Neil Young Warehouse Fire

When we lived in Half Moon Bay Neil Young was just sometimes part of the landscape. Neil's connection with the San Mateo coast and Half Moon Bay is clear in his play Greendale. That whole play was a take on being a coast-sider in a small, northern CA town. I was a major Neil fan long before we ended up in that part of the country. In some kind of child-like way I always felt privileged knowing one of my heroes shared the same beaches, trails and open space that I felt so connected to. A lot of my teenage years were spent huddled over my Neil records and my guitar. He's got one of the best acoustic styles of playing that lends itself well to beginning guitarists (still does to this day).

Here's some sad news I saw today about a fire in one of Neil's warehouses in San Carlos, CA. Apparently they were able to save 60% of the items but loses included guitars, recordings, cars, equipment:

Spooky Montage: Halloween Ramp Jam 2010 - Newport, KY

Tons of skaters showed up for the Halloween Ramp Jam under the 471 Bridge. The young dudes resurfaced some of the worn mini and added a vert tombstone just to stay in season.

This is a chronological montage of the night with no soundtrack. Just sights and sounds from the deck. Things got crazier as the night progressed. Hope you enjoy the edit. This is what skating is all about.

Thanks Andrew/Galaxie Skate Shop and all the Newport guys who helped make this happen.

Big Drop Under The 471 Bridge

The 2010 Halloween Ramp Jam under the 471 bridge in Newport was a blast. Most of the young, local skaters organized this event and spent a few days before re-surfacing part of the mini-ramp. There is a bunch of footage coming. In the meantime check out Jap dropping in from the top of the tombstone:

9/11 Tribute: Neil's Finest Hour

I wanted to post a musical tribute today for remembrance of 9/11.

From Thrasher's Wheat:

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It was Neil Young's finest hour.

On September 21, 2001, just days after the 9-11 terror attack on the United States,

Neil Young performed John Lennon's "Imagine" on the broadcast musical benefit telethon "America:

A Tribute to Heroes".

Simulcast live from London, New York and Los Angeles on the four major TV networks and the

Internet, the program was seen by an estimated 89 million viewers and netted roughly $230

million in donations.

For many, Young's performance was emotionally wrenching and heart felt. Performing on a

grand piano and accompanied by a small orchestra of violins, Young's rendition of Lennon's

"Imagine" spoke to many of us who were suffering from the terrible tragedies in New York,

Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

Notably, Young changed the lyrics from "imagine no possessions, to "I wonder if *I* can".

(thanks Marilyn)

Those in the studio that night, reported that Young appeared to be on the verge of tears upon

completing the song. Pulse Magazine wrote that Young's performance of "Imagine" on the

Benefit telecast was "one of those moments you never forget."

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Home Park "Mini-Line" - Branson

The garage mini-ramp is currently in repair for the upcoming cold season. We're going to resurface it and put a better bottom in place. For now we have one of the quarters pushed off to the side. This opened up a fun line between the quarter and a wood bank/stone extension:

Home Park "Mini-Line" - ep1: Wood To Stone from David Faul on Vimeo.

River People: End of summer montage - Original Music

End of summer montage from two days of skating. Clips are from a marathon Beech Acres session with Ben, Lew and Native from Fickle Boards plus Ghetto Justin and Dustin. I gave Branson the opening clip because he is skating so strong - layin' down early grab 180s and stomping them. The other park footage is from a trip with Jimmy to Dry Ridge, KY. Dry Ridge is another coveted Wally Hollyday designed/built park in our area. The other being the new Centerville, OH park that just opened this year.

Included is summer footage of some dirty skaters just washin' off in the river.

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Music

For this video short I used two pieces of original music and a clip from OCMS.

Intro: David Faul and Jared Manker - "Octave Space"

Recorded live at Apple Hill Studio. This was a two-part guitar instrumental. Jared improvised on a Spanish nylon string over my guitar that was tuned to open C and capoed up a fret or two. I do lots of guitar playing in all kinds of alternate tunings. For me it's an effective tool for bringing out new sonic qualities from a guitar and it opens endless paths for new creativity.

Main: David Faul - Anderson Rhodes Trio

Recorded live at Apple Hill with Jared Manker on bass, Chuck Sengo on drums and me on Fender Rhodes piano. This was an original, jazz-funk tune we wrote and recorded for our demo.

If anyone is interested I can send you full MP3 files of the original music you can add to your library.

Outro: Old Crow Medicine Show - "Caroline"

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River People: End of Summer Montage - Original Music from David Faul on Vimeo.