Frozen in Carbonite | Quartersnacks

The Oral History of ‘The Wire Spot’ A.K.A. Marlo’s Hangout

Features & Interviews July 24th, 2024 · 12:00 am · 3

📝 Intro + Interviews by Frozen in Carbonite

If you ask me, shit just hasn’t been the same since Home Box Office brought us all together every Sunday night at 9 P.M.

Finding spots in movies and television has long been a quantum-level subdivision of skate nerdery, from Breakfast at Tiffany’s (that black marble ledge on the east side of Manhattan) to The Godfather (Courthouse Drop) to Michael Mann’s Heat (DTLA Arco Rails area.) On an October 10, 2006 episode of The Wire, viewers caught a glimpse of a location known as Marlo’s hangout (Season 4, Episode 5) — a bleak concrete expanse with an array of banks, ledges, and bank-to ledges. It seemed insane that A) such a place existed, and B) one of the flagship programs of the “Golden Age of Television” used it as a key location.

As the legend of The Wire grew, so did that of the “The Wire Spot,” popping up in a slew of 2010s videos – primarily of the east coast variety. It seemed dope that an infamous locale in Wire lore became a destination spot, not only for locals, but for visiting pros.

Wish It Was Miami

Daily News December 26th, 2023 · 12:00 am

Simple Magic compiled a list (with excerpts!) of 2023’s best skateboard writing, including Mr. Munzenrider’s QS story about skate shop tees + Mr. Carbonite’s annual Song of the Summer x Part of the Summer study.

“You just got white rice?” Stephan Singh has a sick edit out called “Drop Top Drippy” featuring some deeper spot digging than any ol’ local edit. That firecracker bank thing on Morris Avenue might be the most London-ass spot in all New York. Kickflip was the one.

IMPULSE is an Albany / upstate scene video by Chris Sendzik with parts from Cooper Qua, Jeremiah Gray, Yafay Towles and a great closing section from Nick Persico.

Frozen in Carbonite Presents: Song of the Summer x Video Part of the Summer 2023

Features & Interviews September 14th, 2023 · 9:45 am

Words by Frozen in Carbonite

This year, the owners of my local bar revived an institution from The Before Times™: music trivia.

I call it music trivia, but it mostly consists of “name that tune” — the DJ plays 12 snippets (usually in a category like Eighties, Nineties, Songs about Beer ‘n Trucks) and you have to name the artist and title. Eighties is my shit; country my achilles heel. ANYWAY, this was the first time playing without drinking. Whenever I go to a bar, if they don’t have legit NA beers, I get a Red Bull and some appetizers because I feel like a dummy hanging out for hours and not spending any money. You pay for the experience. The ambience.

ANYWAY, I won ten bucks. I was psyched, but even more psyched at the end of the night when I saw the name the bartender entered for my tab.

It’s All Love — An Interview With Kevin Augustine

Features & Interviews April 26th, 2023 · 12:00 am · 11

📝 Intro + Interview by Frozen in Carbonite
📷 Photo by Owen Basher

I have no data to support this, but the marble at Pulaski increases one’s pop by 30 to 40 percent. However, if you inspect it closely, you’ll see a map etched into the blocks — a street plan of Washington, D.C. A.K.A. The L’Enfant Plan.

After conducting some rudimentary internet research, I found that L’Enfant, an engineer during the Revolutionary War, volunteered for the job and faxed his resume (the 1700’s version, naturally) to George Washington.

Of course, he got the job.

L’Enfant’s design brought a Euro flair to the new capital, deliberately building in a series of plazas. So, when you skate Pulaski you’re in the city, skating on a map of the city — an Inception-type scenario like the Las Vegas Raiders helmet or some shit.

ANYWAY, along the same lines, Kevin Augustine’s brand of ledge wizardry brings a flair to that world-famous speckled granite. We caught up with him on a recent trip to Puerto Rico and shot the shit about — among other things — coming up on the east coast, Call of Duty, and the life-cycle of a Dunk.

Better Late Than Never — Frozen in Carbonite Presents: Song of the Summer x Video Part of the Summer 2022

Features & Interviews October 28th, 2022 · 11:40 am · 2

[Ed. note — Wish Young Nudy dropped “My Gang” in late May. Any video that begins with the boys cutting their pants into shorts and hitting Biscayne Bay on jetskis is a bonafide summer anthem. Leaving this headliner as a tribute to the summer that could’ve been ❤️]

Words by Frozen in Carbonite

The world is a different place from the one in which I started this series a decade ago (not gonna go into all the ways here.) In my second summer of not drinking, I set out to find a new location to vibe out; the local bar wasn’t hitting like before.

So, I regularized my gym’s rooftop pool. For some reason, my gym has a pool on the roof in addition to the indoor lap facility. Although not as sick as those famous NYC rooftop hotel pools, it’s still pretty dope. Most importantly, the ratio at any given time of day is roughly the opposite of the one at your average skate function.