KCDC Video (partially) Online

March 4th, 2012 | 5:03 pm | Daily News | 5 Comments

KCDC premiered a new video this past November to honor the shop’s ten-year anniversary. It took them a while to get copies pressed up, but they finally have them on sale for eight bucks. Initially, people were saying the video was mostly throwaway, but it’s a fun watch regardless. It’s made by Peter Sidlauskas, so that makes it a product of the east coast’s finest skate video production studio. The only parts online are from Flipmode franchise members (McFeely, Derick Z., Gonyon) and Danny Falla (shout out to him for doing a fakie hardflip on the Saint John’s Hospital Banks…that seems really difficult to do.) Derick’s part has a handful of cameo appearances from members without full parts. Hopefully, that Phil Rodriguez part comes out on March 14th, 1992. There’s also a lot of weirdo art school video art shit going on in there, a la Caviar (McFeely’s part = Best Art Direction in a Video Part 2012? Flipmode-directed indie electro band and/or SpaceGhostPurp videos up next?), so it’s more-or-less a full-on Flipmode video. It’ll probably be on the bonus feature disc of the eventual DVD box set, along with I Woke Up Dead.

As you probably know, KCDC had to get rid of their ramp, and will relocate the shop in the same neighborhood next month. You could and should buy the full video for $8 on KCDCskateshop.com.

That spot at 1:21 in Falla’s part isn’t in the United States, is it?

Remaining parts embedded below.

An Interview With Shawn Powers

February 15th, 2012 | 9:43 am | Features & Interviews | 17 Comments

A friend recently put Palace’s first (and for now, only) American acquisition in great context: “For a British company that seems pretty intent on staying British, you have to hand it to them. Out of all the Americans they could have put on the team, they chose Shawn Powers.”

The following is an interview conducted with Shawn at Tompkins Square Park late this past fall, by Lev Tanju of Palace Skateboards, with some help from QS. Photography by Brian Kelley and Emilio Cuilan. Videos by the Flipmode Media Empire.

Unlike past interviews from talkative, heavily opinionated individuals, Shawn’s personality yields brief, sometimes bizarre answers. His eccentricities have been well-documented on video, but this is about as close as you can get with words. At least 20% of the things you’ll hear him say in real life are Drake and Big Pun lyrics, so this came out surprisingly coherent.

Where are you from?

Queens.

You lived there all your life?

Yep.

Growing up in New York, who got you into skating? Who were the first New York skaters that you looked up to?

My friend Joey from Queens had a skateboard, and it started there. I’d see Harry Jumonji, sometimes Quim Cardona, Billy Rohan. But it was mostly people in older videos [that I looked up to.] Christian Hosoi, Jason Dill, Lennie Kirk, Fred Gall.

How long have you been skating for?

About ten years. Oh, Rob Campbell, too.

You seem like a lone wolf sort of dude, you keep to yourself. Do you skate mostly on your own or with people?

Both. When I come to Tompkins, I skate with everybody. Usually, I like to skate alone at night, and film with Joe Bressler and Peter Sidlauskas. I wake up at night, I feel more alive at night.

What’s your favorite spot?

Tompkins, Washington Square Park, Flushing, the Triangle in Queens, that’s where I learned how to skate.

“In memory of MegaUpload”

January 30th, 2012 | 12:20 pm | Quarter-Diary | No Comments

Filed Under: Quarter-Diary | Tags: ,

We Dropped ‘Duffle Bag Boy,’ They Started Takin’ Ideas

January 30th, 2012 | 8:30 am | Daily News | 16 Comments

THE MONUMENTAL 2 CHAINZ NYC DEBUT IS UPON US (AND SOLD OUT.) “I HAD MAD PEOPLE CALLING ME ASKING WHY I DIDN’T GET THEM A TICKET, I’M LIKE, ‘I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW YOU LIKE 2 CHAINZ.’”

“In 1992, I filmed an interview with my friend, former pro skateboarder, Jeff. Jeff was at the lowest point of his career. This footage has been unseen for almost 20 years.” Peter Sidlauskas = Oscar winner by 2043? Billy McFeely “Best Actor in a Leading Role” winner by 2036? Not no, right?

Kalis now owns two of the benches from Philadelphia City Hall. Skateboarding wins. (Supposedly, a bench like that runs for ~$5K, which means you could make a perfect skatepark with $30-40K, zero “ramps,” and a paved lot…)

Jimmy Marketti uploaded a montage of new old footage that looks like it came from the mid-2000s. Unseen Rob Campbell clips, Andrew Reynolds second angles, and a somber look at the original back of Union Square.

Some raw footage live from the Tompkins bench, a dive into the odd mind of Shawn Powers, and Tribeca Park stuff that you could probably skip. Tompkins > Tribeca.

While on the topic of nineties west coast company excursions to the east, this 1994 clip of the Girl, Chocolate & Firm east coast tour (from 411 #8) is worth a look. There’s a New York section at the end, but it’s mostly lifestyle clips.

A well-written, contemplative, and occasionally Freudian analysis of “why l*ngb**rds suck” by Will Staley. Naturally, someone in the comments posted a link to a video insisting “You have no idea what can be done on a l*ngb**rd. It puts skateboarders to shame.”

“Skateboards as props in rap videos hit a new, unforeseeable, low recently in Soulja Boy’s video for ’50/13.’ Dude on the left is holding a deck with no griptape, trucks, or wheels. It is not a skateboard; it’s just a board.”

A pair of interviews from two of the finest content-creators in skateboarding went online last week, and they’re definitely worth your time: Robert Brink and Patrick O’Dell. The O’Dell one should have been more in-depth, but whatever.

The Be Pretty video is now online in full. Highlights include a front 3 up Three-Up-Three-Down and a Flushing grate gap NBD, and a reminder that Big L was ahead of his time with the whole “From New York and never was a fan of the Knicks” thing, considering the current 7-13 mess we’re in.

Quote of the Week:


Last but not least, happy birthday to the G-Man. Hope to see you back living in New York this year.

The Events That Defined New York City Skateboarding in 2011: 5-1

December 31st, 2011 | 6:45 pm | Features & Interviews | 3 Comments

2011 is over in five hours. Here are the final five. Have fun tonight everyone.

Previous installments: #25-21, #20-16, #15-11, #10-6, The Best Video Part(s) of 2011, The Year in Rap.

5. The Rise of 12th & A Rap

As 12th & A’s stronghold on New York City skateboarding waned, it began to rise as an epicenter for New York City skateboard rap. With artists like ASAP Rocky, Odd Future, and Krayshawn getting deals off YouTube videos, the young skaters of 12th & A drew inspiration from their D.I.Y. attitude, and set out to make a name for themselves in perhaps the only professional world more overpopulated than pro skateboarding: rap. Slicky Boy remixed white people’s favorite Ice Cube song and has been promising a mixtape all year. The Stoned Rollers took Lex Luger out of the trap and the strip clubs, and brought his trademark thump to the skate spot. And Black Dave, perhaps 12th & A rap’s greatest success story, is one-for-two with making it onto WorldStar with his videos.