After the Inspecter 7 show at the Wonder Bar Saturday night, we went over to the Langosta Lounge and saw Stringbean and the Stalkers. I was invited to sit in but declined as I was pretty faded after playing the Wonder Bar show. Instead the Good Reverend Wright took to the mike and I to my camera to film this small bit for your enjoyment. It was another fine evening.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Waxin' Poetic
I have a serious love/hate thing goin on with surf wax. Love the way it smells, texture, taste (c’mon, you haven’t?) etc. Hate the way it makes my skin all greasy. Goin out at night with a shiny face after immersing myself in petroleum product all day kinda sux. Also, the brands that smell like cheap air fresheners get no love. A friend from West Coast Surf shop in Florida sent me a bunch of a new (unmentionable) organic wax to try. While it was generally, ok function-wise, I found it had to be reapplied before every session. Lame. No wax=No traction. $3 bucks a bar? You can keep it. I went to The Surf Wax Museum (http://www.surfwaxmuseum.com/ ) and selected a few favorites from some of the more colorful, adventurous, risqué, and just plain classic brands of days past.
Thanks to:
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Sims '84 New Wave Redux
I got the idea that I wanted to re-create the first skateboard I ever owned. It was a 1984 Sims New Wave in Aqua green that I got at Island Style in Sea Bright, NJ. It had the worst example of 80s style graphic anybody could have come up with. It came with Tracker trucks and yellow Sims Street Wheels. I put some serious miles in on that board, taking it state to state and even getting hospitalized once.
I found out that Sims had recently been reissuing decks, and the New Wave was one of the few. Limited quantities. I grabbed one for like $60 bucks. Tracker Trucks also had a small re-issue program as well. Many of the limited run trucks were already gone. It had been a thing they did in ’09. They did; however, have the Six-Track that was on the original board. Sick. Got two for $30 bucks.
The search for wheels led me to discover that this idea of mine was apparently not an original one and I found myself immersed in the world of black market skateboard wheels. It would seem that 1980s Sims Street Wheels were trading for an absurd $300 bucks! F that. Instead I got a set of 80’s Kryptonics for $34 bucks. That’s pretty much the standard current price for wheels anyway. They were brand new, never used and in a kind of hot/flamingo pink color. They gave the board this Miami Vice color scheme that seriously kicked up it’s 80s cred.
To finish it off proper, I found some new old stock 360 tail plates in the same color as the wheels. Bam! A NOS 80’s “nose bone” guard in purple matched the crazy graphic on the deck, so I grabbed that too. A set of Christian Hosoi (you bet) rail guards in white went perfectly as well.
I got everything together and headed over to Branded Surf & Skate where Adam hooked me up with bearings, riser pads, and grip tape. The grip tape proved a bit of a challenge as they make the rolls thin for the boards of today. He had to do some cutting to make the pattern the original board had. We also did some drilling to the deck too. Sims set it up with the new school bolt pattern. Wow. Once it was done, the board looked sick. Ronnie Jackson was in the shop working on the store sign with a few other guys and everybody was trippin on this board. This kicked off a round of back in the day talk about skate spots, gear, grinds, etc. Killer.
The board rides with a real 80s swag, though at first the trucks felt a lot looser than I remembered. After I tightened them down almost as far as they would go, it was spot on. I listened to some new studio tracks as I took the dog for a run with the board. It was a really cool way to start November.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Asphalt wishes and polyurethane dreams
The coming of Fall and eventually Winter, has me skating a lot more lately. Let's face it, Winter sucks. I don't snowboard, so I'm fkn over it. Enjoy these photos and the last few long days. Feel free.
Sessions : Saturday October 22, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Took the longboard out to the Inlet today. Waves were chest to shoulder high with the occasional head-high rogue coming through. Wind was hard offshore and causing a lot of spray. Very difficult to see on take off. Lots of fun, but accidentally dropped in on some dude’s bomb peak because I couldn’t see him behind the spray cloud. Got right off, though so – no harm no foul I hope.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Sessions : Big Tom Goes Right. Dophins, Single fins, and Hard Winds
Friday, October 14, 2011
Went out at Seawatch today with Big Tom. He had a G & S 9 ft-something. Big guy, big board. I brought the 9’2. The waves were bumpy, shoulder-high crumblers with some fun sections. Wind was hard south. About 25mph. Got some good ones and then jumped on the fish for a few before switching back to the log. It seemed to work better getting in early with the extra length of the longboard because I was getting dumped on the sandbar taking off much later with the fish.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
The surf was much better today. Took the twin fish down to Riddle. The waves were a consistent chest to shoulder with the occasional head high coming through in 4-5 wave sets. In other words, FIRING! Strange that I had to fight myself down there because I initially decided the wind was gonna be too much. It was a steady 25mph offshore gusting up to God knows what. But I had mentally decided a few days prior that I was gonna be getting wet on Saturday. When the winds went so hard offshore, I figured it was a wrap and planned to stay in the studio and get some work done. So, anyway, I talked myself down to Riddle Ave and paddled out. I didn’t get any waves initially, but when I looked south to the end of my own street I saw two dudes in barrels in the same set. I paddled all the way there from the jetty where I was. It was sick. The hard offshore held the lip up and forced the waves to peel perfectly (helped along by the extreme angle they were coming in from.) This allowed the fish plenty of face time to gain speed-maximizing fun. Tried to pull into a few barrels, but made it out of none. Did best when taking a high line right from take off and gaining speed for big bottom turns. What a day. Surfed twice and played a great show at night.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
It was only about 2 ft today. Took the log out and paddled jetty to jetty. Caught a few thigh high, machine-stamped waves. Wind was offshore at about 15mph, water clear and green. Big difference from yesterday. The dolphins were out in force, which was cool cuz I love to see ‘em.
Monday, October 17, 2011
I took the 6’2” Erie Peeples single fin out today to Seawatch. The waves came unexpectedly, so I got to the beach in a hurry expecting to see empty line ups. Nope. One loner just south of Brielle Rd, plus about 4-5 guys on the jetty of it. Photographers as well Headed to Seawatch, parked and paddled out on the south side of the jetty. Ran into Sean Bernhardt surfing solo. No one else around. Paddled out and immediately got a long right off the jetty. Waves were waist to stomach high with picture perfect, feathering lips. Riding the single-fin has me thinking a lot about different fin set-ups from days past
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