As we’re reaching the end of the year it makes sense for everyone to take some time out to reflect on what’s gone down in the last 12 months. So as 2011 draws ever closer we decided to get in touch with those who’ve had a great year on the board and get them to reminisce with us. Essex ripper Neil Smith has had yet another year of shutting down spots across the UK and is the first to kick off our end of year list feature, Reflections.
Read below for Smiffy’s favourite personal moments from 2010, including his five favourite video edits embedded further down for your viewing pleasure. ‘ave it.
What did you learn most from 2010?
Not very much really, I think you just learn to get on with life.
The Big Push this year was a real good one for me: good crew, good spots and some great skating went down. Also the trip to Poland Skate Camp. It was sick but more of a holiday for me, far too hot to skate, and there was a massive lake. Straight up chilling.
Favourite song of 2010?
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros – Home
Most satisfying trick filmed/made and at what spot?
The switch noseblunt to bs lip the gap to ledge in Hammersmith. The deadline for MFWTCB was just around the corner and it was in the middle of winter. It felt good rolling away.
I could say Harry Lintell or Barney Page as they have both smashed it all year, but I’m gonna go for Nick Jensen. He had a great section in MFWTCB and a banging Lakai advert.
Fresh Blood tip for 2011?
I think this kid is from Chelmsford and he kills it – Nick Remon.
What are you looking forward to most in 2011?
The summer!
Nick Jensen and Hold Tight Henry – Lakai Ad
This section is so good, even though it’s an advert. Nick kills it and this shows it. He filmed a full-on section for MFWTCB and then a few months later comes out with this. Hold Tight Henry did an amazing job on this, both of them did a smashing job and this makes London look great.
Kevin Coakley – MFWTCB
That guy! Kevin Coakley’s come a long way from his Slap ‘One In A Million‘ edit, and I’m glad he’s a part of the Blueprint family, he fits right in. This is an epic section considering its his first ever big section. It’s good because its filmed mostly on the east coast of America and is very different to the rest of MFWTCB but still fits in perfectly…
Nike SB – Big Push 2010
I think this Nike SB edit would have worked a lot better if it was not a Big Push edit because then you wouldn’t have to compare it to all the other shit. I like how Jacob Harris has done this edit, it’s chilling, nice and mellow and not in your face. The trip was a good one, fun was had by all and there was no stress. It might not win the Big Push but it’s worth a watch…
Morph’s 360 flip at Mile End
This one’s not much of edit but it’s a sick clip! Check out how steep the tranny is… Morph is a straight up bad man. He would try to 360 flip anything in front of him. I like how he rolls away all unimpressed but you can kind of tell how stoked he really is underneath… now let’s go eat some chicken skin.
Man in wheelchair invades football pitch
For my last clip I’ve decided not to go with a skate clip but a funny one. I just like the effort the kid in the wheelchair is putting into being a part of the pitch invasion, and the reaction of his dad once he noticed his kid was on the pitch. To finish it of with a clout round the head… amazing.
Throughout the last decade, Worksop-native Dan Beall has emerged as one of the most bigged up skaters to come out of the infamously tight Sheffield scene. In between posting e-musings with James Cruickshank on the Pigeon Shit blog and controversially supporting Leeds Utd he has landed a spot on Nise Skateboards, shot a megaton of photos with the prolific Burrell and racked up loads of proper British footage; glass-encrusted terrain, industrial estate backdrops and grinds on grit bins. The scene video hotspot has produced some of the UK’s raddest skaters without a doubt, and amongst them, Dan Beall is definitely one to keep your eye on in the new decade.
We asked fellow Worksop head and Blueprint pro Mark Baines to do the honours. Read the interview below to learn more about someone you will be seeing a lot more from in the next few years. Nice one, Baines.
I grew up in Gateford, Worksop, in between Sheffield and Nottingham.
How was it for skating there, was there much to skate?
Skating in Worksop was amazing. For the first 2 or 3 years there wasn’t a park or anything so it was strictly street skating. The spots that we skated aren’t really about anymore. Like my school, Valley, that was pretty much where we skated every day after school and it wasn’t too far from my house so I pretty much lived there. Also the legendary B&Q which I’m sure you’ll have skated many a time?
Yeah we all grew skating there too, not bad for a car park. Who did you grow up skating with?
I started skating with a few boys I went to school with but they stopped a few years after to get involved in other stuff. Then I got to meet Greg Somerset and Dave Dave who are a bit older than me. They had been skating loads longer than me and had travelled about places so I just used to tag along with them.
Fakie 360 Flip
You don’t live in Worksop anymore, where do you live now?
I live in Sheffield now been here for about 5 years or so.
How is that compared to Worksop?
It’s a lot different mainly because Sheffield’s a big city and Worksop is a well small town. There’s always something happening in Sheff and there’s loads more people about that are into the same sort of stuff as me. It’s also a big advantage having the House down the road so if it’s wet there’s always somewhere to skate, whereas in Worksop if it was raining we would have to break into old factory’s and usually get fucked for trying to have a skate.
Do you work? Or are you just skating at the moment?
Not at the moment but over the summer I was working in Nottingham teaching kids to skate. That was good just watching kids that have never skated before and by the end of the week they were dropping in and stuff and you could tell they were fully hyped on it. It’s really sick to give kids an opportunity that I didn’t have when I was growing up.
Yeah that’s cool, kids are the future of skating so it is good to give them a decent start. Onto some football related business, you’re a Leeds United fan, you know we all hate Leeds United right?
Yeah mate everyone seems to hate us but I’ll let it pass at the min while you’re stuck in league 1 and aren’t going anywhere anytime soon hahaha. I like the fact everyone hates Leeds because it brings more of an atmosphere to the games and I can have a good dig at my mates when we beat them.
Ollie up, wallie off.
Why not Notts Forest or Sheffield Wednesday?
Well it’s all down to my dad taking me to watch Leeds back in the day. If my dad didn’t have a big influence on who I supported I would probably support Forest or Sheff United, never been into the Wednesday Scum haha!
Watch your mouth…Who are you riding for now?
I’m riding For Nise Skateboards and Slugger Skate Shop in Chesterfield.
Below: Backside Tailslide
Tell us about Nise as it’s a new UK company right?
Nise is a Nottinghamshire based company that is co-owned by Benjamin Durnan-Fletcher and Tom Siveyer, two top blokes. It started as a skateboarding school about 3-4 years ago and have been making boards etc since then.
How is it pronounced?
I believe it is pronounced NICE. It stands for Nottingham Indoor Skateboarding Environment.
Who else is riding for the company?
At the minute it’s mostly Nottingham based with Joshua Checkley, Chris Mann, Tom Cumming and Luke Coates, also riding for them is Richie Mann reppin the north. Craig Smedley and Will Golding ride for the urethane team as well.
What plans do Nise have for 2011?
The plans for 2011 include a trip in April to Poland on a filming tip, the skate school is expanding rapidly so that’s going to be a big part of next year also there is quite a few artists involved on doing the next range of boards that are looking pretty damn good.
Who’s your crew you skate with in Sheffield now?
There’s a big cru in Sheff but I mostly skate with Ash Hall, Shaun Currie, Cruickshank, DEAD Dave, Chadman, Burrell, Matt Grant and loads of other heads. There’s always someone about skating so it’s hard to say.
A good scene in Sheffield right now then?
Yeah it’s going off in Sheff at the min everyone’s killing it and seems to of escaped the Dev green vortex. There are loads of new spots poppin up as well which is always good. There’s also a few scene vids that are close to ready.
Would you consider living anywhere else?
Yeah course. If I was to move out of Sheff it would probably be abroad somewhere, no idea where though. Somewhere hot maybe? It’s easy enough to get about in the UK so if I was to move it would be somewhere far far away.
You went to the UKSA comp recently, what’s your verdict on contests after that one?
I thought I’d go down to see if I could get into skating comps again, I had a bit of a bad one and am probably going to avoid comps from now on. I can see why these sorts of things are good for skateboarding but it’s well not my vibe.
Nosebonk
What are your plans for 2011?
Not really got any plans for next year as of yet, the only thing I’ve got planned is finishing my part for Cruikshank’s video which should be ready for January-ish. Other than that I just want to travel more and go places I haven’t been yet.
Any people you want to give and thank you or shout too?
I want to thank all my boys, Poh, Oli, Ash, Shaun, Baines, Dave Adlington, Cruickshank, Jerome, Chadman, Burrell, Chung, Dave Dave, Greg, Matt Grant, Neddy, Hirst, Rye Gray, Henry, Gordo, Ben and the NISE cru, Nathan Morris, Kennelle at Slugger, Lucciano Becchio, my bird Lyd and anyone else I’ve missed. SAFE.
Neddy spent the day with Dan earlier this year and came back with this edit filled with typically fluid bangers. Watch it below…
1pm: Unsponsored Jam (Winner of each obstacle gets a Blueprint deck and Slam vouchers)
Driveway / Vert Wall (20 mins)
Hip / Quarter (20 mins)
Wembley Gap (20 mins)
Best ledge/manual trick (20 mins)
3pm: Sponsored / Pro Comp (Winner of each obstacle gets £50)
Driveway / Vert Wall (20 mins)
Hip / Quarter (20 mins)
Hubba / Over the Bin (20 mins)
Massive ledge / Ski Jump (20 mins)
5pm: Mini Ramp Jam till finish (MVP gets £100, Best trick gets £100)
Start planning your travel and accommodation if you are coming from out of town, the nearest cheap place to stay is Hostel 639 on Harrow Rd just 20 minutes away from the skate park but note you have to book in advance.
The pro rider guestlist is the biggest it’s been since we’ve started! Over 100 skateboarders from the aforementioned teams are going be tearing it up on the day so get hyped.
There is no official after party, but we will all be heading to Mau Mau’s for boozing and vibesing. Over 18s, come along and celebrate 2010 with us.
Autumn is fully here and as Halloween approaches there will be some appropriate deck graphics coming along courtesy of Creature and Witchcraft. Skulls being a key motif this month as Death unveil their Sugar Skull range and Cliché work with French for Charles Collet’s latest pro model. Enjoi make a nice crack at the weather in one of their new team models, Girl as always provide a quality line and Motive are keeping it primal.
The latest Spitfire pro models are in and the F1 series look slick and speedy while The Royal 4 boasts some steezy pro models for both Mike Carroll and Guy Mariano. Your head must be getting a bit nippy by now so have a butchers at the beanies and caps from Independent who in their mission to keep your warm this autumn have some banging coats and jackets too. Altamont have some fresh shirts and jeans perfect for night crawling and Heroin’s latest range of tees are standardly great, with Fos passing off some good messages for the kids. Volcom’s 2X4 jeans look fresh and are supported by a range of shot glasses to get you prepped for a night out.
Our shoe selection this month come from Etnies and DC’s latest lines in a variety of colours that compliment this colourful month perfectly. And to top it off, a rad looking multi-purpose Independent Burnside Box will be landing in selected stores alongside everything else you can see below. Go out and support those who make quality goods.
Here is August’s edition of Line Check, a brief look at some of the new products dropping in your local skate store right now. Have a gander here before heading out to the shops for our picks as to what’s looking good.
This month a tasty new Blueprint line including a rad cruiser deck will be flying off shelves, alongside that rad D-Face collaboration with Real and a new Drawing Boards run. Element are preparing for the autumn winds with the Wolfeboro Jacket collection, Pontus Alv wants to you join his search for the miraculous and Lucas’ new pro shoe for Lakai is énorme!
All of that and more… get out there and treat yourself.
Hey! Do you remember a time when MTV played music videos? I’ll forgive you if you don’t because after adapting my brain to this ridiculous contraption we call the internet I too am shafted if I’m to recall or even comprehend how anything ever got done before it. Today, Crossfire Chronicles takes you on a time machine to a time when people actually paid attention to things so gather round kids because this is a true story.
Once upon a time a channel called MTV existed solely to make music more interesting. Every so often they got this right and songs that were previously unlistenable became awesome because we could see things like Peter Gabriel getting assaulted by a fruit salad before being replaced by two frozen chickens who know how to get down. Yet despite its enormous potential, MTV had one significant problem in that it frequently banned anything remotely interesting because pissy parents were always on the blower complaining instead of raising their kids to appreciate a good music video instead of well… doing this. Eventually this got out of control and MTV decided to stop playing music videos altogether and replace them with more family-friendly television series such as Jersey Shore, 16 And Pregant and Tila Fucking Tequila.
So for your enjoyment we have harnessed the power of the censorship-dodging internet to show you our picks for the five gnarliest music videos we can find. Most of these are massively unsafe for watching during work but if you didn’t figure that out already then maybe MTV banned these for good reason. Enjoy.
NINE INCH NAILS – HAPPINESS IN SLAVERY (1992)
When Trent Raznor started to unscrew the artistic shackles placed on him by TVT Records, the methods in which he started playing with his new found freedom can be compared to the way a cat would play with a mouse, providing the cat was wearing a gimp mask and going at the mouse with razorblades and hammers. The video for ‘Happiness In Slavery’ was unsurprisingly banned basically everywhere on the planet for that very reason. Directed by Jon Reiss, we are presented with performance artist and part-time cystic fibrosis ignorer Bob Flanagan tortured by machines in stark black and white. We’re going in at the deep end here. Boys, hold on to your bollocks.
THE PRODIGY – SMACK MY BITCH UP (1997)
The videoclip that accompanies this excellent song that pissed off a whole host of people before it even had a music video accomplished three incredible things. Firstly, it managed to piss off even more people than the unambiguously titled song did in the first place. Secondly, its controversial status helped the single chart in more or less every country that had banned the video from being shown. Thirdly, it led to M. Night Shyamalan spending his entire career trying (and failing) to recreate that moment when the camera looks in the mirror and everyone watching clocks that the person we’ve just watched smacking bitches up in the video is actually a bitch too. Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, this video had the plot twist nailed.
APHEX TWIN – COME TO DADDY (1997)
Picking what Chris Cunningham video we wanted in here was a painful process. Not only did we have to decide what one of Chris’ consistently gnarly and even more consistently brilliant videos was to go in this article, but we actually had to sit and watch them all and now I’m physically unable to close my eyes. Though I was tempted to go with Windowlicker for its perpetually relevant poke at mainstream musician’s ego-centric methods of presentation, or Rubber Johnny’s celebration of distorted bodies and mindfuck editing, it became swiftly apparent that the obvious choice was the best choice. I mean, is there anything gnarlier or creepier than a bunch of Richard D. James clones running around the set of Clockwork Orange shouting at grannies? Answers on a postcard addressed to someone other than me thanks.
JUSTICE – STRESS (2008)
Romain Gavras’ most recent short film (that doubled as the music video M.I.A’s ‘Born Free’) managed to get banned from Youtube in the US. We’ve all been on Youtube before and we therefore know that this is more or less impossible. For example, this little shit has yet to be banned and I would like to know who at Youtube isn’t reading my letters of complaint. The problem with putting that on this list instead of his at-once alarming, exciting and gnarly video for Justice’s ‘Stress’, is that it had somewhat of a more obvious political point. The video for ‘Stress’ on the other hand basically showed a bunch of kids running riot La Haine style (sans-any-political-agenda-what-so-ever) and fucking shit up. That’s it. It’s great.
HUORATRON – CORPORATE OCCULT (2010)
The video for ‘Corporate Occult’, a song (by some loose definition) by Finland’s electronic brick shithouse Huoratron, is as gnarly as the reportedly haunted forest of facial hair that’s rooted on the man’s face. Directed by Cédric Blaisbois, the video unashamedly borrows techniques from Chris Cunningham, Oren Peli and Alien’s ‘Chestburster’ scene to completely re-imagine the abbreviation ‘NSFW’. The video has been billed as blatant hardcore pornography and the music has been labelled as both intense and brutally painful. It’s most definitely gnarly and unquestionably not fucking safe for work. Or home. Or anywhere else.
Welcome to Line Check, a new regular feature where we intend to scope out fresh products that will be dropping in your local skate store each month. Have a look out for our top picks from what’s landed in our inbox below in your local SOS. If they’re not then get them ordered in or check online.
So there are some huge acts playing Sonisphere, including headliners Iron Maiden and Rammstein. Indeed, the festival has been winding its way round Europe with some absolutely massive bills including the much talked about ‘Big Four’ gigs at which Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth played on the same bill for the first time. It’s safe to say that Sonisphere as a brand is making quite a name for itself with some huge line-ups and huge festival sites across Europe. But what about the not-so-huge elements? The festival finally rolls into the UK for its second year on Friday 30th July and, if you squint hard enough, you can spot all manner of up and coming young bands on the poster for the event.
And so Crossfire’s preview of the event is going to focus on all the smaller stages, with just a couple of honorable mentions of bands playing the second and third stages. So take the time out at this year’s festival to discover the little guy. You might just find tomorrow’s main stage stars. Here’s Winegums run-down of some of the ones we think are worth your precious cider-swigging time –
CHICKENHAWK
Intense and heavy and skilled musicians to boot; you could do a lot worse than kicking off your Sonisphere with Chickenhawk on the Friday in the Bowtime Bar. In fact, their set has the potential to be a highlight of the festival as the band are guaranteed to put everything they have into fucking some shit up and attempting to burst your eardrums with their unique brand of hook-heavy sinister rock music.
LITTLE FISH
Somewhat of a curveball at a festival for mainly heavy music, female-fronted Oxford-based duo Little Fish have the stamp of approval from Blondie’s Debbie Harry, Courtney Love and Linda Perry. Add to that the intensity of their live performance and you’ve got a band that are definitely worth keeping an eye out for and are certain to provide something different on the Red Bull Bedroom Jam stage on Saturday.
TURBOWOLF
Raucous and slightly strange, Turbowolf play the Jagermeister Stage on Sunday. Prepare to be enthralled by their intriguingly skewed take on classic metal and rock’n’roll. Far from sounding like recycled versions of classic tracks, the band manage to unravel totally fresh-sounding nuggets of raw energy that explode like tiny bombs in a live setting. Catch them. They’re fun.
MARCH OF THE RAPTORS
Bizarrely formed from former members of Adequate 7 and Fireapple Red, March of The Raptors do not sound how you think they might from knowing this info. They produce metallic punk rock that’s uncompromisingly full-on and filled with riffs you wish you could play, even if you’re not a guitarist. They play the Bedroom Jam stage on Friday.
POLAR BEAR CLUB
PBC have the ability to provide an oasis of relative calm within the crazy metal-oriented antics of the weekend. Melodic punk with a slight hint of indie rock which enables them to alternate between a flurry of speedy punk beats in one song and a chilled out build-up through pure melody in the next, this band are a gem amongst an eclectic group of bands on the Bohemia Stage on Saturday. Miss them at your peril.
THE GHOST OF A THOUSAND
Brighton’s favourite punks continue their rounds on the European festival circuit with a turn headlining the Bowtime Bar on the Sunday of the festival. Up against some stiff competition from Iron Maiden on the main stage and Iggy and The Stooges on the second stage, we have no doubt that the band will be able to hold their own and play their hearts out as per usual to create a set to remember. Advocating non-violence in ‘the pit’ does not hold TGOAT back from purveying their own brand of hardcore-tinged punk rock. Drummer Mem has to be seen live to be believed.
CONVERGE
If you want to hear a band who will baffle your eardrums yet leave you staring in wonder and awe, check out Converge on the Bohemia Stage on Sunday. Their intricate noise-core may not do much for your hangover but the band are just absolutely stunning live. Carnage will most likely ensue as dirty, sunburnt bodies go flying through the air. It’ll be a bit gross but kind of awesome at the same time. Probably not for the faint-hearted.
HENRY ROLLINS SPOKEN WORD
One of the most legitimate artists of the weekend, you can’t be sure what Henry Rollins will be talking about but you can be sure it’ll be entertaining. And it’ll most likely give you something to think about, also leaving you wishing you were half as eloquent as one of punk rock’s enduring legends. He’ll be on the Bohemia Stage on Sunday providing a little respite from the noise of the likes of Converge.
BRING ME THE HORIZON
Ok, so they’re not exactly tiny but Bring Me The Horizon are clearly destined for bigger and better things as they gear up for the release of their third album. It’s no mean feat for a band of this ilk to sell out the Roundhouse but Visible Noise’s BMTH did just that earlier this year and brought the venue to its knees. On top of that, it’s always heartening to see British talent doing so well across the globe. Ignore the haters and see what all the fuss is about as one of the heaviest bands at the festival take to the Saturn Stage on Sunday.
GALLOWS
Gallows have become legends in their own right and, as such, will be headlining the Bohemia Stage on the Saturday. Each and every time you see this band, no matter how many times you’ve seen them before, they never fail to amaze. Their set will be awesome. Standard.
We’ve put together a Spotify playlist of some of the most rocking songs from bands playing Sonisphere who we think you’ll enjoy. We decided not to discriminate against bands on the main stage when putting this bit together so there’s a bit of everything (well, most things) on there… Click on the festival poster below to take a listen. Enjoy!
I first met Kris 6 years ago at the opening of Stourbridge’s ‘Ramparts’ skate park. Back then he was a kid on the ‘come-up’ being shoved into the limelight thanks to Channel 5’s ‘Rad’. I remember being amazed at how easily he seemed to find skateboarding and 6 years later I still feel the same.
He started to move up in the world of skateboarding by picking up coverage from the many trips he makes across the world. Birmingham may be his home but he’s no stranger to traveling and it’s a rare sight to actually catch him in Brum which has led to him recently becoming more of a ‘myth’ than real person. Whispers of what tricks Kris made at certain spots are rife round here and then usually backed up by footage and photos to tell the tale.
Kris is not only enjoying his life to the full, but he also works it to make it the best. His most recent section featured as the illustrious ‘last part’ in the new Vans Europe video ‘1966’ proved just how hard this guy pushes his skateboarding, but whether he’s filming for local scene videos or going on tour with team mates Mr Vile is always down for a session and is ever the optimist.
A long line of respectable sponsors grace his CV starting with his introduction at A Third Foot, where his skating lead him to Blind Europe before hooking with Santa Cruz (as a direct international am) but these days he currently finds himself on the newly launched ‘CLAN 010‘ team alongside European skaters such as Danny Wainwright, Alain Goikoetxea, Florentin Marfaing, Manuel Palacios, Alex Carolino and Cristian Vannella, certainly a team that should be more than capable to produce a video worth waiting for.
I finally pinned Kris down in Birmingham and got an update with what’s going on in the life of a ‘skateboarding gypsy’.
So how many years have you clocked up now in life?
21 years in now.
Who is hooking you up?
Vans, Volcom, Red Bull, Clan010, Krux and Type-S wheels.
Where did all of this begin?
My brother got a skateboard for his birthday, then about 6 months later I asked for one and finally got it at Christmas. That’s where it all began!
You’ve been sponsored for a long time now, how did that all come together?
I’d been skating for about 18 months and got to know the people at Ideal Skate Shop in town. I was just a little kid, overly excitable and stoked on skating haha! I was progressing pretty quickly though and one day I went into the shop and told Bob (Sanderson) that I had managed to boardslide the WH Smiths rail in the City centre- it was a well known spot at the time. There was a smaller handrail and a big one there and he told me to go and try the big one! I went back that evening and made it! When I went into the shop the next day I told Bob and he gave me an A Third Foot board and said that if I kept on skating he’d give me one of them every so often, 18 months later I was placed on the Vans Junior team- I guess the rest is history.
Would you say that ‘Rad: The Groms Tour’ helped out with your rise in skateboarding?!
I wouldn’t say it helped! But yeah it was cool as a kid to get to travel around with some mates and skate some different stuff, seeing a bit of the world etc.
Since working with Andy Evans on that show you’ve appeared in his videos This ‘n’ That and Heel Toe Magic. How do you go about filming for those when your traveling around the other side of the world
Well Andy is amazing! So even though i’m not around much to film with him, whatever footage I get I always tell Andy he can have it if he’s making another project. He’s always stoked to receive it and I can’t actually wait for the next one!
You dropped out of college to pursue a career in skateboarding, big decision?
I enjoyed my time in education but it came to a point where I wasn’t able to do my best. I always had to be away on trips, tours etc. When someone wants to send you somewhere to help you get by for something you love doing it made me have no need to stay in college. Most people go to college to try and get exactly that so I guess I’ve been pretty lucky.
Vans have sponsored your feet for sometime now, how far back does that go in your life and what has made you stick with them?
I think I got on Vans when I was 13, so it’s been 7 or 8 years now. They have always taken care of me and I really like the shoes! I can’t really imagine skating for anyone else now, and you know, in this business, the more stoked you are to do things with a company, the more stoked they are to hook you up. So if you enjoy going to an event and going on trips then you can get support to do so and I always have.
The ‘Vans Europe: 1966’ video is currently premiering around the world, how was filming for that?
It was cool but it was pretty intense. We didn’t have long to film a part and it was mostly filmed on trips with the rest of the team which was heaps of fun but when you’ve got 5 people that all want to skate one spot but all differently then it can be a challenge. All in all though it was a fun experience and considering other companies can spend up to 4 years to film a video then I think the end product in this one is pretty amazing. So keep your eye’s peeled, it will be in stores near you!
Did you know you were going to have last part when filming for the project?
Not at the start but maybe about mid way through filming I was informed…
You’ve recently found yourself alongside a list of illustrious European skaters on Clan 010 right?
I’m really stoked to be a part of the CLAN project from the beginning. All the riders have been good friends of mine for years. I ride alongside Danny and Flo on the Vans team, Alain with Volcom and so on. That sold the company to me even more plus Manuel Palacios who is running the team is rad so we all are part of something special!
How was the ‘break-up’ with Santa Cruz?
Wasn’t bad at all, we left it on good times. But to ride for a company like Santa Cruz, I suppose you have to spend a little more time in the States! I travel a lot within Europe so it just didn’t work out for us, big thanks to Mouly for all the support though!
With all the traveling and coverage you get surely it’s not long until a Kris Vile pro board or shoe colourway is released, have there been talks of either of these?
Well it’s funny you should say that. Keep your eyes peeled in your local shop!
With the skateboarding industry primarily being based in California do you feel any pressure to go over there and ‘take over’ the States?
Haha! Well I don’t know about a take over and no there’s no pressure, but I would like to go out there a couple of times a year and maybe get a big more coverage in US mags and so on. Plus I have loads of friends out there who I don’t get to see very often so I’m looking forward to going out there in July and working with Vans and Volcom- go on some trips and get some footage!
Let’s head back into Birmingham for a bit. The scene took a bit of a battering over the past 10 years thanks to a lot tighter rules on skateboarding on the City, did that make growing up as a skater hard there and is it any different now to when you were younger?
Yeah, like any City, the scene fluctuates up and down, but the heart has always been there and will always remain! Big ups to Ideal for staying strong, and growing stronger!
Your known to travel up and down to events all round the country as well as representing the Red Bull UK skate program in the Red Bull ‘Manny Mania’ contest. How do you think events like this affect the scene in the country?
I think events like this do great things not just for British skateboarding but skateboarding all around the world. Without companies like Red Bull there would be no events like this. They have the mind and money to come up with the ideas and fun the events too and I hope they can inspire more people and other companies to do this too.
What do you think you would be doing if you were not a sponsored skateboarder?
I have no idea but I would like to think having just as much fun and living life to the full!
Lets get a few Top 3’s.
Top trips you have been on…
1. Australia/NZ skate missions 2. Spain in general 3. Then the rest! haha!
Inspirations…
1 Good skateboarding
2 Good music
3 Good vibes!
People from Birmingham…
That’s way to hard to narrow down to 3 singular people but…
1. Ideal Skateshop 2. Birmingham posse…you know who you are! 3. The fam of course!
Top 3 events…
1. Slam Trick, Italy 2. Bondi Bowlarama, Sydney 3. Damn Am, Amsterdam
What’s coming up for you over the next few months- anything you are working on?
I’ve just been to Portugal, Latvia and Bilboa then off to the States in July and back to the UK for a few events in August…then there’s more ha!
Right lets wrap this up with the obligatory thank you’s…
Cheers to all my Sponsors: Vans, Redbull, Volcom, Clan010, Krux, Type S, Ideal and then to everybody else! All the homies, brother and sisters! You know who you are!!! Peace.
Stereo:Type are a DJ duo formed from the hands and minds of two of electronic music’s most inspired producers and record splicers: Tommy Dash of Ctrl-Z, and the notoriously warped Screwface. It’s easy to say that their touch on breakbeat is in fact a rock-infused ironfist punch on all that encompasses electronica. In reality they are influenced by every genre that HMV succeeds and fails to mention, under the crucial condition that the music is hard, relentless and full of pounding groove. In a nutshell, Stereo:Type play and re-contextualise music that blows the fucking doors off.
It gives me an enormous feeling of pleasure to write that Stereo:Type will be the first DJs to be under the spotlight in our ‘Caught In The Crossfader‘ interview feature. What you get here is an insight into the minds of those behind the wheels of steel and a free mix courtesy of the DJs themselves. We got the horses mouth hooked up to a whopping soundsystem so take your bloody shoes off and shake things up a little bit.
You smashed it at our Halloween Massacre last year, did you enjoy yourselves?
Chris: That was definitely one of our highlights of the year! For us it was such a great gig because everyone in the crowd was on our wavelength, it was a little bit down and dirty, and there was plenty of skating and metal which is all good by us! Hopefully we’ll be back to destroy it again this Halloween…
What’s it like playing a set while a gang of skateboarders are killing it on a mini-ramp to the sound of whatever beat you’re dropping?
C: Well, hopefully they’re enjoying it and it’s helping to amp up the vibes on the ramp. Visually it’s a really cool thing to have going on when you’ve got a party going and it just adds that extra dimension to the atmosphere.
What’s the vibe when playing at an event like that compared to something more traditional, like the regular nights you’ve got at Judgement Sundays in Ibiza?
C: While we love doing gigs for people like Gatecrasher and Godskitchen, parties like Crossfire really give us the opportunity to just go balls out raving. We both come from a Rock/Metal background and in a personal way just love really gnarly music, and crowds like the ones at the Crossfire parties are really receptive to that stuff thrown in as well as the more standard party rocking stuff we usually play. We’d love it if we could turn up at somewhere like Tiesto in the park and play a bit of Pantera or Machine Head, but it’s probably not gonna happen anytime soon. So it’s a great that we get to do other kinds of gigs too.
There’s a lot of variety in what music you play in your sets, with the tongue-in-cheek mentality in how you approach trendy music you must have a lot of fun picking what goes in your record box. What are the constant sounds for you that don’t fall victim to the trendmill?
C: Yeah, picking what to play is a lot of fun, mostly because it’s totally no holds barred. If we like it, and we think we can get away with it, its going in! I think as far as not getting caught up in ‘what’s trendy’ goes, even if people want to hear a style that’s in fashion, we’re going to give it to them in a way they’ve probably not heard before. Also, even if a genre is in fashion, there’s always producers who are pushing the envelope for that sound.
The amount of side projects you do (including this one!) is bonkers. Briefly run through what you’re doing and what Stereotype is becoming now that you’ve established yourself as something more than just one half of Ctrl-Z and Screwface…
Tommy: Yeah, It is getting a bit bonkers at the moment. I still DJ and produce under Ctrl Z , we’re on a real dirty electro / dubstep hybrid tip right now, and I also have another super secret act which has really taken off. Maintaining three acts and running a label is enough to send anyone a bit loopy! Stereo:Type started as a side project, we made the album in an attempt to launch the new DJ act, and now it has become much more than that and has kept us manically gigging over the past year. Our style has been compared to people like 2manydjs with scratching, and that’s kind of where we want to be, build on the brand and incorporate visuals into the sets etc.
You run the Never Say Die Records label which has been throwing out bangers from Foreign Beggars and your own Ctrl-Z moniker, how do you extend your ‘keep to your guns’ and ‘never say die’ mantra through the label alongside your own music projects?
T: I set up the label with a friend last year as it seemed that the scene where we came from was disintegrating around us. There was a lack of music and certainly a lack of labels that were putting out diverse music and trying to start a movement. We haven’t made money from the label, the sales are great but we spend money on artwork, videos and building the brand so that our artists can benefit from such a platform. Musically we put out whatever we want, dirty dubstep, electro, breaks & drum n bass and we’ll continue to push music we believe in, even if the press won’t touch it with a bargepole.
Who’s on the label and why did you pick them?
T: The big hitters on the label are The Freestylers, Foreign Beggars & Ctrl Z. Artists that we are developing include Cutline, SKisM and Mindflow. I go way back with the Beggars & The ‘Stylers and they share the vision we have for the label; we are privileged to be releasing music from such legends! The new guys are all really talented so we really want to use the label to help kick start them in the industry.
You have a lot of collaborators on the Stereo:Type album, including Foreign Beggars, what do you look out for when choosing vocalists to sing on your beats?
C: It’s probably the same thing that everyone is looking for you know, people who are going to compliment your sound and are going to bring hype to the tunes. Certainly when we did “What’s that Noize!?” we wanted people who were going to bring that jokes vibe to the table too, which we definitely got from both Orifice Vulgatron and Beardyman who are both total characters and just hilarious to have around in general. Then on top of that we had people like MC’s Tali and $pyda, who both have very recognisable sounds and have heaps of talent.
Personally I’m sick of people who can’t seem to comprehend what a DJ does and with Stereo:Type you guys are doing a lot up there on those five turntables…so how would you describe your live sets to someone who doesn’t know what it is you guys do as DJs?
C: It’s kind of like a rave Jukebox on steroids, in as much as it’s quite fast paced with the main emphasis on the dancefloor energy. You’re guaranteed to hear tunes you know, along with some things you might not. All the time we’re up there, we’re constantly layering things together, and for probably 75% of the time, there are two or more things playing. Then we chuck in some scratching and turntablism for good measure. It’s been described in the past as ‘magical musical mayhem’.
How exhausted are you after 90 mins of mash-up madness on those decks?
C: Usually pretty knackered. Obviously there’s a lot going on all the time and so it’s really concentration heavy. We don’t really plan what we’re going to do in advance, so communication between us is key, which basically means not getting fucked before a set… On top of that we always just want to give 100% of ourselves to the crowd so that they have as good a time dancing as we are performing.
On the XFM session you did with Eddy Temple Morris did you set a record for the amount of your favourite tunes fit into a 10 minute mix? What are the stats on the street to beat?
C: We kind of opened the floodgates on that one. We did 64 tunes in 10 minutes which has since been bested in number, but certainly not in style. As Eddy said, “I don’t think anyone will ever beat you on quality…It’s the best 10 minutes of radio ever broadcast on The Remix.” You can check it out yourself HERE.
Is it competitive out there for mash up DJs – do people outdo each other for the hell of it?
C: Honestly, we don’t know that many other acts out there doing what we’re doing. Obviously there are people like 2manydjs who are in a lot of ways responsible for giving birth to the whole concept, and there’s also people like The Cut Up Boys who work for Ministry of Sound doing a similar kind of deal. I mean, it gets to a certain level of complexity and then the whole mash up idea just becomes un-musical. It’s crucial that it has all blends together in a musical way, because anyone could get up there and play a bunch of things which sound like two dustbins fucking….
What dastardly thing would you do to another DJ so you could wear the crown?!
C: We could splice some James Blunt into the middle of one of their tunes. Or we could give the people doing the visuals some photoshopped images of them fucking a monkey or something…
Do you go there with mash-ups in mind or is it a session of unexpected improvisation and just letting the music flow out as it wants to at the time?
C: It’s kind of half and half. Obviously with such an intense format we do have to prepare some things in order to make them extra special, but we also go out with the express purpose of freestyling, because some really great stuff comes out of doing things on the fly, which we can then go on to use again in future performances.
You both grew up with the likes of metal and punk rolling through your ears right?
C: Hell yeah, for both of us that’s our musical roots really. Nearly all of what we listen to for personal enjoyment is Metal. We’ve always loved bands like Metallica and Pantera, and in more recent years Killswitch Engage and Machine Head (since they stopped making shit albums and completely smashed it with ‘The Blackening’) And then in the same way as for many people, that bled through into Jungle and Drum N Bass and from there the rest of dance music culture.
Tell us a little about what’s on the exclusive mix we have here for Crossfire readers to download…must be a touch knowing you can get a bit hesh with the rock tunes for once?
C: Yeah, it was fantastic just being able to go for it without the usual restriction of ‘will this frighten people?’ We know that the kind of audience Crossfire gets are a lot more open minded and willing to have a bit of stuff they don’t know imparted on them. I guess we just tried to base it on a mixture of how we found the crowd at last years Halloween Jam, and the things we love personally. Obviously we had to throw in some Rock and then twist it up in our unique way, and then we filled the rest of the mix up with tunes we think are currently smashing it, or represent the future we’d like to see for dance music.
Why is new Muse stuff so shit?
C: Because Matthew Bellamy likes to dress up like Freddie Mercury in drag and pretends he’s in Queen…
What projects are you both working on in the near future and beyond?
T: We took a break from production to concentrate on DJing, but recently we’ve been inspired to get back into the studio so watch this space!
Last words….
Big shouts to Zac and everyone at Crossfire for getting us involved in the new site launch, it’s been a pleasure. If you like the mix then come and see us live, it’s even better when you see it for real. Also, you can check us out here online:
Now, here’s where things get really awesome for you readers; Stereo:Type have kindly provided us with a BANGER of a mix for you to listen, download and get buck wild to. Get your hands on the good stuff below and have a party on us.
Portrait: Sam Ashley
Throughout the last decade, Worksop-native Dan Beall has emerged as one of the most bigged up skaters to come out of the infamously tight Sheffield scene. In between posting e-musings with James Cruickshank on the 
Tell us about Nise as it’s a new UK company right?
This year’s Crossfire Xmas Jam will take place at 
Words: Stanley
So there are some huge acts playing Sonisphere, including headliners Iron Maiden and Rammstein. Indeed, the festival has been winding its way round Europe with some absolutely massive bills including the much talked about ‘Big Four’ gigs at which Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth played on the same bill for the first time. It’s safe to say that Sonisphere as a brand is making quite a name for itself with some huge line-ups and huge festival sites across Europe. But what about the not-so-huge elements? The festival finally rolls into the UK for its second year on Friday 30th July and, if you squint hard enough, you can spot all manner of up and coming young bands on the poster for the event.
So how many years have you clocked up now in life?
Stereo:Type are a DJ duo formed from the hands and minds of two of electronic music’s most inspired producers and record splicers: Tommy Dash of Ctrl-Z, and the notoriously warped Screwface. It’s easy to say that their touch on breakbeat is in fact a rock-infused ironfist punch on all that encompasses electronica. In reality they are influenced by every genre that HMV succeeds and fails to mention, under the crucial condition that the music is hard, relentless and full of pounding groove. In a nutshell, Stereo:Type play and re-contextualise music that blows the fucking doors off.
Is it competitive out there for mash up DJs – do people outdo each other for the hell of it?