ESPN (or EXPN, make up your mind guys) has a short article called Skate Rock Refined that talks about the musical projects of some pro skaters. It leads off with Danny Way and Bob Burnquist’s band Escalera, and eventually gets around to Tommy Guerrero, Ray Barbee, Matt Rodriguez and Chuck Treece. Did you know that Barbee got his first guitar from Stacy Peralta? Check it out. Speaking of rock and roll, Linda Stein was found murdered in her apartment. Who was she? Among other things, a former Ramones manager and ex wife of Seymour Stein, the founder of Sire Records, the Ramones record label for 11 of their 14 full length studio recordings.

Speaking of long awaited reissues, Van Halen is on tour with David Lee Roth. I love Van Halen. OK, I’m out of the closet now, in terms of rock and roll. Van Halen requires David Lee Roth to be considered the real Van Halen. Others need not apply. Are we on the same page here? Good. Now someone please tell me where this old picture of David Lee Roth on a skateboard came from. This is the largest size I have, and everyone knows Diamond Dave is larger than life. Actually, any larger and you might be able to see some brains peeking out. Nice sack, man! This is as good as an excuse as any to call for celebrity skateboarding photos. Send them in. [Photo: Right – Official Van Halen]

While I was chasing off a Chinese bandwidth thief I came across a link to a three page photo set from ASR. It’s in Chinese, so I don’t know what the scoop is. Here are two of the most interesting ones. The first is what appears to be a very ornate six wheeled skateboard and the second is some band playing at the House of Blues with a giant Thrasher logo in the light show. Does anyone know what the scoop is on either of these two items? Also, not shown is the children of the corn. [Source: Kicker Club]

OK. So I’m adding a “Shot of the Week” post category because a lot of these pictures have more history than the SOTW format allows, and I might as well let people chip in their own recollections or similar experiences. This week’s SOTW is from a 1984 Peoria Journal Star article on skateboarding and punk rock or something to that effect. The Peoria in question is Peoria Illinois, the same Peoria that is referenced in the familiar saying “But will it play in Peoria?” The shot is of Peoria’s premier (at the time) punk (dare I say skate punk?) band Caustic Defiance, a project of collaboration with the infamous Steppe brothers and our own Dr Brad in his more defiant and skinnier youth.

It’s been a while since we’ve covered any music. MC’s Siouxsie Sioux private bowl monologue inspired me. Once again, we’re talking about Punk Rock. We’re actually looking for someone to write thoughtful analysis of the latest speed metal trends… and then submit them to someone else cause we’re not going to publish it. I don’t know how it happened, but AOL managed to create some original humorous content about punk rock that wasn’t completely stupid. Debbie Harry’s Punk Rock Preschool is actually quite good, even if you consider my strong personal bias in favor of Debbie Harry. I hate to see my idols degrade themselves, so I expected the worse, but was pleasantly surprised. This video is full of surprises. One of them is that she kind of looks like Hilary Clinton. Debbie even lets one little kid call her “Blondie,” which used to be a major pet peeve. Find out the definitive answers to such questions as “What is New Wave?” and “Is it better to burn out or fade away?” after the jump.

Tim Hubbard sent in a link to more Dunedin opening day pics. Thats Josh Black inverted, and an unknown rider carving over some very chunky stairs. Tim also included a link to Punk On Board which is a mish mash of Florida skateboarding, punk rock and art both past and present. The linka are all over the place, and seem to be in conjunction with another site called Art Gone Bad. It’s not the easiest thing to navigate, but just keep clicking. There are snapshots from a Skateboarder Magazine photo session at a backyard ramp, a weird looking life size paper mache mosh pit circa 82, Mike Weed freestyle action, Monty Nolder at Grigley’s ramp, vintage McGill, backstage at the Warped Tour with Anti Flag and the Buzzcocks, Joan Jett looking tuff as nails and all kinds of good stuff if you dig around for it. If I lived in Florida I’d be hanging out with this guy, provided I was punk enough.

Juice magazine has a chunk of an older Jim Murphy interview with Ian McKaye where Ian talks about his skateboarding past. I always thought that Ian was in the Dogtown and Z-Boys documentary because Minor Threat was so important to so many skateboarders but he was idolizing that Dogtown stuff just like we were. Sounds so familiar. He mentions that he and Henry took a bus trip out to California to skate. That’s like, 2600 miles which would be several days on a bus right? Pretty hardcore for a 16 and 17 year-old. I wonder how they got around the release forms. The interview was in issue 50. You might be able to order a back issue from them if you want the rest of the interview. Ian still runs Dischord records and the prices are very reasonable and the service is excellent.

The Wilmington Star has a short article on Chuck Treece and McRad’s new album and tour titled McRad is McBack The classic skate rock band returns with new tour, album. The new album, titled FDR has a release date of July 24, 2007. McRad had a 2001 release titled Absence of Sanity, but they are most likely still remembered for the “Prevent This Tragedy” track on Thrasher Skate Rock’s Blazing Wheels and Barking Trucks. You can still get a Prevent This Tragedy shirt, one of the best designs ever, in mandatory purple from Thrasher. I’m not a fan of purple shirts, but I love Prince! There is a planned release of a McRad skateboard by a company called Wreck Room, but Oregon’s own Poolside Skateboards (Scappoose, not Portland) already has a Chuck Treece/McRad model. Somewhere I’ve got an old video tape that has a segment with Chuck Treece hanging out with one of the Surf Punks on Sk8TV. I should have dug that up for this post. Lastly, McRad was part of the inspiration for the name of my old skate punk band, McWilson. We were going to be called Mr Wilson after the classic skateboarding slam, but changed it…

13 years of highbrow Maximum Rock and Roll punk journalism has come to an end. Chicago’s Punk Planet is ceasing publication due to “bad distribution deals, disappearing advertisers, and a decreasing audience of subscribers.” You can get Punk Planet at my local hippie grocery store for cryin’ out loud. Those hippies must not be paying their bills. So it goes without saying (except I’m saying it anyway) that Punk Planet’s other title, the skateboard/culture magazine Bail, will officially die as well. Although I haven’t seen a new issue of Bail in what seems like years already. It’s got to be hard to keep an independent magazine in print. As one star fades out, another is in ascendance, so go on over to Razorcake.org and help them make it. [Source: Time Out Chicago]

I’ll cut a typical crappy skate punk D.I.Y. effort a lot of slack when they show enthusiasm for the music, so why not the same for a rap group? It’s not because I’m a racist, or don’t like hip hop. I have a small percentage of groups like Tribe called Quest, De La Soul, Digital Underground, and Public Enemy in my collection. Sure, that’s a pretty white bread selection, but I don’t dislike the genre on principal. This “group” Board Bangers reeks to high heaven of a marketing decision manufactured by producers trying to cash in on the hip hop and skateboarding connection. unfortunately, it’s most likely at the expense of the kids in the group, who it appears, actually do a fair bit of skating. if there are any doubts, all you have to do is visit their web site to be bombarded with a poorly disguised infomercial “to get this special price you must buy now!”