So stay tuned. This is gonna be fucking fun, man.

Here’s the philosophy: just be cool, have fun, don’t be a dick, and, above all else, camp well.

Peace trails,

Will and Camp Well

Packaging is the jam

So I was approached not too long ago by some good friends.. Jeremiah, specifically. Basically it went down, “Dudes. A friend is making some legit shit. Wristgear. Real deal. Check it.” So that’s not verbatim whatsoever, but that’s kind of how I remember it. At any rate, I was initially hesitant. “Ah, I got a watch and a friendship bracelet my lady any I bought for each other in San Diego. I don’t need more on my wrist.” Wrong sauce.

Form Function Form has it on lock. Not just for looks, either. And that’s why I got so into FFF’s offerings. Anyone cane make some leather goods. But what set is apart? In this case, function. The braiding on the lure bracelet can easily hold a few lures, should fishing be your fancy. Plus, walking around with an old lure as the focal point, hook included, it’s something new. And I am a fan.

The Lure. (Original momentum fans might gets that....)

I was swung a lure wristwrap and a mini multi-tool carrier complete with lighter. Both should come in handy when camping. Especially the multi-tool holder. Light for fires and smokes and mallows (if fire fails) and whatever else I want to burn.

lighter. tool. tool. lighter. leather.

Check out Form Function Form here:

Web

Twitter

Topo in Topo. Bagception

Saturday turned out to be one of the most productive and inspiring days in recent history. I awoke when the sun hit my face, mulled about the house for a minute or two, played with bird in the back yard, and hung out with the lady friend. When noontime came, and I rode my bike clear across the city to meet up with Mark, my friend and one of the brain trusts behind Topo Designs.  It’s pretty rad having one of the best new brands around living basically next door.

We chatted for a few hours over French Toast and mimosas, real manly like, about product, shops, ideas, the future, Australia, Fancy Tiger, Left Field, and destroying. After settling up, we rode to his casa.  I had promised a friend I would pick him up a Klettersack in the duck camo colorway (pictured).  I got to peep Mark’s house, too, which was rad as he has done some killer remodeling. So, yes, dinner parties will be had.

One thing that Denver really has going for it is the community vibe and everyone working well together. Whatever industry it is, everyone pretty much has everyone else’s back. Don’t know too many other places like that. Plus, we have ghost pepper vodka at Sputnik… and $5 mimosa carafes. Sort of hard to beat that.

Onward, 5280,

WGP

Enjoi X Independent X Ricta

I bought this set up from Blades one night in NYC after a long shift at the Tribeca Grand. Having an affinity for pandas long before any pre-teen girl ever did, I was immediately a fan of Enjoi. Then, when you add in the Tilt Mode Man Down video with the likes of Louise Barletta and Marc Johnson, things got real.

Seeing as how I bought this complete and never really used it, save for some evidenced FS boardslides (I was never good at nose and tails), it’s still in good condition and is back on the streets.

Those are Rowley Style 99 Vans I picked up from a shop in Breckenridge, CO. Best shoes I’ve skated in since the eS Koston2′s. Damn, man. Remember those Mayhew’s too? I had a set. So big. SO big.

Thanks for reading this short post today. And because it reminded me, here’s Marc Johnson’s part from Tilt Mode’s Man Down.

Links today:

• Enjoi
• Vans
• Independent Truck Co. 
• Ricta Wheels

Now, go do something outside.

WGP

Cushing: A living legend

Roughly 5 years ago, give or take a year and a couple months, I left the skatepark without realizing it would be the last time I rode for a good long while. Call it moving on, call it losing interest, call it saving my knees for more important things: I stopped skating to pursue other endeavors. Not that I think I was an idiot to do so, it’s more just I am kicking myself for letting it go this long. So I said, “Fuck this noize,” (spelled like that in my vernacular), and I dusted off my old Enjoi deck, bought a fresh pair of Vans, threw on a Supreme hat, a pair of Levi’s and a Thrasher tshirt and headed to the skatepark.

“You can’t just get in the ring with Ali cause you think you can box.” Jessie from The Fast and The Furious (the first and still best installment) says this to Spilner before he and Vince go at it man-style. This was sort of my mentality as to why I drove 20 minutes to Cushing in lieu of riding my bike 5 minutes to the Denver park. I’m not going to kid myself into thinking I can roll with the Denver hessians and rippers.. yet. So I opted for the small, somewhat janky metal ramps of Cushing, a park I frequented in high school but haven’t returned to since. Save for some new ramps, the spot was exactly as I left it in 2000. Shit… 12 years… I just thought about that.

I was the only one pushing around for about 30 minutes. Just then, a somewhat disheveled kid rolled in and promptly sat atop the quarter pipe to roll a joint. “Want some, dude?” He asked as I took a breather. “Nah, man, I’m straight. Thanks, though,” I replied. “Fuckin a, man. I love this place.” It’s behavior indicative of Cushing, or what I remember the park as. Not that I was ever one to smoke weed, kids doing it at skateparks just seems natural. …Especially when no one is there, and you’re hung over (as this kid appeared to be).

I worked on relearning the frontside flip on the banked ramp as he puffed away and sloppily did a few 5-0 grinds and hard plants. About 45 minutes later, this girl comes in and proceeds to absolutely destroy the mini-ramp. Blunt stall, kickflip out. nollie shove-it to stall to flip out. It was awesome. The other dude there joined her on the ramp for a bit, taking turns with their lines, chatting it up, etc. I think they were friends. Maybe. I don’t know. I focused on landing that effing frontside flip, which didn’t come. I got a few other cobwebs swept off the bag of tricks, though, so the day wasn’t a total wash. Plus, it felt phenomenal to be back on the board.

It’s gonna be a long, hot Summer of skating and camping and drinking and skating. Each week, I will attempt to find a new skatepark spot in Colorado and give it a go. Should be a good time. So if you want, you should join. I will keep you updated where I will be.

Next post: My setup. Stay Tuned.

WGP

Worn

Everyone needs to own at least one pair of beat-to-shit Vans. These have been with me forever, seen a LOT of things, ridden countless fixed gears, have had endless beers spilled on them, and still remain intact.

Enjoy. Suicide Machines / The Vans Song

This isn’t so much a review of a record from 2004 as it is a remembrance of one of my favorite bands more overlooked offerings. “Crimes” hit a mere one year after the Blood Brothers’ best* record in their illustrious career, “…Burn, Piano Island,  Burn.” To follow that up could not have been an easy feat, and it’s probably the reason “Crimes” never got its due. While BPIB is an amazing set of songs front to back, I’ve, as of late, come to appreciate the songs on “Crimes” in a new way.I’m not going to get into the details of the recording, but if you want to know more about the producer and themes, check out the Wiki.

There’s no doubt that the album is less coherent and, in turn, less approachable than BPIB, but when you start to listen closer, at least for me, you find the hidden intricacies.  Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck is by far the most sing-alongable track, but the ferocity and pounding drums of Teen Heat, Trash Flavored Trash, My First Kiss at the Public Execution and Wolf Party have been ravaging my psyche and keeping me sane in gridlock traffic to and from work. That could be my reasoning for liking this album so much. I’ve heard and analyzed Burn Piano since it came out in 2003. I never gave the same close listen to Crimes. Of course, since it’s the Blood Brothers, I seem to be the only one I can agree with to listen to it on a daily basis, before 7AM, at full volume.

Hands down my favorite part of the album lies right in the middle. As Rats and Rats and Rats for Candy ends with some incredibly loud and abrasive tones, the in-comparison-calm of the title track, Crimes, chimes in. Just a good segway into the second half of the album.

I don’t know many people anymore that still give the Blood Bros the same attention I do and they once did, but I guess that’s growing up. Nights at home with the lady aren’t exactly the appropriate time for such noisy rock. And that’s cool. I still know K likes em, just when the situation calls. For me, that’s more often as driving fast and screaming my brains out seem to go hand in hand. And she’s a fan of Jaguar Love, so that’s something, too.

Choice lyrics from this release include:

As you make your way back to the financial district. / The subway is a numb field.
And every dazed boy and girl makes you lick your lips. / And the girl with the accordion, chewing grass like a lamb. – Wolf Party

If the brick you throw / puts a bullet in your skull / police boot lands atop your gaping jaw.
Hey, Peacock?
Yeah, what’s that?
I just wanna know what the babies mouth is full of.
Is it flies, or cries, or straw? – Peacock Skeleton with Crooked Feathers

A hot tub stuffed with gorgeous ass? (We want it!)
Bronzed lips? Mouth full of cash? (We need it!)
A sizzling tan? Life of the party? (We want it!)
A full-length mirror for every inch of your body? (We need it!) – Teen Heat

‘If we rob the
liquor store we could
be in Tijuana by the crack of dawn.
and if we rob the
Mayor’s mansion
we could pawn his modern art and make a fortune.
and if we rob the lonely widow,
we could steal her credit cards
and buy a cottage by the Ocean
And we could swim in to Junk Island
we’ll burn up like the seagulls and the whiskey bottles. – Crimes

But some things never get better
Like used cars and bad livers
So you traded her in for a better looking brand
One with fake porno tits
A pad lock on her lips
Disposable tan
Biodegradable hands – Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck

If you do give it a listen, pay attention. Sure, it may just sound like angry speakers yelling at you from all directions, and for those who aren’t Blood Brothers fans, that’s exactly what it is. But sometimes, in life, you need a little abrasion. And, as Johnny Whitney screams, “Everybody needs a little Devastation!” It’s true. We do. Get wrecked.

Enjoy the video for Love Rhymes…

Love Rhymes with Hideous Car Wreck

- W.G.P.

*”Best” is a relative term in this case referring to the number of people I personally know that think Burn Piano Island Burn is the best Blood Brothers record. I agree to an extent, as I celebrate the band’s entire catalog.

Image: Ignoble

It’s been a hot minute since I posted a Spotlight segment, but I thought today was as good of day as any to send a shout out to a new company I’m into.

I was contacted some time ago by one of the coolest people I’ve chatted with in a bit: Dean from Ignoble Bags, a Los Angeles, CA-based backpack purveyor. We talked product for a bit, then moved into subject matter normally reserved for friends I’ve known for years. Among topics discussed, from tequila to family dinner, we commiserated over the awesomeness that is moving, as I was in the midst of relocating to a new house in Denver’s Highlands neighborhood. Just in time, too, to help with the move, Dean sent the Lenore pack my way. It got put to good use as I stuffed odds and ends into it and now use it almost always, as it’s found a nice fit with my regular bags in the rotation.

When the dust from the much-ado settled, I got a chance to ask Dean a few questions. After reading the answers, I realized I need to meet his brother. See why. Interview as follows: