Maiden Voyage

Since November, either I, or a member of my little clan have been sidelined with some kind of illness. Sometimes the timing wasn't right. A lot of times, there just weren't any waves. Yesterday, however, the stars aligned a bit.

I joined the crew at The Local yesterday morning to try out my new acquisitions. It was a tad small for the Hot Generation but conditions were perfect for longboarding. Enter...The Golden Girl(sobriquet provided by Brian Hilbers).

Pause.

I had my mind blown a little.

Unpause.

D-fins do indeed turn. In this case, the board whips right around into trim. Glide? Yes. Nimble? Oh yes. Stable? Mmm-hmm(I can knee paddle it just fine). I love how I can throw it around. I might love it too much. I nearly took out Tony P when I called "Left!" on one wave and then decided to whip back around to go right. Jay got nearly the same treatment. It takes a high line perfectly. I got a bit of a stretch five at one point. It was a good day.

I don't know. It may have been only the first session but I'm drinking the kool-aid that Mike Black has been peddling. Pigs rule, man.

Friday Dance Tunes

I'm not a cool guy anymore.

Evolution 2

Annnd the Golden Girl/Grey Lady. Hilbers is killing it.

Evolution 1

As I both improve and evolve, in regards to my surfing, I have also gotten more in tune with what I like in a board and where I want to go. In the interest of my continued evolution, I made a decision to sell my Mini Zombie for a different style of ride with more of a hull-ish feel and ordered a Hot Generation from Brian Hilbers, via Pilgrim Surf and Supply.

While discussing the HG with Brian, I mentioned that I was interested in potentially ordering a pig from him at some juncture and HE mentioned that Pilgrim had one that he had shaped which is based off a board that was a favorite of Reynolds Yater and I promptly sold my noserider.

I drove down to Brooklyn to pick both up yesterday. Pilgrim is owned by former Mollusk Brooklyn owner and artist Chris Gentile. Both he and employee Eric(sorry I didn't catch the last name) were fantastic in regards to ordering and then going in to get the boards. The shop has a great vibe, Chris is very welcoming and knowledgable and he is dedicated to stocking great hand shapes that work on this coast.

Without further ado, here's part one of the board porn. I present the Hot Generation:

Look for the pig in the above post.

Monday Tuneage

The Originator recorded it in 1955. The Yardbirds...they done it and The Sonics...they done it but my new manic favorite version comes courtesy of The Litter because my vinyl copy of Distortions showed up last week.

Something Wicked...

Where to begin...?

The below shots were taken in my new Fortress of Solitude.

A little Gansett. Some tunes on the turntable and a clean-up of the Mini Zombie beyond the normal gnarly wax removal. Prep for the new owner. Why? Why would I part with the fantastic MZ? Well, something wicked this way comes, courtesy of Brian Hilbers and I had to fund it somehow. I'll call it...evolution of where I'm headed.

In the meantime, my Mayo is in the shop getting some dings sealed up and also potentially on the way to the gent that bought my MZ. See above. I'm just waiting on the call from Pilgrim.

Have I been boardless? Nay. My homeboy Tony blessed me with a loaner from his collection, an 8' 4" Rusty egg. The rails aren't exactly my steeze(70/30 Me nah like da downrail stylee) but it was able enough in the waist to chest stuff I was out in yesterday. Still and all...I'm fiending to get the new sleds in the water.

Norton Needs Help!

Ironic that in my last post, I mentioned that I had just ordered a copy of the Pretty Things first album from Norton Records...and then Sandy touched down. A day or two after the storm and I came across the news that Norton got hit...hard. Their warehouse took some serious damage and their loss has been heavy.

Here is the story: http://nortonville.blogspot.com/

I didn't know that my order would even go through after what happened and lo and behold, it was waiting for me when I got home yesterday. Considering what they're dealing with down there, I consider that an amazing feat and one that amply demonstrates their loyalty to their customer base.

I'm a bit far away, otherwise I would definitely volunteer my time to help this amazing label out. As it stands, I'm doing what I can by getting the news out and then ponying up a small donation.

If you can help out in any way...do it!