Volume 5, Number 1

a skateboard kulture quarterly.

a skateboard kulture quarterly.

FineLine Technologies JN 84210 Index 3 80% 1.5 BWR PD V5.2 ISSUE

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[ o ] DOUBT

also:

Under The Weather: how skatebaorders keep warm in the winter. Peter Bjorn and John, David Shrigley, Floorwork, and more...

DEER MAN OFPage 98 DARK WOODS SoberSEVEN WITH RYAN SMITH

PLAGUE OF SURFACES:

AUREL SCHMIDT

ALIEN y e c a r i p s n Co

DEER MAN of DARK WOODS backside disaster [ o ] doubt.

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02 Rights Reserved , Torrance, CA 905 Andy Jenkins. All Francisco Street y is ©2006-07 by 955 ger / ima ate t Sk Pilo h We Wrenc m Shoes e .co Th ion / but AR stri WE adi upr FOOT LAKAI LIMITED press.com / www.s i.com / www.bend Ad #94 / www.laka

LAKAI / W RENCH P ILOT COLL SOFTGOO AB DS & ACC ESSORIES ALSO AVA ILABLE! C HECK OU LAKAI.CO T M FOR MO RE INFO!

ACCLAIM WRENCH PIL OT: WHITE / BLACK LEATHER WBLK

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HOWARD SELECT WREN

CH PILOT: BLACK / WHITE SUEDE BL-W

TELFORD WRENCH PIL OT: BLACK / WHITE NUBUCK BL-W

Shoe.

Coming 02.07.

WWW.DCSHOES.COM

[ o ] WILDE

Intro. wordsby scott radnidge

In the Californian warm nighttime sky, neon signs and jukeboxes played through the night. On freshly painted multi-lane roads letterman jackets and homecoming queens, high on pop and nicotine, rode giddily in convertibles that jockeyed for position in lines of snaking cars, whose fins glittered and pierced the nocturnal darkness with luminous tailfins.

While idling at a stoplight, the din of piano-fueled rock limped over the AM radio waves and oozed out of the waiting cars’ open tops and ajar windows. Pulling into the parking lot, the cars spilled out their occupants, who noisily funneled through wide glass doors. Inside the drive-in diner, customers huddled around tables and devoured chocolate malts while feeding the insatiable appetite of the jukebox, whose yawning mouth never quite had enough coins to eat.

Skirts twirled to the beats and greased haired toughs in rolled-up t-shirts watched from the counter seats, eager to fight and itching for love.

It was a peaceful night in the late 50s, a boom time for large art deco cars and cigarettes, music and social hangouts.

Everywhere, people dreamed of brighter futures with new materials, new pastimes, and greater highs.

Through the crowded drive-ins and fogged up car windshields, you’d see the evolution and adaptation beginning. Under the streetlights, shapes darted between parked cars and street signs, their motion blurred in the nighttime air, looking every bit as juxtaposed as they were.

Vibrating wheels across pavement whose surface was 8

COLOR Vol.5, Issue 1

dotted with landmines of pebbles and pressure cracks, the metal and clay wheels slipped and numbed feet. Between a break of light from oncoming traffic, someone in the back of the pack slipped out, their board shooting out in between cars, its shiny surface glinting from the headlights that quickly bounced off of its gleaming surface. Everyone stopped and waited as the pilot darted across traffic to rescue their hopefully still intact board, their clothes dusty, elbows and knees torn.

“Sidewalk surfing hurts way more than surfing,” the skater said, it was way harder on the body. “But it’s the only thing to do at night”. A friend replied, conscious of the surf that wasn’t rideable at that hour, “Yeah, what’re you gonna do when there’s no surf?”

Nodding in agreement, together they started again, their legs bristling with tension as they gripped their boards of shaped plywood and two-by-fours, past the crowded diner and down the city sidewalks, funneling into parking lots and playgrounds where stunts were born and styles were forged. It was all about adaptation.

Skating first came as the little brother to surfing, one day crawling out of the foaming surf where it flopped around on the beach for a spell, before gaining the rudimentary pieces to try its fate on land. It knew its place as a logical alternate to its creator, surf. But it was just that, second fiddle to the water sport that encouraged its first baby steps. Steel wheels turning to clay, then morphing into urethane, skating buoyed by the popularity it was receiving, and responded with a finger that was held aloft into the noon sky, the irony

the statement made on dry land not lost on brother surf, who watched peacefully and unmoved from the glassy surface of the ocean. And with that, skateboarding became its own country, with leaders and spokespeople, businesses and icons.

Art deco cars morphed to huge muscular beasts, and AM radio doubted itself as FM emerged from the womb. Drivein’s parking spaces got wider and interiors got modernized, and the familiar jukeboxes were updated from the familiar embrace of Do Wop to British invasions.

Still, in the neon red and white interior of the diner, people crowded around booths and tables, the ruckus of their excited chatter still as intense as it had been years before, their faces still youthful as their laughter rose above the music, each taking turns sipping from coke floats and large milkshakes.

At this time in and around the diner, the only change that really sticks out is that on the sidewalk, and under the tables and leaning up against the diner walls, it’s hard not to recognize the skateboards that are there amongst the people, proudly displayed alongside custom cars, cruiser bikes and pretty girlfriends.

To their riders, they are extensions of their limbs, customized and dreamt about, cherished and loved. From embryo to acceptance, in such a small amount of time.

What an adaptation skateboarding had undergone.

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intro: TIMEBOMB_604 251 1097 www.timebombtrading.com

contributors

GRAHAM NICHOLAS smith grind [ o ] nicholas.

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contents .

Color5.1 COVER artby aurel schmidt Deer Man portraitby dylan doubt

BLACKLIPS ALIEN DEERHOOF PETER, BJORN AND JOHN FLOORWORK DAVID SHRIGLEY AUREL SCHMIDT DEER MAN OF DARK WOODS UNDER THE WEATHER MICKEY AVALON RYAN SMITH 42 52 66 70

72 78

81

98

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130

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INGREDIENTS: 8 intro, 10 contents, 14 credits/contributors, 16 inspiration bound, 22 product toss (specials), 26 show, 30 product toss (features), 32 anthrax, 34 faces n’ spaces, 36 contest, 37 product toss (kicks), 40 city, 44 cmyk, 88 fashion/irration,118 fotofeature, 129 trailer, 132 sound cheque, 138 over and out.

COLOR Vol.5, Issue 1

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Feeble Grind. Phoenix, Arizona - circa 2006 PHOTO: BROACH ©C1RCA 2006.

MIX & MATCH Circa proudly introduces the Billions hoody. The Billions hoody features a full back zip so you can mix and match colors and patterns of your hoody any way you want. The billions hoody is available exclusively at your local skate shop.

Committed to Skateboarding. www.C1RCA.ca

Stephen Wilde

SANDRO GRISON editor / creative director sandro@colormagazine.ca

DUSTIN KOOP graphic design

dkoop@colormagazine.ca

CRAIG ROSVOLD advertising director

craig@colormagazine.ca

BEN TOUR illustration

tour@colormagazine.ca

JENNIFER MACLEOD circulation

jmacleod@colormagazine.ca

CHRIS BARIL web

baril@colormagazine.ca

DYLAN DOUBT photo editor

dylandoubt@colormagazine.ca

NICHOLAS BROWN arts editor

SAELAN TWERDY

STEPHENWILDE.COM

music editor

music@colormagazine.ca

SCOTT RADNIDGE senior writer

Joey Williams

RHIANON BADER

Before our interview in Color 4.3 I didn’t know a stitch about him. Ryan McGuigan told me he was sleeping on the floor for a month before he came downstairs at the Chateau to introduce himself, so I don’t think it’s uncommon. He must have been an easy guy to hate though. He didn’t have to shave his face and always with a twofour of Pil’. He spends his winters in Spain, but we were lucky enough to borrow him as this issue’s official food stylist. Thanks Chef!

sradnidge@colormagazine.ca

copy editor

rbader@colormagazine.ca

INTERNSHIPS gordon nicholas

gordon@colormagazine.ca

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS jacob william goodman, brock thiessen, jay revelle sam mckinlay, sarah anne gibson, sasha webb adam henry, matthew meadows, dustin koop graham preston, mark e. rich, quinn omori jennifer macleod, leah turner, tim hillier

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS david kinsey newstands: disticor.com | magamall.com

Publications mail agreement No. 40843627 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: fourcornerpublishinginc.

321 RAILWAY STREET, STUDIO 105, VANCOUVER, BC V6A 1A4 CANADA 604 873 6699

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 Color Magazine. 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. Color Magazine is published by fourcorner publishing inc., printed four 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: 6 issues for $39.99 in Canada, $59.99 CND in the United States, $89.99 CND for all other countries. Contact Color Magazine with any subscription inquiries or visit us online: www.colormagazine.ca

Printed in Canada

credits/contributors .

Quite possibly the most important entity to this issue, Stephen Wilde was hunted down by our ‘hiring squad’ to shoot this issue’s Fashion/Irration, (p.88). We needed somebody who understood what we were trying to do. I’d like to say that Stephen has a soft spot in his heart for diners, but that would be an understatement.

Like brothers from different mothers over here, the dude’s in love with them! You’ve probably also seen his work with Lifetime clothing.

nbrown@colormagazine.ca

dan zaslavsky, gordon nicholas, david christian ben fournier, shane hutton, dan mathieu, kyle shura owen woytowich, judah oakes, andrew norton brian garson, dufresne, scott pommier arker zakharov, dave todon, mike blabac alana paterson, stephen wilde, tim hillier, keith marlowe

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photographer

food stylist

MOTION FOODS INC.

Tanus Lewis

fashion stylist

A stylist living and working in Vancouver. Tanus’ strengths lay in print styling, fashion shows, and commercial/film work. She’s been published in various magazines local and international. Has been featured in Canada’s top two fashion mags... Wait, Canada has fashion magazines now? With any help from Miss Lewis here, we do! I just wish we knew the titles. She’s also had work in Dazed and Confused, but the purpose of this is that she styled “At The Diner”. (p.88)

Ben Tour

staff illustrator

Ben transplanted himself to Vancouver following his graduation from the illustration program at Sheridan College (Toronto) in 1999. His art has been displayed internationaly in galleries, magazines and newspapers - predominantly at BLK MRKT gallery in 2005 at his first solo show. I think you can tell yourself you’ve made it when artists like Dave Kinsey paint your portrait (left).

He’s been Color’s go-to-guy for all that is drawn since 2004, and that might have something to do with the free hiphop CDs people send us, there’s a HUGE hiphop fan in this ‘art fag’. Check out his work on the Mickey Avalon interview. (p.130) THETOURSHOW.COM

Inspiration Bound PENGUIN BY DESIGN Phil Baines, Penguin Books

PENGUIN.COM

One night while skimming through Amazon.com I found this beauty by fluke. What grabbed me was how great the cover was, after finding out that this great cover contained 70 years of even more amazing covers and a great behind the scenes on a lot of them, If you are a complete nerdlinger like me and enjoy graphic design, typography or even reading about the crazy history of this British company, then it may be the right time to ante-up and order this 230 page masterpiece. —koop

HAROLD HUNTER

Giovanni Reda

HAROLDHUNTERBOOK.COM

Skate photographer Giovanni Reda has published a book in tribute to friend Harold Hunter (RIP). This is a clean and well laid out book showcasing Harold’s life. It is well worth the purchase, that is if I knew what it sold for. If you are like the rest of the world and love to own things in limited edition production, then this is your day. There are only 1000 copies of the book in print and each book is signed by Reda himself. Since I have no idea where you can buy a copy from, I suggest that you visit the website, they have a beautiful site with the whole book online for you to view, get it while it’s hot! —koop

BEASTS!

Jacob Covey, Fantagraphics

FANTAGRAPHICS.COM

Over the years I have become rather jaded and harsh, rarely seeing a book that blows me away, much like a junkie trying to emulate his first high. When I first received this book from the FedEx guy, it put an immediate smile on my face. This book is a classic mythological menagerie, comprised only of creatures that were thought at one time to actually exist. Generally a book this well designed and packaged has got to let me down in the content department right? Wrong! The inside consists of 90 of your favorite artists such as, James Jean, Tony Millionaire, Jeff Soto, Tim Biskup, Sam Webber, Nate Williams, Jeremy Fish, Andy Kehoe and 82 others. In its entirety, the book is 200 pages with a hard cover, saturated in gold leaf print, explaining each beast’s story on the opposing page of each illustration. This book looks as if it belongs from the vaults of a 12th century Vampire hunter. The best part about the book is that is sells for a mere $28, that’s reason enough to pick it up.—koop

FACES OF SKATEBOARDING DDMN Publishing liqua Tatum

FACESOFSKATEBOARDING.COM

From Skip Engblom and Shogo Kubo, John Lucero, Jeff Grosso to Eric Koston, Mark Appleyard and Ali Boulala – Swede Daniel Mánsonn has managed to track down an impressive cast of people that have had an impact on skateboarding in the last few decades. All black and white, shot mostly with available light, these 160 or so pages of some of skateboarding’s greats contain some incredible images. It is unfortunate that with its subtle Christian undertones (dedication to Jesus Christ, etc.), there exists a glaring absence of everyone’s favourite skate evangelist, Lenny Kirk. Despite this oversight, it is a book, whose weight any coffee table would be honoured to bear. —doubt

PYRAMID POWER VOL. 1 - ISSUE 1

Jonah Grey, Matt Booth, Sacha Hurley, and Conor Holler, eds.

PYRAMIDPOWER.CA

Pyramid Power has enabled four guys from Vancouver to magically combine two of my favourite themes—“local boys make good” and “new art magazine that doesn’t suck”—into 48 pages of luxurious high-quality uncoated stock, perfect bound. Lovingly and inventively designed, Pyramid Power showcase the work of 27 up-and-coming artists, writers, photographers, and designers that you’ve almost certainly never heard of in a free-form format that’s an impressive work of art in itself.

Pyramid Power also comes with an embossed cover and a limited-edition artist’s postcard. Pyramid Power is everything good about art school without any of the bullshit. It’s funny, sensitive, intellectual, and it doesn’t do anything the normal way. It also looks like a million bucks (but only costs six).

Imagine Modern Painters, McSweeney’s, and Frieze all compressed into a thinner package with taco sauce and a list of sweet rap albums in the footnotes. If Canada wants to hold onto its international reputation, we must abandon fossil fuels and hydroelectric dams. The hell with cold fusion. Let’s invest in Pyramid Power. —saelan twerdy

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inspiration bound .

Let’s get physical with Jason Lee

Specials All items listed below come with your choice of sizing. Order to go!

PIG BEARINGS

TUMYETO.COM

KEEP SHOES

KEEPCOMPANY.COM

Free range, grain fed Pig Jaguar Bearings.

Marinated in bouillon, seared, then barbequed lightly to lock in flavor.

Served on a fresh Kaiser, with cheese and seasonal vegetables. Accompanied with pomme frites.With its distinctive taste, this is a light and fast entrée, guaranteed to keep you going.

Macrobiotic, vegetarian “Tobin”.

Produced in Brazil, this California designed delicacy agrees with a woman’s discerning palette. Natural ingredients like cotton, canvas, and gum rubber combine to form a light, durable taste. Served on a freshly baked baguette and topped with home made mayo, tofu-bacon and sharp cheddar cheese.

RUCKUS TRUCKS

RUKUSMETAL.COM

Wild game farmed Ruckus leopard print trucks.

Deviled slightly with Tabasco and cayenne, and slow cooked for a smooth head turning flavor. Served on focaccia bread, and garnished with proshuito and cheese. Accompanied with pomme frites, and served on a bed of lettuce. A meal for the more adventurous.

BAKER DECK

BAKERSKATEBOARDS.COM

Served on deli style focaccia bread, this medium-rare Spanky Birdscope deck is accented and nicely coupled with garden fresh tomatos and canadian back bacon. Sharpening the mouth watering sandwich is our organic cheddar chesse, romaine lettuce toped with a small amount of dijon. At a mere 7 ply, it is sure to please even the most discrimanate weight watchers.

NIKE BELT

NIKE.COM/NIKESKATEBOARDING

Organic textured Nike belt.

Blanched, then marinated in balsamic vinegar and the chef’s secret spices, then grilled to perfection to achieve the “elephant texture” that is so popular these days. Served piled high with local organic vegetables, all on a bed of lettuce. A light unassuming pick me up, yet will hold you up for hours.

RVCA HAT

RVCACLOTHING.COM

Braised wild RVCA Hat. Grilled lightly to achieve texture, charred on outside, yet light and succulent on the inside. Served on a bed of lettuce, and accompanied by apricot soup. An excellent way to warm up one’s day.

PIG WHEELS

PIGWHEELS.COM

Fresh, open water wild Pig Wheels.

Poached lightly with butter and dill, garnished lightly with bacon, served on a bed of lettuce and organic lemon. A smooth and natural lunch.

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product toss .

DARELL STANTON WELCOME TO THE FAMILY

FAKIE INWARD HEEL

AN ELEMENT AUDIO VISUAL PROJECT NEW VIDEO JUNE 21ST 2007 THISISMYELEMENT.COM

DARRELL STANTON THIS IS MY ELEMENT FEATURED PRODUCT DARRELL KICKED BOARD | OMAHA SHOE IN BLACK & WHITE ELEMENTSKATEBOARDS.COM

IRREGULAR REGULARS team gallery, new york. wordsby leah turner

photosby ryan mcginlay

Ryan McGinley’s first solo show at New York’s Team Gallery documents his two-year long road-trip following Morrissey throughout the U.K., U.S. and Mexico. Irregular Regulars features 20 small to larger-format colour photographs culled from 200 concerts, successfully presenting familiar McGinley tropes while illustrating the fervent, legendary devotion that fans continue to hold for the front-man of The Smiths. As former photo editor for Vice magazine, McGinley firmly established the magazine’s aesthetic within the vein of Nan Golden and Larry Clark, that is, the immersion within, and glorification of a tragic-ecstatic youth, obsessed with a hedonistic sexuality and lifestyle. With this series of photographs, McGinley performs the double act of removing himself from his close-knit community of friends and usual subjects, instead stepping into a broader community of Morrissey fans and followers. Interestingly, and perhaps unwittingly, in his exploration of mass audience and fandom, McGinley inverts the theme of alienation that is so central to Morrissey’s music. Although one might be an outsider in the “real” world, these concerts are collective experiences where, according to McGinley, the audience is transformed into communal bodies and predictable typologies.

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show .

(top left) Untitled Morrissey 16 (left) Untitled Morrissey 15 (above) Untitled Morrissey 17

A dedicated Morrissey fan himself, as the length and breadth of his project attests, McGinley’s photos are mainly shot from the viewpoint of the crowd.

The hazy, colour-saturated images variously present candid portraits of awestruck fans contrasted against abstracted overhead crowd shots. Apparently the bold green, pink, blue and orange hues of the photographs were determined by Morrissey’s stage lighting, a rather happy accident, as the resulting exhibition sets a gorgeously lush tone. The devotees are bathed in otherworldly light, which, within the logic of fandom, must surely be cast by none other than Moz himself.

In Untitled (Morrissey 15), one female spactator becomes an ethereal portrait, captured within a moment of quiet adoration. In another instance, McGinley voyeuristically catches a fan in the throes of an almost sexual pleasure; eyes closed, sweat beading on his forehead, mouth agape.

In the rare depictions of Morrissey himself, he is dramatically silhouetted in light, evocative of the quasi-religious phenomenon he has become.

Obscured, Morrissey’s alluring, romantic persona is preserved, and one forgets that he is now actually middle-aged, in the midst of a comeback. With McGinley’s lens focused upon the fans, all the seductive, (if not clichéd) appeals of angst-ridden youth are invariably projected back upon the singer.

Almost all the regulars have been documented in McGinley’s photographs: fans in their capacities as hysterics, hipsters, idolaters, contemplators, and velvet-blazer-clad imitators. Unfortunately, and rather inexplicably, McGinley seems to have omitted the most fascinating of all the Morrissey followers – his devout Latino audience. No exploration of Mozfandom can be complete without reference to the puzzlingly zealous connection that Latino audiences in the southwest United States hold toward the singer.

McGinley’s omission of this reality instead places his work firmly back into familiar territory, denying himself the chance to navigate meanings of wider cultural import.

TEAMGAL.COM

Features

INSIGHT “Posessed 6”

CLICHE “Dog”

INSIGHT51.COM

CLICHESKATE.COM

STUSSY (wmns) “Flower Flight Two” STUSSY.COM

FOURSTAR “Topanga” FOURSTARCLOTHING.COM

EMERICA “Revolution” EMERICASKATE.COM

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product toss .

MATIX “Wade” MATIXCLOTHING.COM

ALTAMONT “Crowd” ALTAMONTAPPAREL.COM

THE ARTO 2. FEATURING THE STI FOAM LEVEL 2 FOOTBED AND SYSTEM G2. COMFORT AND IMPACT PROTECTION FOR SKATEBOARDING. LOOK DEEPER...

WWW.ETNIESSKATE.COM TIMEBOMB DIST.: 604.251.1097

New! BRIGADA EYEWEAR

(left) Henry Gunderson (above) Chad Roddy

These new shades are designed and owned by Erik Ellington, Jim Greco, Terry Kennedy, and Andrew Reynolds. Each has designed 1 or 2 styles that are a reflection of the things that inspire them, from thrift store finds to current fashion trends. Look for the line to be out in Spring, 2007.

BRIGADAEYEWEAR.COM

FRED HERZOG: Vancouver Photographs Vancouver Art Gallery until May 13, 2007

SAID AND DONE Contest:

Considering that we screwed up on the deadline for this contest (only giving readers 2 weeks to send their illustrations in), we felt it necessary to remind you that it’s never too late to be part of this wonderful travelling art show.

Next Show: May 18th at Stride Gallery (1004 Macleod Trail SE, Calgary, AB).

anthrax .

Zero Skateboards

We are open to all artists that want to submit their print and possibly be in future art shows.

If you think you can roll with the best of em please send in a piece using p.49 in Color 4.4.

The West Memphis 3 are teenagers who were wrongfully convicted of the 1993 murder and mutilation of three eight year-olds in West Memphis, Arkansas.

Lacking any hard evidence, a murder weapon, or motive, the prosecution resorted to presenting black hair and clothing, heavy metal t-shirts, and Stephen King novels as proof that the slain boys were sacrificed in a satanic cult ritual. The West Memphis three have now spent over 13 years in jail, and Damien Echols is currently on death row. For each one of these boards sold, zero will donate $5 to the West Memphis 3 defense fund. For more information about the case, check out the amazing Paradise Lost documentaries and visit the website. —doubt

SAIDANDDONE.CA

WM3.COM

Congratulations to Henry Gunderson, Chad Roddy, Ed Spence, Caliden J. Robinson and Sam McKinlay who were within the firsts to submit their pieces for 1 of 5 signed Andrew Pommier setups (Girl, Independent, Momeneum).

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WEST MEMPHIS THREE

This is the first exhibit to survey Fred Herzog’s entire body of work. With more than 80, 000 photographs to choose from the 100 featured at the show represent over 50 years of images capturing Vancouver’s urban life.

Herzog photographed the city using Kodachrome, a colour slide film that made it impossible to create prints that could reproduce the same quality of colour and image as slides. But, with advances in digital technology those same photographs that were previously accessible only as slides have been printed on a large scale so that they can be viewed in a traditional gallery setting.

The digital process was supervised by Herzog who, in an interview with the Vancouer Art Gallery said, “in resolution, the best scans come close to the best optical prints…they permit far better colour, tonal range, and contrast control”. The prints allow entire generations to be exposed to his work. Those who have experienced many of the scenes captured by Herzog, and those who will grow with Vancouver as the urban landscape continVANARTGALLERY.BC.CA ues to evolve. —j.macleod

Faces

N’ SPACES with Goods. wordsby adam henry

We all know how skateshops have evolved in the past ten years. The traditional model of banners, shoe boxes, stickered up walls and a slab of practice-carpet is a sight rarely seen these days, and perhaps even missed if only for the sake of nostalgia. For as long as I can remember, skateshops could be characterized by this clutter model that could send an innocent shopper back to the closet or laundry hamper that gave them reason to visit the store in the first place.

Fuelling the big change in how skateboard shops are laid out today is the sorry fact that today’s skateboard shop sales are dominated by clothing and shoe sales. This is something that we as skaters have had to come to terms with. Some sooner than later, and some a little too soon, losing ‘cred along the way.

Walking into Goods near downtown Seattle, WA, it is quickly obvious that this store is not just some poseur skateshop that’s undergone a makeover. Nor is it a pretentious big-wig eager to shake the purses of young skaters’ parents. Run by Nin Truong, Scott Downing, Steve Gonzales and Paul Williams, Goods is a skater-run shop that started small, but quickly outgrew its original concept. First conceptualized as a front to showcase their own board brand, Manik, the shop idea quickly blossomed from a small retail space to a larger aesthetic ideal of fashion, art, and collecting. Embodying their aesthetic is their commitment to supporting the brands that represent what they believe in. Focusing on products that they are passionate about is a motto that has served well, and after four years, the Goods store has more than tripled their retail floor space, and gone from having one shop to two distinct spaces.

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faces n’ spaces .

While brands focus more energy on production value, feature designers and collaboration – and shoes and other soft goods drive the marketplace – without spaces like Goods, their efforts would be unjustified. With clean interiors and spacious design, the boutique aspect of Goods has a meticulous quality about it. Nike SB, Vans, Adidas, DKG and others gracefully line the benches and shelves, creating a calm, linear vibe about the store.

Alongside the sneakers, displayed on hangers and on wooden shelves throughout the store, are t-shirts, denim and other hard to find fashion add-ons. The skateboard outlet, separated only by a wall, features hats from New Era and decks from companies including Chocolate, Krooked, Manik and Almost.

You can still find your Venture wides and Royal highs, but Goods is not a store where everything and anything is available. It’s a store where the companies that are sold are shown with dedication and confidence.

Goods is located at 1112 Pike Street, Seattle, WA NEEDGOODS.COM

mike carroll manual impossible www.supradistribution.com 1.604.253.0559 mike mo capaldi / mike carroll / justin eldridge / danny garcia / andre genovesi / kerry getz / jerry hsu / raymond molinar / cale nuske / jereme rogers / brad staba / kevin taylor

SEND US YOUR “CITY SCAPE” ntest

µo

WIN A ‘CITYSCAPE’ PRIZE PACK FROM ZOO YORK WORTH $700.00 ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SEND IN A PHOTOGRAPH, ILLUSTRATION, OR OTHER FORM OF ART THAT REPRESENTS YOUR CITY SCAPE. THAT’S THE ONLY RULE. THE PIECE MUST BE OF THE CITY THAT YOU CALL HOME. Send all entries to: City Scape c/o fourcorner publishing inc, 105-321 Railway St, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6A 1A4.

Be sure to include your website (if you have one) and your email address.

All submissions will be considered property of Color Magazine and may be used in future projects. Entries will be judged by a representative from both Zoo York and Color Magazine. DEADLINE: MAY 1, 2007

Features

FOR HER:

VANS “Lono”

DVS “Doze”

DVSSHOES.COM

ADIDAS “Superskate slip-on”

VANS.COM

ETNIES “Nixx” ETNIES.COM

NIKE “Blazer”

NIKE.COM

ETNIES “Ace” ETNIES.COM

FOR HIM:

ADIDASSKATEBOARDING.COM

LAKAI “Mike Carroll Thrasher” LAKAI.COM

ETNIES “Arto E Collection” ETNIES.COM

eS “Jasper” ESFOOTWEAR.COM

EMERICA “Transit” EMERICASKATE.COM

EMERICA “Leo” EMERICASKATE.COM

NIKE “Zoom Paul Rod rigues” NIKESKATEBOARDING.COM

FALLEN “Camino” FALLENFOOTWEAR.COM

DC “Pride” DCSHOES.COM

. product toss

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Kevin“Spanky”Long’s second pro shoe,featuring System G2™ heel cushioning technology. Available in fine skate shops now! For more info and colorways, visit emericaskate.com Timebomb Ph:604.251.1097 www.TimebombTrading.com

k r u L t a d r Ha

MELBOURNE FOR THE words and photosby tim hillier

There were threats of calling Melbourne, Austrailia, Batmania. John Batman was one of the first white settlers in the area, in 1835. Essentially starting European Melbourne, his landownership was discredited and he died of syphilis in 1839. Melbourne was named in 1851 after one of the Queens favourite Prime Ministers.

Boring... What if this town was Batmania? The super hero town. I would be a Batmanian. Sweet. The Bruce Wayne rich industrialist exterior, with the dark night dweller alter ego. The hidden secrets. Trying to keep the super hero under wraps, its secret identity unknown to the ill-informed.

And with the high population of bats that litter the sky at dusk, it would be the perfect name for this town.

If you were to go out in Melbourne, you would find that most of the good eating and drinking is hidden. The harder to find the better. This initially started to happen because of the cheaper rent in the out of the way places. New bars and cafe were opening up in alleyways, that were down alleyways, down alleyways. Then maybe up a few floors.

The main street places, were for the tourist drinkers, the weekend warriors. Not for the ‘hard at lurkers’.

The skate spots around town have started to take this turn as well. You will see when arriving here, that there were a lot of spots, that are now no longer useable, or not nearly as much fun. But if you have watched enough skate videos in the last five years, that there still is a number of useable terrain. North Melbourne drains, Flinders St rails, Yarra manny, Library banks are still highly sessioned.

But even with this ‘keep you ear to the ground’ style of lurking, Melbourne is an easy city. There are trams that can take you all over the city. The inner city is generally flat, so you can skate almost everywhere. Within a 5 kilometre radius of downtown there are at least 5 free skateparks, including the city park (with ledges galore, hips, 1/4 pipes) which is on the banks of the Yarra River, next to the main Downtown train station, Flinders Street. You will always find a friendly guide to the city there, or at the main skate shop of P.S.C. The number 16 tram will take you to Fitzroy bowl, or the number 72 tram to Prahran, with its monster vert ramp, mini ramp and low impact street course. And theres plenty more within an hour.

Generally similar to the larger Canadian cities, once you get comfortable here, you wont want to leave or, at least come back yearly for our summers. There are quite a few Canadians I know that do. Come visit the Bruce Wayne city with the Batman heart.

SHRALPS. With the disease of skatestop architecture spreading worldwide, finding spots is as much about ingenuity as it is about exploring. And with the city going through an architectural renaissance, obstacles are still popping up.

Melbourne skate park Prahran North Melbourne drains Flinders Street rails Yarra manny Library banks

EATS. High levels of hangtime for most skaters in Melbs at all these joints.

Bimbo’s 376 Brunswick St Fitzroy 3065 Lucky Coq 179 Chapel St, Windsor, Prahran - You can get $4 pizza, that are almost worthy of living on.

Don-Dons 321 Swanston Street and 330 Little Lonsdale Street Japanese that arrives as soon as you order.

Shanghai Noodle 242 Little Bourke St - For greasy MSG Chinese.

BINGE DRINKING. Most of the good eating and drinking is hidden. In the last few years, if you opened a business, and it was not in an alley way, you just weren’t cool. The harder to find the better, no signage, you just know.

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melbourne .

DUSTIN DOLLIN’S MELBOURNE: SHRALPS.

BINGE DRINKING.

Fitzroy Bowl A fun 4 to 6’ spine bowl, with rollovers, and chill locals down for drinking long necks of beer in the park

Cherry Bar AC/DC Lane 103-105 Flinders Lane, VIC 3000 Probably the most likely place to meet other brosephs. It happens to be on AC/DC Lane (yes that’s right, named after the band.) Much like the habit of skateboarding, you have to search it out, or be in the know.

EATS. Bakers Courtyard and Café 384 Brunswick St, Fitzroy, VIC 3065 Spanish style food on a chalkboard menu.

Thien An 59 Irving St Footscray 3011 VIC Cheap ‘n tasty Vietnamese spot where locals slurp down tropical drinks and the Bun Bo Hue — which roughly translates to ‘not dog’.

CHOPPING. PSC 121 Swanston St - Main skate shop, everyone who works there skates and will fill you in on the spots to hit.

LOC’ Mapstones - favourite Melbourian to skate with.

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’ n i k o o L

: S S I K A FOR PS I L K C A L THE B SOUTH HEAD e

wordsby

jacob

n goodma william

marlow y keith

photosb

Not a pack of newbies by any stretch, but destined to be heralded as one of the best “new bands” of the year/all time once their new album is c-sectioned by the folks at Vice Records later this month, the Black Lips have been touring the world and elsewhere for nearly a decade now and if you don’t already know, do yourself a solid and check them out now. Imagine mixing B.J. era-Stones with the Swell Maps and a mouthful of LSD-laced swill and you might be close. Summoning up the best in Killed By Death-style trashiness with just enough psychedelic pop to appeal to skids of all stripes. The album, featuring a hot dose of familiar tunes as well as a few new ones, was recorded live in Tijuana by John Reis (Drive Like Jehu, Rocket From the Crypt, Hot Snakes) so it’s kind of a big deal. The Black Lips have maintained a strict regimen of making each record more essential than the last, and while not a new album proper, they have never sounded better, with Reis somehow figuring out a way to grab almost all the excitement of seeing these flower-punkers live in the flesh. We recently had the chance to ask Jared Swilley (bass and vocals) what all the reverb, bleeding, and jumping around was really about. Crack open this piñata to find out what’s on the inside.

Color: Your new album (Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo) sounds great. Is it “real” live or “fake” live?

JS: It is real live. We went down to Tijuana, Mexico and Vice rented out a club, bought lots of beer and tequila and brought down a portable recording studio. It turned out well.

There are some songs we couldn’t use due to the fact that there was too much mayhem.

Why did you guys decide to have Vice records put out the new album after working with labels like Bomp and In the Red for so long?

Vice is owned by Atlantic. There are a lot more opportunities and possibilities.

Whatever happened to the Last of the White Niggers record? Will it ever see the light of day?

It will see the light of day. We have been talking to In the Red and they are going to release it around the same time that our first studio album on Vice is released. This will most likely happen when we get back from Europe, around August or September.

Why Tijuana? Did you manage to do any shopping? Leather jackets? Gold fronts?

I already have a gold grill. If anyone wants one then you really should go to the South (Memphis, Atlanta, etc.) Why Tijiuana?

Because it is a city that truly is wild. It’s as dangerous as it is fun… like us!

Who would win in a fight – margaritas or burritos?

Margaritas, because after one or two, you feel no pain.

What about the band’s ongoing feud with Oprah Winfrey? It is true that she has never asked you to be guests on the show, correct?

She heard about us putting out Last of the White Niggers and she really did contact us through writing. We told her to shove it and that we’ll let the record do the explaining. We are not racist at all!

Where did all the blood and piss go? Was there ever that much or was it a case of a few isolated incidents becoming urban legend? Maybe now there is more blood and piss than ever before? I would imagine laundry could be a problem on the road.

Whatever happens, happens. We just go out there and do what we do. We do get tired of people asking us “Are you going to do something crazy?” If we start doing something because others want us to, then we become puppets. We do what we feel when we feel like it. Remember this: We can’t have nice things.

You guys can get pretty mental live. Do you all have hepatitis immunization shots?

We live in America, so we obviously don’t have health insurance.

What do you want on your tombstone?

Cheese and anchovies.

I heard you have a hard time crossing the border into Canada – what gives?

The Canadian government needs to be nice.

The new album, Los Valientes del Mundo Nuevo, hits stores on February 20th, and the band is on tour right now. Look for dates and hear some tracks at: MYSPACE.COM/THEBLACKLIPS

“Oprah Winfrey heard about us putting out Last Of The White Niggers and contacted us through writing. We told her to shove it.”

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music .

cmyk .

CMYK . s e c n e u Seq RICK McCRANK pole-jam frontside bigspin [ o ] doubt.

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JASON GORDON halfcab nose manual, bigspin [ o ] nicholas.

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cmyk .

LEKS BARIS 50/50 backside 180 [ o ] zaslavsky.

. cmyk

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PAUL TREP backside bigspin [ o ] doubt.

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cmyk .

RUBY REPUBLIC www.supradistribution.com

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wordsby matthew meadows

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portraitsby alana paterson

In a world that is ever growing and expanding with multi-national corporations and crooked governments, many of us have thought of the unknown or otherwise, known as conspiracies. Is big brother really watching us? Was JFK really shot from the grassy knoll? Although these thoughts may be fleeting for most of us, they are ever present for one person. A conspiracy and an enigma himself, Alien has been trying to make sense of life and the world around him by way of skateboarding. With a utility van jammed packed with de-skate proofing tools and a generator, the once young boy with the abnormaly large head has grown into himself both physically and mentally.

DISCLAIMER: The views and oppinions expressed in this interview are that of the interviewee and is not reflective of the publication, Color Magazine or Fourcorner Publishing inc.

Fueled by conspiracy and seemingly obsessed with the government, Alien brings it all to any spot he’s skating. Still doing strange things like decapitating stuffed animals and wearing them as his own skin or working on porn websites in his spare time, Alien has remained the life of the party and the topic of conversation among anyone who has been fortunate enough to experience this extra terrestrial. Welcome to the fascinating and sometimes bizarre life on Alien’s planet.

they are babies.

Recently Board Kennel, your long time shop sponsor, closed its doors. That must be different for you.

It wasn’t because of Board Kennel or their [owners Torey Goodall and Bradley Sheppard] fault. Nor was it because of antisocial, Westbeach, [or] RDS. It was because of major mall skate shops pushing out the little guy. It’s because of shitty consumerism.

They are kicking out small business that people like to shop at. I see those things – the same as Kmart and Wal-Mart. These things probably have something to do with the government. I am serious!

It’s fucked!

They are involved in the government?

In my head they are. This is gonna be strange because everything is a conspiracy and this is an interview with “Alien”. Can I say what I think?

Sure, it’s your interview. Do you ever feel censored in interviews?

You should be allowed to say whatever you want.

If people can’t handle their names brought up then 54

Board Kennel did a lot of shop boards and really hooked up their riders. How do you feel about shop decks?

Everyone is trying to get by.

Is going pro an issue for you?

I just want to travel and skate with my friends. I was supposed to go to the states with Bradley [Sheppard]. The word on the streets is that is what you have to do to go somewhere in skateboarding.

I wish you could just stay in Canada. I wish the Canadian industry were stronger. I think we deserve it.

So how did you get your nickname, Alien?

Supposedly I had a huge head when I was younger.

I was a skinny little gaffer. One day I was waiting for dinner and my mom called me. When I got up I put my arm on the ground and I turned around. When I looked down I noticed my arm was in the same spot. Other people say [it’s because] I am really random. So I guess in a way that is why.

Alien hails the mother ship with a boardslide through the dark skies. [ o ] CHRISTIAN.

. alien

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So is it because of your arm or your head?

It’s a bit of both I guess.

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alien .

Do you think you still have a big head?

No, it now fits my monstrous man body. Gary Robinson calls me FD. Fat Danny.

It’s hard to explain but at the same time it can make you money. It takes a couple of months to get it started. Pretty much you get one person with a credit card buying then you get another and it just builds. You can make money in your own house. It’s just a side job. Realistically, I don’t want to work at a bar or something like that. People just piss me off sometimes.

What do you think of having a nickname like yours? What is your real name anyways?

I don’t know if my mom planed this but it is Daniel Anthony Nelson. That spells DAN. If I ever had my own pro boards out though I would just want kids to be stoked on my skating and not just my name.

Having looked at all that porn and being known for getting naked a lot of the time on tours, have you thought about doing the porno thing?

I have before. I mean I have thought about it before. My friend Keith makes, directs and films porno or something. But I think that would just ruin sex for me. And I really don’t think that girls would be that down for that.

I heard a rumour that you are working in the porn industry these days.

Um... pretty much, I do the porno thing. I make websites and links for different porno websites. It’s a side job. Every day I will make a website. Like two or three a day. It is pretty easy. It takes about ten or twenty minutes. Then at the end of the day at a certain time, the best time, [you have] to dump your links. That means that you have to send them out to each link dumper or something. I don’t know.

So you are a one-woman man?

If I found her, yes, but I am very picky for some odd reason. I think that is better than being stuck with someone you don’t want to be with.

“So I am dressed up as a bunny at the bar, and then some girl randomly walked in wearing a lizard costume. It wasn’t even Halloween, it was August. We just looked at each other, didn’t say a word to each other and started kissing.”

Some say that Mike Smith didn’t do the first smith grind and it is all a conspiracy. Whatever you want to call it Alien does it well. [ o ] OAKES.

Did you get started with sex late in life?

Well the first time I had sex was on the first Mad Dash tour. We stopped in Nelson, which is my last name. We were at the bar, which I was too young to be in, but Josh (Evin) knew everyone. We got drunk and I met a girl whose name I am not telling. We could not hang out in the hotel, ‘cause every one was coming in so we went back to her place. Her room was in the attic. When I got to her room I saw that she had her wall covered with pictures of me and Mike Hastie. So we did whatever. When I woke up she left the room and told me to hide if her dad came in. Her dad eventually came upstairs so I pulled the covers up to my nose with just my eyes poking out. He saw me and was like “Hi”. Then he went back downstairs and I have never heard yelling like that. So I put my socks on and was trying to jump out the window cause I knew her dad was going to kill me. I eventually made it back to the skate park and at the end of the demo I found out the girl ran the skate park. So Mike got on the microphone, thanked everyone for the demo and congratulated me on losing my virginity.

That girl wanted to kill me. I don’t even know where that question came from.

What is up with you and Nelson?

Last time I was there I randomly dressed up in a bunny costume.

Whoa! Where did you get the bunny costume?

I went to the PNE and won it in one of those bottle-throwing games.

I won the biggest thing. I went home, cut the head off of it and pulled out all the stuffing. I made it into a Carebear suit. The thing went up to my knees.

Okay, go on.

So I am dressed up as a bunny at the bar, and then some girl randomly walked in wearing a lizard costume. It wasn’t even Halloween, it was August. We just looked at each other, didn’t say a word to each other and started kissing. It was insane! I didn’t even understand it.

I understand that you have been getting into a lot of conspiracy theories lately. What do you think is the truest conspiracy?

. alien

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Big Brother captures Alien 50/50 on a crooked rail. [ o ] CHRISTIAN.

Suspicious things happen at night. Alien tailslides while examaning strange shadows. [ o ] DOUBT.

. alien

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alien .

Skulls and Stone Masons run most major corporations, yet Alien sneaks through their downtown surveillance with a back smith. [ o ] CHRISTIAN.

Universities have great physics departments.

Surely they know the truth about the lunar landing. Alien does a feeble front shove on his way to find out the truth. [ o ] OAKES.

Recently Board Kennel, your long time shop sponsor, closed its doors. That must be different for you.

It wasn’t because of Board Kennel or their [owners Torey Goodall and Bradley Sheppard] fault. Nor was it because of antisocial, Westbeach, [or] RDS. It was because of major mall skate shops pushing out the little guy. It’s because of shitty consumerism. They are kicking out small business that people like to shop at. I see those things – the same as Kmart and Wal-Mart. These things probably have something to do with the government. I am serious! It’s fucked!

They are involved in the government?

In my head they are. This is gonna be strange because everything is a conspiracy and this is an interview with “Alien”. Can I say what I think?

Sure, it’s your interview. Do you ever feel censored in interviews?

You should be allowed to say whatever you want. If people can’t handle their names brought up then they are babies.

Board Kennel did a lot of shop boards and really hooked up their riders. How do you feel about shop decks?

Everyone is trying to get by.

Is going pro an issue for you?

I just want to travel and skate with my friends. I was supposed to go to the states with Bradley [Sheppard]. The word on the streets is that is what you have to do to go somewhere in skateboarding. I wish you could just stay in Canada. I wish the Canadian industry were stronger.

I think we deserve it.

So how did you get your nickname, Alien?

Supposedly I had a huge head when I was younger. I was a skinny little gaffer. One day I was waiting for dinner and my mom called me.

When I got up I put my arm on the ground and I turned around. When I looked down I noticed my arm was in the same spot. Other people say [it’s because] I am really random. So I guess in a way that is why.

. alien

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“They just don’t want to scare people...

When it happens it is going to be catastrophic.”

Have you heard about the Illuminati?

They have everything to do with George Bush and every other president. Honestly, we are fucked.

So you believe it exists?

Yes, for sure.

Do you think that maybe all of your free time at home on the computer has led to your paranoia?

Yep. But at the same time I would rather know than not know anything.

Would you join the Illuminati given the chance?

No, because I believe that everyone should have freedom.

The thing that I don’t understand is that whoever is behind all this, like I can understand wanting to have money, but why do they keep taking more and killing people? Right now we work for way less than we pay for anything. They are charging us way too much to live. What do they expect us to do?

What do you think about the secret society of the Skulls?

George W. Bush is a Skull. He was on CNN, when the reporter asked him “What could you tell us about the Illuminati?” He was like, “Oh, it’s too secret to tell you”. And he laughed.

We are getting brainwashed. I don’t have cable and haven’t had cable for the past year since I moved out and I am so happy about that. I can download whatever I want, from cartoons, to movies, to documentaries. I love watching stuff that [makes me] feel I have learnt something.

What is the conspiracy theory that grabbed you the most?

The whole 9/11, but after seeing that you realize that there is nothing that you can really do about that because you are not American. They are doing whatever they can there.

But when I come to three countries coming together and we don’t know anything about it, and all of us sharing one currency, that is something that should be talked about.

You are seriously worried about that aren’t you?

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alien .

I think we all should be, if you have ever heard of marshal law, meaning that we have no rights. If you think that anything that you look at on the computer isn’t being monitored and held on to… Google is the one company that whatever you look up they can hold on to that forever. Every other company has signed off to say that they will dump the information. Google has every possible thing that you have ever looked at. They can see what you are into. It is insane.

did not sleep. I should have gone to the hospital. When the cops came the next day I got mad because they told me I was wearing too dark of clothing. I think I swore at him and hung up the phone. Seven years later my lawyer said to me I would get a million. I had to then go to an examination with an ICBC lawyer, which was terrible. They ended up deciding that since I did not make that much money when I was fifteen I only got fucking thirty grand. It was fucking bullshit.

If you were to give advise to the people reading this what would you say?

Just read as much as you can. Get into a group of people or your family and just look it up. ‘Cause if this happens we are in serious shit.

Let’s just say you are an alien and you have super powers. What is your version of kryptonite?

My kryptonite is milk products. When I have milk products I fart erratically. I don’t know why but I really love ice cream and cheese. I used to get made fun of because I would eat pales of Neapolitan ice cream. I would eat the chocolate and make milkshakes with the pink part and just leave the rest. I would then take the pales downstairs and practice my ollies over pales of ice cream. It was great because you get three good things out of it. The chocolate, the strawberry, and the ollie.

So you are concerned about marshal law in Canada?

It’s weird ‘cause I was telling my friend Mike Stuart about this and he said his friend was driving and he got pulled over by a Texas police officer here. And he got pulled over and asked him for his ID. So the guy told him that he had no jurisdiction here and the officer told him that it didn’t matter.

You have no rights and they are going to pick people off here and there. I realistically have no clue what we can do but we have to keep talking and telling as many people as we can.

I know you have bad luck. Tell me about the time you got hit by a car.

I got hit on Valentine’s Day when I was fifteen. I was skating past the skate park at about eleven o’clock and I was skating past the arena when I saw some lights between my legs. So I moved to the left hand lane. As I did that so did the car that was driving way too fast. The car hit me.

All I remember was the car hitting the back of my foot as I was pushing and waking up on the ground seeing the car drive away throwing beer bottles out of the window. I told everyone that I was okay ‘cause I didn’t want to go to the hospital. My head was bleeding because it went into the windshield and then I flipped over the car. I went home after that and told my mom that everything was alright, but I got hit by a car. When I showed her my face she became really worried. She ended up lying with me all night. Apparently I

Obviously your weakness can be used against your enemies.

The last tour I was on, we were driving back from Calgary with twelve guys in the van. I used my last couple of dollars on a two-liter of chocolate milk and a lighter. The whole way back I just lit my farts on fire. I was laughing so hard I didn’t care.

So if the earthquake hits in two days and this tape recorder survives, what are your final words?

Holy Fuck dude! Last breath I have: do what you want to do or say, live every moment, don’t conspiracies your brain like I have. Oh man that is a hard question. Thanks to Benny and Dave for doing the Bigger and Better Things video and everyone that skateboards. I would also like to thank Bob Ross, Ranch, Mom, Dad, Board Kennel (RIP), bowling, my dog, Jewel, Honda for Jenny, Alan “Ollie” Gelfand, the 80s, everyone at Color, Ultimate, S&J, Time Bomb, Emerica, Thunder, Momentum, Black Russian, and Antihero Skateboards.

Alien built his own version of the pyramids to find out thier mystery. He got bored and decided to front blunt it instead. [ o ] CHRISTIAN.

. alien

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Deerhoof MISFIT MAGIC:

REINVENTS ROCK, AGAIN. wordsby saelan twerdy

photosby satomi matsuzaki

D

eerhoof is magic, and for the last decade the prolific San Francisco band has been charming everyone lucky enough to get in range. Over nine albums, their spazzy art-pop has remained consistently surprising, unpredictable, and dizzyingly creative. Careening between extremes of cute, sugary J-pop and explosive blasts of violently catchy noise, the band has never stopped reinventing itself, and that’s included shifts in personnel: founded in 1995 by guitarist Rob Fisk and drummer Greg Saunier (a tall man who plays a very small drum kit with legendary force), they picked up vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki (now married to Saunier) in time for their first album. Fisk left the band shortly after that, and was replaced by guitarist John Deiterich. In 2003, Deerhoof recruited bassist Chris Cohen. Recently, however, Cohen has left the band to pursue his solo project, the Curtains. The last year has seen other major events for Deerhoof as well, as Slim Moon, their long-time label boss at Kill Rock Stars, moved into A&R with a major label.

It hasn’t been all losses, though. Last year, a primary school teacher in Maine staged a ballet based on their Milk Man album, and they’ve just released their latest full-length album, Friend Opportunity, which includes twelve interchangeable album covers by the hilariously macabre British artist David Shrigley.

Calling it their best release to date would be pointless, since they’ve been putting out absolutely perfect albums every year since 2002’s Reveille, but you can rest assured that it’s every bit as good as what came before.

Color: Having spent 5 years with Chris Cohen as a part of the band, how are things different without him?

Greg Saunier: From a technical point of view it wasn’t that big of a deal, because we’d been this same trio lineup for about three years before we ever invited Chris to join. There are some chords in our songs that have more than six notes which are physically impossible to play on one guitar, although if you look at John’s stretched-out fingers on the fretboard you can’t fault him for not trying. But of course we miss having [Cohen] around, he’s a very funny person. Luckily, we still get to see him a lot and we’re the Curtains’ biggest fans.

Has Slim Moon’s departure from KRS to

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Nonesuch affected Deerhoof in any way?

Well, it definitely felt a little strange to actually outlast the founder of the label, but it wasn’t a bad feeling. It might sound strange but it’s not so different, because if there is any label in this universe that is hands-off and low-key, it is Kill Rock Stars. I mean, literally for the first seven years of being on the label we lost them money. Seven years and not once did we get, “Uh, I think you might want to find another label,” or, “Have you considered making your music sound a bit better?” or anything like that. All we got was, “Okay, so when should we do another release?” They never told us what to sound like or suggested changes to anything. We have been so fortunate and we owe Slim Moon an enormous debt of gratitude. Anyway, Nonesuch is a great label too, I used to get their classical and world music LPs all the time. Samul Nori’s first album is one of my all-time faves!

What led to David Shrigley doing the art for this album?

It’s funny, several of the people who’ve done our covers in the past, such as Trevor Shimizu (The Runners Four), Ken Kagami (Milk Man) and even Satomi (who did Reveille’s cover) were all great fans of Shrigley and inspired by his work. When we discovered that he had heard our music and liked it we were overjoyed and immediately inquired into the possibility of collaborating, and he was agreeable to the idea immediately. He said he’d just make a bunch of paintings and we could use them in any way we wanted, and choose whichever for the cover. At the time he hadn’t heard any of the new music (which was still in progress in any case), he just had the title Friend Opportunity. Well, we couldn’t have been happier, he hit the nail squarely on the head with his paintings, he understood exactly what we meant with that title, we were ecstatic. He did 15 different ones, so then our friend Jan from Tomlab Records (who are releasing it in Europe) suggested, “Why not have all of the paintings be potential covers?” So they are all on separate cards and you can shuffle them around and put any one in front that you

like. It’s like when Sonic Youth did that on Experimental Jet Set, Trash and No Star. The other thing is that we used a line of his lyrics (from his book Worried Noodles) in one of our songs.

I can see the connection between your music and his art, where both of you use childlike or quasi-naïve imagery and a sense of humour, but his work tends to a more black humour, whereas your music, even when it’s noisy or scary, seems more wide-eyed and friendly.

Have you guys hung out at all? What are your thoughts on his art?

You know, it doesn’t bother me at all that you see our music as more friendly, but not everyone does. For someone looking for black humor, for anger, for violence, these things are lurking in Deerhoof’s music, for better or worse.

But so is friendliness and niceness. It all depends on what lens you put on it. Once, when we were making Reveille, I had a song I wanted to call “Lend Me Your Black RoseTinted Ear Trumpet.” The song got rejected but I still like that image, it explains exactly what I’m talking about. So anyway, we did meet David once, it was backstage at a huge soccer stadium in Edinburgh, where we were opening for Radiohead and Beck. He and his wife came by to see the show and discuss the art. He was so sweet and softspoken and mild-mannered, not exactly what you’d expect from his images. His wife was the fiery one, she was extremely funny.

David, I mean you could hardly hear him speak!

Did you record Friend Opportunity in the same place as The Runners Four? It’s much shorter, back to your usual length, in a way. How long were you working on it, and how was the process different without Chris?

It depends what you mean by “place” - we recorded it to the same hard drive on John’s computer, but we weren’t standing in the same location. For the last one we were renting a rehearsal studio in Oakland and we recorded it all in there. For this one we were in John’s bedroom, which was nice because sometimes he’d go and make tea.

Or beans. Actually, I remember him making a lot of eggs which is weird because he’s allergic to dairy. We don’t rent that rehearsal space anymore, now we’ve gone back to practicing the way we used to, which is just no guitars are plugged into anything and I just tap on my knees for drums. I highly recommend this method to anyone, without the crutch of volume, you can really hone in on the finer points. Master guitarist Nels Cline has dubbed this method “acousti-plunk”. It’s hard to say how it was different recording without Chris, because even when we recorded with Chris, every song was different, we didn’t then nor do we now have any system or any idea what we’re doing. Anyway, even with Chris not there, he is still there in our minds, his personal sense of music and taste have become so ingrained in our psyches from years of being together 24 hours a day.

And actually he even literally showed up once while we were recording Friend Opportunity, he thought it looked funny with all our equipment set up next to John’s futon.

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EONE LOOKIN M O G S

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What have you been into lately?

A bucketload of trouble is what I’ve been into. For example, the iTunes version of the CD just came out, and we wanted to try some different capitalizations for the song titles, like “thE PERfECt ME,” or “MAtChbOOk SEEkS MANiAC,” that sort of thing. But they’re saying, no, we have standardized capitalization on iTunes, can’t do that. We were thinking our exclusive iTunes bonus track would be good as track #2, but they said no, it has to be at the end. We hoped our 12-minute track to be available to people for $.99, but they said no, it can only be available if you buy the whole album.

Other than that I like Busdriver.

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GER, V I O L E NC R, AN E ,T

Tell me about the Milk Man School Ballet in North Haven. How did that come to pass? How involved were you? Do you think anything like that might happen again?

Something like that has already happened again! I got an email just last night, totally out of the blue, from some Swedish highschoolers who covered about seven of our songs, and sent a recording of the performance. We couldn’t believe our ears, they sounded better than we do!

When something like this happens you feel like you’ve died and gone to heaven. It’s like our music had taken on a life of its own and found its way into the fabric of the lives of total strangers. About Milk Man, we really couldn’t believe our uncanny good fortune, we had originally thought of Milk Man as a kind of music theater-style album for kids, so to have someone pick up on that and bring it to life was a very proud moment. When we released Milk Man, I got an email from a total stranger saying “Milk Man would be a good ballet.” I tried to think of a nice way of saying, “Yeah, right,” back. But then this past summer she wrote again and said, “Okay, I’m ready to do that ballet now.” We were stunned.

She had gotten a job as a schoolteacher on a small remote island and wanted to put it on as a music theater piece with

6-year-old kids dancing.

She transcribed the entire CD note for note and arranged it for a crazy ensemble of banjos, kazoos, the local church Reverend on trumpet, the Reverend from the next island over on clarinet, a 12-yearold saxophone player, and the local bluegrass group. It was totally independent of us, we just showed up a day before the performance and our jaws dropped. They worked so hard on it and they are releasing a DVD of their performance within the next month. You can see their website too at www.milkmanballet.com

H E S

If you were to think of your albums as your kids, how does this new one fit in with the existing bunch?

Same place all the rest fit: it doesn’t. They’re all misfits.

MO HU

R B ET T E R O R W O F OR IC, SE S U .”

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You’re getting to have quite a large discography at this point: nine albums in twelve years, not counting EP’s or 7”s. How does it feel to be twelve? Are you all still doing music full-time? Are you still excited about touring?

I’m still so excited about touring, probably more than ever.

Friend Opportunity tour begins in T-minus five days and counting. We’re still doing the band full time, although I wouldn’t say that means doing music full time, more like music 1/3 of the time and interviews 2/3 of the time. Just kidding!

What was the last thing you ate? How was it?

Ah, delicious. Satomi made a bagel with avocado, tomato, and Persian-style cucumber. I’m not sure how Persian style differs from the normal style but it sure was good. Along with that I had some tea, “black citrus,” that was a gift from Jamie Stewart of Xiu-Xiu. I produced Xiu-Xiu’s album and all I got was this lousy tea. No, actually he gives me too much credit, he really produced it (The Air Force), while I observed from a beanbag on the floor. And the tea is wonderful, it tastes like Twinings Lady Grey, with the oil of bergamot and the black tea, but also a hint of citrus zest. I can never find Lady Grey separately, it’s always just in the Twinings sampler, so in sympathy Jamie got me this stuff that tastes the same but it’s loose-leaf.

Friend Opportunity is out now, and Deerhoof is on tour this Spring, so don’t miss their phenomenal live show.

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TALKIN’ ‘BOUT THE YOUNG THE PERFECT POP OF PETER BJÖRN AND JOHN

wordsby brock thiessen

“WE DID WHAT MANY YOUNG SWEDISH BOYS DO GROWING UP: SHOOT ANIMALS, DRINKS BOOZE, RIDE SNOW SCOOTERS AND PLAY ICE HOCKEY.” First a bursting drum roll hits the speakers. It quickly steadies itself into an old Motown beat. Soon a rubbery bass line joins in. Next a boy and girl share a vocal exchange. And before long the chorus hits, where a hail of snares, bongos and maracas fills the air as the couple sings of young folks and all their young stuff. And along the way there’s this utterly infectious whistling destined for ringtone stardom. Compress it all into four minutes and 36 seconds, and you've got “Young Folks,” last year's surprise indie anthem by Swedish trio Peter Björn and John.

But the year had more in store than just “Young Folks” for Peter Morén, Björn Yttling and John Erikkson. Critics hailed the song’s parent album, Writer’s Block, as a pop masterpiece, and, by the end of 2006, the record found its way onto multiple year-end lists. Picking up cues from ESG, The Chills and New Order, these versatile Swedes proved they could do more than just whistle.

As a result, Peter Björn and John’s catchier-than-thou guitar-pop ranked high on many trendsetters’ litmus tests of cool, such as Pitchfork, Stylus and Exclaim, and the band quickly grew into a worldwide phenomenon. But according to Peter, “The ‘Whistle Song’ helped a lot too, of course.”

However, Writer’s Block isn’t Peter Björn and John’s first shot at stardom. This Stockholm band’s self-titled debut came out in 2002 and its darker follow-up, Falling Out, in 2004, but both received little to no attention outside their native Sweden. Even though, according to Peter, Falling Out is just as good as their latest album, the guitar player says, “Our first two came out on mini-Swedish labels without distribution outside of our country, so it's not strange that not much happened with them really.”

Nevertheless after their 2004 effort, the band secured a deal with the British label Wichita and devised a new strategy. “We had already done two albums without planning anything before we started. So this time we tried to have meetings, and we even had a few dogmatic rules,” says Björn, the man responsible for the whistling on “Young Folks” and the group’s producer/ bass player. “We tried to make the best album possible. A future classic. A masterpiece.”

Also, Björn says the band buckled down and aimed to make Writer’s Block a tighter, more collected affair than their previous records, which sounds daunting since Peter, Björn and John rotate the songwriting and vocals duties on their albums. But Björn says they have an intricate formula to solve this problem:

“I produce more, Peter sings more and John drums more.

Otherwise we share everything. Well, almost everything.”

And it’s Björn’s solid production that partly makes the album so appealing. The producer, who has worked with other Swedish exports such as The Shout Out Louds and The Concretes (whose singer Victoria Bergsman guest stars on “Young Folks”), has given the LP a crisp, lush feel without layering the songs to death with effects and overdubs. Even the more shoegaze-y tracks such as “The Chills” and “Start To Melt” are given this reserved treatment. “We never tried to overproduce, less is indeed more,” says Peter. “We like to keep it sparse and let the details shine through. But this time maybe they shine even more.”

However, all that shines isn’t gold with Peter Björn and John.

The non-stop touring and album promotion is taking its toll on the Swedes, but they aren’t complaining too much. “It's a totally different lifestyle being on the road than at home, and that can be straining,” Björn says, “But I love doing gigs, especially now when people know the songs, and this is too good a chance not to take. It's a boyhood-dream, after all, to try to live through your hobby, at least for awhile. Also, we'd like to do another album soon, and we have to take the time for that as well.”

Even though one version of the “Young Folks” video features a barrage of pint-sized skateboarders, Björn says the band is better suited for a life in music than skateboarding. “The first and last time I skateboarded in 1987 wasn’t good at all,” he says.

“Since I couldn't get any speed from just standing on the board, I tried to go down the wheelchair ramp in the gym hall, and I went down but not very well.” Peter says he also had similar experiences: “I don't skateboard. I tried around the same time as Björn because it was all the rage among kids then in Sweden, but I was crap.” So instead, Björn says they did what many young Swedish boys do growing up: “shoot animals, drinks booze, ride snow scooters and play ice hockey.”

Peter Björn and John are currently playing Europe and will soon travel to the United States, Australia and Japan.

Writer’s Block, hits North American shores on February 6 with a 6-track bonus disc via Almost Gold Recordings. You can also check out the awesome animated video for “Young Folks” on Youtube, and hear my!gay!husband!'s party-appropriate club mix: MYSPACE.COM/MYGAYHUSBAND

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Jo Daraiche, switch flip, Montréal [ o ] Fournier. (left) This spot is in the west of Montréal, that hardly anybody would find easily. Jo landed this clean in under ten tries. It’s the type of spot you need to see for yourself just to realize how rugged it really is. I don’t think we’ll ever go back there again.

BILINGUAL STYLE jeremy elkin’s floorwork video. wordsby adam henry

With names most can’t pronounce, Floorwork is defined and translated in style. The reality of a group of skaters in Montreal doesn’t involve the pressures of getting an ad shot or landing down the largest set of stairs. This isn’t a team video, it’s a group of friends having a hell of time while documenting what they would rather be doing than anything else in the world— skateboarding.

Skate videos serve one true purpose: to make you want to go out and skate. Actually, make that two: To entertain (even those who might not skate) and to make you want to skate. There are two types of videos, those dominated by the calibre of trickery, and those carried by the artistry of filmmaking in which the filmmakers make an attempt at expressing their perspectives on the movement of skateboarding while capturing the time spent with those they’ve filmed.

Charles Rivard, Phil Knechtel and the 16mm Bolex camera.

Floorwork was shot primarily with digital video but also with the Bolex and a small 8mm camera. elkin photo.

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Boston Floorwork trip, June 2006.

(left to right) Jeremy Elkin, Phil Knechtel, Pierre-Yves Gauthier, Shane Hutton, Collin Hale.

ost would scoff at the idea that making something with your friends could be looked at as work, but it often happens naturally. And while Jeremy Elkin feels fortunate to be able to travel with his friends and see new things, it wasn’t always meant to be this way. “Originally I just wanted to make it small,” Elkin responded when asked about the scope of Floorwork, his premiere film. About a year and a half ago, Elkin entertained the idea of producing a skateboard video with his friends and intended to get some “names” in there too. While it still felt like a dream at that point, close friends jumped at the opportunity. “The two main people who got involved right away were Phil [Knechtel] and Nate [Belanger],” he explained. Being friends for years surely made for a comfortable working environment, and it’s this that’s captured in Elkin’s work. While still in the editing stages when we spoke, he wasn’t shy to share trailers and samples from his petproject. While most of the skaters are unknown and have names I may never pronounce correctly, these Montreal-based skaters devour the screen in style, with Elkin’s cut-and-dry filming to compliment, rather than compete with it. “There’s no crazy effects, it’s really simple,” he says, “Don’t expect any Yeah Right! [Girl Skateboards video, c.2001].”

Collin brought us to this spot in a tiny Vermont town, which is at the halfway point between Montreal and Boston. You need to park your car in the woods, walk through a small field of long grasses, then walk up the narrow flight of broken-down wooden stairs to reach the top platform, which holds one of the best spots I had ever been to. Polejams, flatbars, marble boxes, manual pads, kickers and banks – all on perfect flatground.

Collin Hale, Switch Barjam Revert, Nowhere, USA [ o ] Hutton.

“Goats has an amazing eye for spots. Everywhere we go, he manages to get the nicest photos with the perfect spot selection.”

Pierre-Yves Gauthier, Backside Noseblunt, Ottawa [ o ] Hutton.

This shot is no different.

Nate Bélanger, inward heelflip, Montréal [ o ] Mathieu.

This kicker is right in between two busy highways that go downhill under an overpass. Nate filmed this trick in a line, and the only time you can film lines on this street is in the middle of the night. We’re lucky neither one of us got run over, considering it’s really hard to hear cars that are coming out of tunnels at full speed when you’re on a skateboard.

Filming skits and further exploration in general are probably not too far off for Elkin, who is likely attending film school this coming fall and already had some last-minute ideas he’s holding back from producing for this release. A fan of both the ‘skate for skating’s sake’ videos, (Chris Hall’s Get Familiar, Flip’s Really Sorry, Almost’s Cheese And Crackers) and videos with more theatrical/artistic expression (Girl’s Yeah Right, Fourstar’s Super Champ Funzone, Blueprint’s Bon Appetit), he says of Floorwork, “It’s kinda in between everything I like, with a little bit of every video I’ve seen, pretty much.” It’s plain to see how this group of skaters sees skateboarding, and it’s not the same as the typical California rail rat. Proof of this would be in his selected hopefuls for the film. Guys like Tyler Maher, a staple figure in Montreal skateboarding, who’s rarely found filming or shooting photos, which goes to prove why you probably haven’t heard of him if you aren’t from Montreal.

The skaters in Floorwork skate for themselves with credentials that vary. Charles Rivard, the young blood of the crew has yet to be seen in print, and this would serve as his first real part in any video, while Pierre-Yves Gauthier can be seen often in any of the Canadian skateboard magazines. But have you ever seen footage of him? The answer is probably “no”.

The common denominator in Floorwork is the city of Montreal. But not the Olympic Stadium, Peace Park or “Big Two” Montreal we all know so well. This is the Montreal the local skaters know and show only to their closest friends.

“I tried to show that there was more than just these spots around the area,” says Elkin. Not all of the skaters are from Montreal though. Pierre-Yves and his cousin Seb Labbé live in the Ottawa area, and Collin Hale hails from Vermont – all three living only a few mix-tapes drive away.

In filiming for Floorwork skaters went as far as Russia, France, Spain, San Francisco, Miami, and New York.

There’s an abundance of New York spots throughout the film, as well as spots in Boston, where Elkin attended school for the past few years – although he made a sincere effort to maintain everyone’s parts 60-70 per cent Montreal, and wants to keep it that way. The video has all the spots you wouldn’t find in Yesterday’s Future: “I think there’s one Peace Park line, and a couple Berri Square lines, which is kinda rare for a Montreal video.”

While Floorwork focuses primarily on skating and less on filler, it still offers a glimpse into a strong and talented sector of Canada’s skateboard scene that often gets the shaft on coverage. And, most importantly, it makes you want to go skate.

XAMPLFILMS.COM

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LIMERICKS OF THE FUTURE:

HUMOUR OF DAVID SHRIGLEY k a e l B The

wordsby saelan twerdy

I

n a drawing from a David Shrigley book entitled Human Achievement, a crudely drawn man stands proudly upright and walks across a white page, surrounded by text inked by Shrigley’s immediately-recognizable pen, with its misspellings and scratched-out phrases. The words read: “Music has lost its power. So has visual art. So has prose. Now it is the sole responsibility of the writers of limericks to describe the human condition.” What with Shrigley being a frequent collaborator with musicians and a successful visual artist, we don’t need to take his narrator literally, but those few lines sum up Shrigley’s approach to art in a nutshell. He gave up trying to be a cartoonist many years ago, but Shrigley’s absurd and abject little drawings are probably the funniest thing in contemporary art. With uneasy jokes that play on our fears of death, loneliness, illness, ugliness, and failure, he strips serious and painful ideas about the world to their simplest, most immediate form and then uses them to make you laugh. Shrigley may, in actuality, be happy, healthy, and well-adjusted, but his work touches some of the same nerves as a so-called “outsider artist” like Daniel Johnston – he has an almost autistic genius, a sad and tender perspective on the world that gets to honesty by leaving normality behind.

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Having made his work easily accessible (he comes out with a new book of drawings almost monthly, and nearly all of them go for under ten dollars), Shrigley has won himself a lot of fans in high places, which has in turn led to bigger projects, like the animated version of his pseudoautobiography, Who I Am and What I Want, produced with Chris Shepherd in 2005. Recently, he designed twelve individual covers for Deerhoof’s new album, Friend Opportunity, and released an LP-shaped book of “song lyrics” and drawings called Worried Noodles on Germany’s Tomlab Records. His newest project, Shrigley Forced to Speak With Others, is a record of spoken-word “songs” that see Shrigley narrating stories in the style of his drawings, with musical accompaniment. Color spoke with Shrigley to discuss his tastes, his habits, and his thoughts on the future.

Color: Having done music videos for Blur and Bonnie Prince Billy, the art for Deerhoof’s new album, and having your spoken word pieces on Late Night Tales compilations by Four Tet and the Flaming Lips (to say nothing of Worried Noodles), your work is getting to have a strong association with music. Do you think that

your work has particular properties that endear it to the indie-rock crowd?

DS: It’s hard to say really. I really like music. It is a very important part of my life. Perhaps music needs some of my pictures in the same way as I need music.

What kind of music have you been listening to lately?

Does music inspire your work in any major ways?

Lately I have been listening to the recent John Fahey box set on Table of The Elements. It’s very good working music.

I also like to listen to Merzbow when I’m working. I didn’t realize that Fahey was really into Merzbow at the end of his life. It really makes sense when I listen to his later recordings. Generally I make drawings to music that doesn’t have much lyrical content. When I’m doing things that don’t require any thought I like to listen to other stuff. I’m a big fan of The Fall.

The term “faux naïve” gets tossed around in reference to a lot of contemporary art and illustration, but I think that, whereas a lot of the time, it’s used to generate an aesthetic of nostalgia or cuteness, any naivety of style

“I REALLY LIKE MUSIC. IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF MY LIFE. PERHAPS MUSIC NEEDS SOME OF MY PICTURES IN THE SAME WAY AS I NEED MUSIC.”

in your work tends to confront more unsettling issues: marginality, mental illness, the infantilism of mass culture, and so on.

I draw in the way that I do as a result of a process of reduction. I want to say things as quickly and directly as possible. Whilst I suppose my drawing has become a style, I never intended it to be so.

Your paintings are also quite few compared to your drawings (I assume this is because they’re more time consuming). When do you decide that something ought to be painted rather than drawn?

I paint sometimes purely to add a bit of variety to my life.

I don’t think the paintings are so different to the drawings.

They are just more colourful.

How much drawing do you usually do in a day?

I would say I can do about 30 drawings in eight hours, but the majority of them get thrown in the bin.

You seem very happy and well-adjusted for someone who makes their living drawing disturbing pictures.

Would you recommend the life of an artist to others?

Absolutely. It beats working.

How do you like animation compared to drawing? On the one hand, it seems like the most natural thing to animate your drawings, but you’ve done comparatively little of it.

I like animation, but I still feel I’m at the beginning. I have a lot to learn. The bad thing about animation is that it’s expensive and it takes ages.

Your particular sense of humour (especially in your spoken word) reminds me quite a lot of Ivor Cutler. Are you a fan?

Kind of. I think the best way to experience him is to listen to his records with your friends and smoke a big joint. He was seen as a kind of national treasure in Scotland. They will probably make a statue of him and celebrate his birthday like Robert Burns (which would not be a bad thing).

How would you describe your ambitions as an artist?

It’s perhaps not good to look too far into the future. I’m just thinking about the next exhibition, the next film and the next book. I just want them to be good.

Do you ever feel snubbed by gallerists or critics for being too much of a humourist, or doing commercial work like music videos and album art?

Sometimes, but I can’t complain to much. It’s impossible to please everyone.

What do you have coming up in the near future?

I’m doing a new book of drawings to be published in the autumn. The working title is “Ants have sex in your beer” but the publisher wants me to change it. Tomlab are making a music version of Worried Noodles. They asked lots of different bands to record songs with the lyrics I wrote. I think it’s a really amusing project. They are going to release a version of it on vinyl without a cover, so it can go in the empty sleeve of the original Worried Noodles.

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PLAGUE OF SURFACES: aurel schmidt makes ornament from excrement. wordsby nicholas brown

photos courtesyof peres projects, los angeles / berlin

(reverse) Rat Beard 15 x 15” pencil, oil based color pencil, acrylic on paper here: (left to right) Burn Face, Pink Eye and Mr. Moustache at Peres Projects, Los Angeles Berlin All 15 x 15” pencil, oil based color pencil, acrylic on paper. (opposite) Funeral Flowers 19 x 30” pencil, oil based color pencil, acrylic on paper. c.2006

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There’s something immensely satisfying yet equally unsettling about Aurel Schmidt’s recent works on paper. Intricately rendered accretions of objects and creatures that include flies, cockroaches, cigarette butts, dog fur, maggots and used condoms—the detritus of city life—are arranged into a series of monstrous faces in montage style. In comparison with past work that deployed abstract line and colour, here Schmidt has amplified not only the level of detail and expansiveness, but also dispensed with the decorative qualities of ornamentation in the service of a much more grotesque vision of decay and excess.

Her recently exhibited “Body Swallows World” is comprised of eight drawings that invert the normal logic of surface and depth—where we are used to the conventional mode of happy exteriors that mask a terrifying, traumatic core (an appropriate model might be David Lynch’s Blue Velvet or Mulholland Drive), Schmidt projects the parasitic, excremental, and violent core outward onto the seething skins of her subjects. In Medusa, Schmidt arranges a mass of snakes into a voluptuous female form, whereas her series of faces—each leering expression a variation of the other, save for the alternating compositions of detritus materials— share the eerie properties of blank eyes and mouths. The core is ambiguous—amid the morass of shit and garbage, what could possibly lie beneath? We are similarly invited to imagine the coil of snakes unraveling, leaving us with what?

Something infinitely more hideous, or perhaps a redeeming centre to the chaotic shell?

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But this all says nothing of the humour that abounds, especially with the faces: Burn Face, Pink Eye, Garbage Man, Mr. Moustache, and Trash Man. Not only is it impossible to deny the stupid grins— are we prepared to let them laugh at our revulsion without joining in?—but there is also an irony that attends the decorative qualities of Schmidt’s illustrative style, suited as it is to such obsessively foul subject matter. Decoration is nothing new to Schmidt, whose early work included painting ornate patterns on shoes and hats; one is also reminded of her exhibition of dog portraits, which employed a similar, muted colour palette to her naturalistic renderings. Here, Schmidt appropriates the decorative, repetitive, ornamental style of her early work to an excessive, distorted subject matter. There are similarities however: in one work, an arrangement of flowers wraps across the picture plane, evoking the pleasant, verging on saccharine qualities of a cocker spaniel portrait. A glance at the title, Funeral Flowers, reminds us that death is omnipresent—ornamentation haunts the subject matter, and vice versa.

Color: What does ‘realism’ mean to you? There is a naturalistic quality to your work, but it appears to be aimed at something beyond ‘authentic’ representation. What compels you to painstakingly render flies, moths, teeth and hair?

AS: The word ‘realism’ or even ‘Realism’ has very little to do with my work. The subject matter is a phantasmagoria, part ‘real’, part hallucination or dream or thought. The thing you see out of the corner of your eye. As for technique, drawing an object or subject to the best of my ability is my most natural impulse. It creates a controlled element. If I was to overly stylize or try to digress the representation of my subject it would feel unnatural to me, I would feel like I was trying to imitate a style that was not my own. The continuum of both impulsive and calculated decisions one makes along the way are generally what ends up defining the individuality of the work.

Over the past couple of years you have oscillated between this kind of detail and more abstracted work. I’m referring to the dogs, moving into the more nebulous, abstract work you were producing for the antisocial show, into this new, heavily worked “Zombie” stuff. Could you elaborate on the compositional choices you’ve been making?

I feel like my drawings have always had a lot of detail and control.

Even the work you may remember as abstract. I also don’t think I would be making the work I am now making without making all the work I made in the past.

What role does colour play in your work? What considerations do you make when starting a piece, and what does it take to see it through?

Once again, intuition and control. For me colour is often more about what not to use. Elimination.

How has living and working in small quarters in New York affected the kind of work you’ve been producing as opposed to your situation in Vancouver over the summer?

I don’t really see it as a New York/Vancouver issue; it is more of a non-commitment to set up a stable studio issue. For instance, in the last year I have made all my work in ramshackle improv studios in four bedrooms, two living rooms and three hotel rooms in four different countries. Yes, I curse and holler sometimes, but I draw every day. That is the centre point which all other factors fall into place around.

Where would you like things to go in the coming years?

I want to start expanding my work into new areas. Appropriated images, live insects, plants. I want to make sculpture. I figured out what I wanted to do this summer, but it will take a lot of money and planning to get it on its feet. I want to show my drawings along with other ‘things’ that help illustrate the feeling I am trying to convey.

(above) Body Swallows World, 2006 18.25 x 28.5” pencil, acrylic on paper (here) Medusa, 2006 18.25 x 28.5” pencil on paper.

PERESPROJECTS.COM

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TheDINER

AT

stylingby tanus lewis castingby mila franovic hair and makeupby janice rhodes

models leah christ of lizbell agency monica c, leigh b, and holynde from richards agency.

photographyby stephen wilde

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fashion/irration .

OPPOSITE: HOLYNDE IS WEARING A FENCHURCH GREENWICH LEATHER JACKET WITH HEPCAT STRIPED DENIM BY ETNIES. THIS PAGE: LEAH WEARS THE M.BISON TEE BY LRG, KAYLA CARDIGAN FROM WESC, RVCA SKINNY JEANS, AND PRISON ISSUE VANS BY MARC JACOBS.

THIS PAGE: LEIGH B. SERVES HER CUSTOMERS IN THE LUDLOW TANK AND N 10TH PANTS BY DC. VINTAGE NECKLACE FROM USED CLOTHING. OPPOSITE: MONICA IS IN PROMODEL SLEEK SHOES FROM ADIDAS, OBEY DENIM, RAPTURE TANK BY VOLCOM AND SELECTOR 45 CARDIGAN

BY ETNIES.

. at the diner

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OPPOSITE: TAKING ORDERS, HOLYNDE WEARS THE ETNIES TROOP DRESS AND VINTAGE APRON. HER CUSTOMERS WEAR SNEAKERS BY ADIDAS, AVAILABLE AT LIVESTOCK. STYLIST’S OWN HEELS. THIS PAGE: LEAH IS WEARING HIGH-WAISTED TANYA JEANS BY WESC WITH VINTAGE SHIRT AND SHOES.

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CLOCKWISE FROM BACK LEFT: LEAH WEARS THE VOLCOM RAPTURE CARDIGAN, OPHELIA SKIRT BY OBEY, AND THE DC LUDLOW TANK-TOP. MONICA IS IN JEANS BY OBEY AND RAPTURE TANK BY VOLCOM. HOLYNDE IS WEARING A DACE CARDIGAN, TROOP TOP FROM ETNIES, DC READE SHORTS AND VINTAGE BOOTS. LEIGH WEARS THE DEVIL’S ADVOCATE TANK WITH FELINE SKINNY DENIM BY VOLCOM. MONICA TAKES A BREAK IN THE BROKEN FLOWER CARDIGAN BY VOLCOM, DC ST MARK’S SHORT AND STYLIST’S OWN SHOES.

. at the diner

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IN BROWN CANVAS STRIPES

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www.supradistribution.com

DEER MAN OF DARK WOODS militance,

It has been a few years now since we first heard the rumblings and whispers that grew to manifest into a crude handassembled ‘zine that sparked the beginnings of the Barrier Kult (BAKU) movement. From there the next step was The “Vinter” Scroll, a piece based more in manifesto than physical skateboarding. Eventually, the BAKU Horde video dropped and with it the global recognition of Deer Man of Dark Woods, a man that has done for barrier skating what Rodney Mullen had done for freestyle. The rumblings that had drifted across the waters to the United Kingdom sparked movements in the Heroin skateboards camp, and the byproduct was his first pro model.

strength,

darkness,

and abrupt transition violence are the monikers of his pounding technique of skateboarding. words&photos bydylan doubt

crows bykyle shura

. DMODW

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“THE DEER MAN OF DARK WOODS PLAGUES THIS SUFFERING WORLD WITH COMPLETE BARRIER ANNIHILATION. TAKING SKATEBOARDING TO NEW LEVELS OF DARKNESS AND MAYHEM. HE IS THE MARK OF DAMNATION. HE IS THE START OF THE BAKU REVOLUTION.”

—Chris Haslam

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DMODW.

C

learly, the BAKU movement takes itself quite seriously. I spent a couple weeks stalking the Deer Man, and the results live in the following pages. His style of skateboarding may not be for everyone – truly ‘skateable’ barriers aren’t quite as easy to come across as an eight stair – but I am sure that most will be able to relate to the solitary session. He seems to have more in common with a driven manual pad skater than the hardcore Pabst Blue Ribbon tranny/skatepark set. Though not much is known about (nor is he open to sharing) his history, it is clear that DMODW was drawn to the abrupt concrete structures from the beginning and is interested in Color: why do you wear the balaclava?

Deer Man: I WEAR A BALACLAVA TO REPRESENT THE IDEA OF ANIMOSITY. THROUGH THE BELIEF STRUCTURE OF THE BARRIER KULT, I WANT TO PRONOUNCE MYSELF AS A PHYSICAL MOVING SYMBOL OF THE KULT’S IDEOLOGY, A PARTICIPANT THAT IS ‘USED’ TO DEFINE THE ACT OF BARRIER SKATEBOARDING AS IT REPRESENTS A MILITANT DRIVE TOWARD A SINGULAR SKATEBOARD GENRE. A CHARACTERIZED FACE OR PERSONA SERVES NO MEANING TO THE HORDE’S MILITANT WORSHIP OF THE BARRIER OR MY BARRIER MANIPULATIONS AS A WHOLE. THE ROCK AND ROLL AND THE 5050 STALL ARE THE CORE OF THE BARRIER KULT AND ITS BARRIER USE. A RECOGNIZABLE FACE IN SKATEBOARDING SERVES AS NOTHING MORE THAN A PROMOTIONAL TOOL, WHICH IS NOT WHAT BAKU REPRESENTS. how did the skating of barriers begin? what was your first experience?

SOON AFTER THE INITIAL LEARNING STAGE, I WAS PRESENTED WITH A SINGLE BARRIER THAT LAY JUST PAST THE END OF A DARK STREET NEAR A FOREST. AT FIRST THERE WAS ONLY EARTH AND SOIL THAT LED UP TO THE CEMENT STRUCTURE, BUT AFTER REPEATED ATTEMPTS AT REACHING IT, THE EARTH BEGAN TO HARDEN AND A PATH WAS CREATED FROM A CONSTANT DRIVE TO RIDE IT. AS THE RAIN FELL FOR DAYS, THE HARDENED MUD TURNED TO STONE AND I BEGAN TO LEARN TO CARVE IT AND LATER GRIND IT. THIS IS WHERE IT FIRST BEGAN. NATURE HAS ALLOWED ME THE ACT OF BARRIER SKATEBOARDING, AS IT ACTS AS A MERE GRADUAL STEP TOWARDS SOIL AND NATURE WORSHIP – THE CARVING DOWN OF CONCRETE SLABS IN ITS PUREST FORM. tell me about your relationship with baku. how did you find each other?

BAKU WAS FOUND AND CREATED OUT OF A SEQUENCE OF EVENTS THAT BROUGHT THREE SKATEBOARDERS TOGETHER BASED ON TWO IDEAS: THE DEVOTION TO ONLY SKATING CEMENT BARRIERS, AND TO THE BLACK ARTS. what are some of your influences?

1980S SKATEBOARDERS SUCH AS NEIL BLENDER,

OLLIE IN FROM AXLE STALL . DMODW

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TEXAS PLANT BLAIZE BLOUIN, AND GATOR. how do you see the type of skateboarding that you do fit into skateboarding as a whole? what is its place in contemporary skateboarding?

MY PERSONAL SEPARATION FROM THE NORMAL ‘SKATEBOARD’ WORLD AND MY DEVOTION TO ANONYMITY HAS MADE MY PLACE IN THE WORLD OF THE BARRIER KULT FEEL ESPECIALLY SEPARATED FROM THE BATTLE PLAINS OF SKATEBOARD SOCIETY. THE 80S SKATEBOARD INFLUENCES AND LIMITED LIFESTYLE OF ONLY SKATING BARRIERS MAY BE MISCONSTRUED AS RESTRICTING AND LESS ‘FREE’ THAN OTHER ACTS OF SKATE CULTURE, BUT I AM POSSESSED BY AN ACT THAT I PRIDE MYSELF ON. SOMETHING THAT I HAVE BEEN BROUGHT UP ON BASED ON A REGIMENTED STRUCTURE THAT HAS A FREEDOM IN ITSELF THAT NO OTHER FORM OF SKATING COULD EVER CONJURE UP. THE BARRIER KULT CONJURES UP PURE SKATEBOARD POSSESSION IN ITS MOST POWERFUL FORM. what role does music play for you?

THE MINIMALISM OF THE JERSEY BARRIER AND ITS POWER VIA VIOLENT TRANSITIONS AND 102

DMODW.

POOL-SHALLOW-END MENTALITY ARE THEMES THAT ARE VASTLY KEPT IN CHECK BY THE FULL POSSESSION FROM, AND DEDICATION TO, BLACK WAR METAL. DEER MAN LISTENS EXCLUSIVELY TO BANDS SUCH AS BEHERIT, MYSTIFIER SARCOFAGO, SEXTRASH, BATHORY, MORTUARY DRAPE, BLACK WITCHERY, PROCLAMATION, SODOM, ANAL VOMIT, AND IMPIETY. THE RITUAL POSSESSION THAT THESE BANDS OF GREAT POWER CAN PROMOTE DWARFS ANYTHING THAT A SKATEBOARD CAN RE-CREATE, THUS THE DEDICATION TO THIS GENRE KEEPS THE BARRIER KULT IN CHECK WITH THE REALITY OF THE TRUE ABYSS. what is your take on "fixed" or cemented barriers vs. raw barriers?

THE ATTRACTION TO BARRIER SKATING IN THE FIRST PLACE IS THAT IT FORCES ME TO DEAL WITH AN ABRUPT TRANSITION THAT CANNOT BE FOUND IN ANY NORMAL MANMADE QUARTERPIPE. THE CHALLENGE OF TAKING RAMP TRICKS AND ADAPTING THEM TO SOMETHING THAT IS NORMALLY NOT SKATED IS THE SUBSTANCE THAT I AM LOOKING FOR. BUT THERE ARE FINE LINES. I DO ENJOY

SKATING “FIXED” BARRIERS, BUT ONLY IF THEY ARE BARRIERS LEFT AS IS, AND THE BOTTOMS ARE ONLY MILDLY TAMPERED WITH. THIS STILL GIVES THE SUDDEN AND UNEXPECTED FEEL THAT I YEARN FOR, AND AT THE SAME TIME ALLOWS ME TO TAKE ON TRICKS THAT ARE PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE ON AN UN-ALTERED BARRIER. TO SEE A BARRIER RAPED OF ITS ABRUPTNESS VIA BEING PUT ON BLOCKS AND CEMENTED CLOSE TO THE TOP TROUBLES ME. THAT IS NOT BARRIER SKATING, AND THAT IS NOT THE ABRUPTNESS THAT I WORSHIP. what has the reaction been to the baku video?

THE REACTION TO THE VIDEO HAS BEEN REALLY GOOD. THE ABRUPT AND DARK NATURE OF THE FILM AS A WHOLE, AS WELL AS THE SOUNDTRACK, HAS GIVEN US THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET OTHER KULT SUBCULTURES WITHIN THE SKATE SCENE THAT WE NEVER THOUGHT EXISTED. HAIL TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE MADE COPIES OF OUR VIDEO AND SPREAD THE PLAGUE THROUGHOUT THE U.K., NORTH AMERICA, AUSTRALIA AND OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD.

BACKSIDE TAILSLIDE SHOVE “IF YOU HAD TITS HE WOULD CUT THEM OFF AND DRINK WET CONCRETE FROM THE SEVERED NIPPLES” — Keegan Sauder . DMODW

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FRONTSIDE FEEBLE

“DEER MAN OF DARK WOODS WILL EITHER SAVE OR DESTROY SKATEBOARDING, AND NOW MORE THAN EVER SKATEBOARDING NEEDS A SAVIOUR...”

— Fos

MUTE LAYBACK do you think that progression is important?

NO. WHAT ARE YOUR MOTIVES IN JUST SKATING BARRIERS? MY MOTIVES ARE SIMPLE. BARRIER WORSHIP. I STRIVE TO BETTER MYSELF ON BARRIERS OUT OF RESPECT AND DEVOTION TO THE KULT CAUSE AS WELL AS FOR MY OWN SELF. I RESTRICT MYSELF TO ONLY SKATING BARRIERS BASED ON THE BELIEF THAT I AM NOT PUT HERE TO ‘KEEP UP’ WITH OTHER FORMS OF SKATEBOARD CULTURE AND ITS VAST ARRAY OF WHAT THEY CALL “SKATE SPOTS”. MY PROGRESS OF TRICKS DOES NOT COME OUT OF A DESIRE TO STAY CURRENT, [BUT] RATHER AN ODE TO DARK NATURE-WORSHIP. why no flip tricks?

I AM INSPIRED HEAVILY BY THE EARLY 80S STYLE OF TRICKS AND MANOEUVRES. A LOT OF THE STYLE AND AESTHETICS THAT I STRIVE FOR ROOT FROM THIS ERA AND THE ACT OF ‘BOARD FLIPPING’ IS NOT AN AVENUE THAT SUITS THE ‘CULTER’ TIMES OF THE 80S SKATE GENERATION. how did you spark the interests of heroin skateboards?

THERE ARE A FEW COMPANIES THAT CONTACTED THE BARRIER KULT DIRECTLY IN ITS FIRST FEW YEARS OF ‘OFFICIAL’ EXISTENCE. THROUGH THE SPREADING OF OUR ORIGINAL

HORDE VIDEO [WITHIN] THE U.K. AND OTHER PARTS OF EUROPE, HEROIN SKATEBOARDS EVENTUALLY CONTACTED US. AFTER WATCHING LIVE FROM ANTARCTICA AND SEEING THE ‘BLACK METAL’ HIDDEN EDIT FROM THE FILM, THE BARRIER KULT AS A WHOLE DECIDED ON THE IDEA OF USING THEIR HORDE TO SPREAD EVEN FURTHER THE BAKU PLAGUE VIA PROPAGANDA. have you ever skated anything else apart from cement blocks?

NO. is there anyone else that you skate with?

THE DEPTH LEVIATHAN MOSTLY, THE BEAST OF GEBAUDEN, A FEW OTHER SHAPES AT TIMES, BUT MOSTLY ON MY OWN AT NIGHT. some people have thought of the barrier kult as being negative, and that it should be about peacefulness and having fun. what are your thoughts on that?

I DON’T KNOW HOW THE BARRIER KULT COULD BE MISCONSTRUED AS A NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE. WHAT I SEE IN A SO-CALLED ‘POSITIVE’ SKATE SCENE ARE EGOS BATTLING FOR FIRST PLACE, USELESS TREND FOLLOWERS, AND WEAK MONEY-MAKING SCHEMES FROM POWERFUL SKATE LEADERS. “OUR” WAR IS AGAINST THIS WEAKNESS THAT PLAGUES SKATEBOARDING – AND TO ME, THAT IS A POSITIVE STATEMENT. . DMODW

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BACKSIDE BLUNT

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“THE DEER MAN COMPELS ME TO SEEK OUT THE UNHOLY FROZEN HELL STONE AS A MEANS OF INSTANT SELF GRATIFICATION” — Ryan Smith

BACKSIDE 360 OLLIE

there are a lot of religious undertones in some of your answers. where does religion play a role in your kult? what are your beliefs?

EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATES WITHIN THE BARRIER KULT HAS A SPECIFIC AGENDA THAT I CANNOT SPEAK FOR. FOR ME, I SUPPORT THE BELIEF OF NATURE WORSHIP AND ANIMAL RIGHTS AS A WHOLE, AS WELL THE BELIEF THAT ANIMAL IS EQUAL TO MAN. MY WAR IS AGAINST THE FUNDAMENTALIST CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT THAT RALLIES AN

ANTI-ENVIRONMENTAL WAY OF THINKING. MY ADMIRATION TOWARDS NATURE AND ITS AMAZING ABILITY TO PUT UP WITH HUMAN WEAKNESSES DRIVES ME TO WAGE THIS WAR AGAINST RELIGIONS AND PETTY TRADITIONS THAT HAVE DESTROYED THE NATURAL WORLD FOR AS LONG AS IT HAS. MY UNHOLINESS DOES NOT ROOT ITSELF ANY FURTHER THAN THE SIMPLE WAGED BATTLES THAT I HAVE WITH THE PATHETIC CHRISTIAN WAYS THAT PLAGUE OUR PLANET EARTH AND CONTRIBUTE TO ITS UNJUSTIFIED TORMENT. TO ME, THE BARRIER KULT MEANS THIS KIND OF FREEDOM. . DMODW

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OPENING UP

SHOP! colormagazine.ca/shop

Under her The Weat

R SHADOWS OF THE WINTE WASTELAND. wordsby jay revelle

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It was around my tenth birthday when I realized that, in all honesty, I was probably never going to realize my life’s dream – becoming a ninja. I know it sounds odd, but I was serious. I finally realized that my ninja uniform, the karate lessons, and my wooden katana were all in vain. I had to face facts. There were no ninjas in Canada and no daimyo to work for. Even in Japan, the daimyo had ceased activity long ago. The only thing I could do was prowl the neighborhood in my ninja uniform, pretending to be something I was not. I couldn’t lie to myself any longer. There was no future to be had. That’s when I figured it was time to make a change.

In a warm Toronto dojo, Juan Osorio jumps from the shadows and makes short work of a 360 flip to fakie. If someone’s head was right there, it’d definitely be gone.

Photo: Andrew Norton

. under the weather

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Luckily, in the middle of that dilemma, I miraculously found skateboarding. However, that little revelation wasn’t the end of the problems caused by things such as geographical location. Such a newfound passion necessitates smooth cement, dry streets, and balmy weather – something non-existent in Canada for roughly three to four months.

them, and suddenly, I was privy to things that kids in my neighborhood knew nothing about. Suddenly, I was part of an almost secretive group.

We had our own music, our own clothes, our own language, and our own minds. However, without a skateboard under my feet three to four months of the year, I felt misplaced. That’s when a brief foray into snowboarding began.

That’s when the pain and torture set in. I started skateboarding in the summer, but when that first winter came along I knew I had embarked on a cause that one might consider lost. However, it was too late to turn back; I was a skateboarder. To me, at that time, skateboarders were the modern-day ninja. Nobody seemed to know anything about

As my circle of skateboarding friends expanded, we finally ventured out into the cold to see what we could uncover – one of many search and destroy missions. We knew something was out there –

under the weather .

Gleaming the Cube told us so. That’s when we discovered the indoor parking garage, and it wasn’t long before we blasted from Floor 8 to Floor 1.

This led us to the next challenge: security guards. We might have been skateboarders, but the continuously changing environment taught us how to change and adapt like ninjas. We discovered where the security booth was and stayed away. We knew where the cameras were and remained out of sight. When we were noticed, we fled. We all know how it works.

During some extremely wintry evenings, we toughed it out, but I hated having to change what I wore for the sake of staying warm. To me, skateboarding just didn’t work when I had ten layers on. I felt like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. That’s when I discovered a new approach.

Ninjas like to fly right over their enemies, just for fun. In Toronto, Alex Nears throws in a hardflip, just for good measure.

Photo: Arken Zakharov

Soon after Martin Morris threw down this backside heelflip while escaping from security in Ottawa, naked chicks just showed up everywhere, I swear. It was rad.

Photo: Brian Garson

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Brandon could kill you until you are dead and you wouldn’t even know. Fortunately for all of us, he would rather just stay warm in Toronto and do nollie noseslides. Photo: Shane Hutton

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shadows of the weather .

Ninjas can beat Chuck Norris guaranteed.

They can also beat ledges to smithereens, as Kevin Lowry proves with this tip-toed BS 180 nosegrind in Saskatoon.

Photo: Owen Woytowich

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Warm weather or cold, ninjas often have to scale walls during the course of their day. Riley Boland’s technique, a footplant to fakie, might just revolutionize the ninja industry. Vancouver.

Photo: Gordon Nicholas

You see, I didn’t want to acknowledge that winter existed.

I didn’t want to give it the satisfaction of changing me, of beating me. That’s when I decided to bust out the summer clothes. By this time, I was sixteen years old or so, and I had been blessed with another effective tool: the automobile. With this handy device, we could search farther while staying warmer, finding new and better indoor, underground, or otherwise covered skate spots.

But more importantly, I realized that if you blast the car’s heater en route, when you step out of the car your skin is still warm, and as long as you start skating immediately, by the time you warm up, you’ve already gotten your sweat on, making thick, layered clothing unnecessary. In those days, my eyes were glued to the Weather Channel day and night, waiting to see if the average temperature for that time of year had risen yet.

In retrospect, I can really see how I was living out my ninja fantasies through my skateboard. That piece of wood had it all, I thought. I’ve asked myself, “Is skateboarding a sport?” I have to say no, or sort of. Is it an art? In a way it is, but when I really analyze the mental and physical discipline involved, the mind games one must play, the lack of any sort of organizational game play, I can’t help but almost want to designate it as this: a martial art. Finding a place to skate in the winter months is just part of a rather limitless package. I can feel that skateboarders are, in a rather abstract sense, the ninjas of today. Obviously we aren’t assassins, but in what other sports activity could you possibly find yourself tip-toeing down a handrail when things go awry? Or, outwitting security guards who are trying their hardest to stop you from completing your mission? Or, simply hiding out in an empty parking garage in the middle of winter, jumping a plank of wood up onto a block of concrete, balancing on two wheels, flipping it between your legs, landing, and riding away? Could these sorts of possibilities occur from playing hockey, baseball, or soccer? The answer is a definite “no”. These possibilities occur from the necessity to quickly adapt and conquer. They occur from riding a plank of wood in sub zero temperatures.

They occur from being a ninja, and ultimately, they occur from being something popularly known as what we are: “skateboarders”.

(opposite) A ninja can kill a whole village in seconds, but Sascha Daley takes a more subtle approach to devastation with this heated fakie kickflip in Montreal.

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under the weather .

[o] Dylan Doubt

. shadowns of the winter

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DAVID GONZALEZ bluntslide [ o ] pommier.

ALEX GAVIN backside nollie [ o ] mathieu.

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fotofeature .

FOTO Feature.

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RUSSEL STAATS feeble grind [ o ] christian.

CASEY LAWSON pop shove-it [ o ] dufresne.

. forofeature

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IAN TWA frontside boardslide [ o ] christian.

SWELL frontside ollie [ o ] doubt.

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fotofeature .

REUBEN BULLOCK switch ollie [ o ] christian.

NUGGET backside smith [ o ] doubt. . fotofeature

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DEVIN MORRISON backside flip [ o ] christian.

HILLIARD SULPHER backside ollie [ o ] todon.

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nolimits.ca

Trailer ZERO ANTHOLOGY: DVD Box Set

ZEROSKATEBOARDS.COM

Zero Skateboards, Black Box Distribition

Can a box set feel romantic? Four thick and lusty layers of satiny Zero videos with a thin layer of moist unreleased promo video in between. Yes, Thrill of it all (1997), Misled Youth (1999), Dying to Live (2002), New Blood (2004), each one, piled high with rich black “special feature” shavings and unseen bonus sauce. Wade Burkitt, Erik Ellington, Aaron Harrison, Matt Mumford, Adrian Lopez, Jim Greco, Ryan Bobier, John Rattray, Ryan Smith, Lindsey Robertson, John Allie, Chris Cole, Garrett Hill, Tommy Sandoval… with Jamie Thomas running through it all. Love is in the air... Black Zero-love!

—doubt

FIRE AND FREAKS 3: Box Set

Santa Cruz Skateboards

SCSKATE.COM

For years, during the early to mid 80s, the skate video world was dominated by whatever Stacey Peralta came up with by way of new wave/punk lifestyles and dirt purity boneless representation. When the first of the Santa Cruz film efforts were made a reality the scene was suddenly and violently re-evaluated for my friends and I, as we got to se the ‘other side’ of skateboarding for the range of different scenes and mythical personalities that dominated the mid 80s. 1986s Streets of Fire is the first of the bunch with long and variously overhauled real film work documenting what seems to be singular session based days in the lives of the various pros. A great set that gives a solid view one of the other skateboard universes of the 80s, all fuelled to the brim properly with bands such as Black Flag, Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr., B’LAST, and many more. —s.mckinlay

KEEP ON ROLLING: The Foundation Testament

KEEPONROLLING.COM

The Box Set 1991-2006, Foundation Skateboards

In the past few years we have seen many box sets released, but this one takes the cake.

Foundation has all 15 videos they have ever created inside this beast. For some reason I was expecting their newest release “Cataclysmic Abyss” to be included in this epic video set, but that was probably just my Alzheimer’s acting up. Are you into seeing kick ass classic footage of Ronnie Creager, Steve Olson, Steve Berra, Heath Kirchart, Brad Staba, Ethan Fowler, and newer footage of Daniel Shimizu, Omar Salazar, Mike Rusczyk, Justin Strubing, Leo Romero, Gareth Stehr, Angel Ramirez, Matt Allen, Corey Duffel, Tommy Gurrola and many more then this is your ticket to Heaven, not to sound gay with that shitty pun and all my name dropping. —koop

. trailer

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Glitter Rap MICKEY AVALON’S GLAMOROUS SLEAZE wordsby dustin koop illustrationby ben tour

W

ith the ugly/pretty sex appeal of an early Mick Jagger and the crude wit of Lenny Bruce, Mickey Avalon has developed a new genre of rap that deserves a place between 80s glam rock and Slick Rick’s pimpster storytelling.

On his self titled album, Mickey boasts about his life as a former junkie and prostitute, rapping about the underbelly of Hollywood and all its sleaze. Back in 2005, Mickey “The Kosher Salami” released his album independently, wrapping the discs in pages from the L.A. Xpress newspaper, featuring ads from escorts, rub-n’-tug masseuses and grimy plastic surgery venues. Two years later Mickey became the first artist to be signed to Myspace Records, which led to an almost-immediate deal with Interscope to re-release his album to the masses. The self-titled album has sixty-nine tracks: eleven of them are actual songs, and track sixtynine is a collaboration with Dirt Nasty and Andre Legacy (The Dyslexic Speedreaders) titled “My Dick”. The three battle each other over who has a more impressive organ with verses like, “My dick cost a late night fee, your dick got the H.I.V.” These days, Mickey’s got a sponsorship from RVCA, a new album waiting to drop, and he’s fresh off a European tour with the infamous scenester photo blog thecobrasnake.com. He’s got a daughter and a career to manage, and he’s still the same guy that used to lock himself in the house for a week prior to a tour to keep from junking out and blowing the deal. So life’s not easy, but he’s got plans.

“I like getting high and I don’t want to get rid of something I like to do, but I like being there for my kid as well. You gotta play both sides of the fence.”

Tell me about the new album you’re working on.

It’s pretty much more of the same thing, I didn’t want to fix something that wasn’t broken. Same kinds of songs, same producers. We’ll see what happens in the eleventh hour, but for now I am pretty much done. I am playing a lot of the new songs at our shows, to see what the fans like.

What got you interested in rap?

A lot of my friends were in the underground hip-hop scene, so I would drop a few verses on different people’s CDs. It was nothing I took seriously. Then I got married and had a kid and moved away to Oregon, then I moved back to L.A. and I was living in a halfway house. I was making songs at my friend [Dirt Nasty aka former MTV VJ Simon Rex] Simon’s house, and Simon started handing the CDs out at clubs without me knowing. When Kevin Wolff [manager] called me saying how much he liked my

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stuff, I thought it was a joke. When I realized it was real, we met up and he told me that they liked my voice and verses and he started giving me $1500 a month for three months to record some songs. So I went in and recorded a bunch of songs, figuring that by the end of the three months I would take the money and somehow burn that bridge. We kept contact, though, and making songs, and then doing live shows. I didn’t really realize it was happening when it was happening, I think my manager said, “Give me a few years of your life and trust me.”

What’s changed from when you were hustling on your own to your current state?

The first shows that I played were for free, and then I’d be doing shows where I made $200. I had never made anything like that. Now the record is selling pretty good, I’ve got a song on the radio and I have friends opening up for me like Andre Legacy, Dirt Nasty.

“You hear a few times ‘you kissed my 14 year old sister, front row’.

That was never part of the plan, that’s a little kid ya know? Kinda creepy.”

It’s refreshing to hear something different than what size rims you’ve got and how many dudes you have killed. Have you got any feedback from bigger players in the industry?

Oh yeah, Snoop Dog likes my shit. Yesterday I was at Interscope and Jim Jones was there with his crew and he brought me into the studio and said he liked my shit a lot.

When real musicians started seeing what I was doing, I started to give myself more credit. Right now I am doing the Boost mobile campaign with Young Jeezy and Jermaine Dupree. In the past, maybe they would have been hung up on some things, but now they can just see me for how I rap.

It seems like anyone that’s white with a mic automatically gets it, but does it piss you off to be compared to Eminem?

If you believe in what you are doing then just keep doing it, people will come around. Some of our biggest haters have come around and got involved. Some of my manager’s friends thought he was crazy when he quit his job to manage me full-time. They thought it was a bad move. Kevin always believed in me a hell of a lot more than I ever did. We never sent any demos to record labels, the whole idea was to let them come to us.

What music influenced you growing up, and what are you currently listening to?

As far as rap goes, when I was growing up I was into Too $hort, De La Soul, Beastie Boys, Run DMC. Now it’s more like country and folk stuff like Bob Dylan and Lucinda Williams. Good stories, whether it be about lost love, someone killing themselves, whatever. They may play it with a banjo, I just do it over a beat

A lot of your songs are about your rough past and your troubles with drugs and so on. As you’ve moved away from that scene, how do you keep coming up with material that’s true to your experiences?

Fortunately for the fans and fortunately for me, getting money doesn’t make my head ring, so it’s not like, “Okay, now all of a sudden I have no problems and nothing to write about.” Obviously, a lot of the older stuff is not that relevant anymore. I’m not gonna talk so much about being a teenager turning tricks or anything, but it’s not like everything got perfect and I have nothing to talk about.

Have you been approached about cutting any tracks with any big names?

We have had to turn down a lot of ideas that are just not me. It’s the last thing my fans want and the last thing I want to do. Different people want to work with me, some make sense and some don’t. A lot of times record labels think I’m crazy cause I’m gonna turn down a song with so and so, but none of my fans want to see me come out with a song with Fergie. Nothing against her or anything, I just think it would confuse a lot of people. I don’t want to ditch my fans if I get all rich and famous. There would be no place for me to go.

You have been through a lot in your lifetime. Are you still into the hard drugs? Does having a daughter change your lifestyle at all?

Having a daughter and a career helps a little bit. I haven’t taken any drugs intravenously in a few years. I’m not strung out on anything. There are a lot of pain killers these days that are pretty strong that are easy to get a hold of, so that’s what I try to stay away from now. It is easy to get strung out on those. It may not be as messy, I just don’t want to be

eating Oxycontin everyday. No matter what you do you’ll have to pay the piper. I like getting high and I don’t want to get rid of something I like to do, but I like being there for my kid as well. You gotta play both sides of the fence.

Your stage presence seems to be quite interactive with the ladies. Do you ever worry about the stat rape laws and the problems that can come with being a performer?

(Laughter) I wrote a song about that. I’ve kinda chilled on that, not so much for the legal ramifications, but you hear a few times, “You kissed my 14 year old sister, front row,” and that was never part of the plan. That’s a little kid, you know?

Kinda creepy.

How did you get hooked up with RVCA clothing?

It was kind of a fluke. This guy took me to RVCA cause they liked me and wanted to give me some clothes. I thought I would go there and get a box of clothes and sell ‘em at the Buffalo Exchange. I’d never heard of them and I didn’t want no surf clothes. But the clothes ended up being cool, as well as the owner, Pat. We’ve become real good friends and he helped me out a lot. When things got bad with drugs he took me to Aspen and helped me out. I have a good support system. When people are looking out for me I don’t want to fuck ‘em over. I never cared in the past about letting people down, but now I’ve got reasons not to throw in the towel.

What is your current view on hip-hop?

Put it this way: am I bumping the latest shit in my car? No.

“None of my fans want to see me come out with a song with Fergie, nothing against her I just think It would confuse a lot of people.”

. mickey avalon

131

Sound Cheque “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse”

A4

OF MONTREAL

“Solarsphere”

B3

WHITE FLIGHT

Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?

(Polyvinyl)

Ruff Draft (Stones Throw) In the days before the internet, the reissue of a rare, vinyl-only, German import album by a widely-admired and recently-deceased artist would have been a major event. Nowadays, it’s just nice to know that yet another Dilla classic is going to be available on vinyl. The straight-up rap tracks such as the banger “Make ‘Em NV” stand as the clearest proof of J Dilla’s underrated skills as an emcee, but the record’s greatest strength lies in its beats, which combine obscure drum samples and woozy, blown-out synthesizers drowned in raw tape hiss and crunchy distortion. It’s an early sign of the peak to come.

—graham preston

Color 5.1 .

—sasha webb

“You’re not That Beautiful”

K-THE-I???

Broken Love Letter (Mush) With mainstream hip-hop declared dead

by Nas and the underground scene taking a nap, its nice to see at least one forward looking hip-hop record from a new talent. The awkwardly named K-the-i??? comes off like a heartbroken Dalek, but instead of apocalyptic visions of earth we’re served sad-sack love stories. The music most resembles Mush label-mate Daedelus and his frenetic brand of sample-happy jazzery, but with a darker edge comparable to Company Flow-era EL-P. K-the-i??? arrive at the table much hungrier than their peers and manage to eat up the competition, not that there was much to begin with.

—mark e. rich

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According to many spiritual systems, the modern age is fast coming to a close. We are on the brink of the Age of Aquarius, a time marked by elevated universal consciousness and global unity. Not to mention some sweet tunes. Hella’s already been through some big changes as the duo has become five, and they’ve changed record labels, working with Mike Patton’s Ipecac. The realization of a full band tempts me to classify their new sound as reminiscent of Sonic Youth’s thrumming melodies and Mr. Bungle’s dynamism. The LP has an ageless quality, experimental yet grounded, and a grace only so clear in music that’s been years in the making: an authentic harbinger of the Golden Age to come.

- sarah anne gibson

H5

HELLA There’s No 666 In Outer Space (Ipecac)

Inspired by a life-altering drug experience in the ancient ruins of Peru, former Anniversary member Justin Roelofs has released a strange, surprising, and wonderful solo album under the moniker White Flight. Over an ever-evolving montage of looped iMac drum beats, folky guitars, and off kilter synths, Roelofs at turns wails, warbles, and whispers, in a high-pitched, multi-tracked voice. The album is a freewheeling collage of styles, weaving together the poppy melodies of “Now” with the minimal acoustic guitar of “Song for Augustine Pt. 2” and the hip-hop beats of “Deathhands.” Invitingly catchy and rewardingly dense, White Flight’s first release is among the most multifaceted of pop gems.

“Nothing Like This”

J DILLA

C4

White Flight (Range Life)

When Kevin Barnes’ Of Montreal released Satanic Panic In the Attic a couple years ago, they catapulted from being just another cutesy 60s-obsessed pop group to indie-rock royalty.

Satanic Panic was jammed to the hilt with glittery glam riffs, Beach Boys harmonies, and drum-machine disco, and since then, every Of Montreal album has gotten flashier, catchier, and more danceable. Hissing Fauna continues the trend: every song is tricked out with kaleidoscopic indie-funk hooks and a raft of instruments and production flourishes. Barnes skips from one style to the next with every measure, hosting an emotional breakdown on the dance floor with a thesaurus in one hand and a bottle of pills in the other. It’s a lot of drama, but it’s never a bore. —saelan twerdy

G4

“Friends Don’t Let Friends Win”

“Muscle’n Flo”

I1

MENOMENA Friend and Foe (Barsuk) “Uneven” is the first thing that came to mind when I heard Friend or Foe, but it doesn’t mean what you think. From track to track, and even from moment to moment, the territory that these twelve songs inhabit is constantly shifting. Vocals move from hushed to triumphant and from solo to choral over a seamlessly changing bed of instrumentation.

But while the album is packed full of surprises, it’s also fresh and accessible all the way through. You could point to numerous references to describe Friend or Foe, but the only thing you can really expect from this record is that you’ll be suitably impressed.

—quinn omori

“Spring Break”

D3

THE FUCKING CHAMPS

“Plays”

E8

SECRET MOMMY

V1 (Drag City)

“Mine All Troubled Blues”

GHOSTFACE KILLAH

Green Blues (Stones Throw) As really, really psychedelic music goes, few players on the scene have a pedigree like Matt Valentine and Erika Elder. They were key players in the late, little-heard NYC band Tower Recordings, who pioneered the new school of “free folk” back in the 90s, and whose Furniture Music for Evening Shuttles is still one of the best times you can have with headphones and a bong. Green Blues continues the direction that MV/EE have been heading in since they went solo, ever more bluesy, ever more gloriously fucked. If you’re bummed and want to disassociate, this is your high.

—saelan twerdy

Like Six Finger Satellite and Les Savy Fav, Trans Am have always been a ahead of their time without having good timing. Back in the 90s, they were fusing Computer Worldera Kraftwerk with post-punk disco long before LCD Soundsystem turned the same influences into massive dancefloor credibility.

By the time their sound got hip, they seemed out of step. Admittedly, their recent flirtations with synth-pop have been less than stellar, which makes Sex Change a relief. It’s an almost entirely instrumental album of dancerock that spans several decades of styles and shows off the band’s chops with a lot of loose, breezy jams and a few unexpected excursions into grungy riffage. Good stuff.

—saelan twerdy

“Ghost is Back”

K1

More Fish (Def Jam) More Fish isn’t as good as Fishscale. It’s probably not fair to compare the two, since More Fish isn’t trying to be Fishscale – it’s not even trying to be a proper album. By no means perfect, it predictably collects a few stinkers amongst good and often great tracks, but name a hip-hop release in the last year that didn’t suffer from a little filler and wasn’t also called Hell Hath No Fury. And the Clipse and Fishscale aside, there’s nary a rap record from the last year that tops what’s essentially a collection of throwaways. Lucky for us, Pretty Toney’s trash is anyone else’s treasure.

—quinn omori

TRANS AM Sex Change (Thrill Jockey)

Andy Dixon is one of those guys who is not only good at everything, but has done something for everybody who knows him. He was a founding member of storied Vancouver punk bands d.b.s. and The Red Light Sting, he’s a talented artist, he has his own design company, and he runs the excellent electronic/experimental Ache records label.

As a knob-twiddling techno-guy, he’s gotten better with every Secret Mommy album.

Plays is composed entirely of found/sampled sounds and processed acoustic instruments and features a diverse assortment of arty Vancouver types turning household objects into amazing pop songs. Consistently surprising, fresh, and exciting, Plays is a must-have for any fan of The Books, Matmos, and Mouse on Mars. —saelan twerdy

—saelan twerdy

MV/EE

F3

Plays (Ache)

Having lost one of their mighty number (founding member Josh Smith), The Fucking Champs have soldiered on with new blood in the form of the undeniably valiant Phil Manley (of Trans Am and Oneida). Never content to answer to the name of “instrumental metal”, the Champs have always fought under the banner of “total music”. That means rocking out in the purest and truest way possible (the full formula for this is known only to initiates, but it’s said to involve the distilled alchemical essence of Maiden, Priest, and Metallica). The only problem with rocking to the maximum, of course, is that you’re already all the way there. Six volumes into their dominance, where is there left for the Champs to go? The answer is simple: into the breach once more, and boldly.

J4

“Obscene Strategies”

“The House Under the Hill”

L6

THE FINCHES Human Like A House (Duici-i-tone) There’s plenty of points of comparison for what The Finches do, both modern (Lavender Diamond, Mirah, Jose Gonzales) and vintage (Vashti Bunyan, Sibylle Baier, Michael Hurley), but innocent and earnest folk-pop like this doesn’t live or die by its influences, so it’s a good thing that The Finches’ Carolyn Pennypacker Riggs is such an excellent songwriter. If you’re the kind of person who thinks the world can never have enough wussy acoustic folk, this might be your new favourite band. If you’re not, The Finches will win you over anyway with their impressive blend of the familiar and the unexpected.

—saelan twerdy

. soundcheque

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PHOTO : ANDREW GARRETT

NICKMERLINO

WEAPONS GRADE ALUMINUM

INFO & FREE STICKERS > DESTRUCTOTRUCKS.COM

SOBER SEVEN h t i m S n a Ry with

interviewby sandro grison

photoby michael blabac

He will be the first to tell you that having a mellow just isn’t in the cards for him.

Well, it’s always been black or white with Ryan, so it’s no surprise that he’s kicked the bottle completely and is focusing 100% of his energy on skateboarding. While many skateboarders party harder than anyone else you know, just a select few have managed to aquire such an image surrounding substance abuse that Ryan Smith has. I caught up with him after ten months of clean and sober living, and let me tell you, not much else has changed. He’s still a fucking maniac, I mean, look at him. It’s the Red Rider BB gun that kid wanted so bad in A Christmas Story.

Once known for shotgunning cans of beer, I found Mr. Smith in the back yard at his newly purchased home in Vista, California with his dog, Mitch, shooting holes through some cans of his old friends (aka beer cans).

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tattered ten .

“...HE’S NOT EVEN FUN TO BE AROUND… THE ONLY REASON THEY HANG OUT WITH HIM IS BECAUSE OF THE PERSON HE USED TO BE.”

1. One of the last times you were skating for something, before getting sober, weren’t you going to Melbourne, Australia?

Ya, I barely made it to Australia. I came to Vancouver to get a passport and then ended up getting mixed up into some bad things and I didn’t even skate at all. And I was fucked, I could barely even get a passport and I went to Australia. Out of the whole Australia [DC Shoes] DVD I think I got one trick or two tricks.

2. You were experiencing some intense nightmares during that time, weren’t you?

A long time ago I used to have fucking crazy anxiety nightmares and shit like that. And it wasn’t even so much a nightmare—I just couldn’t wake up in the middle of the night. I knew I was dreaming and I couldn’t wake up. And then finally when I’d wake up I couldn’t breathe and I wouldn’t know where I was for like 15 minutes. But I don’t even know if that was from drinking, I don’t know what that was from.

3. Do you think you can prevail by re-living vicariously through stories of what you’ve already done when you were drinking?

I mean, I don’t know dude. I just take it one day at a time. I don’t put any expectations on it I just don’t drink, one day at a time, you know what I mean? I fucking went and sat in a place for thirty days in the hot fucking sun. It was over 100 degrees out and I made myself stay there. It was the hardest thing I’ve done in my life. So every time I want to drink I’m like “Well why did I stay there for thirty days?”. I wasted all that money and all that time just sitting there. So I’m like “is it worth it?”. The thing about drinking is, you put expectations on it that are never meant. You always say, “Oh it will be different this time” or “I’m not going to get that drunk tonight”, and I realized that I just lie to myself every time.

4 . Tell me about one of your worst drinking experiences.

Well here is one example of a lame close call. So there I am in Milan, Italy... I had been drinking for about three days and was stumbling around the city in a less than human state, looking for my next watering hole to attack. Now keep in mind I’m in

Europe so you don’t got to be Ian Wright [host of Loney Planet] to find a drink in that place let alone even be remotely coherent . My party senses did an amazing job of sniffing out quite possibly the worst situation I could put my self into: a strip club!

I am guessing I walked into that shit-hole like I was gods gift to mankind and proceeded to give my two cents worth to whoever I could make out with my left eye, you see part of being a bad drunk is that you talk a lot of shit and all social skills are rendered useless and put on hold. That leaves me with cave man mentality to deal with people who already can’t understand a fucking word I am saying [in English] drunk or not. Sweet, now I got the perfect ingredients for a bitch’n story because I’m no longer partying any more, I am simply trying to survive.

You see, because the psycho shit-contributing bar tender who I thought was “hooking me up” with full glasses of Jack Daniel’s to mix with my thimbles worth of coke, was actually in hind sight, trying to get me to pass out and even threw in a roofie for good measure. “Pass out why?” you ask? Because it would make it a hell of a lot easier for them to get me in the car they later tried to stuff my carcass in.

But thanks to the combination of my party senses and cave man rationale together with my disgustingly high tolerance for booze, I could not be taken down. Not by their methods. [Not your average ignorant American tourist like they thought]. Mother fuck’n Canadian over here, bitches—it’s gonna take a frieght train of Jack to take one of us down! And I was able to get up and walk out as soon as the women stripping turned to men... Yeah, men! So once outside, that was where the battle ensued. Because these sick fucks had too much J.D. and time invested in my sweet ass just to let me waltz out, they basically punched me up and tried to shove me in a rolling gay-man-rapemobile. I kicked, screamed and did what ever I could. And I shit you not I then thought “play dead” like in a bear attack. So thats what I did and since I had kicked up such a fuss on a busy street, I had turned their low key stealth abduction into a gigantic fiasco so the last thing they wanted to do was drag a lifeless corpse into the rapemobile. But my rampage did not end there... but this story does. The next day I did however barf blood.

5 . Do you find you have a lot more money now that you’re not spending it on partying?

I find myself just going out and buying shit just to kill time and stuff so it depends… I mean, I went and bought a house and I have a mortgage. I have a motorcycle. I went out and bought it cash and never had rode one in my life.Dinners, I just eat out all the time and that shit adds up real quick, it kills time and tastes awesome! Gear, I go out and buy random shit all the time that will never leave my closet. Impulse buyer I guess. I adopted my dog Mitch for a fee because every house needs a dog… Light of my life.

[Before quitting drinking] I would have been able to afford it, definitely. I just wouldn’t have been able to keep track of it and actually pay my bills on time and do the important stuff that goes along with it. I wouldn’t be able to handle it, I wouldn’t even care...

I should have had a house like fucking four years ago, it was the easiest thing ever!

I have no regrets, I mean, keep partying! Fuck, drink away dude… I mean, hats off to it, I love it. It just got to a pathetic point to where it was... pathetic. And I don’t want to be one of those washed up dudes who’s in denial about being an alcoholic and sucking at life. I had my run, and it was fun and who knows, I might drink tomorrow, but fuck dude, it’s pathetic when you see a dude in town and you’re like “Oh yeah sick, he’s in town, lets go…” I was no longer fun to drink with. I would just automatically leave and go find some drugs or something. It was like all aspects of my life were just shit because of it.

It progressively just got so bad that it was pathetic.

There’s nothing worse than seeing that guy that you’ve known for so long, still getting drunk, and he’s blowing it and he’s not even fun to be around… nobody wants to be around him and the only reason they hang out with him is because of the person he used to be. And it’s just like “Dude, it’s time to just man up and deal with it”. And I’m a lot fucking cooler to hang out with sober than drunk, you know. And it took me ten years to figure that out, but whatever.

6. Blabac still calls you crazy. Do you think you’re crazier now than before?

Hmm… Maybe I am, I mean I’m real bitter because I’m hurt all the time and I can’t skate [right now], but who knows... I’m just one of those dudes that’s fucked any way. Fucked if I do, fucked if I don’t. I don’t really care what other people think, I just feel better about myself so that’s all that matters. And if you need to get a photo from me I can go get a photo usually, so you know. Mike’s a dick [laughs].

7. So you’re clean and healthy now, what’s your next step—your “13th” step so to speak?

Oh, I didn’t even work the steps, I bailed those things, they weren’t for me. You go to a meeting to share your experiences with those people and everyone supports each other. Because you’ll convince yourself it’s okay to drink, but then you go to one of those meetings and you’ll sit there and you’ll hear all the stories… Because you might be like “Oh yeah, I’m just going to start [drinking], being mellow”, but you know you’re going to be straight back to what you were doing, you know. Which I easily could be, I’m not saying I’m perfect. Shit changes every day. You can’t tell me if somebody invites you to the Playboy mansion and the grotto is going off and everyone’s raging and partying that you’d be like “Oh yeah, it would be so easy to stay sober”.

. ryan smith

137

OUT d n A

TOREY GOODALL frontside five-0 to disaster, Color/Girl ramp, antisocial, vancouver [ o ] doubt.

138 Color 5.1 .

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OVER

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