What makes up our Identity? An obvious part of that would be Wheels beneath our feet but that is not the the only aspect. We have a self-destructive notion that lets us explore our boundaries and reach places that we did not think we could reach. We have a sense of community and belonging that defies borders and creates a network of like minded individuals that speak in code and push each other to the next level.
There is however a part of our Identity that separates our culture into niches. Rollerbladers have a strong affinity towards music, which ultimately creates different streams of identities. Trick vocabulary and clothing style are just the more obvious aspects music influences within Rollerbladers. This has been going on since day one but there was a development in the world that has elevated music into our Rollerblading culture like nothing has before. The mp3 player has revolutionized the way we listen to music. Besides seeing virtually every Rollerblader skate with earbuds in their ear it has also made it possible to store huge amounts of music on them making the choices seem endless. To get to the point, we want to find out how music influences and impacts Rollerbladers with these 5 quick questions:
Text by Max Schweikert and Marco Sichau
Photography by Peter Bender
What is the first memory of music within the scope of the Rollerblading culture?
“You Can Have Her” by Sir Mix-a-Lot played in the Hoax 3, which was the first video I ever saw.
Which music has influenced you the most through skating?
“DJ Shadow – What does your soul look like part 3”, Transcend Jason Marshall Section
What music do you listen to when you want to get juiced for a big trick and why?
Apparat Organ Quartet – “Sirius Alpha”. No matter what type of music you listen to, try to lay back, chill and listen to that song…then you’ll know why!
Which video you think has the best soundtrack?
Oh there are so many… I’ll list my top 5
- Transcend
- Pariah
- Valo4life
- VG 4
- All online edits by Sean Kelso
What are your iPod/iPhone’s top 5 most listened to tracks?
- Greg Wilson’s 1982 Funk & Soul mixtape
- Section 25 – Insperation
- DJ Zirk – Supa straight
- Tokimonsta – madness
- Bobby Womack – Across 110th street
What are your top 5 songs to skate to?
- Apparat Organ Quartet – Sirius Alpha
- Public Enemy – shut ’em down (Pete Rock remix)
- A Tribe Called Quest – jazz (we’ve got)
- Action Bronson – Barry Horowitz
- Iron Maiden – Fear of the Dark
Which song would you put on to seduce a lady?
Minnie Riperton – inside my love
If 1 is Rock and 10 is Hip Hop where do you sit on that scale?
6,7 but I also listen to a lot to Jazz, Funk and old Soul Music.
How do you listen to music when skating?
Usually I don’t listen to Music while skating but sometimes I listen to my mp3 player at the park. Back in the day I had my Walkman with me all the time!
Which song do you connect the greatest memories to and why?
The D.O.C. – “No one can do it better” that was my first cd ever! My dad gave it to me when I was 6 or 7 and I still remember when I skipped the whole album and stuck to that song.
Make sure you take a peek at this recent video section of Patrick right here. Check out more of Peter Bender’s work here.
