in the
S
CROWD
PUSSY EAT
EATRE
a
LOVEDOLLS
SUPERSTAR
PEN DIA 120
MEET TWO SHOPKEEPS WHO SKATE
Chuck wheels and deals in pools as well as his own skate shop.
CHUCK PRESSLER
Scattered and splattered notes
from a three pitcher interview make
up the basis for this profile of Chuck
Pressler, 26, skater and owner/pro-
prietor of West Coast Connection in
Phoenix, Arizona.
Though many owners of skate
shops would never risk busting their
fat buns on the plastic they peddle,
Chuck has been skating since he
was 14. As a skater, he ignores the
many non-skate items that sell so
well at other stores.
"I'm against the formats of some
of the other shops, with earrings and
Motley Crue posters," he says.
Chuck is no rich man, nor can he
claim a generous mom and pop to
pay his rent.
"Some kook almost killed me in a
car accident, so I received X amount
of dollars. Instead of partying the
money away, I decided to do what I
enjoyed most."
Having previously worked at a
skate shop for six years, Chuck put
his money where his skate is
"You can only do it if you like kids,"
he says. "Parents always come in
and all go, 'How can you handle it?"
"I want to keep skating alive," he
explains. "I don't sell stuff just for the
cash. We sell only pro models, the
kook boards are what destroyed
skating in the '70's."
Everyone who works at his shops
skates, "Not because they work
there, because they have to," he
says. Skate mechanics Steve "Hap-
py Hebrew" Adelman, John "Pasta-
not Rasta Negrelli and young Steve
Tapia (15) are all skater daters.
The West Coast Connection skate
JOEL GOMEZ
Joel Gomez, owner of Sessions
skate and snowboard shop in San
Jose, CA, remembers being right in
the thick of the early years, skating
around the streets of Capitola and
Soquel near Santa Cruz. "I was a
hard-core skater-seven days a
week, 4-6 hours a day. After Soquel
Skatepark came and went, I was go-
ing to school over the hill in San Jose
and skating Winchester almost every
day"
team boasts some fine and rowdy rip-
pers. "Our vertical riders are 15 &
under or 20 & over, there's no in-
betweens," Chuck proclaims. "We
choose towards the most aggressive
tricks. Circus tricks are banned from
our team."
Chuck skated many of Arizona's
legends in his younger days, in-
cluding the great Ameron pipes once
located near Lake Pleasant.
"Before the burly years, it was the
early years." he recalls.
One of his most vivid early
memories is his first downhill
attempt.
"We were coming back from the
river, I had my board and was all
baked. I was doing over 30, and
passed a truck," he claims. "I came
to this J-turn, it was either bank the
turn or go straight into the curb where
cactus and rocks prevailed."
He emerged from a tumble with
rocks embedded in his knees. Even
his sunglasses were broken.
Yet today, Chuck rides on.
"I'm probably skating more now
then I was when I was younger," he
says, "It seems like there are more
places to skate now."
While working as a Northern
California sales rep for Sims
Snowboards, Joel had his first
thoughts about opening up his own
retail outlet. "I noticed in almost
every shop the owners were a lot
older and didn't really skate, surf or
snowboard. They just sold the pro-
duct. Because I was going to school
and had a business background I
was confident that I could pull it off."
Things have gone so well that Joel,
at 24, has just opened up a second
shop in Denver, CO.
While skating is hot right now, the
snowboard end of his sales have
been almost as lucrative. "In Califor-
nia the sales during January and
February have been higher for
snowboard equipment than for skate-
boards," says Joel. "Snowboarding
has really taken off. It's fun. It's a lot
like skateboarding and a lot of
skateboarders are getting into it.
"I'm able to answer a lot of ques-
tions new snowboarders ask. Boards
vary a great deal from one company
to the next, it's important that they
get all the info possible. We get a lot
of people who call that have been
misinformed. The public is not really
too educated about snowboarding
yet." Joel figures it's up to him to help
correct the situation. That is, in bet-
ween taking a few runs himself.
by Mike Gitter
Dave Markey's Desperate Teenage
Lovedolls (1984) and Lovedolls
Superstar (1986) are the rock films for
the eighties. Captured in the least ex-
pensive formats (super eight and
video), the two films are do-it-yourself
filmmaking at its finest. With the help
of executive producer Jordan
Schwartz, Markey made the first
film-all 45 minutes of it-for $250.
Primitive is the best way to des
cribe the first film, Desperate Teenage
Lovedolls (changed from Desperate
Teenage Runaways when Runaways
founder Kim Fowley threatened to
sue). The film documents the rise of
the Lovedolls, an all-girl band that
fights their way to the top. Along the
way they square off against rival all-
girl gangs and fend off scamming
manager Johnny Tremaine (played
by Redd Kross bassist Steve
70
McDonald, whose performance
steals the show). Rock 'n roll rapes,
maims and kills in a climax.that has
bullets flying and the "manershal
blue flowin
Lovedolls Superstar goes for more
of a Jim Jones angle, as ex-Lovedolls
drummer Patch Kelly (played by Jan-
et Housden) declares herself Patch
Christ, a religious cult leader. Super-
star is a more substantial film, with
higher production quality and guest
appearances by Vickie Peterson of
the Bangles, Bill Bartell of White Flag
and none other than Jello Biafra as
the president. Executive producer
Schwartz makes an appearance as
Bruce Springsteen and is assassin-
ated by Redd Kross guitarist Jeff
McDonald, who is made up as Kiss'
Gene Simmons. Cult murders,
Guyana-style mass suicides and the
usual mayhem make for a truly
twisted grade-Z movie experience.
Soundtrack music is provided by
Black Flag, Sonic Youth, the Meat
Puppets, Gone and a host of others.
Both films, currently available on
video from SST, score high for their
spontaneity, outrageous humor and
ability to do far more than their low
budgets would ordinarily allow
Early last year the band, compris
ed of Jennifer Schwartz on vocals,
Janet Housden on drums and Kim
Plinkerton on guitar, began playing
the LA club circuit. After going
through a number of bass players,
including Gwen from the Pandoras,
a seventeen-year-old bassist by the
name of Abby filled out the band by
early summer
The films have helped propel the
band into neo-stardom, and landed
them more good gigs than most
bands of their relative inexperience.
would get. "It seemed like a good
idea to become a live band, since we
had the films behind us," says Kim.
"A lot of bands have to work many
years to style out as heavy as we're
stylin' now."
According to director Dave Markey.
who drums for Painted Willie, "It's
very hot and very intense and
definitely happening. The band was
formed out of the movie, which on the
outside of things looks a lot like the
Monkees, but they do play all their
own instruments and they do sing."
"But you taught us to play," inter-
jects Jennifer
"Well, of course, and not only do
they owe me their film careers, but
they owe me their musical careers
as well."
Surf-styled skater/snowman, Joel Gomez,
edging the ghost of Soquel Skatepark.