Skatepunk

For music fans, there's nothing like a set list from a show you've seen to take you back to the show. They're the perfect memorabilia - they don't take up much space, they're free, and to a certain extent they're not easy to get, or at the least, there aren't too many of them from each show. I started collecting set lists when I was pretty young, and although I never really killed myself or went out of the way to get them, I've always tried to save them, and I recently realized that I have a ton of set lists. So I've scanned some of them and here they are. Hopefully they'll take you back too.

So, I actually can sympathize with the job of having to be the person who says "You can't be here" but I do see a difference -- at events that I have the privilege of doing that for, we ALWAYS make arrangements for all the people who should be there shooting photos... the pros, the veterans, the people who know how to shoot a vert photo from the deck of the ramp. And here at Dew Tour, it's arbitrary -- nobody is allowed to shoot the finals or semifinals, apparently, but we were supposed to be able to shoot the practice sessions...

Mt Baldy is one of the holy grails of skateboarding... at least in the bigger history of skateboarding. I've been lucky enough to shoot a number of great sessions there. Chris Robison, Sin Elgeljia, John Gibson, Gator, Craig Johnson, Dan Sturt, Nose Lips, and more. Baldy is not an easy spot to skate, and it's not for the weak. The ground in the bottom of the pipe is very, very rough, worn out from the water that runs down the center line most of the year.

For anyone who knew Joe Lopes, hearing the words "Joe Lopes is manning the barbecue" was always a good thing. Joe's passion for skateboarding, for getting together to have a good time with your friends, made a great big dent in the collective cool armor of skateboarding at a time when contest results and magazine coverage were the measures of how good a pro you were. Indeed, the very first time the words "Ramp Jam" were used was for a contest at Joe Lopes' house. Later, when contests got even more serious, Joe was one of the first pros to ever say "I don't wanna enter that contest." But those words were probably followed by some variation of "but I'll cook for everyone."

I just got a new scanner so I'm hoping to post a number of old photos again soon. With Maloof Money Cup over it seems I'll have much more time on my hands! This photo of Tim was in the field that eventually became highway whatever into downtown San Jose, near Gunderson High if I remember correctly. Roger built it with some friends but it was forever known as Roger's Ramp, and Tim was one of the rippers who localized it. His first photo in a skateboarding magazine was a full color photo that I shot, I think it was 1990 or so... it was in the Transworld Photo Issue with Mike Carroll and all the names of the skaters on the cover. GSD did the layout.

The Emerica Team made the trek up to Vancouver over the first weekend of Summer, 2009 for some madness and chaos. An otherwise completely boring autograph session was spiced up when some kid asked all the team guys to sign his arm, claiming he was going to get the autographs tattooed... and sure enough, he walked out of Underworld went and did it. Wow. At least Ed drew some artwork to go along with his sig... that was the beginning to a great weekend. Following the Underworld visit, the crew headed to LeeSide, where, joined by a modest crew of rippers, they sessioned for a couple of hours.

After some dinner, the crew headed to the Biltmore to check out The Goat and No Age. No Age is a two-piece from L.A. who play a high energy post-post hardcore brnd of punk rock. The Goat is the supergroup with my old dear old friend Shane Heyl, backed by Andrew Reynolds, Beagle, Spanky, and Atiba Jefferson. Their set was energetic and there were more than a handful of hyped up fans in the front row who knew every word! And of course on the street outside following the show there was all the prerequisite drama that is quite common during Vancouver skate events: drunken fights, crying girls, pissing in doorways and the subsequent yelling, and loud requests from neighbors and barkeepers to keep the noise down...