Curb Skating

Saturday would not be the same without a curb session. Today's slappie shots were taken by Grom as opposed to the usual DIY shots I post. I know I run the same pics all the time but this is what I do. I skate these spots and often times document the session via photography. It is a creative endeavor and is art for arts sake on different levels. There is the process of photography which in the end results in the production of art that others can view. Then there is the process of creating the art which in this case is the act of skateboarding. I don't know... It keeps my head in a positive space.

Jeffs

Phillips. Hedges. Grosso. There are a lot of skaters by the name of Jeff. I've skated with this guy before but never realized we share the same first name. This Jeff goes real fast and skates harder than most people in the park on any given day. I snapped this ollie to grind on the box on our way out today.

Park Slalom

Just to ensure a good time Marc set up a park slalom course at Coonskin this morning. We would love to have a contest and make this one of the events. Thanks to Marc for the pics and to the three kids skating with us who were totally patient and tolerant of a couple Core Vets going Devo.

The New Stickers Are In!

And they sure look nice don't they? Support your local skateshop even if it is your friend's van. Seriously.

My Girl Lollipop...

Kilwag over at http://www.skateandannoy.com is the king of finding off the wall skate related crap on the market and exposing it for the kitschy weird shit that it is. Marc gave me this bubble gum today and it is endorsed by Skateboardermag.com. The back of the package has a pic of Corey Duffel skating so I expected the candy to be goats heads or something. Oh well... A day without a sugar buzz is a day that never was.

Park Peeps Prepare To Re-open

It appears that the indoor skate park is preparing to open. Marc and I have an ear to ground and are anxiously awaiting official words. The buzz on the street is that wood has been purchased and touch up is under way. We may have an opening by October.

Don't Miss The Opening Act

A more acoustic version of Head Salad opened for Rasta Rafiki last night. Thank you Mike P.

Rasta Rafiki At The Empty Glass

The fall equinox brought the sounds of Rasta Rafiki back to the Empty Glass for a packed show. It has been 10 years since the boys played together but you never would have guessed it by the incredible sound. Big Ups to "D", Tom, Steve, John, Andy, Funkazoid, and all the other musicians who made this weekend one to remember. Our own Dave Thomas even joined the band for a handful of songs providing percussive accompaniment via washboard. Thank you Zappa for the outstanding work on the soundboard. The clock was literally turned back years last night as we ran into and talked to friends that we probably haven't seen since the last Rafiki show. It's good to be home.

I Got Down Now I Can't Get Up

Here are a few more shots from today's session. I really dig the one of Russ and Jacob... classic. More Rasta Rafiki pics after the show tonight. One Love hippies!

Sunday: Getting Up To Get Down

Here is what we did today. It is Rad to skate with friends but I'm still posting the DIY slappie shots.

Didn't We Have A Ball at the Dancehall?

Here are some pics from last nights sold out show in Morgantown, WV. Before the bar was named after the address it was known as the Nyabinghi Dancehall. Prior to that it was The Underground Railroad and hosted punk and hard core shows in the '80's. Rad. The bar was packed for this one and the band rolled through a 2 hour set of originals. Hot. Rasta Rafiki plays Huntington's V Club tonight and Charleston's Empty Glass on Sunday. Come early and stay late.

Reggae Weekend

This is what we will be doing for the next few days. I'll post the pics from Morgantown on Saturday. Jah Rasta Far I.

Wednesday Morning Skate at Coonskin

Andrew and I had the same idea today and that was to skate early. It was nice to shoot pics of someone other than myself but that didn't keep me from going DIY to get the quarter pipe shot and ledge grind. I know that I run pics of that all the time but is honestly one of the best lines in the park if you like to grind concrete.

No Thanks, I Use Toilet Paper

I stick my tongue out a lot when I am skating. This is not something I realize I am doing at the time but have discovered this by closely critiquing my skate pics. Hope I don't bite it off. The bert shots are taken from 3 different runs but flowed together well so there you go.

Kentucky Fried Cone Fest Pics Link

I missed KFCF on Saturday because of a four letter word. WORK. The drawback of capitalism is having to work for money. You can check out pics of our friends on Marc's Board Shop page and/or hit this link for the Huntington paper and check out their pics at http://herald-dispatch.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070916/NEWS01/709160361/-1/NEWS13. They captured some nice shots of the races and it deserves a look. BIG UPS to Lenny Poage (pictured above from a previous race) for yet another successful slalom event.

Blunts

Before blunts became a no handed trick skaters would grab their board and haul balls toward a curb and upon impact they would pull the board up and use the ball hauling momentum to launch themselves over the curb they had just smashed into a split second before. There were different variations such as the stalefish noseblunt and my preferred mute grab while rolling fakie (sorry I don't speak switch and I push Mongo while going fakie so sue me). Using that momentum I pull the board up and smash the tail to the curb upon landing. I once saw Scott Ricks skating with an empty beer case on his head and going about a million miles per hour before he grabbed frontside and launched a blunt over a four foot wide wooden sidewalk manny pad combo that had been built for this particular demo. That was well over 17 years ago I'm sure but the blunt is still punk rock skateboarding at its best.

Sunday Morning Crate Skate

The milk crate is almost as good as those downhill gloves with the plastic discs in them. Here Eli demonstrates the sit down power slide.

Thank You Lance Mountain

Future Primitive left a mark on me. Lance made skateboarding fun. Just watch the following and see why Lance and Neil have been big influences on me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTu3-Dn88-A. I totally owe this one to Lance Mountain. To see Lance and the early Bones Brigade throwing this trick down and more link over to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azbXXZvKJjE and watch the boys take to the streets of New York City. Hot.

No Comply

I am amazed by the endless variations of the no comply, or step hop, and have been doing different variations of this trick since its emergence in the late 1980's. The groms have picked it back up too and for further proof just visit http://www.youtube.com/ and search "no comply" to see what I mean. I am glad to see it.