Skatepunk

Devo: Spud Wars, by Andy Gill. Originally published in NME, December 9, 1978

They came from Outer Akron. Their purpose: conquest. Their methods: unpleasant. This was... Spud Wars.

Jackie Leven of Doll By Doll is Not Happy. A large man in a leather jacket, he's pacing back and forth across the foyer of Newcastle City Hall, thwacking a leather fist into a leather palm. Anger. Frustration. "Surly" might best describe his demeanor.

Doll By Doll, see, have just been relieved of their support spot on the Devo tour, the only reason given being that they "weren't devo". He is understandably miffed. DBD's manager, a leather-jacketed bloke of somewhat slighter build, points out that it's not just a case of the exposure the Devo tour would have provided.

In case you are unfamiliar with Garry Davis, here's a rundown on this guy. Garry was the first person to make a skateboarding zine. He was the first person to have a "street" pro model skateboard. (I know that sounds weird, but back in the day, there were boards for vert skaters only!) He invented the boneless one, or boneless. He does great sweepers, and during the late '80s El Cortez pool sessions in downtown San Diego, he did backside tailslides, layback style, on the lip of the spit drain. He was on the cover of Thrasher (May 1983) and wrote "Steep Slopes" in that mag for several months. He was one of many who lived at Del Mar Skate Ranch over the years, and for a long time, Garry wore black pants with skeletal bones that he painted on them. Exclusively. He also wore a devil lock for a long time. He has been the main creative force known musically as Custom Floor for about 10 years now, and is afraid of no experimentation.

The following article/interview was originally published on skatepunk.net in early 2000. The timing was key. The Locust had really hit their stride as a band, 31g was boasting a strong catalog, and the recent passing of Swing Kids and Unbroken guitarist Eric Allen was a bitter pill to swallow. Justin took the time to provide thoughtful and in-depth answers and the interview reflects that period of time very well.

Mike Rusczyk was a longtime am for Foundation, but took the plunge and turned pro in 2006. Because he'd be a man-am for a while, Foundation and Mike sorta made a big deal out of his retirement from am-status. It was funny from an outsider perspective, if you got the joke, but may have overshadowed Mike's real talents on a skateboard. Mike's always been a creative person and it shows in his skating as well as in his everyday life--Mike can skate anything with style whether it be rails, blocks, gaps, or transition. Check his parts out in Cataclysmic Abyss right here:

I found out about New Model Army, like a lot of bands, from my friend O. It was 1986, and their album “The Ghost of Cain” had just come out. O’s ‘zine, 10 Foot Boneless, had a photo of this guy with an acoustic guitar, and at the time it just seemed so foreign—an acoustic guitar? At the time, O. was staying with me at my house in Pacific Beach a lot, and somehow I ended up with the LP. It was pretty epic, and in that drought of punk music that was the mid-80s, they still held the ideals and political energy of the punk scene, even though their music was more rock and folk stuff.

Skate Rock 2010 has come and gone. My body has broken down and I feel crappy, but I'm at home and I've survived and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Over the next week or so in this space I will add photos and links and collect everything I can find from all the sites into this one spot. It was a hell of a great trip. Wanna find out how great it can be? Go start your own band!

Here's the teaser video Altamont made for the tour:

Here I will collect a number of articles that I've saved over the years about the Clash. Many of them are from Melody Maker and New Musical Express by the top punk writers of the day. Others are by one-offs who I never read again. I will always give credit to the original writer and I will continue to add to it as long as I can find new old articles.

The Clash was one of the first punk bands whose records I bought as they came out. I'd heard of the Clash from the skateboarding magazines, but didn't know what to make of them. Then, in 1979, around the time that London Calling came out, I got their first three records all within a short span of time. At the time, I loved the self-titled album, The Clash, I liked London Calling, and Give 'Em Enough Rope didn't really register. It sat in the pile with Never Mind The Bollocks until 1981 or maybe even later, mostly untouched. As time went on, they became one of my Favorite Bands, along with X and Devo.

To order the Faction "Collection" CD, email Mark (at) skatepunk.net to check remaining stock.

The Faction was a hardcore punk rock band from Halloween 1982 until Halloween 1985. Coming from the heart of the Northern California skateboard scene, (San Jose, numbskull: if you thought I was talking Frisco, you're wrong!) the band was one of the original "Skate Rock" bands whose music and lifestyle tastes centered on skateboarding and punk rock.

Following are a collection of eight articles from various sources covering and spanning the years 1977 to 1982, with a retrospective Paul Weller interview from 2004. Like many of the articles I've reprinted here, all but the last were written during the band's heyday and the views are unique by today's standards because they are truly written without hindsight, without the scope that time creates. It's been 26 years since The Jam broke up. Keep that in mind when you read these articles and interviews.

The U.K. Subs were part of the original punk rock movement in England that formed in 1976, with the initial name of the Subversives. The band's founder, Charlie Harper selected guitarist Nicky Garratt, bassist Paul Slack, and various drummers (eventually Pete Davis became fairly stable) under the initial name "U.K. Subversives". The London based band's early line-up changed frequently.

Their style combined the energy of punk and the rock and roll edge of the then thriving pub rock scene. The band had some hit singles such as "Stranglehold", "Warhead", "Teenage", and "Tomorrow's Girls", with several of their songs managing to enter the United Kingdom's Top Forty.