Categories
Skateboarding News

Nordberg is Out of Step

Youtube has become such an important part of skateboarding in the present day. The simplicity of uploading your local footage onto the internet has never been easier and kids all over the UK are filming thir own sponsor me parts and local scene videos every week.

One that has been sent into Crossfire HQ this morning is of Bath shredder Ben Nordberg whose skills on the hills have set him up at Out Of Step distribution with free skate gear.

Send Your youtube footage to us here at Crossfire and the best video parts we receive will be featured in this skate news section which is the most hit part of this website and don’t forget that kate companies ask us about new skaters weekly, so you never know, you could be hooked up and travelling the planet on your whizzplank and getting paid for it!

Categories
Music News

Sage streams whole album

Sage Francis has made his entire new album, Human The Death Dance, available to hear by stream.

The Epitaph signed rapper releases his new album next week and will be heading out on tour with a live band, Alias, Buddy Wakefield and Buck 65 to support the album.

You can check out his album, which features production from Ant, Buck 65, Reanimator and more on his myspace.

www.myspace.com/sagefrancis

The final version of the single Got Up This Morning‘s video is online too:

Categories
Music News

Linkin Park play the Astoria

Linkin Park will be playing a one off show at the Astoria on May 3rd as their warm up to Download Festival in June.

You can check out a teaser of their new album by clicking here.

In other Download news, The Hedrons have been confirmed on the bill for the Tuborg stage on the 8th of June, making it the second time in a row the band have played the festival.

www.linkinpark.com / www.thehedrons.com

Categories
Skateboarding News

Moustache Rider vs Dogwanker

This first bit of news has fuck all to do with skateboarding but you just have to watch it as it made us laugh hysterically! Is this Marc Churchill in disguise? Click the tache on this image for proof!

Powley, he sent me a link to his new skate company – Dogwanker Skateboards, and they are apparently making decks as i type this.

More news on this new phenomenon when we get it but ‘guest’ boards are going to be made for various pro riders including a well known vert wizard who loves pissing himself when drunk….answers on a postcard to the usual place.

In the meantime, feel free to watch the first advert from er…Dogwanker….

Categories
Buzz Chart

Aesop Rock

It’s been 2 years since we last had a release from Aesop Rock. Following his amazing Labor Days album in 2001 came Bazooka Tooth, which saw him change up the production style and carried on into the Fast Cars, Danger, Fire And Knives EP.

Whether you loved his newer style or wanted him to go back to the days of Labor Days and Float, Aesop Rock has always been able to surprise people, and this title track, taken from his upcoming album None Shall Pass, does it once again. Switching up to a faster beat, Aes Rizzle certainly hasn’t left one thing behind – his crazy use of words, peep the first few lines of this track:

“Flash that buttery gold, jittery zeitgeist wither by the watering hole, what a patrol, what are we to heart huckabee art fuckery suddenly? Not enough young in his lung for the waterwings? Colourfully vulgar poacher outta mulch like “I’m ‘a pull the pulse out a soldier and bolt”. Fine. Sign of the time we elapse when a primate climb up a spine and attach.”

Yeah, we’ll have whatever he’s on please. Right, get this track playing, it’s dope, plain and simple.

Abjekt

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Spitfire – Church Burners 666 52mm

On the 6/6/06, Spitfire released 666 sets of wheels to commemorate the very existence of pure evil that lives within each and every one us. I decided there and then that I would happily partake in their march to keep death alive by placing an order for a set of the darkest wheels to ever roll above ground.

With years of excellence through experience, Spitfire colour coated another set of beauties with their fire stencils and produced a set of burners that will suit almost anyone who rides a skateboard. These are 52mm in size and ride 99A in durometry, a combination that makes them suitable for street skaters as well as pool riders.

They are hard, but not hard-lined, which means the roll tough, but doesn’t feel like you riding on plastic. They slide with ease across any skate-able surface and burn fearlessly on all kinds of terrain.

They hold their line in a 10ft concrete bowl equally as well as they do on a 4ft wooden mini ramp, but in a size small enough for you to get silly on them ledges, which makes them perfect for the all rounder. Only downer is that one of them flat spotted quite badly on a blunt slide-(out), but over time they made a full recovery and are still rolling strong, even though I guess they’re slightly smaller.

I haven’t had a chance to take these to S-Caterham, as I’m slightly sceptical about them setting the place on fire, but given the chance, I’m sure they’ll survive just fine within the walls of a skateboard church…only time will tell!

7/10
Live FAST, Roll FAST

2P

Categories
Skateboarding News

Creature’s Jesus board!

Creature, gnarlmasters of rad, released a Jesus pro model board on Good Friday. Except Jesus is dead, so his resurrection is in zombie form.

Better grab yourselves one of these 9.6 inch beasts quick as all Hell, as only 500 are being made. Grind the Hellstone.

www.creatureskateboards.com

Categories
Live Reviews

CSS – Live

Tilly And The Wall
Ratatat

Astoria
23.04.07

The first thing you notice as you enter the Astoria tonight is the gaudily decorated stage, complete with red curtain backdrop and several disco balls hanging from the rafters. It may look more 80s disco than new-rave; but it has to be said that ever since CSS appeared on the scene, they’ve never let preconceived ideas of ‘cool’ get in the way of a damn good party.

Ratatat‘s minimalist set-up (a keyboard, guitar, and solitary snare drum) at first seems at odds with their surroundings, but they sound impressively huge; hunched over their instruments as they coax deeper, darker, groovier sounds from the speakers. Electro-prog-noir? Oh, go on then.

However, it falls to Tilly And The Wall to truly get the party started; which they do in fine style, gleefully bouncing onstage like a troupe of colourful misfit cheerleaders. Those who would dismiss the presence of tap-dancing percussionist Jamie Williams as a novelty most likely haven’t heard the band’s sublime second album ‘Bottoms Of Barrels‘ – a relatively unsung highlight of 2006 – but tonight, cynicism is futile in the face of their buoyant folk-pop charm. The heartfelt chorus of electro-tinged new single ‘The Freest Man’ is a genuine lump-in-throat moment; ‘Sing Songs Along‘ soon has the crowd doing exactly that; and by the time ‘Nights Of The Living Dead‘ brings the set to a raucous conclusion, the Astoria is Tilly’s sweaty, smiling oyster.

CSS are no slackers in the showmanship stakes either; with singer Lovefoxxx an acrobatic expert of seemingly limitless energy as she skips and somersaults around the stage. Right from the start, the band’s enthusiasm is deeply infectious; and as the dirty electro stomp of ‘Alala‘ is wheeled out second, the crowd merges into a throbbing, pulsing mass with many a glowstick held aloft.

The term ‘new-rave’ seems somewhat inadequate here, given that CSS are more your average guitar band experimenting with dance beats. Recent single ‘Off The Hook‘ is an excellent slice of danceable art-punk that sounds straight out of the late 70s, whilst a surprise electro-rock cover of L7’s ‘Pretend We’re Dead‘ gives clues as to the inspiration for the hint of riot-grrl fire in their sound.

It is, of course, a glorious strobe-drenched finale of ‘Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above‘ that truly raises the roof tonight; with the support bands joining CSS onstage to everyone’s obvious delight. The fickle jury that is the buying public will surely seal the fate of new-rave in months to come; but for now at least, CSS are deservedly off the hook.

Alex Gosman
Photo from www.myspace.com/canseidesersexy

Categories
Skateboarding News

Girl Skate Jam UK ‘07

The Girl Skate Jam UK is back for 2007.

The all female skate jam and comp will take place at St Albans’ Pioneer Skatepark on Saturday 9th June from 12pm to 5pm. The event last year was attended by girl skaters from the UK, Italy, Belgium and Holland and this year’s is sure to bring the best girl skaters from around the globe in.

There will be comps for under 18s, over 18s, sponsored girls, a mini ramp and a best trick comp and there will even be a prize for the skater who has the best slam of the day! There will be prizes for first, second and third placed skaters and the prizes will include decks, clothing, hardware, shoes and more with the winners of the sponsored section receiving a cash prize.

All girls who attend will get a goody bag which will include a t-shirt, stickers and some small gifts from the sponsors. Entry is £5 for skaters and £2 for spectators.

www.myspace.com/girlskatejamuk

Categories
Music News

Blur plan studio session!

Alex James has spoken about upcoming Blur activity which is seemingly set to include estranged guitar player Graham Coxon.

The bass player claimed that the band wanted to give it one last go together, adding that if the reunion doesn’t work out, they will simply split. If the plans for a summer studio session go ahead, it will be their first album since 2003’s Think Tank, which saw Coxon leave the band.

James said:

“We’re all heading into the studio together this summer – Graham’s coming too. We’re gonna see if we’ve still got it. If not, I think we’ll just call it a day.”

www.blur.co.uk