The DVD is available on the internets and in shops, some little shits could be bootlegging it already. There is a reason to actually buy it though - the money goes back into making more quality videos, podcasts, skatespots and help skateboarding. You know the government isn’t going to help skateboarding, so we have to do it ourselves.
The internet is good for a lot of things, but for the people who put so much work into creating things like music and video – not so good. I’m so irritated by YouTube bootleggers.
As a filmmaker, (or “filmer” as most kids call them) knowing that making a video is a financial hole you will probably never get out of, you might as well try and do something good with what does come back from the video. The money is going directly back into more projects. Not just any crappy projects, they have to be quality. If you happen to have a project you think deserves funding, or want to provide funding, Public Square Group is a good spot to start. Since I happen to know a little about how the DVD was made, I’ll let you know that there are a few bonuses in there too.
Shops can contact Public Square Group to get hookded uppded. If you want reviews because you are a hater, a skeptic, or need to know if it’s worth spending your allowance on, keep checking the web. You might find some other sites hyping it too.
Was someone checking in here to see something about the Ice Cube show? Have you ever seen an Ice Cube show? If anyone has ever seen an Ice Cube show who wasn’t glad they went, I want to hear from you – you might be deaf or something. He has a library of hits as big as anyone, and the, (I hate this fucking term…) gangsta rap, high-energy tracks to keep a show moving at some kind pace that seems like a pep rally. I almost felt like going on some drive-by shootings after the show. It’s that production behind his lyrics and flow that gets you so sparked. I can imagine a bunch of O.G.’s listening to his albums before doing some cold-blooded gang shit. But just as they are rolling up on some fool, “Good Day” comes on and they spare Ricky from getting gunned down. It’s a Lifetime moment.
Even thought the House of Blues is a little bit lame and gets a straight up middle finger for their no-cameras policy, the venue is one of the easiest ones to get to for me. It’s proximity to the train stop in the Terminal Tower helps them sell more drinks because I rarely need to drive to or from the show. They have some weird security that stopped us from getting in because of a camera, but we just left for a few minutes and rather than trek back to my friends car, he stashed it and strolled in. (most point & shoots don’t get picked up by those metal detector wands.) They can’t stop the phone cameras though! BO! BO! Read the rest of this entry »
Honestly, I might have seen better shows from people I’ve never heard of before. Nas has some really good tracks that you can’t help but love, but can he do a live show? In a word; no.
The show was fun and I had a good time, but for someone who has been in the game for so long, you wouldn’t be an exception if you thought he might have put some production into his live shows. Maybe when you think you are the best ever, you think people will just be in total awe of your presence. I don’t think anyone fainted in the front row at the show, which may have left Nas slightly confused. He had zero production in his show. I think the giant sticker of him on his tour bus cost more than his set for the show. I would bet he didn’t even bring his own mic.
This Sunday night at the House of Blues is going to be a good show, I promise. Ice Cube is coming back after two years. Gotdammit, I’m gonna be there again, for sure. WC is gonna be there too doing the c-walk, because he does it so good. It’s comical. I wonder if anyone did that on that dancing with the stars show or if it was forbidden.
So for all. like. 7 of you people who see this page, Nas can not rock a crowd. Talib Kweli can, and he even had surprise guest Hi-Tek from the ‘Nati show up. KWeli is someone who you can see on a street, walking and stop to say what-up. Nas would be in the Limo with the curtains drawn. I’ll still listen to Nas, because his music is good, but unless he get with it and develops a better live show, there is no reason to see him at a venue like the House of Blues.
Cube, on the other hand, has a giant inflatable Westside “W” that corny, but amusing regardless. He knows how to set a pace and play the right songs and he just explodes on the stage. Go to the show, it’s starting late so don’t schedule anything too important Monday morning.
Nas in Cleveland? - With Kweli? What? I went to Kweli last time he was here, but Nas was sold out by the time I got there for the Hip-Hop Is Dead Tour, this time I walked in to buy tickets the moment I saw the show was coming. As long as Nas doesn’t pull some J-Live shit where he just cancels his show (back on July 3rd) because he has a “sore throat”, I will be hyped. Ice Cube is back here on September 14th, so if you missed that show last time, you blew it. Cube does a great show. He’s a showman. He has a library of classics to draw from and he knows what people want to hear. Nas has a thick library also, but how can he rock a crowd? I’m gonna find out Thursday, I hope.
Vince, who is the person mostly responsible for anything related to free & legalized skateboarding in Cleveland, will be on Fuel tonight at 8:30 talking about Public Square Group, skateboarding, and Cleveland. If you can, Tivo it so we can keep a copy for the archives.
UPDATE:The section that was shot with Vince Frantz was apparently left “on the cutting room floor”. Hmmmmm…
Looks like there is a Pittsburgh video premiere for a bro-cam video this Friday at OneUp Skateshop. The video doesn’t look nearly as refined as Windows & Doorways, which has a Cleveland premiere on 08.15.08. More info on that when I have it. It should be a good time, especially since it will be one of the rare times you can see footage from the guys at the Skate Kitchen in the correct pixel aspect ratio.
Other than that news, 411VM is done. The intro song that is embedded into the heads of a generation of skateboarders will play no more. Not that I’ve watched much of their productions in the past years, but it lets you know you are getting old when you watched its inception, its growth, and its demise.
For whatever reason, I have some need to enter online contests for silly things like getting a photo on a Jones Soda bottle, a spur of the moment contest at Coudal.com to win a screenprinted poster series, one of the endless contests at Crailtap.com or any other site that offers a prize that I think I would like at that moment. In the case below, I wanted the Where The Wild Things Are Lakai Shoes. I realize that I could just go buy a pair someplace, but it’s not as fun as winning a pair.
I got an email today from the Head Board Shop in Pittsburgh about a demo that isn’t a demo. It seems the Natural Koncept team isn’t going to do a demo the way demos normally work, they just want to skate cities with people. So basically it’s a tour that’s called a demo. They stop in Pittsburgh August 1st, so plan ahead.
I have no idea what to make of this whole thing. I’ve seen their ads in magazines, but they usually look like the ad graphics were supposed to be in High Times rather than a skate mag. If anyone goes skating with them in Pittsburgh, put together a video of it and send it over to me, I want to see what it’s like to spend a day skating with Natural Koncept. Does anyone know why they spelled concept with a K? I did notice that they have a guy on their team who goes by the name of “Bob Gnarly”.
Don’t disregard this demo tour as something silly. Just grab some cameras, hang out with them and refer to all of them as “Mr. (insert last name here)” and edit it together. Ask them about traveling advice and how they handle injuries while on tour. Do some interviews and ask them the difficult questions, and above all, find out why they spell concept with a K.
I have this To-Do list that I keep with me, and there are times where things I put on it get deleted for one reason or another. Sometimes the reason for wanting to do something no longer exists. Sometimes a to-do turns out to be a bigger animal than I have the time or resources to kill. Sometimes, so much time passes between the time I think of what I want to do and when I have the time to do it, I lose motivation. That’s mostly the case with video edits. If I don’t start the editing process right away, my familiarity with the footage dims and the energy and excitement of creating something good fades along with it. Read the rest of this entry »
