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| Q&A: Michael Brooke - Publisher, Concrete Wave Magazine (7141 Posts)
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S&!#Bird
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On 5/9/2003
Nick
wrote in from
(66.87.nnn.nnn)
Grumpy -
I know of whom and what you speak. You gotta figure that with his choice of name, Dave's product exposure is necessarily gonna drop somewhat. He had to realize that from the get-go. There will be a lot of shops that won't carry his products at all, just based on the name and graphic. I'm actually considering carrying his stuff. It's either gonna be described as SBird, PooBird, or S&!#Bird. If his products weren't so great, I wouldn't consider it.
Have you seen the original graphic for the Deathbox Jay Adams board? Hackett drew the line at that one, and offered a considerably "safer" version to the public.
The line is a fuzzy one, and shifts constantly.
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Language
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On 5/9/2003
Adam
wrote in from
(66.121.nnn.nnn)
Around here we programatically bleep cuss words while retaining the first letter, e.g. f#@! It imparts the speaker's meaning without offending (too much) the unappreciative reader.
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I just work here...
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On 5/9/2003
Mike Moore
wrote in from
(66.196.nnn.nnn)
I've followed the cussing/swearing/foul language posts with interest since I spoke my peace. You guys don't want it? Fine with me. I can live without it as well. My question to you is this...
Ok so no editorial or article has any foul language. Fine. What do we do though if an advertiser wants to run a questionable ad? OR to be perfectly honest, I've been speaking with a small company who really wants to advertise...it would help his business tremendously...but the VERY NAME of his company would have the big black censor box across it. Should we do that?
I'm not at all trying to be a smart aleck or confrontational on this issue...my goal, as well as obviously MB's, is to make this thing grow wings and fly. You all make valid points about the need to omit this type language. Personally, coming from a fine arts background, anytime someone tells me I shouldn't do something...it really grabs me by the short hairs. But more important to me is the success of this magazine.
I'm babbling....Like a BROOKE...How punny of me!
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Magazines, swearing, all that.
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On 5/9/2003
Chuck
wrote in from
(199.183.nnn.nnn)
I'm with Nick on this. I can swear up a storm...I'll even embarass you in fron of your Mama, I have no shame. But the printed word is a different matter. I would disagree with Glen D. on his interpretation of Free speech and the Founding Fathers' intent...I think MB and company have the absolute right to print any sort of language in CW they want. And the stores have the absolute right to carry it or not, and parents have the absiolute right to try and keep it out of their kids' hands if they want. That said...I think the magazine would only benefit from a paucity of foul language. It will be suitable for all...those of us with sailor mouths have never complained a magazine didn't have enough four-letter words (at least not if it is well-written, intelligent, and it's main attraction is NOT pictures of nekkid women)...but those who do not care to see such language (and those who do not care to let their kids see such language) certainly have a right to complain about foul language in an otherwise terrific magazine. The argument that kids see/hear it all the time doesn't cut it for me either...I don't have kids yet, but once I do I would not want them reading stuff with profanity. Yes, they'll see/read it somewhere eventually. Yes, they and their friends will know all the words and say 'em when I'm not around. Yes, I know I won't be able to be there all the time, and control everything they see/hear/read. BUT...to knowingly allow them access to material you don't approve of legitimizes it, and weakens whatever lessons you want them to carry in life. A magazine is rarely reduced by omitting profanity, but inclusion of such can work (negative) wonders to keep the image of skateboarding/skaters (and yes, us 40-year-olds who still enjoy it) in the proverbial gutter, and the magazine out of the hands of kids with conscientious parents. Not that I mind having an image of being in the gutter, mind you...
Magazines: after I bought my last issue of Skateboarder (either the last issue or close to it) I only bought 4 or 5 skate magazines until last year. Two or three Thrashers, more for some punk rock band or another being featured than the skating (and one for the review of my friends' band's single), an issue of Transworld with an article on Jamie Thomas in the 90's (his sister used to be my roommate), and some magazine or another early last year (see, I can't even remember which magazine it was) when I was looking for someone who sold Exkates. When I got it home I found skaters these days seem more interested in shoes than skate hardware, at least judging from the content of the mag. So, other than Skateboarder, skate magazines have had pretty much ZERO influence on my life. Then came ILB and CW. Once I learned about ILB I endeavored to get every issue I could get my hands on. Now comes CW...I enjoy reading it for the most part, and find myself once again interested in a skateboarding magazine. Props to MB and Co.
On that line...Michael, can I still get my hands on a copy of issue 4? I will want to buy that one, plus 5, plus a subscription if you aren't going to be doing the CW Army thing anymore. Lemme know...
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Happy B-day to your Kid
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On 5/9/2003
Hamm
wrote in from
(63.175.nnn.nnn)
Mike,
Its your youngest kids Birthday on Sunday, its easy for me to remeber cause its mine too.
I hope you guys have a great day!
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RE: ConcreteWave Subscriptions, Issues 1-3
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On 5/9/2003
josh bower
wrote in from
(68.71.nnn.nnn)
At the beginning of the mag I was responsible for subscriptions and distribution of the magazine. Since then I have moved on to website administration. My sincere apologies to any of those who didn’t receive their subscribed mags, I will work with Michael to resolve any subscription issues.
The Skate Club website is still being revamped, and will be back online soon, with new pics and video. Skate Club members continue sending submissions for the site and our new zine.
For all those planning to go to New Mexico, see you at The Bear!
josh
(Please Skate)
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Nick Iacovelli, 7 year old punk vocalist
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On 5/9/2003 Geezer-X
wrote in from
(149.2.nnn.nnn)
Old Skull
Hahahahahahaha!
I haven't thought of them since then.
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Curses!
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On 5/9/2003 psYch0Lloyd
wrote in from
(198.160.nnn.nnn)
This struck a cord:
"I didn't read either mag. I declined to let either mag influence my skating and attitude."
-Nick"
I usually thumb through the pages picking out things I wanna look at whilst reading certain articles with somewhat of a jaundice eye.
Never even thought I'd ever seen a copy of Concrete Wave myself. Then while we were all congregating in the shop last night, Leo directed my attention to the fact that I had issue No. 1 sitting right where I had "unpacked" from some long ago forgotten journey (Catalina perhaps).
Maybe now I can see what all the hoopla is about...
...now where did that copy go to?
LLLLEEEEEOOOOO!!!
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cussin, skate club and the mail
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On 5/9/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.183.nnn.nnn)
Nick
great feedback on the issue of swearing....in keeping with the true spirit of what I am trying to accomplish with this mag, I think you will see a much tighter issue (#6)
I don't want to be like ANY skate magazine out there.
There's no need to copy what they are doing - they are doing a great job of copying each other and providing the world with their take on skateboarding...
My take on skateboarding is profoundly different...yes, it's been a very, very steep learning curve and we are only half way there...bottom line - if people are liking what they see now, you should see what's coming down the pike. In tightening up words, photos and layout and overall image, we will produce something that lasts for many years and has a profound impact - just like SkateBoarder and Surfers Journal.
As for anyone who signed up via Skate Club, I have taken responsibility for handling this mailing situation. If there are any folks who didn't get issue #4 and signed up thru skate club, let me know....customer service is a VERY high priority. There were about 80 folks who signed up...email me if you are encountering problems and I will rectify things.
The mail is working...thank the Lord! I have received a number of emails of people telling me they got issue #6 - this is good...keep me posted.
To keep things moving forward...I'd like to touch on something Nick wrote..
"Thrasher's team of Fausto, Thatcher, and Blackhart started the whole "keepin' it real" school of skate journalism, which in turn spawned a million 'zines (and I put out quite a few of them), and all the skate mags since. It was a deliberate reaction to SkateBoarder magazine. Larry Balma went the other way and made TransWorld more positive. I didn't read either mag. I declined to let either mag influence my skating and attitude. The few times I picked up either mag, I found Thrasher deliberately juvenile and TransWorld deliberately whitebread."
I would love hear your comments on this....how much influence did the magazines have on you as a younger skater and how much do they have on you now as an older skater?
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Skatecore
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On 5/9/2003 Joe & Nick
wrote in from
(63.87.nnn.nnn)
GX,
I can loan Nick out to you if you guys want to cover any Old Skull.
We hate you Ronald Regan!
Joe
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Cussin'
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On 5/9/2003
Nick
wrote in from
(66.87.nnn.nnn)
Since I seem to have started this whole issue...
Here's my take on four-letter words in print.
You've stated publicly from time to time that you'd like CW to be a cross between the 70's SkateBoarder and Surfer's Journal.
SkateBoarder mag (and Action Now, and all 70's skate mags) never had a word of profanity in them. Ever. And they are seen as endlessly entertaining, and still serve as a bible and reference when one addresses and references the 70's. Michael, you know, both you and Jocko Weyland used them for reference materials when you were writing your respective books.
Surfer mag in the 70's was the same way. Surfer's Journal does indeed let one slip once in awhile.
Thrasher's team of Fausto, Thatcher, and Blackhart started the whole "keepin' it real" school of skate journalism, which in turn spawned a million 'zines (and I put out quite a few of them), and all the skate mags since. It was a deliberate reaction to SkateBoarder magazine. Larry Balma went the other way and made TransWorld more positive. I didn't read either mag. I declined to let either mag influence my skating and attitude. The few times I picked up either mag, I found Thrasher deliberately juvenile and TransWorld deliberately whitebread.
Who among us hasn't admired Stecyk's articles in Skate Mag? As a 10-year-old, "Aspects of the Downhill Slide" was a particularly daunting introduction to skate journalism. It spoke to an audience that wasn't there (or existed in some minute number - the skate intelligentsia), but sought to raise the bar to a higher level, which we all agree know it succeeded in doing.
I've written for magazines as a sideline for almost 20 years, and I'll tell you, editors and readers alike don't want some stream-of-consciousness rant on their printed page. They want cohesive thoughts transmitted into readable language. They don't want word-by-word transcriptions of interviews, because the "uhs" and "ums" and "y'knows" would overflow the page.
When I do interviews, there is usually at least 2 hours of tape, that is edited down into a (what I hope is) concise and cohesive interview that has, incidentally, all the profanity edited out of it.
Some are the reasons are this:
1) It limits your audience. Parents don't expect a skateboarding magazine to be rated R. If and when they find this out, believe me, most are furious.
2) It draws your attention to the language, not the ideas being expressed. The shock of seeing profanity in print distracts the mind from what is actually being said. The reader ends up focusing on the profanity in the article, not the article itself.
3) It's not "real." The manner in which we speak most definitely is not the manner in which we read or write. Where one might sprinkle profanity liberally in a verbal conversation to make one's point, in print it just comes across as vulgar. Tape yourself having a conversation with a familiar friend and then play it back. Very likely, you'll be amazed at how much you swear in conversation. Then ask yourself if you'd like that in print for eternity.
4) It doesn't recognize the audience. Again, I conversation I might have with a close friend I happen to be interviewing would not be acceptable for public consumption. Admit right now that you speak differently with your grandmother than you do with your closest friends and you'll see what I mean.
5) Sponsors and family members don't appreciate it. Sponsors are in business to make money. When their riders put a deliberately vulgar or alienating statement in print, it makes them nervous. Family members can often be the same way. I can say for a fact that the subjects of my articles have never once missed the fact that all the profanity has been excised from an article that they have been involved in. Rather, they want multiple copies to provide to sponsors and family members, and they don't have to hide or downplay the articles from parents and other family members.
Rather than being seen as a prude, those who know me moderately well know that I can and do swear a blue streak in private conversations with those close to me. However, those are private conversations, and I will never use a keyboard to put those in print, email, or up on the web.
My two cents on the subject.
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CW
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On 5/9/2003 wondering...
wrote in from
(149.2.nnn.nnn)
Did anyone else buy a subscription to CW through the guy that was doing SkateClub. and find that it never happened?
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Skatecore
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On 5/9/2003
Geezer-X
wrote in from
(149.2.nnn.nnn)
Started playing the drums about the same time conical wheels started happening. DC hardcore veteran 80-84. Played with DOA, MDC, DRI CH3,GBH and all the other 3 letters/#s bands. Would like to find GTR/BASS/Vocals to form skatercore/skatepunk/skatemetal band for fun. Objective is to produce fun 7"s or CDs, and do the odd date at a big race we can all get to. DC area, but this could work by swapping tapes, and getting together to rehearse for a weekend before going into the studio. Ideally this would be a gig for jaded, old, bitter experienced punks/skaters who miss playing but don't miss the driving, waiting, stinky bar smell, van being broken into, and interminable opening sets by crappy bands you've seen a hundred million times before. And the crappy food thats always available near the festering hole you're playing at. Any takers? East coast guys?
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Poetry/ Mags to subscribers
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On 5/9/2003
Lenny
wrote in from
(156.63.nnn.nnn)
I heard a rumor that there'll be some insane skate-poetry in some upcoming issues, eh? LoL
So the mags are being sent out now?
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Here !
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On 5/9/2003 Duane
wrote in from
(64.223.nnn.nnn)
CW #5 just showed in my mailbox yesterday. Providence RI
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cussing
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On 5/9/2003
CKnuck
wrote in from
(66.185.nnn.nnn)
Amen! Right on Glen. Like I said before the Sport of Skateboarding is awesome, the industry, wellllllllll!
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B&N
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On 5/8/2003 snoball
wrote in from
(65.32.nnn.nnn)
Well, the lady behind the counter said ( and I found
this odd, I have to admit ) that their book databases
are local to each store. So she said she couldn't see
that they'd ever had it and said she had no way
of knowing if they were in the rest of the chains
locales.
Whatever. Get a subscription. It's easier ha ha..
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cussing
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On 5/8/2003 Glen D.
wrote in from
(216.102.nnn.nnn)
Skateboarding gets a bad rap mainly because we allow it to. We have allowed Thrasher and Transworld and Big Brother to portray skaters as people not having enough sense to deserve rights. If I didn't know any skaters, was on a city counsel, and was asked to determine if a skatepark should be open and unattended, I would vote to have it locked up or not build it at all, if the current magazines were what I was basing my opinion on. So with that as a lead in, here's my opinion.
I think the cussing doesn't add anything to the magazine. It will make Concrete Wave yet another skate magazine that my kids won't be allowed to read.
I know they hear the words from their friends, TV, and movies. I don't however believe that using the excuse "everyone else does it" is valid. The "freedom of speech" excuse doesn't hold any water either because I don't believe that the forefathers of this country could begin to imagine how low we as a culture have sunk. They couldn't have imagined something like cussing or porn ever being acceptable in any society.
Michael and Mike, I don't remember Skateboarder allowing any swearing and we all remember that as the best skate mag ever. Content, and the photos made it great. Surfers Journal usually doesn't have swearing, they normally have well photographed and written articles, the same hold true with Longboard.
There is nothing wrong with having a G rated mag. I agree with Stubbs, it will only open doors. I think being able to tell distributors and shops that this mag is perfectly acceptable for all ages is a good thing and omitting a few choice words won't water it down.
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free book...
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On 5/8/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.29.nnn.nnn)
Concrete Wave is mentioned in an ebook called 99 purple cows...
if you are into marketing you might enjoy it...
download it for free
http://www.fastcompany.com/secret
User name: top
Password: sirloin
feel free to spread it to as many people as you wish
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glucosamine
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On 5/8/2003 66
wrote in from
(65.83.nnn.nnn)
i use a powdered drink mix (for some reason, the results are better than when i was using it in pill form)
flexable brand, recently on sale at wal mart - $11.97 for 30 days
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barnes and noble
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On 5/8/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.183.nnn.nnn)
it's official...
magazine is on sale MAY 13th at Barnes and Noble
happy hunting!
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barnes and noble
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On 5/8/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.183.nnn.nnn)
the mag is only going to select Barnes and Noble...for now...
this is just a test run.
they should be in Barnes and Nobles system. I will find out more details....
the next issue will come out in June and be on the newstand by early July. It will be at more Barnes and Nobles, Borders, Virgin Megastore etc.
Thanks to you all for your patience.
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B&N
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On 5/8/2003
snoball
wrote in from
(65.32.nnn.nnn)
Michael, are the CW's going to ALL the
Barnes & Nobles are just in a certain geography.
I was in two here in town the other day and they
didn't have them listed in their database and
said they've never sold them...
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mags to subscribers
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On 5/8/2003
michael brooke
wrote in from
(209.183.nnn.nnn)
Hi Subscribers of Concrete Wave
I am screaming at the mail house....
has anyone received a copy of the magazine yet?
it would have been sent in a brown envelope with a BELTON, TEXAS return address at the top
please email me if you have received your mag...
sorry for the delay...as I said, I am screaming at the folks at the mailng house!
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Bone drinks
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On 5/8/2003 Longy
wrote in from
(80.195.nnn.nnn)
The USA offers "joint juice" which is cheaper than tablets and gives you 1200 migs a day...you mix it up either in powder form to your favourite beer :) or soft drink or buy it as a refreshing drink..i kind of like adding it to beer.
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