Author: Crossfire

Categories
Skateboarding News

Elementrio Tours Europe

You know how much we all love good graphics- even if they do get scratched off in less than 5 minutes. Well, A slick trio of artists in association with Element Skateboards will be touring through Europe to display their work and chat about paintbrush techniques and the importance of colour in our lives.

Just kidding, but I’m sure the Elementrio that is Don Pendleton, Todd Francis and Matt Irving will have a few cool things to say and show you all.

Here are the details:

-London, Arches : runs June 30th-July 2nd , opening June 30th at 7 pm.
The Arches
Bateman’s Row, Shoreditch
EC2 London, UK

-Paris, Streetmachine : show runs July 6th-July 8th, opening July 6th at 7 pm.
12, Rue des Halles
75001 Paris
France

-Brussels, No New Enemies @ Recyclart : show runs July 10th (one night only), opening July 10th at 6 pm.
8, Rue des Brigittines
1000 Bruxelles
Belgium

-Berlin, Bread and Butter at Street Culture: show runs July 14th-16th, opening July 14th at 7 pm.

Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Element Troop shirt

OK, lets start by saying that this shirt is one of the best shirts to ever grace my toneless body! Now i will try and expalin why it is the bomb.

The Troop contains 97% cotton and 3% lycra, meaning when you first put this on, you suddenly feel it stretch just a little bit, which is bizarre at first, but then when you do it up and pull it over your shoulders, it fits like a goddam glove and you still have loads of space in there!

Now, next thing is, you go out skating and realise that everytime you contort your body, the shirt goes with you by the millimetre so this shirt gets the full 5 out of 5 for skateboarding. I know it’s hard to review clothjing but this has been made to skate in and it bloody well works better than any cotton shirt i have ever worn. Oh and by the way, the first night i wore this shirt out to a club, i pulled a tight unit – no shit.

Go buy one and see if it happens to you.

www.elementskateboards.com

Chuck Bangers

Categories
Moves

Moves Gettin’ the Mooooos!


• Rocky Norton: Drop of Faith (c/o ^ Thrasher Magazine July 2006 ^)
• Daniel Todorovic: Half cab boardslide 270 pop over and out
• Christophe: fakie 5-0 shove it out
• Pryce Holmes: Frontside 50-50 backside bigspin up and out
• Jonas Skroder: Varial heelflip
• Andrew Reynolds: Switch backside heelflip
• John Cardiel: Frontside 5-0
• Woody: Big snaps
• Mark Gonzales: Take your pick

Top 5 paradoxal parasites:

1. Rollerblade wax on marble ledges.
2. I-pods at a skatepark.
3. Pretty sticker jobs on the nose, tail or middle of your board.
4. Girlfriends on skate trips.
5. Bad Attitudes.

Categories
Skateboarding News

DVS Golden Ticket winners announced!

Nigel Ellway from Putney, Matt Clarke from Northants and Jeremy Jones from Twickenham have all won the Crossfire Golden Tickets for the DVS demo and dinner tmrw night!

All 3 of them will get free entry, DVS shoes, a signed DVS t-shirt, a ltd edition Crossfire t-shirt plus they will skate a secret sesh with a the team with no one else in the park and end up having dinner with them after the demo.

Congrats to all 3 who won, we will see you at the demo tmrw night at Bay Sixty 6 skatepark from 6pm where the European team with a handful of US pro’s will be there to skate amongst you, so get down there and check it out.

Categories
Buzz Chart

The Aggrolites

Mix ex-members of ska, hardcore and punk bands and add them into a new melting pot, and what would you expect the result to sound like? Not reggae, is my bet. However this self-titled album, The Aggrolites debut on Hellcat Records is one that recalls the sounds of a funky James Brown and laid back Bob Marely fused with the odd Doors moment to create 19 bizarre but strangely addictive songs.

You can’t help but get into the groove of these songs and if you are still smarting at the thought of no Glastonbury this year, I urge you to buy this. Whack it on, turn it up and get your mates round in the garden and chill in your own mini Glastonbury. It’s the perfect partner to heady summer nights with it’s sunny melodies like ‘Mr. Misery‘ and ‘Funky Fire’. Having toured with the likes of Rancid and Madness, there is a wide ranging appeal to their joyful and passionate tracks which will brighten up even the rainiest of days.

Categories
Music News Skateboarding News

Sample Sale!

Categories
DVD Reviews

Krooked Kronicles

After the 50th watch, I just noticed another delicate touch that makes me love the new Krooked DVD even more: A thank you for Michael J. Fox! Brilliant!

Krooked is a skate company, but sometimes I like to look at it like Mark Gonzales‘ private art project. You see, Krooked Kronichles is not your run-of-the-mill skate DVD with clearly defined parts, slick intro and grand finale. No, this DVD is an exhibition of creative skating at its best with Mark Gonzales leading his team of merry men in front of Dan Vellucci’s digital lens.

This DVD runs free with little skits here and there, but the spontaneity isn’t lost so you can really watch it from start to finish and feel amped to skate afterwards. Dan Drehobl, Van Wastell and Bobby Worrest all have full parts, plus not one but two montages of Gest Pros and various honourables. Oh, and Spike Jonze gets a trick in there too!

The amateurs Van Wastell and Bobby Worrest don’t disappoint. Initially, when Mark Gonzales announced his amateur duo, I didn’t really know what to expect. I hadn’t heard of either of them before and media coverage was kept low- surely in a bid to keep footage for this project. Well, Van and Bobby carry the Krooked banner of being handpicked by the Gonz and don’t break a sweat. I can see what Gonz saw in Van because this guy likes to mix things up a bit with his skateboard and think outside of the box. He also has an amazing ability to land 99% of his tricks as solidly as gold lingots. Bobby is also very clean, but opts for a more technical approach to his skating. This DC kid can switch things up at the drop of a hat, so I advise you to watch Bobby’s part several times to fully appreciate how good the young kid is.

Gest sections aside – featuring Guy Mariano, Zered Bassett, Donny Barley, Malcolm Watson etc…- there are two sections left: Dan Drehobl and the boss, Mark Gonzales. Dan opens his part with some liptrick pivot wizardry that might well stem a new trend for anyone that thought transition skating was boring. This part is chock full of incredible skating on some of the sickest concrete curves, bumps and lumps. Despite looking his age (disclosed) Dan can still kill it on his skateboard, so those of us with beer bellies rejoice! (Hell Yeah – Z-Ed)

Finally, the Gonz. Nobody can touch the Gonz, and when you hear all your favourite pros name-dropping Mark as their favourite skater or greatest inspiration, you know this veteran is doing something right. Mark is definitely a free-agent with his own agenda, but that’s why he gets respect. Hate on his mobbed kickflips, car jousting and general misunderstood stance on life all you want because I don’t think anyone’s listening. Mark embodies the true elements of skateboarding that so many of us wish we could have- fun, spontaneity, creativity, gnarliness and flow. Add to this a track by Run DMC and you’re laughing! Come take a ride (7 blocks) with Mark and witness the fitness.

Despite recent trends, skateboarding cannot be labelled and Krooked Kronichles confirms this. You know you need this DVD in your collection because without it, you’re missing out on one of skateboarding’s finest moments.

Tracklistings:

• Rhythm Sticks – Blackalicious
• Earache Eye – Cheech and Chong
• The Fall And Rise Of Elliot Smith – Blackalicious
• Forever in Blue Jeans – Neil Diamond
• In A Hurry & Cha love – Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra
• Misdemeanor – Foster Sylvera
• Rock Box – Run DMC
• Electric Dope – Money Mark
• Hellz Bellz – A Grape Dope

Ralph Lloyd-Davis
26/06/2006

Categories
Live Reviews

The Grates Live

Blood Red Shoes
The Blood Arm
14.06.2006
93 Feet East

The opening band theme of the night seems to be blood. A far cry from metal, the venue is in the heart of Shoreditch, unusually hosted at 93 Feet East. The Blood Arm which we already know to be great, is followed by Blood Red Shoes. An energetic sounding 2-piece, all guitar, drums, and shouting which steers them away from the usual melodic duo formula. I like them already!

Up next are the well awaited, flirty, and fun The Grates. The Aussie trio have been opening for top names like We are Scientists, and more recent claim to fame The Zutons.

The cake party(as it was playfully referred to) was a room of balloons, tea cakes, and brightly coloured merch. Patience is not shy to embrace the attention! Armed with her favourite mic, clad in pink she oozes Blondie sex appeal. You can hear influences of Courtney Love, whilst her stage presence has the relentless energy of Karen-O as she jumps around without skipping a note. The girl has it all! She wraps the audience around her finger with crowd banter, singling out the single boys…”He’s not bad looking. Get the fuck in there girls. Third row from the front in the middle…”

What the band lacks in bass they make up for in backing tracks, and playful energy. Alana looks like a sweetly smiling little girl, as she bangs on her drums with percussion diligence. Predominantly they are a visual band, which encompasses many influences. From the ska feel of “Silence is Golden“, and the contagious Rock ‘n Roll vibrations of “192020“, the audience gets swung round to the Country-esque feel of “Sukkafish“. They have clearly learnt a lot from working closely with producer Brian Deck, who has also worked with the well acclaimed Secret Machines, and Iron and Wine.

What makes them less run-of-the-mill is their youthful friendship on stage, their politeness, unstoppable humour, and circus tricks…in reference to the occasional floor roll, and popping of balloons. Proof that occasionally less can be more, and that keeping it simple works!

Niki Kova’cs
[Photos by Niki Kova’cs]

Categories
DVD Reviews

Alice Cooper – Live In Montreux 2005

Unbelievably, Alice Cooper has been shocking the world with his outlandish rock and roll shenanigans for the past 35 years and there are still no signs of him letting up. At a staggering 58 years old, and affectionately known as the granddaddy of shock rock, Alice Cooper was creating scandal and outrage long before Marylin Manson could say ‘eyeliner’.

Still ever the showman, in this DVD filmed at the Montreux Festival in 2005, with no sign of a zimmerframe anywhere, he continues to provide one of the most entertaining, tongue in cheek stage shows around. Although scaled down somewhat for this recorded performance in Montreux’s Stravinski auditorium which only holds around 3000 people, it’s still clear that Alice is having a ball.

Guillotines, coffins, lances and fake money from the bank of Alice is all in a days work, and with Alice’s daughter playing the part of dopey media doll Paris Hilton in ‘Wish I Were Born In Beverly Hills’ it’s a characteristic Cooper show for sure.

With classics like ‘Poison’, ‘School’s Out’ and ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ teamed with newer tracks like ‘Dirty Diamonds’ Alice is still on top form and this DVD and bonus CD is a worthy addition to any collection.

Jane Hawkes

Categories
Skateboarding News

Guy Kampfen Launches Aprel Skateboards

Swiss street technician Guy Kampfen has stepped back from the industry limelight to gather his thoughts and launch his own skate company, Aprel.

Despite being a ‘Swiss’ team, so far the only person from Switzerland on the team is the boss – Guy! The rest of the team reside stateside – Jason Jones, Scott Christiansen and Brandon Evan.

Check out www.aprelskateboards.com for more info and footage.