Chi-Town Shred was the king of all Chicago skate zines in the late 80’s. I don’t know how long they published, but I’ve got 7 issues, the latest being #9. Their wacky web site (yes, they are online!) shows a cover for “the Last Issue” which looks like #11 from 1990. These guys had a short but prolific output. I think the key was photo-heavy issues without much blabbering on. That’s a good way to go. Our problem at Skate and Annoy which we still have, was we wanted to pretend we were a real skate mag with stories and coverage of events, interviews, etc… As a result we would unbearably delay getting things out, which explains our 12 year gap in printing. We got distracted, but we always intended on putting out another issue. I was still printing photos from negatives for the next issue in the late 90’s.

This was a Canadian zine out of Ontario. I’ve got four issues, the latest I have is #17. That’s Freezine as in “freezing,” not “free.” This is a good one, not a lot of reading or actual skate photographs if you analyze it, but put together well enough to make it seem like you were getting a lot.

And so begins my project to scan all my old zines and make them available for older skaters to relive their past, and for the younger generation to make an archeological dig into skateboarding culture before it was so easily accessible. These were the days of press type, scissors and rubber cement. Typewriters and hand lettering, or at most computer printed text xeroxed and shrunk and cut up and pasted into the layout to make it fit. Yes, I am aware that Xerox is a proper noun, and not a verb. It makes me want to cry in my Kleenex. First up, Harsh Vibes #2 (revised edition, actually) from Milwaukee. Exact date unknown.

Through following a link on one of your comments, I came across these two photos of Alan Gelfand doing his signature “ollie” in both 1979 and 2004. I’ve seen a few “Then and Now” photo comparisons before, but these shots one-up the usual because he’s riding the same model board in both shots. What’s he doing riding a 25+ year old Powell board? Who knows how much it’s worth on eBay? (We do. $559 – $2,933) I say, keep riding it! Gelfand was involved with a lawsuit against Disney and Sega over skateboard toys and games using the word “Ollie.” I wonder how that turned out. Check out Alan’s web site, ollieair.com. [Photos: Left – CR Stecyk. Right – Charles Lillo]

Over the years I’ve met and spoken with some interesting people that I otherwise wouldn’t have a chance to, were it not for Skate and Annoy. Sometimes I search them out, sometimes they find me. We’ve got a gallery of 70’s skateboard bubblegum trading card stickers, and what better excuse to bring it up than some correspondence with the Jesse Crumb, son of legendary 70’s underground art icon R. Crumb. Jesse runs the official R. Crumb web site, as well as being an artist in his own right. Here’s part of what he had to say:

MAN! I have been looking for those cards/decals for 30 years, at least. I grew up in Northern Cal., near Ukiah. There were a few of us into injuring ourselves. A piece of gravel could throw you 10 feet, as you know anyway. So at the local corner store these cards arrived, but in very short supply, and they were COVETED. One guy who got a pack was a really feral kid, parents were complete hippies. My folks were back to the landers, but some of them.. MAN..the kids were just..ON THEIR OWN at, you know 7 years old?? Jeezis.. ANYWAY..So..he climbs the rope at the gym. Potter Valley High school gym. We were Hippy schooled at that time, but years later when I would enter “Public School” that decal..”Sidewalk Warrior” was STILL up there, and I would gaze at it. 50 feet in the air..every time I was in that Gym. It finally disappeared in the 80’s, but it was up there a good 10 plus years, more maybe. It’s hazy. Whelp! thanks for the Posting..took along time to find those images..Thanks for the Mental Image Update..

So check out the trading card stickers and the R. Crumb site while you are at it.

I was surprised to find an article on older Australian skateboarders in the May 2007 issue of the United Airlines in-flight magazine Hemispheres. After reading it something reminded me of an earlier post I made in February titled A civilized way to spend an evening. It turns out this article is almost a word for word reprint of a 2006 article in an Australian publication called The Bulletin. They changed the title, the intro, and little else. One note of interest is the “Cyber Sidebar” feature for this article, which is a link to a United Airlines hosted excerpt of the NCP production Tent City. They also recommend checking out Fruit of the Vine. Well, don’t we all? I hope Rick and Buddy got a good chunk of change for that. United Airlines certainly isn’t spending money on in flight meals or removing extra seats to create more legroom. I was flying back from Florida late last night after spending an entire week’s worth of splendid weather not skating due to a separated shoulder and a jacked elbow. I couldn’t even get motivated to get some local coverage, which might not have been a bad thing since shooting skateboarding in Florida can be risky. You can check out the first page of the article after the jump or read the whole thing here. Also check out Australia’s Charlie don’t skate.

I can’t find much about Simon Woodstock on the web. There are a couple of reviews of his religious tract disguised as a zine, but other than that, just this video clip, Skim the Fat doesn’t have a single listing of him, even if IMDB lists him as appearing in Boob. STF lists 154 skaters in that video, but no Simon Woodstock. It’s like he’s been blacklisted. Simon was in the limelight at a time when I wasn’t following the industry rags, not that I am now, but through the Interweb™ I sometimes find out about things whether I want to or not. I remember reading about some legendary shenanigans and talented skating in the past tense. What I get from this video is a heavy CKY vibe. Just as some people can’t stand Bam, there are lot of Woodstock bashers out there. You’d have to be blind to say he had no talent. Watch him ride both a skimboard and snowboard set up as skateboards while wearing appropriate attire and shredding as effortlessly as if he was riding a short board. Then there’s the clown suit. Funny stuff, but I can imagine it wears thin after a while. So someone fill in the blanks. Who did he ride for and what video is this from? Watch the vid and more after the jump.

I’m not sure what the barometer is for art and skateboarding, but the difference between eccentricity and just plain crazy is often a matter of how rich the person in question is. Likewise, you can bet that if Dan Gesmer had put on this performance instead of Mark Gonzales, it wouldn’t have been as well received in the skateboarding world. Jason Schwartzman (the lead in the excellent movie “Rushmore”) has a solo record out and a video for the song West Coast which is made entirely from footage of Cheryl Dunn’s film documenting the Gonz’ 1999 art installation at the Abteiberg Museum in Germany. You can watch the video and read Paper Magazine’s original 1999 article covering the event after the jump.

Sean Mortimer wrote in to remind us about Ray Underhill’s situation. He was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor in 2006. He’s had about half of it removed and is undergoing radiation therapy. Removing the tumor caused damage to his vocal cords and throat, leaving him unable to talk, spit or swallow. He’s in the midst of physical therapy to recover those abilities. Because the tumor is a rare one, he’s had to seek treatment and lodging in California while his family lives on the opposite coast. Needless to say, the whole affair has been quite expensive, and the insurance companies are behaving like they usually do. His friends are organizing a massive eBay auction benefit. The gear offered up runs the gamut from free shoes for a year to artwork to signed boards, re-issues, new, and historical alike. Seriously, the list is getting large. One of the more unique items is an afternoon of photography lessons with J Grant Brittain as teacher and Tony Hawk as subject. And the icing on the cake? The package includes getting one of your pictures published in The Skateboard Mag. Very nice. It’s one thing for someone to pick something out of their closet and drop a signature on it for an auction, but getting two very busy and well known people to coordinate and donate their personal time is quite another. Check out the official Ray Underhill site for more info.

Yup, we’ve reached a milestone here at eBay Watch! This is #50. Pretty incredible really. I started doing them because I was collecting and was interested in the (relatively) new eBay phenomenon. I did the first one in September 2001. Back then there was still a number of online stores offering vintage decks for sale at pretty normal prices. Oldschoolskates.com used to have Jessee Sungods, Ben Schroeder Big Ben models, McGill skull and snakes, and Cab dragon and bats, all for around $75. Skatepool used to have a Salba witchdoctor and plenty of Salba tigers for under $100. Kilwag guest writes the Weird Stuff category this month. Check it out.