george crosland photo blog

Sometimes you gotta visit the family and friends. I spend so little time with my family actually that I really enjoy it

The fall leaves were still on the trees back east. The leaves usually fall off in October. Anybaody who says global warming is not real is fooling themselves. Potomac River. Shot taken from Maryland into Virginia

Harpers Ferry West Virginia is a total throwback town. West Virginia is truly a mountain state and this is where it starts. Where the Shenandoah River emeges from the mountains to meet the Potomac, where the North meets the South. Where the first battle of the civil war took place

My Dad walking alont the Potomac River

What is with all this nature arty shit?

This wall was built during the Civil War and here it just sits in the middle of the woods

Fall along the Potomac

The sunset on the fall leaves was pretty nice

Like Europe but it is West “by god” Virginia

Also went to my high school reunion. So fun to see everyone. Thats my friend Pat, I met him in like 1983. He lives in LA and we still hang out

After the reunion we went to Bar 11 in Pittsburgh where I was made honorary bartender. Bar 11 is an insane place. Always packed, always crazy shit

Like Ibiza, only in Pittsburgh, with real people

The owner of Bar 11, Rob, is a complete nut, he makes the place what it is. He has fucking drums at the bar

“Lets get reatarded”

You think the dude in the yellow shirt is gonna get lucky?

Head drums?

2:15 am Saturday morning, Pittsburgh PA. Hella fun times but you can’t live like this, well Danny Kass can. There are fucking trees in the Bar?

Live - 1 5 minute song, 1 thirty minute song - heavy and rad

Casbah - San Diego USA

You can not get much more American than this. Stock car races on a dirt track, on an Indian Reservstion in the country, BYOB, free camping, Hot Dogs and Nachos, super nice drunk dude talking about his “46 Chopped Triumph”, Saturday Night good times

The Skateboard Mags very own Dave Swift with a front smith over the ladder. This is kind of a difficult spot to get to

Surfing Huntington Beach during the US Open of Surfing (more on that later). The sun is setting beihind Palos Verde Penninsula and a bunch of shippings probably holding Chinease crap that will end up in your house

Vigne and 1st street - Los Angeles, CA

Hanging with Phil, from Seattle. Phil is the guitarist in a band called Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter. They are not super metal, more like a mix of Norah Jones and Neil Young - very good. Phil and Jesse live across the street from the studio where Nirvana’s “bleach” was recorderd in Ballard Washington. They play music, have fun, drink and fight - perfect inspiration for music. Phil played guitar with Ryan Adams in Whiskeytown until they got in a fight and Phil left the band. Jesse, Phil and the band were on a SW tour that ends in a show in Denver with Ryan Adams and Lucinda Williams - Rock Roll

Jesse and Phil, Los Angeles, CA July 26, 2007 - out

“For the sake of Fuck what happened to the rock?” – Lothar, the god of metal.

Lothar is right, rock has taken a back seat in the public eye to hip hop, American Idol, Justin Timberlake and all that crap. Do not even say pearl jam, Blink 182 and that crap is rock either. Sure bands are still rocking out there but you gotta look deeper than the radio station.

Earthless has been rocking San Diego for about five years. This is their third release, the first on Tee Pee Record. It’s a must have for fans of hard psychedelic rock. The drummer, Mario Rubacalba, was in San Diego’s finest rock band Rockets from the Crypt and is a former pro skater for Alva. Unlike a fast hard hitting song like Motley Crue Shout at the Devil or Slayer it is more like down for the count, long term rocking. The cd has three songs, 2 of which are about 20 minutes. This is good music to fuel a session, steady, heavy music and you do not have to get up to skip songs like other cd’s with three minute songs. Maybe not music for a video part or an X Games run but music for a heavy jam session. A mix of Motorhead, The Melvins, Funkadelic and Led Zeppelin, kind of; music to get amped and stay amped to. I recommend it. Four out of 5 stars on the scale of metal. Keep in mind that 5 is Motorhead playing in the Basque Country with no opening band in the rain for 3.5 hours with Lemmy wearing lead weights on his feet so he walks like Frankenstein, so a four is pretty damn good. Seeing them live is supposed to be even sicker than the cd. Check out their My Space, just search for Earthless. If you are in San Diego check out Mario’s record store the Thirsty Moon. If you like hip-hop or rap do not buy, If you like rock – get it. Read on for a brief interview with Mario, the drummer.

The review in Thrasher said Mario is a former pro skater. Well, Mario may not be pro for Alva anymore but he still shreds. Here is a Madonna on the extension at Black Box (Mystery, Zero, Fallen, Greed) were he works

SR: So Mario, you work at Black Box, have part ownership of a record store (Thirsty Moon Records in Hillcrest) and are in the band Earthless, did you plan on mixing things you enjoy and making a living or did it just end up that way?

MR: It just kinda ended up this way, I have been in Earthless for a few years, started the record store then knocked my lady up so I had to get a more consistent form of money aside from music so I hit up Black Box. They seemed to be what I was looking for in a skateboard company & I am really stoked to be a part of it.

SR: Is working at Black Box cool or would you rather wear a suit and work in some office somewhere making lots of money and selling your soul?

MR: It’s great, I skate the park everyday, & we don’t have a dinky little manual pad & a quarterpipe. We have a full -on ripper!! I don’t have anything against suits…just some of the people who wear them.

SR: Who is the funniest person at Black Box? Is it the guy from the Heartaches?

MR: There are too many characters here, I am constantly laughing

SR: Ok, this is supposed to be about Earthless, how would you describe the type of music you guys play?

MR: Heavy, Loud, Sonic mind melt sandwich.

SR: There are not too many bands out playing heavy, powerful music like Eathless, how did it come about that you guys play this type of Music?

MR: It’s in the chimichanga’s that I eat.

SR: What has been the best show you guys have played thus far?

MR: They all are fun.

SR: If Earthless could play with any two other bands (living or dead) in the world, who would they be?

MR: It would be an open jam sesh with Zeppelin, Hendrix & Sabbath.

SR: I know Lou’s has your Cd’s and probably the Thirsty Moon too, where else
can people get a hold of the music?

MR: Best buy but go the independent route.

SR: Does the Thirsty moon have Justin Timberlake CD’s or more hard to find stuff?

MR: Just Morrissey (gag!)

SR: Thanks man, any shows coming up or anything else you want people to know?

MR: Check our myspace page.

Sounds like “Eyeballs floating in space…” from the Eathless My Space sight. Also like this photo I took from their My Space sight

You got it - taken from My Space

Here is Danzig playing at the Electric Bannana in Pttsburgh, PA circa 1987. This photo was taken by Marie St Clair and given to me by a friend, John Ritter. The Electric Bannana was a tiny place on the edge of downtown Pittsburgh. Not really downtown and not really in the burbs. The owners were rumored to be gnarly, like they pulled guns on bands and stuff. I can not verify that to be true or false. Down the hill was/is a place called Chiefs were everyone ate and drank. Back in the 80’s The Bannana was the place were almost all non-traditional types went. Steraight edge, heroin users, skin heads, kids from the burbs (like me), college students and so on. My first shows was Corrosion of Conformity, The Dirty Rotten Imdeciles with Pittsbugh’s own Half Life opening. So much energy came from that place, so many bands played there it is ridiculous. I am sure your town had or has a similar place. In the 80’s though most towns only had one and for Western PA it was the Bannana. The closest rivals being the Underground in Morgantown, WV and the 9:30 club in DC. Good times and some bad ones. For a kid living in a town like Pitt it was a connection the outside world, a place to meet up with friends and meet new ones and place to vent the angry suburban kid energy. I think Jeff Lamb from Half Life is even singing in the crowd here. Considering Danzig single records now go for like $800, Danzig would have been one of the all time shows

The Melvins are a very intense band. Formed in Aberdeen Washington in 1984 they have 22 years musical under their belts and they are are fucking good. King Buzzo plays guitars and sings, he could give Eddie fucking Van Halen a run for his money, fuck Nell Pert, The Melvins drummer is kick ass and the bass player, Kevin is eaqually talented at intricate Bass thumping. My friend called me last night and offered up a ticket for free and of course I accepted gtreatfully. I had not seen the Melivins since 1990 when they were like the intro of a Slayer song for 2 hours. They have taken that intensity and refined it in the past 16 years. All the bands were somehow related to the Melvins so it was like a family show, so to speak.

Serious carnage is about to happen with these implements

Altamont consisted of Dale from the Melvins, playing guitar and not drums and some other guys whom I did not know. They were great.

This guy played drums for Altamont and acted as a second drummer for the Melvins. The Melvins were perhaps the intense drumming experience I have ever seen. Imagine Nell Pert and Tommy Lee, playing as hard as they, perfectly in synch yet throwing their own little touches in - insane

Two sets of drums

This band, Porn was really good, like the Pink Floyd of Punk. The guitar player plays the tuning mechanism

Big Business had the bass player from the Melvins and Dale playing guitar and a drummer, then King Buzz came on stage, Dale moved to Drums and the Melvins took off.

King Buzzo, dueling drums and sick ass fucking Bass player the Melvins = Maximum Rock and Roll intensity

The Supersuckers and The New York Dolls are touring the country, go see them!

San Diego’s own Creepy Creeps opened up the show, it was a dance party. This was the crowd too, not even the band

The New York Dolls were so good. After thirty years apart they were still tight. It was an amazing show. Here is Sylvan Sylvan, the drummer and David Johansen.

After the gig with Eddie Spaghetti of the Supersuckers, a favorite rock and roll band of mine since like 1992