Volume 9. Number 3 by Color Magazine

a skateboard culture special edition.

$7.99 CND/USD

a skateboard culture special edition.

$7.99 CND/USD

a skateboard culture special edition.

$7.99 CND/USD

a skateboard culture special edition.

$7.99 CND/USD

a skateboard culture special edition.

$7.99 CND/USD

a skateboard culture special edition.

$7.99 CND/USD

a skateboard culture special edition.

$7.99 CND/USD

MJ-6 OUT NOW!

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DURA-LOCK â&#x201E;¢ INSOLE COMBINES A DUAL DENSITY EVA WITH A MOLDED PVC HEEL STABILIZER TO GIVE YOUR FOOT FULL ARCH SUPPORT AS WELL AS SUPERIOR HEEL-BRUISE PROTECTION.

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Collector’s Issue

Bedroom c.1987

hen I was growing up, every Sunday my grandfather would visit, bringing me the comics from the weekend newspapers. Although they were meant to be disposable, throwing them out seemed odd since they were gifts. After only a few years, I had accumulated a huge collection of weekend comics. One Sunday, the comics were a noticeably different shape—they were more ‘book’ in format and featured new strips. Suddenly the old comics I had kept were even more collectable, since they were no longer available. My dad, who I discovered was a ferocious collector, suggested we put them in the attic where they wouldn’t get wrecked, and in doing that, I suddenly realized where all my old toys, and pop culture stuff slowly had disappeared to. I understood right away that seeing similar unusual objects grouped together was interesting to me.

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I had an obsession with Halloween, so anything to do with skeletons, pumpkins and demons was already on my radar. Soon I was even collecting box tops to send away for all three of the Frankenberry, Booberry and Count Chocula records. At first I was collecting anything relating to spooky stuff: firecrackers, records, books, toys, etc. but I began to run out of space to store and display quickly. My bedroom soon became wallpapered in posters with anything relating to horror films, as well as punk, metal, and skateboarding (every parents dream). I started to skateboard in 1982. The way skateboarding felt became everything to me, but I also loved the actual deck— the colours, graphics how they were a symbol that identified a particular skater and brand was incredibly cool to me and I began collecting them while most threw them away. I was also developing an interest in photography and this led me to wander farm fields, vacant houses, and abandoned spaces

“Soon I was even collecting box tops to send away for all three of the Frankenberry, Booberry and Count Chocula records.”

Same bedroom today.

searching for lost items to photograph and be inspired by with my growing camera collection. The mood of my own photographs led me to Edward Gorey’s illustrations and leaded me to author John Bellairs (for which Edward Gorey supplied countless spooky illustrations). With the accessibility of Ebay I have attempted to collect all of Bellairs books, but I’m still always searching for the books of my youth. That’s what to me collecting is all about, the search. Roger Allen, guest editor

ALONG WITH ALL THE STUFF HE MENTIONED, Roger has dozens of other collections: baseplates, t-shirts, cassettes, decks, records, — objects he’s written about in past issues of this very magazine. His personal connection to each collection means he can tell you where and when he got it and why it’s important (if not just to himself). As with skateboarding, Roger continues to like the same things he did as a child.

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MICHAEL LAPONTE contributing writer

Michael LaPointe is a 24-yearold writer in Vancouver. His short fiction has appeared in Joyland. He has served as Books Editor of The Tyee, and is Associate Editor of a book of essays and criticism in collaboration with The Cheaper Show, the largest cultural arts event in Western Canada. Read Michael’s review of Unreal, a show of works drawn from the Vancouver Art Gallery’s permanent collection plus a few new additions. 118 MIchAEllApoINtE.coM

SAM CLARK

MIKE O’MEALLY

contributing photographer

Sam Clark is a 23-year-old photographer from Cape Town, South Africa. During the week he works as a photojournalist for a leading newspaper, which often includes getting stoned at political riots or meeting some of Cape Town’s most dangerous gang members. On the weekends, it’s all skateboarding. Established as one of South Africa’s top skate photographers. Sam Clark can also wallie better than you and scare the shit out of your girlfriend on the dance floor with his infamous reenactment of a retarded dinosaur, appropriately dubbed the Samosaurus. He, Haslam and Appleyard take on South Africa in The Beard and the Butter. 136

Mike O’Meally loves taking pictures of people who love what they do, even if it drives them crazy sometimes. One of these days he might grow up, but it probably won’t be anytime soon. In the meantime, he takes pictures seriously. We asked Mike to put together a photo essay for us of some of his favourite gritty images as a collection of moments titled Down, Not Out. 56

sAMclARk.co.ZA

ALE FORMETNI contributing photographer

Ale Formenti started having fun in the 90s, working for skateboard magazines and hanging in the streets. He believes that people come and people go, but fun is always just around the corner. He shoots with Nikon cameras and might live in Seregno, Italy. We get a glimpse of Ale’s own Zombietown in our City feature this issue. 92 ZMbtwN.bloGspot.coM

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BRENT GOLDSMITH contributing writer/photographer

Brent Goldsmith was raised in the small town of Grimsby, Ontario. If he wasn’t at the local skatepark from sunrise to sunset, he was dodging teachers and jocks while trying to skate the six stair beside the cafeteria. He picked up his first camera and went off to college for a couple of years before settling in Toronto. When he’s not working the nine-to-five grind at a local photo equipment rental house, you can find him cruising the downtown streets, documenting his surroundings: skateboarding, parties, young women and everything in between. In this issue, he took a look into Erik Ellington’s on-theroad kit for Red Flagged. 34 MAttEwIthboRdERs.bloGspot.coM

INTRODUCING THE SQUARE TWO FUSION

TIMEBOMBTRADING.COM FACEBOOK.COM/TIMEBOMBTRADING

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This, our smallest, thickest, offical and very special collector’s edition features American, ex-Vancouverite now living in Norway, artist Charlie Roberts in four seperate covers for ultimate collectability.

images courtesy Richard Heller gallery.

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Columns 12 14 16 24 38 46

INTRO CONTRIBUTORS CONTENTS INSPIRATION BOUND ANTHRAX PRODUCT TOSS

160 174 178 182 184 189

FOTOFEATURE SOUNDCHEQUE TRAILER LAST NITE CREDITS OvER ‘N OUT

Krapp Kapp 2009 gouache on paper, 23.25” x 16.5”

art

CURSE THIS COLLECTION

82 LOAD OF “KRAPP” Charlie Roberts combines skateboard poses, animals

You’ve got to really own your collection or it can take you over. Ben Marvin photographs some friends basking in the glory of their own assemblage.

and disposable culture to make art that goes beyond the ever-so-popular one-liner. Interview by Mike Christie

SCOTT AUGUST Page 36

MIKE O'MEALLY Gallery

118

SHOW get real at the VAG

music

[ o ] DEWITT

[ o ] MARVIN

fashion

133

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JOHN WIESE’S First Hundred Records

130

CRYSTAL STILTS

133

SPACE IN THE PLACE Blast off with Guitar Wolf

but who's counting? Justin Gradin, that's who.

interviewed by Alex Hudson, photographed by Michelle Ford

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life.

52 Hunter and Collector Josh Bozzuto varial heelflip in torn territory camarillophoto.

film.

HEltER SHEltER 74, 103, 116, 177

From Barry Walsh’s vintage boomboxes to the rare and gruesome video cassettes of Sam McKinlay. Combing the country to separate the collectors from the hoarders wasn’t exactly a black and white process. If you ask Allister Lee about his coveted markers though, that’s another story. Keeping the hoarding alive and well, Nicky Reu and Zane Cushing also open up their treasure trunks.

MACHO SHOE DROP The Manwolfs get laced

77 Lee Smith

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ERik EllingtOn Red Flagged

EXtRA/RAnDOM

FACES n’ SPACES FTC

CitY Zombietown

100

nEXt BESt Keegan Sauder

180

tAttERED tEn David Gravette

TOREY PUDWILL MATIXCLOTHING.COM

FOLLOW MATIX ON:

SUPRADISTRIBUTION.COM

MATIXSTICKERS@SUPRADISTRIBUTION.COM

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135

GLOBAL SAFARI

Chris Haslam and Mark Appleyard Demo South Africa sam clarkphoto.

skate.

104

RED SKIES Double Shazam!

No other skaters stacked more photos during the rainy spring months leading up to this issue so it was a natural impulse to put these two guys together in an attempt to bring you something “special”. Both Dan Redmond and Skylar Kehr never really crossed paths until fate—namely photographer Keith Henry—would bring them to the Color studio to ask them some questions.

120

C1RCANADA, TX

Magnus Hanson, Corey Klim, and Sheldon Meleshinski with new bloomers Dustin Henry and Will Blakley navigate the highway system of Texas.

138

POSESSED TO COLLECT

From Vancouver to New York City, we scanned the streets for the artistically driven skaters making more than tricks on their roll through life’s passage of alleyways and schoolyards. Nate Lacoste to Bobby Puleo, this in-depth discussion gets to the root of skateboard art and where it teeters on hoarding.

CHET CHILDRESS DATE OF BIRTH 11/29/74 LIVES in Portland for the moment. SKATING SINCE too long MAKING ART SINCE I was a baby. The first piece was the first dump I ever took! URL on the bathroom wall of that crappy bar somewhere. “I’m going to suck myself off right now and write my own bio. I’m noboy. Especially in the art world. That’s it… -Chet Childress

93_tradingcards_bgnds.indd 1

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11-06-29 12:07 AM

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93_tradingcards_bgnds.indd 11-06-29 12:07 AM 9

93_tradingcards_bgnds.indd 11-06-29 12:07 AM 11

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When the Levi’s workshop set up in NYC, Natas Kaupas spent one full day riding around the city collecting discarded materials composing the image you see above. Collect a classic [c.1987] photo of Natas shot by Grant Brittain in 1 of 6 limited edition artist trading cards. This and other cards featuring the work of Sean MacAlister, Chet Childress, Mark DeLong, Charlie Roberts and Brian Lotti have been inserted intro each copy of this issue at random.

TRICK LIST

We lined ‘em up, he knocked ‘em down. Or something like that... Actually this one was all Bradley Sheppard, Thankfully our photo editor Gordon Nicholas was around to capture it all!

[ o ] NICHOLAS

150

Portrait by: Kevin Barnett

distributed by Ultimate

Skate Photos by: Michael Burnett

Introducing...

chocolateskateboards.com chocolatestickers@supradistribution.com supradistribution.com

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Hopeless Old Men On Skateboards Marc Conahan, Andrecht handplant kanightsphoto.

“Philosophical as well as personal, Hopeless also advocates to get public skateparks built.”

There is a certain level of respect that is due when you find out someone has been skating since steel wheels were still on the market. Anti-Gravity Press’ Mark Conahan grew up in Southern California, and hasn’t been able to shake his love for skateboarding since he first started pushing around at 12. He even designed and built a boss quarter pipe to simulate pool walls, without ever knowing if anyone else had thought of it before. This is the kind of ingenuity that gets you places! A DIY punk rock attitude followed Conahan into the 1980s, when he started his own ’zine Bodyslam, a popular vert only skateboard mag that was formed out of the lack of representation vert riders received in mainstream magazines. His first skate comics appeared in the ’zine, and later found their way onto the pages of Thrasher, all while Conahan was trekking it up to Oregon, doing a stint in New England, and back to Oregon again. Head down the road a couple years, and Conahan’s grown up, living a professional life as a graphic designer. “Funny though how once you start doing something as a job, you stop doing it for fun,” Conahan says. So Anti-Gravity Press started out as simply an online platform for Conahan’s photos, rants and thoughts, but the realization set in that he missed that good ol’ DIY punk rock attitude that had fueled his livelihood earlier in life. Mark followed some web comics regularly, and he always had the feeling he wanted to put out another issue of Bodyslam.

This was his eureka moment: he would start his own webcomic! And so Hopeless Old Men on Skateboards began its life on Anti-Gravity Press. Focused on the lives of middle-aged skateboarders and inspired by the skate scene in Portland, OR, the cast of characters includes some of Conahan’s own cohorts, though their comic counterparts may not reflect the actual real deal. “Some of it is personal,” says Conahan, “like the series about me getting knocked out cold after colliding with Steve Alba at Newberg in the 2006 Oregon Trifecta contest.” At times philosophical as well as personal, Hopeless also advocates to get public skateparks built in the Pacific Northwest, with Conahan sitting on the board of the non-profit Skaters for Portland Skateparks. Going back to his DIY roots, Conahan mostly draws and inks his books by hand, then typesets and colours them in Photoshop. With over 1100 comics completed to date, a new comic goes up on Anti-Gravity Press everyday, and Conahan’s compiled the strips into twelve self-published books so far. Still an active skateboarder, Conahan’s killing it at 50 years old. He and his crew of older cronies skate with younger guys and girls, on pretty much everything and anything: street or vert, no big deal. If he ever misses a day putting up a new comic, it’s pretty much guaranteed it’s because he’s out there, rippin’ it up. ANtIGRAVItypREss.coM

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D A V I D

A U S T I N C A I R O C O R Y E D

S T E P H E N S F O S T E R

K E N N E D Y

T E M P L E T O N

J A M E S J O S H

H A R D Y H A R M O N Y

J U L I A N

D A V I D S O N

K E E G A N K E V I N L E O

S A U D E R

“ S P A N K Y ”

L O N G

R O M E R O

N E S T O R

T H E

R E Y E S

J U D K I N S

B A L A N C E

O F

O P P O S I T E S

R V C A . C O M T I M E B O M B T R A D I N G . C O M F A C E B O O K . C O M / T I M E B O M B T R A D I N G

volume 9 issue 3

éS’ Macho Shoe Drop

“

t all started in 1991 when the headpiece of the wolf came to light. That accompanied by a pair of short shorts with a testicle release hole. Over time that has transformed into denim vest and shoes.” Corey Adams explained when we met up with him and fellow filmmaker Alex Craig to discuss their new collaboration over some imported Scottish tea. Anyone who has been lucky enough to see their psychedelic skate-cinema masterpiece Machotaildrop knows that the Manwolfs are not to be toyed with. A gang, a movement, a group of yelping maniacs lurking on the tattered edges of town—one thing is certain, the anarchic rogue-aesthetic of the Manwolfs is in high demand.

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wordsby mike christie

photosby gordon nicholas

“That accompanied by a pair of short shorts with a testicle release hole.” So it made sense when éS (longtime sponsor of Machotaildrop star Rick McCrank) teamed up with Alex Craig and Corey Adams to collaborate on two pairs of shoes: one called the Manwolf, and one the Machotee. To celebrate the release of the shoes, along with sponsoring some Machotaildrop screenings around the world, éS also recently commissioned a commercial/short film centred on the Manwolfs.

Visit us online for the full exclusive interview with Matchotaildrop director/filmmakers Corey Adams and Alex Craig where they talk about this collaboration and the making of the film—which you’ll also find at colormagazine.ca

Well, we’ve seen a rough cut and can report that it is indeed off the charts. As you can surmise from these photos, a motorized tricycle is involved. As is a homeless Rick McCrank. And we can tell you that jeanjacketed ruffians leap from second-storied windows, and that a bikini-clad woman on a yacht gets bottled. With viewers worldwide still clamoring for the chance to see the film, the Manwolfs seem to have cemented themselves firmly in cult-classic infamy. We’re happy to report that, like the Warriors, the Manwolfs have finally come out to play-ay.

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SASCHA DALEY frontside 180 fakie fronside kickflip [ o ] nicholas.

SEAN LOWE nollie crooked grind nollie kickflip [ o ] odam.

MATT BERGER kickflip backside tailslide frontside shove-it [ o ] odam.

MITCH BARRETTE gap nose manual nollie heelflip [ o ] clifford.

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Erik Ellington

words and photosby brent goldsmith

When travelling to Canada, you’re bound to have some bordercrossing issues, especially if you’re rolling with the Shake Junt and KR3W guys. Originally I was supposed to interview Lizard King for this article, however, when the time came, Lizard was nowhere to be found. Lucky for me, this gave me the chance to sit in the hotel lobby and shoot the shit with Erik Ellington. From his debut part in Thrill of It All, to his many exploits with the Piss Drunx crew, everyone has their own idea of who Erik Ellington really is. After my short time with Erik, I learned that he’s actually a proud father and a knowledgeable, down to earth guy. He’s been working in a journal for the last few years, writing about the crazy shit that goes on while on tour and some important life lessons to give to his son when he’s the right age. I was more than happy to hand over one of the Polaroids we shot for his son to look back on years from now.

Color: What is your citizenship? Erik: United States citizen and since I’m married to a Brazilian, I have dual citizenship. What is the purpose of this trip? Have fun and to promote Shake Junt and KR3W. Did you travel anywhere prior to this trip? Nah, we just flew from Los Angeles to Toronto, then to Moncton, then to Montreal, and now we’re back in Toronto. Where are you staying while in Toronto?

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We’re staying at the Hilton here on Jarvis and Dundas, in the east end of the city.

to give me a home made bottle of maple syrup.

How much cash are you carrying? I don’t carry any money with me. It doesn’t really work out too well, either. I’m constantly having to borrow money from people.

Any new knowledge of Canada? I’ve learned a lot of life lessons, but I’ve just had a good time being here. I love coming to Toronto, it’s a rad city.

What is one thing you hope to take home with you? I’ve got a couple of t-shirts from some local shops, one shop printed us up a ripoff Jack Daniels logo that says “Shake Junt” and we got that on an empty bottle of Jack, plus a couple souvenirs for my kids, and someone said they were going

Erik is what you’d call a “quick packer”—toss it in the bag and go! The vitals: iphone, ipad, 8-year-old headphones, journal filled with things that he says that make me smile, and Capsaicin that “works really well on muscles”

Emerica.com

timebombtrading.com facebook.com/timebombtrading

The Leo.

Like youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve never seen before. June 2011.

Emerica.com timebombtrading.com facebook.com/timebombtrading

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Scott August

image courtesy the artist.

If I Had A Rocket Lawnchair [2009] smoke machine, 120v, vinyl print, wood, found objects 48”x78”x96”

cott August, a British Columbia native, makes art that investigates the relationship between man and nature. With a BFA in photography and printmaking from the University of British Columbia Okanagan, his work has been exhibited everywhere from Chicago to Montreal. August’s work consists predominately of photos, toys, paintings, taxidermy, and other unusual found objects. At first glance, much of his output could be mistaken as digital trickery, but he remains faithful to traditional hands-on montage. His life changed after a near 20-year pursuit to obtain a large roadside turkey sculpture with french fries sticking out of it, an attraction that originally advertised a junk shop. This turkey can now be seen in his most recent show “Interior...Provincial...Exhibition!!!” a collection of large-scale prints and sculptures that he has produced over the last 11 years.

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Scott also finds time to make music as French Paddleboat. Under this moniker he has released records with Scratch, Catsup Plate and K-RAA-K. He also has his own record label, that has released Destroyer’s City of Daughters and Thief and more recently two new records by members of Vancouver’s Ladyhawk, Sports, and Duffy and the Doubters. August’s 2008 work entitled “Bear Peaking over Mountain gets New Cowboy Friend” is a perfect example of his rebellion against Photoshop manipulation. Instead of digitally inserting a cowboy version of himself into the photo, he created a 22foot cutout to attach to a well-known folk art sign situated on a hillside outside of Keremeous, BC. His 2009 work “If I Had a Rocket Lawnchair,” consisting of a modified metal lawn chair decorated with collected objects such as a fire extinguishers, is intended to bring adults back to a childhood state, and make kids believe in crazy basement inventions, even if the work was ultimately stolen from his backyard.

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KOSTON’S COLOR-fuL COMMENTARY

CO LOARZ I N E M AG .C A

Our Editor-in-Chief (aka The Captain), Sandro Grison recently had the opportunity to head down to LA to be a part of the release of Eric Koston’s newest pro model with Nike SB. With all the media in attendance at the show, Sandro managed to snake through the crowd and grab some one-on-one time with the Champ himself. Hear Koston’s thoughts on the inspiration for the shoe, how skating compares to golf, and trippin’ out on Jordan II’s on Color’s Vimeo channel. Oh! And check the new Berrics site while you’re at it.

LIzARD KING’S SMASH N’ GRAB

STuSSY X MARvEL COMICS When I was little, there was a comic book store called “Red Nails II” down the street from my house. My brother and I would stop in from time to time when we weren’t trolling the Mac’s candy aisle—this was a time when you could get a free World Wrestling Federation rub-on tattoo with your bag of chips! Anyway, Red Nails was a one-stop shop for not only comics but an assortment of sports trading cards, posters, figurines and other adolescent nerd paraphernalia. In amongst all those items, Marvel comics could be found in the hands of every sweaty, zitty teenager that frequented this basement emporium. This was the late 1980s, and the popularity of Marvel characters had already been going strong for over 20 years. Now, 20 years later, Marvel continues to captivate by collaborating with Stussy to create a collection of iconic t-shirts and trading cards. Released in two series, the first fuses classic vintage Marvel characters with archetypal Stussy design, while the second features invited guest artists to interpret the superheroes with their own signature styles. Quick, who would win between Hulk and Thing? p.s. I just found out Red Nails II still exists. Mind = blown. stussy.coM/MARvEl

We’ve included one Stussy X Marvel trading card in a limited number of copies of this issue! There are 16 different artist cards in all, so collect ‘em and trade ‘em with your buddies. To complete your collection, the only other places to get ahold of these collector’s items are the Canadian Stussy shops in Vancouver and Toronto, where you can pick ‘em up with the purchase of a tee from the limited edition series.

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GO SKATE DAY… ER, WEEK?

This year’s Go Skate Day turned out to be more like a weeklong series of events, starting with a garage punk kick-off party at Anti-Social, and a full array of skate jams across Canada on June 21st. Emerica’s Van Wilder tour took them from a Wild in the Streets skate throw-down in Edmonton, to hitting spots all over Calgary, as well as teaming up with RVCA to launch events in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal. From waffle breakfasts and BBQs, to tailslides and 360s, this year’s Go Skate Day was a hell of a ride. Check the Features section of colormagazine.ca for photos highlighting all of the week’s events!

vIMEo.coM/coloRtv

Unless you were living under a rock this past May (or hiding out for the coming Rapture), you couldn’t have missed KR3W and Shake Junt’s insane 10-day tour across Canada. Erik Ellington, Lizard King, Beagle, Bryan Herman, Figgy, Shane Heyl, Kevin Romar, JS Lapierre, Neen Williams, and Spencer Hamilton—these dudes know how to skate and know how to party. Color got Dennis Martin to take photos throughout the trip and convinced Lizard King to give us his take on what exactly went down in each pic. Check out the Features on colormagazine.ca for this online exclusive. /fEAtuREs

A DOzEN YEARS IN THE MAKING It was the summer of 1999. Four young skaters and two rad bands took off on a traveling road show across Canada to put on 8 shows in 11 days, complete with homemade portable skate park in tow. Twelve years have passed, and the footage of that incredible tour has come to light in the form of Hicks on Sticks, a roadtrip documentary hitting screens this summer. Color offers an introspective look at the colourful characters that make up the crew with full webisodes coming soon to colormagazine.ca. HIcksoNstIcksMovIE.coM

Featuring

BETTER THAN VULC.

etnies.com stifusion.com timebombtrading.com facebook.com/timebombtrading

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Anthrax NO SKATING BETWEEN THESE PAGES French photographer Mathias Fennetaux recently bridged the gap between the skate scenes in North America and Europe by publishing No Skateboarding, a stunning photography book featuring posed portraits of 70 of the world’s most influential skaters, shot over a period of 15 years. Combining traditional portraiture techniques with a backdrop of the skater’s natural element (the streets), Fennetaux pays tribute to the skaters who’ve shaped the scene no matter where you are in the world. NoskAtEBoARDING.coM

EXPOSé MOI The town of Blaine, WA usually conjures images of sweating out the line up at the border. That’s now changed with Washington’s international success story Matt French having his first solo show in five years here. The gallery is packed with both his personal and commercial work for skateboard and snowboard-related companies, such as the surrealist pen-and-ink graphics for Volcom, the Jim Phillips and VC Johnson-influenced work for Lib tech, Johnny Rotten for Pocket Pistol Skates, and board graphics for greats like Hosoi, all in one place. You could spend hours studying the many styles of this hard-to-define artist. BloG.MAttfRENcHARt.coM

vANCITY SK8 MARCHéS ON

A DuNK fOR THE AGES

Vancity Skateboards, a rowdy fixture in the downtown Vancouver skate scene the last few years, has lately gone through a feminine transformation to become the new Le Marché, a co-op pop-up vintage shop. You can still grab all your favorite Vancity skate gear, but now five vintage vendors, and a monthly one-day market party have all been added to the mix. With West Coast vibes akin to similar shops in L.A. and Frisco, Le Marché is jammin’ full of vintage and skate love. Search Le Marché on Facebook or check:

As part of the biggest graffiti and street art show of recent memory (maybe ever?!), Nike SB and artist Geoff McFetridge collaborated to create 24 pairs of unique SB Dunks for Art in the Streets at L.A.’s MOCA. No ordinary sneakers, these handmade paper high-tops are each cut and pasted from a different piece of abstract artwork, resulting in a one-ofa-kind design on each shoe. With an accompanying art card featuring the original McFetridge work that produced the shoe, these collectable kicks will be on display at the exhibit until it wraps up August 8.

vANcItyskAtEBoARDs.coM

THIS PACK WILL TAKE YOu PLACES So, you’ve decided to take the summer off instead of getting a job like some suckers, huh? Good for you! But being a summer nomad isn’t always easy. You’ll need to find a good bush—or the back of someone’s couch—to stash your stuff while you’re out skating secret spots and then try to figure out how to get by on four bucks a day to stretch out the pocket change you’ve managed to save up gripping decks at your local shop. Once you’ve got that all sorted out, this Altamont pack is perfect to carry your summer kit. The Navajo print keeps you steezy, and you can always use the drawstrings to fashion a makeshift fishing line when you run out of food. AltAMoNt.coM

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MocA.oRG

black nubuck c h a d m u s k a s i g n atur e m odel

suprafootwear.com

[ o ] STODDARD

Chad Muska / Color 4.2

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volume 9

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Anthrax We’re Psyched, They’re sToked! We’ve interviewed countless skaters over the years who’ve said that skateboarding has changed their lives in the most positive way possible. Who knows where they would be if someone hadn’t flipped them a board when they were kids! Stoked, an actionsports mentoring initiative, is helping under-served youth build life-skills through skating and other action sports with the help of supportive mentors. These kids learn to respect themselves, their communities, and how to grind a rail at the same time. With chapters in L.A. and N.Y., and sponsors like Vans and Quiksilver, let’s hope this amazing organization will be stoking kids for a long time to come. Donate or get involved at: stoked.org

haze For daze Along with Etnies and PBR, Color co-sponsored a group art show at Brooklyn’s KCDC skateshop during the Maloof Cup weekend. Curated by Alexis Gross, artwork and photos were flown in from across North America for a show whose theme revolved around “being high/feeling good”. Cross-stitched joints, paintings of Technicolored demons, and numerous photos and prints cloaked the walls with tri-coastal good feelings. Check colormagazine.ca for a full online feature of photos from the event.

The search is oVer Pontus Alv’s brilliant In Search of the Miraculous continues to blow us away, so we were stoked to get wind of the Scandinavian visionary’s newest project: Polar Skate Co. Details are still being ironed out, but expect rad graphics, new board shapes, team riders comprised of Alv’s own buddies, and a film already in the works. Alv’s vision of Polar is to be inspired by like-minded skaters, artists, photographers, filmmakers to create things people love, all while having fun and giving back to skateboarding as much as possible. Rules to live by. polarskateco.com [coming soon] insearchofthemiraculous.se/blog

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hUF GeTs sUrreal Apparently, Salvador Dali was fascinated by Mae West. Who wouldn’t be?! Bawdy, scandalous and “corrupting the morals of youth,” West was a censor’s nightmare. No stranger to controversial imagery, HUF has released this tee reminiscent of the infamous lips sofa Dali created after West’s own trademark pout. HUF’s flagship S.F. location recently changed hands so Hufnagel and the OG HUF crew can focus on continuing to produce superior quality shoes and skate gear that both look dope and won’t fall apart at first bail. Paint yourself some melting clocks and head down to HUF’s new headquarters: the Fairfax shop in L.A. hufsf.com

MUska Goes sky hiGh, ParT iii Supra has released the third edition of it’s popular Chad Muska Skytop shoe series. We’ve been kicking it in Skytops since the first shoe launched in 2006 and haven’t looked back since. The series has made a name for itself as being high quality and extremely durable, as well as taking a cue from Muska’s sense of style and just looking sick. The Skytop II was timely with an extreme hightop, and this third iteration takes a modern approach with a new low profile. We can’t wait to get these out in the streets, tear it up and put ‘em to the test. suprafootwear.com

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BarryWalsh wordsby marc tison

photoby dan mathieu

arry Walsh, the man, the legend, isn’t only passionate about skateboarding. Among other things, like bikes and vinyl records, he is really infatuated with ghetto blasters. Barry has a pretty sick collection of boomboxes that takes up a big portion of his pad. When your eyes come into contact with the great wall of boxes, you begin to realize that there are so many different styles and features to each model. The fact that they are portable is really what makes them sick. In the 80s, how many skate sessions and gatherings of all kinds were sparked up and amplified by the thumping sound of a boombox? Countless! Candle, JVC, Sony, Lasonic, Blaunkton, Clairtone, Aiwa, Sanyo, Panasonic, Toshiba, Sharp, Lloyd’s, Phillips… you name the brand, he most likely has one of them. It’s definitely a grassroots collection considering that none of the devices he has have been bought on ebay or on the net. Every box has a story, where it was found, how he “wheeled and dealed” with the seller, poker-faced purchases… so many are out there waiting to be found along his path. It isn’t about having more, or the biggest ones, he really is into the aesthetics and features of these forgotten music machines. “Check out the chrome highlights on that one: the speakers, the woofers, the tweeters are there, the controls are sick, this one has a bass control.” He’s so captivated, but one thing that really gets him hyped is the lead meters, when the lights go on to the beat of the track playing, he stares at the box with the biggest child-like grin that’s the funniest thing to witness.

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Some boomboxes out there are just so beat up, they either don’t work or are missing too many buttons or switches, or the antennas are half there. Sometimes while checking out a box at a thrift store, he’ll be turning some knobs and inspecting the thing and he’ll tell the guy that it’s too beat up, little does the dude know is that his radio is only a few buttons short. Spare parts are always a good thing to have! If the box is missing some buttons but it’s badass and has smooth-surfaced speakers, he’ll either paint it or have one of his many artist friends grace it with their art. Many have been painted by the likes of Chris Dyer, Sake, Dstrbo, Hest 1, Peru, Product, Hoek, Decae and Gene Starship of the Heavyweight Crew just to name a few. Barry has had a few exhibitions at art galleries where his precious collection was displayed, each box with its own description. He even has one tattooed on his leg! This just goes to show how passionate he is about the boombox and its essence. Some of Barry’s boomboxes have been featured on skateboards as well: Creation Skateboards once used four of his painted boxes to make a series of decks, which are also printed on some tech decks. One of his boards for Skull Skates also had a bunch stacked up. To Barry, a boombox has to be a one-piece unit and have a handle. If the speakers are detachable, it’s not a real ghetto blaster. Most of them only play tapes but the good ones have aux/line-in inputs which enable you to plug in your ipod or even your turntable. I’ve been to enough BBQs and parties where Barry was the DJ and his sound system was simply a boombox, a turntable, and a microphone! He was even the selector for two weddings! The people were jammin’ and you know what, he did it for free… for the love of the movement.

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Fine Specimens Spring’s warm camels and earthy woods are preserved in the supple leather of a SITKA purse and durability of a COMUNE belt. (from bag clockwise) SITKA bramble purse COMuNE forest belt vANS derby shoes TOY MACHINE been used fist deck ANTIHERO force velcro wallet vESTAL bravo watch SITKA stump belt buckle Huf fuck it bottle opener SECTOR 9 carabiner skate tool NIKE p-rod five panel hat SECTOR 9 biothane wheels RvCA heartache key chain

I S L I G H T, F L E X I B L E A N D G I V E S Y O U A L L - D AY C O M F O R T R I G H T O U T O F T H E B OX â&#x20AC;&#x201C; T R U E P E R F O R M A N C E A N D U LT I M AT E C U S H I O N I N G I N A S K AT E S H O E .

NIKESKATEBOARDING.COM

- ERIC KOSTON

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Nautical Obsession

(from deck right) STACKS reese patches deck BLACK LABEL elephant curb wax POWELL PERALTA mini hub wheels SKuLL SKATES wheels Huf fuck it web belt SPACE CRAfT anchor hat THuNDER cole vein red lo 145 trucks

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[ o ] WILDE

Creating a diorama of cute mementos and old skate goods creates a nice background for the nautical STACKS deck and vintage military patches nestled in the dusty memories of 80s skate wheels and bottle caps from around the world.

photo: jon steele

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Preserved

[ o ] WILDE

Shown here is a catalog of bones and skate paraphernalia in the same color pallete of grays and neutrals that we see in the summer 2012 shoe collections. Showing more wear and experience in the shoe through using materials like canvas and brushed suede. 50

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(clockwise from white shoe) C1RCA 50clw womens shoe GRAVIS buxton womens shoe THUNDER polished lights trucks QUIKSILVER surfside shoe EMERICA romero 2 shoes VESTAL himalayas sunglasses EMERICA damien necklace

HUF genuine shoe ANTIHERO trujillo diplomat deck MOMENTUM darwin rojo wheels ALTAMONT slim belt ÉS rgbs wallet SPITFIRE dylan rieder wheels

distributed by Ultimate

issue 3

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Earthquake Gymnasium

words and photosby kyle camarillo

fter the dotcom internet bubble popped in the early 2000’s, hundreds of start-up tech and internet companies fell to the ground. What was once a thriving tech company’s recreation center; a place of leisure to hundreds of employees and their families. Torn, shattered, vandalized, and unaffordable to its owners, this gym was left to squatters and vagrants. But within this abandoned remains of the Silicon Valley we find a gem.

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Justin Gastelum Blunt Fakie.

The Gymnasium floorboards were somehow ripped up into wooden waves. Although there was nothing perfect about these banks. With each pop of the tail, the boards would shift and crack. Nails would poke out. The small gaps between floor and bank became large holes. Slams were inevitable, but so were makes. Josh Bozzuto and Justin Gastelum were both able to roll away from the waves.

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volume 9 issue 3

Mike O’Meally Photo Essay

words and photosby mike o’meally

o much of what we see in the skateboarding media is success. Covers, enders, and the high def slow mo’ video of ‘touchdowns,’ all paint a picture that only shows the tip of the ‘boarding iceberg. Real skaters know that it’s a rare thing when a trick is landed first try, without pain, frustration or struggle. But what is real?

Lately, I have been wondering why skating holds such a lifetime attraction for me. And like most skaters, I love the feeling of bombing a hill or grinding concrete. The flip tricks don’t come so often these days, but that’s beside the point—above and beyond those small victories are the moments when you find out who you really are. Do you get

back up after you slam? After the white-hot zing of an axle nut, do you rub your shins and keep shredding? Do you sneak around the block and hide when security kicks you out, waiting in the shadows for that elusive last try? To my mind, a skateboard is a great tool for discovery. What are you made of: sand, sawdust or salt? Over the southern summer months, I was lucky enough to be in Australia and New Zealand with some of my favorite skaters. These guys murder spots with the best of them, and a big part of why I like them isn’t just how they look when they fly through the air, but their true grit. Next time you are lying on the ground bleeding, ask yourself this: have you had enough, or do you want some more?

JASON DILL Auckland, New Zealand Broken wrists, broken stomach, and maybe a broken heart (or maybe a few). A close friend to them “Mean Streets” during all these years, Jason Dill has been on the floor, hit the score, and come back for more. After a perfectly seared nosegrind on this beefy slab in Auckland, Dill still wasn’t satisfied, so he swallowed some raw meat for dessert. He’s like a rusty red-bearded nail, and he bounced up like a Carney prizefighter from the 1920s. With Lee Ralph spurring him on, Dill went on to have one of his best days skating in recent years. “A just man falls seven times a day.” —Proverbs coloRMAGAZINE.cA

AVE Malabar, Australia During a hectic twelveman-deep session at the legendary Albert Namatjira Housing Commission (that included barking dogs, razor scooters, and screaming children), Anthony Van Engelen took a moment out of the fray to show some local girls how to do the Daffy. It didn’t stop the noise (in fact it may have upped the ante), but in the spirit of the legendary Aboriginal man whom the project is named after, it brought some joy to the kids who never get to see many skaters, let alone big time professionals.

KYLE LEEPER Sydney, Australia Nobody likes the taste of a drink from the security boot, especially when it’s served up as a double. But ice cold Kyle Leeper likes his drinks on the rocks, and staying cool when you are up against the man is what it’s all about. Besides, how could you take those outfits too seriously?

downnotout.

DUSTIN DOLLIN New Lynn, NZ One of the more grimy parks in perhaps one of the most beautiful countries, skated by one of the underworld’s slimiest sons: Dustin Dollin has lived most of his life at full throttle, but after 6 knee surgeries and numerous other adult speed bumps, he doesn’t seem to be slowing down. He spends a lot of time on the floor, and the funny thing is— he seems to thrive there. While on tour with the Vans team, Dustin kept the New Lynn locals smiling with his self-depreciating stand up and fall down skate routine. Or maybe they were just fanning out on his gear…

REESE FORBES Sydney, Australia Those wheel marks don’t lie—that bank ain’t smooth like Superman’s cape. While the Forbinator was taking a breather, this Urban Wildebeest rolled through southern Sydney with her baby soda-monkey in tow. You could be forgiven for thinking this was a scene from Michael Moore’s Midwest, but this American beauty has sprouted its complicated mug all over the world. The irony is stuck on Forbes’s face for an instant, but who’s really laughing at the end of the day? “You don’t pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger…” —Jim Croce

.mikeo’meally

DYLAN RIEDER Melbourne, Australia “Fuck it all and fuckin’ no regrets / never happy endings on these dark sets” A great line from a great song, played by a once great band, and wailed by a once great man. Dylan Rieder has been called a lot of things, among them ‘Dark Dylan,’ but when push comes to pop shove, Dylan ain’t no quitter, and the only wailing he does is with a harpoon. A massive flat rail got the better of him on the last day of the tour, but not before the gravelly ground got the better of his flesh. A stinkin’ hot summer day meant skating with a t-shirt was a heat hazard, but when you roll the dice, skin won’t always win. Some girls may have cried watching his carcass get smashed into the sidewalk, but it was his board that received the most humane burial. After breaking it’s arms and legs, Dylan released it from skateboard slavery and on to the car park rooftop. “Take care of physical health and stay where there are plenty of resources. When there is no sickness in the army, it is said to be invincible” —Sun Tzu, ‘The Art of War’

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volume 9 issue 3

John Wiese’s First Hundred Records

wordsby justin gradin

ne of the first noise records I ever owned was a split seveninch by John Wiese and Panicsville. The music was so strange and new to me, yet familiar in some way. It was so punk. Not in the old sense of punk music, it was a new form of punk. It took this idea of being different and unique and really tried to go all the way with it. The music implied that you don’t need guitars, you don’t need drums or bass, vocals, or even verses and choruses. It was a door to this mysterious new world of sounds, a whole new idea on what music is, and what music can be. The sounds were harsh, but refreshing and new. Years have passed since that record came out and the noise music community has grown immeasurably over time, but still no one seems as intense and prolific as John Wiese. With so many collaborations under his belt, and so many records released on so many different labels, John is now coming up on releasing his 100th seven-inch. A remarkable feat indeed. Returning home after an Australian tour with Thrones, Color caught up with John at his home in Los Angeles, California, to discuss his noise music upbringing, and his love of the seven-inch format.

illustration by ben tour.

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Color: You have been making noise records for such a long time now, when and how did it all start? John Wiese: I just started recording stuff really. I was listening to…. well, my progression was from skating. I started skateboarding when I was in first grade and from there I started getting these videos that would have like soundtracks, and then by third grade I was buying Black Flag records and stuff, and then by junior high I was listening to death metal and grindcore and stuff like that. And then by the time I was fourteen, my friend had this four-track and then I just started recording some stuff with it. And it kind of came out as this noisecore-type stuff, kind of pure noise, but with the instrumental context of being like, guitar, drums, bass, vocal. But essentially it was just a pure wall of noise. Do you have a musical background, any training on an instrument? Not really, I mean, when I was a little kid I took a couple guitar lessons, but it didn’t really amount to anything. I have played bass in some bands, you know, like in the early version of Sissy Spacek I played bass, and it was more or less like a grindcore band. But that’s about it. As the years go on I try and be less and less of a musician, because I do find myself becoming a musician, but my instrument is like a toothbrush, or contact mics, or a mixer or something, and I kind of feel like then I’m becoming a musician that just plays an unconventional instrument. So I always just try and change up what I’m doing.

Why do you think it so hard for some people to listen to noise music, and for others not? Bah. I’m not interested in converting people. If they like it, great, if not, I can’t imagine caring really. You are coming up now on your 100th seven-inch release, how have you been so prolific in putting out records? It wasn’t really specifically by design, you know, when I grew up it was in the late eighties, and all through the nineties, the seven-inch was like a really popular and independent thing to produce. Every single week I was just mail ordering seven-inches for three bucks, all the time. That was sort of my music education. I lived in the Midwest, I didn’t really have a lot of friends that could turn me on to that stuff, so I would just take a chance on anything that looked interesting that I could find in Maximum Rock n’ Roll or anywhere. Then when I was in high school I did a seven-inch distro, and it was a distro that only sold seven-inches, and then I just became really endeared with the format. I just really like them. And then I started printing them. It’s a lot more fun for me, in a sense, to produce a really killer, succinct

seven-inch, versus making a really sort of bloated album. Out of those 100 do you have any that stand out as favorites? Yeah, there’s quite a few. I don’t know, I feel like the thing about a seven-inch is that it represents such a boiling down of material, and experience, and effort, and efforts, and everything else. To record a ten minute seven-inch I’ll probably record like, maybe ten hours of stuff, and I’ll just pick the right thing that I think just goes together perfectly and work on the artwork and stuff like that. So, to me, what I like so much about the format is that they are all sort of special to me. They represent a lot of work, and as time goes on they become a like a diary entry of what was going on. I can look at a record personally, and remember when and where I was when I made that, and what it means to me as time passes. That’s one thing, on all my early records I never included any photos, I always thought that was kind of lame, but my friend Spencer turned me on to like, trying to throw a photo in there every once in a while, because when you look back, you know, you grow up with these things essentially over time.

“I try and be less and less of a musician because I find myself becoming a musician, but my instrument is like a toothbrush.” Do you own all 100 of your seven-inches? There’s at least one that I don’t think I have. I’m not sure how it happened, as I usually keep a few copies of everything. There’s also a seven-inch that I made a small pressing of and then decided that I didn’t like, so I never distributed it (like 20 copies only).

Is there anything that you collect? I collect mostly books, movies, and music. I really like having a big library in my home. Everything has been in storage for so long at this point, but at some point I’m hoping I can see it again. I keep collecting in good faith. You have collaborated with a ton of people, every one from Lasse Marhaug, GX Jupitter Larsen, Wolf Eyes, Merzbow, KK Null, just to name a few. How do these collaborations come together? Do you go to them, or do they come to you? All kinds of was. Early on when I didn’t really know anybody, I would do a lot of mail collaborations, stuff like that. My initial communication with everybody in the nineties was through mail, you know, it wasn’t pre internet, but practically speaking it was pre internet, and so I would just be at my place

in the Midwest and just correspond with all these people through the mail and just start doing collaborations and trades, and stuff like that. Then I used to do a lot of mail collaborations and stuff, now I find that a bit more difficult because I feel like they’re very time consuming and stressful to produce and now I travel so much I find it’s just easier to collaborate in person, and then work with the recording that exists. Who/what would be your dream future collaboration? I would like to see a future where people collaborate all the time as a non-event. There’s no reason everyone needs to downsize and isolate themselves into single units. It’s good to combine and see what comes out. How did working with Sunn 0))) happen? I think it was 2004, and they were playing a show in L.A., and Stephen O’malley just wrote me and said hey, do you wanna open this show, and would you like to sit in with us for our set? I had seen this like, weird show of theirs once before in Portland at this barthey played at branx at three in the morning or something. That was really about the only time I’d heard them, though I kind of knew about it, and it seemed interesting, I just said yeah sure, and then that show was great, and we wnt up and played the next weekend in San Francisco, and I sat in with them there, and a couple of months later Stephen just called me up and said hey, we’re gonna go on tour, in Australia, and Europe, and Scandinavia, blah, blah, blah, and are you available, and do you wanna play with us. (Laughing) I was just like, yeah. Yeah, sure, sounds great. That was about it, I mean, Stephen was really a saint. I think he saw something in it and just made it happen. Speaking of traveling, you’ve toured all over the world, you’ve played in punk dives, clubs, galleries, warehouses, and all ages venues and you’ve played the 52 nd Venice biennale. What have been some of your favorite moments/shows. At this point there has just been so many completely weird things, like one time late this last year I was on tour with Liars and we played this show in Paris, and we pull up to the venue and find out it’s this venue inside the Moulin Rouge. Weird. Moulin Rouge gig. [Laughing] Yeah. Just like, at this point anything could happen, you know. I heard a rumor that your favorite thing to do is drink Seagram’s seven and dance to Kate Bush. Is that true? Who spread this propaganda? [laughs] My eyes! Oh man, I don’t remember that, that’s all I’ll say. I don’t remember that.

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volume 9 issue 3

PHOTOGRAPHY BENJAMIN MARVIN FASHION EDITOR MILA FRANOVIC ASSISTANT ALEX PERRIN

For this story we wanted to show off the curious collections of our friends, but collections that are quirkier, cooler, more personal, rather then compulsive or even gross . Brittany, a fashion model collects clothing, impulsively she swims in it, while Cristy collects delicate four leaf clovers she finds and catalogs by the place where they soaked up the rays. Here are some of our friends and their junk. We love junk, and stuff, and we love our friends.

Crysty Neiry ENJOI sweater QUIKSILVER womens pants coloRMAGAZINE.cA

Brittany Simpson SITKA bodysuit MATIX jeans VOLCOM dress worn as headscarf

fashionfeature.

Blaine SITKA woven COMUNE shorts VANS shoes

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Michelle Pezel SITKA woven DICKIES pants VANS shoes

blessthismess.

Rob MATIX top ANTIHERO belt VOLCOM jeans EMERICA shoes

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Allister Lee

words and photosby jeff comber

estled in Toronto’s Liberty Village is Illustrator/Designer/ Art Director Allister Lee and his Studio B.I.B. Black Is Beautiful is a generous space where Lee is free to develop his unique visual style. With an impressive list of clients behind him such as Nike, Stussy and Supreme its pretty obvious that Allister has a considerable talent for what looks good. After stepping foot into his studio another thing strikes you as blatant fact. This guy loves markers! Detailed hand drawn images of his markers adorn the walls, the faint smell of Black ink is in the air, and a large steel case sits open on the floor exposing this man’s collection of over 500 black magic markers.

1. I lived outside of Mexico City for 6 months a few years ago and I started collecting all random skull stuff. I have this plastic skeleton where all of the parts were packed with candy. I had to go and buy a shit load of candy just to be able to make a complete skeleton. I also have this really cool ceramic skull necklace

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CMY

Allister has been collecting black markers since 2002 while he was living in London, England. As an illustrator and designer he was drawn to the marker as a simple utilitarian item that he would use all the time in his studio practise. He would pick them up from stationary stores, art supply stores, dollar stores, friends studios from Toronto and different parts of the world. What started out with a shoebox of drawing markers has now ballooned into an army of 540 unique black markers and counting. “Criteria for being in my marker collection is that it has to be larger than the average Sharpie Marker, and it has to make a black ink mark. It’s nice when the marker is metal, or older, or has nice markings and design, but as long as it fits the criteria, I pick it up for the collection.” says Allister. However a process must be followed when it comes time for a new ‘recruit’ to enter the ranks - “When I get new markers for the collection they go in a holding tin. They stay in the tin until I have the time to draw and document them. When they have been processed, I bag em up in groups of 50 in large ziploc plastic bags. From there they are stored in a metal lock box.”

As Allister sits on the ground dumping bag after bag of markers out for me to see, I couldnt help but wonder if he has encountered any drawbacks from his collective pursuits? - “Not at all. I’m not spending loads of money to grow the collection, nor is it taking up too much space. New acquisitions are cheap, and the collection fits okay nicely in a large metal box that doubles up as a side table.” Some favourites in his fray include the “Metal Jacket Sakuras” - “Great extra broad tip permanent markers that are no longer carried in the domestic market. Japanese markers tend to have very nice aesthetic and design quality”. Another gem is the “Ideal Aluminum Barrel” - “A nice vintage felt tip marker from a historied American company. Brushed aluminum, hex screw cap, refillable. In OG packaging. Allister finishes meticulously laying out a display of his collection for me to document and sits in a chair by his window to enjoy a cigarette while looking over his belongings. “It’s nice to have a diverse collection of “tools of the trade”.

goincase.com/warhol

Canadian Dealer inquiries sales@takefivetrading.ca ©/®/™ The Andy Warhol Foundation for the V isual Arts, Inc.

volume 9 issue 3

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FTC

words and photosby isaac mckay-randozzi

hops are the heartbeat of the skate community. They’re the place where every sub-sect of skater goes to get their gear, watch videos, read magazines, and talk shit. From the tech crew that scan every millimeter of the new shoes and grabs the new videos as soon as they are out, to the strange rangers that don’t read mags or watch videos, but needs new 56s every couple months. There is a standard for a core shop. Certain things have become expected when we walk into a 100% skate-only shop. A certain amount of shop branding is expected, if not a full line of clothes, including a hefty amount of shirts and special artist edition products. A talented team that represents the best of local skaters of all types helps promote the shop at every spot they skate. Videos and web clips usually come out with a semi-regularity, reminding the locals that the shop is up to great things. Each of these, including demos, promotional appearances, and all of what is considered normal for a shop to do, has been directly inspired by what FTC has done. Any shop owner who hasn’t been stoked by what FTC have accomplished and built is either delusional or an idiot. Shops worldwide look to FTC as the pinnacle of what a shop can be. coloRMAGAZINE.cA

In 1986, skating found itself in an odd spot. The vert boom was at its height, but in the cities and in some suburban areas, street skating was taking hold and changing things. It was this same year when the son of a San Francisco sporting goods proprietor opened up a skate section of about six decks, which eventually grew to take over the entire back end of the shop, and to include shirt racks and shoes. The fact that their only competitor charged to set up your board, and had a very unfriendly attitude to shop-lurking only helped FTC. A mail-order system arose and they began to run ads with their first pro rider, Jim Thiebaud in Thrasher during the late 80s. This coupled with the popularization of the shop with locals and beyond like the SMA team: Natas, Julien Stranger, Jeff Whitehead, and Mic-E Reyes. As word spread about the shop and its refreshing spirit visitors from all over the region came, not only to buy a board but also to see what all the talk was about. As one era changed to another, the geography of San Francisco was proving to be an incubator for the next amazing and groundbreaking skaters. “I asked Jovantae [Turner] to make a list with himself and of a few of his friends that he thought were the better skaters around. He picked out the Carroll brothers [Mike and Greg] and Rick Ibaseta, so that was the first team,” remembers FTC owner Kent Uyehara. “It was the right place, right time, we were lucky.”

Mike Carroll helped make FTC one of the best known shops by his association and his parts in their videos. Would have the shop been as well known if he hadn’t been on the team?

Embarcadero local, Mike Cao while not the most known of the crew was still helping to push the progression level. He also had one of the best late-shuvs in the game. Frontside noseslide sequence with Rick Ibaseta, one of the first team members. Stylish and fast his part in the first Underworld Element video, SkyPager stood out in a day of pressure flips and baggy pants.

One of the smoothest skaters that you’ve never heard of, Drake Jones was pro for Real and made the hard look too easy. While he never had a part that did him proper justice what footage of him there is can only make you want to skate.

facesnspaces.

[ o ] PATERSON

“A trip out to S.F. wasn’t complete without going to E.M.B. and FTC...”

[ o ] PATERSON

—jahmal williams

It was the dawn of the importance of the skate video, and with such a heavy-hitting team to show off, making a video was a no-brainer. Luckily, Embarco Godfather James Kelch introduced a young filmer named Aaron Meza to Kent, and the rest, they say, is history. Before the first video came out the shop was already well respected, but it was their first video that vaulted them into a new category all their own, to a level that was closer to a skate company than a shop. The video, Finally (1993) set the benchmark for shop videos that few, even today, can top. It helped to cement FTC as the shop on the forefront of modern skating. The inclusion of east coast friends helped give the shop an inclusionary feel, suggesting that we’re all skaters no matter where we’re from. The demand for FTC shirts began to rise and it was around this time in 1995 that Kent teamed up with some Japanese partners and started selling FTC gear to Japan. Over time, a Japan-exclusive FTC line was created, and currently there is a ten-person FTC office running the brand. Their second video, Penal Code (1996) highlighted new talents and featured even more east coast skaters. Now, every skate visitor to S.F. made it a point to stop by the

shop. “It was like our version of the Eifel Tower in Paris. You had to visit it when you came to town just like you skated Black Rock, Brown Marble, Hubba Hideout, the Market St. benches, or Embarcadero,” remarks Aaron Meza. “A trip out to S.F. wasn’t complete without going to E.M.B. and FTC,” recalls Jahmal Williams. “You needed to get the full experience. When I first walked in the store I was shocked because you could get other dope kicks and gear there too, not just skate brands. I got a couple of shirts from Kent, and when I got back east I wore them hard! People would trip because you couldn’t get an FTC shirt from just anywhere; you had to have gotten it from San Francisco.” In the years subsequent to the release of the second video, the late 90s skate slump hit the city hard, spots began to get capped and disappear, and a few of the more well known riders like Mike Carroll, Chico Brenes, and others migrated to Southern California. The innovation that the scene was known for was shifting, big rails and gap became the new focus and S.F.’s urban style was not what the magazines wanted. When Video III came out in 1997,

.ftc

A visitor through the ‘90s, first as an AM for Stereo and later staying with Rob Welsh and the Mad Circle crew Mr. Puleo’s part in Penal Code not only put him on the map but put nontraditional SF spots back into the public eye.

Cairo got his start in SF, first skating for Supernaut, then a brief stint at Mad Circle before it folded. This ad was from that short time period, perhaps 6 months during his time on MC.

Continuing in a long tradition of top-notch events, on July 8th FTC is hosting a shoe release and photo show featuring shutterbug workhorse Joe Brook. The shoe is a special release of the new Square 2 Fusion, with insole and box featuring Mr. Brook’s photos.

you could tell the vibe had changed. Whether it was because of that downswing, or an inflated sense of self-importance, the shop staff soon became known for their cliquish and “my shit don’t stink” attitude that tarnished the welcoming feeling that had once defined the store. (Unless you were pro, of course.) A few employees like these are skate shop poison, with their little knowledge of skating and a low tolerance for work. But as new employees and managers took over, this all changed, and the current staff at the S.F. location have created a friendly and welcoming place. When asked what one of his regrets of the past 25 years were, Kent gave an insight into what has refocused his energy, “I’m a very independent person, and so I like doing things my way, and I think I’ve become very accustomed to that. And so there is a price you got to pay for that. I put a lot of pressure on myself, personal goals for myself, and I’d like to be doing bigger things right now than I am… not so much than I am but I would have liked to progress further with FTC sooner than later.” Since the 20th anniversary, a new creative surge has arrived in the form of more events like art shows, and a new and innovative approach to the ‘shop contest’, where the DC-sponsored For The Cash contest turns the store into a mini skate park. The exclusive feel of their always cream-of-the-crop team has also translated

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into whom the shop has collaborated with on products and projects, people and companies like Mat O’Brien, Evan Hecox, Bigfoot, Barry McGee, Michael Leon, Dennis McGrath, Lakai, Rebel 8, Adidas, DC, Vans, Ace Trucks, and Diamond Hardware among others. This selectivity can also be seen on the shelves and board racks. The brands they carry speak to their image as much as the riders and logos. Six years ago, the FTC Sacramento store was opened in the first franchise deal by Edward Lee and Gabe Collins. Building on the strength of the name, and their own connections to the Sacramento scene, FTC Sac has become the shop in the city with some of its best-known (Brandon Biebel, Ray Maldonado and Apollo Cutts) representing the shop and filming for their upcoming video After being a longtime presence in Japan without a physical location, the FTC Tokyo shop opened a couple of years later. This year, old team rider and ex-pat Lee Smith helped open the Barcelona shop. All locations adhere to the same standards and rules that Kent and the S.F. location have established. While each is an FTC entity, they retain their own identity that reflects their locations and the customers they serve. After 25 years of being one of the best-known and admired skate shops in the world, there doesn’t seem to be a limit to where FTC can go from here.

ev:SXSW - LV11

se SU11 - 1.75yr

theSUMMER TWO THOUSAND

AND ELEVEN CAMPAIGN

Summer 2011

c o n t a c t

email web

info@thecomune.com www.thecomune.com

Something Better Change

w i c k w i n d e r

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The Art of Charlie Roberts wordsby mike christie

harlie Roberts paints things. Real things. And lots of them. He crams together the millions of images that accumulate in our collective subconscious but never get recognized for what they really are: that is, the very substance of our lives. His canvases are awash in imagery: iconography, celebrities, signs, symbolic gestures, junk, famous works of art, animals, disposable culture, album covers, jokes and inside jokes¾literally teeming with both small and great ideas alike, where they each play and interfere with one another in a swirl of nearly limitless complexity. Standing in front of one of his paintings is like standing in a river of culture, pollution and all. And there is no way that you won’t get wet.

Roberts was born in 1983 in a small town in Kansas. After a brief time at Kansas State University, he attended Emily Carr in Vancouver, but quickly grew frustrated with the demands and limitations of formal art school and dropped out before finishing. In his earlier work, Roberts employs a kind of cataloging style: grids of images each presented with equal weight, set on white or off-white backgrounds. The overall effect is weirdly egalitarian, as if he is saying that everything in the world, every person, every animal, every trivial object, is worthy of our examination and celebration. With a nod to the botanical drawings of Carl Linnaeus, these are catalogues for a broken world: fake taxonomies, anti-scientific examinations of human nature. They are beautiful and strange and destabilizing at the same time. Eventually Roberts migrated to new stylistic terrain, tackling the old European form of salon painting, now dusty, forgotten and outmoded, but once widely practiced by masters like the Flemish artist Teniers and others. These paintings usually depicted rooms and galleries, and achieved a staggering depth through the use of surprisingly post-modern tricks like art within art, cultural references, and

deep currents of underlying symbolism. Roberts’ salons, too, overflow. One can’t help but imagine that along with being paintings of artist’s studios and overstuffed rooms, these are pictures of the interior of a modern mind, a kind of messy image workshop, a dumping ground and storage facility, where pictures of your kindergarten teacher or the first time you saw someone naked are tacked crudely to a corkboard near the door. In the current art climate where the art of ideas dominate, where a cryptic video piece in which very little happens is accompanied by an equally cryptic 500-page handbook written by the artist in a nonsensical language to explain the work’s enormous significance, Charlie Robert’s work is a breath of freshest air. Because one thing is certain: something is definitely happening in his work. Drawing inspiration from classicist painters, namely Dutch masters like Van Eyck and Bruguel, Roberts makes paintings carefully designed to press our emotional buttons. Of course, you could write the 500-page handbook if you want, but you’re not going to need it. Because you’ll be too busy, looking. Color spoke with Charlie Roberts over the phone, from his home just outside of Oslo, Norway.

Lexicon of Slang (detail) 116.7x102.7cm coloRMAGAZINE.cA .artistfeature

Color: You have a painting called “Hip Art Show” that I thought was really funny. It has a half pipe in the middle of this big, art gallery-type room with a bunch of people standing around. Charlie Roberts: Yeah, I’ve done a couple with half-pipes in them. I’ve done one big painting that’s just skateboarding. Before I did skateboarders I was doing a lot of basketball players. It was really only about poses that I’d find in basketball magazines. And then with skateboarding there is a whole other language of poses. You see them over and over again, there’s the crane, with the arms up, and so on. I’m always looking for gestures that are athletic and aren’t repetitive. I’m working on this big one

now, it’s basically like “The Hip Art Show” but it’s like this huge stack of basketball courts and racetracks and all sorts of shit¾and it’s like an art fair type scene. And it’s like twenty times as busy. Oviously the “Hip” in the art show is ironic, what’s the idea behind it? One of my biggest problems when I started painting was the subject matter of art, you never saw sports or anything like that, or very rarely. And that was such a strange thing to me. That there was this huge part of culture that was sort of left out and not being represented. I mean you do see it now, there are lots of things based on stuff like skateboarding, but not really in the painting way that I do. Like if some asshole puts griptape on a canvas it’s more of a 84

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mood thing, about the life, and not so much of an art thing. I mean all my paintings are things I like or things I’m impressed by. I’m not commenting on anything. That was funny when you mentioned griptape on canvas, so what your opinion is of “skate art” and also 86

art that is deemed “outsider art,” because I’m sure you’ve been subject to that kind of distinction. Well I mean I love the “outsider” stuff, I mean, the whole art school approach doesn’t make sense to me. When I was at Emily Carr, I realized literally five days in that I was in

the totally wrong place. It didn’t do anything for me, any of that stuff. As far as “skateboarding art,” I like the music that is coming out around it now, like that kind of California noise aesthetic. But as far as art goes, you go and walk around New York, and there is sort of this easy art…¾I don’t

know how to describe it. It’s like a bunch of comedians now too, where their whole thing is like: “Hey, do you remember this?” which is sort of an easy way to get people to clap. Like, “Hey man, you remember Pogs, and smoking bongs?” And there is a bit of that spirit in this Brooklyn art that I see. It’s just too easy, and kind of heartless, I think.Did you ever skate?

Krapp Kave 152x136cm Animal 100x153cm Artforum 44x30cm

Skateboarding is something I have no skill at, I mean when I was a kid I was always impressed by the kids who did it. And you know, I’m from a small town in Kansas, and the kids who did it were the hard kids. Where I’m from, it was a real class thing in a way. They were the kids living on the south side of town with like fucked up amps and they all had bands. Skateboarding was a poor man’s game. Nobody was thinking about the future, there were no Rick McCranks coming out of my town. It was a really, literally rebellious thing to do. So that spirit is something that I’ve always been really attracted to. And now it’s on television and stuff, which is crazy. Yeah, and even in Norway, it’s quite big here I think. There is sort of a cross between snowboarding and skateboarding. I mean in Canada, I’ve only been to Vancouver really, but it still kind of has an outlaw spirit in that town. Here, kids get dropped off in their LandRovers at the indoor park. It’s like that in Vancouver now too, to some

degree anyway. It’s way more accepted. But it’s a marketable skill, if you’re good. And nobody thought this would happen. I mean there was one kid in my town who was good, like better than everybody. And he would go to Kansas City to skate and take photos. And that was really cool. I mean, when you come from a small place like that, you never thought about being able to make money doing art, or playing music, or anything like that. It wasn’t an option, because we didn’t know anyone who had done that. So that was the best thing about coming to Vancouver, to see that it is an option. Yeah, so what prompted you to go to Vancouver from like small-town Kansas? Well I went to Kansas University for a year and I was doing like history and Western civilization classes and stuff. And I knew I needed to get out of town, and I wanted to go to art school, but the art schools in the States are so expensive. It was the same price for me to go to Emily Carr as it was for me to go to a state school in Kansas. The art schools in America are just fucking insane. They’re like 30 thousand a year, it’s just nuts. So in Vancouver, I could make it work. I know you mentioned art school wasn’t a good fit for you, but what did you think of Vancouver as a city, or as a scene? When you look back on it, I guess everybody thinks they were there at this great time. But it is a big town. I’d been to some big cities but I hadn’t stayed in any big cities, so it was

Name of the Artwork medium and materials, 12â&#x20AC;? x 34â&#x20AC;?

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volume 9 issue 3

word and photosby alessandro formenti

T —

Zombietown, Italy 92

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his is a modern journey into the Twilght Zone. Zombietown is in Italy, but there’s nothing “ordinary” here... and that’s why I love/hate it. White light (summer and winter all day long) kills your eyes like a thousand laser rays. are interested in buying a brand new TV set (just like the President says), eating, and thinking that the new immigrants will never get here. The natives are restless, don’t want to get shot, and the few interested in it are almost living in the THC world, so they don’t remember. It’s situated 20 kilometers north of one of the hippest, fashion-forward cities in Italy [Milan], but sadly, nobody gives a fuck about it... Perhaps that’s a good thing. It’s a goldfish world.

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EAT. Gastronomia Siciliana Isolabella Corso Matteotti 205 Sicilian delicatessen fast food, good prices and good meals, ask for the famous Pane & Panelle or sweet Cannoli. Istanbul Kebab Pizza Corso Matteotti 189 Giant kebab pizza, falafel are delicious and the guys are ok. They also sell fast food’s t-shirts... I’m gonna buy some soon... Pizzeria da Franko Via Stefano da Seregno

DRINK.

MEETING PLACES.

Super good pizza, super good place. Ask for the Linguine allo Scoglio and for a Grappa sip, you’ll be satisfied.

Pier Via Ballerini Cocktails all day long. Ask for a good Old Fashion.

Society Plaza Via Pietro Nenni New and hot skate-plaza. Everybody’s there. Bring some beers and have fun.

Ristorante la Sacrestia Vicolo Pozzo Fresh italian meals, 20 bucks each but it’s worthit .

Casa Malasangre Via Milano Good drinking, good music, friendly people. The place to be.

Oasi del Gelato Piazza S.Valeria Homemade italian style ice-cream. In front of this place you could skate a bank and some rails.

Blast House Can’t tell you where it is but... you’ll find it. Ale’s Backyard It’s my backyard... always ready for a bbq.

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EVE R

PS EL H

SE SOLD CA

SUP

REF O RES

HUNTER AND COOK

sevenMINUTES IN HEAVEN CONTEST

WHAT ARE YOU HIDING IN YOUR CLOSET? COMUNE and Color Magazine invite you to send in images of your closet. Images will be shared online and one lucky winner will be chosen for a chance to win a COMUNE package valued over $500! Judging will be decided upon originality, layout, and overall style. The winner will be announced and featured in print in an upcoming issue of Color.

Send entries to: COMUNE 7 Minutes in Heaven Contest, c/o Color Magazine, 105-321 Railway Street, Vancouver BC V6A 1A4, Canada or contest@colormagazine.ca Contest closes August 15, 2011

All entries become the property of Color Magazine and may be used in future online and print materials

volume 9 issue 3

KEEGAN SAUDER introby isaac mckay-randozzi

photoby gordon nicholas

Music can either “soothe the savage beast” or inspire some to do unspeakable acts. For skaters, it fires our blood and gives us extra motivation even as the session comes to a close. Whenever you see Keegan Sauder skate, it is as if he is skating to his own soundtrack. There is a bounce just before he goes for a trick and a rhythm to how he moves. Watching him skate familiar territory can be likened to a musician playing an old standard. While familiar, it is the subtle changes and moments of improvisation that make each rendition/ run different. After recently spending many rainy S.F. days coming off an ankle surgery, he’s just started to be able to skate around and get that old-time feeling back. Part of his rehabilitation has been lengthy bike rides across the Golden Gate Bridge at 6am as well as skating the hills of the city. Never one to rest for long, I’m sure we’ ll be seeing more from this fine lad in the coming months.

PART OF THE JOB

TRAVEL COMPANIONS

LIVE BAND

VISIT HOME

— skating / skating

— Wolfpatrol / Creepy Friendly

— Congress / Congress

— Before Summer / Everytime

MUSIC TO SKATE TO

BOX FROM SPONSOR

GEOGRAPHICAL AREA TO WANDER

PLEASANT DISTRACTION

TIME SPENT ON A BICYCLE —

WAY TO SPEND RAINY AFTERNOON

— Sorcery / S.T.R.E.E.T.S.

— Socks / Cash!

— Montana / Vancouver Island

— lakes / and rivers

— Garage / Mini-ramp

Big Sur / New Zealand

S.F. HILL BOMB

— 14th street / Dolores Street with Faye leading the way in ‘99.

CAMPING TOOL

SKATEPARK

ISLAND

BURRITO

— Vic West / Hastings

— Vancouver / Island

— Super veg at El Metate / Jame-dog at Budgees in Vancouver

SESSION WITH MCCRANK

VANS TRIP

BAD JOKE

— Poler, my camping sponsor, is getting me a new sleeping bag soon. / Fire!

— Hastings / Department of Skateboarding’s bowl in Portland.

— Soon? / Show us your map of Tasmania.

— How straight my hand built bicycle rides. / My 360-flips.

SKATE VIDEO

TIME FOR BEER

BIRTHDAY PARTY

MOTORCYCLE ADVENTURE

— The Straight and Narrow cause Quinn Starr might be in it. / Is What it Is, Consolidated.

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— April Fools’ / Cab’ sav’ while treading water near Skookumchuck narrows.

— Suppenkuche for das boot! March 31st, April 1st, I should be in Big Sur sweating it out. / Tofino last year, trying to surf in hail.

— San Francisco to Nelson B.C. via Montana. / First run to Osoyoos B.C., formed the Wolf Patrol and first Portland ride. All from Vancouver.

timebombtrading.com facebook.com/timebombtrading

volume 9 issue 3

BEST SYSTEM: Sega Genesis MARIO OR ZELDA: Mario HARDEST: Any Nintendo game LONGEST GAMING STREAK: 9 months, no job, straight gaming. Backside 180 nosegrind

—

Nickey Reu words and photosby keith henry

’ve never really been a collector of anything. I went through a short phase of trying to collect Pokémon cards as a kid, before I realized it was stupid. I had no idea what the cards meant, or did, and didn’t have the patience (or the money) to keep buying them. Same goes with just about everything else in my life. Growing up, I never really played video games, and only owned a Gameboy with one of the earlier Tony Hawk games. My friends always seemed to have a steady collection going for their consoles, which I’d gladly play when I was over at their houses, but I could never force myself to buy into it. So when I’d heard of Nickey’s video game collection, I was instantly intrigued. Not only was I unsure of the amount of games he had, I was also unsure of the systems required for these games. In total, Nickey has around 10 or 11 consoles and looks to be somewhere in the multiple thousands for games. He’s got everything from the original Nintendo to the PS2, all with multiple controllers so his friends can get in on the action. No need to run

to the video store for some video game rentals, because Nickey’s got it all. His crib is truly the place you want to be on a rainy day, sitting on the couch in his basement suite, numbing your mind with countless hours of gaming. The only consoles Nickey has yet to get are the X-Box and PS3. When I asked about it, he said, “Naw, I can’t get down. There are too many fast motions and I can’t keep up with them.” We’ll see how long that lasts before he caves. Only time will tell.

TOP FIVE GAMES OF ALL TIME: 1. NHL 96 2. Super Ghouls & Ghosts 3. Mike Tyson Punch Out 4. Aladdin 5. Turles In Time 3

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volume 9 issue 3

Skylar Kehr & Dan Redmond wordsby keith henry portraitsby joel dufresne

hen I was asked to set up questions for this interview, I was stuck trying to find similarities between the two guys. I wasn’t sure how I would make the interview apply to both of them without the questions being too broad. I had a few things jotted down on paper, but for the most part was able to do some free styling with a little help from Sandro Grison and Joel Dufresne. I’d already known Skylar for a couple years, and had seen Dan around from time to time. From what I can see, the two couldn’t be more different. Yes, they have both spent some years living in the fine beach town of Penticton B.C. but just about every other aspect of their lives differ. The morning of the interview, I texted Dan saying we’d be meeting up at 6pm at the Color office, to which he confirmed. Skylar called me around 11:30am stating that he’d be there and that he’d already started drinking. Dan’s day was pretty standard for him. He made some coffee, browsed a few hip hop blogs for the days playlist, skated to work, and bombed home to hit the bong before meeting me at Color, on time. Skylar on the other hand (I knew might have needed a reminder), was MIA. After some calling around, I ended up talking to his roommate on Facebook who gave me a random girl’s number, finally getting through to him. By this point he could barely put his sentences together but had agreed to meet me on Granville Street so we could head up to the office. When he arrived at the bus stop, he came with a girl on his arm, someone else’s sunglasses, and pink lipstick all over his face and neck. coloRMAGAZINE.cA

105

A manual magician, Dan concocts a switch kickflip manual fakie 360 flip. odamphoto. (opposite) Skylar, alley oop oop opp. manarettephoto.

I knew Dan would be stoned, and I knew Skylar would be wasted. The two had only met quite recently on a trip to the Island, which made me a bit nervous for the interview. Then I remembered something Skylar told me once about meeting new people, “The best way to meet someone is to get drunk with them. If you can’t get drunk with them, then what can you do?” So, with that being said, I’ll let the interview introduce you to Skylar and Dan, two guys who’ve both just met.

106 superbuds.

Keith: You guys both used to live in Penticton. Skylar’s not from there originally, you’re from Strathmore, A.B. Did you live there when Dan did, or did he move away before you got there? Dan: I moved away way before. Skylar: Yeah, probably around a year or two before I moved. DR: I left in 02. SK: Aw, I moved there in 08. Having both lived in Penticton, being the Okanagan Valley, are you both wine connoisseurs? DR: Love my wine!

You love your wine, so does this guy [pointing to Skylar who has red stains running down his shirt]. DR: You give me a good bottle of Red Rooster, and we’re good to go, damn. Red Rooster’s your favourite? Is it from the Okanagan? DR: Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s Naramata. SK: I wouldn’t say I’m a wine connoisseur, but… What happened today? SK: I grabbed 10 litres of wine from the liquor store…

How did you do that? SK: Uh, the back door of the liquor store was open, so I crawled in, grabbed the first box I could find and walked out. Found out it was a bunch of wine, and brought it to this chick’s house. I drank a lot of it. How does Penticton compare to the other Okanagan cities? Kelowna, Vernon, they all seem pretty different. SK: It’s the best. DR: It’s like comparing California and Alaska. SK: Kelowna is just a giant strip mall… that’s how it feels to me.

DR: Yeah, it’s a city that it’s grown too big for it’s own good. It’s an H.A. town now, it sucks. But no, Penticton, Osoyoos, that’s where you’d wanna be. SK: Two lakes too! Yeah, two lakes! What about the spots, how do those compare? SK: Just Different. DR: Yeah, you get the same spots, just different terrain really. You guys are two completely different styles, so did you guys have your own particular spots?

DR: Convention Center is where I grew up in Penticton. SK: Yeah, the Convention Center just blew up now, there’s a new gap and shit, so we skate that. DR: Yeah, they built stuff after we moved. Dan, after you moved, Skylar got there at the perfect time with the new skatepark. Did you ever skate that old park? DR: I grew up on that old thing, hell yeah, that’s my joint right there! So that’s how you can skate such grimy spots? That thing is so ghetto, .kehr&redmond 107

Skylar, impossible in true Templeton style. henryphoto.

there’s just a little bowl and a ledge or something? DR: It’s not a bowl, it’s a hole in the ground. It’s terrible, but I’d meet up there, skate for a few hours and hit the streets. It’s not like the plaza where you go there and meet up and stay there. Yeah, especially now that they’ve re-done everything there. What about your spot here, Dan, you don’t really hit the plaza at all so, where do you skate? DR: I just do my own thing man, skate the streets. It’s where I grew up, where I’m from, so let’s do it. Why waste time at a park? You don’t really skate parks do you? DR: No. What’s your daily routine? DR: I get up around 9am every day, brew up some coffee and jump on the internet check my mail, then start searching for

108 kehr&redmond.

some underground jazzy conscious hip hop that not too many people listen to anymore which sucks. From there I make another cup of coffee and chill out on my balcony until about 10-10:30am (if a weekend or a day off I like to enjoy a juicy spliff). Once the coffee is done I get dressed and jump on my board and head to work at Underworld. Around noonish Jessica Bill and I usually head out and grab some lunch at either The Chopped Leaf or Eat Here cafe. Then around 4 or 5pm I am done work and bomb Robson Street to my place and usually roll another spliff or two or hit the bong, have a bite to eat and head out skating for the evening. Before passing out I always need a fix of Mario Kart to ease my mind. What do you skate, Skylar? SK: Parks [laughs] The new Surrey one is so good actually. Have you been there [Looking at Dan]? DR: No, I’ll probably hit it in two years.

Jordan may have dunked from the free-throw line, but Dan’s court skills are just as exceptional. Switch noseblunt slide. dufresnephoto.

You didn’t have cell phones. You’d make a call on a landline, plan to meet at a spot and You’d meet there. [laughs] Once it’s died down a bit. It’s still really busy.

DR: That’s what’s up though! Taylor’s always been killing it.

Who were some of your influences growing up, both professionally, and locally? DR: Mostly my brothers, and their best friend Ryan Jones; that guy’s amazing. As far as pros… I didn’t have many skate videos growing up. I had, 411 issue #9. People I looked up to…. probably Drake Jones, Stevie [Williams] and [Josh] Kalis. SK: If anything, I just watched Briggs Ogloff’s videos on YouTube, and all of them got me so hyped. Then this dude who lived with me for a while, Josh Forgs, got me so stoked. Professionally… right now, I’m really hyped on Pat Burke; that dude’s so sick.

Yeah, he always flies under the radar doesn’t he? Just skates the park by himself… DR: Nobody else lives in Penticton that skates anymore. It’s all little kids now, the new scene.

Who’s killing it in Penticton right now? Is there anyone in particular? SK: Taylor Christensen. At the park, he’s got every ledge trick.

You’ve got to wear a helmet at the park now, don’t you? SK: You’re supposed to. DR: Come chase me around, fuck ‘em. SK: Yeah, the only guy I knew who got a ticket—bylaw came up while he was skating and he ran away but left his board there. The bylaw took his board. He jumped the fence and started swimming in the river and so the bylaw officer called the cops. He was eventually swimming in the lake and there were all these cop dogs on either side of him. He finally came out and was walking

around with no shoes, no shirt; went to jail for like, 8 hours. [laughs] DR: All for skating, that’s messed. They tried that to me once, all like “We’ll call the cops”, and I was like “Go ahead, waste their time”. Dan, I hear you’ve got a growing hip-hop collection, can you tell us about that? How long have you been collecting for? DR: Every day, for years. Are you going on blogs and stuff, or is it records and CD’s? DR: Yeah, I mean, it’s bullshit on my behalf because I’m not supporting, but at the same time, I’m broke so… Yeah, I love music, but if I go buy a couple CD’s, there goes my dentist appointment, [laughs]. I need music to live man, that’s my life. What have you been hyped on lately, anyone in particular? .superbuds 109

Dan, switch backside 180 nosegrind in the countryside. odamphoto.

i like to step outside of the box and trY tricks, which isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t good in contests.

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Straight out of class, Skylar gets this backside 50-50 before the principal could even blink. henryphoto. (light) Dan and ledges go together like tuna and casserole, switch frontside crooked grind. odamphoto.

when i go to thrift stores, if i see an ed hardY shirt there... grabbing it for sure! DR: Dilla. J Dilla is on point. Yeah, he’s always going to be good. I understand you collect wall boards too, can you tell us about your crib board? DR: I had that idea for years. Finally I got put on EI, so I’m chilling out doing nothing with my days. I decided to sand a board down, drill the holes and make a cribbage board. Is that on your wall right now, or chilling so you can play with it? DR: Chilling right now, eventually go on the wall so I can have it as a plaque of honor. Dan, your grandfather has an interesting collection/hobby doesn’t he? DR: Yeah, ever since he was a kid, he was fascinated by hobo’s. Right then and there, he got into clay work and started making sculptures of them. He’s got several thousand or so. It’s amazing. He’s sold a few of them, but he’s relaxing right now, he’s old, kicking his feet up, whooping my ass in crib when I’m back home.

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Skylar, I hear you’re trying to start an Ed Hardy collection? SK: Oh yeah, I’ve got a few shirts. How many do you have so far? SK: I’ve only got three, but I think it’s pretty funny. When I go to thrift stores, if I see an Ed Hardy shirt there... grabbing it for sure! I’ll switch the tags if it’s too much, I’m not paying full price for them. Is it all on your Plenty Of Fish page? DR: You’re on Plenty Of Fish? SK: Yeah, I made a fake Plenty Of Fish page. DR: Don’t play games Skylar, we know it’s not fake. No it is really, he’s got photos with snowboards and trucker hats. SK: It’s just me, in all my Ed Hardy shirts, just posing so “Hardy”, [Laughs]. Have you been hit up yet? SK: Yeah, I’ve got a couple actually—this 32 year old from Surrey... I just told them that my interests were big trucks, and lift kits.

IF DAN COULD BE ANY SUPERHERO: The one and only God of Thunder aka THOR and his mystical war hammer. First things first who else has a war hammer which is capable of opening passageways through space and time and can block all sorts of energy blasts from the rest of the super wimps let alone the face that he can also bend elements to his own will. Who in the right mind wants to mess with a behemoth with a war hammer ready to smash at any given moment? Superman? Hulk? pfff… they ain’t got nothing on Thor the great!

What’s your Plenty Of Fish handle? SK: “EdParty69”, [laughs]. I’ve got the app too, so I can check it on the go. You guys have been in a few videos before. Skylar, you had a part in a local video, Lovebolts, and Dan, you’ve had clips in City of New Lights, and a recent Instrumental web clip. Is there anything you guys are filming for now or just banking footage? DR: In two years or so, Instrumental is supposed to drop a video, but we’ll see about that. But yeah, nothing too much, just film and stack clips basically. You just got on Instrumental didn’t you? DR: Yeah, just a few months ago. It just wasn’t working out [with Zoo York]. Instrumental is more of a crew rather than a family, so it’s tight.

But you have a board coming out on Underworld, can you explain how that works? DR: It’s just a big joint man, just a big doobie. That’s what I like man, just kick back, smoke a joint, then you’re feeling good. I don’t really know how it came about, Alex Bastide showed me a graphic and asked how I’d like it as a board. I’m like “Do what you want to do man, I’m stepping back”; it should be out at the end of the month. We’re having a release party at the Amsterdam Café. I find it more to be a gimmick board. Instrumental is hyped though, it’s not a pro board. It’s there for the shop to push more boards, its not serious, it’s all in fun. If it was anything to do with a professional board, I’d give it to somebody else. Do the Instrumental guys want to put your name on a board?

DR: Not right now, no. Maybe they do, but I’d say no, I won’t give them the option. When I feel I deserve something like that I’ll approach them, but until then, I’ll give it time. It’s just another one for the wall. What about you Skylar, are you filming for anything? SK: I think Briggs is filming a new video, so I’m trying to film a lot with him. Is he the main dude you film with? SK: Yeah, I’ve never filmed with anyone else. DR: That’s the thing, every filmer here seems to run in cliques. They got their crew and they stick with it. If you’re not with them, then you might catch them on the flipside. Skylar, you didn’t start skating tranny until you moved to Penticton, is that true? SK: Yeah. There was this weird wooden park in Strathmore [A.B.] where you had

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now it’s just moneY, which sucks

IF SKYLAR COULD TURN BACK TIME: “I’d go back to like the 60s or 70s and marry Grace Slick. Then when she gets old and less attractive I could go to another time and kill it. Maybe check out some dinosaurs too. And see what the iPhone 420 looks like.”

Skylar - vertigo is no factor here, ride-in five-o grind. Vancouver, BC. henryphoto.

to avoid holes. It was so fucked up. There was only a mini ramp and tabletop. When I moved to Penticton there was the best bowl ever at the new park. I didn’t know how to frontside carve at all, so I just started doing those and eventually worked my way up, got comfortable with it, and learned how to skate tranny. You used to have a mini ramp in your backyard too, is it still there? SK: My dad is going to tear it up pretty soon. He built it last year, put scaffolding around it and tarped the whole thing. We’d throw a heater in it for five minutes and would skate it for hours in the winter. Dan, you had an indoor park to skate near Penticton right? DR: Yeah, yeah, and they used to make you pray half way through, it’s like… come on now! We’d just dip in the back, smoke a joint and come back in. Did you ever go to Cash Bash? DR: I went to watch one or two, but never was in it. That was a heated skate contest. I remember Josh Evin ripping shit up… him and Ryan Smith, Ryan Jones and Mike McKinlay. Do you guys still skate contests? DR: I don’t. I’m not much of a park skater, so… I like to step outside of the box and try tricks, which isn’t good in contests. SK: I go in the Medicine Hat one every year, it’s so fun. I know all the dudes, so it’s like

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going skating with all your friends. When I started going, it was 100–200 bucks, now it’s so much money. This year it’s probably going to be 69 grand [laughs]. It’s going to be worth so much. What was the best era of skating for you? DR: ‘96, that’s when I started. That’s when it was real. Everybody skated street, there were barely any parks, and you didn’t have cell phones. You’d make a call on a landline, plan to meet at a spot and you’d meet there. There’s no backing out, now it’s like “I can’t do it”, when you’re half way there. Come on, what the hell. What is skateboarding now? DR: Money SK: Now it’s just money, which sucks. DR: Take it back to ‘95, what was it about? Getting your crew together, skating all day from 9 to 9. Now it’s who’s got this, who’s got that, who’s got more money, “Oh you can’t do that trick, it’s already been done”. SK: It’s like, who cares man, I’m trying to do this for me, trying to get this trick. Yeah, but you’re still young, you’re still in the pocket of skateboarding right now. How old are you? SK: 19, just turned 19. DR: You just turned 19? Fuck. Penticton is in an area known globally for it’s export of fine wines and if Redmond is of any indication than it’s true what they say - they get better with age. And we all have a lot to look forward to from one Skylar Kehr.

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volume 9 issue 3

—

Zane Cushing words and portraitby gordon nicholas

umbling around town in his El Camino, Zane Cushing has had a camera slung around his neck for many years now. He collects snapshots, oddities, and scenes. He’s not a club photographer by any means, regardless of the content of many of his images, but his friends are by far his favourite subject. And why wouldn’t they be? They’re a motley, interesting bunch, and there’s rarely a moment in their presence that isn’t photogenic. Zane was kind enough to answer some of my questions late one night about his approach to his image collection, as well as matters of photographic taste.

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Kickflip, Greece. argiphoto.

Color: When did you get your first camera? Zane: When I was sixteen. What was it? A Pentax program plus 35mm. How did you come across it? Hand me down? Or did you return some bottles for it? It was a Christmas present from my mom. So basically bottles? Basically. Are you still shooting with that today? Yeah, and a broken Olympus Stylus as well. Your blog is called “mrzanerd”. What does it mean to get zanered? To get wasted, basically, just latered.

“They’re something to look at when we’re all fat and washed, I guess.”

Would you characterize your photography along the same path? [laughs] Basically. Just get drunk and shove a camera in someone’s face. Here and there I will put some thought into it I guess. Perhaps for a scenic landscape? Rather than a kegstand? Kegstand at sunset. Most of your photos are of your close friends. Do you have one who’s most photogenic? Ah, they’re all beat. But let’s say Gerbil, just for the claim.

What exactly do you do with all your photos? Nothing really. Put some on my half-assed blog. Put them in the closet. They’re something to look at when we’re all fat and washed, I guess. Black and white or colour? Colour. It’s easier to get developed You live at the bro house in North Van right? It seems to be a bit of an artistic den of iniquity. Kynan, Silas, and yourself? Yeah, it’s just the three of us right now: Silas painting downstairs, Ky editing upstairs. And you in the middle? Usually in my sweats. Business casual. From what I’ve heard you all live a pretty frugal life, ketchup and lettuce sandwiches and such. Is this from the old “film before food” credo? Um, pizza might win this round. But I try and keep film on hand, though. Do you always have your camera with you? I try to take one as much as I can. It’s hard when they don’t fit in your pocket. You’ve got a lot of club photos. Seems like you make it a priority? [laughs] Maybe not a priority, but it seems to work out that way.

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volume 9 issue 3

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Unreal Vancouver Art Gallery wordsby michael lapointe

hile the Vancouver Art Gallery’s forthcoming exhibition, The Colour of My Dreams: The Surrealist Revolution in Art, enjoys the hype campaign of a blockbuster, its frugal precursor is quietly showing on the gallery’s third floor. Largely drawn from the VAG’s permanent collection, Unreal makes a case for the continuing vitality of the surrealist project in contemporary art, likely in the hope that you’ll return to see what dreams may come this summer.

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“Unhinge us from our typical views of the world.”

(top left) Bird Romance, 1946 ink and watercolour on paper (bottom left) Warrior Memory, 1969 ink, chalk, and latex on matboard (right) Untitled #303 azo dye print

The exhibition comprises over 140 paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, videos and altered photographs. Curator Daina Augaitis figures these artists as explorers “beyond the rational” who seek “to counter the cool rationality of conceptual art.” No doubt this is a worthy aim, as artists in all mediums seem less afraid of being disingenuous than of making conceptual errors. But unlike The Colour of My Dreams, which will feature the surrealists found on coffee mugs, Unreal’s organizing principle is much harder to identify. images courtesy Vancouver Art Gallery.

The prefix un- assumes some stable quality or state of which we’re denoting the reverse; so in the context of an art gallery, unreal is a very strange word indeed: what in a frame can be called real, besides what’s seen in a mirror? Granted, all of these pieces are in some way strange—from Paul McCarthy’s confronting Mutant to Christopher Pratt’s austere Dresser in a Dark Window—but then again the internet is strange, and so are our neighbours. Does Unreal say anything about the reality of representation? Or, forgoing that coolly rational discussion, can it delineate the progress of the surrealist revolution? Can it suggest how contemporary artists have re-imagined the subconscious? Unfortunately, Augaitis seems to have simply pulled off the shelves what struck her as the strange stuff. Perhaps the selection itself was an exercise beyond the rational, but under the sheer magnitude of pieces, drawn from a vast swath of history, the focus of the exhibition fractures. In order to encompass such a diverse range, “unreal” as a descriptor stretches further and further until including anything abstract or oblique or in any way weird. Despite attempts to theme the rooms, some hold together only by a hackneyed motif: upon

seeing Jerry Pethick’s Landscape - Portrait of Gabriel Lippmann, one boy exclaimed, “Cool! Eyeballs!” And by Unreal’s liberal definition, were Ken Lum to plunk some eyeballs in his work, I see no good reason why his secondfloor exhibition couldn’t take the escalator and hang out upstairs. This is, of course, a testament to the influence of surrealism; its tropes now saturate the subconscious it once sought to illuminate. But Unreal only demonstrates how contemporary artists have continued the Psychology 101 themes of Freud and Jung—alter-egos, dreamscapes, hybrids and archetypes. Surely something more has been added to the conversation. It seems to me that a culture of 3D movies, Photoshop and online avatars—not to mention a century of psychoanalysis—has already served to, in Augaitis’ words, “unhinge us from our typical views of the world.” These artists are too various and intelligent and ambitious to assign such a rote, outmoded mission. One can’t help but feel as if Unreal is a thrifty effort to pique interest for its more costly sequel, rather than an independently-realized exhibition. But in this respect, I’m perhaps demanding too much of the VAG. Part of the gallery’s value is as a senescent populist and simplifier. Your cost of admission certainly isn’t wasted on time with Harold Klunder, Claude Breeze and Francis Bacon; and Unreal is also a welcome opportunity to re-visit brilliant recent work from Vancouver, such as Jason McLean’s No Comment or Elizabeth Zvonar’s Two Faces, Part Human and Mostly Supernatural. I will never tell you to keep away from the Vancouver Art Gallery. But wouldn’t it be nice if the VAG used its historical breadth to prime audiences for contemporary conversations, rather than the other way around?

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volume 9 issue 3

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Dustin Henry Smith grind.

Dustin & Elliott

122 trip.

Corey

Sheldon

s with any tour story, it can prove difficult to really know just where to begin, what to include, and what to keep to ourselves. Texas had been a long-desired destination for myself, and having unsuccessfully attempted to make the journey a number of times, I was exuberant when the opportunity finally arose to document the Circa Canada team on their trip across lone star cowboy country. With Elliot Heintzman, our trusty team manager, leading Magnus Hanson, Will Blakley, Dustin Henry, Corey Klim, and Sheldon Meleshinski into battle, both videographer Dave Ehrenreich and myself knew we would not come home empty-handed. Considering that flying out of Canada these days costs more than any reasonable person—and especially any skateboarder—can afford, we enlisted our good friend Bradley Sheppard to ferry us to Seattle in his bus of a van so we could cut costs. Early to rise, we were on the road by 6 am in order to catch our flight, but not before grabbing a customary hot torta sub from Duffins Donuts on the way out. After our rather uneventful flight into Dallas, save the handful of double caesars the stewardesses were so kind to mix that really got us in the spirit of travel, we stuffed ourselves into our 15-man rented wrecking machine, plotted our coordinates to our hotel, and quickly made tracks. The sun had just begun to set over the Dallas skyline as we merged onto the seemingly endless snake of highways and byways. With a pit stop for some original Coors and our first taste of southern BBQ under our belts, we went in search of our penthouse suite. While us old-timers: Sheldon the road veteran, Elliot our self-proclaimed leader, and myself who was looking forward to a little rest and relaxation on this trip

away from the office grind, took it easy getting up that morning—stiff bones, old legs, arthritis and all—Dave, our videographer, even as our elderly peer, somehow always had plenty of energy. It must have been something in that Abbotsford air while growing up. But the young’uns: Dusty Dustin who flew in straight from the barrens of Calgary, Will who as will soon become evident can eat more than Homer Simpson in a donut eating competition, Corey our weed demon, and Magnus who really isn’t a young’un on the other hand were always eager to get our day underway. Beneath the hot sun and gusting winds of Dallas, we set out to meet our tour guide, Jordan Standley, without whom this trip probably would not have been nearly as successful. It’s funny how the guide situation works when you’re in another city, it’s almost as if it’s a service you need to provide as you know one day you’ll be in need of the same services yourself. With Jordan as our lead, we zigzagged from spot to spot across the seemingly endless flat terrain of Dallas well into the night. The rumours are true, southern hospitality really does exist. Everybody we met was more than welcoming to this pack

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Corey Klim kickflip.

of Canadians invading their state, and indulged us with their customs of big beer, great eats, and Southern Comfort (in both booze and welcoming attitude). Including the lush outside the gas station who was trying to sell us a tallboy he’d found, for a dollar, all along refusing to believe that we were from the Commonwealth to the north. “What the hell are ya’ll Canadians be doing all the way down here?” he kept asking in his thick southern drawl. With five days gone already, and a grip of tricks under our belts, it was time to move on. Dallas certainly proved to be productive in terms of skateboard-

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ing, but as far as antics go Dallas and Fort Worth are seriously lacking in the gimmicks, bars, and girls departments. So Austin was promising to satisfy our hopes of some more debaucherous behaviour and stories to bring home (or, if they were good enough, to keep for ourselves). Unfortunately, being the only one licensed, of age, and capable of driving a vehicle as large as ours, I was stuck behind the wheel for the duration of the trip. In a way, however, I almost enjoyed this more, and a sense of nostalgia soon set in, reminding me of Neal Cassady and the Merry Pranksters driving their

psychedelically painted bus “Further” across America. All I needed were my shades to block the glare and I was content listening to the mindless banter of the kids in the backseat. But it’s always a blast hearing about other trips people were just on and the stories that go along with such talk. A couple of the boys had recently returned from China where Will had received the customary massage treatment. “The butt massage was so good,” he said, “why wouldn’t it be? You sit on your ass your whole life…” and so it went for the four-hour trek south to Austin.

As the locals kept telling us, Austin was the lake of blue in a sea of red. Far more progressive and liberal than the rest of the state, there were just as many hippies to be seen as there were gunslingers. Yet even the hippies still only ate hamburgers and BBQ. A warning to all you vegetarians: Texas might not be in your best interest. But let me tell you vegans a thing or two, if you could eat a brisket that good, you’d convert on a dime. From ma and pa stands to barn-sized BBQ corrals, you’d better make sure you bring as big an appetite to Texas as the state is large. Above all, it was Rudy’s that we craved most.

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Magnus Hanson Nosegrind.

Upon getting there, the first thing you see is the ‘cutter cam’, which is basically a birds-eye view of brisket and BBQ turkey being sliced and diced. When the servers yelled, “We’ve got some Canadian boys here!” the place erupted with hooting and hollering from the whole staff. The simplicity of the place was what really got me, a couple slices of white bread and a basket of sliced beef was all you were given or needed. It seemed as if we would end up there every night hungrier and hungrier than the night before. No one lived up to this more than Will, who always got a 126 trip.

second helping to fill those hollow legs of his. “Dude, there’s still BBQ sauce on my face and its tastes awesome!” he exclaimed what must have been a few hours later in the van. It’s like water to those Texans, and I don’t think they ever eat much of anything else. As it turned out, Austin abounded with thousands upon thousands of music lovers who were there for the South by Southwest music festival. From cowboys to rappers, lords of metal to crusty punks, everyone had a show to get to, just for them. Every evening after skating

Will Blakley Backside tailslide kickflip fakie.

we would head downtown and join the throngs of beer drinkers marching from pub to pub. As always, the chongos (or ‘bar-stars’ to the layman) were trying to jump on our skateboards. “Ya, I used to skate!” they’d all say. So we’d give them a shot to prove it. “That’s a bad place for anyone to do a kickflip,” Dave had to tell the one who set his wheels down straight into the gutter. This was followed by a blackout drunk 360 flip by Magnus. And so from bar to bar we filled each night with varying degrees of hilarity and debauchery. From Corey getting his ball cap ripped off by the waitress at Coyote Ugly bar, to the girls shooting us their phone numbers on paper airplanes, and heavy metal pizza, each night we

would barely make it back to our Motel 6, where we’d fade out before the next day of skateboarding. While there may not have been quite so many accessible skate spots in Austin, the one we returned to day after day was the classic five points ditch spot. Although the first local we asked for directions didn’t want to “blow out the spot,” his buddy quickly saw through his friend’s farce and was more than happy to show the way. I believe it was on the last of our four trips there that we came across two local hoodlums. No more than eight years of age, and with the Philidelphia Eagles logo buzzed into his hair, this young’un came out of .dustedintexas 127

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the woods with a homemade shank in hand. Not a minute later his partnerin-crime emerged with a baseball bat. These mean and nasty kids came and sat down on the tracks beside us and talked about all types of unpleasant and horrible stuff. From the hood they lived in, to the deer carcass they’d found further down the ditch. “Kid! What are ya’ll doing here,” one suddenly yelped. To which we replied, “Skateboarding.” And they slowly moved away from us. It wasn’t until we said, “and creating a nuisance,” that they both came back, shook our hands and we started talking about all sorts of groovy things and had a great time basking in the sun. Maybe it was our Canadian-eh accents, or the Tecates we were slamming that impressed them so much. Or perhaps it was simply the joy of talking to some non-hoodrats. Either way, the boards we left with them on our way out made them more stoked than ever.

Sheldon Meleshinski Frontside bluntslide.

A fairly tame trip overall—at least when compared to what I’m used to—but I’d be ready at the drop of any ten-gallon hat to head south again. With our bags packed for the flight, we made sure to sneak in one last taste of BBQ before returning to our arctic home. And just one last airline caeser to finish off my Texan vacation.

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volume 9 issue 3

With Crystal Stilts

wordsby alex hudson

photoby michelle ford

“

e’ve been mistaken for the Jonas Brothers,” jokes Crystal Stilts keyboardist Kyle Forester. This comment elicits laughter from bassist Andy Adler and front man Brad Hargett, and then the singer chimes in, “Me and JB [Townsend, guitar] and Keegan [Cooke, drums] were mistaken for the Jonas Brothers. And we signed pictures and did photographs as the Jonas Brothers. And then we played a show for $80,000 as the Jonas Brothers.”

“I always find waking up in the morning fairly depressing. Oblivion is a non-personal place.”

Okay, so these five Brooklynites aren’t likely to be mistaken for teen idols, but there’s no doubt that Crystal Stilts have been attracting plenty of attention as of late. Back in April, the band released its sophomore album, In Love with Oblivion, via the storied Slumberland Records. Awash with reverb and fuzz, and steeped in gloomy psychedelia, it’s an infectious if occasionally unsettling listen.

BH: It sounds better. We’re pretty adamant about it: everything we’ve ever recorded has hit tape at some point. Sometimes it’s toughyou’re limited to tracks, and mixing it can be a little more difficult on the board. So some stuff we’ll mix on the computer. But as long as it at least hits tape, we feel good about it. The frequencies are cut down, so it’s just a warmer sound.

The group is right now promoting the new disc with an extensive North American tour, and Color Magazine caught up with Forester, Adler and Hargett during a stop in Vancouver. While waiting for a table at the city’s Sushiyama restaurant, the musicians gathered in nearby Guelph Park to discuss the new album, their place in Brooklyn’s music scene, and what makes their lyrics so damn dark.

What’s the clanking sound at the end of “Shake the Shackles”? Kyle Forester: There’s a few things going on, but the main thing is a bottling factory sound sample. We got a bunch of soundeffects library CDs. There’s quite a few on the record. There’s a car crash, there’s some crickets, and some owls. There’s a jet. BH: That’s the bottle factory mixed with some stuff on that Mellotron. KF: It was a vibraphone sample. It was a sequencing thing. It felt like there needed to be some kind of interlude there, so we just added that.

Color: You recently released In Love with Oblivion. How does this one differ from your first record, 2008’s Alight of Night? Brad Hargett: I think it has brighter moments. It also has some even darker moments. There’s a little more vitriol on it. It’s more varied in general. As you try to develop as a songwriter, you do more stuff and try to incorporate more things, so hopefully that came through. What draws you towards such dark material? BH: My psyche [Everyone laughs]. In terms of writing, happiness doesn’t really inspire me to write. If I’m happy, I’m not writing. It’s more the dark, confusing things that inspire me to try to write it out and make sense of it. Where does the title In Love with Oblivion come from? BH: It’s a phrase I came up with. It’s part of a songactually two songs. We had a few titles kicking around, and that won out. I think it’s just fairly true. I always find waking up in the morning fairly depressing. Oblivion is a nonpersonal place. Is oblivion a good place or a bad place? BH: Oblivion is an ambiguous place. Andy Adler: Liberating from the constrictions of the self. BH: Of ego, I would say. It’s a mental space, but I’d say it’s a good place to go. In Love with Oblivion was recorded on tape. What draws you to analog?

How do you choose your ambient, nonmusical sounds? KF: JB at a certain point was like, “I think ‘Silver Sun’ should start with a car crash.” And I don’t think I’ve ever asked him why. AA: In trying to get the right car crash sound, we probably wrecked ten to twelve vehicles, trying to field record it and get the right one. BH: I was shocked at how well it worked. KF: One of the songs has a teakettle on it. We recorded the album in a house, and the kitchen is directly upstairs from the studio. We made a lot of caffeinated beverages. It was a common thing to hear this teakettle going off. I think we were listening to it at the same time as that song “Alien Rivers,” and it sounded good, so it’s actually in there. So that one’s not a samplewell, it’s a sample, but we made it. Do Crystal Stilts have an image or aesthetic? BH: The artwork is especially important. But clotheswe all wear what we wear on stage. I go straight to shows from work wearing what I wear. There’s nothing in that sense. But aesthetically, in terms of the artwork, it’s important. AA: I think it’s good to have a uniform quality to a discography. But not in terms of projecting an image as guys on stage. In fact, we’re trying to do projections to get away from that

somewhat. Just to have something else for people to look at. What is the visual element to your show? AA: I just made a bunch of loops and DVDs from movies. It’s all abstract. I’m really against having people in projections. It’s a lot of avant-garde films and educational films. In the early days, you guys developed a reputation for being withdrawn on stage. BH: It’s still fairly the case. We didn’t really get into this to be performers or to be theatrical. We did it because we liked writing songs. Playing live is a part of it. That’s just not who we are. Also in your early days, you got mentioned in the same breath as other Brooklyn bands like Vivian Girls or the Pains of Being Pure at Heart. Are you guys starting to be viewed as separate from that? BH: I would say so. We got asked about the Brooklyn scene in every interview for two years. I do think that’s dissipating a bit. Ultimately, other than a tendency towards fuzziness, those bands are very different from us. AA: I think that’s more a product of musicwriting narratives moving on to something else. I feel like that has very little to do with us as a band. I don’t think we viewed that as a posse we were part of or anything. How has the way people perceive your band changed? BH: Has it changed? I don’t know. I would hope that they have moved away from thinking that we’re clones of 80s bands or something. I feel like the influences on this record are not easily dismissed as being 80s post-punk. I feel like that should be obvious, but whether it is or not, I don’t know. How do you feel about what’s been written about your band? BH: Honestly, everybody tires of some comparisons. But I feel like, for the most part, we’ve been written about incredibly positively, which has been a big help. I don’t have any real complaints. There’s a million bands in the world, so the fact that people have taken an interest and want to write about us is a blessing.

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Selection of 7"s from the collection of Roger Allen.Visit us online for detail descriptions.

M [ o ] MARVIN

y best friend growing up drove a hearse because he said it was easier for him to load his Marshall amp into the back since the hearse had rollers for the coffins. This same guy later decided to go on a never-ending drug binge, and at one point was dressing as a clown and sleeping in a homemade coffin by the train tracks because, as he said, he had become a clown. Every single month he would change his name in order to become “invisible.” He was all about aesthetic. It was almost as if he was always trying to give me lessons about how to be cool, or more punk, as well as being more polite and using good etiquette. One day I was walking down the street with a friend, and there he was sleeping on the sidewalk. We woke him up and he joined us walking. My friend was eating an ice cream cone, and once he had licked off all the ice cream on top, he started eating the cone. My homeless clown friend said, “What are you doing?” to which my friend said, “Eating the cone.” The hobo clown replied, “Your hands are dirty, and they touch the cone, spreading germs all around, and you’re gonna eat that? Gross.” This was coming from a man who was wearing stolen women’s clothes and sleeping on a filthy sidewalk only minutes earlier.

“God put me here to go through the cyborg surgery to create even more amazing rock ’n roll.”

Guitar Wolf Blasts Your Headspace Not sure what this means, but I should also mention that this guy’s favourite band was always Guitar Wolf. Tokyo, Japan’s Guitar Wolf are the world’s biggest and best “Jet Rock ‘n Roll” band, and have been destroying people’s minds and ears with brutally loud records and live performances since 1987. Now with their own line of clothing called Jet G, and their intentionally lo-fi brand of frantic garage punk, Guitar Wolf continue their assault with a return to North American soil promoting last year’s Uchusenkan Love. Color spoke with Guitar Wolf’s leader, guitarist and vocalist Seiji, to discuss the future of Rock ‘n Roll. Color: Can you explain what “Jet Rock ‘n Roll” is for anybody who might not be familiar with it? Seiji: “Jet Rock ‘n Roll” has the sound of bursting jet engine. This music requires fierce action when the musician plays. What is the most Jet Rock ‘n Roll thing ever? In Argentine, we once played at the old building. When we were about to start, the ceiling

wordsby justin gradin

of the hall suddenly collapsed and fell off. No one was hurt. We continued to play in thick smoke and rubble. All of us were excited and we had a lot of fun. In 2000 Guitar Wolf starred in a zombie horror/comedy called Wild Zero. Are there any plans of making Wild Zero II? I’m thinking of an episode of time travel. We are going to back to the medieval era and fight against the middle age zombies. Guitar Wolf started in 1987. How has the rock ‘n roll music scene changed since then? Well, we’ve just been running through all those years without looking around. I’m not interested in observing the “music scene.” However, rock ‘n roll has become even more powerful now, because Guitar Wolf is here. There’s no problem with rock ‘n roll. Your newest record is titled Uchusenkan Love [which translates into English as Space Battleship Love], and you have previously released an album titled UFO Romantics, and Mars Twist. Where does Guitar Wolf’s love of space come from? Since I was a kid, I like watching the sky at

night. Compared to the universe, I’m such a tiny existence. Then why not try whatever I want to do? That was what I thought. Night sky is my master who taught me the unlimited possibility of life. You have toured all over the world, where is your favorite place to play? Every city we go is the best. If I had to choose one, probably I’d say Memphis. When did you start up the Jet G clothing line? It was about eight years ago. A jean maker came up with an idea of Jet G line. Whoever puts the jeans on, the legs get longer. How did the recent earthquake affect Guitar Wolf, and is everybody okay? We are safe and fine, but Japan is depressed under stress. So we are burning hard at different places to light up the world. You recently had some surgery done. Is this surgery the result of you being a wild man on stage, and are you fully recovered? I’m fully recovered. God put me here to go through the cyborg surgery to create even more amazing rock ‘n roll. Guitar Wolf is thinking of doing a live show at the space station. coloRMAGAZINE.cA

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Haslam and Appleyard Demo South Africa wordsby mike christie

photosby sam clark

espite its recent shot at hosting the World Cup and the attempts to sanitize its global image, South Africa remains a deeply divided and impoverished country. And whenever you’ve got a bunch a people who don’t have shit, next to a bunch of people who’ve got lots of shit, problems are going to arise. With 50 murders happening each day, and a ranking of first in rapes per capita worldwide, this is not a place to take travel too lightly. This is especially true when you’re a skateboarder, and aren’t going to be hanging out in gated tourist resorts with automatic weapon-toting private security. Well, earlier this year, Mark Appleyard and Chris Haslam bravely did just that: they travelled to South Africa for promotion of Globe’s launch in this tumultuous southern country. Only hours after their arrival, they were skating demo at a park packed with kids screaming for Haslam’s mini-ramp wizardry, none of whom wanted to shoot them with anything other than a camera. “We skated some janky-ass shit, and some good shit too!” recalls Mark. “Some ramps in a shanty-town, which was pretty fucked. And we did a demo on a ramp on the back of a trailer.” After two days of demos in Capetown and Stel-

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Chris Haslam, Crooked grind pop-over.

Cape Town

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“It was a really long drive from one place to another, through the damn African nothingness, just shrubs and flatland as far as the eye could see.”

lenbosch, they took a sightseeing break in a coastal village. And they didn’t even get carjacked when they sat in traffic for hours and hours. Some more enthusiastic and friendly demos followed, that included a newly built concrete hip at a sketchy ghetto park that Mark subjected to his trademark head-high and lazy three-flip. It was clear that neither of them would be shot or raped. The only attempted robbery was when a badger tried to steal Mark’s camera bag at the animal sanctuary, which Mark fought off with only a minor struggle. When asked if he saw anything sketchy while he was there, Appleyard complained only of the transport: “It was four grown-ass men in a small-ass Audi A4. It was a really long drive from one place to another, through the damn African nothingness, just shrubs and flatland as far as the eye could see.” Mark Appleyard, Nosepick.

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With the Maloof Money Cup leaving the States for the first time and heading to Kimberly, South Africa, this October, where they will be building a giant vert ramp for a bunch of kids who probably haven’t skated vert in their lives, South Africa is about to experience skateboarding in a way they never have before.

distributed by Ultimate

issue 3

Skateboarding’s Middle Ground with Art and Society

Some particular skateboarders take this urge to collect a step further. They use the streets as their literal palette, taking home what they find there, only to repurpose it, make art from it, or often creating art right there on the street. Collecting streetfound objects offers a nearly limitless variety, because each street, neighborhood, and city is entirely different. The surprise of the find is what makes collecting objects interesting: the unpredictability, the improvisation. It’s never clear what the end result will be, and doesn’t always end up successful. Like skateboarding, it’s a risk, and it’s addictive. 138

The skaters we gathered for this article do just this: collect discarded objects, images, and ideas they find in the street, in order to create their own diverse art from. [ o ] GROSS

or skateboarders, the streets are a constant source of inspiration. The banks, gaps, ledges and rails of the world promise endless possibilities, and skaters do their best to take full advantage. In this pursuit, skateboarders study the streets and take in what others don’t see, exploring and searching out new locations to skate, often revisiting the same places over and over. Bottle caps, cassettes, handbills, hand-scrawled notes—these cast-off remnants of our culture can all be considered lucky finds by creative skaters, stumbled upon while carving down a back alley or sweeping away debris at the top of a staircase, or even just ripping them off a wall.

Numbers found paper, plastic and metal 41”x48” 2005

Perhaps the single most obvious skateboarder for this article, widely known for his works made of discarded materials found while skating, is Bobby Puleo. Bobby responded to some of our questions with a poised sense of uncertainty. Adding, now that the weather is good again in New York City, his time is stretched thin, “Between skating, working, eating and sleeping. That is pretty much all I do.” Universally acknowledged as one of the smoothest and most city-savvy street skateboarders ever, whether it’s an unlikely spot or a discarded cassette, Bobby continues to take his inspiration from what the city has to offer. And given his fiercely independent stances on all things, from the corporate rape of skateboarding to the offences of “tourist skateboarders,” we’re just happy he responded at all.

[ o ] DEBERDT

Bobby Puleo

found it interesting that when a cassette broke, instead of throwing the cassette in the garbage, people would just huck it out the window. It’s just interesting behavior, littering. And then again, there’s also the appealing design element of the cassette tape. Small, compact, uniform and able to be personalized. I think though the most appealing aspect of those was the fact that they were reoccurring on the street. If humans are constantly searching for something, collecting to no end, then for the ever searching and evolving skateboarder such as yourself, is finding new uncharted skate spots a means to an end? It is merely a brief stint of satisfaction. Sometimes I look back on certain things I’ve filmed and I’ll say, “I should have done this trick there”, or “I shouldn’t have done this with that”, but at the time I was satisfied. So yeah, it is only a brief stint of satisfaction. Slowly I am becoming less compelled to do certain things, but with that I am becoming more compelled to do other things. So as a means to an end, I’m not sure. It all depends on how you define “end”. But as satisfaction, certainly.

such as Lester Kasia and Billy Ruff stood out back then. Did that era of board graphics influence your art and collecting of objects now? It simply represented a vivid colour and rebelliousness that I had previously not really experienced. I was into baseball and collecting Star Wars figures before I got into skateboarding. Skateboarding represented radicalness. When I went into a skateshop, it was like looking into a wormhole of a whole new world. You once said you “suppose street skating is the art of interpreting objects and setups that occur naturally in the streets and sidewalks and incorporating them into your skating. It’s the appropriation and use of objects found naturally in any street”. Would you say this is true for your art? I suppose that is true. It’s at least true of what is occurring on New York City streets at any given time. How do you decide where to look for stuff to use in art? I don’t decide where to look, I just always look. Something like the track is uniform

“my art sort of parallels where I’m at in the skateboard industry.”

—bobby puleo

Roger Allen: Can you talk about collecting and what it means to you? BP: I think it represents ownership and designation of value. I may be approaching hoarder status. Your framed cassettes are especially interesting to me as I have written a few articles on mix tapes. What is it about the cassette as a canvas that interests you? I was specifically interested in the fact that there was this reoccurring object that was found mostly discarded, broken, and usually in the street. I found the fact that the cassette, as a disappearing form of technology, was for the most part, especially in the time between the CD and the CD players in the car, only had a value to most people while in their automobiles. I also

The Post-It notes are really interesting as at one time they were kind of a way of instant messaging. Yeah, it’s true. The Post-It represents an incredible technological leap and pre-cursor. From the walls of a cave, to the stone tablet, to paper, to paper with non-messy glue on it, to the Instant Message! I like the compactability of the Post-It note. And it’s practicality. A small piece of uniformed sized, square coloured paper that’s able to be personalized, and it sticks. And always found again littered on the streets and sidewalks. I first started getting into skateboarding when street skating didn’t really exist and my friends and I would just look at Thrasher and think about skating vert. Graphics for guys

and has a definite endpoint, so the railway track definitely appeals to me. I think railroad tracks appeal to a lot of people though. They’ve always represented a certain mystery to people. Is there any particular art movement from the past or present you gain inspiration from? Obviously the Dadaist stuff, Duchamp, Francis Picabia, Kurt Schwitters… Duchamp’s Readymade stuff really sticks out. Constructivism, Deconstructivism. I like Gordon Matta-Clarke’s stuff. I like “Typologies”. I’m a big fan of Bernd and Hilla Becher’s work. And obviously Pop Art and Graffiti Art. I remember seeing Eastern Exposure and thinking New York skaters were so coloRMAGAZINE.cA

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Cigarette Packs (series) found, 15x25” 2009

Do you feel your art is counter culture, how skateboarding used to be? Art is it’s own machine in N.Y. It’s definitely not a counter culture. It’s its own culture

[ o ] GROSS

[ o ] DEBERDT

different from Vancouver, the clothing, style, music, etc. How do you think growing up on the east coast affected your art and collecting? I grew up in New Jersey a couple of miles outside the city. The city back then just represented a shit storm of freedom, danger and adventure. I was still learning the city. I mean I would come into the city as a kid with my parents to go to a Yankees game or go to the Bronx Zoo and shit, but it wasn’t until I started coming into the city on my own that stuff started to get interesting. As far as influencing my work, I collect and display only what the city provides me with.

here. It’s an industry. That said, my art sort of parallels where I’m at in the skateboard industry. You can try and make sense out of that statement. How does your art and skateboarding relate? I think it’s related in the sense that even without a sponsor or money I would still feel compelled to do it.

Chet Childress Portland dweller, transition navigator, Nike SB rider, and reluctant artist Chet Childress travels the world searching for the madness that the majority of society overlooks. Creating art on the road from with what he finds is in Chet’s DNA. He has to make stuff, perhaps to conquer boredom, or just to make himself laugh. Just don’t call it art.

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Chet Childress rock n’ roll smithphoto.

“I’m a fan of drinking and drawing.” —chet childress

RA: Can you talk a little about finding inspiration in the streets to create your art? CC: Art from the street? Well isn’t that where we all hang out? Constant change is my answer… How do you collect, and what does your art mean to you? Art comes from all the madness. It’s spawned from love, hate, all the bullshit in front of our faces, and all the lies. It comes from being in the van, landscapes, fuckedup buildings, friends, heart-aches and thousands of rad influential people. And some weird chemicals.

What’s your favourite way to make art? I’m a fan of drinking and drawing. Something about napkins, and a good pen, and a shitty bar, just seem to work. My brother started drawing really young and it just rubbed off. For the record he’s still making rad shit and music. Why do you do it? We have to make stuff, take pictures, make music, make people laugh, talk shit, etc. That’s why we are here. To inspire in a positive or negative way, fuck the art world! LUDA CROOKS!

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[ o ] WOYTOWICH

“an adult once said to me, ‘a complete collection of anything is worth something… doesn’t matter what it is’.” backside flip

Nathan Olokun Longtime Torontonian and always ripping skater Nathan Olokun has been making stuff seriously for about ten years. He paints, constructs masks, and draws, producing art that converses both with the past and present. He works by keeping an archive, both imagistic and physical, from the carefully selected objects he chooses and finds while charting the streets of the cities he visits. His interest in found and collected objects is fleeting, unplanned, like when skateboarding, he acts on pure intuition to decide what direction to go. Also like skateboarding, this intuition has taken him into some controversial places. When asked about what his main inspiration has been through it all, he replied, “History… I’m mind-fucked by history.” RA: Can you tell me about your process? What attracts you to certain items to create graphics from? NO: I only attempt to make art that is sincere and fun to produce. My attraction to an image or object is fleeting at best, so I try to allow intuition to take charge when it comes to direction. Can you talk about collecting and what it means to you? When I was young an adult once said to me, “a complete collection of anything is worth something… doesn’t matter what it is.” The controversial shoes you created for a goup show last year and never ended up being shown, what inspired that? Those shoes were really just based on historical intersection. I suppose it’s something of a chronological collection in the final product. “Rubber City” was a spin on 142 coloRMAGAZINE.cA

the reissue. The company was rereleasing the original shoes and had asked artists work on a pair for an exhibition/charity. The social, political, and economic climate surrounding the original release was rich with “all-American” history, from which I drew inspiration. I set out to speak on something which was essentially “all-American”. Goodrich and the KKK’s roots in Akron, Ohio, the NBA and America’s roots in white supremacy, Bob Cousy’s own anti-racist sentiment, free market America’s fear of the unique, and America’s own history of cruel inhuman exploits of labor and humanity are secondary if not tertiary to my intent, however they do render it all the more relevant and clear. At its most basic, the piece is a reclamation of the capirote image—an exposé of its systemic desecration amidst evil and righteousness. At most potent, a revealing gaze into the ancestral mirror standing somewhere between us and the future.

We Get Old II oil stick on canvas pad 12x16”, 2011

Rubber City restructured shoes 10x10x10”, 2010

To anyone who’s been skating for a while, Brian Lotti needs no introduction. From his groundbreaking technical skills⎯including a list of NBDs a mile long⎯to a spot on Blind’s dream team that included Henry Sanchez and Guy Mariano, to his recent rebirth as the creative director of Telegraph skateboards, this guy sure knows what he’s doing. He’s still skating out there in the streets, and in fact that’s where he does most of his painting. He may paint traditionally, but his inspiration is anything but. RA: Talk about finding inspiration in the streets for your art, What found items do you most enjoy? BL: I find a lot of large sweeping views. Sweeping views that distract, but also comfort. Sweeping views that haunt. They pile up and fall out of my pockets, and I can never paint or hold on to even a fraction of them. Many of your paintings actually have the streets in them “7th Street Downtown LA” “Catalina” “Distant Horn” “Hope Street” what is it about the streets that inspires you? The landscape inspires me… and life in the city means streets and buildings. Part of being a modern artist is depicting things as they are… part of painting cities is painting streets. For a painter, streets are the new meadows and riverbeds.

You have a really smooth style and you really use the street as a canvas. Does that carry over into your art? Thanks Roger. I think skateboarding and making art are very similar processes—they both involve flow, feeling oneself in a groove, and they both unfold in time. Picasso used to say that making a painting was like walking on a tightrope, you have to maintain a certain balance and tension and pay full attention at all moments or all will be lost. And then there is also that famous dictum that “the painting paints itself.” Meaning that if we can get into the right groove and maintain ourselves, everything will work itself out naturally and the trick we are trying will ultimately come together! A lot of your type treatment on your website is hand done do you find yourself noticing signage?

Yeah, typography is really cool. Store fronts, cafe fonts… and then the credits rolling at the beginning of old French films, or even in Quentin Tarantino’s films… Type is endless. I feel like it’s time to develop or refine my handwritten stuff… I almost want to start using the dreaded computer… Modernize myself. Tame the romantic. Grow up. Do you feel your art is counter culture like how skateboarding used to be? My art is definitely not counter culture - in fact you could say it is pro-culture. Folks have just started going to museums to see the latest graffiti shows! The museums and galleries have actually been turned insideout as of late, and easel painting is, for the time being, a ghastly kind of novelty. I am really working to move beyond concepts and create something immediate and direct—some kind of image that speaks to folks, whatever culture they are from.

[ o ] DELONG

Mark DeLong

[ o ] SAETHER

Brian Lotti

Fergie Jenkins Trophy cermic, glazes, resin, metal and baseball cards, 2011 Fruit Juice Pharmacy Acrylic on Canvas 48”x 48” 2011

bar jam

Along with fellow artistic oddball Jason Mclean, Vancouver skateboarder Mark Delong has created a well-deserved niche in the normally impenetrable world of “High Art.” Born in New Brunswick in 1978, Mark works in a variety of media: sculpture, painting, drawing, and comics. He has exhibited his work at the LES Gallery in Vancouver, Hunter and Cook in Toronto, Ooga Booga in L.A., Colette in Paris, and the Abel Neue Kunst Galerie in Berlin to name a few. This photo depicts his work called, “Fergie Jenkins Trophy”, which was made with ceramic, resin, and Jason McLean’s collectible baseball cards. Still a ripping skater to this day, by looking at his art it’s clear that Mark has found great inspiration in the world of street-dwellers and pavement. .found 143

[ o ] HENRY

kickflip

Nate LaCoste Vancouver’s Nate Lacoste may have skated his way into a spot on Michael Sieben and Stacy Lowry’s hilariously irreverent Roger Skateboards, but who knew that along with being an amazing skater, he is also a budding artist. Nate paints, sculpts and simply makes objects and works that captivate the viewer, displaying a versatility that we’ve already seen in his allterrain skateboard abilities. Currently attending Capilano University’s Studio Art Program, Nate uses whatever he finds at hand to create his own singular kind of art. If his skate photo is any evidence (look at that flick!), all this art-making hasn’t slowed him down one bit. He mentioned in his interview that he may not know where his creativity is going to take him, but the answer is already clear to us: somewhere awesome. 144 found.

(clockwise top l) Untitled, 2010 found photo & gold leaf, 10" x 12" Let’s Just Get There, 2010 mixed media, dimensions variable Untitled, 2011 found object, 8" x 10" Have a Nice Century, 2011 marble, plexiglass, brick, steel, plaster, spray paint, 16" x 22" x 22”

volume 9

Sean Macalister Can you talk bout your process? What attracts you to certain items to create art from? I have a studio practice that is split between ideas of assemblage, painting, and sculpture. My process is largely dependent on spending large amounts of time in the studio working through various tests. When a project or exhibition starts, I’ll make work that speaks directly and specifically with that show or project. Where do you find inspiration for your art? These days I’m on the hunt for large glossy posters printed between 1950 and 1990, and also varying dimensions of glass sheets. One of the most rewarding parts of my process is coasting through alleys and side streets on my bicycle looking for material⎯both physical and ephemeral. Is there any particular art movement from the past or present that inspires you? I would say right now, actually, is a very good time for me to be working. I’m seeing trends unfolding, lines getting blurred, and a general doors-

blown-from-hinges-make-whatever’snatural aura going around. It’s really liberating I think. You have a really original way of skating and you really use the street as a canvas, does that carry over into your art? No, I wouldn’t say that it does in terms of physicality. I mean, I approach object-making as naturally as I can, but the completion of my work is very slow, regimented and can take months. With skating, I enjoy more fluid actions that recreate themselves in the moment.

Originally from Calgary, Sean MacAlister skates the back alleys in search of materials and inspiration to cart back to his studio, where his work truly begins. He recently had a show at Antisocial.

Untitled #17, 2011 (from the series, No Buddy Trusts Me Anymore), erasure on found surface, 14.5" x 11.5”

Do you feel your art is counterculture? Like how skateboarding used to be? No, if anything, it’s aspects of the opposite. I want to carve out a home for myself one day, and I feel that requires embracing notions of a current and public culture. How does your art represent the street? My work is a pretty shitty flagship of the streets, but it’s coming from someone who loves them.

[ o ] THORBURN

Little Truth (Installation view), Haight Gallery 2011

Ollie.

layback five-o

[ o ] TANJU

Jason Adams wordsby isaac mckay-randozzi

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[ o ] IM-R

Folks of the artistic bent go through life collecting with their eyes. Visual stimuli of all variety that has appeal will be stored between the ears for further personal exploration. Driving down the street, seeing the passing forms of buildings, dilapidated fences and old rough signage has inspired Jason Adams to use them as material to apply his work to. Either found by him or friends; old wood, pieces of cabinets and doors find their ways into his studio. The juxtaposition of the intricacy of his stencils and his choice of rough and rugged wood gives the work an added texture, detail and in some cases an amplified sense of sadness. Finding art during his down time from tours and filming missions, he taught himself between trips and changing diapers. Balancing things like a plate spinner and having fun doing it is tricky but he still has the childlike gleam of a troublemaker in his eye. That makes you think, just momentarily that he might just let them all fall to see the chaos.

He Stopped Loving Her Today (detail), mixed media on wood, 62" x 50" Luv Me, mixed media on skateboards, 10" x 33"

Stencils

Do you collect pieces of wood for a specific piece, or do you just grab whatever catches your eye? It started with using skateboards, but now it’s anything that catches my eye. Just grab it and throw it in my truck, don’t know when I’m going to use it... Usually it’s just a little thing here and there. It started when I had a garage and a bunch of shit. If I needed something I’d just grab something and nail it in. It’ll be interesting to see where it ends up.

Do you think it was the “trial and error”, learn-from-yourmistakes attitude skating breeds that made it easier for you to deal with making artwork? Yeah, for sure. I always liked doing art as a kid, but I was never good at any

“wheel marks on a wall from my skateboard. Man, if that counts, I’ve gotten up on some shit!”

[ o ] ACOSTA

Steve Olson

—jason adams

traditional style of art. You take an art class in school and it’s, “today we’re illustrating,” and I’m not too good at that. “We’re painting today,” well I’m not too good at that either. “Sculpting,” not too good at it. So later I think when I was messing around I just had a different mindset of “well I’m just going to make it work.” Same with skateboarding, it was like I wasn’t too good but I just wanted to make it work, whatever I got to do to make it work. Same thing when it came to my art. I draw from all these places, mesh it together and make it work because I don’t have the typical natural ability.

A true legend of skateboarding, Steve Olson started making art in the late 1990s while at home raising his son, a kid who turned out to be Girl pro Alex Olson. Steve’s inspiration is found everywhere: junkyards, signage, trash, scrapyards⎯whatever he can find. Attacking taboo topics is what keeps Steve motivated and his work fresh and exciting. And he’s not slowing down anytime soon. [interview on p.185]

What other artists are you inspired by? The 50s and 60s pop movement is the closest group of visual artists I have been able to connect with. I have always dug the look of that time period in general. Not just talking fine art, I’m talkin’ cars, furniture, house design, graphic design, fashion... shit I can’t forget American folk art and American oddities? I’m not talkin’ paintings of barns and chickens and that bullshit. I’m talkin’ those crazy southern preachers that paint all over the church bus. Obscure, uneducated folky art. I love it! Outsider art! It’s so real and honest and unpretentious. I can’t list names.

Al Partanen Creature rider Al Partanen is probably best known for his unruly mop and his insane death-box grinding exploits, but he’s also been getting plenty of recognition lately for his art. [continues p.149]

Do you collect anything? Just a list of mishaps and bad decisions. [laughs] But not any more, every dime I make goes to the nitty gritty, survival shit. I guess I could say I collect bottle caps, not sure where they are, but I know there is a lot of ‘em somewhere. Do you think “street art” is too loose a term to describe your work? Or totally wrong? Well the closest thing to graffiti or street art I have ever done is wheel marks on a wall from my skateboard. Man, if that counts, I’ve gotten up on some shit! But no, my work does not fit in the very modern term of street art. Is it inspired by the streets? Yes. Is it inspired by street artists? No.

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[ o ] RHINO

Al Partanen Frontside blunt

(previous page) All works flyer art on wood panel: Quazi Ripper, 11.5x36” 2010 Come Out and Play, 11.5x32” 2010 Skulls & Weed, 11.5x34” 2011 Reagonomicon, 11.5 x 34” 2011

Al may skate pools more than he does street, but his art is pure skateboarding. Along with other media, he collects and re-appropriates handbills and show flyers that he finds posted up or lying around the city and uses them to tell his own stories. It started when a friend asked him to create some art for charity, “I whipped together a collage on an old board and got kind of stoked on it,” he says. Now he has moved on to building panels for his collages, which have grown larger and more detailed with time. When asked how he feels about the idea of whether or not he is creating a ‘new’ work, he had this to say: “A designer in some office may have created the original idea, and it gots posted up by some street team or whatever to advertise something. But I collect these images and use them for my own means, my own expression. I guess in that way it’s like skateboarding, since the things we look for to ride in the streets were never meant for that purpose. We make them our own.”

volume 9 issue 3

Trick List words and photosby gordon nicholas

very photographer has one: their go-to guy, that person who you know you'll always walk away from that spot with a photo. For me Bradley has always been that guy. Best of buds put aside, his skateboarding skills have always blown me away. Having been shooting so much lately in these crisp spring months and not really a candidate yet for a second Color interview, we still couldn't let these photo go to waste. Besides, who reads the interview anyways? Lets just let the photos do the talking here.

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.bradleysheppard 153

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.tricklist 155

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quiksilver

skateboarding

collection

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MIKEY PLANTUS gap backside tailslide [ o ] jivcoff.

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162 PAUL LILIANI switch crooked grind [ o ] ying.

SHANE Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;NEILL switch kickflip over rail [ o ] jones.

164 JESSE JEAN BART 50-50 [ o ] levrai.

NICK MOORE nollie inward heel flip [ o ] doubt. 167

BRETT GIFFORD frontside boardslide gap out [ o ] nicholas. 169

170 CHIMA FERGUSON frontside 180 [ o ] broach.

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BlANK DOGS

collected by itself: 2006-2009 (captured tracks)

Fans of Brooklyn, New York’s Blank Dogs can rejoice with the release of this album of rare recordings drawn from limited and out of print seven-inch records and cassette tapes. Blank Dog’s multi-instrumentalist Mike Sniper leads you through these twenty seven tracks, ranging from minimal, melodic, and lo-fi sounding garage punk songs, to the more clean, synth heavy, cold-wave inspired songs, all with a twist of indie rock thrown in. Collected by Itself is a good documentation of a progression of the band, and it makes you think of what may come next for Blank Dogs. So save your time on Ebay chasing down all these hard to find items, and go and buy this record instead. —bobby lawn

SISSy SPACEK dash (gilgongo)

Abruptly smashing into your face with bursts of spastic sound and blasts of chaotic drums and howls, Dash is the latest offering from Los Angeles noise masters Sissy Spacek. Running like one big hardcore noise punk collage, or multiple songs on a never-ending stream of colliding into each other, this 9:04 long LP is so brutally intense, it is definitely not for the weak-minded. The editing on Dash is chopped and cut up, and the recordings are blown way out and distorted. It almost sounds like a found hardcore tape that has been run over a thousand times on the street, and then someone tried to play it on a boom box that was in a microwave while it was being hit repeatedly with a hammer. It’s like schizophrenic hardcore punk. When you look directly into the eyes of the Mona Lisa this is the sound you will hear. For those who can stand it, this is truly a fine piece of music, and very reminiscent of the birds singing at sunrise. —justin gradin

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Ty SEGAll

goodbye bread (drag city)

After tearing it up in San Francisco’s overflowing garage rock scene for the past several years, with Goodbye Bread Ty Segall turns in his most focused and mature album to date. Long gone are the blown-out and fuzz-riddled garage monsters of past, now replaced by a looser record with a noticeably upped fidelity. After a brief stint in Sic Alps, Segall has obviously taken some notes from the band and thrown a wrench into his normally hyper-rushed sound. Songs like “I Can’t Feel It” and “Where Your Mind Goes” prove that he can write a great song that’s not battered in and masked by distortion. The fuzz pedal still comes out every once in awhile, but its use is moderate and well placed rather than over the top. Goodbye Bread is the kind of record that comes from a musician who has grown comfortable in the studio and is finally allowing his songs room to breathe. —mark richardson

SHABAZZ PAlACES black up (sub pop)

Everything comes together on Shabazz Palaces’s Black Up, a title that recollects America’s long history of racial fakery and looks ahead to a future black music out of reach of imitators. That frontman Palaceer Lazaro disapproves of current trends is obvious: some of his digs are unmistakably targeted to the kids—”Swag’s the brand, open the can”—though most are a tad more abstract—“Things are looking black, but black is looking white.” Unlike other hip-hop curmudgeons, this former Digible Planet (Butterfly) conveys his abstract lyrics over a playful alchemy of hip-hop rhythms, florid electronics, and elastic jazz structures. Whether the warm minimalism of “Recollections of the Wraith” or the swaggering march of “Yeah You,” disparate drums, hand-claps, and synthetic flourishes come into focus over an immovable baseline, allowing Palaces’s emcees to steadily spin out their surreal streams of consciousness. It’s a sound impervious to counterfeit. —chris dingwall

TV GHOST

mass dream (in the red)

When I was in high school there was this kid in my grade who was in the special needs program. He was a really big, strong, clumsy kid, but I couldn’t figure out what his “special need” was. He seemed a little bit slow, but not that much slower than some of the kids on the basketball team. Everyday he would sit in a room with two girls with Down’s syndrome, and everyday after lunch he would go around from room to room and collect the recycling. But then he started smoking. All of a sudden he was on sports teams, hanging out with the popular jocks, and talking to pretty girls! It was like the cigarette erased everyone’s memory, and he was born again. “What? Me? No, I never collected the recycling!” All by the power of a little white stick filled with tobacco. He just put that thing in his lips and he was on top of the world. He was the special needs James Dean. What were we talking about again? Oh yeah, TV Ghost. They rule, and this record rules too. You should buy it. —justin gradin

KWJAZ

self-titled (not not fun)

After a blink-and-you-missed-it cassette release under The Brunch Groupe, a new label headed by Joe Knight of Rangers, Not Not Fun gives new life in LP form to one of this year’s best offerings. Two side-long tracks that ooze from one piece into the next, morphing from cosmic lounge music to slowed down cool jazz loops to warbled alien-like bossa nova excursions, all of it stitched together seamlessly across the record’s forty-minute run time. At times the pieces conjure up the ghosts of Alice Coltrane’s celestial jazz, or sound like a cough syrup-ed Ethiopiques track. Disparate sounds for sure, but linked together by a grey and hazy production, the results are sublime. What makes the record even more mysterious is that you never quite know if these are warped samples or if the myriad of instruments on this debut are actually being played. Not much is known about the man behind KWJAZ, but we do know that there is new talent in the post-hypnagogic landscape. —mark richardson

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volume 9 issue 3

COMET GAIN

PINK REASON

the howl of the lonely crowd (fortuna pop/what’s your rupture?) 17 years from their debut single, Comet Gain are old enough to have had the joy drubbed out of them by the machinations of the music industry. Instead, every song on The Howl of the Lonely Crowd is performed with the wide-eyed passion allegedly reserved for youth. Like a ragged and wonderful mix of the first Television Personalities albums, Mick Jones’ London Calling material, and a less fey Belle and Sebastian, this is a record by people in love with the arts who dare not sell their devotion short. References abound in their work, from the beat writer Herbert Huncke—whose tribute is played in the style of Velvet Underground’s “Sister Ray”—to Frank Sinatra’s junkie character Frankie Machine from The Man With the Golden Arm, to Nicholas Ray’s film noir In A Lonely Place. Damned by being considered either too twee or not twee enough, plus a reputation for shambolic live performances, they’ve gone largely unheralded both in England and the Anglophile legions on these shores. Now, with the C86 revival in full swing, and with this brilliant new album, Comet Gain should finally take their welldeserved place in the hearts of more than just ardent indie pop fans. —klaus malone

Thanks to both the internet and his confessional nature, Kevin DeBroux, aka Pink Reason, is as well known for his untraditional lifestyle and his intimate knowledge of Russian underground music—this from his family’s spell in Siberia in the early ’90s—as he is for his craft. While most revel in such an information glut, my interest is usually inversely proportionate to this kind of disclosure. So while I own the prior Cleaning the Mirror LP and a few 7-inches, they’ve yet to find their way onto my turntable. Uh, my mistake. Shit in the Garden proves DeBroux to be as impressive as he is uncompromising. Of course, the most jarring track is the opener, pairing his layered lo-fi rock with drum and bass beats, while his doubled vocals assume a spectral presence. The album’s middle highlights the strength of both his songwriting and voice without such obvious distraction. Imagine Iggy’s work with Bowie in Berlin minus the budget and artifice. Here, Russia’s influence is made explicit in titling the most direct song, “Cranes Are Flying,” after the beautiful 1957 Soviet World War II film of the same name. Shit in the Garden comes to a close with the spare, banjo-led instrumental, “You Can’t Win,” an appropriate end to this fine paean to misery. —klaus malone

TylER, THE CREATOR

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past life martyred saints (souterrain transmissions) In previous projects, the dark psych-folk band Gowns and the more eclectic Amps for Christ, Erika M. Anderson has explored challenging forms and experimental expression. Fans of those bands will be surprised by the intensity and cohesiveness of Anderson’s first solo album as EMA. The themes of substance abuse and body horror that she delves into are familiar tropes in the established idiom of arty, self-destructive rock music (whether that means Patti Smith, Sonic Youth, or Xiu Xiu, all appropriate comparisons to EMA), but Anderson makes them her own without succumbing to cliché or devolving into maudlin confessional. The power of her strained and raspy voice grounds each of these songs, but it’s her grasp of structure and texture that really makes them shine: the seven-minute opener, “The Grey Ship,” starts with a sparsely strummed acoustic guitar but soon incorporates a magnificently sunburned electric guitar solo, before expanding into an ominously pulsating organ passage, and closing with apocalyptic violin. Drums, when they appear, often sound like a fist hitting sheet metal. Even on mellower tunes like “Breakfast,” Anderson’s whiteknuckle vocal delivery hits hard. This is a very impressive debut. —saelan twerdy

KODE9 AND THE SPACEAPE

goblin (xl)

How you react to Goblin will depend a lot on your stomach for parricidal revenge, violent misogyny, open homophobia, suicidal self-loathing—and 73-minute adolescent confessionals. Tyler, the Creator puts no small effort into making his undeniable talent almost unlistenable here. On his best songs, from the Golf Wang anthems “Yonkers” and “Sandwitches,” to the obsessive stalker odes “She” and “Her,” Tyler balances chillingly detailed narratives of murder and rape with vulnerable self-flagellation. Like The Marshall Mathers LP and Ready to Die, Goblin reaches deep into the darkness and brings out heaps of blood and scat. The result is a vortex of isolation and hateful fun—running the gambit of emotion from warning: “Don’t look at me / I’m six-five and about to cry” (“Nightmare”) to bragging about the jewelry that apparently adorns his dick (“Bitch Suck Dick”). Framed by stark, abrasive production, Tyler carefully paints his own terrifying portrait, covering his own glittering brilliance with a layer of waste. —chris dingwall

EMA

shit in the garden (siltbreeze)

CHAD VANGAAlEN diaper island (sub pop/flemish eye)

black sun (hyperdub)

Since the debut of the Hyperdub label in 2004, the dubstep genre has undergone numerous permutations, re-evolving every six months or so. Steve Goodman, the head of Hyperdub, also known as Kode9, has been at the helm of this genre, releasing numerous dubstep records including his own under the Kode9 moniker. For those who don’t follow the onslaught of UK dubstep releases, Kode9 is the most recognizable name in the genre, for good reason. With Black Sun, his second record with the MC Spaceape, he continues to shine as one of the more advanced producers. Deep bass rumbles teamed up with pitch-shifting synths, complex rhythmic workouts alongside Spaceape’s instantly recognizable baritone vocals, spewing his unique drawl of bleak, dystopic lyrics. Chinese MC Cha Cha also does vocal duty, counterbalancing the Spaceape’s dark matter with an airy, soulinflected voice. Black Sun is one of those rare dubstep records, guaranteed to appeal to a wide ridge of music fans.

On one hand, Diaper Island is exactly the kind of absurdist title you might expect from an artist with Chad VanGaalen’s sense of irreverent whimsy. On the other, it’s a pretty gross image compared to the cuteness of his first three album titles—Infiniheart, Skelliconnection, and Soft Airplane—and it suggests a slightly darker tone for his fourth album. Hailing from Calgary, VanGaalen has always had a knack for balancing wide-eyed evocations of lonesome prairie vastness with more urgent, urban bursts of distortion and noise. On both sides, he often flits back and forth between morbid, mournful death fantasies and the cosmic sublime, with lots of room for farty electronics, fist-pumping rock blasts, and a sweet love song or two. On Diaper Island, we get a bit less of his jokey side and quirky homemade instrumentation, and bit more seriousness from his rock and folk sides alike. Still, “Shave My Pussy” brings the silly for those who need it, and overall, Diaper Island is another very strong outing from one of Canada’s best indie songwriters.

—mark richardson

—saelan twerdy

volume 9 issue 3

wordsby justin gradin

photosby dylan doubt

—

Sam Mckinlay

here were all these rumors I used to hear growing up about this local weirdo skateboarder who had this prized movie collection that all these famous people were always trying to buy. You would hear stories about Quentin Tarantino, or Rob Zombie, or members of the Misfits all calling up this guy and offering him huge sums of money for his collection of films. Well, this weirdo was Sam McKinlay, who is now an internationally known noise musician, and can be found representing Skull Skates minding PD’s Hot Shop in Vancouver, B.C.

I met Sam when he started showcasing some of his film collection at the university campus every Wednesday night in Kelowna. These were some of the most fucked up, funny, disturbing, and entertaining movies I’d ever seen. Lots of them were foreign, and most of them very gory, obtained exclusively through the old school methods of writing letters, international money orders, bubble-wrapped packages, and tape-swapping. “Movie-trading back in the 80s and 90s was great as it was a constant correspondence with the now legendary import genre ’zines and magazines like European Trash Cinema and Giallo Pages,” Sam says. “It was definitely an adventure to really get dirty and dig into the different genres. The constant customs hassles trying to get VHS tapes across the border, waiting for months to get the print catalogues and ’zines, the obsessive list-writing and cross-referencing to find which favourite actress starred in what movie and in what language, and what print quality.” As well as collecting movies, Sam collects toys, records, magazines, and custom guitar pedals. All jammed into his apartment like a museum, some of Sam’s most prized possessions include: the Creature from the Black Lagoon ‘underwater’ head bust, a vintage Jaws rubber shark, the original big box VHS copy of Graveyard Of Horror, Mauthausen Orchestra’s Anal Perversions bootleg LP, and a custom-designed Lake Shark fuzz pedal from Traumatone. Here is only a small peek at some of the coolest stuff in Sam’s apartment.

rare vintage posters top: A small sampling Outside of the numerous Rubbermaid bins, Sam’s DVDs, PAL, NTSC, and SECAM tapes are barely organized be genre. Here are some 30s pre-code horror, ‘old dark house’ films with some Hammer, Spanish horror, Italian sleaze and even a collection of pre-code spook show horror westerns from the 30s.

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why does Europe have so many banks? Who builds them all? It’s insane.) And there is also far more creativity and pure stoking skateboarding than could ever be described in this review, so go check this one out for yourself. You won’t be close to disappointed. —mike christie

THIS IS NOT A TEST socrates leal (blind skateboards) Featuring a new crew of AMs from the “where in the fuck did he come from?” variety, Blind has a packed squad of serious rippers. With an international flavor that proves you just don’t have to be from the US to make it on a solid company, the video has a few memorable moments. On a technical level, it is nucking futs. The ease at which some of hardest flip-in tricks are done makes you question the validity of the video, is this some sort of video game footage? The video starts off with Dutch tech master Sewa Kroetkov who apparently can do any flip trick you can think of. Nollie front foot late flip down a 9-stair, no problem, blindside fakie varial-healflip to fakie-nosegrind, there you go, double nollie-flip out of a nose many, check, and a kickflip backside noseblunt slide on a bench at the end of a line, there it is. With a heavy lean to ledge and manny skating he’s also capable of taking things to gaps and stairs. While most tech skaters have a rigid style, Sewa’s is smooth and effortless and he almost makes you like late flips. On the other side of the spectrum and world comes Kieran Reilly from Australia. Fond of rails, gaps and one amazing huck and prey backsmith he is following in the footsteps of other Aussies. Apparently under the “guidance” of mentor Jake Duncombe his “no worries” style makes him enjoyable to watch even if you’re not into his type of skating. His front-shuv to boardslide was particularly nice. Coming straight out of Ontario, T.J. Rogers has a deep bag of tricks that he can pull out at any spot, from the looks of it. From back alleys to smooth ledges in public parks, it seems like he’s never met a spot he didn’t like, or put a hurt on. Recent addition to the pro line-up, Danny Cerezini’s fate was questionable after his untimely departure from Flip. After watching his part, you almost feel bad for Flip, they may have lost out. The Brazillian P-Rod can hardflip into just about any slide or grind, his consistency is something to be admired if not outright envied. As if we didn’t know already, Morgan Smith is one talented skater. His part not only reflects his ability but you can almost see glimmers of what may come down the line from him. His part is pretty much all killer and no filler. With a 178 coloRMAGAZINE.cA

bag of tricks that would rival any magician he shows a well roundedness of a pro. Filipe Ortiz skates some of the most rugged looking spots since post-WWII Europe. His go for it style while admirable makes you fear for his knees and heals. Kevin Romar has been getting a lot of attention from the mags and the steady rolling of travel for all of his sponsors. His nollies are borderline epic and his fro is reminiscent of a younger Ron Chatman. Ledge and rail footage dominate his part and he kills it six ways to Sunday. Like the rest of the Blind AM squad he has an ample mix of gap and stair footage but he’s able to mix it up enough to differentiate him from the rest. That and his silky style make his part watchable multiple times. Solid editing and while the soundtrack isn’t my style, it does seem to fit each section well, even the Rush. Since this was an all AM video, I hope we can look forward to an all pro one coming soon. Sheffey footage!!!

OCCASIONAl ANTIZ FlASHBACK paul labadie (antiz skateboards) Stuctured as a mocumentary-style retrospective of a fictional band comprised of their team, this latest offering from France-based Antiz Skateboards is sure to offer you a fresh, stoking perspective on skateboarding “across the pond.” It’s all here: a roaring psych-influenced soundtrack, top-notch creative skateboarding from dudes who look like they enjoy every minute on their boards, and those mouth-watering European spots that we all know (and wish we could love). The video opens with an action-packed part from Steve Forstner (how is it that I’ve never heard Nick Cave in a skate video before?) and Dallas Rockvam (also with an amazing song, Neil Young’s theme from Jaramuch’s Dead Man) provides some hair-raising roller-coaster rides that will not disappoint. Julian Dykmans turns out a part worthy of a man half his age, and the original “European Team Handsome” member Hugo Laird stylishly steps up to some nut-crunching rails. The closer goes to Samu Karvonen, a new addition to the team, and a Finnish beast who tackles and crushes any obstacle in his path. There are more scary after-trick roll-outs in this video than any I’ve ever seen before! (Seriously,

HIGHWAy GOSPEl jaret belliveau, craig jackson (king point) Beer—yes, lots of beer drinking. But ironically, the best longboarding video I’ve ever seen has very little longboarding in it. There was a time in my life, when I was a kid, that when pretty much anything not done on a ledge was considered “vert”, and oh how we hated vert. But why? I can’t tell you. It just wasn’t the thing to do at that time. By no means am I about to get into a schpieal about how we should “give longboarders a chance,”, I just can’t do it. I can’t do it for the same reasons I won’t wakeboard and I won’t be getting into rhythmic gymnastics any time soon. It’s outsiders who believe that just because we all ride on trucks and wheels, it’s the same thing. Do you see speed skaters sharing ice time with a hockey team and a pair of figure skaters? But what I do know is that I like this movie, and it being Canadian and independent there was no chance I wouldn’t share it with you. I don’t know if it was characters like Claude Regnier, Schnitzel, and Bricin that did it for me, or the dedicated documentary film style—well… it was the characters. They’re awesome! What can I say, longboarders are an entertaining breed, I could watch them all day. And living on the west coast, home to where the largest speedboarding competition in the world (Danger Bay, Pender Harbour, BC) is held, sometimes it feels like I do watch them passing by all day long. Highway Gospel isn’t your typical skate video and it isn’t a longboarding video either. But there’s something very ‘skater’ about jumping on a plane to Sweden with just fifteen bucks in your pocket. At 50 years old, that’s exactly what Claude does, and that’s not even the most shocking thing that happens in Belliveau and Jackson’s debut film. You don’t need to be a can collector to enjoy Carts Of Darkness, or an Albertan to enjoy the subtleties of FUBAR, and you don’t have to be a longboarder to like this movie. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, documentaries are the format for today’s skate videos, and this one serves up as good an intro to speedboarding that I would have ever dreamed (or nightmared?) of. —adam henry HIGHWAYGoSPEl.coM

distributed by Ultimate

volume 9 issue 3

wordsby matthew meadows

photosby andrew mapstone

ecently, while on a ten-day demo tour in Canada, we were at a bar in Ottawa talking to a tattoo artist friend of mine and David Gravette mentioned that he wanted to “Meth Breath” in the upper and lower inside of his lips. So the next morning, when we were all together again I asked him what he wanted to do for the day and he said, “Let’s get that tattoo!” I seriously thought it was just bar talk, but there we were at the parlor, just hours after leaving the bar. It was later in the same tour when we were at the Standard (another bar) in Ottawa that I asked David to do this Tattered Ten. Judging by his state of sobriety, I knew he was sufficiently well-influenced to get it done: he’d already downed several Jack and Cokes as well as a few extra tall bottles of Corona. After a few more we rolled out of the bar and did the interview in the inside of a BMO instant teller, to get away from the noise. After ten days on the road with him, I’d already learned that not only was David a man of his word, but one of the gnarliest skaters I have ever witnessed live and one of the nicest. But on top of all that, and most importantly for me, he is a writer’s dream. He has some of the most hilarious stories and is always down for anything fun.

1. MM: Since we’re in Canada, I have to ask: Who have been some of the Canadians that you’ve looked up to growing up in Portland? DG: I got to say Alex Chalmers. Not sure how these East Coast Canadians will take that. Oh, and Rick McCrank too of course. He is from the city we are in [Ottawa]. No way! Oh wow! He is the man. He is the first pro skater I ever witnessed in person and he blew my mind. He was a super nice guy too. I have not gotten a chance to really hang out with him since I have been in the skateboard world, but he is someone I would like to run into again. 2. What is your obsession with the RDSFSU 2002 opening song? Dude the RDS video fucking killed it! The one with Moses and Sluggo? That was the video back in the day. It had good music and shenanigans. It was so good! 3. Do you have any specific memories of embracing the FSU mentality? Oh, there is one or two. Danny Kass, the Olympic snowboarder, is from Portland and became a good friend of mine. He asked me and my friends to go on a trip with him and he was just going to pay for it. Basically he was just going away and wanted some friends to skate with. So he gave us this RV and said we could do whatever we wanted to it and we did. We spraypainted everywhere, lit fires inside, ripped the doors off, then we destroyed all the windows. We had mice too. We bought mice halfway through the trip to have in the cabinet so we had mice living in there. The bathroom did not work so we peed in all sorts of things. It was pretty gnarly. We carved every drug into the table we could think of then it finally broke down. We had to then pull over to a weigh station and this cop showed up, then we all got MIP’s [minor in possession of alcohol]. It was not fun [laughs]. Colorado is not a good state to get an MIP in! 4. You grew up working at a skatepark, did things ever get hairy around there? I had to ban a girl from the skatepark for having sex with one of my friends on the vert ramp. She was nasty. She has now dated several people I know. She’s been there. A few people in the

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industry have touched down on this, and it’s not a good place to be. 5. Have you had any odd experiences with girls at the skatepark? I had a lot of first experiences with girls through the skatepark. It was really the only spot where females would pay any attention to me. I felt my first boob at the local skatepark and kissed my first girl there. That was a weird experience! I was like 12 or 13 and she was like 19. She was all, “You are so cute and you are good at skateboarding, I want to kiss you!” I was so young. I was not even into girls. You know I think I was even younger than twelve. I was prepubescent for sure! I just did it and I remember being totally freaked and weirded out. She was then like, “Feel my boob.” I just thought it was a fat lump. 6. Have you ever been cock-blocked on any of your trips? If I had to recall a tale, it was just as my current girlfriend and I were in our courtship phase. I was staying at her dorm with my friend Devun. So that night I bought a three pack of condoms, and I used two that evening, then the next morning I went to go find the third and I could not find it anywhere. My girl told me I could get some at the front desk vending machine. So I ran downstairs with my last $1.25, saw the condoms at B2, but when I hit the buttons I accidently hit B3 and ended up with peanut butter M&M’s! Then I realized that I did not realize what room she was in. So I had to run down the hallway checking every floor for her. I eventually ran into Devun who had taken my last condom. Luckily things worked out, but I went straight from dunzo to getting my Transworld ender that day. 7. What are some of your fondest memories coming up from Portland to Canada? Just going to Slam City Jam. My dad taking me and my friends up. Those were my first experiences with being in a skate scene. But as far of this trip, it has to be the weed so far. It’s so green. It kind of makes me wonder: What is going on with it to make it that color? 8. How about being on tour with Creature? Oh man! I don’t want to step on anyone’s coattails. There is so much crazy shit that has happened, but I am totally spacing.

—

David Gravette

Since this interview took place, Meadows has spoke to Gravette and apparently the “h” in “meth” had fallen out. So now it says “Met Breath.” From we understand lip tats rarely stick first shot, but David was still stoked despite the fall of his ‘h’.

“if I throw up I will shit at the same time.” 9. On this tour you’ve had some stomach issues, what’s the strangest place you’ve had to drop a number two? I have definitely taken some weird shits. Man… my girlfriend is not gonna be too hyped on any of this stuff. We can skip it. No, it’s probably better that she knows. I woke up one day at her house and she has a one-bedroom apartment and a roommate who likes to take especially long showers and just be in the bathroom in general. I woke up with one of those hangovers where I immediately knew I was going to puke and shit at the same time. I jumped out of bed and bolted for the

bathroom but realized that her roommate was in the shower, so I was like “Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck! This is gonna be a long wait!” I knew there was no other bathroom near so I headed to the kitchen and I was just pacing. I remember thinking I know I am going to throw up real soon, but I also know if I throw up I will shit at the same time. I didn’t know what the fuck to do then all of a sudden I was like this is happening right now! So I grabbed a PBR box and dumped out the beers and shit in the box while I puked in the sink. 10. And they don’t know about this? I guess they do now… damn.

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—

L.A. to N.Y.

t may have been his thirteenth shoe (sneaker freaks and skate nerds, bring on the emails), but for the city of Los Angeles, Eric Koston’s first Nike SB shoe called for a celebration! We have that here along with other fine moments of Spring ‘11 like the launch of the Vans OTH shop in Montreal, and KCDC’s exhibition in New York, curated by Alexis Gross.

Flying Lotus, LA

Darin’s in there somewhere

Ben Lutes, Mike Manidis & Mike Richins

Atiba & Jason Dill

Carroll & Mo

Alex Flach & Michael Leon

Daniel

Danielle Defoe & Debbie Cakes

Owen Jones & Buddy

KCDC

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Palihouse, LA

Shane O’Neil, Cory Kennedy & Steve Gonzales

Hunter Muraira, Darryl Angel & Boosh

Marc Tison & Dave Appleby

Bobby Gascon & Richard Sarrazin

Tony Alva & Antoine Asselin

Pat Ngoho & Felipe Lara

issue 3

SANDRO GRISON

owner / creative director

ROGER ALLEN guest editor

LINDA OUNAPUU

operations manager

GORDON NICHOLAS photo editor

MIKE CHRISTIE senior editor

MILA FRANOVIC fashion editor

JUSTIN GRADIN music editor

DAVID KO

graphic design

BEN TOUR illustration

PRE PRESS

joel dufresne

COPY EDITOR dan post

INTERN

ben hlavacek

ISAAC MCKAY-RANDOZZI contributing web editor

cycle This M ag

sales manager

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CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

keep it.

aaron smith, alana patterson, ale formenti, alexis gross, allen ying, andrew mapstone, babas levrai, bart jones, ben marvin, ben stoddard, benjamin deberdt, brent goldsmith, bryce kanights, dan mathieu, david broach, dylan doubt, geoff clifford, grant brittain, isaac mckay-randozzi, jai tanju, jeff comber, jeff delong, jeff thorburn, keith henry, kyle camarillo, libby wann, michelle ford, mike oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;meally, owen woytowich, rich odam, robbie jeffers, roger allen, sam clark, steven wilde, tristan saether, will jivcoff

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

adam henry, ale formenti, alex hudson, bobby lawn, brent goldsmith, chris dingwall, jeff comber, keith henry, klaus malone, kyle camarillo, marc tison, mark richardson, matthew meadows, michael lapointe, mike oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;meally, saelan twerdy

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

brian lotti, charlie roberts, chet childress, grant brittain, lydia fu, mark delong, sean macalister

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CHARLIE ROBERTS continued from p.87

STEVE OLSON continued from p.147

Interview by Mike Christie.

Interview by Roger Allen.

You have a painting called, “The Collector,” which has this guy staring maniacally down at these figurines, and it made me wonder: Do you think that collecting is kind of insane? It’s about appetite, you know. All the people I like have huge appetites, basically. They are really hungry. And some people figure out how to manage that and put it in the right direction, and other people it just fucks them up. When you meet art collectors, like the people who buy your work, 9 out of 10 times they make you feel like shit. You feel like you’re working in a pretty ignoble business. Do you collect anything? No. I don’t have that mentality. I’m really forward-looking, I can’t keep shit. I’m really messy and dirty, and I’m not good at taking care of things. I lose stuff. My studio is crammed with shit. I have a lot of garbage, but it’s not in like plastic wrap or anything. So you’re not a completist, in any way? Like you get one issue of a magazine and you’ve got to get them all? No, not in any way. When I’m done with a book, I give it away. I don’t need to keep anything. And I wanted to collect baseball cards when I was a kid, but I didn’t have it in me, I’d just fuck them up. I’m not meticulous at all, outside of my work, I guess. So what do you have on the horizon? I’m going to New York to make some carvings in a couple weeks. And I’m finishing up some stuff for fair of solo shows, it’s called Solo Fair. And the next one is in January in Los Angeles. Are you going to stay in Norway forever? Yeah, well Heidi, my wife, she’s pregnant. We’re having a baby in October.

used in the art that’s being made.

Talk about your process, what attracts you to certain items to frame or display? What attracts me and what I display always depends on how the attraction impacted me in the first place. Then the outcome is what it is. Whether it’s a bomb sculpture, or some kind of wordplay mixed with whatever it is that covers the surface. You need to dig a little deeper than most—meaning you can’t always just go by what’s on the surface. There’s always much more than what one can see.

Can you talk about collecting art and what it means to you? I like to collect work that I really dig, and usually it’s from all of my friends. Others collect art maybe with the intention of the work going up in value, just like real estate.

[ o ] JEFFERS

once and a while you have to have someone fighting or something. Because when you paint somebody fighting, your heart speeds up, like you get a little bit excited. You’re really invested when you are doing it. So basically those little vignettes are because I get bored, or I see a little hole that could use something. Usually that stuff is right before lunch when I’m starting to get tired.

How do you find inspiration in the streets to create your art? I find inspiration all over the place: junkyards, signage on the streets, trash, scrapyards⎯what do you got? Maybe I can use it. Sometimes as I’m skating in the night, even the shadows that line the street, it all depends on whatever it is that might catch one’s eye. Some might think one thing is trash, while others sees the beauty in it...

Is there any particular art movement from the past or present you find inspiration in? I love some of the Pop Art movement of the late 50s and 60s, and I like the Dada movement from the 1920s, short lived, but effective. And all that’s contemporary, from whenever to whenever...

“I collect a lot of stuff, and kind of consider myself You made several pieces of art showing and my friends the Polo emblem being destroyed. How do you feel surfaces miners.” about the fashion —steve of skateboarding looking clean, as opposed to your more non-conformist roots. The polo player represents corporations, and all of the nuclear subs, the F-86, and all the other weapons of destruction represent the other corporation: the military and war machines. Eventually, it’s going to get us, and end the best thing we have in common: Life. Get it? Good. The graphics you created for Real are made up of collections of newspaper clips. How did you decide on what articles to go with each skater? Do you collect newspaper clippings in general? What stories do you clip? What else do you collect with the intent of making art from? The newspaper clippings I was given by one of my best friends. They all came from the late 1950s. It’s a little weird how relative the headlines are to now: bombs, religion, and all the other stuff included, just means to me that it’s all real⎯hence the connection to Real Skateboards. I collect a lot of stuff, and kind of consider myself and my friends surfaces miners. Then what we find, or mine, gets

olson

How long have you been creating art, and how did you get to where you are at now? I started making art seriously in the late 1990s, full time. I was raising my son, alone, and made some art for a group charity. After all of my artist friends said how much they liked it, that was it. How I’ve got to where I am now is by hard work, being passionate about my work, and trying to make stuff that hasn’t been done before.

Do you feel your art is counter-culture, like how skateboarding used to be? Skateboarding and making art are really cool to me, I enjoy the fuck out of them, both of them. It’s time to just be free, just like skating, when no one tells you what to do, or if they try to, you have the right to tell ’em to fuck right the hell off! Your pure skateboarding reminds me of when I would read Thrasher in the 80s and skateboarders would complain about street contests not representing the streets. How does your art represent you? My art is me, and it’s also you, you just don’t know it quite yet... You tackle a lot of taboo topics in your art, are there any limits? The only limits are that of stopping yourself when maybe you question what you’re doing, and when that happens, you should stop, cause you’d be acting like a fucking pussy, and that just doesn’t fly. Know what I mean? coloRMAGAZINE.cA

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arto mid/ dark navy/ gravisskateboarding.com

introducing

volume 9

Zach Barton attempted ollie Vancouver, BC nicholasphoto.

We all know ‘that set’. You know, the big one that just got built. Everyone’s wondering whose going to step to it first. And when somebody finally does, we all want to know what happened. This new double at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver is as daunting as any of these mecca stair sets. Not only are you dealing with the sheer magnitude of it, you’re landing onto one of the busier streets in the city. None of this phased Zach Barton on his one and only huck at this beast. Unfortunately his outcome was not ideal, taking the impact and fracturing one foot in three places and the other heel bruised beyond belief. What really matters in this situation is that he actually had the gaul to give it a go, in full light of the dangers, and that’s a claim not many can make.

ISSN 1920-0404 Publications mail agreement No. 40843627 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: fourcornerpublishinginc. 321 RAILWAY STREET, #105 VANCOUVER, BC V6A 1A4 CANADA

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MARC JOHNSON FS NOSESLIDE