Brian Krans's Blog, page 12
November 10, 2015
#33: The 2015 Blading Cup
The 2015 Blading Cup took place Nov. 7 in downtown Santa Ana.
Host Brian Krans takes you through his weekend, including skating in the Veterans Cup, helping build a street course, and getting a black eye.
Featuring interviews and commentary from Jeff Stockwell, Sean Darst, Ben Weis, Alex Wick, Ariel Surun, Ivan Narez, Jason Reyna, Sayer Danforth, Chris Farmer, Victor Arias, Steven Johns, and more.
Don’t forget to buy the the Bfree/ERod VOD on Sellfy...
…and peep the Undercover video “Five Finger Discount”…
….or Hermanos, whenever it comes out.
You can support this podcast by pledging to Patreon or shopping at RockTownPress.com.
November 3, 2015
#32: Aaron Schultz, Zach Savage, Ben Forsythe
Aaron Schultz, Ben Forsythe, and Zach “Savage” Waszkiewicz visited the Rock Town Garage after their trip to the AIL championship at Woodward West and before we all head to the Blading Cup.
We get an AIL report and talk about skating San Francisco, the death of Detroit blader Brett Urbas, and more.
Here’s some Brett Urbas highlights:
And here’s Brian Weis, another Detroit blader:
October 28, 2015
#31: Regardless
Regardless is the last completed video from Brandon Negrete.
Released in 2011, Regardless features sections from skaters like Chris Haffey, John Bolino, Jeff Stockwell, Erik Bailey, Chris Dafick, Kruise Sapstein, and others.
In this episode, host Brian Krans leads you through its soundtrack with music from artists such as Black Sabbath, Sleep, Dick Dale, Annihilation Nation, The Jacuzzi Boys, The Godz, The Dirty Beaches, and more.
#ForeverNegrete
Here’s the full video:
Do us a favor and show some love for this podcast by heading over to RockTownPress.com, putting some items in your cart, and sending us digital money.
October 14, 2015
#30: Jay Cottrell
Jay Cottrell—or Young OG as he’d prefer to be known—is an oddball in the blade game and we love him because of it.
Off-mic and on blades, Jay is always about ad-libbing and just spitting out hilarious bits about fat women and his dreams to own his own hog farm. He’s a young man with big dreams.
On the podcast, he’s more reserved, talking about how Harriet the Spy became sexy, his ancestor that snogged Martha Washington, and getting stabbed in the face by Rutgers students.
Jay and his dog Jane stayed over at the Rock Town Garage for a few days before heading to England to visit his grandparents.
We also determined that there’s a good possibility Jay was the one I threw down a flight of stairs at a book release party, and we retell other house party stories that should probably die.
Either way, it was a good time.
Blade or Die,
— Brian Krans
October 7, 2015
#29: Blade Video DJ: the ONE Video
A soundtrack makes a blade video. This new series shows appreciation for the songs that made good skate videos great, starting with #ONE.
Directed by Conner O’Brien and released in 2009, the ONE Video contains music by artists such as LCD Soundsystem, Eagles of Death Metal, P.O.S., Saul Williams and more.
You shouldn’t expect any less from a skating magazine that regularly does features on bands and musicians.
Intro
Scene: Alaska
Mark Wojda
NorCal
Demetrius George
Picks
Iain McLeod
Last Minute
Last Song
If you’d like to nominate a skate video’s soundtrack, tweet your recommendations to @citizenkrans.
This episode is dedicated to the memory of Dean Johnson.
Blade or Die,
— Brian Krans
P.S. — You can support this podcast by buying goods from RockTownPress.com. Use the promo code PODCAST for 10 percent off everything you order.
October 5, 2015
#28: Jose Fuentes
For this episode of the Rock Town Podcast, we’re joined by Jose Fuentes, a staple in the Bay Area blading scene for over a decade.
Among all of his accolades, Jose is credited as the 3D animator for the 2010 anti-masterpiece ‘Birdemic: Shock and Terror,’ an instant classic in the so-bad-it’s-good category.
He was also designed Blading the Game, creator of BladeorDie.com, and a dedicated crew member of the Blading Cup.
You can check out his work at Jose-F.com.
Most importantly, Jose is a big, smiley sweetheart who’s always down to lend a hand.
We tried playing with some new fancy audio equipment unknowingly donated by Soichiro Kanashima, but it didn’t work in our favor.
This podcast was recorded in the Rock Town Garage on Oct. 4, 2015.
Music by The Afterdarks.
September 25, 2015
#27: Oakland Blade Jam, a Podcast with Pictures
The Bay’s own Gene Steagall may be the back-to-back champ of the Oakland Blade Jam, but he was getting a little nervous at the end of his run.
Why? You’ll have to listen to find out.
Thankfully photographer Nate Herse gave us these awesome photos so there’s a visual offering of the dopeness of the day. Thanks, Nate.
Not everyone made it out of the day as smoothly as Tim Franken’s grin.
But even before we get to that, let’s talk about the venue. Town Park was started by K-Dub, an Oakland art teacher, in a vacant lot at DeFremery Park in West Oakland. The first Blade Jam was held there in 2013, the brain child of Brian “BFree” Freeman.
The man himself.
It was first filled with wooden ramps made out of donations and scraps, but after sponsorship from Levi’s, K-Dub’s dream of a concrete park became a reality.
Chris Dafick with the disaster sweaty. If you notice, Victor Arias found the wrong spot to sit.
Like all neighborhood skate parks, this one is a meeting ground for kids in the area, many who can’t afford a Razor’s scooter, let alone a pair of rollerblades. But if you skate there after school, kids will watch with amazement at what can be done on a pair of rollerblades.
Even JBah can’t believe that shit.
Many of them, quite frankly, have never seen or heard about aggressive inline skating. But after the Blade Jam, they know it very well.
Thanks to a donations from Aggressive Mall and Bay area bladers, six pairs of skates went to kids who wanted them.
Chris Calkins rides 72mm flat Aeons…
…and he still can do a backside stale fastslide like he’s riding freestyle.
One kid showed up with a skateboard, got a free pair of USD Sways, put them on, and never took them off. He skated home at the end of the day with his shoes in one hand and his skateboard in the other.
The judge’s booth, acknowledging that the contest was fire, much like Franky’s latest edit.
Besides a skate contest, the Blade Jam was a community event. There were free tacos, free haircuts, and, of course, free swag being thrown out all day.
Speaking of swag, Casey Bagozzi shows the kids that good basics are the best.
That swag came from a bevvy of sponsors, such as Hemp 2.0 to Roller Warehouse, Aggressive Mall, Gawds, and others. Besides products, many sponsored the mini competitions, including Moonshine, Filth Juice, Wolves Den, and more. And, yes, Rock Town Press gave Gumby some money.
Michael “Gumby” Braud (pronounced BRO) sporting some Hulk shorts and getting ready to beast out…
…with this disaster 360 royale from the quarter…
…or this backside stall to disaster royale, which is only about 15 feet off the ground. No bigs, though.
Oh, and if you listen to the podcast, you’ll finally learn the correct way to pronounced Michael Braud’s last name, Mike “Obe” Obedoza helping out by leading a skate clinic and essentially being a co-host for the episode, and interviews and commentary with Matt Mickey, Megan Petersen, Ivan Narez, and more.
Kennan Scott, the MC with a Masters Degree, on the mic and E. Rod on the drone.
Stephen Babcock with the freestyle back torque up the Grand Avenue rail.
Danny Malm finding out that, yes, sometimes mistakes are made.
But make no mistake that Victor’s darkside alley oop negative mistrial on the square rail was a thing of beauty.
Bander Saleh keeping it loose.
So he could pop this misty over the rail.
Fucking drones everywhere.
Franky showing there’s nothing he can’t ride.
Gene Stegall, getting ready to defend his title.
With tricks like this soul grind in the danger zone, he wasn’t going to make it easy on the competition.
But, naturally, some mistakes were made in the process. But he didn’t die.
Gene was the only one to tackle the perimeter kink to gap out of the park.
The homies letting everyone know Gene stuck the landing.
The ATL showing is always strong at the Oakland Blade Jam.
Issac DeSanto bringing his style to this AO top acid in the bowl.
Speaking of style, JBah made this AO soul transfer into the corner look easy for all the cameras.
If you’re going to fish a bowl corner, you better make it look good. JBah has no problem with this concept at all.
But never forget these immortal words: “When you’re in a shitty situation, just go low.” — Obe #SquatSquad
BFree giving dabs to Gene, who is never short of dabs.
To support the podcast, buy something from RockTownPress.com.
Blade or Die,
— Brian Krans (writer)
— Nate Herse (photographer)
September 14, 2015
Podcast #26: Wax Caddy
Building stuff is fun, especially if you get to blade it.
Host Brian Krans talks to himself about scrounging for materials for his home rail box on Craigslist free ads, how the details make the difference, and making new mistakes.
Taking a look at what materials I had and what could be done with them.
Using brackets to reinforce the center piece, rail supports, and the Ikea-style reinforcements.
Friday and the basic skeleton of the box.
One of the final touches was making the wax caddy, a place to hold my wax, keys, phone, and other junk I have on me when I skate.
Total cost for the project was under $100 thanks to some good Craigslist free finds.
To support the podcast, order goods from RockTownPress.com.
Intro music is “Devils Poker” and the outro music is “I Ain’t Dead Yet,” both by The Afterdarks.
August 26, 2015
Podcast #25: Monday Night Shred
Hello, sports fans!
For this episode, we take you out to Monday Night Shred in Union City—orchestrated by Wolves Den and Death Squad—for their tournament of champions.
We’ll bring you play-by-play and in-depth commentary and more as three veteran rollerblading competition spectators decompress back at the Rock Town Garage.
Strap into your seats here, people, because if you’re not buckled up, the battle for the belt will blow your blades off.
Guests, in order of appearance, include: Joey Agustin, MC Challe Walle, Jeff Asi, Stephen “White Wolf” Babcock, Bryce Bonn, and Matt Bolger.
Check out Wolves Den at wdnation.com.
To support the podcast, order goods from RockTownPress.com.
Intro music is “Devils Poker” and the outro music is “I Ain’t Dead Yet,” both by The Afterdarks.
August 15, 2015
Podcast #24: Bruce Bales and the Roller Hockey Dream Team
Bruce Bales is a rollerblader, photographer, videographer, and host of the Iowa River Rumble.
We talk about the zen art of blade maintenance, rollerblading as an art form, working for free, and drafting the USA vs. Canada Aggressive Roller Hockey Dream Teams.
[The draft begins around 1:07.]
Here’s our picks for our ideal roller hockey team, consisting of pro or am rollerbladers.
Team USA
Captain: Chris Dafick
Alex Broskow
Jeph Howard
Victor Arias
Jeff Dalnas
Brian Weis
Don Bambrick
Chris Farmer
Brandon Ford
Collin Kelso
Goalie: Joey Chase
Team Canada
Captain: Richie Eisler
Taylor Ritchie
Danny Beer
Todd McInerney
Joey McGarry
Leon Basin
Stuart Brattey
Colin Brattey
Sean Knight
Dallas Kurtz
Goalie: Dustin Werbeski
If you want to know the reasoning behind the choices, you’ll have to listen to the podcast. It starts after the break.
You can check out some of Bruce’s work at vimeo.com/deft. Follow him as @D_E_F_T
If you’re in the area, check out the Quad City Showdown and Iowa River Rumble, Sept. 18-19, in Davenport, Iowa. For more, check out the Iowa-Connection.com.
Episode cover art by Joshua Cullen Photography.
To support the podcast, order goods from RockTownPress.com
Intro music is “Devils Poker” and the outro music is “I Ain’t Dead Yet,” both by The Afterdarks.
