Cover Pacific Longboard Magazine VOLUME 9. NUMBER 5
Up top With Light House VOLUME 9. NUMBER 5
VOLUME 9. NUMBER 5
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Pacific Longboard Magazine
Cover Pacific Longboard Magazine VOLUME 9. NUMBER 5
Up top With Light House VOLUME 9. NUMBER 5
VOLUME 9. NUMBER 5
Longboard Magazine
Surfers Ear
Highway 1 Trip
Highway 1 Trip
Highway 1 Trip
Cover Shot
Art Issue 2006????
Vol#14#4 Page 52 and 53
Vol#14#4 Page 51 El Salvador
Vol#15#1
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Patrick Trefz “Bicycle Trip” “Bicycle Trip” By Steven Thomas
"Bicycle Trip"
Lets start with Bicycle Trip. It’s not a movie about mashing around on a fixie bike. Rather, it’s a surf film Staring Peter Garaway, a goofy foot, shred stick wave rider who pedals around on his rusty old bike through the majestic beauty of Santa Cruz in Northern California, all the while trailing a legitimate, back-in-the-hey-day single fin sled. The film is a creative assortment of cartoons, landscapes and surfing that expresses the authenticity of surfing Santa Cruz. Bicycle Trip is definitely a nighttime surf flick, best viewed while nodding out after a hardy meal and a few dark, thick beers. The film is only a short fourteen-minutes long, which left me feeling teased and wanting just a little bit more, though the surfing was good in a humble, easy-to-relate-to way. Perhaps that’s what Trefz was going for. Overall, the movie was shot and edited very well and it left me feeling calm and inspired by his creativity.
The line up in this 16mm short consisted of fifteen SC, (Santa Cruz) surfers, two Currens, and one Machado. Directed and produced by Patrick Trefz, shot by Roman “NIYM” Bellisario, with additional footage by Josh Pomer, Graham Nash, and Syrus Sutton. The packaging is super sweet and totally worth mentioning. When you purchase your copy of “Bicycle Trip” it comes in a wooden box that you could use later for your super secret treasures. Inside the box is the DVD, accompanied by a little book showing images of the making of the film. Patrick Trefz is distributing the movie himself, so if you want it, go to www.patricktrefz.com and buy it there. It’s a limited edition of only five hundred imprints, so get it while you can.
“Thread”
“Thread” is Patrick Trefz’s second film. It’s difficult for me to tell you that this is a surf picture because I could just as easily say it’s a movie about creative minds that happen to surf or, in one case, skate. It took a moment for me to get what was going on in the movie because I was blind sided by the direction the film seemed to take at the beginning. It starts off in New York with a bunch of skateboarders barreling down the street shortly followed buy the introduction of a photographer by the name of Michael Halsband, who grew up in the big apple. When I heard his last name I through it sounded like a brand name of a medium or large format camera made in the Swiss Alps or something. Once Joel Tudor was introduced I got the connection between he and Halsband and the pattern of the documentation began to unfold.
Of all the many interesting aspects of this story line the part that hit home for me was I the piece on Joe Curren for these four reasons:
1) I really enjoy photography.
2) Sand Spit looked F@#!$N fun.
3) I like to go to places were I can get good waves and good pictures.
4) I’m big on drawn out bottom turns.
I related the most with Joe or ‘Simple Joe’, as some know him because of those four reasons. Who would have guessed that he is such a good photographer. Even crazier, Art Brewer gave him props for his snaps. What’s more, as a viewer I felt that I was being invited into Joe’s and the other character’s lives in this film. The connection in this film had a lot more strength than what I’ve experienced with other surf docs that I have seen.
As a fan of surfing I often wonder what else competent, professional surferss are interested in aside from surfing. When I see that they have interests that I can relate to I get all emotional. I don’t mean emotional in the since that I am this emocore-indy-pop-alt-rock kid with eyeliner all over my face, suffering from terminal uniqueness thinking that I should be the next Andy Warhol crying about how no one understand my pain. I mean the kind of emotional you get when you watch Brave Heart or big wave movies like Blue Crush (like at the end of the movie when the girl finally drops in on a huge wave and pulls it -I don’t know about y’all but I got choked up. Maybe you can’t relate but that’s how it made me feel. Please hand me a Kleenex. Thank you.)
Thread showed that, once again, Trefz’s photographic talent translates easily into a beautiful motion picture. The film documented the lives and the cultures using a classic, vintage look. The surfing is great, but focuses on a traditional level, rather than mind-blowing-crazy, three-sixty, kick-flip, Fletcher nutso air mac daddy TEE-A-POOO tow at stuff. Although there’s not one single busting of air anywhere in the film, the Long brothers catch some pretty big ass waves in an amazing exhibition of tearing-off-the-top power surfing.
The one thing that I wasn’t too ecstatic about was the calligraphy used to introduce the subjects and/or the segments. The lettering seemed to undervalue the feel of the movie and disrupted the beauty of the imagery. I would of preferred to see something that was more contemporary of the era the movie depicted. However I did a little research and discovered that the letters that were used were created by this guy who stitched the entire alphabet by hand in the said font and then Trefz’s crew scanned the letters and used it for their titles, so the process of how the lettering was created is pretty sweet. Luckily his strength in creating some whoop-ass eye candy is strong enough to overlook this detail.
Thread is defiantly the type of surf flick that you would watch over a fine merlot and some organic pan seared pea snaps with rosemary potato bread and a sweet onion caramelized cheese. I wouldn’t reccommend popping this baby in your Digital Versatile Disc Player wile your doing the Downward Dog and other Yoga stretches before surfing. Save this gem for the evening.
At the end of the movie I didn’t know whether I wanted to pick up a surfboard or a camera. One side of me wanted to fulfill my need to surf and another side called upon my artistic desire to create. All in all in its entirety the movie was a good time and like most products made by Germans is of high quality. I just had a little problem with the font. I would defiantly add this movie to the collection. I’m eager to see what “Zee German” makes next.
PLB Interview
This is a recent interview on the pacific longboarder magazine web site. I got real into it and wrote this super long response to Moonwalker's questions (photographer/writer PLB). When he got the email he was kind of overwhelmed by the the amount of content so he had to cut some out. Here is the original and click below to read the edited one with pictures.
Your quiver
My quiver is a collection of artistic mood that has altered and evolved both forward and backwards depending on my influence with in my innermost self. Just kidding (I just was pretending that I had something deep and profound to say). Basically I ride Jed Noll’s boards which often include my model which is a 9’0 x 21 3/4 x 2 ¾”, which was influenced by surfing in Santa Cruz and the surrounding areas. The board is foiled very thin in the rails to help put it on rail easily. It has low rocker to accelerate through sections while nose riding and a narrow tail to allow for hard turns. It was designed to be ridded as a true tri-fin and is glassed with 2 4oz layers of glass on top and 1 4oz ounce layer of glass on the bottom.
When I’m being mellow I ride my N-ride which is 9’6 x19 ¼” x 23 ¼” x 17”. The idea behind this board is to provide a wide stable platform, allowing for long steady nose rides. The thickness is 3” in the middle spreading evenly throughout the board with 50/50 rails and a single fin long box. The “N-Ride” is pretty flat in the nose with moderate rocker in the tail. As far as nose riders go it is a fairly light board with two layers of 6 oz glass on top and a layer of 4 oz glass for a deck patch as well as two layers of 6 oz glass on bottom with a gloss polish finish. This is a formula that Jed and I figured out the fits best for the kind of nose riding feel I enjoy. Many others have reinforced the fact that it’s a great nose rider. The best kind of wave for this board is long, drawn out peeling point breaks like Rincon or Malibu.
Finally, I ride Jed’s version of a twin fin, deep swallow-tail board called The Fiske: 5’10”x21 ¼” x 2 5/8”. It’s great for small waves but it’s really fun to ride when there’s some size.
How long you’ve been surfing for and who are your surfing influences?
I’ve been surfing for 18 years, which is the longest, consecutive thing I have ever done. My surfing influences vary, depending on a rider’s artistic talent. Actually, surfing has very little to do with what influences me. I am most influenced by a surfers art, music, the ability to dress really well.
If you could copy your brain for the furture generations, you would:
After a lot of thought, I decided that I want to be like Conner McCloud from the Clan McCloud. For those of you who don’t know who I’m talking about, it’s a character in a movie called “Highland”. This guy Conner can’t die unless his head is cut off . So I was saying that I want to be immortal but I’m probably not…I’m pretty sure I’m not so I thought about this scenario where I would have my brain copied from body to body. It wouldn’t be for future generations, it would just be for me. I figure in two hundred years one of the replicated me’s might be able to surf like Slater and sing like Sinatra.
What’s the worse experience you have ever had at a restaurant.
Well pretty much every time I go and eat out or when someone serves me food there is a hair in it. I’ve worked in over ten restaurants in my life, some of which I’ve done some F@#Ked up things to customer’s food who had the audacity to returned their dish because it wasn’t prepared to their liking. I use to work and this BBQ joint and we’d put root beer in the baked beans to give it that sweet taste. That was the “secret” to our famous baked beans (or so they thought). All of the guys and I would chew this tobacco called Kodiak Wintergreen, which we’d substitute for the root beer if someone complained about their food. One of us would simply add a dash winter green flavored chew-spit to their beans. I know we were petty, but it was those little things that made serving the public that much sweeter. And besides, I know if there is a hair in my food I can just pick it out and feel assured that at least its not chew spit. The moral of the story is: never return your food at a restaurant unless you’re into spit in your food.
Where have you surfed in the world.
Almost everywhere in California, EL Salvador, Panama, Northern Mexico, Hawaii, Japan, Indo, Canada and Ireland. Ireland is by far the sweetest place I’ve been to. I don’t mind the cold so that was a plus for me. I feel like I surf better in cold water. So if your not afraid of the cold and the dreaded Irish Finger (ask me about the Irish Finger and I’ll tell you in person) then Ireland it the place for you It’s like the cold water Indonesia except with crazy Irishmen all drunk taking off on waves yelling at each other about who has the best football team. No Seriously Ireland has insane surf and the people are super cool.
Which martial art is best in your opinion and why:
When I was a child my grandfather had me paddle a thin 9’0 High-performance Longboard to Europe and walk five hundred miles to the highlands of Scotland were I learned the Scottish martial art of FUC-U, which was mostly lots of drinking and head butting and kicking people on the ground. When I mastered the technical and deadly art, I came back to the states once again by riding bare back on a pigmy dwarf with poor self esteem then rowed back on a hand whittled Canoe carved by Nigel Malloy (he is one of the oldest and most sensitive of Malloy’s in the Malloy clan. Not many people have heard of him.) Anyway, I was very strict about practicing the Scottish Martial art only in self-defense and also when people would disagree with me and/or when I was drunk (which was all the time so I got a lot of practice). In 1998, the year of the horrible bar brawls, I’d realized I’d gone too far: I killed an 80 year old Russian circus Ninja over a dispute about whether pets of the same sex should be able to get married in the good old country of the United States of America. After that, I laid down my beer forever and vowed to never practice the Scottish Martial Art of FUC-U again.
Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?
I’m very generous and I’ll give you the shirt off my back but if you don’t give it back everyone will see my boobs and that’s kind of embarrassing. Also, I’m 5’11 and shrinking with a prominent booty chin and slight male pattern balding. I’m just going to say right now that booty chin is coming back, mark my word, you heard it here first. Any time the stash comes back in fashion it is shortly followed by the infamous butt chin or booty chin. The best mustaches reside above a strong butt chin.
I have a gay beagle dog with boundary issues named Jeff . I approach all this with an open, loving mind and don’t care ether way. I’m just pointing out a struggle that me and his therapist are well aware of: he is really having a hard time grasping and accepting his sexuality.
I read a lot of books about wizards and demons and magic, especially ones with barbaric babes wielding battle-axes. Your know the kind, painted on the side of a van standing on the cliff over-looking a landscape with three moons holding a huge weapon, all muscular, wearing a rawhide bikini and fighting a dragon. It is my belief that if my dad didn’t make me go surfing I would be in my parents garage at this very moment rolling the die (that’s advanced dungeons and dragons slag for rolling the dice — it’s a dice game) arguing with my unusually socially awkward dungeon master that there is no way that fourth degree wizard’s fire can burn through my elf armor. Thank god for surfing. And finally, I love (I’m using the word love) Movies.
Would you allow your child to get a tattoo?
Well, if Jeff (my Dog) came to me and asked me if he could get a tattoo I would have to say sure because that would mean that he is a dog that could speak English and that in its self is amazing and worth the reward of really whatever he wants including a tattoo.
What fin set-ups do you prefer
I like a true blue Tri-Fin 9’0 HPLB in the back of my big ass, rockin’, American built ford truck, while wearing a “God don’t make no White trash” t-shirt.
If you could start a band what type of music would you play why.
I would start a band called “The Fascists” which would involve me and a bunch of my totally rad friends. It we be a combination of emocoreindipopaltraock and contemporary jazz. We would all dress up in matching cardigans that have stenciled words that say, “Lick my love pump” along with hot pink nail polish and super-duper tight black pants with a white belt and china flats for out feet. We would play at all our art shows and have this attitude that says, “Hey everybody I’m a terminally unique individual and there is no way you can under stand me and my band.” I guess the reason why I would start a band is because it is probably the best way to could get a sponsor to pay me to longboard. So the next time I say, “Hey will you pay me for surfing on a Longboard”, and they ask, “ What kind of music do you play and what kind of art do you do?” I can say, “I’m in a band called “The Fascists” and I’m into the art of self expression. YEAH!!!!!!!”
http://www.pacificlongboarder.com/gallery.asp?id=33&category=15&action=display
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Winter 08 Longboard Magazine
Photo: C.Marshell Longboard Mag Volume #98 page 66
Photo: C.Marshall Longboard Mag Volume #98 page 61
Photo: C.Marshall Longboard Mag Volume #97 center spread
Winter ?????
This was one of most memorable sessions in the last five years. I surfed with Adam Repogle and Joe Curren for four hours. I was stoked to surf with those guys. Photo: Trefz
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Antics, A surf Film By Gary Irving
Gary's First movie.
Sound Track by:
Motorhead
Iron Maiden
White Snake
Cinderella
Dirty Penny
Coming Soon to a surf shop near you
Click Below to see the trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgVJMPBgRBY
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Christmas in Baja
Photos: By MoonwalkerWords By: Steven Thomas
Standing beside myself as a surfer I find that I often ponder the fact that surfers will go to outlandish lengths and conditions in hopes (I’ll say it again) hopes of getting good surf. I mean sure, usually you don’t chase surf blind without knowledge of a promising storm coming towards the direction of the desired destination but still with all the technology and weather data that is accessible at a click of a mouse, I and many others that chase surf find themselves in some desolate destination in the far corners of the globe waiting for the “Promising “ swell to deliver.
This time I was an hour and a half by car off what could loosely be called a dirt road in the middle of the desert in Baja Mexico on day 4 just a few days away from Christmas. Alone I sat in the quite isolation apart from the peers, hoping Mother Nature wasn’t playing some cruel joke and denying my fellows and me the surf we desire so much. It dawned on me at that moment that only a surfer would enjoy this environment of arid region and sand with nothing to do but kick rocks and look for signs of swell. Realizing that clouds were coming on the horizon I decided to walk back to the campsite that was setup on a sand dune over looking the flat point to see if the storm had made any progress since I had been away (which was only and hour). I saw no signs of change — just a group of friends that were beginning to resent the fact that I talked them into spending Christmas away from their families to score some surf in Baja.
There was talk of accepting the fact that we had been defeated and that we should leave first thing in the morning. However the group conscience was not unanimous. My friend and longtime Baja veteran Dustin Franks and I were trying to the avert the mutiny by convincing the others with a speech that William Wallace himself would have been proud of: we should just hold tight and see what happens after the winds passed. As the clouds came closer the wind blew harder with no sign of significant swell and the decision to abandon are chase became harder and harder to contain. Luckily night was on our side so nobody could go anywhere anyways because anyone who’s traveled in Baja knows you don’t drive around in the desert in Mexico on rocky dirt roads in the dark unless your asking to stack your ride or worse, DIE. So all we had to do is convince the boys that we should stay for the low tide to just make sure the surf is not coming. We hoped we would be able to see some certain signs of the expected swell at first light and just let the ocean do the talking and dammit wouldn’t you know it she talked.
Day 5 had come with an early Christmas present of 4 to 6 foot sets with slight off shore winds. The grumblings of the group had changed and Dustin and I rubbed in our prediction a little as I started to whip up some breakfast. The tide in the morning was too high to surf so we had to wait until the late afternoon before the surf started to turn on. In the mean time we all just freaked out at every building high tide set that came in the vacant point. Hours of mind surfing went on in my head. I gazed at the long-awaited sets pumping through until finally enough water subsided to begin the compilation of hard earned surf. I ran out to be the first to catch one of the valued gems. I began my well-deserved session by kicking off the party with a set wave that invited me inside. However the wave was a little to fast still it was plenty open to strobe inside for a while in the time stopping womb we all know and love resulting in closing out and snapping my board. I didn’t care because Jed Noll who makes my boards had been kind enough to supply me with plenty of stunt-rides to do that three times over and believe me if that’s what it was going to take to get this job done so be it. By the time I grabbed another board all my friends were out in the line up each answering back with barrels of their own. I almost wanted to cry I was so F@%!#N happy. Not like a sad funeral cry more like a wedding cry or an “I won the lotto” cry. I did win the lotto; I was filthy rich with surf. Not only was I loaded with surf but also there were only four guys out including myself and they were the ones I brought.
Wave after wave I traded off from shortboard to longboard trying to benefit from all angles of this hallowed swell. I found myself laughing at my friends as they came out of the umpteenth barrel ride as I paddled back. During the intervals of the sets we would repeat over and over how we couldn’t believe how hard we were scoring. Slowly the sun began to drop and my body began to fail from exhaustion. The last wave that I caught was ridden in simple trim. As I stood straight up picking a high line through the majority of my ending wave I felt the satisfaction and self-esteem of setting out to attain some surf and pulling it off. I believe my friends felt the same since of true accomplishment as well.
Over the years, Neil and I have successfully (and happily) collaborated on articles for Pacific Longboarder, Australia. Here is the full article from Neil’s perspective, titled “Baja Bumbling”. Pacific Longboarder lost its U.S. Distribution and the good news is you can still purchase it at the following web address:
http://www.pacificlongboarder.com/.
If anyone who comes across my blog is interested in distributing Pacific Longboarder in the states please contact them through the PLB website. The magazine is great and it should be in the United States.
P.S. At the end of the article there are some additional Moonwalker photos of me surfing that didn’t make it into the article. Neil has always been super cool about sending photos of me that he’s shot. So, thanks, Neil, for all your contributions; I am looking forward to next time.
Steve Thomas
“Baja Bumbling”
Photos:Moonwalker
Words: Moonwalker
Steve Thomas
Steve Thomas
Steve Thomas
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