Cover: Luke Hunt - BS TailContents: Sean Malto - Crooked GrindPhotos: Sam McGuire

ContentsSlowly Killing...

@ the ShowGVR

Mike KershnarErich Dummer

Stencil SteveEmeric Pratt

HandjobFeatherproof

In the GarageCommon Enemy

Contactswimmersearmag@yahoo.com

myspace.com/swimmersearP.O. Box 2076

Maple Grove, MN 55311

Swimmer’s Ear is a product of

EditorsAdam Sever

Chris Pernula

Contributing PhotographersSam McGuire

Trevor KloppSheldon Sabatini

John Straub

Memo: An Ode to Longboarding

Icecaps have melted

Shed a tear for snowboarding

Bomb another hill

-Chris

If you would have asked us 7 1/2 years ago if we wouldever make it to issue 20, we probably would have saidthat we’d doubt we’d make it to issue 2. But here weare, 19 issue later, releasing an issue with the exactsame number of pages as the first issue. If you asked usnow if we’ll ever make it to issue 50, we’ll probably tellyou that we won’t make it to issue 21. You’ll just have towait and see.

-Adam

Some things are only possible on a skateboard.

MEMO:

Alexisonfire “Crisis”VagrantAlexisonfire is like a Canadian version of Rise Against. They havethe post hardcore/screamo thing down, but it sounds like they aretrying to hard to find a mainstream audience. The problem withthis release is that it brings nothing new to the musical table andthis genre has been done better for years by bands like Thursdayand Rise Against.

All City Affairs “Bees”Lujo RecordsTo be in a band is to know compromise. To be a solo artist is tohave total unmitigated control over every aspect imaginable. Thisseems to be the goal of Peter Andreadis, who wrote, recorded,and mixed “Bees”, along with creating the album’s artwork. Mostof the songs were performed solo, with the exception of a fewtracks that included live instrumentation. Onstage is also a one-man show; Andreadis is accompanied by pre-recorded musicrather than a backing band. There is no one specific sound on“Bees.” Tracks are graced with touches of rock, jazz, funk, and reg-gae, a feat that Andreadis pulls off seamlessly.

Archaeology “Chant Chant Camp” Thug FactoryI hesitated to listen to Archaeology’s new album, due to thealbum’s artwork. The design reminded me of some white dudesdoing bad hip-hop, mainly because the Archaeology name andrest of the text is in a graffiti-ish type font. I hadn’t planned on lis-tening to this CD, but after I had imported it into Itunes, I acciden-tally double clicked on one of the songs and it started playing.What had played though, caught my ear enough to make mewant to listen to the album over and over. Archaeology blendindie, math rock, progressive, plus many different styles so effortless-ly it’s amazing. Definitely a band worth checking out.

Aspen It Is “Release Me From the Weights of Gravity”Peirmont RecordsAspen It Is play poppy upbeat rock, with vocals starkly similar toSaves the Day. They’ve shared the stage with such acts as Rookieof the Year, Houston Calls, and Hidden in Plainview. Their latestrelease was recorded and produced by Jesse Korman andEmanuel Ayvas. If you’re a fan of Saves the Day’s vocal stylings,you may want to pick this up.

Ben Davis/Des Ark Split “Battle of the Beards”Lovitt RecordsThis release was originally supposed to be a split between BenDavis and the Rosebuds, but the Rosebuds couldn’t do it for somereason. The first 5 tracks on this album go to Ben Davis, and theyare a mixture of Pinback subdued indie and Mark Mallman’s pianodriven pop. Des Ark has the next 5 tracks and are similar to whatthey have done in the past. A couple of the songs have acousticguitars and the other tracks are full on rocker. The last 2 tracks arecollaborative efforts, and sound similar as they both have stringsand are mostly sung by Amy of Des Ark. Both artists do great jobson this release and I’m eager to see what they do with next fulllengths.

Bigg Jus “Poor People’s Day”Mush RecordsThis album claims to “document the timeline for an era of mediacontrol during significant global crisis.” Loose rhymes and beatsmake it difficult to get into this album. The lyrics and inventive andthe music has promise, but things break up too easily and don’tflow together as well as they should.

Blood Brothers “Young Machetes” V2If you want your brain to totally shut down and make the mosteasy things, like backing into a parking space, impossible, then lis-ten to the new Blood Brothers joint. On the way to work one day, Iwas listening this to at a high volume, and when it came to backinto my parking spot, I didn’t have enough mental capacity to doso until I turned off the CD. What you can expect from “YoungMachetes” is the typical Blood Brothers approach, scream, thrash,repeat. Pretty similar to their Previous “Crimes” but longer.

Blue Sky Black Death “A Heap of Broken Images”Mush RecordsThis is a two-disk set, the first a mellow arrangement of instrumentalsthat include violins and cellos. Things pick up speed on the seconddisk, which features an army of independent hip hop artists includ-ing Heiroglyphics’ A-Plus and Pep Love, and the one and only Guruof Gangstarr fame. Other notable acts include Virtuoso, Mikah-9,and Lil’ Sci. A solid album with a variety of guests, “A Heap ofBroken Images” aims to please and leaves little room for disap-pointment.

Chad Rex and the Victorstands “Gravity Works Fire Burns”Mars MotorsKansas City’s Chad Rex has released another collection of rock/alt-country tunes. Highlights include “Mile Marker Town” and the slow-paced “Blind the Moon.” In the past, critics have drawn compar-isons to the Replacements, which is fitting considering this discincludes a track entitled “Song for Paul Westerberg to Sing.”

Blood Brothers

Che Arthur “Iron” Sickroom Records“Iron” is the new solo album from ex Atombombpocketknife gui-tarist Che Arthur. The sound of the album instantly reminded me ofFoo Fighters and Nirvana, but with a more punk feel. Overall theCD is pretty good. If you liked his previous album, you’d be into thisone too.

Chin Up Chin Up “This Harness Can’t Ride Anything” Suicide SqueezeThe release of “This Harness Can’t Ride Anything” marks a one ofmany firsts for the band. This is their first release after the death ofChris Saathoff, their original bassist. It’s the first release with their

new bassist, Jesse Woghin of Narrator. And it is their first release onthe Suicide Squeeze label. The sound on this album reminds me ofthat Rusted Root song, “Send Me on My Way”. It’s easy on the earsand it’s a great long drive album.

Coho “Things Change” Lujo Records“Things Change” starts out with a slow whispery song, but thenbarges into the genuine indie rocker “I Will Disappear”. This patternof slow/soft to loud/fast continues throughout the album. You can’tdeny this Seattle musicians skills, but you have to be in the rightmood to sit through the sludge before getting to the good parts. Ifthere was one song on this album that I would suggest, it would be“Mahatma Denver”. It starts off slow, then half way through,explodes into it’s sound, suggesting influences from Cursive’s “UglyOrgan”.

Copeland “Eat, Sleep, Repeat” The Militia GroupCopeland singer Aaron Marsh learned how to use a vibraphonebefore recording this album and it shows in a couple of the songs.It seems to me that the band discovered Radiohead’s “OKComputer” before writing, and were so enthralled with it, that theydecided to emulate Radiohead’s sound on tracks “Where’s MyHead” and “Careful Now”. The other 9 tracks are similar to some-thing Jimmy Eat World would do. They do show some originality on“Love Affair”. The first half of the song is a slow piano driven ballad,but then turns into a jazzy trumpet and drum number. It’s a nice lit-tle ending.

The Dark Romantics “Some Midnight Kissin’” Lujo RecordsAfter sending some demos to their friend, Jason Martin of Starflyer59, Martin agreed to produce and record the band’s full length.With the backing of Lujo they went in and recorded 10 originalindie rock ditties with a slight feeling of Starflyer 59. Some of thelyrics are bland like “she stole my heart like a million bucks // shestole my heart like an armored truck”. Sure it makes sense but lacksin the intelligence department. “Some Midnight Kissin’” is a strongdebut and it shows some promise of things to come.

Dead Voices on Air “From Labrador to Madagascar”Invisible RecordsQ: What’s better than listening to noisy ambient industrial influ-enced music? A: Not listening to it. There are many artists that dothis style of music that’s dark, slow and quiet, and sure I appreciateyour “art” but I don’t see a need to listen to this while sober andnot depressed.

Decembers Architects “,Apiary Ennui And Curiosas. The BrewShakes”Say & Stay Said The long awaited release of Decembers Architects’ final recordingis finally here. This album fucking owns. It’s a shame that this bandhas been broken up for years now and that it took so long to getthis album released. It is the perfect blend of bands like Cap’nJazz, Joan of Arc, The Promise Ring, and Braid. It has a very indieChicago sound like the previous bands mentioned. Get your handson this, because it has a limited pressing, so they won’t be aroundforever.

Denison Witmer “Safe Away” & “Are You a Sleeper?”The Militia Group“Safe Away” is a re-release of Denison’s 1997 humble beginnings.What was originally created as a gift for friends and family hasbecome a favorite among fans and critics, remaining his best sell-ing piece of work even though it was never an “official” release.Newcomers can now enjoy these songs that were written whenDenison was only 19 years old. Included is the EP “Are You aSleeper?” which includes stripped down versions of previouslyreleased material along with new songs. Gentle vocals and relax-ing acoustic guitar grace each track and leave a lasting impres-sion.

DJ Shadow “The Outsider”Universal/MotownDJ Shadow’s latest offering is over an hour of music with a varietystyles and guests, including David Banner, E-40, Chris James, andQ-Tip. Mellow retro funk tunes like “This Time” sit right alongsidebass-thumping hip hop tracks like “3 Freaks”. Guitar-driven trackslike “Artifact” and “You Made It” break things up and give thealbum more depth. This is an impressive recording with somethingfor everyone.

Chin Up Chin Up

The Drugstore Cowboys “Chapter 3006”Lujo RecordsThis Washington D.C. two-piece combine elements from across themusic genre spectrum to create something that can only bedescribed as electro-hardcore-hip-pop-rock. Vocalist Jeff Scott listsa variety of influences that include Botch, The Blood Brothers, Three6 Mafia, Linkin Park, Postal Service, Britney Spears, and HeadAutomatica. One second there’s screeching vocals over unforgiv-ing programmed destruction, the next second the beat drops andhip-hop influenced lyrics smooth everything out (see track five,“Mind of a Salesman”, for a perfect example of this meshing ofstyles.

The End of The World “You’re Making It Come Alive”FlameshovelI think you have to be in the right situation to truly appreciate somemusic. Take for instance The End of the World’s new album. I thinkI’ve “listened” to this 3 or 4 times but never remembered or got it.Then one day at work I put it on and it clicked with me. “You’reMaking It Come Alive” shares sounds with The Jim Yoshii Pile-Up, buta little faster and less gloomy.

Ferocious Eagle “The Sea Anemone Inside of Me is Mighty” 54°40 or FightFerocious Eagle is a two guitar and drums band from Portland,Oregon. Their new album is a mixture of angular art rock and halfshouted vocals. Think BARR making babies with Hella and you’regetting close.

Form of Rocket “Men”After six years and numerous lineup changes, Form of Rocket hascompleted their third album. This is high energy spazztic rock,hands down a good live performance. Guitar work and vocalssimilar to MN’s Signal to Trust or STNNNG, each song is like anaudio beatdown. Can you make it through all ten tracks?

Four Star Alarm “S/T”Thick RecordsThis 5-song EP from the Chicago band Four Star Alarm is a promis-ing debut with little need for improvement. Solid song writing andGuitar work in the vein of Seaweed, FSA deliver a taste of whatcan be expected from future releases. This is post-punk with origi-nality, a unique sound that hasn’t been mass produced and mar-keted within an inch of its life.

The Good Mornings “S/T” Thick RecordsLansing, Michigan The Good Mornings self titled debut featuresatmospheric indie sung by the buttery voice of Carmen Paradiseand some impressive guitar work from Jason Lantrip. Both artists aremembers of the space rock band Calliope.

Happy Together Compilation - Various ArtistsLujo RecordsThe idea behind this is quite cool. Lujo Label owners, Eric andJocelyn, met through the label a few years ago, and got to knoweach other and then fell in love. They recently got married and asa gift to all those in attendance they gave away this HappyTogether compilation. What do you do when you have to order500 CDs from the pressing plant, but only have 200 guests? Yougive the extras to the press and sell them on the website. Now thisisn’t any ordinary compilation with songs you’ve heard before. Allthe songs on the album were specifically wrote for this compilationor are covers. The bands are mostly Lujo bands but there a someoutsiders like Hanalei.

Hair: Chicago Punk Cuts - Various ArtistsThick RecordsThis CD starts out with a song by Allister that features a guitar riffreminiscent of Green Day circa “Insomniac.” From there, thingskind of blend together until we come across Holy Roman Empireand Emily Schambra’s signature vocals. After that it’s a lot morepop-punk from groups like The Methadones and The Bomb.

Heavens “Patent Pending”EpitaphWhat electronic pop duo features an indie icon from a long run-ning popular group, and an electronic beat maker who is semi wellknown? I’m not talking Postal Service, but the new project fromAlkaline Trio’s Matt Skiba and Jonah Steinbrick from F-minus. WhileHeavens and the Postal Service have many exterior similarities, it’sthe music that sets them apart. Ben Gibbard’s lyrics are completeopposites to Matt Skiba’s dark violent tones. For example, theopening line of “Another Night”: “Another night with your head inthe oven // Simmering like a heat wave over you // Sweat dropshiss at the bottom // Blood droplets cook like glue”. Sure the lyricsare dark, but the danceable beats make it a great combination.

Jill Cunniff “City Beach” The Militia GroupJill Cunniff, formerly of Luscious Jackson, has hereby ruined eatingorange popsicles with the release of her new solo album “CityBeach”. The opening track “Lazy Girls”, is a summer-y blend ofinfectious beats and loops with sugary female vocals that whisperysay “eating orange popsicles” in the chorus. So now, whenever Ieat an orange popsicle I will think of this song. Couldn’t she havechosen a different flavor like grape or cherry or the flavor that noone likes, root beer? “City Beach” is a welcome half ray of sunshinefor us city dwellers or landlocked individuals tucked away for thewinter. At least two of these songs could easily be played on theradio and have the kind of one hit charm as Len’s “Steal MySunshine” or “All Star” by Smashmouth.

The End of the World

Juhu Beach “Scenes of Abandoned Industry”Juhu Beach can be compared with bands like The Narrator. Kind ofangular in a sense. This CD is only 4 songs, but it is quite good.

Lakes “Photographs”The Militia GroupSeth Roberts, formally of Watashi Wa, has reemerged with“Photographs”, the debut 5-song EP from his new group Lakes.Several tracks feature guest vocals from Mike Herrera of MxPx andAaron Marsh of Copeland, but do not overshadow those ofRoberts. The vocals are definitely a strong point on this recording,with lyrics of turning points and finding love.

The Lemonheads “S/T”VagrantThe first track of this album contains the line “Kill a werewolf, wood-en stake it.” Aren’t wooden stakes used on vampires? I’m prettysure you’re supposed to kill a werewolf with a silver bullet. At leastthat’s what they did in that movie Monster Squad, after theykicked him in the nards. I’d hate to see the Lemonheads getattacked by werewolves and try to kill them with stakes. Someonetell them, quick!

Make Believe “Of Course”FlameshovelAlmost a year to the day of their debut full length, Make Believe isback again with a better album than their debut. All of the creditusually goes to eccentric front man Tim Kinsella, but a job welldone goes out to Sam Zurick, Bobby Burg, and Nate Kinsella forplaying the hell out of their instruments. “Of Course” is the closetany of Tim’s music has gotten to Cap’n Jazz. This album would begreat for those people who couldn’t get into Joan of Arc or Owls,but respect Tim’s musicianship.

The Marked Men “Fix My Brain”Swami RecordsThe Marked Men play a sort of garage rock that the DeathrayDavies play, but at faster speeds, and their songs don’t go past the3 minute mark. It’s a good CD, but after listening to it a few times,most of the songs sound similar and it’s hard to pinpoint a stand-out track.

Minus The Bear “Interpretationes Del Oso”Suicide SqueezeI’m on the fence about this Minus the Bear album being a goodidea or a bad one. I mean “Menos el Oso” was a good album in itsown right, so why remix it. But on the other hand, the remixes weredone by musicians like P.O.S., Alias, and J. Clark of The BloodBrothers. Some of the remixes are good and some aren’t. Theopening track “Drilling” remixed by P.O.S. is the best. It would havebeen nice if “Interpretationes Del Oso” had the same tracksequence as “Menos el Oso”.

Motion Commotion “S/T”Peirmont RecordsThis indie-rock quartet was formed only one year ago, yet in thattime they have managed to record a demo tape and a 7-songconcept album, sign with Piermont, and tour nationwide. This self-titled EP was produced by Jesse Cannon, who has worked withsuch artists as the Cure, Saves the Day, and Dillinger Escape Plan.The members of Motion Commotion all have extensive musicaltraining, adding depth to each track with accordion, clarinet, andviolin.

Nakatomi Plaza “Unsettled” Red Leader RecordsFor an album that was mastered six times, took 3+ years to finish,and almost broke the band up, you’d think that this album wouldsound a little bit better. “Unsettled” is quite good, but there is oneaspect that I just can’t stand. The screaming vocals. NakatomiPlaza has good vocalists, both male and female, but when the guyscreams, it sounds like a chainsaw sawing through cats. Luckily themajority of the screaming is isolated to track two, but makes slightappearances throughout the album. The instrumentation is quitegood also, but at some parts it sounds like the guitarist is trying toohard to get that riff and it comes off as cheesy. If I were you, I’dgive this album a listen and make your own opinion about it.

Minus the Bear

Make Believe

New London Fire “I Sing the Body Holographic”Eyeball Records“I Sing the Body Holographic” has songs about a man in love witha prostitute, but she won’t stop whoring herself for him, a songabout a serial killer that strikes every year on Valentine’s Day, asong about two ghosts trying to find each other in the after life,plus other songs. The lyrics may be dark, but when they are sungagainst the pulsing danceable beats that the New London Fireproduces, it works completely well. Each song sounds differentthan each other, but as a whole it creates a cohesive piece ofmusic that doesn’t disappoint.

The New Trust “Dark is the PathWhich Lies Before Us”SlowdanceIt’s hard to explain how good TheNew Trust is. The drums and open-ing bassline of the album opener“A Spoiled Surprise, A CheapReveal” will get stuck in yourhead for days. The Velvet Teenmember Josh Staples in in chargeof vocals and bass and his wifesings back up on some parts. Thisalbum will surely be high on thelist for best albums of 2007.

One Night Band “Way Back Home”Stomp RecordsA ska band is a rare sight in these days filled with horrible rock andemo. One Night Band is a ska band from Canada, with rotatingmale and female vocals. They play a subdued reggae two toneversion of ska, with plenty of horn solos, uppicking and organs.“Way Back Home” may not be the best ska album, but with therarity of ska releases, it will do the trick.

Owen “At Home With”Polyvinyl RecordsYou pretty much know what you’re getting into when you pick upan Owen release. You’ve got Mike Kinsella on the guitar playing hissoul out. While “At Home With” tracks are all of quality, some peo-ple might like his previous album “I Do Perceive” better. “At HomeWith” does feature a nice cover of the Velvet Underground’s“Femme Fatale”.

Pete Yorn “Nightcrawler”Columbia“Nightcrawler” sounds like a cross between, Josh Joplin, Portastaticand something you’d find on an adult alternative station that playsstuff like Dave Matthews Band and Coldplay. It’s pretty harmlessmusic. There are a few stand out tracks like “Maybe I’m Right” and“Ice Age”.

Pinebender “Working Nine toWolf” Lovitt RecordsI know Pinebender is a wellrespected band, but somesongs on this album I could certainly do without. Like thethirteen minute opener “Paradeof Horribles”, by the six minutemark, I’m begging it to be over.Luckily there is a skip button,which brings us to the better,shorter, less epic tracks like “SheDestroys the Light”, “Mask Tree”,and “Polly Grey”.

Portastatic “Bright Ideas”MergeMac McCaughan has done itagain. He has written anotherperfect pop album that is up topar with his previous release “Bright Ideas”. “Sour Shores” and “I'mIn Love (With Arthur Dove)” are examples of the lighthearted songwriting while tracks like “Getting Saved” and “Like a Pearl” showa more serious personal side. I shouldn’t have to tell you to go outand buy this, because you should already have it.

Protokoll “S/T” I Heart ComixProtokoll’s self titled ep has a sound influenced by British Guitar Popbands of the 80’s as well as New York Post-Punk and No Wave fromthe same era. They blend synth-pop melodies with a rockingrhythm section that will keep your body moving. “Risen” is thestand out song on the album. Four of the five songs are over 5minutes so you can listen to it over and over again and never getsick of it.

Shanna Kiel “Orphan”Thick RecordsShanna was in the midwestern punk band Sullen, but left St. Louisfor the glitz of Hollywood, CA.“Orphan” is loud and gritty, with simi-larities to Courtney Love’s band Hole.

Shat “Cuntree”Buddyhead69 songs clocking in at exactly 69 minutes, “Cuntree” will eitherdeeply offend you or make you occasionally chuckle if you havethe sense of humor of a 13 year old boy. After the first 15 or 20tracks, it becomes depressingly apparent that the album couldhave been reduced to one raunchy song about genitalia ratherthan over an hour of it. All of the lyrics are printed in the booklet,so you can sing along to such classics as “Butt Ugly”, “I Got aRubber”, and “What the Fuck do you Think Christina Aguilera isDoing Right Now?” Sounds like something that would have been ina CKY video if it had only come out about seven years ago.

The New Trust

Pinebender

Shiny Toy Guns “We Are Pilots”Universal/MotownClaiming to have found the perfect balance between rock andsynth, the songs on Shiny Toy Guns’ first full length are definitelymore synth-heavy, bordering on electronica on more than oneoccasion. Declarations of creating a revolutionary new sound areperplexing; if anything there is a retro quality, reminiscent of some-thing off of the Hackers soundtrack.The music itself is undeniablycatchy pop, with choruses specifically designed to stick in yourhead. If something sounds familiar to you, the track “Don’t CryOut” can be heard in Mack Dawg Productions’ latest film “FollowMe Around.”

Speakerfire “Audio Alchemy” Peirmont RecordsIf you’re looking for unoriginal, poorly written rock, then look no fur-ther than Speakerfire. The majority of this album is comprised of thesame rock (i.e. Nickelback, etc...) that pollutes the top 40 radio sta-tions. A couple of tracks on this album are salvageable, but whowants to wade through 30 feet of shit for fool’s gold.

Stylex “Tight Scrapes”Ohio’s Stylex blends together the sounds of two other well knownbands from the big O, Devo and Brainiac. “Tight Scrapes” will haveyou dancing until your heart stops, because each song is energiz-ing and will make you want to do nothing but listen to it.

The Subjects “With the Ease Grace, Precision, and Cleverness ofHuman Beings”Pretty Activity RecordsThe Subjects are a teacher/student 4 piece that plays a Strokes-esque style of music but more lo-fi. The whole album is good. Greatand inventive guitar work and fun pop songs.

Tahiti 80 “Fosbury” The Militia Group“Fosbury” is a perfect blend of classic 60’s and 70’s pop, disco

and a bit a French flair. “Big Day” the album’s opener will makeyou feel that you’ve jumped into a scene from Saturday NightFever. “Here Comes” infectious chorus will have you singing along,and then the rest of the day because it will be stuck in your head.The U.S. version of this album is packaged with a bonus EP that hascovers of “Happy Together” by the Turtles and “Give it Away” byThe Chi-lites.

These Arms Are Snakes “Easter”Jade TreeA great follow up to their previous release “Oxeneers...”. “Easter”lost some of the noise elements that “Oxeneers” had, but TAASsinger Steve Snere has found his voice with this release.

Titles “S/T” Welcome Home RecordsThis Connecticut-based group is comprised of former members ofthe band First Aid Kit. Unlike their previous endeavor, Titles playrelaxed songs with the occasional hint of blues within the vocals.Lyrically, these are songs of confusion and indecision, topics every-one can relate to while growing up and faced with the responsibili-ties of adulthood.

Villebillies “S/T”Universal/MotownVillebillies is a 10-piece, half of which are vocalists, with really coolnames like Tip E Toe, Reverend D, Juju Badcredit, and Malty Hops.These guys rap about stuff like bluegrass, being rednecks, and get-ting drunk. The result is pretty much as unappealing as it sounds.These are the types of guys who will somehow play a sidestage atWarped Tour and get all pissed off and yell when they see peoplewalk away during their set.

Your Black Star “Sound from the Ground”Wonka VisionThe songs on Your Black Stars’ “Sound from the Ground” have a dif-ferent sound from one another, but they all have the same cohe-sive feel. The songs sound textured and atmospheric. “Strings” is byfar the best and most original track on the album.

Titles

The Subjects

There has been a running inside joke between Chris and I, that Swimmer’s Ear is a cursed magazine. It seemsthat when we interview a band, within a few years or so, that band breaks up. We didn’t notice it at first, butafter a few bands we’ve interviewed started disbanding, we thought something must be up. Every time aband breaks up that we’ve interviewed, we say that the curse has struck again. So, if you’ve ever wonderedwhy your favorite band has called an unexpected “indefinite hiatus”, chances are we just interviewed them.

Issue 3The Hippos Current Projects: Southbase, Dirty LittleSecret, Foreign Born

Issue 4EvalineCurrent Projects: Unknown

Issue 6DevastatorCurrent Projects: Everest

NehemiahCurrent Projects: Everest

FlipsydeCurrent Projects: Somerset

Issue 7The AnniversaryCurrent Projects: The Only Children(Josh Berwanger)

Bumbling SuavesCurrent Projects: Unknown

Issue 8The CrushCurrent Projects: The Cardinal Sin (JonNess), The Evening Rig (Jason Miller)

Issue 9Q and not U - Also interviewed in #13Current Projects: Ris Paul Ric(Christopher Richards)Georgie James (John Davis)

End This DayCurrent Projects: Unknown

Issue 10Song of ZarathustraCurrent Projects: Chariots, The CardinalSin

The Book of Dead NamesCurrent Projects: Chariots

Issue 11Cave In-(on “hiatus”)Current Projects: Clouds, (AdamMcGrath), Stephen Brodsky's OctaveMuseum (Stephen Brodsky),Zozobra(Caleb Scofield)

Issue 13Hey MercedesCurrent Projects: The City on Film (BobNanna)

Issue 14DespistadoCurrent Projects: Sylvie

Issue 16Del CieloCurrent Projects: Katy Otto runs ExoticFever Records

Issue 17The Cardinal SinCurrent Projects: The Evening Rig(Becky Hantin)

Issue 19DMRECurrent Projects: Unknown

The Anniversary

Q and Not U

Hey Mercedes

The Cardinal Sin

Band: Sofa King Killer - Ryan Burgy (vox), Chris Chiera (guitar), Paul Bartholet (bass), Brad Thorla (drums)www.myspace.com/sofakingkiller

Venue: The Lime Spider, Downtown Akron, Ohio - 11/7/06www.thelimespider.com

Photos: John Straub

Lakai Cairo Foster 3 LTDThese shoes are a limited edition collabora-tion between Lakai and Popwar Skateboards.They should be even more of a collectorsitem now, since Cairo no longer rides forPopwar. They are available in nubuck suedein the Popwar Brown with grey, red and blueaccents.

Etnies FakieThese slip-on shoes from Etnies may not bethe best for skating, or for wearing in thewinter, but as a summer chill shoe these can’tbe beat. The Fakie features vulcanized solesand optional flip down tongues to reveal theEtnies logo.

DVS RegencyThese shoes from DVS are a mix betweentwo long running shoes from Vans andConverse, the Old School and Chuck Taylor.They come in canvas and suede and have avulcanized sole. These would be good forlight skating or cruising.

Anthem Boy SkateboardsAnthem Boy is a skateboard com-pany from the great state ofKentucky. They have a large rangeof boards that will fit every rider.Both these skateboards have justthe right amount of concave and anice stiffness. They released apromo DVD a year or so back,which is pretty good. They haveChris Head, Thom Hornung, ChanyGiven, Jacob Bryan, plus many oth-ers representing their team. Youcan find Anthem Boy product inMinnesota at 3rd Lair. In Wisconsinat Underloud and Elements. In theChicago area at FA, Order 66, andRQ. And in Detroit at Refuge. Ifyou’re interested in carryingAnthem Boy product in your shop,you can get it through AWH Salesand directly from Anthem Boy.

Independent Stage 9 Low TrucksEverybody knows that Indy Truckshave been the best trucks for over 20years. One product that has beenlacking in the Indy line is a truckdesigned for street skating. The Stage9 Low has the same Fast-ActionIndependent Geometry and the samekingpin and pivot angles as it’s pred-ecessors. The Low Truck is designed tokeep the bulk of the baseplate out-side of your wheels for solid nose andtail tricks. Also the shape of the insideportion of the hanger has beenrounded for additional grind spacewhile doing smiths and feebles. Thesetrucks are available in silver and theKoston pro model trucks come inblack and gold.

Listen Skateboards Outlaw SeriesListen is a semi new company that has pros Rob Gonzalaz, Danny Montoya,Rodrigo Peterson, and Brian Brown. Also, Minneapolis skater JamielNowparvar ride flow for them. This series features four boards with similarshapes and sizes. All four boards are solid and have a nice concave. Checkout Listenskateboards.com for more info on these boards and the Listen team.

Powell Peralta “Have You Seen Him” ShirtIt’s impossible not to look fashionable in this classic “Have You Seen Him” Shirt from PowellPeralta. They have been making this shirt for years and is a standard for any old school poolskater.

Bones Brigade Video TunesJust as you got “McTwist and Shout” out of your head, Powell Peralta decides to release a CDwith 25 tracks from all your favorite Bones Brigade videos; Future Primitive, Animal Chin andthe Bones Brigade Video. Some tracks included are “Del Marista Daktar” from the BonesBrigade Video, “Calling All Cars” from Future Primitive, and “Skateboard Shuffe” from AnimalChin. Too bad this couldn’t have come out on cassette.

Lance Mountain “Crest” Flip Skateboard (Left)This skateboard by Flip is 9.0 x 33, perfect for pool riding. Ithas wheel well cut outs so you won’t get wheel bit while carving. This board has a great old school shape.

Lance Mountain “Lancelot” Flip Skateboard (Right)This skateboard by Flip is 8.5 x 32. This would be perfect forsomeone who wants to just cruise downhill to the skatepark,then shred the pool when they get there. This board featurestwo sets of holes for varying truck base plate sizes and wheelwell cut outs, to reduce the amount of wheel bite.

DVS Spacley Windbreaker Jacket (Bottom Left)This jacket from DVS features 100% poly with a mesh lining throughout and a breathablevent on the back. This would be a great outer shell for a breezy California day.

DVS Nolan Jacket (Top Left)This 100% poly stadium jacket comes with an interior satin lining. This jacket will keepyou warm in the harshest of California winters, and maybe even Minnesota’s too. Comesin brown and black.

Matix Perimeter Camo Long Sleeve (Top Right)Everyone loves camo prints. Stand by some trees and no one will find you. This shirt ismade with 100% thermal cotton so you know it’s gonna be warm. Pair this up with theMatix Paladin Jacket and you’re set for winter.

Matix Paladin Jacket (Bottom Right)So you want to be warm and look like a Logger. Then look no further than the PaladinJacket from Matix. It’s 100% cotton flannel with a nylon quilted fill lining. I dare you toget lost in the snow with this one.

Crimson SkateboardsCrimson Skateboards is the new brand start-ed by veteran skateboarding pro, KrisMarkovich and features Kris, James Atkin,and Richie Belton as pros and Rick Eusey,Jeremiah Babb, Vince Del Valle, Steve Fauser,plus others on their am team. You can go towww.bleedskateboarding.com or www.crim-sonskateboards.com and view the CrimsonPromo video featuring the team.

The Crimson boards all have a nice quality.Graphics on both sides of the board, the topbeing just the Crimson logo. These boardshave a nice pop with a good concave.

At the start of the third annual Etnies’ GvR, Goofy and Regular were tied with one GvR win each, and on Sunday night atthe close of the third annual GvR the Goofies won their second title. This was the closest GvR yet with the Goofy teamonly beating the Regular team by 39 points!

Led by team captain Dave Swift, editor-in-chief of The Skateboard Mag, team Goofy was on fire with Jereme Rogers land-ing more tricks than nearly everyone combined, including a mighty impressive switch tre down the 11 set. Ronnie Creagerswitch hardflipped the 11 set, Nyjah Huston (this year’s Team Goofy MVP) busted a heelflip front board down the rail, DylanRieder ollie impossible tailgrabbed the barrier, Rodolfo Ramos and Greg Lutzka were belting out bangers left and right andCollin Provost was ripping all-terrain style.

The Regulars appointed SLAP Magazine’s, Mark Whiteley and Joe Brook as their co-captains. And, even though they lost,their skating was top notch. Guys like Andrew Reynolds, Chris Cole, Ryan Sheckler , Sierra Fellers, Peter Ramondetta andAlex Mizurov, Bryan Herman and Danny Fuenzalida didn’t hold back a bit. Reynolds graced us with frontside flips over therail. Cole backside 360 flipped the 11 set as perfect as could be. Proudly sporting his unreleased Etnies Sheckler 2 promodel, Ryan earned himself MVP status by rifling off tricks all over the course like there is no tomorrow.

Goofy Team:1. Jereme Rogers – $10,0002. Team MVP Nyjah Huston – $6,5003. Rodolfo Ramos – $2,5004. Greg Lutzka – $2,0005. Ronnie Creager – $1,5006. Collin Provost – $1,0007. Darrell Stanton – $1,0008. Danilo Cerenzini – $1,0009. Dylan Rieder – $1,00010. Pat Channita – $1,00011. Colt Cannon – $1,00012. Michael Simonetto – $1,00013. Tyler Hendley – $1,00014. Javier Sarmiento – $1,00015. Collin Hale – $1,000

Regular Team:1. Team MVP Ryan Sheckler – $2,0002. Chris Cole – $5003. Andrew Reynolds – $5004. Alex Mizurov – $5005. Danny Fuenzalida – $5006. Sierra Fellers – $5007. Bryan Herman – $5008. Emmanuel Guzman – $5009. Peter Ramondetta – $50010. Dayne Brummett – $50011. Vince del Valle – $50012. Dominik Dietrich – $50013. Tony Cervantes – $50014. Chris Troy – $50015. Robert Lopez – $500

Etnies Girl Push Jam Final Results:1. Marisa Del Santo – $3,5002. Evelien Bouilliart – $2,5003. Lacey Baker – $1,5004. Vanessa Torres – $1,0005. Amy Caron – $6006. Lauren Perkins – $4007. Elizabeth Nitu – $4008. Elissa Steamer – $200

Etnies GvR ResultsOct. 20-22, 2006

2006 GvR Winners - Goofy

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Regular’s Ryan Sheckler and Goofy’s Jereme Rogers

Ryan Sheckler

Ryan Sheckler

Ryan Sheckler

What inspires or influences your artwork?My greatest inspiration is the Natural World and all of its inhabitants. The loving energy behind itall with The Creator as a designer or artist is endlessly inspiring. I love indigenous artists fromaround the globe as well as Alex Grey, Ed Templeton, and VCJ, the skate artist who did all theearly Powell graphics. I use what is going on in my life and what I see in nature to do my person-al work, through my art. It is very helpful.

What do you want people to take away from your art?Ideally I want to inspire people to have a closer connection with nature, bettercommunication with other humans, and to ring the Bell of Dharmawherever they are. But I think most people just think "How cute."Alien Workshop pro Heath Kirchart likes to come up with nick-names for my pieces like "Weak Beak" and "Gay Paw".

Are you more comfortable with a pen and paper orbrush and canvas?I have more control with a pen but I love the brush andthink it is so much more rootsy. I have been doing a lot ofIndia Ink on paper lately with a brush. Gotta keep progress-ing, you know.

Have you always been into drawing and painting? When didyou realize that you had a talent for it?I have always been into art. I remember if I couldn't sleep at night as a little kid, my parentswould let me do etchings with Judaica that we had. It was a pretty mystical late night mixture ofart and culture. In elementary school I used to make all of these Egyptian style paintings with q-tips for brushes. In high school I was really inspired by Toy Machine as well as the whole EasternTibetean Buddhist vibe. In college I discovered primitive wilderness survival skills and that wholephilosophy has been my greatest influence since. I don't really think of myself as having thatmuch raw talent, more just like dedication and follow through to finish a piece. I think anyonecan be a great artist who picks up a brush, a pen, or a chisel.

You once placed one of your drawings on the wall of the Museum ofContemporary Art in New York just to say that you had a piece of work dis-played at the museum. Did you place it in a high traffic area, or in a spot

somewhat hidden? Do you know how long it hung there?I was in Chelsea in November and really inspired. I went to some

galleries with a portfolio to try to get into a New Yorkgallery. Some people were pretty rude and definite-ly did not look at my portfolio. I was really

inspired by that museum and street artists like Banksy so I was like, "Ok, noone in Chelsea wants to look at my portfolio, I guess I'll just decorate theneighborhood." The flower I attached right next to the Elevator that thatthey bring all the work in and out of. It is cheerful and it looks like it isgrowing out of the ground so I didn't think anyone would mind. I have a

picture of it. I don't know if it still there. I hope so. I never told anybodythat I had a piece in the museum or anything. It is more like an articulation

of a goal. I'm on the outside looking in now, but hopefully I'll be in theresome day. I think I just need to develop my technique and sleep with the right

people. Ha Ha.

How often are you painting or drawing? Do you make a living selling yourartwork?

I do art for hours everyday. Even if I am traveling, I am on the street art mis-sion. I like to block out color early in the morning and do detail work

throughout the day, and start new projects in the evening. As I lookaround my studio right now I see 7 pieces I am currently working on,and many more I want to start. Right now I am just scraping by asan artist. It's funny, I have never done it, but from what I have seen,it is much easier to sell drugs than art. My goal is to be able to live

and raise a family as an artist. It gives me the greatest freedom andsense of accomplishment. I feel the vibe is positive so it offering something valuable tothe world and I work with kids in the summer so I feel like a contributing member ofsociety not just a hermit artist drop out. Right now I am in the starving artist phase, buta hungry wolf will definitely bring something down. I guess art is my teeth and claws,and thankfully I have a nice wolf pack of friends who are amazing support.

What made you want to start Elemental Awareness? When I graduated from UC Santa Cruz I was very passionate about creating something thatwould be positive to youth in the world of skateboarding and at the same time incorporateprimitive skills. My best friend Todd Larson had the same drive, and we approached JohnnySchillereff, the founder of Element and Elemental Awareness was born. It's an example ofan idea manifested.

What is Elemental Awareness and what is your part in it? Now that ElementalAwareness has been going for a few years, has it been easier to find funding?For the last five years I served as Elemental Awareness president. I recently stepped downand turned that position over to Todd, to pursue art full time. I am still involved as anannouncer at skate contests, and with the nature skills programs. It works out that way asTodd works at Element so they have the their corporate give back program in house anddon't have to deal with a loose cannon like me.

What is the goal behind Elemental Awareness?The goal behind EA is for all the youth that we work with to have a greater understandingand connection of the natural world, as well as in society, and to spread light while livingyour Vision. Empowered youth with determination to shine and make a difference in theworld through their passions.

Where can someone find more information about you and ElementalAwareness?mikekershnar.comelementalawareness.orgmyspace.com/kershnar

and I grew up in Minnesota riding the same little hills with fast

rope tows. They would take about two minutes to do a com-

plete lap. That means we would do about a million laps a night.

Through the years of knowing him, I've really noticed how fast he learns

things. He is the type of person who wants to figure things out by himself,

rather than having it taught to him. He is very independent, and is always

working hard at something he wants to accomplish. Every time I have had the

chance to ride with him, he amazes me even when he takes turns.You can

really tell that he loves snowboarding just by watching him smile when he's in

the snow. Currently, he is in Minnesota, and is planning on staying until

January so he can get some early rail-boarding done with his pals.

Then he is moving to Colorado to live, and snowboard with his

second family. I'm so blessed to know him, let alone watch him

express himself through snowboarding. I can't wait to see what

happens this year! Viva La Dummer!

-Jonas Michilot

What was your first snowboard?My dad had a board before I did and he was cool enough to lend it to me during ski clubWednesdays. It was a 159 Rad-Air Groove that towered about a foot over my head and probablyweighed more than I did. I was stoked!!How and when did you get into snowboarding?I grew up pretty close to Wild Mt. in Minnesota. I had skied forever and when my older brother start-ed to shred, I naturally wanted to mimic him. He let me tag along with he and his friends, Chad(Otterstrom), Matt (Peterson), and Micah (McGinnity).How big was your local mountain?I think it was like 400 vertical feet. Enough speed for one 25-foot tabletop, no problem.Who were your favorite snowboarders growing up?My Bro, Terje, John Cardial, Jamie Lynn, Daniel Franck, Jeff Nelson, Matt PetersonWho are they now?Chad Otterstrom, Mike Casanova, Jussi Oksanen, Jonas Michelot, Travis Parker, Mikey LeBlancYou are about to finish college, are you nervous?Yeah, I’ve always planned on saving the world when I no longer had to spend my days studying formidterms. In December, I’ll actually have to step up and I don’t think my superhero costume will befinished by then.

Interview by Matt PetersonPhotos courtesy of Academy

How was it working with Autumn Line Productions? (Formerly Hard Wire)

The Porter Bros, the producers, are so committed to the video. Super down to stay out as long as possi-

ble to get things done. Also, the talent involved was definitely high caliber, so there was a good sense of

pressure to try harder. Stoked on the final product, Jonas’ part has some break though moves.

What are your plans after college?Give her hell again this winter in CO and then try to grow the Academy tree into something that can feed

and shelter all the kids.Are you a My-space-r?Myspace is for 15 year old chicks!! ...so yeah, I’m into it.

How much time would you say you spend on the Internet?

I don’t have a TV right now so Youtube has been my media outlet. Big ups to Ali-G, John Stewart, and

rollerbladers nutting hand railsHow important is filming a video part to you?

I like the fact that if you stomp your move, it’s a shot, or if you break your arm, that’s a shot too. To me,

knowing that I’m filming for a video part is a huge motivator. Video parts are a good way to show your all

around shred ability and creativity.

How about contests?Where filming is about friendships, contests are about rivalries. It’s cool to win beer money, but they defi-

nitely take the fun out of snowboarding most of the time.

Switch Method

What is your favorite snowboard flick for this season?

I haven’t seen all of them yet. I liked a lot of the parts in patchwork patterns and Eero’s part

in the Mack Dawg flick. I wish they would put individual parts up on Youtube so I could mix

and match.How about favorite shred movie ever?

The Garden, hands down.What inspires you outside of snowboarding?

I think my dad has been the most inspiring person in my life. He’s always down to try new

things and face new challenges, ways to keep life exiting. Also, this may sound weird, but I

love to see obese people out jogging. I put myself in their shoes, knowing they hate every

second, every step, but the dream to achieve to find a better life keeps them going.

What influence do magazines and videos have on you?

They set the bar. Lately everything is starting to look the same unfortunately. I think some-

thing is going to need to change in snowboarding before skiblading makes a big comeback!

What kind of music have you been listening to lately?

Mason Jennings, Jack Johnson, Years Around the Sun, Yovee. Kinda those chill out, life’s

okay melodies.Who are the new kids coming up in the Midwest?

Ethan Dice, The Russian, Austin Young, and Easton Gilman will make some noise when they

get out west.How is Academy different from your other sponsors?

It’s definitely an involved relationship with Academy. My other sponsors work by making a

few phone calls and receiving boxes of goods in the fall and spring. Academy is a team

effort with everyone doing their part to keep the ship moving. I like that family feel.

How do you feel about Olympics?The Olympics took snowboarding off the streets and put it in the spotlight. Burton sponsoredChina’s Olympic team in 2006 and 2010, so now there are countries taking kids out ofschool and putting them into a halfpipe. Good for sales, bad for independent snowboard cul-ture. But I guess its cool to get people all around the world hyped.Are you going to try in 2010?I thought about it, like, what if I dedicated every minute of my life for the next four years to1440’s and switch double-mctwists? Gold medal and MasterCard sponsorship, who knows?Do you think you can make it?Probably not in snowboarding, but I’ve already qualified for mini-blading’s aerial competition.I recently perfected the quad-spaffy! Watch out!If you got a gold medal in the 2010, would you ride for “Oscar Meyer Wieners” if theyoffered you a million buck$?Forget the million$, I’d ride for them if they paid me in bologna and let me drive around thathot dog car!Any last words?Thanks to all my sponsors and friends who have gone out of their way to help me out.Thanks especially to Academy Snowboards for the sleepless nights those guys have put inas they follow their dreams. JB, Kyle, Duane, Matt, you guys make it possible.

BS 360 Japan

If you’re tired of the same old boring grip and want to trysomething with a little flash, check out Stencil Steve’sselection of handmade designs. We caught up withSteve to find out more about his head turning artworkand what’s in store for the future...

How did you get into stencil art and grip tape art?While living in San Diego I became friends with AricSanders, who rides for Willy's Workshop. He always hadthese dope stenciled graphics on his grip. I've been drawingforever, also a fan of both stencil/grip tape art, so it was anatural progression. I moved back to Minneapolis fromCalifornia and really missed the skating back there and see-ing that stuff around. Maybe to fill a void I started doing myown thing and it's grown from there. Basically my unfulfilleddream of drawing skateboard graphics resurfacing in a DIYfit of rebellion.

Do you do murals or work on canvases as well?Yeah, that is where my real passion lies. Unfortunately,between skating, working and this whole griptape experi-ment, creative time is at a minimum lately. I still find time todo the occasional canvas and there are some mural ideasitching to get outta the sketchbook, so keep your eyespeeled.

Who or what inspires your artwork?People and events that have left an imprint on my life.The type of stuff that never leaves your memory. My artworkserves as a visual diary which documents my experienceon this ball. If people can relate to or gain some sense ofenjoyment from the different pieces then I am truly inspired.

Which is your most popular stencil?The Biggie gets quite a bit of attention. But truthfully it all dependson where you are and the crowd you're surrounded by. It's fun towatch when a person is flipping through a stack of grip for the firsttime. Since there's such a random mix of subject matter it tendsto catch people off guard a bit.

Have you thought about getting a skate team together?Yeah, we should be launching a "Get A Grip...Again" world tourwith Aerosmith in early '07. That's somewhere down the road abit. This whole experience has been so "grassroots" that I'm notreally sure where it's going at times. Hopefully I'll be around longenough to see a team materialize.

What are your future plans, and celebs you plan to make sten-cils out of?Just would like keep things small and maintainable for the timebeing. There's gonna be a bunch of new stuff dropping in theupcoming months. The celeb concept has been fun and there willalways be new celeb grips in the mix, but there are a few otherideas I would like to try as well.

Where can people contact you or find your grip?You can reach me and check out the grip atwww.myspace.com/griptapeart. Or send an email tosk8ter_1@hotmail.com. SK Grip is available in the Twin Citiesarea at these fine shops: Cal Surf, FL Project, The Hut, 3rd Lairand Familia. Feel free to contact me with any inquiries! Shouldhave a legit website up and running sometime soon. Thanks for allthe support everyone!

The original intro to this interview had some unkind words written by Emeric

directed towards a former sponsor that were written back in November. After

showing this issue to a few people, it was suggested that we should see if

Emeric still wanted the harsh words published. Emeric replied back to us say-

ing that he was pretty pissed when he sent them to us and that he would like

them removed from his interview, not wanting to add any more fuel to the fire.

The photos in this interview doesn’t nearly show the skill or innovation that

Emeric has on a skateboard. Check out any of his video parts to see him doing

tricks that went unrecognized, only until pros started doing them. Like for

instance, in Benji Meyer’s classic 1999 video, Midopoly, Emeric ends his part

with a boardslide heelflip out on a ledge, years before any pro would commit

that to film. Or in that issue of Transworld from years ago, there is a sequence

of him doing a melon grab to backside lipslide down a handrail. Better yet, go

on to YouTube and watch his part in last years So Quick, Achieved video. I dare

you to not want to go skate after watching that part. If Emeric keeps skating

like he does, his video parts and photo sequences will continue to impress and

teach all skateboarders to view skateboarding in a different way.

How did you get into skateboarding? I started skating because my brother and his friends were doing it.

What is your earliest memory of skateboarding? My earliest memory of actually riding a skateboard would be my riding on one knee cause I wasn't comfortable enoughto stand up right.

What part of Golden Valley did you grow up in? What was the scene like in GV when you started skat-ing? Did you go to Minneapolis a lot? Did you ever go out and explore other suburban areas out side ofMinneapolis?I grew up in an apartment complex in Golden Valley. I didn't really start skating in MPLS until I was 16 or so. That'swhen my friend Wayne started driving so we'd skate everywhere.

What skateboarders influenced you when were growing up?All the standards, the people who were killing it at the time, but for a while I was all about Guy Mariano.

From interviews and photo/videos I’ve read/seen, to me you’ve always seemed like the type of skate-boarder that isn’t concerned about sponsors or getting a lot of coverage, but rather just having fun onyour skateboard. Is this true?Well the most important thing for me with skating is to have fun and I always want to get better. That's all that reallymatters. The other stuff comes second.

Boardslide to Backside Lipslide - photo: McGuire

Where do you get ideas for some of the tricks you do like the, melon to lipslides andboardslide body varial to backside lipslide?I think that comes from skating with so many different people and I always just want to pushmyself, you know try to figure out something new for yourself.

Where are you staying in CA? Do you have your own place or are you couch surfing?I've been in Oakland lately. I was in Santa Cruz for a while actually living at the Consolidatedwarehouse, but pretty much Oakland.

Are you staying in CA year round or do you come to MN for the Summers? What doyou miss most about MN? After skateboarding, where do you see yourself settlingdown?I always like to come back to MN in the summer or fall. Those are the best times to be here. Asfar as living in Cali for the rest of my life, I don't see that happening.

Have you done a lot of traveling through skateboarding? Where is your favorite cityto skate?I've traveled a little bit but it doesn't really matter to where just as long as it's a new city andthere's stuff to skate. The best part is that it's something new to you.

As a skateboarder who’s ridden for small brands like Iota and Illenium and largermore established brands like Consolidated. What is your opinion about the skateboard industry? The skateboard industry is just like any other, it's a bunch of business' that want to make money.

About the incident with Nike and Consolidated. I’ve either read that you quit Consolidated or thatConsolidated cut you from the team because Nike was one of your sponsors. Can you explain and set therecord straight as to what really happened? Was Nike one of your sponsors before you got onConsolidated?Well I was getting shoes from Nike before anything happened with Consolidated. Birdo and Leticia decided to give me anultimatum, either one or the other, but you can't ride for both. My stance on the whole thing was that I didn't care and Iwanted to ride for all the companies I was getting stuff from at the time. Karma told me that before I decided on any-thing he wanted to go on one more trip with me and Brian Heck. When we got back from the trip, I spoke with Birdo andtold him I couldn't be involved with them anymore. I look at it as they forced me and Seth to quit, it makes them lookbetter, than if they would have straight out fired us.

In an interview you had on the Thrasher website. You were asked about “life as a black man in Oakland”and you responded with “I don't stand out quite as much out here, but I pretty much deal with the samebullshit everywhere.” What are you referring to at the end of your statement and can you cite someexperiences? I was just saying that things are messed up everywhere. There's going to be open and close minded people everywhere.

Crooked 360 Shuv-it Out - photo: McGuire

Frontside Halfcab Flip - photo: McGuire

Are you currently filming for any videos?Not really right now. I just finished filming for Krux though, Seth and I are going to share a part and hopefully Heck willhave some footy in there as well.

Who are you riding for?Krux Trux, Familia Skateshop, Roughneck Hardware and I get shoes from the nice people over at Nike SB.

What do you want to accomplish with skateboarding?I want to keep having good times with all my friends I've made over the years.

Shout outs and thank yous?Arrrrrrgh thank ya'll.

Ezra Jacobson, backside 360 Indy. Utah Backcountry near Alta, Utah.

Mike Roeder, backside 50-50 180 out

Tony Conrad, lipslide on an icy wooden rail. Near Two Harbors, MN

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Tony Conrad with a Hawaii 5-0

Ezra Jacobson, Boardslide in SLC

Who’s behind Handjob?London: Eric Vermilyea (Bozzmin), Luke Hunt(London), and Ryan Damian (Boston, still on sabbati-cal).How many of each shirt design do you print?L: On average about five of each size get produced.Our limit is ten in each size.How many designs have been made so far?Bozzmin: No idea. I have made a few that were trueone offs. But ballpark would be 30ish.L: Yeah, that’s a hard one. This year has been a bitmore structured, doing things like the Friend of theHand shirt with Tucker from Familia. I would say forthis year we ran about ten different designs so far.What’s the deal with that skate mag claiming aHandjob shirt as a Duffs shirt?L: I’ve been secretly moonlighting for other compa-nies... actually I sent the guys at Sidewalk Magazinea box, mainly to get Weekend Warriors a review inthe video section of the mag. I tossed some shirtsand stickers in there and one ended up on the prod-ucts page. Maybe the proofreader thought the“Handjob” title was a mistake and just ran it as Duffs.It shall remain a mystery!B: I think our strategy was to first infiltrate the maga-zine under the cover of Duffs, in order to make peo-ple feel relaxed and unthreatened. Then when theyleast suspect it we drop the cement hand on theirnuts. Plus we are working on a deal to purchase theDuffs Dynasty.What have people’s response been to thedesigns and ideas behind Handjob?B: It has been good. I think people appreciate thatwe are making things ourselves. Most people arefeeling the designs. We are more about self expres-sion and getting an idea out of our heads and ontothe backs of the homeless.L: It’s been all positive, I think. Boston is probablyour biggest critic. We enjoy what we do so muchand plus the fact that we get to produce whateverfeels good shines through our work.

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It seems nowadays everyone is starting their own cus-tom artsy fartsy t-shirt brand. What makes Handjob sospecial?L: I think our main advantage is being small businessowners. We have no investors or creative directors toanswer to, it’s just us. So an idea goes from paper/screento print really fast. We also have the added pleasure ofbeing able to print/produce all of our own merchandise.Any Handjob item that graces your palm will have beentouched in someway by one of us before it leaves our HQ.Plus we all skate together.B: We started this as a way of being able to express our-selves. I really am not too concerned about the artsy fart-sy shirt scene. We don’t do overprints with birds and getemo on peoples’ ass. That is one difference. The other islow quantities, and when we’re out, we are out. I just don’twant to wear what some kid in the suburbs just picked upat Zumiez.What’s the best part about making your own clothing?L: I really like learning new things, like trying a new ink ortechnique. It’s rad working with your friends. I’m reallygung-ho and Eric is more about taking a breath and look-ing at the whole situation. It makes for some funnymoments. We’re always having a blast when we print,drinking, joking, and keeping it fun.Have you done prints on things like posters or back-packs?B: London went through a phase where he would print onanything I had laying around or that he could get atAxMan. We have some other things going that aren’tscreen printing that fill that poster and backpack void.L: I used to print everything under the sun. I would pile upall this crap that I found during the week then bring it onThursday night and try to get some ink on it! I think thebest result was a set of eye covers that you use on aplane. I still use mine every time I fly. It’s rad becauseacross the front the stewardess sees “Handjob” whenyou’re passed out from too much Jack n’ Coke.B: Yeah, I liked the faux leather mini dice table too. Ryanused to do a full line of men’s hot pants as well.

London Luke. Sequence: Sam McGuire

Why did you want to get into independent publishing?

John: Zach and I had shared opinions about publishing, namelythat it seemed this inaccessible monolith, and that it suffered bythis inaccessibility. Not that mega-publishers don't publish goodbooks, obviously they do, but we felt like there was a niche here inChicago we could fill, that we could put out good books by writerswho we loved and do it the way we wanted. What I mean by that isthat we stole a lot of our business model from independent music(profit-sharing with the artist, working closely with the artist onevery step, touring a ton, keeping prices low, etc.).

Featherproof started out doing downloadable mini books, was it

always your intention to release paperback novels?

John: Yep. The downloadable mini-books were a) free and b) fun, sowe did those first. Publishing novels is fun, too, but much more timeand labor intensive. It was also a way to get word out there aboutwhat we were doing.

Do you get a lot of writing submissions for the mini books? How do

you decide which stories will become mini books?

Zach: We’re getting a lot more now. A feature in Poets & Writersreally caused a deluge of submissions, which is great, though it is dif-ficult to find the time to read everything. But that is certainly ourpolicy. As far as selection goes, usually consensus is pretty easy for

us, or one of us manages to talk the other into a story that we real-ly like. It’s a good system, the stories chosen are ones we both like,while the collection is also representative of our individual tastes,which I think keeps it interesting.

How many mini books have you e-published so far?

Zach: Let me count. Twelve. And more are on the way. We try andget them out there pretty regularly. Look for one soon called “EightPermutations on the Binoculars of Power.”

What have been some challenges or mistakes that you have encoun-

tered while publishing the first 2 novels?

John: So many. Well, the primary one has been distribution, get-ting the books to bookstores and into reader's hands. That's been along process, and I don't think Zach and I are completely satisfiedwith how it's gone so far. It's just hard to get a distributor reallyworking hard for you when you're as small as we are. Publicity hasebbed and flowed, though I'm surprised how few reviews Todd's bookhas received. That book is really strong, a very interesting and live-ly book that I would think would stir the interest of book section edi-tors all over the place. Readers are loving it, but critics have slepton it.

“We are currently accepting

donations, especially

in amounts ending

in 6 or more zeros.”

- Zach

How has the response been to "Enchanters..." and "Sons of the

Rapture'?

Zach: Response has been really great for both books. TheEnchanters got a lot of smashing press in all sorts of magazines andwebsites. There were many funny reviews. It seemed people reallypicked up on it’s vibe and took it on it’s own terms, which was great.Sons of the Rapture impressed people, I think. Todd Dills went ontour, and his reading style is so idiosyncratic, I think people reallyrespond to watching him read. The book has done really well in thebookstores, in no small part because of that. The good reviews arestill coming in for Sons of the Rapture.

How do choose what writing you want to publish in a novel? Do

writers contact you or do you seek out writers that you like?

John: We take submissions and actively solicit. We like novels thatfeel like they could have only been written by one person, that has areally personal, idiosyncratic style. "Originality" is obviously a pret-ty empty word, but I think you can tell when a book comes from onlyone place.

If you had the chance to release any writers future work, whose

would it be?

John: I don't know. That's tough. Maybe I should say Mary HigginsClark, so we could ride that potboiler to the bank. In reality, there'sa guy named Brian Evenson whose work I think is really special, andwholly his own. I'd love to work with him.

What books or writing do you think everyone should read at least

once in their lifetime?

John: I've changed my response to this about a billion times now.Here's my final answer: I'd recommend people read Lydia Davis(Samuel Johnson Is Indignant) and then read Hunter S. Thompson(Preferably Hell's Angels, but Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas will do).The two of them, I think are diametrically opposed in style, but they'reboth such amazing writers. Read those books back to back and you'llget a sense of how both concision and bombast can be precise.

What releases do you have planned for the future?

Zach: Well, right now things are as murky as the black waterinside a magic eight ball. What is that stuff anyway? When the lit-tle white triangle pops up, bright and clear, we’ll make sure to let youknow what it says.

Check out www.featherproof.com for more info on Brian Costello’s “TheEnchanters vs. Sprawlburg Springs” and Todd Dills’ “Sons of Rapture”.

I have always skated in garages. With Minnesota’s harsh winters,garages act as a semi warm haven to learn new tricks and perfect oldones. I learned how to do tre flips in my garage in the winter of 96/97.An old high school friend of mine built a mini ramp in his garage, tocomplement the one he had in his back yard. Overtime, his 2ft garagemini was neighbor to a 3ft quarter ramp. Then creativity took hold andan explosion of wood and coping covered every inch of the garage floorwith tight transitions and ramp dust. What was born was an 18 foot widemini ramp that extended from the back wall of the garage to the veryfront, leaving just inches for the garage door to open and close. I clockedin more hours in that garage than I did at home. I learned numerousvariations of the blunt stall including the kickflip to blunt and blunt tofrontside shov-it to axel stall. Some of the hardest tricks that I everaccomplished to land happened on that mini ramp. I can’t tell you howmany times I tried fakie smith stalls to kickflip out, but I can count ontwo hands how many times I’ve landed it. When my friend moved, hismini could not go with him, so a ten foot section came to my garage.More late night and rainy day sessions followed. But as I got older, myresponsibilities became more and my skating time became less. I hard-ly ever skated the mini anymore, maybe once or twice a year, and slow-ly it moved to the back of my mind. BS Tail

Wallride Disaster

I recently moved into my own house, with it’s own garage, so it was time to movemy teenhood ramp to my adulthood home. But as the time since I road the rampaccumulated so did the pile of junk that was on top of the ramp. Armed withdrills we started unscrewing the ramp. As luck would have it, most all of thescrews were stripped from my putting it together, so our drills were traded in forhammers. Once the ramp was completely destroyed it was loaded up and hauledto my new garage. Plans for a new ramp were thought up, but money and timedeflated any hopes of building a new ramp any time soon. So with creativity inone hand and a bunch of stripped and bent screws in the other I built a series offaux quarter ramps, each one getting better than the last. The final product is awobbly four foot wide quarter with a pile of wood for the coping. Still the tricksI land on it feel way better than the ones landed on professionally built ramps,due to the fact that the ramps moves, shakes and bends every time you go up anddown it. So here I am, 25, and still having the time of my life skating in a 2 cargarage. It may be a while before I build another mini, but my garage will alwaysbe there for any wood creation that I make.

Wallride Disaster - 2nd Try FS Tail

Pivot

Pennsylvania’s Common Enemy have emerged to remind usall that playing music is all about having fun, with songsabout zombies, video games, TMNT, and of course, skating.2006’s Thrashing Under the Influence is an all-out eardrumassault that’s undeniably fast; nineteen tracks clocking in atabout twenty one minutes. The album’s carefree attitudecouldn’t have come at a better time, in an era overrun withgenres and subgenres a little too concerned with dresscodesand dance moves.

Could you give a little history on the band up until now? Tank: We started this band for fun! Justin: Let’s see, we started in 1998, but didn’t get serious aboutplaying out and having fun until 2003 when Sonic and Gregjoined the band. Then it was nothing but good times! In 2005Sonic decided to go to school in Florida at Full Sail. We thenasked long time fan, Mikey to sing for us. And the rest is yet tobe written!

Who are some other groups that influence your sound? Greg: I think everyone in the band has their own influences.Personally, I’m influenced by Minor Threat, Black Flag, AusRotten and tons more. Justin: Anthrax, SOD, Vitamin X, and JFA. Tank: Suicidal Tendencies, DRI and What Happens Next?

Favorite skateboarders? Tank: Peralta and J. Adams (Old School) Justin: Don’t really have a favorite skater, but love to watch any-one with the old school style and flow!

Do you get a chance to skate and find new spots while tour-ing?Greg: Hell yeah, we try to hit up every spot we can find whenwe are touring! Tank: We try to hit up skate spots as much as we can, but it’shard with some of the really long drives.

Mikey: Hell yeah, I had a blast in Dallas, Texas and Huntsville,Alabama. I basically learned how to skate there.

How did your tour of Germany come about? What was theexperience like? Justin: Sonic was actually over in Europe with his first band,Idle Youth. He had the contact, we hooked it up, and went overto support our album and get our skate on. It was fun as hellskating in Europe! Can’t wait until we do it again in the springof 2007! Greg: It was so much fun! Tank: Germany Rocks!

Favorite place to play in PA? Outside of PA? Tank: Too many choices, the people make the shows and thereare a lot of really cool people at shows, either home or awayfrom home. Greg: Probably Philly and Harrisburg. Outside of PA myfavorites are Long Island and Baltimore.

Mikey: My favorite venues are the Championship in Lemoyne,PA; The Silo in Reading, PA; The Sidebar in Baltimore, MD andMolly Blooms 2 in Amityville, NY. There are so many awesomeplaces.

If you could only do one for a whole year, would you playmusic or skateboard?Greg: I’d have to pick both, I couldn’t pick just one. Justin: I’m with Greg on this one! Tank: I would have to say music, that’s my first love! Other thanBeer! Mikey: Music; I’m better at that, but I would probably skate-board when no one was looking.

Favorite zombie movies?Greg: Dead Alive, Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later. Tank: Bad Taste and Dead Alive. Justin: The Undead and of course Dead Alive! Mikey: Shawn of the Dead, I’m a sucker for comedy!