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DVD Reviews Film Reviews Reviews

Danko Jones – Bring on The Mountain

DANKO JONES
‘Bring on The Mountain DVD’

[Bad Taste]

Formed in Toronto in the mid-Nineties the Canadian trio Danko Jones have been belting out their own punked up homage to the golden years of harder than hard, hard hard rock ever since, with half a dozen albums to their name, and a solid fan base at home, and in mainland Europe.

The main feature of this expansive 2x DVD package is the rockumentary ‘Bring On The Mountain’ where mainstays, and band founders, Danko Jones (vocals/guitar) and bassist John ‘JC’ Calabrese, talk us through the bands history. Format wise, this is a pretty standard setup, as the groups members and their inner circle of crew, soundmen, producers, et al, spill the beans on the ups and downs they’ve experienced over the years. What I liked was, the DJ guys come across as really regular fellas, who primarily let their music do the talking, and whose only ‘gimmick’ as such is the bellowing self-testifying witticisms of front man Danko, a man blessed with a booming set of vocal pipes, and endless stash of one liners and tongue in cheek innuendo. Politically correct they are not, but, as we’re reminded, in the timeless words of Nigel Tufnel… “What’s wrong with bein’ sexy?”

The key message of the DJ story is they’ve gotten where they have through sheer hard work, following the dictate of AC/DC that it’s a long way to the top, if you wanna Rock’n’Roll. Danko and JC have dedicated themselves to the cause, forgoing the 9 to 5, and keeping their heads above water between tours and recording, by working low pay jobs. When it comes to releasing music, the band refuse to sign to any label that would see them relinquishing their publishing rights. A very smart decision, and one a lot of bands over the years will have regretted not doing themselves. Not all members have shared the Danko vision, and at least half a dozen drummers have fallen by the wayside, but as the 90minutes draw to a conclusion there is a positive note with the addition of former Rocket From The Crypt drummer Atom Willard, who’s also served time in The Offspring, and Angels and Airwaves. This solidified line up has been recording a brand new album, and get ready to take to the road again.

Also on Disc One, is a 20minute short film that sees the Danko boys starring in a short thriller that features a host of cameos including Lemmy, Mike Watt, Selma Blair and Elijah Wood. It’s a pretty predictable plot line, but buoyed by decent acting, hard jams, and nice cinematography. Disc Two collates all the bands videos and a stack of live performances, making it a great companion piece to all Danko Jones fans collections.

Words: Pete Craven

Categories
Features Skateboarding

In Photos: Death Skateboards ‘Ordinary Madness’ Premiere

It was 5 years ago that most of the people present tonight last stepped through the doors of the Trinity Pub. I’m pretty sure a police car was stolen, broken bottles were awash on the floors, punk rock throttled the speakers and the Death family unleashed the killer DVD,’Better Than Life’. Since then, a lot has changed. As Zorlac said in his opening speech tonight: “…some good shit and bad shit has gone down in between”. Tonight though, is all about one great feat: The unveiling of ‘Ordinary Madness’.

Mark Nicolson and Jake Shunt amongst others have worked hard to get this new Death Skateboards film out. The new wave of ams are getting better and better, making the pro’s up their game to keep their names on the wood.

Tonight in Harrow, most of the team are present and many of them annihilated by the end of the night. Even Richie Jackson, Matt Pennington and Patrick Melcher were in attendance straight off of flights from across the pond. This crew make a lot of effort and as a result, make a lot of others happy with very little politics or skateboard industry bullshit. You get what you see and you are either in our you’re out with Death, and that is to be commended.

Big shouts to all involved including Monster who provided the liquour, Wonk Unit and Meansteed, the two bands that played on the night and all who turned up to see the good ship Death sail once again. Other premiere dates and demos can be found here.

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Zorlac opens proceedings…

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Even Richie Jackson jetted in from across the pond!

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It’s all down to these lads…

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The party started….

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Yep, Stalker was on fire…

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Adam Moss practised his porno moves…

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Rob Smith turned up as the Green Cross Code bloke from the 70’s…

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The Welsh were there in force as usual.

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Benson and Bain. Legends together.

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Styley and Moggins ponder whose section was best.

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Is that Steve Crawford peeping through the gap?

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Matt Pritchard loves Pickle Porter’s.

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Dinosaur Pile Up?

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Brighton were in the house.

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Wonk Unit punked it.

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And some…

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Zorlac unleashed his new Death extra-hand, shoulder jewellery.

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This was the third shot I had to take from this lot!

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Richie Jackson after 6 pints of Stella.

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The OG’s.

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Blog that you little biatch!

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The smell of Sheffield was in the air.

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Melcher was ready to box Denver’s Matt Pennington – btw, he’s a fucking ripper!

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Snuff photo…

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Nowik was in the house!

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Meansteed rocked the bar.

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“Hey You!”

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“Clap like you are at Wembley!”

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Steak’s face says it all. Meansteed ripped.

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It was so emotional that these punks swapped tongues.

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Zorlac was in fine form!

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Essex represented!

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The tattooists were out too!

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The Trinity owner should receive medals for allowing this to happen.

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Good to hear that Mike’s injury is on the mend.

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Tamar!

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ORDER IT FROM YOUR LOCAL SKATE SHOP TODAY AND LOOK OUT FOR A FULL FEATURE WITH THE ENTIRE TEAM DISCUSSING THE MAKING OF ‘ORDINARY MADNESS’ ON HERE VERY SOON.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Watch Chima Ferguson’s Since Day One Remix

Chima Ferguson‘s part from the Since Day One video for Real has been remixed this week to the sounds of Odd Future.

Get stuck into this to end your week as it rips.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Death’s Ordinary Madness video to premiere on Oct 11th

In classic Death style, Harrow’s most infamous skateboard company has announced today that the premiere of their new full length DVD will be held at The Trinity Bar in Harrow at 9pm on the eve of October 11th from 7pm.

This traditional get together for Death Skateboards videos has not been seen since Better Than Life dropped into the skate scene 5 years ago. Bands will play, I.D will be needed, booze will fly everywhere, the sound will be so deafening that some will wear earphones, others will be unable to see the screen due to crowd surfing but good times will be had by all.

Expect live bands and the screening of Death’s most eagerly anticipated film ever. Full sections will come from Cates, Melcher, Nicolson, Dave Allen, Rob Smith, Zarosh, Richie Jackson, Benson, Boots, Dean Palmer, Moggins, Adam Moss and more.

Put the date in your dairy and get a glimpse of what’s coming from Rob Smith’s latest interview here. The Death team will be in attendance at the Crossfire Halloween Massacre skate jam at BaySixty6 skate park on October 27th.

You can find the Trinity Bar at 378-380 Station Road Harrow, Middlesex HA1 2DE

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Categories
Skateboarding News

Jart Skateboards’ ‘All You Need’ video online

Jart Skateboards have released their 3rd full length video ‘All You Need‘ today featuring Bastien Salabanzi, Steve King, Ivan Rivardo, Cian Eades, and many more. Head over to their Facebook page where it premiere’s this week.

Categories
Skateboarding News

Shaun Currie’s Brass Monkey section remixed

Shaun Currie’s part filmed and edited by James Cruickshank from Brass Monkey has been remixed this month and is here for you to watch. Pick up the full Sheffield scene video for only £6 from brassmonkey.bigcartel.com

The full video features skating from Shaun Currie, Dan Beall, Henry Stables, Dave Adlington, Timmy Garbett, Liam Sproat, Jethro Coldwell, Nathan Morris, Will Mason, Arthur Tubb, Richard Chung, Ash Hall, Alan Chadwick, Alex Burrell, Jerome Campbell, and the rest of Sheffield.

Shaun Currie – Brass Monkey remix from James Cruickshank on Vimeo.

Categories
Music Music News New Releases

Parkway Drive Tour & DVD details revealed


Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive are renowned for their high energy live shows and with the recent addition of Emmure, The Word Alive & Structures to the line up, this November trek is set to be one of the most brutal tours of 2012.

The band start the UK leg of the tour in Birmingham and close in London before moving on to Europe. The UK dates are as follows:

NOVEMBER
14 – BIRMINGHAM Ballroom
15 – MANCHESTER Academy
16 – LEEDS University
17 – LONDON Roundhouse

In further Parkway Drive news the band have announced they are releasing a documentary style DVD entitled ‘Home Is For The Heartless’ (also a track name on latest album ‘Deep Blue’). The 75-min documentary was shot in 42 countries on five continents. The DVD captures the bands’ journey as they travel to many obscure destinations around the world and embrace local culture. ‘Home Is For The Hearless’ is said to be an in-depth look at the life of Parkway Drive on stage and off as they tour the world.

The DVD will hit the stores on 9th July 2012 and is available to pre-order as part of a bundle package on the bands official merchandise store.

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Categories
Preview Skateboarding News

The new Girl Chocolate video is Pretty Sweet

The upcoming Girl/Chocolate DVD title has been announced today and it’s called Pretty Sweet. Get hyped on what will be dropping in November this year!

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Categories
Skateboarding News

October release for Bones Brigade : An Autobiography

Following the successful premiere’s of Stacy Peralta’s new documentary Bones Brigade : An Autobiography, the director has announced overnight his desire to release the film publicly in October this year. Speaking to an energy drink website on the subject of distribution Peralta says:

“I’m very excited with the road we’re taking with this film. It looks like we are going to self-release theatrically and make a deal with a company called Topspin Media that is going to manage our entire presence on the web. This will include selling “Bones Brigade” directly from our website via download and DVD, as well as many other things. We will be doing the final on-line and sound mix in late June to have it finished July 1st. Our plan is to release sometime in early October.”

Put it on your Xmas present list.

The film had its UK premiere this week month at a screening at the Sheffield Doc Fest this Wednesday night with another screening about to run this weekend on Sunday.

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Categories
Skateboarding News

Almost 5-incher Daewon Trailer

Get ready for more Daewon Song action this month as the 5-incher promo from Almost featuring the full team is scheduled to drop on May 14th. Put that date in your diary and watch this new teaser for the sweets.