Check the Stats, Check the Racks

Photo by Emilio Cuilan

Normally, at this time of year, all we would have to show for the past three-and-a-half months is a few trips to Below the Bridge, one trip to Drop-In, several nights of pretending to skate at House of Vans, an elaborate Geo Moya blooper reel, and a clinched playoff spot at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Given 2012’s generosity in climate (the party ends for a bit tomorrow, by the way), we actually had a few nights in midtown, several trips to Flushing (one resulting in an E.J. anxiety attack due to being too far from the T.F.), mad footage of the Tompkins cones, and a wasted bottle of champagne. The bottom-half playoff seeding is still the same.

Contributing filmers: Andre Page & Richard Quintero.

Features: Josh Velez, Ritch Swain, Tyler Tufty, Sweet Waste, Andre Page, Billy McFeely, Pad Dowd, Vladimir Kirilenko, Emilio Cuilan, Negative, Brandon Bramhall, Ty Lyons, Brian Kelley, Rodney Sterling, Rob Gonyon, Jack Sabback, Roctakon, Galen DeKemper, Haffa, Carmelo Anthony, Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith.

Mooney was locked up while this clip was being filmed, hence his lack of footage.

Alternate YouTube Link

if you need something to do tonight — Black Donald Trump live / Palace crew DJing / The Wavy Baby asking you to buy him a drink @ Santos. More info here.

KCDC Video (partially) Online

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.

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YouTube Accounts of Note

As “the endless amount of footage expands to the point where there is more skateboarding online than pornography,” it becomes necessary to apply extra discretion when subscribing to the overabundance of skateboard-based YouTube channels. The last full-on channel that we recommended was Bill Strobeck’s, and it unfortunately has not seen any new episodes since the date of that recommendation (whether or not that is due to progress on a full-length video remains to be seen.)

This year, you should subscribe to Krispy Du-rag, a Queens-based channel whose locations rarely reach beyond Maloof, Flushing, or the Astoria Park. It may not have Bill’s black-and-white penchant for haircuts and hair-dye, but it does have footage of Luis Tolentino somehow making the Maloof Park actually look interesting, homie cam clips of many Flipmode affiliates, and may possibly be sponsored by Maybach Music. If “Diamond Days” clips (new one here) are newsreels for 12th & A, “Krispy Durags” are the Queens alternative.

And since we’re discussing du-rags, shout out to Memphis Bleek.