BL!SSS Magazine | January 2016 | #101

1 路 7 路 2016

Untitled-10 1

12/17/15 2:34 PM

G R E Y S O N

B E N

F L E T C H E R

H O R T O N

R V C A . C O M

|

# I N S P I R E D B Y R V C A

T H E B A L A N C E O F O P P O S I T E S

HouseofMarley.com #LiveMarley

artist • nelson dewey

randoms • 28 product • 30 ashley williams • 36 michelle guintu • 38 delfin finley • 40 green room • 42 adele renault • 44 super taste • 46 victor enrich • 50 pe’ahi challenge • 52 deanna templeton • 54 anthony van engelen • 56 art basel • 58 john florence view from a blue moon • 62 chris mcdonald photo feature • 70 the art of nelson dewey • 76 bruce irons • 80 brandon hammid • 86 BL!SSS 100th issue party • 90 eddie aikau opening ceremony • 92 2015 surfer poll awards • 94 die antwoord • 96 vestal for jye townend • 98 boytoy • 100 album reviews • 101

A L E X

M A T U S

F R E E D O M

R V C A . C O M

T O

|

T H E B A L A N C E O F O P P O S I T E S

R O A M

# I N S P I R E D B Y R V C A

S P E C I A L

E D I T I O N

P R O D U C T

AVA I L A B L E

N O W

Cons One Star Pro

H15 Photos ...Julian Berman Models ...Callum Wilson Ezekielusa.com — 92

all we HAVE

IS NOW

Editor-in-Chief nick kalionzes nick@blisssmag.com

Editor

joey marshall joey@blisssmag.com

Creative DirectoR mark paul deren : madsteez madsteez@madsteez.com

assistant editor delon isaacs delon@blisssmag.com

EDITOR AT LARGE liz rice mcCray liz@blisssmag.com

SNOW EDITOR jon francis jon@blisssmag.com

MUSI C EDITOR max ritter max@blisssmag.com

advertising ads@blisssmag.com

contributing Photographers

Jason Kenworthy, Dominic Petruzzi, Daniel Russo, Toby Ogden, Tom Carey, Brian Beilmann, Jack Coleman, Andrew Mapstone, Adam Moran, Dave Nelson, Pat Eichstaedt, Julien Lecorps, Ryan Boyes, Zach Hooper, Tim Peare, Michael Lallande, Bob Plumb, Peter Morning, Bryce Kanights, Arto Sarri, Anthony Acosta, Cameron Strand, Brian Fick, Deville Nunns, Gage Thompson, Derek Bahn, Tom Cozad, Robbie Crawford, Ryan Donahue, Joe Foster, Sean Sullivan, Delon Isaacs

contributors

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

BL!SSS Magazine

JANUARY 2016

413 31st Street Newport Beach, CA 92663 www.blisssmag.com Disclaimer: Although all best efforts are made to avoid the same, we reserve the right to publish unintentional mistakes and/or factual errors which may occur on a monthly basis. No responsibility is assumed by the publishers for unsolicited materials/articles/letters/ advertising and all submissions will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright and/or appropriate licensing purposes subject to Blisss’ right to edit and comment editorially. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine reflect the opinions of their respective authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editorial team.

Blisss Magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising matter which may reflect negatively on the integrity of the magazine. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form [print or electronic] without prior written consent from the publisher.

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

Anti Microbrial Fabric Coatings

AMF.C

The Spring 2016 Collection The Nosara Club House Creating functional product with a well designed aesthetic, VXSSRUWLQJ DQ RXWGRRU OLIHVW\OH RI VXUÄąQJ VNDWLQJ DQG PRWRUF\FOHV

© 2013

www ourcaste com

We’re a family of modern adventurists, building well designed product with functionality at it’s foundation, born from our adventures outdoors Z\YÄUN ZRH[PUN HUK YPKPUN TV[VYJ`JSLZ ,]LY` collection can be lived in daily, regardless of ^OLYL SPML»Z HK]LU[\YLZ TH` [HRL `V\

KELLY SLATER’S WAVE POOL

Kelly Slater punks Neptune and reclaims the title as god of the sea, as he creates the best manmade wave known to any human being on this planet. A couple weeks ago Slater literally broke the Internet as he got a nine-minute barrel full of turns and airs on a single wave that he technically created. I mean, how badass is that? The details and whereabouts to Slater’s decade-long project is still under wraps, however what is known about this wave will mark an interesting future for surfing. Could you imagine the idea of a world-class surfer coming out of a place like Montana because of this technology? Nuts.

CONVERSE CONS METRIC CLS

Kicking off the beginning of this year, Converse CONS is proud to present the Metric CLS sneaker featuring all-new technology and backed by Cons Ambassador and probably one of the best looking guys on a skateboard, Jake Johnson. The new Metric CLS shoe is smarter than your average human, and it is developed with new elements of perforated memory foam for comfort and fit, a faceted new outsole for support and durability, a ventilated mesh tongue for breathability and plenty other new bells and whistles to enhance your time on a skateboard. New Year, new shoes, get some.

ROARK X ELECTRIC

The latest addition to the Artifacts of Adventure, Roark teamed up with the Electric design team to painstakingly create the limited edition “Roark Glacier Glass” with custom leather side shields. The styling is reminiscent of the 1960s explorer and has the potential to get you into trouble and out of it simultaneously – just ask Roark. Available at finer retailers and at www. roark.com and www.electriccalifornia.com, a portion of each sale will be donated to Roark’s Waves 4 Water “Help Nepal” efforts to provide clean water filters as the country is still rebuilding from last year’s devastating earthquake.

VESTAL’S THE ROSE

Our boys at Vestal have been known to create some of finest timepieces our industry has to offer for men and women. They’re true team players that have decided to let watch-repair king turned marketer, Dennis Buongiorno, design his first piece from the ground up. You may recall this unique name as the legend of Sketchy D., Jersey shit-kid turned pro snowboarder, OG Grenade Crew and constant hustler. Anyway, Dennis designed his first-ever watch, The Rose, and it’s a complete feminine expression of his sophistication. Highlighted by roman numerals etched into the bezel outline dial that boasts 60 Swarovski Stones, this really is a unique timepiece that screams Sketchy D. Don’t be fooled by his hessian ways, this man is all heart. Get yours today at vestal.com and where finer feminine products are sold.

NIKE X POLER

Properly solidifying the end of the year and continuing on to the next, Poler and all their camp vibes have joined forces with Nike to create an all-new range of goods. The deeply rooted Portland brands gave birth to two new shoes: Zoom All Court CK and a Dunk High OMS along with the Coaches Jacket and Icon Fleece. If you’re one of those people who need to see clothes on someone else before buying it, head over to Polerstuff. com to check out the Hawaiian trip they did with legendary photographer Jonathan Mehring and Nike skaters Daryl Angel and Donovon Piscopo.

28

D DAY SNOWBOARDS

We’ve been noticing a new, dark quiver of shred sleds invading our local mountains, and it turns out it’s the D Day Snowboard crew. With the likes of Mike Ranquet, Chris Roach, Eric Messier, Andrew Burns, Ben Bilocq, Deadlung and Vinny, you can bet these new snowboards are gonna be the must-have sleds on the mountain. Keep your eyes peeled as you’re bound to see more and more from these dudes in 2016, and be sure to log onto d-daysnowboards.com to get the lowdown on their boards and where you can buy them.

NIXON NYC STORE

You know you’ve made it when you’re opening up flagship stores in the Big Apple. And it comes as no shock that the boys and girls at Nixon have just opened doors to their first brick-and-mortar retail store in the trendsetting SoHo neighborhood. It features its own customization bar, Nixon’s signature watch table, and serves as a spotlight for its limited-edition offerings, including its new automatic, Swiss-made RSVP Collection. Next time you find yourself in the big city, truck on over to 122 Prince Street and check it all out.

SANUK WALLA

Step out in style with this truly original new spin on Sanuk’s Signature Sidewalk Surfer, the Walla. It’s the newest edition to The Cavalier Collection and combines their patented sandal tab construction with a modern, smoothed-out update to the classic outsole. Just another way to keep your feet happy, and we all know that Sanuk’s been the leaders at that for quite some time. Slip a pair of these on, wiggle your toes and enjoy your day.

GLOBE UNEMPLOYABLE BOOK

Globe brand celebrated a monumental anniversary last month and released an outstanding 708-page book documenting their exciting and creative progression as a major action-sports brand over the course of the past 30 years. Titled Unemployable: 30 years of Hardcore, Skate and Street the book tells the story of Australia’s Hill brothers and their triumph on how they turned a mere hobby into one of the world’s largest skate/surf brands. The story itself is remarkable, and the documented photography that goes with it is just as incredible. You owe it to your coffee table to go out and get your hands on one of these bad boys.

RICHER POORER X BYRD

The holidays brought us a great little collaboration by the fine folks at Richer-Poorer and Byrd Hair Products. It’s a must-have travel kit that covers all the essentials, including two pairs of Richer Poorer combed cotton crew socks, Byrd’s custom-sized soap on a rope, Byrd’s Light Pomade and Byrd’s Pocket Comb, all of which fit neatly in the Topo Designs dopp bag. You can pretty much just grab this bag and go. It’s available at richer-poorer.com, byrdhair.com and where finer products are sold.

30

DROP THE HAMMER It’s undeniable. Our mountain is big, our parks are world-class and our high fives don’t quit.

Nobody does it like we do.

left to right • Billabong, Barlow Sherpa Jacket - $139.95, billabong.com • Element, Hemlock 2Tones Parka - $120, elementbrand.com • Ezekiel, Tarmack Jacket - $95, ezekielusa.com Hurley, Offshore Parka - $100, hurley.com • ourCaste, Sloan Jacket - $129, ourCaste.com • Poler, Snorkle Jacket - $439.95, polerstuff.com Quiksilver, Orkney Jacket - $99.50, quiksilver.com • Roark, The Axeman Jacket - $124, roark.com • RVCA, Fletcher Poncho Hoodie - $98, rvca.com Tavik, Focal Jacket - $165, tavik.com • Vans, Lismore Deluxe Jacket - $129.50, vans.com • Volcom, Stone Storm II Jacket - $130, volcom.com

34

interview • liz rice mccray

check out

When asked, “What do you do?” how do you answer?

I’m an artist! I also teach college art classes.

How do you describe your art? What materials do you mainly work with?

My oil paintings are interpretations of natural forms like rocks, trees and clouds. I’m fascinated by patterns found in nature and in what might happen if those patterns and structures are rearranged, disrupted or expanded. Most of my work starts with an intense, detailed landscape study. Then, at a certain point my process becomes intuitive rather than observational. Like an artist might paint a human portrait, I try to capture the character or presence of an object in nature, rather than its exact likeness. In this way, most of my paintings are half real and half imagined.

We must say that your oil paintings are amazing. The technique is remarkable. How long have you been painting?

I have been painting since I was a little kid. My parents gave me a set of oil paints for Christmas when I was about 12. My younger sister (now a sculptor living in NYC) and I spent long afternoons in our parent’s garage studying art books and making paintings. The first subjects I learned how to paint well were grapes and rats. I was obsessed with those two subjects for a while and I became quite skilled at painting translucent grape skin and bristly rat fur.

Would you say the process is labor-intensive? Will you give some insight and explain the steps of creating these paintings?

Yes, my process is definitely labor-intensive! I studied

36 36

classical figure painting, so although I have not painted the human form in many years, most of my subjects are painted with the same care and detail one might use to paint a human portrait. Each work is composed of many layers of opaque and transparent paint, gradually building color and depth. A single painting often takes over a month to complete.

You are currently in Colorado, but whereabouts exactly?

How did you land in Colorado and how would you describe the art scene?

I live in Boulder, Colorado. I moved to Colorado because I was drawn to the Rocky Mountains, a landscape that is raw and complex in a very different way than the Appalachian Mountains where I grew up. I earned my MFA at The University of Colorado where I was able to strengthen my painting technique while also studying the landscape.

Denver has a vibrant and growing art scene. This year I am a resident artist at RedLine, which is a contemporary art center in Denver that combines a residency program with project-based community engagement. As a resident artist, I’m constantly interacting with artists working on amazing projects who I respect and admire.

What percentage of your time is devoted to your artwork? What fills the rest of your time?

I paint almost every day. I try to treat painting like a full-time job and put in 30 to 40 hours per week, but I also teach painting and drawing classes at The University of Colorado, Boulder and at Metropolitan State University in Denver. I love teaching and I probably learn much more from my students

than they learn from me. When I’m not painting or teaching painting, I’m often exploring the rivers and mountains near my home. I go on long walks in the mountains: thinking, sketching, and searching for inspiration.

Was your childhood ambition to be an artist?

Oh yes! I’ve always been drawing and making things and I always answered the same way whenever anyone asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, “An Artist!” As kids, my sister and I were always doing creative things: putting on plays, writing and illustrating books, building elaborate monster costumes with mechanical mouths, and painting with crushed cherries, mud and whatever else we could find in the woods.

Do you have any upcoming projects you can share with us?

I am preparing to start a new series of paintings inspired by the micro-ecosystems that grow up around dead trees. In early October, I traveled to Quinualt Rainforest in Washington to explore and take photographs of decaying trees in preparation for this project. It is one of the most strange and beautiful landscapes I’ve ever seen. Over the next few months, I’m looking forward to pushing my color palette and working on a larger scale.

Where can people check out your art?

You can check out my website at aerofauna.com.

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions, please keep us updated.

interview • liz rice mccray

check out

Disclosure: At the start of this interview we were already smitten with San Francisco artist Michelle Guintu. We first saw her painting of “the artist formally known as Prince” at New Image Art Gallery last year, so when we had the opportunity to interview her before the opening of her two-person show with Kristen Liu Wong (“500 Likes” at New Image Art), we jumped at the opportunity. Thank you, Michelle, for taking the time to answer our questions.

When asked, “What do you do?” how do you answer?

I usually explain how I pay for rent.

So then was your childhood ambition to be in an artist?

How did you get into art?

When I was a kid, I remember knowing what I wanted “not” to be. I just remember wanting to be cool like Cyndi Lauper or Punky Brewster. I wondered what I would end up doing; I had no clue though. I always liked drawing as far as I can remember but never dreamt I wanted to be an artist. I probably didn’t know that an artist was a thing, ya know?

I think I really got into art in junior high because I always enjoyed assignments that involved drawing. I remember being competitive with posters and stuff. There was this one girl that was a good drawer and I was jealous of her and her dad was a cartoonist, so that made me feel like she was better for some reason. Anyways, I was really into Sailor Moon and anime and drew the sailor scouts constantly. I even had a Sailor Mars binder that had drawings of her and a handwritten list of her powers and special traits; it’s red, and it’s at my parent’s house still.

36 38

Your subjects are amazing. How do you pick the people you paint?

Yes, they’re amazing people, right? I pick the people I paint based on my level of adoration for them, I guess. Most of them are from nostalgia. I enjoy a good face too like Hulk Hogan and Ice Cube.

Depending on how drunk I am I enjoy karaoke only if it’s on a weekday though. Recently, I’ve been listening to podcasts while I paint. I just finished Anthony Bourdain and John Cusack’s session on The Nerdist podcast yesterday. Oh, I like going to art openings cuz I get to let loose and hang out with people I haven’t seen in a while.

Haha yes, that’s what I meant, all amazing people. So tell us how would you put into words your present?

My present? Like present day? Well I’m getting ready for a two-person show that’s opening next Saturday at New Image Art. I’m showing with Kristen Liu-Wong. She’s so cute; met for the first time a couple weeks ago at a show we were in at Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco. We both use pink a lot in our work. So that’s all I’ve been doing at the moment. Last night after painting I was contemplating whether or not to get some Chinese food at this one place, Yelping, and instagraming pictures for kinda of a long time; but I just ended up going home and eating cereal.

How would you like to see your future develop?

I just want to keep making work and showing. Another solo show would be cool. I’d like to not overbook myself.

Maybe become a master at time management. I would be into working on some new projects and collaborating with different people.

I’m curious what are your favorite activities?

Hmmm, I like looking up McDonalds hashtags. I put out a McDonalds ‘zine a couple years ago. I might make a second one if I find enough weird McDonalds-themed pictures. I also like searching for a good baseball hat. I laugh a lot and like laughing I guess. I enjoy listening to stand-up; I went to my first live stand-up show when I was in LA this past summer. The only time I have for activities other than painting is some QT with my boo. He draws and stuff too, so we can work on stuff together and be productive at the same time. I like looking up restaurants and pictures of their food. I like when I find something good at thrift stores.

Last question: Where can people check out your art?

I have a tumblr account that I forget to update so Instagram [@michelleguintu] is the best bet. I work a lot with New Image Art Gallery; I had two solo shows there so their website would have a bunch of my work up.

Do you do any commissioned portraits?

It depends if I have time or not. I’ve done a handful of family portraits for people; but I think I’m over that, too much pressure, ya know. I don’t want to bum people out if their daughter or so doesn’t look spot on.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions. We look forward to seeing your two-person show with Kristen Liu Wong “500 likes” at New Image Art Gallery (newimageartgallery.com).

interview • liz rice mccray

check out

So tell us, why art?

I have been drawing for as long as I can remember. Both of my parents are fashion designers and my dad has a huge movie poster collection, so I have always been surrounded by art and artistic thought process. Drawing is just something that I have to do at this point; it has become second nature. I have always been more of a visual person. I’ve always felt a need to express myself. Instead of talking about what’s going on in my head or writing it down in a journal I would much rather see a visual interpretation of it. I’ve found that painting is the most interesting way for me to do that. But in doing that I never really know exactly what I want a painting to look like, I just know what story I want to tell or what emotions are behind it. I want to be completely satisfied with the outcome, but that’s nearly impossible because the more time that passes by, the higher my standards get for myself. So I’m constantly failing, which makes makes me want to try to get closer on my next painting.

You kind of already answered this question but we are going ask anyways: what are your influences?

I have been hugely influenced by being surrounded by creativity and art since I was born. I grew up spending most of my time in my parents’ design studio. I was also highly motivated by the graffiti artists in the city around me. My dad introduced me to some of the most influential artists of Los Angeles years ago – El Mac and Retna. I would sit at the curb and watch them paint murals for hours upon hours. My life and art have been intertwined since.

What’s your favorite part about living in LA? That’s a tough question; I love living in LA so much. Maybe the weather? There’s close to 300 days of sunshine every year – you can’t really beat that.

36 40

How has growing up and living in LA shaped your development and your art?

As I mentioned before, my dad introduced me the street art world at a young age. Since then the streets have always been a great source of inspiration for me, from the actual streets to the talented people who have brought so much attention to LA through their work. My environment has definitely colored my world and how I view it. Because I have had the opportunity to grow up in such a wonderful mix of culture and art, it has made me an artist more open and more sensitive to worldviews and the beauty in being human. Living in South Central LA for the early part of my life has given me a perspective on life that helps me appreciate every opportunity and every accomplishment that comes along. This area with its limited resources and constant struggle, to not just be a stereotype and statistic, has also inspired me to strive harder. I want to step out of the shadows of people’s expectations and show the youth of our city that we do have a bright future and possible dreams of success.

You work primarily with oils. Do you work with other mediums?

Yeah, I actually used to paint exclusively with acrylic but once I tried out oils I totally abandoned them. Oil paint’s slow drying time was a big thing for me. I like to experiment with different mediums like watercolors on smaller things like my sketchbooks. But oil is definitely my medium of choice.

Is there an element of self-portraiture in your work? Will you tell us about the subjects in your paintings?

For me, painting a self-portrait is a form of self-analysis. Every time I paint myself, I learn something new about myself. Even the paintings that aren’t me are still self-portraits in a way.

The person depicted might not be me, but for that moment I’m using their likeness as sort of an empty vessel in which I then inject my feelings into. The subjects in my paintings are mostly people that I have a connection with. I’m much more invested in a work if I have a number of experiences and memories with the person being painted. When I paint, I’m opening up and expressing a part of what I am going through at the time. But my portraits aren’t necessarily for the viewer to learn something about me, but instead an opportunity to reflect on what they’re experiencing and apply it to their own life. In a way, I’m giving them permission to confront or discover something about themselves.

Will you give some insight and explain the steps of creating these paintings?

When I want to start a new painting I usually try to brainstorm a little bit and think about what kind of story I want to tell. Once I have an idea, I draw some very rough thumbnails of ways to possibly manifest the idea I want to paint. I then have a photo shoot with lots and lots of different poses and from there I go through a big selection process through the photos and select the photos that I think work best for what I’m trying to put out.

After that I do a drawing of that photo and transfer it onto the surface I’m painting on. Then once I’m ready to paint, I just go at it with no plan of attack.

Where can people check out your art?

You can go to my website delfinleyart.com and follow me on Instagram @delfinley.

check out

We sat down with Green Room owner Mac Carlson to talk about the new shop location and what to expect for the new year.

What is Green Room’s mission statement?

We want to bring the best national brands to the local community, as well as showcase local brands that are “new” and “up-and-coming.” Also, having both parents as teachers in Newport Beach and Huntington Beach their entire careers, I feel that it is important to give back to the schools as well as offer clinics to demonstrate, teach, and inform the kids in the community.

When was the store established, and who’s the general mastermind/fearless leader behind the shop?

The store opened at 6480 W Coast Hwy in Newport Beach in 1992 by a few local shapers and glassers (Terry Senate, Dean Cleary and Jim Hodges) looking to showcase their boards. They sold a little under a decade later to Gregg Steiner. In 2004, due to issues with the landlord, the store was moved to 4525 W Coast Hwy where I then worked as manager until I purchased it in 2010.

Did The Green Room start off in Newport? We remember seeing it bounce around a couple different places around here? Where did you guys disappear to?

We felt that there was too much competition in such a small

36 42

area that I moved the operation entirely online until we could find a new location to open. We ended up settling in a 32,000square-foot “compound” with an enormous warehouse, offices, gym (and even a rehearsal studio) overlooking the ocean at the end of Whittier Ave. in Costa Mesa. I was always looking for new locations to open but was waiting for the right time.

However, when we were given news a year ago that they were going to tear down the compound to build houses, I knew it was time to re-open. TK at The Frog House in Newport and Duke at Surfside Sports in Costa Mesa are strong pillars in the community (and real cool guys), so I was looking to move far enough away that we would not compete with them. To the north, you have the Jack’s and HSS in Huntington. After months of searching, I found an amazing 10,000-square-foot location off the 405 and Euclid that had everything on my checklist.

Walk us through what your average customer is like? What’s the most popular thing they’re coming into the store to look for?

Our average customers are local families who surf, skate, and/ or snowboard and who enjoy our convenient location. Because we’ve seen the best start to the snow season in several years, our snow gear (snowboards, bindings, boots, gloves, helmets, goggles) has been our recent best sellers, along with Stance Socks.

How does the store differ than your average store, and how are the pieces you stock selected?

Selecting the items in the store is truly a group effort, as we all enjoy these activities and collaborate on what’s new and a must-have for the store and our community. We also differ from other stores being that we built the entire store ourselves; and mostly with reclaimed wood I picked up from an old barn being torn down in Lake Arrowhead. We purchased the scissor lift and all construction supplies so we can constantly build and update the look seasonally… and make it fun for the kids.

Have you ever had a customer buy a surfboard, a skateboard and a snowboard all in one purchase?

We just opened, so not yet.

I know you guys are just staring to settle in but what new things can we look forward to seeing in the next upcoming months?

Toward the end of the snow season, our Snow Room will be converted into a Sand Room, which will include gear for moto, mountain biking, wakeboarding, etcetera, and all the best related brands. Also, we plan on throwing more parking lot events, such as street course skate events, Game of Skate, and live music.

interview • liz rice mccray

check out

Belgian painter Adele Renault (born in 1988) mainly paints pigeons and people, and “her subjects may live in the gutter or in an ivory tower.” Her realistic portraits range in size from giant murals to small canvas. Renault is currently working and living in Amsterdam with her husband Niels ‘Shoe’ Meulman.

So you paint realistic portraits of people and pigeons.

Can you give us some insight into your subjects?

Whether it’s pigeons or people, I feel strangely drawn to the margins of society, high or low ranking. For example: forgotten elderlies, neglected homeless, refugees, scruffy street pigeons or top racing pigeons. It’s a nice feeling to immortalize them on canvas like the dukes, earls and barons of the past. I have no ambition to expose any social injustice, I’m just trying to capture beauty in places you least expect it.

And faces that have “lived” are much more interesting to paint. You can capture so many stories in just one portrait.

You recently had a show in Chicago called #campthepigeon. Can you tell us the story behind it?

About two years ago I stumbled upon an Instagram account of a pigeon called Camp. It said, “High-class Chicago pigeon. Discarded as an egg by window installers who destroyed the nest, then found by an un-expecting couple.”

I instantly became a fan of @campthepigeon and painted a whole series of portraits based on the Instagram pictures. It was a must for me to show the work in Chicago, because I wanted Camp to attend the opening. It was so fascinating to finally meet the pigeon in person, as I knew each one of his feathers!

Funny anecdote: People around me, especially gallerists and other artists, always told me to stop painting pigeons and focus on the portraits. I never listened. And last month

36 44

I showed portraits at Yoko Uhoda Gallery in Belgium.

And guess what – everybody was asking, “Where are the pigeons?”

You come from a musical, creative family. Can you tell us a little bit about your childhood?

I grew up in the Belgian countryside in a tiny, tiny village.

The nature was beautiful but otherwise it was quite boring.

Both my parents are composers and I think they liked the quiet of the country to compose and work, but for inspiration they always travelled, meeting new people and new music.

They took me to South America before I could walk, and I never quite stopped traveling since. I spent six months in Venezuela when I was 14, staying with musician friends of my parents, and then moved to the UK when I was 16. It’s during my years in Brighton that I started painting on a more regular basis.

One element of your painting that affects me greatly is your use of light. How do you create that play of light in your mind?

I deliberately use overexposure in my paintings. I like to bathe the faces in white and lose some of the contour; it gives a magical feel to the paintings. Growing up I was always fascinated by the ‘chiaroscuro’ paintings by George De La Tour, Gerrit van Honthorst and Caravaggio. In a way, you could say I do a reverse chiaroscuro, fading into sunlight instead of into obscurity.

What’s the dynamic between you and Niels ‘Shoe’ Meulman regarding art? Do you share a studio?

We share a large studio in the north part of Amsterdam. We both have our own corner: mine has just an easel and it’s very clean; Shoe’s corner is often attacked by paint bombs.

There are brooms, giant brushes, buckets of black ink and

iridescent paint. We don’t paint much together in the studio but we like to collaborate on murals. Our art is so different that it’s sometimes complementary. And besides making art, we share everything in life too, even our suitcase.

What are you really into right now?

When I’m not painting, I’m into running and kickboxing. I recently joined the Amsterdam-based Patta Running Team.

A few painters I’m into at the moment are Brett Amory, Kehinde Wiley, Marlene Dumas, Joe Holbrook and Jenny Morgan.

How would you like to see your future develop?

I’m aiming to have a steady two or three successful solo shows a year and continue to travel the world in between, painting murals and encountering new people and pigeons to paint. I would also like to do a residency for a couple of months. I love my studio in Amsterdam, but the idea of setting up a studio in a place I still have to discover is exciting.

Do you have any upcoming projects you can share with us?

January 2016 group show at Gallery Vriend van Bavink in Amsterdam. Again in January 2016 I’m painting a mural with my husband Niels Shoe Meulman in Delhi, India. And in June 2016 I have a solo show at Art is Just a Four Letter Word, Soest, Germany.

Where can people check out your art?

I post a lot of ‘work in progress’ images on instagram: @adelerenault. Also, check my website (www.adelerenault. com) for upcoming exhibitions. And if you’re ever in Amsterdam, feel free to visit my studio!

Photography • Ben Tsui • @bentsuiphotos Model • Rachel • @rachelzimmerman1 Manager • Caleb White • @cwmanagement” Hair & Makeup • Shannella Dupuis • @mbsmakeup

46

interview • liz rice mccray Photographer Victor Enrich turns buildings upside down. These City Portraits are a mixed media of real life architecture, photography and advanced computer graphic techniques. Make sure to check out more of his photography at victorenrich.com. Thank you, Victor, for taking the time to answer our questions.

How did you get into architectural photography and rendering?

I began with architecture and photography at the very beginning of my college years when I was studying architecture in Barcelona. It seems that the way I was showing my own projects to my teachers encouraged them

How would you explain your art form?

Well, I believe that my art form is an evolution of my professional years. When I resigned, I made a sabbatical.

Then, I thought a lot about what to do with my life. I was sure of one thing, I didn’t want to throw away all my experience in 3D. On the other hand, I found that all my hatred and boredom to architecture was in fact hatred

an architect. I can see in them many things that I’m constantly in conversation with them. It’s like they are people to me. So, in a way, I begin to feel some sort of solidarity with certain buildings, mostly buildings that have nothing or almost nothing to do with their environment… lonely buildings I would say. Then, once the building has been chosen I begin to draw it in 3D. This process takes time. It’s like a love story between the building and I. Enough time to think of what we could do together.

Generally, it’s the same shape of the building; its architectonic elements show me what I want to do with them. So for each building the results may be very different.

identify, refine, etc. emotional feelings or elements in your photographs and digital editing?

Well, to say that I’m a pianist is perhaps too much. I did study music in the past, before college. But due to lack of time and trying to be realistic, I had to give it up. Piano requires at least five hours a day in practice if you want to be somebody. It seemed that I was never going to be someone playing piano. Obviously, this choice hurt me a bit. It has been quite recently that I have found that, through art, there are ways in which I can reconnect these parts of me. I’ve made a first experiment with the NHDK video… I hope there will be other experiments in the future.

What are your favorite types of buildings?

I like all of them. The urban collage is so rich that any style is pleasant to my eyes. It’s perhaps the combination of styles that attracts me more than single buildings.

I mean, maybe one building that caught my attention, placed somewhere else would never catch my attention.

You received a grant by the National University of Colombia to produce a photo project in Bogotá. Will you tell us about this project?

In May 2015 I was invited by the National Museum of Photography to exhibit my NHDK project in the Bogota’s Biennale of Photography. During the week I was there, artists were asked to do some lectures. In my case, I was invited to visit a primary school in one of the poorest slums of Bogotá, named “Rafael Uribe Uribe.” The

You’re a pianist, so do you think this influences your work in anyway. Do you utilize music to help you

50

to hire me for their professional presentations. Suddenly I found myself working in 3D architectural illustration, which involves photography. This was in 1997 and lasted for over a decade, until 2007, when I decided to resign a successful career as a 3D illustrator.

and boredom to work in commercial projects. I still loved architecture so much that I was not ready to leave it forever. So I decided to begin an experiment, a research in what was there inside of me that was not yet explored and that could be expressed with the same tools that I had been using in my professional years. So, what I’m doing now is exactly the same that I was doing then, with some little differences. I dedicate much more time to each image and I choose the subject.

When looking for a building to transform, what do you look for? How do you go about choosing?

I like looking at buildings. I look at them with the eye of

experience was incredible. I had the chance to show my artwork to kids around 12 years old. Everyone was very excited and happy, including myself.

A few months later, I was told about this grant and I wrote a project, and the project was going to be about that same slum. Basically, the idea is to bring this slum, which is in a peripheral state, to the center of attention, if possible, globally. I’d like everyone in this world to ask themselves, “What is Rafael Uribe Uribe”? Or “Where is Rafael Uribe Uribe?” How to accomplish this will be the real challenge for this project. So basically, I went down to Bogotá again, this time for one month, and I made a photographic report of the slum. In the following months the photos will be worked in a way that I can’t disclose right now.

Where can people check more of your art?

People can visit my website, victorenrich.com, and if interested in buying a limited edition print they can visit my online store at shop.victorenrich.com. On the other hand, there are plenty of articles in several magazines.

words & photo • bruce beach Sunday, Dec. 6, 7:45 a.m.

Peahi, Maui WSL BWWT VIP Area The scene is surreal from the cliff with lines stacked to the horizon as massive 20-35 feet (Hawaiian-size scale) waves are breaking with 15-20 mph trades blowing. It’s bigger in the morning than the historic January 4th, 2012 historic paddle day at Jaws, and Dorian has already packed a huge one in the free-surf session. Then, in rapid-fire succession, Mark Mathews launches himself over one of the heaviest waves ever paddled into at Jaws.

He has to straighten out, is clipped by the lip and dragged almost to the rocks before being rescued by the water safety patrol ski team with a blown out shoulder. Kai Lenny gets blown out of a sick barrel on the west bowl… Holy shit, the horn hasn’t even sounded.

Gary Linden, the Founder of the BWWT and current VP, is on his two-way radio and XXL visionary and BWWT General Manager Bill Sharp is up in the booth on his cell texting and talking to anyone of importance. The WSL

52

Broadcast Team is in place behind me on the cliff high above the action with Pottz, Joe Turpel, Ron Dog and Ross Williams. Strider, the sideline reporter, is in the channel sans life vest for good measure, while Pete Mel nervously nods his approval. Meanwhile back on Oahu, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jimmie Johnson and the rest of the Fox NFL Sunday broadcast team are at Pearl Harbor honoring those that lost their lives there on December 7, 1941. The WSL Chopper is taking off and landing behind us refueling and cleaning the salt spray from the RED Camera mounted to the nose. Up in the VIP booth sits Kim Nault, cheering on her boyfriend Mark Healey, and Matt Meola with his binoculars pulling for his Maui Boys. Chris Christenson and I post up on the front row bench on the cliff next to Kim Ball, the long-time owner of Hi-Tech Surf Sports on Maui, with our esky loaded with Maui Brewing Co. Bikini Blondes, ready for the PE’AHI CHALLENGE to start.

8:08 a.m. – 11:28 a.m. (Heat #1 - #4) The first four heats were nothing short of

spectacular; there were too many heroics and heavy drops for a heat play-by-play, but the entire breakdown of some of the most incredible big-wave surfing ever [with additional photos] is available for viewing at www.blisssmag.com.

new breed of chargers. They are now among the most elite big-wave surfers in the world. Hats off to the WSL BWWT for pulling off such an amazing event and the surfers that put on such a great show.

11:28 a.m. – 2:38 p.m. Semis & Final The semis were more of the same: mind-blowing late drops, horrific wipeouts and some clean exits. Greg Long sat the furthest in a state of Zen waiting for the biggest waves, Albee Layer picked off two high-scoring barrels, riding a board 2 feet smaller than everyone else, and the Red Bull jet ski and the pilot got rolled into the rocks despite a heroic effort to save the ski.

2:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Haiku, Maui to Kahului Airport I missed my 3 p.m. flight from Kahului to Honolulu and was crusing my rented Alamo Jeep up the dirt road from the cliff to Hana Highway. Everyone from the chopper pilot to the security crew at the entrance to the dirt road was throwing shakas. As I drove past Hookipa, I couldn’t help but wonder how many sessions those same Maui groms, that had just surfed in the greatest big wave paddle event ever, had surfed there before venturing further up the road to Jaws. The Island Air crew put me on the next flight to Honolulu no hassles – “Here today gone to Maui.”

The swell backed down and became less consistent in the Final, and it was Billy Kemper who deservedly came out on top with Albee Layer 2nd, Greg Long 3rd, Ian Walsh 4th, Gabriel Villaran 5th and Shane Dorian 6th. It was almost four years ago that the famous “all paddle” session went down at Jaws. On that historic day in surfing, much of the talk was regarding Maui’s

billy kemper

interview • ashley macomber

Deanna Templeton has been my friend for almost 15 years. She is one of the kindest and sweetest people I have met, and if you have met her you know what I mean. Besides her stellar personality, she is an amazing photographer. More softly spoken than her partner in crime, her photographs are stealthy in their power. I’ve heard people say her work is feminine or sensitive, and to me that is too limiting. What I see in her work is compassion and empathy, and a deep connection with humanity that can be painful at times. Her work has so much to say to us about life – you just have to listen.

When you are walking around shooting photos, what draws you to an image? Do you have anything specific you are looking for? How do you know when to press the shutter?

There is really no way to explain what draws me to shoot something without it sounding silly or really vague, so I’m

54

just going to say it’s an intuition. Right now, I am shooting a lot of females for an upcoming project so I’m looking for something that I can relate to; either they remind me of how I used to be, how I wanted to be or how I might see myself in the future. In this case, I’m looking for something personal, and I can usually tell in just a few moments if there is some kind of connection.

With the onslaught of social media, where do you see photography in the future? Has it affected how or what you take pictures of?

Photography is moving 100 miles per hour and I’m still cruising in the slow lane. I still like a photo with content. I still love shooting film. I love shooting black and white tri-x and color 120 films. I love looking at juicy, fiber-based prints that make me think or feel something.

How do you think you have changed as a photographer since you started

taking pictures at 15? Do you think your perspective has shifted as you have aged?

Well when I started I really didn’t have much of a focus; I felt like a winged a lot of photos, which shows when I look back at my earlier work. Like, why didn’t I frame that better or focus on the eyes?

I’ve slowed down a lot, I go with more instinct and, like I said earlier, I wait to feel that connection.

With all the traveling you and Ed do, you have photographed youth culture all over the world. Is there a difference between kids from the states and, say, London?

When I was working on my body autograph series I would definitely see a huge difference in the way kids interacted around pro athletes at events. Here in the states during the US Open of Surfing, kids would come out and have the surfers sign their chests and butts instead of a poster with the actual surfer on it. But

basically, I think with social media and the Internet kids are a lot a like. You don’t have to wait months now for some kind of trend to make its way across the pond – it happens almost simultaneously. Punk kids in London look the same as punk kids do here. Ok, maybe more Hot Topiclike from here.

Can you tell me about the swimming pool series and why you started it?

They seem more focused on formal elements. Even though they are pictures of young people naked, there seems to be less social and political commentary behind the series. I started shooting my swimming pool series after I shot a few nude photos of my husband Ed taking a swim in our pool. When I got the proof sheets back I really liked what I saw with the light coming through the water, the movement and slight distortion of the body and the quietness of the whole image. So I started asking friends, friends of friends, if they would be down to swim

for me. I was trying to find people with little to no tattoos. I wanted a blank canvas to work with. I tried to minimize any distractions. This project was special to me because it was collaboration between the swimmer and me. Giving me their time and trust meant a lot to me. Some people even swam while they were sick, just because the timeframe I had to shoot was so short. I could only shoot through the summer months and I only had a few hours a day where our patio overhang wouldn’t cast a shadow in the pool. After eight years of shooting this series it is finally going to be a book called The Swimming Pool published by Um Yeah Arts. It should be out by May of 2016.

2016 is fast approaching; do you have any big plans, hopes, or worries for next year?

Besides The Swimming Pool book, I’ve also been working on another series called “What She Said,” which is photographs of young women that remind me either of how I was when I was younger or how I wish I could’ve been. There is a show in the works for that series at the end of 2016. At the same time I’m shooting for another series on Huntington Beach. Ed and I take an afternoon walk and shoot photos almost everyday downtown in HB. We have been doing this for years now. So we were thinking about doing a book, his and her takes on Huntington Beach. Hopes for next year? For people to stop killing each other. For compassion and empathy to rise and hatred and ignorance to decline. And as for worries, I’m always worrying. I was diagnosed with ulcers in the 8th grade – worrying is what I do.

photos • anthony acosta

At age 37, Anthony Van Engelen was recently named by Thrasher Magazine as “Skater of the Year,” proving that it takes a lot more than just being a young buck with a flashy bag of tricks to be dubbed the face of skateboarding. AVE has a certain je ne sais quoi that we can’t seem to get over. His skating is just full-on, 100percent hardcore and confident, whether he’s skating regular or switch. AVE’s been the best skater for the last decade, but this year he really accomplished some milestones with landing himself an awesome March Thrasher cover and the ending star part in Vans’ first-ever fulllength skateboarding video, Propeller.

Congratulations again Anthony, I hope we’ve made you stinking filthy rich with all the Fucking Awesome gear we’ve all been buying.

56

words & photos • enriqueta arias (*unless noted) Art Basel Miami Beach had endless corridors. The festival included more than 18 simultaneous art fairs, over 1000 galleries, 267 exhibitors and 32 invited countries. The crowds consisted of celebrities, collectors, curators and museum directors, all of them walking in a vast array of large-scale paintings, installations, performances and sculptures. The crowds varied from Art Fair connoisseur to Wynwood for the urban muralists. Miami always has something for everyone and money goes deep into the mysterious river of stimulation.

The oasis of murals has become one of the art highlights, iconic locations worldwide. Even when Art Basel Miami

is the protagonist of this pitchfork, with 75,000 people attending the event last year, Wynwood is no-longer considered backyard of the most important Fine Art Fair. One of the highlights or Art Basel Miami was Castelli Gallery from the U.S., with sculptures by the Post-Minimal artist Keith Sonnier.

We also admired a huge piece by Keith Haring from 1982 at Gladstone Gallery. Hannah Stouffer’s H+Creative of Los Angeles and Sarah Potter’s SP Projects of Philadelphia presented “IRIDESCENCE,” an exhibition of 15 contemporary artists in a series of events at The Shore Club in South Beach. In addition to the exhibition, Jonny Alexander, Aaron Glasson and Jose Di Gregorio painted a colorful

mural at The Electric Pickle building in Wynwood, Miami, which features an amazing landscape we would love to live in. Jason Botkin teamed up with the artists, incorporating elements of their mural into his own style featuring a polar bear for PangeaSeed’ Seawalls x Urban Nation Berlin series.

the art fair. Wynwood Walls presented “Walls of Change” by Case Maclaim, Crash, Cryptik, el Seed, Erenest Zacharevic, Fafi, Hueman, INTI, Alexis Diaz, The London Police and Logan Hicks Besides. The Spanish duo Pichi & Avo painted a mural on stacked shipping containers inside of the venue.

SCOPE Art Show presented the Juxtapoz | SCOPE Print Series in collaboration with 1xRUN and featured 17 innovative galleries: Copro Gallery, Inner State Gallery, Kallenbach Gallery, Red Truck Gallery, Stolenspace Gallery, Station 16 Gallery and Thinkspace, as a celebration of artwork that bends, blends and transcends everything. This program added a singular dynamism to

Smashed Canvas in the middle of Wynwood, curated by Robert de los Rios, presented one of the largest independently produced mural installations of Art Basel 2015.

Smashed Canvas’ public house featured craft beer, cocktails and delicious food and over 20 of the world’s best muralists painted almost six blocks, creating the perfect

bikisimo

58

ian devenport

dalek

miss van

ugo rondinone

felipe pantone

jimmie durham

reception to the Wynwood Arts District. Some of our favorite murals included the NTL cru, curated by 1xRUN, as well as murals by Amanda Lynn, Caratoes and Paola Delfin, curated by Kaaboo Artwork.

caratoes

Another one of our favorite projects included PangeaSeed’ Sea Walls: Murals for Oceans, in collaboration with Urban Nation Berlin, Montana Cans, KAABOO del Mar and Smashed Canvas. They just wrapped up a

groundbreaking partnership to create a series of murals addressing the pressing issue of climate change and its impact on the life support system of our planet, the ocean. This international collaboration took place in the Wynwood District of Miami featuring globally renowned artists such as James Bullough, Li-Hill, Jason Botkin, Nevercrew, SEPE and Onur & Wes21.

Check out what caught our eye at Miami Art Week.

london police

adam friedman

onur & wes21 • photo nate peracinny

jason botkin • photo nate peracinny

li hill & james bullough • photo nate peracinny

spencer keeton cunningham

marina capdevila

olek

ernest zacharevic

madsteez

sepe

inti

jose digregorio

john foster

words • j.p. noslo : all lifestyle photos • john florence (*unless noted)

West of West and East of East, Hawaii is the most isolated population center on the face of the earth. Its locale is as critical for military strategy as economy and trade. Before discovered

by Euro-colonialists, the Kanakas pushed their boundaries further and further not only bringing their endemic culture to the berths of their explorations but also returning with pivotal learned technologies and politesse. These mariners essentially curate the apex of emersion and civilization through that exchange and return.

John, Blake and Erik are in many ways akin to Polynesian predecessors, offering us fresh perspectives and different ways of doing things. These prime young communicators, filmmakers, documentarians, crafted the first 4K surf film, and in conjunction, a handmade, personally done book. A benevolent contribution, the movie and book are John’s little gifts to the world.

This culmination of homegrown, postmodern Hawaiian heritage opens the doors to a new generation of storytelling where the process transcends the medium and becomes content. Aspects of these instances include Century 2000s fashioned on Red Epic cameras, Leica Noctilux lenses mounted on mirror-less full-frames with 4K recorders, a Beaulieu hand-crank 16mm shaved down to shoot super wide, mobile eco-friendly grey-water darkrooms equipped with first generation Leitz enlargers, and a fully operational print atelier.

Although people ride waves all over the world, Hawaiian surfing is pretty unique. Every winter the 7-mile stretch on Oahu’s North Shore serves as surfing’s ground zero, a special place and time that captivates the minds of those who grew up there, flew there, and the rest of us merely tuning in via cyberspace. From Pe’ahi to Pipeline, Hawaii hosts waves of the most critical consequences, ultimately molding future generations of surfing and diplomacy. However, not all great Hawaiians are pigeonholed into an eternity of barrels and brimstone; others end up as nature conservationists (John Kelly) and Presidents (Barack Obama).

No matter, for a deeper delve into the Florence Cartel’s social import, pick up a hardbound copy of the View From a Blue Moon for the story behind the story. The book encompasses John’s epic odyssey, as told by all the usual suspects, supplemented with photos and frame grabs from the most committed lens hustlers in the business. Featured are depositions from Jamie and Bruce on John and where surfing is headed, and the brothers Florence reminiscing on family values and poetic prophesies from enigmatic filmmaker and writer C.R. Stecyk. It should be noted that the book’s design was a product of Leucadian design firm Wedge and Lever, who Director Blake Kueny hired for specials effects and titles on the film. For the money, there is no greater return on an investment than purchasing this book. Available January 1st, on hurley.com. photo • derek bahn

62

photo • domenic mosqueira

photo • trevor moran

photo • chris gurney

photo • trevor moran

photo • erik knuston

photo • blake kueny

photo • trevor moran

photo • trevor moran

sequence • ant fox photo • sasha specker

photo • brian bielman

photo • hank foto

words • marcelo duarte

Social media has become a big part of our lives, whether you like it or not. Yes, some people overdo it, and some shouldn’t even be allowed to be on it, but the good is good and it allows us to connect with and follow people we may never have had a chance to know. It was following one of my favorite skaters that I found out he was going to be skating at House of Vans in Brooklyn. I wanted to photograph him for a personal project, so I made sure to get there early and to position myself on the best spot possible before other photographers and “photographers” got there (since smartphones and Instagram, everyone is a “photographer” these days, right?). As I was waiting for the session to start, this dude approached me asking who I was and whom I was shooting for. He caught me by surprise, as I’ve been shooting skateboard professionally and leisurely for the past 20 years and I know in this industry people don’t really care to know who you are – they only care about getting the best shot. So I told him who I was, that I was there shooting for a personal project, that I knew who he was and that I was a big fan of his work and had been following him on Instagram for about a year. Since that day, about a year ago, we’ve become good friends, competition free, sharing our shooting experiences. Yeah man, that’s how I met “Cornphoto.”

pushin • bk

coley martin • ollie one foot

70

brett royden • kickflip fakie

dennis miron • front board up

danny supa • nollie wall ride out

damon hall • gap noseblunt brett royden • b.s smith

He goes by the name Chris “Cornphoto” McDonald, which was a nickname he picked up while living in Charleston, SC and it has stuck with him ever since. He started skating in 1986 and picked up his first camera, a Canon A1, in 1989 when he started shooting skaters on the street and at the local skateparks. But it wasn’t until 1998 that he decided to become a full-time photographer with a focus on street skating. Corn has always been involved with forms of art, like drawing and woodworking, so photography was another way to express his artistic side.

He has had the fortune of shooting skaters early in their careers and then watch them blow up, pushing them to do a shot or trick they wouldn’t normally do. brett royden • b.s smith rondey torres • 360 flip fakie

luis tolentino • blunt fakie

isaac jaquez • ollie

israel adonis • board slide fakie

guiri reyes • b.s heel flip kevin martinez • f.s krook

His technical skills, eye for the best spots and ability to capture a skater in the best moment are the qualities that set his photos apart.

manny santiago • 5050 pop out

Corn has been living in NYC since 2012 where he has been able to shoot some of his favorite shots so far in his career. The ever-changing landscape of the city keeps him motivated to find new, dope spots for that great shot. Skateboarding is about action, skill, and passion, and Corn captures that in his photos like no other. Follow him on Instagram @cornphoto.

daniel kim • ollie up front nose

klaus bohms • switch drop in

interview • greg escalante

Nelson Dewey is the story of a talented young artist with a great sense of humor coming of age at the right moment in history to capture the Innocence and zeitgeist of the times. It is so wonderful to catch up with him after all these years and find him still flourishing and finding out what has taken place since first making his mark in surf and car culture.

How did it begin, what are your earliest memories and accomplishments related to art?

My earliest artistic memory is of getting into trouble (I did that a lot) in grade one when we were learning to write sentences.

I thought it’d be interesting to illuminate the initial letter in each sentence. The teacher didn’t. In grade two, I saw that some of my classmates’ drawings on the blackboard weren’t accurate, so I erased and redrew the offending parts. The teacher wasn’t too happy about my initiative. In spite of these kinds of setbacks, I kept my interest in drawing. My art classes were my favorites. I was lucky to have parents (and some teachers) who encouraged my interests. I was allowed to take extra art classes instead of woodshop and metal shop.

Thinking back, this maybe wasn’t completely beneficial for me, since it was only a few years later that I wished I knew more about wood and metalworking. It also developed in me a kind of know-it-all attitude when it came to art (and life, I think) – something I’d come to regret at times in my later life. I’ve passed on some opportunities to learn really useful stuff because I thought I already knew enough.

But in grade school, I was always trying new mediums and techniques I’d see or hear about. I spent countless hours copying the work of my favorite comic strip artists: Walt Kelly (POGO), Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey) and Carl Barks (Scrooge McDuck). I had developed a love for reading, and it was around grade six when I discovered MAD – not the magazine, but the original comic books. I was hooked! I’d discovered Jack Davis and Wally Wood!

76

What geographic area did you grow up in?

Well, I was born in Puerto Rico. My Dad was a civil engineer, working to build military airfields in the Caribbean during the war. He then returned to the States and got a job with the Department of Highways in Arizona. We lived in a trailer and moved around the state until it was time for me to start school.

My parents bought a house in Phoenix, where my brother and I were raised. I went to Longview Elementary through eighth grade, then to North Phoenix High School.

I continued my art at North High, cartooning for the school paper and airbrushing stuff I’d try to sell to friends. Some weird creatures on cards for car windows, a few T-shirts, handkerchiefs, whatever I thought might make a few dollars. It was in my senior year that I wrote a story about an imaginary car club, drew a cartoon illustration, and mailed it off to Hot Rod Magazine in LA. A couple weeks later, I opened my mail and there was a check from them, 50 dollars! I had become a professional cartoonist!

I’d been thinking of studying to become an electrical engineer… but getting paid for a cartoon was enough to change my life!

I started submitting cartoons to other magazines. I even tried MAD… but the rejection note I got back was quite sarcastic (rather cruel, in fact) and anything but funny. After I got over the hurt, I started submitting more, mostly to car magazines, and began making sales.

Then did you study art in college?

In a way I did. A salesman from Woodbury College (in LA) came to my high school art class, and I got signed up for their commercial art course. I spent a year there and learned a reasonable amount. But that know-it-all attitude I mentioned earlier, I kinda let it keep me from fully participating in some classes, like life drawing, that I now wish I’d put some real effort into! I felt like I was learning more on my own. I thought I was ahead of what they were teaching.

But being in LA gave me the chance to meet some editors at the car magazines in person. I got helpful feedback and was able to sell cartoons more regularly. After that first year, I went back to Phoenix and got a job on a survey crew for the Highways Department. I used a lot of my spare time to cartoon.

I also worked on some writing and photography. On a visit to the local drag strip, I saw a very unusual car: an experimental dragster that was powered by compressed air! It used three turbochargers, basically small turbines that were connected to the drive wheels. I wrote a story about the car, non-fiction for a change, and sold it to Hot Rod. So I was developing three skills – cartooning (and illustration), writing (fiction and non-fiction) and photography. Yeah, I was a know-it-all, but I was also impatient and eager to improve my skills. I read voraciously and indiscriminately. I experimented with various art techniques and media. I even bought the “Famous Cartoonists” correspondence course. Guess what, I didn’t complete the course, but I did read the texts thoroughly and learned a lot! After a year at home, I returned to art school in LA. Through the school, I got a part-time job with The New York Times (their short-lived West Coast edition) as a copyboy and then persuaded them to make me a full-time staff artist.

Goodbye art school!

I had my first experience with surfing then. My girlfriend at the time persuaded me to try mat-surfing at Manhattan Beach. She was enthusiastic but her control wasn’t so good. Her mat went onto me, knocking me off mine. My next memory is of crawling ashore, coughing up seawater, and finding the lifeguard studying me, wondering if a rescue was needed. Not a good start. Around that time, one of the car magazine editors told me about a new magazine the company was publishing Cartoons! I met with the editor, Carl Kohler – a cartoonist-writer whose work I had long read and admired – and I was soon selling my stories and art there regularly. This was a major life-changer for me.

First, there was CARtoons. Then along came HOTROD Cartoons, then CYCLEtoons… and SURFtoons!

Other life-changers: I got married, the NY Times folded the LA edition and I took a job at a boating magazine in Santa Monica! A few months later, with my wife Charlotte’s encouragement, I quit the boating mags and became a full-time freelance cartoonist. Since I was now a freelancer, I could work from almost anywhere. After a brief vacation visit to Canada (Victoria, British Columbia) we decided to see more of the world. After some minor preparations, we returned to Victoria for a year, we planned. The first stop before trying Japan or Australia or… wherever. That was in 1967. But we liked Victoria so much we started raising our family here and never left. The work from the ‘Toons magazines was enough to provide a decent living, and I contributed to them for over 20 years.

So you did a lot of cool cartoons for SURFtoons Magazine and other publications?

Can you tell us about your background surfing? We also noticed that Rick Griffin had cartoons published in the same magazines as you. Do you have any thoughts on him or did you ever meet with him back in the day?

Ha! The secret comes out! My “surfing background” amounts to what I mentioned before – wiping out on a surf mat! I did do a little skim boarding and a very little bodysurfing. Nearly drowning at Manhattan Beach kinda scared me off the top of the ocean, but I did do a number of SCUBA dives after that, mostly at Catalina and Santa Barbara Islands. Looking up and watching the seals bodysurfing was definitely cool! However, getting older (well… old) has inspired me to create a bucket list. Getting back into wilderness backpacking, I’ve done recently. Also went spelunking! Actual surfing is near the top of my list now. I’m going to Hawaii in May, so… sink or swim… or surf.

All the “cool cartoons” you mention (thanks, by the way) come from reading lots of surfing magazines, watching the films, and just being at the beach and observing. Well, also the ideas come from my twisted imagination! My unconscious mind has an ability to take factoids and memories and other unrelated crap and jumble them together to create cartoon ideas! Living 1300 miles away in Canada has had at least one big disadvantage – I never got to meet and hangout with most of the other cartoonists that appeared in the magazines, much to my regrets.

I didn’t meet Rick – I really wish I had! Some other “name” cartoonists who appeared in the ‘Toons magazines include Robert Williams, Alex Toth, Bill Stout, Gilbert Shelton, Terry Gilliam… and dozens more amazing artists. I missed so much! While I’m on the subject, there was maybe another disadvantage to being so far away and I don’t think I was the only one who was affected. And that was about contributors getting our original art returned to us. I estimate I did well over a thousand pages of cartoons for SURFtoons and CARtoons and the others – and of those, I had maybe five returned. I had an agreement with the publisher to get my art back, but there was always a reason it wasn’t convenient for them.

Then several years ago, I started getting calls from people wanting to sell my originals back to me! Apparently much of the art, mine and others, had been dumpstered when their building was demolished. Someone found it and sold it to a used bookstore or something. I’d like to think if I’d lived closer I could’ve gotten some back. Talk about pissed off! I know I was naive to think I’d eventually get my art back, and I think I learned my lesson about retaining original art, but it still

annoys me to think about how much of my stuff is out there… art that means a lot to me.

What other significant projects came up after the SURFtoons and CARtoons period?

I’ve been lucky enough to have had several distinct careers in my life, all related to cartooning. And all fun! After the ‘Toons comics folded, I found other comic book work, or I should say, most of it found me. I had a couple pages in the Wham-O Giant Comic – it lasted one issue. I illustrated for Harvey Comics: New Kids on the Block, Monster in My Pocket, Stunt Dawgs… Best of all, I got to draw most of the Back To The Future comics for them – did I mention I love science fiction?

My editorial cartoons in a Victoria weekly newspaper attracted the attention of Charlie White, a local entrepreneur who wanted to write some books about fishing, and thought I should illustrate them. We eventually produced around 20 such “How-To” books, some of which sold quite well. Other authors saw the books and contacted me to illustrate their own. So over time, I’ve illustrated something like 45 books. A couple have sold nearly 250,000 copies – not bad for basically specialty markets. And I still get calls from authors.

Charlie also produced a series of TV shows about fishing, leading me into doing animation for them. That led me into working for a couple video game companies. At one company, a fellow artist Sean Newton introduced me to storyboarding for animation studios. I “won” an Emmy one year for my work on a kids’ show, Arthur. (That was along with maybe a hundred other people who contributed to the show!)

These opportunities led to more.

I got a call to storyboard a small movie being filmed in town. Through a couple lucky coincidences, I then spent five years storyboarding feature films, like Scary Movie 3 and Scary Movie 4. Doing the movies and getting to work with directors like David Zucker (Airplane) and producers like Bob Weiss (Blues Brothers) was an incredibly rewarding experience! Not to mention FUN! So what do you have going on now? And in the future?

A hot-rodder in eastern Canada managed to acquire the CARtoons trademark and is reviving the comic after almost 25 years! I’m a contributor and so are many of the surviving cartoonists. There’s one issue in print, and another due, I think, in January or February. You can find it at cartoonsmag.com. After those other “careers” I mentioned, I’m now feeling “rediscovered” in a way! There’s talk about me being a part of an exhibit at the LA County Museum of Art, and that excites me – I want to have some new material to show there – assuming it comes together.

Instead of working for someone else, as I have most of my life, I’m doing projects that I want to do! I’ve gotten back into comic books and I have a couple graphic novels in the works. And I’ve started painting again. I’m reprising some of the cartoon subjects from years ago as well as new stuff. I have some ideas for some sculpture, too. I’m 73 now, and somehow I’m still in excellent health. I feel very fortunate to have lasted this long as a cartoonist! I have lots of ideas I want to pursue and I want to use my time to enjoy myself and my family!

Excellent Nelson! Thanks for sharing the stories and experiences with our readers and we look forward to your future projects and exhibitions.

We did a Bruce Irons profile in our very first issue of BL!SSS Magazine. The article was spearheaded by none other than Hawaii icon/enforcer Kai “Kaiborg” Garcia. That was over eight years ago, and we were quite proud of how the article turned out. Since then, Bruce has had several sponsor changes, tragically lost his older brother Andy Irons, has had two children and has been through more heavy shit than most of us will ever experience in our lifetime. The past eighth months Bruce has been on a mission to turn his life around and find happiness and peace within, all right where he left off – surfing. The kid (well, man) possesses more natural talent on his surfboard than most could achieve in a lifetime, and though you may not have seen as much of Bruce as you’d like to in the last few years, the new deal he inked with RVCA has sparked a fire within. We expect the best is still to come, and we caught up with Bruce after the Pipe Masters to discuss his new sponsorship, life without his brother and expectations for 2016.

First off, we just wanted to say congrats on everything. It’s been a great winter for you with a new sponsor, new management, wildcard in the Pipe Masters, lots of hype… how you feeling?

I’m feeling better than ever, couldn’t be happier. I’m healthy and super excited to be surfing again.

You seem really motivated and heading in a new direction this past six months. What brought that on?

After my brother died I grieved and I lost lots of motivation and passion for surfing and every day life. Recently, I’ve come to grips with life without my brother and I’m realizing he was a big part of my motivation for surfing and life. Now, I understand the pain is something I can live with and surfing is something that made both of us happy, and I know it’s something he wants me to continue doing.

Congrats on the RVCA deal. How did that all unfold?

Thank you. Well, uh, when me and Fox parted ways Pat [Tenore] was the first person I called to see if there was any chance of sponsorship there. After that, I went and talked to Richard Woolcott. I didn’t hear from Pat for a few months because he’s a busy man and has a lot of shit going on. I was having a couple other meetings with sponsorship companies, and two months later when I was talking to my good friend “Chucky” Logan Dulien, and I was asking him about certain things about sponsorship and he called Pat up. They have a good relationship and he was just gonna ask for some advice from him.

From there Pat asked what kind of deal I was looking for… 24 hours later Pat had all the right people that he needed to talk to at his house for a meeting. One week after that the contract was written up

by RVCA. Chucky was the middleman and is now my manager. I signed with RVCA and couldn’t be happier. Especially because of Pat, that was a big reason I signed with them, because of the type of person he is, his character and how solid he is. I know it’s someone I can work together with really well, grow together, and be with for life.

We hear rumors of a Bruce Irons X RVCA signature line designed by PM Tenore.

Yes, that was another big reason I was pushing to go with RVCA, because of Pat’s style, his clothes, the designs… We are gonna work together and make a line of clothes, board shorts… just all the stuff that I like. With Pat’s creativity and a couple of my ideas it’s gonna be really good. Pat was the one who designed the “Rising Sun” – my brother’s board short. That’s a long story but Pat was the one who designed that, and that just goes to show you his caliber of designs.

And it seems like RVCA has a lot of your close friends on the team.

Oh yeah, everyone on RVCA are my boys. Half of them are guys I grew up with my whole life on Kauai, and the other half are guys I grew up with coming to Oahu ever since I was young. It’s a good fit, it feels right, it feels like home… The company is already an outstanding company, and I feel with me being part of it we’re just gonna have a better, bigger, funner time.

Tell us a little bit about your relationship with Logan “Chucky” Dulien and how he came to be your manager.

I’ve known him since I was 13 years old. He’s always been a good friend of mine, he’s never changed, he’s never betrayed me, he’s always been straight… throughout life it’s hard to find people like that. It happened because he’s my friend and he was helping me out with the whole RVCA thing, you know. I said, “You like this shit, Chucky? You know it’s a lot.” He was all, “Yeah, I like it.” And I said, “Why don’t you be my manager then?” He said, “Fuck yeah!” And the best part is he goes, “I won’t fuck you over. I just wanna see you do good, get a lot of money and blow up.” To be taken care of and not taken advantage of [is important] because I’ve been taken advantage of by a lot of

photo • delon isaacs

80

photo • zak noyle

photo • adam guy

old associates my whole career. So trust, honesty and friendship is a big thing to me and that’s what Chucky and I have. And we’re making “Snapt Tree.”

That was the next question, what’s up with Snapt Tree?

Snapt Tree is on its way, filming already.

You and Chucky have been talking to people on the North Shore getting the roster ready, who can you tell us is on board?

Who’s in, who’s out, who makes the cut? Well, slim pickings, you know.

It’s definitely gonna be people that surf good, that are good people, that are good friends.

Who are the guys? Name some people we can expect to see in it.

Who I’d like to see in it is Noah Deanne, Reynolds… I like they way they surf, they rip… Jay Davies, Parko, Bobby Martinez, Jack Robinson, Kalani David – he’s gonna be skating in it too because he’s badass at both. Mason Ho, you know, all these new guys that are really amazing surfers and they inspire me, and that’s the kind of people I wanna be around and surf with. That’s the kind of people I think the world wants to see in videos. Along with the good old boys – Parko, Corey, you know? It’s whoever I wanna go on a trip with and they can go on a trip with me and there is gonna be a lot more people. But it’s definitely not gonna be a long, played-out, boring movie, like a lot of the movies that are out there now. It’s going to be straight to the point, highaction, good music and it won’t be dragged out.

photo • zak noyle

What are your thoughts on Mick Fanning, his situation, and Adriano as our new World Champion?

BI: Mick Fanning is a dear, good friend of mine. He lost his second brother a couple days ago before he had to surf. I can imagine the pain he’s going through, and on top of the world title race and all… it’s heavy. But Mick Fanning’s a fucking legend and he’ll win many more.

Adriano, I really admire his passion, determination and desire. That kid is more determined than anyone. And Medina is the same thing – he’s fucking nuts. And Felipe… All those guys. Adriano is a friend of mine and I’m really happy for him, and this kid fucking deserves it. I love seeing good things happen to people that try hard, work hard, deserve it and who are real respectful – Adriano has all that. He’s come a long way from that little nuts kid from Brazil. He’s grown a lot, shows a lot of respect, discipline and he’s a well-deserved World Champion.

There’s been a lot of talk on the North Shore these past few weeks about the making of your brothers’ documentary.

Yeah, we started the documentary about six months ago with the guys from TGR, the Jones brothers, along with Enich [Harris] – he worked at Billabong with my brother for about 12 years – so I feel with comfortable with Enich and the Jones brothers working on this project.

My brother would go snowboarding up there, there are three brothers, and he’d been up there snowboarding with them eight to ten times so they knew my brother. They are brothers themselves and they make a lot of really good movies. So it’s Enich and them and then we got this writer that came on… I forget his name, Anthony or something? He’s written a lot of really famous books. It’s really hard; it’s a very, very hard

photo • zak noyle

photo • adam guy

thing to do for me and everyone doing interviews. It’s very emotional. It’s gonna be done and I want it to be done right. We’re hoping for to put it out at Sundance 2017. It’s a full-blown thing and there’s still a lot more interviews we have to do. It’s a very hard thing for my family, for me… for everyone to do. It’s something that is being done and it’s going to portray my brother’s whole life and the way it should be. It’s not gonna be sugarcoated… It’s gonna be the truth. It’s gonna be raw, like my brother. A lot of people that speculate this or that are gonna get to see my brother’s whole story, from the beginning to the end – the good, the bad, all of it.

Has the making of the documentary been therapeutic for you at all? We know it’s gotta be tough on you. How has it been?

It’s been very emotional; it’s been very hard. Therapeutic in a way but also bringing back memories that I’ve buried and didn’t want to bring back up. But yeah, it is good to get it out. You know, I walk away from interviews a lot of times sad, mad, weird… But all in all it feels good talking about my brother, remembering our childhood and all the great stuff he’s done in his life… being World Champion and all that stuff. But it’s difficult, it’s very difficult, it’s a hard thing to do.

You seem kinda fired up to do some contests next year, so what’s the game plan? There seems to be lots of speculation, so why don’t you fill us in.

Yeah, I’d liked to compete still but now, the way the system is, it’s hard to get into the big contest so it’s not my goal to chase that stuff. But yeah, I’d like to surf in some events. I’m gonna do Promise, The Mad Hueys contest, that’s probably the biggest one I’m most excited for. The Volcom Pipe, Shootout, Eddie, Pipe Trials, Teahupo’o…

Between the new sponsors, new management and these new projects, AI Documentary and Snapt, there’s a lot of momentum going into 2016, what’s the overall plan for Bruce Irons?

The overall plan is to surf Pipe and not miss a day out there when it’s good. To go on many surf trips, collect footage and try to make a really, really good surf video. I’m just trying to surf everyday and get better and better at surfing and love my surfing. I wanna start getting really close with Pat and RVCA and designing of clothes and shorts and being very involved with the brand… The sky is the limit.

words • brandon hammid : photos • bob plumb

Last year I was fortunate to spend the winter filming for L1’s first team video Americana.

The crew consisted of Dominik Wagner, Justin Keniston, Sam Taxwood, Blake Geis, Zebbe Landmark, Lizard King with Cole Taylor and Bob Plumb. Instead of going to the typical street-filming destinations we decided to explore new areas. Amongst the new spots we checked out Poland was my favorite place.

Around the middle of February, a good amount of the team went to Poland to try and find new zones to film in. From Germany, where we all flew into, we packed up into vans and headed east for 10 hours.

At one point along the way we got stopped in a traffic jam due to a 100-car pileup in the opposite direction. The rest of the drive to Poland was enjoyed with singing and Lizard telling stories from his skate travels.

86

The first location we decided to snowboard at was a good-sized park that had a bunch of giant kink rails. Instead of jumping straight onto the rails we spent the evening just boarding down the hill, hitting little jumps and benches. This was a great start to the trip and everyone was able to get their feet under them after the long journey the day before.

The next few days were a little slow until we headed to the next city, which was probably the most productive for the whole team. This is where everyone on the team was able to get some of there heaviest shots. We could’ve spent weeks there if it wasn’t for the lack of snow. I was quite impressed with how fast we would setup spots. Even with a large crew, the whole team was super productive and the vibes were always the best. Every time anyone would land a trick the whole

crew would get so hyped. I remember one day we were all setting up a spot for Stax that took a good amount of setup. We had to carry snow up a bunch of stairs to make a runway for him so he could jump over this rail to a big drop. After about an hour the setup was dialed and Stax was ready to hit the spot. This was the first spot he hit since he smoked his head a few days prior.

Stax held his cool like a boss and landed this giant ollie, first try. What was amazing was the fact he landed on grass with a little snow sprinkled on it and still rode away.

All the homies erupted in cheers when he rode away. Everyone was so hyped to see him get right back on it and log a ham! This became the trend of the trip. Every time someone would land a trick everyone else was just as hyped. When you got a shot you felt so good about it because of the vibes the homies put out.

We spent the last few day of the trip filming at an abandoned hotel. This was the ultimate homie session. We all kind of set up something unique. Hammers were filmed one after another, and by the end of it the zone was kind of shut down. We had hit this balcony/stair setup every which way possible. It ended up turning out so rad that Cole Taylor used most of the shots in the intro of the vid.

Last winter was one of the most memorable seasons for me. I was able to travel to some cool places with some cool-ass dudes. Thank you Knut Eliassen, Cole Taylor, Bob Plumb, Jon Kooley, Josh Roberts and the rest of the team for an incredible winter.

Well, it was over eight years in the making, countless deadlines, hundreds of headaches, tons of moving parts and it all led up to one hell of a night. Preparation was key, and after securing DAX Gallery and hanging our 100 covers we knew we needed to bring in the heavy artillery to help liven up the space. Calls were made and the top five brands that have been with BL!SSS since day one (Volcom, Hurley, RVCA, Quiksilver and Ezekiel) were called in to help decorate for the big night. Quiksilver was first to pull the plug and Fuzzy showed up and decked out the backroom in classic Quiksilver nostalgia, making it a true blast from the past. The Volcom crew was next up, and Daniel Terry spearheaded their “Tale of Denim” through a plethora of BL!SSS ads run throughout the years. To compliment, Volcom affiliated artist Jamie Browne did a last-minute install of his personal, athome collection. The Hurley crew did something a little extra special and had JP and C.R. Stecyk III design an original BL!SSS Magazine “We Got Issues” shirt, which they hand screened and passed out to any guest who wanted a souvenir to take home. The Ezekiel boys made their presence known with their “All We Have Is Now” neon sign and eye-popping Icelandic imagery. Last but not least, the RVCA crew was in the gallery up until the doors were just about to open, while Jeff McMillan handpainted an original piece to compliment the cornucopia of other pieces on display by the RVCA Artist Network Program.

events

With the stage finally set and all the pieces in place, the doors at DAX Gallery opened at 7 p.m. sharp. No one knew what to expect for the night, and as it started to drizzle outside the crowds started to flow through the door in steady hordes. Libations were provided by 805 Beer, Red Bull and Vodka, Zico Coconut Water and Café Affogato. There were too many legends and industry heads to mention, but some standouts include Michael Thompson, Christian Fletcher, Ed and Deanna Templeton, Professor Schmitt, CR Stecyk III and of course the legendary DJ Johnny Basil. For those of you who don’t know DJ Johnny Basil is the man, and if you need a DJ to bring the good vides, Johnny is your guy. I doubt we will wait another 100 issues to throw an event like this, but proper thanks are order to Alex Dax of DAX Gallery and his amazing crew of Katie Forester and Andrew Martinez and everyone else they put into action to make this night happen. Thanks for all your efforts, and here’s to the next 100 issues!

Photos: Ryan Donahue • clockwise from top left • MT & Christian Fletcher • DAX Gallery • Lomenzo, Joey Marshall, Ben Brough, Madsteez, Nick Kalionzes & Addy Giddings • DJ Johnny Basil • Max Jolliffe • Jess Browne & Friend, Jamie Brown, Jack Morrissey & James Finger • JP & Derek Bahn • Zoey & Bones • Young Birds • Mary & Kellye • Danny, Ryan, & Ian • Libby, Katelyn, Christine • Ed Templeton, Devin & Erin, Ashley & Grant • Craig Stecyk III

36 90

SHANE BORELAND A C T I V E R I D E S H O P. C O M

ACTIVE_Bliss.indd 1

12/22/15 2:19 PM

photo • stefan kocev

photo • stefan kocev

photo • servais

events

photo • bielmann

photo • zak noyle

photo • bielmann

92 36

photo • servais

Waimea Bay and the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau have so much history, so much glory and so much honor them. Both the spot and the contest itself hold massive amounts of prestige. This year marks the 31st annual Eddie Aikau waiting period, and that’s to be noted not because it’s one of the longest competitions in history, but because in those 31 years only eight times has the contest run. Only eight Eddie champions have been crowned, only eight times the conditions have permitted for the Eddie to “Go.” That alone shows how special this contest is.

Since the last time the contest ran in 2009/2010, there have been new additions like young maniacs Albee Layer and Koa Rothman.

There have also been underground chargers that have been rewarded like Aaron Gold and Ben Wilkinson. It’s a contest that all others are compared to when it comes to respecting the past, paying tribute and exercising restraint when everyone is telling you to run, run, run.

Because the Eddie only runs when conditions, without a doubt, permit.

That being said, this year just seems different.

Already El Nino has been declared and both Hawaii and the West Coast have seen solid swells that have backed this up. On the day of the Eddie Ceremony all was calm off the waters of Waimea Valley, and the deep canyon off its shores showed no signs of long period swell.

The ceremony was held in peace and tranquility under beautiful skies. This all can change real quickly though, and if Eddie wants, he’ll tell everyone to GO.

Clockwise from top left • Gavin Sutherland, Dave Wassel, Nathan Fletcher, Aaron Gold & Mark Healy • Eddie Shrine • Ramon Navarro, Gabriel Villaran, Kohl Christensen, Greg Long & Kealii Mamala • Ian Walsh, Albee Layer, Billy Kemper & Kai Lenny • Clyde Aikau • Jeremy Flores • Pete Mel • Trophies • Ross Clark Jones • Shinpei Horiguchi, Kanoa Igarashi & Reef Macintosh • Koa Rothman • Jamie Mitchell • John Florence & Danny Fuller

photo • zak noyle

photo • servais

photo • servais

photo • zak noyle

photo • servais

photo • bielmann

photo • servais

www.d-daysnowboards.com @ddaysnowboarding

They used to be held at the Grove in Anaheim up until a few years ago, but it just made perfect sense for the biggest night in surfing to take place in Hawaii. Not just in Hawaii, the birthplace of surfing, but the North Shore. The place where World Titles are won and lost, careers are made and destroyed, and where everyone comes to culminate the year.

This year the Surfer Poll Awards fell on a Sunday night. The next day was the first of the Billabong Pipe Masters waiting period, but with an almost guaranteed lay day, everyone kicked into high gear party mode and high tailed it to the Turtle Bay. Surfers really do find this to be their biggest night. Fine suits and dresses are worn, and each guy or girl’s significant other is right next to them walking the step-and-repeat for the money couples shot.

events

If you had to find a theme from this year’s awards it would be found in two words: John John. That’s right, John Florence couldn’t really be beat. He won Movie of the Year, Best Performance, Best Maneuver and number one in the overall men’s poll. There’s really no one that’s going to argue with these results because John is just that freakin’ good. Other honorable mentions included Peter King with best series in #Tournotes, Felipe Toledo for the AI Breakthrough Performance Award, Nathan Florence for Best Barrel and Carissa Moore who capped off an amazing year with number one in the women’s poll. It was another amazing year, and the people have spoken at the 2015 Surfer Poll Awards!

Photos: Grant Ellis • clockwise from top left • Freddy P and CJ will be missed in 2016 • John Florence cleaned house • Bruce Irons, Lyndie Irons, Axel Irons & Friend • Dane & Sammy Reynolds • Filipe Toledo # 8 • Owen Wright #6 • Alana Blanchard #2 • Sunny Garcia, John Florence & Dave Wassel • Adam Devine • Niccolo Porcella is lucky to be alive • Carissa Moore #1 • Nathan Florence best barrel • Mick Fanning #3 • Julian Wilson #4

94 36

words • delon isaacs

In celebration of RVCALOHA, last month RVCA brand, in partnership with Stance Socks, presented Die Antwoord at the Republik of Honolulu, Hawaii. Traveling all the way from Cape Town, South Africa, the hip-hop duo found themselves preforming for a sold-out crowd in Hawaii for the very first time ever.

“I’ve waited so long to finally come here so I can go swim with dah dolphins,” said Ninja (Die Antwoord frontman) when he first grabbed the mic. Mike Brophy later did confirm that he saw the duo mobbing the coastline from the beach in an all- white, top-down Mustang the following day, so hopefully Ninja’s wish came true.

events

You don’t have to necessarily like Die Antwoord’s music to appreciate their act. The duos stage presence is absolutely fucked up, high-powered and exciting. Whether it’s watching Yolandi Visser (Die Antwoord’s frontwoman), who did a 5-foot stage dive into a crowd full of people, or watching Ninja strip down to his famous pair of Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon boxers to swing his little guy all around the stage. The performers have it completely figured out and their audience would agree.

Supporting Die Antwoord was Mangchi Hammer, which was definitely an appropriate opener, and to my surprise consisted of artist David Choe (BL!SSS Magazine’s first cover artist) and he preformed with members Steve Lee, Money Mark, Heather Leather and James Jean. Their set opened up with a sensitive 10minute violin intro and developed into another dynamic, dual-eyebrow-raising performance. All together, this night was one for the books, even if did get extremely hazy and hard to remember by the end of it. Shout-outs again to RVCA and Stance for bringing the people of Oahu some freaky nighttime entertainment.

Photos: Delon Isaacs • clockwise from top left • Die Antwoord • Ninja Throwin’ up Shakas • Die Antwoord • Ninja • Proud Fan • Yolandi Visser • Steve Lee • Gillian • Heather Leather • Fan Stage Dive • David Choe • Ninja • Die Antwoord • Ninja

96 36

ROOSEVELT CHRONO

There is really nothing like a good old fashioned, DIY warehouse party to bring back those memories of loud music, solo cups and good friends. On Black Friday, Vestal and Locale Magazine joined forces to throw one of their infamous warehouse parties to benefit long-time friend, Jye Townend, so he could get much needed back surgery.

Vestal is known for DIY parties and this was no exception.

They turned a second-floor storage area into a black, dimly lit VIP area with couches and chairs so partygoers could watch live music away from the crowd. Another highlight was a hidden parking area that was turned into a smoking lounge and lined with old church pews and a working vintage organ.

Oh, and if you smoked enough you might have been one of the lucky ones to catch Ethan Burns of the Ragged Jubilee perform a few practice solo songs.

events

The party’s libations were sponsored by Towne Park Brew, Sailor Jerry and Reyka Vodka and were served from two makeshift bars. They built the beer bar out of a used wooden crates, installed some Edison bulbs, stenciled a Vestal logo and instantly created the perfect bar to serve up beers until they were all gone. On the liquor side, a separate bar was created out of two old Vestal display cases and a few Viking road cases. To complete the DIY look, they added in a bunch of candles, some random mixed lighting and a makeshift stage that worked seamlessly with the live performances by Uniform, Ragged Jubilee, Dallas & Doll and Chico Mann.

After a drink or two things started to look a lot like a wellplanned party. But we were told (in true DIY style), aside from the live music, they set everything up the day of… Bravo!

But let’s not forget why this party was thrown: to help a well respected, long-time industry executive get some serious surgery done on his back by raising funds. Not only did family and friends make significant donations, but numerous industry brands came together donating time, resources and/or product from: Vestal, Locale, Towne Park Brew Co, Rip Curl, Camburg, Fox, Rusty, Roark, LDG, JBL, Future Fins, Surf Prescriptions, DC, Good Skateboards, Depactus, Purple Corduroy, Globe, Extreme Athletics, Lira, Purps, Fuck Cancer, Stance, GoPro, Skullcandy, Banzai Bowls, ourCaste and Trace. To date, over $35k has been raised through generous donations from family, friends and numerous brands in the industry. More importantly, Jye has secured a surgery date in early January, and in so doing we will be sending our very best wishes for a safe surgery and a swift recovery.

Photos: Courtesy of Vestal • clockwise from top left • PT, Tosh Townend, Jye Townend & Addy Giddings • Man of the hour, Jye Townend • Black Friday party flyer • Packed warehouse • Three Amigos: Jye, Mitch & Addy • Vanessa McKenna, Rob Marquez, Laurie Trautman & Johnny Salas • Chris Elmore, Susie Elmore, Cara Pellegrino, Mike Pellegrino, Katie Dorr & Adam Maywald • Mikey Galvan, Jye Townend & Matt Stoops • Allana Rockwell & Johnny Gehris • DIY party spectacular • Jeremy Sakioka, Dan Diaz, Vinnie De La Torre, Erwin Jastillana & friend • Jye, Jennifer Parker, Kat Reider & Lisa Composto • Jojo Stassel, Claire Rooney, Allana Rockwell & Brooke Gehris • Sascha Contreras, Trevor Gallahair, Perlie Villar, Jye, Grant Gerhart & Malia Ward

3698

WE JUST PRINT THE SH&T! / ERIK@AMPERLITHO.COM / 760.213.4008 / 910 17TH ST. COSTA MESA, CA 92627

BLISSS_AMPER_Jan 2016.indd 1

12/16/15 8:34 AM

interview & photo • nick zegel

music

BOYTOY is a Brooklyn-based trio making garage-rock with pop sensibilities. In a sea of musical talent, BOYTOY is carving a niche in the northeast with powerful live shows and a prolific output. With their recently released LP Grackle, BOYTOY continues to win fans with their weirdo tendencies and give-no-fucks attitude. Having been recognized by Rolling Stone and Nylon Magazine, the group is looking forward to big things in the New Year. We caught up with BOYTOY’s babes Saara Untracht-Oakner and Glenn Van Dyke to find out what’s next.

BOYTOY has been busy! And you’ve just returned from a seven-week, cross-country tour in support of your record Grackle, was this your first cross-country tour?

Glenn Van Dyke: We’ve been up and down the East Coast a few times but this was our first time going all the way around the country.

Saara Untracht-Oakner: That’s right! It was our third tour of 2015. We toured in March to SXSW with Dirty Fences and did the East Coast in August with La Luz. This was our first full cross-country tour.

What kind of trouble did you get into along the road?

Did crossing the Mississippi change the tour dynamic?

GVD: Crossing the Mississippi definitely changed time up. We went from tight East Coast cities to the desert and everything slowed down a bit. But the shows, they just kept coming. I think we were all ready for that change of scenery.

SUO: We learned from our mistakes early on in this tour: show bouncers your ID, lock the Thule, and open the glass of the trunk first.

GVD: Another mantra of our tour is “take the trash out.”

SUO: Glass first, trash out… I feel like there was another one? Pack a big, meaning pack a bowl.

What kind of touring vessel are you rolling in? Who is

36 100

the captain of the ship?

SUO: Glenn’s GMC Yukon XL. We all drive, but it’s her ship.

So you released your second LP, Grackle, at the end of summer and then hit the road to support it. What happens next? Is that the cycle? Make a record, tour, start over?

SUO: It was actually our first LP, second release. It came out on October 2nd. Glenn and I are going to spend January and February in LA working on a new record and playing some shows out there. Then, we’ll tour back to NY via SXSW in March. And we’ve got plans for a Europe tour in September 2016. So yeah, basically make an album, do some tours and make a new one. Keep things fresh.

GVD: I like fresh. The best cycle is make music, travel, make music, travel.

I’m glad you mentioned California because I heard this idea floating around about a winter in California, kind of like an early retirement. Where did this idea to head west come from? Has NYC really been that brutal in the winter?

SUO: Last winter was bad. We went to Puerto Rico for 10 days in January, but when we got back February was brutal. It’s also just nice to have a change of scenery. We have so many friends out in LA playing music. Bicoastal is the dream. No one really wants to be loading gear in ice and snow.

GVD: I’ve been talking about going somewhere for the winter for a few years and this time it panned out.

December is great here; it’s around late January to February when it gets real bad. It’s rad to be inside somewhere cozy when its cold, but doing anything else is cold.

So with some time in LA on the horizon are there any Hollywood fantasies or expectations brewing in your minds? What can Southern Californians look forward to

from BOYTOY? TMZ headlines or just a few rock-n-roll shows?

GVD: I don’t know, Saara’s pretty wild!

SUO: Some shows for sure! Some surf. I just shaved my head but Britney Spears already had that TMZ shaved-head meltdown so I guess I missed the boat.

GVD: Shows and surf, definitely!

SUO: I just got a wax and asked her to leave a little bit, like a little triangle, and now my vagina looks like Hitler.

Amazing. (Laughs) GVD: I dyed my pubes pink.

SUO: I know that wasn’t a question but I thought you guys would like to know.

GVD: I feel good knowing it.

I’ve always wondered how those conversations go down at the salon.

SUO: “Can you leave a triangle?” “Ok… This good?” “Uhh, maybe a little more.” “Oh ok, like this?” (Fuck that’s too much. Oh well.) “Yea, great thanks!”

Perfect… Well now that we know BOYTOY’s pubic situation maybe we can leave the reader with a bit more about the band. How would you describe the BOYTOY sound in just three words?

SUO: Honest badass fun!

GVD: Big bad baby!

BOYTOY’s recent LP, Grackle, is out via PaperCup Music. Be sure to catch them LIVE in the Los Angeles/ Orange County area this January and February.

photo & review • max ritter

Outpost Festival Downtown Santa Ana, CA Saturday November 14th, 2015 Good times at Outpost Fest this past November! Outpost Fest is a one-day music, art and cultural event held down on the streets of Downtown Santa Ana. This was the first year and it was curated by a couple of members of the band Delta Spirit who played along with Mynabirds, Guards, TJ Panthers, Blonde Redhead, Cold War Kids and Beach Fossils (pictured here). Excited to see what this year brings.

Thanks for having us, Outpost Fest!

reviews • max ritter

Connan Mockasin & Devonte Hynes Myths 001 Mexican Summer I know what you’re thinking, “Shit man, where am I? It’s 2016? Donald Trump is running for president?

Where is that flying car I was promised in 7th grade?

WTF this is bull.” It’s ok man, I feel you. Ease up with this hammer called Feelin’ Lovely.

V/A Revenge Of The Dreamers II Dreamville/Interscope Rap life. I’m on my night job.

V/A Ork Records: New York, New York Numero Group The story of Ork Records founder, Terry Ork, and his contributions to early NY punk get their fair due with this full-catalog-encompassing release. If you can pony-up your scratch for the mega-bundle you score 4LPs, a book, and a 45 with two previously unreleased songs by The Feelies.

Eddie Noack Ain’t The Reaping Ever Done? (1962-1976) Iron Mountain Analogue Research You can say that again, Eddie! A hard drinking, honky storyteller is always great for a long drive. Eddie Noack was a pure country western songwriter who saw only marginal success during his lifetime but has since posthumously amassed a serious cult following thanks to the praises of contemporaries like Dylan and Cash.

This is a re-issue of some of his best LP cuts and other rare recordings over his lifetime.

reviews • delon isaacs The Velvet Underground The Complete Matrix Tapes Universal/Polydor Best there ever was. The Complete Matrix Tapes is a new collection of 42 live songs that the Velvet Underground supposedly played in two nights at a 100-capacity San Francisco nightclub called The Matrix. The Velvet Underground has been known to be at their best when on a stage, and these recordings from 40+ years ago are living proof. All your favorite songs from “Pale Blue Eyes,” “After Hours,” “Sweet Jane” and more can all be found on it this collection, raw with some extra, added spice.

Archy Marshall A New Place 2 Drown XL/True Panther Archy Marshall is probably one of the most musically talented 20-year-olds on this planet. You’re probably more familiar with his stage name King Krule or even Zoo Kid, but our favorite redhead Londoner has grown up and is going by his birth name for his latest album A New Place 2 Drown, which in its entirety is the name of a 12-track album, a short film and a 208-page book full of poetry, sketches and art from Archy’s older brother. Give the album a good listen, especially if you’re feeling lonely or going through some personal shit.

Cassie Ramone Christmas in Reno Burger Christmas in Reno by Cassie Ramone, formerly of the Vivian Girls and The Babies, is probably one of the only Christmas albums that I would be able to listen to all year round. It’s not like any typical Christmas albums really, as the songs are sung with a more dark interpretation. There’s not much jolliness going on here but it’s nice. Cassie has been a part of some really good bands, but it’s refreshing to see her all by herself for once making and producing every aspect of Christmas in Reno. Pick this album up if the holidays got you blue.

Beat Happening Look Around Domino Compilation of the year! As of last month all of your favorite Beat Happening songs can finally all be found on one new album Look Around. Indie rock music wouldn’t be what it is today without this cheerful trio out of Olympia, Washington, and this 23-track list compilation is a salute to that notion. There is no other band in the universe that can make you feel more happy or cute than the Beat Happening.

photo • luke forgay

groms

Age: 12

Hometown: Costa Mesa

Sponsors: Quiksilver, Estrada Surfboards

Favorite Surfers: Jordy Smith, John Florence & Dane Reynolds

102 36

Bamboo top ply with 6 plies of maple for a lightweight traditional feel.

This construction improves impact resistance on landings for added board life.

GRASSROOTS CONSTRUCTION Artist: Malika Favre - R: Sid Melvin - P: Nick Martinez

ARBORCOLLECTIVE.COM

2015_BLISS_Whiskey_AD_December.indd 1

10/7/15 9:28 AM