If you weren’t tempted to join the Witchcraft coven then maybe the ‘Second Coming‘ series will cause you to convert.
These gnarly pieces of wood should be arriving in your local skate store by the middle October. Check the full line-up out below and notice that there’s no 8″ deck, don’t ask French why or he will probably lecture you on the fact that you are a pussy. Talking of French have you seen his latest body artwork? You pay to play in this world, see below.
Aberdare Skatepark are throwing a big bash for their fourth birthday on Saturday September 18th.
Kicking off at midday, there will be a 16 and under comp, 17 and over comp, highest ollie comp and a best trick comp in the bowl.
Peep the flyer for all that you should need to know, but if you do feel the desire for more information then head over to blackmarketskateshop.co.uk
We got stuck in at the London premiere of Emerica’s Stay Gold on the 26th August to get the opinions of those fresh from their first viewing.
Check out the edit below to see how miserable the weather was on one particularly rainy night in London town and to see how stoked everyone was on the banging, bonkers and bluesy video.
“Kids going wild!”
Let’s face it, the internet generation may offer us skate videos on a daily basis but how many of them carry that sense of homemade fun that made us all start skateboarding in the first place? The ratio is very unforgiving, while I couldn’t even guess how many videos have dropped this year, I can count on one hand how many were actually fun. But just one look at the packaging of Cardiff Skateboard Club’s ‘Join Us‘, the third ‘film’ to come from the treasure chest of Christian Hart’s editing suite, is an instant reminder of why skateboarding is awesome. Because it’s really just about pissing around.
Each copy comes alongside a randomly selected vinyl. Sweet lady luck smiled and blessed me with a John Williams album complete with the theme to The Deer Hunter (shit was so Oscar winning, but pales in comparison to the blank DVD packaged with it). Inside is a golden ticket that puts you in with a chance to win a very exciting prize! Whether it’s a slap up Italian meal with Dan Gambarini (who rocks a rad section backed by The Italian Job – switch 360 shove its on red banks, you know this!) you’re after or you had some ideas for Grim’s next tattoo, your prayers could be answered. All you have to do is sit through the C.S.C. video, which, whatever way you look at it is incredible. Somehow.
Filmed entirely on VHS, the skate footage of Cardiff locals, other Welsh rippers and some extended Leeds fam is all interspliced between cuts from films and television shows you’ve most likely forgotten about. Pirate Man continues to live up to his name by making mixed video tapes that would have been accused of killing the film industry if this was released in the 90s. It’s certainly packed with feel-good 90s vibes that you won’t find in any other scene video released this year. Whether you’re down with Cardiff or not, ‘Join Us’ is an invitation to all skateboarders who like to piss around and not take skateboarding so seriously.
So while intentionally aiming to take the Cardiff scene out of the gutter and straight into another one, Christian has perfected his bastardized approach to filmmaking in his most watchable video yet. Some heads continue to use his filming excursions as a way to skate exactly how they want to (Hologram honcho Kevin Barry tears down boundaries we didn’t even think existed in his closing section), while others push themselves to fill this with a whole different kind of WTF moments. Gibbsy is still out of this world and his last trick at the notorious Welsh offices will open your eyes wider than the pill heads getting off their pickle in Human Traffic. On top of that, the SOS section is one of the most fantastically thought out things you’ll see in a skate video all year.
A glance at some of his older videos should give you an idea of what to expect. But if you are a fan of Beez or similarly low-life lo-fi editing and want the ultimate insight into the warped mind of a skateboarder in Cardiff then this is a must see. Though videos edited by an ADHD suffering Pirate who apparently has access to more VHS tapes than your nan are an acquired taste, they’re unquestionably the most bloody fun thing that could fill up your television or laptop screens right now.
I mean, just look at the packaging…
To order a copy, head over to the C.S.C. website or speak with your local Pirate. There’s no trailer because that sort of thing is saved for the VHS pre-film gold, but watch the first part of his last video, First Blood, to get an idea of what to expect…
We hope you have already caught sight of the wonderfully insane video for Heathen Child that came out last month. Things just keep getting better for fans of Nick Cave’s eccentric garage rock side-project Grinderman, as one week before release, their band’s second album can be streamed in full over at the band’s myspace.
Click here to jump straight in and hear the amazing record, and if you need some visual stimulation then just look below. Our ears are hard already…
This week Jason Dill got featured in a video profile on the very slick Defrag Mag.
Click the screenshot below to see his interview and hear his words about his brand, Fucking Awesome, and why when you start to love skateboarding, you won’t ever stop.
Dubbed as the ‘Big Four’ for good reason, Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth sharing one stage is no small occasion. So it comes as fantastic news for metal fans that their performance on June 22nd at Sonisphere Festival in Bulgaria will be available on DVD on October 15th.
A limited edition super deluxe boxset will also be released, featuring the DVD set, five CDs with all the music, a 24 page booklet, a poster, photos of each band and a Big Four guitar pick. Very nice.
For more information, visit metallica.com
Deftones, fresh from releasing their critically acclaimed ‘Diamond Eyes‘ earlier this year, have unleashed the new video for ‘Sextape‘ on the interwebs. You can see it below after all that lovely live show information.
The band will indeed be embarking on a tour of the UK in November. Supported by Coheed and Cambria you can catch them at the following dates:
12th Glasgow, Academy
13th Leeds, Academy
14th Manchester, Apollo
15th Southampton, Guildhall
17th London, Brixton Academy
19th Nottingham, Rock City
20th Birmingham, Academy
Last weekend dozens of skaters (and their friends, no heroes!) flocked to Colchester for the Padre Barrier Jam.
Obstacles were put together from the members of large Monster Network clan and a great session went down. Peep the footage from the jam below. Rad.
Padre Barrier Jam from Monster Network on Vimeo.
Hurley
Epitaph Records
weezer.com
The release of Weezer’s last album ‘Raditude’ seemed to pass by with a bit of a whimper following the initial excitement at the brilliance of its album cover. We liked it but many didn’t. An album that divided opinion, if you will. Therefore, it’s really quite exciting to see the buzz of anticipation that has surrounded the release of the band’s eighth studio album. This has been fuelled by their incendiary appearances at Reading and Leeds festivals, a solid first single from the record, a bizarre choice of album title and cover and the band’s newfound affiliation with an independent record label (for the first time) – the mighty Epitaph Records.
I think it’s safe to say that many Weezer fans dare not get themselves too excited about any forthcoming release from the band. Despite never failing to have a few amazing singles on each record, the band have been known to fall short of many people’s expectations in the album department. That’s not to say that any of them is bad per se, but expectations are always going to be ridiculously high for a band that started their career with the master stroke of genius that is The Blue Album. However, Weezer have persevered. And thank god. Rivers Cuomo seems to have gotten over the insecurities that have plagued him on and off throughout the band’s career and is now just thoroughly enjoying himself. This enjoyment is really evident in the new album which sees the band using a bit more grit and guitar-driven oomph in comparison to their last two albums. If you had to compare it to any of the band’s previous full-lengths, I think it would be fair to say that ‘Hurley’ fits in well with the Green Album era of sound. Although there are marginally fewer straight-up guitar solos and rather more rocking riffs.
The first single ‘Memories’ kicks it all off in an adequate fashion, though this is far from the best track on the album. It’s evident from the outset that Weezer have started leaning further back towards their roots for this record and this is something that everyone’s no doubt going to embrace. Things get really interesting on ‘Unspoken’, a track which starts off kind of mediocre and slow and then really kicks in with scuzzy guitars and a step-up in tempo halfway through. There’s definitely something thrilling about this song as it goes against all the neat and tidy pop-rock songs which Weezer have become known for (and loved and loathed in equal measures for). ‘Where’s My Sex’ continues the rather out-of-the-ordinary song structuring with some further wild changes in tempo. Yes, it’s a bit ridiculous. But nobody’s going to begrudge these veterans of rock music the chance to go off on a tangent every now and again. It’s what has kept their career fascinating, if a little inconsistent, for all these years.
The ending track ‘Time Flies’ is a little bit of a disappointment in comparison to the rest of the album and leaves us on a slight downer. But really, ‘Hurley’ is the sound of a band back at their very-nearly-best. They’re still going to get out of control and surprise you every now and again. But they are back to writing some of their best material yet. Now let’s just hope for some serious touring because we all want more of what went down at Reading and Leeds. And I don’t think anyone would complain if they added a few more songs from ‘Hurley’ into the mix once we’ve all had a chance to learn the words. Bring on the singalongs!
Winegums