Tony Hawk arrived in London to skate at Bay 66 skate park and promote his new Tony Hawk game coming out on Activision. He was joined by Pete King, Mark Munson and Aussie rider Jake Brown on the vert ramp in the midst of hundreds of excited kids. Hawk has recently visited 3 European countries on this tour with London. Congrats to Mr Hawk as he is set to marry his wife Erin in Fiji in January..
The Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland video game is launched this month, click here for more info.
93 East – London
17th October 2005
The venue is rammed meaning that the current single The Great Escape has done it’s duty and turned heads, not really difficult though when you have a tune that good but hey, better ones have not even touched the sides in the past but these guys are lucky, they were in the right hands at the right time.
3 piece bands that play high temp disco indie sounds like hard work for all members involved but tonight, these 3 guys make it look easy. With tunes like the classic Nobody Move, Nobody Get Hurt and This Scene is Dead the band roll through this set with ease with a sense of humour thrown in for good measure. For some reason though this set is not likely to hit arenas in the future, or at least you could not imagine them playing to crowds of that size but for now, even at this dodgy east London venue they have already started to climb capacities. The debut album that just came out is one to have, check them out live when they next visit, you will not be disappointed.
Finnan Crispy
When the American Element team dropped their video, I was less than blown away- with the utter exception of Brent Atchley- so when I heard Element Europe were next to drop a video, my emotions were mixed to say the least… Would they over do it on the ecological front? Would it resemble an above average Puzzle video? Would the best skater have an unpronounceable name..?
Luckily I was pleasantly surprised by ‘Rise Up’. It is shorter, sweeter and way more tech than the American’s take at a video. Phew! Even if I thought the intro with it’s pretty 35mm film footage ran a bit long, the video quickly picked up pace as Europe and the States got pillaged taken to the cleaners by Element’s Euro squad.
Here is a quick run down:
Michael Mackrodt opens up the show with some really good and fast skating. Michael holds it steady on the grinds and skates a whole array of spots. Good stuff. Jo Lorenz looks like a bit of a joker, but that doesn’t stop him from putting down some nice switch tricks. Take note because a lot of these Euro street technicians will have you hitting rewind for stance confirmation. Jean Marc Soulet is a bit of a Biebel which people will either love or hate. However, Jean Marc is not scared to huck himself at some big gaps, and get the job done to a good gangsta beat.
Halfway through ‘Rise Up’ we are introduced to various flow members of the Element Europe team. Keep an eye open for the fearless little Evelien Bouillart who leaps at the gaps and rails faster than the boys. She has actually been knotched up to official team status whilst you read this, felicitations Evelien! Team Manger Christian Vankelst has a couple of nice tricks and Chris Gibbs represents the UK with some well balanced manual madness. Note for filmers and skaters: DON’T keep that little snippet of footage of the skater screaming and beating his chest as if he just slayed the dragon when he lands his trick. It makes the guy look like a prat. Sorry… French heads Gauthier Rogier and Julien Benoliel take care of the tech and transition, whilst finnish Pirkka Pollari runs the style ticket with his little hat and huge backside flips. I don’t really know what else to say about Pirkka because his part is very style conscious and sometimes that’s a lot better than a huge bag of tricks.
Back to the main rundown though, and Bas Janssen is let out of the closet to sow together a few sweet lines. I reckon video doesn’t do this guy’s steez and smooth operations justice. Sebastien Hepp (who a few might recognize from previous issues of Puzzle) is proper gangsta like Jean Marc and lays a serious beatdown of spots all over the world- notably the States. Even if you get a slightly boastful apprehension from this kid’ part, the skills are definitely there! Finally, the Euro manual monarch that is pretty much on par with Daewon Song- Janne Saario. Janne has that amazing balancing talent that allows him to twist, turn and add tricks to his two wheeled demo. This last part is the definite highlight to a fully European video that runs short at approximately 35 minutes. If you love the Euro scene and al the spots and characters it has to offer, then ‘Rise Up’ is for your DVD collection. Oh, and in case Ty Evans or any other wannabe pro filmer is reading this: You see that guy who grinds that Pat Duffy-esque rail at the very end? That’s Yves Marchon the guy who filmed ‘Rise Up’, so yeah chomp on that!
Oh! And news has just come through that London Ripper Lucien Clarke is now a fully fledged member of the Element Europe Green team (see news). Things just got a whole lot better!
Ralph Lloyd-Davis
A book by Andrew Pommier
Holy Water
www.holy-water.co.uk
Wow, this book is a real treat. If you skate then you may already know that Andrew Pommier has designed insane graphics for Toy Machine Skateboards and also Momentum Wheels over the last 2 years, and if you do not skate, this book has to be read for some of the most twisted art you will see out there. Pommier’s sketches come across as being, sad, lonely, oppressed and pitiful, but this is the view from the artists eyes, that maybe after a deep interview will come to light just how they did eventually end up on paper. With the use of animals including rabbits, squids, bears, dogs, bumble bees and deer’s Pommier creates images of humans connecting with these species like you have never seen before, all with a subtle message added for confusion and thought.
His fascination with rock and roll, cigarettes and the dark side of life are features that you simply cannot ignore in this amazing 40 page full colour book released by Holy Water in the UK.
Sheltered, the 4th local skate video from Hastings and Bexhill features a group of friends who’ve tried to escape the sheltered towns they live in by traveling to many locations around the world from London to Tokyo and has just premiered in Hastings. The South East scene hasn’t featured much in the skateboard press but it exists and is thriving all the time with skaters such as Luke Dench and Joe Sandland pushing it to the next level. The previous video ‘no skateboarding’ got a fairly good review in Sidewalk Magazine but Sheltered will blow that one away with better editing, an all British soundtrack and consistent skateboarding.
Email: sam_designs@hotmail.co.uk for more info.
Ah! The battle of the stances continues… The Etnies Goofy Vs. Regular contest has just finished and the rebel forces fought well securing a revengeful victory for the Goofy footers. Dave Swift led his right foot forward gang of plank pirates (Koston, Cannon, Appleyard and Rodriguez) to victory over Jake Phelps’ left foot forward losers (Senn, Salabanzi, Cole and Sheckler).
Chris Cole got dizzy enough to win the MVP for the regular footed folk, whilst Jereme Rogers switched things up to swipe MVP for the Goofy bunch. Whether or not such pointless competitions should be condoned or not isn’t really up to us to decide. Considering how normal it is for kids to skate switch today, the true value of stance is about as strong as exchanging rupees for roubles… But don’t forget that there was once a strong stance that ran the road: Mongo pushers have nearly all been eradicated today, but something dark is dawning on the horizon…
www.etniesskate.com for more
Too much wanking makes you go Blind
I sense a few 20 to 30-somethings are about to bust their load when they find out what Blind is about to release… The Double Set DVD box which includes What If?, Video Days, Time and Henry’s Pack of Lies and all the Blind sections from the old World Industries videos i.e. 20 Shot Sequence, Trilogy, Rodney Vs, Daewon Round 1 & 2!!!
In other words Blind are throwing the book at all self-respecting street fanatics. Hopefully this early Xmas stocking filler will instigate the re-issuing of all the aforementioned World Industries videos… In fact, Girl have finally decided to release their quadruple box set (Goldfish, Mouse, Las Nueves Vidas de Paco, The Chocolate Tour) on DVD, and they’re even throwing in a bonus DVD with loads of random skits and odd bits and bobs.
www.blindskateboards.com for more.
As any self respecting amateur knows, there are moments in your career-building lives where the different paths you take aren’t always as amazing as the contract makes them out to be. Often kids will find themselves balancing precariously on the whim of Team Managers managerial skills and distribution company politics. London based ripper Lucien Clarke is no stranger to these types of situations. But today he can shrug it all of and put it back to experience because Element Europe have taken the 6 foot 5 yoot under their wing and applied his talent to the flow team roster. I think this the time when the competition gets a little harder… Nollie flip 14 stairs second try anyone?
www.elementskateboards.com for all Element news etc
Schiffer Publishing
www.jimphillips.com
There are many artists out there who have touched us personally with their view on life in general through art but there is only one person that has personally made me stop in my tracks and has affected the route of which I have led my life more than others over my 31 year existence.
Skateboard art and graphics are more important than the set up itself when you are young and I don’t think that there is another artist that has had the same impact on kidsover the last 40 years in skateboarding. Jim Phillips is that man. He started out with surfboard art in 1962 which became famous throughout the years. His motorcycle art inspired a generation of bikers and he even found time for local communities to use his unique art skills by supplying adverts for local health stores and more.
But it was his skateboard art that put skateboarding firmly on the map across the world in the early 1980’s. If you think about how huge skateboarding became back then, and then look at who was at the controls of designing its very lifestyle, it was down to Phillips. One man, working for one company, and that company was Santa Cruz Skateboards.
Jim became the art director for the company who were of course based in Santa Cruz from 1974 onwards. Jim started by designing art for Road Rider Wheels with their famous wings that let you know that when you rode them you would indeed fly, as these wheels came with built in bearings. Something very new to the scene back then. Jim then gave birth to the Independent Trucks logo and then all the Santa Cruz logo’s for their wheels, boards, rip grip…you name it, Phillips designed the image for it.
His most famous image in my eyes would be the Screaming Hand. A detached hand drenched in blood, blue in colour with a mouth that said everything gnarly about skateboard culture and it’s endearing roots. This particular design amongst many others can be found tattoed over people skin around the world, seen on walls spray painted and stickers produced into the 8 million mark. This is big stuff here, this art changed a generation, it inspired a generation and that generation are still passing on this beauty now as you are reading this review.
Jim Phillips art in the 1980’s WAS skateboarding, no doubt about it, but when Phillips asked for royalties from the $50 million sales that Santa Cruz were hucking in, he was flatly turned down and he left. After 16 years of creating the energy for Santa Cruz it came to an end and Phillips left the company with a handful of people of whom he had taught his wonderful skills.
I remember buying various Santa Cruz boards and wheels when I was young including Jeff Grosso, Jason Jesse, OJ 2’s, Bullets, Slime Balls, and all because of the quality of the products and the graphics, it was the perfect company. It’s image was fun, colourful, ever changing and always had an edge that would appeal to many.
Jim then designed rock posters for classic artists such as James Brown, Bonnie Raitt, and Jerry Garcia but also got involved with posters for newer punk bands at the time such as Canadian punksters NoMeansNo and D.O.A amongst many others. But Jim could always put pen to paper to anything, and did it ten times more uniquely than any other at that time. Even when the computer world decided to step into change the way graphic art was formed, he was always one step ahead and took the changes by the horn with great success.
This fantastic book is filled to the brim with all of this fantastic art mentioned in this review and loads more. The story of his life also sweeps you through every page with quotes from famous skaters, other artists and colleagues and family members along the way. His son Jimbo is now in the Phillips hot seat and has seemed to have matched his Father’s skills tenfold. You do not have to be a skateboarder to appreciate excellent art and everybody at least once in their lifetime should come face to face with a Jim Phillips creation. This book is amazing. Flick through one today!
Zac
Links:
Creme Skateboards UK rider Ross McGouran came in 3rd at the street skateboarding finals at the LG Action Sports Championships in Manchester UK. Daniel Viera came in 2nd with Wagner Ramos taking $30,000 for first prize. Ross beat the impressive Greg Lutzka who just could not string his runs together and use the entire course to gain him more points in the heats but killed so many tricks on the ledge. Danny Wainright, Rodney Clarke and Flynn Trottman all entered but did not make the top 10. The vert comp was also highly strung with Chris Gentry beaten to the finishing line by PLG in his last run who just nicked the cash off him at the end. Sandro Dias had a shoulder injury leaving the buzzing crowd packing away their 900 signs in droves and overall the skating in this final was off the hook.
1. Wagner Ramos
2. Daniel Vieira
3. Ross McGouran
4. Chris Dobstaff
5. Greg Lutzka
6. Josh Evin
7. Alex Gavin
8. Chad Fernandez
9. Dayne Brummet
10. Avi Luzia
Vert :
1. Pierre-Luc Gagnon
2. Chris Gentry
3. Andy Macdonald
4. Rune Glifberg
5. Anthony Furlong
6. Mathias Ringstrom
7. Tas Pappas
8. Buster Halterman
9. Sandro Dias
10. Lincoln Ueda
Visit: www.lgactionsports.com for more info.