Mr. Freedom

Here's one of those lovely bits of internet functionality happening. I've been linked to the December Snowskates blog for a bit as Kevin from December has been doing some really cool stuff. He's been handcrafting these bindingless snowskates for a while, and he loves to surf so it seems natural he'd be enthused by a lot of what's been going on in surfing with the alaias (he's built a decent quiver including one that's hopefully going to develop into a board that can be ridden snow, surf and skate style!) With the snow/surf crossover he's very aware of the Mackie/Winterstick/Taro Tamai program, and that has led him to what we're doing here, and it's been great seeing what he's been up to and sharing our new projects with someone as stoked as he is. Then this week I find a box containing the above board in my PO Box. 27" x 7" hand crafted asymmetrical skate deck. Utterly beautiful piece of work gifted from December Snowskates. I'm still tripping on how fantastically cool it is, and my daughter immediately named it Mr. Freedom which works for me. This is definitely what makes all this nonsense so worthwhile- a piece of hand crafted beauty.

The Surfing Masses

the weekend's home away from home.


Jon Wegener making finless magic happen

Made it through the US Open weekend although I'm fairly shell shocked by it. The Sacred Craft area was pretty cool, there was a shaping bay where boothmate Jon Wegener sliced out an alaia at full volume and Scott Bass deserves major thanks for not only getting it together but for also managing to get a range from Jon's graceful wooden creations to Maurice Cole's equally graceful ultra modern EPS rockets. The contest scene was terrifying- decent waves but the jetskis were a bit silly, and the crowds were huge and in most cases clueless about surfing. We did hook up with a lot of folks interested in the boards we had on display, Joe Bauguess made a mysto shaper appearance on Saturday, blew a few people's minds then vanished back to his border lair to carve out more whoopee ships, RK was out hitting it all time at Brisick's, a certain secret N. LA spot and we drank lots of coconut water. The celebrity expression session was crazy lame- tow-ats in a dropping swell with the superstar surfers just launching over the back of the wave. Curren paddled into a few on the inside and surfed better than the jet assist circus. Early arrival meant that if you had a booth with some demo boards in it they could get surfed at smaller but way less crowded/media saturated spots before the crowds started rolling in, but of course we were all about working hard and providing some interesting craft for the public to view. There's been incredible stuff showing up in the mailbox and inbox so I'll definitely get onto posting a bit more regularly.

A Random Sort Of Selection

Short while ago I was all stoked on handing off some custom Swift mini Simms, especially since one was going to Bali it seemed. Well, it did and the photos above are Steve putting his board through it's paces. Seems he scored some pretty nice surf and got a few blazing runs on the mini. Nice. Meanwhile check the Hydro blog, there's shots of the Bauguess/Ekstrom collaboration orchestrated by RK- there will be some highly interesting foam coming out of this one. Even more random: should you be at the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach this weekend, try to find the board booths as we will be there, a shared Jon Wegener/Hydrodynamica Test Pilot Series/Mackie Surfboards mega booth. Please come by, it'll be nice to see someone that isn't a sticker hunting mouth breathing grom I imagine. Not entirely sure how all this came together as it happened fast, but apparently I'm spending my weekend surrounded by energy drink purveyors and multinational clothing companies trying to interest the masses in cutting edge planing hull design. Excellent. The Kinski board, well that's totally rad. R.I.P. Baby Paul Cullen, one of the Dogtown mainstays. He lived the life, no punches pulled, and I'll miss the mad phone calls out of the blue.

Ether Monthly #3

Photo Kidman from 'Ether'. Available from Foam & Function and worth every cent.

After posting the Narrabeen pics last month and then having my thruster moment courtesy of RT's new film project, it seems only natural to post this particularly epic shot of Simon Anderson at North Narrabeen in 2000. In this photo, he's twice the age of most of the Pro Tour guys.

from his interview in 'Ether'
"At Narrabeen, Col Smith is known as the father of modern, radical, explosive surfing - I think that's fairly common knowledge and he should be proud of that fact. He did set a lot of standards; we were looking at what Col was doing, as opposed to Terry, and trying to emulate that sort of more vertical surfing, that was more oriented to destroying the lip and surfing in the pocket; carving off the top and doing cutbacks, stuff like that.

How I developed my style? I don't know, it just happened. I wanted to surf like Col and be explosive and be radical. Narrabeen, back then, was conducive to doing that under the lip thing and finding out about backhand tube riding. So I was quite happy to practice my craft at Narrabeen and develop my backhand surfing, to a fairly large extent."

Derek

Derek Hynd, Jeffreys Bay, South Africa. 26/06/09 from Yves Van den Meerssche on Vimeo.

If you haven't been checking out Safe To Sea and the Kurungabaa blogs you're missing out. This little gem turned up via them.

Days At The Beach

I've surfed a lot over the last few days. It's a good thing.

RK Droppin' Science Like Galileo

TJS | POV - Richard Kenvin from The Surfer's Journal on Vimeo.

Vimeo gives me all sorts of grief, herky jerky and quiet but it's worth persevering with as Richard gives the goods. Meanwhile here in South Central LA it's like a war zone- you people certainly love your patriotic fireworks. Back home we celebrate an attempt to blow up the English Houses of Parliament but certainly not with as much vigor. This year is exceptional, the dog may not recover.

Modernity Killed Every Night

Kidman

One of those weeks of unrelentingness, but all in a good cause I suppose. Boards were delivered all over the place which is actually fun. Obviously if they're buying a board through me, it's one I like and therefore the customers tend to be quite entertaining and cool folks, and so they were. It's a bonus getting to be the guy handing a new board to someone too, makes me feel like I've improved someone's day a bit, and I snuck a few sessions in around the handoffs which improved my days a bit, and the dog found a dead seal which made it very happy but didn't improve anyone's day at all. The shapers here and in Australia are on a roll, there's new concepts and ideas being thrown around and I'm certainly excited. Also collected and am sorting a stack of art from Trefz and Curren, I'll no doubt have some up here and I'm sure you can buy it if you're so inclined. Go to Warbles and check RT's great little advance promo for his new project- fully shreddy acrobat action, made me want a decent wave and a thruster.

From the bay...

The shaping bay that is. Joe Bauguess in full legend mode, mowing out the beauties and the boys get a little experimental with the colour work. Photos by Level Horizon Phil with more to follow.

Efficiency and Organisation

No seriously, there was some on this last trip south. I collected some boards which will shortly be making certain people very happy. Joe Bauguess is on fire, the boards are looking really clean, especially the first batch of Simsters which are soon to be glassed. Here's the state of my kid's bedroom at present, she's holding a pretty awesome quiver. There's a 5'9" Mackie Sidecut flextail very similar to the one I've been riding in there, and after the last few days I'm back loving it hard. In the better surf of San Diego county it was feeling really good, sort of like driving on a well cambered road- the flow and drive was apparent, even in the bumpier stuff. Tues was cleaner and bigger than Weds, but there were waves that made the whole jaunt worthwhile both days. The Hydro crew were scoring too, check RK's blog.


The nice new shirt colours were collected- blue for the gents, I've got some Hydro spirals and the Foam & Function with a serious green print, both in Med, Lg and XL. The ladies get the lavender shirts, S, M, or L. There's some Spirals and a few Swift Slayers in black and lavender. All $25 including shipping.


This is the sort of weird score of the month- the always genial and utterly legendary John Elwell designed and had printed these Simmons tribute shirts, front and back print shown. Limited edition, M, L or XL white beefy-t only and $25 also- mad O.G.! To order any of the above just email info@foamandfunction.com.

Asym For The Cement

Here's some asymmetrical skateboards from the guys at December Snowskates. I'm aware the rails on a skateboard aren't engaged, but it's a lovely concept and a really nice execution. There's even a cool little video of the painting process here
http://decembersnowskates.blogspot.com/2009/06/super-hooked-on-this-tune-from-movie.html
Yusuke took the photo of Ekstrom's 6 footer in Japan, the flextail is seeing some action and I'm off down south for a couple of days.

Twinnies are hard to turn...

Indeed. Try these on for size- from the top you have RK throwing a little spray, Rastovich putting one of Mackie's flextails on a rail and into a turn that doesn't appear to be sliding out and a guy named Bud who lives in Hawaii and not only built the really sweet looking single bump modern twin he's riding, but knows what to do with it at Rocky Point. This prompted by a session at Mailbu and watching so many people go so straight. All good if that's your bag, but personally I like what you see here. Of course I was riding a 3 fin Simster so I'm not worth a damn either. The flextail gets broken out this week if the swell persists.

He's back!

go here: http://www.gonadman.com/gonadman/Home.html and you can get on the list to have Gonadman delivered to your desktop by the wonders of computering.

Last Hope

Well, the good news from down under is Andrew Kidman has announced the release of his latest film project,'Last Hope'. In much the same way Ank took surf films in a whole new direction with the release of 'Litmus' all those years ago, I believe he's done something really cool & interesting again here. Rather than a film with any sort of narrative flow, Last Hope is a collection of 16 short films themed around the sea and each with a song from the Spunk Records catalog as it's background. The filmmakers involved are Albie Falzon, Jon Frank, Monty Webber, Michelle Lockwood, Richard Kenvin, Patrick Trefz and of course Andrew himself. The music is from the likes of Smog, Sufjean Stevens, Brown Birds From Windy Hill, Vetiver, Bonnie Prince Billy, Mogwai, Dirty Three and My Morning Jacket. To quote Andrew from the press release:
"One of the most enjoyable aspects of being a filmmaker is the process of bringing scenes, emotions and stories to life with music. It's kind of a filmmaker's dream to have access to great music and the freedom to make whatever you want without the constraints of trying to make a full length feature or editors wreaking havoc with your work. This is what I was thinking about when Aaron Curnow (Spunk Records) and I first had a conversation about this project. I thought something special could come from letting the filmmakers make what ever they wanted. I hope the project has kept a pure line and these original thoughts transcend in the viewing."
I'm not sure when this will be available in the US, but I'll certainly find out. If you're Australia this July you can go check out the film on tour with The Brown Birds playing a live score at each showing- epically old school!
JULY TOUR
July 2nd Noosa Bowls, Noosa Heads
July 3rd Old Museum, Brisbane
July 4th Byron Community Centre, Byron
July 10th Neverland Bar, Coolangatta
July 12th Mullumbimby RSL, Mullumbimby
July 16th Waverly Bowling Club, Bondi
July 17th Palm Beach RSL, Palm Beach
July 18th Manly Boat Shed, Manly
July 19th Heritage Hotel, Wollongong (Tickets from venue)
July 20th Brass Monkey, Cronulla (Tickets from venue)
July 21st Royal Exchange, Newcastle

Archival

some Antipodean at Rincon on a weird looking board, image Kenvin Jan 08


the weird gets weirder, image me May 09


and yet weirder, image Daniel Thomson, the Future?

Lynch Swirls & The Brown Birds From Windy Hill

Post Trefz tour, Sacred Craft and other assorted jaunts I'm finally getting stuff in order and I'm about to try and do some updates on the Foam & Function site as there's new goods. It's killing me as I now have a stack of beeyoootiful Lynch single fins in the house. Here's some serious resin swirl action, and I wish someone would buy one of these as not only are they epic boards, but should a decent swell come the temptation would be very great. The blue 6'7" is $725 and the orange acid swirl is $775.



Among the new goods are some t-shirts and here's the legendary Brown Birds From Windy Hill bootleg of the bootleg shirt. Black only cause it's rock and roll. Still got a few of the 'Searching For Michael Peterson' soundtrack CDs left too, only $22 postpaid. As always, email me at info@foamandfunction.com if you're interested. The rest of the associates are scattered and getting the surf I wish for- boat trips to in Mex, art shows in Japan- there should be some interesting photos from all this action soon I hope.

Mick's Winter Quiver

Ether Monthly #2

Narrabeen by Andrew Kidman, from Ether.

After the chaos of the last couple of weeks, this image seems to encapsulate what I want perfectly- it looks cold, empty and somewhat epic. AK's home break, Narrabeen, is a storied one even by Australian standards. Simon Anderson is a local here, and that says a lot.

Like A Rhinestone B-Boy

In the 80's, one of these men was breakdancing to Afrika Bambaata at the Camden Palace and the other was getting shout outs on NYC hip hop radio. Stupid fresh.



Ray Barbee @ The Surf Gallery Laguna Beach

Unbelievably, we not only made it through the Thread tour unscathed but it was the most fun I've had on dry land in a long time. Our thanks to those who showed at the events and to those who helped make it happen (especially the very kind folks at Primo who's generosity fueled some of the best moments). Trefz was an epic travelling companion and he has some serious stamina as in just a day or two he's back on the road for a surf photo trip. Me, I'm catching up on sleep, work and jonesing for another visit to the La Gloria Market & Restaurant in lovely Oxnard CA for more carnitas. If you missed the shows and want a book, there's a few signed copies sitting here and you can email me at info@foamandfunction.com to get one.

Sketchy Business Tour 09

Sorry ladies, he's spoken for. Andy Davis, top notch artist and surf celebrity, models the excellent Tour shirt shortly before the evening took a wild turn or two.



Carl Ekstrom builds boards, and he builds a model of the board first. Seriously detailed model too, the rails on these things are amazing.



The Tudors and a fully psychedelic looking Bill Bahne by P. Trefz



New Shirts! Some styling designs, small run to start so get 'em while they're hot-you can email at info@foamandfunction as always. I've got Trefz books too if you can't make a show.

Exhaustion was kicking in, but a solid 5 hours last night and we're back on it with Trefz heading to NYC for a signing event with Powerhouse, and me trying to get the Sacred Craft booth organised. San Diego was a stormer, huge thanks to those who showed. I fully loved the mix, Carl Ekstrom & Bill Bahne talking design to Chris Del Moro, Tyler Warren and the new school kids, Bauguess and Elwell dropping knowledge and checking Daniel Thomson's ultra hitech performance boards, Trefz and RK had the visuals dialed in, the Windansea groms turned up and laughed at us geezers, Old Man Hands were fantastic, sounding a little darker and wilder I thought, Ando became a wild man, Trefz whipped up midnight tacos, the Primo stocks took a serious hit and the Shores was pretty good on the AM. Join us at the Surf Gallery, 911 S. Coast Hwy this Friday for more of the same and we'll be in booth G3 at the Sacred Craft this Saturday and Sunday with some fantastic boards- I collected a few Lynchs, the Mackies are ready, we'll have the new Hydrodynamica Test Pilot boards of course, and as a total bonus, Carl Ekstrom is on the team and will be bringing some exceedingly interesting stuff. Saturday night we end this batch of book shenanigans at Tom Curren's shop, 727 State St Santa Barbara. Tom will play and I bet Trefz gets silly.