If you like to place a bet on a sure winner for the future, try dropping a good stack on either Mike Mo Capaldi or Torey Pudwill.
These two amateurs are steadily working their way through the ranks and Crossfire has them set to blow-up bigtime in 2007. I guess we aren’t the only ones though because Matix Clothing just signed the talent too.
After shifting units in the millions, it’s safe to say Tony Hawk’s video games are a success. But to stay at the top of the game, you need to innovate and that’s where a little help from your hands can go a long way.
Skateboarding’s ambassador called in a star-studed cast of skaters to take part in Project 8, Tony’s latest game, to shoot footage with hi-tech motion captor cameras and the result is so real you can almost smell the sweat and feel the pain of each slam.
Here is Paul Rodriguez‘ take on the game.
Homepage image by Tjeerd Derkink
Words and photo’s by Zac Slack
I really noticed that a weekend away from the UK was needed when I met Jamie Harrison at Liverpool St. Flights within Europe have become very cheap, it allows us skaters to save a bit of cash every month and plan a mission outside of this island.
My ticket cost £45, less than a train ride to Manchester, and within an hour, our boards were finally coming out on the baggage belt. Note that this was a surprise as Ryan Air has a reputation for losing skateboards, always wrap them up or put them in bags so staff can’t take just them home for their own kids use. This company also has a reputation for ignoring your complaint letters completely – if you can take an alternative airline, do it, I have lost 3 boards in 2 years of flying with this company , work out the disappointment at the other end when everyone else is sessioning and you’re sat there watching and borrowing someone else’s rig. Not fun.
But the boards arrived, so we jumped on a train to Utrecht and stayed there with Jamie’s mate Andrew Coles, a dude who had a cool apartment in this pretty town and who had lived there for a year so he knew the local scene well. This was a bonus as we were straight into the nightlife and the City is one of the most beautiful you will find in Europe.
But the best way to see all of it is not to hire a car, it’s all about hiring a bike out here to really get a taste of the scene and we had ’em. We cruised the streets of Utrecht eyeing up street spots and checked out the wonderful architecture on offer which is quite frankly stunning. Dutch buildings are tall and thin, simple yet beautiful, characterised by windows from floor to ceiling, the colours and textures are minimal but extremely elegant. We skidded into one street that reminded Colesey of Medal of Honour. It was a small square with a 1940’s built church at one side that fit the observation to perfection.
The hangover the next morning was 7 out of 10. You may think that these small beers that you down from bar to bar are nothing, until you realise you have cycled round town and nailed a bag load of them. We had to skate it off, so we caned the local brunch, unlocked the bikes and hit the road. The roads are busy, the cycle lanes are busy, but there’s a beautiful coffee shop stop on the way before we drop in and it welcomes us with open arms. We were now ready for a schralp.
Utrecht has a concrete park that is small, but fun. Hips and curves, filled the park, small transitions but much fun. It’s almost ruined though like Finsbury Park in London where the designers have chucked in ledges for no reason that can unsettle your run if you are not awake. We ran into them a few times in our state! But we met and skated with the locals who were all really friendly and welcomed us when we dropped in. This park is the local spot for a skater called Jennifer de Sera who rips as we found out when we reached Area 51…so much so she was in a sling by Monday! Get well soon madam…
This was the Globe Bowlbash Final, the big one. We cheekily took the bikes on the train to Eindhoven, which although was a pricey game to play on a Sunday, turned out well as we were joined at the seat with these things. The freedom you have in a cycle lane when it’s not pissing down with rain is amazing. It was the healthiest piss up ever!
Area 51 skate park has moved. It used to be in woodland out side of town, we went there to skate their amazing bowl 3 years ago and always dreamt of the return visit. As we entered the park, we realised that had walked straight into one the best in Europe. I mean this place is massive and the layout is impressive to say the least!
We were literally dreaming, it was the opening weekend, the wood was so fresh it hurt your eyes and at the other end of the park stood the same bowl as the last park once again being ripped up by Europe’s best Bowl slayers but this time DJ Roy Licher and his buddy (who were both dresses in drag) were dropping some of there best hardcore records of all time whilst the bowl got rinsed.
The top 5 battled it out to Minor Threat, Misfits, Naked Raygun and a whole host of fucktard hardcore whilst 5th place German bowl thrasher Anders Tellen hucked out trick after trick, his persistency got him past some heavy hitters. Another stylish flyer on this trip who stuck out was Swedish ripper John Magnusson (above). This guy was instrumental in the build of the Malmo park which is one of the most stylish parks in Europe, it seems the park fits the builder as this guy is a joy to watch skate. Lines a plenty, tricks by the dozen, no tranny is is left without a trick with this guy, i must admit he was my fave skater of the weekend.
Basque country plank slayer Alain Goikoetxea took transfers over these hips like he was sleeping with sweeping grinds across the fresh coping wherever possible not to mention his ‘set up’ frontisde airs that were head high from the deep – his relentless charging earnt him 3rd place, some thought he was robbed on the day.
Another Bilbao ripper we have seen skate a few times now around Europe also impressed in the finals. Ivan Rivado Alvarez has a mean streak about him, he never looks satisfied with any trick regardless of how gnarly it is and often will go through the pain barrier to get what he wants. This bulldog spirit earnt him 2nd place but it was not enough to win the big prize money that Andy Scott cashed when he finished his run.
Andy has been consistent for years and has a style that should be familiar with most British skaters. He is unique in the way that he lets his skateboarding do the talking. We heard that it was not just his runs in the final that landed him 1st place at this this prestigious annual affair but the fact that he turned up in Holland and set his stall out without any effort it seemed, he just naturally ripped this bowl a new arsehole from the second he dropped into it.
His runs included transfers over every hip, huge maydays round corner pockets, his trademark bs kickflips in the deep, tailslides and much more, he was on fire and his 360 over the hip at the final seconds of time made his success even sweeter.
As ever Scotty played down his success as he sprayed champagne all over the freshly built bowl whilst kids under 13 literally licked it off the fresh wood. Globe’s Bowlbash had finally come to an end after organising events all over Europe thoughout the year.
It was a treat to be able to skate Area 51 Skatepark and we reccommned you get off your lazy arses and book your flights now – i mean £45 to get there? No excuses.
Thanks to Area 51 staff and everyone at Globe Shoes for their hospitality. You can see videos of this event here at www.globebowlbash.com and the full event in the Xmas edition 2006 of Puzzle Video Magazine.
Full results:
1. Andy Scott, England
2. Ivan Rivado, Basque Country
3. Alain Goikoetxea, Basque Country
4. John Magnusson, Sweden
5. Anders Tellen, Germany
6. Simon Stachon, Belgium
7. Roman Astleitner, Austria
8. Marc Haziza, France
9. Alex Giraud, France
10. Enrico Petralia, Sweden
11. Mattias Nylen, England
12. Nicky Cornell, England
13. Erwin Prent, The Netherlands
14. Jasper Tattersall, England
15. Chris Lord, England
16. Sam Beckett, England
17. Kevin McKeon, England
18. Sebastian Daurel, France
19. Noberto Mena, Basque Country
20. Jussi Korhonen, Finland
21. Martin Jurasek, Tjech republic
22. Bjorn Klotz, Germany
23. Daniel Beck, Germany
24. Per Magnusson, Sweden
Pigeon John is the most fun rapper on earth, it’s basically as simple as that. The rapper, who has put out songs about having an identity crisis and a goat named Sam is back with his new album, his first for the Quannum label, which is home to Lyrics Born, Lifesavas and more.
Pigeon John has always had feel-good beats behind his raps and this new album steps it up a level, with the likes of DJ Rhettmatic, Dnae, Chris James and RJD2 stepping up to the board with their own styles that John flows over with his inimitable happy-go-lucky steezo. With subject matter on this album ranging from losing his job [I Lost My Job Again] to thinking back to the early days of hip hop [Growin’ Old], John always manages to put a smile on the listeners face.
The track you can hear here is The Last Sunshine, which features the production of RJD2 and the guest vocals of J-Live and provides a chorus which ends with “A cold old man that was once a child/ I just wanna tell you I miss you”. Even with tracks like these, Pigeon John is able to use his delivery to give you that feeling that maybe things will be alright in the end.
And with this album being one of the best hip hop records of the year, I think we all know that it will be alright – so long as we do the pigeon dance!
This record has without a doubt been one of, if not the, most popular CD played at Crossfire HQ this year, and it’s not hard to see why this is the case.
From the first bleepy beat to the last “la la la”, it’s a fun filled electro diamond of an album. With many albums, you may get stuck on one track, liking it so much that you have to keep going back to it, but with this album from the Brazilian band, you can’t do that or else you’ll miss out on the next awesome track.
Alala is the catchy single and though it is simple, the chorus is literally just “alala”, it’s something that you won’t ever stop singing once you’ve heard it. Similarly the bouncy Alcohol, with its “hey hey hey hey HEY, do you wanna drink some alcohol?” imbeds itself in your head as soon as it begins.
The six piece, whose full name is Cansei De Ser Sexy, have crafted a pop-fuelled album full of little gems with some awesome titles – Let’s Make Love And Listen To Death From Above, Art Bitch [where you are invited to suck the singer’s art hole] and Music Is My Hot Hot Sex. The bleeps and basslines carry every song through with their own electro-melody and Lovefoxxx’s voice can’t help but make you smile.
Go on, stick it on. I bet within 30 seconds you’ll be Alalal’ing your way through the day.
The Kerrang! Tour for 2007 has had its line up announced – Biffy Clyro, The Bronx, The Audition and I Am Ghost will be filling the slots at the following places:
January:
11th – Belfast Mandela Hall
12th – Dublin Ambassador
14th – Cardiff University
15th – Bristol Academy
16th – Nottingham Rock City
18th – Southampton Guildhall
19th – Norwich UEA
20th – Manchester Academy
22nd – Newcastle Academy
23rd – Glasgow Barrowlands
24th – Liverpool Academy
26th – Birmingham Academy
27th – London Astoria
News just in from the Element Europe camp: Michael Mackrodt and Bas Janssen are both representing Element shoes from now on. Michael digs the Slate whilst Bas is feeling the Etna.
Also, Michael has just received a Pro model skateboard on the US team, as opposed to the Euro outfit he is previously known for repping.
*Disclaimer* Some dude with the exact same name as everyone’s favourite vegan and teenage smoker fetishist, Ed Templeton , has gone and fooled us into thinking he was the real deal by creating a blog.
Cheers for making us look like fools, but you blog is pretty rad anyway. Enjoy the fame while it lasts…
Wondering what the Murder flip looks like? Or perhaps it’s the Dumptruck that got you in a muddle..?
Well, all can answered in this brand new and shockingly good (and let’s not forget extensive!) trick demonstration. Wow!
(screw the link, check those pins! Z-Ed)
Check it – www.dxinteractive.com/skatetricks
Fucked Up are bringing their combination of hardcore, punk and rock to the UK in December for your viewing and listening pleasure. So make sure you get to one of the dates for your post-Christmas fun.
December:
27th – London Old Blue Last
28th – Manchester Star and Garter
29th – Leeds The Fenton
30th – Sheffield DnR Bar
31st – Bristol [TBC]