Categories
Skateboarding News

Attention Brighton!

Calling all skateboarders in Brighton: On Monday the 18th August, Nancy Platts (standing to be an MP), is arranging a large group photo at The Level skatepark to demonstrate how many people are encouraging the construction of a new skatepark.

We’re sure that any of you who frequent The Level are aware of what a vital part of the Brighton scene it is, and how desperately it needs to be re-vamped and made bigger and better. By attending this, the press release sent to local media should prove very helpful in getting that step closer to a new park.

The photo shoot will take place at 1pm, so make sure you get everyone you know to come along and help transform The Level into something incredible.

www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/index.cfm?request=c1164251

Categories
Skateboarding News

House Comp – Sheffield this Saturday

The House Skatepark will be holding their annual comp this Saturday 13th September.

Getting in costs a mere five pounds, but if you want to compete then that’s covered in the entry fee! You may want to get in training because the prize is a stonking ten year free pass to the House Skatepark. FREE skateboarding (without getting chucked out!) for a decade!

With the likes of Blueprint, Death, Shit Skateboards, Unabomber, The Harmony, Karma, Stereo, A Third Foot amongst others supporting this, you really can’t miss out. Especially when there’s curry involved.

Head over to www.thehouseskatepark.co.uk for more info.

Categories
Buzz Chart

Capricorns

True story. I was nearly the drummer in Capricorns. When guitarist Kevin was initially putting together the band he talked about me drumming in it. And when their first drummer Chris couldn’t play a couple of gigs, he asked me to fill in. Thank fuck I didn’t. If I’d been playing drums, Capricorns might not have been the epic progressive-metal monster they became and instead a chaotic hardcore punk mess!

River, Bear Your Bones‘ is the band’s second album and also, sadly, looks to be their last. Recorded over a long period of time when the band were starting to become fractured, it was a real test of their commitment to get the album finished. Thankfully, the end results were worth every bit of blood, sweat and stress. Opening track ‘Broken Coffin Of The Venerable King‘ encapsulates everything that is special about this album. Although largely instrumental, the endless shifting nature of the music and it’s inability to sit still for even a second more than makes up for the lack of vocal hooks. But back to the opening track. Within it’s nine minutes ‘Broken Coffin‘ covers more ground than most band’s entire back catalogues. There’s angular Shellac-style riffs, blast beats, soft guitar picking Slint-moments followed by skull-cracking intensity and heaviness. And that’s Capricorns all over. And now it’s all over. Well, kinda. The band have all now splintered all over the glove and are in a state of hiatus, resting, waiting, picking the next time to come back and strike. Just not with me on drums.

James Sherry

Categories
The Library

The Stooges – A Journey Through The Michigan Underworld

By Brett Callwood
Published by Independent Music Press

Hot on the heels of Brett Callwood’s book about Detroit’s other famous rock sons The MC5 comes the long awaited story of the true originators of punk, The Stooges. While Callwood was out in Detroit researching his MC5 book, he fell in love with the place so much he upped sticks and moved out there for good! And having covered The MC5 it was clear he was going to have to next focus his attention onto what was then termed ‘The MC5’s little brother band’ and get the true story of Iggy Pop and his Stooges down on paper for good.

Although bearing the dreaded ‘Unofficial & Unauthorised‘ tag, ‘A Journey Through…‘ is the bands first in-depth biography and Brett has secured interviews for the book with the whole band and the key players around them. Brett’s passion for the subject shines through the book as he enthusiastically takes as through the band’s chaotic years, the fall out from their original split and the joy they brought to their legions of new and old fans when they finally reformed and hit the festival circuit a few years back.

Bands don’t come much more legendary than The Stooges. They practically single-handily invented the sneering, attitude-drenched lose and raw rock n’roll that spawned punk and if your record collection doesn’t contain their first three albums then more fool you. The less said about ‘The Weirdness‘, their reunion album from 2007, the better. It was a turkey and a massive disappointment. But this book isn’t. Read it and weap that they don’t make them like this anymore.

James Sherry

Categories
Music News

United Nations set for release

Superground, United Nations have revealed the track listing for their debut album. The album is due on September 9th on Eyeball Records. The project features Geoff Rickly from Thursday, Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw/Head Automatica, Chree from the Number 12 Looks Like You and Kiss It Goodbye’s Eric Cooper.

The tracklisting is as follows:

01 The Spinning Heart of the Yo-Yo Lobby
02 No Sympathy For A Sinking Ship
03 Resolution #9
04 Model UN
05 The Shape of Punk That Never Came
06 My Cold War
07 Filmed In Front of A Live Studio Audience
08 Revolutions In Graphic Design
09 I Keep Living The Same Day
10 Subliminal Testing
11 Say Goodbye to General Figment of the USS Imagination

www.eyeballrecords.com/artists/unitednations

Categories
Music News

Neon Neon announce UK Tour

The Mercury Prize nominated band, Neon Neon are to embark upon a tour of the UK following their appearences at festivals over the summer.

Here are the dates.

29th October Koko London
1st November Brudenell Social Club Leeds
7th November The Sage 2 Gateshead
9th November Ruby Lounge Manchester
10th November Glee Club Birmingham

www.myspace.com/neonx2

Categories
Features

Hologram – No Shame In Spain

Talking Jive: Stanley
Hunched with an SLR: Trix
Shoving VXs where the sun don’t shine: Nick Richards

What are your first thoughts when you think of South Wales?

They copulate with sheep don’t they?
Oh, I heard there was a rift in time there.
They like Rugby, and dragons. Yeah they love their dragons; do they not acknowledge their non-existence?
I don’t know, but I fancy Charlotte Church a bit I suppose.

Well, aside from the myths, the stereotypes and a fictional dues ex machina that time lords take advantage of whenever the plot goes out of control, there is one thing that’s impossible to deny. That is of course, the area’s prolific nature when producing ludicrously talented skateboarders. So much so in fact, that this particular location is just a big fat slag with an impeccable taste for wood-pushers.

Matt Pritchard, Lee Dainton, Matt Davies and co. were amongst the first to help Cardiff’s blip on the radar swell up like a 20 car pile-up on the M4. Before it had the chance to be swept away, Scott Magil’s ‘Who?’ and Dykie’s Crayon Skateboards took aim with an M67 and blew the scene sky high. People had no choice but to pay attention. The unparalleled balls-out (often literally) approach to skating became a common motif in South Wales skating.

Following in the grubby footsteps is Nick Richards and the 10:30 Warriors, who are causing some serious business while filming for the hotly anticipated Hologram.

These boyos have been at the heart of the Cardiff and Newport skate scene for most of their lives, united by their passions for skating the shit out of everything and generally dicking about like Welsh scummers. At this rate Hologram is shaping to be the perfect combination between styled out gnar and unashamed scumbag antics. Isn’t this what skateboarding is all about?

We’ve had the pleasure of getting an exclusive insight at their recent filming trip to Barcelona. Check out some of the dirty and slutty shots from their trip here, and make sure you have a peep at the sickity sick 15 minute off-cuts (just imagine what’s been kept!) edit that Nick has spliced together with his usual tender love and care. Click on the picture opposite to see the boys who have no shame whilst in Spain, but be warned, it’s almost certainly NSFW, but just as slick as it is sick. Hologram is expected to drop around Christmas time to stoke out your stocking.

Hold Tight South Wales.

Ryan Thomas floats this comfortable kickflip over that uncomfortable chair while Nick gets his head superglued to a tree. Caught and stuck like a good’un.

right

Rhys The Ox gives this spot the bluntside shove in treatment. Tighty whiteys were mandatory.

Gareth Leak with a front 5 to fakie on that spot that refuses to look anything other than breathtaking on camera. Holy Landscapes Batman!

HOLLERGRAM. Stay tuned.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Jamal Smith hates Nazis

He also hates snow, but loves poptarts. Hear Jamal’s words of wisdom on this video posted by 10 Deep. We love Fridays… and we also love Jamal.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Howe its done…

Fresh in this morning from DuFFs TM Mark Munson this morning sees City Skateboards UK rider Adam Howe cruise at a mobile skatepark…

Categories
Skateboarding News

Party till you’re undead

Then party some more.

Jason ‘The Kid’ Adams has hooked up with Creature gnarl-machine Al Partanen to create this undeadly deck. Can Creature physically bring themselves to make something that’s not covered in mind-blowing awesome? Clearly not.

There’s only four hundred of these hand screened bad boys around, so go and support your local creature sharpish.

www.creatureskateboards.com