Duane Peters, Skate Rock, Me

As I mentioned in a post earlier this week, Thrasher Magazine's Skate Rock Tour came through Memphis on Wednesday, and I loved it.  To see that many top notch pros at a local spot was awesome. Heck, to see that many people at a local spot was awesome.  The skating was great, and the envelope was pushed to new levels (see video).

It seems that as they moved south toward Jackson (their next official stop) they picked up an impromptu music gig at a place in Oxford. From what I understand, things didn't go so smoothly in Oxford. In fact, there was quite a bit of online noise about the gig. Negative things have been said about both the skate/music crew coming through town, and about the Mississippi natives.

I'm not going to join up with either side on this.  I just have something I'd like to point out:

The skater in the video below is Duane Peters. His nickname is the Master of Disaster. He has fronted tons of punk bands including "The Exploding Fuck Dolls" and "U.S. Bombs." It is rumored that he is the person who first came up with the term Thrasher that was adopted both in name and theme by the magazine.

Part of me would love to see skateboarding be a squeaky clean activity that I could go out on weekends and do with my son. And, in fact, it can be just that. I think of a good friend of mine who has brought so much positive media to the local scene by being himself: a father, a skater, a caring citizen. However, we can't ignore the history of skating. Skateboarding was and is a sport for the misfit that doesn't fit in with the team mentality. It is an individual sport that smears the line between sport and art. It has reveled in a rebel image since the first young skaters were banned from riding the first skateboards. It continued through the punk rock heyday when the name Thrasher was born. It was the refuge of the small town weirdo kids in the 80's.

And finally, the rest of the world caught on that skating is amazing.

But we're still the misfits.

I'm not condoning behavior. I'm just pointing out history, and let's just say the name "Bad Shit" might just be a clue that this ain't gonna be Rodney Mullen doing a freestyle demo in short shorts and knee pads.

Holy $#!+: Skate Rock in Memphis

What a day!

I got up about 8 a.m. and headed down to Al Town where Thrasher's Skate Rock Tour was passing through today. I knew the event wouldn't start for many hours, but I haven't been around Al Town much for the last few pours of 'crete and I felt guilty.  So, I grabbed some trash bags and picked up trash while Chad did his thing to get the spot ready (and then Jenks came by to weed eat).

Then, an hour or so later, we were met up with by the guys from K.M.A. a skate rock band from Cookville, TN (also the founder of skatezine.com). What a great bunch of guys!

K.M.A.

 We skated around Al Town for a bit, then headed over to Tobey for a session before taking in a little Mexican food.

I took off for a while, and went to my kiddos parent/teacher conference.

When I got back to Al Town, all of the pros were there, and the skating was getting sick!

Chad with Frank Gerwer, a statue Chad made and a copy of Common Criminals

 Photo totally stolen from facebook.

 It isn't often a kid from small town Arkansas via Nebraska gets to session with a large group of some of the most outstanding pros. It was amazing. I kept pushing myself to skate more until finally, my body said, "No."  I started feeling weak around 4 p.m. I went to Midtown Market, got a banana and some more water. It helped enough to allow me to skate a bit more, but by the time I had to leave to pick up my son at 5:00, I was sunburned, weak, hungry and exhausted.

Today was one of the most amazing skateboard days of my life. Thanks, Thrasher Magazine!  And thank you to everyone past or present, that has worked on the D.I.Y. spot Al Town. Without the efforts of everyone, this day would not have happened. You can see some earlier pics of Al Town in the very first issue of Luchaskate.

The kiddo didn't want to come back. He had the choice of what he wanted to do because he had such a good report at parent/teacher conference, and he chose Chuck E. Cheese. So, we headed off to play games and eat pizza. Man, what an amazing day of skating. Look for a full photo report in the next issue. Lindsey was there with her camera, and she always gets some amazing shots.

Luchaskate 4

Open publication -  publishing - More europe

skull skates on urban rush

Ok. Watch this.  Then write an essay for the book, Common Criminals.
 Email it to me:  luchamag@yahoo.com

The Parking Block Diaries: Deloreans, Driveway Destruction And Vicious Acts O...

Digging this blog, click the link and visit The Parking Block Diaries:

The Parking Block Diaries: Deloreans, Driveway Destruction And Vicious Acts O...: Courtesy Skateandannoy.com 1985 was the year Back To The Futur e came out, the year I got my first wide-bodied department store knock-of...

fickle punk point

 

This morning started off on the wrong foot.  Yep.  That is my rear view mirror taped up.  

There is a pot hole in the middle of our street.  The city has put what looks like a plastic saw horse over it, making my street divided and, because of this, very narrow.  It is doable, until of course, somebody parks a car just in front of it.  So, the street is now too narrow in that spot.  So, as I left for the skatepark, I had to drive on the wrong side of the street to get around the car and divider.

What happens next?  Just as I make the decision to drive on the wrong side of the street, a car pulls onto the street from the opposite direction...I panic a bit and try to deep as close to the divider as possible (which would have been fine had my rear view mirror not suck out further than the body of my car).

 So, I went and rode this new fickle punk point (with Mariachi graphics) at the park until my hands hurt from the cold.  Stress relief thy name is fickle.  Notice the stocking cap on the nose of the board.

Hand prints on the top of the deck signify the hand made love that went into the deck.

sans cap.

cap where it belongs

stoke.  8.5 inch punk point. fickle skateboards.

Wet outside. Injured again. Read. Write.

Well, this winter officially hates my body. After falling on my butt and bruising my tailbone a month ago, I hung up on the coping yesterday and jacked my knee up. So, I'm almost glad it is rainy today...it takes away the temptation to skate on an injury.

So...I'm gonna chill and read the new Sharkbait 'Zine.

Get that shiz.

If you're similarly injured or held back by the rain you can always kick back with a new book by little 'ol moi.  My new book is now available on Amazon in both paperback and kindle.  Other than one poem called "Skateboarder," it isn't a skate related book, but hey, sometimes you have to venture out a little bit from your comfort zone. Choosing an Afterlife.

The poems I thought were the best over the last five years.

I'm happy to say that there are actually people buying it!  Stoked! So, what am I doing writing poetry, anyway?  Most people that know me don't know that I went to college on a creative writing scholarship.  Later, after my freshman year, I got a performance scholarship in theatre and declared that as my major, but I kept writing.  I quit writing after I became a chef, and other than writing some articles and recipes for Memphis Health and Fitness, I didn't write for years.  Until 2008 that is...well, here is the book that I made from those poems from 2008 until now.

Don't forget the other book project next year!  Write your skate essay! Get on it while the weather is bad!

Sunday Funday

Good people to skate with, a fun Sunday session, and cupcakes.  What more could a guy ask for?  A little belated birthday celebration for me?  I was stoked.  Even got a new shirt (thanks Wrex and Kim!)!  I probably didn't show my gratitude well enough.  I was a little embarrassed with the attention.  Thank you everyone for coming out today and skating with me.

My new Old Man Army t-shirt

Last three cupcakes swimming in a sea of ciggie butts.  You can just see my truck hanger in the bottom right of the screen.

Miranda and Kris

Ed, Kim and Wrex (Mike is hidden)

Jonathan acting a fool.

I'm still addicted to learning kickflips on banks.  Next deck, I'm going with an 8.5 to see if it helps out.  Just about have 'em figured out.  I was never good at flip tricks.  I guess I'm learning to be patient. Ha!  Flat ground, I got 'em.  On a bank?  One out over every 5 right now.

I had to leave a little earlier than I wanted.  Old man wasn't feeling too well, but I had a blast as always.

This Weekend!

Poster image stolen from Kim Cook

 The grand opening of the West Point, MS skatepark!  Built by Grindline Skateparks including Wrex Cook who will be at the event.  It is going to be a rad event!

https://www.facebook.com/events/354013901348943/

Sponsored by tons of great companies including Fickle and Luchaskate.

Also, check out local Memphis board shaper rufusskates.com.  They've joined the Lucha Alliance.  For more advertising info on luchaskate check out www.luchaskate.info.

Fickle Mayhem

Got the 8.6 fickle deck with a Mayhem graphic via UPS yesterday.  Extra goodies?  Yeah, Lew hooked me up.  Not only were there a ton of stickers in the box, but Lew sent a frugal lunch and the actual smock/shirt he wore while gluing and shaping my deck.  Now, that is customer service.  Ready to ride the massive concave and steep kicktail on this fickle (but, no, I ain't giving up my Outlaw).

Noodles shrink wrapped in

There is history (and tons of glue) in this shirt

Barney Mayhem

The Gay Ocean

I spent a little time this morning washing clothes ('cause they stankin') and reading through my favorite blogs.

The first to mention is, "The Gay Ocean."  This is a good friend and contributor to luchaskate mag.  A must read.

The second to mention is Jeff's Skateboard Blog.  Always fresh content from a person who loves skateboarding.

Outlaw Pray for Death Pt. 2

I did a blog post a while back...the day I got my Outlaw Pray for death deck.  I finally got a decent pic riding it today (instead of those pixelated video stills).  Fun times.

Photo by Lindsey Rowland

Stickers and T-shirts

So we have a new sticker in the works that many of you who have liked us on facebook will know about:

But, there has also been some interest in this being a t-shirt as well.  I've done a couple of mock ups, and I'd like to know your opinion.  Black t-shirt or white?

The Day Finally Came

I was hoping there would be a pour at Al Town before the first issue of Lucha came out, but it wasn't to be.  It always seemed there was something holding back fresh 'crete from happening.  Well, it finally came time today.  I wasn't able to help (had the five year old in tow and pouring 'crete wasn't the place to be with one that young), so I dropped off some refreshments (after spending the morning at the Children's Museum with my kiddo) to the crew and said hello.

Overview Shot

Outlaw Skateboards "Pray for Death"

So, I got home from work today to find this in a box on my porch:

 I was officially stoked.  9" wide deck from Outlaw Skateboards ready to be set up and ridden.  Those of you that know me know that I've been working my way down from 43" longboards to more standard pool size decks.  My last deck was a 15.5" wheelbase handcut board that sat at 10.5 inches wide.  9" was my next step, and man, I'm glad I did it.  I ran over to cheapskates, picked up some 56mm Miller SPF formula wheels and griptape to set this guy up.

I'm in heaven here, folks.  This is so much lighter than what I was riding.  I was pulling the old layback airs like it was nothing.  I'm not bragging on me, I'm bragging on this set up:  Outlaw "Pray for death" with Thunder trucks (8.5" wide) and Bones SPF wheels.

Kris Gurley, one of my favorite people to skate with, met me at Tobey for a session and he was kind enough to hold a video camera for me for a second so I could get some still images to take from it.  The video camera doesn't produce good stills AT ALL but we got a couple things:

I love wallies

My favorite move on the jersey.  Kris calls this a Lucha wall ride

Damn, I thought I was gonna hit coping.

Branding

I allowed the fluorescent and day-glo colors of the eighties, for the most part, pass me by. The closest I came were a couple loud pairs of chucks (Chuck Taylor shoes). One pair was a turquoise-like blue while the other was purple, bordering on lavender. I would wear one blue and one purple shoe, an act one of my grandfathers couldn’t comprehend.

By now I was used to being an outcast at school, but acceptance within the family had always been a given. I was aware that they didn’t necessarily like the way I dressed, but I always felt that, at the end of it all, they knew the me that was hiding underneath this new style.

Suddenly, after some questioning that felt like an interrogation, I knew I was becoming separated from them as well. Teenage angst coupled with the fact that I didn’t see many of my relatives very often left us, quite often, speechless with one another.

I felt like I was expressing myself through my clothing. I was dressing how I felt.

The greatest oxymoron of punk rock was that you had to, in some respect, wear the punk rock uniform. The same could be said of skateboarding. Even the five guys that made up our local scene found ourselves identifying with certain companies and ‘branding’ ourselves to match them.

Generally, it started with the type of board you rode (or wanted to ride). Each brand had its standard type of graphic to identify with. All of them had their fair share of skulls and colorful monsters, but each company had a certain, individual flair.

Powell Peralta graphics tended to be punk yet professional with a child-like innocence. How is that possible? The graphics on a skull and sword deck was something my mother would like despite the skull and sword. On the other hand, Dogtown skateboards, with their connection to punk/metal crossover band Suicidal Tendancies, looked mean, almost demonic. Their possessed to skate deck was a mother’s nightmare.

Then there was Skull Skates. Skull decks were always black and white. They didn’t even contain grayscale. It was as if they were made by stencils and spray paint. I immediately identified with Skull skates. This was the epitome of punk rock and skateboarding combined.

Marketing. Every style niche in skateboarding comes down to marketing. At one point in the eighties every board had essentially the same shape. The standard deck had a short, rounded nose that rolled into a ten inch wide main space. Every deck had approximately seven inches of tail. Sure, there were different levels of concave and every company used wood from a different source, but overall the differences in decks were very minimal except for the graphics and, of course, the pros that the graphics symbolized. Of course, the common skater didn’t have to be aligned with one single company, but generally the companies one chose were within the same spectrum. At the end of the day we are all consumer victims of marketing.