Lost and Found
Guy Coney and Liam Bachler. Photo: David Read.
Quick Pic
Fuck I love this ad. There’s absolutely nothing to it other than Lil’ Stevie as he was known back then, being all red eyed Jedi up in this piece. They say actions speak louder than words, but in this case I would disagree. Central was the shit. Period.
Lil' Stevie, Central.
E-Clipse
A few weeks back we discussed Julio De La Cruz’s clothing company STAMINA. Julio also had a board company called Neighborhood after he left New Deal. Neighborhood was exactly that, L.A. HOOD. Neighborhood was comprised mainly of latino brothers: Robert Douglas, Armando Barajas and Shorty Gonzalez to name the original pros, including Julio himself. In the late nineties the Spanish invasion brought Daniel Le Bron and the Fernandez brothers into the mix. I remember reading stories of these guys living it ghetto in L.A. Studio apartments and eating two day old burgers that Julio had bought them. I’m sure you all know Jesus Fernandez (Lakai, Chocolate, etc) but I was always more of a fan of his brother Alfonso. Alfonso only had a couple parts back in the day and this is one of my favourites. It’s from Neighborhood’s video, another classic from ’98 LA LA Land. Damn, this vid was one of my prize possessions and if anyone has any hints to where my original copy ended up I would love to get it back, no questions asked. Maybe even a reward will come your way if it makes it back into my hands.
Neighborhood's LA LA Land.
Fine Tuning
It’s already a long time overdue that I dedicate a little Fine Tuning section to the man they call ‘The Funk Doctor Spock’ AKA Redman. When it comes down to the question, one which is frequently asked, as to who you like better: Red or Meth? I always gotta go with Red. There’s something about that Def Squad vibe that just pips the Wu flavour at the post everytime. Not that it’s a competition though, I’ve got love for the Wu all day. I personally think it’s the collaboration with the E double (Erick Sermon) that gives Redman some of his edge. I got this album from a dude I went to school with in ’94. This guy would just feed me music every week, usually in the form of a blank cassette with a printed album cover. Bootleg as fuck. At the time I hadn’t heard of Redman and I listened to the album Dare Iz A Darkside before I heard his first release Whut? Thee Album, which had thrown Red into the spotlight for his hit single Time 4 Sum Aksion. Anyhow, here’s my all time favourite Redman track Cant Wait. Produced by Erick Sermon the green eyed bandit. If you haven’t already, you will see him soon.
Redman Dare Iz A Darkside.
Stomping Grounds
Another guy with the ability to turn shit into gold is Josh Kalis. A few things spring to mind when you think of Kalis. Love Park to die for tré bombs, style like no other man alive, DC Shoes, and in the nineties Alien Workshop. Although Kalis has had his fair share of pro kicks on DC, when I think of the relationship between Kalis and DC the first thing I think of is the Lynx. Much like the Axion Mariano, the Lynx gave you that trainer-ish running shoe feel, with a thin sole, the fat tongue and the straight out of the box and good to go stamp of approval. There was nothing better than putting on your Lynx, with your Starter swish pants and canary yellow tee, leaving the house on a summer evening equipped with your backpack full of goodies and skateboard to head into the city. I swear to god these shoes made you feel like Kalis and they definitely improved the shit out of your tré flips! It’s kinda strange that they weren’t the official Kalis pro model, but you can kinda see where the influence for some of his shoes came from. DC, like most of their competitors did re-release this shoe a few years back. It obviously didn’t have the same impact as it did then, or you would still be able to get ‘em now. Perhaps this was due to the fact that they didn’t last too long, but maybe that’s the measure of a good shoe anyhow. Personally I don’t care if a shoe lasts three days or three months as long as it skates good. I mean that’s what you look for when you buy a shoe, right?
DC Lynx White.
DC Lynx Grey.
Josh Kalis DC Lynx ad.
