Vincent Alvarez is a BEAST!

And quite possibly one of my new favorite pros. I don't wanna jinx him but he has the style and go for it type of mentality, or so it appears in his video parts, that will make him a legendary and hopefully a long lasting pro. Keep doin it man.

LAKAI VOLTAGE TOUR VIDEO from LAKAI LIMITED FOOTWEAR on Vimeo.

DJ Sayone

So it has been a while since I last spun in a club, but today i have the opportunity to rise up again from the ashes of my shithole career as a dj and just have some fun. I got into it cause it looked like a lot of fun, especially battling. Now some 15 years later I still love it like the day that I got my first mixer and turntable. I've gone through a lot of musical changes and in all sincerity if you had played some of the stuff I am listening to now for me back then, I would have called it lame as fuck. But I was a bit more closed minded and in hip hop especially when you are battlin you gotta have a front. But all in all I hope shit goes well I hope I get some photos and shit or at least a sound bite or somethin. One way or another should be fun, and a good way to get a couple of free beers.

Wish me luck.

peace

The times they are a changin

I have had a wonderful time livin in CA for the last 7 years and it has benefited me much. It has also cost a lot. But all in all I know that I am walkin away from this state a better person than I was when I came to it. And for that CA I thank you. On Friday I begin my own odyssey back to WV. I imagine it will be a lot easier than the mythic adventure, although I do have to ride back from Columbus so maybe there will be some adventure there, but I doubt it.

In all this bittersweet homecoming is a step in the right direction and hopefully a year from today I will post my acceptance into Med School. Until then I will be commenting on the skate scene in WV, the Mountaineers, DC nightlife, and random trips to NY. Hopefully all accompanied by video and photo documentation.

Lastly I just want to say thanks to all the people who have made my experience out here so wonderful. Everyone I skated with, minus a couple you know who you are and we'll run into each other one day, everyone I had a nice drink and conversation with, and just everyone I've met. An especially huge thanks and I love you to my girlfriend, who brought me out of a really shitty period of my life and supported me to no end. I will be leaving her here but not behind me. I'll be counting the days until we are living together again.

Peace

Too Long

In all sincerity I wanted this blog shit to work out just as a means of getting me motivated creativity wise. But I fucked up and got a shit hole job and pretty much let that shit demotivate me completely. Now I hope that that won't happen again.

RIP GURU

I can't believe that he passed so soon. This guy deserved way more credit and play time that he ever got. Sincerely, I can't even count all the times his songs got so hyped to get out and do something with my life. Whether it was "Mass Appeal" telling me to get out and buy some turntables and learn to scratch or "No Shame in My Game" telling me to get out and skate, I owe this man and all of the creative endeavors that he pursued, so much. I just wanna say thank you GURU, for everything and my deepest condolences to your friends and family.

RIP

Andrew

Break Yo'self..... Rodrigo?

I am puttin up my first real attempt at doing one of those all in one sequence shots. Unfortunately for my homey Rodrigo, its of the take where he broke his ankle. Felt so bad for him man. The spot is Las Plaza Americas in Tacna, Peru. I recommend that everyone who skates takes the opportunity to go down there and get some tricks in. Here it is.

Ted Back 180

This bump is a weird ass thing to lauch off of. You kind of have to ride off it like a wall ride but pop it. Took ted a couple of tries to get used to, but he got it. Almost got a badass japan air also, but I'm gonna wait to put that one up once he lands it.

Andrew

Been a while...

Sorry about the delay, supposed folks who are lookin at this shit, but it has been a more than eventful weekend. Thursday being the high point and Saturday being the nadir.




First things first, the LRG premiere of "Give Me My Money Chico" was amazing. Seriously the venue, the open bar, the cavalcade of stars ranging from my personal heroes of the mid and early 90's to the new school allstars..all amazing. The video did not disappoint by any means. Whoever was there left more than content, with their fill of bangers, tech madness, unbelievably smooth style and cinematography. Shit was amazing. Rodrigo Peterson opened it up with a part that was almost imposible to follow. Tre flip crooks and nosegrind on a rail in a single part? whaaaaaat? Fuckin ridiculous. God I wish I hadn't drank so much so I could get into some more specifics on the other parts but toward the end shit got a bit blurry. The middle of the vid was just as great with superb style and spot selection. Chico, Kelly Hart and Andrew Langi stand out in my mind. For someone who has been a pro since I started skating, Chico has maintained in newer tricks throwin lasers all over the place. Ridiculous. Langi was a show stopper. Mainly cause it seemed like not too many people expected a part from him. I know I didn't. But his banger was fuckin huge. Finally the video had like three enders pretty much. Jack Curtin, Rodrigo TX and Rob G, all killed it. For real it was like 20 minutes of everything you could ever wanna see from a vid. Thank god for this release. The video had so many good parts its hard to remember them all but the team is so cohesive that it really appears familial. It reminds me of Listen's "Viajeros Locos," in that the cinematography, spots, tricks, team, soundtrack... all came together to form a movie that will in my mind will be timeless.


Photos from the premiere


On a side note fuck Duke. I know they won but fuck them.

peace

FINAL FOUR!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you, Joe Mazzulla! I have long been a fan of this kid. For real no one plays with more intensity against tough teams. We started slow yesterday but fuck if we didn't finish strong. I love being a Mountaineer! On a side note CalPoly, Pomona, my aforementioned alma mater, took the Division II title yesterday. So it would be mad nice if I had two teams reppin two titles in two divisions. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

If God Loves Me...

He'll somehow, someway, get me into this premiere. I have high hopes since the last time I went to a premiere that Vern Laird organized he took my girl and I in personally, literally sayin, "You all are gettin into this premiere." I did have to drop the fact that I was born in Philly and raised on the east to invoke some sympathy from him. But I at least I wasn't lying. But since then I got completely wasted and went around makin an ass out of myself at Chico's shoe release party. Soooooooooo... hopefully I can get in. I think maybe a fake mustache might be in order.

World Premiere: Give Me My Money Chico Trailer from LRG on Vimeo.

Mr. Say

I am definitely trying to get more artists up so that I can pay back for all the inspiration and aesthetic additions that they give to us all. This guy here is an up and comer out of Portland. Kid has mad style and if you click through his flickr photo stream you can really see his improvement and style development. I really like his use of multiple mediums and colors. Kid is fresh and I hope he gets a gallery show locally so I can cop some stickers.

Keep puttin shit out kid.

peace

Two More Games...

To go and we might have the NCAA title. I can't believe this shit could go down. I definitely wanna see WVU go all the way, but I am more than happy with how well we've done so far. Shit is fucking ridiculous. History in the making SON!

It's Been Along Time...

Since I posted up an artist that I have liked for a while. I doubt that it is a coincidence that the majority of these artists are chicano or latino, but man this guy is so amazing. I remember the first time I heard of him was in the Cheech Marin book Chicano Visions. His name is Chaz Bojorquez and he has been an essential part of chicano mural and graf art since 1969, is the man behind the iconic "Señor Suerte,"



and is deserving of the admiration that the community has bestowed upon him. In this post I just gonna put some of my favorites.

Here's his site and buy his book. You won't be disappointed.

Backtail

Had an interesting day. Went and polyurethaned the bondo spot and got to skate it with the homies. Shit was ridiculous. What was once a six foot ledge spot is now like twenty feet. Left there went grocery shopping got approached by a crackhead. Who, apparently, was on the run from the cops. Dude went up to my back passenger door and was like, "lets roll fool." I was completely dumbfounded. Shit was crazy. He was promptly arrested by Rancho's finest. Overall it was nice day. Skated the manny pad. Skated the ledge spot. Got one photo. Here it is...




Ted Back Tail

New Photos

Been chillin with Ted lately. We went out yesterday to hit up this wash spot and got a decent Photo.



Had a bit of a range issue with my radio slaves but I think everything went off alright. We also hit up CalPoly, my alma mater. Shit was alot of fun, got some clips and photos, all in all a good day.

As night set in we just chilled had some drinks and decided to fix up the bondo spot we just did. So hopefully we'll have some footy soon to post up.

peace.

If You Don't Know...

Sometimes when you need or want to comment on something so big, so historical, it makes you feel insignificant. How can any words that I could put together even come close to giving respect to what Biggie did for hip hop, and people in general. I think back to instances in my life where his music was playin. All I can come up with are good times, with good friends and usually a really good mind state, for those who know what I'm implying. So I guess the only thing I can do is say thanks and I just wish you had had more time to make more classics.

Checkin Out

Everybody should go look at this Tony Manfre interview on the Slap site. As everyone has seen he's got one of the best styles on the planet and is getting some well deserved coverage right here. It's really good. It comes with an audio interview too. Which allowed me to listen to something interesting, from someone interesting, while cleaning my living room. Muthafuckas multitaskin up in this bitch!



NOW GO BUY STATIC III!!!!!!

3D-ED

Another interesting development from the Krooked camp. It seems that reintroducing ideas of past popularity like the zip zinger and guest collaborators of present and yesteryear are what the Gonz is about. So it seems only logical that they would go 3D. I just hope that this leads to an all 3D video or at least a teaser or tour for fucks sake something. So here is the first clip. Mike Anderson at Griffith Park.

3D glasses required. Obviously.

Andrew

Fridays!

Fridays are always special. Well, at least they should be. Fridays are also the days that I imbibe. So from now on I will be posting photos of what will most likely lead to one of four options: 1) me going to sleep earlier than usual, 2) staying awake later than usual, 3) making an ass of myself, or 4) losing friends. More than likely 3 or 4 will combine with 1 or 2. Anyways... tonight is...drumroll...



Miller Lite! A classic go to for the guy that is running low on the funds. Yeah I know some of you are saying, " What about King Cobra?" or,"What about Beast Ice?" Well, let me tell you all something about that. I was born with a thing called dignity and until that is gone I think I can go ahead and find the extra dollar per six pack to buy a not-so-generic beer. This doesn't go out to people who actually live in Milwaukee, because over there I think Beast is a delicacy like sushi. So an early I'm sorry to my girlfriend and the people I will eventually come in contact with. I'll see you on the court.

peace

El Mac y Retna

In keeping with the previous post, I wanted to put up two of my favorite, and with all of the attention they're getting probably two of your favorite, artists El Mac an Retna. My girl and I had the opportunity to see the show "Vagos y Reinas" that they had locally in the Robert Berman Gallery a couple of months back when it was still warm. It was fuckin awesome. From the portraits, and oil paintings to the collaboration and the three dimensional calligraphy pieces, everything left my jaw wide open. I was super impressed by the texture given to the huge portrait pieces by El Mac. The way he creates a kind of topographical cross etching that follows the contours of the subjects and the shadows is mind blowing. Sincerely all the critical acclaim that these two are receiving is well deserved. The prints and the books were sold out, which fuckin blew but, I did manage to cop a limited edition Upper Playground x El Mac x Retna x Montana autographed and numbered aerosol can, Boooyeah!!.



















Which will remain in its box, hidden and stowed away so that only I can go and rub it against my face during my lowest depressions or when in need of inspiration. How is that for contrast.

Here are some pieces.

peaces

Patrick Martinez

When I was younger, I always thought that it was really... for lack of a better word, retarded, when people would look at a painting and say that they identify with the artist. I think it is mainly due to the fact that the artists that usually gain major metropolitan coverage are older, often dead, and from situations that I could never personally relate to. In the mid 90's I was fatefully introduced into graffiti, via my sisters boyfriend at the time, C-low/NO2. I had always seen graff on the walls and during trips up north, but I had never personally known someone who was actively doing it. My mind was blown. No more Bob Ross, no models, no canvas, no nothing. It was you, your imagination and the amount of balls you had to go for it. It wasn't, "hey will you look at my painting," or, "hey will you check out this sketch." It was there. It was something they would shake their heads at or take in with a nod and a "fuckin kids" grin. But they always saw it.

Now some fifteen years later, to see an artist like Patrick Martinez doing it big and getting recognition from it is amazing. A style that is obviously infused with traditional and street concepts mixed with a shit load of different mediums and canvases allows for Martinez's truthful, political and satyrical subject matters to come across with an entertainingly smooth bluntness. I can only hope that he continues to work prolifically. Beyond that he is also an easily accessible person, who responds to his email promptly and personally. His work is also very reasonably priced. I completely intend on coppin some pieces hopefully in the near future.

Keep pushin out the good work!

Andrew


patrickmartinez.com

Gifted Unlimited Rhymes Universal

This post is simply just a shout out to a man who, in a large part, helped form my adolescent identity. Albums like; Hard to Earn, Jazzmatazz, Moment of Truth and a slew of collaboration singles, played steady in my Walkman, then my Discman, and now my iPod. I'll be sending all my prayers to you, Guru. Get well soon.

Andrew

First of many?

This is my first blog on my first blogspot. Hopefully it will continue, but I'm not making any promises. The content of the blog should be varied, mainly ranging from skateboarding to opinionated rants and extremely uninteresting shit. All in all I hope it turns out alright.

Andrew