Grit & Grind

d wade d reider

Apparently, D. Wade is a D. Reider fan. He’s not the only one.

Chrome Ball’s 900th post is dedicated to the Brooklyn Banks — “A testament to the resourcefulness of skateboarders when they can just be left the fuck alone.” In case you weren’t going on the site several years ago, we posted a series of interviews about the Banks in 2010, after the spot got completely shut down for bridge repairs.

Nick vonWerssowetz’s new video, CCTV, is great. Mostly filmed in New York, save a part in San Francisco. Great spot selection, presentation, and a soundtrack for all those yet to embrace Future / the future. Features Shawn Powers, Adrian Vega, and others. The DVD is for sale online and at Labor Skateshop for $10.

Check out Hopps Skateboards’ spring/summer 2013 collection on their new website.

Taji interviewed Galen over on the Vice site about his latest arthouse triumph, Mmm.

Were things better when Habitat’s logo was busier?

Mandatory reportage of Corey Rubin and Loose Trucks Max sightings: A sixteen-minute bro cam clip of the Brooklyn homies. All they wanna do is have some fun.

Zered and Eli shred around New England and go lobster fishing in the new Converse commercial.

Notable New York-based web parts: Pat Galloway for Michigan’s Plus Skateshop and Jordan Trahan in WeSC’s “Boroughs to Bayous.”

P. Rod v.s. the Bayside Ten in Queens, 2008.

ICYMI: The second chapter in a tumultuous month for sponsor resignations.

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Tayshaun Prince dunks on three Thunder players at once. You know what’s weird? Prince has been in the conference finals seven times in his career; Kobe and Duncan have eight appearances.

Quote of the Week:

riri vs jr

— Badgalriri responds to a devout J.R. Smith fan. Unfortunately, she was right.

Thanks to everyone who linked up the Forrest Edwards edit. Let’s go Grizzlies.

Weekend Listening: Hopps Skateboards & DJ Ross One Present — ‘Keep It Moving Volume 1’

ross one - keep it moving vol 1

This will either be a triumphant soundtrack to the second Knicks playoff win in twelve years, or a consolation prize for a weekend sullied by a Paul Pierce step-back jumper with three seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Our friend Ross One — one-half of the duo behind the winter 2011 classic, The Notorious Party Boy Soundtrack — mixed up a bunch of funk and soul staples in collaboration with Jahmal Williams and his great skateboard company, Hopps. Aside from being a solid hour of the sort of music you’d hear in a Hopps clip and an array of sample sources, it’s a reminder of just how many great songs have gone un-used in skate clips. (It’s okay to leave the Big L alone sometimes, guys!) Is it actually possible that nobody skated to Aaron Neville “Hercules?” It feels like it should’ve been in three San Francisco-based skate parts by now. Provided the imaginary Nate Jones comeback we’re hoping for is under way, he should follow up his Real to Reel music supervision with it. Also, Guy Mariano should’ve skated to “Miracles” in Pretty Sweet.

Check out Hopps’ spring commercial if you have yet to do so. Have a good weekend.

Related to today and #musicsupervision: Guru passed away on April 19th in 2010. Here’s our two-year-old post about Gang Starr and skate videos.

The Place Beyond the T.F.

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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

ICYMIHopps’ 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

Tape a Cheetah to Her Back

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Day after Christmas, 1975. Spotted via Skate and Annoy.

As we begin to search for the next generation of baggy-clothed, tech Euro skaters of the Javier/Lebron/Jesus/Flo/Enrique mold, the Czech Republic might be a good place to start. These dudes are not nearly as tech as the aforementioned five, but they’re maaaadddd hip-hop. There’s no doubt that a country containing possibly the best ledge spot on earth is bound to produce an eventual heir to Europe’s technical throne.

If there’s one company on the “I wish they put out more content”-list, it’s Hopps. Joel Meinholz skates through Grand Central in their new commercial.

Even if you’re going to condense the history of skateboarding into 120 seconds, your video should still include Mariano’s Mouse ender. It’s at least as important as the 900.

Music video portraits of urban teen angst are real hot right now. E.J. offers a Super-8 glimpse of dunion life in his visual for Slicky Boy’s latest rapz.

Your favorite rapper’s favorite stripper’s favorite shoe brand gets down with skateboarding for a weird result. #redbottoms

Old(er) skaters spend money to get away from the kids and scooters.

Some history on Southbank, the legendary London skate spot. The article includes the word “salubrious,” which seems like a great Jackie Chiles word.

A 16-minute raw footage B-roll from the recently released Schleyer Video (the video with the latest T.J. part.)

Wikipedia is not without its flaws, but it’s nice to know at least one of its editors considers QS an authoritative source on low impact street skating.

Spot Updates: 1) Chase is still closed off, but the steps have been resurfaced back to normal. 2) They’re putting even more ledges at Seaport, except this time, they’re pre-knobbed! 3) The five-second-bust ledge / manny pad over five on Sixth Avenue near the Holland Tunnel has been remodeled. It’s cool to look at…

QS Sports Desk Play of the Week: Some middle schooler from New Rochelle hit an insane buzzer beater this past weekend. It’s the middle school equivalent of Sheed’s deflection to mid-court desperation heave from 2004.

Quote of the Week: “What’s that girl with the cool tramp stamp’s name again?” — Anonymous. (Be on the lookout for our first feature film, The Girl With the Cool Tramp Stamp, starring Rooney Mara.)

Go to college, kids! It’s totally worth it!

Jahmal Williams: The Lost Tapes

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Photo by Josh Stewart

Well, “lost” in the sense that a lot of this footage isn’t easily YouTubeable.

Here’s a Manolo-esque mix of footage from a dude whose name should be brought up more in nerd-out conversations about the best styles in skateboarding. Some of the clips are from Logic and E.S.T. issues, some from random Florida videos that came out in the early-to-mid-2000s, a few bits from the first few Hopps commercials, and some have never been used anywhere else. Jahmal has benefited from two of the finest instances of music supervision in skate video history, so needless to say, picking a song wasn’t easy.

Also, be sure to keep up with Hopps. (P.S. They have a webstore now.)

Alternate YouTube Link

Related: Chrome Ball interview with Jahmal, Jahmal’s DQM interview, “Night in the Life” with Jahmal & the Hopps crew