Volume 9, Number 5

ETHAN KILGOUR | BAPTISTS | POISONOUS PRODUCTS | QUIKSILVER’S MICASA SUCASA TOUR | JAMCOUVER + a skateboard culture quarterly.

art / fashion / music / film / life / skateboarding /

— 10 VIDEOS IN THE MAKING ISSN 1920-0404

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no. 5

SANDRO GRISON

co-founder / creative director

LINDA OUNAPUU

operations manager [ o ] DELANEY

GORDON NICHOLAS photo editor

DAVID KO

graphic design

GUEST TYPOGRAPHER steve green

DAN POST

managing editor

MILA FRANOVIC

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

will jivcoff, steven wilde, steve marentette, sam fidlin, ryan mcguigan, nathan éthier-myette, molly stone, mike o’meally, michelle ford, louis feller, kyle camarillo, keith henry, john rattray, jeff comber, jay delaney, isaac mckay-randozzi, gene doe, eric koretz, eric anthony, dylan doubt, david broach, dan zaslavsky, bryan uyeda, brian shamanski, ben hlavacek, bart jones, alexis gross, alex hart, alberto polo, aaron smith

fashion editor

JUSTIN GRADIN music editor

JENN JACKSON arts editor

SENIOR WRITER mike christie

BEN TOUR illustration

JOEL DUFRESNE

—

Moving Moments in Words and Images

S

tarting with the first cave paintings of our earliest ancestors, man has always sought to share his own personal vision of the world with the rest of humanity. It’s a drive and a passion that has survived hundreds of thousands of years up to present day. The need to relate our own unique personal vision has forced painters to paint, graffiti writers to write, novelists to type and skate filmers to create videos. And it is often the inspiration we’ve found in the work of another videomaker, photographer, skater or artist, that motivated us to create something unique of our own. The feeling of creating a moving moment with words, video, photography or art and seeing it inspire others is so powerful that it becomes addictive. So much so, that it doesn’t matter how many company videos, web edits, skate mags, blogs or YouTube parts we’re forced to endure, there will always be an army of skaters who burn to create their own unique vision and use it to inspire the skateboarding world at large.

The inspired and moved of today will be the creators and influencers of tomorrow. The cycle will continue and one day soon we will be watching or reading the work of those of you reading this magazine today and will be shaking our heads in amazement, humbled by the unique vision of the world with which you’ve just used to inspire us. —josh stewart

pre press

INTERNS

adam assouline jessica rivers

ISAAC MCKAY-RANDOZZI contributing web editor

ADVERTISING fourcorner@colormagazine.ca 604 873 6699 newstands: disticor.com | magamall.com

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CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

alexis gross, anne cottingham, cheyanne turions, chris dingwall, eric anthony, joel martell, john rattray, josh stewart, keith wecker, mark richardson, mish way, saelan twerdy, shawn lennon Color welcomes submissions for photo and editorial content, but is not responsible for unsolicited material or liable for any lost and/ or damaged material. Please provide a return envelope with postage with your submissions or email submissions@colormagazine.ca for more information. Color Magazine is published by fourcorner publishing inc., printed six times yearly and distributed direct to retailers throughout Canada and to newstands by Disticor Distribution. Subscriptions can may be ordered individually or in bulk by retailers for resale. Subscribe: 6 issues for $39.99 in Canada, $59.99 CND in the United States, $89.99 CND for all other countries. Contact us at 604 873 6699, subscribe@colormagazine.ca with any subscription inquiries or visit us online.

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DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed here are not neccessarily shared by fourcorner publishing inc. or Color Magazine, but by the author credited. Color Magazine reserves the right to make mistakes and will do so on a bi-monthly cycle without liability. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form [print or electronic] without permission from the publisher.

The publisher of Color Magazine is not responsible for errors or omissions printed and retains the right to edit all copy. The opinions expressed in the content of this magazine do not necessarily reflect the views of Color Magazine. Color Magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any advertising matter which may reflect negatively on the integrity of the magazine.

distributed by Ultimate

no. 5

ERIC ANTHONY

KEITH WECKER

contributing photographer

contributing writer

Eric Anthony, better known as EA, is a photographer/designer living and working in Los Angeles. He spends most of his time working on the Fourstar clothing brand as a member of the Art Dump. Aside from contributing to the Art Dump, Eric also rides & works on motorcycles, shoots boring desert landscapes, rages on the regs and enjoys life alongside his wonderful wife, dog & cat. Eric shares a recent visit to his good friend Scott Pommier’s studio in Helter Shelter, 26.

Keith Wecker is a composer and musician who has been performing in various groups in Vancouver since 2004. Playing under the pseudonym V.Vecker, he has shared the stage with such acts as Zs, Barn Owl and Hauschka. He has also performed with Anthony Braxton and played in Glenn Brancas Symphony No. 13. His large group work, the V.Vecker Ensemble, will release its debut album early 2012. Head to 102 as Vancouver hardcore locals Baptists sat down with Keith to talk signing with Southern Lord via myspace spam.

THEHIGHDESERT.COM

MYSPACE.COM/VVECKER

GENE DOE

DAN POST

CHEYANNE TURIONS

STEVE GREEN

fashion creatives

managing editor

contributing writer

guest typographer

Gene Doe is a creative agency specializing in innovative fashion media. Its directors, Christina Ladwig and Hanna Tveite, from Texas and Norway respectively, met while attending Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada. They have been working together professionally since 2009 and have shown their work in a number of publications, exhibitions and festivals worldwide. Most recently, their film FLIGHT for Mono Clothing, was selected to screen at the Rotterdam, Sao Paulo, St. Petersburg and Moscow Film Festivals. Turn to 70 to view their work in this issue’s cinematic fashion story.

It all started with a neon-green softball and the name Liv West scrawled in magic marker on the side. When Dan Post’s sister found the curious object rolling around under his car one day, he took it as a sign. Soon after, Dan sold most of his possessions, packed the remainder into a Jeep and put St. Thomas, Ontario in his rear-view mirror. Dan now lives in Vancouver where he skates & writes & loves & explores & takes photos & volunteers &...

There’s always an ‘&’. Dan has come a long way since interning with us for Color 8.3, and now joins our in-house family as Color’s new Managing Editor, with this issue being the first under his belt. Glad to have ya, bud!

cheyanne turions is an independent, Toronto-based writer and curator who holds a degree in Philosophy from the University of British Columbia. She is the director of No Reading After the Internet (Toronto), and sits on the board of directors for Fillip magazine.

She recently participated in the From the Toolbox of a Serving Library residency at the Banff Centre, which was led by Dexter Sinister, and she was the 2010-2011 Curatorial Resident at Gallery TPW and the Images Festival, which was supported in part by the Canada Council for the Arts: Assistance to Aboriginal Curators in Residence program.

Cheyanne gets in-depth with Toronto’s Pleasure Dome in this issue’s art feature, 104.

Steve Green was orphaned at Docking Bay 12 of the Mos Eisley spaceport on Tatooine.

He grew up among the cantina›s regular local customers, performing odd jobs to make a living. He always knew that he was different from almost every other race that passed through Mos Eisley, but he couldn›t learn who or what he was. He searched out information from his friend, Momaw Nadon, but Nadon had never seen anyone like him before. Steve currently resides wife his Kara and son, Silas Wolf in the Endor-like environment of Portland, Oregon where he produces commercial graphic designs for a very large shoe company. We dig Steve’s style and asked him to get his hands dirty creating all our feature titles as this issue’s Guest Typographer.

GENEDOEPROJECT.COM

‘FOLLOW’ DAN: @DANNYAMPERSAND

CHEYANNETURIONS.WORDPRESS.COM

STEVEGREENPORTFOLIO.COM

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no. 5

on the cover: All stumbling blocks aside, Paul Liliani remains unfazed as he films for the upcoming Green Apple video. Switch front shove.

comberphoto.

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CANDY COATED Joel Martell gets Ontario skater Ethan Kilgour (pictured here in San Francisco smith grinding) down from his sugar high long enough to film an exclusive video part for us and share some of his stories and amazing illustrations.

[ o ] HART

ROLL OVER FOR ALTERNATE ANGLE

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ACE’S AND O’S JAMCOUVER If you build it...

Big moves at the Big ‘O’ as Gordon Nicholas and the Ace Creativity is king at Jamcouver when a parking lot gets Trucks team shred Canada’s iconic spot and ponder the uncertain fate of the giant whistle.

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[ o ] NICHOLAS

[ o ] HENRY

[ o ] NICHOLAS

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106

transformed into a throwback skate contest like no other.

SAUSAGE PARTY Quiksilver Canada, Gordon Nicholas and a blow-up doll cram into a van for an oversexed skate tour across the western provinces.

MIKE ANDERSON MATIXCLOTHING.COM

MATIXSTICKERS@SUPRADISTRIBUTION.COM

|

SUPRADISTRIBUTION.COM

no. 5

12 14 14 22 36 38 44

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Contents film

music

life

The road to producing skate videos is uphill and littered with obstacles, and not always the skatable kind. Shawn Lennon checks the status on some of skateboarding’s most anticipated videos including Chocolate, Shake Junt, Foundation, Street Demon and Green Apple

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SOLAR FLARE

138

tattered 10

102

UNHOLY WATER

26

Scott Pommier Helter Shelter

54

JOSH STEWART Next/Best

94

JODY ROGAC X-pat

122

Psychedelic musician Sun Araw talks apocalypse and Caesar with Mark Richardson

Submerge yourself in the music of Vancouver’s own Baptists. Keith Wecker takes the plunge

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Mish Way meets hardcore southern supergroup, Double Negative

art

94

131

Poisonous Products

Between the lines of Jeremy Elkin’s newest video project. Written by Josh Stewart

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The Push of a Button

48

Peeping Toms

colORMAGAZINE.CA

104

with Dean and Terry of FUBAR

fashion

42

DRAGONSLAYER Dan Post drops into the deep end of California’s pool skating culture with filmmaker Tristan Patterson and his VIFF doc.

(left) Jeremy Gelfant, Kevin Friesen, Ryan McGuigan and Chris Saniuk of Green Apple shop, Winnipeg

[ o ] NICHOLAS

Night of the Living Deadlines

124 FOTOFEATURE 132 soundcheque 134 LAST NITE 141 over ‘N out

[ o ] FORD

[ o ] WILL

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INTRO / CREDITS CONTRIBUTORS CONTENTS INSPIRATION BOUND ARTISAN ANTHRAX PRODUCT TOSS

Jenn Jackson explores the future of art in Paris’ ultra-modern gallery, la Gaîté lyrique

Larry Clark and Kohei Yoshiyuki get freaky in the bushes as Anne Cottingham spies on their Presentation House Gallery exhibit

Pure Pleasure

cheyanne turions squats around Toronto

with the experimental exhibit Pleasure Dome

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(Untitled): a Gene Doe production

chocolatestickers@supradistribution.com - supradistribution.com

www.chocolateskateboards.com www.crailtap.com

type and photo byJon Bocksel

colORMAGAZINE.CA

vol. 9 no. 5

—

—

Build it, Hack it, Skate it

words and photosby john rattray

F

or 99 cents, you can download a free Kindle app and buy a book called Build it, Hack it, Skate it. Maybe you are the type of person who looks at Ikea shelves and thinks, ‘80 bucks! Pfff. I could make that myself, easy.’ You might do your own oil changes and intrepidly replace drum brakes on old trucks. You are not alone. What follows is an account of precisely what might happen should you buy the aforementioned book of skateboard-oriented projects.

The build-your-own board projects in this book sound exciting but as you read, you realize they are very involved. Cut, piece by piece, the cross sections of your wood mold. Make a vacuum-sealed bag out of large sections of vinyl. There are words like contact cement, power tools, epoxy, maple veneers... One section suggests improvising, like using an old board as a mold. ‘I have old boards,’ you think. This is your eureka moment. You realize you could simply cut an old board into a new shape. Recycle—breathe new life into old wood. You decide on a paper template based on your buddy’s cruiser board you liked the shape of enough to take a photo.

In Adobe Illustrator you set up the document to the correct 32” tall size then trace the shape. You use the print-bytiling function to print the thing out life size, then you trim each section and piece it together on the floor. The cat takes immediate interest, first swiping at the edge of the top left section then, gaining confidence, he pads forth, crumpling your work before your very eyes. Any second the cat will begin to scratch and tear at this novel white surface and you must take preventative measures.

You grab a camera and quickly take a photograph. Next you make a sudden lunging movement towards the cat so that it takes up an endearing defensive position. You take another photo. You

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shoo the cat away and check the paper for siphonaptera feces. If you find any you will carefully pick the whole thing up, there are probably eggs present and being tiny and translucent they are difficult to spot on the white paper. You’ll pour this entomological detritus into the sink and wash it all away down the drain and out of your life, making a note to vacuum every inch of floor that the cat may have shaken flea eggs onto as he attempted to quench his incessant thirst for excitement.

There will still be fleas in your house. They

cat runs full speed and leaps, front paws spread wide, claws bared like the talons of a great eagle, arcing towards you, as if you are an unsuspecting shrew. He misses your arm by mere millimeters, taunting you with his agility, daring you to engage him in his tireless game of pursuit and capture, hunter and hunted.

You ignore him; you are too deeply immersed in your work. You are the master craftsman, dedicated—nothing less than perfect results will suffice.

You fish around in a drawer and pull out a near empty can of matte black spray paint. You take everything outside and use the dregs of the can to delineate the new shape. It is at this point that you realize you have not precisely centered the template. No matter, you will deftly adjust

“It may be inaccurate cutting or it may be some cruel unaccounted-for detail...” are brutally tenacious. You fight through daily anguish—brow furrowed, teeth clenched—in your constant battle against these bloodsuckers. Vacuum, fine-toothed comb, chemical warfare; all are employed and yet still these bastards cycle through their various life stages and hop up into the soft, underbelly kitten fur of your beloved feline family member.

You use Thunder stickers to hold the various section of the template together and then you use a Modus sticker at each end to secure the whole perfect construction, carefully centered, onto the top of the old deck. As you work, the

for that when you cut, sawing to outside edge on the right, inside edge on the left.

You realize you don’t own some fancy new-fangled electric jigsaw, you own a manual hacksaw but you are undaunted.

You think of Dick Proenneke. He had no access to, or need of, the convenience of electrically amplifying power output when he trekked off into the wilderness to build his cabin. He was content to work at the pace his physical body alone could sustain. Self sufficiency! That’s the name of this game.

You saw with great fury while the calm and watchful eye of the craftsman within

remains fixed on the line marked by the salvaged spray paint. You cut notch after notch, each one being limited by the depth of the hacksaw frame. It’s as if Dick is guiding you, watching you proudly. As you saw, you kneel on the board, immobilizing it, the weight of your powerful body focused through the meat of your patellar tendon rather than the bone of your kneecap, which you opened your car door onto yesterday, bruising it painfully.

You start at the nose, inching your way around its torpedo head curve, feeling the prickle of your pores clicking into action.

Upon reaching the beginning of the long sweeping line of the rail, you switch tools.

You thank the geniuses at Vaughan and Bushnell for their incredible Japanese style Bear Saw as you rip through 16 or so inches of hard maple ply in a minute or two. At the tail you revert to the thin blade of the hacksaw but must cut switch in order to continue to use the kneeling body weight technique to keep the board still. One day you will own a decent workbench. When the switch-curve cut meets the rail you gasp in horror at the harsh kink in the line that appears as the last notch falls earthward from the board’s new edge. It may be inaccurate cutting or it may be some cruel unaccounted-for detail to do with photographing a three dimensional object. ‘Whatever, I’ll fix that with the rasp’ you think and walk inside for a cup of tea. You pass the cat on the carpet who seems delighted as he bites and wrestles and claws at the toilet paper, destroying something useful to create a beautiful but deeply impractical blizzard of tissue shreds.

L E O

R O M E R O

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

K E N N E D Y

D A V I D E D

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

R E Y E S

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

N E S T O R

T H E

S A U D E R

“ S P A N K Y ”

L O N G

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

vol. 9 no. 5

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Scott Pommier Studio

words and photosby eric anthony

I

f I was going to post an ad for Scott’s home-studio on craigslist it would say something like, “perfect space for motorcycle builderenthusiast/photographer/general tinkerer. Work, play, party! Fullyfurnished storage for plenty of tools to get your bike roadworthy or your negatives scanned. Also: equipped with studio lighting as well as a full range of digital and analog camera gear.” Then I would realize how weird that sounds and just post a photo with the words, “multi-use workspace with nice lighting. Must see to appreciate.”

Scott’s space goes far beyond a guy and a garage, projecting a ying and yang vibe that comes from working with filthy machines on one side and fine photography on the other. Perhaps this contrast of clean and dirty is reflected in his work as Scott’s clientele include both Ferrari and Harley on top of shooting subjects such as Usain Bolt and Ryan Smith.

At first glance you might just see a mans tools and hobby motorcycles, but what you don’t realize is that beside those oily bikes, Scott is wedged into the business end of what keeps the lights on in that garage. Just arms reach away from the bikes is Scott’s office and photography workspace, an artist’s haven normally associated with sterility and organization, located just a lawn-walk away from his home where he lives with his two French bulldogs.

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(above) Scott works hard for his hilltop home off Sunset Blvd in Los Angeles. From panhead engines and ratchet wrenches to imacon scanners, printers, lights and strobes, his garagestudio has him covered. (left) When I look up from my desk after hitting a dry spot creatively, I just see a wall. When Scott looks up from his desk, he sees panheads, cameras and vintage ephemera.

Figgy. Switch Back Smith.

timebombtrading.com facebook.com/timebombtrading

vol. 9 no. 5

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NICK MERLINO nollie front feeble grind [ o ] jones.

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NYJAH HOUSTON nollie backside heelflip [ o ] broach.

ETHAN KILGOUR gap backside lipslide 270 [ o ] hlavacek.

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DEERMAN OF DARKWOODS gap backside lipslide revert [ o ] doubt.

niacrkcia g eles,ca etnies.com

gap to 5-0 / los ang

timebombtrading.com facebook.com/timebombtrading

no. 5

words and photosby gordon nicholas

T —

Ace Trucks and The Big ‘O’ 34

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he Big ‘O’, arguably Canada’s most iconic skate spot, is getting moved. Due to an impending expansion by the neighbouring Impact soccer team, this massive skatable structure is set to be hoisted and relocated like a scene straight from The Learning Channel. All this information was dropped upon me on a recent trip to Montreal with the Ace Trucks team. Raven Tershy, Tom Remillard, Brandon Perelson, Riley Boland and Adam Hopkins came into town to meet up with local riders Marc Tison & Barry Walsh. Apart from being there to skate the Empire Backyard Contest, we had an entire week to explore the city.

Hurricane Irene weather halted us only once, but the eastern air was muggier than an Alabama swamp and began to take its toll on us as the days wore on. We spent our evenings amongst the downtown strip and laughter of French women; save a night of two, I could always count on one of the crew for a pint. As was to be expected with this crew, transitions were desired so we darted across the hellish roads of the city and eventually ended up at architects Andre Daoust and Roger Taillibert’s whistleinspired Big ‘O’. As young as the Ace riders were, all that time growing up under the southern Californian sun had seasoned them to skate amongst any veteran. As for myself, I knew this would be both my first and last chance to skate the ‘O’ in its classic location.

Tensions surrounding the fate of the beloved ‘O’ have been lingering in the air since the news of the stadium

expansions cast a nervousness onto local skateboarders.

But local ripper Marc Tison seemed optimistic and reassured us that officials had “told us that they would spend 100K to make the move and that everything was going to be chill, and the dude is quite sincere.” A deal was worked out that the ‘O’ would be lifted and moved about 50m farther down the approaching path and resituated to the same specifications as it has held since the concrete was poured back in 1976. I was astonished to hear that this is actually happening with a skateboard spot, but less surprised to hear that Tison had his hand in it. As it turned out, Marc was getting his fix one day at the pipe when the president of the Olympic grounds happened to roll up to check the site. Marc overheard them talking about the ‘O’ and quickly jumped in. “I asked if I could send him some links about the ‘O’ and I told him that I would give him our book [Pipe Fiends] and a

documentary [Concrete Angels] so that he could absorb the energy that surrounds the Big ‘O’.”

West coast skaters ought to heed this devotion and demonstrate their entitlement to the few awesome spots we actually have. I can recall a lot of vacant seats at a recent City of Vancouver meeting where there was talk of the Plaza being demolished. Back in Montreal, I was called out of this dark train of thought by the awesomeness of watching the Ace Trucks crew skate the Big ‘O’s tight transitions. Never before had I seen a fs ollie as remarkable as Raven Tershy’s. A sight for sore eyes to say the least. All in all, my thirst for rad was more than quenched watching these dudes skate. But for now, it’s all eyes on the Big ‘O’ in preparation for The Big Move.

(opposite) Marc 'The Caretaker' Tison clears the channel. Frontside air.

Barry Walsh went backside, Brandon Perelson kicks his saran up frontside.

“A deal was worked out that the ‘O’ would be lifted and moved about 50m farther down the approaching path.”

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vol. 9 no. 5

—

Rachel Maclean

wordsby jenn jackson

R

images courtesy of the artist.

achel Maclean’s work slips in and out of history with hyper-glowing, artificially saturated visions of the future. It is both nauseatingly positive and cheerfully grotesque, seducing a gawking attention akin to a train wreck.

Her compositions utilize digital print and green screen composite video.

The contents include hand-made props, costumes, sculptures, paintings, mass-media paraphernalia and an assortment of living characters, always enacted by Maclean herself.

In her recent videos, Tae Think Again (2010) and I Dreamed a Dream (2010), she creates synthetic spaces in which Mary Queen of Scots dines with the ‘it’ girls of Sex and the City. A ghoulish Susan Boyle plays the blow-up guitar and an egghead Jesus is accosted by the paparazzi. The outrageous fictions she weaves into her films alongside autobiographical and documentarian moments, assert an almost anxious authority of belief. As the only actor within her mise en scenes, Maclean takes the liberty of distorting age and gender to mime externally sourced audio recordings. Her clones embody unstable identities: they converse, interact and shift between cartoonish archetypes, ghostly apparitions and hollow inhuman playthings. The work insists on a frantically adapted span of attention—an aesthetic unification of Poundland, YouTube, Manga, Hieronymus, Bosch and High Renaissance painting with MTV-style green screen and channel changing cuts. Her most recent Technicolor utopia, Over the Rainbow (2011), explores a dark comedic parody of fairytale, video game and horror movie genres. Here Rachel Maclean exploits a shape-shifting world inhabited by cuddly monsters, faceless clones and gruesome pop divas. Her pleasurable indulgence is contagious.

Call it ‘the double rainbow’ effect!

Massacre of the Innocents, 2011 digital image

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no. 5

MALIBU HOME TO SKATEBOARDING’S DOUBLE RAINBOW Ever since his famed review of Thrasher Magazine, Hamish “the Illusion” Patterson has found his way into skate crews across the globe with his all-too-stoked, Big Labowski-esque laid back attitude and messages of positivity. Operating at a high frequency, the Malibu, CA surfer and diehard skater is a great example of the way the internet has changed how we keep ourselves entertained. From personal journal entries and deep philosophies on “the dream” called life, to his visits to the Etnies skatepark and the Crail Couch plus reviews on products and an assortment of magazines, all are privy to The Illusion’s righteousness. Luckily, the fantastic spaceship called YouTube allows you to catch up on all the past episodes and hairstyles you may have been missing.

Let us recommend the Bowl Cut episode for you… Don’t underestimate the power of the now. You’ll go for the laugh, but you’ll stay for the open honesty. And if you don’t have 13 minutes to give, we have a five-minute highlight reel of The Illusion’s review on Color 9.4 now up on our website.

YOUTUBE.COM/HAMISHPATTERSON [ o ] HENRY

SAHARA STEEZ

PRESS PLAY

Just in time for the holiday season, C1RCA is dropping these classic suede desert boots, the Sahara, complete with waxed laces and pinstripe lining. Guaranteed you’ll get at least a dozen homies saying “That is a fine shoe, brother,” and every girl you walk by giving you the onceover.

Montreal’s been a hive of skate activity this year, and ULC Skateboards is riding hot with the release of their Muted DVD. Featuring the likes of Ulysse Pinel, Mohawk and Alex Decotret amongst other east coast homies, ULC has been pushing real, homegrown skating for over a decade now. Pick up any ULC deck and they’ll send ya a copy!

C1RCA.COM ULCSKATEBOARDS.COM

AND THE AWARD GOES TO…

SEX, DRUGS & FUCKEN TEENAGERS

The International Skateboard Film Festival took place in the mecca of skate that is southern California this past October with a slew of nominations, five days of screenings and an award ceremony to boot. With an Academy that includes Stacy Peralta, Ty Evans, Greg Hunt and Ed Templeton among others, this festival has got some merit when it comes to deciding who is the best of the best. Case in point: Pontus Alv's In Search of the Miraculous cleaned up. The Oscars of the skate world have begun.

Artist, writer, director Harmony Korine, long-been associated with dysfunctional youth culture, recently collab’ed with Supreme to release a board series of Korine’s original artwork. A ghostly image of Macaulay Culkin graces one of the two decks, a throwback to Korine’s late 90s photos of Culkin’s own broken youth.

This is the stuff Hollywood is made of.

INTSKATEBOARDFILMFESTIVAL.COM

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SUPREMENEWYORK.COM

Couldn’t make it to the first ever Jamcouver? Turn to 118 for our take on how Canada’s newest annual creative skate jam went down and then head online to watch it all unfold, complete with Push.ca’s mini-helicopter bird’s eye view.

Man, we get excited for next year every time we watch this.

Have something you want us to review? Stoked or snarky comments? Send snail mail: Color Magazine, 105-321 Railway St., Vancouver BC, V6A 1A4 Canada or drop us a line at info@colormagazine.ca

no. 5

—

Anthrax

AHOY HOY!

IT’S IN OUR BONES

THE FUTURE IS HERE

The stormy seas of the skateboarding industry are no match for the recent collaboration between Toronto’s Baitshop skate shop & Quiksilver. Hit the deck, hold on to your cap, and wring the salty water from your tee, these goods are meant for the great wide open. Yaaar, now where be my brew?!

Say the words, “Animal Chin”, and most of your crew will nod that they too understand the spirit of the Chin.

Powell-Peralta is in the midst of creating a documentary on the first true hesh crew, the Bones Brigade, to be released in 2012. This doc will no doubt become something your kids’ kids reference when they write an essay on the ‘history of skateboarding’ in their 2064 sixth-grade class.

The year: 2015. The shoe: power-laced, self-illuminating Nike MAG. The dude: Marty McFly. We’re a couple years off, but Nike has entirely rebuilt and perfected the now infamous sneaker Michael J. Fox kicked-it in the cult classic Back to the Future II. Limited to 1500 pairs, the shoes were recently auctioned off on eBay to raise funds for Parkinson’s. Fingers crossed —we’ll all be cruisin’ hoverboards in three years.

QUIKSILVER.COM THEBAITSHOP.CA

POWELL-PERALTA.COM

TWIXT OF FATE

iPHONE KNOW HOW

PENNY FOR YOUR FILM

The art of Porous Walker (aka Jimmy DiMarcellis) usually takes a turn for the hilarious and absurd, making him a longtime favorite contributor at Color over the years.

This time around though, he’s taken a stab at (har!) art directing Francis Ford Coppola’s newest film Twixt, a gothic horror story set in small town America. Is it bad that we’re hoping he snuck a drawing of a penis eating a hamburger between frames? We’re proud of ya, Jimmy.

Man, not only is a skateboard an extension of a skater’s legs, but now an iPhone has become an extension of his arm. Know Projects teamed up with Element to develop an instructional app that walks you through 22 tricks, with four Element pros showing you how it’s done. Mark Appleyard, Levi Brown, Darrell Stanton and Chad Tim Tim give you their own advice on how to nail it, while tight production and visuals take this app to the next level.

Hit the streets of Australia in the mid-70s, and you’d find tons of kids carving on these fun, little Penny plastic skateboards. Now resurrected and making the rounds in shops in Europe & North America, these light-weight decks are small enough to fit in your backpack. They’ve got a Best Film Cash Grab contest going right now where you can win 5K for filming yourself on a Penny board.

Open to anyone, anywhere—get at it!

TWIXTMOVIE.COM

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NIKE.COM

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KNOWSKATEBOARDING.COM

PENNYSKATEBOARDS.COM

distributed by Ultimate ARMOURDILLOBRAND.COM BARTIE

RYAN ALLAN

vol. 9 no. 5

—

la Gaîté lyrique Paris, France

wordsby jenn jackson

D

o you remember watching The Jetsons and thinking about how amazing it would be to do anything at the flick of a button? La Gaîté lyrique is an arts venue, recently opened in the heart of Paris, spun out of that same imaginative future. Dedicated to digital culture, this venue hosts an extensive roster of technological potential. Every element of the building operates independently of its counter parts yet can, at a moment’s call, collaborate within a system of synchronicity. I am fascinated by the details of the enormous space; 13 000m² of total surface area, 26m tall, 60m long and 35m wide. The building features a multitude of adjustable spaces that function as a toolbox for both visiting artists and general public. There are five public levels and two private levels reserved for administration, artist residencies, and artist studios. The structure includes five passenger elevators, three freight elevators and has a total capacity for 1400 people.

The physical movement of bodies through the venue parallels a vision of technological vibration, fibre optics, cable networks, electricity, telephone wires, and various other alternate forms of communication.

While the equipment and the space play a central role in all that happens at la Gaîté lyrique , it all comes together through the artistic vision of Director Jérôme Delormas.

When he describes the space as a digital

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revolution, it is impossible not to get caught up in his dedication to modernity. This interest is intertwined with a specific adoration of culture and not just that of contemporary art; although Delormas insists that there is also room for those types of explorations to concurrently exist. He purports an investment in sustaining a broad audience of spectators.

Collective group experiences function as a model of public integration. His conclusions of resonance continuously reiterate collectivity and it is clear within the recent scheme of programming that he means what he says.

La Gaîté lyrique considers itself a place to experience life. It combines music, graphic art, video games and film, and mixes it with theatre, dance, fashion, design and architecture. Within the first five days of its opening ceremony, it hosted 20 concerts.

Thus far, programming has included a feature on the City of Berlin, Berlin Next, the London graphic design studio Universal Everything, Matt Pyke & Friends, and Skateboard . It was a summer devoted to the universal culture of skateboarding and the entire program from June through August 2011 found its inspiration in all that is, or ever was, skateboarding.

(Continued on page 140)

images courtesy Maxime Dufour Photographies.

La Gaîté lyrique is without a doubt a space of many faces. The 7-floor building includes a historic foyer, two adjustable venue spaces, an auditorium/theatre, two main exhibition spaces, a resource centre, videogame arcade, two cafes, a gift shop, as well as work and production studios that include one rehearsal/ film studio, one recording studio, and three media studios: editing, sound, and graphic design. Apart from the many familiar elements of a typical arts institution, there are details at la Gaîté lyrique that one discovers are unlike anything else. First off, the building boasts 700 individually controlled lights spread throughout the building. Sound is transported throughout 300 dispersed loudspeakers that are all adjustable, controlled and amplified separately. 70 microchip motion detectors are available for activation and interactions with guests. 101 LED panels are integrated into the floor allowing for dynamic light signals. Every one of these features can be controlled with the ease of a tablet interface.

(top to bottom) Can’t Stop, 2011 Matte Pyke & Friends video installation The Transfiguration, 2011 Matte Pyke & Friends video installation

vol. 9 no. 5

This 90s skate video style walks a thin line between whack and kinda sick. LRG extra large white t-shirt and roomy Enjoi pants with headphones and a dependable shoe by C1rca. With tiny tiny wheels and t-rex arms.

[ o ] WILDE

—

Tiny Wheels 44

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(clockwise from deck) REAL huf friends club deck NIKE p-rod switch jacket LRG plant for tomorrow t-shirt SHORTY’S wax BONES horror show 49mm wheels

ENJOI trouser arouser pants URBANEARS tanto headphones C1RCA cx50 shoes DESTRUCTO d2 pro arto saari trucks

[ o ] WILDE

For this page we wanted to show sun coloured items that would be seen in a 80s skate film. Bright California sun-colored t-shirt by Volcom and a smart but liberated woven by Huf, with some hardgoods in forgotten colours.

—

Thrashin’

(clockwise from noseguard) POWELL thin ribs noseguard SHORTY’S daisy dooks risers HUF prep stripe top GIRL olson by alex olson deck QUIKSILVER rf1 premium shoes VANS california classic slip on shoes POWELL PERALTA minicube pp wheels G SHOCK dw5600 watch

VOLCOM colors too lavander t-shirt ROYAL raw trucks DEATHWISH death spray wheels AUTOBAHN dual duro wheels CHOCOLATE flourescent square wheels KR3W koffin ashtray RVCA apocalypse wallet RECTOR riot street gloves colORMAGAZINE.CA

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vol. 9 no. 5

—

Hokus Pokus This composition parallels items that would be seen in current skate video styles, emotional black jeans and flannels, this one

by RVCA, dark hangover shades and lo pro shoes like Emerica or Vans. A beer coozie and a shoe lace belt are good to go.

[ o ] WILDE

(clockwise from jeans) VOLCOM 2x4 jeans COMUNE shoreman beanie SPITFIRE ramondetta hellfire wheels 46

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GRAVIS arto shoe EMERICA reynolds cruisers shoe RVCA double tongue long sleeve

KR3W holman henley top BAKER don nguyen last rock supper deck SCHMITT grip stick sleeve

SHAKE JUNT brown baggin it coozie THUNDER california trucks RAY BAN clubmaster sunglasses

photo: fritz

vol. 9 no. 5

Untitled, 1971 (Larry Clark) gelatin silver prints, 11" x 14"

Larry Clark images courtesy the artist and Lufring Augustine, New York.

—

Larry Clark & Kohei Yoshiyuki At Presentation House Gallery wordsby anne cottingham

L

ong before the modern day celebrity gossip rag, a revolution took place in the 1970s. Subcultures of drugs, overt sexuality, and free expression formed and begged to be documented. Photographers Larry Clark and Kohei Yoshiyuki did just that in their respective cities of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Tokyo, Japan. Though the worlds they came to inhabit were different, their methods were similar, becoming a spectator in each community and documenting their time in black and white film. Presentation House Gallery is presenting each series as separate exhibitions under one roof, creating a dialogue referencing hidden and marginalized communities.

Kohei Yoshiyuki started out in Japan as a commercial photographer. One evening in the early 1970s, he chanced upon a couple in an embrace in a Tokyo park… and several young men watching clandestinely from a distance. Intrigued by the outdoor sex and its watchers, Yoshiyuki went home and devised a method to capture the scene. Using infrared film and a filtered flash, he began to creep around in Shinjuku, Yoyogi and Aoyama parks.

Initially he simply observed the patterns and habits of intercourse and peeping.

After several months of lurking, becoming a familiar figure on the scene, he finally began photographing. He titled the resulting series “The Park.” Strikingly sad, the photographs not only reflect the loneliness of the couples and their desperate rendezvous, but also the men who watch and sometimes even participate. It is these men that Yoshiyuki immersed himself with, becoming a voyeur like them.

If Yoshiyuki’s subjects were unaware of the camera, the same cannot be said for those of Larry Clark. The series of photographs on display are titled “Tulsa” after Clark’s hometown and the location of the drug use, sex and violence that they depict. From 1963-71 Clark photographed his circle of friends almost as autobiography - an extension of himself and his own use of amphetamines.

He refused to moralize his subjects, perhaps in part because he was one of them, and so created a deeply moving series of images that give human dignity back to those pictured. Also included in the exhibition is a recently discovered 8mm film shot at the same time as the

photographs. Together these works share Clark’s ongoing interest in marginalized youth communities and the worlds they inhabit, as if to keep reminding us what it was like to be a teenager and just how adult it can be for some.

Presentation House Gallery is known for their exhibitions of imagery based around peripheral artists like Miroslav Tichy or Lisette Model, and peripheral subjects like those used by Karlheinz Weinberger, Clark and Yoshiyuki. Curator Helga Pakasaar considers the series as an extension of the previous Weinberger exhibition, which featured a teenage group of self-proclaimed rebels in Zurich immediately following World War II. But apart from an obvious photographic connection and interest in the subcultures emerging in their cities, Clark, Yoshiyuki and Weinberger have all dealt with their subjects in a very intimate way. They are all comfortable with their subjects, and whether the subjects acknowledge their presence or not they leave themselves open to the photographer’s depiction. In addition, Presentation House Gallery is

a fitting exhibition space for these works as it was previously an attic, a place often associated with forgotten pasts and secrets.

Clark and Yoshiyuki’s photographs also bring up questions surrounding the role of the documenter.

“We are invited to stare – not only at the man sticking his hand down a woman’s pants… but also the loitering voyeurs.”

Untitled, 1971 (Larry Clark) gelatin silver prints, 14" x 11"

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distributed by Ultimate

(left) Untitled, 1972 (from the series The Park by Kohei Yoshiyuki) gelatin silver print Untitled, 1971 (from the series The Park by Kohei Yoshiyuki) gelatin silver print

Kohei Yoshiyuki images courtesy Yossi Milo Gallery, New York.

In both, photographers became active participants, allowing them extensive access to do as they pleased. Pakasaar notes that, “importantly both photographers with their interest in private transgressions and “secret” social subcultures are aware of the implications of making pictures for the public realm, which is evident in how they make the experience of gawking part of the work.” We are invited to stare – not only at

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the man sticking his hand down a woman’s pants in Yoshiyuki’s images, but also the loitering voyeurs. There is no shame or consequence for staring at that image of the man having an episode in “Tulsa,” only a strong desire to know more about the people and their stories.

Are images such as these possible today?

The Internet has shifted perceptions of

(above) Tulsa, 1968 by Larry Clark 16mm film stills from DVD

how and where people are comfortable being pictured. There will always be exceptions; however, the modernday versions of these narratives are treated more like Internet meme than documentary. Clark and Yoshiyuki treated each subculture and its participants with genuine respect. They worked to give a voice to the people they photographed, as if purely to understand their motivations

for watching someone else be pleasured or aim a gun. In a way, these two exhibits seem to be asking what we have really learned from the in-depth study of celebrity we pay so much for – when there are, and always have been, far more interesting people in our parks and basements.

grey suede c h a d m u s k a s i g n atur e m odel

suprafootwear.com

TOM REMILLARD

SERGEANT

vol. 9 no. 5

JOSH STEWART intro and photoby alexis gross

B

etter known for producing the Static videos, Joshua Stewart (now behind Theories of Atlantis), has been around the block and back.

He grew up in Tampa, Florida where some seriously legendary shit has gone down and rewarded Josh with some of the best skate footage.

This helped direct the saga of Static into its “best ever made” status.

Recently, Josh hit the world with Welcome to MIA further building upon his ‘running shit’ resume, but still he remains humble. I met with the filmer outside the New York Muffin where we talked for nearly two hours about things on and off this Next/Best list I compiled. What I learned is that after 34 years of his life, I think Josh could die tomorrow and be satisfied. But if I told him that, he would probably just laugh at me and cover his face in shame like he did during half of the questions I originally asked him.

Someone get this guy a joint... he just might try it and like it. theoriesofatlantis.com

VIDEO MAKER

— Steve Brandi / Pat Stiener

FILMER

SKATE scene

— Ryan Garshell / Yoan Taillandier

PRO

— Brian Delatorre / Dennis Busenitz

AM

— New York City 2012 / Philly 1996

SKATE VIDEO

— ‘Static IV’ duh! / ‘Eastern Exposure III’

STYLES

— Yonnie Cruz / Mark Wetzel

— Kevin Tierney / Quim Cardona

LEGEND

CAMERA

— Danny Renaud / Ricky Oyola

— Sony VX-1000 / Sony VX-1000

SKATE SONG

VIDEO PART

— C’mon now, I can’t tell you that. / ‘Weakness’ by McRad in the ‘Public Domain’ video

SKATE SPOT

— Get outta here, this ain’t “Show and Tell”. / Flat ground at 6th Avenue and Houston [in N.Y.C].

TRAVEL DESTINATION

— Jahmal Williams ‘Static IV’ / Mike Daher ‘A Visual Sound’

THEORY

— Puleo’s theory that I’m an Illuminati double agent. / Theories of Atlantis

BOOK

— Machu Picchu / The psychedelic experimentation in the Amazon Jungle.

— ‘The Yoga of Time Travel’ Fred Alan Wolf / ‘Fingerprints of the Gods’ Graham Hancock

INSPIRATION

INDEPENDENT SKATE VIDEOS of 2011

— New York City / Stereo Skateboards ‘A Visual Sound’ video

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FLORIDIAN

— Peter Sidlauskus / Dan Magee

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— Jeremy Elkin’s ‘Poisonous Products’ / Pontus Alv’s ‘In Search of The Miraculous’

vol. 9 no. 5

wordsby mark richardson

photoby michelle ford

C

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alifornia native Cameron Stallones (pronounced stah-lins) has been prodigiously releasing his head-y brand of psychedelia as Sun Araw for a little over three years now. Getting his start with the now-defunct heavy psych-rock band Magic Lantern, Stallones first went solo as Sun Araw in 2008 and has since released five full length albums, several 12-inch EPs, as well as a handful of cassettes and 7-inches, with most of those remaining out of print and fetching serious cash on the collectors market.

Cali psych-stompers Eternal Tapestry, announced another collaborative effort with fellow psychedelic troubadours Prince Rama to be released later this year, and will soon be working with his wife to create a film closely associated with Ancient Romans.

Ancient Romans, Sun Araw’s newest release and second double LP, is so far, the grand achievement and defining statement of his brief career. Influences heard on the record can be traced back to the sweaty fusion-funk of Miles Davis, 70s dub, kraut rock, Fela Kuti-inspired riddims, and a touch of 80s sci-fi soundtrack work.

Still, up front and center is Stallones, now trademark wah-heavy guitar work, though Ancient Romans is accentuated with

Needless to say, the medium of film has been an inspiration for Stallones and his work thus far within Sun Araw. Working by day in L.A.’s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Stallones is no stranger to the effect a score can have on a film.

Listening to his music one can’t help but conjure up vignettes of floating down jungle rivers while blinking through sun-dappled tree-tops, or perhaps wading through the wastelands of a smouldering post-

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fluttery synths, tick-tocking drum machines, watery vocals, plus a myriad of woozy effects, coagulating together to create a swirl of sunburnt psychedelia that can be as foreboding as it is transcendental.

To say Stallones is a busy man right now is certainly an understatement. Along with releasing Ancient Romans, he’s been busy running his record label Sun Ark, has recently issued a collaborative record with

apocalyptic cityscape. It’s these fabricated visions when listening to Sun Araw that make his music psychedelic in the truest sense; a hallucinogenic experience that transports the listener to another space.

Cameron Stallones was able to take time between returning from an east coast tour and planning for a west coast one, to answer a few questions for Color.

Color: You’re records have slowly evolved since your debut release, which was a much darker and drone-orientated tone than where you’re at now. What zone are you in with Ancient Romans?

Cameron: White marble amplifiers. Lots of clavinet, which is maybe the most marbled instrument. There’s a pretty wide range of

tones. The whole record is an extended journey inward to a particular moment of suspension, and then folded and pushed outwards to celebration. Overall I would say it’s a lot cleaner; there’s a lot less reverb and delay for one. It’s recorded ever so slightly better than anything previous, though I’m still using a fairly busted recording rig. Peter Kember (Spacemen 3, Spectrum) mastered the record, which was a total honour. At first it was super convex, but he helped me realize it needed to be slightly concave.

I’ve read in past interviews that many of your recordings are improvised.

Is that improvisation still important to you? It seems on more recent releases, particularly the last 7-inch on Not Not Fun, that maybe you’re more comfortable moving a bit away from that.

All the recordings are still improvised at their core. Everything is generated from that space; I’ve rigged up some recording methods that allow me to improvise but I have more mixing options than I used to, which is maybe why it sounds different. But yeah, it’s still the core of what I do. Sometimes something will go wrong on a technical level with the original recording and I’ll attempt to recreate the jam, but it never works. The alchemical moment, when something transcends its own substance, can’t be recaptured in any way I can figure out. So I’m frequently left with a headache of trying every which way to fix some flubbed recording.

I hear a bit more urgency in your records of late. Where Heavy Deeds and Beach Head were glistening a bit more in the sun, it seems that, particularly with On Patrol and Ancient Romans, the work has become more foreboding, possibly a warning in the music and art that we may not be traversing the right path.

Even the title Ancient Romans seems to refer to the path that your country (and the rest of the planet, for that matter) may be headed down. What is your general outlook on where humanity is and what role does that play in the direction of the music?

Enormous questions. I think my education created in me some level of skepticism at the idea of human evolution and change, that the big aspects of the human condition are relatively constant. There’s a lot of truth in that, but at the same time the evolution of the species seems to a lot of people to be approaching some sort of fundamental alchemical moment, in which that which

was one thing will be transformed into another entirely by the fusion of some higher matter. Every generation thinks it’s the center of some grand transformation, but of course the trick is that every generation is right: revolutions and apocalypses are one of the basic operating principles of the universe, and the perceiver is always at the center of the cosmos

emanates from truthful spaces can survive whatever nostalgia or hero-worship you want to throw at it, but it doesn’t need it to survive, it’s a garment.

You’ve played many of your past shows solo but now seem to be playing with a full band. What is the live setup like right now?

“Music that emanates from truthful spaces can survive whatever nostalgia or hero-worship you want to throw at it, but it doesn’t need it to survive, it’s a garment.”

even while remaining an infinitesimal speck. But maybe what’s slightly different about what’s happening now is that the effects aren’t primarily cultural, they seem more physiological. New modes of consciousness that hit everyone where they live, not just those that choose to move with some cultural group. I’m pretty hopeful about it all, actually, because it’s easy to say good riddance to what it is eroding. On Patrol was very much about how to navigate in dark times, Ancient Romans is more of a coronation of that paradox of unchanging procession. It’s pretty joyful, even while acknowledging that it’s always necessary to get fit for Caesar on some level. Terence Mckenna said it really well: your outlook on the end of history all depends on where you placed your bets.

Basic observation is good at revealing that which lasts, and that which passes away.

Sun Araw seems to be the perfect vehicle for these post-modern times.

One can hear influences ranging from 60s free jazz and psych rock to 70s dub and African music to 80s sci-fi soundtracks. A few writers have proposed that we may soon run out of past to mine. What are your thoughts on that and the future of music?

I think for those who are mostly interested in aesthetic revivalism, that’s a very real threat. It’s pretty interesting how those sorts of movements follow strict chronological timelines, seems like we’re into the 90s now. I don’t mean to be critical, I’m obviously interested in letting influence flags fly in tribute to heroes, but I think the music that tickles my fancy is generated from a more profound place. Music that

The newest configuration is The Sun Araw Band, which is myself and two of the most cosmic shredders I’ve ever encountered.

Barret Avner (Nightling, Sadistic Candle) on the shahi baaja, and Alex Gray (Deep Magic, Dreamcolour) on guitar and MPC. We’ve created a really effective setup that allows us to keep everything live and gives us a lot of room to voyage using and mixing loops, inside and outside the songs.

You’ve been running your own label, Sun Ark, for a little while now. Can you tell us a bit about the modus operandi of the label?

It started just as a means for me to reissue my own catalogue, but once it was rolling, the avenues just kept opening, as they do. The first batch of tapes were sideprojects, and now the second batch is on its way, including the first Sun Ark releases untouched by anyone involved with Sun Araw. The first 12” singles from Duppy Gun Productions are coming soon, which are dancehall tracks that my friend Ged and I made with various artists in Jamaica.

It’s well known that you’re involved in film, plus it’s hard to deny the cinematic quality in Sun Araw recordings. Are there any full scale plans to score a film or perhaps to visualize an entire Sun Araw record?

I’m actually in the midst of collaborating with my wife (painter Erica Ryan Stallones) on a film that will be related to Ancient Romans. It’s a true cinematic endeavour.

We have big dreams for it, but we are still trying to find the means, which are always a little closer than you think. We’ll see! Hope to start shooting in a month or two.

Can you tell us a bit more regarding the concept behind the Ancient Romans film accompaniment?

This is all still really up in the air, funding is pending, time is fleeting, and the world is about to change in some major ways. Right now we’re sort of in a holding pattern on this, but its still about three-quarters of the way on the table.

Your music has always had a very cinematic quality to it. Being a big film buff yourself, are there any particular cinematographers or filmmakers that you draw upon for your music?

Tarkovsky, Tarkovsky, Tarkovsky, Bela Tarr, Peter Greenaway, Jacques Rivette, JeanPierre Melville, Tarkovsky, Ross Mcelwee, Chris Marker, and Tarkovsky Can you tell me a bit about your day job at the Academy Film Archive? How did you manage to get the job? Why did you leave it? What exact function does the Academy have for film?

I studied art and film in college and towards the end of my education got really interested in the idea of working in preservation and restoration. I ended up at the Academy after a few run-ins with them, attempting to get a few different jobs there and finally landed one. The Academy Film Archive is an incredible place that people should know more about. It’s a non-profit branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I think it would surprise a lot of people to discover that it has done incredible work in the preservation and restoration of experimental and avant-garde film. For years the AFA has been preserving the Satyajit Ray filmography and countless other film treasures one wouldn’t normally associate with Hollywood. They’ve also helped put together many Criterion DVD re-issues.

Do you have anything to do with the Horse Steppin’ or Dimension Alley videos on YouTube?

The Dimension Alley video is work I commissioned from Stephanie Davidso, a totally exceptional web/video artist. The Horse Steppin’ video is sort of a funny thing. It’s probably the first thing that comes up when you search Sun Araw, but I had nothing to do with it. I think a guy made it as part of a college class or something like that. It’s cool, and I’m super flattered when anyone makes anything using my music, but yeah it’s not really my aesthetic.

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vol. 9 no. 5

wordsby joel martell

I

wish I could tell you that this was an Ethan Kilgour interview, but it’s not…

What this is however is a series of conversations I had with Ethan that he may or may not have known I was recording. Sneaky I know, but necessary. Because you see, Ethan doesn’t like being interviewed. He doesn’t really like any type of formality for that matter. What Ethan does like, is fun.

Anyone who has had the pleasure of knowing him knows exactly what I’m talking about. From his doodling addiction and lifetime love affair with candy, to his amazing skate style and trick selection, Ethan comes off as a guy who’s always having the time of his life. Just look at any one of Ethan’s drawings, they’re not hard to find. Just roll up to any skate spot Ethan has recently destroyed and there will be a trail of paper riddled with doodles of farts, poop, boners, and anything else that he pulls out of his head. I have yet to see an Ethan doodle that doesn’t make me laugh out loud.

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Ethan Kilgour has 7 unfilled cavities thatwould put Willy Wonka to shame. Frontside crooked grind. fidlinphoto.

(opposite) I sometimes ponder why Ethan’s sugar habit is so out of hand. It may be his constant need for energy to be able to destroy spots all day long, or it could be that he was brought up with a diet that consisted of a dozen cookies per day. Wallride. hlavacekphoto.

I’ve actually heard Ethan say on several occasions that he will only skate something if he’s having fun. This can be slightly problematic for a sponsored skateboarder with deadlines, injuries, and expectations to deal with. But Ethan has managed to rely on his natural ability to casually destroy spots to avoid all of those pressures, and have a total blast along the way.

Color: Alright man we really gotta do this interview thing.

Ethan: Fuck man, really? What do you want to talk about? Are you recording this right now?

Ya dude I got my interview voice on, can’t you tell?

Ya I can. Does this mean I have to start acting cooler than I actually am so the kids dig it?

More or less.

Ok. I’ll try. I got my cool smooth voice ready.

Tight. So why are we in a Sikh temple right now?

Because every weekday they give out free curry meals.

What kind of food are we eating?

Uh, I dunno, slop. There’s some curry, some rice, it’s like, sections of different goop. Red goo, green goo, some chunks, possibly some cheese, I don’t even know. I’d say it’s kinda like pizza puke. The Sikh god eats all the good food: pizza, chicken wings, all that good stuff. Chews it up, digests it, then pukes it all up into these buckets. Then we come in, like animals, and just eat it.

Wow. I wouldn’t exactly describe it that way, but whatever, it’s your interview man. So you’re pretty good at obtaining food for a pretty low cost right?

I guess so. Man, we played Monopoly today. I traded three green things, my buildings, for a beer. And traded a railroad for a handful of almonds. And I think I might still win Monopoly!

Case in point.

Sure.

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gettingsweet.

So you’re not Sikh?

I’m Sikhing free food right now.

Ha Nice. But isn’t that something a homeless person would do?

Nah man, it’s just a bunch of hipsters here.

Besides, I am homeless.

Yeah you lived in your minivan in Ontario for a while didn’t you? Did you spend a lot of nights in that thing?

Yeah man, a good couple. My mom left me that van when she sold our house. It was super rad, she just gave me this minivan so she knew I would always have a place to live… thanks mom!

She hooked it up!

Ya she did. I almost fucked the whole thing up though. My mom convinced me to go to the beach one day, she loves the beach.

I hate it. But anyway, I was going home and I was super tired. And on the way back, I tried to change lanes but there was this stupid parked car in front of the bingo hall.

I wasn’t looking I guess and I ran right into the back of it. This lady walked out of the

van just freaking out. She was all like “What the fuck! What are you doing!” Like, they call it an accident for a reason, sheesh.

Anyway, I looked down at her stomach, and she was full blown pregnant. I felt pretty guilty.

Woah. Who’s fault was it in the end?

It was totally mine! I definitely blew it.

It fucked up my insurance pretty bad.

But you still have the van right?

I did, but I don’t have it anymore. I had everything I needed to survive in that thing.

My bed, my bike, my hatchet... candy.

What’s up with your sugar obsession?

Why are you constantly eating candy?

I don’t know man it’s just amazing. It tastes so god damn good. Dude, I just realized, we never got to make my food invention that I thought of.

Which one?

French toast waffles! You gotta make French toast batter, and make waffles, and then make French toast with the waffles.

I’ll make them when you’re gone to Cali.

Mail me one?

Of course.

I just wanna get some cookies from the Voortman cookie factory. But they don’t have one in Vancouver.

I think you have a cookie fetish.

I think it’s my dad’s fault. When I was in primary school, he used to get up every morning super early and bake fresh cookies. Every morning. I’d have 6 cookies and a glass of milk. Every fucking morning. Than I’d have 6 cookies for lunch, and then he’d have fresh baked cookies when we got home. Those were the days.

Was your dad a baker?

Nah he’s just the fuckin man! He’s the raddest dude ever. Both my mom and dad are the best!

Doesn’t he drive a motorcycle too?

He used to, but he’s got a big old fuckin’ beard.

Are your parents hippies?

Yeah, I’d say so.

When I was in Ontario all you wanted to do was get cookies.

Oh ya, you were in Ontario filming and stuff, and I was giving you the grand tour of the area. We tried to go to the Voortman factory to get cookies and it was closed… We could just go to Save-On-Foods right now and get some cookie?

It’s not the same.

I know, but it’s close. So much more expensive though. Dude I bought 4 cookies there, ate 2 of them in line, and it was 75 cents for two cookies. 2 fucking cookies for 75 cents! That’s bullshit! At the Voortman factory you can get at least 12 cookies for 50 cents. Crazy. And they have the maple creams! Fuck!

Is that your favorite cookie?

Dude, obviously, the best. All this talk about candy is making me hungry. Do you wanna go get some candy?

I’d be down for some candy.

Let’s go to 7-Eleven right now.

We gotta finish this interview first!

Have you been recording this whole thing?

Yea, for the last few minutes.

See, that’s how you should be doing this.

Just randomly recording.

Don’t you remember what happened last time I did that?

Ya I told you to fuck off and hung up the phone. But I didn’t really mean it. You can use all that stuff if you want to.

Ok good. We got some gold that time.

Ya we probably did. I’m much less nervous and awkward when there’s no pressure.

Let’s talk about your doodles. They’re so sick.

Thanks dude. They’re not really.

They’re pretty shitty when you think about it.

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Crooked grind, up, over, and downhill straight to the candy store. comberphoto.

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There’s something inside Ethan’s body that when combined with sugar, enables him to put a licking to any spot he lays his eyes on.

Backside tailslide.

Don’t be so hard on yourself. Why do you like drawing so much?

I dunno, it’s just so sick because you can draw anything. There’s like, no rules, you can make anything, like the dicktapus.

(opposite) The sugar overload may also explain the inspiration for his artwork.

Ethan’s sugar-induced drawings often get comments such as “how high was this guy when he drew this?”

The answer is very. But not on the substance you may be thinking of.

Frontside boardslide 270.

You mean the cocktapus?

Haha. Yeah.

fidlinphoto.

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I’m setting you up for this question, but have you ever encountered a situation where you draw something of someone and that actual person approached you all of a sudden?

Ha! Yeah that was the fucking funniest.

Do I have to explain it now?

Yes. That’s so weird, cause you were there the whole time. It was me, Drew [Merriman], you, and Tyler [Warren], and we were skating a spot right by the Color office, and me and Drew were playing that game where you fold a piece of paper in half and one person draws the top half of someone and the other person draws the bottom half

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without seeing the top. So, Drew did the top and drew Deer Man [of dark woods]. And I drew some other fucked up monster thing.

So we were looking at it and laughing about it. So this dude walked up, I didn’t know who it was. And I was holding the drawing and laughing about it, turns out that guy is Deer Man. Did he see the drawing?

Oh for sure dude. How was I supposed to know it was him? He looks so different without his face toque on! And there were no barriers in sight for him to slay.

Besides eating food for free whenever you possibly can, what else have you been getting up to in Vancouver?

Oh you know, seeing the sights. Eating free food. I must say in Vancouver I’ve found my love for Alanis Morissette.

Oh really, what’s your favorite Jam? The whole CD is so good. Jagged Little Pill. So good. If I was trapped on a desert island, and I had one album to listen to for

the rest of my life, it would be Alanis Morissette… or Three 6 Mafia.

Why? Alanis is rad, she sings about going down on dudes and shit.

Did you know all her songs are from her personal experience?

Yeah, I can tell she means what she says.

Just like Three 6.

Alright man, that should do it. That wasn’t so hard was it?

I don’t know, I can’t even remember what I said. Just edit it later to make sure I sound cool.

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and filming Ethan for about 4 months now, and in that time I’ve come to realize that his outlook on life has taught me a lot.

When the pressures of life and becoming a responsible adult start to transform my attitude into something more serious, it’s nice to have Ethan around to remind me that if I’m not having fun, it’s just not worth it. Ride this sugar high as long as you can!

Head to colormagazine.ca and check out Ethan’s exclusive video part for Color.

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TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN

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1300 Factory Place Suite 208 // Los Angeles 90013 // CA Wick Winder Dist. 604 276 9425 WWW.THECOMUNE.COM WWW.THE-CHANGE.TUMBLR.COM INFO@THECOMUNE.COM

vol. 9 no. 5

PHOTOGRAPHY GENE DOE Stylist GENE DOE

hair and Make-up NEGAR HOOSHMAND Models JOSH GOODMAN and SAMANTHA at LIZBELL

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Open to girl right fore ground, ALTAMONT tee shirt and stylist own necklace.

Pan to boy left back round, FRESHJIVE cardigan, MATIX button up, COMUNE pants and VANS shoes.

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Girl middle screen, COMUNE sweater Cut to boy back detail, lower pov, VOLCOM toque and MATIX jacket.

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Girl screen center, the camera focuses on her, INSIGHT crewneck with ALTAMONT button up, MATIX jeans and CONVERSE shoes.

Reveal of environment following back detail of boy in FRESHJIVE top and VOLCOM tuque.

Watch this short film

by Gene Doe made exclusively for this story.

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vol. 9 no. 5

[ o ] NICHOLAS

—

Tommy Wiseau

words and photosby jessica rivers

S

ince the release of The Room in 2003, eccentric director Tommy Wiseau and his film have reached cult status, due partially to the movie’s strange dialogue and unresolved subplots (which has since earned a consideration for ‘worst movie of all-time’) and partially to the fact that Wiseau himself is as bizarre and anomalous as his so-called masterpiece. From his curious accent to his standoff-ish behavior towards criticism of the widely laughed-at film, Tommy Wiseau was definitely someone we had to meet when he came through Vancouver.

We contacted Mr. Wiseau’s publicist and gained access to the man of mystery to give him the gears, as we do, just in case he hadn’t already got it enough from border patrol on his way into our country. While Tommy may not have been fully aware of this regular column in the mag, he knew very well that we were all savvy to the fact that he was in town to screen The Room and teach an acting master class as part of Olio Festival. Curious then, that he would answer “a visit” when our intern Jessica asked him the purpose of his trip. Even more so that he continued on as any unsuspecting tourist might, adding that the only items he’ll be taking back to Los Angeles with him would be Vancouver souvenirs, including a magnet for his collection. No stranger to the road, Wiseau enjoys traveling and staying in hotels, adding that he’d visited both Canada and Acapulco, Mexico recently. When Jessica asked him to reveal where he was staying (the very place we conducted our midnight interview), behind dark sunglasses he reluctantly replied, “I’ll not be dropping the name because you told me so!”

We’re still struggling to figure out what he meant by this. When Jessica continued to grill the peculiar film director he countered with, “You are so strict. Are you FBI or what?” Then he commented that we had “a groovy country,” but apparently not groovy enough to affect how obviously uncomfortable our questions made him—or how unquestionably perfect the whole thing was. Here’s a glimpse into what went down.

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“I have nothing to leave except my heart, my broken heart.”

Color: What is your citizenship?

Tommy: Mine? American. I’m from Los Angeles.

thing, like I think we don’t have this in the States to be honest with you.

How much money did you bring with you?

I use plastic! [laughs]. Typical American way, we don’t like to carry cash.

What did you bring with you on your trip?

Well, that’s a personal question but since you are a very nice person I will respond. Well, as you know, I wear a jacket, blazer. I like my own clothes. I am a very picky guy. Boots, et cetera, et cetera.

Do you plan on leaving anything in the country?

Well, I have nothing to leave except my heart, my broken heart.

Why do you say that?

Well because you know, I had a really groovy experience in Canada… the culture is such a unique

I like Nike shoes, whatever.

Because words just aren’t enough to capture the extent of the strangeness that is Tommy Wiseau, watch the full interview online at ColorMagazine.ca

vol. 9 no. 5

wordsby shawn lennon

W

hile other sports are taking advantage of every advancement known to the tech world, the landscape of skateboard cinema has remained affluent and selfreliant, free from the world of big production. Of course there are exceptions, like the Ty Evans 3D skate project Unbeleafable, but most take form in a public environment, open to interruptions and distractions that interfere with a video’s progress. The following companies and teams have been working tirelessly to bring you their representation of skateboarding.

[ o ] GROSS

As deadlines are pushed, tricks are added, and they fight the uphill battle of capturing the best of the best, there’s a general consensus that filming for videos never really starts or stops—it’s simply an ongoing process that has long-since been fused with professional skateboarding. Though filming for skate videos is out of the confines of the competition arenas, it’s the trials and tribulations of everyday life that truly are the biggest hurdle.

Guy Mariano chills amongst the tools that make a Ty Evans production a cut above the rest o’meallyphoto.

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Above and below, ShakeJunt at its finest..

SOON IT’S ON The Shake Junt video has been three years in the making—understandable since the team consists of nearly 50 skaters. Following suit with sister companies Baker and Deathwish, Shake Junt is known for hijinx and excessive indulgence. While such antics are often the cause of pushed deadlines and incomplete parts, these guys just keep the cameras rolling and add it all to the reel. Chicken Bone Nowison, a phrase Shane Heyl defines as “our way of gettin’ it in” is long over due as he explains, “a lot of these guys have footage, but weren’t working on a video.” Beagle, Reynolds, Herman, Dollin, Lenoce, Doughnut, Neen, Sinner, and Braydon are just some of players in this production, though the whole crew play key roles. Heyl’s wearing a lot of hats for this production and speaking of stress levels says, “I want this video to happen more than life. Amongst managing the brand, filming, and editing I have my moments in the streets fo’ sho.” As for the Deathwish video, not much is known other than what can be gathered from a few mini-trailers featuring Slash and Ellington. However, one can easily reference Epicly Later’d or the Baker videos to witness the challenges involved with filming characters such as these.

Bryan Herman Switch frontside kickflip

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[ o ] NICHOLAS

Zach Barton behind the lens of the upcoming Demon feature.

[ o ] NICHOLAS

JS Lapierre Impossible 50-50 myettephoto.

(opposite) Geoff Strelow Backside 50-50 nicholasphoto.

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CUSTY DEMONS The Street Demons Video is being made by a like-minded group of “custies” (with the exception of Josh Green, who turned Christian), mostly in Alberta. Their deadline is loose (sometime before the apocalypse of 2012), and when asked to clarify a start time, those involved only offered a laughable and inconclusive timeline. “I’m always trying to film as much as possible but it’s hard for me in Calgary,” explains Geoff Strelow. “I find it easiest to film when I’m outside of Calgary and have nothing to do but focus on skating, no work or anything.” For real life to take a back seat to a project that is rich in appreciation but light in monetary rewards, is understandably difficult.

Hurdles of real jobs, lack of sunshine and no one being in the same place at the same time, are commonplace for videos produced across the vast plains of Canada.

It’s described that most of their hindrances lie in the form of excessive drinking and general “custiness” as explained by mastermind and head filmer, Zach Barton.

Jetski Gillies takes some time off before his next move.

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Abdias Rivera Frontside crooked grind

smithphoto.

[ o ] NICHOLAS

Second angles always count; a little innovation goes a long way.

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WHY THE FACE Foundation has a long history of making skate videos. In 1990, one year after Todd Swank founded Tum Yeto, Foundation’s inaugural release, Glam Boys On Wheels, featured rough edits, childish antics, no music and oddly, a lot of landscape stills.

Nowadays it seems a lot more care and tact goes into their work with the help of Kevin Barnett, though the same tenor endures. The upcoming video is called WTF? and the deadline for release came and went in early October for reasons far beyond a lack of effort. “We work on the video everyday, so it’s 24/7 365 days a year,” explains Team Manager, Mike Sinclair. “If we are not working, or filming, we are thinking about it and what we want or need to do. It’s our life wrapped up in a short skateboard video.”

Mike explains that ensuring each member has the best part possible is their number one priority and what takes the most time, even above injuries, team changes, lack of footage, bad filming, lost footage and new riders with no footage. Sinclair also hints at how Nick Merlino’s affinity for betting on tricks will also be exploited. “Merlino will do anything for a little cash, he’s a gambling man and usually comes through.”

Paul Liliani Switch nosegrind fakie kickflip

[ o ] MCGUIGAN

comberphoto.

SEEING GREEN The yet-to-be-named Green Apple video will be monumental because it has been so long since we’ve seen a video from Winnipeg’s Ryan McGuigan and Mike McDermott and in that time, the Green Apple team has become vast and brimming with new talent. McGuigan’s been filming skateboarding since 1996, using a digi8 bought for him by his dad. Since then he has destroyed six cameras and produced Street Magic (2000), Modern Love (2005) and Supper’s Ready (2007). Ryan admits that he doesn’t work well with deadlines, hence the lack of one, and that weed is his primary cause of lost motivation. In his years behind the camera, he’s had numerous mishaps and relates one incident involving expired food in Los Angeles. “On a road trip to L.A. with Trav [Stenger], I got food poisoning on the way. The Venice beach line in his Modern Love part, I was puking in between tries. I probably shit my pants too.” The video will feature the entire Green Apple team along with new addition, Russ Milligan.

Russ Milligan & Paul Lilliani, in between moves at 3rd and Army. .stumblingblocks

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(from l-r)) Lee Yankou Fence frontside wallride

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Russ Milligan Switch backside 180 kickflip

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THOUGHT PROCESS Speaking of Russ, Think’s latest video should debut this winter and features this exrider of the now defunct City Skateboards. Fresh off the heels of his part in last year’s Elephant Direct, Russ joins fellow Canadian, Lee Yankou, who describes filming as, “the most bizarre/awesome/frustrating thing. Some days you are on it and some days you feel like throwing your board through a car window.” Russ and Lee will share the spotlight with Cody McEntire, Josh Matthews, Danny Fuenzalida, Dave Bachinsky and Adrian Williams, with Justin Carlson editing, filming, driving and babysitting. Tensions can run high for skaters and those behind the lens alike, as Russ explained by telling me about the time he upset Dan Zaslavsky to the point that he attempted to focus his camera on the ground.

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Brett Stobbart Backside 180 nicholasphoto.

NARROW-MINDED Brett Stobbart, Bradley Sheppard, Colin Nogue, Graham Nicholas, and Quinn Starr embarked on a project called The Straight and Narrow in July of 2010. Their deadline of late summer 2011 has passed and a revised ETA has yet to be disclosed. Stobbart speaks for himself but believes work, beer, homework, family, soccer, injuries, girlfriends and rain are to blame for an entire season being sandwiched between the original date of release and the expected one. He also explains that not all talents are transferrable. “Once I let Quinn try to film me. He tried to save my board from rolling down a hill, tripped on it and I caught him as he was falling over. He told me after that the only other time he tried to film someone he ran into a pole and broke a camera.”

While Quinn has yet to destroy any of the cameras for The Straight and Narrow, common problems still rely in the general public. “Once a lady in her nightgown with a little dog said she was going to get the Hells Angels to beat us up. When we didn’t leave she started bringing out buckets of dirt and pouring dirt on the spot,” said Brett.

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MELTING POINT The upcoming Chocolate video is nearly four years in the making and has a team that requires no introduction, except maybe new ams Raven Tershy, Stevie Perez and Elijah Berle. The new blood will all have full parts (some of which are apparently already done as they await the veterans to get it together), as will most of the Girl team. The video aims at being released by the end of the year, though Ty Evans and Spike Jonze have been known to take on creative endeavors at the last minute. The video was originally intended to be just the Chocolate team but as footage from the Girl team piles up, it’s taking shape as a Chocolate/Girl super-video—a conglomerate of talent that will set the bar for years to come.

An entire encyclopedia could be devoted to all the great videos that have been released over the years, and with all the glory that filmers, editors and skaters revel in, there are likely 10x the mishaps to endure. Disaster can even strike, as it did for Geoff Dermer during the making of Bric-A-Brac having his filmer/editor grow tired of the project and hand over to Kitsch’s devices. As Jai Ball of Studio Skateboards toils to finish Mood Lighting, he describes that, “the whole process is basically about avoiding disaster.

Once you start making a video all hell breaks loose; people get hurt, go through slumps, technology fails, but you just roll with the punches and hope for the best.”

We’re now lucky enough to live in a time where we get a daily dose of sick skating from hundreds of sources online, and at the same time enjoy the anticipation of videos years in the making. The demand for new footage continues to rise and so too does the amount of skate park footage, elevating the value of a proper feature video. While other sport’s answer to progression is to throw money at it, skateboarding pays with labour, time and creativity in an environment that offers no control, intolerance and ample distractions. All that aside, in the words of Leonardo da Vinci, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.”

(below) Chico Brenes

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Raven Tershy Noseblunt

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vol. 9 no. 5

—

Jody Rogac

“Beauty and fantastic light can be found anywhere!”

words and photoby gordon nicholas

A

s her website will tell you, Jody is a native of England, immigrant to Canada, and now a resident of Brooklyn, New York. Despite being mostly studiobased, Jody’s photographs convey a strong sense of nature and portrayal of subject with an approachable, soft mannerism, and are almost as recognizable as her round-rimmed red glasses and dip-dyed hair braid.

A phenomenal photographer with an ever-growing talent and integrity, Jody sees what others don’t and never fails to miss a moment. Her talents seem completely effortless Jody came from a humble life, growing up with her parents outside of Abbotsford, B.C. before settling in Vancouver to pursue photography. Realizing her ambition was not matched by her surroundings, she decided to move to New York City in the summer of 2009. Since living abroad has been so good to Jody her future plans now include living in Paris. But a part of her still misses the comforts of Canada, including her dog Jonathon that she had to leave behind in pursuit of her aspirations.

“Shooting in Vancouver was amazing for personal work, [but] there just weren’t enough clients based there for me to make photography an actual paying profession,” said Jody.

With a seemingly Canadian influence, much of her work portrays people in a delicate, down-to-earth light—something she has managed to stay true to despite the edgy, raw setting of N.Y.C. “It’s a very different landscape,” she says of New York, “but beauty and fantastic light can be found anywhere!”

Be sure to visit jodyrogac.com to see more of her work.

Check out this video from a fashion shoot Jody shot for us in Color 7.5

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(above) Rogac [pictured here wrapped in her own backdrop] has no plans of letting the Big Apple spoil her hometown charm. One look around her studio reveals canvas muslins, scattered apple-boxes, and backdrops as fine as her photographic style.

TM

Introducing the FTC 25th Anniversary Yalta Rolltop Backpack Custom Engraved Closure and 3M™ Reflective FTC Logo distributed by Ultimate

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vol. 9 no. 5

W

e open with one of those shots from a science fiction movie that zooms in from outer space and the camera shoots into Earth’s atmosphere, through the clouds and into the view of land masses on the planet. Zooming in closer, the shapes on the ground begin to take form and we soon realize that we’re on the continent of North America—now the northeastern United States. We see a major city and as the camera finally begins to slow down, we can make out the ever-so-unmistakable skyline of New York City. The camera comes to a stop and we come face-to-face with a curly-haired, bespectacled kid in a pair of average-white-guy shorts, knee high socks with “USA” poorly embroidered across the top as he walks to a table in a tiny restaurant and delivers a couple plates of food.

We’ve just been introduced to part-time bus boy and full-time independent skate filmer, Jeremy Elkin.

wordsby josh stewart

Dave Willis, frontside nose bluntslide.

photosby gordon nicholas

After making a name for himself promoting underground skateboarding in his hometown of Montreal, Jeremy uprooted a little over a year ago and relocated to the quaint little town of New York City. Having only spoken to the kid on the world wide web a couple of times, I can say that I barely knew him at all before he ended up moving down the street from my house in Brooklyn. I think I originally met up with Jeremy to buy some copies of Elephant Direct just after it was released. As happens frequently for me when I meet another young filmer, I started to imagine how many hundreds of thousands of other kids there are out there trying to do the same thing as Jeremy. How many millions of VX-1000’s and hundreds of millions of DV tapes have been employed in the pursuit of capturing that feeling we have all experienced when we see a well-made skate video?

It seems nearly impossible these days to make a name for yourself and for your work to somehow float to the top of the other 100 million YouTube videos and jewel-cased DVDs out in the world. It’s a labour of love that offers very few rewards beyond the enjoyment of the process and the satisfaction of completing your own project.

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So upon meeting Jeremy and knowing that he has fought the fight of independent video-making twice over, I have to say I was impressed to discover that he had already started working on a new video immediately after the premiere of Elephant Direct. But, now being a resident of New York City, Jeremy was switching focus from underground Canadian skateboarding to the lesser-known talents of the five boroughs of N.Y.C. itself.

After living here for the past six years, I didn’t have the heart to tell the kid that this is by far the hardest city in the world to film in. His enthusiasm was inspiring and his drive was humbling. So I wished him luck and chuckled a little to myself at the thought of the punishment the poor filmer was in for. But here we are, just a year later and I’m watching the very video I doubted, jealous of all of the spots and New York skaters he managed to dig up for his ambitious project.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing it yet, Poisonous Products is a bit of a concept video that is an understandably difficult task once you hear the premise: all New York City spots, all lines and pretty much all underground skateboarders.

In limiting all his footage to only New York City and only lines, Jeremy made his new video project a much more difficult monster to tackle. But what has resulted is a pretty amazing glimpse into the world of street skating bringing the camera back into the actual streets—something that has been missing for a long, long time. With the advent of the combo-craze and,

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Doogie (Sylvester Eduardo) - is a 17 year-old kid who lives on the Hudson River at the George Washington Bridge. He and Jordan both ride for Steve Rodriguez and are part of the new generation of kids who won’t get noticed by the industry ‘til they get an energy drink sponsor and start break dancing on a indoor metal ledge. Frontside 360. (here) Jordan Trahan charges at a line of his own.

Ollie up a curb, scare tourists, pass by the residents yelling out their windows, swerve around drunken foreigners, ride in between skate stoppers on the diamond plate ramp and then finally reach the concrete on top of the loading dock. Now you can try your trick. Curtis Rapp, kickflip in Soho.

on the other side of the coin, the global, unique-spot safari that “east coast” style skaters have been on for years now, there has been a little too much focus on “spots”. As a result we have lost the improvisational spirit that was once prevalent in the days of old as demonstrated best in Mark Gonzales’ Video Days part. Poisonous Products helps to bring a little bit of that improvisational spirit back to the screen.

New York City has seen an explosion of attention over the past five years and it seems that the once forgotten city has a new skate team in town every day filming their next video.

But missing has been projects produced by and/or focusing on local talent. It is one thing to travel to this city, with hotel and expenses paid for and a tour guide driving you around to all of the spots, but it’s another thing to actually live in one of the most expensive cities in the world and be able to balance

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work with skating and surviving through the harsh winters. But 2011 has become a sort of race to the finish for several local N.Y. video-makers with 5boro, JP Blair, Static, KCDC, Joe Bressler and Elkin all rushing to wrap up their own N.Y.-based videos and be the first to introduce the city’s newest spots which will undoubtedly be featured and destroyed by all six projects alike. Knowing of these other pending competing videos, I asked Jeremy if he had been worrying about the spots being blown-out by the time his video premiered.

He told me, “Kevin Lowry said it the best when he came here a few years ago, ‘If the spot has a name, don’t take me there’ There are thousands of spots in the city, you just gotta look behind the building with the famous spot.” Although it seems like all these videos may result in a bit of N.Y. overkill, the good news is that it is showcasing the renaissance of New York skateboarding.

All doubters who questioned whether or not New

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Yorkers were putting enough energy into their skate scene will be silenced by the beginning of 2012. And although Poisonous Products features a host of well-known names throughout its montages, it has a heavy focus on skaters that are off the greater skate radar, like Joseph Delgado and Daniel Kim—two completely different skaters with unique and powerful styles who hail from two regions of the east coast that get little attention, Queens, N.Y. and Washington D.C. Speaking to Jeremy for a while about the video before it was finished, he told me that some of his biggest influences growing up had been Dan Wolfe, Aaron Meza, RB Umali, Joe Perrin and Fat Bill. And I think you might be able to surmise this just by watching his video. It carries a very 90s feel to it with its simplicity and raw, gritty vibe.

Add to that some really skilled handiwork with the VX-1000 and you’ve got the recipe for a video that can be watched over and over.

The benefit of doing one’s own video without having to worry about a company-owner or art director is the amount of control you can have of the overall feel of the project. “I really enjoy picking who’s in my videos,” Jeremy told me. “Having control and a vision. Without those two elements all hope is lost before you know it.” Of course, the downside of staying independent is that all of the funding is coming out-of-pocket. One of the ways Jeremy has gotten around this hurdle was designed into the very foundation of the videos’ original concept. By making an ‘all-New York City’ video, he has cut all the overhead involved in most skate video’s production budgets, namely travel expenses. “I knew I would need to be on the hustle to live here. Now I spend my money on rent instead of trips.” And, let’s be honest, why travel to film when you live in a city like New York?

When Jeremy isn’t working as a production assistant at a few cable networks, he’s bussing tables and running food at a vegetarian sandwich spot called Snice in the west village.

The restaurant has currently, and in the recent past, employed half of New York skateboarding, including Kevin Tierney, Yaje Popson, Joe Bressler, Aaron Herrington, Jack Sabback, Tony Cox, Bobby Puleo, Brian Delatore and myself.

I think New York is pretty unique in the fact that most of its skateboarding population, even those with solid sponsorships, are balancing their skate lives with random jobs. And throughout filming for Poisonous Products, Jeremy and skaters like Aaron Herrington would clock out of their eighthour shifts of running up and down the stairs at work and delivering sandwiches around the city, and then go filming throughout Manhattan all

night long. The dedication required to pull this off shines through the footage. Although most people who watch the video will have no idea of any of the back stories of the skaters and filmmaker responsible for making the video, a certain amount of heart and character will carry through and help add another dimension to the overall project.

Perhaps one of the craziest aspects of all of this, is that all of this energy and time put into these types of projects is expended with little to no financial gain. Independent filmmakers around the world toil and sweat for years on their own video projects knowing all the while that, at best, the rewards earned most likely will amount to nothing more than a few thousand views on their YouTube page and some pats on the back from their friends in the video. But in an

age where skateboarding has gone pop and our culture is being depicted and sold to the world by corporate interests who have no real connection to skateboarding, the independent voice is more important than ever. Underground and independent filmmakers like Jeremy Elkin help give a voice to the culture of real street skating around the world. And as long as this process continues and dedicated videographers like Jeremy continue to give us a glimpse into their local scenes, I think that real skateboarding will survive and thrive as it always has, just below the radar on the pop culture side of the “sport”.

Purchase a copy of Poisonous Products at The Corner Store on colormagazine.ca

(above) Daniel Kim, switch 180 nose manual at the Bronx Courthouse. uyedaphoto.

(right) Aaron Herrington rides his delivery bike six times a week and skateboards on his day off. This wasn’t on his day off. Backside nosegrind, Lower Manhattan.

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vol. 9 no. 5

T

[ o ] NICHOLAS

he four musicians who form Baptists—Andrew (vocals), Danny (guitar), Nick (drums) and Sean (bass)— are gentlemen who make aggressive and punishing music that takes its cues from punk, hardcore and metal. They came together in Vancouver, B.C., in early 2010 as ex-members of various other bands like Jaws, Ladyhawk and Congress to name a few.

Their unique take on the influences that drive them resulted in a release on Los Angeles based doom/stoner label Southern Lord Records. Andrew met Color in his apartment to talk about Baptists 7-inch record, the west coast tour they just completed and their upcoming releases.

“It seemed like spam.

But apparently it wasn’t spam, It was a serious thing.”

wordsby keith wecker

S: Pretty familiar. A really good label, of course.

D: They’ve done a few things that’s personally more up my alley; more of this sort of mean hardcore stuff like Black Breath and the Trap Them 7-inch that they put out.

Was it Greg Anderson [Southern Lord co-founder, and Goatsnake guitarist] who sent the email to your Myspace?

A: Yeah it was

How long did it take for you to get the 7-inch out?

A: About a year D: We originally recorded these four songs, which were our first four songs, just to have them. Nick was about to go on tour with a different band for two months and we knew Stu at the Hive Studios and he let us come and record them.

Sean: We had only been a band for a couple months at this point. We hadn’t even played a show or anything.

D: We went in to the studio in February or March and we had only been jamming since January or something like that. We really just did them to remember them during Nick’s absence and then that email came along. We told Greg that we had more songs and sent them to him. Then he said he’d put them on the 7-inch and that’s how that materialized.

Sweet D: Yeah, no kidding [everyone laughs].

How familiar were you guys with the label before making the record?

The reissues they release are pretty amazing. I’ve noticed the same thing

Color: You have recently put out a 7-inch on Southern Lord, how did that come about?

Andrew: We got a random Myspace message from Southern Lord. We never even checked our Myspace email, and then there was one from them. It said, ‘would you be interested in us putting out your record?’

Danny: Yeah, and then it said, ‘if you’d be interested, get ahold of us or something and we’ll see what happens.’ And it was just like...[shrugs shoulders] A: It seemed like spam [everybody laughs].

But apparently it wasn’t spam, t was a serious thing.

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Have you noticed a shift in the label from the heavy drone aspect to this more aggressive style of music?

A: Definitely. I’ve seen a lot more releases coming out that are not exactly all over the place but they kind of share the same vibe.

S: Yeah, there is still the constant thread of doom and the slower stuff, the ultra heavy stuff, but a lot of the new bands are all hardcore bands.

D: It doesn’t seem like they are straying from doom and the heavy stuff...

S: And all the reissues they’re doing are usually in that vein.

with the newer bands being released, that there is still the element of doom and sludge and drone, but I was curious as to how you feel about fitting in with the catalogue of this label?

D: I feel fine about it now. At the time I was worried quality-wise about not fitting in. Not so much stylistically but that we would suck compared to the Trap Them 7-inch and the Black Breath album. Those two records at the time, and still, are two of my favourite recordings.

There is a huge emphasis with that label for quality, from artwork to packaging, to the bands they select. It must feel pretty amazing to be plucked out of the ether of the internet.

S: Yeah, I didn’t believe it. I really didn’t believe that the 7-inch was coming out.

D: It felt like, ‘until this record is in our hands, something is going to happen’ [everyone laughs]. continues p.140

All The Way Down, 1968

by Bruce LaBruce video stills L.A. Zombie Hardcore, 2010

by Bruce LaBruce video stills

Therese and Isabelle, 1968

by Radley Metzger video stills

vol. 9 no. 5

wordsby cheyanne turions

D

elivering on a heritage that departs from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poetic fragment Kubla Khan and Kenneth Anger’s moving image work Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, the Toronto-based exhibition collective Pleasure Dome is home to film and video practices at the periphery of experimental film culture. It isn’t really a place: their programming squats in various venues across the city, including cinemas, galleries and film festivals. Pleasure Dome operates in a state of exhibitionism that departs from the historical American avant garde to present work that is stranger, queerer. They call it fringe film and you can recognize it by the force with which it hits the screen—HARD. (above) Too Many Things, 2010

by Donigan Cumming video still

Continuity, 2004

by Daniel Cockburn video stills colORMAGAZINE.CA

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all images courtesy of Pleasure Dome

(above) Jennet Thomas Screening and lecture at CineCycle, September 18, 2010. (right) Stay The Same Never Change, 2009

by Laurel Nakadate video stills

Its membership is an organic amalgam of those who joyfully encounter Pleasure Dome and comprise a diverse range of makers, thinkers, curators and academics. Operating in the tradition of the underground screening series, their seasonal programs (winter, summer and fall) cover a lot of ground in exhibiting a diversity of media art practices, which is indexical to the variety of creative types involved in the collective. Keenly aware of available presentation and exhibition contexts, they steadfastly seek out artists who incorporate the uncommon, alive and spontaneous into their work, challenging the conditions of black box cinema where docile audiences passively watch on. In many ways, Pleasure Dome is a feedback loop. They intently foster prolonged interactions between artists and audiences, developing communities that endure long after the projector is turned off.

In its origins, Pleasure Dome was one of the few ongoing exhibitors of independent, artist-driven, experimental media work. Perhaps as a measure of its

106 pleasuredome.

success, this kind of work is now part and parcel of Toronto’s film communities (even the Toronto International Film Festival, an industry machine, now features an extensive program of art film under its Wavelengths moniker), and so Pleasure Dome continues to chase the horizon of what else film and video can be. At the forefront of their thinking is an interest in supporting artists who transform boundaries into worksites and question ruling orthodoxies about art-making.

In this way the collective is an evolution in tandem with the artists it supports.

Pleasure Dome’s seasonal schedules allow for programming that is particularly contemporary, responding to social and political urgencies of the day. In its 20+ years of programming, the collective has disproportionately focused on issues around identity and representation, featuring the works of artists who are, or were once, marginalized because of gender, sexual orientation or race.

In this way, their programming slates are expressly anti-hegemonic and derive from an activist motivation to create

“Its membership is an organic amalgam of those who joyfully encounter Pleasure Dome and comprise a diverse range of makers, thinkers, curators and academics.”

(top and middle) Robinson in Ruins, 2010

by Patrick Keiller, video stills (bottom) Pencils, Ashes, Matches and Dust, 2009

by Donigan Cumming, video still

a venue for whispered histories. They showcase media art that might otherwise fall between the cracks, inviting work that is ambiguous, ethically evocative and difficult.

presentation of the work, coming as it does following widespread rioting across the UK and amidst paradigm-shifting unrest and uncertainty in the face of global austerity and economic crisis.

The collective also acknowledges the mutability and resonance of work through time, mounting retrospectives of important if under-acknowledged filmmakers to new audiences. This fall, for instance, they will be presenting the moving images of Donigan Cumming, an artist famous and infamous for his representations of the radically other. In the 16 years since he started making films, what of his subject matter still has the power to perplex or revolt an audience? And why?

By pointing backward and forward in time, Pleasure Dome asks its audience to consider what else we might become.

And then, audaciously, they take a chance to make it happen through their support of our hypotheses, however wild, implausible, or utopic.

Also as part of their fall schedule, Pleasure Dome’s upcoming presentation of Robinson in Ruins (2010), the final film in Patrick Keiller’s Robinson Trilogy, follows the eponymous title character as he crosses the English countryside expounding upon myriad millennial anxieties and premonitions of late capitalist collapse. It is a timely

Pleasure Dome is a future-tense mode of existence.

The 2011/2012 Programming Collective is: Sharlene Bamboat, Andrea Cooper, David Frankovich, Kevin Hegge, Zoë Heyn-Jones, Eli Horwatt, Erik Martinson, Alexis Mitchell, Julia Paoli, Bojana Stancic and Carly Whitefield. Tom Taylor is the Program Coordinator. Pleasure Dome can be found online at www.pdome.org.

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vol. 9 no. 5

words and photosby gordon nicholas

L

ast June, I embarked on a tour of mass destruction with the Canadian Quiksilver team. I knew that I had to keep my wits about me with this crew based on their reputation for peculiarities.

The roll call: Bradley Sheppard, Jordan Hoffart, Pat O’Rourke, Torey Goodall, Alexander Mitchell, Dustin Henry, Cory Wilson and Magnus Hanson. Not to mention an additional convoy of groupies, vagabonds, and rebellious degenerates hot on our tail. Between the viking slut art, various “show me your [insert body part] signs” and 20 cases of Cariboo beer, it was clear that over the next 13 days and 10+ cities, there would be plenty debauchery from this group of oversexed young men. The stakes were high to say the least.

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Right off the top we had ourselves a problem when Torey Goodall’s orthopedic shoe was ejected from the van unbeknownst to any of us. This valuable piece of machinery would need to be recovered and so we had to turn back. We eventually located the shoe and returned to Kelowna for a quick demo and some street skating, then headed to Penticton for a night of campfire stories and whiskey on the beach.

Next stop: Osoyoos and one of the most hyped crowds I’ve seen at a demo in some time. This town had never witnessed such an event, I can tell you that. After a good sesh and many Cariboos, we hungered for more adventure and so piled into the van and headed downstream for a dip in the river. What followed were increasingly-daring flips, dives, and a naked Torey. From there, and with the hunger of a pack of feral wolves, the crew endured the barren highway another hour before finally arriving at The Prospector. It was here that the locals surprised us with a blow-up doll who quickly became the mascot of our journey. When she wasn’t straddling a taxidermy Grizzly Bear, she was making her way gracefully across a dance floor. Let’s not even mention the tequila body shots.

110 hornyon.

Dustin Henry is a young man of few words yet big smiles. A quick on his toes Calgary native, Dustin made sure to fit right in with the old timers upon claiming first kill. Frontside heelflip in a parched Penticton landscape.

The locals around this spot are nothing short of insane, needless to say they were not stoked on the session. A kinky frontside board slide from Jordan Hoffart was more than we could have hoped for in the brief window we had to skate it.

.thehighway 111

Shrimps on deck, Torey Goodall gets a backside noseblunt in the rock creek backcountry.

In Nelson, the van-fevered skateboarders found release at a roller derby match called Carnival of Carnage. With our crew having nearly reached a sausage-party breaking point, the guys were stoked to see girls on rollerskates beat the crap out of each other. ‘Round and ‘round the women screamed through the turns of the cement oval at top speed. As soon as Pat O’Rourke won the 50/50 draw, excitement went through the roof.

He bought the crew a round of peach cider from the concession, which is when the shirts started to be torn off and twirled through the air as we cheered on our favourite derby team, the Lumber Jackies. Next thing I knew, we were back at our lake-side accommodations watching Torey clamber back at 5am with a Bart Simpson hat he had spent probably his last $20 on. It was a necessary purchase.

In Kaslo, we spent the day at their fine skatepark with shrimps on the barbie and everyone trying to recall what we had come across the last several days. A surprise twist came when the wolf-grey mayor invited us to stay on his property next year. Before we left town, we stopped in at the town’s bookstore where a bunch of vintage Playboys were muchappreciated by the road-weary guys.

112 quiksilvertour.

Chi-12 as its known.

Magnus floats down em all with a nollie-heelflip.

.micasasucasa 113

As we drove the 10-hour stretch to our next stop in Alberta, minds began to wander and conversation in the van turned perverted.

Now, language aside, neither Peter, Paul nor Mary would have approved of anything said, so let’s just say that ‘shrimpers’ and ‘slooters’ were hot topics. By the time we reached our final stop in Edmonton, we were all so faded by the lack of sleep that the only way to get through this final evening was to break all the rules and leave our sanity at the hotel door. There was a sea of bars and pubs out there and we planned on getting evicted from them all.

This proved easier than anyone could have expected. “Your bar is a piece of shit!” the boys barked at one bouncer as he forced us out for chugging beer from the mini kegs they sold us—who knew?

Show us the way to the next whiskey bar, or strip club that we can get kicked out of again. It never changes.

114 hornyon.

(above) Calgary was hot for spots. Pat O’Rourke gets up on this board slide and kicks out a frontside shove before rolling away. (opposite) Quiet by nature, Cory Wilson gets loud at this Calgary classic with a quick backside flip.

.thehighway 115

116 quiksilvertour.

(opposite) Eyes glued to the road creeping for spots. Good find in Grand Forks. Magnus Hanson, 50-50. (above) Popular trick on this trip, that heelflip. Alexander Mitchell takes his own approach and varial heelflips this double in Kelowna.

Amazingly enough on this trip, through all the madness and sexual tension, actual skateboarding went down. I figured I’d let the photos do all the talking rather than me ranting about it. And so, to conclude with a quote from the Talking Heads as I often like to do, “everyone is trying to get to the bar, the name of the bar, the bar is called heaven, the band in heaven, they play my favorite song, play it once again, play it all night long.”

Experience the journey that turned these boys into beasts.

Head to colormagazine.ca for an exclusive video by Rob Harris of all that went down on that heated highway. colORMAGAZINE.CA

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vol. 9 no. 5

wordsby dan post

photosby keith henry & louis feller

I

t could have been 1991 in the parking lot adjacent to Vancouver’s landmark Waldorf Hotel on the day the firstever Jamcouver competition kicked off at Olio Festival and brought creativity and unbridled fun back to the forefront of the Canadian skateboard imagination. If the shiny metallic streamers in the background or the gritty asphalt parking lot weren’t enough to take you back to the days when you and your friends hand-built kickers and boxes, than the boisterous voice of emcee Cyrus Thiedeke echoing through a flurry of hollering, high-fiving skateboarders thrashing about the most imaginative (if not throw-back) ramps anyone has seen in decades, surely kicked nostalgia into high gear.

Dane Pryds, overcrook. henryphoto.

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.jamcouver 119

Colin Nogue, Frontside air jam.

henryphoto.

[ o ] FELLER

120 jamcouver.

Now, if you’re sitting there trying to comprehend a ‘pentabowl’ like those first skaters to arrive and scratch their heads at this nightmare-inducing obstacle, then consider this: Jamcouver was the debut of the world’s first bowl that is more street than transition. The barrier-inspired penta-bowl was made possible with support from Vans and is the first of it’s kind. Aside from the super-steep transitions, other features included: a flat bank extension, a centre bump for keeping up speed, black granite coping, and a unique pentagon shape with a geometry that allowed loose boards and skaters to fly in and out unobstructed. Some rippers had it figured out, but so many Nate Roline & others fell victim to the evil and Derek Swaim succumbed to the dark abyss. [ o ] HENRY

Retail-gate Party

Jamcouver drew crowds that included skateboarding notables like mikendo, Patrick O’dell, Jesse Landen, Wade Desarmo, Paul Machnau, Mike Hastie and Gailea Momolu mixed in with a bunch of talented up and comers, rowdy fans and a handful of friendly folks come in from the street.

Spectators were free to spend their day embracing teenage angst by pounding beers in the Cariboo licensed area (we were asked not to refer to it as a Beer Garden) or perusing the merch tents at the coined “Retail-gate Party,” talking to hot girls and getting free tattoos (yes, real tattoos). But most skate fans were leaning on the wrought-iron fences around the 4 unique obstacles—the Vans penta-bowl, Girl quarter doll, DC East Van rail and Quiksilver pyramid— cheering on their favourite rippers as they threw caution to the wind in search of cash and one of those unique handcrafted Jamcouver awards, but also hero-status and that rush of excitement that can only come from dropping hammers in front of your buds on temporarily skatable objects.

(left) Cory Lakeman, Nollie heelflip noseslide. henryphoto.

(below) Dustin Montie, Tail drop.

Mike Quesnel & Kevin Kelly

fellerphoto.

All it took was a parking lot of wooden ramps, some good tunes and a dream in order to assemble one of the raddest skateboard competitions this country has ever seen. But don’t let these photos fool you, this was not 1991, this was Jamcouver 2011. See you next year!

Head over to colormagazine.ca to see full list of results, more photos and a video including exclusive footage from the Push.ca UFO-cam!

Sandro Grison & Colin Nogue

RESULTS: 1. Cameo Wilson 2. Colin Nogue 3. Sascha Daley SCION BEST TRICK ALL DAY: Dane Pryds - Bennett grind DC ‘East Van’ Rail

BEST TRICK ON GIRL SKATEBOARDS QUARTER PIPE DOLL: Sheldon Meleshinski $1000 BEST TEAM:

Supra Dist. Nick Moore, Derek Swaim, AJ MacAlister and Cameo Wilson

Cameo Wilson, Kickflip frontside bluntslide. henryphoto.

Cyrus Thiedeke

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vol. 9 no. 5

illustration by Justin Gradin.

wordsby mish way

W

hen most people think of the term “supergroup” bands like Temple of the Dog, Cream, or Journey come to mind.

But if you’re a real southern punk, you think of Double Negative.

Double Negative are North Carolina’s grandfathers of hardcore. And even though none of the members are literally grandfathers yet (one of them has three children), they are respected like elders in every punk bar and basement from Florida to New York to Germany. Guitarist Scott Williams (formerly of American Lore with Mike Dean from C.O.C, Fight 4 Life, Second Coming, Dixie Automotive, Garbageman, Daddy and Volcanos), bassist Justin Gray (Dixie Automotive, Big Dan, Garabageman, Wilard and The Step Gods), drummer Brian Walsby (Scared Straight, Willard, Shiny Beast and Patty Duke Syndrome with Ryan Adams) and vocalist Kevin Collins or KC (Subculture, Days Of, Erectus Monotone) act like the bad kids from junior high trapped in the grizzly bodies of 40-yearold men. Their two LPs But the Wonderful and Frightening World Of ...(2007, No Way Records) and DayDreamNation (2010, Sorry State Records) stirred the underground scene around, forcing everyone to bow down to the unruly energy of these four, legendary southerners. In 2002, Williams was without a band, hating his job and depressed. Home alone one day, he turned on the television to watch the explosions of 9-11 and sunk deeper into his mid-life slump. “Go figure,” he says now and laughs.

“I had been listening to nothing but black metal at the time.” Fast forward a few years and Gray, Walsby and Collins play a house show in Raleigh, NC, on the insistence of Williams. The four friends (who had not been together in over a decade), were so inspired by the chaos they decided to start a new project to play some house shows for fun. That fun turned into a pile of singles, two full-length albums and high-demand tours all throughout North America, UK and Europe. Color called on Double Negative’s ring leader, Scott Williams, to talk about skateboarding, hardcore, troublemaking and life as an old punk.

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“I think the next releases are going to be real baseball bats to the knee-caps while stabbing screwdrivers into the ears kinda thing.”

Color: What’s the scene like in North Carolina these days? How do you guys fit in?

Scott: We fit in perfectly between “those guys suck” and “I can’t believe those guys are still alive.” We still stick out like a sore thumb but it’s a good thing.

You guys recently got a new, hot, young drummer, Bobby Michaud. How’s that?

Yeah, our old drummer was having a child, so it was an easy out for him. The first couple practices with Bobby weren’t really happening but we’d seen him do all this fantastic stuff [with his band, Grids and Brain F] so we knew he could do it. We didn’t know him at all and it’s hard enough to get people that know each other to play and get along, but Bobby has added power to our sound. Bobby’s drumming is sexy.

You just released four 7-inch singles on Sorry State Records. What’s next?

We played in Germany last year at Zoro in Leipzig and we were listed as ‘hardcore confusion.’ We all liked that description.

I think the next releases are going to be real baseball bats to the knee-caps while stabbing screwdrivers into the ears kinda thing. Plus, with our new drummer it will be just like that, but even sexier.

Why the Sonic Youth reference on your LP DayDreamNation? Why The Fall reference on your previous record, But the Wonderful and Frightening World Of ...?

No homage or anything. Originally, we were going to call the first LP Raleigh!

Raleigh! Raleigh! then But The Wonderful and Frightening World Of... kinda stuck.

The Fall weren’t using it and the kids we played to didn’t know who The Fall were, plus it was funny. As for the second LP, we had been kicking around ideas like Metal Machine Music, The Velvet Underground and DayDreamNation. Our old drummer scored some free tickets to the first round of Dinosaur Jr. reunion tours and he knew Lou Barlow so we were hanging out on the tour bus. We were all talking about how we were going to call our second LP, DayDreamNation just as J Mascus was walking through and he scowled at us and Lou said that it was a stupid idea. I knew right then: fuck yes.

Have you always been a troublemaker?

What were you like as a kid?

Shorter, younger, and bored, with no restraints.

I assume you skated as a kid. Is that how you got into hardcore?

When I was younger skateboarding wasn’t a sport and hardcore wasn’t music, but the two went together for me. Being a skateboarder wasn’t winning any cool awards in Gastonia, N.C. in the late 1970s. Looking like a Circle Jerk skanker certainly didn’t win any popularity contest in 1980 either.

You have been playing in bands and putting out records your entire life. What do you think of the music industry now?

Things happen really fast these days which is good and bad. This band has done more than all of our other bands put together.

Sure, that’s just what happens nowadays, we are old enough to appreciate [success] more. When I was younger, I felt like I had all the time in the world. Well, I don’t anymore. Time is running out fast so it has to really count. We sacrifice a lot to do this band, time away from our families, wives, businesses but there is this satisfaction in the intangible that makes Double Negative worth it.

Does your age come into play at shows?

We constantly play with bands half our age but I don’t want to be a bunch of older guys stubbing out some half-assed bullshit music reliving our youth. Fuck that shit.

I’m an adult man still trying to make some music I find pleasure in doing.

What do you love about playing music?

The energy and sound, live in front of a crowd, it’s like a high. But fuck, I’m usually pretty high when we play anyways with that natural high it’s like I’m walking in the clouds above a stormy sea but I look down and I’m stepping on some kids face or whacking KC in the head with my guitar, dodging punks running across the stage, unplugging my shit in the middle of the song and before I know it, it’s over.

photo Ben Gulliver

{ sitka }

Welcomes Chris Haslam to the team Available online and at fine retailers across the universe

vol. 9 no. 5

124 colORMAGAZINE.CA

DANE PRYDS backside tailslide [ o ] nicholas. 125

BYRON READY frontside boardslide [ o ] jivcoff.

126 colORMAGAZINE.CA

CHARLES DESCHAMPS varial heelflip [ o ] fidlin. 127

128 DERRICK TIMOSHENKO kickflip [ o ] marentette.

CONNOR NEESON pivot fakie [ o ] young.

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vol. 9 no. 5 [ o ] KORETZ

—

video still image courtesy Animals of Combat.

The Deep End of Dragonslayer

wordsby dan post

“Not everybody looks like the kids in reality shows on MTV. This is what kids look like, and they’re awesome.”—tristan patterson

P

ool skaters are one of the gnarliest breeds of human on earth. They spend hours bailing out buckets of dark brown sludge water then they sweep up the sketchy remnants left behind before dropping into their latest discovery and leaving the burdens of a cruel world far behind them at the top of the tile. Apply this analogy to filmmaking as you watch Tristan Patterson’s Dragonslayer which documents the life of ‘Skreech’ Sandoval as he takes us into the backyards of suburban California to capture the essence of one of skateboarding’s most curious subsects.

Color caught up with Tristan at the 2011 Vancouver International Film Festival to find out more about this grimy doc.

We set this interview up with Tristan before I had even seen the film. A big risk considering skateboarding and its people are one of the hardest subjects to really capture and the potential for failure is great. Luckily, Patterson nailed it with this one, as Dragonslayer succeeded in dramatizing the feel of skateboarding but also the human emotions like love, despair, frustration and perseverance that surround it. During our interview, Tristan exuded many of these same emotions as we talked about his film and especially as we talked more about Skreech—someone Tristan clearly has a lot of love and respect for.

“He just seemed like sort of the ideal protagonist for new times,” said Patterson of Skreech as a cultural ambassador of sorts. “He has this really strange, original poetry in him...There’s so many pool skaters out there that are incredible, but I think what’s unique about him is that the way he skates is really, truly, an extension of his personality and so there’s art

to it, and I think there’s art to him.” It’s true. You will find it hard to dismiss this mohawked miscreant as just another poolside waste-case. Sure he likes to get completely hammered and stoned, but there’s also a vulnerability and innocence to Skreech that helps you find comfort in his rebellion and encourages you to root for his success in pool competitions as well as young love.

As I watched this film, huddled around a small screen in the Color office, I felt a kinship towards Skreech, as if I had already spent much of my young life with people like Skreech in the back of a grungy van, or getting high at the local spot. Patterson’s film unified me in the crazy world of skateboarding, and for him, it was important to capture the power of skateboarding. Like many of us, he sees skateboarding as, “a way that a lot of kids find they can get out of whatever environment they’re in. You know, you go to the skate park or you go to the forgotten swimming pool at the broken-down house

on your corner and you hang out there and you kind of...you meet a new family.” Some may call skaters like Skreech symbols of a lost generation, but Patterson offers a healthier ideal of the world Skreech occupies. He says, ‘I think it’s a world where generations kind of raise the future generations.”

I think everyone wants to capitalize on this rebellious image and I think that’s what’s interesting about the movie too.

It’s like, well let’s not create propaganda and we’re not creating a commercial for something. We’re trying to do something that’s authentic and real and that’s warts and all.”

But for other viewers, perhaps those likely to encounter the film at a festival for instance, Skreech is an entry point into a world that they are either unaware of, or misguided on. Patterson was motivated by this idea, finding value in exposing others to this world. “Southern California is always thought of as, you know, this sort of landscape of the future, or the land of infinite possibility and what I was encountering was really a land of decay,” he said. But instead of casting a shadow of ignorance on the individuals that populate this land, he saw the subjects of his film as, “really original, kind, good kids trying to make sense of it.” He stressed, “Not everybody looks like the kids in reality shows on MTV. This is what kids look like, and they’re awesome.”

Dragonslayer will appeal to anyone who has ever Google mapped an aerial view of their neighbourhood looking for pools or anyone who has gotten completely hammered on forties under a bridge or smoked so much weed they puked all over the mini-ramp. But really, I feel, Dragonslayer was made for the curious onlooker or someone who could pass a punk slumped on a park bench and think ‘what a waste of life.’ Through the objective lens of documentary, Skreech and Tristan share their passions and successes but also the downfalls and challenges we all face. For every person out there who pretends to have their shit together, there is someone else who just doesn’t give a fuck what you think and is proud of their life on the margins of society. Skate or die.

The filmmaker was aware of his role as the orchestrator of an audience experience and with this film, he was careful not to sensationalize or over-dramatize a part of skateboarding that has too-often been co-opted by those with less than honest motivations. “‘Mountain Dew is not going to feel comfortable with Skreech. And

Watch a clip of Dragonslayer and see the full video interview with Tristan and Dan from the Vancouver International Film Festival at colormagazine.ca.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO ON OUR YOUTUBE PAGE

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Bonnie “Prince” Billy

wolfroy goes to town (drag city)

The last several albums from Will Oldham have emerged out of the blue, with little promotional fanfare from his label honchos at Drag City. At 10 albums in (and that’s just under his BPB alias), the man has little to prove. His last album, Wonder Show of the World, was uncharacteristically relaxed and happy, but now, with Wolfroy Goes To Town, we get even sparser, skeletal arrangements that convey a feeling of nakedness and loss instead of Wonder Show’s easeful confidence. In fact, as Wolfroy unfolds, its lyrics tell a story of starvation, senility, lost love, and lost hopes. Any fans who’ve missed Oldham’s mastery of lonesome dread (a la I See a Darkness) will be gratified by this outing, though one hopes this is just another of Will’s roleplaying exercises and not a reflection of his personal fortunes. —saelan twerdy

Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire lost in translation (mixtape)

Brooklyn rapper eXquire keeps it basic: girls, drugs, video games, cartoons, chicken and Georgi vodka. But like his predecessors, ODB and Notorious B.I.G., eXquire magnifies his everyday struggles and triumphs into a surreal and existential epic. The tape begins with gleeful debauchery. In the space of two tracks, he goes from “drunk driving on a Wednesday with three bitches in a MPV” (“Huzzah”) to “drunk driving in the Millennium Falcon with two bitches” (“Fire Marshall Bill”). But boozy nights slowly slide into nightmares. On “Nuthin’ Even Matters,” eXquire drains the fun out of his late night depravity with a brutal moment of selfrealization: “My life is the pits, and I ain’t got shit.” A menacing patchwork of previouslyloved beats—from abrasive futurists El-P and Necro to the more hardnosed Charli Brown— coheres as a perfect backdrop to eXquire’s story of rise and fall, “like the movie Heavy Metal, but ghetto.” —chris dingwall

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Speculator

nice (underwater peoples)

Speculator’s Nice is a record seemingly out of time. His debut LP references everything from canned 80s pop, outsider basement records, shoe-gazin’ ambience, and even the recent hazy bliss of Ariel Pink, though it never comes off as if it’s trying too hard to incorporate this myriad of sounds. Instead, it’s an effortless-sounding album that seems as if it was cobbled together over a weekend and thrown down in a take or two. Speculator is the nom de plume of one Nick Ray, an L.A.-based musician who had fiddled along the margins of the cassette underground before the fledgling Underwater Peoples label decided that Ray needed to be heard by a wider audience. While this certainly won’t garner as much attention as, say, Wavves, Nice should appeal to the upcoming generation of listeners that now have a world of music at their fingertips.­—mark richardson

SEX CHURCH growing over (load)

After two solid 7-inches and a 12-inch cobbled together with a few years’ worth of material, Vancouver’s own Sex Church deliver Growing Over, their first “properly” recorded album and, subsequently, most cohesive statement yet. A bit surprising that it landed on Load Records, best known for skull-crushing records by Lightning Bolt, Black Pus and Brainbombs, though on second thought, Sex Church is a pretty miserable and noisy band when it comes down to it, so they’ll be keeping good company there. The four-piece take the tired genre of garage rock, strip all the fun out if it and then funnel it back through a krautrock-via-Spacemen 3 grinder for maximum power. Lead singer Levon Olsen switches easily between snarling his vocals and barking them, adding to the claustrophobic bleakness of Growing Over. Essentially, this is a record that could only be the product of the rainy, grey, and dreary days that haunt Vancouver for half the year. —mark richardson

COUNT VERTIGO i’m a mutant / x patriots 7” (mississippi)

This is a Mississippi records re-issue of a great lost American punk single. Originally pressed in 1979, Count Vertigo was a side project of the band Ice-9 lead by their drummer, and only released/existed for this one 7-inch record. Side A features the politically charged “x patriots” with lyrical gems like “freedom of speech means freedom to die!” and has a very Sex Pistols, punk rock n’ roll vibe to it. Not too political, and just a really great song, so don’t get worried no one is taking you to school here.

For me the b-side “I’m A Mutant” is the real steering wheel in the pants. It has an almost Screamers-like pounding keyboard line and mood to it, and the song really focuses on that part. A very repetitious and droning punk song with a fantastic guitar solo, and great weirdo/outsider lyrics, and overall this song emits a dark, disturbed creepiness that seems like it’s a lost art. —justin gradin

PSYCHIC ILLS

hazed dream (sacred bones)

Brooklyn’s Psychic Ills came to prominence in 2005 with Dins, a set of tribal explorations that exhibited a loose band trying to reach the cosmos without ever leaving the ground. They continued to refine their psych-noise noodlings over the next few years with little sign as to what was coming next. With a slight line-up change, the group have focused their sound inward instead of out and arrived at a destination that has more in common with the lilting, countrified psych of Brian Jonestown Massacre than it does with anything heard previously. Song titles like “Incense Head,” “Sungaze,” and “Dream Repetition,” as well as the desertthemed cover art, should give you an idea of the dust-caked zones the Ills now inhabit.

Fuzzed-out guitar lines weave around drawnout organ lines while gentle, hand-smacked percussion keeps the album from getting completely lost during their wanderings. A great comedown record from a band that seemed they’d never float back down to Earth. —mark richardson

NIRVANA

nevermind 20th anniversary deluxe edition (geffen records) Ok, everybody knows Nirvana rules, and everyone knows everything there is to know about Nevermind inside and out. BUT, this is the 20th anniversary four-LP box set, and it is really all about records two, three, and four, the first being the original version of the album. Record two introduces listeners to the b-sides—of course songs like “Aneurysm,” “Even In His Youth,” and “School” are already so well-known it’s almost as if they weren’t b-sides. Then they throw us some live tracks which brings us over to record three: the boom box rehearsals. The two real jams on here are “Verse Chorus Verse” and “Old Age.” Both songs are insanely catchy, and one of them even proves Courtney Love is a liar! How do songs this good not get released? Nirvana’s standard for high quality songwriting is completely proven here, and it makes the rest of us look like a bunch of lazy goofs. —justin gradin

Pterodactyl spills out (brah)

The independent rock n’ roll world is really starting to mimic the rap game with the amount of guest appearances on records these days. Here, Brooklyn’s Pterodactyl get a little help from a bunch of their friends including Dan Friel from Parts And Labor, and Zach Lehrhoff from Ex-Models. If you are familiar with Pterodactyl then this record might surprise you. Less noise-punk and a LOT more dreamy, creepy, 1960s-inspired fractured pop songs with very complex rhythms and arrangements, plus busy vocal harmonies that are reminiscent of The Zombies. In the song “The Whole Night” they use a synthesizer that sounds like it’s made out of a baby kitten’s tears, and then in “Thorn” they have a guitar part that sounds like a distorted, amplified, 100-foot cat. In the song “White Water” Pterodactyl use the lyric “the tears of a clown..,” and it is hard to tell if they are referencing Smokey Robinson and The Miracles or acknowledging the true sadness and pain that a clown feels everyday. No one will ever know. —bobby lawn

STEVE HAUSCHILDT

RANGERS

tragedy and geometry (kranky)

Out of all three members in Ohio’s Emeralds, synth wizard Steve Hauschildt is by far the least prolific, having only released a couple CDRs and cassettes since 2007. While Mark McGuire and John Elliot (best known as Outer Space) have pumped out albums at a wallet-draining pace, Hauschildt is obviously striving for quality over quantity, and the latter is definitely what we get here.

Kranky has stepped up to help get this modern masterwork of synthesizer-based kosmische out to a broader audience, and this record certainly deserves as wide a release as his higher profile band mates have already received. Tragedy and Geometry reveals the many angles and deployments of Hauschildt’s sizeable synthesizer arsenal.

From the pulsing warehouse groove of “Batteries May Drain” to the sublime hovering ambience of “Peroxide”, the man proves he is more than adequate at evoking the many moods his vintage gear has to offer. With Emeralds on hiatus for the foreseeable future, Tragedy and Geometry will more than do until their next move.

If Rangers critically lauded debut (it landed #6 on Wire’s 2010 year-end list, among others), Suburban Tours, was a hazy journey through late night suburbia, then the aptly named Pan Am Stories floats eight miles above the sprawl. The expansive two-LP set is a continuation of the murky, warbled and soft focus guitar-based meditations, though this time around, the hypnogogic musings are much wider in scope. Gently strummed and heavily flanged guitar co-mingle with prolonged fuzzy synth stabs and breezy bass lines, coupled with Joe Knight’s (the singular man behind Rangers) barely there vocal delivery, all of which form together like 40 years worth of ephemeral, canned culture.

Pan Am Stories makes you wonder if you’ve heard this somewhere before, causing an unshakeable déjà vu throughout the record— perhaps in an elevator, infomercial, late night TV or waiting in the dentist’s office. It’s these seemingly familiar vibrations that Knight reigns in and regurgitates back at you in a psychedelic swirl that make this record so haunting, yet utterly gorgeous.

—mark richardson

—mark richardson

Sandro Perri

After a novelty internet hit (“Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell”) and two enjoyable mixtapes (Shut up, Dude, and Sit down, Man), hip-hop satirists Das Racist have released a commercial hip-hop album that sounds like a commercial hip-hop album.

Relax is divided into conventional threeminute chunks of verses and choruses, scaling back the onslaught of pop culture references and puns to manageable portions. The production, led by Patrick Wimberly of Chairlift, sets a playful mood with plenty of lush synths and bright guitars.

Kool A.D. still plays a perfect laidback stoner, but Heems has a stronger vocal attack, going after haters who dismiss the “smart brown boys” and their “dumb sound.” On “Serena” he spits back, “Homie, this is Queens rap.” But their surest song is “Girl,” a tongue-in-cheek rap ballad that rises to sincerity: “You’re pretty, beautiful, and I heard you got a pool.” Though not quite “the new Kool G Rap,” the Racists are the rap game’s cleverest sweethearts. —chris dingwall

FAC. DANCE

whatever/whenever (in the red)

Mark Sultan of The King Khan & BBQ Show and Spaceshits fame, normally pounds out his rock n’ roll by himself as a one-man R&B, garage, psychedelic, punk anomaly, stomping out the beats with his feet, attacking his guitar with his hands, and singing you his heart and soul by himself— until now! On Whatever/Whenever (not to be confused with Shakira’s “Whenever, Wherever”) Mark utilizes a cast of musicians such as Dan Kroha of The Gories, Erin Wood of The Spits, half of The Black Lips, and his old buddy King Khan, to produce some of his most diverse sounding material to date.

Songs range from rockabilly, “Satisfied And Lazy,” and doo-wop, “Just Like Before,” to psyched-out noise, “For Those Who Don’t Exist,” all with signature R&B/punk/rock n’ roll sounds. I definitely suggest getting the LP version of this record as it has twice the amount of songs included on it, and if those other songs are as good as the songs on the CD then I think that will entitle you to be happy for twice as long. You feel me cousin?

JOYCE COLLINGWOOD

relax (greedhead)

MARK SULTAN

impossible spaces (constellation)

Toronto’s Sandro Perri has his fingers in a lot of places. In the early 00’s, he mainly recorded dub-smeared electronic post-rock under the name Polmo Polpo (Italian for “octopus lung”), but that multi-tentacled moniker suitably evokes the variety of his endeavors since then. He’s been a session player for the Great Lake Swimmers, produced retro groove music as Glissandro 70, experimented with straight-up dance music in two groups (Continuous Dick and Dot Wiggin), and collaborated with Christine Fellows and John K. Samson for last year’s National Parks Project. Perri remains well under the radar pretty much everywhere outside of Toronto but Impossible Spaces is likely to change all that. It’s an extraordinarily unified hybrid of everything Perri has dabbled in up until now; a fluid, shape-shifting oddity of jazzy percussion, folky pop, and pulsating electronic grooves, all glued together by Perri’s gorgeous, liltingly agile voice. It’s a minor masterpiece that sounds like virtually nothing else. An absolute must-hear for fans of leftfield pop. —saelan twerdy

Das Racist

pan am stories (not not fun)

factory records: 12” mixes & rarities 19801987 (strut) Sometimes you just need to get serious and bust a move and when that feeling hits, this is the perfect solution to the problem. Fac. Dance is a retrospective covering the early dance floor-based work by several bands on Manchester’s seminal Factory Records label, that also highlights Martin Hannett’s unmistakable production style and shows off the pioneering studio work of Bernard Sumner (New Order), and Donald Johnson (A Certain Ration). Everything you wanna shake a tail feather to is on here from Blurt’s mutant-funk experiment “Puppeteer” to post punk jams by Section 25 and A Certain Ratio, to a reggae track provided by X-O-Dus with “See Them A’ Come.” This double disc compilation is a perfect blueprint for later Manchester bands, and an essential album if you love good dance music and have half a brain. Even if you have a whole brain you should love this.

s/t 7” (self released)

I was at the Joyce/Collingwood skytrain station waiting to go downtown and I saw this elderly woman asking people if they were “French Canada” while she was lying down on the cement in a leisurely position wearing a child’s Batman costume. We made eye contact and she told me she was writing an essay on Quadrophenia, and that she didn’t like what John Goodman was doing to our animals. I started laughing and she went insane(r), and started yelling all types of complete nonsense at me right as the train was arriving. I jumped on, sat down, and looked out the window to see that she was lying down again—a very quick interaction in an insane package, just like Joyce Collingwood’s debut 7-inch record. Ripping through eight songs of metal-infected hardcore, and all hand-packaged, photocopied, duct taped, and safety pinned together, this makes for a very good first release, and it makes one wonder: is there is a Robin out there? —justin gradin

Spank Rock

everything is boring and everyone is a fucking liar (bad blood) Not since 2 Live Crew’s “Pop That Pussy” has pussy popping been raised to such an epic level. On “Nasty,” one of the filthiest singles on Spank Rock’s very filthy new album, guest Big Freedia commands the girls on the dance floor to “bend over” and “move it in motion” with the gravitas of Hector rallying the troops outside the gates of Troy.

Like their debut YoYoYoYoYo, Everything is Boring… sheathes MC Spank Rock’s dance floor hedonism in the perfectly-calibrated dissonance of an MDMA stress dream. The sonic palette has been expanded with a touch of doo-wop (“The Dance”) and stomping minimalism (“DTF DADT”), putting Spank Rock in charge of the least wholesome and most abstract sock hops in history. As a rapper, Spank Rock works within his range and adopts the role of a seedy playboy, seducing women with his fine style and never missing a chance to talk about his dick. —chris dingwall

—justin gradin

—justin gradin

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vol. 9 no. 5

wordsby gordon nicholas

photosby gordon nicholas & molly stone

F

or this edition of Last Nite, I’d like to turn your attention to a couple important gallery shows. First, Color correspondent Molly Stone was kind enough to head to Dem Passwords gallery in Santa Monica to cover Greg Hunt’s latest photography show Selective Memory - photos from the road 1995-2011. Now we turn to our humbling Vancouver home where Nate Lacoste and Michael Sieben collaborated on a show Wizards of Radical: The Sequel showcasing a number of prints and paintings by Michael and sculptural installations by Nate. Crowds were stoked both north and south of the border and the ample selection of beer in both locations made for a couple memorable nights. Now go out, get inspired, and start your own show.

Danny Wark

—

Greg Hunt Exhibition (Dem Passwords) Michael Sieben / Nate Lacoste show (Antisocial)

Michael Sieben & Nate Lacoste

Andrew Peters & Friend

Yoon Sul

Greg Hunt

Braydon Szafranski

Chris Casey

David Bowens

Neckface & Friend

Clint Peterson & Justin Regan

Caswell Berry

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Aisha Davidson & Andrew Pommier

Ben Marvin

Benny Fairfax & Paul Shier

Alien & Michelle Pezel

Greg Papove

steve steve forstner’s video part out now at gravisskate boarding.com

vol. 9 no. 5

[ o ] NICHOLAS

—

FUBAR’s Dean & Terry take a Serious Five

S

ince Fubar 2 premiered last year in the U.S.A., stars Terry and Deaner have been busier than ever. Color managed to pull some strings and get both stars to sit down between working the rigs, camping in garages, and pursuing their personal interests, long enough to toss back a few.

Want more Terry and Deaner? get the fully ‘Tattered’ with extended video interviews only on our website.

(here) Terry Cahill backstage, Fortune Sound Club

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We caught up with Deaner at the Cobalt in Vancovuer on for the start of a 17-day, 16 show tour with his band, Night Seeker, that would bring them straight across the country. Not right across, but to Regina anyway—covering the parts that still carry Old Style Pilsner.

2. So the rest is history. You’ve become really successful since then and you have a lot of fans. Can you think of a time a fan took their devotion a little too far?

D: Oh there’s this one guy, he’s still out there, he thinks he’s me. He actually thinks he’s Dean, he’s like, ‘hey man, I’m the Deaner’. You know some people are like ‘I like to party’ and I’m like ‘oh yeah totally’ but he’s like ‘no, I’m the Deaner. You’re not the Deaner. I am.’ It got a little fuckin’ weird after a while. I was like, ‘okay man, I guess you’re the Deaner and I’m not’ and he was like ‘Yeah! Exactly!’. You know, like he wanted me to say it. After that I was thinking, this guy is fucked in the head.

He actually thinks he’s me. He thinks he’s in Night Seeker, he thinks he lives in my house, I don’t know what the fuck.

Anyway, that guy lives in Calgary. I try to avoid his neighborhood.

Yeah no kidding.

D: He can’t even grow a full mustache.

So he’s not the real Deaner obviously.

D: I hope not, what does that make me?

3. Can you describe for us what would be your ultimate weekend?

D: Well, it would probably be like a yacht or a cruise ship or something but like, I don’t know how to drive so I would basically just be driving around and I would get all my friends on the boat and like, after some swashbuckling-type adventures, we would finally end up at Cabo Wabo, Sammy Hagar’s bar in the south somewhere. Then we’d just party there, maybe like chop down a couple of coconut trees, take ‘em back with

4. What would be your ultimate skate obstacle?

D: Like in the NHL? No, like skateboarding.

D: Skateboarding…

Right, have you ever skateboarded?

D: Oh… no. I don’t think so. Like, I know what a skateboard is but I don’t do it. But

Indicating some friendly competitiveness, Terry actually came through our fair city a full month and a half before Dean’s band was slated to play here in October.

Armed with a selection of classic hard rock records and cassettes, Terry proved you don’t necessarily need to be musically inclined to ‘bring the party.’

[ o ] NICHOLAS

1. Dean, the two of you guys have been through a lot together, how did you first meet Terry?

Deaner: Well it was basically like… he moved here from like, Sudbury. I was living in Calgary at the time, and yeah, he just kind of moved into the neighborhood and I seen him… I think he was chasin’ a cat or throwin’ rocks at a cat… and I was like, ‘hey man’, and he was like ‘hey’, and we both had long hair back then, we were just teenagers. And you know, I was like, ‘hey, you’ve got an AC/DC shirt on’ and he was like ‘yeah’. And then we just started chattin’ about rock and roll and that kind of stuff. …His mom was smokin’ so he had a pack of darts on him and I bummed a smoke and that’s kinda how it happened.

us, make a slingshot out of them or something… that’d be pretty cool.

T: Oh, well you know, whenever we’re at work, basically, when you’re working that hard it’s like, oh fuck, how do you have a good time passing the time? When you’re not at work. You know, like, right away it’s a good time. It’s like, oh we’re done work, fuck, WOOO! You don’t need much, like, there’s good peelers up there, and good people. The food ain’t that great, but there’s this fancy restaurant called Earls.

I never met Earl but it’s nice. It’s only in Fort MacMurray, it’s awesome.

3. What’s the ultimate weekend for you? Like, what would be your best weekend?

T: Oh, fuckin’ like AC/DC concert, then like some zoomers, maybe all that together actually. Start off with some zoomers, then AC/DC while you’re peakin’, then I’d say fuckin’ Boston Pizza, like one thing, one of each off the menu, like, I’ll take one of everything, that’d be it.

Sounds like a good weekend.

Yeah I don’t think you can get better than one of everything off the BP menu.

That’s pretty deadly.

“You can have a beer every hour and it’s pretty much [like] you’re not drinking.”

(above) FUBAR/Night Seeker’s Dean Murdoch

I mean an obstacle, like something you do when you’re on a skateboard? Probably a whale, like a real whale, because it would be slippery. If you could manage to fuckin’ somehow get on the top and then jump off the tail that would be fuckin’ sweet.

5. Everyone is familiar with “Woman Is A Danger Cat” from FUBAR. Do you have any new poetry you can share with our readers?

D: Fuck… like I got lyrics, like, ‘Your ways are never-ending. That’s right you have the power. It’s time to meet your maker.

His horns are finally rising, made strong by your devising…’ Something like that. It’s about a spell-raiser.

1. I remember seeing you in an ad for Circa Combat. One of Sheldon Meleshinski’s ads. Did you ever see that?

Terry: Yeah, fuck those guys, man. I was like, my buddy’s like, Terry you’re in a magazine, I’m like, fuck off. Then he gave it to me, and I was like, no way, like, they just fuckin’, ‘oh, we like the way you look, you’re really handsome, we’ll put you in an ad.’ And it’s been happening, for all I know, I’m in like, fuckin’ Gap ads in Hong Kong, I don’t fuckin’ know. I can’t read every fuckin’ magazine that comes out, and this one just like, apparently this guy Shel-Don likes me. I don’t know, maybe he’s like, maybe he really likes me, I don’t fuckin’ know.

4. We know you’re into bands like Deaner’s Night Seeker, but did Tron’s interest in rap open your eyes to new things?

T: Yeah, that’s a good question. A little bit. I didn’t really know that much about rap, I used to be that guy like, ‘rap’s crap!’ ‘cause I didn’t fuckin’ know. And I still don’t really know but like, someone introduced me to this band, they’re pretty new, Body Count, Ice-T. I heard of them and they’re fuckin’ not bad. They’re not bad for a rap band. Yeah and all the radio stuff you can hear and it’s like…you know, I’ll take it in when I have to.

5. Have you ever taken a break from drinking?

T: Uh, like I take five here and there. To be honest, like, I’ve been drinking since I was a kid pretty much, and you know… not really. I mean, I don’t ever take more than 12 hours off but there are days when I’ll just like, have 4 beers or whatever, and it’ll be like, oh that’s cool, just take‘r easy, have a few beers. You know, you can let time fly. You can have a beer every hour and it’s pretty much you’re not drinking, that’s the way I see it. ‘Cause your body will be like, fuck, that’s all you gave me in one hour? Yeah, they say that, you can process a beer an hour, so if you only have one an hour you ain’t drinking, I think.

‘Cause it doesn’t add up, it’s like, oh…

I had 24 beers in 24 hours and I didn’t get drunk at all.

2. What is the best way to spend time in Fort Mac? How’d you guys pass the time up there?

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LA GAITE LYRIQUE BAPTISTS continued from page 102

[ o ] NICHOLAS

image courtesy Maxime Dufour Photographies.

and progression. The building’s original inauguration, as an 1800-seat theatre hall, occurred in 1862 and enjoyed the glory of 140 years of famous operettas. It was occupied 10 times and reclaimed 20. In the 1970s a circus school took over and transformed the attic into elephant’s stables. In 1989 the building became an open air amusement park (to the tune of 61 million euros), only to close within a few weeks. In 2001 the newly elected mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, decided to bring the historic venue back to life after over 10 years of its abandonment.

With over 95 million euros in funding and an operating budget of 9.5 million euros a year, the space transformed into the ultra-modern cultural centre that it now is. A living force, the venue is certain to ceaselessly redefine artistic and cultural fields through digital practice and a sustainable future invested in subcultural margins. Centre Pompidou, du musée du Louvre, and Palais de Tokyo have an eccentric new neighbor. I can only imagine what each would bring to the next block party.

La Gaîté lyrique, Le Bar du Foyer continued from page 42

A place of reference and continual evolution, la Gaîté lyrique is familiar with transition

[ o ] RUAULT

When asked how the culture of skateboarding came upon the docket for the new institute’s programming, Delormas had a simple response. He sees the skateboard as an indisputable cultural object of modernity and through its simple technology, he believes that it has produced one of the most important urban revolutions of the past 50 years.

His interest in this revolution was rooted in its capacity to infiltrate an interdisciplinary spectrum of cultural activity including, but not limited to, design, graphics, music, image, cinema, film clips, architecture, urbanism and urban customs, video games and fashion—all of which la Gaîté lyrique wishes to continually invest within. The collective exhibition included a reunion of skateboarding people, places and things. It was organized within an umbrella of four major themes. Representing the first element, The Practice took an interactive look into amateur and pro skateboarding with demos by local and international teams. The second thematic element combined Image and Digital Art exploring clips, digital image making, and the evolution of film technology through skateboarding, 3D, video game development and web components. The third elemental thread strung together The Music of Skateboarding, and provided a broad range of listening transmitted by live performance, as well as ghetto blasters and individual iPods. The fourth and final element sought out the broadest theme, Art and The Skateboard Culture, and included the object, the fashion, the design and the aura.

The medium-specific approach to culture which la Gaîté lyrique has come to embody is somewhat of a faux pas within contemporary art practices. To explicitly suggest a space

La Gaîté lyrique, Le Foyer Historique, Manuelle Gautrand Architecture

within this frame could be considered limiting, to say the least. The palatably shiny Jetsonesque interior and effortlessly approachable nature of the space is somewhat frictionless.

As a public investment into culture, one might wonder if the space has a responsibility to inspire a certain level of critical consideration. With whom should the space engage with? Essentially constructed with a penchant to entertain, the space does not require expertise, nor is there punishment for lack of knowledge. It is a place of play, a theatre, unpretentious and open to low brow persistence. How la Gaîté lyrique’s success is to be measured is a question to be determined over time. The persistence of technological progress certainly proposes a challenge.

Perhaps the singular language of medium specificity will prove a cumulative effect.

My bets are history won’t be repeated.

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I remember you guys saying that at a show last year; ‘as long as I get that 7-inch and Southern Lord is stamped on the back of it, cool!’

D: Yeah, there doesn’t even have to be any songs on it!

So you guys just did a tour down the west coast with Griever, and you played three of the Power of the Riff shows?

Nick: Yeah three of the five shows we played.

S: We played the big one in L.A., one in San Francisco and one in Seattle.

A: The L.A. one was the biggest. Pentagram played, eyehategod, Black Cobra...

D: All Pigs Must Die, Trap Them, Early Graves... So many really, it’s hard to even count them.

How many shows overall did you play on the tour, including the Power of the Riff shows?

D: Seven with the record store, I think.

S: Greg just kind of bum rushed us onto the bill, just basically told everyone we were playing.

Have you had a chance to tour Canada at all?

A: We’ve played Kamloops and Toronto.

D: Just the Okanagan and Ontario!

A: We’d really like to play Calgary and Edmonton, we know there’s a ton of fresh faces there that are really into this kind of music and this scene.

S: Ladyhawk is playing in mid-October. You guys should just come out and jump on the

bill. Just bring your own drum kit.

D: It’s Canada. Just use someone else’s kit!

Just don’t steal anything! [everyone laughs] A: Nick had his cymbals kind of taken away at our last show in Seattle.

N: On the last night of tour! Oh man...

S: At one of the raddest shows of the tour, too.

Which of your shows on this tour do you think was your best?

All: Seattle!

N: Outside of my gear being taken, of course.

A: We hadn’t even jammed before we had left!

D: I feel like the first six shows were practice pretty much. All of the practices we should have had before we left for this, anyways.

It is always hard to gauge that; you know your music better then anyone else so you always end up being harder on yourself then anyone else.

D: Yeah, except this time! [laughs] Well you still got a record contract out of it so it couldn’t have been that bad. Have you guys ever baptized anyone?

All: No. D: Have any of us been baptized?

All: No! Having just inked a two-record deal with Southern Lord (the contract was stuffed in Danny’s pocket at the time of this interview), Baptists have plans to record a new full-length album in December with a tour likely to follow.

vol. 9

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Next Issue is “Timeless” (we never said it would be timely)

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