about alienation, or identity or some other easy catchphrase). It allows people to feel that they have understood them, resolved them and therefore they can be intellectually put away into a box. But the point was that Kafka was creating narratives with no easily resolved message; they existed on their own terms, and therefore worked at the mind of the reader, unresolved, unsettled and reflecting the readers thoughts back at them. I would like my paintings to function to some degree in the same way, although how successful I am I’m not sure.
Games, on the other hand, are an extremely new art form. The technology is rapidly evolving and so the potential branches a game developer can take are always expanding. There are so many new places to be explored in games, and the medium is constantly carving out new landscapes for itself and pushing back the boundaries of what constitute its domain. This will be looked back on in future generations as the golden age of game development, and so it’s an exciting field to both be in, or view, from the outside.
I understand you are an avid gamer. Do you think this influences your work? No, not really. They are two extremely different art forms and the concerns of one do not easily translate to the other. The two mediums are fascinating to view in relation to each other though. One is extremely old, and the basic technologies haven’t changed in generations, and so, as a painter, you have this huge library of previous paintings stretching back hundreds of years, pretty much everything you can think of doing has been done to some extent
What advice would you have for young people seriously pursuing painting as a profession? Work. Love the medium, love the day-to-day grind as you hone your skills. Try to get as clear an idea as you can of where you want to head. Identify painters that you want to be like, as this will give some idea of how to move forward. Your aspirations will change as you mature as a painter, but it crucial to get some idea of where you want to end up so you can start travelling. Where can our readers check out your art? My website, www.jeremygeddes. com, is a good place, as is my Instagram at instagram.com/ jeremyispainting. “Ascent”
Team : Manhattan, N.Y
82
Words: Aquil Brathwaite :: Photos: Deville So, I’m chillin’ in my apartment when I get the call, “Hey Aquil, what are you doing? Smoking? What’s up?” So this kid is always coming up with some crazy shit out of left field – you never know what’s going down next. So he’s like, “Yo, I need you to pack a bag, we’re coming to get you. Let’s go, we’re getting out of here.” Stoked but thinking for a second, he was like, “Oh yeah, you gotta write this thing for the mag. Dude, don’t trip. It’ll get done, you always pull it out.” Packed in 10, I’m chillin’ when the van pulls up to the apartment, and then we drive to the airport and the trip is in motion. With that thought in the back of my head I’m already on the plane like, “Here we go, this is gonna be fun.” So after dealing with TSA (#blackpeopleproblems) and getting “randomly selected,” and the dude in the polyester blue getting over touchy-feely, I met up with the team at LAX and we boarded our plane off to Philly. The flight is chill; all those stereotypes about planes are there for a reason, every time and without fail. We unload from the plane, grab our bags… and fun fact: this dude Deville brings us to eat cheesesteaks right off the plane. We don’t take two steps into the city when my niggas come on all this heavy-ass cheese, not even thinking about Terry Potter (a.k.a. TerrBear, the filmer) who don’t eat meat or chicken… or food. Just coffee that he’s unloading on us. We grab the food and move on to the van. We headed to the Big Apple for a few.
Nolan Munroe : Madonna : FDR, Philadelphia, PA
Charlie Blair : K-Flip Fakie : Brooklyn, NY
Aquil Brathwaite : K-Grind : Hoboken, NJ
Nolan Munroe : B.S Tail : FDR, Philadelphia, PA
New York was so fun. All the guys killed it and we got to enjoy Harold Hunter Day at LES Park. We also got to skate some crazy spots. There’s something about New York spots breaking down the basics. But no, it was straight, all the surroundings and the people were great, the vibes were awesome and we watched ill types of tricks get done. When we weren’t skating we were hanging out, and I swear every time we ate it was some kind of pizza. We were there for 14 days, shit was unreal. Note to self, I don’t think anyone will eat pizza for at least a month after this trip… mudbutt. In the van on the way to the park this dude Willy, sticking his phone flat up against the window, drops his iPhone down the side of the van between the paneling and the window. How this fool managed to do that was something special. The kid tried everything to get it out but nothing worked. The fucking kicker though: it was playing music when he dropped it so non-stop for four hours, all that played was some super hood trap playlist. It was like being caught up in a bad music booth with no way out… for four fucking hours.
Brendon Villanueva : F.S Air : FDR, Philadelphia, PA
Noe Chris Solis : B.S Tail : Brooklyn, NY
Brad McClain : Rock : Les Skatepark, Manhattan, NY
Shane Boarland : F.S Crail : Philly Bowl, Philadelphia, PA
Brad McClain
Nolan Munroe
Shane Boarland : Sugarcane : FDR, Philadelphia, PA So after a long day of skating in Philly and the younger kids going crazy in the van, farting non-stop, like, every three minutes, we taped up Shane-O and Willy together. We tried to get Wetto but he ran outta the room, so a few ran after him. After tracking him in a parking lot across from the hotel they started to tie him up as he yells out, “These people are not my friends!” This is all happening in a parking lot with random people yelling, “Leave him alone!” Fun fact: 10 minutes later the
cops are at the hotel and I guess we all know how this story ends, lol. Philly was crazy fun, the boys killed everything in sight and went firecrack, dust flame ham at FDR. It’s crazy to think that all this is happening at the end of the day. This is a blessing, the fact we are able to do something that we love for a living, see sites all over the world, eat great food and meet great people… man, what a life!
Charlie Blaire : Stale Fish : Chelsea Pier, Manhattan, NY Brendon Villanueva : Nose Grind : NJ
Aquil Brathwaite
Charlie Blaire
Eduardo Mighty Moreno : One Footed Ollie : Philly Bowl, Philadelphia, PA Brad McClain : F.S Air : FDR, Philadelphia, PA
Sweater – RVCA rvca.com 88
Jacket – Hurley hurley.com
Shirt – Lira liraclothing.com Shorts – Volcom volcom.com
Bikini – Hurley hurley.com Sunglasses – D’Blanc dblanc.com
Shirt – Volcom volcom.com Denim – Volcom volcom.com
Top – RVCA rvca.com
LIRA 2014 FALL COLLECTION W W W. L I R AC LOT H I N G . C O M
96
“Meola spent the next 12-hours with six Panamanians crammed into one tiny cab.” Photos: Kenny Hurtado
Bocas Del Toro is an archipelago located off the Northeast Caribbean coast of Panama, less than 30 miles from the Costa Rican border. Discovered in early 1500s by Christopher Columbus, the island chain laid host to pirates, runaways and outcasts for hundreds of years. Nowadays, Bocas Del Toro is Panama’s number one eco-tourist destination. Known for its incredible flora and fauna, white-sand beaches, clear-blue water, incredible fishing and more recently for a variety of world-
class waves, it’s no wonder that hordes and hordes of people are venturing to this land lost in time to experience all it has to offer. Vissla surf team manager Corban Campell recently spent last Christmas with his wife at Bocas and was so blown away by what the place had to offer he just knew he had to go back. Less than one month from returning he got the green light from the Vissla boys and was busy booking airfare for himself, Vissla team riders Brendon
Gibbons and Derrick Disney, Maui’s free surfing specialists Matt Meola and Clay Marzo, as well as photographer Kenny Hurtado to capture all it had to offer. Let me tell you, getting to Bocas Del Toro is no easy task. Once you land in Panama City chances are you’ll need to take a lengthy taxi to another airport and then grab a limited-seated, puddle-hopper to Boca. It’s not guaranteed your boards will make it on the flight either, as Derrick Disney
learned the hard way. He ended up having to duct tape his 7”0’ in Mexican Serape, which resulted in a filleted tail. But the board made it in one piece and that’s what really matters. On a side note, you can also take a 12-hour taxi ride to Bocas from Panama City like Matt Meola did, courtesy of missing your flight out of the connecting airport. The taxidriver decided it would be cool to bring his whole family with him, so a quick detour and Meola spent the next 12 hours with six Panamanians crammed into one tiny cab.
Disney, threading the needle on his home made 4.11
You can never count anything out with Clay Gibbens ollies the gap
Once you arrive at Bocas Del Toro, one thing you’ll notice is that there aren’t many cars. Unless you live there or drive a taxi, chances are you’ll be relegated to renting golf carts. Word of advice: obey the traffic rules and give way to local taxis or your rental golf cart privileges will be revoked, as the crew soon learned. Not to worry, the 10-toe express can get just about everywhere you need to go, as the main form of transportation around the islands is still the ocean. There are water taxis at just about every dock, and a couple of bucks will get you just about anywhere you need to go. Speaking of which,
Disney is a regular footer who prefers no cream or sugar
“the 10-toe express can get just about everywhere you need to go” Clay sticking Hail Mary’s Plenty of empty barrels in Bocas
After the 12-hour taxi ride Meola was happy to spread his wings on some beachy ramps
Meola’s ankles are made from the same thing as Gumby’s
Disney getting psyched
as you can see from the photos in this article, there are a variety of waves just beckoning to be surfed. Punchy beach breaks, reef point breaks, and if you’re there during a meaty winter swell you might even meet the fabled Silverbacks. But surfing isn’t the only thing on offer at Boca. Remember, this is Panama’s premiere eco-tourism destination. That being said, there are more than a few watering holes begging for the vacationing surfer to come on in and have a drink. Who knows, you might meet that special someone. I tried to pry it out of the boys but they wouldn’t
Disney, one of the most refreshing styles we’ve seen in a while
Brendon Gibbens, white on white
All aboard
Gibbens boardslides the horizon
Clay Marzo in the mouth of the green dragon
divulge. All I could get was that Kenny and Disney spent one long night practicing their dance moves, and Clay sure was stoked he found some ice cream. Regardless, this eclectic group of surfers, with personalities to match, had one hell of a trip to Panama and vow they’ll go back any opportunity they get. Keep up to date on all the Vissla field trips at vissla.com – you won’t be disappointed.
No sunscreen no worries
Disney, style and grace
Marzo finds himself right at home on any piece of reef
Derrick Disney, free & easy
Disney clocking out for the day
MODERN CONVENIENCE.
At PANDA surfboards, we pride ourselves on oversupply production for lack of demand. Week-by-week we rape the land for materials, pay our shaper peanuts, yet the shelves remain bright and colourful for our consumers...
BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS FOR YOU.
Words: Jeff (ffej) Hedges At 51, Dan Sparagna has done a lot of living, skating and photography. Dan is originally from Saratoga, California, but he is now a 25-plus-year San Diego resident. He started riding through the best, and the darkest, years of skateboarding. He was a local at Winchester Skatepark until it was ‘dozed. Dan recalls watching Scott Foss, Keith Meek, Rick Blackhart, a little Stevie Caballero and Anthony Dias ruling the park. After the loss of all the skateparks, Dan built a ramp in his yard. Dan recounts the usual story: the ramp scene kinda wore out its welcome... parking, neighbors, etc., and led to its demise by the end of 1983. They moved it to a friend’s dad’s warehouse, but it never got rebuilt. After a while the manager of the warehouse chainsawed it. After the ramp was gone he moved to Santa Cruz. Dan skated the local ramps, the Buena Vista Pool and often made the two-hour drive from SC to Joe Lopes ramp with Dias, Roskopp and Meekster. This is where I first met Dan in 1984. Dan made his mark in the NorCal scene, skating and shooting legendary spots like Kitty Pool, Punk Pool, Cab’s ramp, his own ramp and even the ’85 Mile High Contest in Tahoe. He’d been pretty into it; his camera always went to sessions with him. He even remembers skating an early ‘80s ramp contest in Milpitas with Dias, Tony Chiala, Corey O’Brien, Joe Spalliero and most of the south bay skaters. In the fall of ’84, Dan moved to Salt Lake City for college. After SLC, Dan moved to San Diego just in time to see Del Mar bulldozed. He skated a little at McGill’s Park but when it closed, with no crew to ride with and adult responsibilities, he fell out of skating for a time. Finally, Facebook helped reconnect old friendships, and this led him back to skating. By chance, Dan met skate legend Jeff Tatum at his first session at the Clairemont’s wooden mini bowl, and Jeff took a few shots of Dan. After a few photo sessions this inspired Dan to purchase a new camera. He started skating more frequently, but a bad fall took out his knee later that year. Dan was so stoked on skating that he kept going to the parks just to take photos. That got him back into photography in a big way.
Jeff (ffej) Hedges : Smith Vert
102
Willis Kimbel : F.S Air
Josh Nelson : F.S Ollie
PLG, Jimmy Wilkins & Mike McGill
Rune Glifberg : Rock Jimmy Wilkins : Table Top B.S
Duane Peters : F.S Rock
By mid 2010 he had the photo bug again. He’d started by just sharing photos from Clairemont, Encinitas, and trips back home to NorCal on Facebook. Eventually, with access to better spots and better skaters, he got so good that people were asking for his shots to use on their websites, for ads and in a few magazines. His shots were starting to get some recognition. Fast-forward a few years and Dan now has been lucky enough to travel to skate locations all over the world to shoot for different companies. Recently, he was promoted the head staff photographer and social media director for World Cup Skateboarding. Some of Dan’s photos can be seen here, or you can also check out his website if you would like to purchase any at www.dgsfoto.com.
Georgio Zattoni : Crail Air
Jimmy the Greek
Rob Mertz : One Foot Invert
Lance Mountain : F.S Invert
Pedro Barros : Method Air Aaron Astorga : B.S Ollie Bucky Lasek : F.S Crail Invert
Josh Rodriguez : Flying Eggplant
Photos: Tim Zimmerman When Red Bull announced that they were postponing the Red Bull Ultra Natural in 2014 I’m sure more than a few tears were shed. This event had gone down in 2012 (as the Supernatural) and 2013 (as the Ultra Natural) and marked the future of competitive snowboarding. Prior to the Ultra Natural, a course of this caliber and this massiveness had only been conceived in video games. Combine that fact with the cream of the crop in snowboarding and we were blessed with competitive snowboarding that we only dreamed was possible. Ask the pros that were in attendance and they too will attest it had been the most futuristic course and competition that they had been a part of, a blend of backcountry and traditional slopestyle, all on steroids, if you will. And for those of you who don’t know, it was a vision of Travis Rice and the good folks at Baldface, combined with Red Bull bank account, which brought this event to life.
Travis, McMorris, & EJack
106
Though we were sad to hear the event was a no-go for 2014, we knew the Red Bull crew would have something up their sleeves to keep our snow-froth at bay while the 2013-2014 season hammered everywhere but California. A call from Red Bull to Travis Rice and a “pop-up” trip back to Baldface was in the making. Travis took a five-day break from his oh-so-busy travel schedule and invited dear friend Erik Jackson and up-and-coming superstar Mark McMorris to enjoy a little off time at his second home, Baldface, up in British Colombia. Anyone who has experienced Baldface knows that this is the jam when it comes to premiere snowboarding trips. Everything you want is at your fingertips with some of the best backcountry on offer in the Northern Hemisphere; it’s no wonder this place is booked solid year in and year out. If you get the chance to go, don’t pass it up or you’ll regret it for a long, long time.
Eric Jackson
Travis Rice
Travis Rice
With the stage set, Mother Nature smiled on the boys and generously puked a few feet of fresh powder, which put smiles upon everyone’s face. With no real agenda, the boys spent a couple days on the Ultra Natural course, shooting and filming a few planned-out lines, focusing on nailing a couple clips for the Red Bull edit. With that out of the way, Travis, EJack and McMorris re-found their love for snowboarding in the 32,000-acre playing field that Baldface has to offer. With the Red Bull budget on tap, a helicopter and private Cat were at the disposal of the boys, and believe us when we say they took full advantage of what the mountain had to offer. Spending most of their time in backcountry and powder, all the boys agreed that this particular trip was more about love of the sport than getting the shot or stacking clips.
Mark McMorris
Travis Rice
Travis Rice
Eric Jackson
Snow photog phenom Tim Zimmerman was on hand the entire time documenting what could be described as one of the best impromptu snow trips ever, and thanks to the folks at Red Bull and Tim himself we were able to get this article to print. We also got to give a shout-out to Baldface owner/ operator Jeff Pensiero for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to us and Red Bull’s Ryan Snyder for connecting all the dots. We’ve got our ďŹ ngers crossed for 2015 in hopes the Ultra Natural soars back to life, and Jeff assures us that if he has anything to do with it, things will be bigger and better than anyone could imagine. So please, please, please Red Bull, let it happen!
Photos: Arto Saari // Deanna & Ed Templeton // DJ Wade, Marty Jimenez & Remy Straton with some pre-party preparations // Fart Barf photo-bombing everyone // Gary Rogers was big smiles throughout the whole event // The coolest cats of the night, Spindrift // Alec & Alex Midler // Everyone Raging // Early Man was the crowd favorite and closed the house down
112
School’s out for summer! This was the resounding feel of the evening on Wednesday, June 11th. As the sun started to set, cars began scouring the streets around Monrovia Ave. for any available parking spots, while skaters began swarming in from all sides, and fine-looking people in pursuit of a good time made their way to the back of Volcom’s headquarters so that they could get in line for a shot at the night’s festivities.
Soon, folks started hitting the benches adjacent to his work, thus providing the quintessential backdrop to an Ed Templeton photo exhibition. Quite possibly the man of the night was Gary Rogers, conducting hilarious interview after interview, showing his talents on a skateboard and having pretty much the best time of anyone there. Did I mention there were tons of girls? There were.
There was plenty on offer for everyone to partake in, young and old. The kids were able to skate freely around early on, enjoying the inside park while working up an appetite in the process. Luckily, some delicious food was on hand from The Viking Truck as well as mouthwatering pizza from Pizzanista. Once your belly was filled to capacity, if you were old enough, you could wash down a few PBRs that were being graciously provided by Volcom. Ed Templeton had a photo wall inside the park on display that grabbed everyone’s attention.
The night reached its peak somewhere in the midst of one of the bands ripping on stage. Depends on who you were into the most, but first it was Fartbarf, then came Spindrift, and last, but not at all the least, was Early Man who brought the house down. The crowd ate it all up, a bit of moshing ensued, there was plenty of screaming, and it was basically a good old-fashioned head banger of a time. Thanks to Toy Machine and Volcom for turning a regular Wednesday night into something pretty damn glorious.
Bliss-BTS-RD1.indd 1
6/25/14 12:32 PM
Photos:: Eric Minh Swenson // Ned Evans, Casper Brindle, Craig “Skibs” Barker, Ben Brough, David Lloyd, Eric Johnson, Andi Campognone, Alex Couwenberg, Ken Pagliaro, Steve Fuchs, Alex Weinstein // Craig “Skibs” Barker // Ben Brough // Dibi & Herbie Fletcher // Alex Couwenberg // Ned Evans // Ken Pagliaro
MOAH celebrates the spirit of the summer with surf, rock ‘n’ roll, car culture and fun. The Herbie Fletcher: Path of a Wave Warrior exhibit features historically significant vintage surfboards and historic film and photographs that span the growth of surf culture in America. Selections from the Fletcher Collection tells the story of the passion and determination of surf culture and America’s trailblazing, entrepreneurial spirit. MANA is a documentary film about Southern California artists who share the skill and affinity of surfing and how their love of, and interactions with, the dynamics of the ocean inspire their artwork. Featured works by the artists of the film MANA include Craig “Skibs” Barker, Casper Brindle, Ben Brough, Alex Couwenberg, Ned Evans, Steve Fuchs, Eric Johnson, David Lloyd, Ken Pagliaro, Alex Weinstein and they will be on view through August 31, 2014, at MOAH, The Museum Of Art & History in Lancaster, CA.
114
Photos: Don Tyler // Capital Cities // Andre Drummond & John Wilson, President, Stance // Nyjah Huston and Friend // Eddie Wall & Eric Jackson // Chippa Wilson & Blake Anderson // Jeff Pensiero & Mikey LeBlanc // Jason Jesse & Scotty Stopnik // Alex Midler & Curren Caples // Langley Fox // AndLu & Hanne Gaby // Taner Rozunko & Troy Elmore
Stance kicked off the summer season with a party in honor of their new headquarters opening in Orange County. All of the stars were out for the event, including Workaholics Blake Anderson, designer Langley Fox, model Hanne Gaby, as well as pro surfers Chippa Wilson and Koa Rothman, and pro skaters Alex Midler and Nyjah Huston. The new headquarters features an outdoor skate park, regulationsized basketball court and a state-of-the-art indoor gym. It’s safe to say that the Stance folks are working in a healthy environment. At the
116
launch, guests enjoyed food from local OC food trucks and browsed art exhibits featuring Stance’s “Punks & Poets.” Attendees snapped pictures in photo booths, took part in skate sessions, and they also practiced their swings at a golf simulator. To top it off, partygoers were entertained by live performances from Capital Cities, The Bots, Joshua Payne Band, Dorothy and DJ Reflex. It was an insanely fun night and is just the first of many extravaganzas at the newly coveted Stance Headquarters.
Words: Lindsay Kamikawa :: Photos: Andy Tan // Dan Dumalski: 1st Place // Dan Griesemer, Brian Kraus, Tilly Levine, & Chris Lal: Team Tilly’s // Martin Carroll: Team Nike // Jennifer Ehrhardt, Charlie Ludlow, Chris Lal, Tilly Levine, Larry Levine, Dan Griesemer & Hezy Shaked // Team Oakley // Asombroso Tequila // Brian “Blacky” Cook: Team Vans // Captain Jeff Arnold: Team Volcom Tilly’s hosted its 7th Charity Golf Tournament Auction and Dinner at the Dove Canyon Golf Club on June 16, 2014. Proceeds were donated to three non-profit organizations focused on helping abandoned and neglected youth, including Tilly’s Life Center (TLC), Casa Youth Shelter and Big Brothers and Sisters of Orange County. Golfers and guests made memories honoring their great cause, thanks to the event’s awesome activities and generous sponsors and donations. Representatives from top action sports brands such as RVCA, Volcom, Quiksilver, O’Neill, Vans, Hurley, LRG and many more brought their golf game to the competitive, day-long tournament. Those who arrived early could help themselves to Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and breakfast burritos served by A Bite Truck. Once they energized for the day ahead, the 144 golfers assembled into their teams and set forth on the expansive 18-hole course. When they weren’t hitting golf balls, guests enjoyed the Tilly’s Photo Booth and ate Wahoo’s Fish Tacos for lunch. An Asombroso Margarita truck and Archie’s Ice Cream golf cart helped keep guests cool and refreshed along the way. Some players paid homage the hippy-inspired event, wearing bellbottoms and John Lennon-style glasses.
118
As the golfers returned from their afternoon under the sun, some 350 guests joined them for a cocktail hour and the silent charity auction, featuring items ranging from surf lessons and skateboards to Justin Timberlake tickets and a weekend in Las Vegas. After guests dined, bidders joined in on the live auction, offering high-rolling bids for the wide array of live-auction items. Many guests, including LRG founder Robert Wright, donated generously directly to the charities themselves. Founders Tilly Levine and Hezy Shaked graciously donated their own personal time to the cause. A memorable bid war took place between Hezy and long-time Tilly’s employee Kevin Luenebrink over a four-night resort stay in Sedona, Arizona. After finally securing the bid, Hezy kindly gave the trip to Kevin, bringing a great close to a fun-filled evening. A huge shout out goes to all of the wonderful sponsors and attendees that came out and showed their support! Thanks for a successful night filled with great memories and company. See you all again next time!
Words: Garrett James :: Photos: Brooks Sterling // Allah Las front man Miles Michaud // The Allah Las at The Belly Up in San Diego // Perfect Harmony // The crowd at Deus Shop premiere Venice, CA // DJ and RAEN supporter Chris Cote laying down some vinyl // Spencer Dunham from Allah Las // Matthew Correia taking lead on vocals // Miles switching it up on drums On Thursday, June 3rd, folks of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds made their way to the historic San Diego venue for a night of pure fun. RAEN kicked off what will be the beginning of a monthly summer residency at the Belly Up tavern in Solana Beach with the premiere of “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night,” which also featured a performance by the highly sought after Allah Las. The evening took off with a pre-party of sorts at Culture Brewing Co., just a few steps from where the party would eventually lead. As beers were guzzled and time ticked away, the doors finally opened to the Belly Up and partygoers rushed their way in. Greeted with the grooves of Chris Cote behind the decks, the bar filled steadily with a mix of desirable females and their salivating male counterparts. Drinks now began to flow at a much more rapid pace, as dancing shoes and pickup lines were dusted off. A few failed attempts and a couple drinks passed as the lights dimmed, music faded, and eyes shifted toward the screen. The brainchild of Dustin Humphrey and Deus Ex Machina was now center stage, and it surely did not disappoint.
120
“I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night” followed its main specimen Harrison Roach as he jammed from wave to wave on the islands of Indonesia, utilizing the speed of motorbike and a superior soundtrack to wrap it all together. As the film progressed, the intensity rose until ultimately reaching a climactic closing section at pumping Nias. Soon the credits fizzled out and a special treat took over the stage. Allah Las graced a sold-out crowd for what was clearly the kickoff to summer in Southern California. Jam after jam pumped through the crowd as more drinks spilled and phone numbers exchanged. Before we knew it, the night was winding down and after-parties consumed those with energy left to burn. All in all, the night was a complete success with a sold-out show and good times had by all. With this being said, we love RAEN. We love Deus Ex Machina. We love “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night.” We love Chris Cote. We love Allah Las. We love Belly Up. We love summer.
Interview Max Ritter :: Photo: Dan Monick Plague Vendor! Punk from the WHIT! New record entitled Free To Eat out now! Interview with Brandon Blaine below: So, you guys are sort of playing a hometown show on Warped Tour today. It’s as close as we are going to get to home. Where we are today, it’s fun. We are stoked. You guys are from Whittier, California, right? Yes. Uptown ‘pa-cif-ically’ and ‘speci-fi -cally.’ I was thinking that is kind of an interesting place to be from as a band. It’s kind of close to Compton yet kind of close to the beach as well. That’s Plague Vendor. Plague Vendor sounds close to Compton but also near the beach. You could actually describe the sound of our music the same way as our location. Geographically, metaphorically, physically, and musically. It works out. It’s fi tting. I hear surf guitar elements yet your style of singing is almost like rapping at some points. I love hip-hop. That’s my fi rst love. My two fi rst things I ever made in elementary school were Darrell and Tyrone. One sealed me West Side Connection and one sealed me Death Row. Nice. How’s Warped Tour these days? This is your fi rst time out there? It’s our fi rst time doing it. We are really happy. It couldn’t have gone any better so far. We are paying the fi fty-dollar bunk fee to live comfortably and well. We are really enjoying ourselves. The tour has to be going well. There are a lot of bands out here. I want to say I have respect for every band that is playing this tour, and if it weren’t
124
for these bands existing and playing there probably wouldn’t be a tour. But, it is our job to be different. We are not like any band on this tour. I can humbly say that, so that’s why we are here.
impulsive type of band. I read that you wrote your record in basically a week and then recorded it in three days? We didn’t write it in a week, but we defi nitely recorded it in a day.
comes out. It’s very subconscious. I don’t ask questions. There are times when I am on stage and I’m like, “How the fuck is this working? How is this happening? Thank god for Pedialyte.
You know what’s rad about Warped Tour is all the people that have been doing it for years. They keep a good family environment with their crew. Yeah, you are right. The only thing is I wish the half-pipe was here.
I guess what I am getting at is you guys don’t think a lot about what you do - you just make it. Yeah, we do not think at all.
HA! On your press bio you listed three infl uences but none of them are known for being musicians. You’re taking about the Jack Kevorkian, Charles Bukowski, and Andy Kaufman… those guys are punk rock. Andy Kaufman is punk rock. I can’t wait to get an Andy Kaufman tattoo. Andy Kaufman is the quintessential idol of what punk is, in my opinion. He could be alive somewhere, walking around, no one knows. I think that’s awesome. Did he die? Is he alive? I don’t know. Charles Bukowski is a fucking poet drunk motherfucker who worked in a post offi ce in the mailing room for years and wrote amazing truthful literary work. Jack Kevorkian, I don’t know too much about Jack Kevorkian (laughs). The name alone just gives me shakes.
No half-pipe out there this year? No half-pipe this year, man. It’s kind of scaled down a bit from when I was a kid I guess. They’re doing their thing though, man. They’re doing it. I am literally putting up posters around the festival with our set times while I’m talking to you. Tell us a little about the band name. How did it evolve from a Mexican folk tale? I was in Borders one day. I would kick it in Borders back when there were actually bookstores and record stores in town. You remember those days? When those days were around, that’s where I would hang out. I would steal magazines and make collages and shit. I would literally take home a pile of ten magazines. I don’t remember if I bought the book or stole it but it’s titled Mexican Folk Tales by Anthony Campos. I think that’s his name, but I’m not sure. The story was called Plaque Vendor. That was the name of the story. I misread the “q” for a “g.” I said that looks like Plague Vendor. I am a big fan of the Mars Volta and they had a “V” in their name. I always loved how they made the “V” look. I said I have to have a “V” in the band name. It was Plague Vendor. It was perfect. It was a book of Mexican folk tales. Your band is really kind of an
How does the writing process go? How it works is we will all be in the studio together. I will either have a vocal melody in my mind, Jay will have a guitar lick in mind, Mike a baseline, or Luke a drum line. We will basically layer it after that. So if I go in and Luke is like, “Check this beat out,” we will all layer it together. Vocally and lyrically I do not fi nalize my parts until the day of the studio and to the recording. I will have the theme in my head and the vocal melody in my head. I am trying to get better at it because it is not the nicest thing to do to yourself. That is pretty much how it goes down. Your vocal style… I am curious how you evolved it and what infl uences play into it? Growing up my dad would play Red Hot Chili Peppers, Michael Jackson, Guns and Roses, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Beck… he would play everything. As I got older and explored my own musical shit, I learned what I like. When I am playing, the things that happen to me on stage, the way I move, the way I talk, the way I dance, it is all my infl uences from across the board in one. I notice it. You get a little bit of The Cramps, you get a little bit of James Brown, you get a little bit of Anthony Kiedis, you get a little bit of Jack White, you get a little of all those infl uences because I love them. Those are my godfathers. It makes sense. It seems subconscious. All that stuff just
I am glad you guys are enjoying yourselves out there. What is coming up after Warped Tour? We are going to be doing Riot Fest. It’s a three-day festival in Chicago, three days in Denver, and some other place. You guys are going to be on the road for a while, yeah? I don’t want to be home for more than two weeks now anyway. I want to be on the road. That’s because you are from Whittier, California. Ah man, Whittier is the best! I am just messing with you. Thanks to Brandon Blaine and Plague Vendor. Their new debut record from Plague Vendor, Free To Eat is now available on Epitaph Records.
Guantanamo Baywatch Live Review & Photo: Max Ritter The Smell Los Angeles, CA Saturday June 21st, 2014
Here’s some summertime fun on a Saturday night at The Smell with a bunch of kids going buck in a sweatbox for the honkey-tonk surf jams of Guantanamo Baywatch. The band was en route to Atlanta to record their new record, which will be out soon on Suicide Squeeze Records. Get some.
Reviews: Max Ritter
The Futures League Don’t Be A Drag EP Wet Brain Records
Smut Peddlers Going In Ransom Records
Our Vinyl Weighs A Ton V/A (Documentary) Stones Throw Records
We got some good-time rock ‘n’ roll jammers to share with you from our friends in The Futures League. There are some danceable funky earworms on here for you to dance around and get buck like that party scene in Gremlins. Gizmo is a Mogwai, FYI. Sweet dog.
It’s been 10 years since Redondo Beach punkers Smut Peddlers released their last record Coming Out but they are still chugging on and have a new release creatively titled Going In, coming this month. For all of you crusty pylon punks who want to take it back to 1993 they will be having an album release show on July 12th at The Observatory. Why? See this song, “Fuck You That’s Why.”
For the hip-hop heads there is a great new feature full-length documentary film detailing the story of the cult hip-hop label founded by producer and DJ Peanut Butter Wolf in 1996. The soundtrack includes some new Madlib beats, a few unreleased cuts, and other quality Stones Throw tracks. The 10 Madlib joints featured will also be released on vinyl this month.
126
The Machine Gun Co. With Mike Cooper Mike Cooper Paradise Of Bachelors This month’s reissue spin is an overlooked blues/folk album by legendary musician Mike Cooper. Fun fact: This guy Mike Cooper was actually asked to be in the Rolling Stones sometime in the early ‘60s to which he declined. Nah, sorry Mick! This is one of his best works; re-released as he originally intended as a double album with Places I Know.
WE JUST PRINT THE SH&T!
BLISSS_AMPER_July.indd 1
6/23/14 3:31 PM
128
car
ve SERIES
AXIS
Symmetrical Drop-Through for Ergonomic Push Photo : Matt Smith / ARBORSKATEBOARDS
2014_BLISS_AXIS_AD.indd 1
6/24/14 3:55 PM
Photo: Troy Snakenborg
photos:
ginsberg | driftwoodfoto
Blisss_Sabre_July14_FINAL.indd 1
WWW.SABREUSA.COM WWW.SABRE.FM SABRE_FM
6/24/14 8:19 PM
3647_ FA14_PROD8_Sngl_Blisss.indd
Trim: 10.5� W X 13.625� H
Bleed: 0.125�
Layout Scale: 100%
! " !
! !
#! #