Monthly Archive for January, 2008

Lakai – Fully Flared Intro

I’ve tried skateboarding a couple of times and failed miserably, once landing on my keys and hacky-sac and another time cracking my head on a half pipe which led to me realizing that I should take it up as a spectator sport only.

With this I developed an interest in skating videos mainly for the production value and choice of soundtrack as this is just as important as the skating itself.

Enter the intro to Fully Flared presented by Lakai Limited Footwear. This is by far one of the best intros I have ever seen and one of the best sports/action videos ever. The frame rate of the super slow footage is smooth like butter and captures not only the action and explosives but every minute move a skateboarder makes while performing a trick.

Directed by Ty Evans, Spike Jonze and Cory Weincheque I have watched the clip above about seven times and convinced that I need to have this DVD.

So I put my cap on sideways and pulled my jeans down to show more than enough boxer short and headed off to my local skate shop. A few minutes later and several dollars mind you (this shit is not cheap! i should’ve hopped on amazon.com or something) I now have Fully Flared in my sweaty paws.

I’m still to watch it but from what I have read and heard it is one of the best skating videos made in a very long time and sets the bar for production value etc.

Love it or hate it you have to agree that the intro above is pretty badass.

Dropkick Murphy’s and Flogging Molly

The good music announcements just keep coming.

Dropkick Murphy’s are heading back to Australia and will be playing at The Forum in Melbourne on May 29th. Support will also be offered by punk hardcore band Sick Of It all. Tickets go on sale through ticketek for $54 at 9 o’clock on Friday February the 8th. The Dropkicks won my vote for the 2007 gig of the year so make sure you don’t miss out.

It’s also been announced that fellow Irish American punkers Flogging Molly will be coming out to support their new album Float (released on March 1st) They will be playing in Melbourne at The Corner Hotel on Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th of April. Tickets go on sale for $50 on February the 6th and you can pick them up here.
I also saw these guys last year and they put on one helluva music gig full of jigging goodness.
2008 is really looking to be a great year for music.

Apple Wireless Keyboard

keyboard.jpg

While the Apple Wireless Keyboard has been around for a little while now (released August 7, 2007) I’ve only just purchased one to team up with my MacBook and existing wireless Mighty Mouse.

As with any other Apple product this is one sexy ass keyboard. It’s something that Apple has now got to a tee: Take the ordinary and make it badass.

The Apple Wireless Keyboard is smaller than the standard keyboard as the numeric keypad has been cut off making the width much smaller and improving the overall portability. It is thiner than most contestants on America’s Next Super Model and looks better too. It fits very well on my lap between my knees and is a pleasure to type on (ironically as I type this on my MacBook the wireless keyboard is sitting next to me on the couch).

Connection is via Bluetooth and if you have a Mac then setting it up is a piece of cake and as with most Apple products ‘it just works’. There doesn’t appear to be any noticeable lag when typing and when not in use smartly conserves power. Obviously this keyboard is designed to be used with a Mac with controls for screen brightness, Expose, Dashboard, iTunes (a very nice addition) and volume positioned across the function keys.

There are not many negatives for such a simple and well designed product but I could see some people getting frustrated with the lack of height adjustment that you may find on other keyboards as the keyboard is one solid unit.

I do have one gripe that I need to voice: Where the hell is the Apple key?! Shit, this is an Apple product made for Macs yet someone has taken away that sweet little apple with a bite taken out of it and replaced it with the word ‘command’. How very boring and no longer can I tell people that to copy and paste you use ‘Apple C’ and ‘Apple V’

Pros: Size, design, function keys and ease of use.

Cons: Height not adjustable, Apple key removed.

Week 3 – Stepping it up

So week 3 is down and done. It was another hard week as it contained the biggest run to date a large 10k run. Also some injuries have caused some to not be able to train fully this week. Gav has had some major shin pain and due to this he reduced his workouts. Paul had some chafing and this hindered his 10k run. So lets have a look at what we all did.

  • Stu – 23.3k at 6.23 per k.
  • Gav – 11.04k at 7.14 per k.
  • Paul – 16.15k at 5.08 per k

Starting to get more confidence after the 10k run this week and thinking I might actually finish the run without collapsing. This week we have another 10k to do on the Saturday so I will see if I can do a better time then last week.

For the people who want to join in and do some training this is what is recommended for this week.

Today - was an active rest day. By this you should just go out and do an activity that you like for example I went for a bike ride.

Tuesday – 3k walk/ 3k run/ 3k walk so all up 9k 3 of it running.

Wednesday – Rest

Thursday – 3k run

Friday – Rest

Saturday – 10k run

Sunday – Rest

Horsell Common play at The Corner Hotel

Horsell Common play at The Corner Hotel

Pennywise, Sum 41, The Vandals and Bowling for soup play at festival hall

Pennywise, Sum 41, The Vandals and Bowling for soup play at festival hall.

Tickets on sale from Thursday 31st January at Ticketmaster.com.au. $68.

Gyroscope play at Rubies Lounge

Gyroscope play at Rubies Lounge

The Longnecks a.k.a: The Living End play at the Ding Dong Lounge

The Longnecks a.k.a: The Living End play at the Ding Dong Lounge

The Longnecks a.k.a: The Living End play at Rubies Lounge

The Longnecks a.k.a: The Living End play at Rubies Lounge

January Music Update + New Announcements

Hi all,

There’s been plenty of new albums and music gigs being announced recently and while the release dates are still a while off here are some of the ones I’m looking forward to the most.

*New Announcements*

I just heard that a big gig has been announced at Festival Hall on the 13th April. Old punk pioneers Pennywise will be headlining the show with support being provided by Sum41, The Vandals and Bowling for Soup. Tickets go on sale from ticketmaster on Thursday the 31st of January for $68. Pennywise and The Vandals are worth the price alone and even though everyone bags the shit out of Sum41, it’s certainly good value for money.

After a long hiatus Millencolin will be heading to Melbourne and playing at the Palace Theater on April the 4th to support the release of their new album Machine 15.
This new record will be launched on April 7th and I must say I’m very impressed with their new single Brand New Game which was released on their myspace page today . It’s got plenty of catchy rock hooks, but it still feels like its got a lot of depth to it. This single therefore takes Nikola Sarcevik’s intelligent lyrics from his solo work and mixes them with some of the great Millencolin guitar work found on their Pennybridge Pioneers or Home from Home release. To support this record they will be heading to Australia and will be playing at a number of venues including The Palace Theatre in Melbourne on April the 4th.

Coheed and Cambria were set to hit our shores for the Soundwave Festival but due to other touring commitments they had to pull the plug. Thankfully Coheed and their shaggy haired singer Claudio Sanchez will be heading over to OZ after all and will be playing at Billboards on April 1st. Tickets go on sale February 1st.

Coinciding with Shihad’s upcoming new album Beautiful Machine (April) the NZ boys will be doing the rounds with their ‘One will hear the tour’ gigs, including
The Corner Hotel: Friday February 15th
Ruby’s Lounge: Sunday February 17th
Ferntree Gully Hotel: Saturday March 8th

Supporting these guys will be Melbourne band Horsell Common who released their first full length album The Rescue late last year. Tickets are only $30 and considering I would pay this money to see each band individually I’m planning on heading to at least one of these gigs.
Horsell Common will also be playing a separate gig on Saturday April the 5th at The Corner Hotel with support from fellow label mates Mere Theory. Tickets are only ~$10 so make sure to get your arse there to hear some tasty tunes.

The Living End will be playing under their pseudonym name The Longnecks in February. Hopefully they will be testing out some new material (for a new album?) at Ruby’s Lounge on Thursday 14th of February or at The Ding Dong Lounge on Saturday 16th of February (SOLD OUT). Tickets are only $15 so make sure you grab one as they’re selling fast.

Me First and the gimme gimmes release a B-sides album called Have Another Ball on March 10th.
I saw these guys play at The Corner Hotel on Sunday and they put on an awesome country themed show including dodgy mustaches and country clothes. Before I forget here are most of the songs they covered, Somewhere over the rainbow, Science fiction double feature, Don’t cry for me Argentina, Sloop John Bee, Stand by your man, Rocket man, Goodbye Earl, Sunday morning come down, She believes in me, Stairway to heaven, Isn’t she lovely and Save the best for last. There were another couple that I can’t remember but overall they played about 20 songs in 1 and 1/2 hrs. My favorites of the night were most of the Country themed ones off their last album including the opening song Much too young to feel this damn old, Desperado, Jolene and I believe I can fly. Overall they played a great gig which was well worth every dollar. Therefore I would give it 90 out of 100 pennies.

The Matches release a new album called A Band In Hope on March 18th.
They’ve also release a sneak peak song from this album called Wake The Sun. I’ve given it a listen on their myspace site and while it’s pop style hook is rather repetitive it’s still rather catchy. If this song is anything to go by their new album could be rather of a departure from the punk style heard on their previous two.
I’m looking forward to seeing these guys play some new material at the Soundwave festival and if I’m impressed I will probably see them again at their sideshow at The East Brunswick Club on the 27th February.

Out of all the first quarter releases I’m most looking forward to Gyroscope’s new album Breed Obsession. Their first single off this album Snakeskin was released way back in October but the agonising wait is nearly over as the full length record will be released on 10th March. To tide us over until then another single titled 1891 will be released on February 4th. Check out a sneak peak on their myspace website. My initial impression is that this song leans more towards pop than rock, but just like most of Gyroscopes material, the guitar hooks and killer lyrics are sure to build on me.
Gyroscope will be showcasing this new material at Ruby’s Lounge on the 2nd March so make sure to get your arse along for what is likely to be 2008′s gig of the year.

Other new releases coming out include,

Flogging Molly: Float on March 4th
The Donots (Please tour Australia!): Coma Chameleon on March 4th
Pennywise: Free to the people on March 25th
Anti-flag: The bright lights of america on April 1st
No Use For A Name: The feel good record of the year on April 1st

It also seems like music festivals are all the rage at the moments with them popping up every couple of weeks. While I don’t usually go to the big festivals, this year I will be checking out the Big Day Out this Monday (Australia Day) and the Soundwave Festival on the last day of February (29th). Since I’ll be checking out plenty of bands I’ll let you know which ones were my favorites and if there’s any side gigs you should check out.

If anyone from the Hundredpennies crew wants to go to any above mentioned gigs let me know and I’ll hook you up.

Cheers and keep on listening!