News just in from the Element Europe camp: Michael Mackrodt and Bas Janssen are both representing Element shoes from now on. Michael digs the Slate whilst Bas is feeling the Etna.
Also, Michael has just received a Pro model skateboard on the US team, as opposed to the Euro outfit he is previously known for repping.
*Disclaimer* Some dude with the exact same name as everyone’s favourite vegan and teenage smoker fetishist, Ed Templeton , has gone and fooled us into thinking he was the real deal by creating a blog.
Cheers for making us look like fools, but you blog is pretty rad anyway. Enjoy the fame while it lasts…
Wondering what the Murder flip looks like? Or perhaps it’s the Dumptruck that got you in a muddle..?
Well, all can answered in this brand new and shockingly good (and let’s not forget extensive!) trick demonstration. Wow!
(screw the link, check those pins! Z-Ed)
Check it – www.dxinteractive.com/skatetricks
Fucked Up are bringing their combination of hardcore, punk and rock to the UK in December for your viewing and listening pleasure. So make sure you get to one of the dates for your post-Christmas fun.
December:
27th – London Old Blue Last
28th – Manchester Star and Garter
29th – Leeds The Fenton
30th – Sheffield DnR Bar
31st – Bristol [TBC]
These Arms Are Snakes will be playing a number of UK shows in November and December in support of Easter. The dates are:
November:
28th – Exeter Cavern Club
29th – London Underworld
30th – Manchester Satan’s Hollow
December:
1st – Birmingham Chapter 11 ::CONFIRMED VENUE::
2nd – Glasgow Nice N Sleazy
3rd – Sheffield Corporation
4th – Sunderland Independent
5th – Leeds Cockpit
6th – Brighton Engine Rooms
7th – Southampton Unit 22
The Unseen are playing some UK dates with support slots with Rancid and one headline show. You can check them out here:
November:
16th – London Brixton Academy
17th – Kingston The Fighting Cox [Headline Show]
18th – Norwich UEA
19th – Bristol Academy
20th – Brighton Dome
Live transmissions…
Crossfire’s communication with Maxwell Woodger Esq is rudimentary to say the least. The interns usually have to slave over the transcription of barely decipherable notes scribbled and sellotaped together by our man in the wilderness.
However, this week’s instalment was different- an audio cassette tape with a recorded conversation between Maxwell and various John Does. Needless to say the quality was awful, and the intern has suffered sleepless nights since. Here is the main body of the recording transcribed to the best of our abilities. Have we returned to the early days of informants and skulduggery..?
[The sound of a crowded bar can be heard. A group is whooping it up to the sounds of Bryan Adams and Melanie C. a.k.a. Sporty Spice singing When You’re Gone.]
Maxwell – Don’t talk to me about politics!
Voice 1 – Whatever buddy… It’s just a pity it took people so long to realise what was wrong with their country. Hell! The revolution no longer exists. The real power is in the vote, but the people would rather vote for reality TV shows rather than who’s running their country.
Maxwell – Damn right. Heads have already started to roll in the Whitehouse, but I heard ol’ Dubbya has called in the old guard. Bush Senior’s little helpers have been brought out of the dark closet to try and patch things up. Here’s to bad Karma and dog fighting!
Voice 1 – Cheers!
[ Two glasses clink together. A roar is heard from the crowd]
Maxwell – Goddammit! Since when has Karaoke become a national sport?
Voice 1 – I guess since Scarlett Johanssen and Bill Murray met in Tokyo…
[Laughter]
Maxwell – Ahhh… Scarlett!
[Glasses clink again]
Maxwell – Any news on those Pony skin booties I ordered? It’s been three weeks already.
Voice 1 – Yeah, the Sheik has chosen one of his finest Steeds’ offspring and the Executioner will perform a ceremonial slaying for you next week.
Maxwell – Sweet! They’ll be ready in time for [Inaudible] I heard The Colonel will be present.
* Here the tape cuts to a brief intermission of street sounds and then what would seem to be a corner store.
Voice 2 – We don’t sell gel here, sir.
Maxwell – So, you’re telling me you don’t sell tubes of KY Jelly, but you’ve got a special discount on 12 inch graphite God Sticks? What use is one without the other, eh!
Voice 2 – We have special price for you, sir. Good customer!
Maxwell – Yeah, well someone will be standing in church tomorrow…
Voice 3 – Why don’t you contact our man in Naples? You know he’s always got stock, plus real Italian leather gives a better slap than modern graphite.
Maxwell – No, no, no, no…! Naples is off the radar at the moment. Prime Minister Prodi is cracking down on the Camorra big time. Calling in the army and all! It’s far too hot for duty free debauchery over there at the mo’.
[An audible slap is heard, followed by the ringing of something hard run along metal railings]
Maxwell – Ha! Check out the grip on this beast!
* The tape cuts again and three Kylie Minogue songs sung in Cantonese play in their entirety.
[The sound of a car driving at high speed along a beaten track with the club anthem The Cure And The Cause by Fish Go Deep featuring Tracey K can be heard blaring out of the car stereo]
Voice 4 – …so I told the old man to keep the beef jerky in the cupboard. The baby was screaming and hot water was on the boil. That’s when [Inaudible] ha! Ha!
Maxwell – Goddammit! You and your boys never cease to amaze me! Ha! Remember that time I pushed you off the mezzanine? Ha! The look in your eyes as you fell…
Voice 4 – yeah… Watch the road man!
[A screech of tyres and flying gravel is heard.]
Maxwell – Take it easy buddy! You’re in safe hands here. Nobody can hear, see or smell you out here – Trust me!
Voice 4 – That’s impossible! CCTV cameras spread like a virus nowadays. The US and EU are sharing data all day everyday. Credit card details, proof of address, next of kin, political stance, eye colour… The list goes on and on. You don’t really think 3 hours is necessary to board a flight, do you???
[Someone raises the volume on the car stereo to such a level that the recording begins to fuzz. Words become very hard to distinguish.]
Voice 4 – Rats!!! Rats!!! Vermin!!! Spreading like… [Inaudible]
Maxwell – Fonky! Fonky!
[The tune changes to Sweet Like Chocolate by Shanks and Bigfoot. The car suddenly swerves to a halt.]
Maxwell – Oh no… Bad vibes. What is this radio??? Get out goddammit! Get out!!! And take this with you…
* The tape ends here. We have yet to make contact with Maxwell Woodger Esq. again.
The original Bad Brains line up of HR, Dr Know, Darryl Jenifer and Earl Hudson have been kickstarted by kicking off the final week of gigs at CBGBs. Dr Know told Billboard.com – “It was really an honor and a privilege to have so many good friends and see them all. We were back together for a week; we hadn’t been together for a long time.”
The group look set to finally release the long-time-coming studio album which is produced by Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys. The bassist said it will be a fast tempo record and includes tracks titles like It’s All Rock’n’Roll, Article, Kingdom Come and Let There Be Light.
In addition to this, Dr Know is hoping to start work on his solo album this winter saying quite a few people wanted to be on it, including Flea and Mos Def.
Islington Academy
01.11.06
It has to be said that the Islington Academy’s abundance of shiny fittings and polished surfaces don’t make the ideal environment for a dirty rock n’ roll gig. Still, Ladyfinger soon banish such concerns from our minds, testing the early arrivers’ eardrums with raw nuggets of twisted, bass-heavy rock n’ roll. Impressive stuff, but this party’s only just getting started.
Winnebago Deal are clearly not out to take prisoners as they rip full-tilt into ‘With Friends Like These’; with drummer Ben Thomas a mass of flailing limbs and long hair, and vocalist/guitarist Ben Perrier seemingly in possession of Satan’s own larynx for the evening. Arguably sounding louder, faster and meaner with every gig they play, there’s an almost tangible aura of aggression to the Oxford duo’s musical maelstrom, and it’s a joy to watch as songs like ‘Cobra’ constantly teeter on the brink of pure sonic warfare.
However, it’s the headliners’ party, and tonight The Bronx are nothing short of a revelation. Not since the heyday of the Icarus Line has LA spawned a band that thrives on chaos as much as these guys, whose arrival heralds utter mayhem in the pit. Vocalist Matt Caughthran tears around the stage (and occasionally into the crowd, too) screaming his throat raw as his band make like the bastard children of Black Flag raised on a diet of cheap speed and Stooges records. If you’re wondering what happened to the menace and danger in punk rock, then it appears that the Bronx have snorted it up and spat it out in the form of vicious mini-anthems like ‘Shitty Future’ and ‘Heart Attack American’
Clearly realising that a conventional three-song encore would be pointless after the bruising full-stop of ‘History’s Stranglers’, the band’s return only lasts about thirty seconds before Matt hurls himself into the drumkit. As finales go, It makes for a brief but highly potent fuck-you to convention – and heaven knows that’s worthy of applause.
Ninja Tune are putting on 3 gigs on the same night – Saturday November 25th – in association with The Big Chill House as part of the first ever You Don’t Know club night.
Mr Scruff is to play The Forum, Herbaliser will be at Cargo with Fingathing and The Big Chill House will host Zero DB, Pase Rock, XXXchange, Pop Levi, a Bonobo DJ set, the UK debut of Flying Lotus and more, for free!