Fast forward to 3:45 to see School Jam segment and if you are really impatient you can fast forward to 5:20 and see Almost Chaos interview piece. Congrats to these young musicians and we are proud to have you in the Family!
On 01.28.10, In Events
I have faith in the world again.
Last night I was awarded a NEXTie award with three other amazing people Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, Reyna Ruiz and Marina Sousa held at the old Wrigleys Gum Factory…yes they use to make gum in Santa Cruz.
A night at the NEXTies
My wife and I arrived to find the venue artfully decorated and definitely 1st class, there was a bit of comedy when we tried to check in as my name wasn’t on the guest list….thank god they had the party poster nearby with my pic on it…it was a close one as I saw security eyeballing me lol. Once we worked out that issue which was hilarious as I had to have Ryan Coonerty vouch for me and then all was fine. As the sold event filled in and the food rolled out, people started mingling and the party was getting started. Ironically, the first people we spoke with were Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz and Reyna Ruiz (2 of the 3 other award recipients) you could tell the nervous energy was built up as we were excited to be honored and really had no idea what was in store for the evening. Greg Archer and Jeff Dinnell were on fire making sure to get film outtakes with all the nominees and making the event even brighter. Jeffrey Kongslie, MC and man de la extraordinaire with his spiffy bow tie was full of energy and a phenomenal host to all that showed to celebrate the gala in store. After carousing the crowd and eating the fine hor devours it was time to get down to business. I was up first and Ryan Coonerty along with an insane video bio introduced me to the stage and I had my moment to share with the crowd what Grind Out Hunger meant to me through this quote from Alvin Toffler:
“The secret message communicated to most young people today by the society around them is that they are not needed, that the society will run itself quite nicely until they – at some distant point in the future – will take over the reigns. Yet the fact is that the society is not running itself nicely… because the rest of us need all the energy, brains, imagination and talent that young people can bring to bear down on our difficulties. For society to attempt to solve its desperate problems without the full participation of even very young people is imbecile.”
I had the time of my life as my wife and I made it around the capacity crowd talking about Grind Out Hunger and what an inspiration it is to the youth of Santa Cruz County. My friends and colleagues came out in full support of the evening, Willy McCrea, Shane and Eden Gallagher, Paul Gallagher, Gina Renna and Eric Walters, Sean and Valerie Sinnot, Christian Sacoolas and Jen Nelson. I also ran into a few of my Facebook and Twitter friends Dewey Decibel, Mosiac Moon and MRosas who shared the wonderful evening.
Greg Archer, Jeff Dinell my lovely wife Taniya and yours truly DK
Tons of thanks and gratitude go out to Ryan Coonerty for nominating me, Greg Archer for believing in me, Willy McCrea Second Harvest Food Bank for taking a chance on me and Grind Out Hunger, Jeff Dinnell for capturing my essence on video, Jeffrey Kongslie, Timerie Gordon, Santa Cruz Next and its board, Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop, all the volunteers that helped setup, my wife Taniya and especially…especially the youth of Santa Cruz County…this award is ours!!!!
On 01.19.10, In Random ISH
PRESS RELEASE JUST RECEIVED…sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do…
Half Moon Bay, Calif. – Mavericks pioneer and big wave surf legend Jeff Clark filed a lawsuit today against Mavericks Surf Ventures Inc. (MSV), the company he co-founded to run the Mavericks Surf Contest, and its current directors. The lawsuit cites breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.
The lawsuit comes one week after an already re-scheduled mediation was canceled by MSV attorney Paul Marotta and CEO Keir Beidling, claiming the Mavericks Surf Contest would be held that week. It was not.
“I’ve waited patiently and remained quiet in an effort to settle our issues in private, without casting a shadow over the contest that I founded. But it’s obvious MSV has no intention of working this out. They have forced me to file suit in order to move on with my life,” Clark said.
“When I signed on to partner with Keir and Evolve Sports, I trusted them to do the right thing, to honor my spirit and passion for surfing,” Clark said. “I made a mistake and I trusted the wrong people. They have refused to honor the contracts they created and have turned the contest into a corporate circus.”
The complaint, filed with the Superior Court of San Francisco County, states that MSV breached its contracts with Clark, withheld payments on those contracts, and breached its fiduciary duties to shareholders by the Board’s self-dealing, squandering of corporate assets and failure to disclose even basic financial and other corporate information. The suit claims that, in breaching their fiduciary duties, MSV and its current directors acted with oppression, fraud and malice.
“Jeff is a nice guy who, on his own, wouldn’t seek vindication through legal action. Jeff is one of the world’s greatest big wave surfers, is passionate about his work and cares about surfing and the surf community,’ said Clark’s attorney Richard Mooney. “It is my job to care about Jeff and his interests. And in this case, his interests were harmed by corporate executives who made promises they never intended to keep.”
Clark is credited with pioneering Mavericks, the big wave surf spot off the California coast, at the age of 17. Clark surfed Mavericks alone for 15 years before it became recognized by the surf community as one of the biggest and most dangerous big waves in the world. In 1998, Clark founded the Mavericks Surf Contest with Quicksilver, calling it the Men Who Ride Mountains event. Clark partnered with Evolve Sports in 2003 to represent him as an athlete, and later they created Mavericks Surf Ventures to run the Mavericks Surf Contest. MSV terminated Clark as Contest Director in June 2009.
Youngsters Rapid Fire came, saw and kicked some a$$! These 13yr old kids are insane…if you haven’t heard them go check out there pages MySpace and Facebook . They put on one heck of a show on Saturday Jan 16th at Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop, raffles went down, people got mad deals and entertained by rocking kids…just another Saturday at Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop!!!
Store manager Max weighs in:
Our first of many local band showcases exploded Saturday with Rapid Fire. Tearing through 80’s metal classics “Breakin The Law”, “Back In Black” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” as well as demonstrating technical writing ability with originals, “Freedom” and “We’re Gonna Rock” in a split, 2 hour set complete with drum-solos, back-spinning guitar shredding and behind-the-neck Eddie Van Halen styling! They even hand out complimentary ear plugs to spare their hearing-sensitive fans. We raffled off a Live Oak hat, SC T-shirt and Live Oak Skateboard deck and had some strong support from the local kids. Thanks to everyone who helped make this dream a reality! As these events gain momentum, be looking for future appearances from Almost Chaos, 3 Up Front, Archer and the strongest young bands the South Bay has to offer.
Rapid Fire LIVE at Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop
Rapid Fire LIVE at Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop
On 01.17.10, In Random ISH
Bud Freitas what else can you say, SC Team rider profile….check it out.
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