Favourite Album of 1999.

This was a tough one as four of my all time favourite albums came out that year...

"Sambanova" by my friends Nick and Pete better known as PNAU.
"Remedy" by Basement Jaxx.
"Surrender" by Chemical Brothers.
"Wide Angle" by Hybrid.

Four amazing albums but the best and one that meant the most in 1999 was really Sambanova.

To think only a few years earlier back in the days of Stage Band with Mick Lonsdale, Nick Bell and a bunch of super talented musicians... but none of them were more impressive than Pete Maze on his guitar. We were kind of like the musicians that no other band really wanted as we certainly wouldnt want to play traditional "big band" styles... but our "Stairway to Heaven", "Another one bites the dust", "California Dreamin" and "Lily was here" went down a treat no matter where and to who we played them...

Nick on the other hand was more the drama guy however I did enjoy doing a couple of musicals with him... JCS and Chess probably my two favourites... he was an amazing pianist...

So stoked these two guys went the whole way - the album was amazing. The non cleared samples made it feel rebellious. The label "Peking Duck"... and then the three re-releases as local Sydney record execs started to realize that some of the best music was and could come out of some local private school boys from the north shore...

Favourite Compilation of 1999.

This was down to two choices - one is probably always going to be my favourite "Chill Out" compilation in the awesome Back to Mine series. This is another series I am collecting- and 1999 saw the release by Progressive House and Renaissance maestro Dave Seaman. Lacks much animation but a brilliant selector none the less.

My favourite compilation of 1999 was however the double disc masterpiece mixed by Deep Dish on their Yoshitoshi label called "Yosiesque". They did a second release in this series however it wasn't nearly as good as the first.

Yoshiesque was amazing - start to finish. I remember listening to this with Irving for the first time in Newtown one night off memory - and just being blown away. So awesome.

Favourite Remix of 1999.

Like my favourite record of 1999 my favourite remix of the year was an easy choice. Sometime after 2am on one of the best nights of my life after so much effort to actually get to where we were... this record was dropped. It seemed simultaneously being played as it started raining on over 20,000 revelers... however no one really cared about getting wet... for most it was refreshing!

We had survived Y2K, we had managed to not need one of James' three alternate plans of transportation from Torie's Key Grande Apartment to Bondi Beach and we were all there together. Despite the rain Bysie dropped Bob Marley vs. Funksta Deluxe - The Sun in Shining. Such an awesome record!

Favourite Record of 1999.

So going back to the first year when I decided to really "remember" the soundtrack to my year and I'm back in 1999. Pumped on the hype of the new Millennium... shrouded in the speculation of Y2K(aos) and Computer disasters... 1999 was a super fun year. I spent pretty much every weekend with James, Torie, Toia, Gill Duggin, Benny Boy and of course the late great Irving Lin. I still think of my lost brother Irving every day. Miss you mate.

So there is no question as to the greatest record of 1999. It was all time. Bysie or Alex Taylor dropped it every Saturday night, Irving & Benny had it on 12" and back at James & Simon's "New Years Day Corroboree" after Mobile Home Gill Duggin played it four times in a row we were all so obsessed with it!

Mobile Home was an awesome night - Bysie followed on from after Carl Cox and dropped this one...

Sasha's Xpander - easily the best record of the year...

X-Games Results

So last weekend!

At about 2 in the afternoon Laura and I left San Diego and it took us longer than normal to get up to LA mainly due to Friday traffic! What is normally 2 hours took us 3.5 hours and after a quick refuel and car wash (can't put a dirty Land Rover in Valet) we arrived at the Standard Hotel in LA - or as DC had renamed it the "gold standard" hotel for the weekend.

http://goldstandard.dcshoes.com/

Literally we had no sooner arrived (as we had just got to the Valet section) and everything just seemed to whirlwind into action! Laura and I were certainly sped up a few gears after sitting in bumper to bumper traffic pretty much from Orange County right through. My car was being parked, the porters had our bags, Laura and I both had arms extended as Sarah and Cherice slapped various wristbands on our arms for access to this, that and everything else and then next minute we were in one of the DC "Limos" being driven out to Staples Center. It all happened super fast!

Within about 10 minutes we had literally been dropped door to door which was amazing and it was straight in to see the BMX Big Air. I wanted Chad Kagy to win and he did - I wanted Dave Mirra to compete and he was unbelievable. A Silver Medal from the most winning X-Games athlete of all times and we really didn't think he was even the "big air" kind of guy! He certainly surprised and amazed us all!

Next it was over to the Moto-X Step up and it was another one - two to DC. Our seats were awesome and Ricky Carmichael really could have gone 10 feet higher - he made it look so easy and absolutely annihilated the competition.

After a dinner with our team managers and pro snowboarders it was back to the standard, again by Chauffeur, and we're on the standard's famous rooftop for the evening's parties... I was way more sober than last year thankfully however this year there was no Brittany Spears just "Mini-me", a bunch of athletes, pro ho's and some chick from The Hills.

Next day we were back out at the Games... this time at the Home Depot Center and it was time for Moto-X, Speed & Style and some BMX. Laura and I enjoyed a great view from our DC private suite that was catered and had a steady supply of booze that made Laura happy. I am having a detox for a month or so - only water & Monster for me at the moment!

All in all it was a pretty disappointing day... Nate Adams and Adam Jones had mechanical issues and injuries. Robbie Maddison did well for him but didn't medal, Jeremy McGrath got a second and so did Ricky in the Moto-X. Pastrana also crashed out which was just plain bizarre! Still we hauled a few in - however Moto is something our company usually totally dominates... I guess it wasn't to be the case this year.

Across the Rally Track Daniel Dhers took Gold in Super Park. Seems like such a great guy as well - rather than going out and getting trashed after his event he enjoyed an Itallian dinner with Chad Kagy, Nate Christensson and their families at the table next to us at a cool little Itallian joint in downtown LA. Laura and I ate with the US Marketing Department that night...

So 13 medals in all and after the New Era party and then back to the rooftop at the Standard we decided to head back before the Rally which we won three medals in simply to beat traffic... Danny Way got athlete of the games and should have one Gold for skateboarding... I get that riding switch is tough - but for fuck sake Danny did a back flip and followed it up with a varial McTwist. That, on a skateboard, is gnarly. I guess they gave him the WRX as they knew the Gold should have been around Renee Renee's neck rather than the Silver that Danny seemingly was totally not into!

Check out the highlights on You Tube.

Comic Con - San Diego

Crazy Times...

A quick post as I hadn't mentioned anything about Comic Con - an annual convention held in San Diego.

A pretty crazy weekend downtown with some 200,000 + people showing up in all their glory - costumes and everything. I had missed these conventions every year in the past so I was desperate to check it out for sure. Rather than the $500 4 Day Pass I opted for the $50 Wednesday night preview thinking I could get ahead of the crowds for what I thought was the 3 hour "sneak preview"... I was wrong... 45 minutes to get in - hundreds of thousands of people wall to wall... although I do hand it to the organizers... they did a awesome job in trying conditions considering the sheer volume of people there.

I really wanted to buy some artwork for the house however most of it was well out of my budget at literally thousands of thousands of dollars for the stuff I liked. There was however some amazing POP art on display and for sale as well as some great teaser campaigns for upcoming movies including the new Frank Miller with Scarlett Johansson "The Spirit"; the new Underworld; the new Resident Evil and of course some teasers for the next season of Lost.

Aside from that other cool thinks to see were the UNKL and Kid Robot stands - we actually have a really cool UNKL x DC project in the works I am excited about so it was cool to see their work brought to life at the show.

All in all it was an awesome show - I just need to work out how to do it better next time so I can avoid the crowds - if that's possible??!!

Batman

I'm not going to lie... I wasn't sure what to expect going into the Dark Knight (new Batman film) as it was literally "the" thing to talk about in the US over the last 2 weeks. Many people last week at Comicon were dressed as the Joker; all the sepeculation surrounding (Australian) Heath Ledger's death; the fact that I wasn't really sure how the story line was going to fit in with the overall series of films; the fact that some people had already been as many as three times so I was worried I would think it was going to be awesome - then potentially get let down...

I wasn't let down. It is nothing short of brilliant.

I am a massive movie fan, and a massive fan of comic book adaptations. For those who have been to Laura & my house you would have seen the over 500 and something (I stopped counting a while ago) DVD's on my wall of which a bunch of them are comic book adaptations. X-Men, Electra, Daredevil, Hellboy, The Phantom, Fantastic 4... I have them all...

Of course this includes the Batman series. I have the original film from 1960 something starring Adam West & Burt Ward as I was introduced to the TV series at an early age from my Dad. I really loved that original TV series and I hope they release it on box set DVD soon! I also have all the "modern day" Batman films but my favourite will always be the first "modern day" Batman with Michael Keaton, Kim Bassinger, Jack Nicholson and Billy Dee Williams. I credit Billy Dee Williams higher than what most would - but I thought he was brilliant in Star Wars as "Lando Calrissian" and he was equally brilliant in Batman.

The first "modern day" Batman was awesome. The sound track done entirely by Prince was equally as brilliant. I used to own that soundtrack on Cassette and it was just such awesome music. Jack was equally awesome (as always) as the Joker... pretty big shoes for "our" Heath to try and fill...

Honestly - he made that film. His acting was amazing - and he is fully deserved if he wins the Oscar post humously...

It was an awesome story line, the effects were amazing, Heath stole the show... and while it was super long (over 2.5 hours) it didn't drag on at all. I went with Laura who has pretty different Movie taste to me and she seemed to somewhat enjoy it also!

So all in all - this movie is really a must see. I want to go and see it again for sure and I will be buying the DVD Special Edition.

Attached is a really really clever link to not spoil the movie if you havent seen it. It is done with the "original" Batman movie from the 60's but in the theme of the Dark Knight Trailer. Very clever - really celebrates the heritage of Batman on the big screen...

See this movie.

X-Games Tomorrow

So tomorrow marks the start of X-Games 14...

http://goldstandard.dcshoes.com/

Super x-citing as last year was a great few days. Laura and I will be heading up after work Friday and staying at the standard LA for 2 nights... DC has booked the entire standard hotel out for the whole X-Games so it will be awesome. We'll all be there...

Stuff I am looking forward to see? I think I will miss all the Skateboarding because of the schedule however I can't wait to see Nate Adams & Adam Jones in the FMX... also will be cool to see how Robbie Maddison does... Moto Step up at the Staples Centre as well as Ricky Carmichael was seriously unlucky last year... BMX Big Air has a sweet line up with Mirra and hopefully Kagy if he isn't injured... plus I really want to see Daniel Dhers in the BMX Superpark. I havent seem him live before. Of course one of my favourites too is the Rally Car... I would love Ken to win... that would be so so sweet... then Travis 2 and Dave 3 hopefully!

Also I hope Danny wins on the Mega Ramp.

http://www.expn.com/ for more...

Favourite Album of 2002

2002 had a few good albums come out - and my year was split in two really so one set was my sound track to traveling and the other was my sound track to living in Byron. Whilst I traveled I bought mostly compilations however one purchase which was really random for me was Alicia Key's Songs in A Minor. A great album. Another great album of course was #1 by Fischerspooner.

My favourite album however was one I had the pleasure of launching at the club in Byron and a really great album that flowed like a compilation. It really played nicely...

I had spent a lot of time and effort in getting Sasha's first performance promoted and ready, and he was really great to work with. I forget his old tour manager at the time but we stayed in touch for a year or so afterwards... a good bloke. Sasha flew in and the weather was crap - raining cold - pretty unusual for December in Northern NSW. He was travelling with his American girlfriend and we put them up in Victoria's Boutique at Wategos which would have been better if it hadn't rained the whole time he was with us. I had just finished telling him and his missus that they didn't have much to worry about in terms of sharks, spiders or whatever as I guess they thought Byron Bay was just the middle of nowhere! Literally thirty seconds after telling him he was right to go for a swim without being eaten or whatever (we were driving from the hotel to dinner) I ran over a friggin python bigger than I had ever seen that spanned the whole width of the road and must have been thicker than my leg. At the time I owned a Honda Civic... however there was no way I was turning around to see if it was OK... I think it was fine and slithered off anyway... on that winding and dark road between Wategos and Byron there wasn't really anywhere to turn anyways.

After dinner we hit the club and of course it was a sell out show. Sasha was a god to every clubber back then... everyone owned his Global Underground: Ibiza CD although to be honest I preferred his Global Underground: San Francisco. Having said that "airdrawndagger" was my fav. album of 2002... and it was a great night out with a bunch of friends & clubbers from Sydney coming up to see him in a club that really only held 300 people... that show sold out quick.

It also marked my last night in Byron as I headed back to Sydney to start work with my current boss and friend for over 5 years, Nick Adcock.

The other part I loved about this album was the fact that my really great old friends Ben Korbel and Paddy Nash (a.k.a. Sounds) did the Sydney party for it... and they did a great job. They ended up moving the party as they sold that many tickets and pulling in over 5,000 people. I was so stoked for them... this was also really their first step in becoming the amazing festival promoters they are today - most famous for "We Love... Sounds" which really is a collaboration between them and my early mentors Mark & Sarah Broadbent... more about them to come in my posts about earlier years.

No clip from this one as most on You Tube suck from this album and to be honest to really appreciate this album you have to listen to it start to finish.

Now I have finished 2002... I will go back to 1999 next and then work back to 2008... when I have time as it's X-Games in LA next weekend.

Favourite Compilation of 2002

Following on in my little 2002 series is my favourite compilation from that year...

2002 was a fun year for me. Prior to moving to Byron I had a nice long vacation in between Home and the move north which lasted over three months and was pretty much the longest time I went without really having to do anything. LA, San Fran, New York, London, Ibiza, Poland, Switzerland... it was a great holiday. Through this time I listened to a bunch of music, bought a bunch of music and through going to a heap of great clubs (Space, The End, Fabric, Cafe Mambo & a bunch more) I was exposed to a bunch of great music.

The record which will always stick in my mind featured with a bunch of other great music all compiled and mixed by New Jersey's Harry "Choo Choo" Romero. On one of my favourite labels (Subliminal) it was two discs of bliss - and the anthem of the Ibiza summer was without doubt Layo & Bushwaka's "Love Story". A big house record and easily runner up in my favourite record that Fischerspooner took out for '02! That record of Layo & Bushwaka's however will always take me back to the terrace at Space in the heat and humidity - sucking down 10 Euro Bacardi Limon's and cheering on the planes as they flew in overhead... yes that was pre-roof days at Space!

So Harry's compilation that also featured Thrill Me (Junior Jack) and Green Velvet's "La La Land" amongst others was only runner up! Worth the purchase is Subliminal Sessions Volume 2.

My favourite compilation was however a Muzik Magazine cover mount that I picked up in all places at Bath in England. This was well before I had an Ipod so buying albums would mean the disc was straight into my discman and then hope the road (or walking or whatever) wouldn't cause the CD to skip!

This compilation is still amazing... I mentioned her as well in my other blog as she was certainly at the forefront of "electroclash". As a genre some people doubted it and "electroclash" copped some heat - but personally I really like it. "Berlin is Burning" is fantastic. A cover mount CD - but just brilliant... Miss Kitten mixed and compiled this and it's really an amazing compilation.

Below is a video featured on the mix, that is also one of her records... but this compilation really needs to be enjoyed start to finish as it flows so well and is a truly great compilation.

Favourite Record of 2002.

I think most (or at least a really really high %) of the world's best music comes out of the UK... let's face it... The Smith's, Sting, Iron Maiden, Sex Pistols, The Editors, Ian Brown, um... some small time band called The Beatles and most electronica that took us into and shaped the new millenium... don't forget to credit these guys with how music is produced and now purchased these days...

This band however was responsible for my favourite record of 2002 and they were AMERICAN.

Listening again to this band takes me back to Byron days when I used to go in to set the club up early and sound check playing this album (my old friend from home sydney Meredith Jordan introduced me to it) - #1 by New York City's Fischerspooner. I used to play this record and sing into the mic... mostly to myself (thankfully) but sometimes Tabitha (my bar manager) would get an earful.

These guys were ahead of it - and "electroclash" was still emerging in even London and Germany when these dudes were all over it (but suprisingly from the USA??!) ... For me it was them and Miss Kitten & The Hacker at the forefront...

This record is a treat... influencers must have been Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys & Kraftwerk...

I remember back to my record label days (and work with The Shop Music) when they released the follow up album called Odyssey. Tim McGee at EMI / Ministry and Craig "Burger Queen" at Sony got into a big old bidding war for the follow up... and the album wasn't nearly (unfortunately) as good as their first (featuring this record).

It was however the Adam Freeland (Marine Parade - also played at c-moog for me) remix of "Emerge" that made them the dosh (at least in clubland)...

However it was this record, "the 15th", which was my favourite record in 2002.... enjoy!

Favourite Remix from 2002.

Every year I have a favourite record, remix and album. Back in 2002 I was running a club in Byron Bay Australia that was truly remarkable. c-moog it was called.

A small but amazing beach town is Byron so with Simon, Susannah and Tim we had a tough but great time! Simon & Susannah Page are now back as owners at home sydney and through DC I am sponsoring their daughter (Sophie's) Sublime Snow Party with DC product this year. Sophie's cousin and flatmate is Bjorn Johnson who is one of my DC sponsored Pro Skateboarders... Tim, my old flatmate and Byron colleague is now Erick Morillo's tour manager with Subliminal Records. Amazing such a small world huh?

At Byron we used to have the who's who play... it was so rad. Tayo, Eric Powell, Noodles, as well as DJ Sasha (who is now managed by another mate of mine Harley Moon!).

The other old mate of mine I am super super stoked for from the Byron days is Callan Mulvey. Cal (or DJ Callahan as he was known back then) was famous for being the heart breaker in "Heart Break High" and he was also responsible for introducing me to some of my now favourite artists including Lyrics Born and Blackalicious. He is famous today for the GREATEST TV show to EVER come out of Australia called UNDERBELLY. His acting was amazing as Mark Moran - a murdered Melbournian Gangster...

My most favourite week however was when I had James Lavelle and Richard File (a.k.a UNKLE) stay at my house for a week making music and playing at the club. It was round about the same time James released his Global Underground CD "Barcelona". Global Underground is, still to this day, my most favourite progressive house mixed CDs. I am trying to collect the whole set.

Anyways - this was my favourite remix for 2002... I will follow it up later this week with favourite album and record for the year...

This is the REMIX of Ian Brown's F.E.A.R. by the aforementioned UNKLE.

Quadangle Bike

A quick post to mention the Video I posted below (bottom of web page). It's the teaser video for the DC x SE Racing Quadangle 24" Cruiser.

I have been working with the boys at MTV Asia on two promotions that start this month around Asia. We're basically giving away 2x of these super limited edition bikes (with a prize pack) on MTV's Swag and also on the MTV Asia Awards which will be totally AMAZING. Dave and Bert @ MTV are two great blokes and I am stoked to regularly work with them. I also have one of these in my office - however I really want to hit the streets with it sometime soon... I just love the non traditional BMX design language on this thing and the mat paint job looks great. Reminds me of when I used to hand paint my BMX as a kid. Check about the MTV Asia Awards here http://www.mtvasiaawards.com/

Welcome

So welcome to my new (and first ever) Blog spot. As this is all new to me I'll be testing it out and adding a few "catch up" posts with what I have been doing... definitely thankyou for stopping by...

So why am I doing this? Not too sure... I guess I need to try and stay as up to date as possible with Net Technology and there is no better way than being hands on... also it makes staying in touch with all "non facebook" friends and family much easier right?

So the image in my title box is of a pair of custom DC Shoes that an amazing artist (and all round great guy) called SBTG (Sabotage) made for me. He is such an awesome dude and is uber well known through his work with Nike, New Balance etc... I love these shoes... next to my car and watch they are pretty much my favourite things I own. Such a generous and thoughtful gift. I will post more pics of these... I had them professionally shot and now they live in a custom display case in my office in California.

So stay tuned... there will be pics, info and hopefully regular updates...

Cheers, Jeremy