I'm sort of pooling together a few different ways of skating the NYC Courthouse spot today. From what I know, only Brandon Westgate and Zered Bassett (above) have managed to get tricks along the entire edge of the end of the bank. And it's not like they just got 50-50s or something. Westgate nosegrinds the whole ledge and even manages to twist a 180 off the end and down the 6 foot drop, while Zered hits it switch for the whole length! Not only is the ledge long and the drop huge at the end, but it's a pretty good height to get onto as well. Skating this iconic spot in this new way will definitely spark some guys to add to the full-length ledge tricks, but for now, give major props to these two guys.
Now on top of skating across the edge, there have been some dudes that incorporate manuals into this monstrous setup, utilizing both the main ledge and the drop into the bank. I first saw Kenny Hoyle throw a manual down the bank after a popped out nosegrind in his Madness part. At that time, that was pretty mind-blowing because the spot was definitely familiar enough, but only with single tricks on the ledge or the drop. Carrying the manual through the kink at the end of the bank and maintaining composure while falling to the ground is super impressive. Then Joe Tookmanian came along with a back tail nose manual through the bank. It takes a NY skater to be able to manage something as crazy as that, especially nose manualing through the kink.
Guys like Zered and Walker Ryan decided to take the top drop path via manual and added yet another way of skating this spot. Both tricks stoke me out so much: seeing Zered cover almost all surfaces of the spot switch and Walker popping into the tight bank out of a nose manual.
When you look at the number of skate videos that have used songs by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (who I will call ESTMZ for short here) on Skatevideosite.com, the long list is quite stunning. But there's a reason for the madness (pun intended as Kenny Hoyle will explain) because ESTMZ simply produces great music for skate videos. Mixing qualities that make videos memorable and epic at the same time, the music makes you feel happy while watching the skating but excited too for the trick progression throughout the part.
If I remember correctly, the first time I heard ESTMZ was the heavily-used-in-skate-video song "40 Day Dream" through Addie Fridy's Mag Minute. The part came out a good 3/4 years ago I think but The Skateboard Mag re-released it this year. What caught me off guard was just how many bangers Addie kept coming out with, even in the quieter verse of the song. The slo-mo's near the end of his Mag Minute matched the hype from the good-feeling refrain and the double-take on his nutty ender goes hand-in-hand with the double-take on the final words: "Ohhh oh, I could die". (What's crazy to me is that while this part is pretty old by now, for these day's terms, it's still super gnarly. I'm surprised Addie is just now coming up on flow with Expedition.)
My second experience with "40 Day Dream" was through RVK's Younited Nations entry to the Berrics a few years back. But the defining video part for this song would be Kenny Hoyle's turning pro part in Expedition's Madness. The introduction as Rob Welsh leaves Kenny in the dirt to shovel out his first pro model is ideal: short enough that you don't start begging for the skating to be back, funny with the solid acting from the Expedition crew, and meaningful enough to the unleashing of the new pro. Kenny's few stomps on the dirt patch covering his board cue the fade in of the music, which slowly amplifies to Kenny's opening line of buttery ledge tricks. The first "Ahhh-ah!" at about 1:38 is timed out perfectly with Kenny's line in that clip: a sick flick on a nollie tre and a cruising no comply together build up with the music and then unleash with a huge frontside half cab flip at full energy. The held out "yeahh" at 3:55 on the varial heel across the long Chinese street gap works really well. But probably my favorite clip is right after when Kenny switch heelflips into a manual and the music momentarily is silent, suspending the suspense perfectly only to have Kenny switch 360 flip out! That culmination of excitement was too awesome so that every one of Kenny's following bangers is just made that much better. The quick cut to black after his ender and the short cut off on the music also leave that stunned feel as to what just went down.
ESTMZ's radio-popular song "Home" was featured in Lakai's Am I Am feature, with Vincent Alvarez, Riley Hawk, Raven Tershy, and Daniel Espinoza. The song was the last song used and goodness did it do a great job of closing out the video. The skating by these four dudes was heavy (enough to have 3 of them be pro by now, and arguably Riley should be as well) and "Home" created that really epic feeling with every trick going down.
Walker Ryan skated to ESTMZ's "I Don't Wanna Pray" in Organika's Grow With Us. The very beginning seemed rather quiet, but as soon as the upbeat tempo starts, you just want to start snapping your fingers along with it. It helps that Walker keeps it playful with his first few clips: 180ing into a bus after landing his grind and cruising along a sick DIY bank spot and even skating some tree branches. Walker's positive attitude shows through his skating and this song could not fit better to bring that out. The whole part takes his great skating and leaves you feeling impressed and happy at the same time. When the song quiets down again at about 2:58, it highlights all of his pretty crazy manny tricks. It brings in feelings of amazement that all work up to Walker's insane switch backside flip over the bump to bar ender. Satisfaction completely guaranteed by the experience.
Lastly, with one of the most epic video parts in recent memory, Andrew Reynolds skating to ESTMZ's "Om Nashi Me" in Stay Gold (see above). The introduction fills you with pure joy: visually Reynolds skating around his backyard and playing with his daughter is complemented by the song's cheerful introductory chords. So as soon as the music builds up from the intro and Reynolds frontside half cab flips Carlsbad, you know the part's going to be magical. The song provides that really epic video feel as all the tricks are going down. After he nollie noseslides a gnarly rail at about 3:08 and gets the elated high five from Herman, the music calms down a tad. At this point, while watching Stay Gold with my friend for the first time, we literally remained speechless with our eyes glued to the screen watching legendary spot after legendary spot be crushed. The music matched the compilation of tricks in a way that left me with feelings of pure awe. And when Reynolds kickflips the UC Davis gap at the end, the final melodies from "Om Nashi Me" make the kickflip feel like the battle has been won and celebration is in order. Exactly how an epic video part should conclude.
There's something about the music that I've heard from Fitz and the Tantrums that simply stays in my memory. The skate videos utilizing their music were all filled with great skating, but nothing in particular that would keep me daydreaming about those parts (such as Westgate's street annihilation in Made or Guy Mariano's technical NBDs in Pretty Sweet). Yet the upbeat songs and good selection of mood changes, for lack of a better description, allow for full-on enjoyment of the video parts.
The first time I remember getting hooked to a video was with Fitz and the Tantrums' "Moneygrabber" in Kenny Hoyle's Madness Bonus Part (above). Kenny's style and trick selection is easily one of my favorites but despite getting used to watching his tricks again and again, I just had to keep rewatching this video so I could repeatedly experience the huge bump to bar heelflip as the percussion dropped. And right as the first verse starts Kenny comes out with a sweet line that keeps the excitement going while maintaining the soothing vibes from the quieter music. Then the switch back heel at 0:50 perfectly times the slow motion with a new underlining sound for the music as it builds back up. Another reason why I was so intrigued by this bonus part and the song was the strange skip at 1:32 that I knew felt out of place at first. Regardless, after wanting to hear the song in full, I would always picture Kenny's great skating when I thought of this melody.
Now most people probably know "Moneygrabber" from Mike Mo's part in Pretty Sweet, which I must say was an instant favorite of mine in great part because of this song. The clever ground-stomping intro as the song fades in depicts Mike Mo's effortless skill all too well. It's cool to see when that first verse comes in (which apparently is the beckoning for the first line in the video part), Mike Mo takes it back to the ledges we know him for. And then at the first major swell for the chorus, he comes out with a pretty surprising switch nosegrind fakie front 360 shove out at a green schoolyard ledge, which sticks out clearly in my mind. Same thing happens when the next chorus comes around: Mike Mo starts off a 3-trick downhill line at a school that he also skated in Fully Flared with a fakie big heel, flawlessly following that up with his impossible late flip, and finishing the line down a nice set of stairs with a gorgeous frontside flip. And at the part in the song with the 1,2,3 count-ups, Mo's trick selection gets rather crazy but is amplified by its pairing with the song for what is my favorite segment of his part.
More recently, Fitz and the Tantrums had their song "L.O.V." featured in Bones New Ground for Trent and Trevor McClung's shared part. Throughout it all, the song is very upbeat and brings out the positive mental attitudes that the brothers have. While showing off their impressive abilities they appear like they're having fun in the process, which is helped by the song. I like Trevor's 5-0 into the long, steep bank at 15:00 because his rolling away speed wobbles match the singing of "tryy-yy". Just a little gimmick that helped me enjoy the part even more. And directly after, the timing of the drums (leaving and then entering) for Trevor's switch big flip down Carlsbad couldn't have been better, as the epicness of the trick is made to stand out. Then at the end as the music slowly fades out, the saxophone solo cordially invites the two bros to a free-for-all of heavy tricks...and they accepted.
Just like in the other parts, Josh Anderson's part in Organika's latest offering of Grow With Us is really made memorable because of the Fitz and the Tantrums' "Hey Mr. President". The first few piano chords as Josh ollies over the manhole cover and powerslides down the street are extremely inviting for the viewer. The split second of silence when Josh locks into his 360 flip nose stall at a popular ditch around the 4:00 mark acts as a moment for the viewer to catch their breath out of surprise at a pretty rad trick on a rough bank. On top of that, the chanting of "Hey!" and "Ooh!" work well as solid moments for Josh to comfortably stomp his tricks down throughout the part; they also happen to emphasize his slam around 4:42, but it all adds to the likeability of the part.
You can never get too much Kenny Hoyle. As much as I've probably praised styles beforehand, Kenny's style is undeniably fun to watch and really never gets old. I could watch him switch heel or kickflip all day, but what's great is that he has such a large bag of tricks that there is no chance of getting bored of his skating. Kenny's put out some great video parts the past 5 years or so, all starting back to his standout part in It's Official. The Jesus Walks instrumental in the background works perfectly with every trick he stomps. The switch backside flip along the sidewalk grass gap early in the part at 0:34 is just so buttery, and the tini dirt-hop rollaway and strobe effects really get me psyched up every time I watch the part. From the varial heel at 0:57 to the nollie inward heel at 1:06, and then 7 back to back flip tricks down some gaps starting at 1:16, his gap-tricks are utter perfection. To top it off, he's got great pop, a tight ledge game, and even hits some handrails too. Also, from 2:00 to the end of the part, Kenny goes back to an all-out stairset and gap flip trick frenzy with tricks popped and caught like they were done on flat.
Definitely one of my favorite all around full length videos, And Now couples great music selection to great skating and Kenny's part (above) is an instant standout. Just like the strobe effect at the start of his It's Official part, the little nollie taps at 0:09 after the nollie crook and tre flip add to the anticipation and excitement for the skating to come. I always remember the varial heelflip at 1:37 from an Expedition ad and because it once again cannot look any better like most of Kenny's stair tricks. The nollie big flip to finish the downhill line at 2:01 seems like the trickiest (for lack of a better word) idea to try there but he pulls it off with impressive ease. And again, he ends the part with a beauty of a hardflip at 3:40.
While I could pick apart more and more of Kenny's part and his skating, I will leave it to these two parts because they are what made me an everlasting fan and what still stick out in my head today. But I do have to mention a seriously ripping series of clips from DVS's Dudes Dudes Dudes, once again another terrific part for turning pro in Madness by Expedition, followed up by more superior quality Bonus Madness (Mike Mo's Pretty Sweet song!), and most recently his Detention at Da Playground (end trick is pure awesomeness!).
Now Kenny's been pro for a good 2/3 years and has had a few small clips here and there, such as the Detention clip. But with a natural talent like that and the ability to make all of his tricks look easy and appealing, I would really like to see some new footage from Kenny. Like I said before, you can never get too much Kenny Hoyle.
