"And everybody sang, "I remember way back when"

Not much going on in the scene around the tri-cities these days. Bad weather, injuries, lack of motivation, all these things have made for a boring website lately. Fear not faithful followers, i have hundreds of photos from back in the day to entertain you for 35 seconds.
         Bmx has been going on in the tricities for a long time, before you and I knew what it was, there were scenes with characters living out the exact same lives we live. This collection of photos is a look into the scene i grew up with. The years between 1996 to 2002 were very important to the landscape you see today around these parts. There were no skateparks, no skate-caps, the famous kingsport "pals" rail was still standing. There was a thriving trail scene, 2 bmx tracks with a sponsored team. Knoxville had beautiful indoor park. Chances are, if you drive around anywhere and see a broken or missing rail, tire marks, or fresh paint, the scene from this day ruined it. Unfortunately, in most of these formidable years none of us could afford a camera, so here's a little peek into what i got.  Theres a story behind every photo and ill do my best to remember them. If the response to these post are positive, i can make more.

Chris Ball keeps it mellow these days at the parks, but there
was a time when he would huck it down rails without a
warm up run. We shot this photo for an old interview in
the worst bmx zine ever made "Kingsport blues.." Afterwards
I'm pretty sure we went and got hammered cause it was a Tuesday.

Ben Noe. Probably one of the most talented bike riders from this area.
We shot this in dead winter during a snow storm. I remember it like yesterday
Ben had taken zero pedals this day, he got out of the truck, pulled this first try and
did it 2 more times so i could the shot right. The year escapes me, but that bike weighs
close to 40 lbs. Take note kids. Ben pretty much lost interest and hung up his gloves when
he was still shredding.

Rock-and-Road bicycles was the Kingsport bmx shop we all came from
Don ( owner) built us a portable box ramp so we could travel around and do
demos for schools and churches. This particle show was for Sullivan Souths
high school home coming. We made a complete joke of it. I paid James Acosta 20
bucks to announce in a chef's hat. I wore a "romantic escapades" button up to
promote pornography. The riding wasn't a joke however, Jeff crawford here flipped his way
into the pants of some sophomore after this. Jeff ripped with us for many years, I've completely
lost contact and have no idea of his whereabouts.

Jerry Bowman... This photo is a little newer i guess, but still dated.
No story here, just a stylish 3.

Here we have a younger, baggier pant wearing Jake Hunter, and Jerry Bowman.

Why not throw in a couple of me (Jr-Henry)  This was our very first demo we ever
did. Matt Rowland, Mark Roberts, Chad Nelson, and myself rolled up to Miller Perry
elementary to huck unpractised moves over a sketchy at best box. I have an elbow pad because
the first hit of the day i went over the bars to flat since i pedaled wound out to clear a 10 foot gap.
this show was pretty fun, kids don't need much. They also didn't make fun of my reverse laid back seat post.

Here we have a young fearless 18/19 year old James Russell. If you rode the Ryan Nyquist
Haro supra, you had to throw the bars. This thing weighed about 41 pounds, which made dirt tricks very stable.
Even still, suicide barspins were scary, and i didn't play with those many years.  R.I.P- S.A.P trails

They had barely finished pouring the concrete in k-town before
Matt Rowland was getting inverted. This photo was taken during the filming
of kingsport Blues' first video titled "Half inch to Average." 



Along came the "angry Penguin"  This photo was taken during the last ever
A.P. demo we did for the Blue Plum demo. Theres a young clean cut Jeff Grindstaff
and Chris Ball here about to hit a box in 95 degree heat. Remember duff shoes?



Will Love had an interview coming out for Justin Holt's zine "Sent" that he
published in N.C.  We went out over a couple of days to shoot for it.  Curb cut tuck no hander popped
higher than no ones business.

Will- curb cut to flatty. i remember will crawling up to this and somehow
getting shot out of a canon.

Another photo used in the old "Sent" zine.  i was lying in the middle of the street during this,
hoping some methed-out kingsport local wouldn't drive over me.

The Sea be a cruel mistress.

Obey the rules.

Bmx parties...cant live without them, cant keep them in control. Perhaps lessons were learned on this one. We could've had scheduled runs, rules, timed practise, yadada... But, we didn't. We went free for all and when you open that can, the contents will either pour out smoothly, or spray all over your new threads.  Lots of people showed up, and most all at once. I realize some dudes didn't even get runs in, but seemed happy just being there. Some dudes decided to get bombed and make every girl there extremely uncomfortable, causing a few flare ups. In between the cramped spaces and constant alcohol flowing, i do actually believe good things happened. like for one, the police never showed up...I'm astonished. No one got towed..equally astonished. I don't think bowers st. has ever had that much traffic. The thing i find the most amusing is that it went from 3pm to 4am..... 11pm was the power hour, that's when most people poured in. Had we stuck to the "rules" 10pm was gonna be the cutoff. Most people would've came for nothing.  All in all looking back on it, it was worth it. I saw some moves go down that i didn't think was possible with the low ceiling. Once the power hour hit i wasn't even in the garage watching anymore, i went into "party containment" mode. I didn't even know what happened in there, but the noise level was rising, so look for the final jam edit here soon and see for yourself. Some items did go missing the next morning, which is a bummer. Its a shame that the disrespect of a few have ended the idea of "organized" garage jams. Sure we will still ride it, but the beach will be invite only for the rest of its existence.  Here are some shots i captured, i know i missed a lot. ... and big thanks to Kink, Subrosa, Animal, S&M, Fit, Sunday, The Shadow Conspiracy,Eds Bike Shop, BmxNJ,  and The Angry Penguin.

Surfs up. I didnt design this, but i painted it.

Artwork by Jeff G.

This was a collaboration done by Madaleine Miller and J.R. (me)  very pumped on this.

Justin Morris avoiding teeth.

Troy Knight... this was the only reason i came up with this paint scheme. about to be swallowed.

Troy won prizes just for his shirt.

Austin Phillips, beautiful.

Whats more badass than a shark ramp?  This tweaker.

Austin pretty much won this contest...which wasn't a contest, but
still. this was awesome.

Jake Hicks tire jam fakie

Forgot dudes name...knoxville local going fakie wallride on a setup
that is very much not fakie wallridable.

Mike Paton trucked the spine. He also set up the live feed.

Tough guy shirt=free stuff.

Troy Knight came out with the goods during the first half of the jam

Rowdy bunch...

Shirt of the night= Randy Mobley.

Chris Ball and Dave Williams.

Justin Morris made off with the other half of the early day goods.

Taking a photo dump.

Well, the jam went about as smoothly as a snakes ass on pavement. However, before i get into the jam pics I've decided to upload some pics i never did anything with. A well rounded assortment of shredders in this one.

Mike Paton making use of someones garage during a summer trip to Christiansburg

Randy Mobley- view from the top.



Austin Phillips getting some footplant on.



This may be the first Justin "Jolly" Oliver photo on this page.

One of my favorite pics I've ever shot. This little home-cooked tranny was hard to ride. Austin thought otherwise.

Age has taken my flatness down a peg....

One handed x... Mr Phillips.

Matt Goergon gave the little dirt jump in kingsport some love.

Matt G. reaching for the stars.

 moto whip...that's all i got folks.

Matt G -- Beanie

Austin Phillips is actually hopping off the taller roof. thanks to a mistimed shutter pusher it seems like he isn't. wacky.

BMX needs More fakie wall rides. Austin keeping it real.

Another  pretty pic. i dig the shadow.

Uh-Oh!! Jake Hunter is getting in on this one. tire jam to fakie

Say it ain't so

The Jam has came and went and before I can even get into the good i need to address the bad. An Ipod, a very nice skateboard, 2 hoodies and a beanie are missing. All taken from the garage area late after most had left. This narrows it down to a few people. If you have accidentally taken this stuff please contact me. 423 342 7181. If i don't here from anyone ill assume it was stolen since people were watching the live feed and have seen and described the  people that unplugged the Ipod. I have it narrowed down to 3 people. Its very sad when you spend so much time and money to throw a good time for everyone and a few people take advantage of that. I hope it was an honest mix up.

 I will post up later the names and location of the people in question if  i don't hear any news on the items. I can promise this will not just fade away.

Game day is here!

Here is whats on the line folks! I can't thank our sponsors enough for being so generous with their contribution to our jam. We have enough prizes so that anyone that shows up is going to leave with something really cool. stay tuned for pictures of the final set up soon! The event starts at 3, cya then homies!

We will be streaming this event live on ustream here

or here
Free desktop streaming application by Ustream

p.s.

Please do not park in the street or in the neighbors yards or in front of their houses. Park in my front yard as tight as you can get it. If we run out of parking then come find somebody and we can show you other places to park. If at all possible please car pool.

Thems the rules.

So here is the run down for Saturday...

Were splitting the jam into 2 groups. under 21 and over 21. There are 2 reasons for this. 1, there are a lot of people coming to this thing and there is simply not enough room to do one demolition derby, as much as i would like to. 2, This is at my house and the cops will most likely be called for noise complaints. I cant run the risk of any underage drinking because i would be held responsible. If you come and are under 21 please remember that and respect what kind of risk I'm taking to put this event on.

  Under 21 will be 3pm -6pm and 21+ will be anytime after that. Under 21 kids are welcome to stay for a little while after 6 but will have to be sent home as the adults become lewd, vulgar and inebriated. There are no set time limits or restrictions during the jam (other than the ones stated above). You come and ride for as long as you want and do whatever you want and prizes will be given to whoever kicks ass. Wrecks don't count against you, they count for you. Who ever wrecks the most will prob wind up with the best prizes. whoever is dressed for success will get a prize. Whoever has the best mustache will certainly get prizes... and we have about 1000 dollars worth of prizes. This is all about fun!

This event is totally free but bring a few bucks to throw in on some pizza. We are going to get fox's to deliver one of those insanely large party pizzas.

Thanks so much to Sunday, Animal, S&m, Fit, Cult, Shadow, Subrosa, and Kink for sending in such great prizes and helping us make this a great event!

Here is Last years winner, Anthony Williams

Alright folks!!!

Its about that time! Jam time. I'm not talking about jars of preserves either! Party time is closing in and i thought it was finally time to unveil whats been happening in the garage. There is still work to be done but here is a good look at some of the new ramps and a look at the new flyer. We have been lucky enough to round up some awesome companies to sponsor this event and give us some sweet prizes to give away. Thanks to Jake for getting everyone on board.



If i was rich

If I was rich I would buy everyone in Johnson city a telephone beer.

 

Jake Hicks Friday!

Jake Hicks is the man. Oppo one footed tabe on a hip not many can ride and the "Jake Hicks gap".

 

A rough rendering of what it could have looked like had it been shot with a tripod lol. Good thing Jake does this for breakfast.

 

and yes, that's Chris Ball.

 

Here is a rough rendering of Chris ball back flipping the gap over himself.

Ive only seen him pull this once.

 

 

Changes

I'm not going to say much, but the garage has gotten amazing.

 

The start of a 6 hour build day.