Skater Punks, an essay by Kathy Fish

Skater Punks You know exactly what I am talking about. We have all seen them: the thrashed skate boards with nightmarish graphics, the bizarre array of boxers peeking out of the ridiculously baggy pants, jewelry protruding from places previously only inhabited by the stray hair trying to avoid being plucked, that's right, the skater punks. They aren't just boys or men; girls who played dress up and Barbie have thrown off the perception of pale pink and purple and are clad in black, brown, army green or any drab variation of the ominous colors Generation X has chosen for their coat of arms. Young men and women dress the same, walk the same, skate the same and sport the same flippantly arrogant attitude. What on earth would possess the youth of our nation to dress, behave and mutilate themselves in such a manner? Have you ever seen an X-Games skate board competition? These people are amazing. Why would you waste that athleticism and agility on a sport that has nothing to offer but a bad reputation, injury and trouble with the law?

"Mom, I'm home! Guess where Grandma took me to today. We found a skateboard at a garage sale and we bought it for $2.00 and we went to the skate park. It is so cool. I met some new friends and they showed me some tricks. Grandma is going to take me back next week," Conner, my then six year old, excitedly gushed as he walked through the front door.

Fear and anger seized me. I didn't know who to yell at first. Conner, seeing the fierce look in my eyes, yelled, "Grandma made me do it!" In her quest to become "cool," grandma had been turned to the "dark side." In Benedict Arnold style, facing battle and guaranteed desecration of her sainthood, she caved, switched allegiances, and sold me out for the price of a smile. I couldn't trust her, or the vipers she was now "hangin" with. Disbelief engulfed me like a dark, damp heavy cloud. My ally was gone, deserted; I stood alone to bear accusations like "you don't understand," "my friends who have cool parents get to skate," "you're closed minded and prejudiced," "just because you're old doesn't mean you know everything." The verbal battle was in full array and the arrows were hitting their target.

I pause from the narration at this time to relate an observation that has come as a morbid dose of reality for me. You will all have the following experience, at one time or another, it is unavoidable. You will supply grandchildren for your parents who have shamelessly begged, bribed, pleaded and blackmailed you to procreate. By giving in to their pleas you will have equipped them with the opportunity to earn their sainthood. Then, watching you stagger from a near fatal battle wound, they will step forward, take the sword from your child's hand and drive the final blow straight through your heart. With this one act they will forever endear themselves to your offspring and irrevocably reveal their true alliances— with them, against you.

'You know honey, you really should come check out the skate park before you make your final decision," a woman I did not know, who bore a striking resemblance to my mother, cooed logically. I spun around, a cornered, wild animal sensing the battle to ensue. "How dare you...We have talked endlessly about the problems with the youth of today, not the least of which is the 'skater-tude'... I entrusted my child to you and this is where you take him?...I don't care if he asked you to, be the adult,...show some back bone. You never had a problem saying the word 'no' when I was his age." My emotional diatribe was unashamedly being ignored. The traitor smiled, winked at Conner and said over her shoulder as she turned to leave: "Conner and I would be happy to let you tag along next time." I was speechless.

Defeated, weary from the staunch defense of ideals and perceptions my faculties began to call an all out retreat. "What could it hurt to go?...are you really afraid of some skater punks?...ratify your assumptions...prove your perceptions...isn't Conner worth your time...are you seriously going to let a 70-year-old grandma be more open-minded than you?" Finally with a sigh of surrender, "I'll go."

As I walked up the dirt trail to the "bowls" I tried to not look as scared as I felt. At first glance all I could see was concrete. There are two large "bowls" that are side by side and have a small lip that connects them. The "track" is the ring around the outer edge of the cement that incorporates two large ramps for building speed for jumps. In the middle there is a crisscross design with stairs and rails for "grinding." The design was ingenious, not much space but lots of options.

Conner threw his board down, put on his helmet, and off he rolled; around the track, up and down the ramps over and over, his smile spreading wider and wider across his innocent face. "Hi Conner," called a tall stereotypical skater. I bristled, started to step forward and the icy stiletto fingers from my childhood grabbed my arm. Without a word my mom rescued Conner from certain social death. "Hi Grandma, who's your friend?" the skater called out. Introductions were made and the grip on my perceptions began to erode.

Then my fears were realized, Conner took a nasty spill trying to grind. His board was too "sticky" to slide on the metal rail and he landed on his elbow and hip. To my surprise the skater punk got there before Conner's over protective mom. He gently picked him up, asked if he was okay, looked to make sure there was no blood, and walked him over to sit down.

"Next time borrow some of my wax to rub on the rail so it slides," came the helpful suggestion from the "punk." I was dumbfounded. Where were the "flippantly arrogant attitudes," disrespectful indifference, and the scorching defiant eyes? "He'll be okay, don't worry," the punk said reassuringly. "Thanks" I mumbled. "Mom, you said you rode a skateboard when you were young, try mine, its fun." "You rode a board? How cool, hop on and see if you remember how to roll" the skater kid smiled. "I wish my parents did something cool like that, then maybe they would understand. You are lucky Conner."

I didn't know whether to be embarrassed or proud. My tattle-tale conscience reminded me of those ten minutes earlier I was reciting the evils of skateboarding to myself. I cautiously placed Conner's board down and assumed the stance. The wheels rolled slowly at first, then faster and my confidence began to build. The adrenaline rush was instant. The faster I went the more intoxicated I felt. What a rush. I could do this all day.

"Mom, could I have my board now?""One more time around," I pleaded as I rolled quickly by."Come on mom, it's my board." I slowed down and jumped off. Conner took off and yelled "Hey mom, watch this."

Teachers come in all shapes, sizes and wear all kinds of different clothes. From eight to eighteen to seventy there are many different people from diverse walks of life that can show us things about who we are, who we think we are and most importantly who we want to become. I didn't change my choice of clothes, music or friends, but my custom board and pierced belly button have raised some eyebrows and given me the opportunity to do a little teaching of my own.

Original Source: realskate.com

Rumors dispelled, Ian MacKaye is alive and well

Ian MacKaye, the man behind Fugazi, Minor Threat, Dischord and countless other projects is alive and well. Many of you wrote in with both the rumour and the denial of said rumour and rest assured that Ian is doing just fine. For those of you unaware of the rumour, a myspace bulletin and eventual Wikipedia entry started the internet hoax that Mr. MacKaye had been killed in a hit-and-run accident. The people behind the hoax were thorough, including a real hospital (Baltimore's St. Agnes Hospital) and have repeatedly changed the Wikipedia entry as well. The entry in the internet encyclopedia has been locked to prevent further misinformation. According to Ian himself, "I am happy to report that I am not dead."

One of the most important Punk photographers of our time: Edwar Clover

Born june 17, 1949, in Pomona Ca., Edward Curtiss Colver was named after his twelve times removed great grandfather from Cornwall, England who came to the U.S. in 1635. he's a third generation southern Californian. his father , Charles, was a forest ranger for 43 years in charge of a 17,000 acre experimental forest.upon his retirement, Charles was presented with the Theodore Roosevelt conservation award presented to him by George Bush Sr. at the white house.

Edward briefly attended citrus community college, took classes at Mt. San Antonio Community College, and took night classes at UCLA, where he studied begining photography with Eileen Cowin. Edward is essentially a self taught artist. largely influenced by dada and surrealism, he was most impressed in his early years by the art of Southern Californian native, Edward Kienholz. in the late 1960's, Edward's perspective on life and art was changed by his exposure to composers such as Edgar Varese, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Krzysztof Penderecki, and John Cage. Three months after he began taking photographs, Edward had his first photo published, an image of artist Johanna went, featured in Bam magazine.

Edward started going to shows from 1978 through 1983, witnessing over a 1000 shows and through it all, captured many of the images that made their way to magazines of the day, forever immortalized on some 70+ albums. Records like Dead Kennedys, CH3, Black Flag, 45 Grave, Circle Jerks, Social Distortion, TSOL and Bad Brains just to name a few, where his photographs appeared, now symbolize an important part of American music. One the most iconic images from the Wasted Youth album, a guy flipping into the crowd, has forever represented the wild, unrestrained and nihilistic nature of the early days of the Los Angeles Punk Rock scene.

This is skate rock - The Faction

In the early '80s, skateboarders' reputations as artistic misfits and misunderstood troublemakers were growing. So was another cultural phenomenon: punk rock. The new sound meshed perfectly with the attitude of skateboarding. To both, the rules were simple: "There are no rules."

The faster and louder you skated or played, the better. It was a match made not in heaven but in the places where suburban kids who sucked at football and baseball congregated. You didn't just skate; you didn't just listen to punk. Skating and punk became your outlook. Your opinion. Your big middle finger to the status quo. It was your life.

The connection between punk rock and skateboarding is undeniable--a symbiotic relationship. You really can't have one without the other. Maybe it's the omnipresent boom box blaring from the deck of the half-pipe during the backyard ramp jam. Or over the PA at the skatepark. Or from the car stereo while a curb session is in full grind.

San Jose has a long and rich skateboard history, churning out some of the world's best pros. Steve Caballero was one of the top pros who put the city on the map in the early '80s, and he still rips today. Jeff Kendall, Mike Prosenko, John Fabriquer, Corey O'Brien (who started the San Jose-based Sonic Skateboards with brother Gavin) and countless other old-schoolers made the city proud with their talent on a skateboard.

And from that pool of artistic aggression surfaced the band that best represents the punk-skateboarding connection known as skate rock: the Faction. They were skateboarders, and they made music for skateboarding.

Though the lyrics of only two songs in their entire discography dealt explicitly with skating, the Faction was still the pioneering force in this punk rock offshoot. After all, they composed the quintessential skate-rock song, "Skate and Destroy."

The band was literally thrown together during breaks at the daily ramp jams in Caballero's San Jose backyard in 1982, and no one had a clue how far the Faction was going to go--or that two decades later, how skateboarding and punk rock would leap from subculture to pop culture.

In their brief existence, from 1982 to 1985, Caballero (bass, then later guitar), Gavin O'Brien (vocals), Ray Stevens (bass), Russ Wright (guitar) and Keith Rendon (drums)--along with former members Adam "Bomb" Segal (guitar) and Craig Bosch (drums)--toured the United States twice, recorded five records and played shows with fellow skate-rock legends JFA, Fear, Los Olvidados and Drunk Injuns (Stevens also played bass for the latter two).

After just three years, personalities began clashing over songwriting, and the fun was gone. So the Faction just broke up. "The band had run its course with Adam 'Bomb' Segal on guitar, and the direction he was trying to lead the band," Stevens says.

"We were all good friends," O'Brien adds, "but it wasn't fun anymore. It was no different from being at the end of a relationship that had run out of passion and understanding." In 1989, the band reunited for two sold-out shows at the Cactus Club (with local pro skater Jeff Kendall filling Segal's vacancy).

But a full-fledged reunion was still far off. O'Brien's life was too hectic, and he couldn't devote the time. For the next 10 years, Caballero and Stevens badgered O'Brien to get the group back together. When fellow San Jose punkers Los Olvidados reunited at the Rockin' Rob Dapello tribute show in March 2001, Los O's guitarist, Mike Fox, laid down the gauntlet to O'Brien, challenging him to get the Faction back together. Fox had done it; now it was O'Brien's turn. And he finally caved in.

"[Fox] ground me down for three days until I called Stevie and Ray," O'Brien recalls. "I told them I'd be willing to do it as long as there were no metal riffs in the band."

The band members were surprised to find themselves playing music together again. But the prophetic message on the back of the Epitaph (IM Records) album--the Faction's last release--read, "We'll be back." And indeed they are.

On July 14, 2001, the quintet stepped onto the stage together for the first time in 12 years. It was a sold-out reunion show at the Usual that looked like a who's who of San Jose skateboard and punk-rock lineage. The band killed it. That show was supposed to be just that--one show--but the Faction was having too much fun playing together again.

As a testament to its rekindled musical fire, the band is recording a new set of songs, just finishing the first session with longtime friend Randy Burk at his Stout Studios in Oakland. So far, the Faction has completed three new songs and one cover. And the guys couldn't be more stoked. While the old songs were strong, production quality (for virtually every early-'80s punk band) left a lot to be desired, the new tunes are full-on wall-of-guitar punk rock.

O'Brien says "Cut It Out" is about "waking up out of your reality distortion field and accepting life for what it is." "The Whistler" is inspired by an old joke his friends use to do on the phone. "Who the Hell Do You Think You Are?" is a cover song from the mockumentary Hardcore Logo, "probably the best rock & roll movie of all time," in O'Brien's opinion. The fourth song is as yet untitled.

In mid-August, the Faction traveled to Seattle to play the Hey Punk! Festival at the Experience Music Project Museum and, more importantly, celebrate their inclusion in the EMP's permanent section centered on something the Faction helped create: skate rock. Along with pictures and fliers, there's a video loop on a hanging television showing the Faction playing at CBGB's in New York on its 1985 U.S. tour.

"It really put things into perspective for me," O'Brien says. "Because I never felt the Faction was anything special. But the EMP thing was a sign of respect and recognition of our contribution to the scene."

This is an era of one-off reunion tours where homage is being paid not to the music but to the dollar. The Warped Tour ranks high in the top-grossing tours of the year along with Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys. "Heaven Is a Halfpipe" can be heard on mainstream radio (OPM had to pay Consolidated Skateboards' Alan Petersen to do all the skateboarding in their video. Read: not skate rock).

What is so refreshing and significant about the Faction's music? It is timeless. "Skate Harassment," "Tongue Like a Battering Ram," "AUK" and the rest of the Faction library could have been written last week. This is not some nostalgic throwback to the '80s, since the music and the lyrics are just as relevant today. Whether they're intending to or not, they're here to set the record straight. This is skate rock, and the Faction does it better than the rest. And they should. They invented it.

Original Source: Metro Active, By Paul Wotel

The Faction - The Godfathers of South Bay Punk and Skateboarding

The Faction was a hardcore punk rock band from Halloween 1982 until Halloween 1985. Coming from the heart of the once skateboarding capital of the world, (Thats San Jose, if you though I was talking San Francisco or Santa Cruz you're just wrong!) the band was one of the original "Skate Rock" bands whose music and lifestyle tastes centered on skateboarding and punk rock.

One of skateboarding's brightest stars for 20 plus years (he's been arguably the best all-around skateboarder in the world) played bass, and then guitar, in the Faction. Steve Caballero probably attracted a lot of young skateboarder's interest to the band, but the music kept us coming back for more, and he wasn't the only skater in the band. Singer Gavin O'Brien was a heavy local at the Winchester Skatepark and was more than able to hold his own in any session: vert, street, banks, whatever. Adam "Bomb" Segal's trademark high top Vans in all the bright, cool colors of the day had ollie holes on both shoes-the dude was doing switch tricks before anyone. He was a damn fine guitar player, too. Keith Rendon (drummer #1), Ray Stevens, II (bass) and Craig Bosch (drummer #2) were all accomplished skaters; Craig even has a trick named after him: the Bosch (a invert to blunt on a curb, ledge, etc).

But as much as the Faction were into skateboarding, they were just as much about playing loud and fast and heavy punk rock with an emphasis on guitars. The first lineup was Adam playing guitar, Steve playing bass, Keith on drums, and Gavin singing. I think Corey O'Brien had a pretty steady gig as the roadie, too. As a four piece, they recorded two 7" EPs, one LP, and songs for several comps, including the infamous Thrasher "Skate Rock" tape (vol.1) and LP (vol. 2). In 1984, Keith left the band, Craig came aboard, Stevie switched from bass to guitar, and Ray Stevens (who had played in such great bands as the Drunk Injuns and Los Olvidados, and more recently, the Clay Wheels) lent his bass skills. As a five piece, they recorded two more 12" EPs: "Dark Room" and the posthumous "Epitaph," with six songs each. Thirty-four songs in all, recorded over two and a half years, which progress from fairly simple fast thrash/punk to heavy and layered quality punk songs that are fast and loud and beautiful!

As Adam got more into heavy metal (Went on to form The Living End, which became The End), his influence on the guitar leads became more prevalent, but was just one of the factors that led to the band's breakup. It was a sad day in early November 1985, when they'd finaly broken up.

Faction shows were fun and chaotic, and all of us westside San Jose skaters were always up for them: they were an event not to be missed. We never missed one whenever they played in San Jose or SF. I won't go into how it was different then; if you weren't there, you wouldn't understand.

"Collection..." comes with a list of every Faction gig they ever played, including the three shows represented by four songs on the CD. "Spineless Majority" was one of my favorite songs, and they never recorded it in a studio, so we used it live from a Halloween 1984 show live in the studio at KFJC, the South Bay's dominant force in punk rock radio for at least 15 years, way before "it was safe," as Gavin put it in the liner notes. Ironically, that song is about being a free-thinker in a world of jocks, idiots, rednecks: the Spineless Majority. If you're into the history of hardcore/punk rock, it's all there: shows with Social Distortion, Void, Big Boys, JFA, Executioner, Corrosion of Conformity, the Melvins, Scream, Agent Orange, Aggression, Suicidal Tendencies, RKL, Code of Honor, Wasted Youth... the list goes on. Those bands were in good company.

The CD also has a dupe of the original Love 22 dollar bill which was found in a San Jose mall and started a mini phenomenon, plus lyrics to all 28 songs.

There's "no doubt about it" you "can't live without it" – GANG GREEN

"Out of control", would undoubtedly be the best way to describe Gang Green, but a more precise account might be one of the all time fastest hardcore 'rock to the core' bands to ever hit the stage. Born and brewed in Boston, Gang Green has been pushing the limits on every aspect of rock and roll since the dawn of Hardcore approximately 25 years ago. From the beginning front man Chris Doherty has led the party, legend for his success at excess; his “full tilt, full time” approach to life has been the essence of the band’s music and attitude and has made him an inspiration. Many are surprised to learn his age, still relatively young for someone whose groundbreaking work has contributed so much to punk rock’s history and served as a major influence to the wide spectrum of today’s hard edge bands.

Gang Green CDs are now available through their web site. Another Wasted Night, Another Case of Brewtality, PreSchool as well as the Back And Gacked EP are all available. Check them out!

Re-released: TSOL - Dance With Me

"Dance With Me" was the second TSOL release. Originally released on "Frontier Records", this is the first full length album from the band. It features all original members. Jack used a different names (Alex Morgon) 1981. Nitro Records have re-released Dance With Me and it is available now from any good record store!

Tiger Army's fall headlining tour!

ALL dates have now been announced for Tiger Army's fall headlining tour! No more headlining shows are planned for 2007, so if you want to see Tiger Army this year, make sure you catch them the Razor's Kiss Tour!

Some of the shows that have been added since the last news item include: Seattle, WA / Portland, OR / Boise, ID / Santa Cruz, CA / Pittsburgh, PA / Lancaster, PA / Omaha, NB / Providence, RI / Reno, NV / Chico, CA! Tickets for all shows are ON SALE NOW!

AFI will perform at the Download Festival

AFI will perform at the Download Festival in Mountain View, CA at Shoreline Amphitheater on October 6th, alongside the Cure, Kings of Leon, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, She Wants Revenge, Metric, The Black Angels, 65 Days of Static, Vau De Vire Society and more. Tickets are on sale now!

"decemberunderground is a time and a place. It is where the cold can huddle together in darkness and isolation. It is a community of those detached and disillusioned who flee to love, like winter, in the recesses below the rest of the world."-Davey Havok

decemberunderground is also the title of AFI's seventh album. And like much of the record's lyrical and visual imagery, it seems to stand in stark contrast to the name behind the band's world-renowned moniker: A Fire Inside. Then again, the brightest flames burn white-they just don't usually burn so bright for so long.