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Q&A: Michael Brooke - Publisher, Concrete Wave Magazine (7141 Posts)
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1979 Laguna Seca Dual Downhill
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On 6/6/2003
FL
wrote in from
(65.119.nnn.nnn)
Michael..I have both the videotape and race program for this event .Perhaps your readers would be interested in these bits of downhill history . Believe it it was the first dual downhill race program . A release could be arranged ..FL
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CW photo specs
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On 6/6/2003
Joe & Nick
wrote in from
(63.87.nnn.nnn)
Michael,
Nick has asked me to shoot some photos for an article he plans to write for CW. What do you want? Negs, slides, color, b&w?
Email or call me east coast time. We've got some great ideas. iaco@attbi.com 860-589-7024H 860- 674-2542W
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Pepsi Ramp
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On 6/5/2003
Stubbs
wrote in from
(65.70.nnn.nnn)
The clear plexiglass Pepsi ramp is here in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area up for sale. 3k. Talk to Greg at Innovation Skates in Arlington, TX if anyone is interested. He is on Arbrook St.
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...most weasle like experience?
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On 6/5/2003 psYch0Lloyd
wrote in from
(198.160.nnn.nnn)
One of the weirdest experience I've ever encountered occurred during the late 70's when I held a position pretty much like Geezer-X at a skatepark here in Chicago comprised of these aqua blue fiberglass rams quite possibly of the same origin (we also had a full on Firestone ramp btw).
Anyway during the Fall of '78 the owners of the Rainbo Skatepark decided to take on a group calling themselves "My Way Productions" who I was later to find were members of the Black Muslim Community here in Chicago. Now I've got nothing against this particular religion except maybe a few of the participants in my ordeal.
Early on I noticed that these "promoters" were handling the business a little differently like running girls through the concession stand (which was kinda strange because business was kinda slow). Then they decided to put on a big contest shipping in some big names (from DT) and put us all up in these cool old mansions (mine was across the alley from Muhammad Ali's). Occasionally we'd be asked to do a "show" on the street corner of a questionable neighborhood for pimps, ho's, and kids... who were actually very receptive to those impromptu demos.
Come time for the contest I caught wind that these "promoters" were going to jump ship while all the festivities were going on and like a loyal employee I told the Karvel's (Rainbo's owners) that s#@!e was goin' down. Well they decided to "kill the messenger" and confronted the "promoters" in my presence. Of course everything was denied and they only had one message for me - that was the finger to the head with the thumb cocked gesture. I had that strange feeling that my days were numbered if I were to stay in town.
It was then that I decided to trek up to Boyne Mountain, Michigan because winter was coming along and I knew some tricks that could keep me under the radar for months at a time. Plus it would give me the chance to play around with some new equipment which eventually developed into the popular sport of snowboarding. While I was somewhat incommunicado I got word that the DT boys were left high and dry back in the city and I was told in no uncertain terms that I couldn't come back w/o fear of injury. I felt bad for these guys 'cause I knew that they weren't to blame for their situation but I couldn't do anything to help either. Word got around that I had ripped off the park and the police were involved so I was basically screwed just the same.
I bided my time living off the land and snowsurfing, got my first proto of a Winterstick when I broke the loaner Burton on a string (snurfer copy), occasionally, when the weather got rough I'd "borrow" someone's A-frame and tidy things up for them so that they wouldn't have too much to complain about. I met a couple of other people with this lifestyle and we were pretty tight. Even got to know a couple who put me up from time to time and this provided for some phone access which eventually allowed me to manage a contract with Pepsi in Purchase, NY. The bummer was my tour started in...
...Chicago!
Now those Pepsi tours which I was involved with were fraught with adventures which I'll save for some other time but I'll have to admit that there were some powerful people involved in the bottling biz back then. Needless to say I wasn't hassled by anyone even as we toured the far South Side of my home town where all the trouble seem to have started. To this day I'll pass people on the street exchanging those knowing glances yet no interaction as there is really no reason anymore.
Sure did a lot o'growin' up back then.
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Still Stoked at 52
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On 6/5/2003 John
wrote in from
(150.208.nnn.nnn)
I started back sk8ing about little over a year ago.... down hill carving... I made a couple of longboards and I'm having fun.... I even have my 3 year old grandson riding... I must admit high speed wooble nailed my last Feb... my wife was behind me in our truck and she clocked me at 45 mph... My only broken bone with almost 40 years of sk8ing.... which brings me to Concrete Wave.... I found the magazine at a local bookstore the same day I was going through some pictures my mom left me when she passed away... in it is a picture of me in 1966 ripping my driveway.... When I broke my arm my co-workers told me I was to old to sk8..... They just don't know!!!!! I enjoyed the magazine.... it brought back memories of Northern California in the 60's and 70's.....
If you want to sk8 some clean, smooth, and long hills come to the Ozarks of Arkansas.... and if you want to bomb hills at +45 mph come on!!!!!! bring you pads and a helmet....
Peace and stay stoked,
John
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horses and a thank you
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On 6/5/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.183.nnn.nnn)
the horse jumping over the rock is lost on most folks... if only the folks at CORE magazine had learned from the past.... oh well, what's several million $ and a publishing empire down the drain (RIP H&A Media)
those who forget history are bound to repeat it.
The next issue is about to be put to bed. You will see some pretty cool things in there. You will also feel a very nice card stock cover....
to those folks who are either subscribing or out there at Barnes & Noble buying a copy (or doing both)...THANK YOU....!
Most magazines have a sell through rate of about 25% to 50%....yep, that's right...for every 100 magazine copies, 50 to 75 are shredded. My goal from the beginning was to create a magazine that was nice enough to buy but wasn't too pricey. (ie - the perfect package). The more folks buy at Barnes and Noble, the more other chains will take notice.
NO HORSE PHOTOS -- EVER. PROMISE.
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CW #2
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On 6/5/2003
Nick
wrote in from
(66.87.nnn.nnn)
I've got 5 issues of Volume 1 #2 left. Email me for details if you want one.
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Weasels...
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On 6/5/2003
Geezer-X
wrote in from
(149.2.nnn.nnn)
I had worked for a bit more than a year at The Glass Wave Skatepark in Gaithersburg MD. I was ostensibly a "skateguard" but what I did was skate, play pinball, put boards together, and eat lunch. Eventually, the park was closed, and I was kept on along with a couple other guys, to disassemble the modular fiberglass ramps and load the pieces in several trucks. It was hot, miserable work, and the joints were all packed with fiberglass dust from years of vibration from being skated. I spent hours under the ramps with an electric impact wrench, and the itching lasted for days. The afternoon of the second or third day, I went to the beer-wine-deli down the street for lunch, and the 2 shysters who'd bought the park and were moving it to Ocean City MD were in line in front of me. I stood behind them, and they were sufficiently engrossed in their conversation not to notice my presence. The conversation went like this: Weasel 1:"Are we about done?" Weasel 2:"I'll have 'em stay 'til the pieces are all on the truck" Weasel 1:"Cool, we'll pull out tonight and tell them to come back tomorrow. Hahahaha" Weasel 2:"Sounds good." I backed up, and crept out the door. Went back to the park, and unloaded as much of the contents of the pro shop as I could into the trunk of my crappy Volvo. I had a lifetime supply of Krytonics pinks, Belair Wings, Salty and Dan signature model decks, and a raft of other 1979 merch. The guys ended up opening the park in OC and it lasted one season. Pieces of the ramps show up periodically to this very day, and seeing as they're not biodegradable, they'll probably last forever. Unlike the 2 weasels...I think the great boom of the 70's must have produced the slimiest skate-business parasites.
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100% skateboarding
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On 6/5/2003
Nick
wrote in from
(66.87.nnn.nnn)
The "horse jumping over a rock" thing is SO prevalent among skaters of a certain age.
Almost every skater I know over the age of 30 has mentioned it, unprompted, since it was published almost 23 years ago.
If we took an informal poll here, what percentage of skaters on this forum do you think would NOT know what we were talking about?
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CW #5
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On 6/5/2003 Stubbs
wrote in from
(209.117.nnn.nnn)
Just picked up the last 3 issues at the Barnes and Noble at NW HWY and I-75 here in Dallas. I just could not resist buying all of what they had.
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low weasle
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On 6/5/2003 Joe & Nick
wrote in from
(63.87.nnn.nnn)
The lowest thing I've witnessed associated with skateboarding was at a town council meeting when adults actually said;
Don't build a skateboard park in our town park because -
It will drive down property values. That is where my dogs go the bathroom. Skateboarders of various ages and skill levels should not intermingle without supervision. We don't want teenagers hanging out in the park.
There has been 10x as much trouble getting or skatepark built as there was to put in the methadone clinic.
The only reason I didn't beat these people over the head with a tube sock full of pennies is that I didn't have a tube sock full of pennies.
Joe & Nick (Nick my son, not the 38 yr old west coast Nick, he and I are not posting as a couple. Yet)
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Uhhhh
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On 6/5/2003
Mike Moore
wrote in from
(66.196.nnn.nnn)
Please never use acne and nuts in the same sentence again.
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joe not nick
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On 6/5/2003
michael
wrote in from
(209.183.nnn.nnn)
that's Joe who set the record straight...not Nick
we MUST be 100% skateboarding. this means no music, no fashion spreads and yes, this also means no acne or corn nuts ads...
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100%
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On 6/5/2003
michael
wrote in from
(209.183.nnn.nnn)
well, i always say...live by marketing, die by marketing...
you are 100% correct Nick. this project is officially off the drawing boards
I guess the Dickies Diapers concept is a bust.... but, that gives me another good question to ask
what's the lowest, most weasle like experience you have encountered in skateboarding?
inquiring minds want to know....
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Jumping Horse Grip Tape
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On 6/5/2003
Nick
wrote in from
(66.87.nnn.nnn)
Joe, shhh, the jumping horse grip tape is for the fall issue.
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Dickies Grip Tape
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On 6/5/2003
Joe & Nick
wrote in from
(63.87.nnn.nnn)
MB,
Dickies griptape would compromise your 100% skateboarding creedo. I mean whats next, gip tape in the shape of a girl jumping a horse over a log on the beach?
Joe Iacovelli 100% serious (no, really)
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Dickies Grip Tape
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On 6/5/2003
Nick
wrote in from
(66.87.nnn.nnn)
I'm already working on getting an official blessing on this project from the Dickies.
I would suggest including an 8" x 11" piece of grip polybagged in with each issue, die-cut at a 45 degree angle, so putting it sideways on a wide board, or lengthways on a short board would have the same effect.
I'll look into have a die made, as well.
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sunspots
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On 6/5/2003 willieleon
wrote in from
(162.93.nnn.nnn)
@limey, Sunspots were the best, really liked those wheels, and they seem to have all vanished off the face of the earth cause I haven't seen any in the three years I have been looking.
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call to action
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On 6/5/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.183.nnn.nnn)
that's it... whoever can manufacturer a run of Dickies limited edition grip tape, we'll polybag it in the August issue...
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The Dickies, Griptape, all that
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On 6/5/2003
Geezer-X
wrote in from
(149.2.nnn.nnn)
I had the immense pleasure of getting to open for the Dickies in like 1987 at the 9:30 club in DC. Dix Denny was plying drums for them them, and he'd been in, I think, the weirdos, another underrated LA punk outfit. (anyone recall the video for the Weirdos song "Helium Bar"?)and it was really cool to talk LA punk 78-81 with him, Leonard Graves phillips and Stan Lee. They were still awesome live. During the show, Leonard dragged myself and Danny Ingrahm (drummer of DC bands Brigade, Madhouse, Strange Boutique, and brief tenure in Swervedriver)On stage and introduced us as his mom and dad. I lucked out and scored the "dad" gig. One of my most treasured records is a 3" mini CD of the Dickies Gigator b/w Bowling w/ Bedrock Barney. 3M 4" rubber griptape can still be found, as well as the oldschool stuff, and it still smells the same. I was retaping a Banzai deck the other night, and I was fully transported back. I'd have gone outside and rolled around on my fiberflex to make it complete, but it was too late. Things do change.
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Dickies
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On 6/4/2003
Chuck
wrote in from
(199.183.nnn.nnn)
The Dickies first album was indeed The Incredible Shrinking Dickies, but it was 12" only. Their first record (before the album) was indeed a 10"...white vinyl. It had some of the same songs as the album, but in more primitive versions.
Yeah, A&M was all about the 10" for a little moment in time. Some were 10" only, others were 10" versions of "regular" 12" albums (Joe Jackson's Look Sharp comes to mind...$3.00 bonus question...what marketing gimmick came with the original pressings of Look Sharp?).
Can't remember the name of the Dickies' second album off the top of my head (although I could just go out in my garage and take a look). I remember it was a blue and red cover, had Nights in White Satin among other songs on it. Oh wait...Dawn of The Dickies? Yeah.
There have been numerous rcords since then. Some of my favorite songs of theirs are Gigantor (beautiful yellow vinyl 7"....reminds me of my favorite record as a kid, a yellow vinyl copy of "Here Come the Elephants" c/w "The Elephant Hop"), the Banana Splits Theme, and from their later catalog Killer Clowns From Outer Space ("It's time to take a ride on the nightmare merry-go-round"). Wow, how's that for a memory filled with useless stuff? I can't even remember what I did at work today...
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Now, when I was a boy....
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On 6/4/2003
LimeySteve
wrote in from
(195.92.nnn.nnn)
Yes , but where are all the SunSpots now ? I cant find them on any of the collectors sites ! And what about Dog Town Rock'N'Rollers?
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SunSpots!
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On 6/4/2003
Mark
wrote in from
(192.18.nnn.nnn)
SunSpots were REALLY popular at my "home park" (Clayton Valley Skatepark, circa 1978) way back when. Most of the "park team" skated 'em for a while.
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Now, when I was a boy......
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On 6/4/2003
LimeySteve
wrote in from
(195.92.nnn.nnn)
Who remembers Sunspot wheels they never seem to get a mention yet back then I thought they were the s...
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DVD
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On 6/4/2003
Tom M.
wrote in from
(164.227.nnn.nnn)
Sounds like a good idea. Could slip in some ads between stuff to offset the cost, etc.
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