Categories
Music News

The Stupids play secret show

The Stupids reformed for a comeback show at the Portland Arms in Cambridge this weekend in front of 100 people organised by Boss Tuneage Records.

The night featured various Boss T bands including a set by TV Smith before Tommy Stupid proved he can still play fast hardcore throughout a bunch of classics from Peruvian Vacation, Violent Nun and Retard Picnic whilst Ed Shred took care of vocal duties.

Apparently they had so much fun that more shows are being planned, watch ‘Elephant Man‘, the first track from this show here.

Categories
Interviews

Adam Dyet Interview

Adam Dyet is large as life itself. In fact he could be documented as one of life’s steamrollers – usually the first in and the first out.

His burly approach to skateboarding has taken him around the planet with various skate teams but this particular trip saw the Bones Wheels Team split into 2 groups throughout Europe this summer with Dyet landing in London for a demo and to collect some street footage..

Zac asks the questions outside Bay Sixty 6 with thanks to Chris Ortiz for photography ..

So then, Mr Dyet’s back in London…

The return of Mr Dyet, in London, here I am!

The last time I saw you, you were taking money out of my hand at the Southbank Jam.

It was such a good time, the whole contest and everything turned out to be really, really good, there were a lot of good kids there, a lot of good skateboarding and the whole spot itself is legendary; I was excited to just go out there and rip it.

How different was the event compared to those sorts of things back at home?

It was so much different because it was much more like a party you know? A bunch of kids just getting together and having one big party, a skate party, rather than just a simple contest with runs and everything, this was just all-out, best tricks everywhere and that’s what I like.

Since then you’ve been travelling quite a bit, I’ve seen you popping up in Thrasher and generally getting about and laying the hammers down. You won $15 grand and the Slaughter at the Opera event as well…

Australia was pretty much the best time ever, I love that place. It was a good come up too; last year I got first place and this year me and Greg switched and he got first while I got second. I’m not going to complain, the whole set up of the contest is just so good, and well, I won $15 grand!

I heard the rail was a beast.

Dude the rail was so fucking big. I couldn’t believe that they were having a contest on this thing, let alone the tricks that people were sticking down it. Sean Malto killed it!

So where else have you been? Did you go through Europe on this Bones tour?

Yeah, these guys went to Spain and France and I ended up meeting them in Paris and from there we hit up Berlin, Holland and now here I am.

Let’s hear THE tour story then…

Oh god man, so many stories! On this tour, Jordan Hoffat just opened a door and walked into Jared Lucas, the team manager from Bones, well, just straight up jerking off! Straight on, side profile, jerk off man! Hand on his penis. Haha, and this is with the European style side shower so this was a full frontal show!

OMG..

This was in Berlin. Surprisingly the girls were really harsh man, not cool at all!

So, you are not missing Salt Lake City then?

Well there are bits and pieces. Obviously I miss my family. I miss my Mum a lot and try to go and see her whenever I get any spare time but it’s really hard with my schedule. I miss my friends and knowing the whole tale you know? California is just like a blur to me. It’s literally skate, skate, skate. Utah is still my home.

So you are residing in California?

Yeah, I live in Huntington Beach, and it’s good, but you know… it’s California. I know a lot of people say that California is great but myself, it’s ok but I think it’s not so good.

Why’s that?

Well the skate spots are amazing, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the skating. But having to drive for hours and only hit two skate spots isn’t all that. Sitting in traffic ain’t fun. Everyone who lives there thinks that they’re number one and it’s just overrated. California is totally overrated.

Is Wahoo’s still there in HB?

Yeah, Wahoo’s Fish Taco is still here.

The best tacos in Cali..

Oh it’s definitely good. I’m starting to know more people and through them trying to make this feel like my home and it is getting better.

But Salt Lake City is always going be your home?

Oh for sure. unless it’s snowing…

So what’s a typical day for you now?

I wake up late, get myself some food and coffee and just skate, skate, skate. If I’m not skating I’ll just chill at my house, maybe ride my bike or cruise around on my scooter, pretty much just hang out. And fishing! I love fishing! Fishing is seriously the best thing in my life. When I grow up I wanna be a pro fisherman.

I was checking out your myspace and saw a few pictures of you with some pretty huge Marlin and Tuna; do you like going out into the ocean and fish for hours?

Yes! Yeah yeah! I love it. Today I was actually supposed to be going shark fishing in Costa Rica.

Have you ever been there before?

No, never been there…

I’ve been and seriously it’s a contender for the best country in the world, you’re not going to want to come home…

I’m leaving right now….

In the Northwest of the country they have some of the best Marlin fishing in the planet, apparently.

Damn dude, I want to do that so fucking bad. That’s why I want to go out there. It’s good to have a break, these guys I’m with are trooping it up for the whole 46 days or something. I’ve been here – what? – 15, maybe 18 days now and I’m just ready to go fishing. I’ve had a lot of fun over here but now it’s just time to hang out.

Let’s talk Darkstar. You have your boards out now; you’ve got a tattoo of your board graphic right?

Yeah, yeah I’ve got an armpit to hip of my first pro graphic. It’s not finished yet, it’s had about 8 hours work on it. It looks really gnarly! With Darkstar, we have a really good crew going on right now. We’re filming a video that will probably be out within a year or so. Everyone is ripping it man, Paul Decenzo, Ryan … Paul Machnau always kills it obviously! Same with Gailea Momolu. We’ve definitely got a solid, diverse team. Mick jumps down so much crazy shit it’s unbelievable. Seriously man, this Darkstar video is going to be some mad shit.

So how much stuff have you put away for that as opposed to other projects?

Everything man. Literally everything I film, everywhere I go, I send it all to Darkstar.

So what’s being on the team like?

We have a totally solid team right now. I mean, we could need one more pro soon. Terrell Robinson is going to turn pro soon, we might get one more am, but I’m totally psyched on the team right now. Everyone gets on really well, and that’s always the best thing about a team – just getting together, that feeling of unity without any bitching or fighting.

If Creature and Darkstar went head to head over the colour green who would win?

Personally I think I would win with Darkstar because green rules our shit, my shit. With Creature, it’s a big battle royale. It’s stupid man, people are saying “oh Dyet, so you’re making a Creature board.” And why, because it’s fucking green? No, not happening. Green is just my colour man.

So you moved from Globe to Dekline?

Yeah, got on Dekline around 5 months ago. With Globe, Greg Lutzka is getting a shoe, David Gonzales is going pro so they didn’t really have enough room for another new pro. I could have waited another couple of years but I wanted to get my career started you know? No diss to Globe at all, but I had to do what I had to do.

So how’s life over there?

It’s going good. We had a little road trip and I hurt my ankle at a demo and had to leave half way through it which was a shame. Team is great though, everyone gets along and we got some crazy variety going. There are some handrail kids, obviously Patrick Melcher has got that innovative approach, Jason Adams doing his unique shit. Matt Ball rips so yeah Dekline is definitely on the come up.

Obviously you’ve got a mixed bag of tricks…

As always it depends on the day. Some days things go really well and you land stuff you’d never imagine doing while some you’d be struggling to do things you do all the time. It’s always up to that moment in time.

What’s the Satan trick?

Blunt to fakie. On anything. No matter what size the quarter pipe is, I’m just going to get wrecked. Everyone can do a blunt to fakie, not me!

Do you watch skate videos to get inspired to learn new things?

I don’t like skate videos! I go skateboarding, but then I don’t want to go home and watch skateboarding. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a skateboarder and I love skateboarding with all my heart, but I just don’t watch them. I’m not a skate nerd, I know absolutely no skate trivia what-so-ever, the who-did-what-and-where, I just love going skateboarding. I have my favourite parts, Guy Mariano in Mouse, Arto and Mark in Sorry, Danny Way in DC, anything that’s put a mark on skateboarding, but as for new videos, I don’t try and keep up.

So when you’re kicking back and having a smoke, does music come into this chill time?

Oh for sure, I like music a lot. Admittedly I don’t know much, but I just love to hear music. I’m not much of a band guy or record label guy, just someone who likes to jam out. I don’t know much, but I know what I like. AC/DC, Slayer, Bob Marley, David Bowie, whatever.

So if you had the choice of soundtrack for your video part in the upcoming Darkstar video what would you choose?

I’m trying to get AC/DC. Maybe Problem Child or Shoot To Thrill if no one’s used it. I think Matt Hensley might have though… Actually, I’ll tell you what I might want to use – not sure if you’ve heard of them – The Sword?

Oh, yeah, The Sword rock…

I used them on one of my local Utah video parts and it was so sick. They’re an incredible live band. I saw them not so long back, so fucking awesome.

So is there anything else you want to cover here in this hot car?

Just to say thank you to all my sponsors, especially Bones Wheels for this trip, Crossfire for doing what it does and thank you to skateboarding and having a smoke!

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Creature – Death Card Deck 8.00” x 31.9”

The dark side is shining bright, very bright and rest assured, evil will once again roll our streets and we will bleed green again, oh yes, WE WILL BLEED GREEN AGAIN!

This company, like many other dark horses in the skate community, is making huge ripples in the pond, small waves to be exact. I’ve recently been on a week long trip all over the country and noticed the green demons surfacing on concrete all over the show, from all the way up north to way down south. I wondered if it was all trend related, but then thought to myself, how can it be, these guys are gnarly and don’t give a shit about the olympics, why would ‘Johnny Mystery‘ rather shred a toxic waste stick opposed to a LA Lakers graphic? The answer, which I’m about to unfold here, is simple, these boards are unbelievably good!

After recently having my skateboard pinched from a skate orgy, I thought the only way to get even with karma is to get the joker of Gotham city, a bright stick with a black heart. I got dealt the death card and this made me very happy, I made no peace with anyone and rolled out the gun straight away.

This board has a very strong back bone with a medium concaved upper body and shorter wheelbase, all the elements that contributes to this being a nearly perfect ride. Long wheel based boards just don’t feel right to me and I tend to snap them much quicker too. It’s quite a short board over all actually, any 8 inch rig shorter than 32 inches in length ticks the right boxes in my book, they’re much easier to handle in tight spots and gives you maximum control through corner pockets. The tail is slightly shorter than the nose, not much, but enough for you to know which way your board is facing at all times. It’s snappy and very light too, again, more reasons why I enjoy being stuck with this creation. I wish I could say bad things about the board, but I cant, it’s truly a great ride on both parks and street!

I don’t believe in following trends or Xerox-ing others, but as far as getting hold of one of these go, I highly recommend you try it out and get on board, it’s a nice ride and you’ll hate yourself for not doing so sooner.

My favourite thing about this board is the luminous green glow it gives off; very hard to misplace! Should any prick attempt to steal this from a pub, skate park, tree house or anywhere for that matter, he automatically deals himself an involuntary death card and this means you become his maker. You will be able to see the toxic glow miles away and therefore you could quite easily retrieve your stolen goods from the perpetrator after snapping a kingpin over the cunt’s face! I suggest you knock him unconscious, get a handsaw out and remove one of his hands. This will leave a permanent mental scar on his conscience and will most likely prevent him from ever taking something that doesn’t belong to him…just a thought though?!

I’M COMING FOR YOU!

9/10
Live FAST, Ride FAST
2P

Categories
Skateboarding News

UK Santa Cruz Tour

The Santa Cruz Team will be heading to our shores over the next week from the 27th-1st August.

Expect riders Sid Melvin, Justin Strubing, Gaston Francisco, Tommy Fynn, Kris Vile, Emmanuel Guzman, Flo Marfaing, Alex Carolino, Michael Poore, Alexander Moul and Dave Watson. If this tour is anything as good as last year’s you are in for a treat, look out for the full itinery on this site next Tuesday.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Nicky Howell on Bones Wheels

News just in. Kill City rider Nicky Howell has been added to the Bones UK Team.

Watch a bit of footage of him here.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Groms in the Park

On Saturday 9th August, Pritchard Vs Dainton will be hosting Groms In The Park at Crooklets Skatepark in Bude, Cornwall.

The event will feature a demo with riders from Kill City, Globe and Mada and all the usual sticker and product toss lark. It starts at 4pm and finishes by 6pm so get involved for a quick, sharp skateboarding hit.

www.airculture.co.uk

Categories
Skateboarding News

DuFFs Concrete Carnage 4 edit

DuFFs, the UK owned shoe company that is setting up for big things have unleashed footage of their annual Concrete Carnage event at Rom this week on YouTube. Check out bangers from the likes of Potter, Munson and Raemers below.

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Emerica – Jerry Hsu

24.07.08

So Emerica sent me a pair of their latest rider’s pro model kicks, the Jerry Hsu. I put them on right away and strolled out of my door to the dance floor. You see, one of the most important aspects about designing a skate shoe is that you can wear the footwear straight away and enjoy comfort in an instant. The Jerry Hsu ticks this box without a doubt.

Next on the list of priorities for skate shoe production is the look. The colour way for these kicks is a mix of red embers and ash, a combination that stands out from the rest but doesn’t scream for attention either. I like it. Now the other half to look is the originality in the shape and form a shoe takes. Emerica and Jerry Hsu have taken two of skateboarding’s most classic and credible skate shoes – the Vans Half Cab and the Nike Dunk- combined them both and removed a few things for copyright infringement to create a good shoe. I mean you take inspiration from two of skateboarding’s greats and you can’t really miss, can you?*

My last comment will be on the actual skate ability of these shoes. Well, Emerica lives under the Sole Tech banner, an establishment that understands the needs of a skaters feet like the back of their hand, so the Jerry Hsu skates without a hitch. Perhaps the sole could do with being stronger, but where you lose for toughness, you gain with flex and feel. These shoes are good on and off the board which means that’s two thumbs up from me.

* I feel a bit bad having said that but take a look at the skate shoes on display at your SOS and tell me which company is doing something completely different.

Ralph Lloyd-Davis

Categories
Live Reviews

UK DMC Finals – Live

Islington Academy
18.07.08

Everyone wants to be a DJ these days – it’s so simple, you go on Ebay, and buy some CD players or click on to the net and download something to play tunes in a row off your hard drive – but that’s merely button pressing. When I think DJ, I think 2 (or more) turntables, a mixer and a boot load of vinyl. So when it’s the UK DMC finals it’s time to get the best view possible and nerd out over the real DJs rocking real vinyl in a battle format. MC Trip from SpitKingdom is our host for the night and got us going (and on time) in to the sets, and entertained when the DJs were setting up – definitely need to get to a SpitKingdon show soon, they put the fun back in to hip-hop.

The first qualifying rounds are regional. If you make it through those you will find yourself on stage at Islington Academy with 90 seconds to take your opponent out. Some DJs prefer to just straight flex their technical ability; some choose to get a ton of samples together to diss their opponent. Tonight was a blend of the two.

The UK Supremacy head to head battles threw up a varied level of talent – practice makes perfect when you’re at home on your bedroom set – but when you’re in front of a hungry crowd and some former world champs judging shit happens; some step up while some fall off and choke. Some notables that never made it through were the likes of Mr Eclipse who had some innovative juggles and Buckwilde pulling out “Strawberry Fields” from his dad’s record collection. Shining through the qualifier was DJ Jeppa with his clean, organised sets and the more abusive DJ Switch who constantly strung sampled diss sentences together and flicked a middle finger at his opponents. These two breezed it to the final where both knew they had to step up a few levels to stay in contention. Switch took the number one spot, and a 50″ flatscreen TV for his efforts, but more importantly, a spot in the world final.

Live PAs broke up the battles with a set from Skitz and one time Demon Boy MC Million Dan rocking the crowd with some old skool styles with dirrrrrty south style beats and a HUGE cold chain – plus a short set from Hobbit, a 20 year old beatboxer, keeping the crowd entertained until the stage was set for the big boys.

The UK Finals are a more serious affair – a one off shot at making it through to the World Finals. The guys who qualified from the earlier heats definitely saved some weapons from their arsenal for their sets – Jeppa was again very clean and on point, his beats were stomping and he was a lot more confident – others worth a mention were Pandemonium for his tight beat juggles and more fun feel as well as Furious Fiend who was maybe the fastest DJ on the night, a total step up.

Coming through with the 3rd place was DJ Switch, who set up the crowd with some crafty cuts. Whilst his set was much hotter, he wasted a lot of time with acapella disses when he should have been dropping it heavy for the crowd. Sure he qualified, but I’m not convinced that he is a legit contender; he has 2 months to come up with something for his World Supremacy battle set, its gonna be much tougher in the finals.

2nd place was close with Brighton’s JFB pleasing the crowd by dropping some Prodigy and the guaranteed show stopper that is Chemical Brother’s “Block Rocking Beats“. It was easy to see why he was last year’s UK champ, using a more varied sound than hip hop and very at home with bigger harder beat. A strong all round DJ and producer, might feel hard done by when he isn’t in the finals, but the rights to that were snapped up by…

DJ Skully, former UK champ and back for his crown, which, to be fair, he took with his usual nonchalance by just rocking straight in to a set and killing it. Utter confidence with his mixing helps him be a little more tricky live than some of the others who perhaps played it a little too safe. He chose to drop heavy scratch routines that actually sounded more musical and fitting than some of the others who just speedily crabbed through any sample that came up on their battle wax. The crowd went mental and the judges were unanimous in choosing Skully as the night’s top man to go to the final, taking a 50″ flatscreen TV, a camcorder, more Drunken Monkey gear than one man can wear plus a bunch of DJ goodies with him.

After the final sets we were blown away by the live set from The Beat Torrent. This was undoubtedly the best PA of the night with 2 DJs, each armed with 2 decks, a mixer, a laptop and a midi controller combining in a spectacular and seamless fashion to create some heavy tunes; one mixing the beats up the other dropping samples and scratching. Their timing was studio perfect, they were having fun out there and the crowd were definitely happy to wait for the DMC final results with these to keep them occupied. If you can, don’t hesitate on seeing these dudes live. More varied than a hip-hop set – think Pendulum crossed with Kerrang TV and you’re on the money!

So after the results were thrashed out by the likes of Cutmaster Swift and Mr Thing, to name but a couple, more beats were dropped, sponsors were thoroughly name dropped, and some guy from a drinks firm gave me a card and said “could you drop our brands name if you’re writing a review?” and didn’t even hit me off with a drink. So Technics, Ortofon, Drunken Monkey and CK definitely made sure the night went off without a hitch. I’m sure that particular energy drink company did something but you know…

See you at the 02 Arena for the finals on the 26/27 September – it’s going to be all out war!

http://www.dmcdjchamps.com/
http://www.myspace.com/beatorrent
http://www.djskully.com/

Phillip Procter

Categories
Skateboarding News

Gallows get Relentless

Gallows got the new Relentless Magazine launch off to a unsurprisingly mental start with a fantastic set in Shoreditch last night.

The crowd, fuelled by an abundance of caffeine infused booze, got partying and moshing to some as-yet untitled new tunes from Hertfordshire punks. Security looked set to ruin everyone’s fun but Frank Carter, as always, made sure the party went off without a hitch by sending one nobhead packing. The guard in question actually had the audacity to ask the band for drugs, big mistake.

Bleeding and bruised from his usual onstage antics, Frank provided an aural stimulant worthy of the drink itself. No fucking half measures at all here tonight!

Look out for a night raids depicting the carnage that went down as soon as the photos come in.

www.gallows.com