vampire contests
Now Playing: Ian MacKaye interview on www.vbs.tv
The GR Modern contest was for vampires. It was a nocturnal event and it sucked the life out of me. We all like to ride and do stuff at night, but not ALL night. The idea to have a full-on contest that starts after all the skate sessions, etc. are over, is probably not a good idea. Including the time change, I got to bed at 5 am and it wasn't from partying. I only drove 45 mins to my in-laws. I can't imagine what time the Albe's bus got back to Detroit.
That being said, it was an awesome event. There were a shit-ton of riders from all over the place. Catfish drove up by himself from Dayton and his presence in the building alone was enough to make it a great time. Catfish rules and I'm glad he didn't get really hurt trying to slid that rail on his ass. His hair-extentions were a definite hit as well. He didn't bring his DK Stunt Team rider, Lil' Mad Dog, but he did give him a call:

Mad Dog is a shredder! Flairs, nose-dive 360s and even a backflip over this same spine! Insane. He is so good. That's his dad on the deck right there. Dave Moon didn't bother to ride in the contest, but he did pull this wall-ride early in practice.

It looked like the Kennedy assasination the way that kid's head snapped to the side as Dave grazed his shoulder, scaring the crap out of him and all the skaters on deck. Bob Hammond set this contest up, along with Shane from Modern, then proceeded to tear it up. Yeah Bob.

Jeremy Ball won the last GR Modern event. Part of his winning run then was a 360 from the mini into this quarter.

He knocked himself silly trying it this time when he bonked his head on the rafters and then crashed really hard. He got up and limped out of the building. I hope he's okay. Long Tall Kevin Beachamp has been on a mission lately and he continued his ripping ways in Grand Rapids.

He later intentionally slapped the vent above him in this shot with his hand and had some really scary crashes trying a huge transfer. Brandon Dosch has been progressing like mad and learning all kinds of stuff. He still has the racer speed and style to make huge gaps but the bike control to pull shit like this.

Brandon took the win while Flip documents it all. DAne Wild won best trick with a ridiculous ice pick that went up, over and down a seriously 20 foot long grind box. I should also mention that the intermediate dudes would have won pretty much any contest a few years ago. BMX is out of hand.
I went to the Detroit Autorama on Friday and it was awesome. I learned that my new paint job on my bike isn't really all that new. A few different "Rat Rods" had the same kind of deal going:

. At the GR contest, Jamie Martin was asking all about my bike paint job and telling me how hard it was to do that kind of paint. He called it "Batino" or something like that. He said he works in a paint shop for cars and only a few people can do it well. The way it happened with my bike was basically an accident! I like it though. Maybe I'll start painting hotrods. Ha! They had some sweet m/cs at the Autorama as well.

I want to thank Sean Newton for all the contest pix. Sean does a kick ass job and might very well be my new neighbor, which is kind of a weird, cool, coincidence...

77 Customs
Now Playing: Built To Spill Mess With Time
Anyone that saw my post on New Year's regarding 77 Customs probably assumed I was talking about tye-dyed and spray painted shirts. I guess I was, to some extent, but this is more like what I'm talking about:

It may not be in 2007, or 2010, for that matter, but I vow that this Honda Haulin' hybrid will see the streets eventually. I already have the motorcycle, it's just the sacrificial Civic that may be hard to find. Anyone have a '78 Honda Civic they want to get rid of?

WE GOT THAT ATTITUDE
Now Playing: Bad Brains Attitude

I have this sticker on my helmet. That graphic is from the early 80s but it could apply even more in our modern world, couldn't it? Bad Brains are so friggin' awesome. I got a BB live DVD a few months ago from a show in 1982 that is great and there is amazing footage of them in American Hardcore, a kick ass documentary that just came out on DVD a couple weeks ago. There is old footage as well as current interviews with HR from the Bad Brains, Henry Rollins and Greg Ginn from Black Flag, Ian McKaye from Minor Threat/Embrace/Fugazi/The Evens and a bunch more icons of 80s hardcore. I couldn't wait to see this movie almost the same way I couldn't wait to see Joe Kid on a Stingray. Hardcore music changed my life in a lot of the same ways that BMX did and in a lot of ways that it didn't. It opened my mind and also made me realize that there were other people in the world that were as pent up, angry and frustrated as I was. If nothing else, go to that link and watch the trailer. Don't type in "AmericanHardcore.com" though, because you won't find anything about punk rock It's AmericanHardcoreMovie.com. Wow, writing about music again. Weird. There is a contest coming up this Saturday night at Modern in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The "other" Modern park is really good and it should be a fun time. Deliverance is a sponsor, too, among all the others listed on that funny-ass flyer.
I rode the other Modern tonight and it was a madhouse. A whole crew from Kalamazoo among a gaggle of dudes ripping around with lots of near-misses. I didn't see any collisions while I was there, but I was almost in about five that were mostly my fault. The scariest one involved a backward rolling Joe Gall and my fat ass rolling forward toward him at a high rate of speed. Sorry Joe. I finally re-laced my freecoaster with a lighter rim and spokes and rode with it for the first time with a normal set up. I've ridden with it on my flatland bike and a regular bike with no brakes and even one time on a regular bike with only front brakes, but why I've never tried it before with just a regular old rear brake is beyond me. My stupidy amazes even me sometimes. It wasn't a great night to try to get used to a new set up but it was really fun.
In other news, racism still sucks:

skate and destroy
Now Playing: dinosaur jr. almost ready
I was totally into rollerskating when I was 10-14 years old. The same way kids are into BMX or skateboarding and only last as long as their ADD or their friends stay involved or until they get a girlfriend or whatever, that was how into going to the Ideal Roller rink I was. The more than half the kids that ride at Modern and TRP now won't ride BMX at all two years from now, that's how I was with rollerskating. I was a local on Friday nights. I thought I was hot shit with my feathered hair, comb in the back pocket or my Levi's cords and my ability to two-step to the Doobie Brothers when the DJ put that record on the turntable. It was the 70s! Fucking A, that was so long ago. I'm not making this up, but at the latter part of my roller-boogie career, the DJ was a midget named Eddie Gail and he later played Howard the Duck in the movie of the same name. Howard the Duck was from Plainwell, Michigan. He didn't do the voice, but he was the guy inside the suit. There was an article about it in the Twin City news. Anyway, rollerskating was awesome. The part that was cooler about rollerskating than going to the skatepark is that almost an equal number of girls were skating as boys. "Couples only" was the part where you got super stoked or super bummed when the cute girl from 4th hour or better yet, the rival school, hooked you up with a skate or shut you down. Ain't no roll-backs while holding hands with a girl going on at TRP. Maybe Buc-E and Hanaan, but no one else (Sorry, I had to write that). Anyway, rollerskating is apparently becoming cool again and just like it was for me in the late 70s, it's a good winter alternative to BMX when you can't ride outside...

That's the new graphic series I'm working on. It's called "Bad Birds". Here's another idea:
Also, there's lots of FOD coverage on the Team Young post from a couple days ago. The photo of Jason Burton on there is one of my favorites.

88888
Now Playing: Modest Mouse Interstate 8
I neglected to mention in my last post that it was written and "posted" from the waiting room at the VW dealership where my van was being worked on. A lot of people warned me about the quirkiness and potential hassles of owning a Volkswagon but I bought one anyway. I can't say that I regret buying it, but it has been a hassle lately. Shit has just been going haywire, beyond the already existing hassle of having to drive from Detroit to Lansing just to get an oil change or any basic maintenance performed. That being said, it is still the perfect van for my needs and I really like it. Having a BMX buddy who just happens to work at the dealership is a point for my team as well. Mad props to Brian Block for helping me out with the most recent repairs and saving me a bunch of money. I owe you one.
Talking about my vehicular troubles seems extremely insignificant when thinking about the passing, two months ago, of our fellow BMX brother and friend, Glenn Seals. I was looking for a phone number in my phone a couple weeks ago and came across Glenn's number. It is so hard to accept that he is gone. I didn't see Glenn very often as it was, so when I scrolled to his number it was a very sobering reminder that he is no longer with us. I rode Kzoo tonight for an hour and found this written on the wallride that Glenn helped to build for the jam:

Obviously, this was written the night of the jam by one of Glenn's siblings, but I didn't see it then. I wanted to post it for us all to read and to think about Glenn. Whether you knew him or not, Glenn touched so many people that he will never be forgotten and even though I didn't know him as well as I would have liked to have, I knew him well enough to miss him terribly now.

Now Playing: Rites of Spring End on end

"Emo" is such a weird term. For the most part, it is negative slang for psuedo-style rocker dudes, but to me, it still evokes memories of the first real "emo" bands, the Faith, Rites of Spring and Embrace. Emo is short for "emotional" and the music of these bands is just that, both lyrically and musically. You can learn more about these bands at dischord. These are the O.G. "emo" bands and they were all three amazing bands. Dischord has all of their music on Itunes as well, so check it out if you dare. I realize I am always talking about music on this site, but music is one of the biggest inspirations for Deliverance and in my personal life.
The photo above was taken last week at Rays MTB in Cleveland. It is Afro Pat and Davey HK in a full speed wall carve train. Afro Pat is not currently sporting an Afro, but before his recent haircut, mofo was rocking a wig that measured 40 inches in diameter! Riding with Pat is always fun and the Ray's sesh was no exception. Here are some more pix:

I like that last one of Pat attacking Davey as he bails a nose wheelie. He did pull that nose wheelie a bunch of times. In fact, all tricks in these pix were pulled, just maybe not when the photo was shot. Ha ha. Those are the rules I have, the same trick has to be pulled during the same session in order to "qualify" running the pic. If you know that my real job is working for this company, then you can appreciate the humor in this:

The funny guys at dans comp sent me that box. Dans has lots of Deliverance product, ready for you to purchase! Ernesto from Dans set up a new FBM. It is "vivid", to say the least...

My own Stairmaster underwent a make-over and dialing in as well:

It's a lot of work to make your paint job look old and weathered. Among the upgrades are some sweet new cranks by DK. My bike feels awesome and if I can find the time, I am rebuilding my freecoaster wheel. I'm looking forward to going faster backward. That's really all I want the freecoaster for...

state of the union
Now Playing: TSOL World War III

Life for me is kind of back to normal, although it seems like shit never slows down for a second. The good news is that I have been able to spend more time with my family and more time on my bike! I love riding. No lie.
Last November, Chris Hatfield, Dan Closser and I took a trip through the midwest, camping every night and riding a bunch of parks. It was totally awesome. Totally. We filmed a bunch of good stuff for the forth-coming Deliverance video project and there is a two-page spread in the new FBM zine that looks like this:

That trip was amazing and I know with two little boys in our lives (boy number 2 is scheduled for delivery in May!) that riding-only trips are going to become rare. Dan is on a big trip right now and Chris is going to San Francisco in a couple weeks. Travel is good for the soul. There's also an ad for the video in the FBM zine. Thanks to Crandall for being a huge Deliverance supporter and having faith in this rambling project. Deliverance has been taking a back seat to my real-world responsibilities of late but there is new stuff in the works. This graphic I've been working on isn't really Deliverance specific but it is a related project that I've been feeling the need to rejuvenate:

Cobras live!
I have been getting a few sessions at TRP and Modern but I've been too busy riding to take any photos. Here's another angle of a Davey 'boggin from that Kentucky trip a few weeks ago.

I always talk about the band Lungfish and there is an amazing interview with singer Daniel Higgs on the Dischord site. Just scroll down and you'll see it. Lungfish isn't for everyone, but it is for me...
Also, get well soon to Hanaan from Veteran. She broke her wrist recently and I hope it heals up quick.

apples for apples
Now Playing: My Morning Jacket The Way That He Sings

Hi. Not much to report, save for more complaining about being gone more and being gone again this coming week. I'll save it for my own kleenex. SF Foster, Chris Hatchetfield

and myself did set forth upon a Cobras mission at one TRP Ramp Park in Dearborn, Michigan, this mid-day. The place was over-run with rats, which is great for business, but bad for three lonesome bikers attempting to get down with their bad selves. The new structures at TRP are really fun. Get there early.

I can honestly say that at one point in time, during a cold winter in the mid-70s, I was every bit as into jumping sleds as I was into Evel Knievel or the Fonz. Here's Noah getting busy in the backyard. He's real into jumping off the furniture now. I guess I have to stop watching that Stunt show on the Discovery Channel. In that recent episode, where Alister Whitton does the insane upside down rail slide thing, Nate Wessel is shown building the ramp, wearing a "Live Life" Ken Schneider shirt. Someone sent me a link to a Cleveland TV report about Ken and his progress since the horrible incident last year, but I can't get it to play. You can try here. Let me know what it says. The last I heard, Ken is doing well. I plan to visit him in a few weeks.

Super Bowl...
Now Playing: bob marley three little birds
...of Motocross. That's what they called Supercross when it first started in the early 70s.

It was held at the LA Coliseum and the riders would haul ass up and out of the stadium, hit a turn and come flying back in. It was very dramatic and watching it on TV as a kid was the coolest thing. I think the Superbowl football thing is going on right now but I am watching Supercross from Anaheim on TV instead. It's kind of weird with Ricky semi-retiring while still kicking ass. Bubba Stewart is going to need some competition. I sound like a jock, huh...
Last week was another big work trip but this one included some quality bike riding. Davey HK works with me and we got our BMX on at Ollie's, Louisville and a crazy new cement park in Dry Ridge, Kentucky.

We met Zachary "Catfish" Yankush at DK, got tacos, then got busy at Ollies. I requested a trick involving a decade and he quickly obliged with this decade fly-out:

Catfish is one of my very favorite people. He's funny/crazy, but beyond that he is just a rad dude.
Davey had never ridden Ollies before, but he adapted quickly and made jaws drop with his altitudinal assault:

Davey was born the year that I graduated from high school. He's good at math.

I'm not upset that I can do better tables as an adult than when I was seventeen:

We got to Louisville late and had to get up early for a 9AM meeting, but we made the most of our visit to Slugger City by toughing it out in sub-freezing temps. I think we both thought it was going to be a ten minute "we have to ride Louisville because we are here but it is just too freaking cold" but we held on for most of an hour. Davey was shredding:

All while wearing OJ gloves. This one is straight out of my 17 year old style manual:

I make a crummy co-pilot and took us the long way back to Cinci. The up-side of our wrong turn was getting to check out the new public park in Dry Ridge. We were running behind schedule, so I alotted fifteen minutes for our session.

The park was well-built and super fun but we couldn't stop laughing at how ridiculous/weird/retarded the whole thing was. That bowl is like six feet deep, has a love-seat and is super tight.

The snake run, camoflaged pump-bumps, bridge and drop-off decks didn't even rank on the danger meter in contrast to the mammoth ledges. Here, Davey tap-dances to safety.

I'm 180ing up into the snake run here, giggling the whole way.

20 minutes later we were back on the road and still in disbelief. Dry Ridge may be my new favorite park.
Kelly Baker sent this shirt for Noah when he was first born. I remember looking at it and having a hard time imagining him being big enough to wear it.

A year and a half later it is just his size. Next to the The Wiggles, Slayer is Noah's favorite band. I can't believe how fast time goes by. It honestly freaks me out. Our baby is a little boy and I'm about to turn another year older. Don't let it pass you by....

my life my way
Now Playing: howard stern on sirius
I know a lot of people that have really hard jobs and for me to complain about having to fly around the country for work seems pretty ridiculous compared to working on powerlines a hundred feet above the ground or welding fuel tanks for eight hours straight for endless days and weekends in a row or working on plumbing in a building like this.

But I'm going to anyway. I just returned from a week and a half in Utah, Las Vegas and San Diego. All stops were for work but I have to admit I felt a bit guilty in Utah, snowboarding all day, chilling out, watching TV and even going to see a movie at the Sundance Film Festival. It was called "In the Shadow of the Moon" and it was an amazing documentary about the space race of the 1960's, compete with current interviews with the astronauts and footage never seen by the public. That was a highlight, along with the view from the mountains (and hauling ass down them on a snowboard).

It got worse from there. Las Vegas is a cesspool of inhumanity. It was brutal. The flight from Utah to Vegas was short but plagued with turbulence, followed by an in-flight medical emergency (it turned out a woman had a seizure)followed by more insane turbulence on the way down. Then there's the fact that you can never go outside while you're there. The hotels are connected by casinos to hotels to more casinos to the convention center to...hell. There was a period of over a day and half when the only time I was outside was for about ten minutes while my friend smoked a cig. That was my fresh air. I hate vegas so much. This was a typical meal there that cost $10 and took an hour to acquire.

San Diego was next and at least the weather was nice. I was so homesick and "over it" that I couldn't really enjoy it. The last night there, however, was super fun. I went out to dinner and shinanigans with Ernesto and AJ from Dan's Comp, along with Brian Osborn and the legendary Mike McHue from Duffs. It's non-stop laughter with McHue around. The dude doesn't stop and lives life on his own terms. The best part about him to me is that he is 100% no bullshit. Some of his stories seem impossible but I've witnessed a couple of them first hand and he plays them down, if anything. He recently got this tattoo on the front of his neck.

Not fucking around! BMX people are the best and hanging with these guys was a welcomed and genuine good time. I missed my family and my dogs and my house and my bed and good food and normal people and of course my bicycle. I went up to Modern tonight and skated the mini and rode the park. Here's a crappy photo of Hatfield.

You learn to never take things for granted when you are thousands of miles from home and know you're going to be gone for a long time. One thing I truly regret missing is the TRP session that saw the return of Cobras Local 77 legend Chris Yankee.

I stole this photo from Veteran BMX. Thanks to Matt and Hanaan for the unauthorized use of this pic. Seeing it made my return home even better....