ZINES: Skaters Against Disco

Zine: S.A.D. 'Zine (Skaters Against Disco)
Issue: unknown
Created by: Bruce
Format: 8 1/2" x 11"
Where: San Jose, CA
When: 1990

This issue of Skaters Against Disco is mostly ramp skating, with Ray Barbee going ollie to tail at Mark's ramp in San Jose on the cover. There's a cool July 4 Buena Vista backyard pool contest that sounded like one helluva time, and a NorCal warehouse/ skatepark filled with ramps run by guys named Corey and Kendall... maybe Corey O'Brien and Jeff Kendall? The timeline and internet searches seem to confirm.

Notes: The contents page has text at the bottom that indicates Bruce is leaving soon. I still don't know who Bruce is. Someone help me out.

Skaters Against Disco.

Zine: Skaters Against Disco
Issue: unknown
Created by: Bruce
Format: 8 1/2" x 11"
Where: San Jose, CA
When: 1990

I really don't know much about this zine. It was done by a guy named Bruce, but there's no hint of his last name. He mentions John Kopke (Grocery Meat), Chris Johanson (Karmaboarder), Nancy (Nancy's Magazine), Ron Corral (Corn Beef is Lord), Louis (The Harsh Realm), Matt A. (No Way Jose), Bill Keaggy (ACC), Rick Schlueter (TNR Zine), Rob (Robzine), Luke Strahota (JOD) and Dave D'Andrea (Stuntwood) in this issue. If you know Bruce, hit the comments and fill in some details.

This issue has quite a bit of ditch skating, which I dig. The centerfold is a couple of chunky, contrasty skate photos but it's the accompanying text that I really enjoyed. It asks why people give skate spots such stupid and obvious names, and I had to laugh at all of the spots in Emporia that, in retrospect, were painfully obvious in their monikers. Dolly Madison ditch, Rec Center banks, the mall curbs. The only ones that might be a bit more inconspicuous were Shit Ditch (because the sides were six feet tall and at a 60-degree angle, and it was pretty shitty to skate it) and Chellsea Track (originally a ditch called Hell Track because one side was super steep like the drop-in to the bmx track in the movie Rad... someone spray painted Hell Track on the slope but it was grafitti'd with additional letters to spell out "Chellsea" for some reason). It didn't really matter. We weren't trying to hide anything because there were less than a dozen kids that skated in Emporia anyway. There was no "Locals Only" attitude because there were hardly any locals to begin with.

Notes: Commonwealth LA had a 1980s zine retrospective called "No Shitty Ads" last year, and Skaters Against Disco was one of the zines that popped up in the L.A. Taco coverage of the event.