Issue 251 - November 2009

Fighting Back at Black Friday

Vancouver illustrator/cartoonist Ted Dave first conceived Buy Nothing Day in 1992.  According to him, the idea occurred while working a routine 40-hour-a-week job in a downtown Vancouver office.  “I was coming away at the end of the day and saying, ‘oh my god I just spent ten dollars on coffee and muffins again. What’s the matter with me?'"

Odeus: Blue Collar Skateboards

The concept for Odeus started with Alex Lemons skating in the mid 80s when the only board options were a plastic banana board or a Powell Peralta.  The banana boards were poor quality and the Peralta was expensive. “There was no in-between option. I was going to be the guy that made that third option.”

Localized

This month SLUG’s Localized bring you the folkie-blusey psychedelia of Aye Aye, twee pop from Sleepover and opening band The Kidneys. It all happens on Fri. Nov. 13 at The Urban Lounge. Five bucks gets you in.

SFK Man Zone

Simon Larson has recently been putting a lot of his creative energy into building custom motorcycles. From this passion was created the “Man Zone,” a garage in the back of their house where you can find anywhere from one to 15 people skating and working on bikes.

DTX

The wasteland of pavement and cement are more or less glorified playgrounds and we do not understand why people are so fucking stupid that they don’t see this simple truth as well.  I bought my first skateboard 15 long years ago.  I progressed slowly without the aid of cement facilities or social support.  No matter, I rode the bus route 8 on epic adventures the boys and me coined as DTX: down town motherfuckin’ extravaganza.

DIY Concrete Mixing

I can’t count the number of “Almost Spots” I’ve seen since I’ve been skating that just need a little elbow grease—Bondo, filed down knobs, angle iron, a piece of plywood to land on, or some transition—to become skateable. With this in mind, I bring you step by step instructions on mixing your own concrete and shaping some transition.

Barred For Life

This fall Stewart Dean Ebersole set out on cross-country photo tour. His mission: to document individuals who have tattooed the infamous Black Flag bars somewhere on their body. The eventual goal: to turn the images of his 30-plus-stop photo tour into a book that will tell the story of a band who fundamentally changed a lot of people’s lives—Ebersole’s included.

GWAR: Granny Sex, Crack & Metal

GWAR are not only cult underground heavy metal figures, but household names in the musical realm. They’ve been pissing off conservative parents for decades and never really cared what the press or any speaker of ill had to say. I started off a telephone interview with Oderus by telling him I was afraid of him. He fed off my fears and left me stuttering out questions.

Prize Country: Treacherous Tales

Prize Country actually lives the difficult lifestyle of touring musicians. With almost 250 shows in three-and-a-half years, the band has carved its way from coast to coast. Touring is life for the 30-something road dogs—not a necessarily easy thing.