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artist • alex gardner 30 x 24 inches • acrylic on wood
randoms • 20 product • 24 jocelyn hobbie • 26 desmadre tequila • 28 rikka hyvonen • 30 super taste • 34 rvca pro jr • 36 numb nuts • 38 marcel veldman • 42 alex gardner • 50 mark mcinnis • 58 snowed in at mccall idaho • 64 jordan nickel - frankly • 68 hot dawgz & hand rails • 70 apolitical process • 72 the growlers • 74 music reviews • 75
M A H I N A
A L E X A N D E R
F A M I L Y
R V C A . C O M
R V C A . C O M
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# I N S P I R E D B Y R V C A
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# I N S P I R E D B Y R V C A
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF nick kalionzes nick@blisssmag.com
EDITOR
joey marshall joey@blisssmag.com
CREATIVE DIRECTOR mark paul deren : madsteez madsteez@madsteez.com
ASSISTANT EDITOR delon isaacs delon@blisssmag.com
EDITOR AT LARGE liz rice mcCray liz@blisssmag.com
SNOW EDITOR jon francis jon@blisssmag.com
MUSIC EDITOR max ritter max@blisssmag.com
ADVERTISING ads@blisssmag.com
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS
Jason Kenworthy, Dominic Petruzzi, Daniel Russo, Toby Ogden, Tom Carey, Brian Beilmann, Jack Coleman, Andrew Mapstone, Adam Moran, Dave Nelson, Pat Eichstaedt, Julien Lecorps, Ryan Boyes, Zach Hooper, Tim Peare, Michael Lallande, Bob Plumb, Peter Morning, Bryce Kanights, Arto Sarri, Anthony Acosta, Cameron Strand, Brian Fick, Deville Nunns, Gage Thompson, Derek Bahn, Tom Cozad, Bruce Beach, Robbie Crawford, Ryan Donahue, Joe Foster, Sean Sullivan, Stan Sievers
CONTRIBUTORS
Willie Marshall, Daniel Russo, Jason Arnold, Greg Escalante, Nathan Spoor, Tom Carey, Travis Millard, David Choe, Kai Garcia, Mickey Neilsen, Peter Townend, Hamilton Endo, Tawnya Schultz, Mike Murciano, Geoff Shively, Casey Holland, Steve Stratton, Robbie Sell, Andrew Miller, Pat Towersey, Raul Montoya, Ian Dodge, Richie Olivares, Eric Meyers, Kelly Shannon, JP Olson, Bruce Beach
OCTOBER 2016 BL!SSS Magazine 413 31st Street Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.blisssmag.com Disclaimer: Although all best efforts are made to avoid the same, we reserve the right to publish unintentional mistakes and/or factual errors which may occur on a monthly basis. No responsibility is assumed by the publishers for unsolicited materials/articles/letters/ advertising and all submissions will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright and/or appropriate licensing purposes subject to Blisss’ right to edit and comment editorially. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine reflect the opinions of their respective authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editorial team. Blisss Magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising matter which may reflect negatively on the integrity of the magazine. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form [print or electronic] without prior written consent from the publisher.
ARTIST • ALEX GARDNER
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HURLEY X FENDER COLLECTION
Rock and freakin’ roll baby! The iconic manufacturer Fender and global surf apparel company Hurley have launched and curated an all-new men’s holiday capsule collection influenced by Southern California’s nonchalant lifestyle of surfing and music. Hurley X Fender’s patterns and designs are inspired by the iconic tweed print of Fender’s amplifiers from the mid-fifties as well as the music and surf culture stemmed from both of the brands’ deep Southern California roots, and there’s no doubt that surfing and rock and roll go together hand-in-hand. There are not many surf movies and video parts that exist out there that aren’t paired with badass guitar solos and funky bass lines. The collection includes Hurley’s signature boardshorts, sweatshirts, tees, beanies and hats ranging from $20 to $70. Head over to www. hurley.com today and check out the store locator icon to see where you purchase this collection.
ACTIVE X LA RAMS
“We’re rocking L.A., so let’s Ram it today. Lets Ram it!” Probably one of the most genius collections on the market right now for Southern California is the Active Ride Shop X L.A. Rams inspired clothing line. We might front as full-blown surf dawgs over here at the magazine, but deep down in our Newport-beached hearts is a little jock in all of us, as we’ve been rooting the return of our beloved L.A. Rams. Finally, someone who we can relate to has stepped into the scene and has created unique Rams-inspired swag consisting of hats, tees, skateboards, sweats, socks, and even crop tops! Imagine being able to rock up to your next tailgate party fully decked out in the ever-so-glorious colors of blue and gold in support of your favorite local football team. Head over to your local Active (there’s a ton of them) and check out this collection today. Go Rams!
LET IT BLOCK SUNSCREEN
Get yo block on, players! Don’t be fooled by the sun, guys. Yes, it’s big and bright and beautiful and warm and all that jazz, but too much of it will low-key try and kill you. Let It Block is the next biggest thing, the real cream of the crop, and has just recently been pronounced the official sunscreen of the Surfrider Foundation, where a portion of its sales goes back into helping protect and maintain beaches, coastlines and oceans across the world. The Let It Block lineup features three different sunscreens of different shades and SPFs protections, with the Goth Block as its maximum protection leader. All screens protect you from UVA and UVB rays and are completely mineral based, which make them safe for you and the ocean. And for all you hardcore vegos out there, this sun cream is also vegan and cruelty free, all made right here in beautiful Southern California. Head to www.letitblock.com to shop screens and for more information on how you can have fun in the sun while protecting yourself.
NIXON MISSION SMARTWATCH
The all-new Nixon Mission Watch is smart as hell, like freakin’ James Bond smart. It’s so smart in fact that it took us an entire week to utilize all of its tremendous features. The Mission can withstand the elements so you can take it with you anywhere: in the water, on the hill, off road, on dah slopes, outer space… honestly, wherever you’d like and beyond that. In addition to the full capabilities of the Android Wear platform, the smart watch introduces two custom Nixon applications: the namesake Mission app and the Mission Trace app. Powered by Surfline and Snocountry, the Mission app puts your world on your wrist with live ocean and mountain conditions information available at a glance and allows consumers to create notifications for their personalized perfect conditions at favorite surf and snow locations. With prices starting at $400, The Mission will be available October 10, 2016 at consumer electronics retailers Best Buy and the Google Play Store, as well as select Nixon retailers including Jacks Surfboards, Barneys, Reeds, Tourneau, Nixon stores globally and online at www.nixon.com.
GOPRO HERO 5
The GoPro Hero series has come a long way since its initial 2006 model and release. It has been about a decade since its initial model, and these little do-hickies just keep getting better, and smaller, and just all around sexier to use and look at. Shit, we can’t even fathom a world in which the Hero could get any better than this new fifth edition series. Simply the best GoPro ever, the Hero 5 features all new voice control commands to control your device, and features a 2-inch touch display equipped with preview and play back options. This new little godsend of a gizmo also is now completely waterproof up to depths of 33 feet without a housing and shoots in 4K video with 12-megapixel stills. Quit bothering trying to link up with lazy, shotmissing cameramen and just do it yourself with GoPro. If you’re looking for the Hero 5 you won’t have to look far, because you could literally find it sold anywhere!
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@805BEER SEE MORE AT 805BEER.COM
ANTHONY LISTER X VOLCOM
Past BL!SSS cover artist Anthony Lister has joined forces with the boys at Volcom to release a limited collection that will be available by the time this ink is hitting your fingertips. Always one of our favorite graffiti-based specialty artists, his loose approach and style to the art scene and life is a perfect fit for the “True to This” conglomerate. With the motifs boasting “themes of money and corruption” we feel like this will be a long-term relationship with many great pieces to come. Head on over to volcom.com, or better yet, your local shop, and get your Lister X Volcom collab today.
HOLIDAY COSTA MESA
The new “it” spot is opening its doors this month in good old Costa Mesa, and she goes by the name of Holiday. Brought to us by the Social Management Group, Holiday Costa Mesa boasts décor inspired by a 1900s French Country Plantation House, a perfect ambiance, live DJs and dancing, gourmet popcorn and a sultry blend of premium specialty cocktails. The grand opening is going down the weekend of October 13th, 5 p.m. ‘til last call, so be sure to plan your weekend accordingly and head on over to 719 West 19th Street and enjoy a signature libation where every day is a Holiday. For more information, visit www.HolidayCM.com.
ADIDAS SNOWBOARDING X CAPITA
Adidas Snowboarding and Capita Snowboards just released a collaboration that has us frothing for snow… or maybe it’s the 90+ degrees in our steamy office at the moment, but either way there are now a few more must-have items come this winter. Designed in collaboration with Capita, Adidas and mutual team rider Kazu Kokubo, the premium collection features the Adi-Trek Capita shoe and Capita Coaches Jacket, with both incorporating the base graphics (designed by renowned tattoo artist Gangi) found on Kazu’s first-ever Capita pro model board. Available now at specialty retailers and online at the Adidas Snowboarding website, get yours today.
VILLAGER
In our never-ending search to stay hydrated we’ve come across our new favorite organic premium coconut water, and it goes by the name Villager. Created from a community of likeminded individuals, this newest thirst-quencher is now on the market and can be found at all finer beverage retailers or directly from their website at www.villagergoods.com. Created from the worlds’ simplest ingredients, Villager already got the nod from the industry’s top athletes, including but not limited to: Paul Rodriguez, Andrew Reynolds, Eric Koston, Koa Smith, Taj Burrow, the Gudauskas brothers, Pat Moore, Jed Anderson… and this list goes on and on. These guys back it and so do we, so get yours today and enjoy one of nature’s finest beverages.
BODY GLOVE X NOLAN RAPOSA
Long Beach’s Nolan Raposa will be joining the ranks of Jamie O’Brien, Anthony Walsh, Alex Gray, Kalani Chapman and many talented others on Body Glove’s already stacked surf roster. Long Beach isn’t known for having a ton of A+ surfers but this goofy-footer has been turning heads and getting notoriety with his patented front-side boosts, rail-game and behind-the-curtain antics that has got the entire surf world taking notice. Kudos to you Nolan, and to you Body Glove, for picking up another A+ athlete. We’ll see ya in the water.
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left to right • Active, Lock Up Box Nylon Hooded Jacket - $44.99, activerideshop.com • Billabong, Trenton Hoody - $99.95, billabong.com • etnies, Maxxwell Jacket - $129.99, etnies.com • Hurley, Phantom 3 Layer - $250, hurley.com • Lira, Nash Jacket - $90, liraclothing.com • ourCaste, Omar Jacket - $98, ourCaste.com • Quiksilver, Everyday Brooks Jacket - $99.50, quiksilver.com • Rusty, Identity Hooded Jacket - $109.95, rusty.com • RVCA, Birdwell x RVCA Jacket - $240, rvca.com • Sketchy Tank, Parking Coaches Jacket - $60, sketchytank.com • Roark, Axeman Jacket - $124, roark.com • Volcom, Anit-Hero Ride Vest - $75, volcom.com
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The subject of my paintings has been the female figure for a while now, but there has been an evolution in what I’m interested in painting and how I go about it. In earlier works I was interested in depicting emotional/ psychological states. They were highly voyeuristic, i.e.: what a woman might be doing in private, caught unaware. As time has passed my focus has shifted a bit from the narrative/psychological content to more formal concerns. Currently the figure acts as a sort of architectural foundation for the painting - it’s my jumping off point for the process of composing the painting, but formal concerns are driving it. I’m not actively looking to depict psychological states, per se, although I am interested in the mood of the picture. Maybe the figure itself is handled more like a straight
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portrait (which is not to imply I’m ever painting from life). I also don’t want the subject to address the viewer directly, for example, by looking back at the viewer, because that adds a different psychological level or component to the painting – not the kind of engagement or confrontation one sees in Manet’s Olympia, for instance. So nowadays the figure is like a building block or a muse that I follow from one step to the next. Everything is emerging out of what the painting presents and demands. It’s more a process of discovery, which I’m finding to be very engaging and enlivening. The space is ambiguous, more like an atmosphere than a specifically depicted space. I’m almost eliminating the space. Of course the figures exist in the paintings and I like the warmth of the
human element, it draws me in, gives me something to grasp and build off of. It is also driven by what I like to paint, whether it’s a face or the patterns and other articulated elements because they are opportunities for color, shape and invention. The intricacy of form and color found in the patterns and backgrounds is how I compose the picture. Those elements started out as details but have kind of exploded out. They draw me into the picture in different ways and I hope the same happens for the viewer. To view more of Jocelyn Hobbie’s art, go to Fredericks & Freiser Gallery at www.fredericksfreisergallery.com or visit www.jocelynhobbie.com.
creative • @enthehouse.com
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It’s well known that craft brewing has pretty much stole the show in the alcohol world for the past decade or so, and it has become so popular that it’s nearly impossible now to walk into a super market, bar or any mom and pops restaurant and not get offered the newest IPA that “everyone is talking about.” But what’s becoming more and more popular, and has us really excited, are the bottles of craft tequila that made their way into our office this past month. Let us be the first to introduce you to DesMaDre Tequila, born in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, and brought to the U.S. by owner/founder Marcos J. Higareda out of the Casa Ramirez Distillery. With three different tequilas to choose from – Unaged Blanco, Reposado and Anejo – we’re sure there’s something for everyone’s palate. Whether you like sipping neat, stirring into your favorite specialty cocktail or just draining shot glasses, this is one tequila that’ll have you asking for more. Many of you reading this probably don’t know but distilling tequila truly is an art form. It takes years of experience to hone the craft, and to produce a truly great tequila coveted techniques and family recipes are hoarded by the best distilleries south of the border. DesMaDre handpicks only mature agave piñas from the non-GMO, 100% Blue Weber agave plant and is privately distilled in Casa Ramirez Distillery [NOM #1519], priorly made famous from the original DeLeon Tequila back when it was one of the best tequilas on the market. Cooked in its exclusive spring water, double distilled, cold filtered and aged in Bourbon barrels (Reposado
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and Anejo) and French Sauternes casks (Anejo), every step of the process is closely controlled to ensure superior craftsmanship at every stage of preparation. But creating phenomenal tequila is only a small part of the process, because getting it into the right hands and served at only the finest locations is the obstacle these tequila producers face. And that’s where DesMaDre and Marcos have enlisted distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits via American Wines and Creative Agency EN THE HOUSE to take this tequila to market. And believe us when we tell you that it’s definitely working. Available now at Javier’s, Sol Cocina, Coyote Grill, El Matador, Solita, Aneplaco’s Café, Brussel’s Bistro, Chapter One, El Mercado, Hi-Time Wine Cellars, SoCal Wine & Spirits, Envy Lounge and many more are coming, be sure to ask for it by name and enjoy every last drop. But don’t just take our word for it, as DesMaDre was also just nominated as one of the “Best Craft Tequilas” winners from an expert tequila panel by 10Best.com and USA TODAY. So seek it out and enjoy yours, as we’ve slowly been sipping ours this entire article. Join Us For A Cocktail: Desmadretequila.com Creative Agency: enthehouse.com
Photo: Eddie Lee @ironvault Imported by The Wine Care Group, Huntington Beach, CA
interview • liz rice mccray
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This month we had the pleasure of interviewing Berlinbased artist Riikka Hyvönen, who creates portraits of roller derby bruises. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions. Beautiful bruises on the ass, tell us how you started painting bottoms and bruises? I’ve played roller derby myself for several years, in three different teams actually, both in Helsinki and in London, where I lived and studied art for several years. Derby is something irreplaceable: for me, it represents the feminist spirit and community. It’s an original subculture, and by that I mean it creates its own admirations and objectifications. The international derby community is open and tolerant – an endless source of ideas and inspiration. First, I started to pay attention to the way my team members were showing each other their bruises on the side of the track, particularly after well-played games. The derby bruises, or derby kisses, as we prefer to call them, are admired both online and in real life. For derby girls, they are like badges of honor. At the same time, I got fascinated by the way the derby subculture creates its own objectifications on the Internet: posting photos online and commenting on them is an indivisible part of the unapologetic representation of beauty. That’s how my investigation to the psychology of bruises began, and I’m still on that path. The first time I painted a derby kiss was in 2014. From there, I have continued my search for the right kind of methods ‘til today and ended up with the current form of gigantic, psychedelic 3D paintings. The first exhibition with the Roller Derby Kisses series was for my final work showcase at the Goldsmiths University in London in the spring of 2015. There, they were already large, glittery and 3D. My technique is, however, an ever-evolving thing: I’m continuously searching for ways to depict the glory of the sport and its alternative, broad understanding of what is beautiful and acceptable. Your paintings are multi media, but what mediums make up the composition? Each one of my works is based on a real photograph. For instance, once a friend posted on my wall, saying, “I have a really beautiful bruise on my bum. Do you want to see 36 30
a pic? It has 12 colors and is the size of my head.” And then I said, ‘Yes, I’d very much like to have a look.’ So she sent it to my inbox, and it turned out to be at least as remarkable as she had threatened. In the end, this comment of hers also became the name of the work. First, I got the pictures from my friends and team members, but these days derby girls from around the world send me photos of their trophies. I am deeply honored to be able to turn some of them into art. I’d say I’m searching for particularly interesting forms and colors. A bruise that ends up in one of my works is not always the biggest one. Instead, its beauty lingers in the unique nature of its forms. The most mesmerizing bruises often bring little universes to mind, they tell stories of their own. And in derby, they are viewed in a strikingly different way than in mainstream culture; derby girls even have competitions on the most impressive “derby kisses.” Recreating a derby kiss, I use wood, MDF, leather, glitter, and various tools from airbrushes to jigsaw pieces. I need to break the surface of the leather, then paint it, then break it and paint it again, and repeat the process dozens of times in order to create a picture that is as hypnotizing on canvas as on the skin. With the kitsch, tacky, thoroughly questionable elegance, my aim is to capture the unapologetic representation of beauty that roller derby and these momentarily markings on the skin are all about. Wow, not the mediums I had expected. When viewing your paintings on the Internet, they have the impression of being very large paintings. Are they relatively large? And how do you decide on the size of the painting? They are large indeed! It feels actually quite natural to paint paintings of this scale when there is so much glitter and 3D forms included. Also, as I want to show respect for the heroic nature of derby athletes, it feels simply adequate to reserve quite a lot of space for them. The largest one I’ve done is 210 x 220 x 30 cm and the smallest so far is 90 x 90 x 7 cm. To be able to show the mesmerizing details of the bruises, the works need a sufficient amount of canvas. To me, that also symbolizes the significance the derby kisses get in derby culture as badges of honor. But then again, I do intend to create works that fit inside gallery doors.
Will you tell us about the derby world? The derby world is a very welcoming community of openminded people. Whenever I travel abroad, I can trust in finding a couch at a derby girl’s home. My feeling and experience of it is that people are genuinely curious and tolerant and encouraged to be themselves. As a sport, roller derby is extremely fast-paced and sometimes even bloody. All and all, it is an undeniably aggressive contact sport. As a subculture, it welcomes people in all sizes. I chose to picture butts, instead of other parts of the body, because that’s a very probable spot for a colorful derby kiss. A big butt is actually considered a plus in the ring, as it usually makes a great blocker. The juxtaposition between individual originality and power of a community is a thing that pop art and derby sport both tend to celebrate. I hope that can be shown in my work, too. So, do you play roller derby? Yes. At the moment I am quite busy with my work and haven’t yet found a new team from my new home city, Berlin, but I will always consider myself a derby girl. And I definitely look forward to start playing again. I have played on three teams in London and in Helsinki, not on the highest level though, but still quite seriously. What do you think is most misunderstood about your work? Well, generally the feedback I get is deeply encouraging. Sometimes, only sometimes, I get blamed for objectifying women though. And yes, it is true in that sense that I actually do objectify women. But I am objectifying them exactly in the way that they objectify themselves. They are beautiful and sexy but they are also brave. And by brave, I am not only talking about the brave action in the rink, but also about the way they celebrate their bodies through admiring the kisses from derby on their own and their team members’ skin. Where can people check out more of your art? What is confirmed so far is that I’ll be showcasing my works in a group exhibition in Stockholm this autumn and in Belfast this spring. And next year, I’ll have exhibitions in Paris and Helsinki. I am currently negotiating with several galleries, so more information is coming soon! There are also more pictures of my works on my webpage and Instagram, www.riikkahyvonen.com and @riikka.hyvonen.
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Contact matt@ourCaste.com
@ourCaste #ourCaste
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photography • dominic petruzzi • @dominicpetruzzi model • brady Campbell • @bradycampbell hair & makeup • tawny vo
This year’s WSL RVCA Pro Jr. and Newport Beach City Championships at 56th was definitely one for the books. We’re pretty sure we haven’t witnessed those types of waves in a Newps contest in a very long time. The Junior Tour is usually recognized with some brutal conditions, where competitors have to grind their little hearts out to post two numbers in hopes to advance in the next round. This was definitely not the case seeing how we had experienced an entire weekend full of consistent overhead barreling surf at our beloved 56. Tyler Gunter, our little hometown hero, came out victorious on the final day of competition taking first place in the Pro Jr. while marking his tenth Newport Beach win. “This was easily the best contest I’ve ever surfed in,” he said. “It was perfect 56th lefts with the occasionally really good barrel. I was so pumped that everyone got to experience all time Newport for a contest, I couldn’t have dreamed of a better weekend. I was really stoked
to get my 10th win. I really wanted it and I lost early last year so it was the best feeling ever to get it this year in the best Pro Jr. ever!” All in all this was an amazing event, even though we’re sure it made some of the 56th regulars extremely envious of having to watch only four guys getting to ride waves in the best stretch of surf throughout the entire beach. Might be a good incentive to enter the city contest next go around! Congratulations to all the winners in all the different divisions: Mike Estrada, Chad LaBass, David Giddings, Ben Benson, Vince Boulenger, Malia Ward and everyone else that we might have missed. Shout-out to: Jack’s, Bear Flag, Purps, VonZipper, Stance, Banzai Bowls and the City of Newport Beach for their support in bringing the Newport Beach Surf Community together as well. You guys rule!
tyler gunter • photo • stan sievers mens winners • photo • delon
tyler gunter • photo • delon
photo • stan sievers
vince boulenger • photo • delon
nolan rapoza • photo • stan sievers
colin moran • photo • delon
daniel shea • photo • delon
photo • stan sievers
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words & photos • tom carey Van life isn’t for the weak, or the old for that matter. I might fall into the latter category, but I somehow managed to survive our 1700-mile journey from New Jersey to Nova Scotia last winter. I learned a lot from the trek, and I thought I knew everything when it came to traveling. First off, having an experienced van full of troopers is the most important thing when attempting such a dumb, nerve-racking trip. You better have some surfers on board that don’t mind
driving long distance. You don’t want to wake up in a ditch or with everyone in the front seat or worse. Know your limits. In order for us to pull this off we basically had to drive for 16 hours straight across the border into Canada to get there for a morning session. We got lucky on our trip we had some madmen behind the wheel. I’m a total gimp when it comes to that open road, but between Dusty Payne, Balaram Stack, Pat Schmidt, Jack Morrissey and I we had a pretty good system worked out. I dig driving in traffic or in the city –
can’t stand the open road. It’s too peaceful for my ADD. I always have to be engaged in something and a straight highway puts me to sleep. Ah, it’s so peaceful. On the other end of the spectrum you have Dusty, who can drive for 10 hours without stopping for a leak. He was MVP, fucking Jeff Gordon! Second off, pick a vehicle that you can basically live in for a week. We opted for a 2008 Ford Econoline, 15-passenger van that resembled
something like Moby Dick. I still can’t believe this heap of junk made it there and back – it was a Christmas miracle. The heap of shit loved to drift to the left and violently shake when you went above 60 mph, which makes it hard to sleep when you think you’re going to die. Now normally these things would blow out your gas budget, but fuel on the East Coast at that time was under $2 a gallon. That saved us. Next, you gotta play Tetris. How do you fit eight surfboards, multiple pelican cases and duffel bags inside a van and still have room to stretch out?
pat schmidt
dusty payne
balaram stack
pat schmidt
balaram stack
dusty payne We blew it on the way up the coast not taking advantage of the cargo space that we ended up using as a queen size bed on the return. Eventually, I ended up trying the Forest Gump back-to-back sleeping style and it didn’t go over too well. Sleep is essential on these road trips and I wasn’t getting much. Tip number two, buy some rubber. I came into this trip under-gunned in the wetsuit department. If you’re smart you’d pack two 5-mil wetsuits, 7-mil booties, and 5-mil gloves. I took it one step further and packed a heated rash guard to keep my love handles warm. It didn’t really matter though since my suit had more holes than an East LA road sign. The water was so cold in New Jersey I almost had to rock a mouth guard to keep my shivering teeth from cracking – it was that cold. I don’t know how these warriors from the East Coast do it. There’s cold water and then there’s COLD WATER. New Jersey and Nova Scotia fall into the latter category. I have some serious respect for these guys like Pat and Bal. The anxiety alone that the frigid water gives you is enough to make you lock your doors, turn the heater on and grab a coffee instead. The first morning of our trip in Jersey was nothing like I’ve ever experienced at the beach. Dusty couldn’t
do it. I pulled the plug as well. And let me tell you the waves were firing. Overhead draining rights weren’t’ t enough to get us out of the van. The air was literally biting us. It stung. Instead we sat there and watched Pat and Bal get spat out of tubes all morning. I had a newfound respect for those two after that session. After a three-hour thaw out we started sniffing around Bayhead, New Jersey, for a loco sandbar. Phone calls were made, cams were checked and alerts were sent but we ended up surfing out in front of Pat’s house in Manasquan, and thank god because that way we could suit up in the comfort of his house. I don’t think we could have done it otherwise. Watching Dusty and I try to put on our lobster gloves was quite the spectacle. It looked like I had two left hands and nine thumbs. It only took me an extra 30 minutes to follow suit. We ended up having an amazing session and got some great footage but that was short lived, as we knew we were going straight to reverse Hell, Nova Scotia. That drive, oh that drive! The journey from Jersey to wherever the hell we were in Nova Scotia takes about 17 hours. That’s not too bad if you aren’t sitting straight up smelling farts, eating out of gas stations and listening to country music. But these
road trips can also be quite entertaining. The shit you come up with when you’re bored is ground breaking. No wonder why those kids in Middle America are always on the Internet killing themselves or their vehicles for a few million views on YouTube. After that sleepless night in search of some slabs, we met up with some local legends in the small Nova Scotia surf scene and joined them at an amazing wave that resembled some fabled left point you’d see in Chile. After all of us found some spots to take some nature shits we went to town on this wave, which is not an easy thing to do after driving for so damn long. The wave was so damn long it made it so hard to shoot. But hands down it was one of the best waves I’ve ever seen. It was really hard to leave this spot but we wanted to see what else was out there. But of course we struck out. Plus we were wiped out. I was starting to hallucinate and would have done anything to sleep in a bed. Logan Landry, one of the locals in Nova Scotia, was nice enough to put us up in his house for the night. There were six of us and that was a lot to ask of someone but they graciously handled us. I showered, zippered up my sleeping bag and passed out for 16 hours straight. The next morning we woke to find out the same swell that slammed that coast
had gone from 25 feet to two feet overnight. Oh shit. Even the magnets were almost flat. I’ve never seen a place go from that big and out of control to basically flat. We jumped in the water, caught a couple two-footers and decided to grind back to Jersey. It’s one of those things when you have to count your losses and just accept the reality of it. So we fueled up and started going and going and going. At least now we got to see some of the country while the sun was still out, and it pretty much made it worth it. Coming from Southern California you really appreciate the wide-open spaces. But oh were we dreading doing this drive again so quickly. Right when we were feeling down on our luck Dusty manned up and took the wheel. He powered for 10 hours straight, clocking in some serious miles. The highlight of the trip however came when he thought we were driving through a swarm of moths in the dark, but we later realized it actually started to snow. He was tripping, and we were laughing our asses off. It almost made the trip worth it. We learned a lot on this one: what to do, what not to do, how to prepare, how to stay warm, and it showed what a man is made out of. It was a real surf trip. If you haven’t done it yet, grab your friends, map out a swell and make some bad decisions. You won’t regret it, or at least in hindsight.
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interview • delon isaacs Hello Marcel, I’m so glad we finally locked you in for this feature. How’s everything going at the moment? You still been holding it down in Amsterdam? What’s a normal day like there for you? It’s going great, and I’m very happy to say that there’s never a normal day really. I don’t really have a routine, and half the time I’m on the road anyway. But when I’m home in Amsterdam I’m usually with my wife and son.
Did you shoot the same group of skaters all the time or would you link up with guys randomly? Yeah, basically all my friends. There were maybe two or three other photographers at the time in all of the Netherlands and half of them were busy shooting other things anyway. We never really saw them too much, so I took it upon myself to shoot all the crazy stuff my friends did, which would have never been documented otherwise. Started a zine called Guilty! (1999) and soon after we started Fluff Magazine.
Along the same lines as, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” were you a skater turned photographer, or a photographer turned skater? What age and year did this photo game start for you? Skateboarder first and foremost, although I always had a special interest in photography. I think it was 1999 when I first stumbled upon my first “real” camera, a Canon SLR. Before that, I used cheap pocket cameras. Not much later after I bought that camera my grandma bought me a new TV, as she felt bad I had a shitty black-and-white one. I didn’t really care as I didn’t watch much TV anyway and I was living in a typical skate house in the center of Rotterdam at the time. Unfortunately there was something wrong with the new TV and I brought it back to the store and got the money back and bought a Canon 15mm fisheye lens. Even though my grandma couldn’t understand that the lens was the same price as the TV, and didn’t really understand why I got a lens instead of a TV in the first place, she was fully supportive. But from that moment on I started shooting a lot more skateboarding. Thanks again, grandma, rest in peace.
We couldn’t help but notice that the batch of photos we received from you is composed of about 90 percent black and white. Is that kind of your jam? Why do you choose to shoot this way? I like a good black-and-white photo for the fact that it more so relies on strong composition, and focuses more on the subject without any colors to distract you from that. Nothing against color photos though, I love them both. It depends on the spot and subject I guess.
Did you have a tight clique that you ran with when you were in the process of your learning years?
Are you strictly freelancing at the moment? From the look of all your photos it looks like you run pretty close quarters with all the new up-andcoming Nike riders. What’s your association and how did you come across photographing this bunch? I’m working with Nike SB for quite some time now. It happened pretty natural as some of the riders in the past were close friends of mine. One thing leads to another and before you know it you shoot guys like Koston. And as far as up-and-coming Nike SB riders go, some of them I knew already before they got on Nike, others I got to know on their first tour, it totally depends. We’re all skaters, so it’s a natural thing I suppose.
nando • stale fish
duane peters jason dill
karsten • 360 flip
What is your involvement with Fluff1826 Magazine? How’s Fluff stand apart from your normal skate magazine? From just scouring the Internet it looks like you guys just released a fantastically thick issue. Can you tell us what that’s all about, and how we can find/ order a copy? We started Fluff Magazine in 2000. We change paper and format all the time, so it never looks the same. We release an issue when we’re finished, which could take a year or so sometimes. Sometimes we do collaborations with brands, as is the trend these days, like Fluff1826, which we did with Nike SB. It covers five years of my work for Nike SB, 1826 days, and it has 1826 pages. A real big paperweight. But we made a gossip issue too, for instance. It was three in a ‘discount’ pack, with the shittiest paper and layout, like the mags at the register in the supermarket, and we made one that looks like a reading book, one that weighed 5 kilos, etcetera, etcetera. There’s some samples on my website for those who are curious. We like to keep things interesting for both the readers and ourselves. Who knows what the next issue will bring? We sure as hell don’t. We send them to skateshops worldwide depending on our budget, so that’s the place to find one, skateshops only. And sometimes I put some issues for sale on my website if I stumble upon a box with old copies.
fernando bramsmark
oski • back tail over the channel
malto • f.s pivot • lima
oski • nose blunt • utrecht
karsten • 4 kink boardslide • rotterdam
kevin bradley • copenhagen grant & greyson • oz How bloody fucking cool is print? Do you have any issues with this new disposable world of digital web content and social media? How much better does it feel for you to get a photo ran for a print magazine? Do you think print is doomed? I love killing trees! I love print. Just for the fact that the collection of images and even advertisements will always be together in the same publication, forever, and therefore creating a timeframe. Look at old magazines: the language, the ads, the outfits, all a sign of the times. We would lose this on the web. Of course, one can find possibly the same photos and ads as a certain publication from the past, but most likely never together or in the same order. Having said this, I don’t really have any issues with the disposable world of the digital web. It’s also a sign of the times. Same reason I don’t mind shooting people on their phones or new cars in the background of photos for instance, as much as I like classic cars myself. But at one point these phones and cars and other contemporary stuff you’ll see in photos will also be old and ancient. I just like documenting what’s going on now, never a dull moment.
youness • cyprus
Amazing architecture and composition seems to play a huge roll in your photography. It seems like you do a very good job at not shooting at the same played-out skate spots. What are your favorite countries (or cities) to try and shoot? And how much scouting do you do for some of these photos? Thanks. But as far as skate spots go, it’s usually a joint venture: the skaters, the filmer, tour guides, team managers and myself. Most of the time we’re on tour and I have to shoot when we get to the spot and the skater’s feeling it. Rightfully so, back in the day I could never wait for a photographer; pretty ironic as I make them wait [for me] all the time. Every now and then I get to convince them to come back at a different hour when the light is better. It’s the difference between
donovon • f.s blunt • london donovon • back smith • london
ray barbee • f.s heelflip • utrecht
phil • ollie to drop
grant • stinkbug
rodney mullen • berlin
youness amrani nassim • backlip • amsterdam
nassim • backlip
a good or great photo. I always try to shoot the best photo I’ve ever taken, so 99.9% percent of the time I’m disappointed, haha. But when we’re in the Netherlands, and perhaps some other places I go to a lot, I know what time to go to each spot. Who is your hands down favorite subject to shoot? That portrait of young Oski kills me. It’s so good. How much time do you spend getting comfortable with your muses before you actually start photographing them? How important is it to build those relationships where people trust the way you portray them? Well yes, I think it’s important, although not always necessary. But yes, the better you know them the more you can get away with. All these guys know I love to shoot photos, plus I’m a skateboarder, so they never mind. I think, haha. Plus, I have a really big mouth, so it doesn’t take long to get acquainted.
My favorite subjects are usually those who live life to the max. What’s the rest of the year look like for you? Can we expect to see any exhibitions, magazines or books? A new and very special Fluff is in the works, which should come out during Bright Tradeshow in Berlin in January. Right now there’s a group exhibition curated by Raphaël Zarka called Riding Modern Art that’s on display until January in the museum of contemporary art ‘Les Abattoirs’ in Toulouse, France. Many great skate photographers participated in this one, and I’m honored to be part of this once again. I’m working on a new Roll Models book right now, which should come out in the next decade. Aside from all this, who knows? Let’s see what happens tomorrow. alexis • nollie flip
interview • liz rice mccray
Ambiguous figures, interlaced bodies, locked limbs, linear human forms and faceless characters… Los Angeles artist Alex Gardener’s artwork struck our eye with the opening of his solo show at New Image art gallery, Laugh Now Cry Now. After a little tracking (maybe it was stalking), we were able to ask him a couple of questions about his role in society, his childhood, truths, and of course, art. Many thanks to the always stoic Alex for taking the time to do our interview. Can you start off with telling us a little bit about your childhood? I was born in LA. My parents split. I moved houses a lot. I spent my formative years in the South Bay of Los Angeles. My summers were spent in Japan at my grandma’s. I was hyper aware as a kid and everything felt really intense. I always kept it stoic though. Before you started your career as an artist what were you doing? How did you transition to artist? When I finished college I spent some time being a pile of shit. I would make some drawings here and there. Then I worked freelance for a Japanese TV commercial company for a while. I would squeeze out a couple paintings a year between jobs. There wasn’t much of a transition into full-time art. I kept thinking how much I would rather be painting while on a job and that if I ever wanted to become a successful painter I would need more time to paint. So one day I just decided to quit the job and go for it.
I’m a bad swimmer. I once shit my pants two blocks from home. I can’t think of a lie.
Triangle #2 • 48x64 inches • oil on canvas
Chair #3 • 47.5x47.5 inches • acrylic on canvas
We are glad you did. Your paintings have a sense of motion, figures seamlessly moving as if it’s some kind of ambiguous street fight or modern dance performance. Will you tell us about your figurative, faceless characters and how they evolved in your painting? If you had to describe the subjects (or lack of subjects) in your paintings, what would you say? I find the human form very interesting and the most relatable thing to look at. There are a lot of challenges in depicting people though. There are all these things, like age, sex, ethnicity, era and culture that have to be considered. Depending on the ideas in the work, a lot of these things can be unnecessary distractions from the real purpose. Anyways, if I had to describe them I guess a word I could use would be “vessels.”
Two truths and a lie about you, please. I’m a bad swimmer. I once shit my pants two blocks from home. I can’t think of a lie. Your truths are pretty good, no need for a lie. Your narrative is ever changing but your complementary color palette seems to repeat. Will you tell us some of your attractions to the colors and if they play a role in the narrative of your paintings? Different colors evoke different feelings when we look at them. What do you think is most misunderstood about your work? That the central theme of my work is institutionalized racism’s prevalence in the sociopolitical landscape of America. It’s not.
Thanks for the shade • 30x24 inches ª acrylic on linen
Chair #2 • 48x36 inches • acrylic on canvas
Can’t see (how full my hands are) • 42x60 inches • acrylic on wood
How has your painting evolved, and are you going in new directions now? The work changes as I change. The change is gradual and constant. Your show at New Image Art Gallery Laugh Now Cry Now was titled beautifully. How did the name transpire? It’s a title, you know. You want it to be kind of funny and catchy while vaguely summing up the ideas of the work. If you could strip down to basics what would they be? I’m not sure the context of the question. I think my life is pretty basic, though.
How would you describe the role of the artist in society? Unnecessary. What are you really into right now, artrelated or otherwise? There hasn’t been any significant shifts in interests for a while that I can recall. I’m still that cheese-loving dude who watches too many movies. Do you have any upcoming projects you can share with us? No. :/ Where can people check out your art? My Instagram is @artposer.
16x12 inches • acrylic on wood
Being a fourth-generation native to the world’s largest temperate rain forest ecosystem, it comes as no surprise that finding an empty lineup within hundreds upon hundreds of miles of rugged coastline is possible, but getting there might kill the average surfer. Doused with miles and miles of muddy trails, secret maps to hellacious slabs with even more hellacious weather, it takes a deep knowledge and a lot of time exploring to navigate to the ultimate destination of an eight-foot slab doing its thang! That’s where Mark McInnis comes in. Having spent his entire life in the Pacific Northwest, he has about as much knowledge as one could get from spending weeks upon weeks seeking out nooks and crannies that hold surfer’s gold. And it’s no surprise that more and more of the elite
are turning to the Pacific Northwest, where picturesque backdrops are a dime and dozen… and the surf? Well, if you get it on the right day it’s better than anywhere else in the world and one of the few places where you’ll only share it with people you came in with. But don’t take our word for it – take it from one of the few who’s lived it for the past 30+ years. So Mark, how has growing up in the Pacific Northwest shaped who you are as a human being? Growing up in the PNW was amazing. I grew up in what once was a small town in Central Oregon. It has blown up now, but I think my friends and I are the last generation to really experience what it originally was: A small logging town held together by a strong local community. And I still seek
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that out. I’m not a city guy. I now live in a small community of around 400 people. Small is my style. I really dig it that way. Isolation is pretty par for the course. Are there ever times where you catch yourself looking around at just how amazing of a place you’re surrounded by and wanting to import a few of your buddies to enjoy the moment with? Haha. No way. Never! Ok, that’s a stretch. Of course there are a small handful of people that I enjoy sharing magic with, but it’s truly a handful. By no means am I a loner. I love my friends and family, but I am completely ok with being alone. I need to be alone and sometimes prefer it. Especially when it involves surfing.
What’s the typical surf mission from door to lineup? Take us through what one might expect to endure to get a few golden nuggets in the Pacific Northwest? Good grief. First and foremost would simply be the act of waiting. I’m the most impatient human on earth, but I have learned to be patient with surfing up here. It’s all about a small window of opportunity. If you miss it, it’s gone. And you have to be ok with driving for hours on end in hopes of scoring. Rarely are you lucky enough to suit up at the house and walk out front for an epic session. And you’ll need coffee or tea. Hot drinks do a lot for the soul up here. What about often is while you
the weather? How it actually snowing guys are out surfing?
And how cold are your average water temps and what wetsuit preference would you recommend for someone coming to surf the PNW? It only snows on the beach once or twice a year in the PNW. That said, it does get frigid. In the dead of winter you can have air temperatures in the low 40s and water temps in the high 40s. I really can’t stand wearing gloves, but in situations like that you need them. But it rains a lot while surfing. You just get used to being wet and finding creative ways to stay dry. Like changing in and out of your wetsuit in the car, that’s a must. In terms of wetsuits, hooded 4/3 with 5mm booties if you don’t get cold easy. If you do, a hooded 5/4 for sure. And we’re sure with all that open wilderness you’ve probably had your fair share of run-ins with Mother
Nature. What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen or come across while exploring the coast? Any crazy bear or Orca stories you can share with our reader? Ya know, I’ve been up to Canada enough to have seen Orcas, but I’ve never seen any. It’s so frustrating. Every time I’m up there I hope to see some, but it just hasn’t happened. And it’s frustrating cause I have friends up there that see them all the time. So, hopefully the next time I head that far north I’ll run into a pod. Plenty of bear stories though, both in Canada and the PNW. I was doing a recon mission in the middle of nowhere by myself a few years back and was walking down this trail to the beach. I came around a corner and there was a black bear right there eating blackberries. I have no idea how it didn’t hear me. I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t want to spook it so I took a few steps back and threw some rocks at a tree to
cam richards
make some noise. That did the trick and the bear took off. When I got to the beach there were bear prints everywhere and the surf sucked. Growing up I’ve always had a mentor, someone to take me under their wings and show me the ropes. Who is that person to you? Who opened your eyes and made you wanna get out there and discover something that no one else has probably ever seen before? Well, I don’t know that I have ever been anywhere that nobody else has ever seen before. But both of my fathers had a huge influence on me. One of them was a full-blown surfer, adventurer, kid at heart and the other was a brilliant businessman. So I got the best of both worlds in terms of really wanting to do something adventurous and out of the box for a career, but I also had a mentor in how to do it successfully and what it takes to make a career for yourself. In terms of photography, gosh, so
hank gaskell
hank gaskell
dane anderson
dane anderson
pete devries
pete devries & noah wegrich many people have influenced me: Chris Burkard, Jeremy Koreski, Ben Moon, Corey Arnold, Nick LaVecchia… All of those guys are absolute legends. And I really love Joe Curren’s dedication to film photography. Cole Barash too. Anybody that relies solely on film is amazing. I admire that as I still do a ton of film photography for personal work. It really is the best. Speaking of which, your photographs capture the moment, the rawness, the realness of the untouched Pacific Northwest; rugged and wild, they really draw out that inner-explorer within. What’s going through your head each time you pull the trigger? Whenever I’m out shooting around the PNW all I’m really focusing on is trying to find good waves. That’s stressful. Especially when you’re working with surfers. Because you’re more than a photographer, you’re their guide as well. So I’m usually just thinking that I better not blow it. But when I’m actually taking a picture, I’m really not thinking about anything different than what any
other photographer is thinking about: composition, telling the story, how this image will fit in the context of the trip, etcetera, etcetera. Really, I’m just trying to tell a unique story about surfing in a unique location. And you’ve also been blessed to shoot with most of the top surfers to ever visit the PNW. Who was your favorite to shoot with and why? Oh man, that’s a tough one. They are all so good. I can’t choose just one. Over the years I have become good friends with Josh Mulcoy. We have a personal relationship before a professional one, so it’s always the best when Mulcs is around because we get to hang out and connect as friends and then go and find waves together. That’s the best. I mean, that’s kinda how it is with all the guys that come through, but Mulcs and I are pretty tight. Timmy Reyes and Albee Layer have been spending a lot of time up here the last few years too. Timmy is a total goofball and charges about as hard as anyone I know. And Albee is a total sweetheart. He’s probably the least
timmy reyes
timmy reyes
egotistical surfer I know that surfs as well as he does. Love that dude and the crew he brings. What places are still on your bucket list? So many! Japan, Falklands, deep Chile, Norway, Alaska… I mean, anywhere cold with waves, I’m interested in. It’s kinda endless for now. Let’s get deep… we know your father past away in 2004 after being bitten on the leg by a tiger shark in Maui. What was your whole take on that incident and how has it shaped your life since? That incident made me who I am today. I surfed in Maui for years, but after my dad passed I wanted to take him with me everywhere and we always connected the best in the ocean. I mean, we were best friends in and out of the water, but in the ocean was where our relationship was the strongest. Whenever
nate tyler
nate tyler
noah wegrich I was in Maui, dad and I were in the water every day no matter what. So when that all went down, I just wanted to continue to be in the water no matter where it was or what it meant having to do. So I started surfing in the PNW and exploring the coastal regions knowing that dad was stoked, and I was taking everything he had taught me to coastlines near home. When you’re not surfing or shooting photos, what other activities do you enjoy? Fly-fishing. It’s pretty addicting. I don’t really have the patience to swing all day for big fish, but I absolutely love trout fishing. They’re hungry little buggers, which means you can catch a lot in a session if you sort of know what you’re doing. Besides that, if I’m not travelling for work, I’m basically in front of the computer 24/7 trying to keep the business alive, which
I love. I wouldn’t love it if I was working for someone else, but it’s exciting! It’s kind of like fishing. Haha. What’s your take on all this social media hoopla? Do you think it’s killing photography or taking it to the next level? Good question and one I have a hard time answering. I mean, if anything it’s making photography flourish. It certainly isn’t killing it. Everyone can take a good photo these days, but that doesn’t mean they’re a photographer. It does make it harder to weed through the garbage and find somebody that is really putting their heart and soul into it, which can also be hard because I feel like a lot of times people are just posting what they think will get “likes” instead of something that really speaks to their heart. I struggle with that too. But at the same time, my best client found me on
josh mulcoy
Instagram, so I can’t really say that I’m not as guilty as everybody else for wanting to make sure my feed is on point. That said, if it didn’t exist tomorrow I wouldn’t mind.
brad gerlach
Finally, what’s some advice you would give to someone trying to break into the photography game? Any tips or mottos you live by? Never underestimate the power of hard work. I was told that I would never be able to make a living doing what I wanted to do where I was from. And it’s a lot harder than I had ever anticipated, but with enough hard
work, motivation and dedication, I think people can do it no matter where they live or what they are shooting. If somebody thinks it is an easy way out of a 9-5, then they couldn’t be more wrong. I can guarantee that I spend more time working than any person with a desk job. It just so happens that what I do is my passion, so I don’t mind. But it’s no easy task and it may take years off your life, especially at the beginning. Like my dad always said, “Follow your heart and shoot for the stars.” Cheesy? Yes. True? Yes. Good luck!
Bryan Fox, first tracks. 64
words & photos • bob plumb
Austin Smith, Knut Eliassen and myself were halfway to Reno, on our way to Lake Tahoe to meet up with Bryan Fox and Griffin Siebert. It was the first winter in years that the conditions were good in this area. The thoughts of going back and building some of snowboarding’s legendary spots had everyone excited. All the crews were there. The conditions looked good and more snow was coming. Then Bryan Fox called and threw a wrench in our plans. With so many people in that area it seemed like every morning would be a race to the jumps, and 3 a.m. wakeup calls hoping to make it to the jump first didn’t sound super appealing. Bryan wanted to go to McCall, Idaho, instead, a place where people had filmed some years back. The area is not famous but it’s stacked with great terrain. At this point it was do or die. We were actually at the point where we could change course and catch the highway all the way up to McCall so we went for it.
Four guys, lots of pillows.
Birthday boy Griffin Siebert with his pillow present.
Austin Smith sprinting to McCall.
Griffin Siebert, snowball brick.
Bryan Fox, slashing.
Austin Smith, drop of faith.
Griffin Siebert, Knut Eliassen & Bryan Fox.
Burnt forest method with Griffin.
Synchronized doubles with Bryan Fox & Griffin Siebert.
And people say Griffin Siebert doesn’t catch air.
Burgdorf Hot Springs.
Austin Smith tracked method.
It turned out to be a stroke of genius. The temperatures stayed cold and the snow pack was solid. Our friends in Tahoe found otherwise. Things heated up and slides were popping off all over the mountains. In McCall it snowed day and night. We had a solid crew of four riders, a photographer and a filmer. No one was around. We had the entire area to ourselves with endless amounts of untouched terrain. Each morning was spent with a casual wakeup: a little coffee, some avocado toast (very hip) and plan. We had three snowmobiles, so access to the thousands of acres of terrain was no problem. Most of the time a short snowmobile ride would bring us to pillows right
This photo sums up the trip – bottomless pow with Bryan Fox.
off the cat track. If you like riding pillows, this is the place. They are everywhere. Some you could lap on your snowmobile. It was insane, and so much fun. It turned out to be Griffin’s birthday on the trip. His gift was endless amounts of pillows. The snow kept falling slowly, day and night. Our last day we decided to go to the Burgdorf Hot Springs, which was an hour snowmobile ride to a town with the population of two. We went for a nice long soak before heading back to our house. Getting back we had found the front door snowed in, fitting for how much it had snowed all week. Needless to say, the trip was a complete success.
Saturday, September 17th, a solo exhibition by Jordan Nickel (POSE) titled FRANKLY opened in Los Angeles at the Detroit-based contemporary art gallery Library Street Collective (LSC). A collection of evolutionary works that will re-contextualize the provenance of the artist’s Pop Art influences, dramatic and immediate, Nickel’s 16 paintings on paper demonstrate the risks and rewards of a body of work completely stripped down by one of LSC’s favorite collagists.
events
Nickel’s new collection of works for FRANKLY offers a radical departure from what followers have come to expect from him, and the result is intriguing - mature, poised and candid. On the surface, references that reveal his passion for the history of Pop Art are evident, while more obscure nods to Americana and cult classics are at the core of his visual progression. Formally, Nickel’s dissection and interference of the sources he subverts are increasingly subtle, making these techniques stronger than ever. Coinciding with the opening of FRANKLY, LSC announced their first Los Angeles residency in Mid City (5428 W. Washington Blvd.) from September 2016 until early in the New Year.
Photos: Jon Lake • clockwise from top left • Dabs & Myla, Cleon Peterson & Jordan Nickel • Untitled Reaction #1 • Shepard Fairey, Jordan Nickel & friend • Untitled Reaction #6 • Untitled Reaction #13 - #15 • JJ Curis, Tony Held & Anthony Curis • Jessica Trent & friend • Untitled Reaction #16 & Untitled Reaction #12 • Untitled Reaction #9 • Untitled Reaction #5 • Untitled Reaction #5 - #8 • Opening reception • Untitled Reaction #2 • Untitled Reaction #16
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September in SoCal usually means scorching temperatures as summer makes one final, fiery push before giving way to fall, but the forecast at Bear Mountain on Sept. 24th called for clear skies, temps in the upper 60s, and 100 percent chance of snow thanks to 170 tons of shaved ice groomed to perfection for the 13th annual Hot Dawgz & Hand Rails, a.k.a., “The largest winter kickoff party known to man.”
events
Considered one of the most influential and innovative events in the snowboarding industry since its inception in 2003, HDHR was strictly a one-day rail jam competition, featuring some of the best riders in the world competing on one-of-a-kind courses designed and built by the resort’s park staff. This year the event expanded to two days – Sept. 23 and 24 – with concerts, including performances by Atlas Genius, Dilated Peoples, She Wants Revenge, Wale, Eagles of Death Metal and exclusive screenings of the new TransWorld SNOWboarding and Snowboarder Magazine videos both nights. The result was an event that was both fresh and familiar for the 3,000+ spectators in attendance, with room to grow in the future. As for the on-snow shredding, more than 60 riders hit the hill hoping to claim part of the $16,000 prize purse. Sam Taxwood, Jaeger Bailey, and Brandon Davis finished first, second, and third, respectively, in the men’s division, while Madison Blackley, Jill Perkins, and Darrah Reid-McLean took home top honors on the women’s side. Jordan Morse won Best Trick with a masterful Cab 270 On 270 Off that had the entire crowd buzzing. We can’t wait to see what Bear Mountain cooks up for HDHR next year. Photos: Lee Stockwell & Jared Meyer • clockwise from top left • Sam Taxwood • Winners: Sam Taxwood (1st Place), Jordan Morse (Best Trick), Jaeger Bailey, (2nd Place), Brandon Davis (3rd Place), Madison Blackley (1st Place Women) • Jaeger Bailey • Eagles of Death Metal • Buzz Holbrook • Wale • Ryan Paul • Sam Taxwood • Brandon Davis • Oliver Dixon • Riley Nickerson • Jesse Hughes, Eagles of Death Metal • Erik Leon • Wale
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Late last month RVCA and Purps were proud to present Apolitical Process, an art show held in the heart of Venice Beach whose vision stemmed from 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater and was curated by RVCA founder Pat Tenore. Apolitical Process featured art works from artist Bruce Reynolds and Kevin Ancell, with immaculate photography works from veteran surf photographer Todd Glasser. Apolitical Process is the exploration of an artistic journey through the chaotic and sometimes inflammatory 2016 election cycle. The show’s intention was to explore the underlying truth, hypocrisy, danger, motivations, misinformation and the effect the election process has on its society and to produce thoughtful discussion and transparency through to its audience. Opening night was of course a very classy event filled with beautiful people, beers, cocktails and even a cheese plate! The sculptures from Bruce Reynolds were incredibly intricate and stunning, as was the chaotic paintings portraying everyone’s current favorite person Donald Trump. The Bruce Reynolds portion of the show developed pretty much the entirety of the show’s political point of view.
events
Addressing the crowd late in the evening, before the live performance from Matt Costa, Slater explained what had kept him going with the project. “Tonight was dedicated to Bruce Reynolds, my old friend from Florida,” Slater said. “These pieces are how he observes the political environment in America. Because there’s a lot of really interesting and strange things happening this year.” Accompanying the works of Bruce Reynolds, The Ancell Blackfish surfboard installation really stole the show for us. The wall consisted of about a dozen of Kelly’s boards, some ridden and some broken, with the names of Kelly’s fallen friends all hand drawn in script like arrangements while mimicking the body patterns of Orcas. Ancell’s installation was a visual protest against the treatment of Orca Whales in captivity at Sea World and elsewhere around the world, a cause Slater took interest in after the 2012 film Blackfish revealed just how tragic and terrifying circumstances were for the beautiful, captive beasts. If you happen to pick up this magazine early, the show will be on view through October 9th at Folding Table Gallery in Venice Beach at 201 San Juan Ave., Venice, CA 90291. Photos: Zach Neminsky & Lyon Herron • Clockwise from top left • Kelly Slater & Kalani Miller • PM Tenore, Kevin Ancell & Johnny Knoxville • Ancell & Todd Glasser • Danny Fuller, Brophy, Austin, Luke Davis, Shu and Zach Neminsky • Kevin Ancell Installation on Slater Boards • Herby Fletcher & Casey Holland • Mike D of Beastie Boys • Pretty Art Babes • Crowd Shot • G Love & Friend • Saber, Danny Wilson, Keith Wager, ARoss, AXIS • Bruce Reynolds Sculptures • Matt Costa • Bruce Reynolds Sculptures
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interview • max ritter
music
The Growlers annual Beach Goth festival is now in its fifth year. This year, due to the festival’s growth, it will be moving from The Observatory to Oak Canyon Park in Silverado, CA. The band will also be celebrating the release of their new Julian Casablancas produced fifth record City Club. Interview with Brooks Nielsen. First thing, I love Beach Goth. I think I have been every year now. How do you keep involved with the festival, and how do you guys keep it fresh each year? It’s getting crazier and bigger. It’s kind of hard to keep control and focus on everything else. We are still involved with the art and throwing out thousands of suggestions of bands and hoping we get something and it starts snowballing into something bigger. The promoter Jeff Shuman does an amazing job of curating all the bands and coming up with stuff that myself and my band mates wouldn’t think of. It’s fun. I am hoping it doesn’t turn into too much of a monster, but I am also excited about the growth. This year we moved to Oak Canyon. It’s definitely a jump so hopefully it will all go smoothly. But yeah, we had to get out of the parking lot. (Laughs) Maybe this will be home for a while. I think we go back and forth trying to decide if we want to be in the business of running a festival or wondering if this is too much for us. (Laughs) We just want to be a band. So I don’t know how long it will run for or how big it will get, but right now it’s still fun being creative. Julian Casablancas produced the new album! I am a big fan. How did you guys establish that relationship and what was it like to work with him? Yeah, we are big Strokes fans too, so it’s kind of cool seeing it come full circle I guess. We had played a show with him a long time ago, so that was the first introduction. We opened for his solo project. Years later one of us ran into him at a bar and started talking to him. We were at a time when we were finally going to leave the one record label we had always been on and I think it was just good timing. Oh, that’s right, because he put it out on his label too. Yeah, he put it out on Cult. So that was kind of the deal. He told us he could produce it and be as hands-on or as hands-off as we wanted. We wanted him all-in and it was great. We got to spend more time than we ever had before in the studio and also more time preparing than we’ve ever done. It’s always been a quick hit and run. So this time we put some more time into writing and
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more time into the actual process of making it and… it’s not fun (laughs) but I think that’s how you make creative things. You push yourself. Now that it’s all over I am happy. I am happy to give our fans new music. It happens that I am also a big Paul Thomas Anderson fan and I always wanted to ask you guys about how you ended up in his film. I remember watching it and I was like, “Hey! That’s the fucking Growlers!” I think he reached out; he wanted a band that actually surfed. Someone had mentioned us to him along with a few other bands. He is so hands-on that he looked us up and invited us up to the set. When he talked to us about it he was pretty vague. (Laughs) He’s like, “I don’t know if you guys are going to be acting, or playing music, or just in the background. We’ll see, I kind of change things real quickly on the set.” He convinced us to do it even though we were real busy making records at the time. It was difficult for us. We were like, “We’re not actors, were boring, what the fuck is going on?” (Laughs) But in hindsight I am glad we did it. I think we were supposed to go do more too but we just thought we’d done enough and we needed to go make a record. Yeah, I don’t know if we will ever do any more of that again (laughs) but it was a cool experience. I recently heard you became a dad. What’s it like being a dad in a rock ‘n’ roll band? (Laughs) I am not feeling the change yet, but if this happened five years ago or 10 years ago when it was really a grind I think it’d be more difficult. There are so many luxuries we have now that we didn’t have before to help. We have things in order more. so I am a little more setup and ready to do this. I don’t think there is any preparing for it. You see your wife’s body changing and you just want to do anything to make her feel good. And I think it’s just one thing after another – you’re just busy and there is no time to think. Once it’s all said and done with it’s just caring to every need of the baby and it’s such a natural easy thing for me to take on. I think I have always been kind of a dad in this business as well. (Laughs) It feels good. It is harder to leave now though. Thanks, Brooks. Be sure to check out The Growler’s Beach Goth (Party) October 22ND & 23rd at Oak Canyon Park and also get their brand new record, City Club, out now on Cult Records.
words • olson l photo • lisa johnson
Coral Fangs The Wayfarer, Costa Mesa, CA September 17th, 2016 After four years of playing music together, Coral Fangs played their first show in Costa Mesa at the Wayfarer on September 17th. According to guitarist Greg Teal, this was the first time frontman Johnny McCray had performed since high school, but one could not have guessed the singer’s hiatus from stage. I guess it’s one of those things that once you’ve got it you never lose it. Numbers like Feed the Dog, Back and White, and Rollercoaster had chicks grooving and singing at the top of their lungs. The band played for about an hour and a half and sold out of the Coral Fangs merch during that time. The t-shirts included their name on the front and a psychedelic shark tooth locked up on the back in pink and black. As far as influences go, they are rooted in Southern California beach culture and punk rock with guitar riffs ingrained in blues and rock and roll. Their namesake is derived from the last album the Distillers released. Brothers Dan and Drew have been playing together since boyhood, and to this day they have pushed each other to be better musicians. Members of the group include Johnny McCray (vocals), Greg Teal (guitar), Dan Atkinson (bass), and Andrew Atkinson (drums). “Maybe not so uncommon for punk bands, the productivity of each practice is a big question mark depending on level of imbibement, temperament and punctuality,” says Andrew. Their self-titled album can be found on iTunes and Spotify. Also, wax vinyl exists if you can get your hands on them. We can expect Coral Fangs to release an EP next year and possibly a split 7-inch too, which they’ll be sharing with Sharp Shock.
reviews • max ritter
Stranger Things Vol. 1 Lakeshore Records Who didn’t get hooked on Stranger Things?
Wilco Shmilco dBpm Jeff Tweedy looks back and opens with a beautiful ode to growing up and hating, “Normal American Kids.”
BadBadNotGood IV Innovative Leisure Fifth album from the Toronto-based rap-influenced jazz band BBNG. The collaboration with Sam Herring of Future Islands is a hammer – put your hand in front of your fisheye.
Neil Young Time Fades Away Reprise “Money hassles among everyone concerned ruined this tour and record for me, but I released it anyway so you folks could see what could happen if you lose it for a while,” Neil Young on his first live album recorded in 1973.
reviews • delon isaacs
Silver Apples Clinging to a Dream Magic Theatre Music I randomly saw Silver Apples live in Paris last month on a boat party venue, because one my friends, who is a girl, had taken a new Persian lover and told us to go. As I walked into the boat’s basement this 78-year-old man was just killing it behind a huge circuit board cranking the most awesome noise jams. It hit an hour later that I had just witnessed a live Silver Apples show, and that old man was Simeon Coxe. This guy has been making amazing music since the ‘60s and Clinging to a Dream is his latest album. This album deserves your respect, please check it out! Cass McCombs Mangy Love Anti This is the most lovely/controversial album that I have listened to in a long time; it feels like something Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan would of written 30 something years ago. Mangy Love is the eighth full album from Cass McCombs, solidifying himself now as a veteran singer/songwriter. On this album, Cass takes us on a stark journey where he explores the difficulties of our present time and the sociopolitical issues, ranging from blatant everyday prejudice that continues to occur as well as sexism that happens on the daily basis among woman.
Angel Olsen My Woman Jagjaguwar Oh, the complexities of being a woman… I’ll never really understand them on a firsthand basis but I for sure feel for my ladies, especially after listening to this album. My Woman is Angel Olsen’s third and best album to date, as it takes on some huge, heavy-weighted emotions and feelings. This album is filled with some new sounds never heard before in Olsen’s music. There’s some really neat synth stuff and rockier tones going down in this record, peep it.
Tim Presley The Wink Drag City White Fence’s frontman Tim Presley debuts his solo album The Wink, and it’s a pretty freakin’ cool album to start out his solo career. The Wink is a vast collection of a lot of unique sounds and ideas, but it’s not over done, and it’s still relatively pretty catchy and easy to follow. It was kind of a hard album to find initially, which caught me by surprise because the music he was doing with White Fence was fucking everywhere. I wish I could tell you where you can find this, because hopefully by the time you’re reading this its on iTunes or something, but whatever, by any means you should listen to this record.
photo • ortiz
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