MOTTO-LESS SINCE LAST FRIDAY
CURRENT ENTRY
MONDAY, AUGUST 2, 2004
>> There’s been a lot of speculation on who the unidentified "crazy ball handler" was in the daily photo yesterday. Staci G thought it was Natas, as did I. No less than three people, Shea, Smyth, and Deak, made it a point to contact Crail HQ to fill us in on the identify of the ball handler. According to them it’s famous Cincinnati street skater Ned Keller, a close personal friend of Mr. James Kelch and a possessor of a mean switch tre. Smyth recalls that he was playing ball in a pair of Wallabee Clark’s at the time that the photo was shot. Again, I don’t post the daily photo. Next time you guys can take it up with Sanger.
MINI TOP 5 WITH RICHARD MULDER
Richard Mulder’s Top 5 Christian skaters:
1. Salman Agah
2. Lance Mountain
3. Ray Barbee
4. Christian Hosoi
5. Sierra Fellers
Bonus: Lennie Kirk
>> Bird celebrated a birthday this weekend. It was held at a hot Hollywood nightclub. Full report later.
>> If things seem slow around here don’t blame us. Blame the invention of the catalog. Catalogs reign supreme over here.
QOUTES
"Can you stop hammering so I can hear you?"
—Nick Diamond on the phone with his contractor
"Can we reschedule, I’m going to X-Games?"
—Rickk
"It’s gnarly! It’s pretty beautiful!"
—Richard Mulder concerning Ireland
CURRENT ENTRY
THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2004
>> Rumor has it that Lee Smith AKA Le Lee was going to come back from Spain yesterday. But he was no show. He’s been there since February skating and not learning the local language. Come back Lee, we miss you.
>> I’m leaving to go paint a runway for a handrail that I’ll never skate. See ya.
QUOTES OF THE DAY, FOR DAYS
"Can you get me in the X-Games?"
—Rickk to Megan
"Have you heard of Gag Factor?"
—Mike Carroll
"Imagine how sick that would be to have a can of Perrier for lunch."
—Smyth on putting in a beverage request for the soda machine
"I mean, computer’s just don’t do bad things."
—Rob Abeyta explaining ‘Operator Maintenance Errors’ to Jeremy
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2004
>> We said yesterday that we’d be making a major announcement on behalf of the Chocolate team. Well here it is…wait for it…Devine Calloway is officially on Chocolate Skateboards. Good to have you bud!
>> Devine Calloway was born and raised in Bakersfield, where temperatures in the summer hover around the 100 degrees Fahrenheit mark. So he skates from 9am to noon and then from 5pm to midnight to avoid the heat.
>> Devine Calloway’s younger brother, Everen Stallion, besides having a pretty gangsta name, also skates and is supposed to rip. Devine had to miss Everen’s high school graduation ceremony because he was on Chocolate’s "Se Habla Canuck Tour." (quicktime 492k) Everen was kind of bummed.
>> Devine Calloway’s first board was a Creature Everslick with G&S wheels. He got it for Christmas but it was stolen after only one week when he hid in the bushes to go play football.
>> Salman was the first pro skater Devine Calloway ever met.
>> To pass the time as a kid, Devine Calloway and his friends used to hit golf balls at passing cars.
QUOTES CONCERNING DEVINE
"There’s not too many chicks in Bakersfield. They’re kind of scandalous."
—Devine Calloway
"He’s the hotness, and people want to be next to the hotness."
—Smyth on Devine. Not literally "on Devine." That’d be gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But keep it safe, and legal.
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TUESDAY, JULY 27, 2004
>> Randoms coming to you live, once again, from Mike Carroll’s house. Last time he was eating a turkey sandwich. This time he’s setting up a board. And the kickflip test.
And this would have been a sick Poweredge photo back in the day.
>> Congratulations Moses. He just had a kid.
>> Brandon Biebel Top 5 coming soon. Right Biebel ? (quicktime, 1.8mb)
>> Vern stop heckling people about the Lakers. You’re bumming people out.
>> Tomorrow we make an official announcement about the Chocolate team. Some real B.I.G. shit.
CURRENT ENTRY
MONDAY, JULY 26, 2004
>> Our own Mike Carroll continuing in the tradition of grabbing the nose with his trailing hand while skateboarding on a wall, AKA The Crail Snatch. Beautifully executed Mike.
>> There will be a reading of Life and Limb: Skateboarders Write from the Deep End this Thursday, the 29th at 8:00 pm, at the New Image Gallery, 1005 N. Fairfax, West Hollywood. Andy Jenkins, Michael Burnett, Dave Carnie, and Lori Damiano will be reading their stories. Check it out just to witness Andy Jenkins outside of San Pedro after dark. It doesn’t happen often.
MINI TOP 5 WITH BEN COLEN
Top 5 facial features that make Ben Colen look like a real life Twist graffiti character:
1. Perpetual five o’clock shadow
2. Droopy eyes
3. Decidedly unfashionable haircut
4. Permanently fatigued look
5. Sickly-grey skin tone
>> Guess which dog is Scott Johnston’s and which dog is Joey Tershay’s.
>> What we learned today: Smyth, totally down with Corey Duffel.
QUOTES
"Without Ted Nugent, there’d be no Modest Mouse"
—Rob Abeyta
"It was like an episode of the Wild Boyz"
—Rickk on his trip to Belize
"She’s hitting on my dog."
—Joey Tershay
CURRENT ENTRY
FRIDAY, JULY 23, 2004
>> The Crailshop has been update! Kill gear, at kill prices!
>> Smyth has been out of town for the last 10 days or so. Maybe some of the team didn’t get their box of boards as a result, but even more dire is that Smyth, a self proclaimed addict of the boob tube, missed a lot of his TV shows. Here’s a list of what TiVo had waiting for him when he got back:
1. 6 Feet Under
2. "Too Punk for this Sh-t" Real World Reunion Show
3. Da Ali G Show
4. Capturing the Friedmans
5. The Family Guy
6. Howard Stern
7. American Justice
8. Seinfeld
9. Newlyweds
>> The "est" award of the day: The Retroest Part of Girl.
MINI TOP 5 WITH EMMET JENKINS
Top 5 things Emmet Jenkins likes to do at Girl while his dad is working:
1. Adobe Illustrator
2. Play Galaga
3. Draw
4. Eat. My favorite is Starburst
5. Be bored
>> Mr. Larson multi-tasking.
>> There’s only six business days left in July. Let’s see if Raymond will get a post up by then.
QUOTES
"You don’t have anything to bite."
—Carroll to Ty
"There are a handful of skaters who are legends, and Christian [Hosoi] is one of them. This guy has an incredible story... he wants to live his life for Christ... and to do it with the Livin’ It Team."
—Stephen Baldwin
"He’s on island time, bro!"
—Larson commenting on Nick Diamond wearing flip-flops today
CURRENT ENTRY
THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2004
>> This entry of the Randoms sent in from Mike Carroll’s very own house! He’s eating a sandwich, turkey with honey mustard and pineapple salsa, right in front of me.
MINI CARROLL INTERVIEW
Tap: How’s your sandwich?
Carroll: The bread’s a little too toasted.
Tap: You always chew with your mouth open?
Carroll: Only when the roof of my mouth is getting wrecked from this hard ass bread.
>> The OG Gav, Henry Gavin, is about to welcome a new member to his family, in the form of a daughter-in-law. Well, OG Gav has been a Crail family member since day one. It’s high time that we introduce him to you guys.
(click image for enlargement)
>> When Robbie McKinley isn’t exclusively skating West Los Angeles he spends his time wrangling in a damn few Albacores from the waters of Mexico.
>> The return of the "est" award of the day. The Whitest Part of Girl.
>> Ty needs you "lil’ bastards" to help him make the world a more skateable place. And there’s something in it for you guys. Go to this link to find out what it is.
QUOTES
"Jeremy, all of your Viking stuff just got here."
—overheard intercom message from Girl receptionist, Jamie
"This is f—king annoying!"
—Mike Carroll getting ready to do his dishes
CURRENT ENTRY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 2004
>> Back in the office and things are exciting as ever. Nick killed a fly by swatting it with a pen and he’s really keyed up about it. In other Nick Diamond news, Kevin Taylor is the latest edition to the Fillmore team.
>> The word is out…
…and Roberts is not welcomed.
>> On the last night of the "Se Habla Canuck" tour Smyth fully partied with a quarter slab, quarter chicken, garlic mash, and penne alf. Just raging with tons of meat and starch...
QUOTE
"I’m on my hands and knees, bro."
—Nick Diamond on working on his new house
CURRENT ENTRY
MONDAY, JULY 19, 2004
>> Our last days of tour are coming to a screeching halt, almost literally, when last night both vans where driving on empty for nearly an hour, as we pulled into Regina. Saskatoon got hot and the Canadian plains are our new favorite region of the Great White North.
MINI 5s WITH JUSTIN ELDRIDGE
Justin’s Top 5 favorite things about last night
1. "Freebird"
2. The stars
3. The BBQ
4. Sam freaking about the bugs at the gas station and thinking he was in a horror movie
5. Me and Roberts walking through the McDonald’s Drive-Thru with cars behind us
>> Scott already has his outfit picked out for tomorrow.
QUOTES
"Play ‘Freebird!’"
—Chris Roberts
"Sweet!"
—Every Canadian kid at the demos
CURRENT ENTRY
FRIDAY, JULY 16, 2004
>> Today the Tap is really photo driven.
>> As promised here are the follow up, and the wind-down to the Lakai in Canada tour. Photos brought to you by Kelly Bird.
>> Left Calgary yesterday for Edmonton. Pretty much drove all day. We’re staying on like the Haight St. or Melrose of Edmonton. You readers can catch those references, right? Here’s some Edmonton nightlife. Photos brought to you by the self proclaimed Ruler of the Nightlife, Sam Smyth.
>> Chocolate team fun fact, Justin and Roberts, unless they’re skating, don’t leave their hotel room or eat. They’re awesome though.
>> Be sure to check out Gino's 5s over there in the lower right scrolling window.
QUOTES
"There was only like 200 people in my whole school. I was the hottest guy there."
—Sam Smyth
"Have you ever been hogging?"
—Marc to Dylan
CURRENT ENTRY
THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2004
>> The Lakai tour is over, but their legacy lives on in cyber space. Here are some of Bird’s cyber shots from their last stop, Toronto. This is part one. The second batch has been deemed "insane" by Bird.
>> What we’ve learned here in Calgary, while on the "Se Habla Canuck" tour. Supra Pete can still do pivots to fakie and Smith grinds, Devine Calloway is a demo champ, and kids scream when MJ enters a room. Calgary photos start NOW!
>> Look for the Gino Top 5 tomorrow, where he named his Top 5 favorite New York slang words in slightly less time than it took him to name the entire Chocolate team the other day.
>> Did you know that if you skate kind of hard and try to pump fast on some trannies that when you stop for a second your heart pumps really hard, you get really winded, and feel like throwing up? Yeah, Smyth and I just found that out.
CURRENT ENTRY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 2004
>> They finally got the Internet in Canada. So stoked.
>> We’re on day four of the Se Habla Canuck Tour. Kelowna and Banff? Done. See the photo documentation right here. Later today we hit, as legend has it, the biggest skatepark in North America. The Source Skateboard Park in Calgary. See you there.
>> Played skate trivia with Gino yesterday on the drive from Kelowna to Banff. Here’s what was covered; he thought that Donny Barley and Elissa Steamer still rode for Toy Machine, that Alex Moul rode for Flip, and he couldn’t name three people on Foundation. But he did name the whole Chocolate team, in under a minute.
>> Se Habla Canuck Tour’s current rooming situation; Eldridge and Roberts, MJ and Kenny, Scott and Gino, Devine and Ollie, Smyth and I.
>> Devine hasn’t stopped smiling since Saturday.
>> Every since Supra Pete left the tour to go home for a meeting, Scott’s been asking when he’s going to come back. I guess Scott’s sick of paying for his own meals, with his own per diem. Supra Pete get back here fast, and don’t forget your company card.
QUOTE
"Prepared for your mind to be blown."
—Smyth, showing off his orange flavored Kit-Kat
CURRENT ENTRY
TUESDAY, JULY 13, 2004
>> It appears the Chocolate boys have taken our very own Randoms man, Aaron Meza for a ride up in the Great White North... with no stops at web hook up facilities (they do have them up there, right?). Mez offered to do it by phone, but I sure as hell wasn't going to sit here and transcribe it. Rickoo put his foot down and told the Crew they had to stop and let the Mez post, so watch for something soon.
CURRENT ENTRY
FRIDAY, JULY 09, 2004
>> The creative mind behind Royal—besides Rudy of course—Jeremy Carnahan has a brother named Rickey, who works at the Lucky Dog Tattoo and Body Piercing, where they do something called "progressive stretching" and there slogan is "Your Ideas Brougth to Life." This all out in the desert. To find out more about Rickey read his family member survey:
(click image for enlargement)
>> Do you know that at two times in his life, Kelly Bird could have been eligible for the Ringer’s Honorary Crail Canadian. He once lived in Toronto and Vancouver. But they would have to be on speaking terms during those times as well, so maybe not. Here he is with the Lakai lads in Montreal/Ottawa.
MINI TOP 5 WITH CHICO
Chico’s Top 5 Spanish phrases* to yell at a girl passing by
1. "Orela"
2. "Como te llama"
3. "Que Bella"
4. "Dame tu telfono"
5. "Tu con tantas curves y yo sin frenos"
(Chico’s Spanish spelling may be a little off)
>> Skating the Girl park today; Jereme Rogers, Chico, Felix A., Filmer Haven, and Enrique Lorenzo.
HIP-HOP QUOTABLE
"You should have worked in Hip-Hop clothing."
—Sal Barbier
CURRENT ENTRY
THURSDAY, JULY 08, 2004
>> This Saturday, a good chunk of the Chocolate team will be heading to Canada for the "Se Habla Canuck" tour. But more importantly, the Randoms will be going mobile for the duration of said tour. Look for updates from the road starting Monday, where you’ll be seeing more of the Chocolate team, in one week, than any other web site, guaranteed.
>> Scott Johnston went to the I, Robot premier after party. He didn’t go to the actual premier, though. It’s cooler to go the after party, apparently. He saw Will Smith, Cedric the Entertainer, and a Victoria Secrets catalog model, "the white one." He said he wasn’t that excited about the food, which was the main reason he went.
MINI TOP 5s
Top 5 things The Gav knows as a company owner that Rickk does not:
1. The SIMA dates
2. The names of people that sell ads at magazines
3. Which territories are "killing it"
4. Which season it is
5. The meaning of the word "budget"
If you want Gav to call you, just mention him on a website and your phone will be ringing off the hook.
QUOTES
"The Birdman blackballed me."
—Rick McCrank
"Well, the gay community is pretty tight knit."
—Jeremy Carnahan
"I don’t understand that ‘est’ thing Meza’s doing."
—Rickk, the confusedest
CURRENT ENTRY
WEDNESDAY, JULY 07, 2004
>> I thought the band Linkin Park’s demographic was like from ages of 10 to 16. I guess I was wrong because Jeron Wilson’s wonderful mother, Joyce is a big fan. Read her survey to find out more
(click image for enlargement)
>> Coach Bird sent some more photos of the Lakai dudes, but mostly just Mike and Rickk. Here they are in Montreal.
>> Staci G has worked at Girl for a long time. She used to do sales, but now she works in production. You’ve probably heard of her/heard her. She’s knows everyone in LA, has been to more rock shows than anyone I know, and saves all her concert ticket stubs. She told me a story about how she tried to get a couple hundred of her most rockingest stubs laminated together so she could make a coffee table out of it. But the place she hired to do the laminating accidentally burnt all her stubs. Now that’s a serious bum out.
MINI TOP 5s WITH STACI G
Top 5 Rock Stars That Staci G Has Partied With*
1. Billy Idol
2. John Cougar
3. The Beastie Boys
4. Red Hot Chili Peppers
5. Q’uest Love from the Roots
*Bonus rock stars: Branford Marsalis, Sublime, and Pennywise, of course
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Can I get an honorary Canadian thing? I want everything on there"
—Gav
See past Randoms