Hicks on Sticks Documentary

Publié par le 28 sept 2012 | Catégorie(s): Blogue | 3 commentaires

Last night I skated to the Centre Phi to watch another of the Skate or Die festival films.  I had heard of the Hicks on Sticks documentary but I’d never seen it before.  Last night’s showing was a re-mix of the original movie with some updates added to the end.  The documentary is the story of PM’s (Powdered Milk) 1999 skateboard tour of Alberta and British Columbia.  The guys used a trailer as the base for a system of ramps that they could haul around to be used for the demos.  Two bands accompanied PM throughout this 8 stop tour.  The tour ended up not being easy for any of the tour members.  I’ve done a couple of across Canada tours with Snowjam in the 90′s and it was hard but these guys had it way harder then I.  This one tour changed all of their lives much more then they could have imaging before it started.

Josh Evin blasting a huge backside air at the Pipe.  Photo by Dan.

 

The documentary showed things as they were before, during, and after the PM tour.  The good, the bad, and the ugly are parts of life.  Some people would hide the not so good parts of life, they do not have to be covered up, they should be displayed and remembered.  We are what has happened to us and what we’ve learned from what has happened to us.

I sat and watched the film with Raymond Akira Betts and Barry Walsh.  Sure there were many another people and some even good friends of mine in the theatre but these two guys are my homies.  We’ve been through a great many things together over the years and whatever happens, they are and always will be my homies.  In the documentary, the guys end up being so different at the end of the tour that they barely talked to each other afterwards.  That would never happen to me and my homies.  We’ve grow apart as our lives changed and we might not see each other for a bunch of months but when we do meet up, it always feels good.  It was great to hang with my homies yet again last night.

Here is a quote from Barry’s facebook page about the film, “Hicks on Sticks Documentary was beautifully honest and pure…no Hype just true Canadian Skateboarding, AMAZING Footage of Josh Evin’s Skateboarding history….So Glad I seen this!..Much Respect to the film maker and all who were in this Doc…Best Canadian Skate Doc..Essence & soul..Bless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

For all of you guys that love the idea of D.I.Y. skateparks, the ramps used on the PM tour found their new location in the tunnel called Leeside.  PM and a few other people cleaned up the garbage dump that was there before and started what tomorrow will also receive a cheque from Vans to continue that D.I.Y. project.  If you get the chance to view the documentary, you should if not just to remember (or see for the first time) the great Canadian skateboarder Josh Evin (R.I.P.).

 

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