BL!SSS Magazine | October 2013 | #74 by Blisss Mag

BLISSS_JJF_ACTION_SILVER.indd 1

9/13/13 2:58 PM

QS-004112_OctoberBliss_Dane_RobsonJacket_21x13_F.indd 1

DANE REYNOLDS WEARS THE QUIKSILVER ROBSON JACKET

QUIKSILVER.COM

9/18/13 11:26 AM

– ERIK ELLINGTON

LIZARD KING

WINDSOR JAMES

BOO JOHNSON

– KR3WDENIM.COM

0913_KR3W_BLISSS.indd 1

TERRY KENNEDY /

DANE VAUGHN

/ /

TOM PENNY

KEVIN ROMAR

BJORN JOHNSTON

SPENCER HAMILTON

CHEWY CANNON

LUCIEN CLARKE

– LIZARD KING – LIZARD KING K-SKINNY DENIM FEAR WOVEN –

9/9/13 10:43 AM

FORD ARCHBOLD BY BENJA MIN JE A NJE A N, 2 013 . MIXED MEDIA. PORTR AIT BY KENNETH CAPPELLO.

T H E

B A L A N C E

R V C A . C O M

O F

O P P O S I T E S

ROB MACHADO N 21 39' 54.17" - W 158 3' 3.06"

reef.com

J U ST P A S S I N G T H R O U G H

Reef_HaleiwaBridge_Blisss_Spread_21x13.625.indd 4-5

9/3/13 1:21 PM

Art: Jeff McMillan

ASHLEY SMITH BY SAGE VAUGHN, 2 013 . ACRY LIC ON PAPER. PORTRAIT BY KEEGAN GIBBS.

T H E

B A L A N C E

R V C A . C O M

O F

O P P O S I T E S

W e

H a v e

P r o d u c t

o f

A l l

AWHN

E z e k i e l u s

a v e

I s

N o w

Fall 013 by Bryant Eslava

, C a l f o r n i a

l u s a . c o m

EZEKIELUSA.COM VIMEO.COM/EZEKIELUSA INSTAGRAM: EZEKIELCLOTHING

masthead

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

EDITOR

joey marshall joey@blisssmag.com

CREATI VE DIR EC TOR mark paul deren : madsteez madsteez@madsteez.com

A SSIS TANT EDITOR spencer pirdy spencer@blisssmag.com

EDITOR AT L ARGE liz rice mcCray liz@blisssmag.com

SKATE EDITOR chris ortiz chris@blisssmag.com

SNOW EDITOR jon francis jon@blisssmag.com

MUS IC EDITOR max ritter max@blisssmag.com

ADV ERTISIN G 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

CONTRIBUTOR S

Matt Patterson, Willie Marshall, Daniel Russo, Jason Arnold, Greg Escalante, Nathan Spoor, Tom Carey, Travis Millard, David Choe, Kai Garcia, Mickey Neilsen, Peter Townend, Hamilton Endo, Tawnya Schultz, Mike Murciano, Geoff Shively, Casey Holland, Steve Stratton, Robbie Sell, Andrew Miller, Pat Towersey, Raul Montoya, Ian Dodge, Spencer Pirdy, Richie Olivares, Eric Meyers, Kelly Shannon

THE STRYDER Alex K nost Th rough The E yes of Da ne Peterson

BL!SSS Magazine 413 31st Street

OCTOBER 2013

Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.blisssmag.com Disclaimer: Although all best efforts are made to avoid the same, we reserve the right to publish unintentional mistakes and/or factual errors which may occur on a monthly basis. No responsibility is assumed by the publishers for unsolicited materials/articles/letters/advertising and all submissions will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright and/or appropriate licensing purposes subject to Blisss’ right to edit and comment editorially. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine reﬂect the opinions of their respective authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editorial team. Blisss Magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising matter which may reﬂect negatively on the integrity of the magazine. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form [print or electronic] without prior written consent from the publisher.

Handmade / Heartfelt / R AEN.com

BLISSS_RAEN_Pringle_0826.indd 1

ARTIST: ESPO

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

9/6/13 9:57 AM

$ " $ $

Paul Rodriguez

nixon.com

48-20_BLACK_PROD_RHP_BLISS.indd 1

9/10/13 4:25 PM

randoms

ELECTRIC WATCHES Let’s be honest, when we first heard that Electric, a brand known for excelling in all that is sunglasses, was coming out with watches, we found it to be a little out of the ordinary. Then, the watches started emerging and our skepticism was quickly ushered away. Electric’s first watch to hit the market is The Nato. The Nato is a modern take on your all-purpose field watch. Finely crafted and coming in seven customized color ways, this watch is as much for the Dean Martin’s of the world as it is for the Davey Crocket’s. Clean, versatile and in a class of its own, you can rest assured that there’ll be a whole lot more spawning from the Electric line. Shop electricvisual.com or find a retailer near you that carries The Nato today.

BRIXTON PANTS When you really think about it, there really isn’t a more key item of clothing to a man than a solid pair of pants. I mean, seriously, no need for the shirt and no offense denim, but pants have taken over. Brixton saw this coming well ahead of the rest and has just launched a line of exceptionally constructed pants for just about anyone’s style. The line consists of five different options: the Post Pant, the Thompson Pant, the Toil Chino, the Reserve Twill and the Service. Each of these pant styles has a unique look ranging from slim-fitting to straightlegged and all five pants come in diverse colors. Basically, if you don’t have a pair of solid pants head to brixton.com and pick your poison. Hell, even if you do have a favorite pair at home already try on a pair of these dogs. We’re willing to bet you’ll have a new favorite.

VERNE STARR RIP Unfortunate news struck this past month as one of Newport’s ﬁnest surf ambassadors, Verne Starr, passed away as the result of a heart attack. Vern and his perpetual “grom for life” attitude was a staple in and around the Newport Beach surf scene. Whether you were one of his good friends or just a random guy getting out of the water, Vern always offered up a friendly hello to whoever he crossed paths with, instilling you with some of his stoke and joy for life in the process. As we mourn the loss of Verne, we should all take a page from his book in moving forward and remember to cherish every moment of life and always be kind to others. Verne is survived by his son Sean and we wish him and the whole Starr family our deepest condolences.

MOONROCKERS In case you haven’t already heard, Jack Coleman has teamed up with Justin Heit and the Raen Optics crew and they have just released another must-have, uber-artsy, longboarding ﬂick. Titled Moonrockers, a star cast of Al Knost, Ford Archbold, Kassia Meador, Justin Adams, Dane Peterson, Ellis Ericson, Thom Pringle and Warren Smith log Australia to New Zealand and then back on over to good ol’ USA. The 22-minute short can only be described as a video-poem about chasing rainbows on a journey to rocking the moon. See it now at raenoptics.com.

SWITCHED KICK OUT SURF SYNDICATE Self-proclaimed “superhero assholes who do monkey business and nothing else,” the Switched Kick Out Surf Syndicate is a crew of retro and DIY-minded surf/ skate punks from the Biarritz area of France. Having picked up on the throwback vibe currently taking over California cool by cats like Knost, the Stopniks, Jared Mell, etc., these guys are into anything that ain’t standard. Trash art on their boards, choppers under their legs and skate decks under their feet, they are always ready to drop trouser and rock, in the water or out. These single-ﬁn shredders have a mission to rock all night and roll all day, never to be held down by the constraints of the modern mainstream surf industry. Creating and hosting the annual Surf Punk Invitational as well as presenting art shows and parties throughout the year, SKOSS puts in effort to cultivate the culture and represent their particular pirate lifestyle. Check ‘em out at switchedkickout.tumblr.com, and scope the 2nd Annual Surf Punk Invitational this October. 30

MOPHIE JUICE PACK Mophie always knows how to satisfy our mobile device needs. Let’s be honest, we all freak the hell out when our iPhones power down and we can’t check our devices for what feels like an excruciatingly long time. Rest easy though, because Mophie now offers the Juice Pack Helium- an iPhone 5 case charger that gives you up to 80% extra battery power. This case is ultrathin while still giving you optimum protection, and the best part is that it comes in a variety of colors to ﬁt your style. So, stop stressing on your phone dying and head on over to Mophie.com or your local retailer today for the Mophie Juice Pack Helium.

randoms STANCE X HOLDEN COLLECTION Stance is coming out with a trio of socks fit for the wintery season that is just around the corner. They’ve teamed up for a second collaboration with Holden founder Mikey LeBlanc to bring about three sophisticated styles, all made out of fine Merino Wool. There’s the Scotty Wittlake snow compression toe sock that benefits you just as much in comfort when riding in them as it does for when you’re done and ready to recover. Then, there’s two casual lifestyle socks included in the mix, both of which compliment each other in color scheme and go with items available in the 13/14 Holden Winter Collection. The Stance X Holden collection is available at stance.com and at all retailers who value fine foot fashion.

WATERMANS

The term ‘waterman’ gets thrown around quite a bit, and the criteria is always changing for what deﬁnes a true waterman. But one thing is constant, and that is that all watermen are in need of protection from the sun. That’s why Watermans Applied Science is an essential item for any surfer or water-oriented athlete to have with them on a daily basis. Watermans Skin Tone and Micro White face sticks have been developed to keep you in the water longer, are conveniently sized and easy to apply without any messy, slippery hands involved. There’s also the Aqua-Armor Cream that they offer, combatting the strongest ultra-violet rays you’d ever encounter. Getting dialed in with an arsenal of Watermans products is essential no matter what season it is, so head to your local shop or visit watermanssunscreen.com and take the ﬁrst steps toward becoming a true waterman.

GOBRO GRIPS With the craze of GoPro-ing sweeping much of the action sports world, we knew it wouldn’t be long before folks like the crew at GoBro Grips came up with versatile new handles for us to enjoy. What separates GoBro from any other handle out there is the ability to mount multiple GoPro Hero cameras all to one handle, so that you can get every angle possible. GoBro is compatible with Hero 1, 2 and 3 cameras. Without a doubt, this is the best GoPro handle on the market, and if we were you, we’d head to gobrogrips.com and start turning heads with your photo and video edits today!

NEWTON’S THIRD Hurley is putting on an art show commemorating the great physicist Isaac Newton’s Third Law at F+ Gallery in Santa Ana this month. The show will feature pieces of art inspired by duality, connectivity and universal balance. Sculptor Jennie Cotterill will be curating the exhibit that runs from October 12-26, and artists like the legendary CR Stecyk III, Susan Melanie Berry and many stars from the Hurley art department will be featured. Like Newton’s law says – every action has an equal and opposite re-action, so come and react to the mind-blowing works these artists will be displaying. The opening reception will be held on Saturday, October 12th, from 7-10 p.m. at 661 Poinsettia St. in the great city of Santa Ana.

NAUGHTY NEWPORT The town of Newport Beach, a.k.a. the epicenter of BL!SSS headquarters, is perceived as a highly afﬂuent area. This is true in some sense, though it hasn’t always been that way. Now, thanks to the late Judge Robert Gardner and his book Naughty Newport, we have an intimate view into what life was like in Newport back in the wild-west days that spanned from the 1920s to the 1980s. This was a time when stiff drinks were the norm, police looked the other way and anything went. It’s hard to believe that this tightly kept community was once a scene of all-out debauchery and free-living, but for proof get lost in the pages of Naughty Newport. This book and Gardner’s ﬁrst book, Bawdy Balboa, can be found at Amazon.com and on Americas-Riviera.com.

JASON JESSEE

randoms NANOTUNE There’s been a few similar products released to the market, but none of them have the backing that Nanotune has been getting lately. Taj, Parko, Mayhem, Firewire… Now we’re not name-dropping but these dudes are legitimately backing this product, so we ﬁgured we have to give it a test run. Lucky for us, Rich Galligan dropped off a handful of the NanoSpeed Wipes for us to polish our sticks with. The topsecret formula fuses to your board with hydrophobic properties, repelling water and causing less drag, more speed and elevated performance, so much so that a lot of guys won’t surf without it. One application lasts 20 to 30 hours in the water so it’s an investment well spent. The proof is in the product, so head on over to your local surf shop or online at nanotunenow.com and tune in your board today.

GP PECKERMAN Our good friend and industry stalwart Brandon Lillard is always getting his hands into interesting projects. A couple years back Brandon broke his shoulder, and while he was healing he learned how to make ammo. Now, being the law-abiding citizen that he is, he wasn’t going to sell the ammo to anyone, but he ﬁgured some t-shirts would be in order using the drunken nickname “GP Peckerman” as his brand’s alias. GP Peckerman has grown overtime, and with the help of La Jolla artist Taylor Dunfee, GP Peckerman is turning out men’s and women’s tees, trucker hats, leather belt clip key chains and more… all handmade in the USA. To check out Lillard’s creations, head on over to gppeckerman.com and pick up some of the Peckerman’s ﬁnest.

#WOODWORTH We couldn’t think of a better way for Mountain High to usher in the season than with a premiere of their new ﬁlm #Woodworth. This feature-length snowboarding ﬁlm takes viewers through the history of the Big Pines region and culminates in the development of Woodworth Gulch, Mountain High’s new “all natural” terrain park named after Dick Woodworth, one of the resort’s mid-century developers. Twenty tons of snow is being trucked in for the event, and season pass holders will have the opportunity to take part in a jib session. Plenty of other goodies will be on offer as well, including amazing deals on season passes. This is all going down on October 5th, Saturday evening, at the West Resort at Mt. High, so make sure to be there!

VINTAGE MIX - ONE OF ONE MATIX WORKSHOP The folks at Matix have a fun new addition coming to a town near you in the Matix Workshop. It’s a mobile trailer that they’ll be parking in front of retailers. They’ll then pop it open and inside will have a full workshop and showroom that has an experienced tailor who will hem and taper any Matix purchase made from the retailer on site that day at no additional charge. This gives the customer a unique experience as well as a custom label package that is added to pants, creating a custom one-off item for the consumer and the experience of a custom garment. Wherever the Matix Workshop rolls it’s always a guaranteed good vibe and time, with giveaways galore and much more. Be sure to check in on where the Matix Workshop will be arriving next by visiting matixclothing.com. 34

Aside from stemming from a family name that’s roots run deep in surfing lore, Hoffman Fabrics is one of the original manufacturers to bring Hawaiian and Balinese prints over to the states starting in the 1920s. Now, Aaron Hoffman and Eric Diamond are bringing back the timeless patterns and designs that have persistently defined beach culture for almost a century. They’re offering one-of-a-kind Vintage Mix apparel for guys and girls. These “One of One” abstract items are all distinctively designed so that each piece differs from the next. That means you’re getting your own unique garment. We got a firsthand look at the line and they are ultra comfortable and will certainly be selling like crazy. Right now they’re being sold at the Seed People’s Market in Costa Mesa amongst finer retailers nation wide.

" " " "" ! " " " " " " " " " " "

Nixon Highwater Cord Trucker nixon.com Reef Hommes reef.com

Volcom Dapper Suit volcom.com Hurley â&#x20AC;&#x2122;84 Slim hurley.com

Brixton Donez brixton.com

Ezekiel Gonzo Corduroy ezekielusa.com

Lira Woodstock liraclothing.com

Neff Kai neff.com

ourCaste Moose ourcaste.com

Quiksilver Drifter quiksilver.com

RVCA Varso Jacket rvca.com

photos :Cameron Gardner

Words: Kelly Sannon Entrancing, spiritual and emotional, Gary Lang’s Circle Paintings are like looking into the mirror of one’s soul. The abstract painter and stunning colorist has created a radiating ﬂow of energy via concentric circles that look as if the Earth has momentarily stood still and been sawed in half. As circles commonly represent unity and inﬁnity, Lang has created pieces of work that are never-ending and always up for interpretation. While Lang’s work may look machine-made, he hand paints each individual piece. With a high degree of ‘controlled randomness,’ Lang focuses on the art of technique: his brush, his hands, the paint and his canvas, all in perfect-yet-random alignment.

He mixes his own colors and determines his palette for each circular painting. He relies on chance, music, textures and rhythms to give his paintings an illuminating depth. He has said he doesn’t look at his work in full until it’s completed, as each piece of art is then completely unique, striking up different thoughts, questions and feelings. During the 1950s and ‘60s, abstract painter Kenneth Noland was known for his circles and targets, and contemporary artist Jasper Johns then created his circular series Targets. Then in the ‘90s, mixed-media artist Ugo Rondinone revisited the circular movement and spraypainted multi-colored circles. While there is no doubt Gary

Lang has taken note from these incredible artists, he has also incorporated conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp’s spinning wheels and thus has created something completely his own. “I’ve never felt the need to know where I’m going,” Lang explains in the short ﬁlm Brave Gestures. “I’ve had people come in here and say, ‘I am not looking at that,’” he laughs. “With circles, some people are just not comfortable with something as vertiginous by nature.” Gary Lang’s Circle Paintings can be viewed at ACE Gallery in Los Angeles Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Visit acegallery.net for more information or call (323) 935-4411.

“I’ve had people come in here and say, ‘I am not looking at that,’” he laughs. “With circles, some people are just not comfortable with something as vertiginous by nature.”

Interview: Spencer Pirdy Greg Long is a patient man, known to wait hours on end for one wave, an anomaly of sorts for someone in the business of tackling enormous masses of water. So, what helps Greg remain calm and collected in the most tumultuous of situations? For the answer, look no further than the practice of yoga. Here, Greg explains how his journey into yoga first began, the benefits he finds and how this practice has become an integral part of his life.

things, the mental, and spiritual practices of yoga have taught me self awareness, and how to control my thoughts and emotions even in the most challenging of times, like in the lineup on a big day. It has helped me better understand myself, allowing me to move through life with greater ease and clarity. I can say with the most certainty, that had I not found yoga, or yoga found me, my career as an athlete would have ended a long time ago.

Tell us a little bit about when and how you ﬁrst started incorporating yoga into your life?

Being on the road all the time are you forced to cut back on the amount of practice time you get in?

I became a professional surfer at the age of 18 at which point I began traveling the world 12 months of the year with a goal of riding the world’s biggest and heaviest waves. In doing so I was regularly putting myself in physically extreme and compromising situations and it wasn’t long before I sustained my first significant injury in the form of a torn MCL and Meniscus. It was during the rehabilitation process that a friend suggested I look into taking up yoga to assist in regaining the strength and flexibility in my knee. Following their suggestion, I found my way into my first yoga class and have incorporated a regular practice into my life ever since.

Keeping up with a regular practice on the road can prove difficult at times. Especially during a busy season or times when you are constantly on the move chasing swells. Surfing is my first passion and you don’t have the opportunity to ride good waves, and especially big ones all the time. Long plane or car rides, sleeping on the ground, sometimes not at all, it doesn’t matter, I will go to all lengths necessary to ensure I am wherever I need to be for good swell. Needless to say, the time and energy that goes into doing so will get in the way of a regular practice. There are, however, some exceptions to the rule and there are places that I frequent that are very conducive to practicing regularly. These also happen to be some of my favorite surfing destinations.

At home in San Clemente are there a good amount of quality studios for you to practice at? Southern California has such a rich and diverse yoga community. No matter where you go you can always find a quality studio to practice at. When I am at home in San Clemente, I regularly frequent a studio called Oceana Fit as well as the Pacific Ashtanga Shala in Dana Point where I have had the fortunate opportunity to practice and study under Diana Christinson. What changes have you seen take place in your surfing and in your daily life? Upon incorporating a regular yoga practice in my life, I noticed an immediate increase in my strength, flexibility, balance, and overall energy levels both in and out of the water. But the practice of yoga goes far beyond the physical postures or asanas. It is equally as much a mental and spiritual practice, if one should choose to study those aspects, and it is within these teachings that I feel I have benefited the most in my life. Among many

What do you bring with you as far as gear for practicing yoga when on the road? My yoga mat has a place in my board bag or is slung over my shoulder on every trip. Could you give us a brief overview of what takes place from the time you wake up until the time you hit the water on a big day? On a day of big waves, I like to wake up at least two hours before entering the water. My morning routine will consist of a light yoga practice to wake up the body, some breathing exercises, and meditation. Breakfast is always light, usually consisting of fruit or a natural energy bar, and plenty of water to make sure I’m well hydrated before spending the day on the water. A small cup of coffee will ﬁnd its way into the mix somewhere in between all the above. After checking over all of my equipment (which I hopefully organized the night before) one

last time, I will head on out. Do you feel that the breathing techniques in yoga help in certain situations of stress, like wipeouts for instance? Simply put, the longer you can hold your breath, the longer and easier it should be for you to endure a long hold down after wiping out. There are countless pranayama breathing exercises taught in yoga that can help to increase one’s lung capacity, many of which I practice regularly to help me do exactly that. Surﬁng aside, these same exercises can be implemented and used to enhance one’s every day life. Mindful breathing is a great way to relax, relieve tension, stress, and simply improve your overall health and well being. Do you attribute the beneﬁts from those techniques to helping you survive the wipeout you underwent at Cortes? That incident was unquestionably the greatest challenge I have experienced in my life. My physical and especially mental training allowed me to endure and survive a hold down longer than I ever imagined possible.

Even though I didn’t actually make it to the surface on my own before losing consciousness, I was able to get close enough in which my safety team could easily and quickly get to me before I drowned completely. It was the experience of a lifetime but one I hope to never have to re-live again (laughs). Finally, do you feel that it’s a dichotomy of sorts that you’re a relaxed easy-going yogi on land, yet are one of the best surfers at catching terrifying waves on the planet once you hit the water? Most athletes can attest to the fact that top performances happen during times of complete mental clarity and focus. It is that state of mind that I look to achieve every time I am in the water riding big waves, and the practice of yoga has helped me do just that. So for me, the two go hand in hand perfectly. I can see how one might think you have to be a reckless cowboy to go out there and chuck yourself over the edge of a huge wave. And believe me, there are many big wave surfers who have that approach, and are very good at it too (laughs). But for me, it’s all about having my energy in sync with that of the ocean’s.

CORY LOPEZ

SHARK CLASSIC 100 M STOPWATCH

FREESTYLEUSA.COM

COUNTDOWN TIMER

WATER RESISTANCE

“Everyone has a different essence – that’s the way I treat the human body in my paintings.”

Words: Liz Rice McCray Your art focuses on modern-day relationships. Will you give some examples of different types of relationships, topics or problems that may inspire or appear in your paintings? I think there are a lot of universal problems that have been with people since the beginning. For example, doubts in loyalty and trust with another person, triptych “doubts” is about it. Also, the doubts which are an effect of present reality, feelings of loneliness in full of massproduction world, and surfeit of

choice possibilities (super-girl). I’m rather this kind of artist who wants to leave a wide ﬁeld of interpretations to the receiver (as well as myself), and I would like to avoid imposing one way of thinking about my works. You currently live in Berlin and Cracow. How would you explain the art scene in each place? Actually, I’ve been living in Berlin for too short of time to say, besides that the art scene is bigger. Probably by the next few months I would be able to answer this question.

How does your family react to your art? Hmmm… I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it and never asked. What is your favorite part of the human body to paint? Half a year ago I would have said tits; today, as a joke, I could say the same but in fact I don’t think about the human body as a form made with better or worst parts. Everyone has a different essence – that’s the way I treat the human body in my paintings.

Where can people check out more of your artwork? Lately, a lot of my works have started to appear on different art blogs, so at the moment people can check me on the Web. I also have my own blog with featured works at patrykhadas. blogspot.com. And I’m currently not planning any exhibition at this moment.

LATITUDESUPPLYCO.COM

Facebook.com/LatitudeSupplyCo Twitter.com/LatitudeSupply Instagram:Latitude_Supply_Co

Interview: Anna Collins How did the idea for this series begin? I had been using my friends as models for another series of paintings and I realized I was more interested in masking their identity than suggesting a distinct personality. I wanted to talk about the impersonal relationship with the primarily ambiguous identities in many of the images we see today. When I saw the collection of animals in the Museum of Natural History for the ﬁrst time, I felt a connection to the beautifully preserved, yet empty creatures behind the glass. Can you tell us more about your source material? I use probably about 98% of my own source material in my work. I set up sessions with models (always people I know personally), and implement my photographs of animals as well as other photographs from my collection. I often buy speciﬁc

items or articles of clothing, accessories, etc., to use in a sort of still life. I love that part of the process. How do you create the ﬁnal compositions? I am interested in a sort of chaos of worlds and I have found a way to merge them by combining and collaging digitally in Photoshop. I am very fond of the strange falseness that the program creates, as well as the effect of the digitization that the images go through when processed by this method. I purposely leave evidence of the journey through the digital process, such as pixilation, strange alignment, ghosts, and other types of interference. I ﬁnd the fragments to be aesthetically pleasing as well as enigmatic. Can you tell us more about the meaning behind your work? Why the deer head

speciﬁcally? I have always been drawn to kitsch and its role in the way we look at images. I am intrigued by our ability to become accustomed to images over time via constant exposure. Not only do we absorb imagery from history as we age and develop, but we receive a constant barrage of imagery through a variety of outlets every day. What types of images are we seeing, how do these images affect us, and what is the message that is carried by these pictures, whether it be subtle or overt? My work seeks to invite the viewer to re-engage with images and delve deeper into the actual meaning carried by such ubiquitous symbols as deer-headed women. And more speciﬁcally, for the viewer to reconsider imagery relating to the female ideal and deconstruct the relationship with the media that delivers those images.

Your style is very polished but not necessarily photorealistic. What is the inspiration to paint the way that you do? I like using photos as references because I can sit with the source material for a long time and work out the details with the paint, but my goal is not to just recreate the photo. I am intrigued by luscious things, as well as engaging colors and textures. I often think of painting like making a very detailed fondant cake. Paint is so luxurious and I like giving the ﬁnal paintings a surreal and velvety surface. The feel of the paintings is also a nod to the impossibility suggested by the Photoshopped and endlessly edited and perfected media. I like using the language of that vernacular, but expose the innate inaccuracy by showing the seams of their constructed artiﬁce.

Words: Angelique Groh

“I am a robot surrealist,” artist Eric Joyner describes his signature aesthetic. Since 1999, Joyner has been painting his protagonist robots, and in 2002 he introduced their ultimate ‘nemesis’ - the donut. Together his iconic dream team of robots and donuts has travelled the universe enjoying an assortment of adventures, from crosscountry motorcycle journeys to hiking through the jungle, fighting exotic animals to his current exhibition First World Problems, where city boulevards are filled with bakeries and heavy traffic. Joyner attended the Academy of Art and the University of San Francisco, establishing himself as a commercial artist before making the transition into fine art. Many of the robots featured in his paintings

are from his own personal collection, and they have become metaphors for larger societal themes explored in his work. His colornoir robots and rainbowsprinkled donuts suggest a different and sweeter side of life. “Humanity is reﬂected in robots,” Joyner says, and he cleverly transforms serious subjects into amusing and unexpected narratives, revealing a lighter, brighter side to human nature through robot life. For First World Problems, Joyner’s new exhibition explores mechanical life in the material world. Inspired by quaint shops, trees, robots, misunderstanding and absurdity, “These new paintings are set in urban areas as opposed to the jungle like my last show,” says Joyner, “with an emphasis on robots loitering

around bakeries and other small establishments.” The paintings depict the dreams and struggles of robots ﬁnding home in a hardwired life, ironic with urban coexistence. In one scene, a bitter storekeeper stares at a loving couple outside of his window not realizing that he can ﬁnd a robot of his own. Instead, he chooses to be envious. In another scene, a frustrated donut salesman waits patiently behind the counter for a young robot boy to make up his mind. There are too many choices in the donut case. However, when it comes to Joyner’s real-life donut selections, he knows exactly what he likes, “a glazed donut and old fashioned chocolate is a close second.”

“These new paintings are set in urban areas with an emphasis on robots loitering around bakeries and other small establishments.”

Photography: Dominic Petruzzi :: dominicpetruzziphoto.com :: @dominicpetruzzi

I know when you think Super Taste you’re automatically thinking you’re gonna see another bombshell in the sand, with an ocean backdrop, maybe even during a sunset… but more than likely you can bet it’s gonna be on the shores of Southern California. But every once in a while our boy Dominic Petruzzi, Super Taste extraordinaire, drops a surprise gem like this one on our desk. Caribbean water, beautiful girl and let’s throw a horse in this shot to really mix things up. Maybe it’s the composition of the storm clouds, maybe it’s the aqua-blue water, but there’s just something about this shot that keeps us looking a little longer than normal. Oh yeah, it could also have something to do with Amanda Mondale – pure perfection. Model: Amanda Mondale :: Wilhelmina Models // Hair & Makeup: Cerissa Nevins // Retouch: JasonSchorle.com

Words: MADSTEEZ Like a fresh cut of crisscross fries I laid perpendicular across a blanketed RONE atop a deﬂated air mattress, as Meggs screamed for his life hiding under a different set of covers whilst I was only in my socks. Unlike them, I had already been in Portland for four days, painted two murals, been to a dozen strip clubs and eaten six cheeseburgers with Danger Ehren, the guy in Jackass who got his tooth ripped out when it was attached by ﬁshing line to a Lamborghini. We were there along with 16 other local and international artists for the public mural project “Forest for the Trees.” This next excerpt is taken directly from the “Forest for the Trees” handbook: Gage Hamilton (Portland-based artist)

and Matt Wagner (Hellion Gallery) curated “Forest for the Trees” with the goal of engaging the community in the process of art-making. Taken from the old adage “can’t see the forest for the trees,” this project intends to broaden appreciation for the creativity that surrounds us. To do this we are inviting various contemporary artists from around the globe to come stay and collaborate with local artists for one week. Over the course of this week, the entire creative process will be shared with the community of Portland, Oregon, as outdoor murals emerge around the city. The goal is to eliminate the boundary between artist and viewer, and to encourage engagement and interaction with these renowned artists as they inspire with their process and craft. Artists: Blaine Fontana, Erik Otto, Gage Hamilton, J.Shea, Jun Inoue, Kamea Hadar, Madsteez, Marcelo

Gage Hamilton x MADSTEEZ x Zach Yarrington

RONE 52

Macedo, Mhak, Meggs, Oyama Enrico Isamu Letter, Rone, Taka Sudo, Yoskay Yamamoto, Zach Yarrington For me personally, mural projects like this are a great way for me to localize and communicate with the community and give them something that could potentially inspire them in one way or another. I also love the idea of collaborating on a mural with someone else with a totally different style. Every artist has their own ideas and methods, so it’s interesting to combine forces and create something that I on my own couldn’t do. For instance, Gage Hamilton literally texted me a few hours before my ﬂight and said, “Hey, I got this great wall above a Rectal Clinic and you’d be perfect for it.” And he wasn’t kidding, either. On top of a sign that read “Non Surgical Hemorrhoid Removal” was a giant billboard that we were able to take over. I had the idea to put Ice Cube with his eyebrow crooked with a “what the fuck” expression and Gage wanted to

have him wearing a buffalo hat. So it was settled, and before we knew it Cube was dueling another florescent buffalo, and another local artist Zach Yarrington painted the phrase “The Future Will Be Hairy,” which was fitting for the location. My next mural was a little more local. When I think of Portland, I think of Clyde “The Glide” Drexler. That young Snoop, balding-looking motha fucka was a BEAST. He was the natural choice since he was my favorite player on NBA Jams big head mode and he still is a hometown hero. I had the pleasure to paint with Japanese/Italian artist Oyama Enrico Isamu Letter, where he used his abstract shapes to create movement and motion around Clyde’s body. Unfortunately, had to leave early just so I could finish this issue of BL!SSS. I’d like to thank Gage, Matt and Shanelle for the hospitality, and I hope to be back in the Pacific Northwest next year.

Kamea Hadar x MEGGS

Blaine Fontana

Erik Otto x Mhak

MADSTEEZ x Enrico Isamu Letter

Taka Sudo

Yoskay Yamamoto x J.Shea

Marcelo Macedo

Words: Spencer Pirdy :: Photos: Courtesy © ASP Straight Out of Hollywood The producers of the Red Bull series ’21 Days’ were in heaven when the final horn sounded of semifinal number two and Julian Wilson was slotted to meet Taj Burrow in the final of the 2013 Hurley Pro. The two had been profiled in the days coming into the event, showing each surfer’s preparation and delving into the personal side of their lives as well. You could say the two were evenly matched.

and instead of letting it go I was kind of dwelling on that,” Kelly said. The result of the heat wasn’t just a major conﬁdence boost for Pat, but also a major shake up in the ratings for Kelly that saw him fall to second in the world behind Mick. “Now, that I’ve lost early at a place that I’ve always done so well at, it really puts Mick square in the driver seat. He’s won in France a couple times, so it should make things interesting.”

Taj’s surﬁng was light, fast and his snaps were precisely positioned and displacing massive amounts of water on each turn. “I didn’t drink a thing for a month leading up to this event and it made me feel really sharp,” Taj said of his approach to the contest. This combined with an 18-board Mayhem quiver to choose from and two weeks of Lowers practice time leading into the event had Taj focused like never before.

Power Pays Off We’re still not sure what was received better, Jordy Smith’s surfing or his promotion of the new, seemingly magic Flyer II that was under his feet the whole event. For such a largely framed fellow, Jordy was able to generate more speed than most of his peers. That, combined with lightning-fast, directional-changing turns and the ability to milk every last point out of the gutless waves on offer, had Jordy as a favorite all the way through to the semifinals. The only one able to match Jordy’s power pound-for-pound was Tahiti’s own Michel Bourez. Michel, still let down from failing to advance out of the second round at his home event in Tahiti, sought to differ his approach from the rest of the pack at Lowers by keeping his rails in the water rather than out. “I can’t do the same airs as Kolohe, Julian or John John do, so my goal is to try to push my turns as hard as I can to make the same impression,” Bourez said. And push he did, as Michel posted 9-point rides all the way through to the semis before going down to arguably the on-fire surfer of the event, Julian Wilson.

Julian looked unstoppable as well, producing the performance of the event in round 4 with a couple of high-speed inverted reverses, one in particular that had his front foot disconnected the whole way. “You don’t get that many opportunities to go left and right, and it just came together for me that afternoon,” Julian said of his flawless display of surfing. “I just got excited and wanted to show what I can do.” With a near-perfect heat, there was no doubt that Julian was the frontrunner in the campaign for the Hurley Pro. The two stars surrounding the whole event would deservedly meet to find out who would end up with the more enviable closing section to the final ’21 Days’ episode. Shaking it up Pat Gudauskas crams himself into a souped-up, off-road golf cart and makes a getaway from the scaffoldings and may-lay that has converged onto his home break. He’s accompanied by Tanner and Dane who are grinning from ear-to-ear after witnessing their brother handily take it to Kelly Slater in their round 3 bout. You’d think Pat would be grinning too, but he’s not. He’s fighting for a result. Every heat is crucial to his requalification hopes, and beating Kelly was the momentum shift he had desperately been searching for all year. “He and I are good buddies but before and during that heat he was all poker face,” said Slater of Pat’s approach. Friendships were set aside and Pat seemed to have ice running through his veins. “It surprised me a little bit, seeing that I knew I was going to have to make something happen out there because he wasn’t going to give me much room,” Slater said. Early on, Pat capitalized on the best wave of the heat, and in the process messed with Slater’s mental state. “I was kind of blown away they gave him an 8.5. That kind of put me in a certain headspace,

In the Zone It was a successful event for Julian, but let’s be honest, anything less than top of the podium is coming up short in his eyes. He’s his own harsh critic and was visibly perplexed by what transpired in the final against Taj. In all heats leading up to the final Julian was able to find a way to set the bar higher than whomever he was surfing against. Maybe he peaked too early, but his airs in the final were boring in comparison to what we’d seen from him earlier in the week. Now, let’s not feel too bad for Jules, as he’s currently seventh in the world and capable of winning no matter where the tour stops. Oh yeah, and his girlfriend is as drop-dead gorgeous as they come, so things could definitely be worse in the world of Julian Wilson. Looking back on the final, he felt hexed the whole heat. “It didn’t really matter what I did, it felt like the ocean was against me a bit,” he said. “Everything was kind of going Taj’s way.” That’s not always been the case for Taj. Think back to 2008 when he had the final of the Boost Mobile Pro basically stolen away from him by way of Kelly’s last-minute heroics. This year, even with making a couple of key mistakes that left

“It’s probably one of my sweetest victories, just since day one it’s been one of my favorite events” -Taj

Julian

Fanning

Kerr

Jordy

Bourez

Julian with priority, Taj was able to surge to victory. “I felt incredible in the final. I had all of the energy in the world even though it was my fourth heat of the day,” he said. “I just got gifted these waves and I just felt like I was in the zone.” Luckily for Taj, the best wave of the final caught Julian off guard. It was a wave that could’ve turned the heat had Julian got it, but instead he was too far inside. Taj ended up catching the wave halfway through paddling back out, and in turn put the nail in Julian’s coffin. “It was just an absolute nug,” Taj said of the god-sent right-hander. And with that the ever-elusive Lowers crown was his for the wearing. “It’s probably one of my sweetest victories, just since day one it’s been one of my favorite events,” Taj said. For Taj to take the win at this point in his career proves nothing that we didn’t already know about his surfing – it’s still regarded as some of the best on the planet. But what it does reveal is that he’s suckling down and yearning for a result, taking whatever measures necessary. “The thing that feels the best is that I put so much effort into this event, more than I think I have in any other event. After doing it all, to come out on top it’s like ‘holy shit’ this is the best feeling I’ve ever had.”

Pat Gudauskas

I liked Keith from the moment I met him. He’s a rad kid, super friendly, has that positive energy, loves to be around skateboarding, skates tons himself and is always down for the mission. As a photographer he has a keen eye. He is precise on detail and is clear on composition. Add this to his never-ending energy and contagious passion, and his photos are a blessing, especially to our eyes. I’ve watched him grow into the photo nerd that he is today and anticipate seeing his photos on the covers of Thrasher and Transworld... which, I expect will only be the beginning for him. - Mikendo Photography is an amazing thing. It allows anyone with a camera to document a moment that can never be captured in the same way again, whether it’s a rose erupting from the concrete or a baby’s ﬁrst step. It plays an important role in history, serving as a time machine that allows us to look into the past. Photography captures the natural, the horrendous, and the beautiful aspects of life from every part of society. When I ﬁrst picked up a camera, I was mesmerized by the possibilities. There was life unfolding all around me, and I had a lifetime to capture it. Luckily, growing up in Southern California placed me directly in the middle of the skateboarding mecca. Walk down any street in Los Angeles and skateboarders will be sure to roll by, making use of every inch of concrete available. The feeling of ollieing up a curb or pushing down the middle of a street while dodging cars gives off a high that nothing else can. Many can relate to skating the same spot for hours or ending the day cut up and bruised, but there are many more who cannot begin to comprehend. I was naturally drawn to this lifestyle. Being able to photograph and document skateboarding and the world around me has opened my eyes to endless possibilities, places to travel, moments to capture. The world is an endless canvas of ever-expanding life just waiting to have to its picture taken. See you soon, world. - Keith

Masa : Homeless Man : Los Angeles, CA

Mason Silva : Crook : Phoenix, AZ

Sammy Montano : Smith Pop Out Manhattan Beach, CA Billy Davenport : Relief : San Pedro, CA

Kenya Okuno : KickďŹ&#x201A;ip : Redondo Beach, CA

Cody Mcentire : Blunt to Fakie : Irvine, CA Marcus Sorrell

Cooper Wilt : FS Kickﬂip : Palos Verdes, CA

Josh Love : In Pain : Long Beach, CA

Alec Majerus : Kickﬂip B.S Lipslide Torrance, CA

Tree Stump : Palos Verdes, CA

Jared Cleland : 50-50 : Carson, CA Keith Oshiro : Torrance, CA

AMBIG.COM INSTA @AMBIGCLOTHING FACEBOOK.COM/AMBIGUOUSCLOTHING

JAKE RUIZ AMBIG IS M AT T B E N N E T T CLINT WALKER MOOSE CLIVE DIXON & JAKE RUIZ W AT C H AMBIG’S “MODERN ART” AT A M B I G . C O M TO SEE MORE

Interview: Spencer Pirdy :: Photos: Tom Carey What’s new in the life of Ozzie Wright? Well, we just ﬁnished a really fun show at Hermosa Beach. Goons of Doom have been on an incredible adventure, which started down in Panama City, Panama, and then to Costa Rica and then Ecuador. We have been surﬁng and hanging out and playing gigs and it has been easily one of the best trips of my life, so I’m really happy about it. The Goons of Doom is my favorite band at the moment. Obviously I’m biased but whatever. We heard you’ve got another kid on the way, congrats! Are you excited to have this new addition to the family? Oh my god, I’m going to have a daughter so I’m crazy excited! A son and a daughter, you can’t count chickens before they hatch but if everything

goes well I’m super stoked. Tell us about your new line you’ve been working on with Volcom that’s coming out this November. Well, the swing tags read, “Shoot rainbows into fascism.” Anti bad-vibe clothing by Ozzy Wrong for Volcom Stone. And I based the clothes off of songs I’ve written lately. Often I’ll do a painting that will turn into a song or vice versa. So now I’ve had the opportunity to turn the paintings and songs into clothes for Volcom. I had fun designing this stuff and I’m happy with the results. I’ve been wearing the clothes heaps and the stuff turned out great. I can’t wait to get my wetsuit jacket, which has pockets and a collar so I can tube ride with my hands in my pockets and the collar up! I’m gonna

be a badass barrel bombardier. I strongly recommend you buy one of these jackets if you too would like to be a badass barrel bombardier. Bombardier means bomber; I only found that out today because Vaughan Dead bought the new juxtapose so we could read the Tom Waits interview where he uses the word “bombardier.” I was like, “What does bombardier mean?” And Vaughan said, “It’s a person who bombs stuff.” Who and or what is inspiring you the most in life right now? Well my family is a big inspiration. Mylee, my gal, is just a great person and that really is inspiring to me. Tonight we played with Droid’s band Power Lunch; Power Lunch was on ﬁre, Droid totally rocks. My little sister, who lives in L.A now, came down and was like, “These guys are so great, they sound like Nirvana.” And my sister was a crazy grunge fanatic in the nineties, she had a spikey-haired mullet with a red leather jacket with a furry collar that she used to wear in summer whilst listening to Kurt and Courtney whilst blue tacking

the pages from grunge magazines all over her wall and even on the roof. So yeah, Droid is the shit and his band rocks. Metal Jimmy intro’ed both our bands, which was fantastic. He gave us the meanest war cry. Vaughan Dead interviewed metal Jimmy for the Vaughan Deadly experiment part two. The Vaughan Deadly experiment is Vaughan Dead’s radio show. I was hoping Metal Jimmy would start his own radio show too, but he’s pretty busy going to Maiden concerts so don’t hold your breath. Speaking on the Goons, tell us a bit about the original formation of the Goons of Doom and where you guys currently are now? Well, we’ve been playing together for ages. It all started out a day after we ﬁnished making the surf movie “Doped Youth” at my old Narrabeen house where we all lived together with a skate ramp in the backyard. We used to have parties and just set up in the lounge room, paint backdrops, dress up and go mad. And now we are the original four members, we have been hella good mates since we were kids and

the energy is happening very naturally. We’ve been through heaps together and are at the age where it’s more about hanging out together and having a good time more than anything else. It always has been that way but the older you get the more the bullshit evaporates… maybe, for us anyway. We just act like teenagers, and why the hell not? We are always gonna play music together I hope… it really is a blast. We have a ton of songs and it is the best thing ever to play for people who are stoked to hear them. You’ve had a couple of trips to Indo in the past few months. How have those been?

My last Indo trip was for a movie Dion was working on called Nti Sheeto. We had an especially good time on this trip. The crew just clicked and the waves were fun and the parties were wild. We made some art, the crew had epic cameras and they were all right into photography, getting tubed and riding motorbikes. It was really positive. I’m hoping to get to Desert Point before the end of the year but I don’t think I’m gonna make it. A lot of people have put your style and approach to surﬁng in a category of its own. How does that make you feel? There are so many incredible surfers around these days so to get any sort of

response from people about my surfing feels good. I just love to do it and if I can keep on doing it I will. Have you always tried to stay true to yourself in your surfing? I think I have. I always just do my thing how it feels natural. I’ve done some stupid things here and there but at the time it probably felt right. What’s your favorite type of wave to surf? I like down-the-line tubes, just going really fast in the barrel: Ulu’s, Desert’s, Nokandui’s… Has the progression of aerial surfing over the years excited you, or do you feel that style has been compromised for the sake of landing boring air reverses over and over again? Well, the best guys can do it all – giant airs, mad tube rides and a nice line from start to finish. People’s character really shines through when they surf, and there are some really good ones in surfing right now. I mean how sick are Mason Ho’s clips where he interviews his dad and stuff. So classic, his surfing is awesome to watch. If you get

sick of watching air reverses you can watch some hippies surfing with no fins or single fins or twin fins – I love all that stuff. We hear you’re working on a new Volcom movie, True to This, that has surf, skate and snow athletes involved. Tell us about that project? I’ve done two trips with the crew. The first one we went up to Santa Cruz and camped on the beach. We built a skate ramp and had a bunch of instruments and amps and kegs of beer. Unfortunately the waves were no good but the trip was so fun. I can’t wait to see the movie; Volcom’s skate team is the best. And then I went to Mammoth and went snowboarding with the Volcom snow team, and those guys were just flying through the air like mutton-birds. Do you enjoy mixing it up with different riders? Yeah, it’s great surfing around the world, meeting people and having the chance to shred together is amazing. Music, art, surfing and skating are seen as major parts of your life. Do you

have more of a passion for one over the others? I really love all these things. I’m pretty stoked on the fact that surfing keeps you fit though because too much life in the band can get a bit toxic. Who influences your surfing and music? My partner Mylee Grace influences me to be the best I can be and never take surfing for granted, which I don’t. All the new surfers are really killing it lately and they inspire me heaps. I just surfed Newport with Ford Archbold and Al Knost, those guys are killing it! Living the dream. I’m loving watching finless surfing and am keen to get stuck into some slippery sliding when I get home. Do you feel there’s a connection between your art/music and laughter or comedy? I mean, Vaughan Dead from the Goons of Doom is like a comedian and a lot of his songs are hilarious. I love to laugh but I don’t think I’m that funny. We heard your wife is very talented musically as well. Do you think your kids are destined to be as well? Mylee is a great singer. I’m so proud of her, she just rocks! As for our children’s destiny goes, I’d love it if they were into making music but who knows.

When you sit down to draw or paint, what inspires you or where do you get your ideas from? Is it something that’s happening at the moment or just an idea in your head? It always changes. I guess I draw a lot of things just from my imagination. It seems like you’re always having the most fun in the water. Is that an accurate observation? I have a lot of fun out there usually. It’s like you can’t sit still in the water. Is that true with everything in your life? I like to get right into whatever it is that I’m into with my whole heart. Catching heaps of waves is awesome, just get a mad rhythm going and don’t stop. I love it when that happens. What do you look to get out of life on a daily basis? Just do the best I can and go for it. Keep your karma good and try and make the right decisions for all the people I care about. What does the future hold for you? Well, I just hope it holds a healthy, happy life with tons of friends and surﬁng and rocking. Peace out muchachos!

Interview: Pete Billybob Lang Tell me about the piece that’s on the cover of BL!SSS this month. The cover piece is called “Hi Tiger.” It’s one half of a two-part painting. I did a series of portraits back in 2011 of these tribalistic/nomadic women with painted faces, paired up with a specific spirit animal. I wanted to keep it very free and tied to nature, maybe a post-technology era where everything became simple again: A time where the only worries were shelter, food, and not getting eaten alive. The world half-circle element above the animal signifies nature and understanding. The script below was a design/graphic element that tied all the portraits together. The script has no secret meaning really. When asked I say it generally means “the theme is there is no theme.” This series of paintings has been something that I’ve been thinking about for a while now in between projects. I’d love to find time to go bigger and develop it more in the future, maybe find a place to show it, who knows? This piece at first was a little test study that I was doing at the time that turned out cool. It became a lot more significant as the series grew. RVCA picked up this one and several other pieces from this series a couple seasons ago for shirt graphics. Maybe you’ll see them floating around town somewhere. Is there a painting you’ve done recently that might be a good example of where your work is headed these next few years? Yeah kind of – I really like the series of bird tree paintings. I like the idea of taking a story and building on it. I did a series of small still-life paintings a while ago that were based on the premise of seeing someone’s secret collection of oddities that they’ve accumulated throughout their life. I love the idea of building a series of paintings based on one strong image and borrowing from it to make more work. That’s the general direction of where my work is going for now. The subject matter is a different story. You’ve recently obtained some seeds for the Trinidad Scorpion, the hottest pepper known to man. What are your intentions for these peppers? This has been a new passion. I love heat in food but a lot of hot sauces are just intolerable. They say “It’s Hot!” but it’s weak. It’ll be pretty much as hot as Taco Bell’s hottest sauce, which is like ketchup. Traders Joe’s has their own habañero sauce, which is great and has quite the kick. I started up a pepper farm in my backyard that’s now home to jalapeños, habañeros, ghost peppers, the dreaded Trinidad Scorpion and everything in between. There’s an amazing endorphin rush you get from eating these peppers. It’s like you’re really physically experiencing the food and it takes you to this place. I like going there. The capsaicin in the pepper has all kinds of health benefits, too. It helps with circulation, weight loss, pain reduction and most obviously makes food better. My intentions: I want to make a Super Sriracha, lip balm, sunblock, and contact solution and eye care drops products all from my pepper farm. What was your favorite thing to do when you were 12? (It’s such an interesting age to me. Interests in things are totally pure at this age and sometimes pretty odd.) That was a good age, indeed. I was 12 in 1989, living up in the Bay Area. I remember the Oakland A’s were in the World Series with the San Francisco Giants. We went to Game 2, a day or two before the earthquake happened on October 17th that damaged the bay bridge. TV, movies and video games were awesome but we still enjoyed being outside more, at least I did. There are a couple things I can recall being so amazing. Playing hide and seek at night in my neighborhood. I remember the feeling of excitement when someone was inches away but couldn’t see you. I remember having sleepovers, eating awesome junk food, staying up super late while watching bad horror movies that scared the crap out of us. Then, no one could fall asleep. I remember how weird girls were and the school dances where boys were on one side and the girls were on the other and how it took all the courage in the world to ask a girl to dance, then remembering I didn’t know how to dance or have anything interesting at all to talk about. And how awesome and weird daytime TV was when you were home, sick from school. Looking back, it was a completely carefree age and the pressing issues at that time are laughable now, but that’s the way it goes. It’s never a cakewalk, only in hindsight it is. If you could have a robot around to do any one thing for you, what would it do and what would you call it? (Robots need names.) That would be awesome. I’d call it Assistant. How many do I get? It would do cleaning, laundry, dishes, yard work, errands, grocery shopping, under paintings, promoting, email blasts, stretch canvases, wash brushes and be my personal driver and Elsa’s nanny. This robot would hate me if it could express feelings but that’s a setting issue, right? I’d program it to obey its master and be grateful everyday that it gets do all these amazing jobs for me. That’s like 13 things, but I’ll give you that. You’re a busy guy. Thank you. Do you remember the first drawing you did that you were proud of? I remember a drawing I did at my Grandma’s house of an Air Jordan shoe. I should have submitted it to Nike back then because I think that shoe exists now. I’m sure there were other drawings of comic book characters and so on, but my mom found that drawing of that shoe just recently the other day. It’s pretty cool to see now. That drawing was accompanied by my Garbage Pail Kids collection; those were awesome to see again as well! Who’s your favorite painter? There are a lot, but recently I watched In Bruges and there’s a lot of Hieronymus

Bosch in it. I realized how much I like him as a painter. I love the way he creates creatures and scenarios. Some are just haunting and so bizarre. I’m sure back in the day his sanity was questioned; he painted some of the craziest stuff I’ve ever seen, even in today’s standards. But I like Goya, too, for all the same reasons. There’s too many to name. I’ll just keep it at those for now. A ‘90s question for you: If you had to spend a month by yourself in the Joshua Tree cabin we rented and you could only take three CDs and a Discman, which ones would you take? Man, that’s a good one. I’d bring three albums that have the most bang for their buck for me: Frank Zappa’s Joe’s Garage (all 3 acts), Rolling Stone’s Exile on Main Street and The Band’s Brown Album. The Zappa would be for insane compositions, guitar work and comedy; The Stones for rhythm and blues; The Band for the concept album of old Americana. What’s your studio like? Messy now. It’s usually in a state

of flux depending on the job. My studio was once in the house and I had a bedroom all to myself. Then Liv got pregnant, my studio became the nursery, and I was relocated to the garage. We made plans to clear out the garage, strip it down, insulate and sheetrock it. The garage had an extreme makeover from a nasty old empty carport that was filled with rat crap and spiders to a fully functional streamlined clean studio. It makes a big difference that I actually leave the house on a 20-foot walk to my studio. It’s like I’m going to work and have the best commute ever. Another great thing is that it cut down on the storage space. We can’t get a bunch of junk and store it in the garage because there’s no room. It was definitely a huge improvement and an upgrade as far as studios go. I’m fortunate for sure! Do you have a regular schedule? What’s a typical day like? Man, it varies. Usually it’s wrangling my 2-year-old all day and working while she’s napping or playing. I get to most of my emails, drawings and small paintings in the house

during the day. Then, when Liv gets home around 5:30 or 6, I cook dinner and she takes over the baby duties. Then I go to work in the studio until around 12:30 or 1 a.m. Some days are really productive and some aren’t. Either way, a lot of coffee is consumed. Let’s talk about the formative years. Where did you grow up? I grew up in San Jose, CA. It’s crazy how that place has changed. I remember riding my bike through the old furniture parking lots that were barely in business. Now they’re all gone and replaced with Ebay, Skype and Yahoo. I left in 1999 and it just keeps growing up there. It’s sort of recession-proof. I miss it sometimes; it was an amazing place to grow up. Who influenced you at the earliest age that you can recall? Comedians, Phil Collins and Billy Joel were influences of mine from early on. I was exposed to a lot of comedy. I remember my parents really liking Steve Martin, Bill Cosby, and Mel Brooks in particular. My parents had a good sense of humor and they both liked a lot of cool stuff. I’ve always been fascinated with comedians who weren’t overly dirty and how creative they had to be to get a laugh. That all changed when I heard my first Richard Pryor record. My comedy world expanded quite a bit after that. I remember rocking out to Billy Joel’s Piano Man and Phil Collins’ No Jacket Required. I loved both of those albums, and they were the coolest dudes ever, I still do. My parents appreciated art but didn’t know a lot about it, so I don’t know where I got my interest in art. They were always very supportive when it came to me wanting to go into art and even art school. I guess they knew academics and sports weren’t a realistic option for me. Apparently I was named after a family friend who was a painter, so that’s kind of weird. Never met him. That Phil Collins album is great. I bought it for a drive from Austin to LA and let it play over and over. “Take, take me home.” It’s badass! Big, huge sound. I can’t tell Phil Collins from mid-80s Genesis. Phil could – two paychecks for

writing the same stuff. That dude is a genius! What upcoming projects are you working on? Well, Nathan Spoor and I are curating a couple shows for The Long Beach Museum. The first show opens on Sept 19th. It’s called Risqué. All the works in this exhibit are 8x10 inches ranging from slightly provocative to totally obscene NC-17, so hide your children! Risqué features new works from 40 artists who we specially hand picked. It’s going to be an amazing show, we’re really proud of it. Everyone should see it. We’re also curating an exhibit next year called Master Works “Defining The New Contemporary Narrative” that exhibit consists of 16 large works from 16 artists. I’ve seen some of the work in progress and I’m blown away. I’m honored to work Nathan and to have this opportunity to curate and be a part of something like this. And how about this special project with the funny name. It might be time to let this out of the bag. I created a new sport called Prigus… think of it like rugby, soccer and Jai Alai had a baby, mix in some cult-like ceremonies and alter-worshipping mascots, dogs and paddle fights – that would be it! The rules of the game are on www.prigus.com. I’m working on a couple large Prigus-inspired paintings that I’m hoping to present at RVCA’s San Francisco store sometime next year. I also have a couple prigus events set up for 2014. They’ll been on the site soon. If all goes well, the world may see this game played live somewhere. As of now I’m holding tryouts and the team is being built as we speak. Who would you like to collaborate with, dead or alive? That’s a hard one. I don’t feel like I could compete with anyone, really. It’s a challenge working creatively with anyone, even if you have the same goals. A collaboration with another artist in another medium, well then… Julia Child. It has to be! I would’ve loved to illustrate one of her cookbooks for her. I think she could’ve used more peppers though.

Jacket â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Volcom volcom.com 80

Beanie – Brixton brixton.com Bag – Nixon nixon.com Shoes – Reef reef.com Pants – Volcom volcom.com Shirt – Hurley Flannel – Hurley hurley.com

Hat – Catch Surf catchsurf.com Tank – Catch Surf catchsurf.com

Beanie – Neff neff.com Shirt – Lira liraclothing.com Boots – Reef reef.com

Top – RVCA rvca.com

photos :Cameron Gardner

Interview: Ira A. Ingram :: Photos: Sean Peterson Daniel Knapp is one of my favorite people on the planet. He is the very deﬁnition of the term “old soul.” Dan runs on a strict diet of Marlboro Reds, Dr. Pepper and Miller High Life. He’s got more fakie tricks than you and all your friends put together. This guy needs at least two surgeries and yet he is not slowing down and actually skates more than most healthy guys I know. He hates In-N-Out and white people (yes, he’s white) and he claims to be one of the best Instagram photographers of all time. They just don’t make ‘em like Dan anymore… and that’s a shame. How are you? I’m doing well, thank you very much. What’s new? Well, I moved from Claremont to LA. WarCo got us a place. I’m living with Jordan Maxham, trying to live the dream. Do you miss Claremont? Kinda, not really. I couldn’t really ﬁlm much out there. I miss the Hi Brow though. True or False, Claremont Skate Park is the worst park of all time? (Laughs) So false, best park ever. Can’t fuck with it, not too many people can at least. How are things at WarCo? I love it. Josh (Ptashne) has really done us right. He’s killing it. Things are on the up and up for sure. You live close to the Berrics now, have you been skating there a lot? Quite often, it’s been very nice. It kind of became my new Claremont Skate Park. (Laughs) Big thanks to Prince for that one. Thanks Prince.

Ollie

“I’ve gone through a 20-pack in the last three days, so you add it up, I don’t know.”

One Foot

B.S Tail-Slide Big Spin

K-Flip Krooks Where else have you been skating? A lot of LA Spots, just trying to ﬁlm. Just recently I’ve skating San Pedro spots with Nigel (Alexander). You Just had a part in a video called “I Heart Skateboarding,” tell us about that. Filming that was a long journey but it was a good time. I wish I didn’t have so many injuries ﬁlming for it, but it feels good to put something out to show people what I’ve been working on. Thanks to Ira for that one. How Much Dr. Pepper do you drink in a week? Um, That’s the most measurement I could really put on it, ‘cause I still buy sodas when I’m out skating, at least two 42-ounce sodas from 7-Eleven or AMPM a day. Plus the ones I drink at home. Is Dr. Pepper your dream sponsor? Miller High Life is (laughs). But like, P-Rod has the Mountain Dew team you could be the Dr.Pepper guy! You should be hitting them up. That would be sick, I would love it! Dr.Pepper is the shit. You skate fakie a lot., please explain. Cause I don’t know how to nollie.

Why don’t you like In N Out? That seems odd. To me, the meat makes me shit… It gives me the shits. You’re saying you can’t digest In N Out? No, it digests just ﬁne, just too fast. It runs right through me. Are you racist against whites? Come on… really? Yeah, I’m not the biggest fan of white people. You are aware that you are white. Yeah, but there are a lot of retarded white people out there. Don’t you think there are a lot of shitty people out there regardless of their races? Yeah it goes around. But you think whites are especially bad? Yeah, you could say that. I hate them the most (laughs). What’s up with your shoulder? Your collarbone seems to be not connected or something. I don’t know all the facts on it, but I pretty much tore a bunch of ligaments on it and I need surgery but I can’t afford it. Donations will be taken if you’re down. Yeah, I’m not a doctor but that doesn’t look right. What are

you working on now? I’m filming a part for the WarCo Video, everyone has been going pretty hard for that. I’ve been trying to film something with Prince for the Berrics too but we’ll see what happens. You take your Instagram photos pretty seriously. What’s your name on insta and why should people follow you? Cause I take the best photos first try and photographers are always jealous (laughs). And I’m @ modernday_cowboy. You’ve posted a few hammers on your Insta. Do people let you post them because no ones following you? (Laughing) I have no idea, that could be true. I have been told, “Yeah you can post that, you don’t have any followers.” That was a while ago though. When I had like 50 followers. I’m up to like 380 now (laughs). You going to follow in Arto’s footsteps and start shooting on the side, maybe get a camera? I would love to, can’t afford it though. When you’re not skating what do you do? Drink Miller High Life and play video games.

F.S Flip

Fakie Flip What’s your Call of Duty handle? It’s knappyroots420. PS3 or Xbox? PS3 ‘cause it’s free. How old is your daughter Codie now? Codi is 4 years old, she’ll be 5 in December. She’s beautiful. You youngsters out there reading this, you don’t go after her when you get older. Daddy’s going to have a shotgun. Is she into skating? Yeah, a little bit but I don’t want to push it on her. It was pretty sick though, she put her own complete together the other day. She drew out a skateboard when she was two and I got it tattooed on my wrist. She brags to so many people about that shit, she loves to tell people she drew it.

F.S Board Up

Anything else you want to say? I’d like to thank Josh (Ptashne) at War Co, Ira (Ingram), Jordan (Maxham), Norman (Woods), Paul (Flores) of course, let’s get that Dummy Wheels shit going Paul! Little Ryan (Alvero), keep your eye out for him guys, you don’t even know. I’d like to thank Chris at Flik grip, he has always had my back. He hooked my daughter up with some free pads, that was mighty good of you guys. Mom and dad for sticking behind me, the rest of my family you know who you are, Tyrone at LRG, Richard Mulder, a big shout out to Sean Peterson (we got photos ran Sean!). Thanks to everyone who has ever helped me out.

“I’m just a junk-show riding on my sled, running into every tree I can ﬁnd.”

Photo: Ben Gavelda

Interview: Lick the Cat Photos: Dodds (*unless noted) At first glance, Blake Paul may look like the typical high school bro from Cali trying to make it as a pro surfer with his freshly bleached-blonde-styled hair along with his crispy button-ups you would find at H&M. But in all reality he comes all the way from the woods of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and he is causing a ruckus on his snowboard. The kid rips with effortless style and may be one of the youngest dudes getting it in the backcountry. After spending a lot time with him these past few winters, Lick The Cat had to interview him. Where did you get the nickname B-PRODDI? Hahaha, all the homies were staying out at the Warbington’s house in Bend for superpark a few years back, and I got lil package at the house and ended up just running new stuff everyday and kinda continuing that trend everywhere I went. They all started calling me B Product, then it turned into Proddi. Rumor has it you make frequent trips to H&M, yet you’re from Jackson Hole, WY, land of cowboys and big mountains. What do you think Bryan Iguchi would think about this? I don’t know where you heard that rumor, and he would probably be unimpressed. How insane has it been to have a legend like Bryan Iguchi show you the ropes around Jackson Hole? It’s been super rad to have the opportunity to ride and cruise around in the woods with people like the Guch. I feel very lucky. Definitely learning a lot, he has his scene so dialed out there. I’m just a junkshow riding on my sled, running into every tree I can find. Being a North Face rider, one would imagine they would like the outdoors. Why do you hate camping? What? I swear, one time I was bummed on sleeping in the dirt and now Yoder has been starting this rumor that I hate camping. How was it filming with the Go-Boarding crew? Did you sit bitch the whole season? It was a blast, so fun having the freedom to go wherever you want and just chase the snow. Plus, it was an honor to ride and film with Lucas and the bros – he is a full beast! I did sit bitch a bit.

Photo: Ben Gavelda

I heard you saw the tannest man in snowboarding – a.k.a. The Don, a.k.a. The Real JP – in your recent trip to Cali. We all know you have been bleaching your hair the past few years, is this because you want to look like The Don? Dude, it was insane just rolling up on The Don, strait posted up outside of Whole Foods with his tank and ﬁre-lens shades on. That’s exactly what I’m going for with the bleach, son. After traveling all season, what have you been up to this summer? Just cruising around, hung out at home for a bit, made a little trip to Hood in July, visited some family back East. I just got back from Hawaii because Gus Warbington is a G and won a week stay at the Volcom house in the Gerry Lopez Big Wave Contest. Now I’m hanging with some buds in Cali trying to go full Machado.

Luckily, snowboarding is working out for you. We heard your ﬁrst baseball practice didn’t go as planned. Would you care to share the story? Oh god, too long of a story. Basically, I got hit in the face with the ball and had to get life-ﬂighted over to Salt Lake children’s hospital twice because I broke an artery in my forehead and my nose wouldn’t stop bleeding. I had to have like seven surgeries in eight days. Still kinda fucked you guys joke about it, hahaha. Aren’t you originally from the East Coast? What made you move to Jackson and why? Yeah, I was born in Bradford, Vermont, and lived there ‘til was six or seven. My whole family boards and loves to be outside, so my parents just decided that Jackson looked like a super rad spot to move out to.

We know you like to out-stay your welcome. Any good stories you could share about your extended vacation last fall with the boys in Salt Lake? Too many stories that are too fuzzy to fully remember. I love coming out to visit all the Lick the Cat homies and pretending to be in college. Are you sure you didn’t stay so long because you can’t handle more of the 3.2% beverages in Utah? Yep, that’s it. I’m fo’ show a lightweight. You seemed to have made a presence as a young rider in the backcountry. What is your take on rail riding? I’m down for all types of riding. Growing up in Jackson has deﬁnitely made me appreciate riding pow a bit more than the streets, but I’m always stoked to watch people get creative in their own environment.

Seems like your car has a really good sticker job. How much thought and time went into the layout? Last time I saw the silver bullet she was posted at your fool’s house with no stickers. I’m stoked to see what you’ve done with her. Anybody you would like to shootout or thank? (Your friends for this awardwinning interview or any of the young ladies you have snuggled with?) Oh boy... All my family, Lick the Cat homies, Go Boardin crew, KTC dudes, Haley Caruso, Kyle Martin, Jesse Burtner, Jackson Treehouse, Willie McMillon, John Makens, Bryan Iguchi, Jerry Seinfeld, Drink Water guys, Warbington family, Forest Bailey, Alex Pashley, Gray Thompson, French Vanilla and the Creamers, Jason Robinson, Mark Carter, Mike Rav, MeatLoaf, Rich Goodwin, all the snuggle babes, Cobra Dogs, A ROB! and everyone else!

Photos: Delon // The Moonrockers: Al Knost, Justin Adams, Jack Coleman & Ford Archbold // Director & Producer Jack Coleman & Justin Heit // Droid & his lady friend // Crowd in awe of “Moonrockers”// Justin Ruttkay & Joe Huebner // Matt McCluer // Metal Jimmy & Warren Smith // Jason Miller & Renee Shepard // Kenny Hurtado & Jamie Parkhurst

RAEN presents Jack Coleman’s Moonrockers, a 22-minute ﬁlm that starts out as a poem and drifts in and out of Australia to New Zealand, then back to California. It features the likes of Alex Knost, Ford Archbold, Kassia Meador, Ellis Ericson, Warren Smith and Justin Adams. The opening premiere was at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa with live music by Boardwalk and local artist Matt McCluer. Special thanks to everyone who joined us in Costa Mesa and the following night at UNIV in Encinitas. The ﬁlm is available for download on raen.com.

GUY MaRIANO N OSE PI CK / Los AN GELES, ca / ph oto: d rago n ette WWW.ACTIVERI D ESH O P.CO M

ACTIVE_Bliss_CHRISGREGSON_SEP13.indd 1

9/16/13 2:31 PM

Craig Stecyk, Danny Fuller, Pat Tenore, Abbie Peltier, Tal Cooperman, Austin Carlile, Bobby Hundreds, Ben Hundreds, & Da Kurlzz // Joel Madden, Nicole Richie, Benji Madden // Taav Cooperman, Abbie Peltier, Tal Cooperman // CRSL ringleader girls! // Ginger Wang, Tal Cooperman, Whitney Green // CRSL dinner, Tal Cooperman, Pete Fox, Josh Merrel, Jesse Waits, Austin Carlile, Da Kurlzz, Bobby Hundreds, Paul Gomez, Pat Tenore, Steve Astephen, Ben Hundreds, Hyper Crush, Abbie Peltier, Danny Fuller, Kim Merrel, Taav Cooperman, Jared Garcia & everyone else // CRSL Ringleaders at XS nightclub. Almost a year in the works and it’s ﬁnally come to life! CRSL is here! Tal Cooperman’s brand launched this past August at Agenda’s ﬁrst show in Las Vegas. CRSL is a kaleidoscope of Cooperman’s supporting cultures, creation and community. Featuring everything from board sports to hip-hop, heavy metal to street art, and he showed us just that when he threw one of the most talked about parties in Vegas at XS Nightclub. Everyone from Pat Tenore and Pete Fox to Austin Carlile and 4,000 of Tal Cooperman’s closest friends were there. (Funny, we must’ve missed our invite.) Be sure to be on the look out for C-R-S-L!

100

Words: Steven Soung // Kylea Borges // Kylea Borges, Danny Gibson, & Andrew Putman // Kristine Reano & Justin Hager // Kyle Keen & Elise // Aaron Rodriguez & Krista Delosreyes

TRAVEL THE VOID is the new solo exhibition by ANP artist Kylea Borges. The opening party was held at the RVCA ďŹ&#x201A;agship store on Haight and Ashbury. The night also saw the debut of San Francisco-based artist Francesco Igory Deianaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new ominous window display that can be seen right on the corner of Haight and Ashbury. Celebrated zine publisher/photographer Ray Potes of Hamburger Eyes also revealed his photographs from the zine World Champs. DJ Sonny Phono kept the tunes going all night with San Francisco bands Creepers and Disappearing People providing live sonics. Still, the night belong to Kylea, who showed a collection of intriguing textiles along with her signature natural geometry collages. The exhibition will be running from August 16 through September 22 at the RVCA Flagship store in San Francisco.

102

The venue // Danny Kass & lady friend // Justin Bennee and friends // Sage Kotsenburg, Sammy Carlson & friend // Jed Anderson and folks // Kevin Pearce and Snowboarder Mag’s Pat Bridges // Laura Hadar and her star // Crowd photo booth // Bobby Meeks and Brian Craighill // Crowd

104

The months, weeks and days before the premiering of Nike’s highly acclaimed feature film Never Not Part 1 and 2 had everyone in the snowboard community collectively holding their breaths in anticipation. The film was to be of a new breed, and show a side of snowboarding that’s never been seen before. The breath of fresh air finally came this past month at the Montalban Theatre in Hollywood where the new movie was unveiled. Throngs of folks liquored themselves up and packed the theatre for Nike’s new film. Snow celebs like Danny Kass, Shaun McKay, Austin Smith and even Travis Rice were on hand to celebrate what would ultimately be one hell of a Hollywood night.

an in-depth look into three subcultures of the snow world: street, competitive and backcountry snowboarding. In the street portion, Jed Anderson and Justin Benee show and tell about what truly drives them to excel in their professions. The competitive aspect of the film follows riders like Scotty Lago, Louie Vito, Spencer O’Brien and Danny Kass. And the third part of the film joins Nicolas Muller and Austin Smith in their elements, high and far away from civilization. The documentary-styled approach of part 2, combined with part 1’s endless supply of highlights, was enough to make this film premiere one that truly lived up to every ounce of the hype.

Part 1 of Never Not saw the typical outline of what most snowboard ﬁlms encompass, however the progression displayed was nothing short of aweinspiring. Part 2 was where the real insight was gained, as the audience got

As you can probably assume, the festivities of the night spilled out into the streets of LA and went on well into the wee hours of the morning. A fun time was had by all that evening, and we can deﬁnitely say that the fate of snowboarding is in good hands.

BLISSS_AMPER_002.indd 1

9/25/13 10:08 AM

Words: Richie Olivares :: Photos: Chris Martinez // This is how men drink beer: Richie & Droid drinking mouth-to-mouth while Ozzie and The Goons get wild // Pre-gig relaxing at San-O // Even babes show up for beach day with The Goons // Laguna Surf & Sport ready to rage // Bow down to the Vaughn Blakey // Cowboy signing some paraphernalia // Ozzie demonstrating how to crowd surf // Power Lunch Just when we all thought summer was over… the phone rings, and The Goons of Doom are comin’ to town. This only happens every few years, so we made sure to hit the coast from Los Angeles to San Diego. Coming straight off a Central American tour, the Goons showed up in proper form. They kicked their ﬁrst show off at the Saloon in Encinitas. Thanks to Jordan Mead and his crew, I’m sure the town felt that one for a few days. The next day was a little rough, but Dagwood and his LA crew were ready to rock with the Goons. Waterman’s Bar in Hermosa Beach started the night with Droid’s new band Power Lunch. Watch out for these guys, they’ve been smashing everything in their way! The Goons tore their set up and sent everyone home with an earful of new songs. It was time to rinse the beer off so we ventured down to Old Mans in San Onofre for the day. We rolled straight into perfect ﬁve-foot surf and sunny skies. This day was much needed and we took full advantage.

106

Costa Mesa is like a second home to the Goons, and everyone in town knows that they love to have a good time. So a few years back we nearly made La Cave actually cave in… so we figured let’s try it again. Friday night was the night we’d all be talking about, and Power Lunch got the fire started. Droid went mental at the end of their set and started smashing guitars. The Goons came in hot, literally… everyone was covered head to tow in either beer or sweat. Everyone got his or her chance to dance, sing and crowd surf. All in all, we couldn’t have asked for a better night to send the Goons home with. The next day/night was really rough on everyone, but we kept it rolling and the Goons finished their tour off at Laguna Surf and Sport. Thanks to Mini and his crew, the shop was packed with tons of friends and family. All the groms walked away with plenty of autographs and good vibes. Now summer is really over and the Goons are gone… until next time.

s ree

tyle SERI

GENESIS

Kicktails / Drop-Through / Medium Flex Rider : Adam Crigler | Photos : Matt Smith & Aaron Breetwor / ARBORSKATEBOARDS

Interview: Max Ritter Mrs. Magicians recently released B-sides album is a follow-up to last year’s pee-pants good debut entitled Strange Heaven. When you listen to B-sides you’ll probably barf, like I did, and be like, “DAMN! Swami Jon, why didn’t this damn b-side song make the ﬁrst record?” Here is some yapping with main man Jacob Turnbloom.

(Rocket From The Crypt, Hot Snakes, Nightmarchers, etc.) saying he wanted to put out your record? I still have never actually seen or talked to Swami. He has a group of small children that work around the clock for the minimalist of wages. I met with them and they assured me our band was going to release something someday.

Give us a little background on the new B-sides record and why you decided to put out all these recordings. It’s just a collection of songs from when Tommy and I started the band. We decided to release it because, why not? I started Thrill Me Records in 2010 to put out the ﬁrst Mrs. Magician 7-inch, and our drummer Cory decided to take the label over and put out some new releases this year, starting with our old material. Why would I throw away pop gold? Deepcut pop gold!

It’s interesting; I really like the version of “Prescription Vision” on the Grizzly Records 7-inch. I love how raw it is. It’s fun to listen to that version versus the album version and you really get an idea of how songs can be produced differently and go in different directions. I noticed there is an added bridge on the album version. Are these the type of things Jon brought to the table? What was his inﬂuence like when you went to do the record? He actually hired two “goons.” I’m not sure if that’s like “politically correct.” The “goons” were professionally trained by Swami to cut the crap out of songs and add “the meat.” “Taco meat,” to be exact. The bridge you are speaking of was a suggestion by Swami, through the “goons.” So yes, he played a huge part throughout the entire recording process. If you listen closely he is the low-brooding voice humming in the background

It’s hard to believe some of these songs didn’t make the record… Yeah, Swami made us pick 12 songs; I pushed for 13, so “Hours of The Night” was added the day we went in to record the album. Looking back on the debut album, what was it like getting the call from a guy like Swami Jon Reis

108

of that bridge. We just mic’d up the telephone. What are some of the bands you would say are a heavy inﬂuence on your music for Mrs. Magician? Your vocals remind me a little of Peter Case from The Nerves. I love the Nerves, but the two bands that inspired us when we started were The Vaselines and The Zombies. When we actually went in to record the album I was listening to The Undertones and The Nerves quite a bit, so that’s cool you picked up on that. We played a show with Paul Collins Beat a couple years ago. It was cool to hear live. It’s just such a timeless sound to me. You guys have some insane music videos done by these two guys from San Diego, Derrick Acosta and Dustyn Logan Peterman. They also did another really cool video for San Diego band Plateaus. The stop-motion animation on “There Is No God” is crazy. I like how you can see the frame numbers in the bottom right corner. That must have taken endless hours of time. They both got loaded on all sorts of hallucinogenic, recreational and overthe-counter drugs and extreme energy soft drinks. They fucking disappeared for about a month and came back with this video of a guy air guitar-ing with our song slapped on top of it. It

took me two hours to realize it was a loop of Sasha Mitchell of Step By Step. You probably know him by his stage name Cody Lambert. The animated video was plan b; we couldn’t get the rights from ABC’s TGIF to use the air guitar video. So, that animated video took them another month. All together the video ended up costing us about $12,000 dollars. “Dead 80’s” is my favorite tune on the debut album. What is it about? The artwork in the video for that song is pretty mind-blowing as well. Really creative. Thanks man, that is one hell of a song. The video is another D&D creation. The song itself is about the holidays or something. Ha ha ha! Thanks a lot for chatting with us. What can we look forward to from Mrs. Magician in the next couple months? Thanks BL!SSS! Halloween Show with Rocket From the Crypt, we have some tours coming up in Nov/Dec, a new 7-inch out on Windian Records out of Washington DC and soon we will be recording our second LP with Swami, or his “hired goons.” Pick up Mrs. Magician’s new B-sides record and their debut full-length Strange Heaven, if you haven’t already. It’s all good stuff!

FIDLAR Live Review & Photo: Max Ritter The Observatory : Santa Ana, CA Friday September 19th, 2013

Zac Carper lays it down during FIDLAR’s super bananas sold out show. He must be exhausted after touring the world. Raging every night for a living is hard work, kids. It’s not all fun and games… Especially when you drink cheap beer. So what, FU.

Reviews: Max Ritter

Fuzz Sunderberry Dream 7” In The Red

Roky Erickson Don’t Slander Me Light In The Attic

Cosmic Psychos S/T Goner

From The Edge Of The World California Punk 1977-1981 Superior Viaduct

Geez, more good stuff from that easilypoops-mind-blowing-music-everyday guy and his band Fuzz. The full-length has just arrived; however, don’t sleep on this mental cover of King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” on seveninch number three. Jezzzzus Fuzzzz. Oh my shred so hard.

In the early seventies, Roky Erickson spent three years in an institute for the criminally insane after he pleaded not guilty for reason of insanity for being arrested due to possessing a single joint. He formed a band in the prison with two murderers and a rapist called The Missing Links. Yeah, that’s insane… Light In The Attic has just re-issued all of Roky’s solo records from the eighties.

Lots of good re-issues out this month! For the 30th anniversary of the mindmelting eighties punk band Cosmic Psychos, Goner has reissued the band’s ﬁrst three LPs. A documentary on the band, Cosmic Psychos: Blokes You Can Trust is also being released in conjunction. Its tag line: 30 years and a million beers!

Really amazing photo book by photographer Ruby Rice with a collection of her ﬁlm images documenting the LA and SF punk scenes in the late seventies. The book is also accompanied with a compilation album featuring some iconic songs from some of the artists she shot including Germs, The Zeros, The Dils, The Avengers, and many more. Special signed editions available on the Superior Viaduct website.

110

112

Rider: Kanoa Igarashi

Photo: Joe Foster

Live life in the bowl

www.banzaibowls.com

0314_HO13_ LunarEndor_Sngl_Blisss.indd

Trim: 10.5” W X 13.625” H

Bleed: 0.125”

Layout Scale: 100%

A 2-

PAR T

FILM

BY N

IKE

SNO

WBO

ARD

ING