a skateboard culture quarterly
11.3 Autumn 2013
Sitka in the Yukon / Krooked Kanada
Mike Carroll / John Cardiel / Austyn Gillette
Riley Hawk
Trunkboyz / Nolan Waller
Jamcouver / White Mandingos
FALL 13 FALL 13
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M I K E C A R R O L L A N D N I C K T E R S H AY F O R
THE DIAMOND TELFORD A L A K A I E C H E L O N X D I A M O N D C O L L A B O R AT I O N M O R E I N F O AT L A K A I . C O M LAKAISTICKERS@SUPRADISTRIBUTION.COM / SUPRADISTRIBUTION.COM
FRONT LIPSLIDE / PHOTO:CHAMI
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DCSHOES.COM
BOARDSLIDE | BLABAC PHOTO
vol.11, no.3
photo by gordon nicholas
Cover: Riley Hawk, feeble grind | rhoades photo
Intro
If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing? This question seems to worm its way into all my interviews and I think it’s starting to give the impression that I care more about someone’s plan ‘B’ than their career in skateboarding. Maybe it’s because the world is moving too fast, or the economy is moving too slow, or because the human body is still too fragile, but I say: let’s cut to the chase and hear about what else you’re into, ‘cause you and I both know this can’t last forever. Truth is, I don’t believe that a skateboard magazine should read like scripted reality, where everyone’s happy and rich and gets to skate every single day. Sure it’s fun to close our eyes and imagine being in Panama on a skate adventure and getting mugged by the police, or living poolside in California cooking up our next video parts, but that’s just not reality for most of us. A lot of young skaters I know face peer pressure and anxiety, and most adult skaters I know are plenty aware that their skateboarding career is likely quite temporary.
But it’s amazing what happens when you open up a conversation with a question like that. A lot of skaters are stoked to let their photos speak for themselves and are happy to spend our time together talking about their other talents and things they’re into like: welding, or building furniture, or beekeeping. On the occasion when someone does have all their eggs in the skateboard basket and my question causes those beads of sweat to break out, I try to remind them that some of the world’s best ideas in art and music were born from uncertainty and for most people, the ability to adapt to change is the ultimate test of one’s mettle. Most of the time, nobody’s going to pay you to do what you love, that’s why it’s called work, but almost every skater I’ve met is willing to make sacrifices and do what it takes to keep doing what they love. And hey, it’s okay if skateboarding is all you know, because if it’s not going to pay the bills on your desk, it might as well pay the bills in your heart. Dan Post / managing editor
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photo by jane doe
words by john doe
back
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FA C EB O O K .C O M / M AT I XC L O T H I N G
kevin lowry
photo by daniel wagner
backside ollie, Republic of Cyprus
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volume 11
number 3
Contents 008 __ Intro 012 __ CONTRIBUTORS 024 __ ANTHRAX 094 __ CREDITS
Ar t 032 __ SHOW 034 __ RESIDENCY 036 __ Page 36 086 __ INSPIRATION BOUND
F ash i on 028 __ product toss 046 __ FEATURE
MU SI C 044 __ white mandingos 051 __ DIANA 052 __ TROPIC OF CANCER 088 __ sound cheque
Film 082 __ STREET DEMON 087 __ trailer
Li fe 026 __ next/best 050 __ RED FLAGGED 090 __ LAST NITE 092 __ TATTERED TEN
Sk ate 014 __ FOTOFEATURE 020 __ krooked kanada 037 __ roadkill 038 __ shazam 054 __ SITKA YUKON 064 __ jamcouver 072 __ riley hawk
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volume 11
autumn 2013
number 3
Contributors and other hyperbole
SARAH FULLER Sarah Fuller is a Winnipeg-born photographer who lives in Banff, Alberta and recently participated in an arts residency in the Yukon (page 34). Her experience in Dawson City was filled with timeless days bathed in neverending golden light and her interest grew from an amalgamation of Dawson City’s future and current day mingled with the romanticism of the city’s past. For Sarah, Dawson represents a magical space where one enters the late night and early dawn, drunk on ceaseless illumination. sarahfullerphotography.ca
DAVE EHRENREICH This guy can do it all: he rips on a skateboard, kills it behind the camera, can write a killer story and is the only man I’ve seen who can still charm people despite currently missing a front tooth. For this issue, Dave traveled to the Yukon with his video camera to document a skateboard journey, then he got us the goods on the Street Demon crew, adding a rare filmer’s critique of the new crew video (page 84). YouTube.com/strangelanding
ELIAS PARISE Elias is a New England transplant shooting photos under the weathered skies of Portland, Oregon. He balances his time between team photographer and videographer for Shrunken Head Skateboards and Power Rider Wheels by OJ, but we figured that since he’s just finishing up his last semester at the Pacific Northwest College of Art, and could use a little boost to his portfolio before hitting the harsh reality that is life after school, we sent him out to shoot DIANA when they came to town for a show (page 51).
JT RHOADES JT has faint childhood memories of cruising alleys full of trash cans and vehicles, looking for dead animals to light on fire with his older brothers. After he slammed his skull on the pavement one day while skating, he decided to buy a camera and hasn’t stopped the urge to document life ever since. JT spends a lot of time with Riley Hawk (page 74) in the pool house at Hawk Manor, dreaming up cool places to skate.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed here are not neccessarily shared by fourcorner publishing inc. or Color Magazine, but by the author credited. Color Magazine reserves the right to make mistakes and will do so on a bi-monthly cycle without liability. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form [print or electronic] without permission from the publisher. The publisher of Color Magazine is not responsible for errors or omissions printed and retains the right to edit all copy. The opinions expressed in the content of this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. Color Magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising matter which may reflect negatively on the integrity of the magazine. Color welcomes submissions for photo and editorial content, but is not responsible for unsolicited material or liable for any lost and/or damaged material. Please provide a return envelope with postage with your submissions or email submissions@colormagazine.ca for more information. Color Magazine is published by fourcorner publishing inc., printed six times yearly and distributed direct to retailers throughout Canada and to newstands by Disticor Distribution. Subscriptions can may be ordered individually or in bulk by retailers for resale. Subscribe: 4 issues for $24.99 in Canada, $39.99 CND in the United States, $59.99 CND for all other countries. Contact us at 604 873 6699, subscribe@colormagazine.ca with any subscription inquiries or visit us online. Printed in Canada
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Louie Lopez
hurricane
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photo by gordon nicholas
Joey Larock
backside smith
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photo by gordon nicholas
Charles Deschamps
backside blunt
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photo by james morley
Andrew Wenckstern
backside flip
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photo by sam fidlin
Dan Belanger
50/50
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photo by andrew szeto
Geoff Strelow
backside tailslide
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photo by steve marentette
For coming straight off of a trip to N.Y.C. and now staring down the barrel of yet another month on the road, Krooked’s newest pro Brad Cromer exhibited the patience of a saint. Even on Canada’s booziest weekend of 2013, he kept to himself with self-serve milkshakes and managed to get this bar jam 50-50. He also broke the hippie jump world record with an injured foot… at a demo. (opposite)
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Dan Drehobl was the unofficial deejay in the smoking van and his “Yelping” never failed to get the crew to decent java and Smoke’s Poutine. Having been to Canada before, Dan knew exactly how to handle the shitty terrain with this fs noseblunt caveman into the bank. (above)
photos by jeff comber
Born Krooked a cause for celebration
On July 1, 1867, Canada became a country. On June 28th, 2013, four men arrived at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. Krooked Skateboards finest (Dan Drehobl, Brad Cromer, Auby Taylor and TM Bram De Martelaere) joined some of Supra Distribution’s finest (Nolan Waller, Alexis Lacroix, Seb Labbé, Nick Moore and Patrick O’Rourke) on a three-and-a-half-day quest to give our nation’s capital the birthday gift of a good old-fashioned skateboard demo.
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(above) Seb Labbé makes his wish to not take a slam, then blows out Canada’s birthday candles with this boneless over the rail. Texas is the reason for Auby Taylor. Hate it or love it, Auby didn’t really stop talking for the entire trip and in lieu of packing sufficient socks, he reserved the space for Archie comics. Apparently there are a lot of sick handrails in Belleville, Ontario, so if you’re looking for Mr. Taylor, he may or may not currently reside there. fs feeble. After five hours in the van, an invitation to skate Richard Sarrazin’s backyard pool was welcomed by the crew. Alexis Lacroix blasts this fs feeble in the deep end, while the rest of the guys watch on and and enjoy BBQ courtesy of Mrs. Sarrazin.
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vol. 11, no. 3
Anthrax Print Arresting Lurk photo courtesy shayd johnson
GOD’S ROCK BAND
You probably wouldn’t expect a 6’4” ex-marine and former stuntman to end up leading an influential commune as well as starting a vegetarian restaurant that would help kickstart the health food industry, but that’s what makes the Source Family and its leader, Jim Baker (aka Father Yod), so compelling. Using rarely seen archival footage and interviews with ex-sister wives and commune members, this fascinating doc takes us on a trip that follows Yod as he reverses his former aggressive life into one of free love and dedication to the Earth. Most interesting is the focus on his legendary psych-rock band, YaHoWah 13, that Yod helped guide through improvisatory performances as well as financing ten records before his untimely hang gliding death in 1975. —MR thesourcedoc.com
BEAUFORT’S BRIM
LURKING BELOW THE BELT Russ “LURK” Morland makes good on his webiste’s promise to “get under your skin and into your pants like a stud horse rollin’ on molly,” by collaborating with action sports underwear company MyPakage on a new artist series of signature drawers. LURK’s work has always reminded me a bit of Where the Wild Things Are, which is especially fitting here, considering where his characters are showing up now: next to your wild thing. mypakage.com lurkart.com
When Lucas Beaufort started sending us back the issues of Color we were mailing him, our first reaction was: ‘Jeez, you could’ve just called to cancel and save us all a bunch of hassle.’ Then we realized that he was sharing his art with us—colourful little characters that he was doodling onto our cover photos. We’re stoked to see that some of Lucas’ characters have now made their way onto a collab cap with lifestyle outfitters ELM. Keep those covers comin’ too Lucas! elmcompany.com
GUMBOLTS Here’s something you never hear: “I just got paid! I can’t wait to go down to the shop and grab a new package of hardware!” But really, they are essential little guys and maybe we just need a reason to be more excited about them. Antisocial skateshop in Vancouver figured out a way to get you stoked. They stuck a bunch of packs of Aunts and Uncles bolts in a gumball machine, to take advantage of your immaturity. Who knows, maybe you will get that little army man with a parachute you were looking for. antisocialshop.com
SKULLCRUSHERS Oh you think your headphones are pretty good eh? And you’re getting the full experience of your beats eh? Do me favour: grab that Earl Sweatshirt album over there… no, not that one… ya, that one. Kay, now pop it in… good, good… now hit play. Pretty grimy, eh? Kay, now plug in these Skullcandy Crusher headphones and flip that switch on the side of them. Oh, what’s that you say? Your face is melting and your cheeks are rippling like a fat kid just did a cannonball in your ear canal? Welcome to the next level of headphones. skullcandy.com #bassyoucanfeel
autumn 2013
SHINE ON, YOU CRAZY DIAMOND Cut, clarity and colour are as important to shoes as they are for sparkly rocks. The new Lakai x DMND Griffin collabo model hits stores this fall and comes all polished up with a lightly padded tongue and collar cut, clear DMND logo label and more of that signature mint coloured herringbone tread. The collaboration then gets down on one knee and promises to be yours forever with two collectable DMND x Lakai logo tees, a hoody and two beanies. He said Yes! lakai.com diamondsupplyco.com
Is that a VX in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Not quite, but the Hitcase does turn your iPhone into a fisheye camera that you can hold low and close, without worrying about busting up your shit. It’s shockproof (Leap of Faith), waterproof (drainage ditches), and mounts onto handles, handlebars and helmets (Mega Ramp). Show us what you can do with Instagram’s 15sec. videos and you could win 1 of 10 Hitcases we’re giving away. Let the #hitcasesessions begin. @hitcase @colormagazine
BLUE BOMBERS Okay, so Morgan didn’t go backto-back at The Berrics like the Jays did in the ’93 and ‘94 World Series, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t earned the right to bear the bird on a new pair of pro trucks from Venture. After all, Morgan’s been killing it for Canada in a time when all of our sports teams are blowing it, plus he’s continued to hold it down in Toronto when all the other snowbirds are either heading West or South. Good thing he didn’t choose a Leafs logo, or else the bushings would totally fall apart, the kingpins would need constant replacing and you’d never have any hardware to show for it. Venturetrucks.net
CALIDEN x FLATSPOT
HIT PARADE
DOUBLE THE EVIDENCE YouTube and Vimeo are kinda like the ATL Twins: one’s slighter better looking, but the other is slightly more intelligent. They sleep in the same bed, with the same people, and they’ve both seen more crazy shit than you could possibly imagine. Check out the real ATL Twins, Sydney and Thurman, in two new video edits of them getting tattooed and talking shit. The clips are nearly identical, but if you look really closely, you’ll notice one of them contains about three minutes of new skate footy from the boyz. youtube.com/colormagazine vimeo.com/ColorTV
Have you ever felt the urge to make out with a painting? Sure, the Mona Lisa has one of those quirky little smiles that makes you think, “I bet she’s a freak in the bed,” but really, she’s kinda old looking and you’d never get behind the Louvre’s six inches of glass anyway. But Jay “Caliden” Robinson’s female forms, well now that’s a whole different story. Put your lips, or your feet, on one of these artist collabos he did with his hometown shop in The Hammer. flatspot.ca calidenart.com
JAMCOUVER TOTES and TEES
#COLORBOARDWALL Matt French was nice enough to stop by recently and paint us a sick mural, then here we go covering it with signed skateboards and artwork. Time to start giving ‘em away! So far, we’ve mailed out a signed Jake Donnelly REAL board, an Art Dump ‘20 Years of Girl’ print, and a signed Mike Mo. Finally, now we can see Matt’s work. Follow us on Instagram to see what’s next. @colormagazine
I heard the grocery store is the #1 place to pick up. That’s why you gotta choose your lane’s wisely, because yes, it might seem like it makes sense to line up behind the hottie, but just wait until she sees you emptying out your basket full of Zoodles. Feel good about sporting one of these Andrew Pommier designed Jamcouver totes and tees available on our site, ‘cause all proceeds are going towards a great non-profit that you can totally boast about when she asks what it means. jamcouver.com colormagazine.ca
life
autumn 2013
photo by jay delaney
Next Best Mike Carroll
With a long career that precedes hashtags, and has produced just as many ‘firsts’ as hair colours, this Girl guru has more than a few insights to share.
Prank
Ask Rick (top secret) / dumping a bucket of ice on Keenan in Toronto
Skit
Plead the fifth / Rick skating through the forest
Fireworks Display
Elijah Berle, KOTR 2013 / Roman candle fight outside Grant Taylor’s house
Skate Spot
Hair Colour Grey / Blue
Purchase
Haircut / Girl, Chocolate
EMB Moment
Nothing / Every single one of them
Girl
Next 20 years / My lady
Outside my house / mini-ramp with a spine and extension
Nickname
Rave
Pro
Day of the Dead, L.A. / Dust 1991
Furrycalamari / Bubbles
Miles Silvas / Eric Koston
Song
“Snitches is for Bitches” (Remix 2014) / “Snitches is for Bitches” (Earthquake Mix)
Hobby
Being a beekeeper / Skateboarding
Trick
Loop shuv-it / Backside air
Board Graphic
FTC x The Stick collabo / Julian Stranger SMA Syringe
Milestone
Marriage / Finding a skateboard
SKULLCANDY.COM/CRUSHER | @SKULLCANDY
SLSKEAY BECA TE DY N A THEOTIS LL U #SK
fashion
vol. 11, no. 3
Product Toss the ones
CHOCOLATE fernandez deck, QUIET LIFE woven, STUSSY x UNDEFEATED hat, FOURSTAR x GLASSY sun haters, KROOKED krusherz wheels, POINTER Anderson belt, ROYAL raw gold low trucks, MATIX gripper cargo pants, HABITAT garcia shoe, DVS rico ct shoe
autumn 2013
Photo by: Mike Pepperdine
Brett Stobbart Sheldon Meleshinski Colin Nogue Zach Barton {Chris Haslam} Dane Pryds Jess Atmore Fabian Merino sitka.ca/haslam
fashion
vol. 11, no. 3
Product Toss the onlys
DC stash pocket tees, PALACE regal eagle deck, VANS authentic shoes, NIXON time teller watch, SPITFIRE formula four wheels, FOURSTAR umbrella, LAKAI howard desert boot, MUTTONHEAD navy mix toque, VENTURE t5 pudwill trucks
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autumn 2013
WIDE ANGLE WEARABLE SPORTS CASE FOR iPhone
Color Magazine’s Sandro Grison films Kevin MacDonald (frontside noseslide) with his iPhone 5. Photo: Joel Dufresne
GOPRO
Compatible Compatilbe Mounts
3X WIDE ANGLE HD
Beautiful Video and Photos
INTENSE PROTECTION Easy in/Easy Out
The best action cam is the one you’ve already got. #HITCASE SESSIONS iPhone 4/4S/5/5S
CUSTOMIZE
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art
words by jenn jackson
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photos by steve farmer
images courtesy of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
autumn 2013
art
The Sobey Art Awards Show The Sobey Art Award is arguably Canada’s most significant and comprehensive contemporary art award, with a cash prize of $50,000 for the winner. Presented annually, the award features a firsthand survey of the best new Canadian art. With a long list of twenty-five and a short list of five, the recipient listing presents the leading artists across five national regions: West Coast and the Yukon, the Prairies and the North, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic.
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia September 14, 2013 - January 5, 2014
top: Tamara Henderson Sackville, NB 1982 Portland Estates (Sloopy) Chair 2013 textile, dye, foam, wood, sand, pigments, plaster dimensions variable hypnotherapist credit: dr. roger gumbrill
Tamara Henderson Sackville, NB 1982 Pineapple Interiors 2013 blown drinking vessels edition 12, (6 of 12 shown) glassblowing credit: cailey buye and sonja labrie
left: Duane Linklater Moose Cree First Nation 1976 Tautology 2011-2013 classic gold (yellow), clear red, horizon blue, snow white, E-10 (green) neon, aluminum, enamel, transformer 152.4 x 152.4 cm, edition of five
Tamara Henderson Sackville, NB 1982 Accent Grave on Ananas 2013 16mm color film w optical sound 2:44 min, sound credit: dan riley
right: Mark Clintberg Edmonton, Alberta 1978 Hair 2013 16 panels at 50.6 x 66 cm 7 panels at 50.6 x 61 cm each
The nomination process begins early in the year with five curators (one from each region) coming together to explore the countries cultural landscape. This year, the curatorial panel is composed of individuals under the age of 40, a qualification also required for award nomination. Over the course of 10 months, the elected panel extends the conversation of contemporary Canadian art to their colleagues near and far and these discussions stimulate wide-ranging debate with priority given to emerging practices. Hundreds of nominations come forward and through extensive consideration the list summarizes to those artists who will be showcased in an exhibition hosted by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax. The 2013 Sobey artist shortlist is a critical and insightful reading of ideas and conditions that are of the current cultural moment. Artists presenting in this year’s exhibition are: Isabelle Pauwels (West Coast and Yukon), Mark Clintberg (the Prairies and the North), Duane Linklater (Ontario), Pascal Grandmaison (Quebec) and Tamara Henderson (the Atlantic region). The choice of artists demonstrates divergent artistic and intellectual trajectories. Through this collective exhibition, the artists converge to position a spectrum of variable lineages. The 2013 exhibition has been described as a defining movement of investment in the public realm, collaboration, imaginative concepts and the tangible everyday. As a platform for experimental engagement, the works combine and hold their ground independently to form a relationship of material consciousness. Film, video and performance coalesce in abstract and physical
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forms. In convention customary to her practice, Vancouver based artist Isabelle Pauwels presents an immersive installation of her most recent video work: LIKE…/ AND, LIKE/ YOU KNOW/ TOTALLY/ RIGHT. Pascal Grandmaison premieres La main du rêve, a full wall-length video installation of reversed and slowed footage of unnatural destruction in a natural environment. With a nod to image making technology of the recent past, Tamara Henderson has produced a 16mm film of dreams in a pineapple grove, also providing you with a surreal encounter of furniture designed under hypnosis and a series of glass tumblers, which were blown into the hollowed out cores of the aforementioned tropical fruit. Mark Clintberg represents the more relationally engaged and also object-based practice in this exhibition with his work, Not the one but there is no one else—a large net of phosphorescent safety rope cast onto the floor with an accompanying poster series and photograph of the work floating off the coast of Fogo Island, Newfoundland. Artist Duane Linklater, who is Omaskêko Cree, has installed a large five-piece neon light series entitled Tautology, which speaks to some of the highly recognizable figures found in what is traditionally considered Indigenous fine art. The generous Sobey Art Award is presented by the Sobey Art Foundation: an initiative inaugurated by the late, dedicated collector and philanthropist Frank H. Sobey. At the time of this issue’s publication, Color has learned that Duane Linklater is the recipient of the 2013 Sobey Art Award. Congratulations Duane!
colormagazine.ca
autumn 2013
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photos by sarah fuller
vol. 11, no. 3
words by sarah fuller
art
Residency Klondike Institute of Art and Culture The Klondike Institute of Art Culture (KIAC) is located in the Yukon at the historic Oddfellows Hall in Dawson City, 450km south of the Arctic Circle. Dawson City is home to the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation and is commonly associated with the 1898 Klondike Gold Rush. Today, Dawson has a population of approximately 1800 and its main industries are tourism and gold mining.
“I ran around at 1:00am with my camera and tripod, trying to drink in all that light and beauty.”
Stairwell in Macaulay House featuring work of past artists in residence, 2013 The Pit, 2013 The Dempster Highway viewed from the top of Goldensides Mountain, 2013 The Palace Grand, 2012 Studio at Macaulay House, 2013
The community support for artists in Dawson is abundant, as is the range of cultural activities. In summer this includes: the Dawson City Music Festival, historical tours of the town, and driving up the Dempster Highway. In winter there is the Yukon Quest (an annual 1000-mile-long dog sled race between Fairbanks, Alaska and Whitehorse) and betting on when the annual ice break-up of the river will occur. KIAC opened its doors in December of 1999 and now oversees programming of the ODD Gallery, the Dawson City International Short Film Festival, Yukon Riverside Arts Festival and the Artist in Residence program. KIAC also provides support for the activities of the Yukon School of Visual Art (SOVA) and the Confluence Gallery. The Dawson City Arts Society (DCAS) is the umbrella organization responsible for initiating both KIAC and SOVA. Resident artists at KIAC stay in the historic Macaulay House, built by Dawson’s first mayor Henry C. Macaulay in 1901. The house is managed by Parks Canada and is rumoured to have a resident ghost somewhere amid the two large studio spaces, two comfortable bedrooms, kitchen
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and laundry facilities. A library of films from past artists and a guestbook with ghost stories is available for late night perusing. Over the past 14 years, The KIAC artist in residence program has hosted many artists from Canada and abroad. Past alumni include: Shary Boyle (2002), Mary Ann Barkhouse (2004), Peter von Tiesenhausen (2005), Rebecca Belmore (2009), David Hoffos (2010), and Jin-me Yoon (2013). Many of the artists have permanently relocated to Dawson since their residency. As a photographer, I found the quality of the light washing over the town and surrounding landscape heightens the anachronistic feel of the place. Dawson, as a town, exists in the present, yet Dawson, as an idea, is related to fantasy and romanticism of the past. Living there, I felt a strange mixture of nostalgia, sadness and fascination. I can’t count the number of times I ran around at 1:00am with my camera and tripod, trying to drink in all that light and beauty. Dawson represents a magical space, and the impossibility of trying to capture that feeling is what propels me forward.
art
words by jenn jackson
image courtesy avalanche gallery
Page 36 Austin Taylor
A distracted soundtrack has been looping at maximum volume for the past two hours. Austin Taylor is working in his studio on four paintings for an upcoming exhibition at Calgary’s Avalanche gallery. With assembly line tenor, Taylor is applying thin layers of paint to the even surface. Paint, dry. Paint, dry. Paint, dry. The utilitarian distribution of colour is strictly controlled.
Taylor’s paintings are composed with painstaking precision. Clean lines contain blocks of colour in a combination that alludes to three dimensionality. Flatness is circumnavigated in a surface of geometric optics. The framework of the painting is fabricated with sharp attention to detail. A sheet of masonite is shaped without isometric intent and then fitted onto a dense frame of oak. The paint is leveled to meet a number of edges. Shape is varied and surface is reformed. A preoccupation with objecthood is apparent.
The deflated surface of Taylor’s painted series is punctured with unexpected shifts in tonal arrangement. The painting’s supporting armature offers a measurable depth; a place somewhere between flatness and linear extension. The seemingly arbitrary cut, shape and measurement of the pseudo canvas provides a physical response that is undoubtedly aware of bodily proportions. The fourth work of the series includes a central division where a twoway mirror reflects an otherworldly infinity. The series closes with an illusion of continued finality.
Open Ended Casket (River Phoenix was a clairvoyant) 2013, acrylic on panel 4’ x 7’
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Taylor’s recent video work Conjugal Visit (2013) models that imaginary flatness of his paintings. Using the online design program SketchUp, Taylor builds a succession of square rooms to house a collection of three-dimensional objects of his affection; an artist portrait of sorts. The program of construction is not unlike his paintings. An animated process of layers, levels, flattening and extension, shifts potential movement into a looping tour of Taylor’s subconscious. From inside to outside and back again, the circuit seamlessly progresses and then, in the final clip, the screen surface fractures with a glitch of unnatural reverse, in sightseeing fashion: a return to the beginning.
photos by jay delaney
as told by Elijah Berle & Cory Kennedy
life
Roadkill Trunkboyz Shakedown
“Those fucking cops jacked all our money.”
Elijah Berle method, leeside 2013
Elijah: We were in Panama; we’d just got in, like first or second night. It was my first time in South America. It was wild; cops just standing around with AKs, staring you down. We were up skating on this roof at nighttime, on a main road… I think it was just Kenny (Anderson) and Vincent (Alvarez) up there. You [points at Cory] were down with me, because we got handcuffed together. All of a sudden these cops just come hauling ass. They start freaking out, asking us questions, yelling at Stevie (Perez), asking for him to say what’s going on, but he just pretended not to speak Spanish so he didn’t have to talk to the cops. They didn’t handcuff him or Chico (Brenes), just the two fuckin’ white boys [laughs]. Cory: Raven was taking a shit behind the dumpster. EB: Ya, I’m lookin’ at him takin’ a shit and my friends getting kicked in the side. CK: The cops hopped up onto the roof, came up there with guns out, told them to get off the roof and started kicking them. Took their money from their wallets and all that bullshit. They jacked everything from their pockets. Vince had like 800 bucks. EB: Kenny had like 300 bucks. The cops just swiped it dude… But Ty (Evans) was filming across the street and he filmed the whole thing, from the cops taking them down, to the cops pulling their money out and pocketing that shit—he filmed it all. The paddy wagon came, a fucking ghetto-ass truck, so rusted, there was just two metal benches in the back seat bolted into the
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bottom of the truck bed, no seat belts. There was some sketchy tin shed that went over the truck that hid whoever was in there. So there’s literally like six of us in the fucking paddy wagon. You’ve got half the Chocolate team and half the Girl team in that thing. Some of them got away and just skated to the hotel, but the rest of us got arrested and taken to this station. We were in the station for about an hour and half, and then the owner of the building randomly came in and said: “I don’t wanna press any charges on these guys,” but the cops were still trying to fucking arrest us. And then one of us, I forget who said it, was like, “And we’re going to get our money back?” The head cop was like “Uhh, what are you talking about?” We said, “those fucking cops jacked all our money.” They had those cops come in and there was a whole gnarly argument and the cops were like, “No, we didn’t take it,” and we said, “Bullshit, we’ve got it on footage.” Ty came in with the camera and showed the main officer the footage of the two cops snaking Vincent and Kenny’s money. They were caught red-handed. So we were in the station about to go into jail, then the cops got arrested and we left CK: Never got the money back though. EB: They never got the money back, but fuckin’ eh, justice was served… That guy who owned the building; if it wasn’t for him, we’d be sitting in fuckin’ Panama prison right now scratching days off the wall.
autumn 2013
I’m at an age where a fair chunk of my friends are either with child, or seriously considering contributing to the spread. But the jury is forever out on how to nurture those little pods of flesh into substantial human beings and all that you’re left with are the rules: Respect your elders. Don’t put your finger up there. Eat your veggies. You won’t find any secrets to parenting in this interview with Nolan (aka Latchkey Kid), but you might just see how skateboarding can be the best babysitter for a young man.
ollie.
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photos by jeff comber
vol. 11, no. 3
by Justin Czank
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manual, ollie manual impossible.
Repeat after me and fill in the blanks: Nolan Waller is a skateboarder ____ and ____ in the city of ____. Nolan Waller is a skateboarder working and chilling in the city of Toronto.
Do you remember the first time you left the front of your house to go skate elsewhere in the city? Yeah. I remember going downtown with my brother and just freaking out like, ‘Holy shit, I
and we would go out late at night and light up stuff. My mom would get super pissed about that, because we’d get home about one in the morning. I was 13 and she’d be so confused, like, ‘What the fuck are you doing? You can’t do that.’
can’t believe this exists!’ I was skating flat outside my house for a good year straight, not going anywhere else.
Any time between the age of nine and most recently, did you look up to any Toronto skaters? I was definitely stoked on Morgan (Smith), ‘cause I’d see him skate Shred (Central) a lot and was pretty blown away. He would just kill it there. And then I’d see him downtown at Commerce Court. He was always really good. Cephas Benson and Koty Brown; those are the guys I saw growing up that were ripping really hard.
When you got older, who’d you skate with? When I started getting older, I started skating with my friend Kai. That’s when I was about 13. He was basically the first person I ever filmed with. I filmed a little video part for his video called Are You Filming This? I was super young
You went to Moss Park a lot too, right? No, no! I wouldn’t go to Moss because I was super intimidated. I went to Moss say, maybe five times. I remember going there the first time and being so scared. I was just the little kid that could barely push.
Have you’ve lived in Toronto your whole life? The east end, 17 years. When did you start skating? How old were you? I was nine. Did you have a crew when you were nine? Yeah. Me and my neighbour would skate outside of my house like everyday. Skate our curb and there was this 2-set that we’d try and ollie… Actually, my crew was me and Griffin Kirby. I grew up skating with him. We went to Adrift camp. It was this camp that Adrift skate shop did for little kids. We got to go skate street, so we were stoked on that. They would hire a filmer. One of the perks of the camp was that you got to film a montage. It was really fun.
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The general consensus is that anything skateboarding related that was happening in the city, you were there: the little kid lurking in the corner or tagging along. Yeah, For sure! And your mom was totally cool with that? She would give me a lot of freedom. She would let me go to skate parks and take the bus. I would hang out with older people and I think she knew that.
“I was
You still live with your mom? I live with my mom and my dad. Do they support your skateboarding? Are they into it? They’re super stoked on it. As long as I go to school, they don’t care. You must be missing a lot of school though? Yeah, it’s crazy. This year I missed a lot. I missed so much school at the beginning of the year that
I was basically fucked. But then I came back and thought, ‘I might as well give it 100%,’ and went crazy and got caught up. Basically, I had a talk with all of my teachers: ‘I’m super sorry I missed a lot of school. I was just travelling and
skating in front of people; meeting people for the first time in general. I’m just super self-conscious and feel like people are judging me. With those guys, I’m super stoked on their skating so it was nerve-racking. But after the first day it was cool, they were all really nice.
You told me when you got back from the “Jamcouver” trip that you wanted to move out there. just the little kid that could barely push.” Nah, I just wanted to stay there for the rest of the summer because I didn’t want to go back home and work again. I’m kind of over my job and got so used to waking up and skating.’ I did a bunch of extra work and at the skating every day and not having to worry about end of the year, I helped my teachers clean up going to work or anything. I got super comfortable. their classrooms. So I feel like they just said, ‘We’ll hook this kid up and give him a credit.’ You live in Toronto your whole life, you’re Were you nervous travelling with Auby Tay17 years old and you never got into partying. lor, Dan Drehobl and Brad Cromer for the How is that possible? It’s a pretty big part Krooked Kanada Day trip? of a lot of people’s lives. I think I was really nervous just because I’m I have a lot of anxiety. Like, I’ve tried drinking. I so stoked on Krooked. I do get kind of nervous don’t party, but I’ll drink occasionally. I feel like
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vol. 11, no. 3
shazam!
nolan waller
when I get drunk I get these ideas in my head that I’m going to pass out. Are you a hypochondriac? Oh, yeah. I’m a really big hypochondriac. It’s getting better, but it’s pretty bad... Okay, with that party question, I didn’t want to say certain stuff in case my mom reads it, but fuck it... When I was super young, I would hang out with these older dudes that would drink and smoke a lot. It created this huge anxiety problem. It kind of fucked me over. Older people would pressure me. I think that’s the reason that I don’t smoke or drink right now. I feel like I’ve already gone through that phase; I don’t think I could ever get into it. A lot of people that I spoke to about you, because I was trying to get some dirt, said that when they first met you they thought you had a bit of an attitude problem. You think that’s because of your anxiety? I feel like maybe I did have an attitude problem a few years ago. I don’t know; I think that’s just how my face is. I just look like an angry person.
frontside smithgrind frontside 180 transfer. (opposite) wallride.
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colormagazine.ca
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music
words by jordan commandeur
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illustration by ben tour
White Mandingos
“This is no Limp Bizkit marriage of rock and
Rallying Cry
hip-hop.”
Hip-hop didn’t invent the supergroup… but hip-hop perfected it. Sure, rock ‘n roll had a couple, and there has been a smattering from other genres, but hip-hop seems to be the best suited for collaboration and now, with The White Mandigos, hip-hop has taken the supergroup a step further.
While the multi-genre supergroup has been done (see Ozomatli), veteran music writer Sacha Jenkins (Ego Trip) is moving the “supergroup” concept forward with an inter-disciplinary amalgam that also consists of legendary Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer and your favourite band’s favourite rapper, Murs. No, Jenkins doesn’t write articles while the other two play and emcee, he is actually a guitarist and bedroom producer. Don’t call it rap-rock, this is a blurring of lines. Color: Tell us a bit about you… SACHA JENKINS: I grew up in New York… involved with graffiti, and hip-hop, and punk rock and skateboarding—all the things that kids are into these days… Ultimately, my passion for culture has lead to me becoming a journalist, publishing my own magazines, writing books about music, producing television and film about music-related topics. This project originally started with an emcee other than Murs. Who was it? R.A. the Rugged Man was the dude who was originally in the group. We recorded some songs with him back in 2003 and we had a lot of label interest. I thought the music was sort of ahead of its time. And around that time, independent of what we were doing, Jay-Z came out with the song “99 Problems” which is produced by Rick Rubin, and was a complete throwback to that sort of 80s, LL, Beastie Boys type of sound. Me and Darryl collaborated on stuff in between. I created and produced a television show called The White Rapper Show, and me and him did the theme song… When I was cleaning my house and found the music and played it again, I was like, ‘Wow, this stuff is really cool, are you down to do it again?’ And Darryl was like, ‘yeah [but] who were you thinking could do it?’ Literally, a voice in my head said, ‘Murs.’
How was the group presented to you? MURS: I got a message from a friend named Ted Bono saying Sacha wanted to speak to me. I was very excited because I am huge fan of Sacha as a journalist and a writer. I didn’t know what he wanted, but he wanted me to be a part of this group with Darryl Jenifer from Bad Brains, who of course I revered and knew very well. It was a no-brainer… He gave me an idea of the type of stuff he wanted to talk about on the album and then I said, ‘Why don’t we just do a rock opera kinda thing.’ I stayed up all night and wrote an outline of the story… I was really nervous because Sacha is a writer, so I thought he would definitely critique my writing, my plot direction, archetypes or whatever the fuck. But he backed everything I said… Over the next three or four years we got the album together. How much did the actual music change from that original stuff or did it change at all? I don’t think it changed at all. I think they had a direction musically where they wanted to go and I kinda just followed their lead. I feel like they never made anything that catered to my style and I was very happy about that because it remained a challenge for me. What’s behind the name: The White Mandingos? Mix rock and hip-hop and what you get is a White Mandingo. What I would like it to mean is: everybody who buys the album and understands the message is a White Mandingo. It could be a white kid who feels more in-tune with black culture, or a black kid who feels more in-tune with white culture, or someone that is Latin who feels more in-tune with American culture than they do Chilean culture. Just for those who are out of place and bucking the stereotype… you’re a White Mandingo.
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Bad Brains were known for tackling all kinds of genres, so what about The White Mandingo sound did you want to get out there? DARRYL JENIFER: Well, it’s like Bad Brains in a way. It’s just cats doing what they like and not trying to be pigeonholed on just one thing. Like, ‘Oh shit, we’re a metal band, we gotta do metal.’ I like reggae, like hip-hop, I like punk rock… anything that’s inventive, so as an artist and a musician, when I go to set off doing whatever I do, I have no problem doing whatever style it is. I’m not going to pigeonhole myself. In Bad Brains, we played hardcore and shit, but we loved reggae, so we played reggae too, like, ‘What the fuck? What do you mean you can’t play reggae if you play hardcore?’ So with White Mandingos my man raps and we make rock riffs, or maybe a rock/reggae hybrid riff, or a hardcore hip-hop invention. We ain’t trying to be on this shit like back in the day with Slayer and P.E. This is a different sort of thing. This is no Limp Bizkit marriage of rock and hip-hop. What is the concept of The White Mandingos album The Ghetto Is Tryna Kill Me? The concept of the album is the life and times of a black dude from the projects, Harlem, but he’s not your average... he likes a little rap, he skateboards a little bit, he likes going downtown and checking out the rock clubs, he likes white chicks, but he likes his baby momma. The life and times of that type of cat. You know, like Tommy.
vol. 11
no. 3
photography JANE & JANE styled by BRITTANY DAIGLE models Samantha Kobayashi at Plutino and Caleigh at Elite Toronto
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fashion
opposite DC sweater, shorts and plaid shirt by LEVI’S SPITFIRE jacket, shirt by CHOCOLATE, shorts by CRAZY HORSE shirt by VANS and ZARA track pants here MATIX woven with stylist’s own jersey top shoes by VANS, pants by DICKIES, vintage leather halter top, MATIX woven
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opposite VANS shoes and top, shorts by SPEEDO here shirt by SPITFIRE, shorts by CRAZY HORSE MATIX button-down
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life
words & photos by brent goldsmith
Red Flagged John Cardiel
Visit us online to see the contents of Cadiel’s bag!
Security could never stop a legend of this calibre from barging the border, but we caught up with him on our side to make sure all the paperwork was in order for his deejay set at the rebirth of the Big O.
“There was hella drama that the dude got caught cross-dressing”
What is your citizenship? American. United States of America. What is the purpose of your trip to Canada? Just to support our friends that are opening up a skate shop (Barry Walsh’s ‘Ink City North’), support Vans and support The Big O, the resurrection, tales from the crypt. Any traveling prior to Canada? Yeah, we were just on the ‘Get Out and Do Something’ tour with Vans and we did a trip with Ray Barbee & The Mattson 2 and my homie Pnut. We basically just went to a bunch of malls, played some music, gave away a bunch of free product and shared some vibes with some kids. Who do you know in Montreal? Barry (Walsh), Marc (Tison), Bobby (Gascon) and the good homies at Vans Canada.
How much cash are you carrying with you? Probably $60? I changed $100 American at the border on my way in. Do you plan to leave anything here in Canada? Nah, I don’t like to leave things anywhere. I try not to take and I try not to leave anything. I just keep it clean.
here in Canada, about the country? Basically that they just sold the Molson brews to Coors. Sorry bro. Also that in the last six months there was a new mayor and there was hella drama that the dude got caught cross-dressing or some bullshit. And of course, the fact that they moved the fucking Big-O. That’s what’s up, that’s why we’re here.
Anything you would like to take with you back home? Just good memories. Lots of good vibes. A lot of good people and good music happening right now. Just soaking all of that up.
What did you pack with you for the trip? Basically just some stuff to play music: a computer, a pair of headphones, some needles, a pair of a shorts and a pair of pants and three t-shirts. Real simple.
What is your knowledge of Canada? I know that it is very clean, that they speak French and English and I know there’s really solid people here.
Any issues with getting over the border? Never had any issues, don’t even trip on it. One time I was with Matt Field though and he got stuck in there for a few hours. He had a pipe on his chain so they kind of flexed him for that pretty hard. It wasn’t the best situation to be in.
Have you learned anything new from being
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photo by elias parise
words by aidan johnston
music
DIANA Sentimental Synthesis
“You’ve just got to do your thing and hope people get it.”
When your live shows are this highly regarded and your two Soundcloud songs nearly break the internet with the amount of plays they’ve had before your first album has even been released, then yes, you’re going to be called a buzz band. But in an industry where everyone is eager to spout labels from their music genre thesaurus, DIANA blends influences and takes pop tunes back to the future.
What began as a cottage songwriting session between music school friends Joseph Shabason and Kieran Adams, has since morphed into sonic delicacies after taking those ideas into the studio and finding the project a voice in Carmen Elle. Like any musician over the age of 16, this wasn’t the first band these members belonged too; Shabason added swooning saxophone to Destroyer, Adams was in Bonjay and Elle played a part in Toronto acts Austra and Army Girls. Paul Mathew later joined DIANA, to complete the live act. Color spoke with Shabason while he searched for a Starbucks between tour stops in the Arizona desert and he explained the positives of starting again from nothing: “We’d been in other projects that suffered from a lack of focus or trying to be what we thought was cool,” Shabason admits. “Going into this album we thought, ‘let’s experiment, let’s take our time.’ Our goal wasn’t to sound a particular way, but to do something we were stoked on, where we didn’t feel rushed or pressured.”
This sentiment of renewal befits their track “Born Again”—a sultry synth casserole with a sub-tropic heat reminiscent of every psychedelic Windows media player visualization ever created. When the track erupted from laptop speakers a year ago, DIANA was born and the excitement quickly followed. “We recorded the whole album at once,” said Shabason, “but put two songs on the internet thinking we would release a couple of songs every few weeks to keep people interested. Once we put those up people got really excited about it, so we decided to hold off and play our cards closer to our chest.” Drawing upon a reverence for 80s synthpop and non-ironic jazz sensibilities, the group’s sound eschewed comparisons to any one genre, but critics had to find their angle and DIANA were soon blanketed under the vagueness of chillwave. “So much of the album is different than what people would consider chillwave,” Shabason declares. “It’s frustrating when people latch onto a certain element of
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your sound and try to paint the whole band that one colour.” Rather than the hungover bedhead whining and mumbling expected of that style, Elle’s assured vocals drench the debut record Perpetual Surrender with stories of love, longing and renewal; stories that invite the listener in while confidently letting them know the dangers of getting too close. DIANA’s lyrics land you on an undiscovered planet in the pop galaxy where delicate emotions and last dances collide. Shabason says it’s a complexity that they strived for: “We wanted to make a pop album that wasn’t stupid, that wasn’t watered down; something that was pop-challenging. There’s always going to be people who hear what they want to hear and it’s going to be different from how you think about it, so you’ve just got to do your thing and hope people get it.” Don’t worry though, because as DIANA continues to look toward the future while winking at the past, anyone who listens will know that this band doesn’t play hard to get.
music
words by mark richardson
photo by alexis gross
Tropic of Cancer Imagined Adulthood
Tropic Of Cancer is often lazily pigeonholed by the media as a goth project, though Camella Lobo, the LA-based musician and writer behind the project, clearly transcends the goth genre through a myriad of influences. Touchstones of shoegaze, ambient, minimal synth, and cold wave permeate her new LP Restless Idylls and the preceding singles, drawing rabid fans from all corners.
“My life turned out exactly the way I imagined — without all of the money of course”
I have this image of you as a solitary teenager, spending a lot of time reading, writing, listening to music. Forgive me for projecting, but what were your interests in those formative years? Ha! That is scarily accurate. I burned a lot of candles and pined over typical teenage things. I had my heart broken once, though it felt like a thousand times, as it probably does to most teenagers. I spent many nights in my room, alone, listening to The Smiths or making mixtapes from the oldies station on the radio. I wrote a lot of bad poetry and would lay in my bed for hours imagining my life as an adult. My teenage existence was pretty much a parody of itself. Ironically, my life turned out exactly the way I imagined, without all of the money of course. The music you create is incredibly atmospheric and in a certain sense, quite visual. Do you reflect art or literature in your music? I always try and create a distinct narrative in my songs. Literature has had a huge impact on me throughout my life. Writers such as John Fante, Sylvia Plath and D.H. Lawrence have been an influence on some of my work, whether that’s
in the form of lending a character, or subject matter, or allowing me to tap into an emotion or certain imagery. I visualize a lot of things when I am writing a song. It’s almost become an integral part of the process for me. Tell me about your current musical fixations? Are there any contemporary groups that you find yourself relating to? My musical fixations change all the time. Usually they are a product of what kind of mood I’m in, or what I happen to be doing a lot of: working or resting. When I’m working, the only thing I can listen to is classical music like Arvo Part or Chopin or ambient drones or minimal electronic pieces from artists such as Demdike Stare, Actress, Andy Stott or Fennesz... As far as relating goes, I feel like I’m part of an alliance with bands like DVA DAMAS, Din, High Functioning Flesh, HTRK, Von Haze, Lebanon Hanover, Six Six Seconds and Pink Playground. All of the people involved in these projects are so inspirational to me. Amongst numerous other influences, I can’t help but hear early Cure all over these
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recordings, particularly Faith/Pornography-era. How much is The Cure an influence on your music? Bands like The Cure were pretty influential on me in a broad sense more than a specific one. Growing up, I listened to a lot of new wave, punk and a lot of The Smiths. When it came time to make my own music, I am sure I was unconsciously drawing from those lines. Restless Idylls sounds to me like a culmination of everything you’ve worked on previously. Considering that it’s your first full-length release, does this feel like a more important work for you? Where would you like to take Tropic Of Cancer next? It is a culmination, yes. It was very important for me to put it out. I feel like I exorcised something in myself, and in my life really, more so than I did with the EPs. I had a lot of time to think about the music and the ideas I wanted to present. As far as where TOC goes from here, I’m not really sure. All I know is that I will continue to work on music. I don’t really know what that means as far as releases go. I am ready to take my time with whatever happens next.
Sitka.ca
2003 - 2013
Sitka x Color Capsule Collection available at colormagazine.ca / photographed by Dylan Doubt
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There are strange things done ‘neath the midnight sun By the men who moil for gold. The arctic trails have their secret tales
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That would make your blood run cold.
(from “The Cremation on Sam McGee” by Robert W. Service)
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skate
words and photos by gordon nicholas
vol. 11, no. 3
The Klondike gold rush: Men, with nothing left to lose, heading hundreds of miles north in search of golden nuggets buried deep underground. Skate trip to the Klondike: Men, with nothing left to lose, heading hundreds of miles north in search of skate spots and adventure.
Skateboarding and the Yukon are two things you don’t typically hear in the same sentence and for all we knew the spots were likely as rare as the gold, but I’d been trying to convince the Sitka team to go for years now and I’d be damned if we didn’t make it happen. The idea always just kept popping up in conversation (usually a result of over-consumption) and the excitement would always rise, but then the energy would recede back into piles of “maybe” and “one day” by the time the sun came back around. Until finally the time came when logistics were settled and it seemed
as if it might be a plausible journey after all. And so, alongside Chris Haslam, Sheldon Meleshinski, Brett Stobbart, Colin Nogue, Zach Barton, Fabian Merino and Dane Pryds, accompanied by our two master lensmen Ben Gulliver and Dave Ehrenreich, we charted our adventure into the land of the midnight sun. With a total of 36 odd hours of driving time to our most Northerly destination of Whitehorse, YK, it was essential to keep our 15-seater on the move. After a classic stop in Kamloops for a day of street skating, it was on to Prince George and beyond.
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opposite Chris Haslam, ollie Terrace, BC
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Sheldon Meleshinski, boardslide to curb slide - Whitehorse, YK opposite: Dane Pryds, backside tailslide - Terrace, BC
Well, a pal’s last need is a thing to heed, so I swore I would not fail;/ And we started on at the streak of dawn; but, God! he looked ghastly pale!
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As the trip wore on through some of the longest driving stretches, minds would wander across the board in search of entertainment. Colin in particular took liking the difference in speed between the 2nd and 3rd notches on the windshield wipers. Terrace was the last main stop along the trip, and after an eerie sunrise drive got us to Sheldon’s brother’s house, who thankfully had shelter for us all and a mini ramp to re-sheet and skate, the only thing standing between us and the smooth sail south was a small, yet significant border crossing into Alaska. “Skateboarding isn’t a profession,” the stoutly crossing guard barked at Haslam. She was quickly disproven and onward we traveled.
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The trail was bad, and I felt half mad, But I swore I would not give in;/ And I’d often sing to the hateful thing, and it harkened with a g Colin Nogue frontside rock Nowehere, BC
Chris Haslam nollie inward heelflip nosepick Terrace, BC
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The flames just soared, and the furnace roared —Such a blaze you seldom see;/ Then I burrowed a hole in the glowing coal, And I stuffed in Sam McGee.
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Brett Stobbart ring of fire ollie Whitehorse, YK The Day of Stobbart will forever be etched in my mind. Having been on the road for over a week at this point, accompanied by zero darkness and a multitude of flagons, Brett was cruising on his own wavelength. He took slam after slam throughout the day, but assured us it was, “nothing a couple beers can’t fix.” A demonstration at a skatepark is one thing, but throw in a hula hoop and a little gasoline, and you’ve got the recipe for success alright. And so under the breaching dusk of the Yukon, Brett threw his body to the fire and rolled away clean.
It was icy cold, but the hot sweat rolled down my cheeks, I don’t know why;/ And the greasy smoke in an inky cloak went streaking down the sky.
In order to avoid retracing our steps south along the highway, we opted to take the ferry from Skagway to Prince Rupert—a mere 36-hour voyage during which we met every type of American legend you can imagine, from eagle watchers to a onelegged man who once killed a polar bear with a rock. Getting off the boat, we faced customs once again, only this agent was more jealous of our trip than anything and simply inquired whose undies were tied to our bumper. He let us through and we continued our journey home.
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vol. 11, no. 3
autumn 2013
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photos by dylan doubt
There’s just something about fireworks and skateboarding that really works. Both are loud, obnoxious and dangerous. Both are legal to buy but illegal to use in the street. Both also spark the oooohs and aaaahs of onlookers and inspire people to stare. Fireworks can spice up a boring skate demo, ignite the ennui of suburban teenage life, and can get you kicked out of a hotel room faster than you can say: “cherry bomb in the toilet.” Plus nothing completes a good skate trip without a few explosions inside the van. For Canadians, it’s half the reason we take skate trips to the States. This past summer brought skateboarding and fireworks together in a big way, when Skullcandy and Color came together to present Canada’s most creative skateboard contest on the same night as North America’s largest
offshore fireworks competition. While Teams Canada, UK and Thailand battled it out for supremacy in the sky, Teams Lakai, Vans, Emerica, Osiris, Vox and DC battled it out on the street course—a daring design from the twisted minds of the Zenga Bros. Teams consisted of Canada’s best skaters mingling with their fireworks loving friends from the south, and the judges challenged them all to demonstrate their utmost creativity. In the end, Vox Footwear won Best Team and Team Canada became champions of the night sky. To commemorate the occasion, and to keep you entertained, we’ve compiled our top 5 moments when explosives and skateboarding coming together in glorious perfection.
feeble backside 270, DMODW
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second place, Lee Yankou
#5 HEATH AND DESTROY The late nineties gave birth to many great pyro moments by the likes of Toy Machine, the Whiskey video, and Hook-Ups’ “Destroying America” campaign. Maple Skateboards had its “Firecracker pop,” and it seemed everyone could agree on one thing: blowing shit up and lighting people on fire rules. No two skaters together were more prolific pyros than Heath Kirchart and Jeremy Klein circa DESTROYING AMERICA and Birdhouse’s THE END.
#jamcouver2013
ollie to fakie
#4. ASANINE BEHAVIOUR It must suck to try and be a YouTube stunt star in this day and age (which there are plenty of by the way), because long before there were idiots on the internet there was CKY and the Jackass crew on VHS. Pioneers of stupidity, between them there have been countless incidents of fireworks and explosions, but none may be more ridiculous than the time Steve-O lit a bottle rocket out of his ass. I’ve launched a few bottle rockets out of my hand before, and it always leaves a singed-hair smell in the air around me. Think about it.
#3. LEESIDE HALLOWEEN Ever fired a roman candle up a quarter pipe, or seen a man-sized banana take a Screamer off the peel? Only the daring risk skating at the annual Halloween bash under the bridge at Vancouver’s DIY dugout, while the rest of us cowards just stand on the sidelines drinking beer and shooting bombs into the tunnel. Thanks once again to the brilliant vision of the Zenga Bros and their courage to strap on protective eyewear and dive headfirst into the purple haze, we’ve now got some truly memorable videos to show for it.
dc shoes’ Madarse Apse, ollie / vox’s Drew Dezort, hurricane / Shane Heyl & Andrew Reynolds / team Osiris (with guests) photos by gordon nicholas SonReal w/ dj Rich A by stacey matthews / vans’ Antoine Asselin, noseblunt / lakai’s Jon Sciano, bs noseblunt photo gordon nicholas Tony Ferguson and portraits by shayd johnson
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Matt Berger
photo by dylan doubt
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frontside flip
shayd johnson photo
stacey matthews photo
#jamcouver2013
#2. GREAT BALLS OF FIRE Vancouver’s hockey riots are notorious the world over, due largely to that fact that this is when many people consider real life events finally succumbed to digitization and spilled over into the world of social media and poor-quality iPhone video (take that Egypt). You couldn’t go anywhere online the day after the #riots without seeing the entire event documented from every angle—cars on fire, cops with batons, fistfights and window smashing—but it’s no surprise that aside from that young couple making out in the road, the most memorable image belongs, naturally, to an exploding skateboarder. I’m talking of course about Nick “Nugget” Moore taking the king of all nutshots courtesy of a well-placed flash grenade from the riot police. The slo-mo version in which you can clearly see the grenade sack him, then bounce off and then blow up in his face, made its way around all the major blogs and newscasts and even hit the popular pulp paparazzi program, TMZ.
#1. RICKK’S ROCKETS Topping the list with his insatiable love of fireworks is none other than Canada’s own Rick Howard. Rick’s been terrorizing his staff and teammates for years and seems to always be packin’ pyro. Cashing in on his American citizenship, this havoc-happy canuck adds his own spin on the “right to bear arms.” From Mike Mo’s switch flip “banger” in Fully Flared to the accidental palm tree inferno in Pretty Sweet, Rick’s incendiary influence is felt in all things Girl and tends to rub off on all his friends. These were just some of ours. If we missed one of your favourites, let us know by tweeting at us or posting on our fanpage. bottom Will Marshall, nollie bs 180 nosegrind revert Miles Silvas, frontside crooks
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Pat Duffy, Cody Mcentire & the Vox team celebrate taking the days title of Best Team 1st place winner Magnus Hanson,5.0 photo by antosh cimoszko William Shakespear requesting the event to stop following a blasting set by Vicious Cycles prior to The Goat taking to the Red Bull stage.
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Color would like to say:
THANKS TO EVERYONE INVOLVED IN MAKING #JAMCOUVER2013 A Better Life Foundation, Adam Hopkins. Adam Richter, Adam Willston, AJ McCallister, Alec Ross, Alex Forbes, Alex Moser, Alien, Andrew Pommier, Andrew Reynolds, Anna Farrant, Annabelle Bernard, Antisocial, Antoine Asselin, Atiba Jefferson, Beagle, Ben Blundell, Bikers For Autism, BLVD, Bobby Dekeyzer, Bradley Sheppard, Brand.Live, Brian Caissie, Bryant Chappo, Centre Dist., Chad Bartie, Chad Dickson, Chapel Arts, Charles Deschamps, Chris Connolly, City Of Vancouver, Clayton Uhlig, Coco’s-Pure, Cody Lynge, Cody Mcentire, Colin Nogue, Conlan Kileen, Corey Duffel, Corey Lakeman, Dane Collison, Dane Pryds, Dave Kerr, David Birnie, Daxter Lussier, DC, Deer Man Of Darkwoods, Dustin Henry, Dylan Doubt, Elephant Room Creative, Emerica, Ethan Craig, Fritz Mead, Garret Louie, Geoff Strelow, Happy Water, Hell’s Gate Brewing, Hemlock Printers, Honda Celebration Of Light, Hootsuite, Ian Twa, Jamcouver Cultural Society, Jeff Goforth, Jeff Muirhead, Jessy Jean Bart, Jim Barnum, Joe Marckx, Joel Martell, Joey Larock, Jon Sciano, Jonathan Mattice, Jordan Hoffart, Jordan Mayfield, Josh Clark, JT Aultz, Julianna Lutz, Justin Strubing, Ken Meyer, Kevin Spanky Long, Know Show, Lakai, Lee Yankou, Madars Apse, Magnus Hanson, Marco Feller, Mark Brand, Mark Richardson, Mark Waters, Matt Berger, Matt Meadows, Menu, Michelle Pezel, Micky Papa, Mike Campbell, Mike Hastie, Mike Quesnel, Miles Silvas, Morgan Smith, Natasha Lands, Nate Locoste, Nervous Talk, Nick Brown, Nolan Waller, Osiris, Pacific Boarder, Pat O’rourke, Paul Machnau, Paul Trep, Perry Pugh, Peter Sullivan, PMA, Red Bull, Red Dragons, Rich A, Riley Hawk, Roger Allen, Rolla Olak, Russ Milligan, Sascha Daley, Save-On-Meats, School Of Remix, Sebo Walker, Shane Heyle, Shane Lutz, Shane Yamamoto, Sharks & Hammers, Shayd Johnson, Sheldon Barr, Silver Skeleton Band, Skullcandy, Sonreal, Spectrum Skateparks, Spencer Corbett, Stacey Gabriel, Standard Building Supply, Stuntwood, Supra Dist, Syd Clark, The Boardroom, The Burrard Hotel, The Goat, Timbomb Trading, Tommy Fynn, Trint Thomas, Tyler Gautier, Tyler Holm, Tyler Warren, Underworld, Vans, Vicious Cycles, Volunteers, Vox, Will Marshall, Zach Whitman, Zenga Bros.
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skate
words by dan post
photo by mike o’meally
He’s got the most recognizable surname in skateboarding, insane talent that lends itself to near-constant output, and he’s living in the poolhouse out back at Hawk Manor. Why not just sit back, plug in the telecaster and let the good times roll? As Color found out recently, resting on the family reputation isn’t something Riley Hawk is about to do, and like any other young man in a growing phase of his life and career, he’s proud to be doing it his own way.
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Where are you calling from today? I’m just at my house, which is pretty much my dad’s house. There’s a little area in the back, I guess like a poolhouse. I was talking to Jordan Hoffart about his home/skatepark and he mentioned that you had a park at your house. Yeah it’s kinda like a bowl that my dad built a long time ago… They’ve built add-ons and stuff but it’s just like a big square bowl with a pyramid in the middle and then a little clam shell. It’s pretty fun. Do you ever session it with him? Yeah, sometimes he’ll be back there and I’ll be back there skating.
Sounds pretty fun to be able to skate with your old man. My dad is a gym teacher and only ever wanted to throw a football around. Yeah it’s pretty awesome I mean, he just cruises around sometimes and my little sister will be there and my little brother and they’ll just be cruising also. Who in skateboarding would you say is your hero? I’ve always been psyched on people like Andrew (Reynolds) or people who rode for Birdhouse back in the day ‘cause those were the people that I’d see around ‘cause my dad was with them or always playing footage of them… My dad even too, ‘cause I’ve seen how his lifestyle is and how he handles just being who he is and it’s just pretty crazy to see all that happen.
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Did you always know that you wanted to skateboard? I mean, I’ve always been super stoked on skating… When I was younger I would always try to do everything you know, like surf and ride bikes, and then probably when I was 15 or 16 I realized that I was just really into skating and I wanted to do the whole filming stuff and just skate with my friends all the time. What inspires you to keep skating? Skating with all my friends really, just watching them skate gets me psyched. All my friends are just like killing it super hard and it’s crazy to watch them do the stuff they do. It’s shocking to see how good everyone is at skateboarding these days.
backside smithgrind backside tailslide backside kickflip photo by JT Rhoades Next Page: feeble photo by Ryan Allan
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“Kids are just expecting so much of you, it’s crazy.”
Tell me about the ‘Shep Dawgs’... It’s pretty much just all my buddies who I grew up skating with all through middle school and highschool. Now a lot of them are getting picked up by a bunch of companies and going on tours and it’s pretty crazy to see all my friends starting to come up and people recognizing how good they are. Where does the name come from? It was just this kid who’s our homie, it’s actually JT’s younger brother Troy… He was just spray painting something on my wall when we were younger. I forget what he was trying to write, like “shred dogs” or something, and he just fucked it up. It was kinda just a joke and then you know how it is, people starting making it something serious and now here it is… It’s not like we were sitting there one day brainstorming ‘we need to figure out what to call our posse.’ We just fucked around and then it turned into something way different than what we thought it was going to be. I’ve heard kids in different countries yell out: “Shep Dawgs.” It’s pretty nuts how skateboarding can lead you to some weird places and you find people in other countries that know about you. I guess the internet has a lot to do with that. Yeah, I mean with the internet, like if you’ve got the time, and you want
to learn skateboarding as hard as you can, you’re going to find just about anything, it’s pretty crazy. What’s crazy is that your dad was able to get so huge back in the day without the internet. What do you think the difference was? I think he really loves skateboarding and he didn’t care back then that it wasn’t a popular sport, you know? There wasn’t a future in it or anything, not like there is now. He just really loves skateboarding and he just wanted to do it for himself and I think that’s what led to all this success he’s had, because he wasn’t doing it for popularity or anything, ‘cause back then that whole thing didn’t even exist, he was just doing it because he loved it. I can tell that you’re motivated to do it for your friends and not necessarily for yourself or the fame, but is it hard to resist all that? I don’t know, for myself when I’m filming a video part, I definitely want to film a part that I’m stoked on—stuff that I’m happy to be putting out… I’d be just as stoked to be under the radar… even if skating wasn’t such a popular thing, I’d still be doing it. It wouldn’t really change anything. Are you feeling more pressure to do bigger tricks these days? Yeah kinda, I feel like you get the pres-
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sure you know; more people are going to be watching and judging just ‘cause of where you are in skating… I just feel that if I do something that I’m stoked on then it doesn’t really matter what other people think. Do you think there’s a culture of judging being created because of how many videos are on the internet? With the amount of kids skateboarding nowadays who are just so good, kids are just expecting so much of you, it’s crazy. Do you ever get burned out on skateboarding? No. I mean, maybe if I’m on a trip for weeks at a time and I just don’t really wanna skate a spot and my body is just hurtin’, but when I’m at home and I’m with all my friends and we can’t think of any spots to go to we’ll, just go to the park and usually end up having a super good time. How about contests. Do you like skating in them? I’m not super psyched to go skate a contest, but if someone hooks me up with a spot, I’m not going to turn it down. If someone wants me to do it, I’m more than willing to do it. I used to do them a lot when I was younger. I just realized the further I got away from all that stuff was when I actually started
“I’ve never been one of those kids who can just do a trick every single try—I just get lucky.” backside 360 below: heelflip JT Rhoades photos
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getting recognized and hooked up. It seemed like were two different routes and I was just not trying to go that way. Does skating a contest limit how far you can progress? Not really. Most of the kids who skate those contests are insanely good; they can do tricks every try, it’s gnarly. I’ve never been one of those kids who can just do a trick every single try—I just get lucky. You were up in Canada this summer for Jamcouver. How was that experience for you? It was fun. I really had no idea what I was going there for. That’s kinda how I am half the time; I just get on the flight and sort of figure it out as I’m there. How do you feel you did? My ankle was kinda hurt… I wasn’t going crazy but I was just cruising, trying to make stuff. The team did okay. Had you been to Canada before? Yeah, I’d been to Canada a few times before that… I went up there for a Birdhouse trip a while back and just random stuff with my dad during my
whole childhood. I think I did a skate park tour up there with him. What’s your impression of Canada? In Vancouver it was super nice, super green. It was cool to be out in nature and the environment, but still having street spots to skate. Did you visit Leeside when you were here? Yeah we did actually, we went there one day because it was raining. Did you shred it? Not really. I think I just bailed right away, just hit some weird bump and fell right on my face [laughs]. There’s all kinds of little divots and cracks in there and I was just tired. I think I just dropped in and slammed. I remember Sebo [Walker] when we were there, dropped in on the little love seat on the quarter pipe and slammed, and it was cold. It was harsh. Are there any DIY parks near you in Cali that you can skate? Washington Street is pretty close. I’ve been there a few times and I feel like
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that’s one of the gnarliest DIY parks ever, ‘cause it’s just super raw and people make it look really easy to skate in videos, but then you go there and I have a really hard time trying to figure it out. I’ve seen people skate it and kill it. It’s gnarly. Let’s talk about music for a bit. What skater do you think has the best band? I watch Figgy and those guys play a lot ‘cause sometimes they’ll come over to my house and practice. I mean their band (Harsh Toke) is pretty good and they’ve got a record coming out. I’m psyched on their stuff just ‘cause it’s the genre that I’m into.
losi grind Ryan Allan photo opposite frontside heelflip Rhoades photo
“They can go do the yacht stuff, I’ll just stay on land and skate.”
Are you looking to start a band? I’m just cruising and trying to jam with all my friends. Me and Figgy and some other dudes jam sometimes, but for right now I’m not really on that level where I could have a band. I’m still just trying to figure it all out. Is that similar to the way you grew up skating: just skate and see what happens? Or did you know you wanted to make a living out of it? No, I just wanted to skate and see what happens and luckily it just worked out at a younger age where it allowed me to use it as a way of making a living. If I wasn’t skating right now, I’d probably just be working a regular job, trying to figure out what to do. If you could do anything else other than skating what would it be? Music is probably my other main interest aside from skating. If I could figure out something in that area, I’d be stoked. Do you consider yourself a creative person then? Yeah, I don’t know. I did well in school when I was younger, but as I got older I just didn’t have the motivation, you know? Studying and homework: I just wasn’t into it. I was more into doing other stuff like skating or making music or doing more outdoors stuff. Does your family own a yacht? [laughs] No. What’s your yachting experience? I’ve only been on one yacht and it was for that trip in Miami. It was pretty crazy. Last time I went on a boat I got super seasick and I was sort of over it. I started throwing up and I was just traumatized from then on [laughs]. So how are you going to handle being on the Asphalt Yacht Club if you get seasick? Fuck I dunno… They can go do the yacht stuff, I’ll just stay on land and skate.
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photos by gordon nicholas
words by dave ehrenreich
film
Street Demon The Video The only reason we bother making skateboard videos is for the experience—being there at the spot, watching a friend lose his mind, rip off his shirt, scream at a car. Then there’s the editing— eating pizza for weeks straight, smoking too many cigarettes, drinking too much beer. But a time comes when you stop and look at everything you’ve filmed and you realize that fifty percent of it is shit, so you throw it out and trudge slowly on. That’s the way it works: the only thing that separates good videos from terrible videos.
“Its not often when the main filmer has one of the most jaw-dropping parts.” – Geoff Strelow
Opposite zach barton boardslide fakie Clockwise from left: transportation; Sheldon Meleshinski; Brandon ‘Beans’ Smith; Danny Empey; Josh ‘Gerball’ Green
It takes so much fucking effort to make a skate video and when it’s all done you have nothing to show for it besides a few hazy premiere photos, a bunch of high fives and the memories. That’s why we commemorate these videos, cheer at the premieres and buy them on DVD, because all that torture somehow ends up brewing the best experiences of our lives. The cast of The Street Demon Video—from big names to comeups—have been doing just that for the better part of four years. All roads lead to Josh “Gerball” Green, the offical Street Demon historian: “The name is from Edmonton,” explains Gerball. “Jetski, Gillies and James Stephenson [had] the idea of us making a hesh crew and filming a sick video. None of our sponsors were making anything and the other local videos weren’t really our thing. We looked for the gnarliest dudes we could find; not just at skating, but at life.” Originally an Albertan contingency consisting of Gerball, Jetski, Jess Atmore, Geoff Strelow, Kelly Agapi and Jamie “TinCan” Tancowny, it wasn’t until later that they expanded westward when, in Victoria, B.C. they picked up a shipmate off of the SS Princess Mary by the name of Zane
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Cushing. Besides Zaner though, “no one else from Vic really suited the build,” recalls Gerball. Until he met a young stoner filmer named Zach Barton who, “turned out to be a lot better than me at skating.” Around this time, the famed Pender Beach skate house was in full swing and it’s precisely where they found Sheldon Meleshinski. “[Sheldon] can backside noseblunt handrails with one eye,” says Gerball. “Not much need to question his status.” Strong ties and lifelong friendships began to develop between the now defunct SS Princess Mary and the Pender Beach boys. Zach came to Vancouver to skate, the Vancouver heads went to Vic, everyone raged, skated hard and had the time of their lives. “The common bond was everyone being down for legit skating, not chongo skating,” says Gerball. And during this ripping good time, Barton documented it all. All the Demons know the sacrifices Zach endured to make this production possible, but after all the years of hard work and hard partying The Street Demon Video, shot and edited by Barton, and made possible by the whole crew, is available on DVD and easily sits on a short list of the finest Canadian videos ever made.
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vol. 11
no. 3
reviews
Inspiration Bound and recorded
Present Shock: When everything happens now
Fantastic Passport Toby Reid
Douglas Rushkoff (current / penguin, 2013)
(self-published, 2013)
Douglas Rushkoff’s latest contribution to media and social theory accessibly and poignantly brings to light the myriad ways in which we are slaves to the technologically mediated “present” moment. Rushkoff’s form of “presentism” is not Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now; in fact it’s the opposite. But his diagnosis of the present’s “loaded spring” of digital bombardment belongs to the same project: to bring us back to our bodies and what’s really going on around us. If we look beyond the virtual and fragmented present of tweets and capitalism’s unbreakable story of innovation, we find that we don’t actually need to work as much, we have an environmental catastrophe on our hands via global warming, and we are so much more than our smartest machines. —Andrea Williamson
Toby’s studio doodles are honest. They reflect the when and where of his everyday. In his recent series’, Toby spent 72 hours systematically documenting objects of his daily affection. Skateboard trucks, a camera, a notebook, a pen, a shaver, a writing chair, a blanket and a cactus are among the peripheral materials. His life is simple and so are his choice materials: black pen, marker or ink on white paper. Toby’s hand-drawn archives are illustrative of miniature documentarian vignettes. They focus on a single moment and then come together to weave a story, part fact/ part fiction, like a quiet focus of autobiographical sentimentality. The printed material is produced in a small editions and so must finds its way to you through the mail, hand delivery or from a friend of a friend. —JJ
10 years of Monster Children MAGAZINE Campbell Milligan & Chris Searle (monster children, 2013)
At some point everybody must experience that uncomfortable feeling of having to reflect on that thing they do proficiently, professionally, or at the very least, a lot. When one asks, “Does it ruin it for you?,” what they really mean is, “Does it take away your ability to enjoy the work of your peers at face value? Are you constantly picking it apart?” Truth be told, it does… I am… But this book did not ruin anything except the hours spent these past weeks drooling over every word, image and detail. I learned that the title of the publication was referenced from a book called Tandia, written by Bryce Courtenay. And then I remembered what got me into this task of writing a review. I remembered what a monstrous child I had been and probably always will be, because I was ready to tell that PR girl whatever she wanted to hear, if only to get an advanced copy of this book. —SG
Soleil Levant
ELEVENTH HOUR
MADE: Chapter One
Vivien and Jean Feil, Soy Panday (magenta)
Jacob Harris (lakai, fourstar, isle, slam city skates)
Jon Miner (emerica)
With Magenta growing and expanding as a company so much within the past few years, they have been able to travel and produce tons of footage. This video is different from the previous Magenta videos because it shares more international influence in their editing. It’s kind of like a Japanese game show where you have no clue what’s going on at some points, but you like it anyway. It shows skating from a different light, with well thought-out tricks and a quick footed pace. No one was hurt during the making of this film, but Jimmy Lannon did kill the bumpto-bar game. —Tyler Warren
Shot using “today’s most regressive technology,” 16mm intros by Dan Magee set the pace for this instant classic. Kevin Lowry, despite having lines in just about every video worth seeing in the past few years, put in three years of hard work for filmmaker Jacob Harris and underlines the same keen eye, power and originality as the other stars like: ender-ender Tom Knox, Luka Pinto, Nick Jensen, Sylvain Tognelli and the stylish-en-petite Arthur Darrien. Independence prevails with this no-compromise exhibit of true skateboarding on the roughest and most unique terrain you can imagine. It’s available on DVD, to have and to hold, for as long as we both shall shred. —Sandro
I volunteer with little kids, teaching them how to read, so I know my way around a Chapter Book or two. In Chapter One you need to: introduce characters ( Jeremy Leabres, Colin Provost, Leo Romero, Brandon Westgate), establish a setting (skatespots you’ve probably never seen before) and introduce a conflict (skateboarding’s gotten too damn gnarly and somebody’s going to die if they keep trying to outdo each other). The beginning of this story certainly has me hooked and I can barely wait for Chapter Two where we will undoubtedly meet new characters who will either be contributing to, or working to resolve, that little problem. —DP
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music
vol. 11
no. 3
Sound Cheque sonic heat waves
Mike Donovan
Julia Holter
Wot
Loud City Song
Deep Trip
(drag city)
(domino)
(sacred bones)
Well, after countless singles and a half dozen full lengths, San Francisco’s Sic Alps have called it a day. However, there is reason to rejoice; from the ashes rises Mike Donovan (primary songwriter and founder of the beloved Alps), with a solo record of equal potency. Hinted at with the band’s 2012 swan song, Donovan once again picks up the acoustic guitar and plots out a record of stripped down and jilted folk-blues, evoking the acid damaged troubadours of the psychedelic age. A great start on the next leg of Donovan’s already storied career.—MR
With her third record in two years, Julia Holter can not lose. Beginning with the avantgarde Tragedy LP of 2011, Holter has since morphed into a highly adored and acclaimed songstress. Blending hints of new age, classical composition, jazz and synth pop, Loud City Song is a dramatic yet approachable work that draws upon the 1944 novella and play Gigi for inspiration. Much like the city that the novel is based in (Paris), Loud City Song is a bustling work of beauty that will cement Holter as one of this generation’s most unique and beloved songwriters.—MR
Destruction Unit
Arizona’s Destruction Unit ride that fine line between space rock and punk, two genres which dared not meet during their primordial phases. Since the 70s, those once-staunch lines have occasionally been blurred but few have managed to make it work. These former Jay Reatard associates fair well traversing these two territories on their second LP, flipping from hammering punk rhythms and into Hawkwind-like sonic exploration with ease. It’ll probably be a long while until another band comes along and does this well again, so hold onto it while you still can. —MR
Oneohtrix Point Never R Plus Seven (warp records)
Brooklyn-based electro-deconstructionist Daniel Lopatin has been steadily releasing albums since 2009, and R Plus Seven marks his debut for IDM juggernaut Warp Records. Here, Lopatin expands on some of the playful sample-based elements found on Replica. The cheese factor is increased with midi saxophones and organs that sound borrowed from a cheap 90s keyboard, but Lopatin expertly rearranges them to invoke half-gone childhood memories from a blurry CRT television. In addition, Lopatin has discovered the joys of structure: no good idea lasts for too long. —Evan McDowell
Cosmetics
The Men
Crystal Stilts
Olympia EP
Campfire Songs
“Nature Noir”
(captured tracks)
(sacred bones)
sacred bones
The first chunk of material from this Vancouver duo and couple, who just returned to our fair city after a lengthy stay in Montreal. The Olympia EP was actually recorded around the same time as their first two 7-inches, so it features the same feather-light synth workouts and breathy vocal approach that garnered many comparisons to the 80s revivalism of the Chromatics. However, Cosmetics dig a darker and more interesting groove here, drawing from a wider sonic palette of kraut rock and gothic manoeuvres. It’ll hold you over ‘til the forthcoming LP. —MR
After trying their hand at down-home rock and roll with 2012’s New Moon, The Men make a greater departure with their latest EP Campfire Songs. The songs were, appropriately, recorded acoustically while sitting around a campfire in an upstate New York backyard. Opening tracks “I Saw Her Face” and “The Seeds’ are re-workings of songs from the previous full-length, while the remaining three are brand new. These tracks may alienate some fans in their sparseness, but their highest points resemble Neil Young’s stripped down efforts from the early 70s.—EM
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While it doesn’t break any new musical ground within their catalogue, Nature Noir should be seen as a high point for Crystal Stilts. The reference points from the past are here and they’re obvious—Velvet Underground, psych-country and a slew of Nuggets acts. What Crystal Stilts do expertly is write songs that bleed passion for whatever genre they might be experimenting with, and the sum of their influences makes for a beautiful record. Even at their most pastiche, it feels fresh and unmistakably the work of one band. —EM
life
vol. 11, no. 3
autumn 2013
Last nite Skate. Drink. Repeat.
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Left to right, from top:
Darren Navarrette at Glory Days (Vancouver), Lee Yankou, Jesse Jean-Bart with Joey Larock, Will Marshall, Matt Berger & Mark Waters, Micky Papa and friends, Dario Phillips & Pat Edge at Jamcouver 2013 after party - School of Mix / Ryan Reyes & the good females of Glory Days courtesy lindsaysdiet.com
It’s not everyday you get this many Canadian skaters together in one place, so once we’d finally pushed the patience of the Shakespeare festival across the water from Jamcouver as far as it could go, we packed up The Goat and took the party into Gastown for one lordly affair.
023.147 / WADE SPEYER
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vol. 11, no. 3
autumn 2013
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colormagazine.ca
words and photo by brent goldsmith
life
Tattered Ten Austyn Gillette
As the product-hungry kids throw water bottles at the last tossed t-shirt stuck dangling in a tree, Austyn Gillette is shotgunning beers, celebrating the end of 20 days on the road for the HUF ‘Stoops Euro Tour.’ While the rest of his new teammates were having their way with the remaining beers and a few joints, I managed to sit down with Austyn and catch a couple tales of raunchy European adventures, commercialized skateboarding contests and being stalked by internet girls.
What has been the best stop of the tour? Amsterdam. I’ve never been there before, just heard the stereotypes, and I got to indulge in some of those stereotypes. I don’t really smoke weed but I did buy weed from a café, rode around on some rental bikes. It was nice. Any good tales of mischief from the trip? It’s been pretty mellow, aside from Dirty Beers in Copenhagen. You pay equivalent to $50-$75 and the girl takes off the tap and screws on a dildo, then she sits on it and pours your beer via vagina. I was able to watch it, I didn’t get it personally, but one of the other guys was able to get up close and personal with her. I was just an innocent bystander. Well, I was there watching, so I wasn’t that innocent. People are going to church and I’m here watching some girl pour beer with a dildo. How has it been riding for HUF so far? It’s been about 20 days and it’s cool. I knew most of the guys on the team but this trip has been more of a bonding experience. Traveling with people and seeing how everyone adjusts to traveling, it sometimes fucks with people, but we’re all kind of in the same boat; we are able to get along so it’s relaxing in that sense. Look at these guys over here: we’re able to just drink beer and smoke weed and I guess that’s what you do. I guess you’re allowed to do that on HUF—you can wear weed socks, you can do whatever you want. I don’t do that yet… maybe one day I’ll get jumped in through the pipe or something like that. Since you and Dylan have found a footwear brand to ride for together, how has it been? It’s been good. We’re friends, we’ve known each other for a long period of time and it’s easier that way. It was a weird process. We were both going to go to different shoe companies. I was going to go to Gravis but then they pulled the plug. I was doing Habitat at the time and it was a hard decision, but it’s cool being with all of your friends. I already knew Keith on a friendly level, since I live in San Francisco. I guess it was kind of obvious that we would end up on the same team. What was the deal with yours and Dylan’s “Introducing” ad for HUF?
That was Dylan’s idea and I was backing it. I wanted to do something a little more funny but he pulled some strings and got some pretty hot models. Look up their names and you will not be bummed. (Camille Rowe & and Lindsey Wixson) Thoughts on ‘Team Handsome’? I get it a lot, but I don’t know why the fuck I’m in it. I’m just a normal human being. I don’t like being put on some pedestal. I just skate and now that fucking happens. It’s funny how people are taking it seriously and put us in this genre and I get hated on and all this shit. But fuck it, you just run with it. Any idea there was a ‘fuckyesaustyngillettetumblr’? What? Do we? Shut the fuck up… Alrighty, I guess we have a stalker, cool. Probably a fat kid from the Midwest or something. Any other stalkers stand out to you? Not really, everything on the internet is pretty light. Maybe on Instagram, since I don’t have a Facebook account, maybe I have a fake one made for me but I don’t actually have one. If I was a girl, I wouldn’t be into a skater’s website nor would I would be into a chick that is looking at skating sites. What is your type of girl then? One that has no clue about anything I do and is into anything I do on the side,which is, wow, really sentimental. And then I go get Dirty Beers apparently. What are your thoughts on Street League? Do you hear that? That cricket? It is more of a sportsmen contest. Even today, I got hit up by kids asking: ‘What’s the ground like?” I guess it gives you a bigger fan base, but it’s kind of fucking me over. It’s not, like, against what I’m into, but it lacks the creativity and everything and everybody that I was and still am into; I just feel like I lost a good amount of it. The kids and the people that are into good and quality in skateboarding that are keeping it real, I guess you could say that’s my deal. I got offered to be in it and it’s kind of hard to say no to that… When keeping it real goes wrong and you’re fucking 30 and you’re like ‘Oh, shit. I’m not a stadium skater and that’s why I haven’t really done well.’
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“People are going to church and I’m here watching some girl pour beer with a dildo.”
Chris Cope frontside rock jared smith photo
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vol. 11, no. 2
summer 2013
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