Backstreet Atlas | Quartersnacks

Weekend Viewing: Backstreet Atlas

Daily News August 23rd, 2013 · 4:55 am · 3

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The Ride Channel was nice enough to run Backstreet Atlas, the mini doc about two guys skating from Boston to New York, on their YouTube page. You might remember that we interviewed Adam and Zach about their journey back in April.

Living in New York, it’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming the entire world revolves around you. (At least until a hurricane comes through and you realize you’re just on an island with expensive coffee in a corner of the Atlantic Ocean…) People barely consider nearby cities outside of Philadelphia, Boston, D.C. and maybe Baltimore, but the northeast is a pretty big place. They were able to condense their two hundred-mile / two-week trip into a twenty-minute video, and while it doesn’t even have a big flip in it (!!!), it’s a fun video that does a great job of getting you hyped to explore a bit further than your own backyard, or just to go skate in general.

Solid work from all those involved. Have a good weekend.

Alternate Vimeo Link. “Keep it real, I guess.”

An Interview With Adam Abada & Zach Baker, The Two Guys Who Skated From Boston to New York

Features & Interviews April 17th, 2013 · 5:12 am · 5

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There are obviously more serious things going on with Boston right now, but here is a quick lighthearted distraction from that whole situation. This past August, these two guys skated from Boston to New York City — twenty-five miles at a time on hard wheels — stopping in New England towns that your average skateboarder would only know from exit signs on I-95. The short video of their journey, “Backstreet Atlas,” premieres at the Jane Hotel (113 Jane Street) at 8 P.M. on April 18 (tomorrow.)

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How did this idea come about?

A: It was initially a joke. We talked about skating from Boston to New York without ever having the intention of doing it for a long time. We were having a conversation about skating distances and one day Zach was like, “I’m gonna skate back home from Boston” one day. It wasn’t an epiphany or anything, the joke just became more of a good idea. We entertained it for so long, that we just decided to go for it.

Z: We first planned to do it two years ago. First it was supposed to be in the fall, then spring, then Adam hurt his knee, so it kept getting pushed back.

What was the process of getting it from being a joke to an actual trip?

A: First, we thought we were gonna wing it and just skate, but the more we thought about it, it made sense for us to plan to hit up cool stuff along the way. We weren’t gonna make a movie. Then figured if we were gonna do it, it’d potentially be worth sharing. We planned on shooting whatever interesting things we see along the way, but nothing specific. We did want to go to all the skate shops though.

The Place Beyond the T.F.

Daily News April 15th, 2013 · 5:26 am · 4

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Tity Boy S.V.U. 2 Chainz and Detective Benson are dating.

A few new QS tees are coming out this week.

Check the outtakes from Lurker Lou’s Williamsburg Monument spot check, one of the highlights of the new Iron Claw video, Faux One One.

Magenta parodies are like a “thing” now, huh? “Shmagenta Welcomes Jacque Lally” comes one month after Dimestore’s entry. Great music supervision. #trendwatch2013

ICYMI — Hopps’ spring commercial is great, just like everything else associated with that company. Not mad at T.F. West night lines either.

Tape is a new video from the crew that made Be Pretty, edited to nineties late night rap radio freestyles as a homage to a certain Zoo York video. One would hope that a sequel set to Clue freestyles has been discussed.

Here’s the Yaje Popson and friends section from the Mama’s Boys video.

Two teasers for upcoming New York-based videos: CCTV by Nick vonWerssowetz (LurkNYC) and Tengu by Colin Read (Mandible Claw.)

Kevin Tierney put together a Tompkins montage from the short-lived Labor box era. (Wait, is four weeks not really “short-lived” in T.F. time?)

Some background info on 43 Magazine and the now-notorious subway ollie photo.

Even Bon Appetit magazine knows that the $3.50 bodega egg and cheese sandwich is one of the best things about New York. How every other city fails miserably at this simple recipe continues to be a mystery.

“Backstreet Atlas,” the short film about two guys skating from Boston to New York, is premiering at the Jane Hotel on Thursday, April 18 at 8 P.M. Flyer here. Teaser here.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Durant hasn’t been on here all year, so why not?

Quote of the Week: “Daft Punk making an album with no samples is like Stevie Williams filming a transition part.” — Roctakon

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