We reported on the rumor a couple months ago, but the possibility has become a reality. Concussion Magazine is back on the newsstands. Regular photo contributors Brendan Kline and Brooks Fritz have in effect taken over the publication of Concussion. Davoud and Jonathan are still there in an advisory capacity, or as “training wheels” as they say, for a couple issues. I didn’t know what to expect when I opened the envelope. I half expected it to have a new masthead. Issue #41 looks the same and different from Concussion (Classic). The first thing you might notice are few seemingly out of context color ad spreads, which appear to be one time only deals and are dutifully explained in Davoud’s editorial. I thought I detected an extra dash of artsy-fartsy in the new layout/content as well, but it may have been my subconscious talking. All in all, it’s great to see it still going, and I imagine quite a surreal experience for Davoud and Jonathan. Davoud succinctly summed it up: “…but I am no Kevin Thatcher and Brendan and Brooks are no Jake Phelps. Thanks God.” Good luck guys!

I bought the April 2009 issue of Transworld so I could check out the Black Label “Skate and Annoy” advert. I was reading a pretty interesting interview with Jason Dill. One question asked if he felt weird about being on the same footwear team as Sheckler, and how could he possibly relate. Dill’s reply was a thoughtful one: What label are Flaming Lips on? Warner Brothers? Who else is on Warner Brothers? I thought that was a particularly mature way to look at the situation. Less articulate was his response to how he feels about skateboarding web sites: Yeah, it’s great for the kids, but we are adults here, we know what’s going on… …that’s cool people shit with their fucking blogs and nightly updates on bullshit. That’s my new shit. Keep me off you blog or I’ll knock you out. I’ve made it known to the bloggers that I am not down… Fuck you dude. You’re on my blog.

I know what you’re all thinking, it’s the boy who cried wolf… but it isn’t really. The reigns of Concussion might end up being turned over to two longtime contributors. Davoud has requested omitting the specifics until the final details have been ironed out, in case the deal goes sour. The story has been leaked elsewhere. Believe it or not, I found this Skate Zombie photo over at BMXmuseum.com.

I don’t know what the deal is with this Black Label Chris Troy ad in the April 09 issue of Transworld. Estes spotted it and sent in a blurry photo. I’m not sure how to respond to this. Surely someone in the marketing department should have googled “Skate and Annoy.” We’ve been mentioned in Thrasher as recently as the March 2009 issue, as early as 1988, and even made it into the 25 Year anniversary book. We’re certainly not famous, but come on… See the whole advert after the jump.

Ok, it’s more like a lot of late, late 80’s and 90’s nostalgia, but the title should give you an idea. Vert is Dead in a nice collection of magazine pages and flotsam from the era. Pictured above left is a 1989 photocopied product catalog from SMA. On the right we have a 1991 Thrasher advert for the infamous Natas graphic on his 101 skateboards. If you go back to the first post, Vert is Dead kicked it off in May of 2008 with a Tracker advert for GSD’s airplane evacuation graphic board. The advert appeared in the October 1988 issue of Transworld, the first issue of a skateboard magazine that the site’s author Justin ever saw.

I don’t know what the title of The Chrome Ball Incident refers to. Calls to mind pinball for me. This site picks up exactly where I stopped paying attention to the major skate mags. Even as someone who doesn’t really feel a connection with the popular culture of skateboarding during that time period, I still find these old archives interesting, sometimes even fascinating. It’s all about the hindsight and knowing how it all shook down in the end. Through all the cat fights and temper tantrums in the industry, there was still some great skating going down. One post I enjoyed reading was an interview with Matt Hensley as he was fading out from the public eye of skateboarding. HE was working at the Chicago Sessions shop, who was actually a client of the silkscreen company I was a partner in. He came in with the Sessions dude (Scott?) and we worked up the art for a Sessions T-shirt that looked like a “tribute” to the first Specials album. I remember I vaguely knew who he was, but totally didn’t recognize him. I only mention it (becauee I want you to love me) because in the interview Matt briefly talks…

The last ever issue of Concussion should be hitting the skateshops as you read this. Publisher Davoud Kermaninejad sent the news out to supporters via email last Friday night. He’s been half-seriously threatening to do it for years, but the harsh transitions of our shitty economy finally sealed the deal. Sorry Davoud, couldn’t resist. He’s throwing in the towel as far as print issues go. He decided to go out with a bang rather than see future issues strangled by the ever-shrinking list of advertisers and the production budget that comes with them. You’ve got to respect his style. Concussion may or may not continue to live online, that decision won’t be made until the coping dust has settled. Until then, get your Concussion back issues and schwag direct from the source before Amy Winehouse shows up wearing a Concussion shirt in People, and you have to pay twice the price on eBay. You can read Davoud’s email (with permission, of course) after the jump.

Jake Phelps, editor in chief of Thrasher magazine, was reportedly fired for his comments regarding a list of skaters he banned from the magazine.  In the first part of his series “Five Days of Hate,” Phelps repeatedly used homophobic references to describe Frank Hirata, and told viewers of a situation where he threatened the skater. “After yesterday’s random rant from a mad man, HSP decided to terminate Phelps to end this once and for all,” read the caption below a video of Phelps’ parting words to thrashermagazine.com’s viewers.  [Photo: Thrasher] (Note: I’m not buying it. I think there’s a high probability it’s a hoax. – K.Ed) Update: Definitely a hoax, although Phelps deserves an academy award for his acting job. – K.Ed

Since we’re talking about Jake Phelps, I thought I’d put up this photo I found in the June 1980 issue of Skateboarder, just a few short months before it became Action Now. I’ve got a September 1980 issue of Action Now, but I don’t know if it was the first. The June issue of Skateboarder has an ad saying a new type of action magazine was coming soon. In any case, this is none other than Kevin Thatcher, the original editor of Thrasher Magazine, appearing in one of the last issues of a magazine whose demise would soon find him employed making a replacement. Kevin once gave me an invaluable photography tip scribbled on note with a batch of negatives he sent back to me: “Use a faster shutter speed and your shots won’t be so blurry. – K.T.” I think of him every time my shutter speed dial slips below 1/400. I’ve looked through a few 1980 issues of Skateboarder, and they all have BMX coverage in them at that point already. While I was searching for an image of the June 1980 cover, I stumbled on the web site of the original photographer, Ted Terrebonne. Ted has 144…

This week, Thrasher Magazine’s editor in chief, Jake Phelps, is clearing the air on his famous list of five skaters that he permanently banned from the magazine. This week-long feature entitled “Five Days of Hate” details why Benji Galloway, Tony Farmer, Frank Hirata, Choppy Omega, and Billy Pepper were excluded from coverage. Love him or hate him, Phelps is maintaining his reputation as an outspoken and brutally honest figure in the skateboarding community.  Will his words expose injustices in skateboarding?  Or will he simply go on a  slanderous rampage?  This week will showcase Phelps in his true form. Above picture taken from thrashermagazine.com