The Kill City team are on the road over the next week and maybe coming to a town near you.
Here’s the latest Sunday Stooges edit from Saffron Walden for your viewing pleasure and a trip to Abedare in Wales to get you warmed up.
Scroll down below to watch them.
A short potted history of the group know as Felt:
Living Legends rapper Murs teamed up with Atmosphere’s wordsmith Slug to form a side-project named Felt. 2002 – Felt: A Tribute To Christina Ricci was released, produced entirely by Living Legends member The Grouch. 2005 – Felt 2: A Tribute To Lisa Bonet was released, produced entireley by Atmosphere’s Ant. So, 2009 arrives and Felt 3 is on its way, with the production duties originally shrouded in mystery but recently revealed as being handled by Aesop Rock.
This track, Protagonists, is the teaser track with both Murs and Slug going in hard with the Minneapolis rapper throwing in a sung chorus [we all know how he loves to do that once in a while]. The build up in the intro gets the hype
“What you gonna do when we come through? / Hit undo, whatever you must do / Stay fly, get high and fuck you” raps Slug in an opening gambit which lays opposition immediately to the floor, with his LA counterpart continuing the braggadocia by acknowledging that Felt are your favourite group, without even being a proper group.
The guitar hook flits across the drums and subtly squeaking details with both rappers gliding along, making it seem casual and easy being the best around. If the rest of the album is as good as this track, then Felt 3 is gatecrashing the album of the year list.
Jak Bet.
Last minute news from the One Minet Park but there’s a jam happening this Sunday at Saffron Walden’s concrete curves in association with LCB Skate School.
This jam will take place Sunday August 23rd from 12 midday and will have all the usual action, plus some free skate school lessons going on in the new beginners section at the park plus DJ’s and a BBQ.
More info at www.oneminetpark.co.uk. Sign up for skate lessons via email at info@lcbsurfstore.com or join the Facebook group here.
When I heard that Mike Blabac had a photography book coming out, I was excited, and to find it was having some gallery space at The Maverick in London for a short time, I simply had to go check it out. The images on the screen in front of you only give you a small insight in to what is on offer here, the book is stunning and has to be seen in the flesh to be truly appreciated.
Photography is great, it helps you timecode what you were doing, how you looked, what you were wearing and where you were at, all captured at a fraction of a second. Skateboarding has been blessed with some greats in the field, Brittain, Kanights, Jefferson are all names that stand out and carry as much weight as the skaters they are shooting. These are the guys who bring us the spots, the skaters, the tricks – ultimately, the PROOF that skating is going off all over the world and strive to keep it not merely documented. But to blow you away and inspire you – Mike Blabac, like the afore mentioned names is one of the heavy weight generals of skateboarding’s army of photographers.
Blabac has been shooting skate photos for around 20 years now, starting off with his Nikon F3 and shooting local kids. He first started getting noticed in the early 90’s and moving to San Francisco definitely bought him more opportunity. At the time skating was all about EMB. His break came when asked to shoot for Justin Girrards Mad Circle Skateboards. The shots that were coming out of these sessions helped define the era, with skaters like Bobby Puleo, Drake Jones and Josh Kalis starting to come out with their unique styles. At the same time he managed to shoot some of the big names too, with some classic Mike Carroll shots as well as capturing Koston’s back noseblunt down the Hubba hideout too!
Blabacs photography style is unique – he has his own vision and compared to a lot of photographers uses minimal amounts of equipment, when you don’t have time to set up three flashes he is happy to shoot slow or ramp up the ISO – and if the shot was grainy, it doesn’t matter, the shot was captured. This style has led him to a succession of covers starting with Transworld and then conquering the other milestones, Thrasher, Slap etc.
After a prolific end to the 90’s Mike was picked up by his current employer, DC Shoes and for the last 10 years has helped shape their style. Stand-out shots on display in the gallery, and in the book, include Stevie Williams portraits and his simple switch heelflip on flat photo in 2004, which has as much impact as Danny Way‘s megaramp and Great Wall of China antics. With his focus mainly on photography for adverts, he took more creative control and added all sorts to the images – from Dyrdek‘s “Bling” to penguins and panthers for cover shots!
Skateboard photography is difficult, so many elements come in to play that you wouldn’t normally come across – firstly dealing with the speed, so you have to shoot fast to get a clear image, second thing is getting the best angle which leads to the third – timing. To a skater the most important thing is the story – knowing that exact 1/640 of a second to get the money shot – the shot that shows who it is, and leaves no doubt in the viewers mind what is going on here.
With Blabac’s photos you don’t need to look to see who it is, you know who it is, and as important, the trick – hitting “fire” at the right moment that let’s you know that “he flipped into this” and capturing the momentum to show that he is sliding once he locks in on the block. This is an art, an art that has consumed Mike Blabac for 20 years, where he has arrived a subliminal level of respect, you don’t need to read the caption.
This book is a chronicle of skating over the last 20 years, a must for anyone interested in photography, not merely the skating side, but images in general. It’s large format 10.5×13.5 inch’s spans over 224 pages helps do the images justice. Mike Blabac lives and breathes skateboarding and this book is a testament to the dedication and man hours spent in the dirt shooting, or running from cops at EMB. It’s all worthwhile in the end, and it’s all in the book, go peep it here.
PP
BROADWAY CALLS‘ second album (their first for legendary indie SideOneDummy) has just been released and we caught up with singer/guitarist Ty Vaughn to find out more about the album, what the band has been up to this year and what they have coming up.
‘Good Views, Bad News‘ is out now and the band play Reading and Leeds, as well as supporting The Offspring and Rival Schools this month.
Hi Ty, tell us what were the main inspirations for your new album?
Mostly just trying to cope with a harsh northwest winter. I got snowed in, and trying to write a good pop punk summer album when the power is out, and there’s a blizzard outside isn’t easy. So I would listen to Teenage Bottlerocket, Jimmy Eat World, Screeching Weasel… Poppy stuff, but the lyrics were closer to Jawbreaker.
How do you feel about it being released through Side One Dummy?
We’re so happy to be with them. They’re the best. Such a great roster of bands, and it’s an honor to be a part of it. They work really hard with us, and we’re a good match.
You’ve toured with some pretty amazing bands this year (and are about to hit the UK with Rival Schools and The Offspring). What have been the highlights?
Touring with Alkaline Trio across Europe for a month was incredible. We had never been to mainland Europe, so to experience it for the first time, with one of our favorite bands, was literally a dream come true. Also we did a headlining tour of the West coast, with an amazing band called The Menzingers. That was extremely fun.
Who would you put on your ideal tour?
Green Day, Blink 182, Dead To Me, and us. I’d love to watch Chicken from DTM make fun of the crowds every night.
What’s the best line-up you’ve ever been a part of?
Tomorrow we’re playing a fest in California with Comadre, Dead To Me, Hour Of The Wolf, Make Do And Mend, Sabretooth Zombie and lots of others. Our friends in Set It Straight had a final show a couple years ago, and it was pretty much every amazing hardcore band from the West coast. That was one of my favorite shows ever.
What bands come to mind when you think of the ultimate punk rock show?
The Ramones, Jawbreaker, The Descendents, Green Day, Kid Dynamite, Refused!
What are the best and worst things about touring?
The best thing is meeting new friends, and seeing familiar faces every night. The worst thing is missing loved ones at home.
What do you think of the Reading and Leeds line-up? Who will you be checking out?
I haven’t seen AFI for years! Never seen Brand New. Stoked to see Frank Turner, Gaslight Anthem, Radiohead, and we’re going a day early to see the lock-up bands. Lots of friends on that stage like Polar Bear Club and Set Your Goals.
What’s been the greatest achievement of your career so far?
Definitely our new record. It’s the biggest, best thing we’ve ever created. That and being able to travel around the world doing the one thing that we love more than anything.
You were originally signed to Billie Joe’s label. If you had your own record label, what up and coming bands would you like to sign?
The Menzingers!!!! They don’t need my help though. They’re going to be just fine on their own. Everyone please check them out!!!!
What’s the most important thing you learnt when you were a band just starting out?
Be honest. Don’t be fake in the songs or on stage. People see right through that stuff.
What are your feelings on the digital versus physical in terms of music releases? Will physical formats ever become obsolete do you think?
I hope not. I understand that formats come and go, but vinyl is making a comeback, because it’s still cool to sit down and look through the liner notes of an album and look at the artwork. I hope it never goes 100% digital.
What are your plans for the rest of the year? Will there be a full headline tour in the UK at any point?
We’ll definitely be back in the UK this year, but we’ll probably be supporting someone. And trust me, it’s an amazing punk/hardcore band! We’re stoked!!!
Keep on guessing who that band will be but in the meantime Broadway Calls’ new album is released this very week and we’re pleased as punch to present an exclusive track from the record for streaming at this link HERE. Go have a listen to ‘Best Year’- you can also stream the rest of the album by clicking through on the ‘webwheel’.
The éS shoe team are embarking on a European tour they are calling the The Great éScape Tour but unfortunately they are not visiting the UK. This obviously sucks but maybe we can bring an article to you from this tour to fill the void.
One of the Vivian Girls has a new project.
Cassie Ramone has teamed up with Woods bassist Kevin Morby, and Justin Sullivan from Bossy to form a group called The Babies. You can check them out at their MySpace page. Meantime, here is some live footage:
Strung Out have set a title and release date for their next album.
The record is called Agents of the Underground and is due out September 29, 2009. Jason Cruz said of the album:
“With Agents Of The Underground, I wanted to acknowledge the fact that we are still alive and kicking just below the consciousness of the mainstream media and are celebrating our place here in “The Underground”, Like a resistance movement, we move freely and without boundaries. We say what we feel and do it all our own way, and we’ve done it all this time without radio, without TV, and without the help of a corporate record label. We are the essence of what the punk rock movement started out as and has strayed so far from. We are living proof that you can succeed by doing things your own way.”
Here’s a reminder of what they’re all about:
Dennis Lyxzen and David Sandstrom have a new band.
The former Refused members are now in AC4 and will be releasing their debut album on Ny Våg Records. You can check out the band’s track Let’s Go To War by clicking here.
Check out some live footage… apparently in someone’s garden:
Gotta love him…
DAEWON TONY HAWK “RIDE” VIDEO from Patchworks on Vimeo.