With our spank banks running on empty but the harshness of winter behind us, we dropped Issue #004 across the Peninsula with elevated amounts of gusto. We invited pop/rock band Chambers to our office one weekend afternoon to discuss the state of the Sydney music scene and visited the Adam No Eve studio to cast an eye over their latest accessory line. We interviewed a friend who stared down the barrel of death while being chased by a machete-wielding madman in Costa Rica and Kye Fitzgerald gave us a rant about the intricacies of big wave surfing on the Northern Beaches. We shot local skater Kane ripping undies in fading light at Avalon skatepark and crept inside the mind of Oculi photographer James Brickwood to see what its like documenting illegal underground raves in Sydney. And finally, we killed two birds with one fist-sized stone by combining the artistic prowess and absurd wave-riding ability of Dan Crozier into one super-duper eight-page feature.
the magazine
surf – kye fitzgerald
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Kye Fitzgerald has a rant. The topic: Northern Beaches big-wave surfing. Big wave surfing on the Northern Beaches has drastically changed over the last five years. I wish I could say it’s changed for the better, but I can’t. The reason for that is the heart and soul of big-wave surfing, which is the art of paddling in, is fighting a losing battle against the jet-ski.
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fashion – adam no eve
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Society insists upon looking good. It always has, and always will. If you don’t keep up with the ever-changing trends of the world, you’ll be left behind at the cemetery gates. And let’s be realists and face the facts; you’ll never get chummy with Miranda Kerr’s balloon knot wearing tracksuit pants. I’m sorry, you just won’t.
Local men’s accessory label Adam No Eve is keeping dudes throughout Sydney sharp and modish. Created by designers Aaron O’Brien and Marcel Bingham, the collection of unique, hand-finished pieces says, ‘Hello, I’m here, and I’m doing fine without you.’ |
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skate – rolling on a deadline
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We were fucked, basically. Four blank pages that had to be filled, no skate content to fill them. Off to the printers in a day’s time, regardless of zero skate shots. We were gunna bite the bullet and drop the page count, but the ripple effect meant we’d have to pull departments and so on to fit the ads appropriately. If only we could find a local skater, get them to tear retarded chunks, shoot it, design it and drop it in, all within the space of one afternoon. Pffft. The likelihood of that coming to fruition was akin to securing a 69er with Barrack Obama. In other words, there was absolutely no way that was going to happen. But, as you can see (after a hurried phone call from a mate bailed us out), it actually ended up okay. Well, better than okay. |
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feature – escape from costa rica
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You’re out at night in a foreign country, revelling in a new and exciting culture, but then shit hits the fan. A demented local, evidently eager for bloodshed, confronts you wielding a machete. You’re all alone as you meet his manic stare. We interviewed our friends, Bowlsey and Sime, from the precincts of our office to discover more about their hair-raising, undie-soiling visit to the Central American province, Costa Rica. |
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music – chambers
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The unstoppable monster known as adult life has wrapped its bitter, bony fingers around my throat and has begun the long squeeze. It will squeeze until I am jaded, until I can’t skate, or surf or party, until I am dismissive of anything new, it will squeeze until the best parts of life are snatched away. But I think it will be okay. If I have beautiful, clever music like that of the band Chambers ringing in my ageing ears, the squeeze will be softened and I will happily fade away to being some burdensome pensioner, a beatific smile plastered on my leathery face. |
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art – james brickwood
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It’s cool when you fall out of touch with friends, circumstances dictating alternate paths, and then, years later, you hear that your friend is killing it. That they’re achieving, succeeding and inspiring others to do the same. Especially when your friend was a little crazed, manic and at times, a worry. But that hint of madness always belies genius, as is the case with our photographer friend here, James Brickwood. Staff photographer for The Sun Herald, electronic music authority, member of the Oculi collective, world weary and insightful, Brickwood (or Brickfish, Brickcunt, White Asian or WizzKid, depending on who you are) is one of those cats you jump at the opportunity to claim as a mate. |
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