TUESDAY, SEPT. 7TH:FALL HOURS BEGIN OPEN AT 12:00

TUESDAY - FRIDAY

SUNDAY, SEPT. 12TH:3RD LAIR DEMO AT JAMES J. HILL DAYS

ON LAKE ST. (WAYZATA)TIME: 11:00 AM

SUNDAY, SEPT. 12TH:'SCENE TV' PREMIER PARTY AT

MAJORSTIME: 8:00 PM

SATURDAY, SEPT. 25THALL - NIGHTER

TIME: 10:00 PM - 7:00 AM

SATURDAY, OCT. 16TH:MIDWEST BOWL RIDERS

TIME: 3:00

OCTOBER 20TH - 22ND:MEA BREAK

SKATEBOARD CAMP

JUNE 10TH - 12TH, 2005:DAMN AM SKATEBOARD CONTEST

Upcoming 3rd Lair Events

830 Florida Ave SouthMinneapolis, Minnesota

763 79 SKATE (75283)

Skate More

Swimmer’s Ear Magazine Issue Fourteen

“We’re there when you need us”

Editors Adam SeverChris Pernula

ContributorsJoe Blum - Huge ThanksBrian PerryMike CarlsonEric WidiChris DietzBrad Delong

Cover: Jesse Reed by Joe Blum

Memo: Carrying the skateboard, while riding the bike?

Why do kids carry their skateboards while ridingtheir bikes? That's like towing your car to a park-ing lot so you can park it. Why use one form oftransportation when your going to ride it whenyou get to your destination anyway. If the kidsrode their skateboards to where they were going,their stability on the skateboard would improve athousand times. Being comfortable on your skate-board is very important in skateboarding. Youcould be a skater that does really technical tricks,but what's the point if you can barely stay on yourboard when approaching or landing those tricks.

Today I saw a kid holding his skateboard whileinline skating. What’s the point of that, you areusing your feet and legs anyway, put them on askateboard. If you are going to skateboard, thenuse it as transportation. Your skill will improve andyou’ll get more exercise.

BEEP BEEP“Business Casual”Saddle Creek

“BusinessCasual” is a verygood cd. Themusic is inventive anddanceable. Thesinging is ok too.On some songs,the vocalsbecome extreme-ly creepy, to apoint of uncom-fortableness.Listen for your-self.

Despistado“The EmergencyResponse”Jade Tree

I have never hearda band sound sooriginal but stillsound like manyother bands, until IheardSaskatuwan’sDespistado. “TheEmergencyResponse” soundslike ModestMouse, for it’soverall sound,Cap’n Jazz, for it’senergy and youth-fulness,Minneapolis’s TheVets, for it’s gui-tars, andMinneapolis’sHidden Chord, forit’s vocals. If youwere to categorizethis cd, it wouldfall under “AssShaking”.Despistado willmake you want todance.

Harkonen/These Arms AreSnakes“Like a Virgin”Hydra Head

Whoever decidedto put these twoPacific Northeastbands on one cdwas genius. 2songs alternatingby each band andone final song fea-turing both bandsplaying together.The final song“Touched for theVery First Time” isbrilliant. Bothbands play loudand violently.

Maritime“Glass Floor”Desoto

Maritime’s followup to their selfreleased “Adios”Ep is filled withpop songs unlikethe ones theyplayed as thePromise Ring. Thesongs on “GlassFloor” are matureand more struc-tured than any ofThe PromiseRing’s albums. Acouple of thesongs featuretrumpets and saxa-phones that makethe songs morefun. Other songshave cellos andviolins. If you’relooking for a rea-son why Daveywasn’t happy play-ing in the PromiseRing, than look nofurther then thesong “SleepAround”. Withlyrics like these: “Ican’t live my lifelike a pop songanymore // I wantto get lost in mylife and letters”.We hear you Davey.

Onelinedrawing“The Volunteers”Jade Tree

If you likeOnelinedrawing’sprevious album,“Visitors”, I’m sureyou’ll like this one.Intimate and emo-tional songsplayed on acousticguitars by Jonah.Two songs featurefull bands and arenice opposites tothe slower songs.This CD featuresmp3 demo ver-sions of songs onthe album.

Variancelets hit the road and leave our names at home

Pedro the Lion“Achilles Heel”Jade Tree

“Achilles Heel” isPedro the Lion’sbest album to date.The only bad thingis, Pedro the Lionhas a particularsound that is evi-dent on eachalbum, whichmakes some of thenew music seemkind of redundant.

Sparta“Porcelain”Dreamworks

“Porcelain” is agreat follow up toSparta’s debut“Wiretap Scars”.On Porcelain,singer Jim Wardwrote most of thelyrics and it gives“Porcelain” a morepersonal feel. Thiscd also is a lotmore rocking thantheir previousalbum. ProducerMike Major wantedto make“Porcelain” soundmore like Sparta’slive shows, so theband played all theparts together notseparately. Also,they booked 6weeks for record-ing to allow forexperimenting andgoing in differentmusical directions.The end result is awell played albumthat should multi-ply in their liveshow.

The Comas“Conductor”Yep Roc

Before listening toConductor, put inthe companionDVD. Watch as allthe songs on theCD come to life ina computer animat-ed story. Eachsong has a differ-ent chapter to thestory. Then everytime you listen tothe CD you will seethose images onthe DVD in theback of your mind.Conductor is a col-lection of slow popsong and fuzzedout rock songs.

The Good Life“Album of the Year”Saddle Creek

You may remem-ber Tim Kashnerfrom Cursive. Theyput out a greatalbum called “TheUgly Organ”. TheGood Life is Timplus a bunch offriends and thesound is a lot dif-ferent thanCursive. WhileCursive is kind ofangular and exper-imental sounding,The Good Life hasmore of a tradition-al indie musicsound. There aresome really goodsongs on thisalbum, but I was alittle disappointedbecause the songson their previousEP were faster.

The National“Cherry Tree”Saddle Creek

I’m not a big fan ofThe Nat ional ’smusic. The leadsinger’s voice isdeep and slow andit kinda makes mesleepy. The instru-ments were ok. I’msure that there area bunch of peoplethat would like thisCDep. If you likedtheir last album“Sad Songs forDirty Lovers” thenyou’d probably likethis EP. I’m sure ina few years I’lltotally love thisalbum, but rightnow I don’t

Varianceyou can’t look at the sky without looking right through it

VarianceTrying to be a natural asshole

Helio Sequence“Love and Distance”Sub Pop

When I hear thesong Don't LookAway, I immediate-ly get the sensa-tion of being inSuper Mario World.I'm cruising aroundon Yoshi, totallyjacked up from allthe mushrooms,rocking The HelioSequence on my i-pod. A lot of theother songs arekinda mellow, so Ijust keep playingthat track over andover. I'm notgreedy, so I put theheadphones onYoshi, and it justmakes him gofaster. He glancesover his shoulderwith an enormousgrin, probablywondering howsomething thatwas recorded inbasements andgarages sounds sogood. I shrug andgrin back as weenter the red lightdistrict. Luigi'sgotta be aroundhere somewhere. Iwant him to hearthis...

Liars Academy“Demons”Equal Vision

I had not heardLiars Academybefore I got theirnew “Demons”album. With aalbum name like“Demons,” Ithought it wouldbe a lot heavier.The album is solid,but the sound isgeneric and unoriginal. It couldbe popular amongmainstream typesbecause it soundslike popular rockmusic. If you’relooking for a typi-cal rock album,this one is for you,but if you wantsomething thatyou haven’t heardbefore, don’t both-er with this album.

Palomar“Palomar 3: Revenge of Palomar”RCB Recording Co

My three year olddaughter lovesthis CD. Wheneverwere in the car,she tells me toplay it. I can seewhy see loves it,it’s a very fun CDto listen to, and ithas great hooksand melodies. Plusit’s easy to singalong to.

Tahiti 80“A Piece ofSunshine”Minty Fresh Records

These French fel-lows have put out areal tickler that'sdefinitely worthchecking out.Upbeat yet mellowat the same time,"A Piece ofSunshine" is eightwonderful tunesthat go perfect witha plate of Frenchtoast, fries, bread,and dressing. Butwait, there's more.This is a two discset! The seconddisk features sixvideos for yourviewing AND listen-ing pleasure. Thebest one is A LoveFrom Outer Space.It's main charac-ters are little legoastronauts, and it'soh so romantic.Reminds me of thetime I went intospace. What,you've never been?

TapesNTapes“s/t”Ibid Records

In a scene full ofjuice boxes, over-run with theirbland, flat sidesand sharp corners,Tapes 'n Tapes isthe Capri Sunpouch. With theirinviting pillowshape and shinyfoil exterior, thisgroup is a refresh-ing change fromthe normal bever-ages accompany-ing my lunches asof late. You maybe new to the fla-vor, so it mighttake a couple lis-tenings to adjustto the taste. Butonce you do, damnis it sweet. Thisdisc is a mereseven songs,which will onlyleave you thirstyand wanting more.

VarianceJust hold me closer, till this execution’s over

Ratatat“s/t”XL

Review of the odd-num-bered songs on this album.

The first track,"Seventeen Years", is byfar the most rocking onthe album. It's one of thefew songs that makesme wish I had a systemin my car. I'd cruisethrough my shitty littlesuburb, blowing theminds of all the squares,shattering all the win-dows at Applebee's as Iget onto the freeway tosomewhere worthwhile.The cars behind mewould be visually distort-ed from my subs shak-ing the hell out of myrearview mirror as Iaccelerate with no inten-tions of slowing down.And when I said "fewsongs" I don't mean onthis CD, I mean songs ingeneral. Yeah, it's thatgood. The rest aren't asenergetic, which waskind of a let down. Track#11 is a good closingtune. Something to helpput the kids to bed. -Chris

The even numberedsound fairly similar.They are good to listento when your doingchores or just want torelax. Compared to theodd numbered songs,the even ones aren’t asgood. - Adam

Breather Resist“Charmer”Jade Tree

Suspect: Breather Resist

Offense:Brutal Slaying ofCD Player andSpeakers

On Aug 5, 04, thesuspect known asBreather Resistunleashed a brutalattack on numer-ous CD playersand speakers.When all was saidand done, 34 wereleft dead. They areconsidered to bearmed with heavyguitars and earpiercing vocals.Do not approachand be cautionedof their sound. Itmay be fatal.

The MendozaLine“Fortune”Bar None/Misra

“Fortune” is 13songs that are wellcrafted and havegreat songwriting.The sound rangesfrom indie totwangy countryguitars with alter-nating male andfemale vocals.

Maplewood“s/t”Tee Pee Records

Maplewood is lushtwelve stringacoustic guitarsand three part har-monies. Easilysomething that youcan listen to whileyou’re drivingthrough a forest ora desert or whileworking on thecomputer writingmusic reviews.Maplewood’s selftitled debut is agood listen. Thewhole album isacoustic and some-what slow, but it’snice to relax to.

Frog Eyes“The Folded Palm”Absolutely Kosher

Where do I begin.The vocals remindme of Bright Eyes,Meatloaf, or thatcomedian with thecrazy voice,Bobcat Goithwait.Sometimes thevocals sound likeJonathan Davis,form Korn, whis-pery voice.Anyway this 4piece Canadianband has a veryoriginal andunique sound thatcan only bedescribed by lis-tening to it.

What made you want to start Challenger?The band started sort of spontaneously-- Dave Laney was working on recording some fast punk songs on his own, and it was pretty natural for me to adda guitar track or a bass track here and there. Eventually, we were collaborating on a project which seemed like it was different enough from Milemarkerto warrant being its own thing. We made a demo, sent the recording to Jade Tree, they liked it, so it all took off pretty easily, without having to think itthrough too much.

What bands/music influenced the way Challenger would sound?Dave was listening to a lot of 80's SST stuff, and a lot of early hardcore -Agent Orange, Bad Brains. He came up with a lot of basic song structures andthen I'd usually try to come up with something to add that went in the opposite direction of wherever he was going. We'd throw ideas back and forth untilwe felt like we'd gotten to where the songs had a weird quality of their own, not to say it's uncategorizable music- it's pretty clearly "upbeat punk rock" -but hopefully it's not specifically derivative of anything in particular.

How long did it take to write and record "Give People What They Want In Lethal Doses"?We wrote the songs over spring and summer of 2003, got Remis (the drummer on the record) playing with us in early summer, recorded in August 2003.We recorded in Lincoln, Nebraska, at Presto! recording studio, which was a great experience. The recording took a little over two weeks.

How do the sounds of Challenger and Milemarker compare, and do you think fans of Milemarker will automatically enjoy Challenger?Milemarker tries to confound expectations, so when we have the sense that people have us pigeon-holed as one thing we try to shift towards some-thing else. I think of Milemarker as a pretty experimental, open-ended band. Challenger has the opposite approach, in a way, it's very structured andoriented toward working in the three minute rock song format. I really don't know whether people who like Milemarker will "automatically" likeChallenger. To me, they sound pretty different, but I've had other people say, yeah, it's you and Dave, just playing a little faster. So I don't know. I guesswe'll see.

For some reason, when ever I hear the song "Input the Output", it reminds me of skateboarding in the mid 90's, is there any song that whenyou hear it, it reminds you of a certain period in your life?Sure, of course. I think a neat thing about records is the idea of it in a literal sense as a "record," meaning that it encapsulates some period of time foryou. You connect to angry music at times when you feel angry, or a love song at some time when you're in love- and then later on you've got this sound-track to how you felt. Sometimes you'll hear stuff you used to listen to and think, "man this music is insane, I can't believe this spoke to me, I wasreally pissed," and sometimes you'll feel like "I still relate to this exactly, I haven't changed too much," and that's a cool feeling, because it gives yourlife continuity. I wasn't skating in the mid 90's, but I take your association as a compliment, because I imagine (or, I guess, hope) you mean that thesong reminds you of the energy of those times, and makes you feel still connected to that part of yourself. I think it's really cool when music can dothat.

The song Unemployment I can easily relate to because I have been unemployed for the last 5 months, was this song written from personal expe-riences of being unemployed?I have been unemployed or marginally employed for most of my adult life, though I would never try to pass myself off as some kind of blue-collar poster-child or unlucky working stiff. I'm basically a slacker, I have made the conscious choice to pursue the things that have meaning for me and give mehappiness over financial security, steady job, etc. The song, on a personal level, is about realizing the repercussions of that decision: I don't have a trustfund or a rich family to fall back on, so deciding to engage in "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" (that's the American dream, right?) essential-ly means deciding to be poor. On a broader level, I hope people can relate to it (statistically, it should have an audience of millions who can relate)more generally, just the sentiment that everyone deserves to be happy doing what they do, to not only have work but have work which means some-thing to them.

The title of your full length is "Give People What They Want In Lethal Doses". What do you want people to get out of this album?It's not an overtly political album, but the general theme is excess and people's obsession with instant gratification. We were hoping the record would"give people what they want" on first impression- that it would be musically accessible and deal with themes that are easy to relate to, almost clichés-but that on further listens, you might get more of the "lethal dose" aspect, for instance, realize that a song which might on the surface seem about arelationship is actually about the way we relate in a broader sense, about people's unhealthy reaction to loneliness, or the destruction of intimacy whenpeople objectify each other. A lot of the songs deal with drugs and substance abuse as well, not trying to make a moral yes/no statement, but morethinking about how easy it is to substitute the quick fix for real feelings. Living in a country where 8% of the population consumes 25% of the resourcesof the world, and then suffers from obesity, illness, and body image disorders, we have to ask ourselves, are we really happy getting whatever we wantwhenever we want it?

Interview with Al Burian

Will you be touring in support of the new album?Yeah, we're going to tour the US in March-April and hopefully Europe in May-June.

What's next after the tour, will you be working on a new Milemarker album or takinga break?We haven't really planned that far in advance. There has been talk of recording aMilemarker album, and we do have a few new songs, but so far its in the abstract stage.For now we're thinking about the current thing, which is the Challenger record comingout. We try to do things one step at a time.

Both Al and Dave are known for your zines, Burn Collector and Media Reader. Whatdo you feel is the importance of zines and what are some zines you think every oneshould check out?I work at a store in Chicago that stocks tons of zines and so it is really hard for me to pointto any one zine that everyone should read. There's sort of something for everyone outthere, I think. That's kind of the beauty of it, cheap reproduction technology combinedwith freedom of press equals increased exchange of ideas, which is more important thanever now. Howard Zinn (author of A People's History of the United States) has a new bookout, and he devotes a chapter to the importance of "the pamphlet" in the history of theUnited States. The federalist papers were basically zines. People tend to think of their smallexertions as not having much impact, but there are plenty of examples where somethingvery modest has impacted people far out of proportion with its circulation or initial sphereof influence. In some ways, maybe the web has taken over for the printed pamphlet, but I do think there is still something powerful about an actual phys-ical object, the inherent idea that someone cared enough to make X number of physical copies, fold and staple them, get them out into the world to beread and passed on.

How did you get into making zines and what have you learned in the process of making them?I got into it because I saw people doing it, and it seemed like an easy way to communicate something about yourself to people. I started out making themjust to hand out at shows, so that even if you didn't get a chance to talk to everyone you wanted to, you'd still have some sort of interaction, maybe starta conversation which would continue in correspondence. I'm kind of surprised to find myself still doing it years later, and getting so much response fromit. I try not to take it too seriously- people sometimes refer to me as a "writer" but I feel like, hey, I'm just a guy who makes zines. At the same time, I knowpeople who really want nothing more than to be a writer, and spend years getting rejection letters from publishers and literary magazines and becomingembittered by the whole process. This makes me feel kind of guilty, because I feel like I'm enjoying phenomenal success compared to my relatively smalleffort. I get letters all the time from people who seem to have been effected by something I wrote, and have even been told I'm someone's "favorite writer"once or twice- which seems totally crazy to me. But, it goes to show, I think, that you have to just get it out there, in whatever format, without worryingabout the legitimacy or how it looks on your resumé. With zines, and with bands, I stand by the DIY principle, not as a matter of ideology, but as a mat-ter of a matter of practicality.

For anyone that doesn't know, what are each of your zines about, and where can we purchase them?Dave's Media Reader is a political/cultural criticism magazine that generally consists of articles, interviews and political graphics. Most issues are free. MyBurn Collector is a personal zine which is basically me rambling about whatever is going on with me at the time. We both make and contribute to othermagazines as well, and our stuff can be found at stickfiguredistro.com. Otherwise, you can get stuff direct or reach our band at challengermusic.com.

How do the fans in Japan compare to the fans in the U.S.?About the same -- marginal familiarity with us.

Did you bring all your gear on the plane?Guitars -- we backlined everything. Thats standard in Japan. Clubs haveequipment for the bands to use.

Are there Japanese bands the could be big in the U.S. or any bandsthat really impressed you?Nissen non Mondai, three women, from Tokyo, who were really freneticand primalist. Kind of a kin to Turing Machine or This heat.

Do you think it would be easier being a band in Japan or the U.S.?US by a long shot. In Japan, from what I understood, you rent practicespace by the hour, use equipment there, or in the club. It's harder to getaround, not many people have cars or drive.

What kinds of things did you do when not playing shows?Slept in the van, wandered around exhausted and wide-eyed, ate thingswith squid in them.

For being such a new band, how did you get the chance to go to Japan?Denali broke up, and that opened up their slot.

Was their anything you learned about Japan during your stay there?I think to say I learned much about Japan, or it's people would be pre-sumptuous, or at least terribly American of me, to feign understandingsimply by observation. The things I learned are debatable -- other thanexperiential things, like Sushi in the 7-11 is better than at home inChicago and it costs about 2 dollars. That people are very hospitable, thatwe were hosted graciously. That the temples are beautiful and the free-ways are epicly frightful.

What kind of experiences did you take away from this trip?Immense culture shock. I handled Japan the worst out of the whole band,really.

In Japan Interview with Jessica Hopper

18 Frames Per Second

The History of Super 8

Interview with Coan “Buddy” Nichols

Super 8 Resources

The history of Super 8“For years, the Eastman Kodak Company had worked to develop a system of movie equipment and film that would be easy enough for the advanced

amateur photographer to use, yet reasonably affordable. The result was the Sixteen Millimeter "Cine Kodak" Camera and the Kodascope Projector". The cam-era itself weighed about seven pounds, and had to be handcranked at two turns per second during filming. A tripod was included in the package, all of whichcost a whopping $335.00! And this in a time when a new Ford automobile could be purchased for $550.00.

Thus, Home Movie Making was not an inexpensive hobby, but one that was capable of exciting, high-quality results. By 1932, with America inthe throes of the Great Depression, a new format, the "Cine Kodak Eight", was introduced. Utilizing a special 16mm film which had double the number ofperforations on both sides, the film maker would run the film through the camera in one direction,then reload and expose the other side of the film, the way an audio cassette is used today.

Since the 8mm frame was one-quarter the size of "sixteen", this method reduced by a factor of four the amount of film necessary to give the samerunning time - four minutes - as a standard one-hundred- foot length of 16mm stock. After development, the laboratory would slit the film lengthwise downthe center, and splice one end to the other, yielding fifty feet of finished 8mm movies. Thesuccess of 8mm film was almost immediate, and within about fifteen years, 16mm film became almost exclusively a format of the professional filmmaker. Bythe 1950's, 8mm home movie cameras were a common sight at family parties, special events and on vacations.

In the 1960's, research began on an improved system of home movie products that would also have potential use in Audio-Visual Applications.Eastman scientists sought to further simplify the movie-making process while improving the quality of the pictures. Scientists were asked to create this newproduct unencumbered by existing technology. Rather, some of the best features from previous formats would be considered.

The concept of a cartridge-loading movie camera had been around since 1936, when it was introduced with the Cine-Kodak Magazine 16mmCamera. This time, however, the film cartridges would be made of injection-molded plastic, rather than metal, which required hand-manufacture and weresubject to jamming. The 8mm size was retained for reasons of economy, but with severalsignificant improvements:

Cartridge loading eliminated the threading of the film.No flipping of the film load was required; the entire 50-foot cartridge could be shot withoutinterruption. Rather than manufacture both a "Daylight" and a "Type-A" (Tungsten) form of the new film, each Super 8 Camera would have a built-in filter,making it possible to make only the "Type A"" product, which could be used in either kind of light. The perforations (sprocket holes) were reduced in size,allowing for a wider image area that was about 50% larger than standard 8mm film. Maximizing the film width was a concept that originated in France byPathe, with their 9.5mm camera system. The perforations were also moved to a point adjacent to the center of the film frame, making steady registration sim-pler. 16mm and standard 8mm formats had placed the perforation at the corners of the frame to reduce fogging of the image at the head and tail of the rollcaused during loading of the film. Since Super 8 was a cartridge-loaded product, this was no longer an issue. Virtually all Super 8 Cameras would have built-in light meters, a feature dating back to the early 1950's in 16mm and 1960 in 8mm cameras.

The cartridge itself provided information to the camera about the speed (ASA) of the film inside and filter information in the case of black-and-white products. Precision notches were set at specific points on the edge of the cartridge, activating mechanical or electronic switches in most Super 8Cameras. Most Super 8 Cameras were built with battery-powered motors, eliminating the need to wind a spring-driven transport.

In April of 1965, this revolutionary new format was introduced, and while the marketplace has changed in the past thirty years, new generationsof filmmakers with film projects and applications which were non-existent in the 1960's have come to embrace the small film. Many of today's great cine-matographers and directors began their careers decades ago, at the counter of their local photo shop, buying a cartridge of Super 8 film.”(Source: www.kodak.com)

Cine Kodak Royal16mm Movie Camera

Keystone Olympic K328mm Movie Camera

Keystone K25 Capri8mm Movie Camera

Interview with Coan Nichols

How did you get into shooting with super 8?i got into shooting super 8 because I didn't have enough money to buy avideo camera and I saw a bell and howell super 8 for $45 brand new- Ibought the cam and 2 rolls of film- I shot the film and brought it to thispharmacy that offered developing for b/w film- I got the film back andhad to buy a projector to watch it- I found one that weekend- as soon asI saw the footage I was hooked- it looks so amazing on the wall- 10 timesbetter than when its transferred to video-

You’ve made 4 films now, does shooting with super 8 get easier witheach film you make?we've actually made 5 films because skateparks of Oregon and Ecuador is2 films on one tape- shooting on super gets easier because you know better what works and what doesn't- some stuff that seems like itwouldn't work is really cool- so it is less stressful but it is always scary to shoot $3,000 worth of one of a kind footage without seeingany of it- I have nightmares on the road near the end of a trip- what if there's a hair in the gate or the light meter doesn't work- somuch stupid crap can happen when all of the equipment is like 40 years old

In your opinion, who makes the best Super 8 cameras?my favorite camera is a cannon that I have- we also have a great eumig underwater camera- I don't know much about brands- we shootwith cheesey $25 thrift store, flea market cameras and they seem to work great-

Where are the best places to find a good cheap super 8 camera?flea markets, yard sales, pawn shops- one reason I love super 8 so much is that it is like a throw away technology- video came out andit is easier and more reliable so everyone just bailed on super 8- all this great technology is just left aside like garbage- it seems thatjust getting an image out of one of the cameras is a miracle-

How much time goes into making each film?we shoot 50 ft. daylight loads- we shoot from 200 reels to 20 reels depending on the length and how much money we have that month-

What are the best/worst things about shooting with super 8 film?the best thing is seeing the footage- everything looks great in film- walking down the street looks cool- there really isn't isn't aworst thing- we use it because it is all we can afford- we want to shoot on film and this is the format thats available-

KodakBrownie8mm Movie Camera

Kodak M2First Super 8mm Movie Camera

Revere M508mm Movie Camera

For people that don't know much about super 8 film, how much does one roll of film cost and how many minutes of film doyou get for that roll?this is the breakdown- 50 ft at 18 fps is about 3 minutes- that cost $11 to buy, $12 to process and then you have to transfer it tovideo if you want to put it into the computer- if you want to get gnarley and cut and tape it then you just need the special tape anda razor blade- so basically 3 minutes is $20- $25- a projector helps too-

What has been the hardest part about making any of your 4 films?the hardest part of any of them is dealing with the super 8- it is not intended for making long format stuff so it is kind of a choresometimes- there is a place in Burbank, ca called super 8 sound or pro 8mm (same place) and they make everything easy and great but it costs some $$$-

How much money goes into making a super 8 film, like your latest film Northwest?All our films cost just about $10,000- $15,000. That is without paying ourselves for 4-5 months of work.

Do you ever shoot 16mm film? If yes, How do you think it compares to super 8?We just a 16mm and we are starting to mess with it. It has a whole different look to it. It looks real and not so dreamy as super 8.It’s like hi 8mm video vs. beta sp. video.

In an interview with Heckler one of you said “Personally, I don’t really like the way video looks that much.” referring to digi-tal video. What is it about the look DV that you don’t like?Video is fine for what it is. The person using the film or video has a lot to do with how good it is.

What kind of equipment is used to get the super 8 film onto the computer, or do you use the scissors and tape method of edit-ing you films?You need a projector, DV camera and a firewire cable and some kind of editing software. Everything else is trial and error until itlooks as good as possible-

Do you currently have any new films in the works?Our new effort is called TENT CITY. It is a skate, road trip (surprise) to Australia with a bunch of guys. It was great. Were therefor 1 month. That should be on DVD in stores by May.

Kodak M14Super 8mm Movie Camera

Bell and HowellSuper 8mm Movie Camera

Kodak Xl33Super 8mm Movie Camera

KeystoneSuper 8mm Movie Camera

TechnicolorSuper 8mm Movie Camera

Bell and HowellSuper 8mm Movie Camera

Super 8 ResourcesWhat Coan Says:

“Anyone in the LA area should check out the ECHO PARK FILM CENTER-those guys are really cool- in NYC this place PACLAB on 1st Street and 2nd Ave is great.”

“You can also order super 8 film off the KODAK website- PAC LAB is on the web as well as PRO 8MM from Burbank.”

“The internet is a great tool for someone getting into super 8 Go to Google and put in super 8 film and a good crop of info comes up”

Best places buy super 8mm cameras and equipment:Thrift Stores - Most thrift stores don’t think the Super 8 cameras have any value, so they are usually between $5-$10 or less. Ebay - Ebay is a great place to find Super 8 cameras. There is usually a wide selection and they are moderately priced.

Where to buy Film:Kodak Website: www.kodak.com - In 1978, there were more than thirty-eight different Super-8 filmtypes on sale. In 2004, Kodak is

the only producer of Super 8 film and there are only 4 different types, 2 black and 2 color.In Minnesota: National Camera Exchange - All locations

Film and Video Services - Minneapolis - They are also the only place to process Super 8 film in the midwest.

TechnicolorSuper 8mm Movie Projector

Mansfield ReporterSuper 8mm Movie Editor

Kodak KodachromSuper 8mm Film

How did you get on Jade Tree?Jade Tree has always been a wonderful label in our eyes sowe sent our EP to them through our friend/manager TaraMacdonald. Then we get a call some time later, not thinkingthat it would go anywhere, from Darren(one of the ownersfrom Jade Tree) and he enjoyed our album enough to fly toRegina, Saskatchewan and meet us. Well we met and had areally good time visiting and played two shows while he washere. He went back home to Deleware and we received a callabout a week later and were told that they would like to workwith us. Obviously we were extremely excited. We again metwith them at SXSW and played at the JadeTree showcase asour debut on the label and got to know them even better. Sincethen we have been on Jade Tree.

If you hadn't got on Jade Tree, what other labels would you like to have been signed to?I am a big fan of Touch and Go as well I enjoy Sub Pop, Threegut Records, Barsuk and many more.

How does it feel to be the first international band signed to Jade Tree?I haven't really thought about it from that angle. I am still happy with just the signing to Jade Tree. Maybe if I was fromEurope or something like that then I would feel it from that angle but I am closer to Deleware from where I live then Oregonor parts of Texas. Well Actually, now that I think about it, it's fucking deadly.

In the liner notes of The Emergency Response, it says the record was recorded in June of 2002, which is almost2 years after the ep is released. Why not write new music for an ep?Well we think that that EP has good songs and Why not put it out? When we were putting it out on Jade Tree we were instudio recording a full length which will probably be put out in January 2005. It was a decision that was made by all of usand then we just went with it.

What's it like playing shows of 10-20 people opposed to playing shows of 200-500 people?Playing in front of anyone who is honestly having a good time makes us have a fantastic time so playing in front of 10-20people having fun is awesome, playing in front of 200-500 people is just as exciting.

Interview with Leif Thorseth

DESPISTADO

Do you have any plans to tour the U.S.?Yes, Hopefully all of Fall, give or take.

Being from Canada, what is your opinion of the War in Iraq. Do you feel more protected against terrorist attacks liv-ing in Canada?The war on Iraq is garbage, absolutely fucking stupid, Innocent U.S. soldiers dying for lies that there told. Innocent Iraqis. Idon't even think about "Terrorists". I will be killed in car accident before anything else. Or get the shit kicked out of me by adrunken meat head. I don't think anyone should be afraid of those things. Live life to the fullest and if some crazy fuckersdecide to take lives of another then that sucks, but I believe we are living in a time of strife and wonderment and we shouldwork everyday to better it. If you die from some psycho or accident or whatever at least you died trying.

Who are some musical influences that help shape the way Despistado plays and sounds?Barkmarket, Helmet, Fugazi, GnR, JesusLizard, Ghosts of Modern Man, Bullmarket, Bluebeard, Ned of the Bush, Q and notU, Jawbox, Juno, PJ harvey, Mike Olfield, Etc.....

Does where you live (Regina, Saskatchewan) influence the way you play and sound?Yes, we all love and support each other, and when a band writes a super wicked song that blows everybody awayI think everybody goes home a plays with the instruments for awhile.

What are some other Canadian bands, that everybody should be listening to?Constantines, Black Rice, The Doers, No Hands, Bionic, Ghosts of Modern Man, Sylvie, TheGrey, Married to Music, Fake Cops, North of America, Kitchens and Bathrooms, Lot's more.

What is the music scene like in Regina and in other parts of Saskatchewan?The music scene in Regina is somewhat small but very tight and everybodyagain "supports on another". In other part of Saskatchewan it is what it is.People are growing getting new ideas, having fun becoming active in the com-munities, dancing.

How was it playing your first U.S. show at SXSW this year?The experience of playing is kind of a fog because we got off the plane, drovestraight to the show and then played almost 30 minutes later. When we werefinished, that, when realized that we where in Texas at a Jade Tree showcase.I think I got nervous after the show when it was too late. It was a great expe-rience and the rest of the weekend was amazing.

Photos and Text By Joe Blum

Let it be known that Jesse Reed can drop in on anything. Jesse called me up one day and said that he wanted to film adrop in. I was like, great a drop in how exciting..... sure where? He said this ledge on 94 near the Basilica. I knew what hewas talking about, because of Zed's insanity there, and I thought to myself, why not, it’s not possible, but it will probablybe a good slam, so I’ll go and film it. To make a short story even shorter he dropped in from the top of the deadliest ofdeadly drop ins and roll away unharmed, and the video proof is in the Thurman Lewis Promo. For those of you readingthis that have not seen in person what I am talking about go there and try not to piss your pants.

Let it also be known that Northern California has the highest concentration of fun skate spots in the country. Jesse movedto San Jose about the same time I moved to San Francisco, so while he searched the land of tiltmode, I searched the cityby the bay. With thousands of spots to choose from in S.F., Oakland, Berkeley, Redwood City, Daly City, San Jose, SantaCruz, ECT, every weekend we skated something new. It was fun while it lasted, but every skate trip has got to end some-time, so after 5 months of shredding the bay area we went our separate ways. He traveled the country teaching skateboard-ing to army brats and I moved back to the city of my birth, Minneapolis. Here is a collection of my favorite Jesse photosfrom that time period as well as a recent interview with the man of the hour, enjoy.

Jesse Reed

Just tell me all the boring crap that is in all these skate-boarding interviews, name, age, years skating, birth-place, stance, favorite fast food, blah, blah, blah? Jesse James Reed, 27 years old, I’ve been skating for 17years, I was born in Clearlake Texas in a Burger King, I’mgoofy footed, what else?

Jesse James? Is that in reference to the train robber?No that was my dad’s name.

Oh yeah, alright, let's see. Why and/or how did you getinto skateboarding?I moved to the city from the country and I saw these guysskating. It looked fun and I knew that I wanted to do it.

Where did you grow up?Rural Texas.

Where have you lived since then? First I moved to Houston when I was 10, then in 1998, Imoved to San Diego and lived there for a few years. I movedto Minneapolis in 2001 and went back and forth from SanDiego to Minneapolis for awhile until the fall of 2003 whenI moved to San Jose. As we speak I am stopped in Phoenixon the way to Austin Texas where I am moving for a while.

What are your plans for now?Move to Austin, get a job, enjoy life in general, keep skating, and find some people to skate with.

Why Austin?It’s cheap, better than Houston, there are more hills, rivers, and lakes, a good music scene, it’s a college town, there’s good weather,and there’s good skating with street spots, skate parks, and ditches. What else could you need.

Sounds like a good city. Since you’ve traveled so much, do you consider yourself a local anywhere?No, not really anywhere right now. I used to be a local in Houston, San Diego, and Minneapolis, but I don’t feel like a local in any ofthose places anymore. The people in Minneapolis definitely made me feel like a local.

Who do you like to skate with?Dayne Brummett, Matt Snow, you, Zach Koss, and Sean Hanly.

Crooked Grind

Boardslid

e

Boardslide with Nick watching

Any Sponsors?Not really. Thurman Lewis is done, but Matt still sells me boards. Calsurf, I think, but I’m not sure. Scott, if you read this call me.

Any thoughts on sponsorship?I’m trying to enjoy skateboarding on a personal level and push myself for me. I’m not worrying about other people or getting spon-sored.

Gaps or Flatland?I like rails and stairs now and then, but I’m not as into that stuff now as I used to be. I’ve been learning new tricks.

Like what?I learned 360 no complies, backside nollieheels, nollie tres, and I finally got switch heelsdown.

How was skate camp?I got burnt on traveling and burnt on the kidsenthusiasm about learning basic tricks. It’simportant that they learn to push with their backfoot. And, there were too many Walmartboards, but for the most part it was a good timeand a great opportunity.

Will you do it again next year?Hopefully Europe next year.

Word. Anyone you want to say hello to?What up to Reagan, Ed, Dom, John Pietz, MattRoesch, Andy Paulsen, Dan Jackson, SeanHanly, B.J. Morrell, Jeff, Brendan, Muldoon,Adam Dalin, Scott at Calsurf, Eric Trausch, andGregg Witt.

I’ll try to change this interview around tomake you look cool.

Sweet, eeeya!

Jesse Reed

Noseslide

Have you ever been told by a business owner that

“You can’t skate here, cause if you fall

and hurt yourself you could sue?”We asked former pro skateboarder turned skateboard lawyer Phil Esbenshade what the law says in this situation:

The short answer to your question is, yes, a skater could indeed sue a business owner, but there are wrinkles in the commonlaw relating to this area: A 'trespassing' skater could generally not sue, but where the business owner is aware that skaters arefrequenting his property, the owner must warn skaters of hidden man-made dangers. If he does not, he could be liable. If theowner posts signs, it is not an automatic release from the above liability. The key is whether the owner is aware of the tres-passing skater, and whether a dangerous man-made condition exists that the owner had a duty to warn about.

I'm quoting general “common law.” State specific law could differ here and there.

Phil Esbenshade is a lawyer that helps the skater get out of trouble after he is arrested or ticketed.Check his website at www.esbenshade.com

Know Your Rights:Can You Sue?

Calling CollectBrian Perry’s

Skateboard MemorabiliaPhotos by Brian Perry

When did you start collecting skate memorabilia and why did you start collecting? I didn't intentionally start saving stuff until around 98 I think. When Muldoon's first boards came out on GoodtimesI planned on getting some for my wall but I never did. You just kinda take for granted that this stuff isn't going to bearound forever. I did the same thing with LeRoux's stuff in the early 90's. I loved his first graphics but I was too dumbto save one. Muldoon even had finger boards which I would love to have. So now I make more of an effort to getmy friends boards when they come out. It has spread from local companies to pretty much any skate related stuff. Iget them all signed when possible too.

What is your favorite piece in the collection? My favorite deck is the old Roots 'Giving Tree' board. I love that book and when I saw that board I thought it wasrad. Still do. Clint's first Consolidated board - and actually his new Stereo deck are up there too. He gives Stillwatera little shout out on his new deck. Besides that I love the Navarrette palm board. I got it at Target a few years ago.Something about Darren being a toy for little kids cracks me up.

What's the most you've spent on one single piece of your collection? I think the Neil Blender drawing. I've bought some stuff on Ebay but it's a little impersonal. I wanted a painted Gonzreally bad so I think I got that for like $150 or something. But the Blender drawing was maybe $300 but well worthit. He's always been one of my favorites and I love his artwork.

Do you think its important to know the history or roots of skateboarding? Yes and no. Regular kids out skating on the sidewalk could care less about the history of skating. And why shouldthey? But the thing is most skaters study the culture without even knowing it. Reading magazines and watchingvideos touches on skatings roots all the time. History can become important when skaters do some shit that wasdone ten years ago and went away for a reason.

Is there any item out there that you want, but can't seem to get? There's a lot of stuff I'd like to get my hands on. I focus mainly on local stuff and outside of that I only pick up stuffthat really peaks my interest. Besides the old local pros boards I'd love to get some original Templeton artwork. I'malways looking for the old Jason Jesse Neptune deck. Randy Colvin had some rad decks too. Or some of the tran-sitional decks from SMA to World. Jesse Martinez's would be rad.

You've been collecting skate magazines for quite a while, how may do you think you have? Jesus, I'm not sure. I started subscribing to Thrasher and Transworld in 86. I've got pretty much all of them sincethen as well as some of the other mags tossed in. My family had a pig when I lived at home and one day the piglocked herself in my bedroom and shit and pissed all over like 20 magazines. I threw them all away. I'm still pissedabout that and it was over 10 years ago.

Do you tend to collect more of one item (i.e. decks, posters, etc...) than other items? Not really. I keep my eyes open for decks more often but I love crappy skateboard toys too. Skating can be really cornybut it's all part of what we do so I'll save the Tony Hawk dolls, the Jackass urinal cakes, MVP2, stuff like that.Muldoon has the biggest video collection I've ever seen so that's something I've never gotten into. But I'll save clothes,boards, wheels, stickers, toys, even newspaper clippings. It's almost subconscious. I just set stuff aside and throw itin a box. One of the best things about being an adult still doing what you loved as a kid is that I can afford to buy aboard and not skate it. That concept alone still kinda freaks me out.

Do you have any other collections? I've saved nearly every letter I've ever gotten. All the old girl notes and shit. Being dumped, dumping someone, hav-ing crushes on girls in school so you pretend to be friends with them but you're really just a big dork. I love that stuff.I save it but there are a lot of letters in there that I won't read until I'm retired, sitting on a porch somewhere. I alsohad a big problem with Simpsons action figures. Those are all locked away now. I've got way too many of them.

The last time we interviewed you was right before "Wiretap Scars" was released, how have things been goingsince then? Great.

Did "Wiretap Scars" do as well as you hoped? That is question that is not very easy to answer... On many levels yes. Wewere able to tour the record for 18 months, we gained many fans, and the most important is that is an imprint and record ofwho we were back then.

Where did you get the name Porcelain for this new album, and how does its meaning relate to the band?Jim originally brought us the name. What it means right now for us is the duality of porcelain. It a very strong and enduringmaterial but at the same time it shatters easily. I think it very representative of our band right now.

Was there any thing you did different on this new album that you didn't do on "Wiretap Scars" and how didthat effect the way Porcelain sounds? We did everything different, from the writing process all the way through therecording process. We spent six weeks writing the record in a house slash studio in Joshua Tree, California and then proceed-ed to record the record in a studio in Los Angeles. We recorded the entire musical foundation live and in 12 days. It is veryimportant for us to make records differently every time so each experience is special.

Interview with Matt Miller

How did Jim becoming the primary lyricist, help makePorcelain better? We each believe that Jim made an incred-ible step up. It gives a focus to the record, even though eachof the songs are different.

How do the sound of your new album and "WiretapScars" compare? They are completely different and it prima-rily due to the fact that we recorded live, not to say thatWiretap is inferior, but this record flows and moves and hastension pulsing all through it.

How long did it take to write and record Porcelain?Writing was six weeks, six weeks in the studio, and 3 weeksdoing vocals in El Paso.

With "Wiretap Scars" you toured all over the U.S. andEurope, will you be doing the same with the newalbum? But of course, we are working band and love to tour.

What is your opinion on the current government, andthe War in Iraq? I think it is obvious. I do not believe in awar for oil and I do not support our current President.

Have you found it harder to tour in some foreign countries since the war started? To a certain degree, becausemany people believe that every citizen in the U.S. supports the current president and war. So they actually believe that we doas well. Plus we don't feel very safe traveling abroad because there is a lot of hate for Americans around the world right now.

Did you get a chance to hear the Mars Volta "De-Loused in the Comatorium", and what did you think aboutit? Sure, but I think that is a silly question ask because there are many other albums that are out there. Why only ask aboutthat one... humm. Besides I am not going to talk shit, like you are probably hoping that I do.

You covered a song on the Jawbreaker tribute, how did you get involved with that and how has Jawbreakerinfluenced your band? We originally were asked to do it and were given the freedom to choose any song from their cata-log. We all thought it would be fun to do. Jim is a huge Jawbreaker fan, so that was very cool for him. I never really listenedto them but when we were working on the song I became a fan.

I do not believe in a war for oil and I do not support our current President. Matt Miller

Mike Carlson - 50-50 around corner - Photo: Eric Widi

Mike Carlson - Kickturn on Extension - Photo: Eric Widi

Chris Dietz - Ollie - Photo: Brad Delong

Chris Dietz - 360 Flip over box - Photo: Brad Delong

Photo: Mike Carlson

Swimmer’s Ear Magazine9201 Garland Lane North #226Maple Grove, MN 55311