I really wasn’t sure when I started the video of what I would see riding wise. I honestly had only heard of Alex and that was about it. I got a little nervous when the opening credits had started because there were a few clips I wouldn’t have included because it was a little sketchy or a foot blew off. I think I even saw a Indian Giver in there.

I started to realize though, the video was edited so it progressively got better. The first few sections were a few of the Kill Ted crew who I think just started getting into BMX, and then as it went on it started getting real good. I was real into it by the half-way point, and real happy I kept watching by the end. The video had a real good mix of street, parks, and a really solid set of trails they ride. I loved the trails.

There are a few guys in the video who if you haven’t heard about yet, you will. Alex Raban has been getting some coverage for a while now, and not to mention he had a real solid part in the video. The other guys were Qunicy Dean, Brandon Stevens, and I think it was Cameron Dehaas that all had really solid parts in the video also.

The video runs about an hour, and that isn’t including the credits. In that hour or so you see riding from Matt Lupello, Franky Morin, Matt Stiles, Ted Anzle, Alex Castillo, Brandon Eckles, Chase Miller, Quincy Dean, Jr Galindo, Nick Harry, Danny Griffith, Cody Bowers, Jimmy Daub, Cameron Dehaas, Brandon Stevens, Kyle Walker, Pablo Banuelos, Alex Raban, Nelson Pulido, and a central coast mix.

Alex Raban did the majority of the filiming, the editing, and graphics. The quality of the filming was clean and the colors and lighting was all good. The editing was clean, and for the most part there wasn’t any over the top transitions which in my opinion is always good. The graphics work for each riders intro was pretty creative and usually pretty funny too.

The music in the video consisted of a lot of songs I personally had never heard of but liked, and some classics. It all went together really well with each riders personality. The music broken down was like this.

Intro:
Globus- Spiritus Khayyam
Aerosmith- The Other Side
Anticon- Martyr Theme Song
Aesop Rock- None shall pass
Carlos Santana- She’s Not There
Norman Greenbaum- Spirit in the Sky
Andre Nickatina- That! part 2
Webb Pierce- More and More
Willie Nelson- Highway Man
Dropkick Murphys- I’m Shipping Up to Boston
Inspectah Deck- Rumble
Slayer- Seasons in the Abyss
The Rifles- Talking
Murs- Better than the Best
The Doors- Touch Me
Pixies- Trompe La Monde
T-Rex- Metal Guru
Blondie- Maria

You can tell by that list that it is a pretty diverse set of songs. I am sure you can find something in there you might like, unless you are into country or something.

I probably should mention that there is over an hour of bonus material in the video too. A trip to Romania and Germany, Crashes, Out Takes, Dave Mirra Edit (lol), Tribal Masks, Boxing Belts, and Good Ol’ Days. It was really good.

There was also two cameos in the video that caught me off guard. The first would be Kyle Walker who looks a lot like BMXfu’s Capone Rider. The only difference is that Kyle can actually ride! I was shocked by this. The other one was Matt Stiles who had a stricking resemblance to Micah Kranz so that was pretty cool

Overall, I think the video is worth checking out. Sure, there were a few clips I was surprised were used in the video, but I understood as the video progressed. The Kill Ted Crew knows how to have a good time, and how to ride bikes. Last time I checked that is what BMX is all about. So if you are into checking out videos of riders who you haven’t really heard about, riding bikes, partying, drinking PBR, bittys in bath tubs, or playing the Dave Mirra video game there is a good chance this is a video for you. Check out the Roll Wit Us Myspace page to get a copy.

I will be 100% honest, I didn’t expect Levi’s quality obviously. I didn’t expect it to be super crazy either, simply because I know Mike has a family, and a new baby to take care of. I just knew it was going to be something that he could make that showcases him and his friends riding bike. That is exactly what it is. A whole bunch of guys riding Arizona that I have never really heard of.

When I think of this video, I think of all the times I wanted to just put a video together with my friends. It really almost has the vibe of the older BMX videos that used to come out back in the day. When I say back in the day I mean similar to something like Albert Street where it isn’t aimed towards HD and the perfect shot. Just the good times. Lateral Progression isn’t as wild and rediculous as Albert Street obviously, but it has that same old school feel to it.

The names in this video weren’t all that firmiliar to me. Mike Hines had the first part, then a mix section with a guy named Dale, Bass Master, Pat Stayjack (sp?), Joe Kool, Ratt, and Rob Hagmann. I wasn’t firmiliar with any of these guys at all.

After the mix section Chuck Maultsby, followed by The Burrito Brothers also known as Chris and David Munoz. I hate to give away tricks in videos… but seriously, they have so much fun that one of them rides their bike off a hotel’s roof into a pool. That was pretty much my favorite clip too.

Josh Gearin, Will Bissell (who I swear I have seen or heard of before), Dirty D (not Dan), Coach and Jack all follow up with some clips.

When you talk about Arizona BMX, eventually KC Badger will come up. He has a few clips, along side Lucas Porzio. Yeah, the Lucas Porzio.

The final part, and well deserved went to Andy Erickson. I don’t know who this kid is… but I need to interview him. I don’t know why, but the whole time I kept thinking Steven Hamilton. The kid was real smooth, and had some cool lines. If he starts producing some more I am willing to bet he could become a fairly common name. I am just throwing that out there.

So, maybe the filming wasn’t HD,it was still pretty clean. When it came to the editing, I would say it was pretty good. There were a few clip transitions it could have done without, but like I said before, I think this video was made just to showcase the crew and have fun with it.

The music picked for it was pretty chill. I think it went well with the video and everything. I decided from now on I will just include the names of all the songs since people seem to always be curious.
Elliott Smith- Kings Crossing
Cool Kids- Mikey
The Dismemberment Plan- Secret Curse
Wu-Tang- As high as Wutang gets
The Silver Jews- Party Barge
Buddy Holly- Everyday
Joy Division- Ice age
Army of Garbage- Poppy Punk
Men At Work- Helpless Automator
Damien Jurado

Overall I thought the video did a pretty good job showcasing the Clicked BMX crew. It has a postive vibe that is always good to see. I didn’t see one person get mad, or even throw their bike. That is just uncommon in videos now days. If you are in the Arizona area or just into checking out unknown riders, I would suggest checking it out.

You can pick up a copy at ClickedBMX.com for $3! I mean that isn’t expencive at all.

Check out the trailer and scraps…

The crew which consisted of Tony Neyer, Eric Cuiper, Eli Platt, Brad Simms, Josh Suhre, Doug Horton, Joe Cox, Dave Jacobs, and Larry Alvarado all loaded up into a van with a trailer hitched to the back. They ride in Cincinnati up through Ottawa and Montreal, Canada. In all honesty, does it really matter where a list of riders like that is riding anyways?

During the trip the majority of it appeared to be spent riding street, the rest at some skate parks indoor and out. The spots were all pretty fresh and new from any other video I have seen lately… Which between updating The Come Up and checking out DVDs as of late, I figured I would have recognized a lot of spots. I really only recognized a few because some of the photos from the trip showed up in ads and other projects for Micreation. The rest of the time was spent at a few skate parks, the majority being Canada’s finest cement bowls and skate plaza type parks. Just imagine all the possibilities of Brad Simms and a big cement quarter… yeah, you know what I am talking about.

I try to avoid talking about the riding as much as possible just because apparently if you even can imagine a trick being done it ruins the video for some people. So once again, refer to the list of names above on the trip and you will know what to expect. I just want to say I was happy to see some Tony Neyer riding since hes been on the down low for a while now because of his knee. The video was filmed before that all went down I would imagine.

The filming was done by Dave, Chad Shackelford, and Doug Horton. I wasn’t too familiar with Doug Horton to be honest but it appeared that he held down the 16mm filming for the most part. Chad held down the roller blades!
Don’t get me wrong, as much as I love asking kids on roller blades if they are down with Team Pup N’ Sudz (If you don’t know what I am talking about you missed out on one hell of a quality Disney Channel production!), I will make a huge acception for Chad since he is always producing amazing quality clips while rolling on 8 wheels. It must take a lot to really get some smooth shots on blades just because you can see some really rough footage in the “Extra Footage” part of the DVD that just looks horrid. Dave has a gift with the camera too! To be honest I was slightly surprised Larry didn’t do any filming since he has been producing some real good ODI web videos lately.

The editing was done by Dave. If you have seen the Eli Platt, and Bradd Simms video spots you know Dave knows his way around editing software. The intro was really where the majority of special effects really happened. I was into the intro since it was a good mix of HD and 16 mm clips. The rest of the video was pretty straight forward and clean. There were a few parts where it was black and white, which actually looked really good since it was actual BLACK and white, not grayish and white.

The sound track to the video included stuff from DJ Figure, Omid, No Sleep, Free the Robots. I was into the music just because I am into the hip hop beats and techno stuff. I could see how a hardcore rocker dude would be bummed, or the people heavy into rap might be a little bummed. The music really goes well with the video and the brand Micreation as a whole. I really almost expected that type of music, plus I hadn’t heard of the artists before so that was cool.

Overall the trip looked like a lot of fun, the riding was good, filming and editing spot on, into the music. I think it is worth checking out. However, I am a little afraid of Eric Cuiper now… I’ll explain below…

The bonus section of the DVD is actually a sweet bonus. It comes with a section of Extra Footage, which I mentioned above. This is basically scrap clips, and random shots from their trip.
Next up is a wrecks section. Tony Neyer beats the shit out of himself a lot. This is the part that scared me a little bit. I’ve never met Eric myself and I have heard nothing but good things about him… but holy hell can he throw a bike! If for some reason BMX racing gets taken out of the Olympics and they replace it with BMX throwing, he will win. There’s about 10 record setting distance throws and some F bombs by Eric.
After all that fun, there is a 16 mm section which is just basically a cool little montage of clips captured on the camera that weren’t in the video. I am a fan of this for some reason just because it gives a classic memories type look and feel, if that makes any sense?
Followed by the Synopsis trailer, which you can find at the bottom of this.
Then here is the real good stuff, if you remember the Brad Simms Video Spot cost $2 to watch, well for those of you who didn’t want to pay to check it out, it comes in the video. Along with Eli Platt’s Video Spot… I have watched that probably 100 times and still really like it. Followed up by a Tony Neyer Remix, Tony Neyer Short, and Larry Alvarado Short.

I suppose I should also mention the whole DVD case is made out of recycled paper and plastic. I know this might not mean much to some of you but it is a pretty cool idea in my opinion.

This video is worth checking out, plus it isn’t even that expensive! You can pick it up on Dans Comp, and Empire for $9.99, Albes for $9.95. I am sure you can also pick it up at shops that carry Micreation stuff too!
If that doesn’t work for you, then you can get it at the Micreation web store!

If you are a “vetern” of BMX and have been in the game for years, you obviously know every piece on your bike. At least I would hope so. You should be able to feel something wrong with your bike, and take every little piece off and know how to fix it. Maybe you are on the other side, just getting into BMX and want to learn how to avoid running to the shop everytime your bike feels off. If that is the case, then you probably have a set of tools that you use.

Before I got my hands of the Random Wrench this is what tools I carry around with me when I am out on the bike. I mean, I leave them in my car so little skateboarders at the park don’t rifle through my shit to find a skate tool, since I would have that?
It is fairly simple, a ratchet with an extension, along with a few sizes of deep sockets. I carry the extra ones to help out the other guys who don’t think to bring their tools. 2 sets of allen wrenches, American, Metric and another 6mm with a little leverage. 2 chain breakers, 2 because one has stripped out pin screw hole, so the pin will move around a bit sometimes. A punch, because you never know when you might need to pound something out. I don’t really know why I carry that in the first place. A wrench for my pedals, and an adjustable wrench for random uses. Then my vice grips, which actually have a really good cable cutter on it too. I have another wire cutter, but I forgot to take it out after I realized the vice grip had one. Also, there is a flat head screw driver. This is just because I broke my plastic tire levers and then got folding tires so it is just to help start the tire off. These are tools I use more frequently, there are a bunch of other tools I have in the garage that we really don’t need to go into.

The biggest difference I noticed from the original Random Wrench was the body of the tool was smaller, and lighter. It even removed the socket extension and put it inside as an attachment. The V.2 also has a much cleaner look to it too.

Once you unscrew the top, which actually is a spoke wrench also, all the attachments are found inside. The first would be a socket extension, 17 mm socket, 5 mm allen, 15 mm socket, and 6 mm allen. These are the more standard sizes for nuts and bolts on the bike. Then obviously the wrench on the end of the casing will fit your pedals. This is awesome because instead of a bunch of seperate tools, it is all put together into a tube and makes for a cleaner tool box, bag, or whatever you use to put your tools when they aren’t in use.

After the Random Wrench was placed into my tool bag, I obviously didn’t need to carry some of those tools anymore. I removed the ratchet, sockets, and extension. I might throw the extra sizes back in just incase my friends get screwed over. The extra wire cutters got removed, along with the wrench I used for my pedals. I even took out one of the allen wrenches because I only used the two sizes that the Random Wrench came with anyways.

With every positive review there at least has to be something I wasn’t a huge fan of. The thing I didn’t like most is that the sockets don’t have the ratchet ability so it slows things down just a bit. That was honestly about all I could think of that I didn’t like..

So, to conclude this review… I would say get the DK Random Wrench V.2 if you are looking to slim down the number of tools you have to carry. I would say the same if you are looking to get your tool collection started. It is made by a BMX company specifically for your BMX bike, why wouldn’t you want it? You can pick the wrench up on Albes, Empire, Staff, and Dan’s for about $32.95. I am sure you could find a way to get it from your local shop too.

To start off the riders involved in this video are all very talented and kill it. Names like Corey Bohan, Kevin Kiraly, Kym Grosser, Mike Dies, and Justin Burns who all have full parts. Then a whole bunch of clips in the friends and bonus section from names like Ryan Biz Jordan, Dave Dillewaard, Colin Mackay, Mike Aitken, and a bunch of other guys who kill it on a BMX. That is a real good mix right off the bat.

The riding was awesome, I was totally surprised by Mike Dies and Justin Burns, who I had never heard of until this video came along. I think Stewart said Justin is only 16 and I honestly believe if the kid keeps up what he is doing he could make something out of riding. Obviously Kym Grosser had some really good riding too. I became a bigger fan of him after finally seeing the clip of him doing the nothing down the stairs which I think ended up being a cover photo for a magazine didn’t it? Kevin Kiraly is a dialed rider brakes or no brakes, which he apparently took them off halfway through filming this.
Maybe I am blind or something but Corey Bohan’s part really caught me off guard. He had a whole lot of street riding in it. The reason I feel like I am blind is because I honestly feel like I have seen little to no street out of him before this? It doesn’t matter he can ride whatever is put infront of him obviously.

This video has something for everyone, okay maybe not flatland or racing but come on. There was a lot of clips from some amazing street spots, to amazing cement parks and a few from The Unit. There was a fair amount dirt clips from Lonny Paxton’s trails, and this other spot I wasn’t firmiliar with. It looked really good though. So, that is why I would say it has something for everyone.

I first heard of Stewart Munro from some of his edits that were featured on Vital BMX so I figured I had a good idea of what to expect filming and editing wise. I was caught off guard by a large amount of 8mm and 16mm filming used. It gave it a really different feel since it seems like everyone and their mother is going HD these days. The whole video isn’t filmed in this format so don’t freak out if you aren’t into that style. The editing was good. I am a pretty big fan of the basics that don’t involve a ton of over editing. I just think that looks clean, which is what this video is. The titles and names were good, nothing over the top. The clips flowed, and each part moved to the next well without making you question if a part was over or a new part started.

The music was good, a little rap, a lot more chill music. I wasn’t really firmiliar with most of the songs in These Days which is always nice since I am into hearing new stuff that isn’t already in the web videos kids are making everyday.

Overall if my opinion matters at all to you… Which damnit it should. No I am just kidding but seriously I think this video turned out really good and is worth checking out. It is even for a good cause. $1 of every DVD purchased will go to the Stephen Murray Family Fund. So you get a good video and you can help out somebody in need.

As of right now (October 2008) the video is just getting out to the distributors, so it isn’t at any of the mail orders yet. Expect it to be up on them soon though so keep checking. I will try and remember to update this with links to where you can buy it when they get it. It will be worth it! If not for a good video, do it for Stephen.

EDIT: Dan’s Comp now has the DVD!

If your a shop employee/owner and have access to distributors. You can order some copies from Tip Plus in the United States, and if you are in Australia or New Zealand you can pick it up from Triple Six.

Defgrip.