...skateboarding...

..yeah, we do that sometimes"

i'm not one to post pics of myself, but it's been a while since a skateboard shot has been posted on our skateboard blog...and guess what?! 2 of 3 skate photos are back smiths! we're so in the know, bro! figure your shit out....

...grampa was a badass!

...just awesome! a few songs praising the good ole' US of A and other songs talkin' shit on Hitler... a far cry from the Navy S.E.A.L.S being charged with assault on the guy (based on them giving the guy a bloody lip and now the S.E.A.L.S are being charged on American soil) who masterminded the kidnapping, torture and grotesque display of four Blackwater employee's burned bodies in the middle of Iraq...they don't make 'em like they use to!

so it goes...

...went down to mom's last weekend in the good ole' Jones County, GA and they got some new neighbor's.....goats!...pretty rad too...i informed the family that goats were a satanic icon and they should be worried about satan literally sitting in their back yard! they were not amused...in fact, not even sure they paid attention to me when i said it....so it goes.....
...but the raddest part was letting my lil man swing from the tree my mom and dad planted for me when i was born....i don't know why i climbed it...i think i was trying to scare him...he didn't pay attention to me either....so it goes.....

old times.....

...yeah, yeah, yeah. it's cheesy and gay. i AM lame for liking Christina Aguilera. whatever. heard it all before. i used to like her a bunch. like the music. the looks didn't hurt either. i had trading cards, a calendar, a c.d., a REMIX c.d......so i was kinda in there as far as fanship goes...besides, those were the Seaboard days...shit was always weird and i wasn't the weirdest in the bunch...my friend Lee Bender worked at the Barnes And Noble on Ponce...probably like a week...not a bad stretch of employment at the time...i mean, he DID go get a job...however, he showed up at the apartment the night he quit with this 4' x4' bad ass promo thing he stole from the window display on his way out...he drove a tiny ass convertible Miata and drove through the city holding this thing in the passenger seat.....hilarious! and i was so so stoked! this thing quickly found a spot in the living room and there she sat til we all moved out....now she's in the basement...i'm still petitioning for her to be bumped up to the living room...girlfriend says no.....
...after Seaboard, Lee moved to AZ and i've rarely seen him. every so often he pops up in the mags...but then i hear he had M.S. and shit wasn't the same with him...not sure of the severity of it, but i do know those hospital bills are expensive and he didn't have insurance....I heard Real was doing a board to help with his bills and the ole "no-brainer"... bought this shit for full price! 47$....also came with all the Rise Skateshop vids and a "best of" type thing of Lee....stokage....this is a permanent wall fixture....thanks for everything Lee...hope shit's going well!

A long night at Day One

"Once you become quee, you won't have to walk again."

Jeff of Day One Skateshop and Artspace

I spent Friday driving up to Bridgeport, Ct with my friends Kerry and Rob. The 3 1/2 hour ride up was filled with conversations and commentary about skateboarding politics in Philadelphia, girls, and flameboy tattoos on the taint. We arrived at Day One with plenty of time to set up the show and watch the new Flip video enough times to give commentary on our commentary, mostly revolving around Bob Burnquist, but that's for another blog. I got to meet everyone involved in the Day One scene thanks to Jeffery Walsh, owner of the shop and master of cardboard cut-out puppetry. The show went up, and lots of people came out throughout the night. We at pizza and peanut-butter filled pretzels while talking about human trafficking and jazzy scooters. Here are just a few pics from the night that in no way convey how bad Kerry needed to wash his hands.

something.....

....most people will never forget is the first time seeing skateboarding as something more than butt-boarding down a hill. my mom rented for me, from the local video store in Gray, GA, a bike video and this skate vid for the weekend. i was real into bikes. not any good at 'em cause i was too little to get it off the ground. but, i remember putting this in and was like "what the fuck?!" only in 9 year old terms. granted, looking back it's cheesy as hell but this will always hold a spot in my memory. the thing has a "plot" i suppose and it goes like: this dude is skating to school, skates through the halls, looks at skate mags in class, gets called to the principal's office, LEAVES school to go skate and comes back like 3 hours later to a pissed principal. and while he's looking through the mag, different skate sections start. and the music was just unreal to my little country boy/ACDC mind. who is TSOL? what the fuck kinda music is that? look at that big ass concrete ramp! dude lit his board on fire and skates that ramp?! that dudes got the craziest hair ever! how are they making it jump? how do you do this? i wanna skateboard! i ditched the bike videos from there on out and rented Shackle Me Not and Public Domain, along with Summer Sessions every weekend. and a few months later when i convinced mom and dad to get me a board, that shit was lit up and hasn't burned out yet........

....something always gets the ball rolling......

Planting roots with Tyler Kline

Months ago I was asked to put something together for the zine Jeremiah was publishing in Atlanta. I decided to interview a long time friend and former rider for raped inc. skateboards Tyler Kline. Tyler is currently attending the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art for a masters in sculpture and lives in Philadelphia with his wife and son.

Looking back at the time you spent in Savanah and living on Seaboard Ave, did you ever see yourself living the family life with a garden in Philadelphia?

Honestly, my foresight did not include my present circumstances. It never crossed my mind to settle down until I met my wife Anna in Portland. In my green grass of youth, I spent most of my time traveling and gathering life experiences. I kept a couple of central bases, traversing the North American Continent from the East Coast to the West Coast 17 times between 1998 and 2003, by plane, train, and automobile. I glad I made those choices when I was younger. Now, I enjoy growing roots. I take pride in the sacrifices one must make to cultivate a mature life.

For as long as I've known you, you've always been tied to the art scene where ever you've lived. I know that in Portland, you had a gallery downtown. What are you doing these days to stay connected with Philadelphia?

I work at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts as a conservation technician. I also do volunteer work for Inliquid.com. Recently I joined an the Art Collective of Little Berlin. I am very excited to be a part of this talented team of local Artists. Philadelphia is in a unique position to further and deepen or understanding of art and the role it plays in building communities. With the decline of this recent Gilded Age, and as all around us is seems as if the center is not holding it becomes dire that the margins and fringes of society hold fast, and lead as examples toward a more sustainable solution to the general collapse we are experiencing at home and abroad. Art groups, charities, historical societies and other non-profit orginizations, and ordinary citizens have the power to maintain and transform their neighborhoods. By being involved with the arts in the various places were I have lived is a small token toward trying to leave things in better shape than you found them.

How important is it to have something in your life apart from skateboarding?

It is very important to cultivate things in your life other than skateboarding, skateboarding in finite and the skateboarding industry is based on bankable trends that come out of Southern California. At best, skateboarding can be seen as a type of performance art, a dance. The marketed image of skateboarding is ever straying from this view point. Luckly I have gained the wisdom to no longer concern myself with the trends put forth in most skateboard media.

How has skateboarding changed for you now that you've got so many things on your plate?

I simply do not skateboard as much as I used to. I still find time to skateboard, and I am teaching my three year old son Max to skateboard. I do these things when the time comes, skateboarding does not dictate how I use my time.

Would you say that you have a mild obsession with the eye ball?

None of my obsessions are mild. Since the time of the Syrians the eye is seen as a window into the soul. However, I try to be playful with these flights of fancy,

Could you sum up each place that you've lived in two words each?

Victoria, Texas= No Recall

Milwaukie, Wisconsin= Stained Glass

Stone Mountain, GA= White Quartz

Savannah, GA= Live Oaks

Athens, GA= Gravel Pitt

Atlanta, GA= Fourty Yard

Portland, OR= Heavy Mist

Philadelphia, Pa= Fresh Crop