The last episode of the extended free goodness from Element Europe’s ‘Get Busy Living‘ has dropped online for your viewing pleasure.
This edition features appearances from the entire team in a short two minute edit of sublime colours and standardly bonkers skating. Get your sugarcanes out and watch below…
For the third and final year, the Antiz and Eastpak teams took their buddies on the road for an even tighter shoestring-belt budget than the last two. Taking over Brussels for several days of skating in between rain showers and having a great time it can only mean one thing – the hobos were at it again.
At the end of last month it was announced that Dallas Rockvam is officially on the consistently rad crew known to the world as Antiz. Considering he only met the team for the first time on this tour he obviously proved himself worthy of hanging with the fun-loving hobos full-time. We caught up with Brussels own Julian Dykmans for the skinny on the trip, meeting Dallas and a shady encounter with two russians.
Interview: Stanley
Photography: Loic Benoit
To start off with, let’s have the roll call… who was brave enough to hobo it up in Belgium for ten days?
Pretty much the whole Antiz and Eastpak team except for Aaron Sweeney and Gabriel Engelke. Oh, you want names…
Steve Forstner and Michel Mahringer from Austria, Julian Furones from Spain, Hugo Liard, Julien Bachelier, Sam Partaix and Remy Taveira from France, Samu Karvonen from Finland, myself from Belgium and Dallas Rockvam from the USA who we met for the first time to see if he had the hobo spirit. Indeed he did.
Was Loic Benoit stoked on being on every single tour? Or is he just on a perpetual hobo tour in his own life?!
Loic is one of the original Antiz guys so it’s natural he comes to our tours. But it would be best to ask him this question. Here he is…
Loic: Antiz is my family so that’s why. Even if I’m the main photographer for every Hobo Tour, I like to come and chill with my homies!
After 10 years being on tour, most of them get a little bit hobo style! Skateboarding don’t need that much money…Mostly I’d like to be with my friends and as Steve says “stay pure, stay poor…that’s the life!”
What made you guys decide that this was going to be the final chapter for the tour?
All good things have an end. I guess we will always stay hobos, just don’t want to juice it too much.
So what are we to look forward to in the book that will be telling the story of the three Hobo Tours?
The book will be a good example of a crew of guys traveling a lot with little money. Just traveling and experiencing new things hobo style with pretty photos by Loic Benoit, Sem Rubio and Joe Hammeke.
You had bikes in the first two tours, how did you get around this time?
First tour was in Andalucia with scooters. Then recession hit, so we got shitty bikes for Berlin. This time it was back to basics: camping in a friend’s garden and moving about with the good old camper van. It rained everyday of the tour and tents did get flooded… bummer.
Did you have any back-up plans for when it rained?
We didn’t expect it to rain every single day! Our back-up plan was 4 cases of Cara Pils, the cheap can in Belgium that costs like 0.30 euros.
We skated everyday anyway. Thanks to our friend Phil Zwijsen we skated covered spots, we switched towns and hustled the way through!
Remy Taveira slipping in a backtail during a rare dry spell.
What on earth happened to Alex’s foot?! Did he stick it out for the rest of the tour doing coffin rolls? Could he drive afterwards?
Alex is our friend from Austria. He came with his camper van but on the first day in the tight Brussels bowl he twisted his foot pretty bad. No driving but lots of Belgium beers were tasted. Alex is a rock. We owe him a skate trip.
How many 360 flips on banks did you do on the entire trip?
Well to be honest I am not sure. As I grow older I start to remember less about skating. Used to know every little single detail about what I did or tried. Let me scan my brain… Obviously the one in Oostende on our blog. Hmmm then, oh yeah, one on the tiny bank in Antwerp… That’s it though. I just do them upon Steve’s requests… You should watch my part in Antiz Antizipated if you are into 360 flips to fakie on banks… Wow that’s a corny plug…
When he’s not 360 flipping Julian is a fan of sugarcanes. Chomp on that.
Haha. Moving away from skating, scan your brain again and let’s hear all about the fight with the two Russians and Remy’s tiny sandwich knife!
So we had a good sunny day and the crew started doing lots of gnarly stuff so at sunset I decided to take the guys to the Belgium pub. We started with a Triple Westmalle which is a triple fermented beer at 9%. It’s real good and from there we just went pub crawl style. We ended up at a sick bar/disco place with rock music. Steve and Samu stole the soda thing that sprays soda pretty strongly and started a wet teeshirt contest between them to motivate girls to get into it as well. Then Dallas puked everywhere, so Samu, shirtless, went to the back of the bar to get the proper equipment to clean up. Yep, Antiz dudes clean their own puke. You should invite us to your place, never to worry about anything.
At the end of the night, guys were waiting for the bus and Paul, our filmer, was on the phone with his lady. All of a sudden he got attacked by two Russians who hit him in the face. It kind of stopped straight away but later on Paul went back to them and socked the smaller guy (not the huge one who actually hit him) real hard and pretty much destroyed his face. Paul said ” you see how if feels to get hit randomly!”.
Police were there and the Russians claimed to them we attacked them but they did not care at all. They were about to leave when Remy pulled out his little knife saying “So, you guys don’t care huh? I am just gonna and stab them guys then, and you don’t care…” They just said ” No, we don’t …” Ahhahahhaha! Oh and when we got in the van, a girl gave us a bag with 10 beer can’s that she just bought for us. “La vie de rêve…”
Wow. Were there any other sketchy encounters that happened on the tour?
That was the best one and the only time we partied. Thing is our crew has high hopes of skating, so since it was raining everyday, we would hope it would finally be good the next day… but no…
That’s a shame. But at least those chip baguettes smothered in burger sauce looked like they were gnarly enough to while away the rainy times. What was the most hobo meal you ate on the tour?
Those ones are the best. It’s called ‘Mitraillette’ which means ‘machine gun’. It’s a french baguette (not a small bit) with your meat of choice, a bit of salad, ton’s of fries and sauce all over the place. 3 euros and you are set!
Amped on Mitraillette nutrition Sam knocks out a crailblock in an empty kidney.
What advice would you give to skaters hoping to travel on a hobo budget?
Best advice ever is to just go. Travel. By any means. Road is right there in front of you, no excuse. Then once you are on the road don’t complain and wash the dishes of whoever is hosting and you should be good. Oh yeah also, skate your ass off. Get up and shred. To keep up physically you just need beers and a skateboard.
If you had to open your Eastpak bag on any given day during the trip what would you find inside? What are the hobo essentials?
It all depends. Steve comes with 3 tees, socks and what he’s got on. Probably a spare board. Then you have the opposite with me. I had a backpack and huge bag with pretty much everything you can imagine. Yep, even deodorant… not very hobo, I know…
So did Steve smell the worst?
Steve always smells the worst. You know when he is behind you on a ramp platform or the big handrail. He is packing his Eastpak backpack light for sure! Three tees for ten days… He showered the last day to meet up with his lady though!
Out of the three tours, what one was the best and why?
Personally all of them were great for me, all different adventures for sure.
Would you be up for doing the complete opposite next year? Something like the Antiz Princess Tour… living the dream in swanky hotels and only skating spots especially made for you or would you rather keep it real fo’ life?
Antiz princess tour sounds great to me. Where do we sign? Anybody interested contact me!
Sam Partaix conjures all of the bad weather into Hurricane Partaix.
Who on the tour deserves a medal for the following:
Gnarliest trick award: Furones almost did a suicidal kickflip drop in underneath the bridge in Antwerp.
Worst slam award: Alex and his foot get first prize.
Most creative piece of DIY award: Belgium concrete skateparks are pretty much all DIY build by skaters! It’s really the Oregon of Europe.
Casanova award: It’s funny because every single guy on Antiz on this tour has a girlfriend, so sorry ladies…
Most boozed up award: Steve could not skate so he wins. Hmm, Alex neither so they tie. They are both Austrians so it’s easy for them.
Most consistent award: On a skateboard? Remy impressed us quite a bit. Every spot got torn.
Cleanest hobo: Unfortunately it’s me…
Dirtiest hobo: When Steve slept with sugar all over himself (Sam threw it over him) not bothering to clean himself up and waking up with glued eyes.
Ultimate hobo: Dallas is quite good at hoboing… A natural I would say.
Dallas: Natural Born Hobo
Any last words on the past three years?
Yep. Thanks to Eastpak, Antiz and all the hobos around the world.
Go check the blog. The three years are blogged there. Not very hobo to be blogging you say? Well I am the worst hobo there is….
Further to his fantastic recent album, $, on Last Gang Records, Mark Sultan has been a significant figure in garage rock over the past decade. Whether it be his inspired collaborations with King Khan as The King Khan and BBQ show, or gospel rock supergroup The Almighty Defenders, Sultan can be relied upon to make great sounding records, and to tour them, hard. Most significantly, the three albums made with King Khan stick in our minds as perhaps his best work to date, and essential additions to any good record collection.
On the week of the release of his new solo album, we caught up with Mark to discuss his influences, playing the Sydney Opera House and what he’s got planned for the near future. We also got the low down on the making of ‘$’, which recently joined the Buzz Chart here.
Hey Mark! How’s life?
Life is great! I just moved to Toronto and I am pretty stoked.
First off, could you tell us about your new album ‘$’ and how it came together.
Well, that album was recorded a while ago – in fact the earliest recording on the CD, anyway, is the original version of ‘I’ll Be Lovin You’, which ended up being reworked as a King Khan & BBQ Show song. Most tracks were recorded in late 2008/2009, with some alterations done a bit later. I basically wanted to stretch my wings a bit after focusing more on KKBBQ and my decision to write and sing more basic and primitive rock’n’roll with that band. I wanted to write songs as ‘Mark Sultan’ and record them with more experimentation and more ‘orchestration’. It was cathartic, cuz I was pretty dark at that point. Made sense.
Why did you decide to call it ‘$’?
The name was just another in a series of bad decisions I have made in music. Nah, I dunno. Probably could argue that it’s all a joke on the fact that I never make money from my shit. But honestly, I just like the way a dollar sign looks.
I think the album really showcases your talent as a vocalist, what singers do you draw inspiration from?
Thanks. I would say it probably has been showcased more on King Khan & BBQ Show albums, as far as talking pure R&B-style howling, but I think ‘$’ is a decent showcase, if not more varied, vocally. I draw most inspiration from a long line of 50’s gospel singers, R&B vocal group singers and soul dudes. Just a bunch of remarkable talents whom you have either heard of or who have washed away with time.
What kind of music did you listen to growing up? How did you end up playing garage rock and doo-wop influenced music?
I received ‘Abbey Road’ for Christmas when I was 5 and started buying Led Zeppelin albums with saved up holiday bucks the year after, on recommendation from my cousin Steven. So, ya, lots of Classic rock and 50’s-60’s rock’n’roll stuff that I found in parents’ boxes as a kid staying home from school. That was until I was, say, 8-9. Then came metal, hardcore, punk, etc… The garage stuff was always a curiosity for me even through my hardcore days. I mean, I still had a love for the Stones, etc… and when bands like Minor Threat would cover Standells songs, I’d track down the originals. And then I started getting into all the old shit and stuff like the Mummies or Billy Childish or whatever. It all seemed punk to me! As for Doo-Wop, that also was part of growing up, on like ‘Party Rock’ albums and shit. All the novelty stuff. But my love of more ‘serious’ R&B, etc… came later, probably from researching garagebands doing old covers and going into it further. I love vocal sounds and melodies and harmonies. I love getting the chills from the ethereal sound of one person’s voice so full of soul and emotion. It makes me feel alive.
You’ve toured with some great bands in your time – are there any particular tours or stories from the road which stick out in your mind?
Man, too many stories. I’ll write a book one day. It will be funny.
What three things can you not live without when you’re on tour?
I dunno… Sometimes, when I smoke, it’s something as simple as a cigarette. Or chocolate. Mostly, I just can’t live without the love to keep going; to keep touring. Once you lose that, you should go home.
What’s your live setup like now? Have things mellowed at all since you started out?
I just toured the US as my one-man band ‘BBQ’, but which often gets billed as ‘Mark Sultan’. Weird. In any case, my performances were generally more energetic and perhaps ‘evil’ than ever. I was happy. But I also have a 4-5 piece band which I will start touring with, with me as front man. Things are not slowing down. I am never complacent.
We really love the music you’ve released as King Khan & BBQ, how would you describe your relationship with King Khan?
Well, we are brothers. We are going through a tough time at present, but we still love each other. Just gotta let time heal a few things.
Have you settled on playing under your own name now, or are there any other projects or aliases on the horizon?
Well, contrary to popular thought, that isn’t my real name, more a reliable alias so I can put one name out for now and draw less confusion. But even my real name isn’t real. I hope to use the REAL name on an upcoming release.
Of all the musical projects you’ve worked on to date, is there a record or moment that you’re most proud of?
There were a bunch of moments that could have been the proudest, but have somehow always fucked up. A good example is when me and Khan played the Sydney Opera house at the request of Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson. Disastrous. Hahahaha. Anyway, I am as proud as I can be with most shit I make, cuz I also have a good sense of self-censorship. I only put out stuff I kinda like.
Are there any plans to come back to the UK in the near future?
For a long time, the UK was on my personal blacklist, as I had nothing but horrid experiences there, but I am now willing to give it another go. More and more ‘fans’ ask and I guess I should try.
Any last words?
If music challenges your first impressions, will you shut it off or keep listening? Are you a fan of music or a fan of being a ‘fan’?
Jak Tonge has outdone himself on the Shoreham rail this week as he nails not 10 but 11 tricks for Drawing Boards in a session that kind of just happened.
Watch below and the next time you’re session takes an unexpected detour why don’t you make the most of it and make a ten trick edit? Watch and have fun!
Since announcing that they were on-board to compose the soundtrack for the upcoming Tron sequel, Daft Punk have been mostly quiet about the project, drip-feeding fans with 20 second snippets of tracks and tiny molecules of information that the press continue to swarm over like vultures. Understandable, given that the 22-track album will be the influential duo’s first original full-length since 2005’s Human After All, for which the producers have called upon an entire orchestra to assist them. For the first time, Daft Punk have spoken at length about the project with Dazed and Confused magazine, and have finally answered all those questions many have been dying to ask.
They talk about the contrasts between the origins, producing music in bedrooms and how hearing it performed by a 90-piece orchestra was an “very intense experience”. Guy-Manuel (gold helmet) has put forward his optimism that this could encourage many of their fans to listen to more classical music and focus their attention on orchestral instruments rather than synths, which unlike the “timelessness” of a cello, Thomas Bangalter (silver helmet) argues “will probably be gone in the next 20 [years]”. Indeed, despite their dance music origins, the pair appear to have fallen in love with the more traditional music composition experience, as Thomas continues…
“We knew from the start that there was no way we were going to do this film score with two synthesizers and a drum machine… there’s more latitude to experiment with an orchestra than an 808 drum machine and synth.”
The soundtrack will be released on December 6th, 11 days prior to the movie hitting cinemas. We are excited, Rick McCrank is excited, are you?
The super-switch-stance Huddersfield power-dad Paul Silvester is now guzzling booze and shredding in the name of Death Urethane.
Check the picture that was dropped in our inbox by Zorlac and get hyped to see more from the “Man” himself soon!
London’s most talked about singer/producer of the NOW, James Blake has revealed that the release date of his highly anticipated debut album will be February 7th 2011.
It will be dropped via his own ATLAS Label (with major label funding) and is “probably self-titled”. Like his recent work on ‘Limit To Your Love‘ and ‘I Never Learnt To Share‘, the album will prominently display Blake’s vocal capabilities and the focus on lyrics (“taken from [his] own emotional experiences at uni”) will give the listener a insight into the musical soul of Blake far greater than what that of his post-dubstep RnB re-works permitted.
More exciting news comes in the form of a full live show as the singer continues, “We’ve done trial runs and it’s going great. I’m rehearsing with a proper band – we’re going to be playing 100% live.”
Watch the video to his Feist cover below and read our review for it here.
Torche
Songs For Singles
(Hydrahead)
“It’s just a bunch of radio rock bullshit”. A slightly harsh one-sentence review there, courtesy of none other than Torche drummer Rick Smith, as quoted from the sticker on the front of the CD. Clearly, there’s some kind of sarcastic sense of humour at work here; not least in the album’s title, as Torche are hardly likely to be bothering mainstream radio anytime in the foreseeable future.
That said, ‘Songs For Singles‘ is an unashamedly melodic beast, from a band that are better known for their arsenal of bowel-loosening riffs (as displayed to dazzling effect on 2008’s ‘Meanderthal’ album). Intended as a stop-gap release (as opposed to a full-length album), it’s also surprisingly short, with the first six tracks zipping by in roughly twelve minutes combined; a melée of ultra-fuzzy guitars, stop-start rhythms and Steve Brooks’ signature beer-drenched howl.
Enjoyable enough, but Torche are far better when they give those aforementioned riffs time to breathe and develop – which they do on the last two tracks. ‘Face The Wall’ is an atmospheric slice of post-rock, with Brooks crooning plaintively over a funereal beat and a sea of jet-engine guitar noise. Meanwhile, the closing ‘Out Again’ is a largely instrumental work out set to a driving beat, but proves eerily hypnotic over its six-minute course.
‘Songs For Singles’ may not scale the dizzy heights of ‘Meanderthal’, but it does prove that the Torche of 2010 are still very much a force to be reckoned with. Be sure to play it LOUD.
Alex Gosman
Torche – “U.F.O.” by Hydra Head Records
Heath Kirchart and Jeff Vallee have completed their cross-country bike ride this week, cycling from L.A to New York (3,303.3 miles) in 53 days.
If you were following their journey on their website you would have have seen all the ups and downs, the fantastic trolling incident and plenty more encounters that can only occur on a bicycle ride across a country bigger than you could even imagine. A perfect example of doing something for the sheer fuck of it. There’s nothing stopping you either, just say yes.
Congratulations to the both of them! Keep your eye on the site though as they have already discussed handing it over to someone else doing something similar.
Who knows what is next for the unpredictable Heath? He’s often reluctant to give so much as a hint, but spontaneity and ‘no reason’ decisions are the spice of life, so stop watching and get grinding.
The Bug
Infected EP
Ninja Tune
A lot has happened since The Bug released his critically acclaimed third album London Zoo. Although it’s been just two short years since that release, its influence and the rise of bass orientated music has meant Kevin Martin’s return to The Bug takes on a whole new context. Martin has always been a pioneer, whichever alias he is writing for, so his next moves shall understandably be watched very closely.
New single ‘Catch A Fire’ is a low key, but exceptional comeback song. Its throbbing bassline and reverb laden snare hits are typical of The Bug, but Hitomi’s softer vocal approach keeps things fresh. If this is a sign of what to expect from a new full length, then it’s likely that Martin will once again deliver something special.
Padding out the Infected EP are remixes from Autechre and Scratcha, and a reworking of Poison Dart with vocals from Roots Manuva. Unfortunately ‘padding out’, is exactly how the rest of this EP feels, with remixes of London Zoo tracks feeling like a needless revisiting of old ground. Surely remixes of ‘Catch a Fire’ would have made more sense here, rather than run the danger of continued association to the likes of ‘Poison Dart’, as big as that track undoubtedly is.
Still, in terms of ‘new’ material from The Bug, ‘Catch a Fire’ is typically promising. Here’s hoping for a full length from Kevin Martin next year, as a proper showcase of the man’s unique talent.
Sleekly Lion