We were shoot the Uprail video and photos when Paul mentioned he was going to book a flight to Japan...leaving in two days! Who does that?! That takes balls. He met with his friend Kayle Burns to shred some of the lightest, fluffiest pow I've ever seen.
GoProPaul
They even had a premiere!
Here's the entire movie broken up into four parts. Enjoy!
We couldn't have asked for a better day for the guys at Pleasure Magazine to do some powder board testing. Blue bird and 20cm of fresh kept us all smiles all day at Powder Mountain Cat Skiing.
Our crew featured the likes of Stephan Maurer (Mu), Sani Alibabic, Pleaure Magazine owner/photographer Markus Fischi, writer Christian Bach, Powder Mountain/Camp of Champions owner Ken Achenbach, Camp of Champions filmer Leo Hoorn and myself. The guys at Pleasure were nice enough to lend me a 160cm Salomon Sick Stick. This board handled so well in powder. I highly recommend it for powder days.
Coming from a punk rock background, it’s hard to imagine that I can be found at many electronic based shows and even giving it a try myself. I’m sure I’ve stated the above a few times now, but this fact is not only my story; but also the story of Jesse F Keeler and Al-P. These two guys form the globally-praised Canadian electro duo known as MSTRKRFT. With Jesse starting his music career as one half of the punky/thrashy/dance band Death From Above 1979, it’s clear that this sector of musical inspiration is still a part of MSTRKRFT’s sound today. Al happened to produce the albums of DFA1979, and spent time in a few short lived punk and electro-pop bands himself before joining forces with Jesse to become the producers and live dj’s under the name of MSTRKRFT.
Alright, so we got the story down in brief. Punk rocker roots + interest in the dance scene + turned DJs + contributions from the finest of electro or rap artists = MSTRKRFT. See where I’m coming from? This is the recipe for a rowdy show, and after seeing them live back in 2008 at Pemberton Fest, I have been waiting for a second serving of their distorted electro goodness.
Last Thursday at Whistler’s finest, Garfinkel's nightclub I had my chance to catch the boys live once more. The place had a really great vibe and the hype was heavy. Everyone was ready to party, and tons of homies were in attendance. MSTRKRFT hit the stage just before midnight, right after an opening set by Dre Morel. I hadn’t been this stoked in a while. I’m so glad that all the new attention to Whistler is bringing in some world class acts to our small town!
After killing it on the dancefloor all night, I have taken some time to reflect on the kick-ass set and come up with an opinion. This is hard to say! The crowd loved it and so did I, their fusion of distorted hard electro with classic Daft Punk-esque original compositions, I’d say that they did the job right. Afterall, the girls do love the whole “All I do is party” thing that JFK and AL-P have planted on us forever. One thing I have noticed compared to the last time I saw them was a few years ago they had more of a pure electro-dance-pop sort of feel, and now they have made a harder comeback with their latest album, Fist of God, and it seems they are going more club-vibe. It’s hard to explain, but I’m not sure how I feel about that.
I feel like I have made the transition from dance-punk to electro with MSTRKRFT, as they were the first electro act I caught onto. That being said, it’s hard for me to diss anything they do as they will always be relevant to my music interest. So yeah, awesome time and it was good to catch these guys again. I look forward to seeing them again and see how they progress in time; they’re definitely here to stay.
Huge thanks to Garf’s for the awesome service and staff as always, MSTRKRFT for killin’ it, Jesse Nelson for the shots, Ryan Kenny rocking the video cam, all the bros that came out and partied, and the local promoters who keep bringing in the freshest acts!
Last month my boss, Ken Achenbach, gave me two tickets to me and Ryan to luge at the Whistler Sliding Centre. This is the fastest luge course in the world with someone being clocked doing 153.8 km/h!
We started inside with a small introduction to luge. As we were heading to the course I took this photo. We joked that it would be our time of death.
We took two runs from Corner 11 (we did the last 5 turns of the course). We used practice sleds that remind me of a homemade toboggan. Although we didn't hit any world record speeds, we went pretty fast! I went 76 km/h both runs and Ryan went 62 km/h and 75 km/h. At 62 km/h Ryan got the slowest speed of the day.
Here are some photos of the day:
There were two crashes in our group. Both crashes were on the last corner. Both individuals walked away unscathed. I have to think, was this foreshadowing the recent crash that killed Georgian Olympian Nodar Kumaritashvili?
With Vivo Headwear's successful launch of their first winter collection and snow team, they are now diving head first into their Spring/Summer project, working along side top heavy-hitters Mark Appleyard, Corey Sheppard, Spencer Hamilton and Grant Patterson.
Rumor has it Corey Sheppard is not only a professional skater for Vivo but has also taken the roll of Creative Director/Team manager, making this the ultimate rider-driven company. Make sure to watch out for their innovative spring/summer ball cap line in the near future.
One more announcement...Vivo Headwear TV, what's that all about? Pretty much to sum it up CEO Anthony Leffelaar and pro skater Corey Sheppard
are about to get on a flight to Asia for the next month, hooking up with local Vivo riders and capturing their crazy tales throughout Japan and China, and of course stopping at unique Skate and Snow spots along the way.
Make sure to check out there website for updates from the road!
One of the greatest things about traveling is the people you meet. During my last couple of days in Costa Rica, I got to meet and hang out with this guy named Patrick Rizzo. Patrick, myself, and two other friends had a great night over dinner, some drinks, some pot, and a few rounds of cards (asshole, to be specific).
Over the course of our conversations Patrick mentioned he was into downhill skateboarding. That point faded into a myriad of other conversation topics (including the always popular "facebook: good or evil"). At the end of the night, just before Patrick left, and basically in passing, he told me to check out an online video of him.
I checked out the video the next day and was blown away:
P.S. - This story was cross posted this from my blog.
I remember the last time I saw DL...Wait. That's a lie. I blacked out before his set started, pissed my pants and passed out in the bathroom at the Ocean Port in Squamish. Then I pissed in Bailey and Cam's kitchen (after which they made me take off my clothes and wipe up the piss). Oh memories/the stories that friends tell you the next morning. This time was nothing like that...I've learned to stay away from the bottle when shooting photos.
There was a big crew out that night including Joe Seebs, PYPat King, Mack Jones, and Alex Kotarski for her BIRTHDAY! (Alex and Paige, thanks for being patient with me til I got the shot - check out the last photo). Stoked for the next DL Incognito show!
DL Incognito performs "Universal Love" at Garfinkel's
Parts 2 and 3 of Robb's sailing adventure has him surfing by boat-tow, letters to Santa, spearing parrot fish, and eating pizza muffins and roast beef fish!
FT's web designer, Robb Davis, recently met up with some friends to sail near Panama. Part 1 of his adventure includes pirates, snorkeling, plastic waste, and a fine cock. Click the photo for more:
