Paul Rodriguez came out with the title as the winner of the street comp at this years X-Games this weekend. The Big Air comp on the megaramp was taken by Australian nutcase Jake Brown after going head to head with Brazilian Bob Burnquist. Osiris rider Pierre Luc Gagnon got gold ahead of Bucky Lasek on the vert comp whilst Danny Way took first place at the Big Air Rail Jam with a switch 50-50 and supposedly injured. Watch some of this action here.
Author: Crossfire
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Hawk doubles up on a big Mac
No burgers about it, Tony Hawk and Andy Macdonald look like they are having fun in this doubles clip! Go on, play it.
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Young Guns Interview
Young Guns are a bright, youthful band hailing from High Wycombe. Forming less than 2 years ago they are already quickly making a name for themselves after shows with the likes of Funeral For A Friend, Aiden and We Are The Ocean, and the release of their debut EP ‘”Mirrors“.
The band are also nominated for ‘Best British Newcomer’ at this year’s Kerrang! Awards. We caught up with them to talk all things Guns.
You just released your debut EP ‘Mirrors‘. What’s the feedback been like so far? Have you had anyone you really admire / look up to say that they’re into your band?
The feedback so far has been pretty awesome – we’re a bit overwhelmed with how well Mirrors has been received. We’re all really proud of the songs but to get the response we’ve had is definitely amazing. We’ve always looked up to UK bands that were good enough and dedicated enough to break out of the scene and be something more, so having bands like Lostprophets come back to us and say they’re down with our music is rad.. Having said that, there are some awesome bands around in the UK, people I really admire as musicians like the boys in Deaf Havana, Outcry Collective and all the other bands we always name check (haha!) so that they genuinely like our music means a lot to me/us. Oh and Malcolm Young!!
I heard an interesting story about something that happened during your video shoot for single ‘In The Night’ involving you guys performing on train tracks with a train fast approaching. What happened exactly?
Ahh… Yeah that was our first video experience. We got the brilliant Lawrence Hardy to shoot the video for us but were really strapped for cash, so found a cool disused train track in the middle of nowhere that we could film on. Getting all our gear over fences and down muddy banks in the dead of night is not a fun experience, but was definitely topped off by it turning out the the tracks weren’t actually abandoned at all which we only realised when a freight train came flying down the track towards us! It was while I was filming so I had the lights in my eyes and couldn’t fucking see anything, all I heard was John scream ‘train!’
We definitely set a record for shifting a whole stage set-up of gear, we got everything off the rails in about 5 seconds haha! The train rolled to a stop in front of us sitting in the shadows under the railway bridge and the driver went mental at us… Luckily we managed to avoid getting arrested and squeezed in a bit more filming after the train had gone on. Very clever.
You guys are nominated for ‘Best British Newcomer’ at this year’s Kerrang! Awards. How does that feel? The Awards ceremony is renowned for its endless supply of free alcohol. Are you planning on taking it easy to avoid potentially making a fool of yourself in front of some of the biggest names in rock, or are you going to go all out and party?
Are you kidding? It feels fucking awesome! We didn’t push for people to vote for us as we didn’t think we stood a chance, which makes getting nominated even better for us… We’ll probably try and keep ourselves under control for as long as possible, but in all honesty, win or lose, it’s the Kerrang awards man!! I’m sure we’re going to end up pretty messy. I WILL meet Corey Taylor no matter what happens. This is my aim for the night.
Have your live shows changed since you’ve gained recognition in the press and been nominated for awards? Does there seem to be more people who know who you are and sing along? Or even more people turning up in general?
Yeah, you know, we haven’t been together all that long and there’s definitely been a shift of late, but we work hard and have managed to get ourselves around a fair bit off our own backs but there’s definitely a better response happening lately. All this other stuff that we’ve got happening to us right now is so fucking exciting and we do love every minute of it, but at the end of the day playing shows is the reason you start a band, and having people turn up sing along and get involved means 10,000 times more than any award or bit of press will ever mean. It sounds a bit cliched but it’s true, seeing people getting involved when we play is literally the best feeling ever.
Who do you think will be nominated for Best Newcomer at next year’s awards? Are there any bands who have caught your eye already and you feel deserve it?
Deaf Havana, Outcry Collective, Out of Sight, All Forgotten…. tough question, there’s shit loads of wicked bands around right now.
What award would you most like to win if you could be up for all of them? Some bands would feel more honoured to win best live band rather than best album, how important is putting on a great live show to you? would you rather be better live or on record?
Yeah I’m gonna go with popular opinion with that one, definitely best live band. Putting on a live show is the most important aspect to us really, I’d like to think that we’re good on record and good live but in different ways! Being in the studio and bringing a song to life is something I think we’re really good at doing, but we’re always trying as hard as we can to bring the best live show that we can bring as well, I’d love Young Guns to be one of those bands that people talk about for being a real experience live.
You recently played at Download Festival. How was that? Is that the most prestigious show you’ve played so far? Do you feel more pressure before a show like that or do you face every gig the same way?
Download was unbelievable.. DOWNLOAD!! We stayed there as long as possible to soak up every last ounce of the experience haha! Definitely the most prestigious, there wasn’t any real pressure but it was definitely a new experience playing a show like that, I could see Staind from where I was on our stage, all the way over on the main stage which was pretty surreal. We try to approach every show in the same way at the moment, try to bring the energy and intimacy of a small stage show to a larger stage. Standing at the foot of the gangway going up to the back of the stage was definitely a little moment for us.
What are your plans for the rest of the year? Any tours we should know about? Have you started working towards your next release yet or are you still focused on the current EP? Would you consider including any of the tracks on ‘Mirrors’ on a full length or do you want a completely fresh record?
Ah, well our plans pretty much consist of tour, tour and then tour some more, plus we’re going to keep one eye on writing material for our first full length which should (hopefully!) be out first half of next year, with a single maybe around the beginning of the new year. We start off our own headlining tour which begins on the 18th of July which is gonna be awesome, plus we’ve obviously got some shows with Lostprophets in August which are going to be mental!
We’re also playing Sonisphere so there’s no excuse not to see us! We’ve got a lot lined up for this year but I’ve got to be a good boy and keep that stuff under my hat for now… As for the EP/Album thing, it’s a tough one ‘cos you don’t want to just recycle the same old shit, and moving on is important, but at the same time those songs mean a lot to us and I’d like to think that they’re good enough for more people to hear than in all likelihood will ever hear our EP, so who knows..! If we did I doubt we’d put all four on though.
Young Guns’ EP Mirrors is out now on Live Forever Records and you can find them at MySpace here.
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Fresh Blood: Ryan DeCenzo
Footage thanks to Jordan Mayfield
Photo: Backside Noseblunt by Geoff Clifford
WHO?
Full name: Ryan DeCenzo.
Age: 22.
Sponsors: Darkstar, Globe, Thunder, Nixon, Red Dragon, Redbull, and Dakine.
Hometown: Vancouver, B.C.Canada.
Skating since: 2000
Favourite tricks: nollie heels
Favourite spots/terrain: Everything
Inspired by: Paul Machnau, Mark Appleyard, Andrew Reynolds, Scott DeCenzo, Wade Desarmo
Hates: Hitting rocks, skating.
Loves: Snacking and candy.
Can’t live without... Music.
Skate video: Flip – Really Sorry.
Fave sesh: Good homies anywhere.
Music to die to: DEATH metal of course!
Ultimate aim in life: Be happy and see the world.
CHET THOMAS ON RYAN:
Hailing from Vancouver Canada, but now residing in Huntington Beach CA, Ryan Decenzo is the perfect candidate for Fresh Blood. Ryan is a stand out where ever he goes and no matter who he is with. He always has one thing on his mind and that skateboarding. Skateboarding, and more skateboarding. Whether Ryan is winning major am events or collecting 30 mins of footy in a 6 month period, Ryan just cant get enough of skateboarding.
It’s very refreshing and motivating to be around a kid like Decenzo. He always wants to shred, learn new tricks, film, and hang with his Canadian crew. Did I mention that he also rides his board backwards? Wtf. I’m not going to argue his thought process on this one because what ever he is doing, its working for him and I’m positive that you will see a lot more from Ryan Decenzo in the upcoming future and come to same conclusion. Decenzo rips and is definitely Fresh Blood!
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The Secret of Moonacre
If you are looking for something with a bit of magic, something you can drift off into a fantasy world with and watch as a mysterious story unfolds, then this is a film for you. ‘The Secret of Moonacre‘ is no ordinary fairy tale story with its emphasis of magic and fantasy. The film adaptation of the novel ‘The Little White Horse’ by Elizabeth Goudge is much more about family, putting all differences behind you and overcoming your pride.
It sort of reminds me of ‘The Never Ending Story’ with more importance on family and overcoming disputes between each other and less on magic and bringing a story to life. ‘The Secret of Moonacre’ follows the adventures of young teenage Maria Merryweather (Dakota Blue Richards), who when her father dies, is forced to leave the city and live with her uncle, Sir Benjamin Merryweather (Ioan Gruffudd), at his isolated country estate in Moonacre Valley. Her sole inheritance from her father is a book, but this is no ordinary book. It chronicles an ancient tale, the rivalry between two families – the Merryweather’s and De Noir’s, over a set of magical pearls. It is placed in the hands of Maria, Moon Princess to find the pearls and get the two families to put their differences behind them, overcoming a curse placed on Moonacre Village.
Gábor Csupó, who also directed ‘Bridge to Terabithia‘, directs this film in a similar fashion. There are a few comical moments in the film, such a minder with trapped wind, but the majority of the film is mesmerising for other reasons. The settings are even more beautiful with images of the large moon rising being striking, making the magic more dominant. There are some magical scenes, but not nearly as much as I expected, which was my exact opinion with ‘Bridge to Terabithia’. The there is the house slowing falling into disrepair, a dog with red eyes thought to be a demon dog by one family but magically a black lion, a small man moving at the speed of light and then the stars on a bedroom ceiling glistening, shooting (or rather falling) one by one; this element I would love for my own bedroom. Along with the beauty of the setting and scenery comes the hideously dreadful costume that may be worse than those worn in the Middle Ages, but somehow suits the time of the tale incredibly well.
There may not be as much magical sentiment than you may want from the film, but ‘The Secret of Moonacre’ is still a very enjoyable flick to watch and will be an experience for children and adults alike to enjoy.
Michelle Moore
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The Haunting in Connecticut
Lionsgate Films
www.hauntinginconnecticut.com
There have been many horror films apparently inspired by or based on real events. ‘The Exorcist’, ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘The Amityville Horror‘ and ‘An American Haunting‘ are to name but a few that have been released and remade over the last forty years.
Each one has been terrifying in its own right. Knowing these events have actually occurred in some respect to an actual person makes the film frightening, which is the aim in the first place. These occurrences were obviously chosen for their freaky factor and can be enjoyed with a twisted mind, which the majority of the worlds population has anyway. In the case of ‘The Haunting in Connecticut‘, the “based on true events” statement appears with the credits at the start of the film and if this isn’t enough to make you shiver from head to toe then the story and images that follow will likely do it.
Told from the perspective of a disturbed yet miracle-believing mother, ‘The Haunting in Connecticut’ sees a teenage boy dealing with the late stages of cancer. When the trips to and from the hospital become very tiresome, the Campbell family rent a house in Connecticut. Little do they know that the history of the house will not be remaining the past, but returning for a hunting. What first seems like hallucinations bought on by the drugs Matt is taking for his condition soon become real when other members of the family begin experiencing things too; from seeing images in reflections off the mirror/TV to hearing noises and creeks and even experiencing poltergeist activity. It is these quick visions that on numerous occasions offer jolts and scares. As well as dealing with present events, the story looks into the history, which is still being played out in the house. Viewers are given an insight into the unpleasant goings on that used to occur in the premises. We find out about a young boy, Jonah, who was a medium and used to communicate with spirits, and a mortician that disrespected the bodies of the deceased.
This is one of those tales that doesn’t fully make sense until the end where you can place all the pieces together. How the history plays on the present day is a thinker at first, but in the end makes a practical sense. As the stories intertwine it’s the images that cause a few squints of the eye. They include eye lids being copped off, bodies walking around like zombies, corpses falling to the ground wrapped up like mummies you get in a museum and a boy exerting the ectoplasm associated with ghosts are sometimes very disturbing and quite shocking, especially the would inflicted on poor Matt.
‘The Haunting in Connecticut’ isn’t a blood fest, but more of a paranormal experience. From a lover of all things supernatural and horror infested I absolutely adored this film. It was slightly dark, but I liked the fact it played on the mind and got a viewer thinking and trying to place the piece together before revealing all at the end. I think it is well worth the watch.
Michelle Moore
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Today was a good day
P-Rod has a new shoe out on the Swoosh. Check the advert with all the usual bling here.
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Vox do Portugal
VOX Footwear soldiers David Gravette, JT Aultz and Emmanuel Guzman visited Portugal recently. Check the video below for the fun.
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The Kids are Alright!
The Element team have been cruising round the beautiful Portuguese coast recently. Check this clip below of Levi Brown, Ruben Rodrigues and Mike Kershnar repping the Elemental Awareness campaign and don’t forget to the visit Element website for the first episode of the Make it Count documentary online.