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VOICE OF THE SEVEN WOODS • DAVE THE CHIMP • SHEPARD FAIREY • DIGGING FOR OUR DINNER
neil smith - kickflip • photo: percy dean
DECLARATION OF INTENT
VOICE OF THE SEVEN WOODS
A word of advice, if you’re fortunate enough to get to see Rick Tomlinson’s Voice Of The Seven SOCKS
Woods project play live then I wouldn’t gab to your friends or answer your phone while he’s on
as he will go absolutely m-e-n-t-a-l. You have been warned Editor – David Hopkins
david.hopkins@factorymedia.com
THE WORLD’S LARGEST PUB Assistant Editor – Percy Dean
Lots of booze in a big room and funny costumes…we love our job percy@documentskateboard.com

Photo Editor – Sam Ashley

sam@documentskateboard.com

Art Director – Tim Whitlock

DAVE THE CHIMP tim.whitlock@factorymedia.com
The Chimp’s street art and graphic work nearly always raises a smile and if a grin doesn’t form
on your mush after looking at the cover he’s done for us, frankly there’s something wrong with Style Editor – Julian Ganio
info@julianganio.com
you. Jo Waterhouse speaks to the man with the wildest colour palette in the business
Editorial Intern – Isabel Inman
LETTERS FROM AMERICA: HUF
Contributors
Somehow I can’t see Stranger wearing one of those plaid New Eras, but you never know. Stuart Hammond, Andy Tillett, Dan Boulton,
Huf tells us all about his clothing company, his shop and sponsoring Julien Per Steinar Nielsen, Klaas Diersmann, Will
Harmon, Jo Waterhouse, Pat Graham, Rob
Mathieson, Black Dave
RICH JACOBS
Artist Rich Jacobs explains why collecting and exhibiting early skate and music zines floats his
artistic boat SANDLES
Associate Publisher – Mason Young
mason.young@factorymedia.com
PORTFOLIO: PAUL GONELLA 020 7332 9721
It’s quite different from Paul’s other work, but what is there not to love about an eerie
continuous multiple exposure of nature? Answer? Nothing Publisher – Jim Peskett
jim.peskett@factorymedia.com

Advertising Director – Harry Scott

SHEPARD FAIREY harry.scott@factorymedia.com
020 7332 9793
Street art’s most marketable gives his critics a well deserved kicking
Advertising Executive – Craig Scrivener
craig.scrivener@factorymedia.com
020 7332 9717

Marketing Executive – Lizzi Wagner

EYES & EARS lizzi.wagner@factorymedia.com
This month we’ll be gawking at London’s skeletons and Johnny Cash, proposing to plus1mag.com
Lykke Li and listening to Shellac. It’s tough at the top
Cover: Dave The Chimp
PWBC
This month’s book club is a liturgy to literature’s suicidal main men. It’s funny

HARK REVIEWS
A free lunch and a comfy couch to lounge on while you listen to the playback of an album is the
new CDR in the post

CREATURE WITH THE ATOM BRAIN

Our favourite Belgian dusky, psyche rockers are about to embark on album number two so what
better time to ask main man Aldo Struyf about Flemish politics and why Mark Lanegan is such
a grumpy pants

PROJECTIONS FROM THE REAR DESIGN, PRODUCTION & SCANNING BY: FACTORY MEDIA LTD.
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UK AND OVERSEAS DISTRIBUTION BY: SEYMOUR MAGAZINE
DISTRIBUTION
GREEN MACHINE SMALL PRINT
Ecologically-sound, self-sufficient clubbing is here. Well not exactly © COPYRIGHT FACTORY MEDIA LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED,
NOTHING IN THIS MAGAZINE [INCLUDING ADVERTS] MAY BE
REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR PART WITHOUT THE EXPRESS
OI POLLOI PERMISSION FROM THE PUBLISHERS. WE WELCOME
CONTRIBUTIONS, PHOTOGRAPHS, STORIES, NO PROBLEM, BUT
Manchester’s menswear entrepreneurs talk shop, literally CAN NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR SAFE RETURN,
SOLICITED OR NOT.

DIGGING FOR OUR DINNER

Eating stuff growing on Hampstead Heath is not our idea of gastronomic fun, so it’s
a good job our resident funghi connoisseur went instead
ROSI SEXTON
She’s been on Richard and Judy and she’d beat you with an inch of your life. What
a woman
JARRETT REYNOLDS
See. Interviews with clothing designers can be really be interesting
IMPORTANT NOTICE
WE HAVE DONE OUR BEST TO ENSURE THAT ALL INFORMATION
IS ACCURATE, BUT WOULD EMPHASISE THAT WE, THE
PUBLISHERS, ACCEPT NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY MISTAKES
OR OMISSIONS. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE OPINIONS EXPRESSED
IN THE ARTICLES ARE STRICTLY THOSE OF THE AUTHORS. ALL
ADVERTISERS HAVE SUBMITTED THEIR OWN COPY, THEREFORE
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OBJECTS OF DESIRE
Selvage denim, casual gear and nutritionally barren fast snacks get the treatment
they truly deserve. Pot Noodle butty anyone? Anyone?

CROSSWORD
Intelligent fun on the loo just got all art and crafts

Plus one Issue

Magazine No. 6
EYES & EARS
Rub It Don’t Shake It
Here we have the ‘Polaroid Book-The Best Images From The
Polaroid Collection’ edited by Barbara Hitchcock and Steve Crist
and as the title suggests, it’s an exhaustive collection of classy
polaroids for your perusal, so no candid, dimly lit snaps of your
bits to be had here. A shame, but it’s a steal at £7.99, see
taschen.com

PHOTO: Jonathan de Villiers, for L’Officiel (Paris), 2003 © Jonathan de Villiers

Scandinavian
Lather
Combining intelligent off-kilter pop with a
face that could launch a thousand ships
Lykke Li is without doubt one of the few
women we can imagine giving it all up for.
Kicking off her tour on the 29th September
at The Plug Sheffield and ending on Friday
the 10th of October at The Duchess, York if
you want to profess your love to Sweden’s
elfin princess of spooky pop, then here’s your
chance. myspace.com/lykkeli

Melvins.
Big Business. Derelick My Balls
Porn You’ll have to be quick to catch this as it ends on the 14th of September, but it’s well, well, worth it if you have even just a passing interest in fashion and for that matter
photography. Duh! On at The Photographer’s Gallery, London, ‘Fashion In The Mirror: Self-Reflection in Fashion Photography’ offers a rare look behind-the-scenes of

PHOTO Courtesy of ipecac recordings

Yep all three are on tour together pretty soon. fashion photography from the 1950s to the present day. Featuring work by this little lot of photographers; Mario Testino, Richard Avedon, Nick Knight, Juergen Teller,
We like that. Check southern.net for further Steven Klein, Bert Stern, Steven Meisel, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn, Norman Parkinson, Terence Donovan, Melvin Sokolsky, Tim Walker, Jonathan de Villiers and whole
date/venue info. bunch of other people we can’t be bothered typing out, it’s free and really interesting, like a library, but more glamorous. Check photonet.org.uk for opening times.

Hang The DJ
Wed 10th September Cardiff – The Point
Tue 30th September Sheffield – Plug
Wed 1st October Nottingham – Rescue Rooms
Thu 2nd October Manchester – Academy 2
Sat 4th October Ireland – TBA It’s that time of year once

PHOTO: JEREMY HOGAN

Sun 5th October Ireland – TBA again where people who
Mon 6th October Brighton – Concorde 2 enjoy hearing just fifteen
seconds or so of a load
of songs assemble to

Art Crimes watch a bunch of dudes

not leave it alone for a hot
minute. Yes it’s DMC World

Shreddin
If graff is your thing you may be interested to know that Championships time! Taking
Manchester’s Upper Space gallery is showing the work place on the 26th and 27th
of the some of the North West’s finest grafitti artists of September at Indig02,
as part of its ‘Full Circle’ exhibition. Featuring the DPM Greenwich, London and
Crew, Kelzo, Luna & Eject, Inka, Mers and our mate Krek Putting regular promoters to shame online music hosted by MC Trip, Killa
the exhibition aims to question the current legal policies mag drownedinsound.com are bringing No Age, Kela and the daftly named
surrounding street art, however futile that may seem to be.
Sad but true. Anyway check it out while you can as it only
Los Campesinos and Times New Viking together
for the aptly titled ‘Shred Yr Face Tour’ in October.
Billy Biznizz if you’re into
exceptional DJ skills and Shit Head
runs until the 19th of September and more details and Kicking off in an utterly lo-fi manner in Brighton on hand/eye/ear coordination
opening times can be found here upperspace.co.uk the 14th, the tour visits Liverpool, Leeds, Dublin, then this is for you. Tickets While idling by the window intermittently checking to see when the next
Glasgow, London and Bristol before coming to a are priced at £25 for a biblical flood will descend you could do a lot worse than amusing yourself
leisurely halt in Manchester on the 22nd. And if all weekend pass and £15 for with this. Now in an expanded pop-up format Werner Holzwarth’s ‘The Story
that wasn’t fantastic enough a couple of the shows one day and are available via Of The Little Mole’ is to coin a classic phrase, ‘fun for all the family’. But this
on the tour are ‘all ages’ so if you’re under eighteen dmcworld.com or 01628 time it’s true. What is there not to like about a kid’s picture book starring a
or have a sibling you don’t loathe then you, and they, 667 124 where there’s no mole trying to find out why he’s got a shit stuck on the top of his head? The
can go along and ratchet up those cool guy points. booking fee. ‘plop-up’ edition is priced £9.99 and available at bookshops good and bad.

Plus one Issue Issue Plus one

Magazine No. 6 No. 6 Magazine
EYES & EARS
Hallo Ween
The good people at All Tomorrow’s
Parties obviously love a spot of
fancy dress as they’re throwing a
Halloween gig of sorts on October
the 31st and the 1st of November.
With Shellac, OM, Les Savy Fav,
Lightning Bolt, Wooden Shjips and
Pissed Jeans all doing their thing
at London’s Kentish Town Forum
and Birmingham’s Custard Factory
coupled with the prospect of at
least one vaguely hot girl dressing
up as a nun, it’s sure to be a riot.
Tickets are priced at £22.50
excluding booking fee and are
available here: seetickets.com

PHOTO: ©Danny Clinch

Terrific Pacific Pen Pals
Opening up on the 20th of September, ‘The Good, the Bad, the
Beautiful’ collaborative show brings together Japanese artist
Yumiko Kayukawa and US punk princess Niagara at the Richard
Goodall Gallery Manchester. With the artists alternating to create
main subject and the background within each displayed work it
looks set to be well worth a post Yo Sushi punt. Sponsored, as
most things seem to be these days, by Vans, with whom Niagara
has inked a couple of shoes for, opening times, closing times
and yet more information on the dynamic duo can be gleaned
at: richardgoodallgallery.com
Man In Black. And White
If you’re a fan of the late, great, Johnny Cash (and frankly who the fuck isn’t?) then you should
definitely get yourself to this free exhibition just as soon as you’ve picked the lint and cat hair off
your all black ensemble. Showcasing pictures taken throughout Cash’s career by Marvin Koner,
Leigh Wiener, Danny Clinch, Paul Natkin and Andy Earl, by the looks of it Cash was clearly as
photogenic as he was charismatic. Johnny Cash: A Definitive Portrait runs at the Proud Gallery,
32 John Adam Street London WC2N 6BP until the 14th of September. Opening times and such
information can be gleaned at: proud.co.uk
Take Her To The Bone Yard
If you’ve ever been around the catacombs of Paris you’ll know
he Museum of London/Wellcome Images

what we mean when we say that seeing human bones laid

out is a little weird, but strangely fascinating. If you haven’t,
then get yourself along to this skeleton-centric exhibition
currently on in London. Drawn from the Museum of London’s
collection of 17,000 skeletons from the past 16 centuries, the
exhibition tells the forensically-based stories of the bones, or
should I say the people they belonged to, who lived, died and
PHOTO Courtesy of

then were buried, often in some pretty odd places, within our
nation’s capital. Skeletons: London’s Buried Bones, will still be
both interesting and eerie at the Wellcome Collection Centre,
London until the 28th of September and entry is free. Check
wellcomecollection.org for opening times and that.

Plus one Issue

Magazine No. 6
PWBC
THE SUICIDE SPECIAL
H ello there! We’d like to open this month’s life-changing
PALACE WAYWARDS BOOK CLUB column by
extending a very warm ‘welcome back’ to both of our regular
readers. Hi Mum. Hi Dad. Sorry I painted the word ‘TWATS’
down the side of your Nissan Micra.
This issue we’re offering up another mind-buggeringly
informative and deeply insightful list of clever-clogs book-
flavoured gibberish; dedicated this time to our three current
favourite tragic tales of literary suicide. It’s going to be laugh-
a-minute, it really is.
For the struggling writer, suicide can all too often take on the
aspect of an attractive escape route to glorious recognition in
the literary canon. While it’s obviously not an entirely failsafe
recipe for success, and involving as it does the quite daunting
prospect of irrevocably ending your life, topping oneself
has proved time and time again to be an effective way of
cementing a tortured genius reputation for decades – even
centuries – to come. Worried the literary world doesn’t take
your work seriously enough? Thoroughly depressed and/or
terminally alcoholic/drug-addicted? Or just curious about the
gaping, spiritually empty void that lurks just beyond the end
of each essentially meaningless human life? Might as well top
yourself then innit.
Kick your own bucket and you stand a vastly improved
chance of being forever remembered alongside a stellar cast
of fantastically miserable literary icons who’ve died by their
own maudlin hand. Plus your book sales are almost sure
to skyrocket, what with the shitloads of free publicity and
everything. Maybe then you’ll cheer up a bit. Except – oh yeah
- you’ll be dead. Like this lot down here:
John Kennedy Toole
In the early sixties, after college, some
university teaching and a stint in the US
Army, Toole moved back home to his
parents house in New Orleans and wrote
a brilliant and hilarious novel called A
Confederacy of Dunces. He was quite
confident that it was a comic masterpiece,
and we here at PWBC can testify that
it definitely is, but John had a nightmare
getting it published. A nightmare in that he couldn’t get it
published at all. So then he got really depressed, started
getting shitfaced all the time, went missing, visited (amazing,
dead) writer Flannery O’Connor’s old home and then showed
up in Mississippi, gassed to death by a hosepipe fixed to the
exhaust pipe of his car. The painfully bittersweet twist in all
this is that subsequently, thanks to his Mum’s devotion to the
cause that drove him deathward, A Confederacy of Dunces
was eventually published, eleven years later, to massive
critical acclaim. And these days it’s a total American classic.
I feel so sad and so sorry for John Kennedy Toole now,
thinking about all that, that I can’t even think of anything funny
to write here. I’ll just leave a little blank space below and you
can draw a cock and balls in it or something, if you like. That’ll
funny it up a bit.
Plus one Issue
Magazine No. 6
Hart Crane
This guy was awesome; a serious clever-
clog New York poet who wrote all this
beautiful bonkers verse that you have to
be really intellectual to fully understand.
Basically; we partly understand some of
it. And that’ll do us just fine. Although
he did have one relationship with a
woman, Crane was as gay as a window.
He was also frequently depressed and
frequently pissed out of his great big brilliant mind. He was
a successful poet in his lifetime, but his life was so beset by
personal problems that he ended it at sea at thirty two years
old. On a cruise ship back home to New York from Mexico,
drunk as a fiddler’s bitch, he made the mistake of trying it on
with a male member of the crew. As a result, he had the shit
thoroughly kicked out of him by a gang of homophobic sailors.
Then he climbed onto the stern railing of the SS Orizaba and
threw himself into the Gulf of Mexico. His body was never
recovered. Man, Book Club this month is kind of a total
bummer isn’t it?
Yukio Mishima
You’re not even ready for this guy.
Mishima was a huge deal in his native
Japan and all over the world in his
lifetime, but he ended it all in the most
spectacular fashion imaginable at forty
five years old. He was fully committed to
the code of the Samurai and recruited
and trained his own little army of sort of
ninja-style followers called the Tatenokai.
The day after finishing the final book in his cycle of novels The
Sea of Fertility, Mishima and the Tatenokai invaded the office
of a Tokyo Army camp, tied the Commandant to his chair
and nearly cut one of his hands off with a Samurai sword.
Then Mishima made a speech to all the soldiers gathered
below the office’s balcony, retreated inside when they booed
it unexpectedly, and went through with his long-time plan
of committing Seppuku, or hara-kiri. This involves stabbing
yourself in the belly with your own sword, slicing it left and
right a bit, and then, while your bowels sort of slither out onto
the floor, having your head lopped off by one of your mates.
BTW, we’re tipping Seppuku to be the big fixed-gear bike
style craze of 2009.
In conclusion, and as further proof that some of the very
best writers of all time have been the ones who’ve topped
themselves, here’s a list of some more that we particularly
like, and the manner of their self-despatch:
s Charlotte Perkins Gilman (inhaled chloroform)
s Virginia Woolf (drowned in a river)
s Stefan Zweig (took poison with his wife)
s Sylvia Plath (gassed herself in an oven)
s Ernest Hemingway (shotgun to head)
s John Berryman (jumped off bridge)
s Hunter S. Thompson (shotgun to head)
s Richard Brautigan (shotgun to head)
DARYL ANGEL
That’s just the ones we can think of in the five minutes before
the deadline for this article, anyway. There’s shitloads more for
sure. But I have to hand this in now. Goodbye.
Next month: cuddly little puppies with a kitten in a flowerpot
and a toddler dressed up as a ladybird with – aaaawwwww! –
chocolate cake all over his little facey wace!
Stuart Hammond – stuartdhammond@gmail.com
HARK

Old Rare New – The Independent Record Shop – Emma Pettit Japrocksampler – How The Post-War Japanese Blew Their Minds On Rock n’ Roll
[Black Dog Publishing] £19.95 – Julian Cope [Bloomsbury] £14.99

Celebrating the rapidly disappearing institution, the independent record shop, Emma Pettit has
scurried all across the UK and America to lovingly put together this homage to the places where
most of us have spent both too much money and time over the years.
Part overview and part love letter, Pettit’s book includes interviews and contributions from shop
owners, rabid collectors and musicians alike and is an interesting and charming overview of the
world’s most important music stores, for both Aquarius novices and monthly email newsletter nerds
like myself. It’s the perfect guide to what you’ll soon be missing if the high street chains and online
stores get their way.
This exhaustive potted history of the key players of the Japanese rock scene has been out
for a fair old while, but since we’ve been irritating everyone we know for the past month
by blasting Flower Travellin’ Band’s ‘Satori’ on repeat we thought it was high time to take
another look at Julian Cope’s book.
And all in all, despite the at times overwhelming amount of detail, it’s an enjoyable overview of how the Japanese took rock and moulded it into their own image. Picking
his favourite albums from the period and including a chapter on each of his ‘key’ bands, while Cope’s choices won’t please everybody, for those of you with no prior
knowledge of the likes of Les Rallizes Denudes, Speed, Glue & Shinki and Taj Mahal Travellers it’s an invaluable introduction to some truly wild, wild, music.
japrocksampler.com headheritage.co.uk

Stereolab
Chemical Chords
[4AD]
Clocking in as album number
eleven, and their first for
four years, Stereolab’s blippy,
tres chic, bi-lingual pop
ebullience will either annoy
the living shit out of you, or
fill you with sufficient joie de
vivre to get you over the fact
that you actually live on the
wrong side of the channel.
Incidentally, we’re going with
the second option. And we do
live on the wrong side, have
you ever been to Paris? C’est
magnifique! But I digress,
strangely cinematic in scope
and mood, and no more so
that the album’s title track,
this is arguably their tautest
and most succinct album in
a long, long time and it’s an
unqualified French horn-sized
cosmopolitan joy from start
to finish. Stick this on while
you’re smearing yourself in
garlic butter and dreaming of
what could have been.
stereolab.co.uk
Doom
Rush Hour Of The Gods
[Violent Change Records]
Originally unleashed by the
Brummie crusties back in
1996, this re-issue acts as
a timely reminder as to how
influential the Midlands were
in expanding the parameters
of where ‘metal’ could go.
Oh and also why dreadlocks
on white people are, and
indeed have always been, a
truly terrible idea, sausage
roll hair is a total no-no.
Ditto for snow-cam combat
pants and Patchouli oil as
your fragrance of choice.
Almost entirely responsible
for creating the ‘crusty punk’
sub genre it’s testament to
the skill of these boys from
the black country that an
album released twelve years
ago still sounds as fresh
and immediate now as it did
before everyone went to the
barbers for a short back and
sides and had a wash.
myspace.com/
violentchange
King Khan And The
Shrines
The Supreme Genius
Of…
[Vice Records]
Packaged up as the best
bits from the Euro, psyche
select eleven’s previous
releases, while the title of this
compilation may have been
typed out with lots of tongues
in groovy cheeks there’s no
denying there’s something
utterly inspired about this.
Sounding uncannily like
Sevonius backed by a souled-
out version of Jefferson
Airplane, if this doesn’t make
you want to dance around
blatantly unavailable ladies
in a grotty subterranean
after hours club while double
fisting whisky and cokes,
then you must be totally
catatonic. Intelligent, witty and
unflinchingly hedonistic, this
is the soundtrack to the party
you wish you’d been invited
to. Exceptional.
myspace.com/
kingkhantheshrines
Clouds
We Are Above You
[Hydra Head]
I remember seeing Clouds
a while back and the bulk
of the crowd seemed more
interested in buying the
merch and then doing one,
rather than sticking around
and actually watching the
band play. Which is totally
weird on many levels.
Anyways, on the evidence of
this the dudes at the front
playing instruments may be
the focal point of a Clouds
show from now on, not the
limited edition screen prints.
Circumnavigating their way
around the best bits of
your record collection like
Guns N Roses intermittently
dropping anchor in their yacht
to collect hardcore seven
inches, this is the perfect rock
and metal jukebox for dudes
who know who Discharge
are. Fish this out now and
then you can buy the shirt.
myspace.com/cloudsrock
Lustmord
Other
[Hydrahead]
Taking a ‘dark ambient’
moment out from his day
job creating soundtracks
for awful movies, Bud Light
commercials and various
computer games, Lustmord
makes instrumental music,
which to put it bluntly is,
completely fucking terrifying.
Reminiscent of the incidental
music from that Resident
Evil game mixed with sounds
of the creaking bowels of
the good ship Nostromo
from Alien, at one point
I was going to travel a
couple of hundred miles
just so my mum could hold
my hand while I reviewed
this. Implausibly featuring
members of Tool, Isis and the
Melvins on there somewhere
or other, this makes SunnO)))
sound like The Cheeky Girls.
We’re backing it a very scary
one hundred percent.
myspace.com/lustmord
Coffins
Buried Death
[Southern Lord]
You can arguably tell a lot
by first impressions, and the
fact that these down-tuned,
doom japs are wearing
Eyehategod and Corrupted
shirts in their press snaps
would lead you to believe
that this ain’t exactly going
to be saccharine J-pop. And
you’d be right…but Jesus
fucking Christ. Bringing on
the type of nausea usually
only associated with a
decent concussion, the Tokyo
trio’s no frills approach to
resurrecting the good old
times of plodding Southern
nihilism is to be applauded,
very, very, slowly, whilst
trying to head butt yourself.
Mixing dawdling doom
with snapshots of classic
grindcore, including captain
emphysema vocals, this is
nearly as heavy and very, very,
slow as Moby Dick giving
Dumbo a piggie back. Nearly.
coffins.jp
TV On The Radio
Dear Science
[4AD]
With a scarcity of copies
of this knocking about for
the UK’s music hacks and
hackettes to misplace on
their desks the words to
be found in the ‘review’
(below this sentence) were
obtained by listening to the
album in someone else’s
office, once. But it’s no
biggie. Largely dumping the
almost monastic, chamber
music aesthetic of their
previous two, though largely
enjoyable albums, in favour
of a Prince meets Peter
Gabriel for umbrella drinks
in Williamsburg workout,
this is their most instantly
enjoyable and easiest album
to digest as yet. Bolstered
by the addition of bits and
bobs of brass and a string
section, their signature
foreboding minimalism has
been cluttered up by eclectic
optimism. It-be-banging.
myspace.com/tvotr
Jay Reatard
Singles 06-07
[In The Red]
Including the bulk of the in
between albums, seven-inch
Reatard shaped odds and
sods, now unobtainable to
those of us limited by both,
the time we can while away
on eBay and the rent money
we can actually afford to
skim off for records, this is
a landlord appeasing must
have for fans of offbeat
garage rock, the 80s, or
The Damned. Pleasing
nostalgia fans by plonking
his flying v roughly between
Davey Vanian and co and
any number of eighties pop
acts that Adam Sandler
would happily shoe horn into
one of his films, Reatard is
essentially Pretty In Pink
with reverb. And we fucking
love him for it. Granted he’s
no Molly Ringwald in the
looks department, but this is
a music column, all together
now, ‘all hail the ‘Tard’.
myspace.com/jayreatard
Lonely Ghosts
Don’t Get Lost Or Hurt
[OIB]
Spawned from the song-
writing loins of Brighton indie
kid Tom Denney of Help She
Can’t Swim this is lovingly
constructed electro indie with
distinctly pop sensibilities,
oh and even the odd spot of
angsty shouty bits. Vocally
reminiscent of Jamie T,
mixed with a bit of Conor
Oberst at a push, overall this
will definitely remind you of
radio friendly version of Bark
Bark Bark or a cosier, clotted
cream version of The Faint.
It’s inventive and packed with
twists and turns, but with
pop with a capital P running
all the way through all eight
songs in one way or another
those of you guiltily pleasured
by The Klaxons will love this.
But there’s nothing wrong
with that now is there? Is
there?
myspace.com/
lonelyghosts
Nadja
Skin Turns To Glass
[The End]
Just when you thought
you’d finally had your fill of
anything that even vaguely
reminds you of GYSBE then
along comes yet another
shudderingly transcendental
Nadja release. Postponing
post-rock’s obituary for
another few months at
least Canadian pair Aidan
Baker and Leah Buckareff’s
electronics-infused labour of
twisted love is a shimmering
tsunami of complete and
utter epic-ness. That’s right,
epic-ness. Gathering up early
Earth, the later excesses
of Godflesh and of course
Menuck et al at any stage of
their career as it continually
swells and crashes against
your idling ears, it’s equal
parts nihilistic droning opacity
and crystal clear belief-
seeking spiritualism, or a
passive aggressive hymnbook
in other words. It’s EP.IC.
myspace.com/nadjaluv

Plus one Issue Issue Plus one

Magazine No. 6 No. 6 Magazine
ZEN AND THE
ART OF GUITAR
MAINTENANCE
VOICE OF THE SEVEN WOODS’
RICK TOMLINSON SPEAKS
Interview: David Hopkins
Photography: Sam Ashley

Identifying and defining the sound of Rick Tomlinson’s Voice Of The Seven
Woods project is virtually impossible, so we’ll skip it. Instead, it’s better
to think of his music as a collection of guitar-driven ‘sounds’, sometimes
acoustic, sometimes electric, often with vocals, often not, which draw upon
everything from John Fahey and Bert Jansch to traditional North African music
and 70s Japanese psychedelic rock. And yes it is a bit like shoving your ears
up to a malfunctioning kaleidoscope, but what holds it together is Tomlinson’s,
bordering on the virtuoso, guitar playing and the sheer quality of his prolific
output. We caught up with Rick in a boozer close to his recently adopted North
London home to talk about his on stage tantrums, making Turkish movie
soundtracks and being sampled by hip hop labels.

You seem to have been playing lots of random
one-off festivals and gigs recently
The last sort of three years I probably did too much
touring, like quite heavy until the turn of this year. I just
wanted to get some new music recorded and step off
the intensive touring for a bit. I’ve just been doing a
few gigs in Europe, places I haven’t played before as
well. I feel bad playing the same music, so before I do
anything in this country again really I want to get new
stuff together, a new set, I don’t know who’s going to be
involved though…
Have you actually been recording or just writing?
Both really, I’ve got quite a few projects. I’m doing a
soundtrack at the moment for a film, a Turkish film. It’s
really exciting for me to be doing that as I listen to a lot
of soundtracks anyway and then this offer came out of
the blue, it was perfect.
when this guy came through. It’s really interesting to tap
into a different source for inspiration, do you know what
I mean?
Have they finished making it?
Nah, they’re still making it. It’s a sort of a slow burning
thing, at first they sent me the script and storyline –
once they’d translated it into English – as it’s all going
to be in Turkish. Then they sent me location shots
to build up…they’ve started shooting, it’s not like a
massive project but the people I’ve spoken to seem to
think Turkey...cinema’s quite a big part of youth culture
there. But yeah, he got in touch, he wanted, he was
citing these Turkish, sort of 70s bands who were using
acoustic instruments, a band called Mogollar, he said
basically no one was doing anything like that in Turkey.
He found a seven-inch record of mine when he was in
Amsterdam or something and just got in touch.

Is it for a feature film? That’s mental, especially as the part of North

Yes. It was about the same time when I was like, ‘ahh, I London you live in is predominately a Turkish
don’t want to be touring that much, and maybe I’m not immigrant area.
ready to start making my next proper album’ and that’s Yeah, yeah, exactly. Maybe two years ago I got a Saz,

an electric one, off my friends who run Finders Keepers Records, they
re-issue quite a lot of Turkish 70s rock music. So I got this really rare
electric Saz, you can’t get them anywhere and this is probably the only
place you can get a Saz restrung in the whole of the UK, so it’s pretty
lucky I live here. I’ll probably go for some lessons actually, as I’ve not really
played it that much and he wants me to use it on the soundtrack. I don’t
want to use it unless I know a little bit about what I’m doing. Like I can
make a noise out of it, but since it’s a Turkish film and Turkish people are
going to hear it, I feel like I should do a little bit more.
So aside from Turkish movie soundtracks have you been doing
any writing for yourself?
Yes and there’s possibility that I’ll be mixing a band’s album, they’ve just
sent me a bunch of stuff so I going to listen to it and see whether it can
work out and maybe some other sort of production work. So that’s good
and it’s only recently that I’ve starting to get an appetite back for doing the
next album. I released a load of CDR stuff before the record came out last
year and a lot of people are interested in that stuff which was released
in quite small editions. There’s one that’s just been released actually, it’s
a reissue of a CDR I did last year, a Swedish label’s done it on ten inch
vinyl and a proper CD which is cool. So yes…this year there’s still stuff
coming out, but it’s old stuff coming out, so it’s difficult to get really excited
about it. A label’s like, ‘we really want to do a load of press about it’ and
I’m reluctant to go for it on the press thing because then it’ll be conceived
as my new material. I want to do something totally different, well not totally
different (laughing) but I want it to be fresh for the next record. So I’ll
probably start recording that soon.
Will that be a full on studio thing or will you record some stuff at
home again?
It depends really, it depends on what I’m recording. Some of it I’ll record
at home and some of the louder stuff is just out of the question really, so
I’ll record it at a studio. Generally with friends, I’ve got a lot who friends
who say play guitar on my record or something and they’ll give you a bit
of studio time. Borrowing each other’s time, it sort of works out. It makes
it more interesting as well if your friend’s recording you rather than some
guy you’ve got nothing in common with, who doesn’t have any idea about
what you’re interested in or your record collection. It’s bad enough when
you turn up to a gig and the sound engineer’s got a Cast t-shirt on, I just
feel like going home. I give up. No disrespect to Cast, but they’re on a
different wavelength…
One thing I musk ask you is about playing live. My friend
mentioned when he heard that I was going to talk to you that
you often get really, really angry when people talk while you’re
playing a gig
I don’t know, I did go through a bit of a phase of that, but I’m not as bad as
I was. It started really frustrating me, as I started doing more gigs abroad
and it was always the English audiences. It was really funny, I remember
flying off the handle a little bit in London and then the next gig I did in
London a month later, this guy, who was in another band actually, he was
DJing at the event, not doing a very good job but…I was playing and he
was sat at this table with a bunch of friends and he got up on his phone
like, ‘sorry I can’t hear you’, looked at me as if to say [to quiet down] and
walked out. So I stopped and was like, ‘can everyone be quiet this guy’s
trying to use his phone’. Then these two girls who were sat right at the
front were, ‘yeah go on, get him like at the last gig’. I was just like, ‘ahh no,
people are just coming to see me kick off’. The last tour I did in England
I played with a band, for that reason really and we just did electric stuff.
I just wanted to shut people up (laughing). It’s frustrating really as I used
to get emails off people saying, ‘thanks for playing, but we couldn’t hear
anything!’ So it’s not really for me, it’s for the people who want to listen.
Well there’s venues like The Luminaire who actively encourage
people to be quiet when bands are performing
It’s good that, the Luminaire’s really good for that and there’s a guy in
Coventry who puts gigs on and he goes on stage before the act and does
a little talk, it’s really funny as he’s a really nice guy, but he sort of goes
over that point and he’s like, ‘can everyone shut the fuck up when a band’s
playing?’ I think I just went through this phase in London, and Manchester
actually, where there were people just turning up to be there and weren’t
really interested in the music and it was more a reaction against that. I was
probably being over defensive really, but I just didn’t want to get caught up
in this trendy folky thing that was happening at the time.
Plus one Issue
Magazine No. 6
“If I was trying to
sell records I’d
just do an album
full of ‘songs’ and
walk around in a
kaftan and makeup
and stuff”
People were just turning up to check you off their list almost?
Yeah, yeah. I totally understand people who don’t go to gigs just to listen to
the music, some people do just go to hang out and it’s background music.
But it’s usually the guest list people who are the chatty fuckers, that’s
what I used to go mad about. I did this gig in Manchester last year and
I knew I shouldn’t have taken it, I was really reluctant. It was this private
gig, a secret, invite only thing and I’d grown up around the Manchester
music scene, the media, it’s a small group of people, it’s like guest list city.
You get these people, I only see them when I’m playing a gig basically,
but anyway, they all turned up and I was trying to do something with the
acoustic guitar and I couldn’t hear a thing, so I was like, ‘fuck this’ put my
guitar next to the amp, turned the pedals on and it was half an hour of
feedback and then I sort of got thrown off stage in the end. Then someone
directed me to a message board and there were all these twats from
Manchester like, ‘he’s so arrogant’, you know, if you’re getting it for free,
you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
Now you’re starting to put some new songs together are you
going to continue to work with other musicians?
I like the way I can both really. Sometimes it’s good to do stuff on your
own and sometimes it’s good to play…The guy who plays drums, we’ve
been playing together since we were ten years old, in fact it was really
funny he was at his mum’s recently and he unearthed a cassette which
is the first recording we did, and it’s just us two. It’s hilarious. I’d literally
played the guitar for two weeks, I can tell because I couldn’t have a guitar
until I’d proven that I was dedicated, so I was on my uncle’s guitar for three
months, this little three quarter size nylon string thing and that’s what’s
on that. But yeah, we’ve been playing together for a while so a lot of time
we just play as a duo and then we play with a bass player. It depends
who’s available, Chris plays with a bunch of bands so he’s quite busy, as a
professional drummer. I think that versatility is a good thing, most of time
if I go away I’d rather be with them, for the social aspect. Basically if I play
too many shows on my own I get really bored and I just want to interact
with people, and the other way, playing with a band more, sometimes that
can become a little stressful in terms of organizing people. It’s my project
and I don’t have an agent, so I book the gigs…
I guess it’s a bit of a revolving cast depending on who is
available at the time
Chris the drummer is based in London and I just came down here from
up North about six months ago, and the bass player who played on the
last tour lives in Newcastle. So on the last tour I was in Manchester, bass
player’s in Newcastle and the drummer’s in London. It’s difficult to find
people that are on the same wavelength, into the same shit and people
who you really get along with, so it’s a bit of a variety. But organizing
rehearsals when three of you are in opposite ends of the country is really
difficult. The only way we can play is if we have a block of dates. We
did like ten days in the UK last autumn, they’re pretty much the last UK
dates we did. We were actually warming up for a US tour, which was
quite comprehensive. It got pulled like three weeks before…it was a
nightmare. Since that my attitude to life, it really affected me
Why did it get cancelled?
Basically the girl who was organizing it in the states totally fucked up.
We were meant to be opening for Prefuse 73, he was really into the
music, so he’d asked her. I still haven’t had an explanation to this day,
it was just ‘yeah, the tour’s off’. So right, those five weeks I’ve just put
aside and I’ve told those guys to put aside…and ringing those two
up was the worst thing. It was pretty quiet for a while after that and
like I said at the moment I’m doing a few shows, but turning down a
lot more than I’m accepting. I just hammered it and I need to get the
appetite back.
And maybe it’s not just you getting your appetite back,
people coming out to shows will want to start hearing some
new stuff
Exactly, exactly. It is about getting new material, but every time I play
in London I do a different set and I turn up with a different instrument
every time and try and doing something different. Part of it is getting
new material and part of it is having the energy to play. I hate the idea
of just turning up and doing a gig and going through the motions, I’m
not going to do it. I’d rather just turn down the money, it’d be doing me
more harm than good I think.
All it takes is one lacklustre show and everyone will be
talking about ‘how he couldn’t be arsed’ etc on the Internet
the next day
And I don’t enjoy it and I get nothing out of it.
A bit like playing a nylon stringed guitar I guess
Yeah (laughing), it was one of those situations where I had to prove
my worth you know? I had a guitar book which had a flexi disc in the
back and I had to learn shit like, half of it was songs I didn’t even
know. I’d learn the chords and pretend like I knew it, House Of The
Rising Son and all that stuff. I think it was a guitar book my mum had
tried to play from.
So what type of stuff did you play when you’d graduated from
that book? Songs you actually knew and liked
I started playing when I was like eleven and twelve, with that book,
and then at that point I wanted to play anything really, I didn’t have a
massive record collection. My parents didn’t have a massive record
collections back in the day either, they just had sixties pop music,
which is better than pop music now, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones
stuff like that. I’ve got an older brother and at the time he was into
The Stone Roses and whatever was happening at the time. I didn’t
start playing all the Stone Roses songs, they’re a bit tricky (laughing).
So I started with The Beatles then went through the indie stuff, early
90s indie music, nothing too interesting, then when I was sixteen or
seventeen I started going into Manchester checking gigs out and I
ran into the Twisted Nerve bunch. They were putting on some pretty
interesting stuff then, it was sort of just when Badly Drawn Boy was
kicking off, and aside from his stuff they were putting on like a lot of
instrumental music and a bit more leftfield stuff. At the time, I’m from
Bolton, there were only really pub rock covers bands. It’s weird I went
from mainstream indie music to like hanging out with those guys and
getting tips from them. I missed out the transition. People say, ‘oh, you
must have heard that?’, I didn’t, I totally missed everything in between.
Something like My Bloody Valentine is a prime example. The amount
of times I’ve played a gig and people have come away and…you get
these weird comparisons, I’ve heard it like five times last year which is
a lot, but that was when I was doing electric stuff, but I’ve never heard
the records.
Tell me about your full-length record, while it stands out as
an ‘album’ in that it’s a coherent collection of songs there are
so many shifts of pace and instrumentation across the tracks.
Were all the songs written at the same time?
They pretty much were all written at the same time. I sort of have
this, sort of anyway…I don’t know how other people do things, but
I’ve always been into albums as albums, as a full collection. And that
album, I remember reading some stuff people had written like, ‘it’s a bit
short’, well yeah at thirty-five minutes it probably is short for an album,
but I’ve put out so much, about six album’s worth. I’ve never repeated
anything, whatever’s on the seven inches I didn’t put on the album and
whatever’s on EPs, CDRs, there’s a lot of stuff out there. I’ll do a CDR,
just one track and it’s like twenty-five minutes or I’ll do an EP, it’ll all be
written at the same time, it’s all pretty much stream of consciousness.
Once I finish one track I’ll know where to go after that. It’s always
written in sequence, so I’ll start with the first track and take it from
there, writing as you record as well. Instead of writing loads of songs…
I can’t relate to that idea of people who write fifty songs and then pick
ten for an album. I’ll write nine and half. It’s just the way I do things.
I find it interesting you say that as the songs on there are so
different from each other
That’s the difficult thing about the live thing as well. People expect you
to do some Brian Wilson stuff, come out with a guitar and have a fifty-
piece orchestra turn up half way through. You can’t really do that when
you’re playing The Luminaire or whatever. I listen to a lot of different
music and I remember sort of thinking when I was recording that,
laughing at doing an acoustic thing, and someone who perhaps would
like that…would hate the next track. I think there is quite a lot of
variety on that record and it reflects what I was listening to at the time.
So obviously next time out it’s going to be different again
Yeah I don’t want to make the same record again, it’s not going to be
a total departure, but I do want to do something different.
I’m sure it will be, as it’s hard enough to pin down your
‘sound’ as it is
I don’t really think about…it wasn’t a conscious decision to make
something so different, but at the same token I don’t really think, ‘oh
this is going to piss people off because it’s all over the place’. If I was
trying to sell records I’d just do an album full of ‘songs’ and walk round
in a kaftans and makeup and stuff. I selfishly try to make it interesting
for myself and try and make music for my friends really. But there’s
people who got onto that record that are so far removed from what
you think. These guys Stones Throw Records, they did an edit of a
track off the album as a white label and started playing it in clubs in
America and got a really good response. So they approached me, they
wanted to release it, the track’s funny like some of the guitars on that
track were recorded at my parents’ house in Bolton and it’s ended up
on some hip-hop label. It’s really funny. Just the idea that they picked
up on it. A lot of people I know who are into that stuff were, ‘what!’ I
got a shout-out on the track actually. p
tchantinler-recordings.com
Issue Plus one
No. 6 Magazine
creature
with the
atom brain
Just about to embark on the recording of their second album, Creature With The
Atom Brain would have to rank as our second favourite mind altering Belgian
export, just after Stella Artois. Sounding like a ‘lost’ Josh Homme et all Desert
Session, with added psyche weirdness, main man Aldo Struyf graciously gives us
the run down on their new material and explains why Marc Lanegan isn’t actually
the grumpy git everyone thinks he is.
Interview: David Hopkins Illustration: Rob Mathieson
If you had to pick, what would you choose first,
playing live or recording in a studio?
I’d pick recording now I guess. After playing the same
songs for months and months on a row you get a bit
sick of em’ - you can’t play them with the same energy
as the first 50-60 times. And I hate faking on stage, so
I don’t. It’s time for new stuff and that’s what we want
to do, record the new record.
Have you been writing and/or recording any new
material at all? And if so how’s it been going?
The songs for the new album are as good as ready.
There’s 14 of them. Different, but still Creature. This
time I want to record them in a studio and not in our
rehearsal room, so we’ll have to wait for some cash to
go into a studio. Probably September or October.
For the debut album I read somewhere that you
recorded it in your rehearsal room using some
gear borrowed from dEUS? Which is amazing on
two fronts, firstly as the record sounds great in
spite of that and secondly, as dEUS are fucking
ace. Would you ever be inclined to record in
such a way ever again?
I wouldn’t mind, but this time it has to be different. New
surroundings equals new feelings, new sounds, new
vibes. And one has to move forwards. I’d still borrow
stuff from our friends (cause dEUS have great mics -
and I like recording on tape - I also borrowed a 8 track
tape recorder for our last album) but this time I’d like to
work with someone that really knows the gear.
And on a related note, how’s the music scene
in Belgium? Is it one big, happy, lending each
other gear, family?
Here in Antwerp you could talk about ‘family’. There’s
dEUS, Mauro and the Grooms, Millionaire, Rudy Trouvé,
Triggerfinger, White Circle Crime Club, The Hickey
Underworld, the ‘Denis Tyfus scene’, Tim Vanhamel.
We’re all good friends, play together, help each other
and we have the same front of house people. Maybe
outside of Belgium these Belgian bands aren’t that
well known, but they’re great! Who knows Butch Willis,
Voice of the Seven Woods, Blitzen Trapper, Nudity, Clark
Hutchinson, Harry Toledo, almost nobody, but it’s killer
Plus one
Magazine
music. Imagine two guys/girls coming home from a
night at a pub, rolling a spliff and playing one of these
superbands and freaking out on em, that’s fucking cool,
even though they are the only people listening to that
stuff.
Aside from the production situation, listening
back through the record is there anything on
there that you really, really wished you’d maybe
done differently?
What’s done is done. There’s always something you
could do differently, but now it’s to late anyway. And
I think we did a good job recording ‘I am the golden
gate bridge’ ourselves, knowing that we don’t know shit
about recording!
What’s it like working with Mark Lanegan? Do
correct me if I’m wrong, but he seems like a
right grumpy sod
Wrong! Mark’s a great person! He’s funny, he’s
intelligent, he’s sweet, he’s just great company. He
stayed at my place for a while and we had a bomb
time. I’ll never forget the nights we spent together, on
tour and at home. Listening to music, telling stories,
drinking tea, listening to music and listening to music. I
only worked with him while recording the ‘Bubblegum’
album, and I loved that! He recorded his vocals for our
album in the states and brought them with him when he
came to Belgium for a show with ‘Soulsavers’.
What is your ultimate rock star ‘rider’ indulgence
above all others?
I don’t care much about riders. Here in Belgium it’s just
normal for bands to get food and a bunch of beers.
Should be like that everywhere! It’s all about respect.
When you drive for hours and hours in a (crappy) van to
go play somewhere you deserve a couple of drinks and
a meal but nothing more.
What have you been listening to lately and if you
had to admit to just one, what’s your musical
guilty pleasure?
I try to check out new/old music every day and I
buy everything I like on vinyl. These days I’m mostly
into psychedelic music. I’ve bought Ravi Shankar, Os
Issue
No. 6
Mutantes, Endless Boogie, Wooden Shjips, Grails,
Ben Nash, Eric Chenaux, Howlin’ Rain, Barn Owl,
J. Spaceman and the Sun City Girls, Dead Child,
Portishead, Evangelista, and Earthless recently.
What song would you have playing at your
funeral?
Angel of Death by Slayer.
What does an average day in the life of Aldo
Struyf entail?
There’s no pattern, I get up, drink coffee while listening
to jazz (Miles Davis ‘On The Corner’ for example),
read a magazine in my little garden, water my plants,
make music (alone at home, or with the band in our
rehearsal room), have a drink, go to a concert and every
Wednesday evening I play records in a bar in Antwerp. I
also have a show on our local, alternative, radio station,
Radio Centraal, here in Antwerp (every Wednesday
from 12 to 3pm, except the last Wednesday of the
month) you can listen to it on the net…
Top four Belgians who aren’t you?
1) Mauro Pawlowski
2) Tim Vanhamel.
3) Jacques Brel
4) Arno Hintjes
And finally…on an unrelated topic what do you
think the chances are that Belgium will actually
separate into Flanders and Wallonia?
It would be stupid. I don’t care much about politics, but
Belgian politicians are a bunch of bullshit dudes. I like
Belgium as it is. In Flanders there’s a lot of extreme
right and I hate that. I love going to the French part of
Belgium. p
myspace.com/creaturewiththeatombrain
PROJECTIONS FROM THE REAR by Andy Tillet
Hellboy II
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Superhero movie franchises are a pretty dodgy prospect at the moment. Characters held sacred by comic
lovers are being dumbed down into shallow parodies of themselves on an almost monthly basis. Then the
Dark Knight comes out and raises the bar. How high? Too high…
Hellboy II isn’t a bad movie. It’s also very different to Batman, so it’s not fair to play them off against each
other. Director Guillermo Del Toro makes amazing monsters – of the like not seen since the original Star
Wars trilogy. There’s also some fabulous set pieces here. Visually the film is incredible, but apart from a
couple of good fights and a pinch of slapstick, there’s little else to it. Hellboy II is in the spirit of everything
Hellboy stands for, but my problem is – what exactly is that?
The film tends to evoke a confusing mix of around ten other films at once – a hint of Men in Black here,
a touch of Fantastic Four there – then Hellboy himself appears to essentially be a red, slightly friendlier
version of Hardigan out of Sin City. The story is predictable and very standard. Characterisation is a huge
problem: Liz (Selma ‘Benico Del Toro with a bob’ Blair) and Abe the Aquaman are little other than flat-pack
characters to make Hellboy look good. As for the ‘bumbling bureau chief’ character, Manning – didn’t we
learn anything from Jar Jar Binks?
Hellboy II tries to be fun, endearing, thrilling and fantastical, but stumbles in the middle ground between all
of these, which is a shame because it’s so tasty visually. And, just one question – how does Hellboy play that
guitar in his room? Hellboy II is out now
The Wave
Director: Dennis Gansel
A German school class goes fascist for a week, with predictably dire results. It’s based on an actual experiment by
Californian teacher, Ron Jones, who explained autocracy to his pupils through role-play in a project called ‘The Third
Wave’. It was never properly documented at the time (1967) and later fictionalised in a book also handily called ‘The
Wave’. This film is based on the book but embellishes what actually happened way out of proportion.
From the first morning of ‘project week’ when the cool, ex anarchist teacher – Rainer Wenger, played by Jürgen Vogel
– in a Ramones T-shirt, tells his class they’re going to learn about autocracy, the conclusion appears foregone and
already hangs heavy in the air. Most of the pupils barely get established beyond their basic class stereotype in the film,
but that becomes periphery as by day three of the project vandalism and beating anarchists are being set to a cool
soundtrack. As Rainer, leading The Wave, appears to spiral into the mire of deluded power-lust, things build to the end
of the week and a water polo match that draws comparison with the bloody Hungary v Russia Olympic semi final of
1956 – itself a match about clashing political ideologies rather than sport.
Stylish though it may be, most of The Wave is mere dramatic effect rather than any socio-political debate. The overall
messages and points it makes are as brazen and crass as the choice to illustrate the teacher’s politics by putting him
in a rock T-shirt – a very obvious and two dimensional way of making a point. Released September 19th
Import Export
Director: Ulrich Seidl
Import Export casts its tale among the less visible members of modern society – the geriatric and dying, the jobless,
immigrants – and follows the stories of a Ukrainian nurse and a deadbeat Austrian who end up in each other’s
countries, searching for validity and meaning in their lives. The two separate stories are intertwined and never overlap,
yet poignantly juxtapose one another.
Rarely do films achieve such an intimate, voyeuristic quality with both their characters and the subjects they tackle.
The camera refuses to cuts away, nothing is too private – whether it be a worker in an internet sex parlour or a nurse
changing pensioner’s nappies in a care home. This unflinching, neutral gaze makes for very uneasy viewing, but feels
honest, inspires sympathy and also impresses heavily on the conscience as well as the immediate consciousness.
Seidl, a former documentary maker, tries to make his films as realistic as possible, using largely untrained actors and
real locations. He and the cast meticulously plan and research. This, coupled with masterful composure and framing
of shots, and the film’s tone make Import Export is a major success, almost blurring the line between documentary
and fiction. It is a film that captures but never romanticises its subject, but compels you to think deeply about what the
West and East of Europe give, take, expect, and are prepared to do for each other. Released 3rd of October
Plus one Issue
Magazine No. 6
B
y rights, Shane Meadows should be a household name by now. As
Britain’s best received independent director – currently on form
and making the best films of his career – there’s no excuse for not
checking out Somers Town, his latest release, which comes out this month.
Half Meadows’ battle was won a long time ago. The critics have been on side
since his first proper, full-length release – 1997’s Twentyfour Seven. He’s
even gone as far as winning the best British film BAFTA earlier this year for
his last film, 2006’s This Is England. Now this latest effort will hopefully be
the release which gets him the audience he deserves. Somers Town (the
title refers area between King’s Cross and Euston stations in London) is a
straightforward but heartfelt story about two boys (one a Polish immigrant, the
other a runaway) in a unfamiliar place who share their alienation and discover
the world together. It’s a classic coming of age film, and the best English one
for ten, if not twenty years. It’s also the first film that Meadows has set and
filmed outside of his native Midlands.
Meadows was born in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire and is an entirely self taught
filmmaker. He says he grew up watching films on Channel 4, which he cites
as one of his primary influences. The themes Meadows uses – the tumultuous
period between boyhood and adulthood, the working class environment – are
reminiscent of the films of directors prominent in this early period of British
independent television such as Ken Loach and Alan Clarke. Meadows skilfully
crafts his tales around young characters who are growing up too fast, dealing
with peer pressure or adversity from authority, suppressed feelings and
their determination to change. Family or, more frequently, absence of family
members is also a frequent issue. There’s also always a lot of bunking off
school involved in Shane’s films – possibly a hint from the director (who never
finished school himself) – about where you really learn about the world. These
subjects were tackled at their most raw in This is England, set in 1982, which
follows Tommo, a teenager who gets mixed up with a group of older punk
skinheads and has to learn to make decisions about where he wants his life
to go before it’s too late. In another of his films, A Room for Romeo Brass,
two best friends – Romeo and Gavin – are saved from a fight by an older lad,
with whom they then befriend and hatch a plot with to help him date Romeo’s
sister, with disastrous results.
Until now, Meadows has set his films largely in the 80s and early 90s,
which – especially in the Midlands and the North – were a time of great
social change and a struggle for much of the working class – in particularly
adolescents, as employment, family and social attitudes were all in a state of
flux. In his latest film however, Meadows refocuses on modern society, but
still favours those on the margins of society as subjects, and this time out we
follow a teenage runaway who wants to start fresh in London and a father
and son who are Polish immigrants who have also come to England for a
clean break, and to start over.
MEADOWS
COMES TO TOWN
WORDS: ANDY TILLET ILLUSTRATION: BLACK DAVE
Though frequently casting actors who are unknown, Meadows called upon
16-year-old Thomas Turgoose once again, to play Tomo (last seen in his much
lauded starring role in This is England). His character gets off to a tough start
before meeting Marek (played by Piotr Jagiello), a 15-year-old Polish boy
who lives in a flat in Somers Town with his father. Shy and sensitive Marek
is a keen photographer and after their chance meeting in a café and some
prompting from Tomo, the two start to hang around together. Marek hides the
now homeless Tomo in his room at night without his father’s – who works on
a building site by day and drinks at night – knowledge and the two embark
on their own trip of self discovery as they pursue their mutual love, Maria. The
film tackles immigration, integration, urban loneliness and plain old growing
up in a poignant yet funny way. It carries – as all Meadows’ films do – a
certain emotional weight, enhanced by the film’s simplicity and clarity. These
are two of the film’s strongest points, and Meadows makes a very considered
and planned piece look deceptively easy. The other major facet of the film is
the naturalness of the bond between Tomo and Piotr, something Meadows
acknowledges was largely out of his control, but the boys clicked easily, and
helped the film develop from the short script he originally set out with, into
the feature it has become. He says this would never have worked without
that chemistry and that he felt like he was making more of a documentary in
places, with most scenes shot quickly in one or two takes. Piotr and Tomo,
both act their hearts out, which puts the seal on a beautiful piece of work.
For Meadows the next two projects reunite him with Paddy Considine, who
has starred in A Room For Romeo Brass and Dead Man’s Shoes (which he
co-wrote) and has since landed high profile roles in The Borne Ultimatum
and Hot Fuzz. First is the project Meadows has been building toward his
whole life – a film about Bartley Gorman, known as ‘The King Of The Gypsies’
– the bare knuckle boxer from Meadows’ hometown who gave up fighting
to become a priest. Meadows promises it will feature “As many gypsies as
possible”. The second project, also with Considine, is with Warp films (a branch
of the Warp record label) on their debut ‘Five Day Feature’ project which is
called ‘Le Donk’ and follows a roadie cum rock drummer taking a road trip
with his rapper pal Scorzayzee.
Meadows makes low budget, relevant and exciting films, at a rate far beyond
that of most other directors. His scope and wit coupled with his hard male
characters and scenes of hard living are shot through with a sentimentality
which makes for a compelling vision – the impression you get are his films
have great artistic merit but have enough appeal and directness for even the
old, sodden hearts of hardened, tattooed men with bulging hands and burly
bellies who drink in late night clubs and haven’t admitted to having a feeling in
at least 20 years. p
Somers Town is out now
Issue Plus one
No. 6 Magazine
THE WORLD’S
LARGEST PUB
W hat better way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon than in
Earl’s Court exhibition centre with about 65,000 stumbling
beer fans. On this particular Saturday you had trendy kids in skinny
jeans heading east to stand in the rain at the Field Day Festival in
Victoria Park, and packs of bull-necked geezers with ironic t-shirts
heading west to participate in the ale event of the year. The first
thing you noticed on entering the massive open space where the
Great British Beer Festival took place was how much it was just like
a pub. It smelled of stale ale and sick, from the stage a beer bellied,
red nosed man was reading out the questions for the pub quiz and
drunken lads in funny hats were hanging on to their pint glasses
trying to make up their mind what ale to try next. And every now
and then you could hear the occasional ‘wooha’ followed by roaring
laughter as someone most likely showed his mates the latest video
of someone getting hurt in a stupid way on his mobile phone. On
offer was also all the pub grub we love and hate so much; fish ’n’
chips, Cornish pasties, meat pies and freshly made pork scratchings.
There were plenty of bellies around and not too many skinny people.
There was a surprising amount of girls however. Maybe it was due
to Campaign For Real Ale’s (CAMRA) ‘Sisters Are Drinking It For
Themselves’ initiative. They all seemed to enjoy themselves as well,
and were not just there to please the fella. The atmosphere was
increasingly rising, along with the temperature, as people got more
“I went for a Mudskipper that tasted exactly how it sounds
like it would; dark and utterly unpleasant. Sam had a Black
Pear, which actually smelled like piss and tasted like shit”
and more drunk. Even the people serving were pissed after a while.
A place like this, with so much alcohol, is potentially a scene for
a pub brawl of epic proportions. But luckily the hops that go into
making the ales on offer here have the side effect of making you
sleepy and the vast majority of the thong were walking around in a
mumbling, drunken haze rather than a drunken rage.
Most people who had taken the time to show up would have done
well to have some interest in ales. After all, if you just want to get
pissed it would’ve been a lot easier just going to your local pub.
Here you first had to pay 8 pounds to get in, then 3 pounds for a
special festival glass that had measurements for a pint, half pint and
a third of a pint printed on it. That’s 11 pounds before you’ve even
started drinking. On top of that it wasn’t really cheap either - about
3 pounds a pint, and you had to use the same glass the whole time.
Words: Per Steinar Nielsen
Photography: Sam Ashley
The ales where divided into what region they came from. Faced with
the option of 450 different ales we started choosing the ones we
wanted to try based on names alone. For round one we tried a raisin
ale that didn’t taste like raisins at all. It tasted like most ales I’ve
tried before. After that I went for a ‘Mudskipper’ that tasted exactly
how it sounds like; dark and utterly unpleasant and Sam had a
‘Black Pear’, which actually smelled like piss and tasted like shit.
To rectify the situation we got a hold of the list of the top ales in the
Champion Beer of Britain 2008 competition. Most of the barrels
containing these ales had been sucked dry since this was the last
day of the festival. The winner of it all was the Alton’s Pride by Triple
fff Brewery. According to the CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide it was a
‘Clean-tasting, golden brown beer... with initial malty flavours fading
as citrus notes and hoppiness takes over, leading to a hoppy, bitter
finish’. Hoppy times. We managed to track down one of the finalists
in the golden ale category; the Ferryman’s Gold by Loddon which
tasted nothing more than ok. The best ale we accidentally came
across, and there were probably better ones out there in the vast
ocean of ales, was the Summers Dream by Green Jack. It tasted
light and fresh and I could easily see myself drinking quite a lot of
it. For a while we tried to hunt down a raspberry ale, but that too
had been finished off early on in the festival along with the Cherry
Popper - the strongest ale on the whole festival with 8.5% AVB.
CAMRA, the organiser of the festival, is deadly serious about ales.
They used this festival to highlight the fact that beer prices are on
the rise, which is obviously a bad thing for all beer lovers out there.
According to them the price for a pint could well be 5 pounds by
2012. Hopefully they’ll succeed in their begging exercise to the
government by keeping the taxes down.
And while CAMRA might have had the worst VIP room in the
western hemisphere - it was basically a room with a collection of
tables heavily guarded by self important security people in orange
shirts, they are (as they should be) exceptionally good at promoting
locally brewed ales. And judging by the popularity of the festival it
seems that this is something people actually care about, us we’re
not too sure. Slightly drunk and very tired and with a cardboard
Napoleon hat on we left the festival in desperate need of a nap. p
Issue Plus one
No. 6 Magazine
 ECO CLUBBING GETS A KICKING

B illed as the world’s first ‘ecological club’, in spite of what the Sustainable
Dance Club in the Netherlands is saying, Bar Surya in London’s King’s
Cross opened with a minor ooh-Jade-Jagger-was-there journalistic-fanfare back
the architecture seems to be at complete odds with the club’s much heralded
intentions. Throughout it all feels a bit too shallow and window dressed, in a
here tonight, gone in the morning theme pub way, in spite of what white-suited
in July of this year. Launched by the climate change organization Club4Climate property developer Andrew Charalambous (that’s the good doctor by the way)
and its founder the Bond-villain doppleganger, Dr. Earth (seriously, I don’t make
this shit up) the nightclub aims to power itself using renewable energy, recycle
may say, and the solar panels on the roof suggest. And nothing quite illustrates
the ‘maybe the venue was too small to make it into a medieval fun pub’ feeling







 %#



#!$
its waste, uses reclaimed materials for its fixtures and fittings and sells Fairtrade
drinks. Which are all indeed great ideas, as are the club’s waterless urinals and
you get while walking around the place than the woefully amateur messages
being zapped at you from screens while you pay for your glass of organic Merlot. 
 &

'
'(


)
*+
*,,,
the wind turbine, rainwater collection points and solar panels on the roof. Add
to that the frankly Tomorrow’s World-esque dance floor constructed from crystal
()**
+,-
and ceramic blocks which supposedly harnesses the energy of all that out of
 
Now I know some people may not be totally tuned into the complex arguments
concerning climate change etc, but beaming an aggressively condescending, &'
monks and nature are good, planes and nuclear reactors are bad, montage from









time jigging to generate a percentage of the venue’s electricity and you’ve got
as close to ecologically sound nightclubbing as I’d imagine you could get. Oh
plasma screens in your upstairs bar is just fucking laughable. Maybe after a
couple of hours of strenuous dance-floor action and a raft of class A’s Surya’s  !" !



 
and did I forget to mention that cyclists and walkers allegedly get in for free and infomercials would indeed educate and inspire inner peace etc yah de yadda.














 
all of the potential eco clubbers will only be allowed into Surya if they sign a I doubt it though. Even I’m not that stupid. Seriously if you’d given a pack of
pledge promising ‘to work towards curbing climate change’? Sounds great, huh? primary school children a DV camera and a couple of hours, while they may not
Well yes, it fills my ethically inclined, recycling, Friends Of The Earth heart with come back to you with An Inconvenient Truth 2, they’d sure as fuck be able to &'

&
-
hope. But the reality, as soon as you’ve navigated your way through the flesh-pit cobble together something more informative. 
#$




    ! """    !
of King’s Cross and set a Birkenstock through the oppressive steel and glass
double doors of Surya is, as most things tend to disappointingly be, a little less
than uplifting.
But vitriolic outburst over, I do commend the club’s efforts to do something
positive and raise awareness of the detrimental effect us humans are having
%
!" 
!./01
.2
upon old Mother earth, however misconceived or unsophisticated they may be. I  

!




"!

#

Looking not unlike a slippy-tiled Baltic after hours bar, with the odd superficial just fear it won’t last. As frankly, in the murky world of clubbing the dirtier, more 



##!$ # $% & '% #
% (% )* +,
plank of reclaimed wood and newspaper wall-covering thrown up in place of selfish and lavishly hedonistic it gets the more we love it. p
where the intimidating white Armani track-suited thugs would normally be stood,

Plus one Issue

Magazine No. 6
For ten years Dave the Chimp has left his mark on the streets of
London and beyond. Unlike traditional graffiti writers interested in only
spreading their name, Dave has been leaving behind a temporary,
outdoor picture book of his life without the restraints of a page. To
the average eye, his simple, graphic style could belie his talent as
an illustrator. A veritable renaissance man, he plies his creativity to
numerous disciplines and outlets. With a European solo show under his
belt and another on the way, a new website, and a collaboration with
Vans, 2008 looks set to be the year of the Chimp. Interview: Jo Waterhouse
PREVIOUS PAGE: roller and emulsion painting, Roman Road Market, East London 2008 – ABOVE: poster to encourage people to vote,
Bethnal Green, 2006 – RIGHT: mural collaboration with Rabodiga, Hoxton, East London, 2008 – BELOW: roller and emulsion painting, Old
Street, London 2008

As someone who’s been labeled a ‘street artist’, what do you feel about that term and
do you refer to yourself in these terms?
I never refer to myself as a ‘street artist’, because I do a lot of other things. One of the things I do

“Graffiti writing
is paint on the street, but I also do board graphics [for Hessenmob skateboards], make pop videos,
commercials, make sculptures, and installations. I just refer to myself as an artist – although I’m not

is about fame, about

completely comfortable referring to myself as that yet, but I’m starting to feel like I’m getting there…

How do you describe your work and your aesthetic?

destruction, and about being

Well traditionally what I’ve gone for is a graphic style. When I was a kid I wanted to be a cartoonist,
so I’m coming at it from a comic book/cartoon kind of style. Comic books and cartoons also tell
a story, and that’s what I try and do with my work: my work’s quite graphic based, but I try and tell

accepted by your peers. Putting

a story rather than just be like ‘this is my logo’. It’s also generally really bright and generally quite
cheerful. But there’s also an element of getting across how I’m feeling at a particular time, if I’ve got
a broken heart or think the world’s a terrible place…

I wanted to ask you about that, because some of your work does seem really personal,
emotion in your work will make
your friends think you’re gay!”
and your Flog [fotolog.com/chimp243] seems very personal too. Would you say that
most of the inspiration for your work is internal?
Yeah, I guess…If you’re doing something like artwork and skateboarding for the feeling of doing
 ABOVE: roller and emulsion painting, Bow, East London 2008 – TOP RIGHT: one in a series of paintings on old mattresses to highlight the homeless
problem, especially among the young. 2006/2007 – BOTTOM RIGHT: painting on wipe board pulled out of the trash, East London, 2006

“I guess for me it, for the feeling you get from it, it’s going to be more personal.
I guess for me the point of art is looking at the world through
are not there to make art, that’s not what they’re about. They
produce the same thing over and over again, and work within a

the point of art

someone else’s eyes and their experience of life, to gain a wider predetermined set of rules. I think many of them don’t have what
perspective on what being alive is about, so my work is about me: it takes to be an artist: to push themselves and have emotion in

is looking at the
my view and experience is all I can really express. I like to write their work. I think that scares them. Graffiti writing is about fame,
too, so if there is a story behind a piece of work I like to be able about destruction, and about being accepted by your peers. Putting
to tell it. emotion in your work will make your friends think you’re gay!

world through
Hanging off the top of a 10-storey building to write your name is
You’ve had a fair few negative comments left on your Flog, a different kind of fear to admitting to having a broken heart, to
people hating on you and your work. Is it hard not to be admitting that you were in love. I don’t know, it’s for them to say

someone else’s
affected by that and take it personally? really… I don’t get ‘graffiti’. We’re both working outside, but for
It used to be, but now I’m kinda like well, ‘whatever’. I’m at the stage me it’s not the same; it’s not what I’m doing. Though saying that,
where I don’t really care, if someone loves something that’s great; Berlin is a completely different vibe to London, and I did write some

eyes and their

if they hate it that’s also great. If they’re totally indifferent to it letters recently! No rules, no fucking rules! Rules put on a rebellious
then that’s not great, as I do want a reaction to it. If you can make activity are bullshit. Imagine being told you can only kickflip into a

experience of
someone have an emotional reaction to your work, whether they grind, no heel flips, just because that’s a rule made up 30 years
love it or they hate it, that’s the important thing. The important thing ago. Rules prevent progress. I guess that’s my problem with graffiti
is that they react to it. writing.

life, to gain a You’ve had clashes with Graffiti writers in the past,
what do you think their problem is with you, why do you
I read that you prefer to paint in semi-permanent spots,
for instance on boards that people can take away, or on

wider perspective
antagonize them so much? hoardings etc, rather than permanently on private property
To be honest I quite like it nine times out of ten, because I know so you don’t offend people. Is that still the case?
I can paint graffiti. When I was younger, working as a commercial Yeah, generally. Just because I know that graffiti upsets a lot of

on what being
illustrator, I’ve been asked to work in lots of different styles, people. If you’re going around tagging walls for instance, people
so I will always call someone out and say ‘come on then, let’s will complain to the council who will have to send someone out

alive is about”
battle’ because I know that I can create a piece that may not be to cover it up, and it can result in people’s council tax going up –
technically perfect, but I can hold my own. Most of the time they why should some old lady have to pay more council tax because
back down anyway. I think the problem is really that graffiti writers of me? I’d rather the council put the ‘graffiti abatement’ cash

LEFT: untitled painting on paper 2008 – TOP RIGHT: Columbia Road, East London, 2007 – BOTTOM RIGHT: hand painted broken decks and used
Sleibnir/Dang “Doodle” deck, graphic by Dave the Chimp, Kabe 243, Ichi Bunny, and Product Two
towards skateparks. So if you think about where you paint, you’re
not contributing to that. Also the work itself isn’t meant to be
permanent. I’ll paint something in the night and the next day the
builders will come and paint over it, but I don’t get upset about it.
The only constant in life is that everything changes, if you accept
that then nothing matters anymore. You can live in the moment and
think ‘what am I doing right now, what do I want to do right now’.
A lot of your outdoor work seems site specific – that
the work is inspired by the spot. Is that the case and do
you think that’s the skater in you – approaching your
environment as an artist the same way as you do as a
skater: looking to utilise and reinterpret your environment
creatively?
Yeah, definitely, I’ll look at how to involve the architecture or
what’s around – it’s like having a good conversation, but having a
conversation with your environment: you’re both bringing something
to it. If the spot’s next to a shoe shop I might do something about
shoes or anti Nike for instance. It’s like call and response. It’s
not just about taking something or saying ‘this is my spot’, it’s
also about the flow of ideas. It’s not just about me, it’s about the
environment, the audience, everything connected.
When you see a spot that you want to paint, will you go
away and sketch the idea first to bring back with you later?
Yeah, but the kind of drawing that I’ll make is so basic. If I see
somewhere and think ‘I really want to paint a pirate there’, I’ll go
home and make a drawing of a pirate, but it won’t necessarily be
the same as the finished piece, it’ll just be to get the idea down,
and the basic lines and the shape. If I see a spot, an idea will
usually comes to me straight away, but I don’t see somewhere and
then go home and try and think of something to paint. If an idea
comes to me I’ll go and paint it, if it doesn’t: I don’t.
And is emulsion paint still your weapon of choice?
Yeah it is. It’s cheap and if it’s running out you can water it down.
“You can make long, constant
flowing lines and curves, and
painting large areas with a roller
involves your whole body. It’s a
bit like doing Tai Chi”
ABOVE: roller and emulsion painting, Kingsland Road, London 2008
In the studio I’ll also use spray paint, acrylics, ink, whatever, but for
outside work I’ll use emulsion. I used to always use brushes and
now I’ll also use rollers and I’m also dropping the outlines to save
time. You can make long, constant flowing lines and curves, and
painting large areas with a roller involves your whole body. It’s a bit
like doing T’ai Chi. It’s nice, it’s really quite relaxing.
You’ve got an imminent collaboration with Vans, what’s
happening with that?
I’ve got an artist shoe that’s coming out in September. There were
originally two designs that were going to be out in March, but
there were some changes at Vans and some artist collaborations
were dropped. It’s a ‘Mid -School’, the kind Tony Alva wears. It was
important for me to make a shoe to skate in, not just a fashion
shoe or, worse still, a collectors piece that never gets worn! It was
exciting to be asked to pitch ideas and I was against people who
were way more known than me, but they really liked the idea I
came up with which was great, as I’ve always worn Vans.
Did you get complete artistic control of the design?
I did. But there were limitations, like recreating the exact
colours I wanted on the shoes, due to the processes involved
in manufacture. The inside of the box was also supposed to be
printed like a fanzine, but their legal department freaked out at
some of the content, so now we’ll put out a zine separately, which
will be free to everyone that goes in the store, not just those that
buy the shoe.
Can you tell me about the videos you’ve made with Robots
in Disguise, how they came about and how they were to
make? Is it something you’d like to do more of?
I’ve been working with the band since they started: making logos,
record covers, backdrops etc. I saw them play a gig a few years
ago, after not seeing them play for years, and I was amazed at how
good they’d become, and how inspiring they were to the young
girls in the audience. Being involved with graffiti and skateboarding
has given me a perspective on how it is to be a girl moving in male
ABOVE: altered anti smoking poster, Bethnal Green, 2005
dominated areas of life, so I wanted to help promote the band to
give girls strong and exciting role models. So I offered to make a
video for them, and then I had to learn how to make videos – and
more so how to work with lots of other people, communicate
clearly, be inspiring. Being a director is tough, but fun. I’ve made
two videos for them now, and am currently thinking of ideas for the
next one.
You recently moved to Berlin. What prompted the move?
Money! It’s cheap here! I just want to be an artist, I don’t want to
have to have a day job. It gets in the way of the artwork. I get into
a flow in the studio and I don’t want to stop. And if I’ve been out
painting at night I’d get in at 3am, get four hours sleep and have
to get up for work, so it wasn’t ideal. I’ve had a solo show this year,
another coming up, my website is done (thanks Kabe243!) and the
Vans shoe’s coming out so it seemed the right time to go for it, and
Berlin’s a lot cheaper for things like rent. Plus living in Germany
means I get to spend more time with friends like Flying Fortress,
Nomad and Stefan Marx, and the guys at Hessenmob skateboards.
The art director, Christian Roth, has been a good friend for ten
years and is also a filmmaker, and I’d like to work on some projects
with him.
Tell me about the upcoming solo show in Hamburg? What
do you have planned for that?
The show is at Vicious Gallery in St.Pauli, Hamburg and it’s going
to be called “Searching For The Perfect Line”, which relates to
skateboarding, but also to drawing and painting, and also, in a more
abstract way, to women. Searching for a wife! There will be some
animation pieces, as I was given a digital camera when I left my
day job. Also, I plan to try and learn to draw, and use life models, try
and push this art thing. Though the ‘cuteness’ people seem to love
in my work will still be present, due to some collaborations with the
Hamburg based fashion designers Super Hörst Jansen. I think it’ll
be a little more abstract than what people are used to seeing from
me though. My vague plan also involves producing some kind of
small book or zine. Who knows, I’m just going to explore and see
what I find.
What other projects do you have coming up?
This Saturday I launch a big screen-printing street art project with
the cats at Nothing But Printing here in Berlin. August 9th is our
annual ‘Hackney Olympics’ skate jam at Hackney Bumps. And I’ll
be taking part in some kind of stage performance with Robots
In Disguise at Leeds and the Reading festival. The shoes drop in
September so there will be a launch party/gig/live drawing event
in London and an exhibition at the Vans store in Berlin. I have a
screen print coming out with the Planet Patrol guys around about
now, and possibly I’m going to Thailand for a project in the winter.
And Marten is trying to convince me that now we’re old we should
start skating vert, so there’s likely to be a lot of shit in my pants this
winter…but I can afford new pants now that I won’t have to buy
shoes for a while! Ha! p
davethechimp.co.uk Fucking Awesome
UK@SOLETECHNOLOGY.EU

DAPPER
DONS
MANCHESTER’S OI POLLOI
Ten odd years ago Steve Sanderson and Nigel Lawson’s impeccable Mancunian tastes came together to spawn
Oi Polloi, the most talked about menswear boutique outside the M25. We collared the outspoken pair for a quick talk
about vintage Filas, their Etnies collaboration and why there are ‘no decent shops’ in London. Interview & photos: Percy Dean
How did the store materialize and how did you two meet?
NL: It started in a pub in Didsbury with a pair of Clarks. I just noticed he had
the same pair of shoes on as me. Wallaby Weavers I think they were? We just
started talking, we’d seen each other’s faces over the years from the Hacienda.
I mean even though you never talked to anyone there you’d know all the faces.
Then about 98/99 we got talking and reminisced about things we were into,
you know like the finer details on things. One night Steve said he’d been
thinking about opening a shop and funnily enough I had too.
Why. Was it to just cater for your particular tastes?
SS: Yeah, it was about there not being the shops around then. In the eighties
you could get your Lacoste and Pringle golf kinda stuff, but then through the
nineties the main shops in the centre went really shit. It was all Stone Island,
which was cool a long time ago, but it went over into mainstream football
hooligan culture. It was the black thing…everything was black. Everyone was
wearing black, like Prada sport and Stone Island. It was just dead boring. We
were into functional outdoor gear and interesting clothing.
How come you weren’t swayed into just following those styles, surely
that would have been the easy way for a start up shop?
NL: Absolute obsession with specifics, don’t be swayed! Some things we
absolutely adore and they then become fashionable and other things we adore
and they don’t, they don’t even sell. You just have to keep your eye on ‘em and
wait for them to come around. It’s watching everything and keeping your eyes
open all the way.
SS: When we started we’d run vintage products alongside new stuff. Like we
had a lot of vintage trainers and we got a bit of a reputation for selling old kinds
of Fila and Adidas, then from that we sold classic heritage brands like Belstaff,
Lee and Wrangler.
NL: One of our oldest brands is YMC, that was in the shop when we first had a
party, before we even opened. We’d scrabbled together a load of stuff so that it
would look like a shop and people would get an idea about what we were gonna
do. One side was a load of vintage tracksuits and the other was brand new
street, contemporary men’s wear. The new stuff just seemed to grow and the
vintage stuff, well we just couldn’t get it anymore.
SS: We were into vintage coz you couldn’t get the products,
so you’d search out the original stuff, then 5 years later the
original companies would click on and start reproducing.
They’d do a shit job of it initially then after a while they’d get
their shit together and start making very good reproductions
of the stuff that’s gone before. It was just an evolution.
How do you source your lines? it can’t just be
product catalogues…
NL: Well, it’s like if you want a new coat, you’ll start trawling
through. You’ll see one you like, or a few that are the same
and oh it’s this weird old brand, see if they are still going, oh
they are still going, brilliant! I wonder if they have that coat,
no, they don’t make it anymore, but usually they will end up
making it again. Like Fjall Raven…it was lucky we found
them because if it wasn’t for Fjall we probably wouldn’t be
here now. All the tracksuits depleted and the trainers went
and Fjall became as big as all that.
SS: We used to source stuff the old fashioned way, we’d go
to markets. You’d hear about these markets off customers
and so we’d go and do ‘em. We went to a trade show in Italy
and at that trade show there was a massive vintage market,
which we caned and made loads of money out of it, it was
just at the right time. It dried up cos every fucker was doing
re-issues. After that we started sourcing on Ebay and that’s
when everyone got on there and prices went through the
roof, so there was no margin as a shop owner. You can’t buy
a pair of trainers for eighty quid and sell em for two hundred.
NL: The outerwear was alright coz you could wash it and
make it look good. A pair of trainers have been worn and
they’d smell, but if there was a tracksuit that was in mint
condition you could buy it for twenty quid and sell it on for
three hundred.
What backgrounds did you come from?
SS: I did hairdressing, I did it for twenty years as a job, but
in my head I was just into clothes, it’s the way I am wired up
I can’t help it.
If I can call the shop ‘a Manchester institution’, do
you think it’s an institution that can survive outside
of this city?
NL: Yes.
SS: That’s the problem, it’s not a Manchester thing. I think
there’s a section of Manchester people that are into it but
on the whole I don’t think people from Manchester know it
even exists.
NL: Yeah I think its reputation outside Manchester is greater
than it is in it!
I heard there are rumours of a London Oi Polloi?
SS: Well it’s not a pipe dream…it’s on the cards, but when it
will happen is another thing.
Why would you choose to do that?
SS: Profile.
NL: It’s the only place outside of Manchester that makes
sense. We have always talked about opening a shop in
London, due to the fact that it’s a big place, there’s a lot of
people, there’s no decent shops there and forty percent of
our total business comes from there on-line. In the nasty real
world of trying to sell stuff it makes sense.
How did the shoe collaboration with Etnies come
about?
SS: Well I knew Tom [Henshaw, Etnies Marketing] from
knocking about and he’s also a fan of Padmore and Barnes
who used to make all the Clarks shoes in Ireland. They
made the original Wallaby and all that kinda gear. It was a
marrying of being into those type of soft crepe soled casual
shoes and then trying to mixing it up. I know Etnies were
interested in doing something that wasn’t so trainer based.
It’s a mad combination coz we do what we do and Etnies is a
totally different sector. I do think it’s really interesting how its
worked out. Making it from scratch is a bit bonkers, they had
to change the shoe last and everything for us. You know coz
skate shoes tend to be bigger and bulkier, they had to bring
ours in and shrink em all down. We don’t really come from a
skate background, we come from a comfy shoe and trainer
background, although they aren’t a million miles apart.
Without having a ‘collab-off’, aside from Etnies who
else have you been working with?
SS: Some guy that came in the shop worked for Paul Smith,
he mentioned the shop to them and they came in for a look.
They loved the shop and they thought it would be a good
idea to do something with us. They’d never done that with
a shop before so it was a weird thing, but they did it for like
three or four seasons. Normally they just do it for one.
How easy is the transition from having an eye for an
existing product to having a hand in creating one of
your own?
NL: Same thing really!
SS: The designers that I like today, well I wouldn’t really
consider them to be true designers. I’d say they were editors
of things that have passed. It’s about taking design details
and classic pieces from the past and then re-interpreting
or tweaking them for wearing as a casual piece of clothing.
The masters of that type of ‘design’ are massive, but still
ninety percent of their collection is shit and we have to edit
it down to fuck all, it’s toss. When you look at them edited
you think they’re brilliant, but if you look at it en mass you
think ‘you’re not brilliant, you’re having to put out a massive
amount of product that’s shit, we wouldn’t even fucking give
it space’. It’s about editing them down to their best pieces.
The Japanese have been doing it for years. There are brands
over there that apply change and make an original piece a
bit more high fashion and then there are others who solely
re-create the original garment. Denim is a good example,
they will do an original fifties or forties cut and you’ll think
‘they look like shit on, like clowns pants’, but we’d be like ‘we
like all the details and the way it’s all put together, but we
need em in a cut that fits nice’. Some of them will do it, some
of them won’t; they are the real purists. p
oipolloi.com
L ast summer I traveled to San Francisco for a wedding and as I was walking downtown by Union Square I noticed a peculiar thing—scores of
teenagers and young men sporting New Era hats with the embroidered letter ‘H’ on them. Now to the untrained eye it might seem like all these
people were supporting a local baseball team whose name started with that letter. Being the wiser I knew there was no San Francisco Horses or
Hornets and all these guys were actually rocking the ‘H’ hats because it stood for ‘HUF’.
HUF is a store and clothing brand created by Keith Hufnagel, which has rapidly taken a stranglehold on the Bay Area’s streetwear scene since its
conception in 2002, and with a new store in Los Angeles just opened, and some select international stockists carrying his stuff, the brand is slowly
going global. We caught up with Keith to talk skateboarding, business growing pains, and the crazy, crazy, world of streetwear.
Interview: Will Harmon Portraits: Sam Ashley

How have you been?
I dunno, just getting back into this crazy business.
So what motivated you to open up HUF in 2002?
Basically, there was an opportunity to have Nike and Supreme and kinda
all these brands that didn’t really exist under one roof in San Francisco.
So being friends with some of these people and wanting to get into retail
we kinda took a step to make that happen and bring certain brands to
San Francisco. We had a lot of New York brands and also having the Nike,
Adidas, and Vans in there helped.
Was it successful right away?
It was a learning experience, I don’t know if, uh, I mean it did well in the
beginning, but I wouldn’t say successful, because you put so much money
into getting a business started, but it definitely paid it off a little faster
than normal. It was a little false at first, how the sales are the first day of
opening the store.
Yeah because everyone just goes because it’s a new store
opening huh?
Yeah, and we had all these special Nike SBs that were hot at the time. So
you don’t really know what retail is like until you get further into it.
The new store is in LA, what made you decide to expand out of
San Francisco?
Basically we really wanted to expand the line we created. So moving
to LA was really just to expand the brand and do a store that just sold
the HUF brand in Los Angeles. And because we couldn’t move to Los
Angeles with the stuff that we carry in San Francisco, we can’t bring all
the shoes and all the clothes…
Because people already do that there…
Yeah, because these stores already exist there, I mean there’s Undefeated,
there’s Union and all these stores that we are friends with and we don’t
wanna compete with. So we wanted a store in LA, so we chose to just do
our own brand and to grow our brand and make more clothing so that we
are a real brand in the end.
Will there be any HUF stores elsewhere in the future?
No plans right now, but hopefully, if it all works out, I mean that’s the goal
to expand of course. Not majorly, but it would be nice to spread around a
little bit and offer it to more people than just the west coast of California.
It seems that running the brand and all the stores has forced
you into becoming a businessman. Do you miss the days when
all you had to do when you woke up was skate?
I do yeah. I mean basically when I go on tour now I kinda get the time to
forget about it, but it’s always in the back of your mind, you always have
to check your computer, and check your emails and all this stuff; so it
definitely puts you in a situation where you have to be responsible. You
have to not do what you used to do and just go skate everyday and have
no worries of what’s gonna happen in the next few hours.
But you are also getting older, and I think most skaters need to
start thinking about other things when they get older…
Yeah definitely, I have a big responsibility I put on my plate and that’s what
I gotta deal with…a lot of mouths to feed.
About how many hours of the day are spent in front of your
laptop?
Just depending on the day, but minimum of three hours and maximum of
twelve. It just depends on what’s going on.
Do you have any advice for others trying to start a streetwear
brand?
Yeah, don’t do it, it’s oversaturated! (laughs). Unless you really really
have something special or just take it slow, I mean don’t hop into it crazy
because no matter what it’s an oversaturated market and you wanna test
your skills to make sure you really wanna be doing it.
I feel like everyone’s hopping into the streetwear game, with no
real plan whatsoever…
Yeah I mean you are just gonna struggle and go broke at the end, which
really sucks. But if you don’t approach them the right way and have
something special, you’re not, well it’s really hard to succeed. I mean
 everyone makes a T-shirt nowadays, so you know it’s
not as special as it was three or four years ago.

Did you have a clear idea of things you wanted

to make from the beginning?
Not from the beginning no, I mean as you grow and
the company grows you make your mistakes. You do
the right things, you do the wrong things and you start to
learn what kind of brand you want to be in the end and
what kind of clothing you want to make and sell. Then you
have to advertise that as your image and brand because
no matter what you put out, that’s you, that’s your company.
And are you doing it to make a quick buck? Or are you
doing it because it’s actually what you love and that’s what
you would wear? So you kinda have to make those decisions.

What’s been your favourite HUF collaboration thus far? Or

which ones have you been proud of?
I mean all the Nike ones are good, I really like the Adidas one just
because I’m a huge fan of Barry McGee.
Oh yeah the Ray Fong shoe…
And you know it did stir up a lot of crazy things with all the people, but
overall it was an awesome project. And being able to do that with Barry
was probably a once in a lifetime deal, so you know, that was pretty
awesome. And I like all the Ari (Marcopoulos) stuff we’ve done in the past.
Just putting his photos on T-shirts…I’m a fan of his artwork so to be able
to put on a T-shirt and rock it is dope. Not crazy branding or anything,
having it be pretty low-key and just having an awesome photo on a T-shirt
is good.
What are some other clothing brands you admire?
Right now I’m really into Supreme, P.A.M.(Perks And Mini), and VisVim.
You know I definitely like P.A.M. because they are pushing the limits and
making crazy shit! And I like VisVim because they just make super clean,
quality clothes.
Have you had a lot of problems with bootlegs and fake HUF
products?
We’ve only had a little, just because New Eras we make in China, those
are the only ones that have been bootlegged. There have been a bunch
of fakes out there, but they are pretty much impossible to stop at the
moment. We don’t have any funding to go after these kind of people. But
New Era does, I mean I talk to New Era and they track these people and
try and shut them down.
Has there been a lot of Cease and Desist orders?
Oh man, they keep coming. I think I got two last month, but whatever,
that’s how it goes right!
You win some you lose some…
(laughs) I actually got double cease and desisted for that BMX shit. Two
different people cease and desisted me for it. I didn’t even know that was
possible! Two different companies telling me I can’t produce the same
product, so I think that’s the first of its time.
street
scene, you know
you got to find the spots.
People in S.F. always wanna skate, but now that the park is here,
it’s much easier for the little kids and everyone. Seems like it’s going off
right now.
On the recently updated website there is a skate team section.
What made you decide to introduce a skate team and how did
you choose the riders?
Friends and everyone are always asking me for gear and all that stuff so
we just kinda wanted to put a powerful skate teamw together. And you
know all the people on the skate team are friends or people that I hung
out with that I really like. Some of them even asked me for them to be
on the team, so we basically just started a team to promote them and
also HUF. Basically most of the people are picked by their style and their
attitude and the people that they are. So everyone’s pretty awesome on
the team and it’s like an all-star team somehow! (laughs)
Do you think Julien Stranger rocks all the latest HUF New Eras?
Nah, not at all! (laughs) But whatever you know, Julien asked me to be on
the team, and I was just super stoked to have him on there.
That’s really flattering actually if Julien asked you
Yeah, he can come in and get whatever he wants, bearings, or if he wants
a New Era! (laughs) Or if he wants something for his girl.
So what can we look for in the future with HUF?
We are definitely bringing it back to the roots of skateboarding, trying to
do a lot of skateboarding things, but we also are making really quality
goods. We are just trying to make really good product in the end, just
clean really nice product that’s fitted and good for skating and chillin’, just
awesome clothing! p

Last year you opened the first ever HUF skate shop in San
Francisco, how is that going?
That’s awesome, it’s my favourite shop. It’s just bringing it back to why the
shops are even here.

How is the skate scene in SF these days?

Pretty good, I mean they just opened a skatepark in Portrero del Sol and
it seems like a lot of people are skating. The street scene is always the

“I mean everyone makes a

T-shirt nowadays, so you know
it’s not as special as it was
three or four years ago”
Rich Jacobs Talks Zines
While we’ll pull up just short of calling him a ‘modern day Renaissance
Man’, artist, zine maker, curator and collector Rich Jacobs has many a
string to his bow, numerous fingers in pies and a whole dinner service worth
of metaphoric plates spinning all at the same all time. Or he’s got a lot on
in other words. Dan Boulton caught up with Rich during his zine exhibition’s
recent pit stop in London.
So you’re now on what, MOVE 15, did you have any idea
that you’d put together this many shows or that there was
this kind of mileage in the project when you started?
Yeah, the Move shows have been going a little while, like 10 years
now, when I started to curate I had no idea I would ever do another
show. I totally just went for it, like you would put on a friend’s band
in your basement style, pure enthusiasm for doing it, not for any
other reason than excitement, you want to see it happen, so you
do it. That is the idea, the whole DIY thing is good like that, not
waiting for someone to hand you anything, you make it yourself.
I still encourage kids to self publish zines, books and do things
the old fashioned way instead of expecting things and thinking it
will happen for you. The idea for Move shows was and is still to
show things that move me. I don’t care about art or the art world,
I care about looking at images that I like and make sense or stir
something inside me. It is kinda basic or gut level, but I trust that, if
I like it, it makes the cut. I am my own boss I don’t care really what
others think, sorry to say. I live with my choices. If I buy art I have
to look at it, if someone else does then it is their feelings that are
connected to that. I can’t worry about that. If I show things I like
genuinely and for real, then that is what I truthfully can do. I don’t
want to fake it, I won’t do that to sell things, I think that is gross.
Am I right in thinking that Move started out as a zine at first?
Move started out as a zine after my other skate zines. It included a
lot of everything that inspired or just plain moved me. This included
lots of music, lots of art, skating, and other weird stuff I was into,
like juice, and apparently long winded rampages? Yikes! I thought
I was shy? Anyhow, it was a zine, then a record label – I put out
a seven inch 45 by Three Mile Pilot and Jim French, and one by
the guitarist of Iceburn, Gentry Densley who is still a great friend,
so is Paul from Three Mile Pilot. I just put a few things out, then
it somehow got turned into curating art shows. I guess because it
was still all stuff that moved me. That was and is the idea still to
this day. That is the only thing really that motivates the shows.
Can you remember the line up for the first show?
I remember the first line up, sure, the first show was about 10
years ago – early in 97 or 98. It had Thomas Campbell, Phil Frost,
Rick Forberg or Farr, Jordan Isip, Melinda Beck, Margaret Kilgallen,
Barry McGee, Andy Ward, Chris Shary and myself. Mark Gonzales
and Andy Jenkins were asked, but could not due to some other
circumstances at the time with the venue and the owners or
something like that, they would have been included though and
were asked.
The London show at NOG was two shows in one, painting
and then the zine show, will that be the same for the rest
of the European and US shows?
The show will be just the zine show in most of the other locations
with the exception of maybe Holland. I am proposing two shows
there, the hand drawn, homemade type of stuff and photos that
were on punk and hardcore 7 inch records from like early 77 to the
early to mid 90s when computers basically took over. We had to cut
it off somewhere.
A lot of what is happening now is sorta replicas or parodies or
tributes to the older styles, like Crass, Discharge, Pushead, etc…
The rawness is what we are excited about, the hand element that
seems mostly missing in the computer generated stuff. Just that
early era of stuff. That is gonna be fun and there will be books or
catalogs for both shows. The zine book is already under way and
so is the seven inch one. Each show will be unique and slightly
different on purpose. It is gonna travel a lot though.
The zine show is pretty epic, are all the zines from your
collection or did you get stuff on loan etc?
The zine show is mostly from stuff I gathered or tracked down. I
did ask some of it to be sent to me, I couldn’t get everything, it
is almost endless. I had some help from Garry Davis, and Jocko
Weyland, then others are popping up now too. I got Phred Conrad’s
collection as well. I like that it is expanding and growing. I am trying
to build a really strong archive and welcome submissions, even
reproductions or copies of the originals. Obviously I would prefer
the originals, but if that is all we have, let’s at least share what is
there historically. I just tried to include the ones that I thought had
special visual significance. There are literally thousands to choose
from, kids did zines all over the world. I tried to focus for this show
on people who innovated or did something rad, new or weird
within the medium aesthetically and artistically, but I know there
are many thousands more out there. I am trying to track some of
the ones I do know about down still. Some are very very rare, like
10 copies and editions of like 5 copies etc. At the most 100 were
made generally. It is not that easy to find ‘em now that is for sure.
Most of the folks that did them have one copy left of their zines. It
is an elusive thing trying to find things that you had to basically be
there for. It is interesting and a bit like doing detective work, which
is fun for me. There is only so much you can do to find them. That
is why I wanted to do the show, to shed a little light on something
that has a wider appeal and people who did not even skate can
appreciate the graphic side to this stuff, even if they never cared
about the skating part. For those who do care, it is a treat to see
all that history and perspective from the view of people that were
skaters, not some history from someone who did not do it. I love
zines, always have. There is something not replaceable about them.
Blogs are fine, but they are not the same to me. The physical copy
and the toner coverage are hard to explain, but have to be seen in
person. The range people got on a limited photocopier is amazing
to me. Some really pushed the limits too and used the copier as a
tool or paint brush so to speak…really look into. I have zines that
“Expression is not limited to size
look like they are woodcuts because of the blown out quality you
can get enlarging or stretching and smearing a copy while it is
being made. There is a real art to some of this. It is not noticeable
to those who don’t care, but if you are a nerd you will be stoked.
and format or medium to me. You
I hear that there is a possibility of a book coming out
based on the show? Any info on this at the moment and
have to let it out somehow”
who’s involved in that?
There will be book coming out. I am working out the details right
now, but it looks good, Andy Holmes who did the Dysfunctional
book and the Futura 2000 book is interested and we are gonna
make a nice volume. There was some talk of trying to have Ginko
maybe do it in America but I haven’t sorted out that yet.
The ‘Move’ formula seems to stay the same, but the
differing artists steer the project in new directions
resulting in a different feel every time?
Move is an on going series of art shows or blasts that really just are
what I am feeling at that moment in time. It changes to the needs
and feelings I have. I use different people a lot to do different
things in many circumstances, mostly it is like pulling from friends
and the idea is to show people the whole range and the diversity of
what is…I like many things.
What are your thoughts on the whole Beautiful Losers
thing and the movement by some of these artists towards
the more established art world? I was surprised that you
were not involved in the project, was there any particular
reason for this?
As far as the Beautiful Losers show. I think Aaron put together
Plus one Issue
Magazine No. 6
what he and his partner at the time, Christian Strike, saw as the
top of the stack. I don’t care that I was not included really. I think a
lot of other folks were missing too. Tim Kerr, one of the first to mix
skating, art, and punk into one thing. The Big Boys were a huge
deal to the history of all of that, Garry Davis too. I understand that
you have to cut certain people off or that there is only room for a
certain amount, but that just shows that any show is one person’s
take on it…please don’t assume that this was or is the only thing
that was happening. It is what one person or in this case two
people thought. I think there was some nice things in there, don’t
get me wrong, but do I think it is the end or the final say about
this group of art makers? No I don’t think that. It is best I think, to
look at everything and make a history that way not just assume
that what gets put out there is always the most correct or best way
to see things in general. So others have asked why they or their
friends didn’t make it in, but it doesn’t matter too much really. New
things are happening all the time. Aaron tries to do what he thinks
is good, so should you, me, and everyone else. That is the key, do
something about it. Make things happen.
How do you find the balance between being both artist
and curator?
The difference between being an artist and curator is for me just
two forms of sharing. One is personal if it is your work. One is
almost like giving respect or ups to the things you love or think are
nice. I like to curate when people ask to share things with others,
it’s a nice chance to show things you care about. Showing your own
work is therapy or like a massive outpouring of you own emotions.
It can be draining and very difficult, but you have to do it, it can be
lots of fun too. I love being able to do this, I know it is a blessing
or something I should feel lucky about, and I do, honestly. I know
not everyone can do what they want or like or have to do, in life. I
encourage those who want to, to try, but I know it is not easy for
some. I know no other way personally.
Do you feel the MOVE shows are and extension of your
working practice as an artist? Does putting together the
shows fulfill similar creative urges to making your own
work, or is it a completely different experience?
The best part of making art and being a curator that I can think
of is meeting new people while you are on your own path. I have
always considered this important and I feel really glad and grateful
to have met so many talented and gifted artists photographers,
music makers, and weirdos.
Do you find inspiration in the community that you’ve
helped build and foster?
Sometimes I feel the community, sometimes I feel very alone. It
depends on when you might ask. I feel isolated some days, but then
when I think about all the friends and good people around, you
have to smile and feel good about it. SF is kinda small but still feels
isolated to me. I haven’t been here that long though. New York is
more open, in a way there is so much that can happen there. I feel
here (San Francisco) it is a little harder, there is less in a sense
but they have some good stuff too. Needles and Pens, Park Life,
Luggage Store, Receiver, Jack Hanely, Super 7. There are a few
things here for sure, Yurba Buena, Upper Playground, etc….not like
NYC, but there are some spots. I like having good friends around
it helps. Trying to meet some good folks here – it takes a minute
though. It gets harder the older you get I feel.
Through projects like MOVE and your art you’ve made
contact with a lot of people, has this led to more commercial
projects? Would you say its opened doors for you?
I don’t know if it has helped commercially, maybe? I do what I can
to survive but try to do that myself as much as I can. It is not easy
but that is how it works, you do what feels right when it turns up. I
don’t go chasing it for sure but I have to live too.
What’s your artistic background? Did you come from the
graffiti perspective? Are you still connected to that world?
Skating, punk, and just geeking out drawing all the time. Street
art is fine, I didn’t come up through that. Mostly I came through
punk t-shirts, and seven inch covers, flyers, posters, stickers that
kinda thing. Skate zines, art weirdo’s. I like noise, experimental,
avant guard music, drones, & minimalism. I get lumped in the graff
thing sometimes I guess, but I don’t know why really? I paint with
acrylic or spray or oil or pencil, to me it is all a means to an end.
Expression is not limited to size and format or medium to me. You
have to let it out somehow. You find what works and go for it with
whatever you have.
Up until recently you were living in New York. How was
your work received there?
I like New York because it makes you anonymous or invisable in a
way, you are one of many that are all there, doesn’t really matter. I
like that. My work was seen on occasion there, not too high profile,
some liked it, some never saw it, some probably didn’t care. New
York is huge and it doesn’t have a long attention span. I made a
little mark maybe? Who knows? Not too sure about that one.
What effect if any did living in New York had on your
artwork? That environment is pretty different to
somewhere like LA or SF…
Living in a new place can stimulate your work; I lived in New York
like seven years, now I live in SF. I got married and moved there. I
like both California and New York, they are totally different, and so
are SF and LA though. I like New York, running into your friends on
the street is great. San Francisco has a good quality of life, there
are trade offs anywhere, it is what you do with what you have to
work with that counts most though. There are a million others in
NY, SF is a little slower but you can make a big impact if you are
doing something original too. I don’t know, I’m not an expert on
these matters, I like living and traveling. This month I have spent in
London it has been good. I like seeing how other people do what
we all gotta do to survive. Art makes the world a little smaller, so
does good music. Environment is important I admit. NY is extreme.
That is good sometimes, not always though.
I remember seeing this footage of you painting live in front
of an audience (I think it was in Japan? possibly on the
Dithers DVD project). Is that something you enjoy doing?
Do you make an effort to try and put yourself in different
situations when working to push yourself?
I try to make myself feel uncomfortable sometimes to see what
happens. It is kinda fun and kinda weird but it helps break things
up. Live painting is weird I just tune out and go, I know that sounds
weird but you just paint, who cares who is looking, know what I
mean? They are spectators. They should do what they want to, I
don’t mind really…
What direction do you see your work going in?
I see my own work going lots of directions – film, sculpture, books,
a lot of print projects, anyway I can still have fun with it really. I love
being able to make stuff and share others work. I want to keep
being able to. I see the work going in abstract ways and then I
see it going back to figurative a lot too. I like people, like trying to
figure humans out, not an easy task, but that search or research is
interesting to me. Like to see what makes us tick and do what it is
we do as humans. It is all an exploration of time space, emotional
feelings, and a seeking out of truth and even fantasy too. I like
using my mind for creative and imaginative things. I like pretending
it all could be better, eventually it is if we try hard enough. If we all
do our part things improve.
Any last words or people you feel the need to thank in public?
Let’s be less competitive shall we? It helps if we build our own
community, but I want to also be able to, try to improve the world
around you by thinking, and being less selfish, arrogant, and proud.
Humility and committed dedication to ones craft goes along way.
Get inspired not depressed. Help other people not just yourself. Go
on walks and cook your own food more. Tell your friends you love
them and your family if you do – days are not guaranteed.
I love being able to do this. I just try to have fun, not take it too
serious but serious enough to always work on it. I care, I do, but
I want to not get too caught up in games that lead to burn out. I
want longevity. I want to make work I like and find inspiring. I love
life. I love seein’ things and making things for others to see if they
want to. Ok thanks for the chance to speak. Do what feels right
to you, and as one person has said – don’t worry about the rules,
or the schools, or the fools. Zine geeks and design heads and
culture vultures take note, don’t walk away thinking, I really wish
I would have been apart of that… do something about what you
are into now. Document what you care about that is the idea. Not
that skating is superior to everything else culturally, there were
thousands of punk zines and weirdo newsletters for just about
anything imaginable. Do something though don’t just witness, or
be a spectator. That is the important part to take away please. Ok
there is my speech or sermon about doing it. I don’t like it when
people get retro or nostalgic about this, do something now and
know your history and give respect to the pioneers sure- but learn
from the idea, not copying it, or ignoring it, or doing nothing. p
Please send your zines to – Rich Jacobs – 7 Buena Vista
East Ave, SF, ca. 94117
Issue Plus one
No. 6 Magazine
PORTFOLIO
//PAUL GONELLA
“Originally, coming to the visual arts via a skate video background, as part of Essex’s Monster Network
collective, I first picked up an Olympus OM10 film SLR camera back in the mid 90s to start to take photos
of the towns, cities and countryside I visited when out skating with friends. More than a decade later I
still document the world with a skater’s eye, recording the often overlooked and commonly ignored day to
day moments and places by looking over walls, around corners, over hills, up trees and back down to the
pavement.

‘Winter’ is a collection of photos taken from one continuous multiple exposure photo taking up a whole
roll of medium format film, all shot within an hour. With well over 100 individual exposures on the film all
overlapping and merging, the subjects of the photos – 8 leafless trees and the blue winter’s day sky –
begin to become an intermingled web of dormant life capturing nature’s uninterruptible cycle of growth and
renewal.” Paul Gonella
COOKERY
Digging For
Our Dinner
The world is ending. There used to be just famine, war and natural disasters, but now the
damned polar ice caps seem to be melting as well. We’re all done for. The Four Horsemen of
the Apocalypse are just in the little boy’s room making sure they don’t have to stop for a piss
mid-Armageddon. The latest addition to the festival of destruction is the food crisis looming
just around the corner. And the question we should all be asking ourselves, as human beings
inhabiting this planet, is “what am I going to do if I wake up one day to find that Tesco won’t
cater for my daily ration of pain au chocolat and mange tout”? Well, one option is to go back to
your roots, literally. I’ve been to the forest and it turns out there’s stuff in there you can munch
on (no gay pick up jokes here). I went foraging for edible growths in Hampstead Heath.
Words: Per Steinar Nielsen Photography: Klaas Diersmann
W ith its carpet of brick and concrete, London isn’t the first place that pops
into mind when you think of places you can go to forage for food. But
apparently edible growths are everywhere. There are apple trees and bushes
loaded with berries in most of the bigger parks. Hell, you can even catch crayfish
in Regents Canal. But the veritable Mecca of food gathering in and around the
mean streets of London is Hampstead Heath. Among focused joggers, frolicking
kids and well-off middle-aged couples in comfortable shoes grows a plethora of
plants, berries, roots, leafs and of course mushrooms, all ready for consumption
by the people willing to look for them. Foraging is strictly speaking not legal in
Hampstead Heath, but as long as you show some respect and just take what
you need you won’t be clubbed to death by the forest patrol. To make sure I did
this in the right way though I got in touch with an experienced forager called
Nick who was kind enough to take me to the forest to see what we could find.
Nick has been walking around the heath for 6 years gathering stuff, he’s fed
his wife and friends, and they’re all still alive, so he probably knows what he’s
doing. Nick is what you would call a man of nature. You can tell by the way he
moves around in it. It’s in his step and posture when climbing muddy hillsides or
traversing a dense hedge. He’s the kind of guy you’d want around should you
ever get lost on a mountain. You can be sure that whatever plant, tree, bush or
critter you point at he will most likely know what it is and whether it’s edible or
not. He’ll even tell you a little anecdote about it. And yes, he knows where the
magic mushrooms grow, though he claims he’s never picked them. Nick had
promised to take me around Hampstead Heath to show me some of his secret
locations for edible vegetation. Rummaging around local forests for things to
eat might not be what you consider a fun day out, but for me it was a better
option than sitting at home on a Sunday, getting stoned, watching episode after
episode of ‘The Wire’.
The thought of going into Hampstead Heath to gather food excited me. I like the
idea of foraging because it gives a sense of achievement. I can appreciate the
feeling some forefather monkey of ours had when he haphazardly stuck a plant
into his mouth and a) didn’t die and b) found that it tasted better than some
of the other shit he usually ate. And foraging is free. Holding a bag of freshly
collected oyster mushrooms worth at least 15 quid made me laugh my satisfied
head off. The more squeamish people might object and say that things that grow
in the wild are repulsive - sometimes it’s covered in slug slime and insects, and
it’s impossible to know whether or not something has just sprayed its urine all
over it. But here’s a newsflash; all vegetables grow in dirt. And those mushrooms
you buy are likely to be grown in sterilized horse manure. They will be all
shiny and mucus free because slugs and insects don’t like to eat things full of
pesticides. Individually vacuum-packed peas can still be nasty peas. Personally I’ll
rather eat the occasional bug and pebble than the latest invention in sci-fi food. I
don’t like my meals genetically modified and injected with chemicals.
Anyway, it’s not the slime and the larvae you should be afraid of. There are
things growing in the forest that can give you anything from a slight stomach
ache and mild discomfort to days of hallucinations or instant death. One way of
making sure what you find is in fact edible is to consult a book. “Food for Free”
by Richard Mabey is considered the bible for foraging in England. Someone
should send celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson a copy. He recently
suggested people go out and find a herb called Henbane to include in their
salads, forgetting to mention that you should only do so if you wish that salad to
be the last thing you ever eat. Henbane is more poisonous than lizard’s piss and
should never be eaten. Mr Thompson has since apologized for this lethal slip up
and said he had the herb confused with a weed called Fat Hen. The tit.
In the days leading up to the trip I asked Nick about the possibilities of foraging
not just things that grow, but also things that have legs or wings and breathe.
He suggested we get a slingshot and try to get a couple of squirrels or wood
pigeons. It sounded good to me. As much as I love vegetables I have a soft spot
for meat. Armed with a foraging book, foraging rucksack and tiny foraging paper
 This is the best risotto I have ever made. The giant Polypore,
RISOTTO A LA HAMPSTEAD HEATH
although ugly in appearance, tasted incredibly meaty and
magnificent. The nettles added a fresh green flavour to the
risotto. I can strongly recommend trying it. Just wear gloves and
pick the four top leaves of young nettles. All the mushrooms in
this recipe can be replaced by any mushroom available, from
the forest or from a shiny supermarket. It all depends on how
dedicated you are.
Ingredients
Olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
150g of mushrooms, roughly chopped (I used giant
Polypore, oyster mushroom and Jew’s Ear)
2 bulbs wild garlic, finely chopped
1 glass of white wine
500g of risotto rice
1 litre of chicken stock
Butter
50g of freshly grated parmesan
Two large handfuls of nettles
bags I stole from an off licence to keep the mushrooms in, I was ready to see
what the heath had to offer. We hadn’t walked for more than ten minutes before
we met a fellow forager. She had overheard us talking about sorrel and where
we could find some. She was a fox-eyed old lady, tightly clasping her bag under
her arm, who conspiratorially told us where the sorrel grows. Since foraging is
slightly set on the shady side of what’s acceptable behaviour, foragers tend to
keep a low profile. They’re a clandestine collection of people, quietly walking
around between the trees, eyes peeled for that premium mushroom no one else
has found yet.
The first thing we found was an English lime tree in flower. Nick got excited and
said that if you dry the flowers they make great tea, which makes you sleepy.
My aim with the whole trip was to hopefully find enough stuff to make a meal
out of. I was fantasising about squirrel stew with wild garlic, so tea that makes
you slightly sleepy wasn’t really where my brain was at. It didn’t take long though
before we found something more interesting. Nick disappeared in among some
trees in focused enthusiasm. What he’d found was a giant Polypore - a big ugly
yellow mushroom that apparently is quite rare to find. Nick was happy. He said
this find was worth the whole trip and was now extra eager to see what else
we could score. He led us systematically from spot to spot, occasionally going
“under that log there, that’s a good spot, I found a really rare mushroom there
last year”. He used to plot down the different locations on a GPS locator device,
but now he’s been around enough to remember them by heart.
Apart from Big Ugly Yellow and the oyster mushrooms we also found a
mushroom called ‘Jew’s Ear’. It grows on rotting elder branches and given that
it hasn’t rained in a while looks like a dried up little turd. When you soak it in
water it grows to an ear shaped jelly-like thing that tastse slightly of the forest,
but more importantly it has a funny consistency. It manages to be both flabby
and crunchy at the same time, like seaweed. Next stop on the food trail was the
wild garlic. Anyone with a remote interested in food should experience picking
these potent little devils. They’re not like normal garlic. They’re small individual
Plus one Issue
Magazine No. 6
Soak the Jew’s Ears in some warm water for about 15 minutes, until
they get all floppy. Laugh and play around with them for a while before
cutting them into little strips and reserve for later.
Put the nettles in some boiling water for about 1 minute to remove the
sting. Chop roughly and reserve for later.
Quickly fry the rest of the mushrooms in some butter along with salt
and pepper. Put them in a bowl to be added later. Try not to eat them
all.
Heat the chicken stock and the soaking water from the Jew’s Ears in a
pot and keep warm.
Fry the onion in some olive oil on a low heat for about 10 minutes.
They shouldn’t get brown, just nice and shiny and sweet. Add the
garlic half way through.
Add the white wine and rice and stir well.
Wait until the wine has been absorbed and add the stock ladle by
ladle, letting each addition be absorbed before adding any more.
Make sure to stir all the time. This is the trick with risotto. Leave it
alone and it’ll be shit, give it some love and it’ll be great. After about
20 minutes you should have used most of the stock and the risotto
rice should be creamy and nice.
Add the mushrooms and give it all a good stir. Leave for 2 minutes.
PHOTO BY MARKOBLOW.COM
Turn off the heat and add parmesan, butter, Jew’s Ears and nettles.
Stir well and serve.
OUR CLOTHES MAKE YOU HAPPY www.analogclothing.com
cylindrical bulbs which you can smell through the ground. Their perfume oozed
from my rucksack as we continued our trip, now hungry for meat. “This is not
David Attenborough”, said Nick and took aim at a squirrel with the slingshot.
He had murder in his eyes, but he missed, of course. The slingshot, although
impressively destructive, is as precise as an epileptic neurosurgeon. The chance
of maiming anything as small and quick as a squirrel is very slim. Also, according
to Nick, squirrels have a knack for always being on the opposite side of the
tree from where you are. We were standing in the West Heath cruising grounds
– famous for being frequented by George Michael and other men hungry for
a sweaty rump in the forest. We reckoned we could safely wield the slingshot
in this part without being reported. The men that meet up here aren’t exactly
members of the Hampstead Heath purist association. This is by far the ugliest
part of the heath – the forest floor is littered with rubbish and empty beer cans.
Condoms and toilet paper hang off the branches of the trees, flapping in the
wind. Fair enough if guys want to meet up for a fuck in the forest, just don’t fuck
the heath in the process.
After our slingshot excursion we called it a day went to the pub to check out
what we’d captured. Sadly we’d been unsuccessful in getting some meat. No
squirrel stew or roast pigeon tonight. So instead I decided to make risotto á la
Hampstead Heath. Apart from some horseradish and blackberries I could use
almost everything we’d found. On the way back through the forest we also came
across some nice young nettles, which could also be included. With a smirk
Nick manfully shoved a handful of nettles into my hand and told me to start
picking. Not wanting to be any less manly I went at it. All the tricks you’ve heard
about how to make nettles not sting are false. They sting no matter how hard
you pinch them and all the Dock Leaves in the world won’t do you any good.
Sitting on the train back home, with sore fingertips and a rucksack full of freshly
looted forest food, I felt I was one step closer to being a self-sufficient individual.
So until doomsday comes knocking on the door I’ll be practicing my slingshot
technique and I’ll keep Nick’s phone number close at hand. p
Issue Plus one
No. 6 Magazine

How do you feel your early years shaped you? What I am
trying to say is do you think you were pre-determined to
follow the path you have taken. Or was there a point at
which your direction in life was aimed towards fighting? If
so what was the cause?
I think if you’d told me when I was eleven what I would end up
doing later on, I’d have fallen off my chair. In fact, if you’d told
pretty much anyone who knew me that I was destined to be a
professional cagefighter they’d have pulled a muscle from laughing
so much. I first started martial arts when I was about thirteen and
I fell in love with it. I think even then, for some reason, I wanted to
know that I could fight. That’s the journey that eventually led me to
MMA (mixed martial arts).
Did pregnancy and the birth of your son ever cause you to
consider giving up your training and fights?
It was always something that I wanted to return to, but there were
many times when I thought I wasn’t going to make it. When I
was pregnant, and after Luis was born, the whole idea of getting
myself mentally and physically ready to fight again often seemed
overwhelming. In the end though, I think I came back a better
fighter than I’d ever been before.
Is mixed martial arts something that you would ever
encourage him to pursue?
I’d love Luis to be involved in some kind of sport as he grows up.
I’m not going to push him into doing what I do, though. I’d much
rather that he finds out what he enjoys doing, what’s right for him –
and I hope I’ll be there to support him in any way that I can.
Why? What does it give you ‘as a woman’ that you could
not feel or get doing something else?
The experience of fighting is like nothing else I’ve ever done. It’s
terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. It’s about putting myself
in that intense environment and then learning to deal with that.
That’s taught me a lot about myself.
“ There’s something satisfying about knowing that
you can impose your will on someone else”
Can you remember the first time you ever lashed out
at anyone and how would you describe the difference
between that and a controlled fighting environment?
I’ve not been in that situation since being a kid. Aside from the
occasional playground tussle, I’ve not been in a real ‘fight’ outside
the ring. I’m a pretty non-violent person in ‘real life’!
How do nerves affect you? You don’t seem to have that
throwaway surplus of emotion that some people can have,
why do you think that is? Are you just good at masking
it or does violence not have the same effect on you as it
does on others?
It’s funny, because I think of myself as a very emotional person.
I think it’s not so much a case of masking it as learning how to
channel it. When I’ve got a fight coming up, I’ve sat in the changing
rooms after training sometimes crying with frustration and,
sometimes, just plain fear – worrying that I’m not good enough.
I’m terrified every single time I get in there, that never seems to
change. Every time, in the build up to the fight, there will be points
where I just want out and I’ll wish that I was anywhere else.
What has changed is that I don’t worry about being terrified any
more. I understand that it’s all part of the process, and I’ve got
better at dealing with that. It’s about trusting your preparation, your
training, and the team around you. I know that when I get out there
my body will take over and do what it’s been trained to do.
Can you remember the first time you made a man tap out
(give up)? How did it make you feel?
I can’t remember the very first time, but I do remember a few that
felt pretty amazing. There’s something satisfying about knowing that
you can impose your will on someone else, and even more so when
it’s against someone who’s really going for it. Of course, one of the
great things about this sport is that there’s always someone who’ll
come along and punch a hole in my ego before it has a chance to
get too over-inflated.
Rosi
Sexton
Rosi Sexton is a pretty, dark haired girl from Manchester. Unassuming
and softly spoken, she has a PhD in theoretical computer science, is
a student osteopath and a mother. She is definitely not the girl you
would peg as also being a professional mixed martial artist. This is
not a hobby; Rosi is now forced to travel the world in search of worthy
opponents because there is no-one left who will fight her in the UK.
Rosi Sexton is by far this country’s toughest female export and definitely
not the girl to be stumbling home late to without a very good reason!
Interview & Portrait: Percy Dean
Does doing what you do affect how men perceive you,
do you ever miss being viewed as – for want of a better
phrase – a ‘girly girl’?
I’m never really sure how other people perceive me. I’m hard to
pigeonhole, which I think makes some people uncomfortable – I
don’t fit in with their nice cosy stereotypes. It used to worry me, but
now I enjoy it. I like having the freedom to be who I want to be, and
not what someone else expects me to be.
What is your favourite way to finish a fight, could you
describe the process?
I like any finish that leaves absolutely no doubt as to who’s just won
the fight. Submissions – getting an armlock or a choke for example
– are great, because you’re forcing the other person to concede
defeat. There’s no arguing about it afterwards.
What is the worst damage you have ever inflicted on
anyone? How did it make you feel? And what is the worst
injury you have ever received from MMA?
My fight before last, I accidently broke my opponent’s leg. I was
going for a takedown, and somehow the leg twisted awkwardly
as we went to the ground. At the time I felt pretty numb – it didn’t
really register emotionally. In the days and weeks afterwards
though, I went through it a lot in my head, trying to work out
whether there was anything I should have done differently. I didn’t
sleep too well for a couple of days. I’ve got a lot of respect for her
and I felt bad that it had happened. At the same time, it’s a risk we
all take every time we fight. There but for the grace of god…
Is there any woman in the world at your weight that you
would not fight?
Nope, I’ll fight any of them. Bring it on! Except for the ones on my
team, of course, they’re like family. In all seriousness though, I’m at
a stage in my career where I want to take on the best in the world.
I want to know how good I can be, and to push myself as far as I
can. To do that I need the best opponents we can find.
Is it true that your parents don’t know what you do?
It used to be true. I didn’t tell them for a long time because I
knew they’d worry about me. Eventually they looked me up on the
internet though, which probably wasn’t the best way to find out.
Even so, they’ve been pretty good about it. I’m sure they’d prefer it
if I was doing something different, but I think they’re proud of me
all the same. p
Issue Plus one
No. 6 Magazine
 SHOOTING
FROM
THE HIP
SHEPARD FAIREY ANSWERS
HIS CRITICS

Whether you consider him the de facto poster child for socially important, subversive street art or just a fortunate, right-
time-right-place, graphic recycler with nothing to say, Shepard Fairey has come a long, long, way in the two decades
since he figured that pasting a wrestler’s mug up around town might actually be a good idea. Turns out it was. Kicking
it from the curb all the way to the private view, Fairey’s work has arguably helped open the laser etched gallery doors
for Banksy and the like and his output remains both stupidly prolific and voraciously in demand. Currently running
a clothing label and a commercial design studio alongside his print, poster and fine art work, we managed to keep
Shepard on the phone from L.A. just long enough for him to run us through graphic appropriations, sticking your neck
out politically and why he’s the artist everyone loves to hate. Interview: David Hopkins Portrait: Pat Graham

I guess we should start off with talking about your little interview with
NBC I’ve just watched on the Internet. It seemed like a pretty awkward
five minutes or so for you
Yeah, because it was live! It didn’t air live but it was live in that they weren’t
going to edit or re-tape anything. So I had six minutes and I had no idea what
she was going to ask me, so whatever she threw at me I had to (long pause)
you know, try to not look dumfounded, or take too long to collect my thoughts.
that’s a really rare skill. Even though symbolically for me to support something
mainstream, would be like, ‘not cool man’, I’m at a point in my life, I’m thirty-eight
years old and I’m more concerned with what is real, rather that just what’s good
for my image. I’ve got two kids now and me polishing my image and the good
that will do in the short term, versus the good in the long run it will do to stick
my neck out and support Obama and actually accomplish something, there’s just
no comparison.

You were very polished and confident, it was actually the anchor
woman who I thought was more nervous
(Laughing) That’s her style. She’s known for being a little bit wacky. But it’s fine.
To me it’s just important to be creating a bridge between the mainstream system
and where I’m coming from. I think this is an election where people need to
really think about what they can do positively, rather than poo-pooing from the
sidelines as usual. So yeah, I was trying to be pretty diplomatic I guess.
You were on there predominately to talk about the Obama poster you
created, did you labour long and hard deciding whether to do it or not.
The reason I ask is that I can’t really recollect, apart from the anti-
Bush one you did, a poster that you’ve done that is so explicitly for or
against a specific person
Well I did the anti-Bush stuff, but usually there isn’t a mainstream politician
compelling enough to passionately support. There’s been things I’ve created that
celebrated heroes of mine, Noam Chomsky, Joe Strummer or Bobby Seale from
The Black Panthers, but usually these are counter culture figures. But Obama,
I saw someone with the ideals of somebody who’d usually be pushed to the
margins, but with the oratory skills to bring those ideas closer to the centre, and
Do think you’re more prone to taking a risk now that you’re older?
I think that when I was younger. First of all I was pretty powerless. So when
you’re powerless you tend to just lash out at anything that you think is
oppressing you, and that’s logical and that’s great. I maintain that spirit, that
authority and power need to be questioned always. But now I’m at a point in my
life where I’ve seen things from the outside, and more from the inside as well,
that I realise that things are a lot more complex and nuanced, they’re not so
black and white. And to be an effective participant in society, culture, everything
you need to examine every case and make the right decisions on a case-
by-case basis, not just have some sort of blanket idea or posture. It’s a little
immature I think.
As fantastic as the anarchy logo is, as an ideal to live by it’s
unworkable and fairly unpleasant
Exactly! It’s counter productive. And I do believe that it’s the voice of the
extremes that creates a dialogue, that then most people end up falling
somewhere in the middle, so it’s necessary to have all those voices. But where
I’m getting to in my life is just being a little bit more practical and compromising,
but practical in that if something isn’t going my way I don’t just abandon it and
start with some destructive behaviour, I find another route to accomplish what I
want. Some people it’s like five year olds having a temper tantrum if they don’t
get their way politically.
Well it’ll be interesting to see if Obama can go all the way
I’m very optimistic, things are looking good. I might jinx it though!
Moving on. There’s an essay of sorts circulating on the Internet that
heavily criticizes your work, and while I don’t necessarily want you
to get into that again, I did want to know if stuff like that upsets or
bothers you at all anymore
The only thing upsetting about that piece is that he’s presented the material very
selectively. If you look at my body of work it’s really diverse and there are tons
of illustrations I’ve done from scratch, and then there’s tons of stuff I’ve worked
from references or appropriated. And to me it’s part of the same thing and I
don’t necessarily consider stuff I illustrated from scratch as having more value
than stuff which references something else out there. For me, my art is about
communication and it’s building on ideas and tools that are existing, because
we’re in a situation with pop culture where people have very short attention
spans. And I think frequently to be able to make art quickly, and reference things
that people have a degree of familiarity with, just expedites the communication.
He, Mark Vallen, is a ‘lawyer’ who’s got a verdict he wants to achieve and he just
selectively provides the evidence to help him achieve that verdict. I just think it’s
a little bit unfair, but I don’t even want to dignify it with a response. But most
people who are familiar with art since pop art know referencing, appropriation,
satire, all of those things are valid within modern art, but…yeah it irritates me, as
it gives fuel to the haters, they want to find an excuse to hate me anyway.
He’s gone after you because you’re successful I think, he could have
gone after any number of graphic artists for the same reasons he
cites in his article
One of main things, if you know anything about that guy, is that he makes
political art and he gets no love. So he’s jealous, he’s jealous that I make political
art and people like what I’m doing and respond to it. He’s trying to destroy my
credibility because he wishes he was getting the same attention. He said like,
‘Shepard Fairey is a fascist capitalist’. I guarantee that I’ve made tens, if not
hundreds of times over more charitable contributions to causes than that guy
has. When your art’s not selling and you’re not succeeding you don’t have the
luxury of having the money or the power to do that. So all the things I’m able
to achieve within capitalism I turn around and use it for good. We’ve raised for
Obama, between all the things I’ve done, probably half a million dollars and for
Darfur I’ve raised about one hundred and fifty thousand dollars and then the
Zapatistas, homeless shelters in LA, I mean there’s tons of shit that I do. If that
guy actually looked into anything on me he’d realise that he doesn’t have a leg
to stand on calling me a ‘fascist capitalist’.
You’re an easy target though
It gets back to what we were talking about before, that somebody who’s against
the system, the anarchist, the leftwing Marxist type, they’ll just choose things
that symbolically seem to be contradictory. Like I question capitalism, but I
sell prints and t-shirts. But the way that I operate within capitalism is in a very
conscientious way, a very ethical way. So it’s a lazy dissection of what I do.
The thing that struck me when I was reading through that essay was
that he has come after you and left people like Winston Smith, who
appropriates images and creates a collage from them, alone. He isn’t
a target for some reason
There’s a lot of people like that. Winston Smith is beautiful and unique and really
important, and he’s cited as an inspiration in my book. The interesting thing is
that guy Mark Vallen obviously doesn’t have my book because I actually present
a lot of the references that I’ve used, that were already inspirations, whether
it was Barbara Kruger, Robbie Conal or Winston Smith, they’re in my book.
This isn’t stuff I’m trying to hide! And the hilarious thing is, one of the specific
ones in his little diatribe that I found so amusing and sad in a way. He claims
to have a political/artistic vision, but he didn’t recognise the power of taking
the Yellowstone ‘Old Faithful’ postcard, which is an escapist destination within
the United States that people look at as a protected wildlife haven, but Old
Faithful when illustrated looks like an explosion. So you change the context to
Iraq and make it a postcard from Iraq. The contrast between the two makes the
Iraq commentary that much more jarring. It was an intentional reference to that!
Sure I could just find a picture of Iraq and draw an explosion into it, but does
that have the same commentary and the same impact as when you compare it
with an image that some, if not a lot of, people are familiar with from the United
States, which is cosy and safe, versus foreign and dangerous. That was very
intentional, it’s a pretty common image, people are going to know the reference.
But Mark Vallan’s thing is like, ‘ooh this is a secret thing I’ve found that no one’s
going to know!’ To me art has always been about communication, some of my
favourite artists are people like Jamie Reid who did the Sex Pistols stuff, where
all the stuff’s appropriated.
He seems to be doing well spreading that article, but yeah whatever…
I don’t know whether it’s him, but he’s got someone who’s really motivated as
whenever there’s a post about me on the Internet somebody goes and links,
‘Shepard Fairey’s a plagiarist, check this out!’ (laughing). So far if that’s the
‘Reverend Wright’ of my tenure then I think I’m doing ok.
I really wanted you to talk me through your working practices at this
stage in your ‘career’, especially as now you are in the privileged
situation to be able to employ designers, assistants etc to help you
with your work
Well the designers that are working here are mostly working on the design firm’s
projects not on my art. I have a couple of people I have helping to build things
in the computer for me, help cut stencils, scanning and things like that and then
I have some assistants that help me with the collage of my pieces, background
collage before I start stencilling, but I’m still very hands on with everything. It’s
not like I’m Jeff Koons and they go and fabricate something and then I just sign
off on it at the end. I’m working on illustrations every day that get turned into
screen prints and stencil art pieces and mixed media pieces. What I like to do is
be able to do a lot and not have to do the things that don’t really need my hand
in them. When I used to (laughing)…do the illustration, burn the screens, print
the prints myself I was still pretty prolific, but there was a lot of time spent doing
things I could have anyone doing.
A lot of it is labour intensive and very routine
The final outcome of the art would not have been changed one bit whether it
was me or someone else doing some of those things. So that’s how I’m kind of
doing it now, but it’s great, I’m working with really talented designers, we bounce
ideas off each other, mostly on the commercial projects. But I feel that me being
around other talented artists and designers always helps me improve as an artist
and designer.
It’s always good to work with other people to generate ideas
whatever the medium. I’ve been looking at some of the commercial
work the studio has done and it’s really good. I especially liked the
Motorola and Adidas campaigns, and while it’s totally different from
your usual work you can see your stamp on it
Yeah, well the Motorola one was done by a designer called Christian and the
Adidas one was worked on by me and one of our designers named Matt, it
was a collaboration. And that’s the good thing about the commercial stuff, I
get to collaborate with other designers on that because it’s something where
the client may like my work, but they just want something good and it’s an
opportunity for me to let some of these guys get some credit, get some love for
doing some cool stuff. So even if I contribute, the aesthetic doesn’t necessarily
look like mine, it’s nice. You know, I don’t want to use my fine art style for every
commercial project, but at the same time I think in doing a commercial project
and having the agency allows all the guys that work with me to have a job with
a steady income and they’re all artists too. We’ve all had this sort of goal of just
being able to be creative for a living by any means necessary, doing commercial
design and then painting or screen-printing in the evenings has been a way to
not have wait tables to live. It’s a fairly utopian situation. When you look at the
percentage of people that get to be just fine artists, it’s not very realistic…
Is it difficult with some of these commercial commissions when a
company simply wants you to replicate your existing work for them or
Obey-a-fy their logo or branding?
Well it used to be, especially, because every now and then there’d be something
that’d come along where I needed the money, but I didn’t necessarily think it was
going to be the best thing for my credibility, and now I just don’t take those jobs.
Like right now I’ve just done Billy Idol’s greatest hits album cover, I was always
a fan of Generation X and even his solo stuff too, and then I did Led Zeppelin’s
album package back in the fall. And I’m doing Esquire magazine’s 75th
Anniversary cover. I like Esquire, it’s funny, it’s intelligent, it deals with pop culture
and politics, why would I not want to have something that prestigious in my
portfolio? It’s a real honour. So I’m doing stuff that I want to do. And you know
when I get the email from Camel cigarettes like, ‘can we get you to do some
illustration?’ I can easily say no, I don’t need the money anymore. But when I was
younger and I was just dying it was lot more awkward. The funny thing is, as I’ve
become more visible people question your credibility more! In terms of what I’m
willing and not willing to do I should have way more credibility now (laughing)
You’re able to be selective now. When you couldn’t pay your rent you
would have taken anything
There’s a lot stuff out there that’s done in a similar style to mine that I get
blamed for. Like I just saw this huge ad in Rolling Stone that was quasi-
propaganda or whatever, using a similar colour palette to what I use and I know
there’s tons of lazy haters who are like, ‘yo dude, check that out, he got mad loot
for that fold-out’. But there’s nothing I can do about that.
There are so many people out there who just love to hate anything
and everything almost as a knee jerk reaction
The more energy they’re investing in that the less competition I have (laughing),
they’re not focusing on creating anything. That’s what I always say to the people
when they’re like, ‘what you do is stupid, it’s easy, it’s not groundbreaking, you
think you’re hot shit, you should do something original maybe’ and I always go,
well yes I am of humble talents, but the only thing I can say is that I’ve worked
hard. So obviously with your amazing god given talents and aggressive nature
you should be able to surpass me in short order, so get out there and do
something awesome. No response (laughing)
Drawing this to a close I remember reading in an interview where you
mentioned that you didn’t feel comfortable in the art world. Are you
comfortable in that world now?
It’s interesting because it’s not so much I’m comfortable with the art world, the
sort of elitist, New York, snooty gallery thing, it’s just that I’ve managed to enter
the art world on my own terms because I found people, galleries that are willing
to deal with me the way I want to work. I am still a little bit uncomfortable with
the idea that you should be making work that there’s just one piece and it goes
for an exorbitant price and ends up at somebody’s mansion somewhere and the
average person is not able to participate or acquire that kind of work. All they’re
going to get is a book with a picture of it in it. I think that’s what the art world
wishes you to do and I’m not interested in that. But I’ve managed to sell artwork,
some of it’s fairly expensive, but I still make posters and t-shirts that are very
inexpensive, and books, plenty of things that are affordable that are smaller. My
prints are thirty-five dollars! Even though the art world hates that, it’s had to kind
of let me in anyway, so yeah I’m happy, I feel like it’s a bit of a coup.
obeygiant.com
LIGHTER
STRONGER
BETTER
Nike Sportswear’s Jarret Reynolds Talks Design –
It’s a dumb question, but also probably the most important one. What
on earth does an average day entail for the Design Director at Nike for
Sportswear? The impression I get is that you would have to be knee
deep in the technology and the sports ‘performance’ of garments, with
your job being equal parts fashion and science
First thing I do when I get to my desk is turn my computer on and check the
blogs to see what I missed while I was sleeping…design and inspiration don’t
stop. My job is half science/half art. I get to mix all the amazing innovations and
technologies from all over Nike into the NSW collection, so I am knee deep in
performance. As a design director the biggest part of my job is designing, so
a big part of my day revolves around designing apparel, picking fabrics, and
fittings of prototypes.
The Split Windrunner was the project that I believe got you your job at
Nike, did the idea come like a ‘eureka’ moment to you suddenly in the
night, or was it something that you’d wanted to do for ages? In many
ways it’s such a simple idea
It was sort of a ‘eureka moment’. The inspiration for the Split Windrunner came
from the 1989 Baseball World Series which was dubbed ‘The Battle of the
Bay between the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s. I remember very
vividly a photo in the newspaper of a kid wearing a baseball hat that was half
A’s/half Giants. He must have lived in the Bay Area and supported both teams.
That photo has been burned into my brain ever since, and I thought that the
same concept would be cool in jacket form, but with the addition of the zipper
up the back allowing for you to switch out halves for your favorite team. It’s one
of my favorite projects that I’ve worked on because of its simplicity.
You ran your own streetwear brand before you joined Nike, and while
being able to work for a huge company with its resources etc. has its
obvious benefits, is there anything you miss from doing Tokyo 1?
To tell you the truth, there’s not much I miss from running my own brand. Every
once in a while I could sleep until noon on a Wednesday, I guess I miss that.
I’m happy for everything that I learned while working for myself but I’ve got
such amazing resources at Nike now, it allows me to make amazing product
which wouldn’t have been possible on my own.
There is a lot of concern – and rightly so – about how large brands
monitor their outside contractors and the working standards in these
factories. How do you think a brand like Nike has addressed this
important issue?
We were one of the first brands to disclose our list of contracted factories,
which was a huge step towards greater industry collaboration and
transparency. Nike has made a lot of progress in identifying root causes and
developing programs that address some of the most basic issues surrounding
working conditions in our factories. Do we still have more to do? Absolutely.
Are we committed to continuing our work in developing programs that address
issues? Absolutely.
Trying to pin down influences is difficult because they change all
the time, so which designers, photographers, artists, musicians etc.
interest you at the moment…or in other words whose work would you
pay hard earned money to go and see/listen to?
Influences come from all over the world for me, and right now the stuff that
inspires me isn’t for sale. Sounds lame but right now the most inspirational
‘things’ for me are experiences, maybe walking down the street in Tokyo or
Interview: David Hopkins Wish I’d Thought Of That…
riding my bike to work will give me a good idea. Anyways…I digress…back to
the real question. Who do/would I spend my hard earned cash on:
Four design classics Jarret
would like to have thought up
Music: Lil’ Wayne, Beck, MGMT, Alan Parsons, Kid Cudi
Designers: Karl Lagerfeld, Uniqlo, Cassette Playa, Visvim, Goro
if he wasn’t so damn busy:
Artists: Kaws, Kehinde Wiley, Matthew Barney, Tom Sachs
And related to that which companies or brands have you been iPod
particularly taken with recently, either aesthetically or in terms of how
their garments are constructed?
“Probably the most
Recently I’ve been into Goro from Japan. They make the most amazing Native important piece of
American jewelry that people wait in line for hours to have the privilege to industrial design of the
purchase. What I love about Goro is that it’s not just about the quality of past 20 years.”
their product, but also the experience of their store (where they only allow
one customer in at a time). Another brand that I have a ton of respect for is
Loopwheeler. The quality, tradition, and craftsmanship that goes into one of
their hoodies is unrivaled.
Magis ‘Chair One’
What advice if any would you give aspiring clothing designers hoping
“I have two of these chairs,
to carve themselves out a career in the industry? and it’s a perfect balance of
Work hard, be yourself, and stay committed. old and new.”
How is it working with Michael Leon?
Working with Michael is great. He’s super talented, and he’s got no ego at all Comme Des Garcons
from his work outside of Nike. He’s unlike most of the graphic designers I’ve
worked with, he thinks in a completely different way about graphics. We’re
Billfold wallet
both super passionate (or stubborn) about the product we work on, and every “Best wallet ever?
once in a while we’d get into a heated discussion (screaming match) about
something stupid like a zipper color, or where the logo would be placed on Probably.”
a jacket. It must have been funny to watch us fight about zipper colors, but I
guess it’s a testament to our passion for the product.
Toyota Prius
Which four famous historical figures would you invite to dinner?
1. Steve Jobs - Aside form starting Apple, he’s the best presenter in the “I have a love/hate
world. I’d grill him on his presentation skills. relationship with that car.
2. Stevie Wonder - My favorite musician of all time. The design is so weird.
3. Andy Warhol - I’d like to ask him about the Factory
4. Leonardo da Vinci - He was so much more than just an inventor.
First time I saw it I thought
He perfectly balanced art and science. it was the ugliest car I’d
I’m a pretty mean cook, so the menu would play an import role: ever seen. I’ve always
Starter - Caprese Salad, Calamari appreciated that it’s a
Main course - Homemade veggie-burgers (I think Steve Jobs is
vegan) and Potato pesto pizza (secret Reynolds recipe)
hybrid, but it’s only recently
Dessert - Mixed berry cobbler, Vietnamese coffee that I’ve started to love the
That would be the best dinner party ever… design as well.”
And finally…What are you working on for the rest of
the year?
I’m working on so much…where do I begin. There’s so
much happening in NSW apparel. We’re always pushing the
boundaries on innovation, trying to make the product lighter,
stronger, better. Other than that, it’s summer time,
I’m working on my tan. p
nike.com/sportswear
 Edwin SEN skinny jeans – £105 edwin-europe.com Uniqlo heavy straight cut jeans – £39.99 uniqlo.co.uk Uniqlo heavy straight cut jeans – £39.99 uniqlo.co.uk
Swear grey patent shoes – £80 swear-london.com Swear red leather shoes – £80 swear-london.com Swear black leather shoes – £80 swear-london.com
Plus one
Magazine

WESC standard 5 pocket jeans – £165 wesc.co.uk Lee Gold Label oversize slim fit jeans – £105 lee.com
Howies flap back pocket jeans - £160 howies.co.uk Nike SB check shirt – £45 nike.com Red Wing Iron Ranger Hawthorne Moleskin Boots
Sperry Topsider deck shoes – £59.99 02392 737 999 Anderson’s Belt – £53.00 thethreethreads.com – £140 thethreethreads.com
Issue
No. 6

Fly-53 selvedge jeans – £70 fly53.com Altamont Fairfax jeans – £94.99 altamontapparel.com Denim Demon jeans – £220 denimdemon.se
Gravis trainers – £65 gravisfootwear.com Etnies Perry Plus – Fucking Awesome collab. shoes Dr Marten’s cherry boots – £60 drmartens.com
Alakazam white t-shirt – £35 thethreethreads.com – £65 etniesskateboarding.com Dickies work shirt – £25 stockists 0161 237 5505
Edwin rainbow selvedge jeans (inside out) – £110 edwin-europe.com
Atelier LaDurance Frontier jeans – £275 atelierladurance.com

Levi’s Vintage 1927 501 jeans – £167 levis.co.uk

Evisu vintage jeans – £150 evisu.com

than a stitched seam that could and often does bust open. So aside from being
‘self-edge’ (hence the word selvage) running up the inside of the legs, rather

able to have jazzy turn ups, your jeans will probably last longer than normal
The term ‘selvage denim’ refers to jeans that have a natural old-timer style

strides, which is handy. Here’s a smattering of the latest and greatest.

SETTING THE SEAM

PHOTOGRAPHY: SAM ASHLEY

 PHOTOGRAPHY – PATRICK BENTLEY
STYLE – JULIAN GANIO
MODEL – JAKE DUNN @ MODELS 1
PHOTOGRAPHERS ASSISTANT - SOFIE ALSBO
PREVIOUS PAGE
YMC – Black snowstorm zip bomber jacket £235.00
TIN HOUSE by OLD TOWN – Shirt £60.00
KICKING MULE – Granddad l/s top
OLD TOWN – Trousers £92.00
SHOFOLK – ‘Alaric’ shoes £120.00

LEFT & BELOW

NUDIE JEANS – Denim blue/white stripe shirt £105
FOLK – Slim Chambray shirt £85.00
RAG & BONE – ‘Chore’ trousers £153 (avail. Harrods)
SHOFOLK – ‘Harry’ shoes £139.99
BRADY/HOLLAND ESQUIRE – Canvas shooting bag £270

OPPOSITE
STANSFIELD – Polka dot shirt £95.00
WESC – Cord trousers £70.00
KICKERS – Shoes £65.00
THIS PAGE – TOP
YMC – Grey polyester hooded jacket £170
NIKE SPORTSWEAR – AD FZ hooded jumper £70.00
RVCA – ‘Deity’ t-shirt £25.00
KICKING MULE @ FOLK – 1950 Classic Indigo Jean £155.00

THIS PAGE – BOTTOM

FOLK – Cycling jacket £110.00
HOWIES – ‘Whoosh’ hooded jacket (worn under) £95.00
STANSFIELD – Trousers £105.00
EASTPAK/RAF SIMONS – Bag £90.00

OPPOSITE PAGE
STANSFIELD – Jacket (worn on top) £175
ONE TRUE SAXON – Jacket (worn under) £95
WESC – ‘Ziggy’ shirt £55.00
KICKING MULE @ FOLK – 1950 Classic Indigo Jean £155.00

BRADY/HOLLAND ESQUIRE 0207 734 1234 (LIBERTY)

HOWIES HOWIES.CO.UK
KICKERS KICKERS.COM
KICKING MULE @ FOLK FOLKCLOTHING.COM
NIKE SPORTSWEAR NIKE.COM/SPORTSWEAR
NUDIE JEANS NUDIEJEANS.COM – SELFRIDGES
OLD TOWN OLD-TOWN.CO.UK
ONE TRUE SAXON GOODNORTH.COM
RAG & BONE RAG-BONE.COM – HARRODS
RVCA RVCA.COM
SHOFOLK FOLKCLOTHING.COM
STANSFIELD 0207 4905695
WESC WESC.COM
YMC YOUMUSTCREATE.COM
 10 REASONS THE CRAP
KEEPS COMING
1 POINTLESS collaborations
Just because a brand is from Japan (somebody should tell Monocle),
doesn’t make it great. When monochrome suede makes hype blog pundits
coo about a cynically selected partner’s timeless simplicity the Emperor’s
clothes are very much absent.
2 The need to base a shoe on a concept
The ‘Bertie Bassett’ pack! Licorice-based make ups on your favourite retro
basketball release. With PRs briefed to make sure the media tells the
consumer what influenced the shoe. Lord forbid they would just take it at
face value as a ruined trainer in crap colours.
3
Weak colourways
See above – take a look at the original brace of Air Jordan IVs. Blacks,
military blues, some Bulls colours, tactically placed speckles as an obvious
example. Then look at the recent post 2004 re-releases – a couple of
okay inclusions in all-black and grey, but otherwise a tsunami of gaudiness.
4 BAD materials
Some might want to take a toothbrush to a pair after wear and keep them
boxed, some want to rag theirs. Both schools-of-thought have merits.
Handing over the Maestro and getting a pair that crease on sight is cost-
cutting gone wrong and insulting to the consumer.
5
Sycophantic coverage
Online or on paper, the re-hashed press release justifies it all. And the
crap keeps coming. Looking at the Eurotrash craze for bad sleek shoes
that make a wearer look like a bellend from the future, there’s obviously
a market for drivel that shifts without any publicity. But for the releases
targeted at a more considered bunch, someone needs to call out and
boycott the doo-doo. Whether it’s a onetime flat-soled runner remade
with a forefoot bend that would hospitalise Eddie Kidd or a bad Air Max
makeup, wack is wack.
6
Bad remakes
Michael Bay has a studio wing dedicated to butchering horror film classics
with an ‘08 ‘re-imagining’ – shoe brands have this too, capturing the best
shoes of old, replicating the colours (before unleashing a shit-storm of
weakness – see point 3 for examples) and getting ‘small’ details like the
overall shape, panelling and fabrics completely off. Admittedly, often you
need to sit the original and retro side-by-side to commence the disdain,
but it’s lazy. Very, very lazy.
7 Sneakers as a ‘culture’
Just obsessing over trainers with no lead-in or associated interests always
seems a bit wrong. Having chatted to more than a few trainer addicts,
fortunately, few just speak the language of shoe. Hip-hop, skating, football,
an athletic past – context is king. Shoes are a byproduct. ‘Sneaker culture’
alone means one-dimensional dullards and a lack of foundations that
would lead to collapse. The term ‘sneakerhead’ is pretty horrendous too.
8 A lack of strong new designs
Not colours or applications, but good new silhouettes. Once they were
hitting shelves at such a rate, hundreds of designs went off the radar,
reappraised later on and attracting cult audiences. Now, new performance
pieces are either ugly or so tech they can only work in a sporting
environment. We try to convince ourselves that some new bits are future
classics, but more often than not, our speculative skills yield duds.
9 Overexposure
In these days of Internet addiction we see those cameraphone catalogue
pics, photos of samples and the drip leaking of a trainer to a baying
audience. By the time the thing finally drops, we’re bored of it. It might be
good, but more often than not, it’s not that good. The element of surprise
pays dividends.
10
Limited editions
Is it that limited? A ‘limited’ edition of 10,000? Despite only 1000 people
on the planet who would possibly take an interest, this incites panicked
impulse buying, misguided attempts at reselling and unworn ‘investments’
gathering dust. Money is made from the brands – they pump out more
rubbish. Back when Foot Locker stuck a limited edition hangtag on their
Nike exclusives it meant attention-grabbing breaks from the norm. Now,
mediocrity reigns.
How The
Sneaker
Industry
Ate Itself
Adidas
Goodfoot
ZX 8000
The aZX collection from Adidas has yielded
some beauties (with plenty more to come),
taking classic ZX running designs and letting
a veritable a-z of key retailers rework them
for release. Part of the first wave, these
Torsion-bar beauties, first introduced in 1989
get a makeover from Canada’s Goodfoot
retail mini-empire. That use of green is pretty
spectacular, striking a balance between muted
and eyecatching and the materials are recycled
too. And we’ve got them on sale in the Crooked
online store. F-f-f-f-f-fresh.
Nike Air
Zoom
Trail S+
Hugely underrated. This was dropped early in the year and we think it might
be discontinued by the time you’re reading this. Perfect summer fodder, the
mix of Terra-styling with the new improved slimline Zoom Air for the forefoot,
plus a spot of the ever-popular Windrunner in the mix. Those panels and
overlays and heavy use of mesh obliterates many more costly competitors.
Lightweight, comfortable and good looking to boot. A rarity amongst many
over-designed performance denizens on NikeTown’s shelves.
Adidas
80s
Superstar
The Superstar has shifted from silhouette to silhouette over 35 years, and
this is the definitive shape – ‘86 styling. A bit chunkier without looking
cartoonish, from the shell to the lining this is a much-needed resurrection.
There’s plenty of different cuts in circulation, but these are the ones for us.
Versatile and particularly clean with the grey suede stripes. By all rights we
should be sick of the Superstar by now, but these are pretty much as close
to perfection as shoes get. A grand statement, but study ‘em close up and
only a moron would disagree.
O
nly the overly-studious, military booted tinpot revolutionaries and dullards out
there evade the multi-million dollar promotional budgets of those crafty sports
footwear conglomerates, and it’s up to oddballs like ourselves to nitpick, whine
your sneaker-related needs
Visit crookedtongues.com for all
and over analyze their creations. It’s what we were born to do. And in the current
climate of gimmickry, where ‘premium’ on a trainer, means an extra forty quid, and any
inkling of interest in something new is torn apart at head office and defecated back
onto the shelves in greater numbers – beyond flogging a dead horse, they’re abducting
and ransoming interesting styles like Shergar before they end up in unmarked
graves thanks to over saturation. Since when did a shoe need a concept anyway? It’s
ludicrous.
Sneaker culture, itself a hateful term, is a big budget variant of any scene in history,
and it suffers the same malady – po-faced elitists, commercial exploitation and a
gradual slide into piss-poor. But as it becomes harder for us to find a decent shoe,
unlike those golden years of the athletic mid to late eighties, or those neutral coloured
trail targeted imports in the mid-late nineties, Crooked Tongues happily spends far
too much time trying to sift through the speckled tides of neon leather to find the
occasional spot of gold dust. It’s out there. Brands still hold plenty of passionate
employees in the design studios, and there’s stores globally still holding dead stock
classics for peanuts. Have hope.
Nike ACG Vans
Wildedge Chukka
Low
One of our favourite shoes of last
year. We’re seeing more and more
appealing siblings to this Wildwood- We thought Chukka meant ankle height, but who cares when it looks this
influenced modern classic. Yeah, strong? Part of a collection of four, these take some elements of the superb
we said it – modern classic. With or Syndicate range, with this pair designed by and for Keegan Sauder. Suede
without Gore-Tex it’s fresh to death, blends with the corduroy material we last fiended for on the Marc Jacobs
and it’s heartening to see it keep Chukkas a few years back. Put simply, these are the shit. Grey, blue and those
dropping in new colourways rather white metal eyelets works in perfect harmony. Vans are everywhere, and looking
than becoming an undersold oddity. at their forthcoming collections, this trend looks unlikely to subside.
Something about the instep makes
it look better with shorts than baggy
denim, but these woodland shades
keep the greatness coming. Keep Converse
Pro Leather
a beady eye on All Conditions Gear
over the coming months.
1976
For years we called this the Dr. J. after
AND THE
the skyhooking, afroed king of the
courts. Now, for legal reasons, it’s the
Pro Leather. Doesn’t have the same
ring does it? But we’ve still got love for
this chunky soled icon. And there you
GOOD STUFF…
were thinking of Jack and Chuck when the brand with the star gets a mention.
There’s been a nice black and white take, and those halcyon days of ‘93/’94
when the lows were cheap in classy colours might have passed, but this monotone
variation in an old-style cut more than compensates. Black-on-black like those
marvelous Blazers of a few years back, these are a strong look.
8 FOR ‘08
Nike ACG
Blazer
New
Balance
576
Don’t turn away in horror just yet...we know this is
a drastic variation on a staple basketball favourite.
These are...interesting, making a court shoe
into a mid-cut trail design into something a
lot more rugged. Gore-Tex in the mix keeps it
waterproof but breathable, and those patterns
are Pendleton, with the panelling exaggerating
The shoe that was a collaborative debut for Crooked keeps on getting the original design immensely. We might be
makeovers. A versatile shape and a one that gets the nod from others in strictly shoes, but this coordinating Pendleton
the know and hate from imbeciles who fail to understand the Flimby-made ACG jacket deserves shouts – it reminds us
heat, it works nicely in premium materials, bright or murky. It’s a celebratory of Steven Seagal’s outerwear in ‘On Deadly
year for the 576, what with it being the design’s 20th anniversary. This isn’t Ground’ with added GTX. That’s a good thing.
a remarkable take - superlatives belong with the navy and grey vintage duo
from a few months back, but quality leather and suede gets the job done.
OBJECTS
OF DESIRE

JULES DESTROOPER BISCUITS £1.99 • BALSEN MILK CHOCOLATE LEIBENIZ BISCUITS £1.39 • IMPERIAL BOMBAY MIX £0.69 • TUNNOCKS CARAMEL WAFERS x 4 £0.53 • TUNNOCKS TEA CAKES (MILK + DARK CHOCOLATE) £1.04 • TUNNOCKS SNOWBALLS x
SUN-MAID CALIFORNIA RAISINS £1.35 • CAPRICE CLASSIC WAFERS £2.19 • CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM POT NOODLE £0.89 • 4 £0.59 • TUNNOCKS CARAMEL LOG x 4 £0.53 • ROAST CHICKEN MULTIGRAIN HULA HOOPS (FROM MULTIPACK) £1.49 • NACHO
FINN CRISP WHEAT & POPPY CRACKERS £0.95 • MEXICAN LIME KETTLE CHIPS £1.49 • TYRELLS MIXED VEG CRISPS £1.95 CHEESE TORTILLA HULA HOOPS (MULTIPACK) £1.65 • SESAME SNAPS £0.25 • McCOYS EXTREME CHICKEN MADRAS CRISPS £0.50

Plus one Issue Issue Plus one

Magazine No. 6 No. 6 Magazine
CROSSWORD
CROSSWORD ILLUSTRATION: ISABEL INMAN

PAULIUS
Lithuania

3
8

ACROSS You’re looking at the

2 Comedy troublemaker from Kazakhstan (5)
4 Member of the guitar family with a weird name (7)
59FIFTY,® one of many
5 Rambunctious female singer who’s offering free roundhouses, unique designs that is
the singer of The Obsessed (4) handcrafted to fit your
7 Rhymes with orange (7) DOWN life. Each cap has its own
12 This old Stone has recently Rolled away with an 18yr old 1 Traditional Spanish style of music and dance, not to be confused story and thanks to fans
cocktail waitress (6,4) with a pink bird (8) around the world, each
13 All puppet force who saved the world from Kim Jong-il (4,7) 3 Thailand’s answer to Fred Flintstone’s ‘Flintmobile’ (3,3)
14 Sesame Street’s bin living grouch (5) 5 Japanese beef used in the Kensington ‘Bling Burger’ (5)
story has a name.
15 Infantryman who specializes in shooting from a concealed 6 The utterly shite car crash TV that has miraculously made it to Register online at
position (6) its 9th series (3,7) neweracap.com and you
16 The Bittersweet Symphonists that headlined at this years 8 Wayward superhero played by a Bad Boy (7)
could see your own face
Glastonbury (3,5) 9 Proper name for a sea squirt (8)
17 Small sharp knife used for crafts and/or dissection(7) 10 Hollywood actress who has the map coordinates of her children’s in a New Era ad.
20 F1 boss caught in the act supposedly keeping a family birthplaces tattooed on her left arm (8,5)
tradition alive (3,6) 11 Women’s recommended weekly alcohol intake in ‘units’ (8)
21 The experience of feeling you’ve been there before (4,2) 18 Country known as the ‘sugarbowl of the world’ (4)
22 Chatworth estate’s finest longhaired breed of..err...human? (5,9) 19 Seasoning used widely in West Indian/ Caribbean food (4)

Plus one Issue Issue Plus one

Magazine No. 6 No. 6 Magazine
 element advocate| brian gaberman
ELEMENT ADVOCATE
BRIAN GABERMAN
brian gaberman has served as senior photographer at element for the last year. his photography
bridges the gap between skateboarding and art—reality and imagination. in skateboarding,
brian captures that brief moment in time that tells the story of a thousand words, in a format that
makes you wish you were on the board. in life he’s able to create an illusionary perspective that
takes you to places you find hard to describe in words. brian is a family man who has the utmost
respect for people and their surroundings. element is proud to have brian advocate the brand
and the principles element is founded on. humility in humanity.

more of brian’s work can be seen at gaberman.com

elementskateboards.com/advocates

GSM EUROPE - PH: +33 (0)5 58 700 700 skateboarder|photographer|farmer