austin skate notes

Small, but that should make the ramp easier to move…

i have a 12ft by 8ft mini ramp that is about 2 1/2 ft tall the top needs new surface but all of the two by fours are good and the transition is perfect and mellow, its a really fun ramp, with a new top which is about four sheets it will be ready to skate again. I am moving to new braunfels so i need to get rid of it by friday, it is already in half the two quarter pipes are seperated it will be easy to move… you have to come pick it up though i can help you load it…. save money on wood this ramp is ready she just needs a little tlc…. thanks brad 214 205 8280

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If you haven’t seen the Hangover. Get to it. It’s a phenomenal movie featuring Mike Vallely acting, and his band is on the soundtrack!

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If you couldn’t get tickets to this weekend’s Explosions in the Sky performance, there’s always Mike Vallely’s hero talking at Emo’s. Any bets on the number of Army recruiting posters hanging up around that show? Wonder if he’s got any other bookings set up for this Austin visit like Henry set up for last year’s ACL festival?

According to this article, the Tank’s previous owner was killed by burglars last month. He attempted to fend them off with a baseball bat, but was shot to death in his apartment. No suspects have been apprehended yet.

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I edited some video footage during the Angry Samoans show on Saturday and posted it on YouTube in HD. I also updated the Find and Grind photo collection with some pics shot by John Weiss.

Early voting is open in Travis County. Chris Riley is a city council candidate who is worth taking a look at. Early voting allows you to vote at any of these polling places regardless of where you live in Travis County and where you’re registered to vote within the county.

Here’s a little story on the BBC putting a skateboarding angle on the economic recession: more backyard pools to ride thanks to all the foreclosed homes.

Fans of the early 80’s LA punk scene flocked to Red 7 Saturday night where one of that city’s best bands of all time returned to perform all of their hits and a few by other bands. The $12 cover was a mere pittance compared to the value of the entertainment offered inside. Just like their set during 2008’s Fun!Fun!Fun! Fest, the Angry Samoans were in stunning, authentic form. $5.00 t-shirts and CD’s at the merch booth. The pit roared like a lion. People met the band. It was a great show. Metal Mike sported the same exact shirt(s) he wore at last year’s FFFFest. Here are some photos I shot at the Angry Samoans concert.

Another export from Los Angeles is heading to Austin. Tuesday @ 6:30 PM, KLRU will host a free screening of a new film by Stacy Peralta. It’s a documentary about the Blood & Crips gang wars, which is a little odd that the Bloods are still even considered a competitor to the Crips when that group claims tens of thousands more members. Perhaps the Dogtown & Z-Boys director was looking to give the movie a little color to contrast the sea of blue. Check the trailer below.

Find and Grind celebrated the opening of it’s newest location just a few blocks east of it’s previous location on North Loop. The new location sports a wooden mini-ramp and on Saturday bands played and both kegs and ollies were floated.

Lowbrow Emporium is closing in the next month or two. Check the Emporium website for details.

The guys behind shot-on-film gems ‘Northwest,’ ‘Fruit of the Vine,’ and ‘Tent City’ have another one in the can. This weekend at the Alamo Drafthouse, you can see Nichols & Charnowski’s newest skate doc, ‘Deathbowl to Downtown.’ It’s about the New York skate scene, which I actually have experienced first hand, and have little respect for or interest in. But Nichols and Charnowski are talented cinemakers, so perhaps they captured something of note in that steaming craphole of a city. I guess there’ll be some shit about Harold Hunter partying and dying. Brooklyn Banks’ evolution into an ‘approved’ skate park. Zoo York, woot. woot. Oh, and maybe there’ll be some graffiti crap.

I’m probably jaded. I grew up skating in Tokyo. It kind of takes something more than NYC to get me going about big city shit.

Trailer.

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The band list has been announced for Fun Fun Fun Fest! Although last year was amazing, this new roster looks like the result of a strain to collect cool bands willing to perform. Last year, I purchased a full-on pass without any more consideration after hearing that the Angry Samoans were playing along with Neurosis. This year’s FFF Fest lacked any over-the-top bookings for me, but if they would have had the bands Graham Williams booked at Red 7 on October 3rd, it would have affected me like last year’s band listing. Dayglo Abortions and the Accussed. Damn. Why couldn’t they have been included in FFF Fest?!?! Well, guess I’ll save some money and just go see them in a club setting.

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Yeah, Patterson looks like it’s surrounded by grass… Almost ready to ride, but not quite yet. Please stop screwing around with the telephone poles.

• A blurb promoting this weekend’s chili & skate competition at Mabel Davis appeared in the Food & Life section of today’s Austin American Statesman.

• Tuesday’s Statesman used Mabel Davis photos to illustrate the heat that has arrived in the area.
• The Huck Jam tour kicks off in San Antonio in July and also boom-booms in Houston and Corpus.
• McRad is scheduled to play at the Broken Neck next Friday. There’s also a film festival there this weekend, but I don’t have details because mySpace is total fucking bullshit that I don’t have time for.

The other day I dropped by Lanier High School where its skate club was holding an after-school session. The club is in its second year and boasts a strong membership among Lanier students. They skate together on campus at least once a week, and this session boasted a special guest. No-Comply shop owner, Jake Nunn, came by to ride and hand out stickers and sun glasses. Here are some photos from the session.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, JFA, play this Saturday with ANS and Bark Hard.

The skate notes knuckle tattoo generator has been offline for quite a hell of a long time. Just fixed it a few minutes ago. Get your digits inked.

Phone calls came in fast and furious this evening reporting a Chaz Pineda sighting at Round Rock. Utter carnage. Can’t imagine what next month’s pro contest is going to be like at Mabel Davis. As a reality check, I phoned up Bob Burnquist using the number he gave me when I bumped into him at Whole Foods a few months ago. I told him Chaz has been riding Mabel Davis regularly and asked him if that would pose a challenge for him at the Thrasher-sponsored competition. Here’s a recording of his response.

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Patterson work session this weekend. Send contact info to: seth[@]austinskatenotes[.]org