The Magic Gang / Live at the 02, Birmingham / 02/10/2016
It’s been just over two years since I originally saw the magic gang whilst they supported Swim Deep; nobody was familiar with them and the only person singing their lyrics could have been their mum. From then until now they’ve been to Jamaica recording an EP, and played a number of raucous house parties in their home town of Brighton. Now they have a large following of barely-legal teens clad up in their converse and mom jeans. Being a post-teen alone could be an aetiological reason for adoring this band, since their lyrics cover a lot of the angst and issues we experience as young people.
Magic Gang’s gigs are purely magical in their entirety, even down to the support acts being carefully chosen to complement the crowd. “Island” warm up the room initially, their grinding fuzz broken up by a calm serenity and hush tones which are sure to get your shoulders swaying. Next it’s the turn of band “Babeheaven” who’s soulful funk leave you twinging at the hip as you twist and tap your toes. This audiological foreplay leaves us with just enough time before the main performance to have a quick cig’ down the fire escape and grab another pint.
Entering the room again just as the lights dim and the room falls to silence before the band waltz out to new-ish track “Lady Please”, the eclectic crowd of youth lights up with glee, greeted by an applause and chants of “The Magic Gang Bang” being both a nod to the wistful charm of their songs and a satirical play on words. Other songs from their EP such as “Jasmine” entice the crowd into a synchronised bop, overlaid with the occasional sporadic crowd-surfer, their shoe gaze chime in somewhat of a juxtaposition to what is happening in this room at this very moment.
New released “All This Way” is definitely one of the most favoured songs of the set as it acts almost in retrospect, written on the cornerstone as you begin to pick apart the relationship you’re getting into, an aspect of paranoia or simplistic observations settling themselves under your skin.
Much of their second EP follows this theme whilst keeping a beat that in complete contrast is filled with melodic overtones and clean riffs. Earlier hits such as “No Fun” and “Shallow” which seem to have more of a grunge influence cause absolute chaos in this small, intimate, almost cavern like venue; bodies skewing sight as they float over head, narrowly avoiding security as the front bellows their bodies backwards, away from the sprawling hands of the high-viz fun interferers.
The Magic Gang are not a force to be reckoned with as they’ve gradually earnt and accumulated an almost cult like following that will sing along to whichever track you throw at them. Staggering and saturated in sweat or stella we stagger from the door back onto our coach, left in a state of euphoria and regret that we cannot live that experience every waking minute of our day.
In light of Ozzy Osbourne being back on the booze and gear, Black Sabbath’s new studio album titled ’13’ is still scheduled for release on June 10th and will still be missing the amazing Bill Ward who is not part of things.
The remaining trio will be visiting the UK this December with another drummer and have just added another London date in Birmingham today. Enjoy this new documentary of the band in the studio.
December
10 – O2 Arena – London, UK
12 – Odyssey Arena – Belfast, NI
14 – Motorpoint Arena – Sheffield, UK
16 – Hydro – Glasgow, UK
18 – Arena – Manchestser, UK
20 – LG Arena – Birmingham, UK
22 – LG Arena, Birmingham, UK
The Black Country skate scene has produced another local scene video from Gnargore, the collective that have just releases Kickflip and Friends featuring various skaters from Birmingham and beyond. Today we have unleashed Ryan Price’s full section from said film, so take in the hard work of Tom Gillespie and many others here and read Ryan’s Fresh Blood feature.
Interview by James Brewer – Portrait by Tim Borrow – Thanks to Tom Gillespie for Ryan’s full Gnargore section.
The Black Country’s most notorious crew; Gnargore released their latest scene video ‘Kickflip and Friends‘ this month, so to commemorate this massive moment in skateboarding history James Brewer sat down with A Third Foot flo-rida (boots with the fur?) Ryan Price who has been going hard in the proverbial paint for this latest visual offering.
Ryan’s a humble lad, always really grateful for any praise he gets, but once you get to know him he is a classic pisstaker and can spend a full day picking his target and trying to break them down. He hasn’t always been like this. When I first met him at a comp at Worcester’s Perdiswell skatepark, I saw a kid who was silent and about 5ft 4″ with massive, curly hair doing early grabs. Unlike most kids though he was set up with an 8″ Creature board and Indy’s which was a refreshing change from the Wet Willy/Grind King combo I had become so used to seeing. Watching him skate impressed me for a kid of his age, carving round the bowl. It was great to see. Since that day he hasn’t stopped impressing me, and in 2011 he was finally noticed by some of his peers and the flow started.
I called Ryan up a week before the Gnargore premiere while he was on a trip in Bristol and decided to bombard him with questions to see how he’d react (he’s not so good in these situations). So here it is the result of talking to a sometimes socially awkward, yet brilliantly talented Ryan Price.
Hey up Ryan, how’s life?
I’m good thanks. I’ve just been skating loads out and about in Bristol, skating some streets and a mini ramp.
So before we get too ahead of ourselves, give me the standard issue intro.
My name’s Ryan Price, I’m 18, I’m from Stourport in Worcestershire and I ride for A Third Foot.
For a kid from a relatively unknown town that is predominantly known locally for being a bit of a ‘fairground town’ how did you even start skateboarding?
Erm, I’m not sure. There was a mini ramp down the road from my house, so I had a go and stuck to it. I looked up to Luke Kindon who was a few years older than me in my town. These days we’re good mates and now we both ride for A Third Foot, it’s rad!
Stourport’s got a bit of a reputation as a pikey town, sometimes we like to wind you up and say we can see the pikey coming out in you. Have you ever had any trouble with the gypsies?
I never had much trouble as I grew up with them, scraps here and there though. Once I was outside the chippy, this gypsy grabbed me round the neck and I dropped my chips. So he felt bad, gave me a pound to get some more. I got some, then he wanted his money back! Haha! That’s about the worst of it though, it’s not so bad.
Every wall is there for the ride. Photo by Tim Borrow.
When you first started out you seemed to totally skip the ‘grom’ stage and just went straight at it will 8″+ boards and a need for speed instead of ledge dancing. What inspired you to be like that?
The first video I saw was the Creature video that was double disk; Born Dead and Black Metal that came with Sidewalk. So I always just skated ramp. Skating fast is something that never scares me, it’s easier to bail out at speed. Going slow is way scarier. When I skate street going fast is easier. Like when your going fast you can just fly out of it and not hurt yourself.
Not long after there was a Facebook petition for you to be ‘on Gnargore’?
Yeah I was real stoked on that. That was Joel who was on Gnargore set that up, and it was amazing. So after that I started going out filming with them and after that filmed a part for Wizard Council.
For those who don’t know (how dare you!) what is Gnargore?
It’s a bunch of mates who skate and make videos. I love it. It means a lot to me – skating with my best mates and having a laugh.
What’s your favourite memory of being a member of Gnargore.
Making Denning sour. Just ripping it into him. About how/when we get to a spot he sits in his car, turns his heaters on and smokes weed instead of skating. Haha! It’s just banter though, all a good laugh! Haha!
You had the opening section in the last Gnargore video ‘Wizard Council’ was that you first part?
Yeah that was my first part. It was fun. I didn’t really have an idea of how I wanted it to look, I just filmed anything and everything. Dan Jordan pretty much choreographed my section, down to the point I’ve even got clips with his leather jacket and bandana on!
Mind the Gap. Ph: Tim Borrow
How has filming been for the latest video Kickflip and Friends? From a slight insider view I think there has been a bit more pressure as everyone wanted to step up a gear.
It’s been similar to the last one. I’m more stoked on my footage for this part though. We just head out every Sunday and listen to Dan Jordan moan until we do something and even then he’ll say it’s shit. It’s fun!
Midway through filming you got on A Third Foot, how did that happen?
Erm, it was mainly from Luke Kindon, Tom Gillespie and Dan Jordan filming me and taking it in to show Ken. I used to go in and buy boards direct, then one day I went in to get one and Ken said they were gonna start flowing me boards. I was so stoked. I went skating straight after and then off to the pub to celebrate.
Ryan also loves picking his nose. Photo thanks to Matt Thomas.
I heard a story not so long ago about you punching a pigeon mid flight? Care to discuss that at all?
I went to the Churchdown comp and won £75, but Tom Carr had drove me and broke his foot so he couldn’t take me back. So I just went to Bristol and hung out with those guys and celebrated. The night was nuts. We ended up at some club, we were all drunk and rowdy, some bloke tried to start a fight with us all of us for no real reason, then we were heading back and decided to drop sand bags and rocks on an empty tramps tent from a bridge. When we got back into Andy’s flat, we were in the hallway and this pigeon was flying around. We were chasing it and as it flew towards me, I just punched the air and it happened to clock him out, stone cold on the floor. I was really sad. I didn’t wanna kill it. I like animals so it was pure coincidence.
So what’s next for Ryan Price? Is there anyone out there you want to thank?
I dunno, I’m just gonna keep skateboarding. Once the Gnargore part is out there’s talk of an A Third Foot video, so i’ll film a part for that. Big thanks to Gnargore, A Third Foot, Luke Kindon, Tom Carr, NOT DAN JORDAN, Ideal Skateshop, Parslow, Tribe Night Club, that’s it I think.
Gnargore’s brand new DVD ‘Kickflip and Friends‘ is out now and available to pick up for £5 from gnargore.bigcartel.com Watch Ryan’s full section from it here and pick one up.
The Gnargore lads from the West Midlands are back with another scene video this summer called Kickflip and and Friends scheduled to premiere on June 22nd at the Custard Factory cinema in Birmingham. A new pocket cam video blog has appeared over the weekend
It took no longer than 10 minutes to interview Sexwolf. We don’t even have a fitting introduction for them other than their incendiary metallic hardcore reached us last month and some of it kicks arse. So let’s just get to the fucking point…
Who the fuck are Sex Wolf?!
Four guys living that tough life, unions, being on strike, we’re down on our luck, it’s tough, so tough! (Rich – melodies and poetry, Mulv – Bass, Jenk – Skin division, Joe – midget.)
Why the fuck did you call your band Sexwolf?
We like sex as in the act of lovemaking, Coitus. We also think wolves are remarkable animals. What could be better than wolves fucking beast lipstick lovemaking?………We are Sexwolf!
What other fucking names did you have before you chose that one?
We were originally called Statham- as in Jason, cockney, Mexican, crime-fighting, risk taking, bald cunt! His arms are majestic but once you have a random conversation about animal porn, Statham’s always gonna take a back seat!
What the fuck is going on in the Birmingham hardcore scene?
I’ll be brutally honest we havnt got a clue most bands we play with are not local. Every show we have played in Birmingham have been with bands around the country like Failsafe, The Plight, For Eyes who are very good bands! We see ourselves playing around the country and not so much in Birmingham regularly!
Who the fuck do you think you are having a drummer that is capable of sounding like a machine gun?
It’s not intentional he has full body tourettes from an overweight cock!
Why the fuck where you ‘brought up to fuck up’?
If you ever felt like people think you are useless, well I wrote a song about how you feel when cry wanking! Our songs are open to interpretation because we have no idea what they are about we just want you to sing along at full volume!
Who is the biggest fuck up in the band?
As a collective we each have our fuck ups. For instance, Jenk masturbates so often his sister in the next room has to wear headphones to stop the nightmares! Mulv has a big head like in circumference! Rich has the rhythm of a spastic slow lorris on ketamin! Joe is just a prick, midget prick.
Deep political reasons. I suppose they are a voice of a generation and own the hardcore scene, oh, and shit loads of money I guess!
Why the fuck are you pro boners and tits?
Listen, this is a serious subject. We love titties. We all sucked on our mother’s until puberty or until dad got jealous! Boners are the reason the world goes round, you know men are a dominate force we are men who stand boner proud! We promote soapy tit wanks!
Why the fuck should people listen to your music?
We promote good times and sound track to fully ram to the point of pleasurable prolapse….we want to bring back a bit of fun at shows everyone is so serious with there shitty, two step bollocks! We want star jumps and leap frogging and human pyramids! Listen to us it will make you smile!
Motive Skateboards released some ‘throwaway’ footage of Birmingham ripper Jack Edwards overnight. If this is throwaway the future for Motive looks very bright indeed.
In associated Motive news, Bristol’s Paul Carter gets name checked in our interview with Bristol’s Malachai, an artist who can mix a thousand genres and still make them sound classic.
It should be noted prior to giving Gnargore any of your precious monies that there is only one title in Wizard Council, and it reads ‘No Refunds’. The good news is that you won’t want to give this DVD back at all because it’s just too much fucking fun. For the first time since sometime before video editors stopped going through their own tastes and yanking everyone’s section music off Gorilla Vs Bear I actually had a great time watching a scene video because it offered that crucial element to what inspires crews to make a video in the first place: that the people in it quite obviously love skating with one another.
On top of this there’s no uninspired time lapses or Belle and Seb circlejerks (there I go calling myself out again) here at all. Just rock, gore and metal, non-stop gnarshred skateboarding set in stark black and white. It is fucking on now chaps.
There’s an identity here too, as Ryan Price kicks things off there’s something instantly recognisable as Gnargore. Now, I expect Tom will respond to this saying “yeah, that shit skating”, but one man’s trash can is another man’s gourmet feast. Bonelesses, wallrides, pivot fakies, mosher drops, pole-jams, willy grinds, hippy jumps, front rocks, all these tricks are acquired tastes, to all those out there who have had the courage to acquire these ‘real men’ tricks, then you will be gratuitously rewarded here. It is fully a non-brand kind of brand that I can buy into.
Immediate highlights that come to mind after this most enjoyable first viewing include Harrison Thom’s constant one-foot-on-the-ground action, particularly that boneless at Hereford (for that is no mean feat…although Tom Carr later bonelesses into it and I shat myself), Arran Burrows‘ 50-50 on a burnt out car, Tom Carr’s super stylish last trick, Tom Gillespie’s late shove and Dan Jordan’s intro and subsequent tight jean fetish scene. It was around this point onwards that I lost track of who I was watching but the point of Wizard Council isn’t the skate video lone hero, but the fact that Gnargore are a collective. This video is a refreshing well-needed reminder that crews of friends who skate and have a great time and make awesome scene videos are very much still alive. Ave it West Midlands!
Stanley
For everything you need to know about Gnargore, head over here to read Brewer’s monster interview with head honcho Tom Gillespie. Then have a look below for some choice cuts from the film that Tom sliced for us.
Gnargore was started in 2002 by three skaters from the West Midlands. All three were doing as young skaters do and started a local crew. Yet somehow, in its eight years of existence, Gnargore has turned into something much more, and now appear as a representation of the West Midlands scene. Not just a group of skaters that make a video and flog them to ‘Timmy Turnstains’ down the local park, they have become a powerhouse for producing them, with their fifth in the last six years just being released! Not only that but working with local skate shops Ideal and Spine they have come together to organise great events over the years that has really benefited the scene. For all the jip Gnargore get, there’s no denying that there a good thing to have in a scene that finds itself struggling at times. So here’s a little insight to the warped mind of Gnargore ‘founder’ Tom Gillespie and life seen through the eyes of Gnargore.
So first up explain what is Gnargore?
Gnargore is a crew of nobodies that you shouldn’t really of heard of. And if you hadn’t, good. We’re just some mates with with camera, who can’t skateboard very well but don’t give a shit. But we have a lot of fun being shit.
The crews been productive for eight years now, what’s different now to when it first began?
Nothing! Other than producing videos that the shops actually want to stock. Sale or return, you know how we do. Spine actually sold out, so thanks to Chris for that!
In your eight years or skateboard domination, there’s been more internet controversy associated with Gnargore than there was with 2 girls 1 cup. How did that happen and how do you feel about it now?
I think I was a bit keen in trying to promote the first video and got on peoples nerves on the Sidewalk Forum. Now I know they’re all ‘cunts’ so I don’t care. Apart from Steve75. But especially Gawkrodger
Dan Jordan – Treeride
You’re well known for producing mini-edits regularly on the website. How easy is it making these, do feel any pressure from your audience, seeing as this is pretty much the only representation the West Midlands scene seems to get?
The mini-edits are pretty much the stuff that are too shit to be in a Gnargore video. The shittest of the shit. Like drunk dudes and parodies of other internet videos. Epicly Hater’d being a good example of this…
You’ve just released your fifth video in six years, which most will agree is more than impressive. Has this always been the plan, and how has it been filming them?
Five videos is more than enough for anyone. It’s just really a way of documenting a scene with me and my friends. We used to film it on a shit DV camera with a fisheye meant for an SLR camera gaffer taped on. Now I’ve got a proper camera so the production quality has gone up, but the skateboarding hasn’t, hahaha…
You premiered the video at The Mixing Bowl cinema at the Custard Factory in Birmingham. How did that go?
It went really well, better than I expected. The disc worked for a start which was great! I had a lot of trouble burning them all myself and trying to get them to work.. The menu screen kept crashing my computer, so in the end I sacked the lot of it off! I sold all the DVDs I’d made to people and shops and got rid of the twenty-five Wizard Council t-shirt’s too. Wig and I ended up on the radio talking about it!
Joel Taylor – Crook
And how was the response to the video?
Really good. Everyone liked it who saw it on the day! I’ve had people come up to me saying how hyped they were off it too. It was pretty rowdy in the cinema. Everyone had brought beers so there was lots of cheering and shouting!
A Third Foot, Fallen, Witchcraft, Krew and Supra all sponsored the event and we held a raffle to give away the prizes. They were all really generous with the product they sent through, so most people left with something! The ramp jam afterwards kicked off too! Everyone was going all out to win the A Third Foot board. Ryan ended up winning via a vote!
Something that stands out for myself is that the video came across a lot cleaner and with more of a direction than the other video’s you made. Is it true practice makes perfect or was it all an lucky accident?!
Before I edited Wizard Council I looked back on the other Gnargore videos and came to the conclusion there was no particular theme holding them together.
For Wizard Council I wanted to make sure all the parts fitted together coherently. That’s why there’s no titles or names in the video and the gaps between sections are really small. Also, there’s no bullshit in this video. No arty montages or shots. The only non-skate stuff really is some bro shots and some high 5’s as I wanted to keep the feel of how tight the Gnargore crew is.
With this DVD you’ve offered a free zine with artwork from people involved in the project. What pushed you to do this? It’s definately something I have never seen with a scene video before…
It just kind of happened! Me and the other lads have always talked of grand schemes and ideas when we’ve had a beer or two! But this time it really just kind of happened. Wig’s girlfriend Aimee works at the Birmingham University in the Print Department, so she has access to all the screen printing machines. Wig, Dan and some of the other Gnargore boys are talented artists and got together to do some drawings for a zine! It ended up being an 8-page booklet that when unfolded turns into an A3 poster. I was a bit worried the video was shit and wanted to give people value for their money, so the zine was a way of giving that to people! It was also really fun to get stuck in and print. A massive shout out to Aimee for all her help. Without her it wouldn’t have been possible.
Wig Smith – Indy Nosebone
You’ve got rather an eclectic group of skaters in the crew… How does the Gnargore program come to pick up new people? Is it a picky process or can anybody be in?
Nah, you’ve gotta be able to handle Dan Jordan and Tom Hinton torturing you. Hanging out and bro’ing down. It’s not a case of being good at skateboarding. It’s just about being a mate. Powerslides, going fast and a good bbq technique are a must to be on though. Double fisting beers is a requirement at all times as well. Early grabs needed, flips not necessary. Training provided. Apply within.
So who is Dan Jordan and where did the illustrious ‘Porno Denim’ nickname come from?
Dan is a human foghorn, and he is my friend. Porno Denim came from Ben Powell and Nicky Howells when they reviewed the last video for Sidewalk Mag. He’s a girl’s size 0 because he’s a vegan. He is the nicest prick you’d ever wish to meet.
You’re known for skating some rugged spots. Do you look for these on purpose to represent what your into?
There’s pretty much fuck all where we live since all the main meet up spots were shut down. This was right when most of us started skating. So we all pretty much started skating ‘non spots’ resulting in some people calling them ‘Gnargore’ spots. They would usually end up being a wallride or a curb to slappy. The dream being both at the same place. I guess it’s just a case of trying to make the most out of what you’ve got within your range on a Sunday afternoon.
So let’s give some of the Gnargorians their 15 minutes of fame. If I name them I’d like you to give a brief description of them…
Right: James Denning – Backside Flip
Tom Hinton – Tom emigrated to New Zealand with his family, but returned to the UK to go Uni. He’s done with his art degree in Worcester now, so I’m not sure exactly what he’s got planned for the future.. He’s a talented artist and had an exhibition at the Spine Gallery space recently. www.thomashinton.co.uk
Wig Smith – I’ve known Wig for years. He was in an older group of skaters from my hometown that I kind of looked up to when I first started. He’s the last one of that group still rollin’, and we’ve been skating together since back in the day. Wig’s got an enormous book and CD collection thanks to him working at HMV and getting hella discount!
Daniel Jordan – We’ve already touched on the porno denim persona about Dan. He’s also a talented artist, and is working hard on his graphic design work for bands, like logos and thirst and stuff. He won some award for the National Trust at Uni. Kid’s got skills!
Arran Burrows – Arran was the super annoying kid at school in my year, and he happened to be in my form! I’ve been skating with him the longest of everyone. I remember one day when he turned up for school in some Osiris D3s and we all freaked out that he had what we thought were the best skate shoes of all time on… how times change! A couple of years ago he put himself into a coma and nearly died after falling off his board onto his head whilst skitching on a car at the train station. I was really scared for a while that I would lose someone I’d been so close to for so long (no homo). Luckily he pulled through, and can move all his limbs and talk. For a while after he couldn’t! He’s super into his cars at the moment, and has a flash Mazda that he burns out and wheel spins at every opportunity!
James Jones – James is the man of mystery. He is super quiet until you get a few drinks downhim. He’s also got a million nicknames including Nudge, Nudgey, J-Rock, JJ, Jellington etc he used to roll with the Bromsgrove crew, but he moved to Halesowen with his family, and the bus route between the two towns sucks so he hopped crews and chills with us!
Ryan Price – Ryan a.k.a Clever is the raddest kid ever. When I first met him he was about 13 at Perdiswell bowl. he came up to me and was telling me all about his new setup. Most kids at 13 get Grind King trucks or some crap, but he had full-on 149 Indys and an 8.25 Creature pool shape board!
Below: Joel Taylor – Pop Shove
Harrison Thom – Harrison is another artistically talented member of the ‘Gore. He’s off to Uni in September to do Fashion. He’ll whip you up a dress no worries if you want! He’s Scottish so it’s easy to make fun of him. His boot doesn’t work on his car so you have to access the boards in the back via the back seat.
James Denning – AKA Creepy Den because he bought a young girl some crayons in an attempt to flex her! Den has the same camera as me and has been a real help filming double angles or filming stuff when I’m not around. He’s also working on a local scene video called “Shropside”, focusing on the skaters he knows from the Shropshire and Hereford areas.
Joel Taylor – Joel started wearing full on pajama bottoms out skating last year. I’m not really sure why! He want through a bit of a punk phase too. He’s off at University in Aberystwyth, and filmed his entire part about 6 months ago. He really went off on one in the last month before he left. That’s when he did his ender, which is pretty dreamtime.
Tom Carr – Race Carr is from up North and moved down to Worcester. He’s recently moved to Bristol. He’s one of the most stylish people I’ve ever seen on a skateboard. Even in videos!
And of course yourself – I’m Tom. I work at A Third Foot at the moment answering the phones, making the tea and fetching Ken’s lunch. Sometimes we work on some graphics too! It’s a dream come true to work for those guys. I’ve been buying their boards for years before I even knew where the factory was.
With there being a lot of skate companies starting off as ‘crews’ such as yourself do you ever find it tempting to branch this into something more than it is already and start it up as a board company?
I’ve always dreamed of starting a skateboard company and taking over the world, but I feel the market is over saturated at the moment. All these local/small skate companies that open up and do a short run and sell them out their cars at the skatepark are just depriving the more established companies and skate shops who support the scene of valuable board sales. I don’t have anything against people who stump up a grand to get a short run produced and flog ’em, after all everyone has to start somewhere, it’s just not for me.
How would you compare the West Midlands scene to other scene’s in the UK?
It’s hard to say about other scenes, because I don’t really “know” any other scene apart from my own. The West Mids scene is really friendly. I think it helps to not have any skate media industry around here.. There’s not really any sense of competition between different groups, or at least any I’ve experienced. Everyone gets on really well and helps each other at.
Obviously there’s been a lot of scene videos coming out across the UK in the last few years. What would say separates you from them?
I think the Gnargore videos have always been in their nature about raw quirky street skating. It’s pretty no nonsense too. I’m just gonna throw it out there. I can’t stand all this slow-mo, HD camera, dolly rig, city scape time lapse, soft music bullshit. It’s skateboarding, not a car advert! Give me a Thrasher video any day.
A few years back I remember you nearly got hustled by Stevie Williams over some footage you’d filmed of Lenny Rivas, do you care to go into that?
DGK and Reebok did a demo at Creation (Formerly Epic) Skatepark in Birmingham. I was there with my camera and filmed a couple things. When the session was over they wanted to go see some street spots, so we took them up in to town. We ended up at the Smiths rails. I filmed a couple tricks of Lenny on the rail. Stevie came up to me afterwards and offered to buy the footage off me when they got back to the States. I just said he could have the tape out my camera and so he offered to give me some boards in exchange for it. When we got back to their tour vans, the one with the boards and the rest of the team had already left the city. All they had in the van that was there was these massive RBK shoes! I didn’t want to be a dick to him and refuse the shoes so I just took ’em. Suffice to say I didn’t skate in them and just gave them away!
Harrison Thom – Crailslide
And when is the Gnargore/DGK collabo coming out?
Didn’t you see?! They’ve already “dropped” on Hypebeast last week!
Not only yourself but a couple of the members through the crew have organised events at local parks etc. What motivates you guys to do this?
I guess it’s because there’s no one else out there doing it for us. There aren’t really many tours/events that come through the West Mids for whatever reason, so we just put them on ourselves. I can’t really speak for other people, but I assume they do it for similar reasons. More people should put events on. It’s not hard. A couple of emails to the right people will blag you the prizes. Then you just need a Facebook Group and a thread on the forum and you’re sorted for promotion. D.I.Y!
Is there any inspirations that you think are used when making Gnargore videos?
At first I used to watch videos and study how the tricks were being filmed. Like how many steps down from the top the filmer was on a set of stairs for instance. Sometimes if there was a double angle you could see how the filmer with the fisheye moved to capture the trick. I’m not down for the whole over the top fisheye movement some people are doing! I really liked the way the new Blueprint video was put together. Enough non-skate bits so you got the vibe of the company, but overall it was raw street skating with a great soundtrack. In the past videos, I pretty much let the guys pick their own section music within reason. Arran was trying to convince me to let him have the Hulk Hogan intro music for a while but I couldn’t handle it! For this video I set out with an overall feel I wanted to get across. Grimey, gritty and raw. These values were reflected in the soundtrack too. Dan Jordan helped out a lot with this area.
So what’s in store for Gnargore now ‘Wizard Council’ is done and dusted?
I’m going to take a vacation from filming for a little bit I think and just take it easy. It’s really hard work editing the video and very stressful putting everything together. Maybe around the end of Summer I’ll have a word with the lads and see what they want to do. A few of the guys are off to Uni so it’d be a smaller and/or slightly different crew if there will be another Gnargore production..
And finally is there anybody you’d like to thank?!
Kris, Zippy and Bob at Ideal for giving all an awesome ramp to go to when it rains and for helping us out with the cinema space for the premiere; Fallen, Witchcraft and A Third Foot for sponsoring the premiere; Ken, Joel and Steve at ATF; Ben Powell for being kind enough to review our videos; The Sidewalk Forum geeks, all the locals, anyone who’s taken us to a spot or shown us around their hometown, Wetherspoons, Zac at Crossfire, and to you for reading this crap for so long!
Gnargore’s latest video ‘Wizard Council‘ is out now and available from Ideal Skateshop and from their website. For more inflammation check www.gnargore.co.uk and to have a further glimpse into the Gnargore world check out the video below. Metal.
When you first started out you seemed to totally skip the ‘grom’ stage and just went straight at it will 8″+ boards and a need for speed instead of ledge dancing. What inspired you to be like that?
It should be noted prior to giving 
Gnargore was started in 2002 by three skaters from the West Midlands. All three were doing as young skaters do and started a local crew. Yet somehow, in its eight years of existence, Gnargore has turned into something much more, and now appear as a representation of the West Midlands scene. Not just a group of skaters that make a video and flog them to ‘Timmy Turnstains’ down the local park, they have become a powerhouse for producing them, with their fifth in the last six years just being released! Not only that but working with local skate shops Ideal and Spine they have come together to organise great events over the years that has really benefited the scene. For all the jip Gnargore get, there’s no denying that there a good thing to have in a scene that finds itself struggling at times. So here’s a little insight to the warped mind of Gnargore ‘founder’ Tom Gillespie and life seen through the eyes of Gnargore.
Harrison Thom – Harrison is another artistically talented member of the ‘Gore. He’s off to Uni in September to do Fashion. He’ll whip you up a dress no worries if you want! He’s Scottish so it’s easy to make fun of him. His boot doesn’t work on his car so you have to access the boards in the back via the back seat.
