A quick look through my tapes from Thursday and it wasn't too hard to find some sick clips to put up. Thursday was Christmas party so a quick and intense ramp session and then on to the Prince of Wales at Kenfig for a haunted nut roast and chips!

Kill City at Ally's from Jono on Vimeo.

A quick re-post of Mike 62's Roller racing video......Swansea Rollapaluza is not too far away so this might fire you up...

Mike's Roller Race Video from Jono on Vimeo.

Long time ago now but we did spend a year in Central/South America....i started making something out of all the video i brought back and this is as far as i got....it's a kind of intro to the whole thing comparing life as a courier in London to the bright colours of Latin America...as everything i do it remains a work in progress so there is some to take away and plenty to add...i might even get back there before it is completed so then it will be back to square one....here are a few of the ideas i was working on....

Brick Lane in 3 seconds from Jono on Vimeo.

brick lane to brazil part 1 from Jono on Vimeo.

A Day at the Beach from Jono on Vimeo.

Tim, Dougie, Jason and Pete rockin S.F. in October this year.........

A few clips taken on my phone mainly from my bike in London working at Metro.....Angus and Ben are in there too.....2006ish.

Quick ride to the end of the road....not actually that far but good to be on the road again after so long waiting for my groin strain to clear up....got a turbo trainer from Rob for some fair weather living room rides

Creature premiere in Newport on Sunday should be a riot......

Since i'm injured again and unable to skate for a little while i've been taking my camera along to the Thursday nights at Ally's ramp...here are a few clips i stuck together in a speedy fashion......

Ally's ramp clips from Jono on Vimeo.

Plenty more tapes to go through and a few more Thursday's when i can't skate but intend to go along anyway.....more to come in other words.

With the prospect of Rollapaluza coming to Swansea i have re posted my Roller Race video in a higher quality than previous appearances.
Bristol had the South West qualifiers at the weekend and there was talk of Swansea being ideal for the Welsh version.....
It all depends on finding a good venue and getting some interest generated. The race will be the Welsh qualifier for the Rollapaluza National Series 2009....finals will be in London sometime soon....in the meantime we need to get Swansea rolling......

Roller Race from Jono on Vimeo.

Rollapaluza National Series 2009

Ally slowed down from Jono on Vimeo.

A video i made in 2004 and just found on my drive.......

Three American bands in London 2003/04 from Jono on Vimeo.

Links

I posted this clip before but with the Young Offenders interview still fresh from a couple of weeks ago i thought it would go well next to the Alleycat pics....Tim edited this Mash meets Lance Armstrong piece and i reckon he did us all proud, it's a long way from Western Road to the streets of Austin but i reckon skating the short downhill outside the Taunton Rd villa set Tim up for his obvious understanding of speed and continuity that eventually gave us this video...next time you can ride in it as well as editing.
Nice one Tim!



Talking about the Swansea Alleycat check out the Fixed Gear Wales blog report of the race here. Thanks for using my pictures Tyron!!

Swansea had an Alleycat race!!!!



Swansea's first Alleycat(as far as i know) was put on by the good people of Fixed Gear Wales on Saturday 3rd October 2009.....21 riders turned out on a blustery Saturday afternoon for what looked a pretty big course with plenty of hills...can't go too far in Swansea without hitting a hill and some of them are steep, steep, steep......I wish i was in this race, it looked like a lot of fun but my long standing torn muscle put an end to cycling 8 weeks ago at Cuckfield bowl....soon though, i can feel it.
Didn't know anyone from the Swansea fixie scene so felt like a bit of an intruder at first hobling around with ione in the pushchair pointing a longlens camera at people having a quiet race on the streets of Swansea but i soon made it clear i wasn't the man bringing things down man...i hope...everyone was super friendly so it was cool.


I'm pretty sure there are no couriers in Swansea but some of the out of towners from Cardiff, Bristol and Dublin could have been....not that that makes any difference, this alleycat had published all the checkpoints on the Fixed Gear Wales website a week before so it was pretty different from the alleycats i've been in....how this worked out i don't know as i was tied to the start by my injury, lack of bike and puchchair...it was the Bookworm Alleycat so book in back pocket the riders sped off to a selection of Swansea's libraries to collect stamps.....check out the website over the next few days for results/report/video and pictures.......in the meantime here are a few pictures i snapped.









Not only did they get 21 riders for their first race they also managed to get a mountain of prizes so it looked like everyone who entered must have got somekind of prize, looking forward to seeing the reports and the next race if this one didn't put them off, don't think so somehow with all the smiling faces. Cool prizes came from Hell Yeah who have some cool designs especially their homage to Nausea..... Tokyo Fixed Gear, Howies....the list is a long one but Fixed Gear Wales has the list......Anyway roll on the next one and in the meantime i'll try riding my bike again as soon as the pain goes away.

Courier appreciation day

Saw a dicussion on the Moving Target forum the other day about the Courier Appreciation day.....



Here's the 2006 table on October 9th and well appreciated it was too, good to actually stop and have a chat and have a coffee and some toast with people you rode past every day and usually only waved or nodded to.

A complete remake of Matt Hensley's Hokus Pokus section directed by Patrick O'dell...the song is covered by the Historics.....rad!!! Everyone is totally Hensleyd up and the spots are pretty much the same as the original....
"Check out the new video for Historics' new single "A Lot Less." Directed by Patrick O'Del and featuring: John Rattray, Alex Olson, Braydon Szafranski, Andrew Allen, Heath Kirchart, Mike Rusczyk, Chris Pastras, Clint Peterson, Clark Hassler, Kevin Spanky Long, & Matt Hensley."

Thursday nights over the winter down here in Wales are starting to look good, Ally has a ramp in a warehouse, sweet, this is Dylan from Bridgend.

Gonz

The latest dial i painted for Rollapaluza.....
Started using a roller instead of a brush for the background colour and varnish, looks better in the spotlight, it got it's first use last Friday at Bethnal Green Working Mens club.....Brief Encounter























The last picture is from Brief Encounter,
Denis Yeo took this and a lot more cool shots of what looked like an amazing night. Thanks for the pic Denis.

The Young Offenders interview.

The Young Offenders are Tim, Dougie, Jason and Pete....they are based in San Francisco and regulars of this blog probably know them and know the music so you already know how good they are, maybe one day they will head over here to play but i have some doubts about that happening too soon so get saving and get to S.F. quick, in the meantime check out this quick interview with Jason and Tim and then listen to some
great tunes at their Myspace page.............


Pic: Mark Murrman

A few questions answered by Jason and Tim......

The Young Offenders are based in San Francisco but like the city itself it’s members are from far away ports…The Young Offenders imagery boasts members from London, Belfast and San Francisco so how did these individuals separated by half the world come together?

Jason: In a bar, of course. I met Tim and Dougie through mutual friends. One night we were drunk in a bar about four years ago and Tim said he and Dougie and some other bloke were playing music and asked if I wanted to play. I hadn't picked up a guitar in five years, but liked these guys enough to say what the hell and give it a try.

Tim: I’m from Cornwall, married a yank. Dougie is from Belfast and we can’t seem to get rid of him!! I’ve been here 8 years and met Jason through mutual friends. Me and Dougie asked Jason to come jam when we were ripped up in a bar, for some reason he agreed. Pete has been a friend of my wife Karen’s family since they were kids, as soon as we met started talking about playing music together. I imagine we will be playing music in some form together forever.



How long has the band been together in this form and are the four members all original? I think there is some history for all the members of the band, what are your musical roots and bands before you became the Young Offenders?

Jason: My musical roots are varied, I grew up in the Los Angeles area listening to lots of punk, new wave, post punk, indie and rock music from the 60s and 70s. I think the other guys in the band have been lifelong lovers of hardcore and punk, but I'd be lying if I claimed to be one myself. I loved Crass, Government Issue, Dead Kennedys and other bands with a political bent, but most punk and hardcore I found to be boring and repetitive, and the scene tired and uninspired. Tim, Dougie and The Ox have introduced me to a ton of music I've never heard that has completely made me change my mind about that. I missed some good bands because I was doing my own thing. That's one of the main reasons I love being in this band, everyone is still listening to music and excited about it. We introduce each other to new stuff all the time.
My only other band was an indie band called Dolores Haze that played in San Francisco in the late 1990s. We released a couple of albums on a friends label.

Tim: Me, Dougie and Pete played together sporadically doing Negative Approach and Jerrys Kids covers. Then we got back together and wrote some tunes, Jason jumped in really brought the last piece to the puzzle. The best thing about this band is that it couldn’t function without all four people. We all bring something different both as people and ‘musicians’ that somehow really works for us. It’s great that some folks dig it too, but the four of us having fun still, and always will, come first. I’ve been in bands since I was a kid (5 Minute Fashion, Totenhaus, Nerves, Stockholm Syndrome)… I’ve done some records and whatnot and all the times with my previous bands have great memories. I grew up in the arse-end of England (Cornwall) on a diet of ACDC, Iron Maiden and Motorhead thanks to an older brother. At around 11 I discovered punk and hardcore and my life changed.
Pete was in the Loudmouths for a long time and has played with tons of other people over the years… too many to mention.
Dougie did stuff in Belfast but this is the first band he has recorded with…


Pic: Mark Murrman

Tim, I know your musical taste is very broad and your knowledge of music is John Peel like in it’s depth so how much of this influences what you do in the Young Offenders? How much input in writing comes from each member, I mean are the lyrics down to one person and the music to another or is it more of a group thing?

Jason: We all write songs, I bring in songs, Dougie brings in songs and Tim brings in stuff depending on how busy we are. No matter who starts it, everyone has input into the final product. I don't think we have a principal “songwriter” … if someone starts a song it definitely changes as everyone adds their own stamp on it.

Tim: When I was a kid I was going to bed listening to John Peel on the radio playing Ripcord and Heresy but also the Bhundu Boys, Orbital and the Wedding Present. It took a while to sink in but because of that I appreciate all kinds of music. Having Dougie living with me opened my eyes and ears to all kinds of shit. I am much more vocal about my music loves (and hates), but it is definitely Dougie who has the greatest breath and knowledge of music of anyone I know. He can go from Cat Stevens to Infest without breaking stride. When we are out together we are as likely to be at the front of a Never Healed show as on the floor throwing spins at a Northern soul night or getting down to Detroit Techno. Once I realized that there are merits to all kinds of music I just started soaking everything up. I’m an obsessive whether it’s music, bikes or whatever… I do it 100% - I’ve been collecting records for a long time… and loooooove them!! Theres plenty of stuff I don’t like… but more that I do, from African psych to folk….black metal to powerpop. My heart will always be with punk rock though…it’s what I know best!
We all like different music and the fact that we had no real boundries when we started the band it kind of let’s us do whatever we want. Because of that I think our sound is kinda unique… On the way to a show we are probably talking about the new Malcolm Middleton LP !! we all fire each other up about new bands too… of all genres. Our ‘writing style’ is pretty organic. We all write songs together. Usually Dougie or Jason come up with the main riffs and then we all jump in and tear it apart. I’m usually the one that says ‘shorter…faster…’!


Pic: Mark Murrman

Your discography is getting longer and with an album in the pipeline too, give me a rough list of releases so far…..


Demo (tape and cd…long gone)
7” on Art Of the Underground (sold out)
7” EP On Parts Unknown
7” on Deranged a couple of reviews
split 12” on 625 with Giant Haystacks.

Later this year we are going to record for another 12” for Deranged and Dirtnap is going to be putting out an LP/CD of our 7”s. After that? Who knows.


Looks from here you have plenty going on with a ton of gigs coming up, how regular are you playing in San Francisco? I saw you played twice at a festival in Texas, that must have been a hectic weekend what with all the other amazing bands that played, looked like it ran from Wednesday to Sunday at multiple venues, did you get to see much of the rest of it? Playing at home or playing away?? Do you prefer playing to your friends who know all the songs or a fresh crowd out of town who know none of it?

Jason: Texas was amazing. I saw a ton of bands, none of which I'd seen before. Bands I was blown away by at Chaos in Tejas: Pierced Arrows, Hex Dispensers, XYX, Strange Boys, Destino Final, Manikin and Cock Sparrer.

Tim: We seldom play SF… just for an occasion, the last time was a benefit for MRR and a new all ages show space. We usually just play when our friends bands are on tour. Chaos In Tejas was amazing…. 65 bands over 4 days… insane. We were lucky to get asked cos we are friends with Timmy Hefner who does the whole fucking thing. I had the most fun just hanging with my friends… I missed a lot of bands, but that’s ok, I had a great time. Band highlights? Hex Dispensers, Destino Final, Cock Sparrer, Judgement, Amebix, No Tolerance, Pierced Arrows, Skitkids and Sacred Shock at 4am in a warehouse. I like playing parties at home and I love been away for a few days with the crew. We are about to head down to San Diego for the North Park Awesome Fast which is 3 days – 60 bands,,, insane. Toys That Kill, Tiltwheel, Grabbass Charlestons…. Too many to mention… should be a blast!!! We have been lucky to play with some of my favorite bands and have become friends with some amazing people thanks to the band.



How does the band tie in with everything else you do? I guess you are all busy so does the band come way down the list? Is a tour on the cards. How do you manage to fit in everything else; family man, work, cycling, maximum rnr, listening to music and reading, all time consuming on their own, I’m amazed whatever the answer is??

Jason: Tim and Pete have two kids each, and I can't believe they do it. I work a fulltime job and have a wife, but other than that it's pretty easy for me to work it in.

Tim: The band is one of the most important things that I do. I have 2 kids and work a lot so we don’t have much time to do it, but when we do its really fun. I see it as a necessary break from my normal life – it givesd me a chance to unwind and hang out with my best friends…and jam some tunes while we are at it! The best thing about the band is that we are all busy and old so we just do what we can do…no stress. We won’t tour, we neither have time nor inclination. I am more of a sprinter than marathon runner so a crazy weekend away suits me fine. I’m sure we’ll do a couple of road trips a year. We are planning on Texas again, not to play the main fest, but a party with the Hex Dispensers. My wife is very forgiving and these days I spent very little time just sitting in the pub (tho I’d like to)…I realize I have limited time so I try and get as much done as I can. I’m taking my bike to San Diego…so I can rage, play and ride all in one weekend!!


What happened at the video shoot and when is that going to surface, looked like fun in the boxcar, how did all that come about? What song was it for?

Jason: Our friend Jon liked our song “Big Cities” and decided to spend time and money making a video. I still can't believe he did that. Thanks Jon.

Tim: Jon asked. We said yes. He delivered. The video is done… check vimeo or youtube. Jon did an amazing job…



How does skating fit in these days? How about Pete and his skating?

Jason:I can't skate, but surf regularly. Falling on water is much better than concrete when yer 38.


Tim: I pretty much hung up my board, but have been rolling around a bit recently now that my boy is starting to skate. Pete ‘the Ox’ Colpitts still rips when he can, he’s been hurt a bit recently but still blows minds. He is sponoserd by Felem in Japan and goes over there to skate each year. Watching Pete skate still makes my jaw drop. Dude is a stone cold legend.

Any side projects either in making music, playing it, putting on gigs, label, radio??

Tim: Well, me and Dougie write for MRR, I put on the odd show for friends. I edit bike films for some friends here in SF and do a blog. I’d love to do more music but just don’t have time. I’ve been talking with Jon (who did the vid) about making some music with him but so far I have been lagging…..!!

ione sleeps through her first gig.......
The Groundnuts and Independents at the West Cross ramp jam on Sunday.

The Groundnuts and Independents from Jono on Vimeo.

Groundnuts and the independents myspace
Ally told me about this band, been around for years and skating for years too...finally got to see them in the park at the end of the road.....kids loved it!!!

The Boardroom in Leicester had a jam too, looks like the bowl is still getting sessioned, Vaughn Baker ruling as usual......Nando's?? strange turn of events that in a very roundabout way battery chicken farming is paying for skateboarding in a bowl i had a hand in building, is there blood seeping through those sheets of ply....people love the Peri Peri, it's all about the flags, it's all about the chilli eating contest...these things are a badge of toughness...line em up suckers, it's a gun show.
Nevertheless the Boardroom saved the Edge from extinction and breathed new life into it, i mean look at the footage, the place looks awesome, it's stronger than ever and packed to the rafters....nice one.

More lestaonlock Skateboarding >>

A bit of a contest and jam happened on Sunday down at the miniramp at the end of our road...here's a few clips of what went down.......

West Cross mini ramp jam from Jono on Vimeo.

Rich requested this clip....Pivot fakie on a wet metal ramp by Tom!!

First of all learn this trick....seems easy!


Then do them like this.....

Photo taken from Thrasher mag

Thrasher Skateboard Magazine

Then enter the Thrasher mayday contest, alternatively just enjoy the fact that you can do an amazing looking trick, for my next trick i will do a pivot fakie!!.....if it's the last thing i do.

Rich does the slickest pivot fakies i have ever seen

Styley took this at the Gernika bowl when we went in 2006.

This years Thrasher skateboarder of the year???? Should be!!!!!

Rad!!! Shame the company that made these things stopped making them last year....

I collected as much of the masters, bulbs and inks as i could get my hands on and afford before the end of production in Japan so i have a little life left in my Gocco...nice one Styley for finding my PG11 and sending it over.....

Cool video that comes with the Gocco unit!

Claus Grabke post updated......

Styley sent a link to this video....nice!!!

Gorilla vs cyclists.....myth or monster?

How much deep fat frying would you need to do to end up powering your car with the left over oil?? Thats a lot of chips/spring rolls......

Ever wondered what happened to Claus Grabke? Why all his board graphics had clocks in them? Ask no more.....have a look at this exhibition of every Grabke board at the Skateboardfieber museum in Germany.....
"Without doubt Claus Grabke is the european Skateboard legend ! No other German Skater had ever such a commanding position as Claus had in the 80ies and 90ies. From Titus Skates (1983) he went to Powell Peralta (1985),to Madrid (1986) and later in the same year to Santa Cruz Skateboards. "



Other skaters are interested in time and time travel too.....shame the Clause Grabke tribute section of This n That isn't on this clip....

Trevor Johnson came down to Wales with the Kettering weekend roadtrip crew in July...here's a couple of lines from Chepstow bowl and Ally's warehouse ramp.....

Trev in Wales from Jono on Vimeo.

Ray Underhill video section from one of the Powell Videos....check the intro out, often quote this in my head when in the same situations, Paris, French Riviera, art galleries etc etc......insert your name and starsign.

Young Offenders video....freight trains, guitars....what more do we need???

A day at Cuckfield skatepark and i left unable to walk, over a week later and i still can't do a lot...i fell from a rocknroll thinking i'd made it and next thing i was down, i must have twisted to protect my knee and pulled/torn or strained something around my hip or groin which began to hurt a couple of days later....still weak from my broken leg well over a year ago i'm trying to build things up and get some of my strength back....today i was forgetting my weakness and thinking i could do anything, sort of anyway, been watching a lot of Thrasher videos lately and had more ideas above my station! Rocknroll's aren't hard but i got a bit tied up in the turn back in and either caught my front wheels on the coping or under rotated on the way in and because i'd figured i'd made it ti was a slam rather than a step off or bail.....the whole occasion must have fired me up and i forgot my limits, not imposed by my head but by my body. Try as i might to speed things up with walking, cycling, running, skating, swimming and whatever else i could do it didn't seem to take much to bring me down...not giving in though, from being carried out of the bowl by the mutie reunion crew to crawling up the stairs to hobbling around with the aid of an ikea fold away wooden chair i'll be back in the bowl in no time....gotta remember to fit in some training for the Cardiff half marathon at the end of October too.
Siobhan took the group pic and Len took my pic.

And a quick burst of Youth of Today when they played down at S.O.A.S. in London in March of the same year.....Tim was there too, way before i knew him....heckling the band by all accounts.

On the 8th November 1989 Gorilla Biscuits played at The Fulham Greyhound near Hammersmith in London....the pub long ago became a generic chain "pub" but in the late 80's and early 90's it was one of the London venues for cool tunes....
This is part one of the gig which i recorded on my walkman, one of the most memorable shows i have ever been to!
The sound is pretty good considering, i have cleaned it up a bit but sounds pretty good to me. First few minutes are slightly glitchy but stick with it........

Cuckfield is always good, rare to see many people there, easy transitions, metal coping and a hip on both sides into the shallow part. Some of the bottom part of the transitions are coming apart so a bit of an unexpected bump in parts but thats being too picky....skating at Market Harborough for years and cracks and uneven concrete are a part of skating. All these perfect parks and smooth concrete have meant that people have become spoilt.....what's needed is someone to build cracks into the design of parks like in the good old days.
Got a few clips from our trip on Saturday....me, Matt, Len and Sunay got an early start and mainly had the place to ourselves. A quick rough chuck together of the clips but more fine tuning and a plan that might come together sometime soon. John hinted at a get together of the old Rowell/ Desborough faces....Matt thought of a possible rent a night at Skaterham where we could meet up and have an indoor park to ourselves for a pretty small price....catch up and have a skate and perhaps recreate Jess's photo from our big trip to Stevenage all those years ago!!!

Liz asked me to take some pictures at Blast Off in Nottingham.....i only went to Friday night but the whole thing lasted 3 days and was an amazing feat of organisation on her part, it's a scary prospect putting on 2 nights at the Marcus Garvey which is a huge room...the thing is they pulled it off and what i saw on Friday night was fantastic. Here's some of what i saw and thanks Liz for getting me to come. Armitage Shanks played Shirts Off and it was already worth the drive up from Swansea!

Los Chicos at Blast Off from Jono on Vimeo.

Rollapaluza in the Philippines this week using the dial i painted a few weeks ago....

rollapaluza phil tv from fatboyralph on Vimeo.

The thriller in Manilla

Boardroom bowl in 2008....the bowl we built still looks as good
More Skateboarding >>

Confidence comes back really slowly...took a trip up to cuckfield with rob and ione to try and speed up it's return.

Alan was back from New Zealand for a holiday so it was a good excuse for a big old road trip to South Wales. Ally put the whole thing together at the Welsh end; all the spots, place to stay, new clothes for everyone, cheap surfboard deals....the Barr hospitality is legendary. I live in Swansea right now so i hooked up with Ally on Porthcawl seafront early and headed out in the Independent van to meet everyone at the Chepstow bowls...everyone was already skating when we got there, carving the bowls and getting as many in the bowl at one time as possible.....Kettering skaters seem to do this at every opportunity....i'm thinking of Romford last year when at least 30 tried to break some kind of coffin record down the big slalom hill into the bottom resevoir...maybe it was a record, i don't know and Kettering neither know nor care, it's just what they do. I think it comes from the long days and big bowls at Wicksteed park. Anyway it continues and i'm sure it always will.....






You gotta love the team shot......June 2009, Chepstow.

Team shot number 2.....Stevenage round about 1988, from the archive of Jess...3 of these fine looking fellas made it to the Chepstow pic...21 years later!!!