Americantrails #16

AN INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL MAGAZINE ABOUT PEOPLE, PLACES, AND PASSIONS IN THE US #16 THE BEACH BUM ISSUE | AMERICANTRAILSMAG.COM

– THE MOMENT – BRIAN BENT ADJUSTING HIS GOGGLES BEFORE HEADING OUT IN “THE ROARING ACE”

Let's Head To The Beach!

MEET SURFING MULTI-ARTIST BRIAN BENT

SEATTLE

CALIFORNIA | HAWAII | NORTH CAROLINA SEATTLE CITY GUIDE, LAZY DAYS AND SURF ON THREE DIFFERENT COASTS. WE’VE ALSO MET MAKERS IN THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS, TALKED ABOUT LIFE WITH BRIAN BENT AND JAMES “HONEY” DEAN MOSS, AND GONE TO MEMPHIS TO SPEND TIME IN THE LEGENDARY ROYAL STUDIOS WITH SOUL PRODUCER BOO MITCHELL.

QUALITY AND CRAFTSMANSHIP

HEPCAT STORE IN STYLE SINCE 99

25

F

YEARS O STYLE

THE MAIN BRANDS THE AMPAL CREATIVE ASTORFLEX SHOES BRIGHT SHOEMAKERS BAREBONES LIVING BLUE BLANKET JEANS BRIXTON CAPTAIN SANTORS CHESAPEAKE’S DEUS EX MACHINA EBBETS FIELD EDWIN JEANS FILSON FLEURS DE BAGNE FREENOTE CLOTH GOOD & WELL SUPPLY CO LUND SURF CLUB INDIGOFERA JEANS IRON & RESIN STEVENSON OVERALL CO. JOE KING HELMETS PENDLETON TELLASON YETI

Among others...

COME VISIT US LIVE! SANKT L ARS VÄG 21, LUND SALTHALLARNA, HÖGANÄS

YES! WE DELIVER WORLDWIDE

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ALWAYS ONLINE · ALWAYS ON TIME

Adventure a’hoy

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ssue 16, how the time flies. Flying is something photographer Bergersen – the Tom Jones of Norway – and I also did, driving an old pickup truck down the Oregon coast. After two fuel-related breakdowns, deftly managed with the help of family and some newfound friends (Thanks Dave, Saul, Scott, and the rest), we were a few days behind schedule. Nothing left to do keep our foot on the gas down the 101. A long story that starts here on page 112 and will continue into the next issue. But now we have a company car, a 1984 Ford 150 4x4. That’ll be a nice rumble at future events.

This is our first time writing about surfing. I’m as surprised as you are. But when we do things, we do them properly, so we’ve squeezed in three articles about surf heroes here.

This issue really lives up to our motto of “People, Places, and Passions”. Lots of cool people passionate about what they do. Someone I’ve long wanted to meet is Brian Bent.

This man is a force of nature, and his creativity comes out in many ways: in surfing, skateboarding, music, and hot rods, as a mid-century guru and successful artist. An encounter to remember, it’s stayed with me long after the fact.

Memories, isn’t that what travel is about? It’s when the memories remind themselves to us or our phone pictures bring us back that a trip shines the brightest. No memory of the cold and wet nights under a tarp on the truck bed, the subtle admonishment from a state trooper, the stress of not stopping every time we saw something fantastic. No, what remains are memories of laughter and beer at the Clubhouse in Everett, seeing friends and family in Seattle, visiting Bruce Lee’s grave (twice in six months!) and the skate park in Venice Beach, Los Angeles.

We did a lot of driving along the West Coast this time. Road trips are phenomenal, especially if you’re curious like me and always wanting to know what’s around the bend, driving around old industrial neighborhoods, discovering dive bars hidden behind silos, and feeling the freedom that a car or motorcycle provides. But give yourself time. People are amazing, maybe especially in the US. Bergersen and I agreed that we would have loved to stay longer at several of our stops along the winding coastline, each time we ran into kind and interesting people who wanted us to hang with them, the views and small towns that called to us to stay.

Meaning? That we have to go back, of course. Maybe you do, too. Read about craftspeople in North Carolina, Asheville, Seattle, Everett, Los Angeles, and all the other sweet places and let yourself be inspired. Besides turning to the wisdom and inspiration that we believe we provide, we recommend you to check out Visit The USA:s site a (visittheusa.com) and the websites and news­letters of the different states and destinations. There’s a lot of inspiration to be found there.

Shift to fifth, throw that wheel out the window, and Subscribe! Jonas Larsson, Top Monkey.

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AMERICAN TRAILS MAGAZINE #16

Washington

CHECK OUT OUR SEATTLE CITY GUIDE ON PAGE 32 AND READ ABOUT HOW THE GAS PUMP WENT OUT ON OUR NEW PICKUP. THANKS TO THAT, WE MADE NEW FRIENDS IN EVERETT. PAGE 34.

MONTANA

NORTH DAKOTA NORTH DAKOTA

OREGON

IDAHO

SOUTH DAKOTA SOUTH DAKOTA WYOMING

NEBRASKA

RUBRIK RUBRIK RUBRIK

NEVADA

UTAH COLORADO COLORADO KANSAS

California

ARIZONA

WE VISITED THE COOLEST CAT IN SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO AND HUNG OUT WITH RENAISSANCE MAN AND SURF ARTIST BRIAN BENT ON PAGE 16.

NEW MEXICO

TEXAS TEXAS

Hawaii

OLAF HEINE'S PORTFOLIO FROM HAWAII IS A LONG SERIES OF MAGICAL AND UNEXPECTED IMAGES FROM THE ISLANDS. PAGE 96.

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AMERICAN TRAILS MAGAZINE #16

Minnesota

Kentucky

WE RE-BOOT IN MINNESOTA. HERE COMES AN AMERICAN ICON – THE RED WING MOC TOE. PAGE 32.

COME EAT BURGERS AND DRINK MILKSHAKES AT CRAIG'S DAIRY DREAM. PAGE 14.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

MAINE

VERMONT MASSASCHUSETTS MINNESOTA

WISCONSIN

NEW YORK RHODE ISLAND MICHIGAN

CONNECTICUT NEW JERSEY

PENNSYLVANIA

IOWA

NEW JERSEY

OHIO INDIANA ILLINOIS

DELAWARE MISSOURI

VIRGINIA

MARYLAND DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

NORTH CAROLINA

OKLAHOMA ARKANSAS

Rubrik

GEORGIA

VAD? | VAR, STAT/STAD

MISSISSIPPI

ALABAMA

MISSISSIPPI TEXT OCH FOTO: JONAS LARSSON

LOUISIANA

WEST VIRGINIA

North Carolina TURN TO PAGE 50 TO READ ABOUT

Första gången jag träffade Den Matt Pollitz så hade han sin Volvo-verkstad i en gammal THE LADIES OF THE EAST COAST WHOSE PASSION IS SURFING. WE'VE plåtlada nere vid fiskebåtarna en bit ner på Market Street i Ballard, Seattle.

Nu ligger ALSOpå LOOKED ATverkstad ARTISANS IN THE nybyggda National Nordic Museum där, då lekte Matt med tanken att hans kunde BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS. PAGE 52 bli en interigerad del av museet. Det hade varit otorligt cool, men nu blev det inte så.

Därför blev jag glad när jag såg att han omlokaliserat till en annan del av Ballard. En verkstad för gamla volvobilar ska självklart ligga i den genomnordiska stadsdelen, ingen annanstans. En intressant sak är att bilarna är relativt rostfria här, visserligen är det fuktigt i Pacific North West FLORIDA men det snöar sällan i Seattle och man använder inte vägsalt, så mossa är ett större problem än rost …

Förutom att renovera de gamla trotjänarna så har han börjat elkonvertera dem också. Det bästa WE GO TO A DIVE BAR IN CHARLESTON. av två världar, även om en B18 alltid kommer att vara en B18. THE RECOVERY ROOM OFFERS JUST

South Carolina

Tennessee

GATUADRESS | HEMSIDEADRESS IN MEMPHIS, WE FOUND THE SOUL SPIRIT. MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE LEGENDARY ROYAL STUDIOS AND SOUL WIZARD BOO MITCHELL. PAGE 82.

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AMERICAN TRAILS MAGAZINE #16

THAT – RECOVERY! PAGE 64.

FOTO: ANDERAS BERGERSEN

Content

3. A LITTLE SOMETHING TO START WITH?

64. TO DIVE FOR: THE RECOVERY ROOM | CHARLESTON | SOUTH CAROLINA

Number 16 is our surf number, and it has everything extra. Music, food, clubs, and a city guide—you won’t be disappointed.

Recovery? Sometimes you need it. The bar is nicely located off the highway, and this is where we want to hang out.

4. MAP WITHOUT A COMPASS

66. THE MAKERS IN THE MOUNTAINS | NORTH CAROLINA

We’ve stayed longer in fewer states, and we’re in Hawaii for the first time. Did I hear Aloha?

The lush Appalachian Mountains are home to potters and other artists. Join us in Asheville and Spruce Pine.

9. A TRIBE CALLED CONTRIBUTORS

Our freelancers have delivered once again.

Get to three of them here. Good people.

78. THE WORLD ACCORDING TO JAMES “HONEY” DEAN MOSS | THE AMERICAN | MEMPHIS

Love these pathologically social people, like “Honey.” The world would be deadly dull without them. Meet James Dean Moss, or “Honey,” as the ladies call him. He is an incomparable man.

12. OUR FAVORITE STORE

Hep Cat Store in small town Lund in the south of Sweden is our favorite store. Great clothes, stuff and you are offered a cup of java by the nice people working there. If you're real lucky J. Tex is playing a mini concert in the store.

82. ROYAL STUDIOS AND BOO MITCHELL | MEMPHIS

Meet music legend Boo Mitchell at the studio where his father, Willy Mitchell, created Memphis Soul with Al Green and other great soul legends. Boo has taken up the mantle nicely.

14. COW ON THE ROAD IN KENTUCKY

Craig’s Dairy Dream is the place where they serve cows as burgers and milkshakes. Don’t miss this classic if you’re in Western Kentucky.

96. PORTFOLIO | HAWAI’I

Olaf Heine’s book Hawai’i portrays the islands and their people in a completely different light than you are used to.

It is stunningly beautiful, a mix of documentary and fashion photography on 18 black-and-white pages.

16. BRIAN BENT | CALIFORNIA

Meet the style surfer and lifestyle artist who makes you look at your future with confidence.

32. AN AMERICAN ICON | RED WING MOC TOE

Some people wear broken shoes, but Stoffe wears the editor’s cool Red Wings. It’s all about the classic boot.

112. BETTER CALL SAUL, DAVE, AND MIKE | EVERETT

What do you do if your fuel pump is spraying gas on the motor and you have no clue which is the front or back of a screwdriver? Call Saul, Dave, and Scott, they’ll sort it out.

34. CITYGUIDE | SEATTLE

The Emerald City keeps us up at night, both when we’re there and when we’re not there but want to be.

120. CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR | LA CONNER

Cigar box guitars, homemade guitars and an owner with an incredible voice. That’s what we stumbled upon in small cosy town La Conner, north of Seattle.

52. THE LADIES ON THE BEACH | NORTH CAROLINA

Our East Coast reporter, Majsan, has met some ladies who both surf and grow mussels. Discover a secret coastal gem.

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AMERICAN TRAILS MAGAZINE #16

Rubrik

VAD? | VAR, STAT/STAD

Before Anyone Did Anything SKO UNO Did Everything

TEXT OCH FOTO: JONAS LARSSON

Första gången jag träffade Den Matt Pollitz så hade han sin Volvo-verkstad i en gammal plåtlada nere vid fiskebåtarna en bit ner på Market Street i Ballard, Seattle. Nu ligger nybyggda National Nordic Museum där, då lekte Matt med tanken på att hans verkstad kunde bli en interigerad del av museet. Det hade varit otorligt cool, men nu blev det inte så.

Därför blev jag glad när jag såg att han omlokaliserat till en annan del av Ballard. En verkstad Lee Jeans, LEE 101, Dr. Martens, Wrangler Jeans, för gamla volvobilar ska självklart ligga i den genomnordiska stadsdelen, ingen annanstans. En Levi’s Red Jofama, Solovair, Underground, intressant sak ärTab, att bilarna är relativt rostfriaBuffalo, här, visserligen är det fuktigt i Pacific North West Grinders.

Sendra, Playboy, New Rock, Rock n Blue, men det snöar sällan i Seattle och man använder inte vägsalt, så mossa är ett större problem än rost …

Everyday Hero, Edwin, Nudie and more...

Förutom att renovera de gamla trotjänarna så har han börjat elkonvertera dem också. Det bästa av två världar, även om en B18 alltid kommer att vara en B18.

GATUADRESS | HEMSIDEADRESS

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SINCE 1974

TRAILS MAGAZINE The Coolest AMERICAN And Nicest Stores In Stockholm! #16

Stockholm Sweden 34,Stockholm, Brogatan34, Gamla Gamla Brogatan

32, Stockholm Brogatan Gamla Gamla Brogatan 34, Stockholm, Sweden

Before Anyone Did Anything SKO UNO Did Everything

The Coolest And Nicest Stores In Stockholm!

SINCE 1974

Stockhol Sweden 34,Stockholm, Brogatan34, GamlaBrogatan Gamla

32, Stockholm Brogatan Gamla Gamla Brogatan 32, Stockholm, Sweden

FOTO: ANDERAS BERGERSEN

American Trails EXPLORE WITH US

MAGAZINE

American Trails Magazine is a quarterly publication and an online community, which focuses on people, places, and passions. We distribute the Swedish edition in Sweden, and the international edition in Europe and the USA.

EDITORIAL JONAS LARSSON EDITOR IN CHIEF AND PUBLISHER LARSSON@AMTRAILSMAG.COM FREDRIK LUNDGREN DIGITAL CONTENT DIRECTOR LUNDGREN@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

We do not accept responsibility for the loss of unsolicited materials. Permission is granted to quote and praise us as long as the source is identified. For permission to use any of our photos or stories, please contact the editors.

BO SANDLUND ART DIRECTOR INFO@AMTRAILSMAG.COM NATHALIE WOLF DESIGNER N.WOLF@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

ISSN 2002-7842

OFFICE

ANDERS BERGERSEN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER INFO@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

PAPER HEART PUBLISHING TUNSTAVÄGEN 18, S-793 40 INSJÖN, SWEDEN

FREDRIK LUNDGREN MUSIC EDITOR LUNDGREN@AMTRAILSMAG.COM CAJSA LANDIN TRANSLATOR INFO@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

C O LO P H O N PAPER COVER: MULTI OFFSET 300 G INLAY: MULTI OFFSET 120 G

PER WOLF CEO P.WOLF@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

FONTS TITLES: ACIER BAT, AW CONQUEROR DIDOT AND HEROE PRO BODY TEXT: ADOBE CASLON PRO 10/12 QUOTES: GOTHAM BOLD CAPTIONS: MUSEO SLAB 700

JOHAN LETH PROJECT MANAGER | EDITOR LETH@AMTRAILSMAG.COM

PRINT STIBO TRYCK

ADVERTISING AND SPONSORSHIPS JONAS LARSSON LARSSON@AMTRAILSMAG.COM TEL: +46 70 76 01 720

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A M E R I AMERICAN C A N T TRAILS R A I LMAGAZINE SM AG.COM #16

RUBRIK RUBRIK RUBRIK

Beer, booze & burgers www.garagebar.se

a tribe called

Contributors

Our team of amazing staff has done it again.

Great photographers and fast writers.

Where would we be without them?

ANDERS BERGERSEN

ANDERS BERGERSEN, OSLO, NORWAY

As our staff photographer, Anders has been around since the very beginning. Ever since, his superlative photography has appeared in every issue. Anders’s earnest interest in other people shines through in his work. He is also a guy who knows a lot about cars and bikes and how to fix a leaking fuel line (see page 113). Anders has done work for Mercedes, Elle, and other lifestyle magazines and advertising agencies in Scandinavia. @andersbergersenphotography

Rubrik

MAJSAN BOSTRÖM, WILMINGTON, NC, USA

Majsan is a writer and screenwriter who began her career as a crime reporter in the American South. She has been published in The New York Times, The Bangkok Post, Narratively, Omvärlden, Magazine Café and Tidningen Vi, and broadcast on NPR and Swedish Radio. In this issue, she has followed some surfers who have made the ocean their second home. @majstyle1 or majsanbostrom.com OLAF HEINE, TYSKLAND

Heine is known for his enigmatic and detailed portraits of musicians, actors, writers and athletes, as well as architectural and landscape photography. Olaf Heine also established himself as a director for award-winning music videos, short films and commercials. His aesthetic has shaped the visual language of countless bands, including Die Ärzte and Rammstein, as part of their many years of collaboration.olafheine.com

DON'T MISS OUT! FOLLOW US ON

SOCIAL MEDIA @AMERICAN_TRAILS_MAGAZINE

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AMERICAN TRAILS MAGAZINE #16

Our favorite store HEP CAT STORE | LUND | SWEDEN WORDS AND PHOTO BY JONAS LARSSON

Sometimes, you actually travel a day for a good cup of coffee. Well, maybe not.

However, it’s a day ride from our office to our favorite store in Lund, Sweden.

Rob and Erek (a true mid-western) always offer you a cup of java when you’re in the store. It was a special night/party this time, and as always, Hep Cat buddy J.Tex was there. His melancholic Americana songs filled the store. Love that guy. Since Hep Cat, Rob, and Erek are the best outfitters for die-hard Americana nerds, we loaded up on Filson, Stevenson Overalls jeans and way more than we could afford.

We left for the north 13 again, not rich, but good-looking as hell.

HEPCAT.SE AMERICAN | JTEX.DKTRAILS MAGAZINE #16

AMERICAN TRAILS MAGAZINE #16

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P E O PRLUEB, RPILKARCUEB S RAI K ND R UPBARSISKI O N S

Holy Cow

CRAIG´S DAIRY DREAM | GRAND RIVERS | KENTUCKY WORDS AND PHOTO BY JONAS LARSSON

Just before crossing into Land Between the Lakes (see no 15), you are due for a stop in Grand Rivers. Here you’ll find Craig’s Dairy Dream, rumored to serve up fantastic nofuss hamburgers, a banana split that would make any ape lose their mind, and next-level milkshakes. You get it; this place is the real deal. This burger joint probably wouldn’t make it unless the entire population of Grand Rivers – a whopping 382 individuals – ate here every day. They don’t, but tourists and other Kentuckians make up for it by coming a long way to taste the goods. Is it worth the detour? Absolutely. The burgers are made to order, and while they don’t look like much, they taste like perfection. The milkshake is good enough to throw even a good-natured Swede into a rage. The banana split will have to wait until next time, but rumor has it that it is worth the wait.

NO WEBSITE, FIND IT ON FACEBOOK | 1881 J H O’BRYAN AVE, GRAND RIVERS, KENTUCKY 15 AMERICAN TRAILS MAGAZINE #16

THE BEACH IS ONLY A SONG AWAY

BRIAN BENT MEET A RENAISSANCE MAN WITH A FLOW

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO | CALIFORNIA

Living outside the norm. Why is it so appealing to some, and why does it scare others so? Here at American Trails, we clearly love these people, and we latch on to them the second we find them. Brian Bent has long been on our list of people to see. So let go of your latte, and let’s roll.

I

WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON | PHOTOS BY ANDERS BERGERSEN

f you find yourself in a hot rod with one of California’s rollingest stones, hold on to your hat. Literally. I shove my trucker hat under my leg to save it and grab a hold of the low frame of the windshield. Brian lets one arm hang outside the car, I think to hold on, while the other has a solid grip on the original wheel of “The Roaring Ace Hot Rod”, as the rod is named.

Hot damn, this is so good, my whole body is soaking it in.

San Juan Capistrano is known for its cliff swallows.

But photographer Anders and I are there for a different species altogether, the artist and life acrobat Brian Bent.

I’ve come across Bent online, in other publications, and he always appealed to me with his life philosophies. Far from the expected, fearless and free of mind. Now, at last, I’ll have the chance to talk to him for a few hours. I can’t wait.

The GPS guides us to Brian’s house. Rolling down the street, it is immediately obvious where he and his wife Rivka live. Outside the house, sits “Black Jesus Godzilla”

(“The elegance of Jesus and the rumble of Godzilla”), a jet black Mercury Comet from the early 1960s, another Mercury, and a medium blue Ford Fairlane from the 50s.

A few homemade surfboards hang next to the cars, and two hot rods peak out from the open garage.

MEET THE BENTS

Rivka greets us. “Hi, welcome! Brian is just finishing a painting, you’ll find him in the studio.” Brian, surprisingly perhaps, exudes a mild calm, even though he is a working artist with plenty of projects going on. The studio isn’t big, but the light is fantastic. It is filled with items: a surfboard has been made a sideboard, full of brushes, paints, trinkets, and paintings. A sewing machine hides under a hat. Hats are some of Brian’s favorite pieces of clothing. He wears one in every picture I’ve seen of him.

“I’ve always loved caps and hats, I don’t know why. I’m always wearing different hats, in the water, while skating, always. Remember that video, ’I’ll stop the world and melt 16

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Brian wheels “The Roaring Ace” out of the garage.

B RRI A UN B RBI E K NRTU |B K RA I KL IRFUOBRRNI K IEN

Leather jackets and caps are favorite pieces.

I HAD JUST FINISHED A GIG AND WAS STILL HIGH OFF THE PERFORMANCE WHEN I RAN INTO HIM. HE’S PRACTICALLY GOT SMOKE COMING OFF HIM AND I JUST SAY, 'HEY MARK, DO YOU STILL WANT TO BUY THE JACKET?’ POOR GUY’S

with you’, Modern English? He wore a captain’s hat and a t-shirt, and I thought it was so cool. I listened so much to that song.”

His interest in fashion extends beyond the head. Suddenly, clothes are flying out of closet packed tighter than my own. He’s modified a lot himself, painted on, altered.

On one leather jacket, he’s written “Bent Duo” on the front, in white. It’s the name of the punkabilly duo he has with his daughter, Esther.

“Are they for you or do you make them for other people?”

“Both, but I have a hard time parting with my things. I went to Wheels and Waves, and Mark from Brough Motorcycles was there. He’d already bought a jacket but wanted another. The thing was, his motorcycle had just caught fire – with Mark on it. I had just finished a gig and was still high off the performance when I ran into him. He’s practically got smoke coming off him and I just say, ’Hey Mark, do you still want to buy the jacket?’ Poor guy’s coming out of a fire, but he just said, ’Oh yeah Brian, totally!’”

You have to love this man. His creativity shows up in so many different ways. There are paintings everywhere, the floor looks like a Jackson Pollock painting, a guitar case on the floor has clearly been painted on as well.

to visit. He’s no beast, but Rivka tells us that he once scared off a coyote in the backyard, looking to have him for dinner.

Well done, Ford. Suddenly, Brian sits down at the piano.

He plays and sings a song of his own creation. I shake my head, grinning. This man is a powerhouse. A powerhouse of many talents.

THE SKATER LIFE

Skater culture has been a big part of Brian’s life. His mentor, Uncle Rocky, got him a job at Becker Surf and Sport around Christmas 1985 (and another 20 years). He was building skateboards but soon got a carte blanche in ­designing the shop’s interiors. Brian’s designs were art, and management liked what they saw.

“One day, a woman from Dirt Gallery in North Holly­ wood came to the Becker store in Malibu. She asked who’d done the interiors and the art. I told her it was me.

She wanted to put my art in the gallery. She knew we liked cars and architecture, so my first show, in 1999, was called Architectour. Architecture and muscle cars. Since then, I have painted and exhibited my art. Today I’m a full-time artist, which is always a gamble. Sometimes I sell well, sometimes I don’t, but it’s always good. I put people before profits, and in that way, I always come out winning,” Brian says.

“My biggest source of income is my art, but I also want to be an ambassador for skateboarding and surfing. I grew up with art; my biological father and uncle were artists.

My grandfather was Hungarian and could build things out of nothing. I’ve learned how to work with my hands, using them to create art. My other grandfather and uncle were car lovers, real characters. My uncle Rocky was a professional surfer, those two were always my role models.

I grew up with creative people around me,” he continues.

“To me, your approach to things is very punk, very DIY.” “I never listened when people tried telling me how

FORD NOT CHEVY, THE WATCH DOG

I’m already overwhelmed, as it dawns on me that I somehow have to put this experience into words. It’s hot; Rivka offers us ice water, and we get a tour of the house. “Ford Not Chevy”, a cute little corgi mix, barks at us through the screen door that leads to the backyard and the pool.

The living room, like the rest of the house, manages to be a mid-century model without feeling like a museum.

Naturally decorated with surf and skateboard details as well as Brian’s paintings.

It’s time to greet Ford Not Chevy. The screen door is opened, in he zooms like a rocket, eager to see who’s come 19

AMERICAN TRAILS MAGAZINE #16

BRIAN BENT | CALIFORNIA

COMING OUT OF A FIRE, BUT HE JUST SAID, ‘OH YEAH BRIAN, TOTALLY!’

BR RIUABNR IBKE N RT U B| RCI A K LRI F UO BRN I KI A

Faux fur on, matching cap and up with the surfboard on the roof.

The beach is an Elvis song away.

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BRIAN BENT | CALIFORNIA

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UNCLE ROCKY, THE SURFER, HE WAS MY ROLE MODEL. I PRETENDED TO SURF ON MY SKATEBOARD. SO ONCE I ACTUALLY STARTED SURFING IT FELT TOTALLY NATURAL. HE WAS A MENTOR TO ME. I GOT THE SAME HAIRCUT, THE SAME SHOES AS HE DID. WHEN HE DREW WAVES,

BRIAN BENT | CALIFORNIA

I DREW WAVES, WHEN HE PAINTED ON HIS WALLS, I DID, TOO.”

to do things. My art teacher let me work independently.

I always modified my creations to hide the fact that they weren’t perfect,” he laughs. “I can’t make you a leather jacket, but I can modify an existing leather jacket, paint it, trash it! It’s deconstruction, in a way.”

“Has anyone ever told you to cut your hair and get a job?”

“In the eighties, kind of, but I worked at surf shops and did alright. But there was a period after my son passed away, and I was unemployed. I was still building hot rods, and we had just revamped a car for Upper Cut Deluxe, a haircare brand, and I prayed to find direction in life.

That’s when I remembered my collection of 1960s surf magazines. I started making paintings of them, kind of like Andy Warhol and his soup cans. Suddenly everyone wanted them. After that, I painted jazz album covers from the 50s, which were a hit, too. Now, Rivka doesn’t have to work anymore. That was always my goal. I have more time with her and with my daughter now.”

One time when I was in high school, my grandma said I should listen to the music of her youth. So I got stuck on the 40s. I’d surf my longboard, listening to Tangerine

by Jimmy Dorsey in my head. But Dick Dale, the king of surf rock, was my biggest musical inspiration.

For a while, I hung out with ’The Kahuna of Malibu’, Terry ’Tubesteak’ Tracy. A true character in surfing. He taught me how to ambulate, or move, on my longboard.

All these characters, these styles. Punk, rockabilly… but surf music was really my thing. I’d flip through my u ­ ncle’s records, finding all kinds of interesting bands, like the Harmonocats, the Safaris, Martin Denny (bands well worth checking out! – Editor’s note). I literally brought the music with me in my head while I was surfing or working on a project. At that time, music wise, I was in the 50s and early 60s. The years just before I was born.

That was my jam.

Uncle Rocky, the surfer, he was my role model. I pretended to surf on my skateboard. So once I actually started surfing it felt totally natural. He was a mentor to me. I got the same haircut, the same shoes as he did. When he drew waves, I drew waves, when he painted on his walls, I did, too.”

STYLE SURFER

“Looking at pictures and reading about you, it seems like you are inspired by different eras, seemingly anything from the 30s to the 70s?”

“Yeah, that’s true. I think that’s why I’m so fascinated by Bowie. He was constantly changing, adopting new personas. And he really stepped into those roles.” He shows us a painting he’s done featuring David Bowie.

“I lost my uncle to Covid two years ago. That was my second uncle. Uncle Rocky, the professional surfer, was ten years older than me, but this one was 20 years older.

He loved muscle cars. Anytime I had a mechanical issue I called him for help. In the 70s, he and my stepfather Bent were best friends. Now I’m totally into the 70s again. I love it, it was such an easy time. Sure, there were problems going on, but everyone had a good time. I’m stuck in that era right now. Earlier it was all 60s. I surf through the decades.

THE MUSIC ROOM

At this point, Anders disappears with his camera; Rivka goes to her office in the backyard. Brian and I sit in the music room, our conversation rolling like Pacific Ocean waves. We talk about jazz (Another of Brian’s favorites), faith, and the advantages of certain floor treatments. Highbrow, lowbrow. I’m fascinated by how secure he is in his faith. I’ve always been a doubter, envying people with a strong faith. The security, the comfort. We lose track of time. Brian is an excellent storyteller, and the space is so pleasant. I can’t put my finger on it, but the Bent’s home isn’t just lovely, there’s a calm here, punctuated only by Ford’s intermittent yapping.

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The music room is a blissful mix of vintage stereo gadgets and Brian’s paintings.

In the studio, a newly painted portrait of David Bowie, who is a source of inspiration.

Rivka and Ford not Chevy relax at the pool.

Apparel is one of many interests.

They also work well as canvases.

BRIAN BENT | CALIFORNIA

Everything is art and flow for Brian, especially surfing.

“Everything is spiritual to me. I’m always open to it. It’s comforting to have faith, it’s the only hope, I have no other.

I don’t want to drink or do drugs. I appreciate philosophy, but it’s not my thing.”

“You don’t drink or do drugs?”

“No, no. It would never work out. I used to drink but couldn’t keep doing it. I tried, but I was a terrible drunk. I’d get chatty, but it was too much. One night, I was so drunk I had to get dropped off at the doorstep of my now wife, and she asked what was going on. Then I met one of the coolest and best surfers of Huntington Beach; he asked if I wanted to come to church with him. That’s when I saw the light. Matthew 2:5 changed my life. Ironically, Matthew 2:5 is the only verse highlighted in my grandfather’s Bible.

My wife and I have been together since 1988. We’ve had this house for just over 20 years. I used to preach in a church called ’The Hot Rod Church for Sinners’ a non denominational Church that was in my friends pizza and Bar Santoras Hot wings in Mission Viejo, it’s still there. We held concerts/services at a there and we’d play

­ hristian rockabilly at car shows and things like that. We C had the church from 2000–2013, and would have picnics by the pool.”

“But you don’t anymore?”

“No, not since my son died in 2013. One morning in 2013, the bass player and I were the first ones there at the pizza place. But this Sunday morning, Eddie started playing the bass and suddenly his E string broke. In that moment I knew. It’s over, I’m not meant to do this anymore. A week later, my son died. He was so sick; he’d lost a lot of weight. He was a Marine, fought in Afghanistan. His brain tumor caused facial paralysis so he couldn’t even blink. He was 22 years old, very sick. In any case, we lost him a week later. God knew he was sick. Everything changed.

I can mourn my son when I feel really happy, but I’m not dealing with the issues. Grief brings issues, and I know that’s not from God. Grief wants to crush you, tells you it’s your fault. My family, 75-80% of them are in heaven now, but one day I will see them again. I have my wife, my 26

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Elvis, The Sun Sessions, is running hot in the Fairlane.

daughter, my uncle, and loads of friends. It’s wonderful to have people so close. To grab a coffee, share stories. My wife, daughter, and I are tight, super tight.

I don’t want to know what I would’ve done without my faith. I didn’t grow up in a religious family, but I am very glad I became a believer. I don’t dare to think about what would have happened otherwise, considering my personality, you know.

My biological father considered himself a Viking. He worked on choppers. He rode his bike through Arizona with his blond hair and green eyes, was an artist. I didn’t grow up with him and only met him for the first time 20 years ago.

Crazy. My grandfather and his wife met at a Gypsy dance in Budapest. I’m a mix of everything!” Brian laughs.

“Would you be who you are if you hadn’t grown up with these people?”

“No, absolutely not. My parents were young. My mother had me when she was 17, and my stepfather was three years younger, so he was only 14 years older than me.

When I was 7, he was in his early 20s.”

MILK AND MAYONNAISE

The long, frank conversation with Brian in the music room is a tonic. Profound human thoughts are mixed with things I recognize in myself. Doubt, frustration, fear, and hope.

In my case without a belief in God, but with a faith in all things being equal and that things will work out in the end.

We emerge from our deep thinking and start talking about our mutual love of milk. “I love milk and mayo. I could live on grilled cheese sandwiches with mayonnaise.

Even the Bible mentions milk: the land of milk and honey!”

“What does the sea mean to you?”

“The sea is flow, I love feeling the flow. Hot rodding and old cars are the same as surfing. You don’t need waves, you can find flow without it, or on a bike. There’s a flow to everything, it moves through us, just in different ways.

Painting is flow to me.”

Brian builds his own wooden surfboards, so called kookboxes. “I also surf Chris Ruddy’s boards, but I have to remember to let my body rest these days. I surfed for over two weeks in Hawaii, then went straight to m ­ odeling for 27

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BRIAN BENT | CALIFORNIA

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The Californian sun finally sets and it's time for dinner.

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IT’S STARTING TO REALLY GET COLD. THE DAY’S HEAT HAS ABANDONED US, SEEPING INTO PEBBLE AND PAVEMENT. WE JUMP BACK INTO THE CAR AND RETURN TO THE HOUSE. RIVKA HAS MADE DINNER. “I WAS JUST ABOUT TO EAT BY MYSELF,”

BRIAN BENT | CALIFORNIA

SHE SAYS. “A WOMAN KNOWS NOT TO WAIT FOR A SURFER.”

Buck Mason in Venice Beach and then we played Pappy and Harriet in Joshua Tree. The next day, Jesus. My legs said, ’Okay buddy, you have to take it easy for a while now,’ but it’s very hard for me to take it easy. I’m still recovering.

When the sun goes down, I rest. I go surfing pretty much every day and always take my skateboard down to the coffee shop. But I surf maybe an hour at a time now, I have to stick to a schedule. My normal flow is that I get up, surf for an hour, have a coffee, eat lunch, and then I paint.”

The interview that was supposed to last a few hours has long since run into overtime. We need to head to the beach if we want to get any shots.

“How far is the beach?”

“A song, it’s a song away. One song on the freeway.”

Twenty or so surfers are hanging out on the lineup, a group of pelicans sweeping in a couple of feet up in the air.

Brian greets a few people, runs into the water. The waves aren’t very big, and as a surf novice, I don’t understand how anyone can surf them, but it’s clearly not an issue for those who know what they’re doing.

Brian paddles a good way out, while we walk out onto the pier. He catches a wave and races across the water.

His style is entirely his own. It’s not just that he’s the only surfer wearing a hat, it’s in his elegant stride, and just when I think it’s over, he walks up a few steps on his longboard and gathers new speed. The muffled sound of angry yelling slowly makes its way into my conscious, and I realize it’s a lifeguard yelling at us for standing on the pier. The yelling gets louder but I’m filming and not about to move until Brian is done. I throw my hands out and shrug exaggeratedly, trying to look both confused and apologetic. The lifeguard shakes his head.

THE GENTLEMAN SURFER

Brian’s Ford Fairlane – with the word “FORD” painted on the side – starts up eagerly. I ask about the image of a cat and the words “The Cat’s Meow” which are painted on the side. Brian explains that it’s an old expression that means something is cool, beautiful, so on. “I wrote that on an old fake fur coat, by the way.” He disappears into one of the closets and emerges with a mid-calf length fur coat, with the same words written on the back. “I think I’ll wear this one, the beach can get chilly,” he says and finds a matching cap. That’s style.

The surfboard, a board inspired by the 1950:s Malibu Chip boards that guys rode out at Malibu Beach in early 1950s to almost 1960, is expertly tossed on the car roof.

Brian wraps himself in his coat and hat and looks awesome.

The engine rumbles in that smooth way only an old V8 can do. Elvis is on the 8-track, and we’re off to the ocean.

Elvis is just wrapping up Brian’s favorite song, “Trying to get to you”, as we swerve into the parking lot at Doheny Beach.

A WOMAN KNOWS NOT TO WAIT FOR A SURFER

It’s starting to really get cold. The day’s heat has abandoned us, seeping into pebble and pavement. We jump back into the car and return to the house. Rivka has made dinner. “I was just about to eat by myself,” she says. “A woman knows not to wait for a surfer.”

Dinner hits the spot. Rivka has grilled meats and ­veggies, it tastes fantastic. We realize we haven’t eaten since breakfast. Brian and Rivka tell us they’re in the middle of writing a book about living a retro life. His freewheeling ways are contagious, maybe I should dig up my old skateboard again, paint an old leather jacket and embrace unconventional ideas more? My inner 60-yearold is hesitant, but the jukebox in my brain is playing the Ramones’ “Here today, gone tomorrow”. I don’t know just what to make of it.

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And of course the guy can play the piano too.

AMERICAN ICONS

A grand tale

made to Last RED WING, THE MOC TOE It's part of the Americana uniform, bikers love it, and it's a staple of workwear among blue-collar workers. We give a shout out to an American icon – a Red Wings classic – The Moc toe.

I

WORDS AND PHOTO BY JONAS LARSSON

n 1905, Charles H. Beckman started his shoe factory in the town of Red Wing, Minnesota, with the help of 14 local financiers. The idea was to make solid work boots for farmers, workers, miners, and others who needed a durable boot to get through heavy wear and wet conditions.

The name of the town of Red Wing – and subsequently the shoe factory – originally came from Chief Red Wing of the Mdewakanton tribe, of the Dakota people. The Chief had many names, including Tatankamani (the Walking Buffalo) and Sakiya (He Who Paints Himself Red). The name Red Wing comes from the tradition of dyeing one swan feather red as a sign of honor and of being a chief and a warlord.

When World War One broke out in 1914, the company started manufacturing their 1088 trench boot for the army, a robust boot that kept water and cold at bay down in the trenches. The boot became so popular that they continued producing it after the war. World War Two also saw them produce boots for the army.

In 1952, the company launched their first Moc Toe, under the name 877 8-inch Classic Moc Toe. The design was inspired by moccasins, hence the name, but it is also

known as the Irish Setter owing to its color being identical to the legendary hunting dog breed’s coat. The boot was developed specifically for hunters, with a shaft that not only supported the foot but also protected against snake bites. The characteristic white sole, Traction Tred, was designed to evade dirt and mud. This was appreciated not just by hunters but also by farmers and others with tough jobs. There was also a later, lower 6-inch variety.

Today there are approximately 20 variations of the model.

FROM WORK BOOT TO FASHION ICON

In the 70s, the boot took one giant leap out of the wilderness and into town. It was popular with the youth, with actors, and musicians. One of the most iconic wearers is Jack Nicholson’s character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, R.P. McMurphy. In his Levi’s 501s, beanie, and a pair of solid Red Wing Moc Toes on his feet, he tried to crush the system from within. To moderate success, we might say, but damn, he looked good trying.

2008 saw the launch of Red Wing Heritage, a new department in the Minnesota factory. Here, old models are made new while drawing on inspiration from the company’s rich history. Today, they are a key accessory for Americana lovers all over the world.

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Stoffe can wear most things, but he looks best in the editor's Red Wings.

FOTO: ANDERS BERGERSEN

RUBRIK RUBRIK RUBRIK

Aurora Bridge and part of the large houseboat colony on Lake Union.

CITY GUIDE

SEATTLE WASHINGTON

The Emerald City is truly a gem. Seattle is the city that you will fall in love with and return to, time and again. The smell of the sea, the delicious food, the relaxed lifestyle, and the parks will leave you wanting more.

WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON | PHOTOS BY JONAS LARSSON AND ANDERS BERGERSEN

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Easy Street Records and Café

Food and records, is that a thing? It sure is. One of the city’s best record stores is in West Seattle – a record you can’t find here isn’t worth listening to.

But you can also come here for just a bit of obligatory record-flipping before moving on to a beer or a coffee at the bar. Maybe even lunch? Good stuff.

EASYSTREETONLINE.COM

SEATTLE | CITY GUIDE

MoPOP, the Museum of Pop Culture, is right next to the Space Needle, and something fun is always going down here. The museum was designed by the architect Frank Gehry, and the architecture itself is worth the visit.

S

eattle’s so rainy. That’s the most common response when I talk about one of my absolute favorite cities in America. But the truth is that it doesn’t even hit the top five spots of wettest places in the US. (The fives most rainy places in the continental US are: New Orleans, LA, Birmingham, AL, Miami, FL, Nashville, TN, and New York City, NY.) The city’s rainy reputation is due to its winters, which, granted, can be pretty gray and rainy.

Summer is long and typically warm, with easy access to several beaches near the city. I still think Seattle is a year-round destination. Spring, summer, and fall are perfect for the outdoor activities available all around the

city. The Cascades mountain range is full of hiking trails, fishing lakes, and impressive views. The Olympia Peninsula, which protects Seattle from the storms of the Pacific Ocean, is an outdoor lover’s paradise, full of hiking, road trips, fishing, and much more.

Here, you’ll also find three classic 1930s-era lodges.

You know, the kind you’d see in Donald Duck or a Ralph Lauren commercial. The long coastline offers cool dips in the ocean, boating, kayaking, whale safari, and fishing.

Meanwhile, you can spend winter enjoying the arts, music of all kinds, and visiting Seattle’s numerous, topnotch bars and restaurants. There truly is something for everyone here. In this guide, you’ll find my personal ­favorites, but of course there is much more to discover.

Are you ready? Let’s go.

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The Space Needle, this icon of Seattle, was built for the 1962 World’s Fair. The view from the top pairs well with a cocktail from the bar.

It doesn’t get more midcentury than that.

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Pike Place Market consists of several floors on the slope down to the waterfront. On the first floor you have the food stalls. Don't miss the fishmonger at the entrance who puts on a show every time someone buys fish from them. Here you will also find most of the restaurants. The lower floors are full of small shops. There are boutiques selling vinyl records, old magazines, movie posters and other fun stuff. But there are also some really good lunch spots here. Outside and in Post Alley, there are also plenty of small shops and eateries. There's always something going on at the market.

RSUEB ARTITKL R E U| BCRI ITKY RGUUBI R D IEK

85 PIKE STREET | PIKEPLACEMARKET.ORG

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FOTO: ANDERS BERGERSEN

Pike Place Market

Palihotel

The Edgewater Hotel

Pali is a favorite stay when we visit Seattle. Walking distance to Downtown, Pike Place Market, and the Waterfront.

Central, affordable, great staff, and a good bar. The interior gives off Roaring 20s vibes, while maintaining a homey feel. The large hotel lounge is super nice. Digest your day’s adventures here with a cold beer. The rooms are solid and the beds comfortable. We’ll call it, “retro modern”. $$$

The Edgewater stands on stilts in the water and is the only hotel on the Waterfront, as the neighborhood of the old docks is called. A few of the rooms have their own fireplace.

This is where the Beatles fished from their balcony during their 1964 stay. Originally build for the World’s Fair in 1962, the hotel has hosted many touring musicians, such as Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, and more. They even let you borrow a guitar if you want to be a rockstar for a day. $$$$

107 PINE STREET SEATTLE | PALISOCIETY.COM/HOTELS/SEATTLE

2411 ALASKAN WAY | 2120 4TH AVENUE | HILTON.COM

Sleeping in Seattle THERE ARE LOTS OF PLACES TO STAY WHEN YOU COME TO TOWN. SEVERAL NEW BOUTIQUE HOTELS HAVE POPPED UP, BOTH DOWNTOWN AND IN THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOODS. THERE ARE HOTEL CHAINS, AIRBNBS, AND PRIVATE RENTERS. THIS GUIDE FOCUSES ON HOTELS WITH UNIQUE STYLE AND THAT WE PERSONALLY LIKE.

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Bimbos Cantina & cha cha lounge

The first burrito was rolled at Bimbo’s Cantina as early as 1995. After moving to East Pike Street, they added the Cha Cha Lounge in the basement. Two sweet spots where you can eat, drink, and laugh from noon to late at night. The theme throughout is Mexican wrestling, it doesn’t get much better. Or maybe it does? This is the epicenter of Seattle’s nightlife, so when you’re ready to move on, you never have far to go.

RSUEB ARTITKL R E U| BCRI ITKY RGUUBI R D IEK

85 PIKE STREET | BIMBOSCANTINA.COM

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SEATTLE | CITY GUIDE

FOTO: ANDERS BERGERSEN

Things are Hill there's On Capitol happening on always something Capitol Hill. going on.

It is important Better hold on to have good selfyour wallet at the control when you Filson flagship store. visit Filson's flagship Otherwise you may store.

Otherwise, just walk out broke – there's a good chance but looking good and that you'll come out feeling even better. broke but happy and stylish.

Not just beautiful but delicious, too.

The Bell Town café Dahlia is a Downtown favorite.

Four favorites in

Seattle Capitol Hill

Jimi Hendrix lived here, so we’re off to a good start.

Capitol Hill is known for its many bars, thriving queer community, and creative atmosphere, especially in the Pike/Pine Corridor. Restaurants and bars line Pike and Pine Streets, with something for everyone regardless of age or interest. Don’t miss the legendary bookstore, Elliott Bay Book Company, at 1521 10th Ave (elliottbaybook.com). A drink or a bite to eat at Oddfellows Café + Bar further up the street is the perfect way to celebrate your newly purchased book.

VISITSEATTLE.ORG/NEIGHBORHOODS/CAPITOL-HILL

Donut and coffee

In Bell Town, not far from the excellent Sound Hotel, is Dahlia. Their focus is donuts, but they have all sorts of delicious foods, like sandwiches, pies, soups, salads, and more. Stop for a coffee, lunch, or dinner.

2001 4TH AVE | DAHLIABAKERY.COM

Filson flagship store

Filson opened in Seattle in the 19th century, outfitting gold diggers, fishermen, and woodsmen with proper work wear. Today, they still offer durable and reliable – but above all, good-looking – clothes. Think: fashionable lumberjack style. The store alone is worth a visit. If you’re lucky, you’ll find American Trails in their lounge.

They also have a store in the hip Ballard neighborhood: 5101 Ballard Ave. 1741 1ST AVE SOUTH | FILSON.COM

Emerald city Guitars

Guitar heaven.

Emerald City Guitars doesn’t get its fingers stuck in the strings.

One of North America’s best vintage guitar shops, which also sells other cool music items, is found near Pioneer Square in Downtown. You simply have to visit it, whether you’re looking to buy anything or not. The atmosphere, the staff, and the fantastic guitars will all make you want to start taking lessons immediately. Then you just have to come up with 50 thousand dollars and that red 1965 Fender Stratocaster that you can’t live without can be yours.

83 S WASHINGTON ST | EMERALDCITYGUITARS.COM

RSUEB ARTITKL R E U| BCRI ITKY RGUUBI R D IEK

Photo op, Kerry Park

This small park is named after the lumberman Albert S. Kerry and his wife Katherine, who donated the land in 1927. They wanted the general public to be able to enjoy the spectacular view, and it is without a doubt the most iconic view over Seattle, Elliot Bay, and – if you’re in luck – Mount Rainier in the background. While you’re here, explore the Queen Anne neighborhood. Other lovely parks include: Green Lake, Discovery Park, Volunteer Park, and Golden Gardens park.

W HIGHLAND DR. | VISITSEATTLE.ORG

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Itinerary for a chill day in Downtown Seattle ARE YOU THE TYPE WHO LIKES TO EXPLORE BUT DOESN’T WANT TO FLIT AROUND TOWN? DON’T WORRY, WE’VE GOT YOU. HERE ARE OUR BEST TIPS FOR A PERFECT DAY IN SEATTLE’S DOWNTOWN. CHERRY-PICK YOUR FAVES OR DO IT ALL.

SEATTLE | CITY GUIDE

START THE DAY WITH A COFFEE AT VICTROLA COFFEE ROASTERS, 108 PINE ST. THEN EXPLORE PIKE PLACE MARKET, WITH AN EARLY LUNCH AT ONE OF THE MANY RESTAURANTS, GIVING YOU TIME TO CATCH ARGOSY CRUISE’S “LOCK CRUISE” AT 12:30. THIS WONDERFUL TRIP TAKES YOU THROUGH THE LOCKS UP TO LAKE UNION, WITH A CLOSE-UP VIEW OF BALLARD FISHING BOATS AND A GOOD OVERVIEW OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS. NOW WE’VE REACHED COCKTAIL HOUR. IF THE WEATHER IS NICE, MAXIMILIEN IN PIKE PLACE HAS THE TERRACE FOR YOU; OTHERWISE THE ATHENIAN OFFERS A GOOD ALTERNATIVE FOR A DRINK. BEFORE DINNER, SWING BY SAM, SEATTLE ART MUSEUM, WHERE THERE’S ALWAYS SOMETHING INTERESTING TO SEE. IF YOU’RE FEELING FISHY, YOU’LL OBVIOUSLY VISIT THE SEATTLE AQUARIUM ON THE WATERFRONT INSTEAD. END THE DAY AT THE PLEASANT BISTRO VON’S 1000 SPIRITS, WHO SERVE EXCELLENT FOOD TO GO ALONG WITH THEIR THOUSANDS OF SPIRITS. IF YOU’RE SMART, WHICH WE THINK YOU ARE, YOU’LL CHECK OUT CITY PASS, WHICH SAVES YOU MONEY ON ADMISSION TO INTERESTING ATTRACTIONS LIKE THE SPACE NEEDLE. VICTROLACOFFEE.COM | ARGOSYCRUISES.COM | MAXIMILIENRESTAURANT.COM ATHENIANSEATTLE.COM | SEATTLEARTMUSEUM.ORG | SEATTLEAQUARIUM.ORG VONS1000SPIRITS.COM | CITYPASS.COM/SEATTLE MORE INFO: VISITSEATTLE.ORG

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Argosy Cruises are a fun and different way to discover the city. City Pass highly recommended.

The Waterfront is fun for all ages. Here you’ll find shops and restaurants, accompanied by a beautiful harbor view.

The sea otters at the Seattle Aquarium are everyone’s favorites.

The aquarium is a delight to visit.

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RSUEB ARTITKL R E U| BCRI ITKY RGUUBI R D IEK

Seaview avenue | Ballard

This street runs along the Shilshole Bay Marina in Ballard and contains many great spots. The view from Golden Gardens Park and the beach is stunning. At dusk, when the sun sets behind the rugged mountains on the Olympiac Peninsula, this is the place to be.

However, during the day, you can enjoy the beach, have ice cream at Little Coney, or eat a fantastic sandwich at Un Bien. You can also do some car spotting in the parking lot. If you're lucky, you get to see a beauty like this.

SEAVIEW AVENUE | VISITSEATTLE.ORG

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SEATTLE | CITY GUIDE

The world’s 6th best bar

Canon houses over 4,000 different spirits, 57 of which are absinthes.

You can’t get through the list in one night, but this pleasant bar gives you many reasons to come back time and again. The food is excellent, really good. Intermezzos with local flavors. But, I hear you say, isn’t this a cocktail bar? Absolutely, with cocktail creations both delicious and creative. How about the Transylvania 5-6000, served in a blood bag, or the Lawn Boy pictured here, served in a tiny bathtub? If you lean more conservative, the Captain’s List is for you.

928 12TH AVE | CANONSEATTLE.COM

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Didn’t get enough? For more Seattle tips, go to americantrailsmag.com or scan the QR code.

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RUBRIK RUBRIK RUBRIK

Kim Watters, Paula Bushardt, Jo Pickett, Cissie Brooks and Becca Beitel on Masonboro Island.

The waves and the shells WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH | NORTH CAROLINA

The East Coast is not California nor Hawaii, however. the North Carolina coast is a great place for water sports, relaxed living and, of course, seafood. Wrightsville Beach has been a surfing spot since the early 1900s. The coast is also famous for its oysters and clams, a staple of the North Carolina diet for hundreds of years.

WORDS BY MAJSAN BOSTRÖM | PHOTOS BY RENEE SAUER

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THE WAVES AND THE SHELLS | NORTH CAROLINA

I

t’s an early July morning when two boats anchor off Masonboro, an uninhabited barrier island just south of Wrightsville Beach. The water is turquoise water, the sand is white and the sky the kind of blue that is its very definition. We are meeting five surfer chicks in their 60s to talk about their sport, and hopefully get to see them do some shredding.

Cissi and Becca arrive first and then help Kim and Paula secure their boat. They have to make sure they don’t get hung up on the sand during the low tide. “Where’s Jo?” Just then, we see a small character approaching. On a shortboard. She’s paddling across the Masonboro Inlet, which is 130 yards wide. Not a far paddle, but where the ocean meets the channels the water sometimes resembles a boiling tea kettle, and boat traffic can be like a highway.

On good surf days, this is a task usually performed by boatless guys in their twenties.

Jo is 67.

“She surfed 25-foot-waves, and not long ago,” Becca says. “Jo is a true badass, she goes all over the world.”

Jo’s favorite wave, 2-3 football fields long and about 20 feet tall, is in El Salvador. She also teaches surfing anywhere her clients desire to go.

“But this is a great place to learn,” she says of Wrightsville Beach and Masonboro, where the waves usually are 3-5 feet.

“And the water is warm,” Paula adds. It’s 83F. And when the hurricane season starts, storm systems can produce waves big enough to draw elite surfers from around the world.

OLD JOY

Weighed down with boards and coolers, we walk down the narrow path that cuts through the dunes full of sea oates and cactus, from the soundside to the ocean. They have walked this path for more than 50 years, and some of them have surfed together (and competed against each other) since they were 14.

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Masonboro Island, where Kim, Paula, Jo, Cissie and Becca have been surfing for more than 50 years.

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”RONNY?” “OH, GAWD.” “I DID RONNY TOO.” “EVERYBODY DID RONNY.” “YOU WOULD HAVE DONE RONNY TOO, MAJSAN, HE WAS A HOT LI’L THING.”

THE WAVES AND THE SHELLS | NORTH CAROLINA

“BACK THEN.” “UH-OH.” “HE DID NOT AGE WELL.”

Tales of swapping boards and boyfriends draw laughs.

“Ronny?”

“Oh, gawd.”

“I did Ronny too.”

“Everybody did Ronny.”

“You would have done Ronny too, Majsan, he was a hot li’l thing.”

“Back then.”

“Uh-oh.”

“He did not age well.”

They plop down drybags and coolers and colorful boards on the white sand. I can’t take my eyes of the 7-foot Allison board with pineapple print. They call it the Healing Board.

It’s gorgeous and was shaped for Kim, 40 years ago, and all of them have used it during injuries or difficult times.

These days Paula and Becca mostly SUP-surf because of knee and hip issues.

“Yeah, that’s the sucky thing,” Paula says. “At some point you’ll lose your pop up.”

But today they’re regular surfboards. In hopes of all dropping in on the same wave. For us.

They head into the water, with experienced and elegant moves, leashes trailing behind. Just watching them sitting out there in the line-up, you can tell how connected they are, even if you can’t hear a thing, their words absorbed by the woosh.

Legends in their own right, they have won many competitions and trophies. Jo is a US shortboard champion and Kim was once fifth best on the east coast on longboard.

They’ve competed against each other and some of them helped start a major all women surfing contest called Wahine Classic.

“There was one girl who killed herself and we thought that if we would have been a more close-knit group, we could have stopped her,” Paula says. “We started the Wahine Classic to support each other and foster good relations for the women in the sport.”

NEVER TOO LATE

The energy is amazing, they are youthful, earnest and funny as shit. I, who am 55, feel like a teenager, maybe 14, and just got the chance to hang out with the 17-year-olds. I want to wellcro myself to these women and become that annoying little sister who shows up everywhere the fun is.

“You should go out with us some time,” Paula says and nod toward the water.

I throw out some fear and age-related excuses.

Cissi glances at me sideways: “I didn’t start until I was 46.” “I actually did my best surfing in my 40s and 50s,” Jo says.

At 64 Becca is the youngest. She grew up surfing and was a sponsored skateboarder. One time in 9th grade she skipped school to go surfing and got her front teeth knocked out.

“I was in serious trouble,” she says. “My mother was going to teach me a lesson and make me pay for the dentist myself.”

Turned out they were testing some new treatment that only cost $10 per tooth.

“So I did not learn the lesson.”

I DID RONNY TOO!

Unfortunately, the surf is crap this morning, but that gives more time for catching up. Jo and Cissi were college roommates. Paula’s and Kim’s husbands are surfer buddies. And everyone helps on Kim’s clam farm from time to time.

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Cissi Brooks catches a wave at sunrise on Figure 8 Island.

Jo Pickett is a surfing coach and runs a Wahine competition every year.

THE WAVES AND THE SHELLS | NORTH CAROLINA

Cape Lookout Lighthouse has guided mariners and watched over the uninhabited islands for hundreds of years.

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Kim Watters and Yours Truly prepare mussels for cleaning.

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Thomas Cannon, the owner of Soundside Oyster Company

North Carolina's coast is called the “Crystal Coast” for a reason.

WEIGHED DOWN WITH BOARDS AND COOLERS, WE WALK DOWN THE NARROW PATH THAT CUTS THROUGH THE DUNES FULL OF SEA OATES AND CACTUS, FROM THE SOUNDSIDE TO THE OCEAN. THEY HAVE WALKED THIS PATH FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, AND SOME OF THEM HAVE SURFED TOGETHER

Becca laughs, flashing off pearly teeth that look totally perfect.

The conversation transitions to injuries.

“Thirteen stitches. I was black and blue all the way down to my chin,” Paula says about a line above her left eye.

“From the fin. First time getting stitches after surfing since the 70’s.”

But it’s worth it.

“I need it, if I can’t be in it, at least I need to smell the salt,” Paula says. “Water is my life.”

“The ocean is everything,” Jo says.

“Yep,” Kim says. “Fun, friends, and food.”

They laugh.

The clam farm is roughly a half-acre bottom lease located right out from Kim’s house. Seeds are planted in the mud and protected by a mesh covering until they’re mature, about 2 years.

“They have to be an inch thick,” Kim instructs. “Or they’re too young to keep.”

“Clams are the third healthiest food, only after liver and oysters,” she adds.

It’s true. Bivalves, which in addition to clams include scallops, mussels and oysters, is one of the healthiest proteins on the planet.

KIM’S CLAM FARM

BASICALLY, WE SHOULD EAT OYSTERS EVERY DAY

Fast Forward to November 8. Our wetsuits are the 7mm kind, as we’re digging with gloved hands in the muddy waters at Kim’s clam farm. The water is now 61F (+16C), colder even, in the air. So we stay low, letting our wetsuits keep us warm while harvesting.

Kim’s partner, Steve, has hurt his back. So that’s why we are here. Jo is helping out next week, Becca works and Paula is busy with her rental house, but Cissi and I are working for part of the loot.

“If you’re a farmer, you’ve got to work no matter the weather,” Kim says.

I wonder why a retired real estate agent has to work?

“I love it, I was always doing it,” Kim says. “So I figured I’d make a business out of it.”

Digging around for clams is fun, like a treasure hunt.

Kim demands an update on Cissi’s latest dating escapades. She says she’s met a good one. “Normal” it seems.

It was just that his ex-wife didn’t like the boat.

“Didn’t like the boat?” Kim says perplexed as she dunks a handful of clams into her bucket. “My husband gave me a boat for my birthday last year.”

“Oysters are loaded with Vitamins A, B, C, D, zinc, potassium, calcium, selenium, copper, and Omega-3 fatty acids,” says Tom Cannon, who owns and operates Soundside Oyster Farm a couple of hours north of Kim’s clam lease.

“They are also one of the best foods in the world for your immune system. Basically, we should eat oysters every day.”

Tom operates in Stump Sound, a renowned oyster estuary. Just like Kim, Tom says it’s hard work and you really have to love it.

“You have to be on the farm all the time, learn how to do it for cheap or next to nothing, and you have to do it fast.”

Shellfish, and oysters in particular, have been an important staple in North Carolinians diets for hundreds of years, and worked as currency in trading for goods during the colonial days.

“You’ve got any clams?” was American slang for money in the 1920s. And during the gilded age (late 1800s), people were so oyster-crazed the east coast was fished out all the way from New York down to North Carolina. The governor had to use armed forces to chase the oyster pirating back up north where they belonged.

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THE WAVES AND THE SHELLS | NORTH CAROLINA

(AND COMPETED AGAINST EACH OTHER) SINCE THEY WERE 14.

THE WAVES AND THE SHELLS | NORTH CAROLINA

Tom, who has a degree in sustainability, got into oystering to feed people and help save the waterway and help improve bad water quality. With their unique ability to alter their habitat, oysters can build their own ecosystem (just like coral reefs). Oyster spats grow on recycled shells, and many farmers, including Tom, keep them in mesh bags suspended from the ocean floor. It takes them 18 to 24 months to grow to market size. Clams and oysters Because of their water filtration capabilities, oysters (and clams too), can actually reduce pollution.

“It’s like technology you couldn’t invent,” Tom says.

“Oysters are an edible water filtration system and it took 500 million years for nature to design it.”

One oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, which is about what’s used in a 10-minute shower. A large clam can filter 40.

CATCH OF THE DAY, NOT RONNY*

After steaming hot showers, garbed in fleece and Ugg boots, we sit on the floor in Kim’s She-Shed, surrounded by her art and surfing trophies, packaging clams in neat little red mesh-bags.

“Today I deliver to…”

Kim runs her finger down a list.

“Seabird and Catch.”

Those are two of the absolute best farm (or sea) to table restaurants in North Carolina, both owners are award-winning chefs also outside the state. Dining at Seabird is a neat experience of eating southern delicacies in an aesthetic New-York-like milieu. And leave it to Keith Rhodes of Catch (many a Hollywood-A-list actors favorite, including Gwyneth Paltrow) to cook you something mouth-melting with local ingredients you have never even heard of.

A sense of accomplishment comes over me as I realize that the clams I helped catch this morning can be consumed at these eateries the very same evening. Working outside, harvesting water creatures in November, brings about a fundamental appreciation for nature. A gratitude.

Maybe it’s the primal, kicking in.

Tom understands.

“There’s a difference between walking along the water and walking in the water,” Tom says. “It cuts straight into you, salt water runs deep.” *Ronny is a fictitious name to protect this once-hot man’s identity.

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Cissi Brooks, Kim Watters and Majsan harvesting mussels at Kim's farm, in front of her house.

T O D I V E F O R | T H E R E C O V E R Y RRUO TU ABVREI R | BCRHI K ARLESTON | SOUTH CAROLINA BO R IM K R K NR U

PBRecove TO DIVE FOR | THE RECOVERY ROOM CHARLESTON | SOUTH CAROLINA WORDS AND PHOTOS BY CAJSA LANDIN

Though you may not feel like recovery is imminent when you step across its threshold, the Rec Room (as the locals call it) is certainly a place where you can let your worries wash right off you. This place right near a highway overpass on King Street is not only full of welcoming bartenders and unpretentious patrons, it’s also prized as the bar that sells the most PBR in the world. If that doesn’t make it a prime dive bar, we don’t know what could.

With regular trivia nights, poetry contests, and, uhm, butt quarters competitions, the Recover Room Tavern lures revelers of every demographic. In the massively graffitied – and tiny – bathroom, you may run into a bachelorette group, while at the bar you end up sitting next to a man who must be in his 70s, paying cash for a large white Russian and a tequila shot saying I didn’t come to a bar to think.

So order a PBR, sign up for the day’s games, and let that Southern hospitality recover what ails you. @RECOVERYROOMTAVERN | 685 KING STREET

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ASHEVILLE | SPRUCE PINE | NORTH CAROLINA

Blue Ridge

Mountain

MAKERS In the northwest corner of North Carolina, a long history of craftmanship is nestled into the folds of the Appalachian Blue Ridge Mountains.

We travel through Asheville and nearby mountain towns to visit with makers building their art, and their lives, in this storied region.

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY CAJSA LANDIN

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Rickie Barnett and Lynne Hobaica create art separately and together under the Two Headed Diver label.

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BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS MAKERS | ASHEVILLE | SPRUCE PINE

This article was written before the two storms Helene and Milton hit the eastern United States. In Asheville, the River Arts District was hit hard and many artists' and craftspeople's studios and works were destroyed. Want to help those affected? Scan the qr code, it will take you to their Kickstarter page where you can contribute.

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he Appalachian Mountains are like grandparents,” says Kelsey Schissel, a ceramic artist with a studio and gallery in West Asheville, snugly resting in its Appalachian valley.

“They are weathered and wise, they will just snuggle you up and everything is okay.” I’ve come to her studio on Haywood Road, the main street that cuts through the hip part of town, dotted with restaurants, breweries, studios, and music venues, to learn more about why this region has so many makers.

For Kelsey, it was a given from the first time she touched clay on the potter’s wheel.

“It was like my soul was electrified, and I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” she says, explaining that maybe it was easier because she grew up with a Maker father, a master woodworker and blacksmith. “It didn’t occur to me that I couldn’t make a career out of this. Because I grew up seeing it done.”

something new. “I gave myself permission to play, and I started to test these tiny little vases.” She shows me delicate ceramic pieces with nature images printed onto the clay in a unique method, and large vases in ethereal, shimmering colors. “Playing” doesn’t seem to be a bad way to spend one’s days.

RIVER ARTS DISTRICT

Asheville, of course, hasn’t been slow to capitalize on its creative craftspeople, and the opportunity to discover new artists is well organized. The River Arts District, an old industrial part of town with old warehouses and a lovely river walk, has been spruced up to hold studios and galleries galore.

Kelsey had told me she had a studio there twenty years ago, when the lock on the door barely kept anyone out and you had to check your surroundings before running to your car. “But rent was a hundred dollars!” I wander around the artist studios in Riverview Station and lose myself at the massive art gallery Marquee. In one studio, I meet Reiko Miyagi of Studio Tabula Rasa, a Japanese potter who’s had a studio here for ten years. When she first came here, “there was only one café,” she says. The evolution of Asheville is easy to see through each artist’s origin story.

“It’s easy to be an artist, but you have to do the work,” she says as I wander off.

CLAY THERAPY

Pottery is huge in Asheville and North Carolina, thanks in large part to the abundant and diverse clay found in the region. Seagrove, a small town about three hours east, established a pottery tradition before the American Revolution in the 18th century (and, of course, Indigenous people of the region were savvy to it well before that).

These days, though, Asheville has seen an influx of new people moving into town, either to pursue crafts, or to take advantage of remote work in a perennially cool town.

Kelsey says if she hadn’t bought her house when she did, twenty years ago, she wouldn’t have been able to live here now and pursue her career the way that she has, a sentiment I hear many times during my visit to the city.

“I think pottery is very grounding,” she says, “and very challenging. I’m constantly learning new things, and it’s exhilarating to not know if something new will work or fail.” With a well-established collection under her belt, aptly named Plays in Mud, she was itching to create

A CUP OF COFFEE AND A WALK TO THE STUDIO

“My story is really our story,” says Ann Batton of Batton Clayworks when I ask how it all got started. “I fell in love with pottery, and when I met Sandy, he took a liking to it too, so we ended up doing it together.”

“And here we are, over 20 years later,” her husband, Sandy Batton, chimes in.

After a quick stop at the kitschy and oh-so friendly Tastee Diner on Haywood (shout out to a fried chicken sandwich that made me do a double take because the chicken was so tender I didn’t think it was real), I have settled down in the little studio the Battons built in their own backyard, and where they create pottery togeth68

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Kelsey Schissel is a ceramicist in Ashville. Like so many others, the clay has taken hold of her.

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Sandy and Ann Batton work together under the name Batton Clayworks.

Kelsey Schissel's work is reminiscent of Art Deco, a style still found in many old buildings in Asheville.

Morgan Hill, one of the co-owners of Treats Studio, attended the Penland School of Crafts like many other artisans in the region.

“IT WAS LIKE MY SOUL WAS ELECTRIFIED, AND I KNEW THAT’S WHAT I WANTED TO DO,” SHE SAYS, EXPLAINING THAT MAYBE IT WAS EASIER BECAUSE SHE GREW UP WITH A MAKER FATHER, A MASTER WOODWORKER AND BLACKSMITH. “IT DIDN’T OCCUR TO ME THAT I COULDN’T MAKE A

er through team work that sounds, frankly, impressive.

While Sandy handles most of the throwing, glazing and firing, Ann is busy with the intricate carving, detailing, and logistical work, but they say it’s changed over time.

“We’ve learned how to shift our roles and fill in the gaps,” says Ann. “Sandy teaches a lot of the classes, and I have to get my fingers in the clay.” Their storytelling is seamless, deftly handing off the set up of one idea to be finished by the other. It’s easy to see how their pottery craft could follow the same melody.

The pandemic gave them the final push to move from craft fairs to selling mostly in galleries and online, as well as teaching more classes. “You know how you have that white tablecloth, and all the stuff is sitting on top of it and you yank it out? I feel like we’re the ones still standing.

It was scary, but it became a blessing,” says Ann. When I say it seems nice to be able to have your studio and your work so close to home, they tell me they always had that vision of being able to walk across the yard with a cup of coffee and get to work.

We walk around the little shop in their studio, full of whimsical cups, intricate tea pots, and classic collections.

Ann tells me about how humbling the work is, and how just recently Sandy had worked on a huge planter that exploded in the kiln.

“I’ll try again soon, I just need to get over that first,” he says. I ask about the best part of the job, and Sandy is quick to reply. “I think it’s that I really love what I do.”

to a growing number of artists and makers, thanks to its proximity to famed Penland School of Craft.

I cross the river and railroad tracks to reach the old town. Here, in a back alley, I find Morgan Hill, one of the founders and co-owners of Treats Studios, spray painting wooden jewelry.

Like so many other craftspeople living in the region, Morgan came here to study at Penland (“Are you going there? You have to go there,” she says before I’ve even set foot in the studio). Originally working in fine furniture making, she pivoted to sculpting. “But I had been making this wooden jewelry as a side hustle and it just grew. Now I can’t stop doing it because it’s what pays the bills.” She shows me a collection called Bad Habits, and it takes everything I have not to buy the entire set of cigarette, food, domino, and cocktail shrimp earrings that may or may not represent my own bad habits.

Morgan shows me around the studio, where a handful of artists have their own space in a collectively owned building. Originally, the group rented space in the building, and bought it after a few years. Her partner, Jack Mauch, is working on woodwork across the room.

“The building belonged to a newspaper, so the basement was caked with ink and dirt and grime. We really had to do a lot of work to clean it up, but we still have the old printer.”

Owning the building also means they can develop the space, and rent out studio space to other artists. There is also subsidized space for emerging artists who want to try their hand at their craft. On the ground floor, they are developing plans for a gallery space – “but it can be whatever people want,” Morgan says. “Maybe we do karaoke sometimes, or build a bar. One thing we’re really ready for is for Spruce Pine to have a good bar.”

On the top floor, we run into Sarah, one of the artists renting a studio from the collective. She says she needed to

WELCOME TO SPRUCE PINE

About an hour outside of town, after a climb through winding mountain passes, breathtaking views on the Blue Ridge Parkway, and a bit of Dolly on the radio, lies Spruce Pine, population 2,200. A mining town – one of the largest suppliers of the high-quality quartz used in computer microchips – the little community is also home 73

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BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS MAKERS | ASHEVILLE | SPRUCE PINE

CAREER OUT OF THIS. BECAUSE I GREW UP SEEING IT DONE.”

BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS MAKERS | ASHEVILLE | SPRUCE PINE

The Penland School of Craft has a well-established reputation and has produced many talented craftspeople.

be back among people again, to not be too isolated in her work. She appreciates showing up in a space where people have agreed to carry the torch of making, together. “There are definitely days when I feel like, is this what I’m doing?

Is this silly? Then you need that community around you.”

together. Having met at a bar Pittsburgh through mutual friends when Lynne was living in Seattle and Rickie was in North Carolina, their first date set the tone for their relationship, as Rickie came to Seattle to visit.

“Our first date was two weeks long... That was maybe reckless, but it worked out!” Rickie says. Lynne explains, “We both feel compelled to make work all the time, so we just went to my studio and started making pieces side by side. That was our first collaboration.” It’s clear that to many of these makers, creating art is something they just need to do. “It’s sort of indicative of what it’s going to be like with me anyway. Like if you’re not on board with this kind of life it’s never going to work out,” says Rickie.

FIRST DATES THAT LAST

Also on the top floor, I meet Rickie Barnett and Lynne Hobaica, a couple who create both separately under their own names, and together under the moniker Two Headed Diver. They, too, came by way of Penland, where Rickie was a studio assistant. They, too, bring up the artist community as the main draw to stay.

“I never thought I would own a house, but because it’s more affordable here we realized it was possible. You can have all the benefits of living somewhere rural, but with so many people from all over the world who go to Penland, you can meet like-minded people. It’s unusual for small towns like this to have booming art communities,” says Rickie, while Smokey the dog comes up to say hi.

I get more and more curious about why there are so many artists and craftspeople working on their projects

LOSING AND FINDING FAITH

They both grew up in very religious families, which informs and inspires their work. Folklore, mythology, and dramatic iconography of religion come up as common theme. Rickie says, “For both of us, losing religion as well as losing people close to us, it set the tone for the work we were making. How do you keep showing up? How do you keep staying even if you know the pain is going to happen 74

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Kelsey Schissel mounts bases on her barrels.

Two Headed Diver part of Treats Studios.

Bowl by Reiko Miyagi/Studio Tabula Rasa in Asheville.a

Jack Mauch is part of Treats and works with wood.

BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS MAKERS | ASHEVILLE | SPRUCE PINE

Treats Studios in Pine Spruce, along with the Penland School of Craft, is gound zero for contemporary craft in the area.

again? Even in love – we got married but chances are one of us is going to watch the other one die, do we still want to go on this journey?”

At this point, Smokey the dog perks up an ear and walks over. Rickie looks down at her and continues. “Even getting Smokey, after we’d lost a previous dog… Now she wants to be let in and out of the house a thousand times to chase the birds, and it can get frustrating, but if I can remind myself to be present with the moment, to use it in a playful way, then I can actually enjoy it.”

“Yeah,” agrees Lynne, “it’s like meditation, a way to work through big feelings.”

Neither of them came from families where this line of work is normal. “I’m the first person in my family to go to college, or even to leave Phoenix,” says Lynne. “I’m the black sheep for sure!” Rickie explains that he comes from a long line of poverty. “I think that was hard for my parents, they know what it is to be super poor. So then to choose this career that doesn’t guarantee money…”

Living somewhere more affordable helps them attain that dream, even though there are sacrifices to living in a small city. They describe being able to have the times

to sit by the river, to breathe. “Also, having friends in the arts community means you can go to a dinner and have constructive conversations with 20 people and not feel like you are completely ‘other’.”

“We get tunnel vision when there’s deadlines coming up. I got pulled over recently because my registration had expired. But I get so tired of things like this taking up time and getting in the way of what I want to do. “ In the end, I do make it to Penland. A sprawling campus of old buildings, wonderful mountain views, and a heavy peace punctuated here and there by the sounds of craft machinery. The dichotomy feels emblematic: crafting can be a lonely endeavor, tinkering obsessively with new processes or ideas. But in this region of North Carolina, through guilds, fairs, communities, and collectives, talented makers are finding their footing by helping each other.

They create their crafts because they can’t not. I run into Adam, a jewelry maker currently in residency at Penland with his partner. They are still trying to figure out how to build a career as makers, because it’s definitely what they want to do.

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Reiko Miyagi/Studio Tabula Rasa is a Japanese ceramicist artist who has had a studio in Riverview Station in Asheville for ten years.

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“My full name is James Dean Moss, but here in the South, the ladies just call me ’Honey.’ ” WORDS AND PHOTOS BY JONAS LARSSON

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e have half an hour to kill “My full name is James Dean Moss, before it’s time for a guided but here in the South, the ladies just THE AMERICAN tour of Sun Studios. Percall me Honey.” I told you it was going fect for a walk through the to be good.

James ”Honey” Dean Moss scorching streets at the outskirts of James “Honey” Dean Moss is a MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE downtown Memphis. straight up cool dude. “Everyone my “Hey guys! You’re not from around age from Memphis, Tennessee, has an 18 SEPTEMBER here, are ya? Do you want a license Elvis story to tell. He was so helpful 1:18 PM plate?” The man on the street is in his and kind and helped everybody. I had 70s, his accent a sing-songy Southern. a sister named Anne, she was beautiful.

His blue eyes twinkle, and he boasts In high school, she dated a guy named both flowing locks and a big, bright smile. He’s holding Bobby Irvin. Bobby rode a motorcycle, and he would ride a couple of license plates. I think to myself, This’ll be good. with Elvis. Bobby told Elvis about Anne, and he said he’d James is a happy guy who works in an auto body shop. love to meet her. So Elvis and Bobby came over to our We thank him for the license plates. Turns out, he can house one night, on their motorcycles. Nothing happened, trace his ancestry to Manchester, and he tells us that his but it was exciting. I was out with my friends, playing th ancestors came over in the late 19 century. “Sometimes baseball, so then I come home and Anne tells me Elvis I meet people from England. One guy from Manchester was there. I didn’t believe her, but it was really true. That had a friend named Moss, just like me, so I gave him a would have been around 1961 or 62.” license plate to bring to my cousin Moss in England,” “Nothing happened between Anne and Elvis, but she James laughs. moved to New York and was one of the first women to 79

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“ELVIS LIKED TO LEAVE MEMPHIS SO HE COULD BE ALONE WHEN HE WENT OUT. MY NOW WIFE’S PARENTS HAD A LITTLE ITALIAN RESTAURANT OUTSIDE OF TOWN, WHERE ELVIS WOULD GO TO EAT. THEY BECAME GOOD FRIENDS, AND WE HAVE PICTURES OF HER PARENTS WITH HIM. THESE ARE LOVELY MEMORIES. IT’S BEEN 46 YEARS SINCE HE PASSED, BUT I SEE HUNDREDS OF

THE AMERICAN | JAMES "HONEY" DEAN MOSS

PEOPLE EVERY DAY WHO COME TO SEE SUN STUDIOS, WHO GO TO GRACELAND.

make it on Wall Street. She was on the cover of the Wall Street Journal several times. I would go visit, and it was always a great party. We got thrown out of some clubs.

We always had a good time.”

“Elvis liked to leave Memphis so he could be alone when he went out. My now wife’s parents had a little Italian restaurant outside of town, where Elvis would go to eat. They became good friends, and we have pictures of her parents with him. These are lovely memories. It’s been 46 years since he passed, but I see hundreds of people every day who come to see Sun Studios, who go to Graceland.

I see kids wearing Elvis t-shirts. His legacy truly lives on.”

went well because God took care of me. I wasn’t afraid, because I knew it could only end in one of two ways: at home or in heaven. Everything went well, and today I turn 78 years old.”

An acquaintance rides by on his bike. “Good morning, peace be with you my brother.” “You as well,” the biker replies.

“I used to work with plastics and in the chemical industry. I traveled around the country, eating lunch and playing golf with clients. It was a good job. I miss it, since I love to talk, as you may have noticed.” We sure had, but is there anything better than people who can tell a good story?

It’s about time for us to head to Sun Studios. We thank him for the chat. “Just one more thing. Want to see my Elvis impression?” Of course we do. James “Honey” Dean Moss disappears into the auto shop and returns carrying a cardboard cutout of Elvis in a gold suit. He sings “Love me tender” in a surprisingly beautiful voice. We have truly found salvation. There’s only two people who could’ve sent James “Honey” Dean Moss our way: God or Elvis.

And maybe it’s the same thing.

RETIREMENT, SANS GOLF

“How long hae you worked here?” “For about four years.

I’m technically retired, but it gets old playing golf by yourself every day, when everybody else is working. I help out at the church, but that gets boring, too. A friend asked me to work for him and it sounded good, so I said yes. It was perfect. This area is called Medical Center because of all the hospitals here. There’s also a lot of homelessness here, and God told me to go out and help the homeless. Now I’m out here helping out. I even hand out these little crucifixes. They say, “Jesus Christ is Lord”. Sometimes they want me to stop and pray for them. I’ll give you one each.

Everything is easier with Jesus in your heart.”

“The reason I’m here today talking to you is God. I had triple bypass surgery three months ago. Everything 80

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James Dean “Honey” Moss is as much entertainer as savior.

It's easier with God in your back pocket, says James.

MEMPHIS | TENNESSEE

”You can listen but you gotta hear that shit …”

BOO MITCHELL, A LIVING SOUL ICON

In the heart of Memphis, the town where music history shines on every street corner, Royal Studios rises like a bastion in music production. A key figure in the success of the studio is Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell, award-winning producer and studio boss. We’re in Memphis to meet the magician behind the mixing table.

WORDS BY FREDRIK LUNDGREN | PHOTOS BY JONAS LARSSON

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Old stuff with a magic sound.

Boo with a picture of his legendary father Willie.

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he cab stops in front of a modest, worn building. We get out and are greeted by oppressive heat, finding salvation in a shady area near the parking lot. A monotone voice from the security system repeats, “You are currently being recorded,” which seems fitting since we are at a music studio in one of soul music’s holy lands. Autumn sweat trickles down our backs, but we don’t care; we are too busy with anticipation.

A black SUV rolls up to the parking lot and Boo Mitchell steps out. His rings glitter in the sunlight, and the tone with which he welcomes us is self-assured, yet humble. “Sorry I’m late.” As the doors open into Royal Studios, we are immediately brought back in time. The scent lingers of a bygone era, when soul and blues ruled supreme, and it is as real as the dim yellow light and the reddish brown carpet. The floor at Royal Studios slopes slightly downward, owing to its 1915 origins as a silent movie theater, before it became a music studio.

Boo quickly takes on the role of guide. It’s clear that he is proud of his legacy, but I have to interrupt him and ask

for water. My throat shrivels in the heat. He steps out of his guide persona, and we get the chance to express our awe of the place. It’s a magnificent studio, a time capsule.

WILLIE MITCHELL AND THE MECCA OF SOUL

Boo tells us of the history of Royal Studios, and his father Willie’s immense influence over Memphis soul.

Shamrock Theater, as it was once known, was built only four years after the first movie ever was shown in Memphis. It later changed names to Royal Theater but was forced to close in 1955. Two years later, Joe Coughi, son of a local merchant, took over the building. Couchi, himself a music entrepreneur, rented the building for sixty dollars a month with two partners, Quinton Claunch and John Novarese. Together, they transformed the Royal Theater to the Royal Recording Studio. It became home of the record company Hi Records.

Hi Records became known as the ­“House of Instrumentals”. Early successes with instrumental hits, like Bill Black Combo’s “Smokie, Part 2” and “Don’t Be Cruel”, each with sales in the millions, put Hi Records on the map.

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The Royal Studios began as a movie theater and to this day the floor still slopes.

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Al Green forgot to put on a shirt, still he's watches over the mixing table.

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The microphone that Al Green recorded so many hits into.

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Father and son Mitchell outside the studio.

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Prices are crammed together with original tapes.

The author and Boo at the very heart of the studio.

The studio is packed with vintage instruments.

in 1969, Willie took on more production and admin tasks.

Under his leadership, Hi Records changed its musical ­focus from rockabilly to R&B, as he helped shape modern ­Memphis soul.

He quickly grew into his role as producer, particularly for one of the most influential singers of the 1970s: Al Green. As a producer in the beginning of the 70s, Willie charted a course for the Memphis soul sound, which was quickly becoming very popular. In the coming four years, Green and Mitchell had a song at the top of the charts every year. This was more than Stax artists, like Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, or Booker T. and the MGs reached in their entire careers. In his time at Hi Records, Al Green would sell more than 20 million records.

Willie Mitchell and Al Green’s sensational success have earned them a spot among the most successful soul duos ever. With superb songs, like “Let’s Stay Together” and “Tired of Being Alone”, they dominated the charts and conquered hearts across the world.

Willie’s production skills, combined with Green’s unique voice, created a magical atmosphere that appealed

to listeners both at home and abroad. With an impressive number of hits each year, they set the gold standard for what it meant to make it in the genre.

MEMPHIS OUTSIDE THE SPOTLIGHT

In music, there are individuals who – although they may not always be in the limelight – manage to change the industry in a big way. One such person is Boo Mitchell, whose work as a music producer and sound technician hasn’t just influenced music history, but has earned him recognition within the music industry.

Ever humble, Boo prefers to talk about his father’s accomplishments and the studio’s history. So I will make it my job to talk about him.

The legendary Royal Studios has been the center of the Memphis ­music scene for over 60 years now. Boo Mitchell practically grew up in the studio and learned everything about ­audio technology, production, and recording from his father Willie.

Impressively, Boo has continued building on his father’s legacy and made his own name in the music industry.

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The Coke box was for Boo's short Uncle James to stand on, but was also used to count in songs.

THE SOUND CUTS OFF WHEN THE PHONE RINGS. “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?” SAYS A VOICE ON THE OTHER END OF THE LINE. “RICHARD, I WAS DOING AND INTERVIEW TILL YOUR ASS CALLED,” BOO LAUGHS IN REPLY. “TALK QUICK,” HE SAYS, AND MOUTHS AN APOLOGY AT US. THE SHORT CALL IS INTERRUPTED BY RICHARD SHOUTING, “SHOUT ME OUT!” ON THE PHONE AND BOO ANSWERS, “YOU JUST SHOUTED YOURSELF OUT,

B O O M I T C H E L L | R OY A L S T U D I O S | M E M P H I S

WE’RE STILL ROLLING!” AND HANGS UP. SO HERE’S YOUR SHOUT OUT, RICHARD.

In the span of over two decades at the Royal Studios, he’s been pivotal in making the studio one of the most sought-after recording studios in all of Memphis.

His expertise in audio technology and his ability to create a comfortable and creative environment for artists has made the studio a veritable magnet for musicians from around the world. Under his leadership, Royal Studios has continued to produce hits and has further established itself as an iconic place to record.

An impressive array of artists and producers have recorded here, with names like Snoop Dogg and Keb Mo on the roster. Boo’s ability to bring the best out of each artist and create timeless music has made him a highly sought-after producer and audio technician. Beyond working with big acts, Boo Mitchell has also brought home plenty of heavyweight awards for his invaluable contributions to the music world. Boo’s ability to quickly integrate the classic Memphis sound with modern elements lends the music a timeless quality and forever solidifies his place as a master behind the scenes.

The studio is littered with vintage instruments and microphones all over. They bear witness to the legendary sessions that have taken place here. Boo Mitchell, modest but proud, tells us stories of recordings that went down in history, from Al Green’s love songs to Chuck Berry’s unique voice.

Many famous artists have recorded on the sloping floors of Royal Studios. In turn, many of these recordings have resulted in platinum and gold records as well as Grammys. Cedric Burnside, Rod Stewart, Keith Richards, Tom Jones, and John Mayer, to name a few.

COUNT OFF ON COKE

Boo reveals a curious anecdote behind one of the songs he plays for us. While we listen to “Love and Happiness”

by Al Green, we hear a rhythmic count off partway into the song. It’s like the sound of a snare drum counting off the rest of the band. Boo turns to face us. “Do you know what this sound is?” We shrug, no idea.

“My uncle James was a baritone saxophone player in the Memphis Horns and was the shortest guy in the horn section. There was always a Coca Cola machine present at recordings, and the bottles came in these old crates,” he says, pointing to a wooden crate on the studio floor.

“He told James to stand on them so he’d reach the microphone,” he continues, laughing.

Teenie Hodges, the Hi Rhythm guitarist, wrote the song with Al, and Willie Mitchell had said, “Why not let Teenie count them off ?” Hodges started tapping at the Coca Cola crate with his foot to count off the band.

“It started as a joke, but dad kept it in the recording,” Boo says.

A SHOUT OUT TO RICHARD

He leads us further into the studio, tells us about the Memphis sound, plays us music from his father’s early recordings. The sound cuts off when the phone rings.

“What the hell are you doing?” says a voice on the other end of the line. “Richard, I was doing and interview till your ass called,” Boo laughs in reply. “Talk quick,” he says, and mouths an apology at us. The short call is interrupted

by Richard shouting, “Shout me out!” on the phone and Boo answers, “you just shouted yourself out, we’re still rolling!” and hangs up. So here’s your shout out, Richard.

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The exterior of Royal Studios. Willie Mitchell surrounded by stars who recorded at the legendary studio.

B O O M I T C H E L L | R OY A L S T U D I O S | M E M P H I S

We are as absorbed by the stories he tells, as Boo is by telling them. We lose track of time. I look around the studio, made up of some of the most desired vintage-analog recording instruments in the music world, vintage microphones mixed with the latest software. When Boo sits down at the same keyboard where his dad once sat, we see how he truly has stepped into his shoes, and well beyond. Boo switches seats and picks up a guitar, playing it as he keeps talking about different trinkets in the room.

In another part of the building, there’s a hallway full of binders and awards. Having gotten to know the modest Boo Mitchell a bit better, it’s no surprise they’ve all been relegated to the back to the building. It’s a mix of gold records, awards, binders full of original masters by Al Green and others. Boo’s personality is a mix of high passion and low ego. I browse the shelves and stop at something familiar: a trophy in the shape of a golden gramophone. “Boo Mitchell Engineer / Mixer. Record of the Year 2015 – Uptown Funk. Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars” says the plaque engraving.

“Is that a Grammy award?” I ask, mouth agape. Having a Grammy Award is pretty impressive, to say the least.

“Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars won a Grammy for Album of the Year. “The song was partly recorded here at Royal Studios, and I got an award for my work as a producer and sound engineer,” Boo says simply. “We wrote the chorus for Uptown Funk here in this hallway,” he continues. “It had been a long night of recording, and we’d had maybe a glass or two of very expensive whiskey when that chorus appeared.”

“YOU CAN LISTEN BUT YOU GOTTA HEAR THAT SHIT”

We’re allowed in to sit at the mixer table, command central itself, as long as we don’t touch anything. It’s hard to move in there, but once you’ve settled in, you have a great overview of the whole endeavor. Over a few of the dials someone has stuck a bit of tape with the words, “You can listen but you gotta hear that shit” written on it. The words were Willie Mitchell’s guiding light, and he passed them on to his son. A fitting motto for a musician like Boo.

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Boo is a multiinstrumentalist.

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PORTFOLIO HAWAI'I

OLAF HEINE

RUBRIK RUBRIK RUBRIK

WEB: OLAFHEINE.COM | INSTAGRAM: @OLAFHEINESTUDIO

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M

y book ‘Hawaii’ is about the elementary as well as the spiritual meaning of the ocean. The sea is like a welcoming and overwhelming revelation. It connects the islands, the continents and the people. It makes no distinction between the first and the third world, between ethnic groups and religions, between rich and poor. “Ho’onalu” is a Hawaiian phrase meaning “to be like a wave”. It should help to remember that in the end we are all the same.

There is something about the islands, about the values of the people and the community in Hawaii that speaks to me. I am not sure if it is the laid back surf culture, the sunny beach life, the diversity culture of people and places, the Aloha spirit or the stories, chants and songs that Polynesian people like the Hawaiians on those small islands might have developed over centuries as a method to pass on their codified learnings and understandings.

I guess it could be a mixture of all of it; the humanity in those Aloha values, the altruistic concept of unity and guidance to share mind and heart with each other, to behave with kindness and generosity, to show respect and to care with no obligation in return. That kind of essence in relationships embraced and framed by the mindboggling beauty that is Hawaii.

But of course the more time I spent on the islands and the more people I got to know, the more I had a chance to look beyond the exotic elegance and sheer lushness of land and nature.

It was like holding up a spying glass and spotting somewhat puzzled the same kind of problems that the world apparently faces everywhere: Homelessness, racism, disparities, displacement, gentrification, climate change, pollution, etc.

Hawaii seems to be facing some enormous and serious challenges in the near future – on land as well as in the sea. The ocean is the secret architect of Hawaii. Its water continuously changes the shapes of the islands here. It is both life-giving and threatening, a fluid and transformative element whose all-encompassing fertility continually modulates the volcanic stone into new land. At the same time, the extent and consequences of human actions and their effects are made abundantly clear - whether erosion on the beaches or plastic in the sea. There is a photograph I took near the South end of the Big Island on a beach that was covered in plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Horrendous!

But Hawai‘i is a wonderous place for all kinds of reasons and I found myself returning to the islands constantly over the last two decades. Or to quote the great Joan Didion: “I spent what seemed to many people I knew an eccentric amount of time in Hawai‘i”. It is a place of extremes, one of the most biodiverse and pristine regions on earth.

It is a mirror image of our planet, a microcosm showing that the power of nature is the regulative principle that navigates human mankind and his sphere of influence. I am a portrait photographer for the most part, trying to observe and analyze, characterize a subject or theme and formulate a narrative from my personal perspective. But when the thought popped up, that my photographic work in Hawai‘i could be more than just a loose collection of images, I specifically tried to create room for a multitude of angles on the subject.

I wanted to contrast the pacific landscape and geography of the ocean with the diversity and individuality of the people. Therefore I refrained from using distracting colors and instead tried to allow a more intense and puristic Black-And-White view on Hawaii. That way I attempt to formulate my perspective on the ardour and sensuality of Hawaii.

My photography usually is about what shapes you as a person but also as an artist. It's about being human - and being creative in particular. In this respect, my photographs are narratives of my encounters.

A lot of them revolve around creative practice, the creative process and the relationship between the artists I portray, their environment, their emotions and what influences them.

In Hawaii the environment is the lively, restless ocean that determines the rhythm of the eight islands and their inhabitants. It imbues life here and defines people - whether fishermen, surfers or tourists. I wanted to learn through my encounters and gain insights into what motivates each person, what excites them but also frightens them, what drives and moves them. I tried to formulate my perspective on the person portrayed and thus arouse in the viewer the desire to perhaps want to find out a little more about the connections, the basics and conditions of the person in question.

Hawai'i is published by teNeues Publishers, teneues.com. Get it at amazon.com or accartbooks.com

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PORTFOLIO | OLAF HEINE | HAWAI'I UNKO KIMO, MAKAHA, OAHU, 2022

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LILY MAY AT MALA WHARF, LAHAINA, MAUI, 2022

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BOB GOING FOR A SURF, KAPAA, KAUAI, 2022

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Rubrik

MALUHIA & TIKI, HALEIWA, OAHU, 2023

VAD? | VAR, STAT/STAD

TEXT OCH FOTO: JONAS LARSSON

Första gången jag träffade Den Matt Pollitz så hade han sin Volvo-verkstad i en gammal plåtlada nere vid fiskebåtarna en bit ner på Market Street i Ballard, Seattle. Nu ligger nybyggda National Nordic Museum där, då lekte Matt med tanken på att hans verkstad kunde bli en interigerad del av museet. Det hade varit otorligt cool, men nu blev det inte så.

Därför blev jag glad när jag såg att han omlokaliserat till en annan del av Ballard. En verkstad för gamla volvobilar ska självklart ligga i den genomnordiska stadsdelen, ingen annanstans. En intressant sak är att bilarna är relativt rostfria här, visserligen är det fuktigt i Pacific North West men det snöar sällan i Seattle och man använder inte vägsalt, så mossa är ett större problem än rost …

Förutom att renovera de gamla trotjänarna så har han börjat elkonvertera dem också. Det bästa av två världar, även om en B18 alltid kommer att vara en B18.

GATUADRESS | HEMSIDEADRESS

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AMERICAN TRAILS MAGAZINE SEBASTIAN STEUDTNER LONGBOARDING AT ROCKPILES, WAIKIKI BEACH, #16 OAHU, 2023

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PORTFOLIO | OLAF HEINE | HAWAI'I

ANTHONY KIEDIS, KAUAI, HAWAII, 2018

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Rubrik MORNING SURF SUNSET BEACH, OAHU, 2019

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PORTFOLIO | OLAF HEINE | HAWAI'I

BRITTAN BYRD, PUPUKEA, OAHU, 2020

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ESIAH, WAIKOKO BEACH, KAUAI, 2022

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DIVING JAWS, PEAHI, MAUI, 2023

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KAHEA WITH WATERDROPS, WAILEA, MAUI, 2022

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Saul works at Hoglund's and is our saving angel.

Thank you Saul!

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EVERETT | WASHINGTON

Better call Saul, DAVE AND SCOTT

HOW TO TURN BAD LUCK INTO AN ARTICLE Sometimes it’s written in the stars. What at the outset looked like disaster turned into new friends, a couple of beers, an article, and a butt-kicking Ford F150 of your own.

Y

WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON | PHOTOS BY ANDERS BERGERSEN

ou know that you’ve got fuel shooting out of the fuel pump directly onto the oil filter, right?

No, but I know that it doesn’t sound like a good thing. Not the first time the fuel had leaked that day, either.

Do you know how to fix a leaking fuel line from the back tank of a 1984 Ford F150?

Easy peasy. Sleep until about nine in the morning, graciously receive the coffee that your cousin’s wife Tami offers, mosey out in shorts and slippers to the front yard and offer a grateful nod to your cousin Scott, your best friend Anders, under the truck, and Troy the dog. Like I said, Easy. Peasy.

“I wish you boys luck!” was the last thing Uncle Mike said to us. And thus far, everything had gone fine, except for the fuel leak that is, and some wobbly steering. We say goodbye to Scott and Tami, and they wish us well, too.

That’s a good start. “Drive down to Jiffy Lube and they’ll change the oil and check all the fluids,” says Scott.

Naturally, we end up driving a few extra circles around the lush green neighborhoods of Everett before we have Tami on the phone, laughing directions at us – again. We pull into Jiffy Lube. Martin, Edward, and Jason greet us with giant smiles. We’re driving a pickup classic.

FIERY NEWS

This is when Martin tells us about the fuel pump. Our West Coast road trip is already delayed by a day, and now it may not happen at all. Dammit. What do we do now?

You can practically see the question marks dancing above our heads. “Call Scott!” says Anders. What we don’t know is it should have been “Better call Saul!”, but we will soon enough.

My cousin picks up after the third ring and soon shows up in the parking lot where we’re stuck. “I got a hold of my friend Dave, one of his buddies can fix it, but we need to buy a new fuel pump first.” Done and done. Quick pop over to O’Reilly across the street, where a nice guy says he can have it here in an hour. Fantastic.

GROWN MEN DOING STUFF TOGETHER

Tami regales me with stories of more or less obscene grunts and exclamations like, “Push it in now! No, you have to lube it up first! Harder, there it is.”

The boys were proud, I was happy, and Troy, well Troy was a dog. A boyhood dream was about to come true. I had bought my Uncle Mike’s old truck: four-wheel drive, flat bed, red and black, just the right amount of wear. U ­ nder the hood, a small block, 351 Windsor V8 was grumbling, the same machine that sits in Mustangs, Torinos, and other legendary Ford models.

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B E T T E R C A L LR S UA BU RL I K, D RA UV BE R IA K NRDU B SC RO I KT T | E V E R E T T

xxxxxxxxx xxxxx

Two generations of Hamacks work in the shop. Dad Dave and his son Zac.

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”I WISH YOU BOYS LUCK!” VAR ONKEL MIKES AVSKED. OCH SÅ HÄR LÅNGT HADE ALLT GÅTT BRA, FÖRUTOM LÄCKAGET DÅ, OCH EN LITE VOBBLIG STYRNING. VI TAR AVSKED AV SCOTT OCH TAMI, ÄVEN DE LYCKÖNSKAR OSS. BÅDAR GOTT. ”KÖR NER TILL JIFFY LUBE SÅ BYTER DE OLJA OCH KOLLAR ALLA VÄTSKORNA – I BILEN.” SÄGER SCOTT.

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CREATING CUSTOM INTERIORS IS A DYING PROFESSION. ONLY VERY PARTICULAR CARS COME HERE. THESE ARE PASSION PROJECTS, BOTH FOR US AND FOR THE OWNERS. THE INTERIORS ARE ALL UNIQUE. WE TALK IT OVER WITH THE OWNERS, AND THEN WE DESIGN.

man and the other guys at the shop, many of whom have been here a long time. Jay is one of the ones who’s been here long enough to teach Dave the trade.

BETTER CALL SAUL, DAVE AND SCOTT | EVERETT

THE GUYS AT HOGLUNDS

“Can you fix this, Saul?” Dave’s asking. Saul nods, says, “No problem”. Dave owns Hoglund’s, a com­pany special­ izing in interior fabrication for cars and boats, as well as fixing busted convertibles and any other interior work for anything with an engine. Saul gets started. I try being helpful, but I’m about as useful as I was in the morning.

Instead, I sneak a glance at a 67 Corvette that’s about to be reupholstered. I find Anders and Dave discussing another Corvette. It’s older, the original model, but all the mechanics, engine, breaks, etc., are completely modern. It’s been painted in a bronze hue, and Hoglund’s has matched the interior in the same shade. It’s glorious.

Here is where I start to think that maybe there was a meaning to all of this. This is the kind of stuff stories are made of. Dave gives us a big grin and says he worked part time here starting in high school, sweeping floors, emptying trash, helping out. “I made $4.25 an hour,” he reminisces.

In 1989 he bought the place. “It was the scariest thing I’d done in all my life. It was a lot of money. But we’ve done well. In 2008 we expanded this new section where we do interiors, window tinting, and paint protection.”

“Creating custom interiors is a dying profession. Only very particular cars come here. These are passion projects, both for us and for the owners. The interiors are all unique. We talk it over with the owners, and then we design. Everything has to be absolutely top-notch, we’re basically making art. The responsibility we feel working on these amazing cars, it’s like being a doctor operating on someone’s kid. They’re worth a fortune, and the owners have a personal relationship with the cars.”

“How did you learn the trade?”

“I grew up with a mother and grandmother who sewed all the clothes for our family, and I started to sew as well.

Now, one of my sons works here. Zac, tall guy, he’s here somewhere.” We find Zac as well as his brother Jackson. I fetch Dave, it’s time for a family portrait. Zac and Jackson are funny, well-mannered, and like to hang with their old

REAL CRAFTSMANSHIP

We make our way to the back, which is full of enormous tables to spread leather and fabric, sewing machines and fascinating tools. You immediately get the sense that this is true craftmanship. No shortcuts, no cheating. I like Dave and his crew; you can tell this is a good place to work and that he’s found the right people who are truly passionate about the craft and about quality.

“Which cars do you own?”

“I have a 57 Chevy – you can see it there in the garage – and a 68 Camaro. Two days ago, we had a 2019 Ford GT here, do you know it?” Do I ever, coolest racing car from the 60s, won Le Mans four years in a row 1966-1969, being the only American-made sportscar to win Le Mans, it’s a beast. The 2019 model is naturally more modern, but it’s still evocative of the same raw style of the original. A quick google search reveals that it can be yours for the low, low, price of half a million dollars.

“You must have a pretty good reputation, considering the cars you have parked here.”

“Yeah, people trust us and let us work on their babies.

Don’t they, Jay?” Jay Steward is the tall, cool dude who dropped off the bronze Corvette. “I got the rockstar reality show treatment,” he replies.

Jay tells us that his dad had a 55 pickup, with a v6 engine. His dad loved the car, but it was stolen. “Around his retirement, I asked him about the car. What would you do if you were going to build a new one, would you change anything or make one just like it? He said he’d put in a bigger rear window, put in a V8 engine and make it automatic. So I custom built one for him, exactly like his old one but with a bigger rear window, a V8 engine, and automatic gears. It’s the only time I’ve seen my dad cry. When he passed away, the truck came to be mine.­ 116

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An almost finished interior, better than new.

Scott gives some 'advice' to Saul.

The fittings from Hoglund's are a genuine craft

A Porsche has just had a protective film applied to its body.

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Dave with sons Jackson and Zac.

Jay and Rich arrives with the incredibly Corvette.

Scott, the author and Dave contemplate the 118

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SAUL DIVES BACK INTO THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND ADJUSTS THE FUEL PUMP AGAIN. “CLEAR?” “CLEAR!” THE V8 ENGINE RUMBLES, PURRS LIKE A CAT, I DON’T KNOW WHO HAS THE BIGGEST SMILE, ME OR SAUL. WHAT A GUY!

A few years later, when my son was born, we brought him home in it. I had it for years. A few years ago, I decided it was time to fix it up a bit. I brought it to my friend Rich who helped me, but he said, ‘if you’re going to fix that then you have to fix the rest too or it’ll look weird.’ One thing led to another, and I thought, alright, this’ll be a nice pickup. When I first saw it after Rich’s paint job all I could think was ‘Oh, fuck!’ because it looked so damn good.

“And that was kind of it, with that good of a paint job, I had to fix the interior too. I went to Dave, and after talking to him and seeing what they do here, I immediately knew I’d come to the right place. I came down once a week, gave him my card and said, ‘I don’t want to know what it costs, just run the card.’ I still don’t know how much it was in the end. I have all the receipts, but I don’t want to know.”

Jay shows us pictures of the pickup. I can understand that he doesn’t want to know how much it cost, it’s so nice. Rich and Jay are cool dudes. If we’d had time, we would have loved to visit and take a look at their cars.

Next time, for sure.

We cool down with some car talk, and Todd says, “You get 30 miles or 30 minutes warranty, and now you’ve talked for ten , so you have 20 left, hah!”

Before we leave, Dave shows us around the rest of the shop. In one large garage, a couple of guys are working on a very, very cool Porsche. They’re applying a thin, clear protective film over the paint. “It protects against pebbles and sunlight. Lasts at least 10 years,” Dave explains.

A CLUBHOUSE FAREWELL

We’re now two days late, but we’re in no mood to leave.

Out of respect for Dave and his crew, however, we let them get back to work. What a good bunch. When we come back, we’ll see them again, and we want to see Dave’s Camaro, at the very least.

Scott, who had to leave us to go to work, calls. “How’s it going?” “We’re done, about to roll out.” “Come down to The Clubhouse, I’m having a beer with some friends.”

I quickly decide that Anders will drive, and soon we are parked outside a bar by a strip mall.

Clubhouse Bar & Grill is one of those places you just have to love. Regular people, Bud Light on tap, and waitresses who make sure you’re both happy and well-behaved.

Mel, our server, knows everyone by name, save me and Anders.

When she hears that Anders is Norwegian, she leans in, says she has Norwegian ancestry, then tells a joke so raunchy that Anders turns pink all the way up to his clean-shaven head. More friends of Scott’s show up, so we move to a bigger table.

After a few beers, it’s time to go. We have well over 800 miles to go to San Francisco. We say goodbye to our new friends, and Scott follows us out to the car. “Next time you come here, we go crab fishing, duck hunting, and beer drinking, ok?” We nod, hug each other, and, well, looks like we’re going to be looking for return tickets as soon as we get home.

SAUL – THE GARAGE ANGEL

I go to check on Saul. When I step into the shop, Saul is inside the engine compartment! That guy can work.

“How’s it going?”

“Not bad, soon finished.” He jumps down on the floor and into the car. When he goes to start the engine, it won’t start. Todd, another dude, comes by to lend Saul a pneumatic screwdriver. Now things are happening. Saul jumps up on a chair and dives down into the engine compartment with the screwdriver.

Todd is helping from the driver’s seat. “Clear for liftoff ?” “Clear,” Saul answers, the engine roars but won’t start.

Saul dives back into the engine compartment and adjusts the fuel pump again. “Clear?” “Clear!” The V8 e­­ngine ­rumbles, purrs like a cat, I don’t know who has the biggest smile, me or Saul. What a guy!

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Close, but no cigar

LA CONNER STUDIO 623 | LA CONNER | WASHINGTON WORDS BY JONAS LARSSON | PHOTO BY ANDERS BERGERSEN

Cigar boxes are great for storing miscellaneous screws, keys that don’t go anywhere, and other junk. Mike Bucy has another use for them. He picks up a cigar box guitar, plugs it into the power socket, and goes for it. His blues riffs stick to the wall like a piece of wort.

When he starts singing, it’s hard to believe that the tiny guitar/new age shop I walked into five minutes ago, somewhat at random, has now turned into a blues gig!

Mike doesn’t build the cigar boxes; Daryll Lacourse does, but he does build electric guitars. He fixes guitars and sells them. But most of all, he plays. The guy is amazing; it takes us three or four songs before we reluctantly leave the store. But Mike doesn’t get away, next time we’re in the mood, we’ll do a more extended feature on him.

LACONNERSTUDIO623.COM

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AMERICAN TRAILS MAGAZINE #16

PEOPLE. PLACES AND PASSIONS

Rubrik

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