I spotted Tony Alva at a KCRW event at the Park Plaza a couple years ago and he was reminiscing about skateboarding throughout the place when it used to be a dance party paradise many years ago.
Alva is a true LA legend. Along with the rest of the Z-boys, he created an entirely new way of skating that reflected his rebellious nature, just blocks from where KCRW is based here in Santa Monica.
His song choices on KCRW’s Guest DJ Project speak to his punk rock sensibilities and shows his softer side. (He loves Sade!)
Tony is also a big fan of one of KCRW’s own DJs — former Black Flag singer Henry Rollins. On the track “Black Coffee”:
“Henry’s signature in Black Flag was straight out in your face, intense…the message was not just drilled into your brain, it was basically smashed into your face.”
He also talks about The Clash and the strong connection between punk and skateboarding
“We’re connected to that punk rock sound because of the fact that we’re all totally so anarchistic and we’ve always rebelled against authority…And I’ve claimed sometimes that we were punk rock before punk rock. It’s a pretty heavy claim, but at the same time, The Clash and all of those bands, when I first heard them, it was just like, I felt an affinity and an identity to them, immediately.”
Check it out here and revisit sets from Stacy Peralta and Tony Hawk as well!
RR
Tony Alva Guest DJ Set Tracklist
1.) Spanish Bombs- The Clash
2.) Submission- Sex Pistols
3.) Black Coffee- Black Flag
4.) Me And The Devil- Gil Scott- Heron
5.) In Another Time- Sade