A9 senior pics

Out of time, with no sunlight and one seriously broken camera lens... I managed to pull off a few senior pictures for A9. We had no options really, so we dragged an alien B800 out into the street in front of my house and started shooting. It was almost midnight. After two hundred plus strobe flashes, I bet my neighbors thought a UFO was landing.

It came from the 80's... D.I.Y. Fingerboards!

I was digging through the closet tonight and I found some old Fingerboards that I made in the late 80's!
Back in the days before Tech Decks we had to make our own fingerboards.

Most of my old fingerboards are long gone but somehow I managed to save this Hawk and Staab.

I found the fingerboards hosed in a reclaimed Crayon box, covered with pics from an old thrasher. There is a Cab pic, a McGill snake, a bikini girl and a small pic of John Lidden on the box.

The fingerboards are constructed of several thin pieces of cardboard laminated with Elmer's glue.

The trucks were made of tiny pieces of balsa wood, the wheels cannibalized from Hot wheels cars.


I would cut graphics from adds in skate magazines and glue them to the deck with stick glue, then I would finish it off with a piece of clear contac paper. Keep in mind, I was like fourteen when I made these so the craftsmanship is a bit inmature .

The grip tape job is unfinished. I planed to put R.I.P.-Grip on the top for finger control!




At one point I had an awesome fingerboard vert ramp which I made in shop class. The vert ramp was about 24"x40" complete with coping, full decks, a roll-in, channel and plenty of tiny stickers at the tile level. I kick myself for throwing that ramp away. Ah, but I digress...

Paint that deck!

Last weekend was awesome. In-spite of the fact that our family has been fighting off sickness for almost a week and a half, we pushed through. It was a weekend of choosing to have a good attitude. We look for and find simple joys in everything we do. Friday night kicked the weekend off with a birthday party for my niece. It was great to see the in-laws. Saturday was a mix of Skating and home projects. To finish the day we had a fun hangout with my friend Rich and his family to warm their new house. Late Saturday night I got the wild Idea to paint my skateboard. It's crazy, I haven't done this for... twenty years or so. I decided to do a spin off from an old Neil blender graphic. Here are a few pictures to document this hair brained idea.

Tape, draw, cut and peal

Paint

Finish

Assemble

Skate!

Keep Skating.

HAIL THE SOUND

Hail the sound is my band. I mean, I play in several other great bands but Hail The Sound is my deal. Adam (my cousin at left) has been playing drums for Hail for almost three years. Asylum 9 (my brother Philip at right) has been playing bass for Hail for about five months. We practice every morning (mon-fri) at 7am. I love playing and writing music. I shot this quick pic of hail the other day in my garage while we were loading gear. The random crap in in the background is testament to my crazy life of "american dream meets skateboard, rock-star want to be". One thing is for sure... I hold onto my passions and I find a way to make an unlikely situation work for the best! Ya know..... I wouldn't have it any other way!

Skateboarding is!

How do you categorize skateboarding? It has been said that skateboarding is a sport, like football, running or skiing. Other people have argued that skateboarding is an art-form, a venue for self expression.... maybe skateboarding is a science? What happens at the coping? Is it a trick... is it a maneuver... or is it an EXPERIMENT!?!?!



P sporting his D.I.Y. goggles made from Gatorade lids and an old drum head. Rock to fakie sans vision.

Fun in the studio

What a difference a day makes

I have once again neglected my blog. For this I do have a good reason. I am adding onto the good ol backyard ramp! The following pictures of the ramp tell the story best.

The Ramp Sunday morning

A trip to Home Depot, A Birthday lunch for Mom, a dessert at Grandma's and several hours later... we had both transitions and the flat framed. On Monday night we framed up the decks. On Tuesday night I had a Recording session. Tonight I hope to get the sheeting done.

The ramp Tuesday night.

The addition is just under six feet tall, eight feet wide with six foot ten inch transitions and eight feet of flat bottom. I attached the coping using an ingenious technique that I found online.

I have incorporated a natural "feature"/obstical on this ramp that I hope will make for a more interesting ride.

Tonight I hope to finish the Sheeting.