GSD Interview. Yes that GSD-Garry Scott Davis!

GSD was a major part of skateboarding for me pretty much from day one. I remember all
his photos in Transworld and pretty much ever kid from the Yarmouth side of DY had a GSD deck at one point or another. The "banks/curbs" thing meant a ton to us as that is what we skated day in and day out. He had his own style in the what was rapidly turning into the skater uniform world. His part at the Oceanside contest was another rebel moment. I saw his band open for Drive Like Jehu at the Middle East, but didn't realize he was in the band til I got the record a month later. Some internet snooping helped me track him down and in the grand tradition of WWDIS interviews, I fired off an email and waited to see what happened. Happily he replied to some questions and some follow ups, so without further adieu, some Q&A with GSD.

WWDIS: Without being a "It was all better back in the day!" kind of guy, how do you view the evolution of skateboarding / music / art into the mainstream?

GSD: I view it through a rose-colored kaleidoscope submerged in a murky aquarium. Just kidding. I liked skateboarding better in the early ’80s, when I was the only freak of nature in Cincinnati who did it, back before it turned into little league with a cop-controlled skatepark in every neighborhood. It was inevitable that skateboarding would proceed into the mainstream. Where else could it go, except into a graveyard? The sunny side is that t least skateboarding probably won’t ever completely die out, now that it’s so entrenched in our culture. As far as music goes, punk wormed its way into the mall by the mid ’80s and indie rock turned into so-called “alternative” in the early ’90s. “Where else is there to go?” I wondered. That’s when I started listening to more experimental music like avant garde classical, electro-acoustic, electronica, free improv, free jazz, gamelan, indie, krautrock, minimalism, obscure psychedelic, raga, sound art, acid folk, etc. and I never looked back.




WWDIS: Tracker had such a sunny / California kind of vibe (at least from the outside). How did you fit in? Was it an odd fit for you?


GSD: I was only able to fit in with the help of a shoe horn. Just kidding. No, it wasn’t an odd fit at all. Neil Blender and Dan Wilkes rode for Tracker, too.

WWDIS: Some of your more famous photos were taken at the Shell Bowl, which looked like a pretty nice bank. What was it really like?

GSD: It was a super nice asphalt drainage bowl right on the beach in Oceanside. It tapered from a shallow end that extended from flat ground down into steep banks, one with a narrow lip and the other with a deck and a parking block. There were also boulders to jump onto. That place was one of the best bank spots ever. It got tarred and graveled by the city a year after it was built. I remember Tracker Larry showed up at 8:00 a.m. to protest that event, to no avail. The bowl is still there, but it’s still totally unskatable. What a waste.


WWDIS:You were there in the early and pre-internet days. As things get easier to find, do you feel they lose some of their value?


GSD: Yes. I think about that all the time. Everything is way too easy now in this Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube world. I liked it more back when you had to learn about rad stuff by reading books and magazines, and digging through stacks of vinyl and tapes in dusty old record stores. I got into whole worlds of new music and art just by cross-referencing names in all of those mediums. I didn’t need the Internet. Now, to find out about anything, all it takes is a few keystrokes and mouse clicks. It’s way too easy and kind of sterile.




WWDIS: How active are you now with Custom Floor? How much did you tour? I saw you open for Drive Like Jehu in Cambridge a longtime ago. I think Coral was on the bill as well?


GSD: I’m very active with Custom Floor. We usually do aerobics together at least six days a week. Just kidding. The last show we played was in 2000, and the last album we recorded was released in 2005, so the time is nigh to brew up something new. I have a few new songs in the works, but my drummer lives in New York, so that may take a few decades. Custom Floor did a short tour of California in 1992, and a full U.S. tour in 1994. Half of that tour was spent opening for Drive Like Jehu, which was fun.





WWDIS: Are you currently active in any other musical projects?

GSD: There’s an offshoot of Custom Floor called Carpet Floor, who play free improv and spontaneous psych. I have a lot of other ideas that I hope to transfer into music someday when I can make time.


WWDIS: What labels / musicians are you currently into?


GSD: Kaoru Abe, A Certain Ratio, Acid Mothers Temple, Almu Aga, Agitation Free, Agog, A Handful of Dust, Aihiyo, Airway, Algarnas Tradgard, Maryanne Amacher, Charles Amirkhanian, AMM, Amon Duul, Beth Anderson, AR and Machines, Ash Castles on the Ghost Coast, Robert Ashley, Ash Ra Temple, Albert Ayler, Alvarius B, Derek Bailey, Bardo Pond, the Baschet Brothers, Steffen Basho-Junghans, William Basinski, Francois Bayle, David Behrman, Harry Bertoia, Big Black, the Big Boys, Biosphere, Biota, Sir Richard Bishop, Olivia Block, the Blue Humans, BNSF, Boards of Canada, Dock Boggs, Borbetomagus, the Boredoms, Brainticket, Glenn Branca, Jens Brand, Kjetil D. Brandsdal, Brast Burn, Susanne Brokesch, Sandy Bull, Dave Burrell, early Butthole Surfers, Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies, Captain Beefheart, John Cage, John Cale, Calla, Cambodian Rocks comp, Can, Carpet Floor, Joseph Celli, Charalambides, Rhys Chatham, Che-Shizu, the Citizens for Interplanetary Activity, Nels Cline, Clive's Original Band (COB), Cluster, John Coltrane, Comus, the Conet Project, Tony Conrad, early Alice Cooper, Philip Corner, Matt Crane, Crawling With Tarts, Alvin Curran, Current 93, Custom Floor, Dadamah, Damenbart, Dara, Debris, Martin Denny, Destroy All Monsters, Eddie Detroit, Deuter, Francis Dhomont, Djam Karet, DNA, Tod Dockstader, the Dog Faced Hermans, the Doo-Dooettes, Dreamies, Arnold Dreyblatt, Drive Like Jehu, Jean Dubuffet, Iancu Dumitrescu, Judy Dunaway, John Duncan, Julius Eastman, Einsteurzende Neubauten, Brian Eno, Ethiopiques comps, the Ex, Exias-J, John Fahey, Fat Harlingen, Faust, Morton Feldman, Luc Ferrari, Fibrillation, Fifty Foot Hose, Fille Qui Mousse, David First, Henry Flynt, Food Brain, Dredd Foole, Free Kitten, Rev. Dwight Frizzell, the Fugs, Ellen Fullman, Fushitsusha, Kenneth Gaburo, Diamanda Galas, Galaxie 500, Gasaneta, Gate, Vittorio Gelmetti, the Germs, Ghost, Jon Gibson, Gilberto Gil and Gal Costa, Charles Gocher, Go Hirano, the Green Ray, Rudolph Grey, Ragnar Grippe, Ground Zero, Group Doueh, Grouper, Bernhard Gunter, Guru Guru, Keiji Haino, the Halleluejahs, Tom Hamilton, Hapshash and the Colored Coat, Harmonia, Harvester, early PJ Harvey, Tim Hecker, Pierre Henry, High Rise, Mark Hollis, Howth Castle, Iceburn, If Bwana, Isan, Teiji Ito, Jackie O Motherfucker, Henry Jacobs, Jandek, the Jesus and Mary Chain (just Psychocandy), Joe Jones, Mauricio Kagel, Mikami Kan, Jutok Kaneko, Roland Kayn, Tomokawa Kazuki, Rodd Keith, Karuna Khyal, Knead, Gottfried Michael Koenig, Barbara Kolb, Thomas Koner, Konono No. 1, Kontakta, Erkin Koray, Takehisa Kosugi, Kousokuya, Kraftwerk, Alan Lamb, Eric Lanzillotta, Lard Free, Le Forte Four, Les Rallizes Denudes, Lightning Bolt, Live Skull, the Los Angeles Free Music Society (LAFMS), Lost Aaraaff, Love Live Life +1, Lovely Midget, Frank Lowe, Alvin Lucier, Ralph Lundsten, Lush, Maciunas Ensemble, Angus Maclise, Magical Power Mako, Magic Hour, Maher Shalal Hash Baz, Mahogany Brain, Marble Sheep and the Run Down Sun's Children, Lionel Marchetti, Walter Marchetti, Christian Marclay, Marginal Consort, Mars, Ingram Marshall, the Master Musicians of Jajouka, Matmos, Richard Maxfield, Loren Mazzacane, Microstoria, Roger Miller, Mimir, Minor Threat, Mirror, Mirror Dash, the Misfits (just Walk Among Us), Kimio Mizutani, Mnemonists, Roy Montgomery, Anthony Moore, Thurston Moore, Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co., Mu, Chie Mukai, Gordon Mumma, Musica Elettronica Viva (MEV), Music From the ONCE Festival comp, MX-80 Sound, My Bloody Valentine, John Myers' Blastula, Nagisa Ni Te, Conlon Nancarrow, Neu!, the New Tweedy Brothers, Phil Niblock, the Nihilist Spasm Band, Nijiumu, No Neck Blues Band, No New York comp, Arne Nordheim, Nurse With Wound, Pauline Oliveros, Bjorn Olsson, Organum, Os Mutantes, Ouba, Oval, Overhang Party, Charlemagne Palestine, Bernard Parmegiani, Parson Sound, Harry Partch, Linda Perhacs, Physics, the Pixies, Pluramon, Larry Polansky, Pole, Polvo, Popol Vuh, Powerdresser, Pandit Pran Nath, Prince Far I (Cry Freedom Dub), Purple Trap, Dick Raaijmakers, Folke Rabe, Eliane Radigue, Lee Ranaldo, Tom Recchion, Steve Reich, Hans Reichel, Ride, Terry Riley, RLW, Steve Roden, Keith Rowe, Ray Russell, Frederic Rzewski, Philip Sanderson, Savage Republic, Pierre Schaeffer, Gunter Schickert, Marcus Schmickler, Conrad Schnitzler, Raymond Scott, Scratch Acid, the Scratch Orchestra, the Sea Donkeys, Sonny Sharrock, Shizuka, Siloah, the Silver Apples, Slint, Sonic Youth, Omar Souleyman, Spacemen 3, Laurie Spiegel, the Spoils of War, Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Karlheinz Stockhausen, the Stooges, Sublime Frequencies label, Morton Subotnick, Sunburned Hand of the Man, Sun City Girls, Sun Dial, Sun Ra, Surface of the Earth, Sweet and Honey, Taj Mahal Travellers, Masayuki Takayanagi, Talk Talk, Tangerine Dream, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks, James Tenney, Theoretical Girls, This Heat, Throbbing Gristle, Toho Sara, To Rococo Rot, Total, Trad Gras Och Stenar, David Tudor, "Blue" Gene Tyranny, Uncle Jim, the United States of America, Masayoshi Urabe, Vladimir Ussachevsky, Edgard Varese, Vajra, the Velvet Underground, Lois V. Vierk, the Vocokesh, Voice Crack, Wabi Sabi, Igor Wakhevitch, Warm Climate, Patty Waters, White Heaven, White Magic, White Noise, White Out, White Winged Moth, Simon Wickham-Smith, Davey Williams, the Wind Harp, Trevor Wishart, Witthuser and Westrupp, Christian Wolff, Iannis Xenakis, Xhol Caravan, Yahowha 13, Father Yod, the Michael Yonkers Band, Otomo Yoshihide, La Monte Young, the Young Marble Giants, Richard Youngs, Yura Yura Kingdom, Z'ev, plus a lot of other stuff I can't think of right now that I'll add later.




WWDIS: What were the highlights of your recent Southeast Asia excursion?

GSD: The gamelan music, traditional dance and temples of Bali and Java. The art of Islam in Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia. Snorkeling in the turquoise water of the Phi Phi islands in Thailand. Exploring highly ornate, gold-covered Buddhist temples throughout Thailand and eating the most delicious food ever at May Kaidee’s vegetarian restaurant in Bangkok. In Myanmar, gazing at the towering, golden Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon and attending the chaotic and colorful Nat Pwe (spirit festival) of music and dance in Tangbyone. You can view all of my photos and stories from this trip at Arcane Candy.



WWDIS:Cycling (This question is based only on your MySpace interest of "mountain biking.") How into it are you? Mountain? Road? Etc.


GSD: I’m so into it! I love the cool wind rushing over my face and getting a good workout by climbing steep hills. I bought a mountain bike about five years ago because the company I worked for was located right next to some great trails. I got laid off at the beginning of 2010, so I had to say goodbye to those trails. Then I started riding my mountain bike on the road down by San Diego, where I’m situated now. I still hope to ride trails every once in a while, but there’s not enough time to put my bike in the back of my truck and drive really far every day.

So there you go. Thanks to Garry for his time.

Magnus Backstedt Interview

Magnus Backstedt has always been one of my favorite riders. Devoted to the classics, his status as a hardman cannot be questioned. His crowning moment has to be his Roubaix win in 2004, but I have spent many an hour on the trainer watching him set brutal tempo in a breakaway in the 08 edition of Flanders. He has been a supporter of the Pan-Mass challenge here in MA for a while and being reminded of this got me thinking and reminiscing a bit. Roubaix was epic, but I was always puzzled by his attempt at the derny hour record. What was the motivation to suffer behind a motorbike turning that huge gear? On a whim,I emailed Big Maggy's coffee to see if he would be interested in an interview. I was pretty shocked when I got a quick reply in the affirmative. So here are a few questions with a real giant of cycling.


WWDIS:Why did you decide to pursue the derny hour record?
MB: I just love riding the track and riding behind the Derny is one of my favourite things to do. I quite quickly realised i was very fast behind it. Unfortunately things didn't go to plan on the night with the driver getting "big occasion nerves". Unfortunately i never got the time to give it another go.

WWDIS: What was harder Roubaix or the derny hour?
MB:I think Roubaix, more due to the time it takes to become human again after a complete emptying of the tank and all the physical issues the cobbles cause. Still the Hour was not easy.


WWDIS: What were your favorite races?
MB: For me there was really only one race. Second Sunday in April is a special day in my calendar and always will be. The Paris Roubaix is such a special event and I have a great love for the race itself and the history behind the race.

WWDIS:Did you ever do any derny crits?
MB:No I never did. I was always busy with other races.
WWDIS: Are they as sketchy as the appear?
MB:I don't think they are any worse than other races.

WWDIS: You road for a lot of teams over the years-what was your favorite bike?
MB: Difficult question to answer. I had so many purpose built bikes made for me and a lot of custom jobs. Have to say though that the Felt AR1 was probably one of my favourites. Also had quite a lot of input to that bike being made. Jim Felt did an awesome job there. Another favourite is the Cervelo P3 and i recently got a Wilier Cento Uno that again was made to my spec. As an off the peg bike i think the bike that my team is riding this year has to be one of the stiffest and lightest i have ever ridden. It's a small brand. Nishiki team Carbon it's called. You can find them on www.nishiki.se

WWDIS:This is a mandatory interview question, do you prefer Campy or Shimano? Or Sram?
MB: Shimano

WWDIS:How did you get associated with the Pan-Mass Challenge?
MB: Long story. Matt Dillis who is the captain of the Forza-G PMC team is working together with me distributing my coffee in the US and on that road we ended up with me riding the PMC. One of the best rides i have done. I do a lot of stuff for charities and my coffee donates a % of the profit to cancer charities, the PMC being one of them. Find the coffee on www.bigmaggys.com

WWDIS: How was it being on the podium with Roger Hammond?
MB:Well, Rog and me are good friends and used to share a house in Belgium. I felt for him not winning, but on that day there was only going to be one winner and that was me. I think he can appreciate that. He rode really strong that day and luckily for me i just managed to outmaneuver all of them coming out of the final turn. Track cycling move!! Well, knowing how people move on the track helped me a lot that day.

WWDIS:Have you or do you race cross?
MB: I have only ever done a couple of local ones in south wales where I live. Not really my thing. I'm too heavy and bog down in the mud. I do like taking my MTB on a spin though.

WWDIS: My blog focuses on cycling and music, so what are some of your favorite bands?
MB: Metallica, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Black eyed Peas, the XX. i have something like 8500 tunes on my ipod and it varies from the one extreme to another.

WWDIS:You seem to be busy with your coffee, team,and TV commentating? What else are you up to?
MB: I also have my bike/coffee shop on Jersey Channel islands. Apart from that and my family i don't really have time to do anything else.

So there you have it. Amazing racer, retires and seems to stay just as busy. Get some of that coffee!

PS
want one of these

John Joseph Interview: Meat is for pussies, cycling is not!

John Joseph doesn't need much introduction. Like most of the world, I was reminded that John cycled through a couple of classic youtube videos that came out last year. I knew that he was a bike messenger and had seen pictures of him in cycling gear. It is hard to fathom the impact that JJ and the Cro-Mags have had on people. The music defines NYHC for me, and has been in heavy rotation since 1986. Across the board, John has brought inspiration to so many people. I really wanted to get to the bottom of what was up with John and cycling. He is a natural born story teller(check out Evolution of a Cro-Mag if you haven't already) and I really didn't need to stress out over my questions. He just let it rip.
Anyway, his new book Meat is for Pussies is out. Check it out. I was stoked when this interview happened.

How did you get into cycling?
Funny enough, I was AWOL from the Navy, so in 1981, I needed a job. My friend was like-hey man the messenger service you can call yourself fucking Johnny Pollywog and they’ll give you a check cashing card. So you don’t have to give your social security number or nothing. So I go this beat up girl’s Panasonic. And I was riding that and all the dudes, I noticed, they didn’t have the clipless pedals yet, it was toe clips. All these guys that were all decked out were all like “Yo”. I was running and playing basketball still. I was pedaling the bike like 20 or 30 miles a day. They were like “Yo, if you got a better bike, you could make a lot more money” So I bought a Nishiki Modulus with 105 and clipless pedals from the Cuevas-Fracessco,Paco, and Andreas who were from Spain. They’re frame builders. They got me into more of the high tech stuff and I started riding in the Park at night after work and doing the pack ride. The 4 lap crit that they do. So then I just continued from there. Building from there and getting better stuff..That was it.

Was that race at Kissena?
No that was in Central Park. No, I know all the guys that were winning the track races at Kissena and all that. Going down to Pennsylvania. I am not a track person. I’m a roadie.
I’m not down with…I bought a Matsuri back in the 80s, but I didn’t like it. I’m more of a gear guy. I like climbing hills. I started going up to Nyack. Bear Mountain. Ride out to the Hamptons. I started doing the longer rides. Riding out to the beach. Swimming once I got there. So now I’m getting ready to crack into the Iron Man stuff,
I’m healing up an injury right now which fucking blows. I fucked up my sciatic in the winter. Shit takes like a year to heal. It was a deep injury. I just gotta keep doing therapy and acupuncture.

What are you riding right now for a bike?
I got 2 bikes. I got a Lightspeed Liege-all DuraAce with a Mavic wheelset and then my tri-bike is a Kestrel Airfoil with all DuraAce and the 650s on there.

The Lightspeed is famous from the video you made.

Yeah, well you know I didn’t expect that go all like that. That dude was like “Yo, let me follow you around.” How about I do just hours of training in a row just because all these motherfuckers are popping shit that vegans don’t have... I even hate using the V word cause it is associated with some of the biggest douche bags in the 80s. But I just eat clean vegetarian. I don’t consume any animal products what so ever. But anyway that’s another fish to fry. Vegan fish to fry. So I was like all right I’ll prove to these mother fuckers. I did about 30 on the bike, running, hitting the gym, You know. It ended up, I posted it, and there you go. It ended up being a little bravado, but I think it’s important to do that because… the minute you say your vegetarian people take offense to that shit. Sitting there judging you, but I’ve been doing it for 30 years almost –being real active. That’s the reason I did that. I met him in Poland. He’s a good dude.
So now I wanna get into… this tough mudder race. The reason I stopped playing ball is I got torn ligaments in my ankle. The last time I played B-ball, I fucking rolled my ankle and I was laid up and couldn’t do shit for 4 weeks. As much as I love playing B-ball, I can’t because of what’s at stake. It fucks up the Cro-Mags shit I’m doing. It fucks up my training. I’m trying to sign up for this Austin Iron Man. I take it serious. A full on Iron Man ain’t no joke, Trying to get into the Hawaiian one, There’s one in upstate NY, but I really want to do the one in Hawaii cause I used to live there. Got a bunch of friends there. So I might raise the money for Team in Training. For Lymphoma. My mom’s boy friend died of lymphoma so to raise some awareness about the whole disease and prevention.
Any thoughts on Performance Enhancing Drugs in sports?
Yeah dude, It’s whack. You don’t need that shit. Look at Mike Mahler. If anyone wants to google him, he deals with all natural vegan enhancements for men. Like hormone levels and everything, the guy is an expert on nutrition. I got a picture of him in the book and everything. He’s a kettle bell instructor. He has a workout called “the age of quarrel” Kettlebell workshops. Just google that dude and follow what he does. He has a whole bunch of ways to boost testosterone and performance levels without the use of dangerous drugs. You know HGH. Funny thing is my boy who is winning a lot of the crits in NY. This kid named Darius who works at Sid’s bike shop. Really cool kid. I love cycling with him. He is an amazing rider and I try to ride with people who are better than me so that they push me. But like he said all these guys they win these races in New York but they refuse to go outside New York cause they’re going to get drug tested. So that’s how you know that even the cyclists are on that shit. They’re taking the fucking steroids, HGH, I don’t know what the fuck those guys take cause they want to increase endurance levels.
But I’m a natural person. I don’t take any drugs at all. Just to get the edge up? Fucking kill myself? Poison my fucking liver?, My kidney? My pancreas? No thank you. I do what I do-sports and athletics not to fucking be like “yeah I beat you”. I do it cause it makes me feel good. So I don’t need to be injecting shit into my body.
It’s all about the natural way, longevity, keeping it real.
Does your new book, Meat is for Pussies, deal with anything that might be of interest to cyclists?
The book deals with longevity. So I get a lot of these guys there fucking 21, 23 years old with this meat and potatoes mentality. And I’m like, dude talk to me when you get to be my age. 47 gonna be 48. Lets see what you’re doing 30 years from now with what you’re eating. It’s not to judge anyone. The title Meat is for Pussies is not judging anyone, but what is saying is if you continue to eat these foods, these poisonous foods, that's what’s going to turn you into a pussy dependent on these fucking pharmaceutical companies to keep you alive. The average person up in their 50's is on 2 or 3 different kinds of medications. I just try to keep it real. Some of the vegans and vegetarians become consumed with food. I’m not consumed with food. I am consumed with a lot of other stuff-the arts, writing,training. But that’s a part of it. I don’t ingest any animals that have been fucking tortured. I keep my consciousness as healthy and pure as I can, but I’m not consumed with it like some of these raw foodists and vegans who are just like “food, food, food”. It’s like shut the fuck up already. I agree with everything, but I’m not John Joseph the vegan. I’m not John Joseph the hardcore singer. I don’t put labels on myself, and I wrote the book to help people not to judge people. And that’s really what it’s about. I hope the book inspires people to clean up the planet and clean their lives. But at the same time I don’t judge anybody.

Did you ever roll up to CB’s in lycra and what was the reaction?
Yeah, I pulled up there a couple times on my bike training when there was a Sunday matinee and I was coming back from the beach or a ride, but whatever.

Was that blowing people’s minds?
Yeah, but they don’t give a fuck. It’s not like I’m walking around like the dude from Living Color with spandex. Anyone that cycles knows that those clothes serve a purpose-the seams are on the outside. They have a chammy. You wear those clothes for a reason, but it’s not like my fashion statement. Which I don’t have one-I just wear whatever the fuck I want, but people don’t say shit. I think they understand that the clothes are for the bike.

Any other New York Hardcore guys that are riding bikes or racing bikes that you’re aware of?
Joe from Cause for Alarm-I think he was the bass player. He was racing and he was the one that gave me a lot of tips on climbing. Positioning your legs and grip position when climbing hills.
But now I’m not to sure who’s doing what cause I don’t see that many people, but back in the day there were a lot more people.

Do follow much bike racing?
I watch Paris Roubaix. The Tour of California is going on and I caught one of the stages the other night. It’s tough cause I’m on tour a lot, but I’ll watch the race in fucking German if I have to. I just love watching it. The Tour de France is the crème de la crème. I enjoy cycling. If you have climbed or been in an all out motherfucking sprint, you just appreciate what these dudes do. Last year I watched every stage. I watch the Vuelta, the Giro, a lot of the one day classics. I like to watch triathlons as well.
I try not to have my boob tube on that much though.
Now I’m getting ready to do a quick run and I got a bunch of work to do. I’m going to run over the bridges in a minute. I just enjoy it man. So I love cycling and you learn a lot. You pay attention to how these dudes do what they do. I think out of the three disciplines-my cycling is up there. My running is up there. I just have to work a lot on swimming. I’m going to be working with Rip Esselstyn. Training a bit to improve my stroke. And he wins the Escape from Alcatraz swim stage. Every time he gets in the water, he’s like a fucking frog man. If you don’t know who he is he wrote the Engine2 Diet. His father was involved in the China Study with the T.Colin Campbell Foundation. That’s a great book-The Engine 2 Diet. The guys a fucking stud

Last Question. Campy or Shimano, where do you stand?
I got a good Campy story for you and then you’ll know where the fuck I stand. I road Campy back in the day. I had Super Record. I had C-Record. The sons took over the company. They went from forged aluminum to cast aluminum. I’m riding up to Bear Mountain on 9W. Luckily on climb, I snapped a fucking C-Record crank set. Snapped the crank arm. Had to take the bus back. Came off the bike. Fucked myself up. I look at the crank that snapped and there was an air bubble that transferred through finally. So my friend told me that when they cast the aluminum, sometimes there’s air bubbles and then boom eventually. So I called up Campy cause I know they got a life time warranty. But when the sons took over the company when the father passed away they discontinued the lifetime warranty on the Campy parts. Cause anytime anything went wrong, you sent it back and they replaced it. They don’t do that anymore-as far as I know. I said you know what? I almost got run over by a car cause of your defective part, so I’m never gonna buy Campy again. And to this day, that was 15 years ago, I’ve never bought a Campy part.
I’m all about the Shimano DuraAce. That’s what’s up.
I like their stuff. They make very good parts. I’m a Dur Ace Person for that reason.

Thanks! Any last words?
Just check out the book Meat is for Pussies and the website. meatisforpussies.org.

October Part Two!

-How did you get into frame building and how did you hook up with Dean?
I always dreamed of starting my own frame company, even before I had any clue whatsoever how it was done. After following my one of my other dreams of living in Colorado, I was laid off from an engineering job along w/ half the dept. Ironically, I was out on a lunch time ride when The Man's hand came down, so I was pretty much the last to know. Through a friend (the one who does all the graphics for October), I met Sean from Rol wheels who had a relationship with the Dean folks. As it turned out, they were in need of a builder because one of their guys was leaving. I made contact and shortly after was offered the job. Best thing I've ever done, next to starting my own thing...


-Favorite tool(s) in your shop?
Has to be my frame fixture. Don Ferris from Anvil really knows how to make tools. My frames come out of the fixture tighter and straighter than I could hope with other tooling. Of course, like all builders that use them, my Bridgeport is kind of like a family pet...you just get to know the ins and outs of your machine and how to adjust for them.


-Why do you think titanium gets a bad rap? (you know the whole bike rich dentists ride thing....)
It gets a bad rap? Perhaps I'm the modern version of old fashioned or something, but to me, titanium is an incredible material for bikes. It's expensive as hell, so I see the angle you are referring to. It has soul though. Carbon fiber is amazing, can be laid up to do just what you want, but if done wrong, there is no life in it. Titanium/carbon bikes ride amazing, are adequately light, and have excellent durability. For my money, its the magic combination..


-Internal cable routing-friend or foe?
Haven't really played with it on my bikes. I think it's cool and has a place in a lot of the bikes the artisan builders make. I don't read/hear a lot about how much more aero it makes a TT bike, although it gets used a lot in that application. I guess I just haven't decided to have a look at it yet.

-What is more fun to build? Road or MTB?-Take a stand
Cross bikes! I love making cross bikes. I totally would take a stand, but I really don't like to build one over the other. I certianly don't pick up a build sheet and think 'oh crap, not another road bike"... I'm still too stoked on the whole thing to be complacent

**notice the classic hardcore song title aspect of the above questions? Good for you, I ran out of steam after two.

-Extened seat tube/masts?
I think they are pretty rad. I use them on my cross bikes and have had excellent feedback both from the racers and the public.


-What makes a beautiful bike?
Giving it soul. Totally. There are so many amazing bikes out there and if I had the means, even though I am a builder, I would have a fleet of bikes from lots of companies. I've ridden tons of bikes, owned tons of bikes, and I certainly have had good ones and bad ones. When you get to the level I am striving to be at with my bikes, I truly think in so many ways it's the company vibe/image/soul that ultimately a customer wants to associate with. It may sound a bit lame, but I care about each one of the bikes I build as if I was building it for myself. I truly feel like I am living my dream, so each bike has a piece of me in it. I want someone who decided to drop the money on an October to feel the soul of the bike in each pedal stoke.

-Who are some of your other favorite frame builders?
Man, so many... I love the Indy Fab guys and where they came from. Richard Sachs, of course. I think Sacha White is a trend setter and deserves major props.

-Best music to build bikes to?
I've totally been on this The Devil Wears Prada kick lately. I have such a crazy musical range.... some days it's Sigur Ros, other days it Youth of Today. I'm also totally digging Agraceful as well. I loved the Emarosa EP, but felt like something was lost in the new album they put out with the new singer. When I have the welding mask on, I tend to like mellower stuff, just because I get in the zone and don't feel so aggro. When I'm doing the machining, I definitely am diggind the heavier side. Any suggestions? I need some new stuff...

(WWDIS:Suggestions? I tend to break more stuff to music than fix it, but AC/DC is pretty much mandatory bike cleaning/working/etc music to me.)
So there you go 2 rounds with Andrew from October. Check him out. In these tough times it is important to support small business. And where else can you talk about extended seat masts and 24-7 Spyz with the same dude?
A few more shots from his shop. I am not trying to be Ansel Adams(and I did not do these bikes justice! Check out his site for better bike shots), but it is alway cool to be able to wander around a workshop and be surrounded by this many nice bikes and more in progress.

October Bikes Part One

It is really a small world. Andrew and my wife met walking dogs in the morning and somehow bikes came up. Not too long after that, we stumbled on the youth crew/anthrax connection. Not too long after that he dropped that he had played drums for Wishful Thinking(arguably the best of the Western Mass Community Chest releases....but good luck finding someone to argue with about this. Any G-Man fans out there?). Not only that, he was the kid on the cover! He makes some nice ti and carbon ti frames. Road, Cross, MTB, whatever you want. He started building for Dean in CO and then moved back East.
Anyway he was dowh to answer some questions, so read on and check him out here. More Bike Questions and photos for part two!

1.How did you get into music? How did you get into hardcore?
I started playing drums probably when I was around 8 or 9. I used to make the biggest set I could from boxes and whatever else I could find around. I made full-on erector set hi-hats and bass drum pedals...I guess that was one of the early starts to engineering as well. Anyway, for some reason, music was a big part of my life from early on. My folks really enjoyed music and had it playing all the time at home. I think the aggressiveness, and passion of hardcore music is what got me hooked. The raw emotion and energy, as well as the speed of it just resonated with me. Which in some ways is very strange since I'm pretty much an introvert. Then I really got into the straight edge stuff and that was just amazing. Here were these kids, agree or not, living in a positive way staying away from drugs, etc. Was cool to feel a sense of community and that the music (and the scene) had your back if you needed an army against the peer pressure.
2.Favorite show? Best show at the Anthrax?
Man, it's a tough one to pick a favorite. As for hardcore, probable a Youth of Today, Judge, and Bold show...it also happened to be at the Anthrax. Another memorable one was Absolution at the Anthrax...they opened, then another band played (Hogan's Hero's I think) then Absolution came on again! Was pretty sick. Other notables in varied genres were an early Rage Against the Machine show, Sunny Day Real Estate at the UMASS Student Union, any of the 8 times I've seen Tool, Earth Crisis at Pearl Street....man, I could go on and on..
3.How did you end up in Wishful Thinking?
I met the Wishful Thinking guys through mutual skateboarding friends. Their current drummer was getting into county music or something, so they needed someone new. Unfortunately for me, they already recorded the 7", but fortunately, I got to play the shows!
4.What was the best show you played with them?
Probably at UCONN, we opened for 24-7 Spyz.
5.Fondest youth crew memories?
Just skating, listening to music, heading up to Main Street Records. Western Mass had a pretty good hardcore scene. I mean, we had a ton of fun, plenty of shows came through, or weren't too hard to get to. I am grateful that my parents tolerated all this stuff and trusted that I was hanging out with a good group of friends.

6.Top Ten hardcore classics?
Only ten? I guess these were probably my fav's back in the day:
Break Down the Walls - Youth of Today
I Against I - Bad Brains
Destroy the Machines - Earth Crisis (is that considered a classic?)
Beyond - Demo
Speak Out - Bold
Insted's album
Chain of Strength - True til Death
7 Seconds - Walk Together, Rock Together
Minor Threat - Out of Step
Brotherhood - Demo

7.Where you into bikes or skateboarding or anything back then?
Totally into Skateboarding. I had a BMX bike as a kid, but skateboarding, then snowboarding was where it was at. I just realized - this will be my 22nd year snowboarding! I've missed a couple seasons in there, but yeah, been riding regularly for a long time. I also still break out the skateboard now and again...

8..Did you get into road or MTB first?
I got heavy into mountain biking about '92 or so. I just was so stoked on it! Then I got into some beginner racing, and found I was only riding my mountain bike in the races - the rest of the time, I was out on the road. So I became a shaved-leg roadie! Now, I pretty much do it all, except I don't do any of it all that much! Seems like once you start building bikes, you stop riding them....

Part Two of this interview will be along shortly. That will cover more of the bike-life rather than the core.

As a side note the Rise to Surprise 7" is a 9 song rager. More trad HC with a Cali (UC) or DC(Faith maybe) feel than the CT posi-core that the cover hints at. It reminds me of the bands that were on the Open Your Eyes tape series(if anyone remembers that) Get it if you can-especially on orange wax?
"Time Out" and "Inside Out"are my favorite tracks. Inside Out has a real NYHC feel (Side by Side?) Youth Crew forever!!

Quality Audio

While digging around for Bob Evans video online, I stumbled across Dave G's new band with his wife,Tess-Quality Audio Noticed he was rocking a Milram cap in one photo and a Flanders cap in another. A couple other bike photos, and that was all it took for the intrepid reporters of WWDIS to spot another victim for the cycling/music interview series. Luckily Dave and Tess were cool enough to answer some questions. Read on.


WWDIS:What came first music or bikes?
Dave-Probably Music. My first real bike was around 2nd Grade, and I was listening to and getting early doses of music before that.
Tess. – I started out in grade school with a Schwinn cruiser all pimped out with lowrider chrome accessories that I bought with my babysitting money. My 6 older siblings hooked me up with their music early, handing down their Neil Young, Alice Cooper, and War records. By 5th grade, me and my friends would listen to rock tapes and shine up our bikes in my garage.

WWDIS:All time favorite records?
Tess. – too hard to pick, but let’s see. “The Kids Are Alright” by The Who, “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” by Dead Kennedys, “Love Supreme” by John Coltrane, any Bebel Gilberto, “Jersey Barrier” by Bob Evans, “Are You Driving Me Crazy?” by Seam, “Paranoid” by Black Sabbath, “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” by Vince Guaraldi Trio, and “101 Italian Hits” by Chinchilla.
Dave – “Ben Hur” - Bitch Magnet, “English Settlement” – Xtc, “Nook” – The Notwist, “One Step Beyond” – Madness, “Aja” – Steely Dan (Tess. Don’t hate me!), “Everything Wrong is Imaginary” – The Lilys, “Fantastic Planet” – Failure, “Sensual World” – Kate Bush, “The Flowers of Romance” – Pil, “With the Quickness” – Bad Brains, “Mezzanine” – Massive Attack, “Dope Smoker” – Sleep, “Spiderland” – Slint (but of course, we owe it all to these kids).

WWDIS:Current favorites?
Tess. – any Beck or Kristin Hersh, “Lambs” by Jucifer, “The Con” by Tegan And Sarah, “Tijuana Sessions Vol. 3” by Nortec Collective.
Dave – Everything by The Lilys, “The Biz” – The Sea & Cake, The Bird and the Bee, The Radio Dept., “Secrets of the Lost Satellite” – Ken Andrews

WWDIS:Best live band(s) you've seen
Tess. – quick list: Big Country, 999, Slint, L7, Massive Attack, Throwing Muses, The Gits, Sahara Hot Nights, Chavez, Madness, Miles Davis at the Hollywood Bowl, Athlete, The Henry Clay People, Samiam, Low Vs Diamond, The Lilys.
Dave – Melt Banana, Massive Attack, Slint, Butthole Surfers, Bongwater, Rein Sanction, Kristen Hersh (Her last tour was amazing!), Bitch Magnet, Johnboy, Helmet, Dead Can Dance.

WWDIS:Bands before Quality Audio?
Dave- My first “real” band was Bob Evans. We were a post-punk/hardcore/thrash whatever you want to call it that put out records in the 90’s. After that, I was in a band called Raoul with my wife and Kirk Jamieson in Seattle. We released a few demos. I have been doing a recording project with a longtime friend (and fellow bike maniac) called Rebuttal, which is on hiatus at the moment, but we will put more stuff out eventually. We have released 5 cds over the last decade.
Tess. – I started in LA garage punk, then headed to the Northwest for Seattle-based rock fuck stuff, which included Danger Gens, a Throwing Muses meets Babes In Toyland outfit (who we played with a few times), Algae, and Bobbitt (a cross-breeding of metal and post-punk—new metal, I guess).


WWDIS:How did Quality Audio start?
Dave – My wife and I started this project as a vehicle to write and produce music from our own recording studio. Our focus is mostly on recording, though we are rehearsing for some LA shows down the road. Tess. and I have been collaborating since our marriage, which is going on 14 years now. We basically hang out all the time, and it made sense to start this project once Tess. finished her master’s degree this past spring.

WWDIS:Where were you a messenger?
Dave - I was a messenger in Seattle. Lots of rain, steep hills, good times.

WWDIS:What were you riding then? Fixed, geared, etc?
Dave – I was riding a funky Sakai hybrid at the time. It was a funky demo model frame I picked up when I worked for them. Fixed gear would have killed me with the hills, though I did see a few crazy messengers riding them.

WWDIS:What are you both riding now?
Dave – I ride a LeMond steel frame road bike and an old Bianci road bike, which I am in the process of turning into a fixed gear. I am not the best wrencher out there.
Tess. – I have this Giant hybrid-like ride—kind of road bike meets cruiser. Her name is Esmeralda. Henrietta La Chainlink, my main ride, is a steel frame, 3 speed Electra cruiser—a totally tough bici—holds her own in LA traffic and fucked up roads. I love it.

WWDISDo you race?
Dave – Nope. Do alley cat races count? (Absolutely-the ed)
Tess. – When we lived in Seattle, Dave did the annual Dead Baby race and other Seattle messenger races. My band Bobbitt played at the after party of a dead baby with Tad’s post-TAD band Hog Molly. Bobbitt was a total bike band, as Tonja, the lead singer, is a bici chick, too. We did things like organized an alley cat to end at my b-day bash show one year and gave bike gear to the winner.

WWDIS:Favorite bike past/present/future?
Dave – Probably my LeMond Tourmelet is my favorite bike. It is so tough and comfortable, great for long rides and can take the punishment of city riding.
Tess. – My first cruiser – she was red.

WWDIS:Favorite music on the bike?
Dave – I never listen to music when I ride. I live in LA and my full attention is on not getting run over by a giant Escalade. I prefer to be with my thoughts, I feel like on the bike is a place I can block out the rest of the world and get some good thinking done.
Tess. – ditto. It’s fucking balls out riding out here, but if you ride safe, it is totally fun and easy to navigate LA drivers, whom I’ve found to be very accommodating when I connect with them and let them know what I am doing.

WWDIS:Campy or Shimano?
Dave – Shimano but I would rather have campy. Maybe someday I will have the dream bike, but for now it is more utilitarian for me.

WWDIS:What would your dream bike be?
Tess. – I have mine!
Dave – Bellesi Steel frame, single speed, I have gone to heaven.

WWDIS:Favorite rides?
Dave - In Seattle it was the loop around Lake Washington. Maybe 60 plus miles, but if you do not map out your route it could kill you with the hills. Beautiful scenery and about half of it is on trails. Right now I am in LA, and I love climbing to Griffith Observatory for some hills and an amazing view of the city. I also love to ride on the Bellona Creek Wetlands trail which goes from Culver City to the beach, and then I swing into Venice Beach for some people watching and then back through Santa Monica back to Hollywood.
Tess. – Our night ride through West Hollywood to The Coronet (rest in peace as of 6/08) and El Carmen for a post-recording reposado night cap. The short ride to La Brea tar pits via hilly Curson to play bocce is a fun addiction, as are the all-day rides through LA in and out of the back streets.

WWDIS:Cyclo-core? Do you want to elaborate on this concept?
Tess. – “Cycling-core,” is actually what we call it J. It is an inside joke that has made its way into our vocabulary. I use it when people ask what we sound like. Basically, it is an inside joke on the too-serious use of music genre neologisms (“emotronic” for example). I think it is adorable how rockstars-in-training can be very precious about describing their sound—the concoctions almost negate themselves, which is just absurdist humor for me. Case in point: I love the list of choices Myspace gives you when you set up a music page—I change ours periodically because its fun.

So there you have it. Keep an eye out for new songs by QA and dig around and check out their older projects! Definitely stoked I stumbled onto this folks and things like this make myspace worthwhile!

Aaron Harris of Isis

Aaron Harris is the drummer for Isis, longtime bike geek, and beer fan. I have gotten dropped by him on more hills than I care to remember.... Despite this he was ready to spend some quality time with WWDIS!

WWDIS: What came first music, skateboarding, or bikes?
AH:Music was first to come, then skateboarding, then cycling. My Dad is a drummer so there was a drum set in our basement when I was a kid. He also has a huge record collection so there's was always good stuff to listen to. Zeppelin, Floyd, ELP, The Police etc. I used to go down and play along to my favorite records. That's how I learned to play. I guess it was in my blood a little because I've never taken a lesson except for recently from a friend of mine who's playing I dig.

WWDIS:Where you into bikes back in Maine or mainly skating?
AH:Both actually. I grew up in the suburbs of a town called Bath on the coast of Maine. In order to skate, I would have to ride my bike about 8 miles in to town to meet up with my skater friends. There was also tons of killer mountain biking around. My Dad had a knee operation and was advised by his doctor to cycle in order to recover and strengthen his knees. I would join him in the evening when he got home from work. We'd do 8 to 10 mile rides. It seemed like a lot at the time, ha ha. He had an old Univega and I had a Giant MTB.

WWDIS:What did you start out riding?
AH:I started on a MTB. When Greg LeMond was winning the tour I started getting in to road bikes, but we didn't have enough money to get me one. I did have a T-Shirt from his "Z" racing team. I thought I was pretty cool. It wasn't until 96 when I moved to Boston to pursue music that I got my first road bike. There was a small single speed/fixed gear culture that was happening at that time with a lot of the art kids. My roommates were both studying at Mass Art, so I got involved with a lot of what they were doing. I found someone in the classifieds selling an Atala with old Campy Record on it for pretty cheap. Unfortunately I didn't realize fully what I had at the time. I took it to a local shop in Boston to have it dressed out as a single speed. The shop kept most of the stuff that was on it and I didn't think twice about it. Oh well, I did have some of the gold Campagnolo track cranks put on which were pretty dope! My roommates and I would get together most nights and ride all over town. It was really fun! I started to feel the "need for speed" and started saving as well as working part time on the weekends at a bike shop to save up for a nice road bike.

WWDIS:Favorite bike past/present/future?
AH:My favorite was probably my first road bike that I had been saving for. It was a blue steel lugged Bianchi with a Camagnolo "Daytona" group. I worked and saved for so long to get that thing. It was the first really significant thing I had bought. I cherished that fucking thing! I would clean it after every ride, constantly upgrade things on it, look at it in the sunlight. It was like what I imagine an expensive piece of jewelry is to a girl or something like that. I had some great rides and races on it. In fact, the only race I ever won was on that bike. I never won shit on my super light Aluminum Pinarello I eventually upgraded to, ha ha.


WWDIS:What are you riding currently?
AH:I have a Pinarello "Galileo" with Campy Chorus 10sp and a Trek XO Cyclocross with Ultegra.

WWDIS:Still racing?
AH:I haven't raced in years unfortunately. The touring makes it near impossible. I'm always stuck in the battle where I'm riding a lot at home and getting up near race condition, then going on tour and flushing it all right down the drain. Staying fit on tour is almost impossible. The only exercise you get is the two hours you're playing and in some places you're breathing heavy cigarette smoke. Also a couple cases of beer backstage staring you in the face isn't very good for your fitness. I've always had intentions of getting up early to run or find a gym, but when you're going to bed at 3am, half in the bag and you have to hit the road by 10am to get to the next gig, it doesn't really work out. I guess I could give up beer, but that's not going to happen ha ha!


WWDIS:How was it bringing a bike on tour?
AH:Really fun! When we were touring with Tool we had a bus and a trailer with tons of room. We started the tour in Vancouver and continued down the west coast. When we got to LA we still had about a month to go so I grabbed my Trek Cyclocross bike and threw it in the trailer. I would ride around the stadiums after sound check or go explore some of the towns. I found lots of great rides because the stadiums were always a bit outside of town and there was lots of open road and bike paths to ride on. The best part was Justin, the bass player of Tool, also had his MTB with him, so we'd go ride around town and sometime stop for a pint on the way back to the venue. We would be riding along side thousands of people heading to the show dressed in Tool gear, but little did they know, the bass player was riding along right next to them. I would ride behind him just to see the reactions as he rode by. Most of them never even knew, HA!

WWDIS:Do you get to see much bike related stuff when on tour in Europe?
AH:Yeah, tons! It's such a huge part of the culture over there! You can stop in a rest stop and see Tom Boonen on the cover of the new papers! Riders are like celebrities over there. In Belgium the even have a song about Boonen! I've also gotten to see lots of races right from my hotel room or the clubs. One club even had a Mapei jersey signed and framed in the bar. Last tour, I walked out of my hotel room in Italy and got to watch a local race. I've never seen any of the tour unfortunately. We always miss it by a day or two, god damn it!

WWDIS:What do you miss about riding in Boston (choose carefully-freezing rain, snow, pot holes, shitty drivers)
AH: I miss the country side. Out here in SoCal, the terrain is amazing, but not the same as home. Those country roads around Boston were where I fell in love with cycling. It's not as popular here in LA, and unless you head for the hills you're really having to battle with the traffic here. LA has some of the best riding in the world, I mean shit Armstrong trained here, but is has such a huge car culture. It's not set up for cyclists at all! I also had a lot of people to ride with there in Boston and people to share the culture with. I haven't found that here. I ride alone now which is cool, but not as rewarding. It's nice to ride with someone who challenges you. I miss that.

WWDIS:How does it compare to the West Coast?
AH:It doesn't from what I can tell. You can find 10 mile climbs right outside of town here in the Santa Monica mountains. Also the weather is great all year so you have no excuse not to ride.


WWDIS:Isis has been around for over a decade, what keeps you going?
AH:I think probably the fact that we're still growing and that we're the type of band that's able to explore ourselves musically. We're very much an underground band, so there's still lots of ground to cover and things to explore, people to expose to what we do. I like to work hard and to grow. We don't have any techs on tour and still do pretty much everything ourselves. I like that and I think that if things weren't so much our responsibility, I would get bored and things would seem "routine". I'm glad that we've chosen to continue to operate this way and that we're still reaching new audiences.


WWDIS:What are some of the best bands you played with/toured with
AH:Man, there's so many. Dailek, Tool, Jacob, These Arms Are Snakes, Cave In, Botch, Neurosis, Jesu, Mogwai. We're lucky that we get to choose who we bring on tour. We always try to make the tours interesting. There's nothing worse than sitting through a bunch of shitty bands so you can see the headliner. Touring with good people is also important to us. You're spending months with these people so it should be the best that it can.


WWDIS:Side projects? Production? What are you up to besides Isis?
AH:I played on, recorded and mixed the new Zozobra record "Bird Of Prey" It comes out in July on Hydra Head Records. I've been doing some engineering/producing stuff on the side. The other guys in ISIS have side projects that they're involved in. Engineering is like my side project. I've been working toward it for years. Things have started to really come together and I'm loving it!


WWDIS:Favorite music on the bike?
AH:I like mellow stuff actually. I feel that it calms my breathing and distracts my mind from all the physical pain ha ha. There's this female classical singer named "Hildegard Von Bingen" that Cliff, our keyboard/guitar player introduced me to. It's just her singing in a foreign language in what sounds like a huge room. I don't know anything about her, but I really like to listen to it while riding. It's really beautiful and epic. It's the only thing of that genre I listen to. It sounds crazy but It's great for conquering climbs!

WWDIS:Campy or Shimano (like I have to ask....)
AH:Campy! It's timeless. The shit is so beautiful. It's not good for your wallet, but it looks and peforms like no other! Someone put it to me best when they said "Campy wears in, not out" which seems to be true. It's expensive, but it's not disposable. Some of the other companies seem to have stuff that works great for a while and then craps out. Shimano has some great shit, but I'm kinda committed considering I have a giant tattoo of the Campy logo on my arm!

WWDIS:Favorite rides West or East?
AH:Favorite would be a 40 mile ride I sometimes do through the Malibu Mountains. It's fucking brutal in every way. How can you go wrong with that!

Thanks Aaron!

Stevil Knevil from How to Avoid the Bummer Life/Swobo

If you are not a regular reader of the How to Avoid the Bummer Life blog start now. The manifesto of "riding bikes and living large" will warm even the hardest hearts and Stevil's posts have brightened many a dreary day here. Then there is the quality duds of Swobo. They came back from the grave and the world is a better place for it. Stevil was down to answer some questions so here we go.


WWDIS:What is your role at Surly? (edit-smooth, I was so stoked he said yes to an interview I ask him about a company he doesn't work for! Thankfully he didn't end it here!)
HTATBL:Well, my role at Surly is guiding light and never faltering inspiration, but I will assume that you meant what is my role at Swobo which is fairly simple. I pack boxes, I return emails, I shake hands and kiss babies. Of course Ive been at the helm of the Bummer Life for two years at the end of May, so I suppose that would be sort of a public relations title. Im a sounding board, an art director, and a shoulder to cry on. I also am probably the one whos responsible for the most complaining, which is important. I complain alot.

WWDIS:How did you end up immersed in the bike world?
HTATBL:Indirectly, I guess would be the best way to answer that question. I went to school and received a Bachelors in fine art, and shortly after graduation began a long stint as a bicycle messenger in The East Bay and San Francisco. Id had a long relationship with bicycles through school and it just ended up making sense to me that I wasnt going to make a living in the art world, so I might as well make a living doing the other thing I loved. Through messengering and mountain bike racing I met the original crew at Swobo, and through them, I met the entire bicycle underworld. I was embraced and never looked back.

WWDIS:First bike?
HTATBL:A total bucket with an indian painted on the chain guard that was a hand me down. Then my folks bought me a generic BMX bike which I adorned with tons of cool parts.. Sort of the equivalent of getting a Yugo and putting spinners and a multi-coat opalescent paint job on it. Eventually I worked all summer and bought myself a Kuwahara. Not the Lazerlite, cause I couldn't afford that one. The Nova I think it was called. I eventually got into skateboarding, and the bike got dusty, but then in college I got a Fisher which rekindled my love for two wheels.

WWDIS:Based on your new Vans post and your Circle A color scheme you seem to have a fondess for SE Racing, What was your favorite bike from their glorydays? Were you more of a Greg Hill or a Ceppie Maes?
HTATBL:Stu Thompson, and Mike Buff all the way.


WWDIS:Besides the Kuwahara did you have any other favorite BMX bikes?
HTATBL:SE, hands down, but I could never afford one.


WWDIS:Top Ten all time favorite bands/records?
HTATBL:Fugazi- "Repeater"
The Afghan Whigs- "Up In It"
The Fluid- "Punch and Judy"
Rocket From The Crypt- "Scream Dracula Scream"
The Dirtbombs- "Dangerous Magical Noise"
Drive Like Jehu- self titled
The Refused- "The Shape of Punk to Come
Iron and Wine- "Our Endless Numbered Days"
Shellac- "At Action Park"
But you know, I look at this and this really only covers my favorite albums of the last 10 to 15 years. Even though I dont listen to Andrew Lloyd Webbers "Jesus Christ Superstar", its one of the first pieces of music I ever remember hearing as a child, and therefore would be counted as one of my favorites. The Beach Boys "Endless Summer" is another one. Its albums like those that stand the test of time. In 30 more years, Id imagine they'll still be there, where as the top ten list I gave you might be nowhere in sight...


WWDIS:Current rotation?
HTATBL:TV on The Radio- "Return to Cookie Mountain"
Smile- "Maquee"
Russian Circles- "Station"
The Police- "Outlandos d'Amour"
Planes Mistaken for Stars- "Mercy"
Prince and the Revolution- "Purple Rain"
Les Savy Fav- "The Cat and The Cobra"
Justin Timberlake- "Justified" (As embarrassed as I probably should be about this, his first album that was produced by Pharrell is really good.) When I bought it, I had a bunch of black metal CDs in the purchase as well, and the guy behind the counter I could tell was bending his brain in an attempt to figure out what was going on.
The Dwarves- "How to win friends and influence people"

WWDIS:Favorite band or album to play while working on your bike?
HTATBL:The only thing I listen to when I'm on the rollers is Mastodons "Blood Mountain", working on bikes, I'll play whatever's handy.

WWWDIS:Music-did you start out as metal head, punk, or what? What were you into as a kid?
HTATBL:I first learned of punk rock when I was in fifth grade, and it just spiraled downhill from there. I spent a lot of time very narrow minded as far as my musical preferences were concerned. As far as I was concerned, if it wasn't punk rock, then it sucked. I still have a grand appreciation for guitar driven noisy rock, but my dad was a music teacher, and he opened my ears to everything which obviously had a long term influence to just enjoy what sounds the best to me, whether it be bubblegum pop, or jazz and everything in between.
There was a whole lot of really good music made just before or during my narrow minded stage that Im still scrambling to add to my collection, and I still marvel when, for example I listened to a Joe Jackson song ('Throw it away'). the other day and I was stunned how much it sounded like The Hellacopters, or how much the early Bad Seeds sound like Scratch Acid, or even similarities between KISS and Urge Overkill. Its alot of fun discovering old music all over again.

WWDIS:When did you start to go see bands? Where?
HTATBL:I grew up in a small town in Colorado, and the local Kiwanas Club let us have the first and only punk show to ever happen in Evergreen at that time. There were alot of pissed off men wearing fez hats that night. So generally wed go to Denver to see shows, but there was a big problem with skinheads at that time, and it seems like more times then not, what started out as a good time, always degenerated into somebody getting their ass kicked.

WWDIS:Best show/favorite live band?
HTATBL:The best shows Ive ever seen were a handful of Fluid shows back in the early 90s, The Afghan Whigs at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco in 1992, Monster Magnet at The Independent last year, The first show Turbonegro played stateside after they got back together, which was a private affair that only a couple hundred folks were allowed to attend, Mudhoney at The Kennel Club, and Urge Overkill at The Kennel Club both in 1991, and despite the fact that they all are total douchebags, a secret Metallica show in this little hole in the wall bar about four years ago.
Finally, I think that it was about three years ago Todd Trainer from Shellac approached me about doing an installation of paintings at a two night engagement in San Francisco. Hands down it was the highlight of my art career...Watching this band thats comprised of individuals who individually and as a group have provided the soundtrack for my work for over 20 years. They asked me if I wanted to go on the road to Seattle and Portland with them and do similar installations at those shows, but I was involved in doing all of the artwork for the new Moots Bicycles catalog, and had I gone, would have only given me six days to do the catalog instead of twelve, which was cutting it pretty close as it was, so I had decline, but the two nights I did have with them were amazing.




WWDIS:Based on your time frame and location. Did you ever see/like/have a good story about Drunk Injuns,Hemi, Rip-Offs, J-Church, or Fuel? Some SF/East Bay favorites of WWDIS.
HTATBL:Noting really for Fuel, J-Church or the Rip, Offs but I was able to catch a show at The Bottom of the Hill several years ago with Los Olvidados, Free Beer and The Drunk Injuns. It was skate rock in its finest form, and I never really recovered.
Hemi too.. I dont know what happened to those cats. They all just kinda fell off the face of the earth.
Though Im reasonably sure JMac would probably know....


WWDIS:All time favorite frame/part/tool?
HTATBL:Anything made out of steel, Campy high flange track hubs, Campy peanut butter wrenches, and Surly 15mm keychain wrench, and the Park frame alignment gauge, which in their catalog is listed by the item number 'FAG-1'.

WWDIS:How did you get into the bike industry and what made you focus on wool gear back in the early days?
HTATBL:Refer to answer #2 for the first part of the question, and as far as wool goes, I suppose Ive always been attracted to the first version of anything that is developed. I was the last person to get toe straps, then the last person to get clipless pedals, and the last person to get a suspension fork... I want to see the worth of something proven before I dive headlong into it. The same goes for medicine, or medical practices, or kitchen appliances, CD players.. You name it. I like what was the best, until something comes along that truly is superior. 'The first mousetrap' as it were, has rarely been disproven to me to be inferior to its successors.

WWDIS:Cyclocross cable routing? Should they all run along the top tube or are you OK with downtube routing?
HTATBLL:As long as I dont have cables digging into my shoulder, I dont care where they go.

WWDIS:Internal cable routing? Friend of Foe?
HTATBL:I think it looks rad, but running a cable through there can occasionally use the unwavering concentration that only smoking pot can provide, and since I say nope to dope, I dont have the attention span.

WWDIS:Worst cycling innovation of the last few years?
HTATBL:Rock Racing.

WWDIS:What is your take on the newish non messenger fixed gear scene? The post-skateboard crowd. (My 2 cents is props to John Cardiel and forget the rest-have you seen his documentary on Vice? Sick)
HTATBL:I think its amazing. I love that the bicycle is having such a huge renaissance, and anyone who gets their panties in a bunch when it comes to the status quo being critical of the movement, it seems to me is just experiencing insecurity based on the fact that they might be someone whos in the process establishing their individuality. No one wants to have their scene picked apart or coopted, so messengers are pinched that something they started has gained popularity, and hipsters are pinched that their getting mixed up with hipsters that are even newer to the scene, and everybody is making fun of everybody, but at the end of the day, its just people on bikes, and what kind of bike it is, I personally could care less about. It strikes me as just a bunch of primadona bullshit.
And I haven't seen much about John since his accident. Its good to hear that hes getting back in the mix.


WWDIS:Do you have any hording/collecting issues with parts or records or any other thing?
HTATBL:I have powerful OCD so when I find something that works, I get as many of them as I can, because inevitably, (And partially based on this societies fascination with whats 'newer and better', the item in question will eventually be discontinued and replaced with one that I dont care for.)
In no particular order, these are some things I love and hoard;
7" records
Vinyl records
Sanford Uniball Micro pens
Rotring .05 mechanical pencils (they used to replace my pencil every time it broke, and the last time they said they couldnt because the pencil was discontinued, so began my Ebay quest to procure as many of them as I could. I was getting them sent to me from as far away as France. I really love those pencils.)
As previously mentioned, Campy high flanged track hubs.
Carumba double barrel cranks.
The old stretchy wool Swobo hats..
Off the top of my head thats all I can think of.
I appreciate you contacting me to take part in this. Im looking at my own reflection, and Id be lying if I said Im not absolutely crazy with what I see. My 7th grade guidance councilor was right.
I really am a tremendous individual.

Thanks Stevil!
I made it through all that without asking about the OG Bio-Ohion Rob Roskopp. How the hell did I overlook that?????

Chris from Slapshot and Ted Wojcik Bikes

For our second installment in the bikes and music series, we've got Chris from Slapshot who also works for Ted Wojcik bikes. Ted is an OG New England bike builder and Slapshot are of course "old-tyme hardcore" so it must be a good partnership. For local heads Ted Wojciks will be on NH Chronicle this Friday. Thanks to Chris for his time and longtime WWDIS supporter Ur Trommler for hooking it up!


WWDIS:What are you riding now?
CL:I don't have a road bike at the moment so most of my
riding is MTB. I get to use the TW demo bikes: The
Monkey Butt 29er and Solution FS and I have my 95 Ted
26in. We are building a demo Rensport CFR soon and
that will be fit for me!

WWDIS:-How did you get into MTBing? Did you start out on
the road or dirt? Any BMX roots?
CL:I started out in BMX, like most kids do and I got into
Motocross racing for while.

WWDIS: Campy or Shimano ?
CL:SRAM! (and some shimano). I really like SRAM and
Shimano's business practices leave a lot to be
desired. Campy stuff is like Rolex, Ted has it on his
ride.

WWDIS:Hardtail or suspension?
CL:I'm a total weight weenie so I like hardtails but I am
enjoying our Solution FS.

WWDIS: All time favorte piece of gear or bike?
CLL:My 95 Ted is my favorite ride mostly for sentimental
reasons.

WWDIS:With all the choices for builders in New England
(IF,Seven, Fat City,Merlin(depending on how old you are ,etc) what
made you go with Ted Wojcik?
Cl:When I was buying my first Ted, IF had only made a few
frames, so I went with someone that had the experience.
I had Wicked back in the 80's, I bought it used from a
friend.

WWDIS: Do you race?
CL: I raced a few MTB races back in the 90's, no racing
for me anymore. But if I were to get back into it I
would hit the road.

WWDIS: Favorite rides?
CL:I spent most of my heavy riding years at the Fells and
Lynn Woods. The trail I built behind my house is my
current favorite, because I made it and any complaints
go right to me!

WWDIS: What makes an ideal MTB for New England conditions?
CL: That seems to have changed quite a bit over the past
decade. My choice would be a 26in hardtail.

WWDIS: How did you get involved with Ted Wojcik?
CL:I knew him from buying my bike and heard that he was
having some business issues so I stepped in and got
things under control.

WWDIS:What is your role at TW?
CL:I help out Ted with marketing and scheduling. Ted is
the only one building frames from scratch.

WWDIS:Any chance of you building frames?
CL:Someday. I am a welder and machinist but making frames
takes a much more than that.

WWDIS:How many frames per year do you produce?
CL:Not enough! LOL, We have the capacity to do around
10-12 a month. This is exactly where we want to be.
The math does not add up to produce more frames, you
end up losing money on each one and that's whats
going on with a lot of these companies, they think
they are going to make it up in volume, but it just
can't work out

WWDIS: What's on the IPOD -do you have a workout mixes?
CL:Lots of HC, I still listen to HC and metal all the
time. I do have a specific workout mix that is mostly
techno, LOL!

WWDIS: Have you had a chance to check out any races while on
tour in Europe?
CL: I went to a Worlds after party back in 94, we didn't
get to the town until too late in the day to see the
race. That was a pretty wild party, I had no idea!
It would be awesome to follow the TDF around someday.

WWDIS:What is up with Slapshot? Any tours?
CL:Yeah, we are doing 10 shows in Europe in July. Maybe a
couple of shows in the states later in the summer.


WWDIS:Is it hard to balance the band and the job?
CL:We do the band so infrequently these days that it's
not really a problem. Back in the 90's when we were
touring a lot it would get real challenging.


Thanks Chris!

Shawn Brown Interview

I got the idea not too long ago to start to bug dudes who were into bikes and music and see what was up. Are there any super bike nerd musicians out there? who wants to talk about tire pressure and the best record in the Dischord catalog? Who knows the line up of the 97 of the Gan TDF squad and the catalog numbers of the 1st 40 Stax releases? Heavy duty geek shit.
Shawn Brown was one of my first targets and was also cool enough to talk to me and not be scared off by the double stalker music/bike nerd factor-Thanks!
If you don't remember or are too young to have checked his bands out he was in Dag Nasty, Swiz, Sweatbelly Freakdown, and Jesuseater.
Some how, I made some connection between Shawn being a bike guy in addtion to musican
Besides all that he is tattooing full time now . Pretty full plate. Anyway that's the intro here are the questions in what will be an ongoing harassment of the music/bike nexus.

WWDIS:What are you riding now?
SB:I am riding a bike from REI called the Element. It's a touring/cyclocross style bike, i use it pretty much to commute. Next up would be a Jamis Spudnik . It's fixed. I use it for drunk rambling or other gnarly activity, Yes it has a front brake! remember I am old and drunk ETC! then there is a c-dale beast from the east! old skool baby, thumb shifters and all! No bio pace! frames being built up? surly pacer and an old specialized S-WORKS steel

WWDIS:Campy or Shimano?
SB:I have always been a Shimano man! though the new Sram stuff looks awesome and seems to be getting good reviews. Maybe on the Surly? Maybe that's what I should do.

WWDIS:All time favorite bike/piece of gear?
SB:I had a trek 1400 that I upgraded to ultegra back in the 90's I rode it to death, after that then the S-WORKS. It had some Deore and XT stuff on it.

WWDIS:Do you race?
SB:Done some back in the 90's, I have a cyclocross fantasy , who knows when I will make that come tru.

WWDIS:What's on the IPOD?
SB:Zombies, Minute Men,Sonic Youth,DeadPrez, Judas Priest,Joy Divison And Roky Ericson this week.


WWDIS:Favorite Rides?
SB:All riding! Great falls, Soil conservation thru Bowie, DC streets..... Oh!!!! Seattle to Portland !! Cascade bike club represent!!!!

WWDIS:Are you currently playing with anybody?
SB:No bands right now, tattooing takes up so much of My time. It's hard to do both. BIG UP TO PROTUES bikes IN college park!!! They are the coolest !! Luv them people! Roger thanks for the chance to do an interview! Peace man!! Shawn. .