Boardistan has a video interview with Brian Harper from California Skateparks talking about the cement on wood structure used in the Maloof Money Cup. I sort of assumed they were going with prefab concrete elements, but it looks like they used foam underneath and concrete on top, with no rebar. The concrete can be recycled, and I suppose the foam could be too. I still feel like they should build permanent skateparks and leave them, but that wouldn’t jive with the Maloof Money Cup sponsors and the X-Games need to have large amounts of spectator seating and controlled access by the media. – Thanks to Brian Baade for the tip.

Just got a few pics of Bill Danforth from the gal who set up the (Ramp it Up) Smithsonian show for Native American Skaters. BTW, Here’s a link to a Washington Post article on the ramp jam. Here’s what she had to say: God bless Danforth. I had the extreme privilege of taking a memorable road trip with the King of Hate in 2007 and snapped this picture of him hitting the pipes near the Pala reservation in CA. Takes the cigarette out of his mouth and says, “You ready? Cause I’m only gonna do this once…” then proceeds to kill it. Danforth spent the entire trip trying to convince me to hire Mini Kiss as the entertainment for my opening party at the Smithsonian. He also swore to me that he never dated girl skaters because “who wants to kiss someone who smells like a kneepad?” Good times… Haw, haw! Good times indeed. Bonus tree in the face shot after the jump.

Check out the video for “I’m Over It” by Dinosaur Jr. Old Jay is engaged in some street skating in the vid, most likely with the help of a stunt double or two. Most music videos with skateboarding don’t go through the trouble of showing the band actually skating, even if they are posing tricks. He brought along one of his Alien Workshop Dinosaur Jr skateboards and a posse of BMX riders for the shoot. I like the vid, especially if it is posed. – Thanks to Peter Brown for the tip. [Source: The Village Voice]

While I was (supposed to be) in college, I lived in a house with a bunch of ne’er-do-wells, skateboarders and musicians. Actually, most of the guys ended up being do-wells after all. This particualr shot was the front yard of a house I lived in from 1987-1988. At least 14 people lived there. That’s my glorious 8 foot wide miniramp in the front yard. The platforms butted up against the front porch on one side and the sidewalk on the other. The chopper belongs to a roommate we called Mr. Grubby, who was otherwise known to the punk rock world as Doug “joe” Evans, the bass player for one of the top five most badass band to come out of Illinois, or the whole midwest for that matter, the Didjits. (OK, the rest of the list is Naked Raygun, Big Black, Cheap Trick, Husker Du…) Doug’s chopper had some sort of rebuilt BSA, or possibly Indian, engine on it. It wasn’t a Harley, I remember that much. He had the stereotypical, but awesome Iron Cross side view mirror. This thing was loud as fuck, a fact that did little to endear us to our rich, sorority girl neighbors, especially when…

What to do if your favorite old board hasn’t been reissued yet? You could search it out on eBay, but then you might have to spend $255 to $1033 to relive your youth. If you are more of a sane individual with more time than money, you can grab your old album covers for reference and create your own out of a Moose blank. That’s what reader John Egertson did. It looks uncanny, compared to the original. Although I’d bet the original has a bigger wheelbase. There’s also the matter of the upturned nose, but you know, there’s a reason they don’t make them that way anymore. Actually, last time I checked, Factory 13 made a true, early to mid 80’s style single kick plank. Hang on, it looks like there may have been one iteration with an upturned nose.

Skull Skates has actually been available in the US for at least five years, but you had to go to one shop, Cal Skates in Portland, Oregon to find them. Blitz Distribution just signed on to distribute Skull Skates on a wider basis in the US, with the none other than Bill Danforth heading up the effort. You won’t find Skull Skates at Zumiez, as Bill and company will be screening the potential vendors down to limited group of core shops. The shot of Bill up top is actually from a Life’s a Beach ad in the June 1989 issue of Homeboy Magazine. Remember that one? In any case, you’ve got to see the whole shot, it was sent in by a friend of Bill’s for the sole purpose of annoying him. Some friend! Here’s the press release.

Nemo has posted the last installment of “A day in the life of Bryce Kanights.” Bryce who? That’s Bryce Kanights, photographer / lifelong skateboarder… and if you look at the still capture above, possibly a bicycle vendor of small dogs! Part 3 plus bonus footage, check it out after the jump.

The World Slalom Championships are being held this weekend, July 16th- 18th in Hood River, Oregon. It’s being billed as the biggest slalom event of 2009, yet not one of the sponsors on the press release has any mention of it on their web site. Very odd. In any case, Giant Slalom is on Friday. Saturday is qualifying and prelim rounds for the Tight and Hybrid Slalom events. Sunday is the finals. About the only other information I have is that the poster was made by Jim Phillips. Slalom is fun. International Slalom Skateboard Association Seismic Skate Systems – Thanks to Skip Marcotte for the tip.

Vision Street Wear (through Select Distribution) is pimping a limited release of the Vision “Tribute Series” including, for immediate delivery the “Gator Ramp (with his actual name on the boards)” I pressed the sales rep for information on who gets those royalties, and after a few elusive, vague responses I ultimately received the answer that Select somehow owned the Gator name from the get go, and so they don’t need to pay any royalties. I don’t know how that pans out for the boards “with his actual name on it.” My guess is Mark failed to trademark “Gator” and didn’t think about it since it was already his nickname. He probably figured he didn’t need to. Remember When He started going by a different name? Mark Gator Anthony or something… What does Mark “Gator” Rogowski have to say about the re-issues? He spoke up about it in Sean Cliver’s (great) new book, Disposable The Skateboard Bible. One redeeming (and useful) gesture would be for companies that still sell decks with the old Gator graphics (with or without the name) to please direct what would have been royalties to organizations devoted to ending violence and promoting understanding. That could be really…

Well, that’s who it is. I snapped this shot of her at a NSA contest called the Bluegrass Agression Session in Louiville, Kentucky back in 1989 or so. I had her phone number to get a date do an interview but I decided against it since I asked for it as a goof and though it best not to hassle her. Stupid conscious. Found it again around 2000 and threw it out. OK, nothing to see here. move along.