Categories
Skateboarding Product Reviews

Etnies – Ryan Sheckler review

OK, OK, we all know that Ryan Sheckler is tiny, minute even, and of course the envy of every kid across the globe for skating flawless at such a young age, but at some point, he had to go pro for Etnies.

After 20 years in the game, the Worlds most uniquely driven shoe company have decided that youth is proof and have handed the keys over to this little talented bugger and you know what? Yep, they have come up with the most comfortable shoe i have ever put on my feet!

It must be caused by all those crazy testing laborotaries that Etnies have hidden next door to the place where they keep those aliens that landed in the 70’s, but shit you not, these shoes wanna skate as soon as they go on your feet!

Here’s the spiel: Sheckler designed them and tested them, they are a combination of rubber and suede, the tongue is the most comfortable you will get in a shoe, the inner cushioning is like a foot party, and then you have the combined added bonuses of the System G2 heel slaying support and the STI foam, whatever that is, but i know it’s darn good.

So, these are winners…they look cool, they feel great on, they have a fantastic sole to merge with your griptape and are seriously comfortable. Don’t you just wanna throw a small poo at Sheckler even more now! Damn!

Click here to see all the colouways etc

Chuck Bangers

Categories
Skateboarding News

Etnies 20 yr party gets shut down!

20 successful years of Etnies Shoes was celebrated in New York City this week and promptly shut down due to noise pollution and party mayhem.

The Malarkey was held at the new Etnies store at 29 Greene St in New Yorks Soho area, with pro team signings from Ryan Sheckler, Aarto Saari, Ronnie Creager and Kyle Leeper, Elissa Steamer, Lauren Perkins and Element’s female ripper Evelin Bouilliart who is next up for words on this very site.

The party got out of hand, so says a their new posh neighbours due to street fighting, drug and alcohol abuse and “dumbasses” urinating all over the street. Apparently, the fuzz were called and the party was broken up by a dozen donut munchers. Oh well, sounds like a standard British video premiere get together to me!

The next leg of this Etnies 20 year party shnizzle will be landing in Paris, more about that when we get an invite.

Categories
Buzz Chart

Asaviour

Long knows as Jehst’s hypeman, Asaviour has finally dropped his own solo album and he steps from the shadows to prove that he is one of the heavyhitters in the UK hip hop game. This album involves a whole host of UK beatmakers, including Evil Ed, Jehst, Ghost, Braintax, Mr Thing and Asaviour himself.

From single So Northern with its bouncy beat and untouchable flow through the more laid back Field Of Dreams to the hard pianos of Bangers N Mash, Asaviour rhymes with ease and brings his distinctive voice to the landscape set out in front of him. He brings in guest rappers like Yungun, Kyza and Braintax and doesn’t just hold his own, he outdoes them all, and once again his rapping alongside Jehst is as brilliant as ever.

Asaviour is no longer the fun loving sidekick of UK hip hop, he’s now right up there punching with the heavyweights and if this album is any indication of what the future holds, then everyone around him will need to borrow a ladder of their own to reach his level.

Categories
Interviews

Bullets And Octane Interview

Listening to Bullets And Octane’s forthcoming second album, ‘In The Mouth Of The Young’, you’d be forgiven for thinking them to be the kind of guys who’d drink your whisky, screw your girlfriend and ride off on your motorbike if you turned your back on them for a second.

After all, this Orange County quartet play lean, mean, full-throttle punk rock n’ roll like it’s in their blood; however, in person, they’re very friendly and approachable!

They recently visited the UK for the first time, supporting fellow OC rockers Avenged Sevenfold, and I caught up with Gene Louis (vocals) and Brent Clawson (bass) before the London Astoria show.

So, how’s the tour going so far?

GENE: It’s been going great, man, it’s our first time here…the kids seem to love it, there’s a lot of people who know the words to our songs, the shows have all been amazing with regard to the energy from the crowd. It’s like, we’ve just come over from the States; we’re a bit jetlagged, trying to figure out where the hell we are [laughs], so to get up onstage and see how great the crowds are, it’s like “Fuck, we’re on, let’s do it!”

How did this tour (and the previous one with Social Distortion) come about? Are you guys old friends?

BRENT: Yeah, it’s been going on for about three months now, and basically we all kinda knew each other because we’re all from the same neighbourhood and play the same genres of music, so it worked out that way pretty well.

How well known would you say you are in the States?

G: It would be the same as, uh…Christianity! [mass laughter]

Ha ha, quote of the year already!

B: It’s going pretty well actually – this is our first year of really hardcore touring; we’ve been touring our first CD [2004’s ‘Revelry’] for a while, so this year we’re gonna be touring the new record, and it’s coming right along, city to city. Every time we come back, it’s like the same people along with a load of new people; the word’s spread, it’s getting out there…it’s been really good.

I noticed that you have a Myspace page; has the internet helped you to get heard?

G: Oh yeah – it’s like, Myspace is the biggest thing for any company these days, it’s a great tool for meeting new bands and fans and, uh, women! [more laughter]

You’ve been described as ‘Social Distortion meets Guns N’ Roses’ – would you say that’s accurate, and are there any other particular bands that have really influenced you?

You sometimes remind me of the Supersuckers…

G: You know, that’s a great thing, because I hear a lot of different opinions from different people about what we sound like – and that’s cool, because we don’t really wanna get pigeonholed as just one kind of band…we’re influenced by a lot of old rock n’ roll, a lot of jazz, some old punk rock…it’s like, we all come from different types of backgrounds, but together we’re Bullets And Octane, so that’s cool.

You’ve got a very decadent sound, so I have to ask: can you guys hold your own in the partying stakes?

G: Well, yeah, on this trip it’s got to the point where if I’m not sleeping, I’m drinking! Usually I’m drinking so I can fall asleep, cos I’ve got this fucking jetlag…other than that though, people here seem to buy us a lot of drinks; it’s like [does brilliant British accent] “Come do a shot, mate!”, so you do shots of Jager, got some Jack Daniels in there too…and the next thing I know, I’m on the floor!

B: Funny story – one night when we were on tour in America with Avenged, we went to a bar with them after the show, and our drummer was so hammered that he started pissing all over the bar, and this bar brawl broke out…it was like a scene out of ‘Roadhouse’!

Haha! – You seem to tour a lot – would you say that you’re more of a live band than a studio band?

G: Both, man, they’re both great experiences…on the one hand, you wanna get out there, you wanna play, get dirty, enjoy it night by night…but when you’re in a creative mood, being in the studio is amazing too.

B: We learned to play in a studio; the first songs we wrote were on an 8-track recorder in a storage shed…that was before we had a full band, when it was just us two writing songs – so, you know, the studio environment has kinda become part of us.

What are Bullets And Octane’s plans for the near future, after this UK tour ends?

G: After this, we go back to the United States and we do our own tour there during April, supporting our new record coming out…that’ll last about five weeks, see where it takes us, then we’ll probably go back to the studio and do some more recording. But for now, we just hope to get back to the States alive, take things a day at a time!

‘In The Mouth Of The Young’ is released in late April. Check www.bullets-and-octane.com for more info.

Alex Gosman

Categories
Skateboarding News

C1rca Video UK Tour!

The C1RCA team will be heading for the UK soon to promote the brand new DVD “IT’S TIME” and will be landing in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff in May.

Check out the list below for riders that will also be skating around the country. Ramondetta and Cannon personally flew in for last years Crossfire Xmas Jam with C1RCA being our main allies in one of the best Jams of the Year in 2005 and this trip shows they mean business coming back with a full squad to annihilate the UK once again.

The team riders will all be skating, participating in shop signings and attending all premieres to support this much talked about film, so it should be one to look out for this year, check www.c1rca.com for all the trimmings.

The US Pro Team Skaters accompanying the “IT’S TIME” tour are:

Adrian Lopez
Peter Ramondetta
Colt Cannon
Jon Allie
Tony Tave
Windsor James
Sierra Fellers
Grant Patterson
Dennis Durrant

IT’S TIME VIDEO TOUR LONDON: Saturday 27th May 2006

Demo:
12 – 4 pm (£6)
Bay Sixty6 Skate Park
Bay 65-66, Acklam Road,
London,
W10 5YU
Phone: 0208 969 4669
Email: info@baysixty6.com
www.baysixty6.com

Premiere:
Prince Charles Cinema
7 Leicester Place (just off Leicester Square),
London,
WC2H 7BP
1st viewing: 6:15pm (free)
2nd viewing: 7:15pm (free)

After party to be announced.
For tickets & more info, please call Projects Distribution 0117 977 7704 and quote Crossfire

EDINBURGH: Monday 29th May 2006

Shop signing:
Focus Skateboard Store
44 West Port, Edinburgh, EH1 2LD
Phone: 0131 229 9009
Email: info@focuspocus.co.uk

Premiere:
Filmhouse
88 Lothian Rd,
Edinburgh,
EH3 9BZ

Viewing times: TBA
www.filmhousecinema.com
Afterparty to be announced.

For tickets & more info on demo, shop signings and viewing times, please contact Focus Skate Store

CARDIFF: Wednesday 31st May 2006

Premiere:
Cineworld Cinemas Ltd
Mary Ann Street,
Cardiff,
CF10 2EN

Viewing times: TBA

Phone: 02920 667 718
Fax: 02920 667 745
www.cineworld.co.uk

For tickets, viewing times & more info, please call Route One – Phone: 02920 233 621
www.routeone.co.uk

Categories
Skateboarding News

Emerica Unveils Ed Templeton’s Cul-de-Sac of Awesome!

Emerica pro Ed Templeton has always looked to be as creative as possible and next month he’ll be bringing out a limited edition Emerica series called Ed’s Cul-de-Sac of Awesome.

The series will include four products featuring Ed’s designs – A Ridgemont slip-on show, the popular warrior Heritic 2 shoes, a custom hat and the matching t-shirt.

Emerica also wanted to make sure it is known that no animals were hurt in the making of this collection, which are made with synthetic-based materials. This product will only be available in select skate shops for a limited time only, so make sure you get on it!

www.emericaskate.com for more.

Categories
Live Reviews

Capdown – Live

London King’s Cross Water Rats
15/3/06

Hats off to the folks at Gravity DIP Records for putting on this show; it’s a line-up that certainly warrants leaving the house on a freezing Wednesday night. Kill Kill Disconnect’s propulsive indie rock is a welcome treat for the early birds, but it’s Boom In The Diamond Industry who really get the party started, mixing up scratchy guitars with supremely addictive grooves on anthems-in-waiting like ‘The Gift’. It’s still early days for the ‘Industry boys, but they’ve got confidence and tunes in spades, and even manage to get most of tonight’s previously static crowd dancing. Awesome stuff.

Next up is Kingston’s very own folk-pop troubadour Dave House whose heartfelt but often witty tales receive some much deserved crowd accompaniment. Plus, it’s always nice to be reminded that a handsome young man with an acoustic guitar need not equal James Blunt-esque blandness.

“We’re still here, and we’re more up for it than ever!” announces Capdown frontman Jake, three songs into their set. He does not lie; the band clearly relishing the intimacy of the venue as the sold-out crowd goes seven shades of apeshit.from the start.

If ska-punk’s popularity is on the wane, then this lot either don’t know or (more likely) don’t care, because the clutch of new songs aired tonight boast even more righteous ska-core firepower than the storming renditions of ‘Act Your Rage’ or ‘Cousin Cleotis’ – if that’s possible. Make no mistake: Capdown are back with a vengeance, and you’d be a fool not to pay attention this time

Alex Gosman

Categories
Music News

Free Dirty Pretty Things Gig!

To celebrate the release of their upcoming debut single Bang Bang You’re Dead, Carl Barat’s Dirty Pretty Things are to play a free show at the HMV in London’s Oxford Street.

The performance will take place on the 24th of April and will start at 6pm with a signing afterwards. 400 wristbands will be given out at 9am on a first come first served basis.

Check out www.dirtyprettythingsband.com for all the official info.

Categories
Music News

John 5 Unleashes Loser

John 5, the guitarist in Marilyn Manson, has revealed that his new band are called Loser. The guitarist, who has just come off co-writing and playing with Rob Zombie, has scheduled an album release for Loser around the beginning of June.

The group, who will feature 5, Charles Lee on bass, Glendon Crane on drums and singer Joe Grah, will move away from darker metal, with John 5 likening it to eating different foods, “it’s good to have a little bit more variety”.

The album will be called Just Like You and tracks featuring on it include Nobody Knows, Without You [Inside Out] and Disposable Sunshine.

Check out their myspace page here.

Categories
Music News

Rapper Proof Dead

Reports are going around that Eminem’s right hand man Proof, real name DeShaun Hotlon, was shot dead at a club in Detroit earlier today, with another man wounded with gunshots to the head.

The other man’s identity hasn’t been released but it has been confirmed that it wasn’t fellow D12 memberBizarre after rumours saying it was, and who is in critical condition in hospital. Let’s hope the gangland element of rap isn’t coming back, it’s something no-one needs.