The Outsider Festival is taking place in Singleton Park, Swansea, on September 1st.
The festival will have a whole load of stuff to do, watch and listen to, with graffiti demos, radio control cars hacking it all over the place, skate and BMX competitions, and trail bike displays.
Music will be pumped into your ears via Sons of Thunder, The Groundnuts & Independents, Filthy Habits, Galanastra and Nozzle.
Oh yeah, and it’s free to get in, so you’ve got no bloody excuse not to go.
Wild Style is celebrating it’s 25th Anniversary.
The cult film, which chronicled the hip hop movement in the late 70s and early 80s in the Bronx and influenced a whole new generation of musicians such as Madonna and Blondie, is being released once more.
The soundtrack, regarded as one of the best ever, is also being released. With the soundtrack having been sampled by the likes of De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys, Beck, Cypress Hill, DJ Shadow, Nas and Public Enemy, it’s clear to see how far the influence has stretched.
Check the trailer at www.wildstyledvd.com
Death Skateboards have launched their assault on where your votes land soon for this years Big Push with a new video teaser on the Docu site.
Look out for the DVD that will come free on the front of Document Magazine in September.
The word legendary is generally thrown about and applied to bands that often don’t deserve such high accolades but in the case of Washington DC Rasta-punks Bad Brains it’s utterly deserved. While their early recordings gave birth to American hardcore and inspired everyone from Black Flag and Minor Threat to crank up the speed, their mid-eighties rockier records helped pave the way for alternative rock in the nineties and their fusion of reggae and rock is as ground-breaking now as it was then.
Reunited with the original line-up, the much anticipated return of Bad Brains is finally upon us with the release of ‘Build A Nation‘, their first new album in over ten years and the return of the original debut-album ‘Rock For Light‘ line-up. Here, the band try to re-create the ballistic energy of their debut in both sound and style. With Beastie Boy Adam Yauch on hand to capture the band’s raw energy in the studio, tracks like ‘Give Thanks And Praises‘ and ‘Jah People Make The World Go Round‘ are fast, furious and the result of band very much on it and enjoying every bit of their music.
Singer H.R. has taken a far more relaxed vocal style, exchanging the crazed aggression and energy of before with a relaxed, echo-laden style that suits reggae tracks such as ‘Jah Love‘ but makes a strange contrast on the punk tracks.
That said, this is a worthy comeback that serves as a great reminder of this classic band. Don’t miss their London show at The Astoria in October 16th.
James Sherry.
First Avenue, Minneapolis
31.07.07
Another day in Minneapolis, another show for me to attend and this one was the one I’d really been waiting for – a 7 hour independent hip hop festival, with some amazing names thrown into the mix and which proved to be just as good as I expected it to be.
Luckyiam.PSC was the man on opening duty and despite his DJ being stuck in a hick town due to a crap car, he showcased some cuts from his new album Most Likely To Succeed and he was true to the title as he succeeded in getting the crowd suitably warmed up for the rest of the show.
Def Jukies Hangar 18 were on next and despite constant apologies, they were unforunate enough to have sound problems during their set, which is a real shame because their tour-de-force Beatslope lost every positive thing about it with the shabby sounding bass over-riding the track. Here’s hoping the rest of the tour is kinder to them.
Then came one of the acts I had basically bought the ticket for. Blueprint has the most distinctive voice in hip hop. Fact. Not only that, but he’s also one of the most under-rated and he proved just why he should be getting more attention with this set which featured Soul Position tracks and his own solo stuff, the highlights of which were the bullying Boombox and Big Girls Need Love Too. He got the crowd pumped despite having a short set and it’s a damn shame he found himself below the likes of Grouch & Eligh and Cage, both of whom provided a huge lull in the proceedings for me, though Mr Lif and Akrobatik did do their best to raise the noise levels.
However, when Rhymesayer Brother Ali took to the stage with the local hero Toki Wright on hype duty, they were forgotten and the albino rocked the venue to its very foundations with joints from his last album The Undisputed Truth. Truth Is was the set stealer, with not one person in the crowd silent and the man in the flannel shirt knew he had everyone in the palm of his hand. Whilst I would have preferred more older songs, there’s no denying Ali is the feel-good king.
Next up was Sage Francis, someone who I wasn’t really fussed about seeing. However, he took it up a notch from the previous show I’d seen him at and, more importantly, played older tracks which to me is hugely superior to his newer material. Hearing the Non Prophets track Damage was a surprise and a delight and hearing Makeshift Patriot is always a highlight. But it was when he did a breakout dance routine which took in the running man and a forward flip onto his back that he proved his entertaining credentials.
There was no doubt who got the biggest cheer of the night when Murs, Slug [with his novelty tache] and Ant strode out to perform as Felt. Murs, in his indycar get up was his usual bouncy self and Slug was all smiles, looking like he was genuinely having a huge amount of fun. Early Morning Tony and Dirty Girl warmed the crowd up and Felt 1’s Hot Bars continued the trend before Slug and Murs traded tracks giving us God Loves Ugly, Modern Man’s Hustle and Trying To Find A Balance from Atmosphere and Bad Man, H.U.S.T.L.E.. and L.A. from the Living Legend. The set finished with a personal favourite of mine – Night Prowler, a Living Legends song featuring Slug which set the final act of the night up perfectly.
All the members of Living Legends rushed the stage, complete with one Transformers mask and water pistol. Even if you didn’t know any of their tracks, it was hard to not have fun as they bounded around the stage with smiles on their faces and crowd-friendly sing-a-long choruses.
Luckyiam and Murs stole the show for the crew, but it was a great way to end what had been a fantastic day of hip hop. Celebrating independent hip hop is something that we should all do, and I hope this tour continues for years to come.
I would like to end by sending my thoughts and best wishes to those in Minneapolis affected by the bridge collapse, especially BK-One and his fiancée. MPLS has been amazing to me and I want them all to know LDN feels for them.
Abjekt.
Photos by Chris McShee
Sage Francis has started a remix competition for one of his tracks.
Hoofprints In The Sand, which was originally produced by Reanimator, is the track that’s been put up for remixing, and you can grab the acapella here. All submissions should be sent to strangefamous@gmail.com by 10th September with the winner being announced the next day. If you wanna check out the original, click here.
The winner will be featured on the front page of both Sage’s and Strange Famous’ sites and will have the option of appearing on Sage’s remix album, which is due out in 2008.
Choosing which trucks you’re going to be riding is almost as personal and specific as deciding which deck you want to destroy.
Shape, size, colour, which company your loyalties lie with, will all be forceful factors in which lumps of metal you’ll attach your wheels to. And seeing as trucks are the longest lasing piece of equipment in the skate arsenal, it’s an important choice.
I have to say, I’ve tried a fair few trucks in my years of skating and always stuck with the classics. Once you get into your rut and know what you like, it is very hard to change. And why would you need to change? What you have is good, it is healthy, and you will defend your choice to the bitter end. I don’t see the need for gimmicks on probably the most important bit of your setup.
I have however, experienced some weird things going on with stalwart truck companies changing their designs and ruining them forever. This is what led me onto something I’d never tried before. Like a schoolboy getting cornered by the older kids while they smoke behind the bikesheds, the half-excitement, half-scared feeling as someone nudged me and said, “Here mate, you wanna try some Royals? You might like it”.
Picking them up for the first time felt odd. Very light, very smooth, and this weird pattern on it saying ‘Chocolate’. The bright colours almost hypnotised me and I felt drawn to putting them on my board, all the time hearing that nagging voice telling me that this wasn’t what I was used to. But like that little schoolboy’s first ever drag on a cigarette, the rush was awesome. That giddy feeling of something you know you shouldn’t be doing, but it feels so fucking good that you don’t give a shit.
These Royals are like that. An odd feeling at first, and you really aren’t sure if you like it, but after the first couple they feel amazing. I got over the all-over print look very quickly, but if you are one of those people that has to have the latest fashion trend good-looking setup, you might want to think about your deck choice a bit before. Combined with a Potato Wheels deck for a while, my board looked like the bastard lovechild of Thomas Burberry and Louis Vuitton.
That paint job, might I add, is the fucking scariest thing I have ever experienced whilst riding a skateboard. All this ‘ultra-slick’ gimmick stuff they have on decks and whatnot means fuck all. Just paint the things and they are smoother than a pornstars crotch. Getting into just a bog-standard 5-0 felt like I was riding a rollercoaster at Alton Towers at first, as the paint provides a near frictionless base for grinds. Once the paint comes off a bit, they were much more controllable though.
Another thing that really impressed me was how long it took to wear the bushings in. The stock ones that come on most trucks are usually on the harder end, and these were no different. But they took less than 2 hours to fully soften up and have fantastic control without being looser than an Essex bird on a Saturday night.
One final thing that really surprised me compared to other trucks I’ve had was once I’d done up my truck bolts, they never came loose. I suppose it’s because I’ve never skated anything other than raw trucks, but the painted baseplate gives an extra grip on your nuts. Much like an Essex bird on a Saturday night.
Having always been a bit sceptical of truck companies and not wanting to ever leave the niche I had found in my years of skating, I was pleasantly surprised by these Royals. I don’t know why I was because the build quality is second to none, they don’t have any ridiculous gimmicks, and above all, they do their job exactly how they are meant to. I’m not sure I’m fully converted yet, but I’ve tasted the possibilities and I would definitely consider having a set again. Now all I have to do is find the right deck and shoes to colour co-ordinate myself and I can go out in public…
Moose.
Toronto’s Brutal Knights will be heading to Europe in September.
The Canadians will hit Denmark, Holland and Germany before hitting the UK. Speaking of the tour, frontman Nick Flanagan said:
“We’re playing some kind of Trainspotting festival, but if any of you sickos bring a dead baby or a Scottish accent to the show I’m fucking going back to America, or wherever it is I’m from.”
The dates are:
September:
17th – Kings Cross, London
18th – Fenton, Leeds
19th – Subway, Edinburgh
20th – Le Pub, Newport
21st – Youth Centre, Guildford
The VBS website is quickly replacing my daily watching, so much so I might throw my telly out a hotel window later.
Spike Jonze has made a short 6-part mini documentary hanging out for a Saturday with grime-girl M.I.A, so clicky click over to www.vbs.tv to watch what they get up to.
Information on the new Lemonheads album has come to light in an interview with Bill Stevenson.
The producer recently spoke about the new record saying he was probably going to start working with them in the spring. He went onto the say that it will probably take a year or more to make it as they like to work “one week at a time”.