OK, I don’t know if they are actually anarchists or not, but Flora Skatepark is being built behind a building called the Rote Flora in Hamburg, Germany that currently has strong ties with squatter and left-wing groups. Do right-wing squatters exist? The Rote Flora was one of the few theaters in Germany to survive WWII intact. According to Wikipedia, it was used as part of a department store from the 70’s until 1987. Here’s where it gets murky. For some reason there was an uproar by local shopkeepers and and “autonomous groups” (Anarchy!) when a producer wanted to turn it back into a musical theatre. There were clashes with police, and ultimately most of the building was torn down in 1988, only to be renovated and squatted in, leased and un-leased, made a focal issue in an election year, etc… The point is, most renegade concrete projects tend to be located in spots that don’t attract attention. Maybe this one will succeed in finding a permanent location precisely because the adjacent property has such a volatile “hands-off” history. The end result… Opening party for the first part of Flora Skatepark is June 30th, 2007. Thanks to Peter Diepes for the…

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…

Mark Ward sent this along. More info at the Concrete Rodeo web site.

Matt Kline says there is a big Fourth of July Party happening at the skatepark. Bands Beers and Bowls 2PM July 4th. Photo of Shoey by Matt Kline

Ray Zimmerman AKA MRZ has been known to take a mean photo. You might have seen his work at Concrete Disciples or Concrete Wave on occasion. It looks like he’s got a pile of medical bills due to a nasty ankle break, and his buddies are throwing him a benefit jam on July 14th at the Glendale skatepark. Right about now I’m betting our own Mark Conahan is wondering why we didn’t throw him a benefit jam. [Source: The Skateboard Mag – Photo: Adam Morgan by MRZ (duh!)]

A star emerges outta Portlands Burnside skatepark, how f-ing cool is that? Element is hosting a huge party in Portland at the Mission Theater this Friday night, hosted by Portlands “Golden Boy” Brett Atchley. Details on flyer- courtesy of Element Skateboards. Its worth it to see MyG and The Muska spin records- if your into that sorta thing. Watch Brett’s part and see the whole flyer after the jump.

Err… The Doctor is here to investigate Seaside Oregon’s new skatepark, with the studies and the data, the gluteus maximus and minimus, and so on and so forth. Oh oh, I hear someone coming. I have to leave…

As background to the Gabriel Park snake discussion, Here is more info on the old Seylynn snake run. There is a documentary about it: The Seylynn Story. The website has a trailer for the film that shows some action and a collection of photos. The site says that’s Gator doing an Andrecht in the snake. Dan Hughes has photos of the park on Northwest Skater. Google maps satellite shot of the park.