 / / / FINDING SINGULARITY: Removed and completely emotionally, ideologically, and actively autonomous one begins to live in and build a world of one's own. She becomes self contained. The possibilities for his life seem endless and at the tips of her fingers. He can be anything one would want, on any terms. One refuses to be alienated again from her self, his potential, her constructions. One only occasionally briefly glances back at the world of nothingness, bewildered, in awe, or with compassion. But with these glances always comes the feeling that he is looking to a far off shore of a desolate homeland with, and thankfully, no hope of return. - GIRDING FOR WAR (a journal of Christian Anarchism) number 2. / / / MONTH OF THE WOLF: Talk about the beginning of The Che... CHE: Well, way back it was located on a military base. It was moved, repurposed and put over here. The building itself to be used as a dining hall. After that it became a hangout space for facilities like the school and the staff. I believe what happened was students were looking for a space to make their own and fought to take it from the staff to create their own student board and succeeded. I think that was a battle to get originally at that time. MOTW: What year was that? CHE: In the 80's, it was all part of this movement of cooperative stuff that was forming on campus. Students wanted to carve out their own space for themselves that they could call their own, something that they could operate themselves. It's managed to run ever since, with a variety of different identities all under the same CHE name. It's always had different identities because it's a collective. It's always changing identity and shape depending on who's involved. All collectives and cooperatives fluctuate based on the volunteers involved. MOTW: When did it start to feel like you guys were making an impact within this area? CHE: I think it has ever since it started. I know it was really big for punk and reggae music in the 80's. MOTW: Reggae music? CHE: Reggae music. I think it was more politically aligned. Those were two things that were coming from marginalized people who were striving at the time. There's a history of that here. I know in the 90's it took on the radical punk identity, I know in the early 2000's it was really big for the developing screamo scene that was happening. It's still seems to move with the times. MOTW: Talk about the people behind the sound and the booking... CHE: Well, we have always tried to get independent music and support local music. And also because of the space that we are and because we are a free DIY space where you can come and get involved we definitely cater to that culture. There's kind of a sound that's developed around those cultures over time as always everywhere. There is a bit of sounds that grow here that maybe don't other places. Organic to the circumstances of the space itself. MOTW: Bands that stood out... CHE: A lot of really aggressive music when I was young were really important. Bands like Cursed, City of Caterpillar, Agent 99 would play here. Those were all really important for me. MOTW: Crocodiles? CHE: I don't know that band. As far as nowadays like in the today a lot of bands that get their start here and play here a lot I'm in LOVE with. There's so many local bands, that I'm just... (Long Pause) great people, great community of artists. A lot of bands down here I've seen flourish and grow. MOTW: Like who? CHE: MAN VS MAN, I book them all the time. Band called AGE OF COLLAPSE, band called GRIEVER play here a lot. I also like bands like BURNT, GATEKEEPER. So many bands like that. I love supporting all those kids, there's a really funny band called DIRT SQUAD. There these little kids and they're just so fuckin' funny. Even on the lighter side, cool stuff that's come out of here... a person who's put a lot of work in the scene here Matt Bear he's gotta project called LITTLE BEAR I really enjoy. Bands that have been born out of here. MOTW: Zack de la Rocha of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE wrote and helped you guys out. Talk about that... CHE: He's one of the many artists that shows solidarity with us, that recongnizes us as a space and our cultural and historical importance. He made that statement to put a light on how important spaces like this are. Like I said, in the 90's the radical punk scene was really big in this area. He was definitely a part of the space with bands he's been in and stuff like that. MOTW: Zines like France, Youth and Tactics, Industrial Domestication, and Debunking Democracy. What's the main objective behind those and who are the authors? CHE: Well, we have a vareity of zines of all different types of people from all different types of cultures. We have a lot of leftist leaning literature, literature on oppression, a lot of literature on equality. Those are aligned with our politics. HERE WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT EDUCATION IS A WEAPON AND PEOPLE SHOULD BE ARMED IN THAT SENSE.  MOTW: Political Activism? CHE: I'd say we have a pretty wide range of people. We have artists, we got activists, we got educators. Our way of functioning is radical in it's own way. Were a non hierarchical senses driven space so that applies to the types of bands we book, the way that we function, and also the literature that we put out. MOTW: Saving The Che, where and how? CHE: First and foremost you can continue to support the community by hosting events here, dispelling rumors, letting people know that were not dead. Starting bands, organizing events, hosting workshops, being physically present. Other things you can do is write the university. We have a letter writing and email campaign you can read on our website. We also are fundraising right now, there's a breakdown on the website on what the money goes towards, a lot of legal actions we have to take. Another thing is to keep your eyes and ears open about actions in the future, being present for them. We have a sign-up list that we have here if you come to a show. MOTW: Relationship with UCSD? CHE: It's always been a struggle for the students you know? Community members need to hold space here and be able to exercise their freedom of assembly and their freedom of speech. I think the uc... unless it has a paradigm shift will always be that oppressive figure. Those in charge don't like losing control. MOTW: What do you think of when I say the word, intersubjectivity? CHE: Elaborate. MOTW: People who can connect through their minds without speaking to one another. Being able to conceptualize that psychological relation and understand it without losing control... CHE: This is definitely a hub for expression, thought and idea. Spaces like this are really important because ideas can flourish and you can actually have praxis with places like this and you can learn to grow and change your ideologies, your visions, your thoughts, so I definitely feel like there is an element of something very special that is involved within spaces like this that allow growth, whether it be a political idea, relationships between people or in types of expression within art... MOTW: What does Truth mean to you in terms of Art? CHE: There is something very sincere that happens when people are allowed to work together and collaborate without constraint. With processes that allow ultimate freedom and equality. I think there is a really wonderful thing that happens. http://checafe.ucsd.edu/
http://manvsman.bandcamp.com/ http://ageofcollapse.bandcamp.com/ http://griever.bandcamp.com/  / / / Wisdom, Peace, Tranquility. Speaking Truth. Evan Kai Luth. / / / MONTH OF THE WOLF: Where were you born? EVAN KAI LUTH: I was born on South Rios in Solana Beach at a dead end street next to an avocado orchard. MOTW: When did you start surfing? EKL: I've been in and out of the Ocean my whole life, my Dad tried to get me to surf when I was about 10 or 11. He scared the crap out of me one day at C Street on a Cali Road Trip I was taking with him. It must have only been 3 feet or something minor but it seemed like Hell to me. (Laughs). He pushed me into some waves but it scared the crap out of me so bad I took a little hiatus from surfing and went back to bodyboarding for a while. When middle school came around I had all these buddies who were really good bodyboarders... Timmy Schultz, Todd Glaser was a little older but the whole crew of Seaside bodyboarders were all really legit. I finally start to surf again but I would just surf with all the bodyboarders and it gave me an appreciation for what real bodyboarding could be. MOTW: It took me 4 years of doing that before I started to surf. EKL: Yeah! There are waves you can't surf and to take a bodyboard out and get super shacked and have a blast is always good. Eric Burger and Jimmy Drummond did the reverse they surfed and went back to bodyboarding. Jimmy's so talented as well as Eric. I see their photos of them slab hunting, it's rad. MOTW: And are you still based out of Solana Beach? EKL: No, we got a spot overlooking the lagoon at Ponto with a couple buddies and my lady. It's rad, super stoked on that whole area. But working in Solana Beach as a lifeguard and living there the first half my life I always feel like that's my real home and where the heart is so to speak. MOTW: Absolutely... EKL: And Seaside is the melting pot of all three surrounding areas. MOTW: Tell me a bit about what it was like riding for Quiksilver years back... EKL: It was interesting, that took me by surprise I think. I was hugely flattered and complimented. I kind of felt like I didn't deserve something like Quiksilver but I didn't know what you had to be to be on that. I was used to looking at the posters and whatever... Slater. (Laughs). It was something I was really thankful to have and it was great recognition and maybe a bit of a validation of my progress. It was a real interesting experience, ultimately in the long run I felt it wasn't quite aligned on where my passion was at with surfing but it was a really good experience, it exposed me to a lot of stuff and gave me some opportunities to try out things I might not have otherwise. It motivated me to get more into competition. Like I said, it wasn't really the direction I wanted to take my passion with surfing you know? MOTW: Yeah, so what made you stop surfing competitively? EKL: It was a long time coming to be honest. The seed had been planted at some point. I don't know if there was a particular turning point or event early on but it was a growing space between my interest and my value that I place on that sort of stuff. There were definitely some things towards the end of my competitive run that were nails in the coffin so to speak in terms of making that decision to break from it. My last Nationals in highschool you probably remember that huge frickin' water brawl in the heat on how ridiculous the tactics were and the antics that were going down in the water. Essentially, there was no surfing happening I was just getting sat on by someone. It was one of those experiences where it really clarifies and validates what I already felt. MOTW: Like the straw the broke the camel's back type of moment... EKL: Yeah exactly! I definitely didn't want anything to do with that, that's not what surfing is to me. It doesn't represent what I care and love about it.  MOTW: In saying that, you went to Kandui? Talk about that... EKL: I did! In the years after competition I focused on bringing surfing back for me and doing it for myself for the pleasure and the love of it. I think that really put me on a good path, started to progress again and enjoy myself more in the water. With the Kandui thing, Zach Keenan is a really cool guy that I grew up knowing from the community. I think it was an act of fate that he by chance called me up one morning... I was on my way into work bussin' at Rimel's at the time, just doing whatever to make ends meet. He left me a message saying something like, "Hey what are you doin' this summer? Give me a call." Type of thing, was thinking he needed help with surf school and he was like, "Your an MT right?" I told him I had just finished the MT school and he basically presented the idea of goin' out to INDO that summer. I was like fuck yeah but didn't know how I was going to swing it, I didn't have any money saved up so I put my car up for sale, got it tuned up, cleaned up. Sold my car (Laughs). Worked a whole bunch of extra shifts and picked up another job, just crammed and barely pulled it off. Got the ticket and made it! That was an experience of a lifetime that I'll never forget. It's one of those things where you view as an alternate reality you can't even tangibly understand it. MOTW: What are your hobbies outside of surfing? EKL: Outside of surfing, lately I've been actively focusing on drawing, just trying to diversify my activities. Definitely a lot in art, I really love painting and drawing, writing as well, some poetry here and there. MOTW: Elaborate... EKL: I really care a lot about community activism and being of service to others. I'm pretty passionate about pursuing a path with Humanitarian Native one form or another or some kind of disaster relief. The outdoors, nature are probably the biggest. I really love just trying to keep it fresh & creative. MOTW: Influences? EKL: With surfing and art there's a lot of carry over, they are one in the same to be honest. Surfing is a medium essentially. It's a personal expression. I think with art and surfing there both a meditation. There my practice for life, I try to hone my personal attention and awareness when I'm doing those activities. I try to be as present as possible, both of them are great outlets, very welcoming, it's a body of LOVE. You can go and pour your emotions into the Ocean anytime you want and it will always give you a little bit of LOVE back you know? MOTW: Yes... EKL: And then you have the community you draw from which is really cool, you can find role models through the water. People you may not live near or know outside of the water. I know just from growing up surfing Seaside. MOTW: It keeps everybody together... EKL: Yeah! It also is a socialization you don't necessarily get elsewhere. You can tell everybody really appreciates it too. Appreciation and respect. You can develop a family here in the surfing community. MOTW: Music? EKL: As of late I've been getting super into tracking down West African Music, a lot of cultural fusion music as well. I listen to music with some sort of electronic base to it, more than anything but not necessarily electronic like techno, or trance, or house, but just some sort of electronic element to it. One of my favorite things about music is being able to appreciate all the genres. I finally got some software where I'm able to mix and make some little sets and stuff. My focus has been able to make mixes that have a similar kind of energy or vibe. I see a lot of my friends that are musicians pigeon hole themselves. MOTW: You can't lock yourself into this confined box, where your only about this one thing. You have to bring in different elements... EKL: Yeah! Well, obviously past is the best reference for future, look back at music history and see the evolution and the way they build on each other. You see a lot of modern day groups are starting to go back to Tribal Based Influences. It's seems so much more substantial and substance based, or whatever. MOTW: Words of wisdom for the kids... EKL: As far as surfing goes if your a young person just ENJOY it and LOVE it and have it be YOURS. That's something no one can ever take away from you. I think we kind of jeopardize that sometimes or quantify it in different ways or put a value on it but really it's the work of the HEART. It's how you express yourself, it's really important to stay connected with Nature, it will always keep you grounded and you can always resort back to that place. Surfing is a metaphor for life, that community of people, that social interaction, that energy that you bring to the lineup. All those things are things you can do outside of the water and probably should be doing outside of the water in the same way. It's a gift, learn to appreciate the greater aspects of why you like surfing. From that, it's pretty natural to be a decent person and to be respectful.   MONTH OF THE WOLF: Where were you born? DERRICK DISNEY: I was born in Cardiff. MOTW: When did you start surfing and where? DD: In Cardiff when I was super-grom, probably when I was like 7 or 8... something like that. MOTW: How do you feel about Encinitas within in your own eyes? DD: It's like the best and worst place ever. It's such a nice home base but you definitely want to get out sometimes. It feels a bit yupp'd out sometimes but over the years it's been getting more "Del Mar" like or "Huntington" like. Regardless it's super rad. Everyone that comes out of here that are all our age I think are all pretty like-minded. MOTW: What was shortboarding like for you? DD: Pretty cutthroat I guess. I was super into it as a sport. I had a full-on sports background growing up you know? Doing like fuckin' football, pretty much played every team sport and completely stopped for surfing. That was engrained in me, that whole sports mentality. All the friends were super into competition so I was super into it. It definitely got old as the years went on, it gets tiresome. MOTW: If you could describe a session that stands out more than others as a grom, the first time you actually felt the feeling... DD: Yeah! I think the first time I caught an open-faced wave out the back in Del Mar. Just like bomb-dropped the whole thing and was trippin' out. It was crazy. MOTW: After shortboarding, what made you switch gears into riding different boards? DD: Well, some of the friends like Burch have been shaping, it just seemed like a fun thing to do so I shaped this one single-fin and it changed my whole perspective on shit. Well, actually even before then I was doing contests and stuff and I took this road trip with my buddy down to Nicaragua and I remember being in Puerto... we went into dinner and there was that one movie playing with Luke Davis and Damien Hobgood. It was playing in the restaurant on mute or whatever. I remember just looking at it and Damien was signing autographs in his jerseys and stuff like that. I remember thinking like, 'holy shit this is gnarly' because that was what I was shooting for at the time. Just was so turned on off by it. Damien is the best human ever though. MOTW: Do you think Burch has paved the way for maybe guys like yourself and others within this area? DD: Oh yeah for sure. What he's doing I think is the most inspiring thing right now. He's riding his own boards, he's traveling, he's able to go and shape wherever he lands everyone's hooked on his stuff cuz it's that good. And he surfs that good. And yeah... even if he wasn't a pro surfer he'd be making enough money to travel and make boards. MOTW: And what about shaping for you? What's going on currently? DD: Trying to get better, be able to be comfortable on my shapes and whatever... waves around Cardiff. MOTW: David Suhadolnik did an interview, you and him built The Bin? Talk about that... DD: Yeah! Cool, so David was working a ranch-hand-maintenance job in Del Mar, this horse ranch. The owner of the land is super cool and surfs down here, they had these shipping containers full of junk and they were thinking of making a little shaping room out of it so they talked to me about it. They said if you want go ahead and convert it so David and I converted it into what it is now. It's right by the Polo Fields, no rent, and you can get in your own head you know? MOTW: Yes! You need that creative outlet! DD: Yeah! Like no one is comin' in being like "Oh it looks too thin" or whatever. MOTW: Tell me about VISSLA, how did you get on and what is it that attracted you to the brand? DD: Basically met this dude Corban who was the sales rep for Insight at the time, we became super good friends. After I put the shortboards away I was like, fuck it you know. Around that time I was getting more and more into building boards and working at a glass shop. Right during that time Corban became the team manager for VISSLA and since we were such good friends he brought me on board with him. As far as their objective I think it's something new & fresh, just an ALL SURF BRAND basically. Their focus is definitely surfing and not like a combination surf/skate/snowboard brand or whatever. MOTW: Eating shit at Pipe? The clip we've all seen... DD: (Laughs) I'm not experienced really, coming from here in that sort of thing. I was riding this old Xanadu shorty that I got when I was like 15. It was already too small. Yeah you know when your out there all these people are around and you can be like, 'well I'm gona sit in the fuckin' pit and try to get one or don't so I was like fuck it.' Ended up being between John and Jamie O and they let this thing go by which they probably knew something that I didn't but I turned and tried to scratch in and didn't really get into it and ate shit. Took off on the boil. MOTW: You hit the bottom? DD: Yeah, but it was flat. I hit it square on my back and got some minor cuts, nothing too bad. It was pretty scary, but my board wasn't broken or anything so when I came up was able to paddle and was like you can't fuckin' go in. Ended up getting one like two hours later. (Laughs). MOTW: OZ? DD: Well, we didn't ever really score. We got a couple really fun waves, this one beachbreak. It's close to NSW, just was cruisin with my buddy Bryce Young who's Nat's son so it was really cool just hangin' out. Having a host like that was super nice, especially never being there before. We were there for a month. It was cool cuz Burch was with us the whole time. A lot of goofin' off (Laughs). MOTW: Influences? DD: A lot of different stuff, the art side of things. I just watched that one movie The Grand Budapest Hotel. I don't know, tasteful shit. As far as surfing goes I'd say Ryan is a huge one and all the people that are doing it for fun you know? MOTW: Yup. DD: Surfing in general is super inspiring, different avenues of what people think good surfing is and it's all really good. I like to think of new ways to get creative. MOTW: Music? DD: The funky-psych shit. MOTW: What matters to you most? DD: Staying True. MOTW: Who do you love the most? DD: My Whole Family. MOTW: Advice for the next crop of young kids coming out of Encinitas? DD: There's a lot of little baby groms, that one little grom Zach he's steez. Taylor's blowin' up, and Jake or whatever. There's a pretty solid crew coming out of here. It was kind of weird, it seemed like it skipped me and JD and like that era of groms and Burch and Snortum were winning all the contests and now it's Taylor leading the charge of his generation. |
RSS Feed