I tried to play guitar, and could never get the rhythm. Anyone who’s heard me do Karaoke knows that was an alcohol fueled mess as well. But I got an idea for a cool cover. Willie and Waylon ‘Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys,’ is a fun classic from the 1970’s. There are a lot of fun country classics that I’ve yet to hear. My suggestion for a cover is simply the same title but with ‘skaters’ or ‘skateboarders’ at the end. It can have a rock, punk, hip hop, or whatever twist depending on the musicians preference.
In the movie ‘Lords of Dogtown’ the Heath Ledger’s character ‘Skip’ calls the crew pirates. Later in the movie he disses the Stacey Peralta character by saying he’s not a pirate. Pirates and cowboys are a good description of the aura of skateboarding. If you heard the term ‘Peter Pan Syndrome,’ that wraps up that concept nicely too.
In reading the book The Answer is Never by Jacko Weyland. I’m about halfway through it, and in the 1970’s boom kids skated for the basic reason that it’s fun. But there was also the question of what was possible. He quotes CS Steyck as stating there was so much more potential with the activity. The book gives a good explanation of how important the drought of 1975 and 1976 in California had on empty pool opportunities. That must have taken guts and bravado to look at an empty pool and think I can ride up that and back down. The book also states how the the larger cement wasteland of Southern California made it possible for skating to grow.
I’m pretty sure ‘Skip’ would not think of me as a pirate these days. I simply skate at parks currently, but my creativity and character did develop from choosing a stigmatized activity in my youth. Movies on more recent timeframes Street Dreams, Mid90’s, Skate Kitchen, and North Hollywood the theme is the same. Their parents, family, and friends don’t understand so they branch out and dive in to the skate world.
I never got to make a skate vid, but I had a good title ‘We Are Today’s Hippies.’ Skaters are different than my other circles, but to me some of the best people. Skaters live in the moment more than anyone else in my experience. Gypsies, vagabonds, pirates, outlaws, and cowboys are intwined into the roller coaster that is skateboarding. We need more soundtracks. Covers with twists might be a good place to start.
