480: Saturday Night Live at The Barn – Circa 1986..Thanks to Mike Vallely

I’m not gonna say much about this video except thanks to Mike Vallely for getting this filmed back in the day and giving it to us for the archive and another thanks to Larry Ransom for his editing and THOS support throughout the years. Another big thanks goes to Dennis who after searching the web for this footage decided to go to the source and clinched it all. The still images are of Mikes early Vert days at The Barn and the song is Revolution Mother “Night Ride” (pretty fitting) If you comment with a time and a name I will create a gallery of screen grabs…I will get the ball rolling with an important one: 1:24 Weep on Deck.

Enjoy the show…The time is now!!

Jason

This is great. Mike talks about the first video he was in. “Action East” If I remember correctly, they showed up at The Barn with all this high-end video, lights and sound gear. It was right in the middle of a hot session. I was like, “What the hell is this???”

The guy who owned the company was like, “Can we film a video here?” and I said, “What’s in it for me?” (as if I was going to say No). This was way beyond squeezing 10 bucks out of some squid for “the new layer.” So he flowed me a “No Fun Joe” deck, a t-shirt and some other free shit and I said, “Go for it!” Of course, our power situation was a 300 yard extension cord to the house that kept blowing out. The next contest I entered as….sponsored by Action East.

Let’s see if we can get this classic film posted.
DennisK

Skater by order of appearance:

1st couple stills Mike Vallely

Papo Capillo No Shirt Red Shorts

Dennis Kane Silver helmet after Papo…Big Indy Air later on

Jimmy Kane Yellow helmet white Tee no sleeves

Mike Vallely Yellow helmet layback air

Papo on roller skates?

Matt padulo Red shorts Layback Air/Backside Air

Tom Groholski Black Shirt Inverts/Layback Air

Bernie O’Dowd No Helmet Frontside air/Invert/Layback Air

Who does the big air with the pink helmet?

Loads of peeps on the deck and on the couch too

Weep on Deck

Dan Booger Brown

Matt padulo

Tom Groholski 1:14

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442: Matt Padulo, Bernie O’dowd, Jeff Jones and Harry Jumonji 1984 Contest at Silver Apple Skate Shop in New jersey

Matt Padulo

Wow! That really is crazy to see. I’m not really sure how old I was in this picture. I do remember entering the contest in the younger division then everyone I was with so maybe I was 13 years old? The ramp was made out of what seemed like fiberglass that sounded really hollow but road solid at the same time. I don’t even think I dropped in on the ramp so when I started a line had to run up the ramp, fakie once or twice, and then start my run. At the time I did all my airs just below or @ the top of the ramp, and I think was doing some Inverts about mid transition. I wound up taking 2nd and won a Lance Mountain deck which I saved for a while, but eventually road and shred up.

Can never get enough pics of the old days!

matt

Bernie O’Dowd

Jeff Jones Tweaked frontside air.

Anyone recognise themselves on the platform?

Harry Jumongi frontside roll in

…again anyone on the deck?

427: NJ High School Ditch, Weep & Corn, Tag, Rocky, Roenning circa 85 A Padulo Brothers Brigade film!

 

Hey Jason

SkateBoarding” Clip
That’s Tag to start. Looks like there a ton of people on the ground watching. Next is Rocky in the White Helmet. He always skated like Cab with that smooth style and crooked neck.  That’s Corn in the blue shirt and yellow helmet.  That’ Jeff Roenning in the white Zorlac shirt and yellow helmet. And I think thats weep sitting on the platform as Rocky chucks an air over his knees.  Next is Corn and Weeps at the Ditch. Corn said it’s the ditch by the highschool but I think it’s the one closer to Bridgewater on 78 East.  I could be wrong. This part kinda chokes me up watching it.  And then there’s the weird Kona part at the end. I know nothing about it.

The second part of the clip is at my ramp again and it’s Tag again.

I’m sure the people that did the original transfer just stuck it together with no rhyme or reason.  My folks still have the original film too.

Dave Padulo

Classic stuff! That is the ditch on route 78 across from Watchung Hills regional Highschool. 

Out the cafeteria (during lunch) and through the woods then it was just a quick  game of Frogger across 78 and you could skate for 15 minutes or so and have time to get back to class. Unless you went with Weep who would take one annoying long 15 minute run and leave you standing there to watch…Commmmmmaaaahhhhhhnnnnn WEEP!! enough already!…great times.

PS. The generic transfer music is too sad.

Jason Oliva and Weep Sciving off from school: High School Ditch NJ…86’ish

Photo Ben Cornish

373: Dave Padulo recalls his first trip to Groholski’s New Jersey Backyard ramp

Whoaaa back foot, Tom Groholski in his Back yard circa 84 Matt Padulo looking on.

You know you’ve come full circle when you’re listening to Ride The Lightening in your car on the way to Woodward Skatepark with your two young boys in the back seat and your brother next to you telling them the story of the first time you heard the song. (For the record it was a Wednesday night at the Barn, Groholski walked in, popped in the cassette into the player by the door, and jump on the ramp with no pads LONG before it was fashionable.) It must have been the Metallica playing in the car and the 13ft half-pipe they had at Woodward that got me thinking of the The Jersey Devil himself, Tom Groholski, and his freakin monster ramp he had in his backyard. A few minutes poking around some boxes in my attic produced this footage from the one pilgrimage I made to Tom’s with some of the crew from Warren & Watchung.

Tom, Dan Tag, Matt Padulo and Rocky Vertone

If this pic doesn’t capture a moment in time, I don’t know what one does. Tom extending a huge invert while Dan Tag, my brother Matt who must have been around 12 at the time, and Rocky Vertone look on, jaws dropped and speechless. I’m guessing this is probably either March 1984 or 1985. Maybe it was spring break. I remember it was cold and there were still a few last piles of snow around. It’s hard to put into words how TALL that ramp was. It took up the whole backyard and could be seen above some of the roofs in the neighborhood. It was the first huge tranny any of us had ever skated. Tom talks about how it came to his backyard in his Juice Magazine interview a few years ago. Good times.

Dave Padulo

 

Classic stuff!! I made the pilgrimage as well, driven by Dan Tag 2 or 3 years later. Tom’s was the tallest, slipperiest and most transparent ramp ever assembled. It made noises that no other ramp could muster. Tom ruled it and it seemed like when he was skating you could see him from across town. All the neighboring houses had boxed seats to view what was transpiring on the ramp. Needless to say I could barely manage to land any trick I knew at the time while Tag and Tom killed it. Normally I always traveled with a camera, not that day though. Nice one Dave, bet you wish you shot a whole roll!!

340: Padulo’s first quarterpipe 1980(yikes) NJ Matt Padulo dusting off the Cobwebs at Skatetime 209

Dave Padulo on their first ramp NJ 80’s

Five sheets of plywood and several cords of firewood? I believe skate architecture has evolved into  more economic designs than this but hey it was all uncharted territory back then…you had to skate what you could build. 

JASON OLIVA

That’s me in freakin 1980 man!  London Calling, Freedom of Choice, Back In Black all just released into the world.  Hard to believe they were ever “new”.  Like us I guess. 

Dave

Checkout Matt today back in the saddle skating away with Dave and his Nephews up and down the East Coast.

 

332: Ivy League Skatepark!! The New Padulos

Princeton Hilltop Skate Park Nearing completion

 

SO if Allan Gibsons is the modern day Barn 2.0 I think this Ivy League Skatepark should be dubbed Padulos 2.0. Dave has been keeping tabs on the completion of his new local skatepark (Princeton Hilltop Skatepark, NJ), I believe he has the kids all tricked out with old school Zorlac boards and has them practicing on their brandy new NJ driveway quarter pipe….Life is a circle my Bruthas!!

Jason

Colin Padulo

Dave Padulo

Lucas Padulo Fakie

Matt Padulo

Matt Padulo

266: Mrs. Kane avert your eyes at these Padulo brothers thumb their noses at the “Helmet Law” Ahhh youthful rebellion….The Barn 1986

Jason-

Scanned in a few more photo’s this morning. These are of Matt and me at The Barn. I’m sure Mrs. Kane will cringe at our lack of helmets. Judging by Matt’s soaked shirt I’m guessing these shots were taken in the summer so it must have been really hot in there. These shots have to be from 1985 or 1986 because the old metal angle iron coping had been replaced for pool coping. I remember what a big change that was. The concrete coping really popped you out on airs and made for great lip tricks. Jimmy and Dennis could really grind on their home turf. A true sight to behold. I can still hear the sounds of the metal trucks scraping along the edge. Great stuff. The House Of Steam!

Dave Padulo Backside air The Barn NJ 1986

Dave Padulo Inver air The Barn NJ 1986

Matt Padulo Backside air The Barn NJ 1986

Matt Padulo Invert air The Barn NJ 1986

I would say 86 on these photographs because the coping came off of my families pool (Thank you Mom and Dad) around then. That coping was really thick like the business end of a baseball bat…and slick with white pool coping painting. Really unique stuff for a ramp at the time. I remember my Grandfather was at our house when Tag and Co. came by to pick the stuff up(don’t recall why I wasn’t there). Dan thought the way my Grandfather said “pool coping” in an Italian kinda way was funny. I listened to Dan call it poooool Cohhh ping for ages. Total Tag.

As for the helmet less Padulo Bruthas…..Its a good thing Mrs. Kane did not enforce her Helmet Law with a monetary fine, if she had, the 25 years of compounded interest on these two unpaid fines would be staggering by now!!

Nice One!!