Saturday, October 31, 2009

Thread Monthly #2- Jim Denevan


Jim Denevan LAnd Art, Big Sur.
from 'Thread' by Patrick Trefz, available from Foam and Function

Jim Denevan's outright incredible freeform beach art, definitely one of the moments that takes Thread (both book and film) beyond your basic surf imagery. Personally, I love these almost landscapey shots- the sense of place above and beyond a breaking wave is what makes this sort of work so fascinating to me. Fun fact time- aside from doing the above and riding a twinny really well, Denevan is an acclaimed chef and very much an early proponent of the whole local food/farm to table movement- he even got props from the A.A.A. in last months 'Westways' mag!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Wegener T-Shirts



For a decent chunk of the surfing population, the t-shirt is as much about proclaiming rank and status as any fancy Bird-Of-Paradise feather bonnet on a Sepik River tribesman in New Guinea. Admit it, if you saw some guy strolling through the parking lot proudly rocking a shirt from 9Fish or some inland action sports emporium you're not going to take him too seriously. (I'm ignoring the whole Marshall Bros./ironic valley dude deal here- arcane Mailbu trends no longer have the cultural weight they once did.) Meanwhile a good t-shirt still carries some of the thrill of being a kid and landing an exceptional item, maybe a relative or friend going to Hawaii or Australia would bring a good one back and you'd be set, strutting around like Fitzy himself because you had a new Bolt shirt. Here's a shirt that won't make you look a goose in the lot, full underground cred with the Wegener shirt, M, L or XL and he has a really nice OG Hanes, full CalTrans safety orange colour one as well. $25 bucks gets one in the mail to you, info at foamandfunction.com to order as always. Oh, and that's the back- the front has the image only on the left chest.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Ether Monthly #6



Martyn Worthington by Andrew Kidman. From 'Ether'

From the interview with Martyn in Ether:
"I think, when people try to control things too much, through advertising, through money, through marketing: trying to control it so, basically, they can profit out of it, it becomes sterile very quickly. And then you get the rebellion against it. It just seems that, maybe, we're on the cusp of something, of finding an expression again. I don't know how it's going to happen, I just feel people are searching for something, just in the work I'm being asked to do. They're getting pretty bored with the way things have been.
There's all sorts of things, there's Oscar Wright- that stuff's just fantastic. I mean, that's him, there's no mistaking it. And if people want to imitate that but do it in their own way, that's so much the better. I want to see a stage where it's alright for people t paint their own boards, or get somebody to do it for them, or whatever else and not worry about paddling out and thinking 'I don't look like whoever.'"

For those of you who are unaware, 'Ether' is an independently produced 252 pg, 12 x 12 signed and numbered book featuring photography, art and interviews by Andrew Kidman. It's limited to 1050 copies only, and comes in a screen printed box with a coloured vinyl 10" record featuring Kidman's music. It's $175 and available from info at foamandfunction.com.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Profane Directional Stabilisers...





and the board for them (the big flex fin anyway). New Mackies fresh off the aeroplane, a 6'6" bonzer for Paul here, felt like an absolute screamer under the arm so I'm hoping the decent little swell we've had the last few days sticks around a bit. Personally, I had probably the funnest surf I've had in a really long while yesterday at a spot I hit purely for proximity to a board drop off. Peaky, chest to head high but oh so crowded. Sat out the back a bit, got a few meaty rights and I am feeling mighty good.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Sacred Craft 2


Mirandon Twin Pin

Ekstrom Earwigs front and center

Eli finesses a dolphin board

A few more. Eli Mirandon was a high point, he had some really awesome looking boards on display, a 5'2" fish I would have walked with if I had some money, and a crazy agave stringered beauty. The Ekstrom finless tripped a lot of people out, there was no shortage of folks looking at them, looking at Jon's alaia's and foam finless then walking away shaking their heads. Each to their own I guess. Personally I like fins, but you've got to love what guys like Jon and Carl are achieving with this stuff. Change and progression are what life is about really.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Sacred Craft 1


Wegener Art Paipo

Bat tail channeled mini-Sim

Mini Sim Asym

Daniel Thomson shapes

A truly over the top weekend. I think the show was excellent but I didn't get to see too much of it as we were swamped. I did see a parade of very entertaining people stroll by- too many to name check really, but I was totally starstruck by seeing MR wandering around. Reno Abellira who was funny as hell and by getting to have a short chat with Maurice Cole. He was on fire- described the top 44's boards as being 'retro' and played some terrifying clip of RCJ and Tony Ray on a monster wave. It was like being a grom again. I'll post some more as I get through the photos and chores this week.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Busy Weekend




If you're in the S.F. area, head by the Aqua Surf Shop on Sloat- they have a big swapmeet/parking lot show going on Saturday, seems plenty fun and you may even pick up a sweet airbrushed single fin from River Rock himself, seen in the second photo being escorted from a Tiki conference by San Diego's finest. Apparently he had tried to convince them a Post-it with a cactus drawn on it was a 'Medical Mescaline Card'. Meanwhile that same Saturday (10th by the way) there's a Santa Barbara swap meet in the parking lot at Ledbetter Beach, same deal, all kinds of used surf goods on sale. Further south, there's the mighty Sacred Craft at Del Mar Fairgrounds. We'll be there Saturday and Sunday with a full blown combo booth- Jon Wegener and his alaias, Carl Ekstrom with new finless and asymmetrical shapes, Mackie sidecut and flextail fish and of course the unveliing of a whole new range of Hydrodynamica Test Pilot boards. There will be boards to try at the official demo which is Saturday morning at 7am, 15th St Del Mar and I think we'll be out there again on Sunday around 8am with the goods. It's a whole array of 'non-mainstream' boards that are totally functional. And really fun. Come on by. There will definitely be a storm of photos next week, and I'm hoping for some input from the Kidman east coast jaunt which has been strangely quiet the last few days. The Windy Hills have played a weeks worth of shows so as soon as they recover I'll have the documentation.

Thursday, October 01, 2009

Zucchini Weenie


LA County Fair gourmet special.

Sometimes a day not at the beach is called for.