I’m sure by now you have heard or seen something about the Caliwumpus video that Brandon Eckles and Alex Raban have been working on for a while now. I got myself a copy to take a look at and figured I’d toss up a quick review of the video. Let’s see what this video is all about…
The video starts out with a quick clip from the Airheads video and instantly, I knew good things were coming. If you haven’t seen that movie, you are messing up big. The intro also follows up with a bunch of guns, beer drinking and bottles breaking, general drunkenness and more. These are all good indicators that this is a BMX video, and that it will have something to bring to the table. It also brought on a good laugh.
The video is broken down into mostly mix sections of about 60 different riders. Well, more like 37ish (if I didn’t miss any of the names) riders but that’s still a lot of dudes. There’s around 12 sections, with most of them being mixes featuring guys like Jackson Allen and the Sasquatch Canyon crew, Kyle Walker (who has improved a ton since the Roll Wit Us video), Ryan Nyquist, Cult’s Jordan Murdock, Mike Hernandez, Cody Bowers with sections from Alex Raban, Brandon Eckles, Trevor Roland and Chet “Flipper” Weidner.
The riding in the video is spread out well between all of the different riders with a lot of different styles and places. There’s street, trails, cement parks, pools, skateparks and some real sketchy ghetto setups in this video, so I think they’ve got pretty much everything covered. The video is all pretty chill with a lot of solid riding and some bangers. It’s not loaded with banger after banger, but it has a consistent positive and not so serious vibe from a real good scene in the Bay Area. That works for me.
My favorite section is a split between Alex Raban and Brandon Eckles’ sections which seems a little weird since they made the video, but it’s true. They both came through with a ton of real good clips. Brandon is filled with big stuff, and Alex has some real serious bangers. I wish I could tell you what Alex’s ender clip is, but that’s something you will have to check the video out for. It’s wild though.
I was also real impressed with Jackson Allen’s clips. He’s been popping up more and more online with his FBM and Sasquatch Canyon edits and I’ve been becoming more and more of a fan of his real relaxed trails style that makes BMX look fun. I wish this guy had a full section, but the fact that he hit every mix section with clips works for me.
The Caliwumpus video also has some real funny and awkward intros for some of the sections. Matt Gillot has a very American intro with a rifle, bayonet and a watermellon with Osama’s face on it. Trevor Roland comes in with a super awkward short shorts intro filled with a handgun and another dude lubing him up by the pool. Awkward level was turned up to about 69,000. Luckily, his clips make up for the weirdness.
All I’m going to say about Brandon Eckles intro is PBR, leather vest, rub down and hose.
Then Alex Raban’s intro was my favorite. The Wumpus van gets a lot of love with some whip ghost riding and dancing. It was kind of sad seeing such an amazing vehicle, knowing it was totaled in Alex’s recent accident.
The intro’s definitely made the video that much better. Just don’t get caught watching these alone because it’s going to send some wrong signals to whoever catches you.
The majority of the filming and editing was handled by Brandon Eckles and Alex Raban. Alex has had his part in putting together a few different videos and definitely knows how to make things look good. If I remember right, this was Brandon’s first video, and I’m going to say he did a real solid job with it. Sure it’s no Joe Simon or Stew Johnson production, but the video has smooth filming and editing, the video puts off a good vibe and it’s easy to watch. That works for me.
The music in the video is all over with songs from Alice Cooper, The Game, American V: A hundred Highways, The Rolling Stones, Kenny Rodgers, ZZ Top, The Animals, George Thorogood, The Grass Roots, Black Sabath, Led Zeppelin, Shannon, Four Tops, DMX (bonus points) and Real Big. Classic rock plus a touch of rap. I’ll take it.
Overall, the video isn’t loaded with the biggest names in BMX, but there’s definitely some real good riding and solid spots. It’s also filled with a bunch of guys who are having a good time on their bikes. Sure, there’s a few real awkward moments that might make you question your sexuality, but that just makes it that much more interesting. I think if you are a fan of Alex Raban, Brandon Eckles, Jackson Allen, Sasquatch Canyon, Nyquist, awkwardness, scene videos or the Roll Wit Us video this one would be for you.
The video goes for $10 (that’s with shipping) on the Caliwumpus site and should be available in a few other places sooner or later. $10 for a video isn’t bad at all and I think it’s definitely worth checking out.
Find out more about Caliwumpus on CALIWUMPUS.BLOGSPOT.COM.
Below you can find both trailers and the Week of Caliwumpus edits that dropped prior to the release. I think these will give you a good idea of what you can find in the video. Take a look then order up a copy if you are into what you are seeing.
