BL!SSS Magazine | December 2009 | #28 by Blisss Mag

JULIAN WILSON IN CYPHER 3/2 CHEST-ZIP

SUIT UP AT QUIKSILVER.COM/WETSUITS

JULIAN WENT FROM HOT GROM TO MEDIA LIMELIGHT PHENOM IN RECORD TIME. THAT’S A FACT. HE’S GOT MIND-BLOWING VIDEO PARTS. NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. HE HAS DOMINATED IN COMPETITION. JUST CHECK THE HISTORY BOOKS. HE’S TAKEN SEVEN STITCHES ON THE CHIN AFTER DROPPING INTO AN INDO DEATH BOMB WHEN SLATER SAID GO. KELLY WILL VOUCH FOR THAT. THERE’S NO DENYING HE’S THE REAL DEAL, A COMPLETE PACKAGE, JUST LIKE THE QUIKSILVER CYPHER WETSUIT — AN UNDENIABLE EXAMPLE OF TECHNICAL SUPERIORITY, REDEFINING THE POSSIBILITIES THROUGH PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGY.

CYPHER™ PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGY

HYPERSTRETCH II

FLEXMAX SEALS

UNRESTRICTED FLEXIBILITY. UNPARALLELED WARMTH. UNBELIEVABLE LIGHTNESS.

Stefan Janoski

Bliss_Ad_Dec09_Analog.indd 1

11/16/09 9:03:34 AM

K E V I N

“ S P A N K Y ”

L O N G

! 5 3 4 ) . 3 4 % 0 ( % . 3 # ! ) 2 / & / 3 4 % 2 $ !6 ) $ 2 % 9 % 3 % $ 4 % - 0 , % 4 / . * / 3 ( ( ! 2 - / . 9 * 5 , ) ! . $ !6 ) $ 3 / . + % % ' ! . 3 ! 5 $ % 2 + % 6 ) . h 3 0! . + 9 v , / . ' , % / 2 / - % 2 / . % 3 4 / 2 * 5 $ + ) . 3

T H E

B A L A N C E

O F

O P P O S I T E S

2 6 # ! # / - s 2 6 # ! ! . 0 1 # / - ) . & /

26 # ! # / -

vans-Bliss-dec.indd 1

11/18/09 5:39 PM

P H O T O _

J A S O N

L E E

P A R R Y

2 0 0 9 A D S _ JLEE

C O P Y R I G H T

2 0 0 9

9 4 9 . 5 7 4 . 9 1 4 2

P H O T O G R A P H A new series by Jason Lee Parry.

COMUNE WAS FORMED FROM THE IDEA THAT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO NOT ONLY EMBRACE THE RAWNESS AND IMPERFECTIONS OF EVERY

DAY LIFE BUT USE IT TO CREATIVELY PUSH THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT’S POSSIBLE IN SKATEBOARDING, FASHION, ART, AND MUSIC THEIR OWN WAY, WITH COMPLETE DISREGARD OF THE CONSEQUENCES.

Bliss_Ad_Dec09_Gravis.indd 1

11/16/09 9:05:53 AM

gravisskateboarding.com

coming soon

the new arto series

Sandow Birk

5300 AAATM Adult Fine Jersey V-neck Tee 4.3 oz. 100% Combed Ringspun Cotton.* Sizes S-2XL *Athletic Heather 90/10 Cotton/Polyester *Charcoal Heather 60/40 Cotton/Polyester

Available colors:

Athletic Heather Black Charcoal Charcoal Heather Purple Silver Turquoise White

New for 2010 - All garments will be available with a Tear Away Label for

easy removal to help with your re-labeling and heat transfer programs. Contact us today for a copy of our new 2010 catalog to see what new styles and colors we have to fulfill all your blank apparel needs.

速

03411-MECH MH Blisss Ad.indd 1

11/20/09 3:19 PM

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF nick kalionzes nick@blisssmag.com

EDITOR

joey marshall joey@blisssmag.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR mark paul deren madsteez@madsteez.com

EDITOR AT LARGE liz rice liz@blisssmag.com

SKATE EDITOR chris ortiz chris@blisssmag.com

SNOW EDITOR jon francis jon@blisssmag.com

MUSIC EDITOR tim bergevin tim@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, Andrew Miller, Julien Lecorps, Ryan Boyes, Zach Hooper, Tim Peare, Michael Lallande

CONTRIBUTORS

Matt Patterson, Willie Marshall, Josh Spencer, Aaron Astorga, Daniel Russo, Liz Rice, Jason Arnold, Greg Escalante, 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 BL!SSS Magazine 413 31st Street Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.blisssmag.com

1/>B/7< 47< >6=B=5@/>6G B6=;/A 1/;>03::

B63

DECEMBER 2009

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 Blisssâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; right to edit and comment editorially. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine reďŹ&#x201A;ect 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 reďŹ&#x201A;ect 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.

Cover Art : Sandow Birk If your favorite shop isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t receiving BL!SSS Magazine please contact info@blisssmag.com

RAEN_Bliss_CAPTN-1.indd 1

11/25/09 10:55:48 AM

nixonnow.com/outsidertide OUTSIDER_TIDE_BLISS.indd 1

11/13/09 2:46:33 PM

MAMMOTH NYE PARTY

COLLIN IT QUITS

Are you still trying to ﬁgure out what to do for New Years? The ultimate solution for a good time is heading on up to Mammoth Mountain and celebrating with us. We’ve joined forces with Comune, Sabre, Mammoth Mountian, and The Closet to be the ofﬁcial media sponsor of the best New Year’s Eve party around. Anyone at last years’ event can attest, absolute greatness is destined to happen. It seemed like girls outnumbered guys 2 to 1 and this year is sure to be a repeat. Quite impressive given the variables. Honestly, what could be better, raging party all-night, followed by what is sure to be great riding the following day. Get your tickets at wantickets. com before they sell out.

Collin Provost has been provoked for the last time. Haha… Latest skate rumors are circulating that Collin walked from Element and is now rocking the Toy Machine. I know one very high, white-dreaded, ex-Element skater in HB that has got a smile on his face hearing this news. It looks like Ed Templeton has been pulling his weight in gold over at the Machine and has built quite the roster. Cheers to you both and looking forward to big things in the near future.

ECHO BEACH The masterminds behind Echo Beach have asked us one million times to please, please, please review their video. I feel like the flick was released a decade ago. After all, we did a behind the scenes, hosted their party, went to the LA premiere and since have given up dozens of waves to nearly everyone staring in the film. Regardless, just to please Parker and Stefan we did finally sit down and give the documentary the proper viewing. After doing so I find myself more educated than ever on the early eighties surf era of our town. Now, next time we see you in the lineup with your neon board and dolphin shorts I think you might owe us a wave or two.

PARKUMENTARY The good folks over at Alpinestars have teamed up with Wahoo’s Fish Tacos for a killer little monthly giveaway going on during the whole month of December. Next time you’re in Wahoo’s picking up your favorite dish, be sure to ask for details on how you can participate in winning an autographed Travis Mellem surfboard and an Alpinstars clothing package. More details can be found at wahoos.com.

ARTO SHOE The ﬁne peeps over at Gravis just sent us a nice little care package of their newest: The Arto LX Shoe. We’ve all been wearing the same nappy Vans for the last year and it’s as if the crew at Gravis have read our minds. The new Arto LX shoe is pretty low key, great materials combined with a not too ﬂashy design, make for the perfect shoes for guys like us. After a solid week of wear, they have proved to be some of the most comfy kicks we’ve worn in a long time. Thanks Gravis!

http://www.facestalker.com/sector9%20rules/claireb/ Google

Ya h o o!

Cialis.com

facestalker

Home

P laygirl

Profile

S ector9.com

Friends

TWSurf

Crochet Monthly

organic tees

Surfer

Inbox 99

Claire Bevilacqua

Settings

Claire Bevilacqua I love small Indonesian men at my beck and call! Wall

Info

Photos

Logout

Doctor Jellyfingers

on Wednesday clear

Video Create an Ad

I hope so... cause I’m a funny bitch! And Share

Attach

Play Sector 9: Skate or Die

Options

Chanelle Sladics OMG! Congrats on WCT requalification. You should be out here in Breckenridge making snow angels with me. :)

Bamboo Boards: Skateboards made from the fastest growing, most sustainable weed on the planet. Get yours at sector9.com.

Yesterday at 9:00pm Comment Like See Wall-to-Wall

Claire Bevilacqua Thanks, babe. Get your fat arse to Hawaii so we can frolick in the warmness. Yesterday at 9:09pm Delete

View Photos of Claire (999)

Write a comment...

View Home Movies of Claire (14) Edit My Profile

Bud Can

Need a date?

In these photos: Claire Bevilacqua Kiss don’t kill.

Information Relationship Status: Looking for something quick ‘n’ easy Birthday: January, 29 1983 photo:watts

Hometown: Perth, Australia

Friends 999 friends

Sector 9

We’ve got a great idea...Get off your computer and actually go out and meet a real, live male model/ surfer like this one here. He’s a slashy.

See All

Erica Hosseini

Summ Yunguy

Did You Know?

Barrel 9 new photos Yesterday at 2:17pm View album

Mike Morrissey

Adam Virs

Chanelle Sladics

Claire Bevilacqua JettyGirl surf photo: Claire Bevilacqua

Photos 69 albums

All of Sector 9’s tees are ecofriendly and sustainable. We offer 100% Organic Cotton and Recycled PET tees. Pick your poison. *tees are poison free

See All You’re so hot. No, you are. Updated about 30 years ago The Body Issue Updated about 2 weeks ago for ESPN Magazine.

Big Titties I’m Just Good at Everything 9 new photos Clear Chat History

Big

2:17am

Erica Hosseini I’m excited to get to North Shore. Is it still Claire, you fire cracker, how did you get a 50-1 guy to girl ratio? Where’s Mr. Creepy staying. Yesterday at 3:12am

Create a Profile Badge

More Ads

Today at 9:00am View album

Comment Like See Wall-to-Wall

into ESPN Magazine? So rad!

2:22am Claire Summ Yunguy Hi Claire! Adam gave me your info and I was Easy, just took off my clothes. just outside your house and I didn’t see your car there. Where 2:23am Big Yesterday at 4:02am Delete At least you left something to the Write a comment... imagination. Great layout.

English (...but with a funny accent)

Applications Check me out on YouTube at www.youtube.com/sector9media/

2:35am

I love laying out. Serena Williams who? So stoked they included me. About Advertising Developers Careers Terms Find Friends Privacy Mobile Help Center My fear is

Big Titties

Smut(9)

KWORLD

VOLCOM PIPE PRO This thing landed on my desk a month back and it took all of us here in the office another month to figure out exactly what it did. Upon reading the instructions front to back, a little internet research, and then finally taking it home and trying out, we discovered out the boys at Kworld found a way to turn your everyday LCD monitor into an HD TV. It would have been pretty cool to have one of these in our dorm room in our college days or any other area with minimal space. Thanks guys!

PB&J The boys up the hill at Volcom have put another notch in their belt by announcing that they will kick off the ASP WQS tour in 2010 with a 5-star Volcom Pipeline Pro. After owning two of the most iconic houses at the break, it only makes perfect sense that they would step up and sponsor an event on the North Shore. The contest has a waiting period of two weeks (Jan. 23rd-Feb. 5th), pretty much guaranteeing great surf. And with guys like Bruce Irons, Dusty Payne and Dave Wassel getting up in the mix, the action is sure to be spectacular. Way to make it happen V-Co!

I had a chance to visit the Club Nokia in downtown this past month for a sold out show put on by Peter, Bjorn & John. Now, I wasn’t the biggest PB&J fan going in to the event (it was for my chick) but man was I impressed. The dudes were cool enough to invite LA’s Ladies Choir on stage for backup vocals and fellow Swede Lykke Li nearly stole the show during her guest appearance. Apparently the trio had planned this elaborate celebration the whole time only letting the audience know halfway through the show that this particular weekend was the bands “ofﬁcial” ten-year anniversary. It’s obvious these musicians are more than extremely talented, but I just can’t seem to tell you how impressed I truly was.

THE FUTURE IS NOW The crew at Future Fins have been on a tear lately, releasing tons of new models all while gearing up for the big winter swells. The latest fins to reach the BL!SSS HQ are Hawaiian signatures series by John John Florence and Clay Marzo. The John John’s are designed for the little tykes ready to battle some heavy surf. Clay’s signature fin is for the bigger blokes who like to lay the rail and maximize control in most critical of sections. Both fins were uniquely designed with input from the team riders – so you know they work as well as look great. Another perfect stocking-stuffer for your Christmas list.

LAKER CANDY The Skullcandy crew might originally be from Salt Lake City but we all know they’re Laker fans at heart. Why else would they be dropping these Kobe inspired headphones? Just kidding, they’re still lovin’ The Jazz as well. They teamed up with ﬁve other b-ballers to bring you the best of the NBA. Now you can support your favorite team while listening to your favorite tunes. We also just heard that they are planning on opening a West Coast marketing headquarters in the next few months. Rumor is, there will be one hell of a welcoming party, so we’ll keep you posted.

MADSTEEZ MURAL

ELECTRIC ACETATE SERIES Someone just told me that Electric didn’t make acetate sunglasses and all their lenses are pressed out of these ridiculously expensive molds. Of course I get an email that very day from my boy Matt Shadbolt about Electric’s new acetate series. Funny how things like that always seem to happen. Well, these new shades look about as legit as they come, with a handful of new color ways and extremely low quantities, these are gonna be in high demand this winter. Our very own Art Director (Madsteez) has spent half the month dodging ofﬁce work and painting his little fanny off in Los Angeles. The folks at Nike hired him to do a little mural on top of the legendary Montalban Theatre. He nearly wet himself when they offered him the opportunity and I didn’t think he was even going to be able to muster up the acceptance. It’s his biggest piece to date and though I’d like to rag on him, I gotta admit I am again quite impressed at what our little Creative Director has created. I really didn’t think he had it in him to pull off such a masterpiece. Now he’s spreading rumors that the prince of Dubai wants him to collaborate on some Weeneze island project with him. Right Steez… and next you’ll be telling me that the president of Nickelodeon is wearing your shoes.

BLAKROC BLAKROC

HOT LAPS This month’s “website of the month” has gotta go to none other than blakroc. com. The site is a musical journey showcasing the process of what happens when The Black Keys teamed up with label exec Damon Dash to produce an album titled “Blakroc”. The site consists of 11 webisodes showcasing 11 artists, 11 days in the studio, and 11 tracks. With big names like Mos Def, RZA, Jim Jones, Raekwon, and many more you know it’s gonna be a hit. Someone sent us an anonymous pre-release of the album and we’ve been blasting it ever since. Pretty impressive stuff if you ask us, check it for yourself at blakroc.com

CASIO EXILIM G

The Mammoth Mountain produced video, Hot Laps, has just been inserted into our dvd player here at BL!SSS and we can’t seem to take our eyes off the screen. The movie steps away from the traditional video format by featuring only terrain at or near Mammoth Mountain, including the world-famous Unbound Terrain Parks, some ridiculous big mountain in-bounds terrain and a ton of backcountry shredding. We can’t wait to get out of the southern California smog and into the clean air of Mammoth this year, so we’re waxing up our shred sticks and waiting for the next big dump… you can bet we’ll all be up in Mammoth soon enough.

Jumping on the digital waterproof bandwagon just in time for the holidays, Casio has released their latest digi cam, the Exilim G1. Like its counterparts, this baby is waterproof up to ten feet, can take one heck of a shock, shoots at 12 megapixels and is freeze proof. That’s right, freeze proof – which makes it the perfect camera to capture all those mountain shredding moments. If you’ve ever taken a digital camera to sub zero temperatures on the slopes then you know you’re just carrying around a paperweight. Not anymore, get the EX-G1 and get up the mountain.

Photo: Scott Aichner

Jesse Merle Jones

DEC09_JMJ_BLISSS_1.indd 1

10/26/09 10:56:57 AM

VESTAL SHINY TOY MAMMOTH

BIGFOOT MALONEY TACO Our boy Jason Maloney teamed up with the artist Bigfoot this past month and a big mural blasted on the side of the Costa Mesa Wahoo’s Fish Tacos. We know there are at least a couple dozen more Wahoo’s locations and we are hoping they let a few other artists loose on the premises. We all really think this would be a great idea and just ties in with giving back to the art community. Keep your eyes peeled because we’re sure that we’re not the ﬁrst one to mention this to the Wahoo’s crew.

TIM BROWN GOLF

The Vestal crew took their annual pilgrimage up to Mammoth for opening weekend in their kick-ass tour bus. We somehow missed the invite, but heard it was one heck of a good time. The watch masterminds once again convinced Shiny Toy Guns to play at the ofﬁcial after party of the “Hot Laps” premiere and blew the doors off that sleepy mountain town. Good movies, good music, and good snowboarding – sounds like an ideal weekend to us.

TED SHRED Wish that classic surf wax smell would never escape the holes of your nostrils? Do you ﬁnd yourself leaving open bars of Sex Wax in your car just to capture that fresh surf wax scent? Well, you’re not alone – and the folks at Ted Shred’s have got the solution. They been developing surf wax scented candles for quite some time now and have got the formula on lock. With a shipment of new scent arriving door side, we’ve been burning them nonstop in our ofﬁce I gotta tell ya, things around here have never smelt better. With a new distribution warehouse open in Costa Mesa, these candles are more available than ever so head on over to your local shop or log onto tedshreds.com and get yours today.

Last month we got invited to attend the annual Tim Brown Invitational Golf Tournament at Strawberry Farms in Irvine, where the goal of the day was to raise money to be donated to TACA (Talk About Curing Autism). With more and more kids being diagnosed with autism these days, now is the time to get involved and that is exactly what our friend Tim and the hundreds of golfers did. It was a great day out on the links - everyone had a lot of fun and raised a bunch of cash for TACA. We’re already looking forward to next year; maybe we’ll even improve that horrible slice.

DOMINOES We were running out of things to write about when my newest little desk distraction caught my eye. On a recent little getaway down to Nicaragua, Nike 6.0’s Zach Boone got the BL!SSS crew all hooked on playing dominoes. Even though it has caused several office fist fights and more than half of one particular employees paycheck, we keep seeming to go back to these wooden devil blocks whenever we need a short break from staring at our computer screens. Anyone keen on loosing some money feel free to swing by anytime.

MASON AGUIRRE

HART CONCRETE DESIGN - HCD :: Words & Photos: Pat Towersey

HCD is a local company that specializes in the design and fabrication of concrete countertops, sinks, flower pots, furniture and architectural elements. Kyle Hart, founder of HCD, is a skilled concrete artisan who has been building custom work for the past decade. In his formative years, Kyle was one of the original sponsored Volcom skateboarders and also helped to launch Vita Shoe Co. From a young age he was a carpenter/craftsman, building skateboard ramps and doing other odd jobs. Eventually he became intrigued with poured, polished Concrete. In 2003 he began experimenting and eventually perfecting his techniques, all through trial and error because very few people were really doing similar stuff. Over the years, he’s done custom work for a number of people in community including Dave Rose, Pat Tenore, Conan Hayes, Chris Anderson, Pat O’Connell, as well as some Hollywood types like Matthew McConaughey. Most Recently, HCD participated in The Casa Surf Project at LA Casa Del Camino—the historic 38-room boutique hotel in Laguna Beach, CA. The project featured 10 designers, 10 suites, 10 companies – including Billabong, Roxy, Glaceau, Etnies, Lost Quiksilver, L Space and Rip Curl. In the Etnies room, Kyle built an exact replica of the Etnies skate pool using Eco-friendly materials: fly ash (an incinerator waste product) instead of Portland cement and a water-based sealant and beeswax finish. To check out their work, go to hartconcretedesign.com

MOSAIC ALPINESTARS.COM/BOARDSHORTS NATHANIEL CURRAN

Words: Jim Shubin A little while back I went out to Vegas to saddle up in the Hard Rock Hotel for a weekend of recession killing. We really went to support Andy Bell (MTV’s Nitro Circus) in his debut MMA fight against legendary skater, radio personality Jason Ellis. A lot of people rallied for the event: close friends, family, people I ran into at the Damn Am contest at Volcom, pretty much anyone and everyone I consider important. Some were pretty, some were ugly - but who am I to judge? We had quite a few kidnapped and we were off to have some fun. Back to the reason we went. Andy got the call from Jason to fight him at a little event he had been working on at the Hard Rock in Vegas. After a few other pussies declined, an ass beating from the Skater/Radio Host/MMA Fighter didn’t seem that bad, even though Ellis had been fighting

Photos: Jay Morgan

professionally for three years at this point. But anyone who knows Jason knows he can hold his own in and out of the ring. He’s pretty much everyone’s go-to man for an ass beating. Prior to the main event, I’m pretty sure I witnessed two girls fighting, a nerd fight a hot girl in lingerie, two blindfolded dudes throwing fist-a-cuffs, and two dudes fighting with one arm tied down. Maybe I’m wrong, but I do know it was neat. Then came the main event. Andy only trained for a few weeks, and I must also mention that two weeks prior to the fight I broke his hand with a chair in Mexico so that must’ve felt neat. Jason got stung quite a few times but ended taking it in a very close decision. It was actually quite impressed how well Andy stood his ground – Yah Andy! I say rematch.

o'quinn_bliss_ad_12_09_final.pdf

CMY

11/18/09

9:43:22 PM

Interview: Jason Arnold Red Devil Squadron is blazing a path across the music landscape of southern California and beyond. Hailing from south Orange County, these boys wear their allegiance to the swashbuckling lifestyle on their sleeves and take no prisoners! With a sound best described as dirty blues based punk n roll and a swagger straight from the high seas, the boys just self released their debut album “Indian Giver”. With rockers such as ‘Madcowboy Disease’, ‘My Son Is a Dope Addict’, ‘Another Dead Surfer’ and the horror-ish waltz of ‘Symphony Of Dead Rats’, “Indian Giver” will go down as a classic! BL!SSS recently caught up with lead singer Nick, and drummer Keith, for a little chat. Make sure and check ‘em out at www.myspace.com/reddevilsquad and buy the cd at www.cdbaby.com. How long has RDS been together and how’d you come up with the name? About 3 years; we were gonna be Black Sheep Squadron, ala Pappy Boyington… my

buddy came up with the red devil and it just sounded more right. Who writes the songs? We’ll each come in with some ideas and riffs and build from there. Everyone works on everything. Where are your favorite places to play? Coconuts in Capo Beach! I love shitty dive bars with all my friends! A good night at the Double Down in Vegas makes me feel good. Who/what are some of your inﬂuences/ inspirations? The Doors; Elvis gets me pretty pumped. Drinking gets me pretty inspired, and ridin’ my motorcycle fast. Solid drummers; hard hitters like Dave Grohl. So you guys all seem to have signiﬁcant

interests and projects in addition to RDS, yeah? Yeah, I’ve been tattooing for about 9 years and I’ve been a mechanic and fabricator for about 10. I do a lot of DJ’ing and play guitar in an 80’s cover band, Boys of Summer. Gotta do something to pay the bills cuz Squadron sure isn’t!! Haha! You guys are getting pretty dialed in the surf/skate community… you all participate? Who’s hooking you up? We all surf except for Vince (lead guitar) and Carson (rhythm guitar), who lost a leg as a tow truck driver when a car slammed into him on the side of the freeway. He’s getting back into it though with an artiﬁcial limb. We get laced up by …Lost clothing, TUK shoes and Tres Noir sunglasses. You mentioned Vegas; you’ve played a

few shows out there yeah? How’d they go? Yeah we’ve played at the Double Down and at the Bunkhouse. The Bunkhouse had been dead for about a year cuz of stabbings and shit… We’ve had some great response out there; our last show at the Double Down was really good! There were even people that drove from here to the show out there! So what’s next for the Red Devil Squadron? Hopefully sell some cds!! Haha! The big tour you’re gonna book us on right?! Haha, the Tijuana Tour!! Yeah, we’re looking to get on a good bill as support & hopefully get some label attention!! Obligatory shout outs? Divel at …Lost and you, J Arnold. If we forgot you, you should try harder haha! Stiff booze, pretty ladies and pills!

Photo: Dominic Petruzzi : dominicpetruzzi.com // Model: Kayslee Collins :: Agency : Otto Models Kayslee is the typical California sweetheart. She grew up in San Diego and is currently living in Los Angeles, pursuing her dreams of becoming a pop singer. She has already worked with Malibu’s “Great Black Hype” Shwayze and has a fan base that most aspiring singers only dream of. She been dabbling in acting and modeling, but believes singing is where her true passion lies. Judging by this photo she has one hell of a backup career if she so desires. Though she has many talents and is on the edge of making it big in Hollywood, Kayslee assures us she’s still a beach girl at heart. Hair & Makeup: Mo // Post Production: Jaclyn Morris

Words: Jacob Smith :: Photos: Strato

Every year right around the time when the leaves start to change color and the temperature takes a quick plunge, I always feel a bit of excitement about the upcoming Halloween “season.” There’s something about this time of year that I love. It may be something deeply rooted in the history of celebrating the end of the light half of the year and the beginning of the darker half, or it could just be the excuse to dress up in a funny costume and act a fool, throwing all inhibitions to the wind. Aside from the usual shenanigans that come along with Halloween every year, it also means that the Damn Am contest is just around the corner. Lucky for me, I always get a sneak peak of the course set-up phase when three giant diesel trucks roll up to Volcom headquarters a few days before the contest and the bare parking lot suddenly gets transformed. It’s great watching it transform from a mess of 2X4’s and plywood to a proper street course, painted in festive Halloween colors of orange, black and white and adorned with spooky props. By the time Thursday practice rolls around the course is done and ready for a showdown. Practice day usually consists of a slew of kids ﬂying around

Luan : B.S Smith - 360 Flip

Clint : Over Backlip

Louie Lopez : 360 Flip

Rob Matmaan : Nollie Biggie

Brandon : Back Smith

Tommy Werner : Gap Up Front Feeble

Felipe Gustavo : F.S 180 Switch Crooks

Winners : Luan, Clint, Tommy

the course trying to get their lines down. At ﬁrst glance around the course I see some familiar faces from contests past and some new up-and-comers trying to make it to the top spot. Skateboarders from all over the globe make their way out to Southern California right around Halloween to skate in the contest and give it their best shot. This year there were kids from Europe, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Canada, and of course the good ole’ US of A. Early Friday morning, the contest gets to a quick start and so begins the weekendlong battle. Although the course set-up was very similar to last year, the skateboarding progression that takes place in a year’s time since the last Damn Am brings a new way of thinking when ﬂowing through the course. There were kids hitting obstacles in a way you wouldn’t really think possible until you see it happen with your own eyes. It’s much more entertaining seeing kids get more creative in the contest format, rather than going back and forth in a robotic manner and busting textbook tricks. But that of course is just a personal preference.

Clint Destroyer Award

The Skatepark of Tampa guys always do a great job on the mic and always come prepared with a Sunday costume to celebrate All Hallows Eve. This year was no exception as they dressed up in a Joe Dirt inspired redneck outﬁt. Ryan Clements even told me that everything from his costume came straight from the back of his closet. Saturday was another big day as the second group of hungry young skateboarders battled to make it to the next round. After all four heats were over, Ollie Pop sponsored a High Ollie contest with $1,000 in prize money. Starting it off at 32 inches, the bar was raised two inches with every passing round and narrowing down the contestants each time. When the contest ended at a whopping 42 inches, Luis Tolentino came out on top as most had expected. Saturday night we got some socializing time with everyone at the contest when we got picked up by the Red Bull Double Decker party bus and driven to Dave and Buster’s. The ride down could easily have been the highlight of the night as

Rob and Jorge from SPoT found the DJ booth on the top level and proceeded to freestyle NWA’s “Straight Outta Compton” while the token drunk girl on the bottom level was giving one guy a lap dance, then turning around and locking lips with another guy. It was pure comedy on that bus. Sunday, as always was the big day as the 200 kids got reduced down to 36 in the Semi Finals and then 12 going into the Finals. It was good to see some fresh talent making it all the way to the finals their first time entering in the contest. The final round was a hit-for-hit battle between some of the top ams in skateboarding and was quite a show. After all the dust had settled, Brazilian Luan Oliveira came out on top with his technical precision and ease. The tricks he did in between runs alone were enough to win the crowd over. The best trick contest got started shortly after the finals ended and was the last chance for any participants to come up on a prize. As always it was mayhem; there were skateboarders flying past

in all directions, a few collisions, and some battered limbs as everyone tried to get the best trick. Clint Walker from Oklahoma shredded his way onto everyone’s radar this year as he claimed 1st place in the Best Trick contest, 2nd place Street and the Zumiez Destroyer award, which goes out to the person who allaround ripped the hardest throughout the weekend. Thanks to Volcom, Cons, The Skateboard Mag and SPoTlight Productions for holding down another great year in the Volcom parking lot. See you all next time around.

Finals 1-Luan Oliveira 2-Clint Walker 3-Tommy Werner 4-Felipe Gustavo 5-Brodie Penrod 6-Timmy Knuth

7-Louie Lopez 8-Chase Webb 9-Filipe Ortiz 10-CJ Dixon 11-Derek Elmendorf 12-Rob Maatman

Best Trick Clint Walker- Gap to Front Board Shove-it pyramid rail and 5-0 across and down to kickﬂip out.

Intro: Pat Towersey There are two different versions of Ian Gentil. There is the mellow, quiet, calculated, smart, and patient 13-year-old Ian… and then there is his alter ego, the “Llama” – the crazy, hyper, fun, freak of nature. It’s only after spending time with Ian that you’ll meet the Llama and witness his split personality – it’s a physiological morphing. If you are in the path of the Llama you will be run down, so beware. There isn’t too much else to say except the Llama surfs way too good for his age or for any age. When you watch his footage on Vimeo or YouTube, your jaw will hit the ground, it’s the kind of stuff that makes a lot of top pros consider a different career path. The Llama is bananas! Photos: Jason Kenworthy

Interview: Jason Kenworthy Name, Age, Hometown? Ian Gentil, I’m 13 and from Paia on Maui, Hawaii. Where is your local wave and what is it like? How are the local crew and what is the scene like? Sugar Cove, the wave is mush and only breaks when there is a big swell. The local crew is Kai Lenny, Cody Kerbox, my brother and I. The scene is very mellow because the wave pretty much sucks. What surfers do you look up to and why? Jordy Smith. Because I watched the video “Modern Collective” and he rips. And my coach, because he taught me everything. Best surf trips that you have been on and why? And worst? Mentawais, because the waves are so good

there. And the worst was California. What was it like having a perfect heat in the NSSA Nationals ďŹ nal? It was good to be in the water with ten minutes left and know that I had won no matter what. What was it like getting to surf with some of the top 45 at the Hurley Pro Expression session at Lowers? How did you get in that event? It was really weird being out there with the top 45 and me. Thanks to my sponsor Nike 6.0 and Jason Kenworthy. What is the thing that you like most about your surďŹ ng? The least? I like my cutbacks I guess, and the least is my air attempts.

What is your go to move? What would you like to master in the future? My bottom turn before every turn, I would like to master “the superman”. Your coach Yuri surfs giant Jaws, are you going to join him? Why or why not? Yes, one day I will, because he is always pushing me to surf bigger waves. Why do you like llamas so much? If they tasted good and made you surf better would you eat one? Because they are very cool. Yes, only if they make me surf better. What kind of music do you like? Why? I don’t have a favorite type of music, I like everything. What kind to TV and movies do you like and why? Comedy. Because I like to laugh. Who is your toughest competition? Lahiki Minimishin. Tell us the typical day for Ian Gentil?

Wake up, have breakfast, surf or school, depending how the waves look, train, eat and sleep. You have a crazy video on Surfline. When are we going to see another one? Whenever I get a chance to go on a trip and get good waves again. Who sponsors you? Lost, Nike 6.0 and Dakine. What is next for Ian? What are your plans for 2010? NSSA, some pro juniors and mostly surf trips. My plans are to do well in the contests and make some more surf videos. What do you want to do when you grow up? Be a professional surfer. Other interests besides surfing? No, just surfing. Tell us two things that we don’t know about you? I train Muai Thai and I love to joke around. Thanks? My mom, my dad, my coach Yuri Soledade, my sponsors and everybody that helped along the way.

Words: Shane “The Captain” Charlebois :: Photos & Captions: Bob Plumb

This last season in Salt Lake, the Absinthe crew was all-time. There’s nothing cooler than when a crew reaches a point where everyone is in sync. Everywhere we went and everything we did seemed to have an amazing genuine energy. This was the season where it wasn’t just one or two guys who were killing it; the whole crew was killing it. Ev-

ery time somebody wanted to shoot something, it worked out, and more than just working out, we had a great time doing it. It’s all about the crew. The power of the crew feeds continuously. Nobody does anything truly great by themselves. The crew is made up of individu-

Bode Merrill got the last part this season in Absinthe, nuff said.

Keegan hates this photo but fuck it, I love it. Sorry Keegan, what’s up with just a cameo in Cale’s part?

Forrest Shearer: This pow day at Brighton was amazing; we saw all the homies up there shreddin’ for the passion. We ended up taking a couple runs with the cameras and Forrest Shearer got this mean method.

It snowed a foot and a half in one night in Salt Lake. This rail is a huge bust but somehow we didn’t get busted till the crew got their tricks – Bode Merrill backlip.

Dude… check it: Cale Zima took the streets to the backcountry on this one. Tree jam stale.

als with unique passion and style who push themselves and at the same time, push and help each other. That is real magic. Nowadays, it seems like most people are so into themselves that it’s hard to help support anybody but themselves. Everyone in this crew is down as fuck. I heard once that there’s not much difference between being lost and exploring… But, you have to get lost to ﬁnd things others haven’t found. This crew is made up of brothers who enjoy getting lost together, and ﬁnding epic-ness with every step. How much more fun is it to look at a magazine with more than one page? It’s about enjoying the

Markus Keller made it to Grizzly Gulch but had an accident and realized the wrath of mountain bucks. Back seven with a skid mark.

Bozung did this during that ďŹ rst huge dump. The Nutz had the passion this last year, check out his ender in BozWreck 3000.

We got permission to shred over the house at this spot by the ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s daughter. The Captain, Sylvain and I think Phil ended up spending the night. Dan Brisse got the shot.

Forrest and The Captain came up with the idea to hike Grizzly at sunset. It was pretty amazing up there and the ride down at night was crazy.

Phildo loves techno, heavy metal and his iPod. If you get the chance to hang with him you’re “fortunate” to hear his music collection. Gap 50-50 straight outta drug testing to make enough money for the winter.

Sylvain Bourbousson overshot the hip of love by like forty feet. Shit was crazy, he got up laughing, took the rest of the day off and came back in the am and landed this front 3.

differences, and the differences are what make the mix so dope. There is no master plan. From the outside the crew probably appears to be a bunch of stoney misﬁts… Meanwhile, from the inside it somehow functions better than formal looking try-hards could ever do. Everyone in the crew is here because that’s what we do - this is how we live… Not just because its so cool to be a part of right now. The key words are passion,

appreciation, and sincerity.

integrity

Some people have asked, “How does it work? How do you guys do what you do?” By the time anyone, even us, ﬁgures it out we will have already done it. Who knows? With the right collection of people, like with the Salt Lake Absinthe Crew, if it feels good, it will be good. Thanks to all the homies involved. This never gets old. You are the best.

Interview: Pat Towersey :: Photos: Daniel Russo What’s your name, age and residence? Danny or Daniel Fuller, 24, born 2/15/1982. I live in Venice Beach, Ca. So, you live a real nomadic lifestyle - kind of like an Indian or an Eskimo... What’s is your nationality? Chinese, Irish and a mixed European breed. I do live a nomadic lifestyle; I’m never really in one place for more than 10 days or two weeks. Especially this summer, I did a bunch of traveling – I probably spent about 2-3 days at a time at home in Venice. Just going from location to location, it was pretty amazing, I was in search

of the perfect barrel. What makes each place special or important to you, NY – Venice – Hawaii? Those are the places I spend most of my time. My girlfriend and I live in LA because it’s a happy medium for the rest of the world. I come to Hawaii for four months during the winter season. I get here the end of October till around the 1st of March. A lot of people ask me, “How do you live in LA?” For me, I’m in a unique situation and I have a good balance. I spend 4 months in Hawaii and use California as a home base. I’ve been going to New York for quite a few years now, originally for fashion purposes. I

actually fell into photography and it’s been really good for me. I’ve been able to make some really good friends and establish some good contacts over there, which have helped me launch a career as a photographer. All the years have really paid off and I’ve been able to have a few successful photography exhibitions. Are there any particular places (food, museums, shops, etc) that the reader should visit or know about spots for each destination? Venice – The ﬁrst thing that comes to mind is the Venice boardwalk, hasn’t changed much in the past 20 years, it’s still the same old riff-

raff freak show. I ﬁnd myself down there, at least a few times when I’m home, just cruising around. There’s never a dull moment. They just built an incredible skate park right on the beach, which is really cool. NY – I’d have to say the Soho district, which is south of Houston Street. There are a bunch of really good restaurants, stores, hip galleries – the Deitch projects have some really good exhibitions. I like going up to the Chelsea district because that’s where pretty much every gallery is. The Museums are always great in NY. There is no place in the world like New York City, all you have to do is walk outside… Hawaii – I tend to ﬁnd myself jaded

and I don’t really leave between Ehukai beach and Food Land. Maybe try to go ﬁnd yourself a peak where there aren’t so many aggressive kooks. Tell me a more about your photography; you’ve had a few shows this past year. My ﬁrst exhibition was in the Chelsea Art district in NY (April 2nd, 2009), quit a few of my friends came out to see the show. Through all the chaos during the 10 days before the show – then the feeling of my friends showing up was incredible, everything was coming together, it felt surreal, I couldn’t believe it was happening. The turnout, the way the work was received; I was so stoked on the whole trip. Then towards July I did a solo exhibition out in

the Hamptons, which was really cool. I’ve been able to get rid of a few pieces at each show, so I’ve kind of been able to pay for my initial investment. It’s kind of an investment in believing in yourself (laughs). And I did a group show in September during fashion week with Dustin Humphries. He brought all sorts of different types of work, it was fun working with Dustin but a little chaotic because there was a lot of work that needed to be put up. What does your work mean, or how did it all come together and what’s the direction of the next shows? The title of the body of work that I’m working on is the Lost World and I’ve been working on that series for about 2 years now. Since

the beginning I’ve tried to capture every full moon that I’ve had the opportunity, no matter where I am in the world. Sometimes it can take a toll on your body physically and mentally. You travel for 24 hours, show up in a location and expect to shoot a moonscape, then jetlag sets in and you kind of power through. Next thing you know you’re sick for a few days. It started in Hawaii, and I’ve taken it to places around the world, I’ve been to Israel, California, Indonesia and I’ve been able to produce some really incredible images that I’ve been happy with and I think people really enjoy them. I do long exposures and use the full moon to illuminate my subject. The thing that is so appealing to me is that you create a surreal fantasyland, and I really enjoy looking and creating these pieces. There’s just something about being out there and experiencing those times, being there from midnight to 5 in the morning. In the future and what’s to come, I feel like I’m just tapping into what I’m doing. I’ve learned a lot from the trial

and error of shooting at night and between my travels alone, I travel to so many different destinations… I want to shoot these different locations and each location being different in some form, I feel that it’s never ending. Any other message with the work? I just want people to feel it, feel good, and get outside to feel those sorts of moments for themselves. You’ve been one of the top surfers at Pipeline for a number of years, what’s it like to be in that tight group of surfer, the small pipeline tribe? I was born and raised on Kauai and became fascinated with Pipeline at a young age. By the age of 15 or 16 I actually moved to Oahu, I told my Mom that I was going to start doing home school, surﬁng Pipeline and become a pro surfer. She was surprisingly very supportive and said okay. From that year on I devoted every year of my life and every swell to Pipeline. By the age of 17, I started

getting some pretty legit bombs and was invited to surf in the Pipeline Masters. To tell you the truth, it wasn’t about me hanging out over there, it was like every swell being in the mix and getting waves – as opposed to just being there. That’s my way of separating myself from other kids - it was catching big waves at Pipeline. By the time I was 18, I started to get recognized as a young Pipe specialist. There were a handful of kids coming up, guys like Jamie O’Brien, Mark Healey, Kalani Chapman and I was amongst the crew. There is mutual respect for everyone in the mix – it took a long road to get here. I remember when I was a kid I had the opportunity to either hang with the boys or the other guys… it was like living on egg shells for a few years. Everyone has to do that at some point, unless they want to be a pussy for the rest of their life. Who is the future out at Pipeline? There are a few kids dabbling in it. The biggest stand out that comes to mind has to

be Tyler Newton. John John surfs well, he’s still feeling it out. In my generation there were at least 10-15 kids that wanted everything to do with it. Who’s holding it down for the legends out there? The guy that impresses me the most out of the older guys has got to be Derek Ho. He’s out there every swell, getting the sickest waves, and it’s not like he’s just getting the easy ones, you’ll see Uncle D get smashed. He’s one of the few guys out there still doing his thing, consistently. I’m not buttering him up when I say he will get the wave of the day. What else is new? Just recently I signed onboard with RVCA and I have a signature boardshort coming out in spring - I worked with Kevin Ancell on the art for those, he’s the original badass, he’s helped me out on the graphics on the shorts. Other sponsors? Val Surf Shop, Rockstar, Byrne Surfboards, and Da Kine.

2009 ERGOPHOBIA

ergo-0911-blisss.indd 1

CHAD OAKLEY

11/16/09 3:04 PM

Photography: Dominic Petruzzi

dominicpetruzzi.com

Styling: Kate Riney kate-riney.com Hair & Makeup: Audrey Starn audreystarn.com Assistant Stylist: Kaeli Davis Model: Cassidy :: Ford Models 68

Jacket – Stylist’s Own Plaid button-up – Vans vans.com Jumper – RVCA rvca.com Lingerie – Stylist’s Own

Flannel – Vans vans.com Denim – Fox fox-girl.com Scarf & Jewelry Stylist’s Own

Coat – Fox fox-girl.com Hooded vest – Vans vans.com Swimsuit – Pull-In pull-in.com

Plaid blouse – Hurley hurley.com Shirt – Insight insight51.com Skirt – Fox fox-girl.com Belt & Jewelry – Stylist’s Own

Hat – Nobis nobis.ca Shirt – Aqua VI aqua-vi.com Swimsuit – American Apparel americanapparel.com Sweatpants – Volcom volcom.com

Photos: Chris Ortiz Where were you born and when did you move to Detroit? I was born in Royal Oak Michigan, which is a suburb of Detroit. I currently live in Redford, Michigan and have been there since I was 7. I could throw a rock to Detroit from my crib. Tell us what it’s like living in Detroit? I love it... Besides the cold winters and what not. It’s very mellow, and so are the people for the most part. There’s not a whole lot going on and its cool cause skate spots aren’t that far apart. Come out and I’ll show you a good time. Who are all of your sponsors? World Industries boards and footwear, Autobahn wheels, Destructo trucks, Nixon, The Hundreds clothing, Modern Skate Park.

How long have you been skating? I’ve been skating for 6 or 7 years now. It’s been a good ride.... Who else rides for World Industries? Anthony Shetler, Cody Davis, Mike Franklin, Ronson Lambert, Timmy Knuth, George Moreno, Andrew Cannon and some real sick ﬂow guys!! Who was your ﬁrst sponsor? Oh man, back in the day I was getting shoes from Adio. I was so hyped for anything!! Describe a typical day for you? Shit, wake up to some Jerry Springer and stretch. Then I usually hit up whoever doesn’t work and try and get some skating in before my girl has work - that’s if she needs a ride. Maybe

take some bong rips and chill for a bit, once it gets dark I start hitting up my homies to get some skating in at night. Usually an all night ledge mission. Super fun... That’s not everyday but you know.

wouldn’t work and everyone was in a hurry so I jumped and got chased down by cops. They starting taking me away until Keith told them I wasn’t much of a fuck up and I had never been there. Honest mistake... Won’t do that again.

What’s been you favorite trip that you’ve been on and why? World’s New York trip last year. Ronson and I were chilling pretty much the whole time, and it was just crazy staying in somebody’s apartment in upper Manhattan while they were out most of the time. There was like family pictures all over, creeping us out. That was the ﬁrst time I went to Back to the Banks, or to the Brooklyn Banks in general. Raw spot. I got to experience the subway station ﬁrst hand and almost got arrested for hopping the gate to get on. Haha, my train card

What was the worst? The worst trip... Uh, I went on this Powell trip to Vegas and Phoenix for four weeks. It was a super fun trip, but I got hurt the first night, rolled my ankle super bad. It finally started feeling better and I rolled the other one, and then we headed to Phoenix and I was finally able to skate - keep in mind I had a cast on the whole time for some torn ligaments. Then I fell on it and ripped the front of my thumb off. It was rough and just kept getting harder on me.

Switch K-Flip : Foundation Gap

I’ve heard that you have a pretty extensive collection of water pipes, how many do you own and what are your favorite ones? Haha, you could say that. Not the best things to collect I guess but I have around 25 different pipes, all of them glass. And yeah they all have names. I’ll just name off a few of them: Bong Marley, the Cheech and Chong chaos Rasta colored Bong, Nessy the 2ft blue bong named after the Loch Ness monster, Thing the Unbreakable, Chief Smokalot, Kermit the Bong, and a lot others. Just a few of my favorites. Does Cali or Detroit have better weed? That’s a hard one.... But Cali. Depends

who it comes from. Have you been to 8 Mile? Is it anything like the movie? Haha why does everyone ask that? I live a few miles away from 8 Mile - it’s not like everywhere on 8 Mile is that bad. In a way it’s like the movie, there is the trailer park and all that and the shelter, but it’s not like I go over there or anything. Seems like you have been hurt forever, what has the last year been like? I started the year with a cast on that was on for two months already. That turned into having surgery four months after the New Year started. I had to

get a pin put in and a bone graph from my hip because my scaphoid wouldn’t heal. That cast was on 10 months total and the day it came off was the day I found out I needed a medial meniscus repair. I went into my appointment in a wheelchair. Had surgery a week later and wasn’t able to skate once over the summer. Now it’s November and I just tore it again so I’m going in for surgery next week. Not to mention I’ve had a broken big toe for the last three weeks... So I heard you tech deck in your spare time? Ha-ha. Not exactly tech deck, it’s hand boarding. It was the only way I could skate after knee surgery. I made all

sorts of quarter pipes, ramps and rails. They’re all legit. It’s fun and it looks like I’m going to have a whole skate park by the time I’m done healing from this next surgery. In your last interview you were asked about your car, I heard you stepped it up? Yeah my ‘94 Taurus died! I got a brick thrown through the front windshield too. Wasn’t my fault!? Some sketchy looking white guy came up to my window at a store asking me questions. I was like, “get out of here,” then a guy pulled up next to me and the guy went up to his car calling him Obama. I was like, uh hope that’s a joke. The dude didn’t ﬁnd it very funny and he

B.S 360 : 12 El Segundo

B.S T-Slide Big Spin

360 Flip

Switch B.S Lip : Brick Banks left while me and that sketchy dude were in the store. When I walked out the dude pulled up super fast. He started digging under his seat for something and I wasn’t going to stick around to see what it was. I started my car and the guy pulled a gun out so I peeled out and he lofted a brick at my car and it hit the back end. He chased me to my friends house where I hid inside. I came out to ﬁnd a brick in my windshield. So I thought it was time for a new car. I copped a ‘03 Crown Victoria police interceptor. Man that thing is so fast!! Since you got hurt it seams like you started collecting tattoos, how many do you have and what are they? Yeah, I’ve been so bored and it’s actually kind of relaxing to get a tattoo. I have seven as of right now and they all have to do with skateboarding and Detroit except one for my family. I have a crail tap board, a skateboard through Michigan, Skate and destroy, skateboarding in cursive under the skyline, and a half sleeve of one of my favorite spots to shred and just a few other local Detroit things. Who has more tattoos of where they’re from, you or Mike Franklin? Ha, Franklin and I went over this last night. We both have three.

Is there a big picture for your tattoos are they just random ones that you think of? For the most part they’re just random. My dad designed one on my forearm; it’s Michigan with a skateboard through it. I woke up from surgery and he showed me. It was like a bet and I got it two weeks later. I’m not into real serious tattoos; I kind of just have fun with it. Who is coming up right now? Damn this is tough... Lots of heads. There are so many people killing it right now, but I’m backing my homie Joe Krock and his twin Mike Krock. Look out, these two can seriously throw down. They’re from Michigan. I’m just waiting for them to get spotted and hooked up. With the way there going it shouldn’t be long.

not just jumping into to it. I need to put out some video parts and try to make somewhat of a name for myself ﬁrst. Going to school would be hard. Unless it was classes I was really into. Physiology or something. Maybe if they teach glass blowing. I could have some fun with that. Any plans on moving out to California? I know that you get bad allergies every single time you come out. That would deﬁnitely be a goal for me but I’m pretty set on where I live. I just like spending time with my family and stuff. I’m going to wait to leave Detroit until I’m a little older. Yeah my allergies always fuck me over. Unless I’m staying at a hotel full time it sucks. Maybe I’m just allergic to that medicinal marijuana...

If you could punch anyone any skateboarding who would it be and why? Thanks for asking. Haha, back to Franklin, it would be funny. I just want to see his reaction. He would either beat me up or laugh and drink a beer with me. But I’m shooting more towards enjoying a beer after - he’s a beast.

Time to say your thanks. Man, there are so many people. Mom and Dad always up top. Keith Moser, RP Bess, Charlie Thomas, and everyone else at World, Mike Merciono at Nixon, Jason Rogers at Autobahn, Lisa at Destructo, Scotty at The Hundreds, Chris Ortiz, Jennifer Sage, Alex Trey, Adam, and everyone that has my back. All the local Michigan shredders. I’m backing it. Anyone I forgot.... Thanks!

If you had to pick between being pro and a 4-year scholarship to the school of your choice what would you choose. That’s not hard at all. Being pro, but

Final thoughts, anything you want to say before we end this interview? Yeah thanks again. Holler at ya boy! Hahaha!

Images Courtesy: Catharine Clark Gallery & Koplin Del Rio Gallery Interview: Greg Escalante and Nathan Spoor Sandow Birk is a unique Southern California artist with a substantial and engaging body of work. Birk’s artwork is highly regarded for its social relevance, often using the form of painting as an avenue for engaging and enticing the viewer with unconventional representations of controversial and sensitive subject matters. His considerable graphic sensibility is eloquently balanced with a global acknowledgment of world issues and a tempered reverence for harmonizing truth with creative license. Over the years, Birk has tackled a slew of monumental projects. Some of the challenging and highly conceptual subjects explored in his award-winning paintings and feature film works include: In Smog and Thunder: Historical works from Great War of the Californias – a project about a fictional war between Los Angeles and San Francisco; a project illustrating the entirety of Dante’s Divine Comedy; and The Depravities of War, a collection of large, historically-based woodcuts documenting the ongoing war in Iraq. Most recently, in possibly his most ambitious and controversial statement to date, the artist has embarked on a mission to present his own, personal journey into understanding and interpreting Islam’s most holy book, the Koran. One day some smart museum is going to figure out what a gold mine of artwork he has created and will mount one of the most fascinating retrospectives in the history of art. We caught up with Sandow in Minneapolis airport waiting for a connecting flight, about to depart on a month-long surf trip to Portugal... Sandow, lets start our conversation with your most recent work. You have illustrated the Koran. I know this is a delicate subject so we’re just curious how you arrived at this concept? Well, first off I’d like to correct the terminology. I haven’t “illustrated” the Qur’an, I have been “illuminating” it, which is a different concept. Illustrations are images that depict the action of the text, that portray what a text is saying - in a way they are duplicates of the text. Illuminating is a centuriesold tradition of decorating or enhancing a transcribed text but not literally representing it. The images I’ve been making are metaphorical - depicting scenes of life in contemporary America, not scenes from Arabia. The images

are an attempt to try to ponder how the message of the Qur’an might relate to one’s life as an American in the 21st century. But to answer your question about how it started - the whole project began with a bunch of different things that all came together, and then I got the idea and sort of fiddled with it in my head for a long time before researching and diving into it. Basically, it started from having traveled to a lot of Muslim places in the world and simply being interested in the mosques and artworks and the buildings and everything I saw. That led me to read about the Qur’an, and then to reading the Qur’an, and that lead to me going to see ancient Qur’an manuscripts, and it kept going from there. I’ve made more than ten extended surf trips to Islamic regions in the world, from Indonesia to India to Morocco and more, and I was interested in the culture of the places I had visited. On top of all that, the political situation in the world and in our country made me want to learn more about Islam than what I had been told. So I started doing my own reading and research and it grew from there. How long have you been working on the Qur’an project? Actually I’ve been working on the artworks themselves for about five years. I did the first pieces about five years ago, but then the project got pushed aside by other projects and I would just read and pick away at it a little at a time, until more recently when I’ve been working on it full time. We hear that it got a huge review in the New York Times. Yeah, it got a big, feature writeup. I was very pleased with that. It was nice to have been working on it for so long in private and then finally for it to get some intelligent attention. What has been the reaction by the public so far? Well, as an artist I don’t sit there in the gallery while the show is up. But the two galleries where it was showing - Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco and Koplin del Rio Gallery in Los Angeles - have said that there was a big surge in foot traffic in the galleries and that there has been a lot of interest not only from the art world but also from people who don’t normally go to art galleries and from the Islamic communities. Are you done with this subject

or can we expect to see more? So far I’ve only transcribed and illuminated about one-third of the Qur’an. My goal is to ﬁnish the entire thing and I think it will take about two more years, working steadily. The next body of work will be shown in fall 2010 in New York at PPOW Gallery in Chelsea. Now let’s take a few steps back. If I remember correctly, it seems you recently received a fellowship or something similar from the Smithsonian, where you illustrated or illuminated the U.S. Constitution as well as the Bill of Rights. Can you tell us how this came about and a little about the experience of spending time in the Smithsonian? Yeah, that’s right. I received a Research Fellowship to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, last year and spent two months there. I was able to browse around behind the scenes and see things in their archives and visit all of the institutions connected to the Smithsonian. I used the time to look at a lot of work by Thomas Nast, and that led me to do a drawing of the Constitution of the United States. The drawing

started small, but when I was finished it was 9’ high and 13’ wide and it has the entire text of the Constitution and all of the Amendments - all illustrated with scenes of life in America and how the text of the Constitution affects you in your day-to-day life. The Bill of Rights is the grouping of the first ten Amendments of the Constitution, so they were in there too. It was really great hanging out in DC for two months as I hadn’t been there except once before, so I had a little condo near Georgetown and I spent the days in museums and in the studio and the nights out on the town. The drawing is one big, giant piece and it’s in the process of being acquired by a major museum, but I can’t jinx it because it’s not a done deal yet. And now lets move a little further back in time. Before this work, you spent a significant amount of time illustrating, or interpreting Dante’s Divine Comedy. How did this body of work begin and what was involved or produced by the time you finished this conceptual piece? Yes, the big project I did before this one was a whole re-imagining

of Dante’s “Divine Comedy”. Like a lot of things I do, it started out as sort of an little thing I was interested in, and then I started working on it and it got bigger and became an art exhibition, and then a book based on “Dante’s Inferno”. Then it led to a second book and a third book and finally it became a feature length film. Projects I do tend to keep expanding into huge proportions, I guess. But the whole thing really got started when I stumbled by accident on a copy of “The Divine Comedy” in a used bookstore near my house. I was really captivated by the illustrations - by the engravings by French artist Gustave Doré from the late 1800s. They are these amazing images that take Dante’s sort of ethereal poem about wandering around in Hell and put it into these images that show Hell as a seemingly real, concrete, believable place. They are really the images that sort of “created” Hell, or created what the common imagination of Hell is in everyone’s head. The depictions of Hell like you see in a Bugs Bunny cartoon with the pitchforks and the bubbling pots and the fire – all that comes from Dante’s poem and from Doré’s illustrations. Gustave Doré? Can you tell us more about him?

Gustave Doré was an artist/illustrator in Paris in the late 1800’s. He was extremely prolific and his works are amazing. Several of his works have set the standard or actually created the public mental image of their subjects. Hell, for example, as I said, with “Dante’s Inferno”, but also other characters such as Don Quixote and Sancho Panza - are hard for us to imagine without thinking of them in terms of Dore’s illustrations. He’s one of those fantastic artists who are outside the cannon of Art History that we’re familiar with, but whose works were really influential. Weren’t your prints about the war in Iraq inspired by a French artist too? Yeah, I guess that’s funny. That was Jacque Callot. Callot was a French artist in the late 1500’s and early 1600’s mostly known for his amazing prints. He also was incredibly prolific and made prints of daily life in his time as well as a series of eighteen tiny and incredibly detailed prints chronicling the Thirty Years War. He’s yet another amazing artist that is often overlooked and outside the canon of Art History. His series of war prints, “The Miseries of War”, were known by Goya, who’s own series of war prints, “The Disasters of War” (created two hundred years after Callot’s) are very well known. I

was interested in the fact that Callot’s series was largely forgotten but had also been the inspiration for Goya’s series two hundred years later. It’s also interesting that now two hundred more years have passed since Goya’s series and it seemed a ripe time for a new series of prints about warfare in our own time. That was the germ of the idea behind my series “The Depravities of War”. Can you tell us about any other artists that where ignored by current art history that you can inform our readers about? Most artists are ignored by history, so pretty much anyone - I wouldn’t even know where to start. Another interesting conceptual piece is your body of work about the war in Iraq. Can you tell us a bit more about that series? Well, like I’ve been saying about Callot, I sort of stumbled on his work accidentally-on-purpose while I was Artist in Residence at the HuiPress in Maui. It’s a printing press and publisher on an old pineapple plantation up in the hills of Maui. Paul Mullowney was the master printer there and he invited me to come over to do a print project. Since I had never been trained as a printmaker, once I got there I started pouring through their library

reading about prints and the history of printmaking and stumbled on Callot’s work. This was about four or five years ago and the timing seemed right to do a project about the war in Iraq and about warfare in general, especially with the connection to Callot and to Goya’s works over the past four hundred years. So I suggested to my wife and frequent collaborator, artist Elyse Pignolet, that we do the prints as big, giant woodblock prints. Paul was really into the idea and so we set off to do the first print. Over the next year and a half it became a series of 15 monumental scale prints that depict moments in the war from its beginnings to its possible endings. Elyse and I made five extended trips to the HuiPress to work on the project and there was a team of artists involved in producing the prints over the two years it took it finish the project. The young, stoked readers of BL!SSS want to know how you made it all happen? Were you just lucky - at the right place at the right time with a few good ideas? Or are you extremely disciplined and have to work very hard every day and push yourself into gnarly situations, like you do when you surf? I’ve just been plugging away as an

artist for a long time, trying to make interesting works about things that I care about, trying to say things through my work that I are worth saying, and trying to learn things that I want to learn about. I guess I just try to make interesting work as best I can and then I try to get people to see it when it’s done. I work pretty steadily, pretty much all the time. And speaking of surfing: You are as avid and dedicated as they come. Can you explain the role surfing plays in your life? Well I’ve been surfing a lot longer than I’ve been painting - I guess in some ways I think I’m a better surfer than I am an artist. But I’ve been surfing since I was 11 and its pretty much influenced everything I’ve done in my life, from where I went to school to where I live and have lived, where I travel, and the day to day parts of my life. I surf pretty much every day there are waves and almost every trip I go on is to go surfing, primarily, although I do a lot of other stuff other than surf, especially when I’m traveling. Portugal’s really good for that, because when the surf’s no good you can go to museums and castles and palaces and bookstores and cafes

and stuff. Can you tell us about some of your all time sessions and all time breaks? That question is almost so simple it’s the hardest to answer, almost like asking, “What’s your favorite color?” I’ve had really great moments and surfed really great waves all over the world. Some of them were at the famous places, but I’ve also had just incredible moments where you know that there’s nothing more important and nowhere better to be than in the water, at the place, at that time. That’s the best, when your board’s working right and you’re pushing yourself and everything’s really good. Surfers know what I mean. But, geez, best moments? Maybe surﬁng in the pouring rain in Ireland with three friends and having a pint afterwards. Or big, warm waves in the middle of nowhere on an island off India, where no one had ever surfed before. There were lots of summer Saturday afternoons in central Rio de Janeiro, with the surf just perfect, the sun out, the beach swarming with thousands of people, and eating coconut popsicles between waves. I mean, I could go on and on about great moments through

surfing. I just hope those moments keep coming – it’s what makes life. Then the final questions, you are married and expecting? Do you know if it’s a boy or girl? Are there any names in the front-running right now? Yes and yes and no and no. So Sandow, where do you go from here? Where will you be traveling, surfing, lecturing, and painting? Well, right now I’m heading to Lisbon, where I’ll be working away and surfing every day. I’ve been there several times and the surf is really good there and it’s a great country - the food is great and there are tons of museums to check out, castles to visit, and not many surfers. I’m going to keep on working on my “American Qur’an” project for the foreseeable future. I think I need about two more years to finish it, so that’s a lot of work ahead. I’m still reading and learning a lot about it as I go. I have a show up in Portland and I’ll have stuff at the Pulse Fair in Miami in December. And my next big show will be in New York in fall 2010. Also, here is your chance to plug

all your junk... New exhibitions to look forward to or art fairs, books, films...Let us have it. Plugs... well, you can buy our film about the war between San Francisco and Los Angeles, “In Smog and Thunder”. Then you can buy our feature film “Dante’s Inferno”, the three books of “The Divine Comedy”: “Dante’s Inferno”, “Dante’s Purgatorio”, and “Dante’s Paradiso”. There’s another book about my paintings of prisons – “Incarcerated: Visions of California in the 21st Century”. All those are available online. And “American Qur’an” will be coming out in book form as soon as I finish the project, so that’s about it. Okay Sandow, BL!SSS Magazine thanks you profusely for giving us so much of your valuable time and is stoked to see such a dedicated surfer from childhood make good... We are very proud a ya! Thanks for being interested in my work. I appreciate it. For more on Sandow Birk or to find out about upcoming exhibitions and collections of his works and projects, please visit: www.sandowbirk.com

“I AM SNOWBOARDING” ART EXHIBIT FOR JEFF ANDERSON

Words & Photos: Ben Brough // Ryno Painting : Billy Anderson // “I am Snowboarding” // Jamie Lynn // Jane Anderson // Mike Parillo // Ben Brough & Ryno // Matty Thompson Painting : Billy Anderson // Brian Iguchi // Wille & Seone // The Cook Family

On the evening of Saturday November 14th, 2009 a small shop-turned-gallery on Mammoth Mountain radiated more light and energy than any suburbia during Christmas for the “I AM SNOWBOARDING” art exhibit for Jeff Anderson. The artwork consisted of photographer/painter collaboration resulting in a cornucopia of visual stimuli. The artists involved were friends, family and admirers with a roster that would of made Jeff proud. The evening started off with an artist reception with each one getting a hand-made boutonnieres made from red lily, lovingly pinned on by Jane Anderson. Every piece of art had its own special memory for all in attendance, which you could tell by the look on everyone’s face while they gathered around each unique piece. The evening was a complete success with 16 of the 19 prints available for silent

auction going home with lucky bidders. Proceeds of I AM SNOWBOARDING go directly to the JLA Memorial Fund through the Mammoth Lakes Foundation, to the beneﬁt of the Brothers Skateboard Park and local art. Saturday evening raised over $20K for the fund; it was a truly amazing evening. The next stop for this art exhibit will be in San Francisco at Club Six on Thursday, December 10th. For More Information and photos, please visit www.iamjla.org. Special thanks to Torrey Cook, Dawn True, Brian “Blacky” Cook, RYNo, Mike Parillo, Mark Hibdon @ The Machine, The Weniger Family, JDK, Kenny, Jane, and Billy and every artist, photographer and friend of Jeff and of art.

MODERN COLLECTIVE PREMIERE

Jordy Smith, Yadin Nicol, Dion Agius & Mitch Coleborn // Crow shot // Jordy sandwich // Dane Reynolds interview // Dion & Brooke // Paul Fisher & Mitch // Be amazed // Oooo-la-la // She was there // Modern Collective // Brian Robbins & Dion

What happens when you follow six of the most futuristic, innovative, up-andcoming surfers in the world with one of the fastest up-and-coming surf producers of our generation? Now suppose you throw these six surfers and the producer in a Hollywood club to celebrate their LA premiere? Now invite all of their closest friends and biggest groupies to the party and for shits and giggles you let Skullcandy get in the mix and what have you got? Well, you’ve got yourself one hell of a music blasting, drink guzzling, raging Hollyweird party. And that’s exactly what went down for the SoCal premiere of Kai Neville’s new surf flick Modern Collective. And for those of you who don’t know, Modern Collective is a new-age flick featuring the likes of Jordy Smith, Mitch Coleborn, Yadin Nicol, Dane Reynolds, Dusty Payne, and Dion Agius. These guys fucking destroy anything and everything – and I use that term loosely. The film itself is nothing short of magnificent and it can be noted

by the fact that Taylor Steele has slapped his Poor Specimen label on the DVD and has mentored the young Kai for nearly his whole filmmaking career. Back to the party – It was an outrageous extravaganza. The film was premiered in silence and everyone had to wear Skullcandy headphones in order to hear the soundtrack, an absolutely brilliant marketing technique by those crafty folks at Skullcandy. The soundtrack was loudly awesome and again the surfing is mindboggling, you really do have to see it to appreciate what I’m talking about. All the surf-stars seemed to take advantage of the VIP treatment and got absolutely plastered. Dane was roped off dancing by himself the entire night. Jordy and Dion were on the dance floor like it was their job. Mitch and Yadin were busy telling stories, trying to out drink one another and dodging chicks. And Dusty… has anyone seen Dusty? I really don’t know where Dusty was but he missed one hell of a party.

SDF10_Bl!SSS_Ad

10/27/09

1:29 PM

Page 1

! ! "

ALEX GREY @ OCC FRANK M DOYLE ARTS PAVILION

You need to see Alex Grey’s art in person to know who Alex Grey really is. He is a master artist, an anatomist, an advocate of psychedelics, and a visionary – ahead of his time, to say the very least. For 40+ years he has inspired thousands through his artwork and seminars. He has developed a following so devoted they travel thousands of miles from countries near and far to see his work. I was absolutely dumbfounded when I discovered he was showing at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California. Less than ﬁve miles from our headquarters, blocks from my house, and at the community college where I spent three of my seven-year educational post high school stint. I just had to attend the opening ceremony and view his Sacred Mirrors pieces in person. The detail, size, colors, creativity, and sheer brilliance of these pieces cannot be described in words. The frames themselves are

masterpieces and must be seen in person to appreciate. And you don’t even want to get me started 40 Years of Self-Portraits, this room is absolutely amazing; paintings, sketches, doodles, naked photographs, it has it all. It really feels like a visual lifeline – like you’re viewing Grey’s own perception of himself over the last forty years. After spending a couple of hours absorbing the surroundings and listening in on a few interviews students were doing with Alex, it’s no wonder why BL!SSS featured him as a cover artist a little over a year ago. To see his art in person, and free of charge is truly something amazing, so I suggest all you readers out there get on over to OCC and give it a gander. Luckily, there is still plenty of time as the The Art of Alex Grey will be showing at the Frank M. Doyle Arts Pavilion until the 18th of December.

2009 RIP CURL GROMSEARCH NATIONAL FINAL

Photos: Rip Curl / bhwatershots.com // Kolohe Andino 16 & Under Winner // Kolohe Andino // Koa Smith // Jared Thorne // Andrew Jacobson // Collin Moran // Jacob Halstead // Kenoa Igarashi // Taylor Clark // Jake Halstead 14 & Under Winner // Lakey Peterson Back in the day, your typical comp-driven grom would duel it out all day in front of a 10’ x 10’ pop-up tent. He/she would be forced to put on a jersey with a knot tied larger than a grapefruit. He/she would then be rewarded with a shin-sized trophy showcasing a plastic barrel-dodger, coupled with a high-ﬁve (no ﬁst-rock after). Fast forward to 2009 and the Rip Curl GromSearch National Final. A worldwide webcast? Check. Computer scoring and ASP judges? Check. $2500 in prize money, a Nintendo Wii-game center in the competitor’s area, and all expenses-paid trips to Australia for the winners? The answer is: D. All the above.

H20 Overdrive Maneuver of the day with a backside punt-to-shuv it-to-revert, $100 in cash and a Nintendo Wii was already in the bag before breakfast was done being served. A little after lunch-time (Wahoo’s makes divine ﬁsh tacos), he had put the 16 & under division in a chokehold. He was handsomely rewarded with $500 dollars and a boarding pass to the Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach, Australia in 2010. “I’ve never been there before, and I’m really excited,” a newly deepened voiced Kolohe reveals. “It will be great to surf against my peers from other parts of the world, while watching the top guys do their thing. I’m stoked.

November 14th saw the nation’s pride and joy in 16 & under talent congregate at the golden shores of Dana Point’s Salt Creek. Now in its 11th year, the Rip Curl GromSearch has evolved into a stage for the best talent to shine. What once was used to discover groms has changed into a shred-off of kids with stickers on their boards. The internet happened. Kolohe Andino, one of the stickered ones, has sponsors for a very good reason. The 15-year-old surfs unequalled. Nabbing the

Boys 16 & Under: 1. Kolohe Andino (CA)- $500 2. Nathan Carvalho (HI)- $100 3. Taylor Thorne (CA) 4. Koa Smith (HI)

Boys 14 & Under: 1. Jacob Halstead (CA)- $500 2. Colin Moran (CA)- $100 3. Koa Smith (HI) 4. Taylor Clark (CA)

8&-$0.& 50 5)& "$5*7& '".*-:

$)3*4 #3"%4)"8

'03 " '3&& $"5"-0( $"-- 03 $-*$, "$5*7&3*%&4)01 $0. ] 50-- '3&&

NICOLAS POL’S THE MARTUS MAW

Artist Nicolas Pol & Curator Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld // Detail of “Puaka Crusade” // Jean Paul Gaultier & Carine Roitfeld (French Vogue) // Byrdie Bell // Mary-Kate Olsen // Stavros Niarchos & Giovanna Battaglia // Show Installation // Kim Hastreiter (Paper Mag) & Artist Terence Koh // Stephen Gan (V magazine), Veronica Varekova & Erin Wasson // Vladimir, PM Tenore & Nicolas Pol // Veronica Varekova, Alex Von Furstenberg & Caroline Winberg

On New York’s Lower East Side, in the meatpacking district on Essex Street, the fashion and art worlds recently collided for the opening exhibition of French artist Nicolas Pol. The Martus Maw, presented by curator Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld and RVCA/Artist Network Program, featured several large mixed media pieces that ﬁlled the warehouse-turned-gallery. The work was hung in the darkened, purposefully lit space giving this powerful work the effect of being suspended in perpetuity. It was easy to get lost in the extremely layered work, which is reminiscent of Warhol and Basquiat, whom the artist cites as inspirations. Filled with violent brush strokes, organic shapes, simple icons and

bits of text, Pol’s work kept one’s eyes dancing around his canvases. It was just as easy to lose your way in the diverse crowd who came to usher in this artist’s ﬁrst US show. Fashion icons like designer Jean Paul Gaultier, French Vogue Editor-in-Chief Carine Roitfeld, models Veronica Varekova, Caroline Winberg and Erin Wasson, as well as art world ﬁgures such as Terence Koh, Tom Sachs, gallerist Larry Gagosian and the Schnabels were in attendance. Even though the mixing of art and commerce is sometimes considered anathema, RVCA has again found a way to mix the two in a very appropriate and organic way. For more information on Nicolas Pol, check out rvca.com and feedbackltd.net.

Interview: Tim Bergevin There is something about this band from West Yorkshire that makes you want to link them to those American heroes, The Replacements. It would be unfair to compare the songwriting or just link them together because there are sets of brothers in both bands - but there is this unmistakable feel of this is us and that is what you get. No matter how messy they look, how sloppy they play it is all real and done together. Lyrically, they exemplify the everyman in the most punk/ working class way possible; much like that Minneapolis band. After three albums, the Jarman brothers have added a celebrated fourth member to the party in former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Gary Jarman, one of the twins in the band walks us through the new member, the new record and their take on

what they want from the States. This is your fourth record and it’s still very much a Cribs record but what is different about this album? Well I like to think there is always a progression from the previous record, even if I didn’t feel like that then, it would be difficult to get your head around why you were doing it really. What do you think about it? What do you notice? Like I said it is defiantly a Cribs record and I have really liked all the previous ones. You can really hear Johnny Marr’s influence on some of the guitar parts. Would you say that is a fair assessment? Absolutely, that is one of the key things that Johnny brings to it. My

brother Ryan and he are both into the same way of playing. Ryan has a really weird style and he was always pretty inﬂuenced by him so those two, when they get together they write a lot of rifts and that is the way we write for the most part. Johnny’s contribution is him writing all his guitar parts and you can tell it is him, which was one of the main objectives on making the record and something we are most proud of. That it is fundamentally the same band and a progression on that bands sound but also that you can hear the inﬂuence of the new member. So is that really the main reason you brought him into the band to add that different element? The opening guitar on the title track Ignore the Ignorant

unmistakably feels like Johnny Marr. It would be pointless to have a new member of a band and suppress their influence. His influence is just as valid as any of the other band members. We try to make it about a four-piece band and not about one person. We were determined not to suppress his influence but at the same time we didn’t allow it to overtake what we already had. The core of the band is the three of you brothers, what is the family dynamic? I would assume it is pretty cool but is it odd at all? It is one of the best things that we got, but it is also one of the weirdest. For example, being in a band with your brothers is brilliant in the fact that you care a lot about

each of them and you want to make sure you do each other proud and don’t let each other down. We have a strong sense of unity but also at the same time it can be the curse of it because you take everything more personally and everything is loaded. When things are good it is really good because you’re experiencing it with your brothers and you’re all fully committed to the same things but when things are bad it is difﬁcult because you worry about your brothers and their feelings and everything feels more extreme. I wouldn’t change anything because I trust them, I know where they are coming from and we empathize with each other. I’ve never been in a band with anyone else and I think it would be something that I missed.

What is your take on the States and where you’re at here and where do you want to be here? You are well known in the UK and Europe and you do have a following here but what is the goal? It’s nice to have a following but it is difﬁcult for me to say. In England there is always this big mystique like you have to break America and that is the big thing to do, but we have never been a band that has talked that way. We never expected to be in the position we are in the UK. We came from such a DIY background that we never thought it was possible to be on the radio or have a top ten record. So we’ve never had any aspiration of breaking America. It is exciting to come out here and see that there are people who care and

having some devout fans is really ﬂattering. As far as aspirations I would like to try to expand on what we have like we did in the UK. In England we would play any venue no matter how small. Anyone who would want to book us anything like that we would just do it and it was really independent and it helped cultivate our following. I’ve seen you guys play and you seem to have this working class, punk rock background on the way you approach everything. Working class is something we can’t really escape. It’s not something that I’m proud about, I don’t wave that banner and it is something I have really been against but at the same time in my outlook and behavior we are very working

class. I think it’s a strange thing to celebrate though. It’s the attitude not just the music. I think those things go together really. Making something out of nothing and making the best of what you got never really letting that be co-opted into anything else. It’s the same for any sort of independent music. That is why people care, they saw you on that level and we want to expand on this in that way. We don’t want to be Coldplay or whatever, we just don’t have those feelings and we’ve never been that way. It’s kind of surreal that anyone cares what you and your brothers were doing ﬁve thousand miles away anyway.

Henry Fonda Theater : 11.21.09 Another night of Brits in LA makes you wonder what all the American bands are doing? On this night it was a tale of two styles, both deﬁnitely British and not ashamed to be so. The xx is the latest UK sensation and standing on stage dressed in all black, these twenty-year-olds would easily

have ﬁt in at any 80’s Sire records photo shoot. The stark haunting feel of the record is completely on display, and it is more than a pleasant surprise that they sound better live than on record. There is surprising warmth and those sweet vocals are much fuller, with a personality actually attached. I could see people saying that they were

boring as they just stood there and did what they do, but so does Robert Smith so cut the kids some slack. After the sad cloud lifted, Friendly Fires took over the stage to unleash their dance party onto the LA night. Again, the live band outweighs the record and even though programmed beats

permeated the set, having a band member actually playing drums gave their music a life and force that took great songs to a different level. Not to be forgotten were some of singer Ed Macfarlane’s dance moves - which again makes you wonder what all those American bands are doing?

Reviews: Tim Bergevin

Lightspeed Champion Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You Dominio Records This is the second record under the moniker Lightspeed Champion from Dev Hynes, the former front man from electro punks Test Icicles. Dev’s not just trying to be another singer songwriter; listen to the opening track Dead Head Blues and you get a dose of lush orchestration on top of a wellcrafted song. At age 23, it seems young Dev is going to continue to pump out interesting music for some time. The single Marlene is kind of a Rufus Wainwright gone electronic and that my friends, is a compliment!

Mphase Crossed Wires

Alpha Channel Beta Release

Costa Mesa legend Geoff Harrington drops this collection of songs from his new outfit Mphase. Started as a film-scoring project, he added the help of the Fletcher brothers and a full fledge trio was born. If you are at all familiar with Geoff’s previous work you won’t be surprised to see where his head is at with this new wave keyboard driven material. Other Mphase tracks have recently been featured in the surf films Echo Beach and Stylemasters II. Get your Casio on and check them out!

This is straight up spracked out robot rock that Joey can’t get enough of! You’ll either crank this up or rip your hair out and I think that is the desired effect from these guys. Moogs, synths and Gameboys are just some of the listed instruments and tracks like Mars Discotheque is the ﬁrst stop for a taste of what is on offer. Just because you saved enough money to buy a computer and a keyboard doesn’t mean you should make music. Thankfully these boys take it tongue in cheek. Can’t wait to see what they dress up like live.

The Soft Pack The Soft Pack Kemado Records

You may already know about this band under their previous name The Muslims. After some controversy the guys ditched the name and started fresh as The Soft Pack. These San Diego guys play revved up garage rock that is as fresh as it is simple. The charm of this band is that they are not trying to reinvent the wheel or shove some prog rock down your throat. Songs like Down on Loving are short, sweet bursts of energy that harkens back to a time where people didn’t feel the need to bury the lyrical meanings of their songs. This is one of the records that will keep you warm this winter.

AGE : 18 HOMETOWN : PAIA MAUI LOCAL SPOT : PAVILS FAVORITE SURFER : DANE REYNOLDS

100

Photo: Mike Stephen

/D/7:/0:3 E63< G=C 0CG / <3E 0C@B=< A<=E0=/@2

0Z]bb] >V]bb]

A][S `Sab`WQbW]\a O^^Zg ASS 0C@B=< Q][ T]` Tc`bVS` RSbOWZa O\R `SRS[^bW]\ W\ab`cQbW]\a O\g 0c`b]\ A\]eP]O`R ]dS` !#

E3 /A932 @3A=@BA E6= E=C:2 AC>>=@B ;=@3 A<=E0=/@27<5 B63A3 =<3A AB==2 C>

BUR10_GetLifted_BlisssDec.indd 1

11/18/09 1:42:05 PM

AGE: 18 HOMETOWN: BRASILIA, BRAZIL SPONSORS: PLAN B (FLOW), ES (FLOW), BONES WHEELS, FKD BEARINGS, SLIVER TRUCKS, NINE STAR SKATE SHOP FAVORITE SKATER: PJ LADD

Switch B.S Tail Slide :: Photo: Ortiz

AGE : 8 HOMETOWN : SAN DIEGO SPONSORS: BILLABONG, MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN FAVORITE SNOWBOARDER: SCOTTY LAGO FAVORITE PLACE TO RIDE: MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN FAVORITE BAND: METALLICA