Constructive destruction VOL 1

There are a number of Freight graff dvds out there at the moment, I was lucky enough to get my hands on four of them, here’s my review of the first….

Constructive destruction VOL 1

I like freights, there’s something about the way these old cars trundle across the good ol’ US of A that makes me want to go there, spend all day in a layup out in the middle of nowhere in the hot sun painting car after car, I don’t imagine it’s an easy thing to achieve but easier than say painting the Bucharest subway or hitting a clean train in New York City. Freights to me seem all about the fun side of graff, painting with your mates, having a beer and finding out someone 600 miles away has seen your stuff running, in this day and age it’s a welcome return to the old school values of graffiti i.e benching, collecting /trading flicks and meeting like minded people. There seems to be a respect for the giant box cars and engines that is rarely found elsewhere, writers know their “Golden Wests” from their “Tropicanas” or their “Reefers” from their “Rail boxes”, its almost on a level of…. dare I say it “trainspotting”!!! there’s a geekyness to all this that I love, there’s still the element of destruction but as the title of this first DVD suggests its “constructive”.

Basically this first Vol from the Construct guys is a benchers wet dream, living in Devon, UK, I cant really say I’ve got much experience of watching live art roll by, plenty of walls get covered but our freight trains are pretty much non existent so I’m grateful to the guys that go out there and get this footage so that the rest of the world can see it to. Having said that after I’d seen all the freights roll by and the movie was over I didn’t really want to watch it again but I guess this is the downside of watching a benching DVD. The quality of the footage and the graff is great, old favourites of mine like MBER, DIAR, GONER and ICH are all over this alongside to many more to mention here, I also liked the little flashes of naked ladies, which seems to be a welcome standard in most graff dvds these days, I thought the soundtrack was for the most pretty good but some of the tunes sounded like 1980s Heavy Metal, most of which wasn’t good then and def isn’t now. What little bits of live painting there is didn’t really impress me but it was good to see something different after watching 40 odd box cars go past. Essentially this is a great dvd but a bit of a one hit wonder, it’s not something that I would watch again and again, like for example “Affiti Grey” but it’s def worth checking out

Spacehop says 3 out of 5 Hopstas…. buy it if you love a bit of benching from…..

http://www.myspace.com/constructivexdestruction

Die Slow 2, history of violence, Keep six, Doug, Label, Surgen and now Big Miles return to give us more of the Canadian street bombing, freight hitting SDK experience. Like I said for D.S. Vol 1, I first found SDK on You tube with this vid of Keep 6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_RqMQyBAIw&feature=channel_page

I thought this was a sign of great things to come but like the first DVD I just ain’t feeling it on this one either. It starts with some sped up shaky camera action that kind of made my head hurt as I tried to watch someone go around slapping up stickers, then, as if it was all building up to this moment… Doug puts 3 small tags up on a wall in broad daylight. I’m not saying this is lame just not what I expected after such a crazy build up. Keep six hits a freight next, it’s big and its silver (the piece not the freight) but the Keep six quality I was expecting just wasn’t there, he saves the day with his trademark “Keeper” tag though and then it’s straight into Doug hittin up the streets, the Pawn broker’s throwie is sick and it’s obvious this guy has got his letters down, Label comes next with some street and trackside tags and throwies, all good but a bit similar to the stuff from Vol.1. Then it’s Keep 6 with Nacs, they hit a freight and this time he’s on point.

After a brief intro to new boy Big Miles it’s back to more LBL throws followed by Surgen hitting freights but like Keep’s first silver, this gold piece just don’t do it for me, the silver piece that follows ain’t much better, WUFC SDK this is not. After a few minutes of nightime footage that reveals a STOMPDOWN KILLERS huge roadside silver there are some still pictures of the work of Big Miles, the pics look great but then we see him paint with Surgen in a freight yard sandwiched between to trains which means you never get to see the finished piece which is annoying after watching them paint it. Label returns with another ok silver freight then we get to see what Big Miles can do, he seems to like writing “Tax This” everywhere and like all the SDK guys his handstyle is amazing but as a piecer, for me, it’s not that great, the SDK are bombers, they get up and get up everywhere for which they deserve extra credit but wether this is enough to make a dvd out of I’m still unsure. Next is a section featuring Nacs who produces the best thing on the DVD so far, a huge silver and black piece but then its back to Big Miles and his hand styles followed by a session with Nacs and Surgen at the freight yard, it’s obvious that these guys can paint so I don’t know if they got nervous being filmed or something but once again I aint feeling it. Next we go on a boat cruise (no really!) Where the SDK have some fun drawing on a selection of lovely ladies and then apart from some more footage of Surgen tagging that’s about it!!

To sum up, like I said the SDK are bombers and they do the whole writing on freight trains and road sides in broad daylight really well, they’re definitely hardcore but I get the feeling this has gone to their heads and what we get as a result is a dvd about how “hard” they are, how much weed they smoke, how much whiskey they drink and how many ladies they can get on their boat to draw on rather than just showing off the skills they obviously have, I think they have been sucked into the whole gangster lifestyle a bit to much and they come across as a bit wannabe, that said though when I bought the DVD it did come with a fly “silver” chain which I will definitely wear the next time I go Gang Bangin!!

3 out of 5 Hopsta’s ….think about buying it if you like bombing or you want a fly “silver” chain.

Another Review of InFamy, found online........

HOW DID WE GET FROM THE PYRAMIDS TO THE PROJECTS ?!: THIS IS ME...I WAS HERE...FUCK YOU (a/k/a my INFAMY DVD REVIEW)

HARD KNOCKS THE SUBWAY EDITION

I was really interested in this as its a limited edition dvd, only 500 (legal) copies were made and I was curious to know what all the fuss was about, luckily the German branch of Spacehop.50g lent me a copy for review so here's what I think.

It makes a change to watch a dvd like this that features the same format of breaking into a yard or entering a tunnel that doesnt have the usual shaky camera, to dark to see, blurry footage. Instead the majority of this is really well shot, you can see that the guy behind the camera has thought out each section and there's a lot of planning gone into this dvd, the "actions" are filmed well, given the circumstances, but it's the bits inbetween that I like the most. The quality of the graff is impressive and consistant, featuring many differant artists and crews including, 35ers, Abis78, Acer, Acid, Amik, Azur, BAD, Bead, BSK, Burn, City, CMD, DGB, Dose, DRM, Drops, Dust, Ecsit, FCKW, Feat, Fery, FLS, Gamble, Hisk, HIV, Kaktus, Kird, Kitch, MRN, Nash, Pais, Plus, Puma, RBS, Rely, Roka, Roy, Shus, Siba, Sien, Skey, Skid,Smart, Soe, Sok, Tesa, TFZ, THC, Tin, Trus, Tuff, Tvisd, Type, Way, Zack. This is essentially two movies in one, the first concentrates on Berlins subway system while the secound deals with the MTA system of New York, allways good to see panels running there especially in 2008!! The run time is 1hour and 34 mins which i did think was a little bit long, but thats just because even if it was shot by Speilburg, there's only so much.... enter a yard, paint a train, leave yard, photograph in traffic, my mind can take It would really benefit from some commentary over the footage like in Dirty Handz 3. Without this it does get a bit boring, a train in a tunnel tends to look the same the world over, well worth a watch though.

Spacehop says 4 out of 5 Hopsta's. Don't watch on You Tube, BUY IT!!!
Buy From
www.overkillshop.com

FukGRAFF3

This description is from the Bombing Science website www.bombingscience.com

60 min.- Live bombing, live bombing and more live bombing... this is what you will see in Fuk Graff #3! This DVD is completely dedicated to NYC bombers, with footage with Haeler, Sev, Cano, Facet, Ques, Hektic and many others. A must have if you like dirty NYC bombing!

Overall this aint that great, it's watching stuff like this that makes me not like graffiti, it seems you don't need a lot of skill to be a bomber in New York at least not according to this DVD, It starts ok with Seu1, Cano and Deco but then it all goes a bit downhill and the quality of throwups get worse and worse as we go along, Tease saves it at the end but only because of the variety of footage of him bombing. The DVD features 18 "Bombers" and the format is the same for all except Tease. Each person gets about 2 mins in which they do a throwup, done at nightime in what I think is meant to be "hot" spots but I've a feeling theyre not, mixed in with this footage is some flicks which again are not that great and I was bored after 30 mins, after 45mins I was ready to slit wrists, Ive watched Fuk Graf1 on google and thought it was ok but I wont be getting anymore in this series. Lifes to short.

Spacehop says 1 out of 5 Hopsta's. This sucks!!! Buy at your own risk.

Infamy

This description is from the Bombing Science website www.bombingscience.com

Take an intense journey into the dangerous lives and obsessed minds of six of America's most prolific graffiti artists: Claw, Earsnot, Enem, Jase, Saber and Toomer. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Doug Pray (Hype! and Scratch) who teamed up with writer publisher and graffiti guru Roger Gastman the movie takes you deep into the world of street legends Saber Toomer Jase Claw Earsnot and Enem. With brutal honesty humor and charisma these artists reveal why they are so willing to risk everything to spray paint their cities with "tags" "throwups" and full-color murals. You'll also meet Joe "The Graffiti Guerilla" Connolly a notorious "buffer" who paints out graffiti on his neighborhood's walls with a vengeance matched only by those who vandalized them. From the streets of the South Bronx to the solitude of a San Francisco tunnel from high atop a Hollywood billboard to North Philadelphia for a lesson in "Philly-style tags" from the Mexican border to a Cleveland train yard Infamy doesn't analyze or glorify graffiti... it takes you there and brings it to life.

This is great, well worth the money, I cant fault this movie, It's really well put together, at 90mins long never gets boring, everyone featured is a legend and the interviews are really interesting and funny. The 5 finger discount king Earsnot cracks me up with lines like " There are some things that I just WILL NOT pay for, I won't pay for any type of Gore Tex jacket or any kind of meat"!!!! The massive Toomer getting interviewed with his mum is a classic as is the story of Jase's trip to the docs and the fact he used to write "Master" but stopped because people wrote "Bater" underneath. Enem's handstyle is amazing to watch, anyone who thinks there's no skill in tagging , look and learn. Saber, is Saber, unbelievabley talented but modest with it, Claw easily rocks spots in the Bronx and beyond with Miss 17 that would make the most hardcore male bomber a bit twitchy and who wouldnt want Joe Connolly cleaning up their neighbourhood??

Spacehop says 5 out of 5 Hopsta's!!

I dont need to say anymore, just buy it!!!

The Art of Story Telling

Back of DVD reads....

Featuring live action from Zephyr, Nace, Chip7, Navy8, Byas, Vism, Pepe, Apes, Eye, Alter, Poser, Newa, Elk, Vizie,When, Seone, Kemos, Muse, Met, Expert, Aest2, Fatso, Lions + loads more. 100%illegal footage, freights, clean trains and highways.

This was quite a tricky DVD to track down at first as there is very little info available on the net, I had heard rumours about it being the best graf film ever made and went on the hunt, it is a bit special, at 1hr and 30 mins it's the longest film Ive seen so far and it never gets boring, the intro is a great mixture of Freights and Bombing mixed with some black and white Mob and Charles Manson footage, sets the mood for what's to come, Elk and Poser start things off hitting a scrap train, scrap train = lame I hear you shout, but have no fear as nuff streets, clean trains, freights and billboards get hit up in this DVD. Newa's billboards are funny and a bit different, getting on the news for his "Support Domestic Violence.... if you don't hit your woman who will??" and "Wake up with Newa's Nuts in your mouth" posters. Next up is a big Freights section, featuring Vism, Byas Muze amongst others. There's a short interview with Pepe 1 plus some footage of him hitting up before we go daytime bombing with Chip7 and Navy 8. Then it's all bombing, bombing and bombing followed by a funny Spanish (???) Tropicana advert that leads into the Tropicana Freight section. After a few more bombing missions from Lions, Poser, Sectr and Fatso the last section of the film is dedicated to the legend that is Nace, starting with a short interview with Zephyr, his painting partner for 5 years and finishing with some footage of him painting and a whole load of flicks of his stuff.

Spacehop says 5 out of 5 Hopsta's

If you like piecing this isn't really for you but if watching someone hit up a the side of a freeway in broad daylight is your thang go buy it!!