gorilla flicks

behind the music: "snapped" by the phunk junkeez

The other day, and quite out of the blue, someone asked me if I had appeared in the music video for "Snapped" by the Phunk Junkeez. I was shocked, because A) I'm not a face often (or ever) recognized; and B) I'd completely forgotten about the video as I thought it had never been released. So off to YouTube I clicked and there, by god, was the music video that I'd once participated in with Kendra Gaeta and Jeff Tremaine on a summery weekend day in 1995. We were simple, lowly folk then, working on Big Brother skateboard magazine, and our only minimal connection to the big time world of Hollywood was through our friend Spike Jonze, who was starting to make a real splash in the music video scene on MTV.

This was the era of the "wonder kids," and although Spike was the primary cannonball, there were a few notable others, like Harmony Korine and Jake Fogelnest, both of whom were making waves as well. Jake, famous for his homespun Squirt TV show in New York, was the director of the Phunk Junkeez video that day, but Spike was on set as well, and that's how our dumbasses got cast as extras for the day of filming at a retail shipping store on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood. So we came, we did what was directed, and that was the last I heard anything at all about the video until asked about it the other day.

According to the official YouTube description for the music video it was "banned from MTV during the mid-'90s due to references of 'going postal.'" This is, of course, due to the fact "many postal occurrences happened during that decade, henceforth the catchphrase," and it also explains why I never heard a single word about the damn video. I'd just assumed it came out like a chunk (phunk?) of crap and never left the edit bay, but that's typical for cynical silly me. Mind you, this was also still years before the internet placed information and porn at our fingertips, and it looks like this video wasn't even uploaded until 2010.

My favorite part of the YouTube description, though, is the "Featuring Spike Jonze" claim. Spike, in modest disguise, appeared for all of 8 seconds or so at the very end of the video, but as any clever marketing guru will tell you, it's all about the hook and whatever it takes to get that almighty click. What they should have said, however, was that it featured the four-time number one box office champion movie director Jeff Tremaine, because the DP really managed to capture the magical allure of his award-winning blue eyes. I'm still mesmerized, and no doubt you will be, too. He's like Dracula! Or an Edward, I guess, if we're trying to make relevant references that aren't from the 1930s. Hashtag Team Tremaine. —Sean Cliver

paisley skates and the artistes of big brother

Theologians and religious scholars will tirelessly war against the theory of evolution, but every once in a while it's scientifically proven that bodies do collide and will give birth to something new. Actually, this happens every day. It's called sex. Men take their private parts, rub them on a woman's private parts, there's an explosion—BANG!—and that's where babies come from. It's not a miracle by any stretch, but the mere fact that Big Brother skateboard magazine came to be and managed to exist for 12 years is almost as mind-blowing as a box of magnets. What few people understand about the magazine, however, is that the staff was entirely comprised of classically trained artists, and that's why I've chosen to interview myself about this extra special, extra arty release from Paisley Skates. This is, after all, the Age of Enlightenment*. —Sean Cliver

Sean: First things first, what is Paisley Skates?

Sean: Great question. Real journalism 101, Norman Mailer. Regardless, I'm glad you asked, because it's a snappy little skateboard company I co-founded with Paul Urich. Our first set of boards came out last November and we've somehow managed to release a few more since then, thanks in part, or possibly in whole, to a small collective of friends and like-minded thinkers, like Nick Halkias and Mike Pipito, who have generously donated their time, talents, and esoteric interests to accelerate the cause.

merde in paris with carnie and cliver

Today's debate: What does one do when offered a free flight and lodging in the city of Paris, France? Actually, there's no debate whatsoever. You simply say, "Fuck yes!" and that's exactly what my former Big Brother magazine colleague Dave Carnie and I did this past week, courtesy of the European branch of DC Shoes. Sure, nothing is ever truly free in this world, but this vacation came pretty damn close aside from one day filled with an intensive round of interviews that spanned the accented gamut of UK, French, Spanish, and German journalists. Compound the multinational revolving door with copious amounts of wine—primarily from the Bordeaux region—and this made for some impaired speech, challenged thoughts, and limited scope of judgment that ultimately dribbled into an underground evening of skate nostalgia, fat-chewing, and the occasional penis drawing, all in support of the recent DC Shoes x Big Brother collaboration. Photos? But of course. But first—butt first!—in traditional inside Big Brother aside manner, the peg boy is indeed a real thing—or at least as real as anything can be when researched on the internet. —Sean Cliver

art, racism, and watch repair with winston tseng

I've always admired an artist than can say a lot with just a few lines (much like I can admire a writer that can say more in 25 words than I can in 2000 with a superfluous use of commas and an extreme predilection to parenthetical asides), so today's fireside chat for the bamboo grove takes place with Winston Tseng, yet another artist sprung from a leak in the creative fount of skateboarding who is venturing out into the great beyonds of graphic design. —Sean Cliver

Sean: So the whole reason for this interview is to plug your upcoming project with Urban Outfitters. How’d that come about?

Winston: It’s a new program called Artist Editions, where they’re working with different artists to release limited edition tees and other things like patches and pins. Each artist gets their own little collection that kind of stands on its own, which is pretty cool and different for me. I’m used to working with companies on designs that ultimately have to include the brand's name or logo, so it was a nice change. As far as how it came about, I’m not sure how they decide on their end who to work with. They just contacted me and told me they were going to be starting this program and asked if I’d be interested. There were artists released before me that I wasn’t familiar with, so it’ll be cool to see who they work with in upcoming editions.

happy birthday to sean cliver!

Once again it's that queer third person time of year, when Sean Cliver wishes himself a "Happy Birthday!" because that just so happens to be his damn job at GORILLA FLICKS. To shake it up and make it more of a party that's not all about him, him, him, though, here's Chris Pontius as well who's striking a very handsome pose in a somewhat matching outfit. For the record, neither of these goofs called each other up before the party and asked, "Hey, are you wearing your Paisley Skates shirt to the Big Brother deal tonight?" Instead it was kismet. Meant to be. Just one more plate of shrimp on an already heaping cosmic buffet table (but not the table adorned with a big icy SHIT behind them).

where are they now: heather lee jones

When Heather Lee Jones first started working at Big Brother magazine in 1996 she scared the shit out of me. Not that this is unusual, most everyone scares the shit out of me in some manner or another, but maybe it was because she was always trying to force me into communicating and social interaction has never been a strong point of mine. Regardless, Heather fast became one of us over the years on Big Brother, maybe even a "mom" of a sort, as she tended to take care of all us boys and anything we weren't man enough to deal with in a responsible manner. Kind of like when she figured out the food and drink bill recently, when a few of us gathered for a dinner the night before the DC Shoes x Big Brother extraganza and we couldn't tell our assholes from our elbows with all those numbers on the receipt. Heather didn't get an opportunity to say her piece in the new Big Brother book—I'll take the blame for that—so here's an official update on what became of "Heather from Big Brother" and her former alter-ego "Hubdur" (both of whom are shown at right with a shellshocked me in 1998). —Sean Cliver

SC: How did you first get involved with the Big Brother crew?

HLJ: I met y’all at a party in Hollywood. I was a Camel cigarette girl at the time for a marketing company. Me and a partner would go around to bars in Hollywood to give the bartenders cigarettes and trade people half empty packs of other brands for Camels. I was already promoting bad things, so Big Brother seemed perfect for me. I met Jennifer Brandon [Ed. Note: Big Brother’s first official Advertising Director] at the party. She was really drunk and puked—my kind of girl. I developed a crush on Natas [Kaupas] that night, so there was that, and I pursued Jenny for the job. I became a part-time ad sales rep then moved to full-time sales when we were sent away from the World Industries office space to live at the Franklin Ave. board screening warehouse. Jenny moved into doing all the financial stuff, Danielle Saxe was our receptionist, and I did ad sales—the girls of Big Brother! Marc [McKee] and I were talking about that recently. He said he always wanted to do something with all the girls ’cause he didn’t think people believed girls would actually work for the magazine. Kendra [Gaeta] paved the way. When the mag got bought by Flynt they did not need Jenny to do financials, so she went back to sales and we agreed that she would take Blunt and I would keep Big Brother. I worked there from April 1996 until January 2004 when Flynt shut it down.

last call: the dc shoes x big brother shit show

Before we get shit deep in a photo mix from this past weekend's DC Shoes x Big Brother skateboard magazine launch event, check out that fancy-ass banner at right! Tremaine and Kosick really knocked it out of the online ballpark. So if you want to buy the book, go on, click the image and be whisked away to a magic page on Gingko Press to do so. Should you have any reservations about doing so, please put them aside because the Big Brother book is a best, worst, and who fucking cares collection of content from the magazine with all-new editorial blurbs by former staff members Marc McKee, Earl Parker, Sean Cliver, Rick Kosick, Dave Carnie, Dimitry Elyashkevich, Chris Nieratko, and Chris Pontius. Bonus: It is guaranteed to not fit easily onto any bookshelf, thereby by forcing you to leave this shit out on a coffee table for all to see and roll upon. Now onto the potpourri of people...

Left to right: Big Brother managing editor Chris Nieratko and pro skateboarder Mike Carroll; Pro skateboarders Brandon Biebel and Bill Weiss; The one and only "master journalist" Earl Parker with Big Brother contributor Johnny Knoxville.

Left to right: The original Big Brother staff members Sean Cliver, Earl Parker, Marc McKee, Jeff Tremaine, and Rick Kosick; Contributing photographers Dennis McGrath and Tobin Yelland with the welcome wagon for the party.

the gorilla flicks holiday gift giving guide

Yes, it's that time of the year when we make wholly biased recommendations on items you should buy to give friends, loved ones, countrymen, and creepy uncles. Warning: These gifts may cause recipients to experience a host of side effects, including sexual dysfunction, dry mouth, nausea, headache, diarrhea, nervousness, restlessness, agitation, increased sweating, weight gain, insomnia and drowsiness. Gift at your own risk.

 

Holiday Themed Torso Sheaths

First things first, right? Surprise the kids on Christmas morning or any of the 8 days of Hannukah by looking too legit to festively quit in one of our fine garments. Okay, so it's just a darn T-shirt, but it's a garment by definition just the same. Anyway, you can look bold in black with a Santa Skull 'n' Crutches, pure as the driven snow with a white Santa Skull 'n' Crutches, or back in black and ready to Torah with a Kippah Skull 'n' Crutches. All are available from merchmethod.com, where you can also find the merchandising end of the Dickhouse rainbow.

 

jackass

You know how the go-to staples of the Periodic Table of Elements are like oxygen, helium, hydrogen, and boron, right? Well, think of jackass just like that but in an Oxford English dictionary way used to illustrate the words dumb, stupid, idiot, and moron. But in a good way. A fun way. An all in good fun way! From the prehistoric days of the television series on MTV to the ridiculously advanced production value of turd dementia in the third dimension, jackass has always had that something special—call it a joie de vivre or tas de merde—that many have attempted to imitate but never succesfully replicate. So spread some joy and gift someone in the junk with an unrated three-pack or one of the other testaments to dumb.

 

Ridiculousness

Need to shut the kids up and occupy their holiday ADHD while you and the other adults get merloted on Christmas day? Give them one, two, three, four, or however many seasons of Ridiculousness you're able to charge on your card! At this time, we'd also like to thank the interweb hordes for annually feeding the online beast and giving Rob Dyrdek and Co. ample material to spotlight season after season. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving! So gift this and gift hard—so hard—and deck the shelves with seasons of Ridiculousness for generations of peckins to enjoy because this shit just doesn't get old. 

 

The Birth of Big Air

Is there anything better than to give the gift of inspiration to a young child? The answer, though a rhetorically asked question, is quite obvious because Whitney Houston wasn't kidding around when she said that the children are the future. Okay, so maybe that wasn't the most unique observation in the history of the world, but she sang it and made millions, so good on her. Anyway, Mat Hoffman is one of those things that will never go out of style because legends live forever. Plus, Mat's an all-around great guy, so it's awesome that ESPN gave him due credit for his contributive boost to the action sports world in a big, big, big way—hence the whole "Birth of Big Air" titling treatment.

 

 

Art

Art? Yes, art! Give the goddamn gift of art if you care enough to give more than a gift o' fart. This is a high quality, 11-color screened print of a skateboard graphic by Sean Cliver for Paisley Skates featuring a children's birthday party scene with top notch serial killer entertainment. It's not exactly what you'd find offered by the Franklin Mint or a timeless Americana classic ala Norman Rockwell, but it is what it is in this day and age of wonder and mystery and it's limited to an edition of 75 prints—each personally hand-numbered, signed, and touched by the artist himself. Oh yeah. Available only at paisleyskates.com.

 

A Wee Man Skateboard

It's all a logical progression and Wee Man has gone full circle Oroborus-style to his skateboard roots with Nullity Skateboards. You, the gift giving consumer of goods, can now acquire a skateboard directly from Wee Man, who will personally process your order, sign the board, pack it all up, and ship it off from his home base of operations in the South Bay of Los Angeles, California. Radical, right? Right! To jump on this truly unique item you can check out nullityskateboards.com or inquire direct at [email protected].

last call: the being evel premiere

Left to right: Justin Moore-Lewy, Kelly Knievel, Jeff Tremaine, Johnny Knoxville, Mat Hoffman, and Daniel Junge.

Last night we were all able to relive a bit of the awesome and wonder of our '70s childhoods with the Hollywood premiere of Being Evel—Evel, of course, being Evel Knievel, the American icon and daredevil known for his crazy stunts, larger-than-life behavior, and big time love for all things emblazoned in red, white, and blue. Directed by Oscar-winner Daniel Junge and produced by Johnny Knoxville, Jeff Tremaine, Mat Hoffman, Justin Moore-Lewy, and Brendan Kiernan, Being Evel first appeared on the cinema scene earlier this year at Sundance, where the documentary was met with critical acclaim, and it's now set to blaze across the world this Friday, August 21st, with a limited theatrical release and widespread availability on iTunes. For now, here's a smattering of the faces that were in attendance to kick-off this thoroughly enjoyable and boldly honest portrayal of the legendary life and times of Evel Knievel…

Left to right: Tremaine with special effects maestro Elia Popov; Wee Man meets the press with some hands-on; Dave England does his red carpet duty. 

Left to right: Executive producer George Hamilton with one of Evel's original motorcycle leathers; Red carpet selfie-in-action with Tremaine, Knoxville, Daniel Junge, and Hoffman; Tremaine goes tan-to-tan with George Hamilton.

Left to right: Tremaine and Hoffman get posey with Evel's son and daughter Kelly and Alicia Knievel; England and Wee Man get posey with Evel's motorcycle.

Left to right: Donnie "Money Shot" Anderson and Andy "Sweatpants Media" Bell; Barry "Symbolism" Smoler and Knate "Knew Mutants" Gwaltney; Knoxville with his daughter Madison.

Left to right: Introductions are important as Knoxville, Daniel Junge, Mat Hoffman, Tremaine, and George Hamilton do the Being Evel honors; Evel's big red, white, and blue truck was on display out front the Arclight theater on Sunset Blvd.

Left to right: Rental moguls and editing buddies Steven Gatto and Seth Casriel wait in line for a look inside Evel's truck; Wee Man emerges from within Evel's truck; Donnie Anderson and Anna get handsy with Evel's cane inside Evel's truck.

Left to right: A pre-lasted Lacey Reilly; After party Evel memorabilia on display; After party props Donna Stack and Sean Cliver.

Left to right: Closing the night out strong with Wee Man and Tremaine; Party boys Chris Pontius, Rick Kosick and Wild and Wonderful Whites wrangler Julien Nitzberg (not to mention an extremely shady Guch in the background).

(Photos by Rick Kosick; 2015)

don pendleton on art, a grammy, and boone county

When I set out in 2003 to produce Disposable: A History of Skateboard Art, my goal was to be all inclusive and encompassing. Despite these best intentions, however, I failed to represent the work of Don Pendleton. Why? Best I can say it's because: A) I'd never met him; B) he lived in the woods of Ohio; and C) my nose was primarily buried in the archives, garages, and studios of those on the West Coast. So I totally overlooked his significant contributions to the "visual mythology" of skateboarding and for that I've always felt like a big time a-hole. Especially when I later (and finally) met Don after we were thrown together in the art arena for a joint Pearl Jam poster project in 2012. I don't believe we ever talked about his glaring omission from Disposable, but I still feel it's an elephant in the room between us. So, Don, please let this fun-size interview stand as my half-ass mea culpa. I swear if I ever do another book, you'll be the first artist I contact for sure—and not just because you've since become renowned for winning a Grammy Award for the Best Recording Package on Pearl Jam's Lightning Bolt release. —Sean Cliver

SC: So are you actually in possession of an honest to god Grammy Award?

DP: I do! It’s actually pretty heavy and has my name on it and everything. I took it to my mom's house to show her, but it's in my closet right now. I’m really proud of the project and it was a super good time, so it’s nice to have something to remember it by. Not really the kind of guy to put it on full display, but it was a pretty interesting situation. I didn’t go to the awards, but I started getting a lot of texts after they announced it.