Tag Archive: album covers
Kellee Patterson: Turn on the lights
The music in Kellee Patterson’s Turn on the lights has nothing to do with skateboarding. It’s pure 70’s disco soul, representative of the genre and when it came out, which was 1977. But checkout that rocket board! I’ve seen plastic six wheelers before, but never in that configuration. Now that I have a few other weird ones collecting dust in my basement I have a new unholy grail to search for. It might be difficult, considering I have no idea what that board is called. I do know approximately where to find that record though. My weekend is getting cluttered. – Thanks to Heath for the tip.
The Mixtures – Skateboard Jive
I curse the audiophile who sniped me on this eBay auction for Skateboard Jive by the Mixtures. What kind of loser bids on crappy skatesploitation music? ME. There’s a fan page set up on MySpace, so I guess at least two people care. The Mixtures were an Australian band from 1965-1976. Skateboard Jive came out in 1975, and it was the last thing the Mixtures released before disbanding. There’s a bunch of skatesploitation records that come up on eBay all the time, pretty much the group, if you miss once you can most likely try again in a month, but I’ve never seen this one before. I covet this.
Skateboard Rider by Dave O’Brian
The internet is magic. How esle would I be able to buy some obscure 7″ single from a guy nobody’s ever heard of, or at least remembers. Skateboard Rider was released in 1977 on a German label called Metronome Muzik. Check out the cool Van Halen style lettering. This came out a year before Van Halen’s first album, which sounds like it came from a different planet compared to this. The B-side is called Sunshine in Your Face, and although the view from the awesome cover calls to mind something else on your face, the b-side is absolutely horrible without any skateboard kitsch to fall back on. Skateboard Rider was about $15 delivered, from Deutschland.
Skateboard Bill
This is the Skateboard Bill single by surfing icon Corky Carroll. He retired from the professional surfing circuit in 1972 at the age of 24, about the same time he began his recording career. The engineer on this session was none other than future Surf Punk and member of Johnny Rad’s house band, Dennis Dragon. Dennis handled soundtrack and audio effects in the early Bones Brigade videos. On top of that, he lives in Oregon now. I might go stalk him.
Not really a miracle
Somebody was questioning the usage of a Smokey Robinson and the Miracles tune for Rion Linderman’s recent video, but it made perfect sense. It was “My Girl” and Rion had just gotten married. Our Dutch office ( Thanks Matthijs ) turned up a picture of Smokey Robinson on an actual skateboard. It’s the cover of Going to a Go-Go, and it dates back to 1965. I can’t find a vinyl copy of this anywhere for less than $38 bucks, but it looks like it’s been released in an expanded edition on CD. Somewhere out there is a garage sale with this record and my name on it. [Source: Flickr]
Friday T&A on S&A: Inactive imagination
Screw these Feeder guys. First off, their name too close to legendary punk band the Feederz. Remember the album Ever Feel Like Killing Your Boss? It was black with sandpaper glued to the outside cover so it would deface any other albums you put it next to. OK, strike one, your band name is too close to another infamous band. Strike two, you choose to make an album cover with a picture that is already a direct copy of another album cover. The cover of Feeder’s album Renegades is Basilio SIlva photo that was obviously copied from the Dwarves. The Feeders made a video with a topless girl in a ski mask. As much as I can appreciate a topless girl (spring break!) I’m predisposed to hate this. – Thanks to Matthijs for the tip.
Lady Skate and the Skateboard Kids
This is Lady Skate and the Skateboard Kids, from the Barcaly Records 1977 release. The A side is Skateboard Baby, and the B-Side is The Skateboard Lesson. This skateploixtation record is a French production, but I swear I’ve heard of that label in conjunction with some other skateboard music titles. – Oh yeah, Thanks to Matthijs for tipping me off to the auction.
What the Fofao?
Ten bucks delivered. Bizarro skateboard album covers are the new vintage skateboard collectable… because I say so. This thing is disturbing. Fofao is a popular (?) children’s television character, or not, I’m not sure. He’s freakish though. Large jowled pig face boy anyone? I keep staring at the cover of this thing, trying to figure out if it’s a child in the suit or a man with an oversized skateboard. Seriously, check it out.
Joe Farrell: Skate Board Park
Man, for a cat so heavily into jazz, you’d think he’d be hip to the lingo and not trip over such a simple thing like “skateboard park” instead of laying a clam like “Skate Board Park.” This album dates back to 1979. I don’t know jazz, but Joe Farrell must have been somewhat respected, because I do recognize the name of his keyboard and piano player, Chick Corea. I do know one thing, this album cover is outstanding, even if it wasn’t the record exec’s bag. The CD re-issue has a completely different cover. Dig some fly album artwork and hear Farrell blow on this hot plate after the jump, unless you’re out to lunch, like that crumb behind Joe on the cover. – Thanks to Matt for the tip, and AllAboutJazz for the translation.
Megamouth 2 and the Great Skateboard Adventure
In my never ending quest to acquire vintage skateboard exploitation music that nobody wants to hear but me and maybe one other guy, I found this 1988 cassette only release by the Christian rap group called Megamouth. This ons is listed on eBay for $80, and that’s no typo. I asked the seller about it: This cassette’s rarity and value are due to the fact that it is among the more obscure releases from Terry Taylor, a wunderkind in the Christian alternative music field (both as a producer and as an artist himself, with his bands Daniel Amos, Swirling Eddies, and Lost Dogs). Since this was a cassette-only release aimed at the Christian children’s market, a very small niche market, this title is pretty rare. I thought I’d shop around and look for a more reasonably priced way to hear Getting Vertical (By Trustin’ The Lord), but the only other option is spending $100 at Amazon. Knowledgeable sources like the Holy Hip Hop DataBASE say the two Megamouth releases didn’t find much of an audience. Maybe it was ahead of it’s time, predating Colby’s Place by a year.











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