BL!SSS Magazine | July 2017 | #119 by Blisss Mag

G R E Y S O N

R V C A . C O M

F L E T C H E R

# 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

MIKEY WRIGHT + ANDY NIEBLAS

Tide. Simplified. The Base Tide

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GROMS

MUSIC REVIEWS

LE YIKES SURF CLUB

NATIVE MOVIE PREMIERE

PEDROâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BAY MOVIE PREMIERE

VOLCOM X GMJ COLLECTION LAUNCH PARTY

RUSSELL SURFBOARDS 50TH ANNIVERSARY

SCOTTY ARNOLD PHOTO PROFILE

SNAPT 3

THE ART OF THOMAS CAMPBELL

BILLY MARKS

COREY WILSON PHOTO PROFILE

CHRISTOPHER SWANN

STEFAN GLERUM

SUPER TASTE

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LORENZO QUINN

ZACH MEYER

ALEX GARANT

RM KAVANAGH

SHAPER PROFILE

PRODUCT REVIEW

CON TENT +

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F O R

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A N Y W E A R # A N Y W E A R

ISSUE No. 119 / STAFF

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NI CK K A L I O NZ E S nick@blisssmag.com

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L I Z RI CE Mc CR AY liz@blisssmag.com

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CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS JASON KENWORTHY, DOMINIC PETRUZZI, DANIEL RUSSO, TOBY OGDEN, TOM CAREY, BRIAN BEILMANN, JACK COLEMAN, ANDREW MAPSTONE, ADAM MORAN, DAVE NELSON, PAT EICHSTAEDT, JULIEN LECORPS, RYAN BOYES, ZACH HOOPER, TIM PEARE, MICHAEL LALLANDE, BOB PLUMB, PETER MORNING, BRYCE KANIGHTS, ARTO SARRI, ANTHONY ACOSTA, CAMERON STRAND, BRIAN FICK, DEVILLE NUNNS, GAGE THOMPSON, DEREK BAHN, TOM COZAD, BRUCE BEACH, ROBBIE CRAWFORD, RYAN DONAHUE, JOE FOSTER, SEAN SULLIVAN, STAN SIEVERS

THE THOMAS CAMPBELL INTERVIEW PAGE 43

CONTRIBUTORS WILLIE MARSHALL, DANIEL RUSSO, JASON ARNOLD, GREG ESCALANTE, NATHAN SPOOR, TOM CAREY, TRAVIS MILLARD, DAVID CHOE, KAI GARCIA, MICKEY NEILSEN, PETER TOWNEND, HAMILTON ENDO, TAWNYA SCHULTZ, MIKE MURCIANO, GEOFF SHIVELY, CASEY HOLLAND, STEVE STRATTON, ROBBIE SELL, ANDREW MILLER, PAT TOWERSEY, RAUL MONTOYA, IAN DODGE, RICHIE OLIVARES, ERIC MEYERS, KELLY SHANNON, JP OLSON, BRUCE BEACH BL!SSS MAGAZINE / 413 31ST STREET, NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92663 WWW.BLISSSMAG.COM Disclaimer: Although all best efforts are made to avoid the same, we reserve the right to publish unintentional mistakes and/or factual errors which may occur on a monthly basis. No responsibility is assumed by the publishers for unsolicited materials/articles/letters/advertising and all submissions will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and copyright and/or appropriate licensing purposes subject to Blisss’ right to edit and comment editorially. The views and opinions expressed in this magazine reflect the opinions of their respective authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editorial team. Blisss Magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising matter which may reflect negatively on the integrity of the magazine. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form [print or electronic] without prior written consent from the publisher.

ISSUE No. 119 THOMAS CAMPBELL

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@805BEER SEE THE MIKEY STORY AND MORE AT 805BEER.COM

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STANCE X ROARK

Batiking is a technique of dyeing a fabric by which the parts of the fabric not intended to be dyed are covered with removable wax. But it really starts with a copper or wooden stamp called a Tjap. Hot wax is applied to the stamp and then used on the fabric in the desired pattern before being dipped into indigo dye. The wax acts as a barrier to the dye and allows the natural color of the garment to be retained after the wax is boiled away. This is the process the Roark boys taught us after they returned home from a trip to India. The process is equally fun as it is impressive, and we weren’t the only ones to take notice. A Stance X Roark limited-edition collaboration ensued – get yours today because they are that cool!

VISSLA MADE FOR DAFIN

Mark Cunningham has honestly got to be one of the coolest dudes we’ve ever met. He’s got an air of nonchalant about him, a permanent smile on his face and is respected the world over. Not to mention he’s part sealion, or dolphin, or some other type of super-talented aqua animal that just flows perfectly within the ocean. He was kind enough to make an office visit and stoke us all out with a pair of Vissla X DaFin Fins while he was in town this past month. And the Vissla dudes are no slouches – recognizing this they deservingly put an “essentials” collection together celebrating the original Hawaiian swim fin company and titled it Vissla Made For DaFin. Consisting of boardshorts, tees and of course fins, what else would you really need in Hawaii?

#BENDIDGO 2.0

As a mag that’s been born and bred here in Newport Beach we have a great appreciation for local events and local legends. The #BendidGO 2.0 is both of those things at their best, a solid two-day event that celebrates our fallen friend and eternal legend, Ben Carlson. Two years ago Ben risked his life for another during a booming south swell here in Newport. Although he died that day saving someone else, Ben lives on forever through many people’s minds, the statue that was erected in his honor right at the base of the Newport Pier and this annual event. The event is a long-distance paddle on July 22nd, from the Hill’s Gas Dock to Avalon Harbor at Catalina Island (approximately 30 miles). Then, a run-swim-run the following day at 5 p.m. back in Newport. Plenty of celebrations will be happening all month as well in Ben’s honor. Visit gofundme.com/bendidgo20 to donate, with all funds going to the Ben Carlson Foundation. We’ll see ya there!

ZIGGY 2.0

Has anyone ever noticed that street name on an exit sign on your way to or from Vegas called “Zzyzx”? It’s always grabbed our attention… and apparently we’re not the only ones as Chris Nakamura named his shoe brand Zzyxx Shoes (pronounced Zi-Zick) after exploring that very desert exit. This passion project has turned into a full-time job as he’s they’re now offering four styles – two boots, an oxford and a slip on. Our very favorite is currently the Ziggy 2.0 (pictured here), though we honestly could wear any pair on any given day. Handcrafted quality leather, these kicks are casual yet elegant, tough enough for a bike but smooth enough for a dinner date. We highly recommend you check them out at www.zzyxxshoes.com - we don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

MARROW

“The way you express yourself is just as much a part of you as the Marrow deep in your bones.” This is the mantra behind Marrow, a Costa Mesa-based surf, skate, outdoor brand founded by local designer and avid skater Kurtis Schureman. Already collaborating with the likes of Wahoo’s Fish Tacos and Seaworth Coffee, the seemingly simple yet complex illustrations and high quality products have grabbed our attention here at BL!SSS. With nearly everything designed and screen printed/embroidered right here in Orange County, it’s no surprise that we’ve been seeing more and more Marrow around the neighborhood. There’s a little something for everyone, so check it out for yourself at www.marrowcalifornia.com.

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Learn more about the SL Team at

SALTLIFE.COM

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EVANS BREWING COMPANY

Oh man, do we love beer! I mean seriously, an ice-cold beer in a sweaty office during the final hours before deadline does absolute wonders. So we were more than thrilled when a cold case of brew from the good folks at Evans Brewing Company mysteriously arrived at our offices. And we’re not talking about those little 12-ounce cans either – these are legit bombers. It turns out that Evans is the oldest microbrewery in Orange County, and with offerings like Chocolatte (chocolate porter), The Krhopen (IPA), Pollen Nation (honey blonde) and Oaklore (brown ale), it’s safe to say that they’ll be here for quite some time. We’re not sure who this beer-fairy is, but next time you’re in the neighborhood feel free to swing by and replenish our supply because we sure enjoyed them.

VANS ULTRARANGE PRO

More cushion for the pushin’, the Ultrarange Pro is the newest edition to the Vans family of durable skate shoes. Always listening to their top athletes, Vans added a brand new UltraCush Lite midsole compound, offering the ultimate in impact cushioning. And like every other pair of Vans you own, these things are durable enough for everyday skating but have a clean enough aesthetic to be worn just about anywhere. And of course they come equipped with Vans’ Original Waffle gum rubber outsole, a must for anyone who prefers rolling around on four wheels. Pick ‘em up at finer retailers or online at www.vans.com.

KALA SOPRANO UKULELE

No one has ever said that they dislike the sound of a ukulele. Seriously, we’ve never heard that, not once. And with summer in full force we’re willing to bet you see or hear someone playing the ukulele around the bonfire in your near future. But why not that someone be you? A meager $85 gets you this sexy beast of a ukulele, Kala’s KA-15S-S Soprano. And what makes this one so sexy? We’re pretty sure it’s the Spruce top to the Mahogany back and sides, creating a brighter new spin on the traditional look. Worried about learning how to play? Don’t worry, they’ve got that covered too – just click on over to www.kalabrand.com and select the “Learn To Play” tab at the top. Trust us, everyone is going to love this, just ask Makua Rothman what he thinks.

INNOCNTS X GLOBE

Innocnts is a lifestyle-based project that manifests itself through various mediums including art, writing, video, music, clothing, photography and curatorial efforts. There are no requirements, restraints or limitations, it’s just a rad group of likeminded rad people doing really rad shit. It’s no wonder this past month Globe teamed up with the Innocnts Crew and released three new decks at Venice Beach’s oh-so-popular General Admission store. This particular series included artwork by Jose Araujo and Rye Purvis, along with photography from Stacy Kranitz. Available now, there’s only 50 of these laser-etched, limited-edition decks, so they aren’t going to last long and we highly recommend you grab one today exclusively at General Admission or on www.innocnts.com.

COR SURF

Our friends over at COR Surf are globally known for all kinds of surf and SUP racks, but they are changing (no pun intended) things up this summer with their new Quick-Dry Changer. It is lightweight, uber-soft, fast drying and made with premium micro-suede. This Quick-Dry Changer is unlike any other hooded poncho on the market. Micro-suede is perfect for travel because it rolls up super tight and compact. It is currently offered in two colors, cool blue and Hawaiian camo. Grab one today from your local retailer or online at www.corsurf.com, and never worry about a wardrobe malfunction again.

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WWW.SKETCHYTANK.COM

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1. Superbrand, PigDog Surfboard $629.95 www.superbranded.com / 2. Kala Brand Music Co., The Waterman $74.99 www.kalabrand.com / 3. Dragon, Proflect $140.00 www.dragonalliance.com / 4. Nixon, Mission, 48mm $400.00 www.nixon.com / 5. Explosive, The Breakdown $28.00 www.explind.com / 6. Vans, Ultra Range Pro $90.00 www.vans.com / 7. Sketchy Tank, Good Times Coaches Jacket $60 www.sketchytank.com / 8. Salty Crew, Sharky No $55.00 www.salty-crew.com / 9. Hurley, Renegade Printed $50.00 www.hurley.com / 10. Duvin, Paradise Short $68.50 www.duvindesign.com

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1. Mizu, G7 $29.95 www.mizulife.com / 2. Salt Life, Across The Board $56.00 www.saltlife.com / 3. Smith, Guides Choice $179.00 www.smithoptics.com / 4. Legendary Mfg. Co., Flight Hat $50.00 www.lmcoshop.com / 5. Vestal, Alpha Bravo PF $70.00 www.vestalwatch.com / 6. Quiksilver, Sea Stash Sealable Dry Bag $45.00 www.quiksilver.com / 7. Aluminati Skateboards, More â&#x20AC;¦lost Than Ever $139.99 www.aluminatiboards.com / 8. Respect Supply Co., Vintage Tee $24.99 www.respectsupplyco.com / 9. RVCA, Nerd Life Zip-Up Jacket $100.00 www.rvca.com / 10. Volcom, Mag Vibes Stoneys $55.00 www.volcom.com

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BYRD HAIRDO PRODUCTS, MADE IN CALIFORNIA WHERE SUN, SALT AND SURF MAKE FOR SOME OF THE WORLDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BEST HAIR.

SHAPER PROFILE

BRYST ON DELEEU W S L A B

SH APES

Most young shapers nowadays are on that white puffy cloud that is an early shaping honeymoon. They don’t really know what they’re getting themselves into – the long hours, ridicule from unhappy customers and high rate of failure. Not Bryston Deleeuw, though. Bryston, born and raised in Utah of all places, transplanted to San Clemente at age 13 and instantly fell in love with surfing and its lifestyle. He quickly honed in on a means to make a living through shaping, but he knows that it’s not a guaranteed career path. “Could be horrible,” he says. “We’ll just have to see.” He’s an honest young chap, but his strengths are already seen in his work ethic, the attention he pays to his mentors and his overall level of surfing. He rips. He’s passionate. He just may make it as a shaper if he really wants to. INTERVIEW / SPENCER PIRDY

Tell us about where you’re from originally and what it was like growing up there? Grew up in the mountains out in Utah. Yep, I was a hick just racing dirt bikes and snowboarding. Migrated to San Clemente around 13 and fell straight into surfing. Was the best town I could ask for to rummage around and become addicted to the lifestyle. When and how did you first start shaping? I started with the cliché tear the glass off a long board when I was a grom, but I really started getting into it after doing some work for Brian (Hogie) Hoguin, a grumpy friend and great surfer. I sweated off a week or two of ding repair for him while he was in a cast. Shortly after I forced him into helping me shape and glass a board, and that was the beginning of this beautiful nightmare. Tell us about what a day in your life is like? I’m trying to stay on the early bird schedule even if the waves are shit. Generally surf and head over to my warehouse and get some work done during the day. I’m slightly nocturnal so I tend to do a lot of glassing during the night. Any order that comes my way is start to finish, from my hands straight into yours! But yeah, there’s a little more to the daily routine, but I don’t need to bore you with the rest. All that matters is when your boards are done. Which shapers have inspired you? The saturated industry is filled with talent, which gives anyone plenty to feed off. Of course there’s the mainstream giants, and I got to ride plenty of Mayhems, which has proved his meticulous approach and consistency. I like where Chilli is going with marketing and also some other Australian shapers that have a great style. But most of my personal knowledge I’ve gained has been through friends like Hogie, Roger Anderson and Sean Jensen, who have helped me along the way. Thanks! Give us a rundown of certain models you’re shaping right now. Right now I’m working on keeping a versatile line of models to fill in any blank, but most of my focus has been towards our daily surf. Any advantage that can help you to excel in marginal waves. The default is my most recommended model, developed solely off the short and challenging waves of Newport – overall round in the outline and rocker, allowing it to fit in any tight pocket and with an aggressive single concave for immediate response. I can’t leave out the twins either. I’m mind blown by how enjoyable they are to ride. I’ve taken a real high-performance approach though. The Dwārfìsh has a controversial fin placement with a deep channel through the tail, leaving out the overly loose feel of some twins and a drive that you’ll crave.

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What surfer do you enjoy shaping for the most? I’m looking for feedback and it’s surprisingly hard to come by. You’d think you’d pick up a board, surf it and let your shaper know how it went... Nope! Couple months go by before you’ll hear a word. Curiously waiting, I’ll run into a rider and a rant begins on how “the thing goes mental,” ha. Confusing but it works. On the other hand I get to shape for some high-energy people that articulate the concepts of any design and return with the pros and cons. My brother is sometimes one of those people, generally getting a batch of boards quite often. It’s fun working with him on shapes/surfing while we both naturally progress. What’s the best board you’ve ever shaped? There’s been some unique ones but some of my first shapes I still go back to and trip on how well they work! The best one so far was a 6’0 Crowley I took down to Costa Rica. I snapped it in two due to some surprisingly good tubes! It was one of those boards you’re glued to, almost dangerously in some situations and responsive as a formula car that came with the speed. What keeps you shaping? The lucrative career of course. I get drive from the curiosity of what makes it all work. I’d compare it to a bioengineer growing a unicorn but for morons. We try to balance multiple components that create an even design. I feel the best shapers are built off consistency; the whole magic factor is unknown, which keeps me engaged. What’s the future of shaping in your eyes? There’s so much going on with the scientific study of hydrodynamics, wave pools, and always design. A lot is coming our way but in my mind it’s materials. Always looking toward progress but at the same time I’m sick of breaking a board and tossing it in the trash. So longevity and more eco-friendly products are what I want to be involved with! It’s all developing with sap resins and algae foam. We’re on our way to strong products that will change our impact. Where do you see your shaping in 20 years? As long as it’s still a passion I’ll always be a part of the surfboard community. That’s too far out though, it could be horrible, we’ll just have to see.

RM KAVANAGH interview / liz rice mccray

R.M KAVANAGH, A.K.A. RASHER, HAS BEEN OBSERVING THE WILLING INFILTRATION OF TECHNOLOGY THAT OCCUPIES OUR DAILY LIVES AND PUTS THE FAMILY LIFE UNDER THE MICROSCOPE REVOLVING AROUND A GLASS TABLE. MANY THANKS TO R.M KAVANOGH FOR THE INTERVIEW. TO READ THE WHOLE INTERVIEW GO TO BLISSSMAG.COM

When reading about you I came across what you said about our digital culture, “The first visual cocaine for families sold over-the-counter at a store near you.” Your new body of work explores the realm of digital culture. Will you tell us about your new work? My new body of work explores the technical revolution and our obsession with our little devices that have evolved into these incredible pieces of technology that hold the same amount of power as the first rocket to be sent to the moon (it’s hard to bend your head around). We are techno-evolving at an alarming rate that our minds can’t even keep up with it and it has no signs of slowing. It’s a freight train with no brakes! This is a big question. In our lifetime technology has exploded, it’s overwhelming: the Internet, social networks, tween sexting… What are your thoughts on the effects of technology, the positives, the negatives and the long-term effects? Apps are being developed with no regulations. One example is the Blue Whale that was developed in Russia where it sends you a list of dares. It starts off innocent, like touching your nose with your tongue, but ends with suicide. It preys on the weak and there have been a number of deaths linked to this Blue Whale app. Another, called Simi, also in the wrong hands has negative repercussions such as sexting and online bullying. Children measure their popularity and worth by how many followers or likes and friends they have; it’s all about the numbers. When I was younger I had to ask a girl on a date by finding the courage to walk over to her and either get a happy result or walk away with my tail between my legs. But this helped me deal with rejection or I felt a sense of euphoria if she’d said yes. Now, everybody is a stud on Tinder or Grinder, swipe left, get a match and success or if no match, keep going until you get one. When I grew up we talked about what bands in our area had got signed or a footballer who got trails for a team in England, these kids had talent. Now children set up their own YouTube channels and film themselves getting a haircut or doing a bottle flip and now they’re famous! We are becoming narcissist nations with everything recorded. What you post will always be there like a billboard at the end of the street for all to see and it can come back to haunt you at any time. Would you drive your child into any city in the world let them out and drive off? That’s exactly what you’re doing when you hand your child a tablet or a phone. They can wander down any dark alley not knowing the dangers. Stumble across porn, watch beheadings by Islamic militants, enter chat rooms with fake profiles of dirty old men disguised as a 15-year-old boy luring a teenage girl on a date. I’m glad that there were no phones when I was a teenager. Technology and alcohol are not a good recipe as everything is snapchatted, filmed, instagrammed, facebooked, tweeted and stored in the cloud above. When you apply for a job later in life 30

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your potential employer will check your social media to see if you’re reckless or a suitable for candidate for that position. I think it’s just my generation that feel that they have one foot in the old world and one in the new. The long-term effects in years to come will be a mixture of organic humans and cyborgs – part human, part machine. We are already putting chips in animals and humans. It’s not going to stop there. The future is terrifying and exciting at the same time. I won’t be here to see where it will end up. I could give more examples as I’m only scratching the surface but I think you get my drift! I didn’t explore the positives in this show as I didn’t want to dilute my meaning as I wanted to get this vision across. We all know how amazing and fascinating this new technical revolution is as it brings people together (via skype, facetime etc.), we find out first hand when atrocities happen… or is it propaganda? “Fake News.” As John Lennon said, “You can start a revolution from your bed…” but now you can start a revolution from your phone. What effect do you hope your art will have on viewers? I hope people will hold a mirror up to their lives and make a conscious decision that if at dinner with friends don’t insult people by answering your phone in their company or looking at social media. People are investing their time in your company, respect it. We all have a case of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). Be careful wherever you go, someone has a camera on you, everything in moderation. Ask yourself this: does it make our lives easier or do we have to work harder to pay for all this new technical equipment: washing machines, smart TVs, fridges, cars, computers…? Everything we have invented in the last 10 years has a circuit board installed in it. We have created a consumer God that feeds off time, your time, and you have to work more to earn more to keep us all on the hamster wheel. When you buy something, you pay with your time, not money. The more stuff you buy the less time you have with your loved ones. So buy what you need not what you want. Time is more valuable than money, so spend your time wisely. Ok very last question, where can people check out more of your art? My website, www.rmkavanagh.ie, Instagram, @rm_kavanagh, Facebook, R.M Kavanagh and Twitter, @rmkavana_artist. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions we really enjoyed interviewing you.

Iikka Backstrom / Yosemite Photo / Jussi Oksanen

ENJOY THE JOURNEY. LEAVE NOTHING BEHIND.

www.mizulife.com @mizulife

ALEX GARANT interview / liz rice mccray THIS IS FRENCH CANADIAN OIL PAINTER ALEX GARANT. INSPIRED BY SYMMETRY, HER ART HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS POP SURREALISM AND HAS EARNED HER THE MONIKER “QUEEN OF DOUBLE EYES,” DUE TO HER MESMERIZING PAINTINGS OF BEAUTIFUL WOMEN WITH DOUBLE EYES. ALEX CURRENTLY RESIDES IN TORONTO, CANADA. MAKE SURE TO THE READ THE INTERVIEW AND CHECK OUT MORE OF HER PAINTINGS ONLINE AT WWW.ALEXGARANT.COM. Perhaps you could describe where you are right now; this way everyone reading along can imagine the setting? Today I am working in my studio. It is a small den in my house. It is messy, I work well in chaos – my own organized chaos, that is. On the left is my easel with a piece in progress for an upcoming show with Thinkspace Gallery. To the right, a shelving unit with gesso, primers, varnishes and more supplies than I will ever need. To the left, more art supplies. The floor is covered with paint rags, pieces of papers and broken canvases with paintings that didn’t make the cut. Thank you for the visual. Will you please introduce yourself to our reader, a little synopsis if you will? My name is Alex Garant, I am a French Canadian oil painter based in Toronto, Canada. I was born in Quebec City in 1982, attended my first oil painting class when I was seven years old and went to art school when I was 18. Since then I have been creating art inspired by symmetry, patterns and overlays of images. Your work is captivating to look at. What effect do you hope to invoke in viewers through your art? I always wanted to paint more than beauty; I want to paint an experience. My goal is to have people react to the images when they look at them. Is there an element of self-portraiture in your work? I believe that there is always an element of self-portraiture in any type of art. Even abstract painters project their emotions or impulsions into their work. To me, that is the definition of self-representation, regardless of the physical resemblance of the final portrait. Your paintings have a sense of motion, images causing an effect of multiple exposures; will you tell us about this technique and how it evolved in your painting? It was really a progression of mirror images. I used to paint a lot of reflecting images, mirroring silhouettes, and eventually, the doubles started overlapping each other. It was a transitional process to truly define how I wanted to visually express myself. On average, how long does it take you to complete a painting? It depends, the painting itself can be 10 to 50 hours depending on size, but there is a lot more hours that go into it once you count all the steps: prepping the canvas, sanding, gessoing, painting, retouching, varnishing, framing, and installing hanging hardware, etc. If you were not a painter, what do you think you would be with all that life experience? I love so many things, I do truly enjoy marketing and designing, but I am also an avid gym-goer. I also love taking care of my dogs. So maybe a dog fitness marketer? Lol, haha, who knows? Can you talk about the major event in your life that led you decide to pursue art completely? Five years ago I suffered from a heart attack; it was a major setback in my life and it made me question everything. It also made me realize time is running out and I must get things done. Overnight I became a very intense overachiever. Ok, very last question: where can people check out more of your art? I try to update my social media a lot and there is always a current list of upcoming exhibits on my website: www.alexgarant.com. Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: @alexgarantart. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

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ZACH MEYER interview / liz rice mccray

WE RECENTLY HAD THE PLEASURE OF INTERVIEWING ARTIST AND ILLUSTRATOR ZACH MEYER. MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT MORE OF HIS DETAILED ILLUSTRATIONS, PORTRAITS AND NARRATIVE WORKS ONLINE AT WWW.ZACHMEYERILLUSTRATION.COM.

Hi Zach, thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. Since I’m always curious, and possibly this has become my favorite question to ask, will you describe where you are right now? This way everyone reading along can imagine the setting. I’m in a dimly lit studio in Brooklyn. It’s an overcast day. I’m looking outside my window facing a courtyard with a nice view of the urban landscape. Perfect, thank you. Please tell us a bit about yourself. I am a New York-based illustrator working out of a studio in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. I received my B.F.A in Illustration at Pratt Institute and my M.F.A from The School Of Visual Arts. I work in many different facets of drawing, including: book covers, advertising, gallery work, film, and editorial work for books and magazines. I’m originally from the suburbs of Chicago, moved to New York to study illustration and never left. You are known for your detailed portraits and narrative works published most notably in Playboy, The New York Times, Harpercollins, Adweek, Los Angeles Times and the Smithsonian. Let’s just say your client list is crazy impressive. Is there a project that sticks out in your mind as pivotal to launching your career as an illustrator? In the summer of 2015 I was asked by Quentin Tarantino to work on a comic preview of his latest film, The Hateful Eight. I worked directly with him and an art director from Playboy Magazine on a fully fleshed-out storyline of his movie, all of which was drawn with ink on paper over the course of four months. That was used as a preview for the movie and gave inspiration to the film itself. After that project was released people really started to take me seriously. Before that time I was still getting published, but at that point I felt like I had proved myself and earned the respect of my heroes. Wow… that really does help the resume. Can you tell us a little bit about your creative process, techniques and what mediums you mainly work with? First, I start out with loose thumbnails in pencil, roughing out ideas. Then I move onto digital photo collage, building complex reference to draw from. This is the most critical stage of my process, mixing sketching with digital photo manipulation. I then print that out and draw from it. It makes it easier to plan compositions out and make sure that lighting and anatomy are not off in the final. I then do a pencil under-drawing with sumi ink on top. I primarily use Princeton round brushes and flat brushes for

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texture. I get subtle grey areas through dry brushing, using dried ink on a brush to get a range of values. After the line work and tone is done I use a light box to do highlights and mid tones on vellum and texture layers to give the drawing depth and color. This is then scanned into the computer where I layer it as if it were a silkscreen going from base color to mid tone to highlight. Photoshop allows for flexibility and rewrites, allowing me to neurotically redraw things over and over knowing that I can piece them back together in Photoshop. When I do gallery work I mimic this process traditionally, experimenting a lot with acrylics, gesso, gel mediums and latex paint over top of ink drawings. What kind of art do you like? Do you collect any art? I currently look to the past for inspiration; very inspired by ’60s lifestyle illustrators: J.C Leyendecker, Charles Dana Gibson and the etchings of Mary Cassatt. These artists reach a level of elegance that I always aspire to. My collection of art is a result of having talented friends such as Erik Jones, Alessandra Maria, Billy Buck, Mari Juliano and Conor Nolan and I have prints of theirs as well as some originals that I cherish. It’s important for me to support my friends and buy as many pieces from artists I admire. Ok very last question, where can people check out more of your art? I update Instagram and Tumblr the most. Here are the links: Instagram, @zachmeyerillustration, Tumblr, Zach Meyer Art, and my personal website, www.zachmeyerillustration.com.

LORENZO QUINN

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On May 13th, 2017, contemporary artist Lorenzo Quinn unveiled his new monumental sculpture titled “Support” at the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel, in Venice, Italy. “Support” sees two large hands emerging from the Grand Canal to protect and support the historic building of the Ca’ Sagredo Hotel. The hands symbolize tools that can destroy the world but also have the capacity to save it. At once, the sculpture has both a noble air as well as an alarming one – the gesture being gallant, in appearing to hold up the building, whilst also creating a sense of fear in highlighting the fragility of the building surrounded by water and the ebbing tide. Lorenzo Quinn is internationally renowned and is one of the most popular sculptors of our times; this new installation showcases Quinn’s artistic progression and his experimentation with new mediums and subject matter to transmit his passion for eternal values and authentic emotions. Mature in style and demonstrative of his visceral empathy and technical accomplishment, Quinn’s intimate pieces are the means by which he communicates his universal messages to viewers. Exemplifying the art of harmony and balance, “Support” has been powerfully designed to demonstrate Quinn’s latest reflection on the environment and climate issues facing today’s society. By installing “Support” in Venice, Quinn draws attention to the delicate existence of humans and society against the force of nature in today’s climate of change. The work generates an instinctive and immediate understanding of the environmental impact for places such as Venice. The hands symbolize the role people must play in supporting Venice’s unique world heritage – it is our duty to save the “witnesses of the past,” who can only survive with our help. In doing so, the past lives in the present and it also lives in the future memory of generations to come. Reflecting on the two sides of human nature, the creative and the destructive, as well as the capacity for humans to act and make an impact on history and the environment, Quinn addresses the ability for humans to make a change and re-balance the world around them – environmentally, economically and socially. “Support” sees Quinn reflect on and readdress these global issues by echoing the meticulous execution and technique of the masters of the past to create a powerful and unique sculpture. “Support” will be on display for the duration of the Venice Biennale 2017 – 57th International Art Exhibition.

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STEFAN GLERUM interview / liz rice mccray PEOPLE, PLEASE SAY HELLO TO ARTIST AND ILLUSTRATOR STEFAN GLERUM, WHO LIVES AND WORKS IN AMSTERDAM. HIS ILLUSTRATIONS AND GRAPHIC ART HAVE LANDED HIM NUMEROUS PROJECTS WORLDWIDE IN DESIGN AND ADVERTISING. WE CAUGHT UP WITH GLERUM TO ASK HIM A COUPLE QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS MELTING POT OF ILLUSTRATION. MANY THANKS STEFAN GLERUM FOR TAKING THE TIME TO ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS.

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Hi Stefan, will you please introduce yourself to our reader, a little synopsis if you will. I’m an illustrator and graphic artist, living and working in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. So, starting with the obvious, why art? When you grow up wanting to draw all day, you kind of want to keep doing that for the rest of your life. At a later stage I developed interests in multiple directions of art/ design, like animation, autonomous art, model making, music, but I decided to study illustration as kind of the middle road. Making things enables you to feel proud about the result – to send something personal into the world that nobody can take away from you. The process of making is usually very tough and laborious for me; it’s all working towards the finished product. What mediums do you mainly work with? All my illustration work starts with pen and ink. After my line-work is finished, I scan it and color it digitally. For autonomous work I color my pieces by hand with watercolors and ecoline. At the moment I really enjoy making models out of raw plastic and found materials.

What kind of art do you like? Do you collect anything in particular? I collect model kits and hobby materials; these things inspire me the most nowadays. But I wouldn’t mind owning a painting by Kurt Schwitters or an illustration by Fortunato Depero.

Your art has been described as a melting pot of illustration heritage inspired by early 20th Century movements such as Art Deco, Bauhaus, Italian Futurism and Russian Constructivism, which you combine with popular themes, executed in a hand-drawn style. Will you give us some insight to your artwork and the motivation behind your illustrations? I think the main thing I try to do in my illustration work is to let the interests and obsessions I have in that period shimmer through, although illustration in general is usually bound to promote a product or support an article. At the moment I’m really delving into my youth obsessions with old sci-fi, so I try to incorporate that in work with a “designy/arty” twist. That results in getting asked frequently for tech and pop culture related articles for magazines, which I really like.

You have a crazy list of people you have worked with; will you tell us a few of your clients? I was lucky enough to get asked for really great projects both in and outside the Netherlands. It’s a real kick to get asked to get on a plane for a meeting with Pirelli in Milan, and have lunch in a castle with the president of the company. Get to see the R&D section and the archives where they keep 100 years worth of graphic design for the company. Or to fly to Munich to discuss the poster series for the National Opera, get a tour, taste some local delicacies and meet interesting people. Also, projects like the stained glass for Ymere in Amsterdam enables you to learn a lot about other materials and techniques and helps you expand your vocabulary as an artist.

“When you grow up wanting to draw all day, you kind of want to keep doing that for the rest of your life.”

Where can people check more of your art? My website, www.stefanglerum.com, or on Instagram @stefan_glerum.

If you were not an artist, what do you think you would be? A model maker.

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Swann

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OUT MORE OF HIS PHOTOGRAPHY AT WWW.CSWANNPHOTOGRAPHY.COM.

SWANN AND ASK HIM A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS PHOTOGRAPHS AND WHAT CONSISTENTLY CATCHES HIS EYE. MAKE SURE TO CHECK

SWANN’S LOVE AND KNOWLEDGE FOR HIS AQUATIC SUBJECTS REFLECT IN HIS STUNNING PHOTOGRAPHS. WE WERE HAPPY TO CATCH UP WITH

OVER 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE WHALE-WATCHING AND OBSERVING MARINE MAMMALS (WHALES, DOLPHINS AND PORPOISE) CHRISTOPHER

DEAR READER, THIS IS THE LOVELY BRITISH PHOTOGRAPHER CHRISTOPHER SWANN, WHO PHOTOGRAPHS CETACEANS (SIH-TAY-SHUNZ). WITH

WITH FINS AND NO LEGS. THEY GIVE BIRTH TO LIVE BABIES AND DO NOT LAY EGGS.” ~ A WHALE OF A TALE! BY BONNIE WORTH

“CETACEANS MIGHT LOOK LIKE THE FISH IN THE SEA, BUT CETACEANS ARE CLOSER TO YOU AND ME. THEY’RE WARM BLOODED, LIKE US, BUT

INTERVIEW / LIZ RICE McCRAY

ChristoPher

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Hello Christopher, thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions. We feel lucky to catch you before you go offline again. Your photographs are stunning. When and how did you originally start photographing cetaceans? I ran whale-watching holidays for almost 30 years and have just stopped. For the first dozen years or so I had no interest in taking photos, partly because there seemed to be so much to see. I couldn’t fathom how one could see anything stuck behind a black box, and the clients appeared more interested in the photo than the reality. Eventually I thought I would have a go myself and try to take photos that were beautiful - the beauty was what I lived with day-in, day-out and what I loved. Do you shoot film and digital? What kind of camera do you shoot with? I was very kindly given my first digital camera (a Nikon D70) in 2006 by some clients because I couldn’t afford one and that got me started. Then I began to make an effort. My first photos were accepted by an agency but then rejected because they said the camera wasn’t a high enough spec. So I saved up and bought a Nikon D200. Little by little I learned that better equipment helps and I now have some very good Nikon bodies and lenses. What kind of boat are you sailing? I started chartering on the west coast of Scotland in 1990 with a traditional 75-foot gaff ketch called the Marguerite Explorer. I found her in Holland and rebuilt her to run whalewatching holidays. She was a beautiful old wooden boat. Then after 14 years I started using modern fiberglass catamarans. I now have a 43-foot Robertson and Caine called the Star of the Sea. They are polar opposites and nothing is as beautiful as a wooden boat, but the catamaran is so roomy, comfy and practical and I am just as fond of her. Your photographs have a unique perspective and beautiful composition; you can see the years of experience and love for your aquatic subjects. You are an observer and photographer. What are the moments that inspire you to pick up your camera and shoot? Are there particular things that consistently catch your eye? There is so much in nature that is thrilling. I am often tingling with delight at some small detail observed – the droplets of a whale’s blow, for example, as they spatter the water, the way water lifts around a whale’s head, the texture of a whale’s skin – there are all sorts of things that are small, unnoticed miracles. Recently I have been photographing birds, and they have the most fabulous eyes, yet I suspect they go utterly unnoticed. They’re little jewels whizzing through the skies. It is endless and that is great because I can go out and try to take a photo and revel in the beauty of it all while I am doing it, and even if I get nothing it has been fun. Will you tell us a little about your black and white photographs? I like black and white because if it is good it gets right to the essence of a thing and there are no distractions, mostly I guess it is form and texture. It doesn’t suit all cetacean photography and it would be a shame to lose those fabulous deep ocean blues, but sometimes it works very well. What do you enjoy most about shooting cetaceans? I love the sea. I love the purity of it and nature and cetaceans epitomize the sense of freedom and honesty of animals. They roam wild, open spaces, their lives are uncluttered and simple and I get lost in their world, becoming like them - dawn, dusk, night, day, meals, it all becomes irrelevant as one moves with the animals in a natural harmony. How do you manage to get so close up to your subject? Getting close to most cetaceans is not that easy; some are curious but most are perhaps indifferent. They tend to shy away as they get close and it can be very hard to get in front of them. If you are ahead of them they just bend away gently as they get near. Sometimes I try just hanging about waiting for them to come closer and sometimes I move closer myself. I am not sure I know any special secrets for getting close, but I always say to people trying to swim with a whale, just try to tell the whale you’re not really there, don’t rush at it, sidle along gently as if you are not interested. Of course it is not easy, as they can give one swoosh of their tail and be gone, fading away into the blue along with your chance of a picture. We saw your photos of sharks and dolphins preying on a school of mackerel. Do you ever feel nervous? Mostly I feel very relaxed around whales. Some are different – killer whales and false killer whales – but generally they are not worrying. I am nervous about sharks because I don’t know much about them although I have friends who dive with them all the time. I was once in very green, murky water with sperm whales when I got midged by a shark - it came out of the gloom and would bump into me - I got out pretty nippily. You have been all over the world photographing and running whale and dolphin watching holidays. Where are some of your favorite places to photograph marine life and where are some places you hope to go? I have been very lucky to have been to a lot of places, and although there are places I would love to see (BC and Alaska and the high arctic) I never want to go anywhere for a week or two - I long to get really stuck in. I have spent almost 20 years in the Sea of Cortes, which is a miraculous place and I love getting to know it better rather than go somewhere new. The same was true for the west coast of Scotland and the Hebrides. In these places I know where to go to find miracles, but it takes many years and much effort to find those things and places, but that slow “coloring in” of a place is a joy. Where can people see more of your photos and possibly buy high-resolution originals? My website is www.cswannphotography.com. Any last words? I have been very fortunate in life but it seems most of the old adages are true. I always followed my heart, never money, and I worked very hard. We all need luck but you can choose the path you want to tread. We very much appreciate your insight. Thank so much and please stay in touch.

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INTERVIEW / SPENCER PIRDY No. 119

MICK FANNING

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THERE’S A SHITLOAD OF SURF PHOTOGRAPHERS THAT ROAM THE EARTH THESE DAYS. SOME ARE THERE FOR INSTAGRAM GLORY AND THE PAT ON THE BACK OF A 10K PLUS SOCIAL FOLLOWING. OTHERS ARE TALENTED AS ALL HELL, BUT STUBBORN AND EGGY AS FUCK. BUT WHEN YOU ASK COREY WILSON WHY HE’S HERE, HE’LL TELL YOU HE’S IN IT FOR THE JOURNEY; HE’S IN IT FOR THE PEOPLE, THE PLACES, THE LAUGHS AND ALL OF THE ADVENTURE THAT COMES ALONG WITH IT. THIS GUY HAS AMAZING TALENT, SO MUCH SO THAT HE’S ARGUABLY THE BEST, MOST SOUGHT-AFTER SURF PHOTOGRAPHER IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. THE IMAGES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. WHETHER HE’S NAILING THE SHOT WHILE KEEPING HIMSELF FROM BEING SUCKED OVER AT TEAHUPOO, TREADING THE DEEP SAND OF PIPE SHADOWING MICK FANNING, OR SCALING THE CLIFFS OF MOHER FOR A PERFECT LANDSCAPE ANGLE, COREY IS CONSTANTLY IN THE THICK OF THE JOURNEY, EXCELLING. WHILE HIS TALENT IS OMNIPRESENT, MAYBE MORE IMPRESSIVE IS HIS POSITIVITY AND YEARN TO PROGRESS FURTHER. IF YOU EVER HAVE THE PLEASURE OF MEETING HIM YOU’LL REALIZE WHY WE ARE ALL COREY WILSON FANS.

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MASON HO

OWEN WRIGHT

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“My closest friends are doing cool shit with their lives and it inspires me to be as best as I can.” Where are you from originally and where do you currently reside? I was born in Santa Cruz, CA. I spent most of my life there before attending photography school in Santa Barbara. Now I am currently based out of Newport Beach, CA. Tell us about the crew you grew up with, like Luke Rockhold, Miles, etc. I try and surround myself with positive and successful people. My closest friends are doing cool shit with their lives and it inspires me to be as best as I can. We are always doing fun trips together and working on projects to further our careers. You meet lots of new faces throughout life, but none are more important that the ones that helped you get where you are today. When did you start gaining interest in photography? Looking through magazines seeing amazing imagery from all over the world got me curious. I knew that I wanted to travel for work and not be stuck in a cubicle. I picked up my first camera when I was about 17, and once I shot my first image that I was proud of, then I got addicted to it. I knew it was something I wanted to do for a career so I enrolled in photography school. After three years of a lot of hard work I received a bachelors degree in professional photography. Were there local Santa Cruz photographers that inspired you? There are quite a few photographers from Santa Cruz that inspired me to do this type of work – Dave Nelson, Nate Lawrence, Ryan Craig, and Sammy Olsen. They were always getting the best photos in the mags and traveling all over the globe. I wanted that lifestyle so bad. They inspired me to set a goal for my life, become a staff photographer for Surfing Magazine.

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What’s in your equipment quiver, and who is this new friend of yours, Peggy? I started with Nikon gear and have stuck with it since the beginning. Over the years you acquire so much equipment. Cameras break, others get flooded in your water housing and often times thousands of dollars of gear gets stolen from your car. I try and keep it as simple as possible with one main camera, one backup and a couple lenses. The Nikon 24-70mm lens rarely ever comes off my camera. I try and take my camera everywhere I go. The best images usually come when you are not expecting it. Pegasus is my new drone that I recently brought into my quiver. She is an absolute hassle to take around the world with me but I am currently in a bet with Mick Fanning, and if I win he has to carry Pegasus everywhere we travel together. Where’s your favorite place on earth to travel? Everywhere in the world is different and each place has amazing things about it. It just depends on what mood you are in. If I want to go snowboarding then my favorite place is Japan. Tahiti has my favorite wave. Ireland has the best bars. Portugal has the best food. South Africa has the best wildlife. Alaska is the most beautiful. And the list goes on and on. Each place I have traveled to has something amazing about it. What’s the best part of photography? Being able to share my life with people through images, and being able to relive my memories in the future. You live life on the road a majority of the year, so what’s the best part about coming home? I often travel for months on end. After a long trip I always look forward to coming home and hanging with friends and family. It’s hard to keep in contact with friends back home when you are on the road, so whenever I am home I try and make the most of it.

BARRON MAMIYA

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“The best people to work with are the ones that are up for an adventure and are positive on life.”

MICK FANNING

What’s your favorite photograph you’ve ever taken and why? I don’t have a favorite photo yet but I do have a favorite moment that I have captured. It was taken this year of Owen Wright and his family. In 2015 Owen had a terrible injury. In Hawaii during a surf at Pipeline Owen suffered a severe concussion and had minor bleeding of the brain. He had no clue that he was injured until he took a nap. I found him in his room pretty much unconscious. He spent weeks in the hospital and a lot of time at home treating his injury. Owen had to take an entire year off, slowly getting back into the water. While this was happening his girlfriend at the time was pregnant with Owen’s kid. Owen returned to competitive surfing in 2017 and won the first comp of the year. The entire surf industry was in tears of happiness. My favorite moment I have ever captured is when Owen and his family were on the stage after he won the comp. Who’s your favorite subject to work with? The best people to work with are the ones that are up for an adventure and positive on life. I have a certain surf crew that I regularly travel with and the best part of working with them is they don’t make it feel like work. Guys like Mick Fanning, Owen Wright, Matt Wilkinson, Mason Ho and Gabriel Medina are my favorite people to travel with. What do you hope the future holds for you? I want to keep bettering myself and grow into different genres of photography. I am ready for a change. There are some assignments coming up in the near future that will allow me to transition into bigger and better things. I’m excited for what is about to come.

MATT ROCKHOLD

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Have you ever met someone that claims they are always busy but really never has anything going on? Or how about that someone that always says someone else is to blame for their mistakes? Or how about the person that’s always late and you could never depend on? This list could go on for eternity but we all know that “someone.” But did you know that someone is actually Billy Marks.

WORDS / MIKE SINCLAIR

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SWITCH F/S FLIP / PHOTO: KYLE CAMARILLO

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How long has it been since your last video part? Last video part I had was the changes real street like two years ago. I had about five minutes of footage but it was used on The Berrics and for Instagram.

Any future plans or are you just happy doing nothing? Nothing, huh? Any future plans or are you just happy eating your life away.

How long has it been since your last interview? Honestly, I don’t even remember.

If you could steal one thing from Active what would it be? The register.

What do you do with all your free time? Gamble. Hang out with the kids. Play hockey. Who has more tats, you or your ex-wife or new girlfriend? Girlfriend, and she’s way hotter. How much money do you owe in back taxes? Next question. Why did you get kicked off Webb Trucks? You’re dumb as shit, Mike. I quit Webb for Independent. Who is the least productive rider on Toy Machine other than yourself? You keep coming at me with these shitty questions. I’ll kick you off my TV show.

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If you got a job at Active what would you do? I think I could be a team manager. You’ve done it so long and you’re fucking terrible at it so it doesn’t seem too hard of a job. Give everyone a run down of what you accomplish in a week. A lot of sleep. Hanging out with the kids. Skate. Drink. You retiring anytime soon? I don’t plan on it anytime soon. I think I got a few more years in me. How much have you saved up for retirement? I don’t like these questions anymore.

“You keep coming at me with these shitty questions. I’ll kick you off my TV show.”

KICKFLIP BOARDSLIDE / PHOTO: KYLE CAMARILLO

What do you do for extra income these day? Judge contests and play blackjack. Who pays you the most right now? These are not good questions. Who would you put on Toy Machine if Ed and I hired you as the TM and I just stayed around to boss you around? Jeremy Leabres, Matt Bennett, Blake Carpenter and Johnny Layton. Oh wait, I already wanted them on the team and they got on. Who would you put on the team Mike without me helping you? How come you never eat a full meal? Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re too busy ordering seconds to see I finished a full meal.

PHOTO: TIM AGUILAR

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KICKFLIP / PHOTO: TIM AGUILAR

You always sample a bunch of food but never a full meal.

“Why just get one thing when you can try a little of everything?”

What’s one thing you and I can agree on? CJ Collins is amazing at skateboarding.

Anything you wish you would have done different in your career? Taken the money and not have skated for Fallen. Who’s the best up-and-comer you have seen recently? Depends, there’s a lot of good kids. Is there an age limit? Christian Holt, Zac Redenius and Larry Perkins. Anything else you want to add? I’d like to thank my sponsors, Toy Machine, EXPL, Active, Thunder, Mob and Pig Wheels.

CROOK / PHOTO: TIM AGUILAR

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INTERVIEW BY

THIS MONTH WE HAVE THE PLEASURE OF FEATURING THE LEGENDARY AND SELF-TAUGHT PAINTER, SCULPTOR, PHOTOGRAPHER AND FILMMAKER THOMAS CAMPBELL. WE ASKED CAMPBELLâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LONGTIME FRIEND AND COLLABORATOR IN SURF, ART, FILM AND MUSIC, ALEX KNOST, TO CONDUCT THE INTERVIEW. THE RESULT IS A HISTORICAL DIALOGUE WITH OVER TWO DECADES OF ARTWORKS CAREFULLY SCULPTED AROUND THEIR DISCUSSION. MANY THANKS TO THOMAS AND ALEX FOR THE WONDERFUL READ.

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“Give in, Give out” 38 x 32 x 3 inches - acrylic and gouache on wood - Bonny Doon Calif. 2015

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“Untitled” 35mm negative, pigment print - Bonny Doon, Calif . 2014

Recently I saw a photo of you and The Seedling crew at the Surfer Poll awards, and I just wanted to ask about the scene – describe the vitality of that scene for me – those gestures: contained, indefinite? At that time, it was apparent that Surfer Magazine had to pay attention. Looking back, years later, what are your thoughts on the film? Let’s see… I guess at the end of the day I grew up with a few handfuls of my friends running logs in Dana Point and at Sano, and then as fate would have it I met Joel Tudor. I didn’t know much about modern hipro longboarding. I’d go to the 7-Eleven and would look at Longboard Magazine in the rack and looking at the cover I knew I didn’t want to pick it up because it didn’t have anything to do with what I liked about longboarding. So I didn’t know very much about it, and when I met Joel I really liked what I saw; I never saw anyone surf like that before. It was astounding, so I don’t know; I just was attracted to that. It emoted a certain thing that I really related to, and then Joel introduced me to a bunch of different people, like Devon Howard and Jimmy Gamboa. And uh, yeah, I just started documenting those people and it was just more documenting the thing that felt right. When it was finished the main person who distributed surf movies in California was Sex Wax, so I sent them a copy of the film to see if they could distribute it (haha) and they were just like “uhhh…” They wavered and said they didn’t think it would sell. So yeah, they didn’t distribute it.

Install shot - “Slide your brains out” Common Gallery - Tokyo, Japan 2013

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In hindsight, from this removed vantage and looking at that photo, it seems a decisive moment – high contrast to the rest of the people you would see at surfer poll. Can it be summed up easily for you? Nooo. I don’t think it’s my job to sum it up; it was my job to make it. And I made it. I don’t want to talk about myself like that. It’s your place to talk about, not mine. I think it’s important, a lot of incredible talent there and I like the way people were surfing and it was unique. But as far as a summation of it, I don’t want to do it. I mean – what do you think? The reality of it is you’re one of the people I think that was inspired by it. I was at that particular Surfer Poll and not close with any of you guys. By default, I was outside, a spectator. There is something I always think about, not just in terms of your making a movie and the cast therein, but also about popularity and a fractured identity. You can make something alongside these people and it reaches the limelight, after which it goes up to the audiences’ discretion. A voice, a singular perspective becomes a source of entertainment. Is there any sort of bizarre sensation, disorientation, from being a member of that culture? It’s not like the culture stopped, ya know? You’re another part of the culture. Riley Stone is another. Going forward, the culture is there, the culture is in trim, and in the feelings people have. Surfing is sensational. They’re feeling feelings and that’s the thing that makes them keep coming back. The feelings documented are the feelings that continue to happen. I feel like anyone that gains an audience there accompanies a fractured identity. You are yourself before you look in the mirror, before someone brings it to your attention. What you did you did organically. You went to 7-11 and were like, “these longboard magazines are stale.” At some point you must have realized you made this VHS and realized it was substantial enough to pivot the moment. You are a source of entertainment, biblical in proportion. I wonder if your fetishes and your conceptual practice are affected. You’ve continued to make art, films and take photographs, doing what you were doing then.

I tried to do something in that 16mm format especially, and I think that helps out a lot with vibe. That’s kind of why I keep shooting in that format. I tried to do my best with the small budget that I had, with the lenses that I had. It was very minimal but it took awhile and I went for it, and I went into the next movie expanding upon the surfing I found interesting, and with Sprout more explicitly oriented towards other kinds of surfing and tried to expand more upon the kinds of known or unknown forms of surfing I thought were interesting. Are you always successful, do you always make the right choices? Not necessarily. But we’re all striving forward. For myself, seeing you as a filmmaker who invited certain people to be in your films because you appreciate their thing to where I am now as your friend on this personal level, your being an artist with a sensitivity towards composition, I believe you’re intent on creating from the hip. How everything intersects within the genetic makeup of YOU. I think this surpasses good surfing/good surfers. I mean, A Love Supreme, ya know. The Seedling, too, Ear Eye Data Poop, your photography, your being there, your movements from Morocco to New York to where you currently reside in Santa Cruz, these are all things that exhibit your taste, my generation and thereafter, digitized and instantaneous, style and persona, examined quickly so as to follow and imitate. But for the readers, what got you there? Which instruments did you have on hand? Your skateboard, or where you grew up in Dana Point, your parents, what you wanted to alienate yourself from… from where was this creativity necessity born? Clearly, growing up in skateboarding culture. Like, really, my creativity came from skateboarding culture. Like, if I was a tennis player or I played football or whatever else, I would have not been on the same creative path. I pretty much have everything in my life to give up to skateboarding – when I was a kid, skateboarding at five years old in

“Extra Large Quilt” medium - paper, acrylic,gouache, packaging envelope, thread, spray paint, pencil, rice bags, money 6.75 x 5 feet - Bonny Doon Calif. 2015

Alex Knost - Nazal Dancer - At the Queen of the sea - Calif. 2013

Joel Tudor - Father of rebirth - Mini Quiver - La Jolla, Calif. 1999

Peak of the blue period - 11 x 100 ft 3d mural installation - wrap around room - Fullerton College Califonia 2015

Still from Thomas’s film “Cuatros Sueños Pequeños” skate film 2013

“Nimbin” (detail) bronze - edition of 6 - 36 x 10 x 15 - 2014

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1974 and skateboarding throughout to today. Maybe around ’84 or something it started. There was a little scene I became involved with, and within that scene, within that time (it was kind of a depressed time) there weren’t a lot of skateboarders. There were probably like, and this might sound weird, I don’t know, maybe in ’83 there was like 500 skateboarders in California. Not a lot of people, and it was an interesting time. As a skateboarder, you took pictures, drew pictures, played music, made fanzines. Skateboarding is such an evolving, creative activity anyway. But that was a depressed period. During the Reagan-era, there was not any economic purpose in our making stuff or art; it was really just for fun. Like, you weren’t doing it because you thought you could sell something, and we were just looking at people, like Neil Blender, Tod Swank, Lance Mountain, Chris Miller and ya know, just looking at them, and being like “whoa.” Those guys drew their own graphics, or made rad zines, played music or took really good photos, and it’s just like that was what you did. So we were just like, “Oh let’s try,” and at the end of the day I just kept trying. I was making the zines and then I got to work for Transworld Skateboard Magazine and evolved the idea of how to write, how to shoot photos and eventually how to put together a magazine.

Quivering - Ryan Burch, Dave Rastovich, Trevor Gordan and Lauren Hill - North Africa 2014

Nowadays kids are groomed. They learn how to kiss-ass, maintain a poker face, post photos of themselves and all that shit. So to me, it seems mythical that you could just, “Oh yeah, I made a zine and now I’m an editor of a skateboard magazine.” Whatever, I’ve always been a fucking go-getter. I would call people like Tod Swank and get in contact. He was like my idol. I would ask him for photos. Ask him for photos he wouldn’t use in Transworld for my zine, and he would send me some, same with Grant Brittian. I would get these rad photos and lay ‘em out and try really hard to make something really cool and then send it back to them. And they’d be like, “This kid, this 17-year-old kid in Dana Point is doing some shit.” And eventually they asked me to write an article for them. There was this ditch, called the Shit Ditch, in Laguna Niguel and it got demolished. So I wrote a eulogy for the ditch, and I couldn’t even write, I was horrible at writing and I just wrote it and my friend Joe Lloyd took the picture and that’s how it started. I was like “Fuck, I’m in.” So what can I propose that they would be psyched on? I don’t know. I just wanted to do some cool stuff. I guess what it is interesting (to you) is what I learned in skateboarding, that approach, just keep going and if you slam it’s normal. Failure is super normal. Like if you don’t pull it, you just keep trying. If you just keep slamming on your face, you have to until you make it. I just took that way of looking at things and adapted it to my surf film and surfing, eventually. When I started making those movies… Making movies is a lot like making a magazine. Ok, what’s the meat of the issue? And what are the supporting parts? I learned that from working in magazines. Really cool to identify with constraints. Working within limited resources I think is an interesting precept. You talk about not being a capable writer, initially, and in skateboarding normalizing eating shit. You spoke of the suffering economy. What I’m gathering from this is that failure wasn’t discouraging but a badge of honor, to disassociate from and alienate the idea of success. I always perceive loneliness and failure fetishized in subculture, but it sounds as if in skateboarding you know your contemporaries in art weren’t necessarily fetishizing failure but more so celebrating a brotherhood of not giving a fuck. I’m guessing in an organic way this built an entire movement. Total movement. But the thing is, it’s not even like failure or failing is something bad, it’s just what happens in skating. You’re gonna fucking eat shit. It wasn’t even for money. There was no money. The thing you were after was a good feeling from doing something good. You just had to try hard. That is one thing I am really thankful for from skateboarding. You have to try, you have to eat shit, and if you want to succeed you have to just keep trying, and be vulnerable. Skating gave me everything. Art, in total, my wife, my child – my wife’s a skateboarder. If it wasn’t for skateboarding I wouldn’t have ever met her and she is awesome.

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At that point in time, was it slamming, limited resources, rejection and learning from scratch which drove you to be a limitless outsider? And was it something you were conscious of? You know, I’ll say this – when I got into high school, I had a good group of likeminded friends. I never felt casted out. The jock scene wasn’t very strong. My friends and I we surfed, we skated, made art, we did whatever. I was psyched. I was into punk rock at a young age or people who had art-based ideas. To me, those people were the coolest and it didn’t seem to me those kids got any shit for it. And we were skating. And skating was the best thing ever. And we were psyched. We didn’t have time to think anything; we were doing whatever we were doing. I hear other people’s stories, and that just wasn’t my story. I started working when I was really young. My parents were kind of strict and I felt like if I just had my own job they couldn’t control me, or they could control me less. I worked since I was 9 years old and had a strong work ethic. And then I was just nomadic as fuck. I was sleeping on people’s couches, traveling around the world. One thing I thought about is once I left home at 19, and moved to Santa Cruz and Hawaii and then back in Santa Cruz, traveled to Europe and Africa and then moved to New York, I just didn’t have any money and was super broke most of the time. I worked for skateboarding magazines mainly as a writer and eventually as a photographer, but when I was a writer whoa, so poor. I just realized in those travels that the more present that I was to the situation when I would meet people I’d just try to be real present to what was happening. Be like, hey man let’s hang out can I cook dinner for you? I got to spend lots of time with a lot of different people from all over and it was just a super cool experience. I developed good relationships and it was more like I’d try to be a good person and everything will work out even if you don’t have shit. That was my mantra. Try to be present. Just kick it with people and have rad times. I have these notions of understanding people from other generations. But everyone stems from something else. You said you didn’t perceive divisions in high school. However, I’ve connote notions of success in Orange County to real estate agents following their parents footsteps. Not the nomadic mantra you seem to have had. Do you think that type of journey is generational? No, I don’t think so. Not a lot of people my age were into some of the stuff I was then. I started logging when I was about ten and I would be surfing Doheny and surfing with Brian Bent and there was like no one and three or four kids trying to surf shortboards and maybe riding logs or whatever. Sometimes I’d surf Salt Creek with my log but the kids would just look at me, they just had no idea what this spaceship coming by was. I don’t know but when I looked to the surfing culture, the sponsored surfing culture, at the time, it was lame to me. I respected people who could surf good but when I looked at what they were wearing and whatever, I was just not connected with it or interested. The cultural thing I had going on in Skateboarding was so much more dynamic. Even opening up Thrasher Magazine and there being Robert Williams, Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Barry McGee art in there… Like seeing Robert Williams paintings when you’re 16 years old being like what in the hell? This is crazy and the music didn’t have any biases they would cover everything, from the Butthole Surfers to the Cocteau Twins to whatever, you were just like, “Whoa, what’s this?” and “It’s supported?” What about now? What about the contemporary intersection of audience? Obviously so much has changed. You made this longboard film The Seedling, and years pass and you have all these people, specifically shortboarders, coming at you and appreciating something that perhaps prior was out of their peripheral. And then you have someone like Ozzy Wright who made 156 Tricks, which I’m sure you felt at arms distance with, come around and integrate. Congealing cultures almost. No, I loved it! I loved 156 Tricks. I loved it when Ozzy slid across the rocks and rode through the cave. That’s why I wanted him in my next movie. When I was a kid I had like these five friends that were super cool and they were a little bit on the surf side of things and some of them skated more, but when I wasn’t working and I was lurking with them we would just say, “Ok what are we gonna do?” We would go skating, and if the wind blew, if the wind was blowing onshore it was offshore at Doheny, and we would go longboarding or we would go skimboarding in Laguna Beach. That was our mentality. We were like, “Whatever let’s go have fun, let’s go to Oceanside or Trestles and surf shortboards.” When I met Joel he had the same idea of like he just wanted to ride all kinds of different things and approach waves in different ways. I remember the first moment I saw you surfing at Malibu I was just like, “Wow, I like the positioning of the way that kid holds his body, who is that kid?” And it’s still just like that. I like working with surfers the way they are in the dance, the vibe really. Like Ozzy, he just rode things in a certain way, Rasta in his way, Kassia in hers. I don’t know, it’s not all that complicated who are the people that I like and let me see if I wrangle them in to being in my film. About making films, a lot of skate stuff has come out in the past 10 years where it’s very competitive. Skaters trying to outdo each other with radical cut-andpaste clips, intentionally outdoing their opposition. Surfing has followed suit. As a filmmaker and a skateboarder first, what is your take on the new [Jim] Greco film Year 13? Your take on the way he employed film? His edits? His references? It’s come full circle. What do you make of all that? Yourself being dispensed to a generation more inclined to watch and create 60 seconds of hammers, bragging rights, etcetera? Um, I think it’s cool. One of my best friends growing up in skateboarding, Tobin Yelland, was the DP for the film and ya know, I think Jim’s an interesting guy and he’s a chameleon and he changes over the years to punker glam boy to skate rat to now someone who’s… not Godard. Cassavettes. Yeah, full Cassavettes. I think it’s good to explore, and he and they are exploring the medium.

“Hide and Seek” acrylic, gouache, and spray paint on wood panel and gourds - 65 x 79 inches 2014

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Eric Koston - Bridge grinder - Valparaiso, Chile 2015

It’s a slow burn, much like your films. That’s why I ask. It’s demanding for an audience. You transitioned the cut-and-paste, clip-oriented shortboard world to a jazz soundtrack, black-and-white, high-contrast film without logos. I think it’s good what he’s doing and I like that he’s doing it. Do I feel like it could be more developed? More of a storyline? Yeah. But I also like the balls that it takes to make the thing that he did. Any piece of art, you’re gonna have multiple perspectives. Cheryl Dunn did this really great film with Mark Gonzales called Back Worlds For Words in the late ‘90s. It’s so amazing and put skateboarding into another context, a lot of different possibilities. I’m working on another skateboarding movie now, it’s gonna be done by the beginning of next year. Basically a driving film, black-and-white. And it has whatever, really good skateboarders in it: Evan Smith, Provost, Barletta, Ray Barbee, Busenitz, Jason Adams, Al Parts, Chris Russell and a bunch more. It’s really fun to fuck with the standard presentation, the narrative. There’s the Warhol quote, “business art comes after art and being good in business is the most fascinating part of art.” As someone who is regarded as a fine artist and also a commercial artist, where is the divide? Does business art fund your art? What are your reservations with working in a commercial context? I like doing a lot of different kinds of creative stuff, whether it’s fine art or commercial stuff. It’s fun to collaborate sometimes; it’s fun to be alone for times in my studio. One thing is growing up at that time I did, the point was to have fun. Taking pictures, drawing pictures, the cadence of doing one thing and alternating between another, it keeps everything interesting and kind of grounded. Staying in a studio only I would go mad. Directing commercials or record labels stuff or working on bronzes or ceramics, producing a soundtrack, it keeps things new and fresh. When I work on one thing I’ll work towards exhausting it and then work on another thing and it’s fresh. Whatever happens before informs the next thing. We’ve talked about various surfers who inspire you to keep making films, forcing you even, and in painting what prompts that? It’s all exploration, pushing limits, where to go, what’s out there, emotionally, especially painting. It’s such an emotional medium. There’s a momentum I can do this and this and this, can I adapt that and expand on this other part?

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You mention movement, movement through mediums, practices and traveling in your youth as well. Is the leverage comparable to relocation? You left California for New York. I grew up in an idyllic place. Dana Point was very tranquil and rural place when I grew up there, and then it changed and I freaked out and I had to leave. When I moved to New York in the mid ‘90s I felt I was an alien because I really came from a place that has a sunny disposition and is just mellow. And now everyone’s going really fast and cutting and dog-eat-dog and you’re making work and next week a guy stole all your style and it’s up on the wall next to you. It was a really broadening experience. But, I also loved it and a lot of cool experiences. Going from the sunny disposition of SoCal to New York and back, you now reside in a removed environment. Down here in Orange County and L.A. there is an apparent “this is happening here” going on, and it’s interesting how public figures and artists in the media are handling it, some uncompromising. In utilizing your public platform, you seem to take a direct moral stance. You know, I cannot not comment on what’s happening in this country. I can watch my Instagram followers just fading away at times by what I post. But at the end of the of the day I just hope everyone in this country, and this world in total, can be supported and live better lives. And you know the current regime at this time does not really give a fuck about people. Honestly, my daughter was born two months before Trump went into office and one of the things that hit home was his deep lack of respect for women. I grew up with five sisters, I have a lot of respect for women, to have that guy as a role model or symbol of the highest position in this country or the world, especially to men, is so fucked up and so backwards. If you could say all the bullshit that that guy says and make any impact. Young men growing up thinking they can treat women or just people the way that guy treats people makes me so sad and mad. This country is built on genocide, the total decimation of its indigenous cultures. This country is built on the backs of roughly 10 million unpaid slaves, it’s time to talk about retribution, level the playing field. Until that’s done there will be no peace in this country. The current regime with their white, mega-racist, corporate-oppressive movement is going as far away from caring about the needs of its citizens in total than it has in a long time. I’m very sad about what is going on and so I don’t really have a choice but to communicate about it. The time to talk is now. If you don’t talk about it now, you may not have the option to talk about it later.

Quiltage - home studio - Bonny Doon, Calif. 2014 - photo Roger Mihalko

16mm camera rig to get shot of rolling wheel - “Cuatros Sueños Pequeños” skate film 2013

Sewing Station - Home Studio - Bonny Doon, Calif. 2016

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INTERVIEW / JOEY MARSHALL No. 119 GONE ARE THE GLORY DAYS OF SURF-MOVIE MAGIC THAT WERE CREATED BY THE LEGENDARY …LOST FILMS AND SEEMINGLY NEVER-ENDING TAYLOR STEELE RELEASES. WE’RE NOW LEFT WITH SHORTER AND SHORTER INTERNET CLIPS AND SOCIAL MEDIA EDITS AND OCCASIONALLY A FULL-FEATURE, TYPICALLY BY ONE OF THE LARGER APPAREL BRANDS PUSHING THE VIDEO FOR FREE THROUGH ITS WEB DOMAIN OR SOMEONE ELSE’S. WHAT REALLY EXCITES US ABOUT SNAPT 3: RELOADED IS LOGAN “CHUCKY” DULIEN’S NON-TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO WHAT THE FILM SIDE OF THE INDUSTRY HAS BECOME. LIKE EVERYTHING HE’S DONE, CHUCKY REALLY THRIVES OFF NONCONFORMITY. WHEN SOMEONE SAYS, “YOU HAVE TO DO IT LIKE THIS OR IT WON’T WORK,” HE TENDS TO LOOK IN A DIFFERENT DIRECTION. IT’S BEEN THIS WAY HIS ENTIRE LIFE, AND SO IT GOES WITH SNAPT 3: RELOADED. THE WORLD PREMIERE IS GOING DOWN ON AUGUST 4TH AT THE OBSERVATORY ORANGE COUNTY – WHERE MORE THAN LIKELY YOU’LL BE RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE ENTIRE CAST AND CREW, SHARING LAUGHS AND HAVING YOUR MIND ABSOLUTELY BLOWN. WHICH BRINGS US TO THE NEXT UNORTHODOX PART OF THE EQUATION, THE CAST. WITH NAMES LIKE BRUCE IRONS, MASON HO, BOBBY MARTINEZ, JACK ROBINSON, ASHER PACEY, DUSTIN BARCA, KOBY ABBERTON, MIDGET MAGIC, PARKER COFFIN, IAN CRANE, CHEESEBURGER, SIMON REX AND THE MONIZ BROTHERS, AMONG MANY OTHERS, THIS FLICK IS GONNA HAVE SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AND IS GUARANTEED TO HAVE YOU LAUGHING ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS. WITH THE WORLD PREMIERE LESS THAN A MONTH AWAY WE WERE THANKFUL TO GET A HOLD OF PRODUCER LOGAN “CHUCKY” DULIEN TO ASK HIM A FEW QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THIRD AND FINAL EDITION OF THE SNAPT SERIES.

ASHER PACEY / PHOTO: LASERWOLF

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SNAPT3 CREW

BRUCE IRONS / PHOTO: MIKE TOWNSEND

BRUCE IRONS / PHOTO: LASERWOLF

SETH MONIZ

MASON HO & DUSTIN BARCA

CARLOS MUNOZ / PHOTO: MIKE TOWNSEND

BRUCE IRONS

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BRUCE IRONS / PHOTO: LASERWOLF

ASHER PACEY / PHOTO MIKE TOWNSEND

Chucky, sorry to be hounding you during the 23rd hour, I know you’ve got a lot on your plate as your neck-deep in orchestrating this monstrosity, but what can you tell the reader about Snapt 3: Reloaded? We announced that we were gonna do the third and final installment of the Snapt movies back in November of 2015. Our first film trip was underway by March 2016, and the past 18-months have been chaotic but in the best possible way. What I like most about this whole project is how involved everyone is. It’s by no means a one-man show, as the characters involved are helping on so many different levels. It feels way more like a community project and things just keep falling into place perfectly. Nowadays surfers are way more involved in the editing, filming, and marketing process – it’s really cool to see how things have come full circle. For example, I can’t say enough good things about Mason Ho – his energy, him rallying the troops and just his overall excitement about the film… not to mention his nontraditional approach to surfing. You’re gonna want to watch his part multiple times. You’re gonna have to because what he’s doing is so technical and so innovative it’ll take more than few views to even comprehend. But I won’t say too much – you’re just gonna have to see it for yourself. What have been some of the biggest challenges for you, personally or not, in regards to this film? On a personal level, the first thing that comes to mind is people telling me I can’t do this, or that it has to be done a certain way or it won’t work. Everyone has their opinion and I’ve got mine. There’s so many things I’ve been told can only happen a certain way and I continue to just see life through a different point of view. After I parted ways with RVCA as their surf team manager I had a very dark time in my life and was told I could only pull through a certain way. I tried multiple programs but it was the ocean that got me through it. The entire time I knew in my heart it was surfing that would save me. I quit listening to the people around me and chose my own path. I got clean on my own and faced my demons. Making this movie was and is still is part of this process. It’s similar in ways, I’m doing what I want and not what I’m told is “the only way it will work.” The similarities make it a very personal project, one that’s close to my heart and one that I know will bring closure to a lot of the past. Regarding the movie, travelling is always difficult. So many people coming together from so many different places, trying to document an ever-changing forecast. There are so many variables that the fact you can be in the right place at the right time with the right people, it’s kind of absurd. And that happened so many times during the last 18 months that it just seems like this is meant to be. MASON HO

SNAPT3 CREW

ISSUE 119

DUSTIN BARCA

BRUCE IRONS

No. 119 / SNAPT3

ASHER PACEY / PHOTO LASERWOLF

JACK ROBINSON

DYLAN GOODALE / PHOTO MIKE TOWNSEND

What have been some of your fondest memories whilst working on this project? There are so many but I’ll mention just three. For the massive XXL swell in 2016 Bruce Irons and I went down to Pasquales to log some footage. The day before we left Bruce was frantic about having extra CO2 cartridges for his vest. I’m pretty sure he hadn’t even worn a vest prior to this and I started tripping out because I had never seen him so concerned. It ended up working out though and we absolutely scored while everyone else was at Puerto. Some of the best waves had to be from El Salvador; we got most of the crew down there at some point. I think I went five or six times in a two-month period. The wave is so fickle that the first few south swells it’s over. It’s one of the best waves I’ve ever seen. The boys on the beach call it The Bayou and it’s highly guarded. Shit gets scary down there; you’re literally in the middle of the ocean with this mind-blowing right hander. The footage doesn’t give it justice, or maybe it does, you decide. And our most recent voyage to Sumbawa will forever be engrained in my mind. Koby was leading the troops and had been exploring the area for over 20 years. He had so much local knowledge it was crazy. Every night he’d take us somewhere new, leading the scooter pack down unpaved trails to hot springs, waterfalls, unsurfed slabs, picturesque coves and even evil-spirited, sacred lands that very few had ever even seen. I’m pretty sure everyone took a digger at some point and I feel lucky that no one got seriously injured.

MASON HO

SIMON, CHUCKY, BRUCE & BETET

Lastly, what is going to be the best way for people to view the movie? The best way to see the movie is at one of the premieres. Right now, the world premiere is going down on Friday, August 4th (in the midst of the US Open) at the OC Observatory. Nearly everyone in the film will be in town and that night is gonna be one for the memory books. You can purchase tickets at all Banzai Bowl locations, the Legendary Frog House in Newport Beach or online at www.observatoryoc.com. VIP tickets are only 50 bucks and you’ll be rubbing shoulders and sipping drinks with nearly everyone in the movie. We’ve also got a premiere scheduled at Key Largo in San Jose, Costa Rica on August 18th and another in Bali on September 9th – location to be determined. Beyond that it won’t be for sale or up on any website for your viewing pleasure; all the boys will have copies and just gotta be somebody to get your hands on this masterpiece. Right on, Chucky. Thanks for taking the time. Back to the editing bay for you and we will see you on August 4th.

ISSUE 119

OZZY HENNING / BACK1TAIL

ALEX SHERMAN / SMOKEYLIFEY

or over a decade in the early 2000s and what are fondly thought of as “the Glory Days” of snowboarding, Scotty Arnold was one of the main faces on the forefront of the snowboard evolution. Scotty represented fresh talent on the scene hailing from the East Coast, and he became recognized during the golden era of MackDawg Productions and Robot Foods, the Grenade OZZY HENNING / FOOTPLANT movies and all the way to the current insta-BOOM and digital disaster that’s going on today. Throughout those years Scotty was in front of the lens stacking video parts and also being featured on the pages of all the major snowboard publications. He was signing contracts with major sponsors and nearly singlehandedly helped turn the ski company Salomon into a well-known and respected snowboard brand. But lately, as the pages have turned to swipes and the 2000s have nearly become the 2020s in the blink of an eye, Scotty has found himself more connected behind the lens rather than in front of it, and his photos are now publicized next to the photographers that were once shooting photos of him. Not only has Scotty helped shape the game of snowboarding, but he has also been shooting really good photos with exciting top talent, and that is why we asked him to send a few of his favorite photos and memories so we could give him his own photo profile.

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P H O T O

P R O F I L E

No. 119 / ARNOLD / @scottyarnold_ WORDS / JON FRANCIS

TED BORLAND / BRIDGELIP

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BODE MERRILL / SWDBLCORK1080

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NEIL PROVO, JEREMY JENSEN / CATHOP

ETHAN MAYERNICK / SWITCHFLIP

LOUIE VITO / CRIPLERECLIPSE

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50TH ANNIVERSARY 6/8/2017

WORDS & PHOTOS / JOEY MARSHALL

Walking into Russell Surfboards in Newport Beach you might have think you’ve just walked into a surf museum. The boards that line the ceiling and racks span the decades and are each beautiful in their own unique way. It was almost exactly fifty years ago in the identical location that Robert “Russell” Brown made that leap of faith and went from garage-shaping to owning an actual surf shop – something that at the time was as far fetched as it was misunderstood. In the late sixties and early seventies the surf culture wasn’t quite as mainstream as it is today. Actually, that’s a huge understatement, surfers were looked at as outcasts, hippies, drug-runners or just plain losers that didn’t want to do anything else with their lives. And being a surfboard shaper in that time meant you had to know how to do it all: shape, glass, airbrush, paint, market, sell and collect. You needed to be a true master of your craft and there were far and few between. Even today it’s rare to find a shaper that does it all himself, start to finish. Anyway, fast-forward fifty years and here we are. And even though Russell has passed to the other side, the shop and the name continue to thrive. And on a balmy Thursday evening, June 8th, multiple generations came together to celebrate the fiftyyear anniversary of Russell Surfboards in Newport Beach. Generations past mingled with today’s youth and good old stories were swapped about all the crazy times that were had in the exact location that Russell Surfboards exists today. As the sun set beers were flowing, the crowd was consuming infamous Bear Flag tacos and if listened close enough whispers of the Brotherhood could be heard from some of the older generation who’ve lasted the decades. Around 8 o’clock Shape Pitaki put on a stellar performance that had everyone feeling groovy and swaying to the upbeat tunes. But I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty sure every single person stayed for the closing raffle, which included a recreated 1967 replica longboard that Russell had shaped over fifty years ago. The original board was on display next to the replica and it was amazing to see the two side-by-side and know that that type of craftsmanship can last the length of time. The lucky winner was none other than Cody Benjamin who made the journey all the way from Tahoe. Needless to say, he was grinning ear-to-ear the entire way home. Big thanks are in order to new shop owner JP Roberts and the rest of the current and past Russell crew for keeping the torch lit and carrying on the tradition that Robert started oh so long ago. I’m sure he was looking down on us all with a smile on his face knowing that there’s still passion and love for the brand he started oh so many years ago.

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left to right: JP Roberts & Callie / Cooper, Bob, Ross & Mikey / George & Matt / Ryo of Reunion Wetsuits / Big winner, Tahoe’s Cody Benjamin / Russell Surfboard’s lineup / Grant, Christian & Ian / Shape Pitaki, jammin’ / Ryan & Tab

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COLLECTION LAUNCH 6PARTY / 14 / 2017

PHOTOS / GETTY IMAGES

With the ongoing mainstream interest in the surf industry it seems like more and more high-profile models, celebrities and actor/actresses are aligning themselves with industry brands for collaborations, limited-edition releases and/or ambassadortype programs. It was a little over a year ago that Volcom Women’s announced the addition of celebrity/model Georgia May Jagger (yes, that is Mick Jagger’s daughter) to their ambassador program. But it was on the evening of June 14th, at START Los Angeles, where thousands came together to celebrate the release of the 15-piece collection. It truly was a celebration of women, as LA’s female duo Deap Vally gave a rockin’ performance, a live art battle ensued between Natasha Lillipore and Jillian Evelyn, and DJ sets were traded on and off by Georgia’s best friend DJ Alexandra Richards and Georgia’s boyfriend DJ Josh Ludlow (ok, he’s not girl but he is her boyfriend so we’ll make an exception). The space was at max capacity the entire night, as every corner of the lot was utilized to entertain, including custom screen printing on GMJ Raglan tees, mobile photos booths and an on-site pop-up shop allowing guests to shop the collection right then and there. The Pizza Nista crew kept everyone fed, and like every Volcom event I’ve ever attended, the free booze lasted the entire time. The highlight of the night had to be Georgia’s appearance at the party, arriving in a vintage Porsche Speedster escorted by six bikers on Harleys. The noise alone got everyone’s attention, as she gracefully pulled up in the classic car and hopped out to the crowd cheering as hundreds of phones were pointed at her. I’m pretty sure there wasn’t one person in attendance who didn’t have a good time, and we can’t wait to see what’s next to come for Volcom Women’s.

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left to right: Georgia May Jagger Stoned / Deap Vally / Party Peeps / Live art battle girls Natasha Lillipore & Jillian Evelyn / DJ Josh Ludlow / Alexandra Richards & Georgia May Jagger / DJ Alexandra Richards / Maud Le Car, GMJ & Coco Ho

M OVIE PREMIER AT PORT THEATER 6/15/2017

PHOTOS / JASON NAUDE & PAT NOLAN

“What is the legend of the enchanted Pedro’s Bay? A secret whispered from one to the next. Somewhere on an island far, far away is a parallel life on a forgotten beach – with emerald waves and mushroom forests. Where toucans talk and trees grow full of fruit. Where wine trickles off rocks and mermaid lagoons meet black jungles. The sun shines here everyday. What is the power behind this strange book? Where is Pedro’s Bay? Can this magical Earth potion possibly exist? Join one brave traveler as he sets out on an extraordinary journey to discover the holy grail of paradise.” Thursday, June 15th, the hordes descended on the Port Theatre in Newport Beach to become one with Vissla’s latest film Pedro’s Bay. The allure of a perfect surf destination, with a picturesque backdrop and only you and your buddies in the lineup is the epitome of every surfer’s wet dream. And this was it, with a star-studded cast including Bryce Young, Derrick Disney, Brendon Gibbens, Eric Geiselman, Cam Richards and Gunner Day, there was something for everyone. Whether you like highperformance surfing, laidback fluidness or style for days, Pedro’s Bay has it all, and it pieces together in a way to keep you longing for more the entire time. Nearly the entire cast was on hand for the premiere, and immediately after the screening was an all-time rock fest from Cat Signs. It was a stellar time and the movie is worth its weight in surf gold. If you missed out on 50+ premiers they held worldwide in the month of June, don’t fret, you can still catch it on vissla.com and surfline.com today.

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left to right: The Port Theatre / Cam Richards, Corban Campbell & Eddie Obrand / Packed house / Bobby Lockhart / Nina Gustis & Frances Naude / Groms / Colin De La Pena, Frankie D’Andrea & Vince De La Pena / Gunner Day, Derrick Disney, Steve Neiley, Cam Richards, Brian Elliott, Corban Campbell & Edgar Obrand / Always one Thrasher girl at the party / Cat Signs

MOVIE PREMIER AT RVCA 6/15/2017

WORDS / BONES

PHOTOS / DELON ISAACS

Summertime in Orange County is synonymous with south swells, walled beach breaks, the US Open of Surfing and more than a handful of parties with multiple movies premieres thrown in for fun. It’s kind of the industry’s way to show off who’s been getting what waves over the last 12 months since the previous summer… which brought us to RVCA’s first summer movie premiere featuring Jay Davies. Jay was literally born under a rock, I mean West Oz, which is known for remoteness, good wine, sharks, one hot chick, and probably the most wave-rich stretch of coast in the entire world. Over the past 16 months Jay has spent time at home scoring all of his favorite local spots, from The Box and North Point to Taj’s personal wave pool (Rabbits) in front his house and up north to Ry Craike’s land of lefts. When it was all said and done Jay left us with some 20 minutes of absolutely insane surfing: from giant punts, even bigger barrels, some serious man-hacks and a couple of face plants with a sick soundtrack to boot. I’m pretty sure this will win edit of the year. So after the entire marketing team and Jay drove around the whole East Coast premiering the movie they ended up back at the RVCA headquarters for one last banger, and a banger it was. Filled to the max, people loaded up on free tacos and beers before getting their minds blown by how good waves can actually get if you step outside of Orange County. After the movie ended the party kept going with a few sets from Distractor, who kept the vibes alive well into the night. Congrats to Jay and his team for the mind-blowing edit, and if you weren’t there to see it at one of the premieres go check it out on our website.

left to right: Mike Brophy with man of the hour Jay Davies / max capacity at RVCA HQ / Evan Mock & Mark Oblow / Distractor / Balance of opposites / RIP Glen Spaceman / All eyes glued to NATIVE. / Austin & RVCA crew

ISSUE 119

LE No. 119 / MUSIC INTERVIEW

Interview / Manny Pacquiao No Photo Credit

INTER // VIEW

We’re getting to know Le Yikes Surf Club, who just released a cassette compilation of their first five years of recordings on Grizzly Records. The band is poised to embark on another US tour that includes four California dates in August. They have been back in the studio preparing their second full-length. Let’s see what makes these jawns tick. Surf rock from Philly, what gives? We surf in the Schuylkill River! Truth is, we’re all sidewalk surfers more than we can really surf around these parts. But we do try sometimes in the summer time, if you can call them beaches out here! We try to jump in as many bodies of water while on the road though. Who does LYSC consist of and how the hell did you come up with that name? Gary V. on guitar and vocals. Vinny, A.K.A. “Mike Jetski,” on bass and vocals. Chris Stick on guitar and Teddy Q. on the drums. The name has kind of evolved from Gary always saying “Yikes” and became the name for the first demos and recordings in the early days with a YIKES logo. Since there have already been a few “real” bands called “Yikes” we needed something a little different. Once we started playing full band, it was kind of like our bowling league. We would pick up a six-pack after work and skate over to practice. So it initially had that “club” vibe from being some of the only punk guys playing this new Latin/surfy kind of stuff with our own spin. Still think it’s a silly name, but it manages to grab folk’s attention somehow! Personally, I see you guys greasing up and squeezing somewhere between “Man… or Astro-Man” and “The Marked Men,” but how would you describe LYSC to the wonderful BL!SSS readers? We def dig both those bands for sure! We were all born in the ‘80s, so we really got to grow up with the second wave of punk and skateboarding when we were all still in school. Gary, Chris and Ted all went to high school together, while Vinny grew up in the Poconos Mountains, so when we started jamming we started to combine our Neo-Surf/Latin vibe with the energy of the old school bands we grew up with like “The Clash” and “Dead Kennedys.” So with our powers combined, you get like a green-haired, mullet-guy in spandex, A.K.A. LYSC. It seems you guys rarely play, but when you do it’s with someone epic (Dead Kennedys, The Living End, The Swami John Reis, a tour with Tijuana Panthers, etc.). What’s the hookup? As you may hear Gary say often, “It’s COSMIC maaan...!” The Kennedys actually took Gary’s old band, “Dirty Tactics,” on tour back in the day. They spent a lot of time on the road with DT, as well as filling in/working for other touring bands, so LYSC gets asked to do some pretty rad gigs now that we have been playing live more often. And it’s been awesome getting to share the stage with some of our biggest influences. Still a strange feeling when someone like “SWAMI” or “East Bay Ray” walks up to you and says they really like your band. It makes what we do seem worthwhile! We would not be here without them, period. It looks like you’re getting out of the Philly humidity for the summer to play some shows across the US, so what can we expect? Any specific shows or cities you’re looking forward to? Well, last year LYSC flew out for some shows out west, we played up and down the coast and even a sold out show in LA with “The Living End,” which was such an awesome time for us, yet again, getting to share the stage with a band we grew up listening to. Our label, Grizzly Records, is based in LA/San Diego and have been helping us since the beginning. So this year we are doing like 20+ shows, including a bunch in California. We would love to make that more of a regular thing for sure! What’s the best drink someone can buy you while you’re playing? (*hint, hint) Four Loko and Hpnotiq – mix them together it’s an “Incredible Hulk.” What’s the most anyone has fucked up/gotten fucked up on a tour? Gary had to puke out of the van while on the highway while on tour with “Tijuana Panthers.” That’s never fun and stomach acid tends to eat the paint off the van, FYI. All right, some Philly questions: North, South, or West? We are all South Philly based, so we like to watch Rocky and eat cheesesteaks with Tony Danza like erryday. But Vinny recently moved in with his girlfriend on the North side… got tired of that Danza life. Whiz? Wit or wit-out? Vinny is Vegan, so like wit-out probably? His bass-lines are fat enough, ya feel me? Gary likes to order/speak Spanglish sometimes, so the famous cheesesteak places probably won’t serve him. Pretty sure Teddy and Stick would eat a cheesesteak wit or wit-out us tho! How often do you hit up FDR? Gary and Chris still skate every couple days. FDR gets packed on the weekends, so usually during the week we are at Grays Ferry or FDR, which are the closest to us. We skate mostly concrete parks, so it’s pretty rad having them right down the street from us. There are not many on the East Coast. We meet folks from all over skating those parks and FDR always has so many locals helping out, extending/maintaining the park. It’s a good feeling. Closest surf break? We went surfing last year in Long Beach Island (NYC) but you can catch little spots around Asbury Park (NJ). Philly is closer to Atlantic City, but the water is full of trash. Most surfing on the East Coast is better in the cold weather, chasing waves in the winter while y’all probably get way better waves on the daily! How do you pronounce Schuylkill? Skoo-Kill. Another word for Jungle Juice: Schuykill Punch. Yuengling or Lions Head? Since the new regime change, folks have boycotted Yuengling a lot around PA. Lions Head is still cheap, but usually go with Kenzinger nowadays. For those who have never ventured east of the Mississippi, explain “jawn.” Jawn is a word to describe anything. Not sure if its made it to the West Coast, but make sure you give us credit for that, jawn. Alright, back to business. What is the next release going to look like and when can we expect it? We have been taking our time working on some demos. Gary and Vinny have been back in the studio, getting some of the tracks down and working out parts. Some of the new stuff is reminding us of the early tracks, but a lot more production/vocals behind them. We want to put the same energy into the new stuff as when we first started. I think that’s what caught a lot of folk’s attention, our first EP. Your sound has definitely evolved since your first recordings. Can we expect to hear anything new/different on the next one? Yeah, for a while when we first started it was more of a recording project. When we started playing live, we started going more into live tracking and more of a free-form setup. We wanted to expand on our live sound a bit, so that’s where a lot of the more tropical/Spanish type of vibes started mixing in with the full band sound. Gary’s folks are from Ecuador, so growing up with that kind of music, it naturally started taking more of that influence. So we are trying to kind of harness all that stuff and make it into a new record that we can all enjoy playing and listening to. Anything else you’d like to share? Thanks for showing us love! If you are ever in Philly come visit LYSC headquarters, A.K.A. PHARMACY coffee/gallery/music. It’s a coffee shop, DIY art and music space, where we host hundreds of events for artists and musicians. It is also the home of our studio/rehearsal space where bands like “Sheer Mag” spent time honing in their sound. Many of the takes on “1st Five Years: (2012-2017)” LP were recorded there and The Headroom with Joe Reinhart (Algernon Cadwallader/Hop Along) and has been Gary’s labor of love for the past five plus years. “Feel the Breeze” at www.pointbreeze.net.

TOUR DATES: AUG 08/03: 08/04: 08/05: 08/07: 08/08: 08/09: 08/10: 08/11: 08/12: 84

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2017 PITTSBURGH, PA @ GOOSKI’S CLEVELAND, OH @ HAPPY DOG CHICAGO, IL @ TBA (MPSHOWS) FORT COLLINS, CO @ SURF SIDE 7 ALBUQUERQUE, NM @ FLY HONEY TEMPE, AZ @ TIMEOUT LOUNGE SAN DIEGO, CA @ ‘TIL - 2 LONG BEACH, CA LOS ANGELES, CA

08/13: 08/14: 08/15: 08/16: 08/18: 08/19: 08/20: 08/21: 08/22: 10/27:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA @ IVY LOUNGE PORTLAND, OR SEATTLE, WA @ VICTORY LOUNGE SPOKANE, WA @ THE PIT BOISE, ID @ FERAL HOUSE PROVO, UT @ CITY LIMITS DENVER, CO ST LOUIS @ SINKHOLE COLUMBUS, OH GAINESVILLE, FL @ THE FEST

RE VIEW S

VIEW S

No. 119 / MUSIC REVIEWS

RYAN ADAMS & THE UNKNOWN BAND

PHOTO AND REVIEW BY MAX RITTER

The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, CA / Saturday June 3rd, 2017

The Greek let’s you take an entire bottle of wine back to your seat. I’ll be honest, after I drank it around the middle of the set and Ryan started into his solo acoustic shtick, I closed my eyes and started to think I’d died and gone to heaven for a brief moment. Somehow this maze of a universe made sense to me for about three minutes. Is this what Kermit felt like when he first met Miss Piggy? Is this what Kirk Gibson felt like when he hit that home run in 1988 World Series with a broken leg? The song was “Ashes and Fire.” It’s the little victories in life, people, soak them up. If people call you a pussy, then hey, whatever.

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REVIEWS BY MAX RITTER

REVIEWS BY ROB MOLT

Evan Dando / Baby I’m Bored (Deluxe) / Fire Records

Radiohead / OK Computer / OKNOTOK 1997-2017 / Capitol Records

Evan Dando is most notably known for his work with The Lemonheads in the nineties. He quietly released this under-appreciated solo album in 2003, which was seven years after The Lemonheads last release. He had been struggling with addiction problems for years and he told the media he had spent the time away from music, “…doing monitors for Enya.” Classic. This year Fire Records re-released Baby I’m Bored as a two-disc deluxe version with some outtakes, covers and b-sides.

Unfortunately if you don’t like Radiohead, I don’t have enough room here to fix you. For super-fans, I’m just wasting your time. For everyone else, 20 years ago one of the most forward-thinking, meticulously crafted and complex rock records of all time was released. Now, OK Computer is getting the remaster/reissue treatment with a whole second disc of previously shelved, new material. All the b-sides are there plus gems like, “I Promise,” “Man of War” and “Lift.” Some of these lived in bootlegs, but now, like everything Radiohead, it’s done proper. Non-fans can email me (rob@sk8ology.com) and I’ll sort you out.

Queens Of The Stone Age / The Way You Used To Do /Matador

L.A. Witch / Self-Titled / Suicide Squeeze Records

Queens Of The Stone Age always seem to come up with some pretty interesting layering of riffs and this new single is no slouch. Their new album Villains arrives in late August and was produced by Mark Ronson. There is a promo video for the new album where the band is hooked up to a polygraph machine, which I thought was clever.

You’ve been pushing this motorcycle for a mile when you finally get it to a Mojave roadhouse. Looking for a beer and some gasoline you see three women pull up in a van. Not sure if they are going to offer help or kidnap you for a ritual offering, it’s obvious L.A. Witch has special powers. Their mix of ‘60s girl band, outlaw drawl vocals and reverb-filled, dark-desert garage rock is intoxicating and works magic. Now in the van, you are headed into the dust, for what will be a ceremony. Three days later local law enforcement is asking around about a missing man, last seen pushing a motorcycle.

ZZ Top / Tres Hombres / Warner

Omar Souleyman / To Syria, with Love / Mad Decent

These dudes are bad hombres. ZZ Top’s re-issued Southern Blues mastery-of-riffage is a staple for the collection. Fun fact about the album: The two tracks “Waitin’ for the Bus” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago” segue into each other, but not by design. The album’s engineer was splicing tape and cut too much, so a song in 4/4 time and one in 6/8 time ended up on the album without any gap between them – a happy accident.

Among the international music scene Omar Souleyman is just the coolest. The former farmer/wedding singer with the classic chain-smoking Arab appearance is now respected worldwide for his dance-beat driven, crazy-keyboard-filled music. Dabke is Arab folk dance music, and no one does it better than our man Omar. He has progressed it to something that has festivalgoers all over collectively losing their minds. And while the lyrics are in Arabic, the musician, who now lives in Turkey, released his latest album “To Syria, with Love” to deal with his own exile and the refugee crisis of his beloved country. It’s powerful stuff from an international rock star. Thanks, Omar.

Courtney Barnett / How To Boil and Egg / Mom + Pop

Dale Crover / The Fickle Finger Of Fate / Joyful Noise

Barnett is one of my favorite songwriters to emerge recently. This song was recently included on a seven-inch, split single series (curated by Barnett) documenting Australian independent bands. She has also been collaborating with Kurt Vile on some sort of artist compilation record. It’s gonna be interesting to see what they cook up. Watch out for those sharks. ☹

Years ago I spilled part of my cocktail on Dale Crover. I was rushing to him at a gig spitting vodka yelling, “Thanks for coming to San Diego, Dale!” He just calmly wiped off his shirt and responded, “Of course, what, you didn’t think we were gonna come?” “Uh no, I mean… uhhh.” Crover co-founded the artsludge band the Melvins in 1984 and is a straight-up drumming legend. Now he is releasing his first solo full-length in over 30 years, and it’s not a heavy metal drum record. He uses the entire studio and all its instruments to make a melodic-pop record, inspired by the Beatles and Neil Young. So cool… I’m ordering the white vinyl because I’m that guy and Dale is my favorite.

JABE SWIERKOCKI @jabe_swierkocki Age: 14

Hometown: Ventura, CA

Sponsors: Vissla Dâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Blanc Channel Islands Surfboards Prolite Sex Wax Sun Bum

Favorite Surfer: Julian Wilson

Photo: courtesy of Vissla

Swierkocki / 119

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LOGAN TAYLOR FARMER @loganskatefarmer Age: 12

Sponsors: SkaterBuilt CoolBeans Skateshop Tracker trucks Bones LifeLike Grip Tape

Hometown: Oceanside, CA

Favorite Skater: Bob Burnquist

farmer / 119 Photo: Jason Kenworthy

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Dion Agius 12:53pm Encinitas, CA.

S p i n n i n g o ut with the n e w ‘ R o s a ’ graphics

W W W .S U P E R B R AN D E D . C O M

@SUPER_BRAND