Late Night Sunday Tunes, In Case Your A Chode Rider Watching Some Rubbish Acting About Werewolves, Some Bucktoothed Piss Poor Actress, And An Aryan Vampire Then You Should Probably Go Listen To Some Justin Beaver. Fucked Up-The Chemistry Of Common Life. (great release, you need this)
I first met Grant through some emails on Facecrook, and looked up to his team BSD and was into their team. Plus their lifestyle fit right in with mine. We had both booked a hotel in Austin around the same time and I helped Grant save a few grand by holding up Reed Stark, Tony Malouf, Kriss Kyle (who I was in charge of for two days as BSD's temp team manager while Tony and Grant were stuck in Frost bike) Mike Taylor was also staying in our room, while Grant stayed with Anto and the rest of the French. Here is our Hotel room's crew:
Last night in town blowout at one of Corrigan and Sandy's after hour spots.
The trip was a blast, from Sandy Carson picking me and Grant up to snag the infamous Gogo from the airport, to constant trips to Wahoo's and the constant humor being thrown around. Grant is one of my favorite people in BMX. He cares for his team, and makes sure everyone is having fun. BMX needs more people like Grant in it. So thanks for the best two weeks I spent on my bike and hope to show you dudes around Philly or you show me around Unit 23 and some Scottish street! Happy Birthday Grant Smith, SICK GUY!
Gogo and Grant two BMX legends getting loose, on one of the best nights of my life! As for the rest of our hotel room, we got zooted and had a few great Sailor Jerry nights thanks to Tony and his love of Swishers and Gully slang. Im more of a Dutch man but Tony got me on board the Sweets. Cheers guys! Hope to see you all soon, and Grant have a great name day!
YARR O'DA Of The Day Austin Style Gwarchy Style! Since its Grant's birthday I'll add another band to the ever growing band of the list week: COLISEUM- House With A Curse If you happen to be a fan of ,"Up In Them Guts" era Planes Mistaken For Stars then I highly suggest checking out, "Colliseum-House With A Curse". It sounds nothing like the vicious D-Beat pissed off heavy assault of records past from their catalog with Relapse Records but trust me ,you will love this release. Its pretty fucking brilliant. "How much change is a band willing to endure in pursuit of a dream? In the case of Coliseum, as much as it takes. In the three years since their second album, No Salvation, the Louisville power trio have changed labels, producers, engineers, and replaced the frenetic breakneck speed of former drummer Chris Maggio with the emphatic rhythmic stomp of Carter Wilson – all in the service of producing the album they always dreamed of. That album is House With A Curse, their third full-length and first for Temporary Residence Ltd."
1 How many cans of caffeinated beverages do you think your editor for the latest Empire BMX DVD has consumed thus far? And is there a deadline in site?
- I really have put a lot of time into thinking about this very subject, and I’ve concluded that he has probably consumed roughly 6,500 cans of DP since production actually began.I don’t count the time between our team meeting to get everyone on board and the first filming mission.Needless to say, dude loves Dr Pepper.I’m not sure who sleeps less, me or Dave, but it’s gotta be a close race.
2. After Chill Bro! became a hit did you realize that some of your team was going to be known on a larger level in the BMX community?it played different than any scene or shop video I have ever seen. Were you happy with the final product?
- I think by the time Chill Bro! dropped, all the guys in the video were pretty well known.However, it seemed to cement the shop as a legitimate presence, as we were pretty small-time up to that point.The first video came together really fast, with no hype, and with mostly our small crew of friends, though there were a few cameos from some heavy hitters.Also, we were running the business out of a tiny building. That place was 1,100 sq feet, with one metered parking spot, in between our landlord’s house and an auto repair shop / homeless shelter / brothel.We had some notoriety due to leaving Trend and all that, but we were small fish in a big bowl.Between the first video and Chill Bro!, we added some guys to the team that were outside of our small comfort box; i.e. Morgan Wade, Bob Scerbo, Tony Cardona.KP was getting more heavily involved with Empire, and he was and is a bona fide conglomerate unto himself.Chase and Aaron were already on their way to being big stars, and Neil, Dylan, Danny, and the rest of the crew were household names (in BMX households)Joe Rich is of course Joe Fucking Rich, and we will always be honored and thankful for his loyalty and friendship over the years.Being able to get all of those people involved in Chill Bro! made it inevitable that the video would be popular.Joel is very talented and he was the glue that made all the individual parts stick together so well.He went above and beyond the call of duty, and busted his ass for sure to make the video great.We were 100% happy and proud, both with the video and with Joel and the team for their hard work.
3. Tank tops, or Tye Dyes?
- No and no.As I get older and crustier, all I want is an American Apparel Summer T with no logo or anything on it.I don’t know why, but I always feel like a douchebag wearing an Empire shirt.I can get down with a T1 shirt once in a while.No hippy tie dye stuff for this child of Quail Creek.Parkfield Drive has no love for flower children.
4. Wahoo's, The Screaming Goat, or Chuy's?
- Those are all great in their own special ways, but since the move to the new shop, we’ve discovered El Caribe, next to Dan’s Hamburgers at N. Lamar/2222.The place is incredible, and I will never eat food from anywhere else ever again, period.Well, maybe Veggie Heaven, but only if someone else goes to collect it.Dragon Lady has a crush on me, I think.I don’t need any more drama with the ladies at this point in my life.
5. Favorite non riding spot in Austin?
- It’s a little outside of town, but we discovered an amazing rental lakehouse compound not far away.Water slide, three separate houses, sick courtyard chill spot, diving platform/sunbathing structure, and diving board.I think after Dave finishes the video, we’ll get the crew out there for a weekend and celebrate.It’s close enough to be convenient, but far enough away to feel like a vacation.As far as regular haunts, I like Lala’s.Tiny bar, Christmas décor never comes down, and the bartender ladies seem to have an average age of 112.Some weird shit always goes down there, and you always have a 50/50 chance of spotting The Parrick lurking around.A friend and I had to help some dude with short arms out of a spot there years ago, using multiple wire closehangers to secure his car’s exhaust system to the bottom of the car.I was certain that he was either going to sexually abuse my crotch or cut off my legs while I was vulnerable down there on the asphalt.
6. Favorite riding spot in Austin?
- Funny you should send me these questions today, because Corrigan showed us his plan for the ramp rebuild for the new shop.Having not ridden it yet, or even knowing if what he showed us will be the final setup, that is my favorite place to ride.Having a crazy kid and a crazy shop means I don’t get to spend whole days looking for and/or riding spots anymore, so I generally stay close to home.When the ramp is rebuilt, that’ll be my go-to spot for sure.Right now, if I have to narrow it down to one place that I’d ride if I had a few hours off from work and the boy, it would probably be 5 Hip.A lot of people probably find that place boring, but I like it a lot.You can jump, you can grind, you can dance on the sub box, or you can hit the wall ride upstream at the bridge.The new concrete park is rad too, but I haven’t been able to get down there as much as I’d like yet.Austin OG shit: 5 Hip was originally “Whiteout Ditch”, because some dummy from the high school sniffed too much typing correction fluid fumes during lunch in the ditch and died.
7. Ever think of exploring the option of two locations after the new store spreads its wings?
- We’ve considered opening a satellite store, or maybe even a mobile store, close to the new park.We really dreaded moving out of downtown, but it was the best move for the growth of the shop.If we can get a small storefront or mobile shop up and running, we’ll be able to service people riding the park and 9th Street.The new shop isn’t all too far, it’s about a 10 minute drive, but it’s not convenient if you get a flat or bust a chain at 9th or House Park.
8. What records/bands have you been listening to as of late?
- I have a bad habit of putting on the blinders and just listening to what I know.So, Scarface, Immortal, and Interpol are pretty much the only things I regularly have on tap.Mix in some Sisters of Mercy and EBTG when I’m feeling some angst or sentimentalWhen I do want to wander, I usually just go to the T1 Vimeo page and poke around Joe’s musical choices, letting him do the thinking for me!
9. Do you think that the "BMX Board" frame will be a reality? Or the "ETRNL"? Its been up for Pre-Order for quite some time.
- Oh, it’s happening.Moeller is MIA, but once he turns up, we’re gonna dial this shit in once and for all.It seemed like a good idea to make something tangible to honor all the years that the Board has been pissing people off.If I can get get 50 rough ass frames together and get people stoked, I sure as shit am gonna do it.
10. Since Mr. Tom Dugan has became a member of the helmet club, has the sales of helmets began to skyrocket?
- Well, that canoe or sail boating helmet or whatever he wears is impossible to keep in stock for some reason.It can’t be a coincidence that he hits the scene wearing one and all of the sudden every motherfucker wants to protect their ears.Whatever, I’ll roll with itA big part of knowing what to sell these days is watching the trends and being able to forecast what will last and what won’t.I’m pretty sure we could order 10,000 of those helmets and it would be a wise investment.There are some other items that I knew no one would care about two months after they were hot, and we sometimes get it right and only order two month’s worth.I can think of a lot of other things that are worse ideas than helmets, so it’s actually pretty cool that people are buying ‘em up.
Top Five Records Thus Far This Week, This Will Be A Semi Daily Feature To Help Whom Ever Reads This To Check Out Some Bands. Old, New, But Always Awesome. So Open Your Ears, Turn Up Your Speakers Or I-Book, Drop Out. But Most Of All Remember That Music Is A Gift, One That We Turn A Blind Eye To. But With Compact Disc's Being A Rotten Corpse, It Seems As If The Rebirth Of Vinyl Is Upon As. For Told Though Labels Who Believed That There Is Nothing More Personal Aside From A Live Performance Than Holding Your Favorite Bands Best LP.
I Know Not Many People Aside From You Hip Folk Lack The Technology Of The Record Player, But Well To Sell Myself Out, Youtube And Certain Sites That Happen To Be Cool With Allowing Certain Songs To Be Posted Like The Way You Could Test CD's At The Wall (I think it was The Wall?0 It Is A Great Way To Find Out About New Bands, And Killer Tunes. So Give It A Whirl, Good Hunting Will 99 Percent Bring You Results. In A Band/Record You've Never Heard Of, Or Just Some Awesome Jams Off Of A Classic Genre Defying Release. Happy Hunting Bitches. These Are Also In No Order So Pick Your Tunes Wisely Unlike That Nazi Bastard In Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade.
TOP 5 RECORDS ON THIS LAST WEEK OF JULY:
1. Floor- S/T
Amidst the mass-heaping of heavy bands hell-bent on imitating Sabbath hymns to a tee, comes one of the freshest breaths of air ever to grace the rock scene...or the music world in general. They are known no other than FLOOR.
Combining the sheer musical heaviness of HIGH ON FIRE with the vocal serendipity of JANE's ADDICTION and FUGAZI, FLOOR create an amazing aura of originality while mowing down the listener with roaring rhythms and thunderous riffs seemingly devised by the hammer of Thor! one of the most amazing record of 2002!
By: Drew Juergens
2. Ghost-Opus Eponymous Standing motionless and anonymous beneath the painted faces, hoods and robes (which their sect demand), the six nameless ghouls of Ghost deliver litanies of sexually pulsating heavy rock music and romantic lyrics, which glorify and glamorize the disgusting and sacrilegious. The simple intention to communicate a message of pure evil via the most effective device they can find: Entertainment. This is Black Metal at it’s most original and deceiving; compositions such as ''Ritual'' and ''Death Knell'' majestically weave their melodic spell of evil through the senses until the listener finds themselves utterly possessed and open to any diabolical suggestion. A daringly beautiful combination of satanic rock music with an almost unthinkable pop sensibility, Opus Eponymous is a must hear for 2010. For fans of early Mercyful Fate, Angel Witch & The Devil's Blood. By Relapse Records Online Store (Im feeling lazy and stoned to type my own reviews at the moment, thanks THC)
3. Darkthrone- A Blaze In The Northern Sky (classic black metal release you NEED) Truly essential and one of the best black metal releases of all time, really. In my opinion a true classic of all records dark, grim, loaded with atmosphere and hate. A pure gem in a sea of posers. Darkthrone is the truth..
4. Dissection- A Storm Of The Lights Bane/Where Dead Angels Lie
Fucking classics, brilliant riffs, ice cold lyrics praising the dark lorde. Amazing drumming (BATTERY!) And all for Satan, its a shame it ended after a stint in jail for murder. Jon Andreas Nödtveidt (28 June 1975 – 13 August 2006) was a lead guitarist and vocalist of the Swedish Black Metal band Dissection, which he founded in 1989. You need these records and, "Live Legacy along with the last DVD Dissection did. R.I.P Jon!
Enjoy....
And lastly number 5: Agalloch-Marrow Of The Spirit What more can I say about the mighty Agalloch aside from they can do no wrong. It blows me away and leaves me and my goosebumps wanting more and more, HIGHLY A SUGGESTED PURCHASE! So don't complain that you don't have anything new or awesome to jam to!
Stay up! I work 12am-8am alot of the time and it gives you a hell of alot of time to think and i decided to be productive and write some shit. "I looked upon the road aside the creek where I scraped my first knee,all my woods are now homes to middle level swine pretending that they aren't in trouble with their wives fucking their brothers.ah the american dream,forests destroyed to raise another generation of assholes,junkies,and ingrates. i hope they enjoy their homes ontop of the dead woods where i grew up,and learned most of what i know about myself,and nature is now someones living room.And I'm on the outside cold and tired...wearing a grin,the only home i've ever had.im jealous of all the people who complain about living in the middle of nowhere in the woods,its the closest thing to the american dream in my opinion,just solitude.not houses,401K's,and Starbucks. just think a sanctuary away from the awful realities of daily life,and all the bullshit everyone puts themselves through just to pay rent,have a beer,buy drugs,have a meal.everything would just be ok and i could be at peace knowing i have my own place away from everything and everyone else.peace and quiet is the world i want to live in.maybe with a lady by myside,maybe alone.most peoples lives mean nothing to me.all i see is greed,filth,corruption,like a flock of birds to a fucking bread factory.everybody wants some.few are going to get the crust.most just survive off the crumbs.i won't subject you or anyone on here to most of my real feelings towards existance and my opinions on friendship and the "american dream" not in a hunter s. thompson sense,the modern day dream fuckers,the users,the sheep,the mindless drones of the mtv generation,george w.bush,sarah palin,the modern day american dream DOES NOT EXIST yet more than half the people on this site and in the world continue to chase its own tail every fucking eight hour shift with hopes of one day laying down on some beach down south sipping on corona's with their aging wives and/or husbands slapping high fives knowing that little boy blue is away at princeton fucking anything that moves and using cocaine on his or her way up the ladder to the deans list,then keeping their wrinkled fingers crossed that their pride and joy doesn't end up in some community college dump,working some shit job,knowing that they will never have what you have,but might at the bottom of all the shit find what mom and dad have wanted their whole lives which is freedom." -Schnell (pardon the piss poor grammar)
But on a lighter note here is me hopping over a tight bench and over a bike rack.
Walking up the narrow doorway, hands shaking not in fear But out of compassion, that I hadn’t felt in years. We had drank and had our laughs, The smile you wore, hell I knew that we have had fun, You told me to hold me, oh so close. Your breath on my neck and my hands in yours, Wishing Id tell you how beautiful, How beautiful you really fucking are. To me. Yeah Me. To Me. Yeah Me. You were such a beauty to me. Carrying you towards a restless night in my arms wishing I had the words to say, That I think I want you to stay…with me. But empty promises, and broken bottles, Put me on my knees, My heart felt so heavy, not yet to be broken, Please dear, don’t do this again. I wish I had the words to say, I wish I had the chance to turn back time, I wish I’d never held you close, But I still wish I’d make you mine. Yes, mine. Seeing you smiling at me. As ruby red tongues gnaw out lies, and deceit Im stuck here kissing your feet, Mistakes were forgiven regrets were now made, the distance felt further than Mars. Phone call wars, are worse on the floor, of a night spent drunk here without you. Without you. Oh without you. Please dear lets start this again. I have my control, and I still love your soul, Im sorry we can’t speak again I've bleed my words dry. Wiping your tears,beer after beer, We’ll never have those days again, so say goodbye to the stars. Dying lights above, just like street lights, yet not so distant not so warm. Focus on the dead sun, struggling to arise with one last gasp of heat. And vast coldness surrounded the walls, and all was dark, alone, and distant once more. My opus was left to rot. Under the blackest of light. It'll be alright. It'll be alright. So we can dance as cities fall, and our blood turns towards life, New beginnings mean nothing if there is no one to guide your hand towards, slow gentle speaking, Whispering the unforgettable stories of our souls dancing in the fallout of a thousand nuclear wars.
Here are some Midweek jams for you savages. Band still rules. This is for you Navaz.
And now the infamous Animal/Skavenger rider and good friend of mine answers some questions. Cheers.
No real plan,just over the past few months I composed five facts you probably didn't not know about Tom.Everytime we try and get this little interview done,something always distracts the plan and we end up just shooting the shit,but here you go,enjoy.
1.Tom claims his favorite movie is "Snakes On A Plane" which is a step up from his old favorite,"Captain Ron".
2.He will not be digging or finding any trails to dig at this year.
3.Grinding with Three Pegs does not count.
4.Tom (and myself included) think box jumps and 6ft coping to coping Chad Kagy spines are terrifying if you don't ride park for a really long time.
5.Random Tom fact:The first day he ever had a pair of Poverty pegs on his GT Interceptor he grinded a ten stair downstep ledge,then pedaled fullspeed at a mat for track practice and flipped over the handlebars.
Me and Tom have been thru alot since 1997,from cross country road trips searching out pools,fullpipes,whatever,to being handcuffed together for draining a pool,from countless trips to Asbury Park to ride the Pool (R.I.P) Theres more to Tom White than meets the eye.
He might be humble and act like his brand of street riding doesn't matter and he's just another face in BMX world.But the reality is,no one deserves to be where they are at right now in bike riding more than Tom.Since we were kids he was always the first one to charge some deadman gap,or some super scary double down the trails.He might come off as lazy,But he's one of my best friends and I wouldn't change that for the world.Only dude i know that has kept it 100% real since we graduated and has had the chance to break into the bmx industry in a huge way.
Tom defines Beast Mode. Again, and again. Sick Guy!
After months of being a broke asshole. Im finally paying off my gift to Gogo in Scotland with a few Four Loko's and Snoop Dogg's new black out in a can!
I toke everyday, I loc everyday. With the P-O-U-N-D and my nigga Dr. Dre. Thanks for the Buckfast brother, enjoy Americas awesome Malt Beverages. Please someone start selling Buckfast here in the States! Until then, this is me:
And your mid week tune in the day is: Snoop Dogg-Tha Shiznit And be sure to peep these old edits from 2003 to 2004, some names you may know lurking around in them. My Rad influenced trailer: Paul Horan, Tom White, Adam Schnellenbach, Roman, Big Daddy, Mikey Vandergrif, Gary D., Sean Fish, Geoff Slattery, Randy Brown, Darryl Tocco, and more. Enjoy. And an A Life Once Lost music video I made. Cheers. Above is an edit we did for a high school video production class.
And a wee edit of me from back in the day,
Feeble to Smith = my favorite grind
Good drunken times. 2003 Enslaved edit Underage drinking at its finest!
And a wee section of me.
Even more oldies! It's the power you feel when you get your taste of the glory. There's a fire gonna start. And you know they're going under. And the classic Rob Beard video which is nearly at 300,000 views! Enjoy!
