Welcome to the team Matt Moffett

The skateboard company that cannot be killed has done it again. Ripper supreme Matt Moffett will have his first model on SMALL BEATING out October 1st. Check the newly updated site with Chud and Nelson's Oregon tour via Mini Cooper(?!) plus, the gnarliest pool ever, THE SNORT FORT. The new batch of PS Stix-pressed decks with all new shapes will be in soon. Quit fucking around. Demand that your local shop carry Small Beating or if they are lame just contact Small Beating directly to get the goods.

DON'T BUY THESE BAGS!!!

Please do not buy these overpriced rip offs. What the bag makers are calling a homage is actually them using Neil's artwork without his permission for their $300+ messenger bags. The bags themselves look like a rip of the old Zo Bags from San Francisco anyway. I heard from Neil today and he had this to say:

"That bag is a shocker.They're using all kinds of graphics from companies.Vision?T.Hawk?Weird,wonder what can be done?wonder if they even sold any bags,terrible looking items." -Neil Blender

In addition to the companies Neil named they are also using designs from Jim Phillips/Santa Cruz, Hosoi, VCJ/Powell Peralta, and Alien Workshop.

If you want to buy Neil's artwork, get it straight from the man himself here. He's got 2 pieces up right now. He closed The Heated Wheel site a while ago but he's now selling his stuff on eBay. Support Neil not those trying to make a buck off his efforts.

UPDATE:
The bags have thankfully been taken off their site. Here are some of the other bags. I couldn't find the Hawk or Alien Workshop ones.

Here's a letter of apology from the offending company, Reload Bags via our friends at Skate Daily. A big thanks to Chris, Bryce and crew for getting my post out to the masses. OK, now that this is over I can get back to doing 15-block alley-oop 50/50's at Potrero. See you at the park.

Buddy Holly legend, victim

It's unbelievable that this phone call exists. It's Buddy Holly being informed he has been dropped from Decca Records and them refusing to give his unreleased masters back to him. Buddy was too much of a gentleman and a class act. He was taken advantage of everywhere he went. R.I.P Buddy.

The D Coys "Bad Times" 1966

Adelaide, Australia duo with a hot cover of The Roulettes' classic from '64. This one was comped on the great "Ugly Things" volume 1 LP.

Usual Potrero post

Matt Sneddon, up and over the hip with a b/s tailslide. Yes, it was a make. Click to enlarge to the see the stoke on the face of the kid in the background. Rad.

Jason Duncan (me) reeling in a Josh Nelson to fakie while getting poached in the background.

Grant Taylor

He just turned pro this week for Alien Workshop. This is the best clip I've seen in a while. He skates everything and most importantly does it FAST!

Outsiders "Lying All The Time" 1966

Along with Q65, Outsiders were the epitome of Nederbeat. How this band did not become huge is baffling. I'll chalk it up to them spending the prime of their career on the tiny Relax Records. Their full story is here.

Sneddon shreddin'

Matt Sneddon b/s 5-0, Potrero Del Sol

Neil Blender Coffeebreak and Del Mar

The best graphic ever. Neil with a lofty frontside alley-oop ollie at the Del Mar Skate Ranch 1986. Photo: J. Grant Brittain

Q65

The Dutch Nederbeat gods. One of my all time favorites! Any footage of them is hard to come by. Enjoy.

T. Rex vs. The Smiths

OK, these groups are usually out of my range of coverage but I like them both and couldn't pass this one up. The songs are basically the same, just change the lyrics. Awesome. T. Rex is from '72, The Smiths from '86.

Moment of zen

Double your pleasure, 1/16th your fun. The guys kinda look like Lazlo from "Real Genius".

The Boys Blue "You Got What I Want" 1966

I can't believe clips like this even exist! This is one of my all-time faves. This rules all over the version The Sorrows later did on their debut LP "Take A Heart". The sax and drums give this some Sonics-like NW stomp. Bonus points for the singer being a ringer for Johnny Mathis. Weird. You can find this track on the "Searchin' In The Wilderness" comp. LP.

Having an average weekend

Roosevelt Skatepark down in San Jose in the supposedly "bad" part of town. Whatever. Errol Griffin snapping into a crail slide.

Chad Jackson with a tasty frontside 5-0.

Potrero Chili Bowl Cook Off 2008

Check out these clips of the amazing 2008 Chili Bowl Cook Off at Potrero Del Sol. Robbie Russo should have won. This year the contest is back at Potrero Del Sol NOT at Crocker Amazon as rumored.

The Mynah Birds "I've Got You In My Soul"

Yes, believe it or not, Rick James and Neil Young were in a group together in the mid-60's. They were signed to Motown and recorded an album's worth of material. They were dropped from the label before anything could be released due to Rick getting busted for being AWOL from The Army. This song would have been perfect for the Nuggets box set had their material been released when originally intended. To me, they sound like a funkier version of The Rolling Stones. Rick was a total Mick Jagger imitator which is ironic considering that Mick imitated practically every American soul singer in the book. It's baffling that Neil did not release this material on his recent massive "Archives Vol. 1 1963-1972" 10-disc set. He probably couldn't get permission from Motown to include it. For the Mynah Birds' full story click here.

Otis Redding's last performance backed by The Bar-Kays 1967

Note: The date on the You Tube clip is incorrect. This performance is from December 9th, 1967. Otis is my favorite singer of all time. Nothing compares to his voice. Sadly, this was his last performance. Otis, along with most of the original line-up of The Bar-Kays, died in a plane crash the following day. They were flying in a very old plane that Otis had bought from James Brown.

Weekly dose of Sneddon

Mind the gap. Matt Sneddon, f/s ollie.

Neil Blender "The Kids"

This one of my all-time favorites of Neil's work. Acrylic on cardboard.

New in the eBay shop

Post-Van Morrison boldness! Rare French e.p. Get it here.