Ride US august 1995 : Steve Crandall described Ring of Fire as the only thing he's ever done in his entire life. Ring of Fire is the new FBM flick and after watching it you're likely ta agree with Steve, it's really good. Steve lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana's Fat House with sixteen other riders/skaters, but still went beyond bis own backyard to accumulate footage (from Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California, etc...). Super good riding's served up by Colin Winkleman, Leigh Ramsdell, Jeff Harrington, and S&M's Timmy, as well as such midwestern BMX icons as Herb Hill, Greg "Born to Lose" Beem, and Wilber Istreet (of Props fame). The name Ring of Fire is likely due to the film's frequent pyro tactic clips and Steve also threw in plenty of cat abusing for added flavor. Steve himself makes quite a few riding appearences and has gotten really good at riding BMX.
Descentes de collines en caddie, canapé ou luge, Jeff Harrington, Colin Winkleman, ...
Ride US #31 december 1997 : Oh lordy, lordy... The Fat Bald Men are at it again! Steve Crandall and Mike Tag have once again managed to make one of the most entertaining videos I've seen this side of 1201 ... Only with all the explosions and destruction that make FBM so dear to me.
Once this video starts, it never slows down. It's full of fast-paced riding, good and heavy music, and some of the funniest titles I've ever read. Titles? Yep, each and every shot is titled so you know just who everyone in the video is. Nice touch.
As far as the riding goes, it features street, dirt and ramps from all over the place. And all of it is top notch, to say the least... Taj, Joe Rich, Mike Tag, Greg Walsh... They're all there.
But, then there's the explosions. And the guy flying down a hill on a shopping cart going about thirty. And Timmy Ball lighting his head on fire and running around the house. And, well, just get this video. Get it now.
" (...) funny songs, awesome crash sections (most of the video) and just plain kick ass riding (...) "
Nathan Wessel
Ralph Sinisi
Mike Tag
Kelly Baker
Ryan Corrigan
So you might have a guessed, I really like this video and anyone who has anything bad to say about it is a fuckin' idiot - case closed. In my humble opinion it is an amazing video for many reasons. Whereas Albert Street was all random sections, this one is mostly rider sections and possibly as close to being a team video as one could get. From what I understand Crandall had the biggest hand in putting this vid together with the help of Mike Tag and others, as well. Really though, Crandall did a first rate job putting this video together. Very nice footage and clean editing. The music is good, varied, -- the riding flows well with the music, and the music is very well chosen.
It seems that this vid is a good 45 minutes long, beginning with an awesome random/intro/mayhem section. Then there are the many, many rider sections, the credits/antics section - then a quite brutal but entertaining crash section - and finally a hidden/bonus/sick section, as hard evidence of FBM's professionalism. (Guaranteed, your mom will not like this hidden bonus sick section at the end, so be on your toes.) I would have to say that the vid contains mostly street and ramp, but there is some good, really cool trails riding. (Magilla's section in particular is a lesson in good trails.) There is even a bit of flat from Pat Schreader.
Most riders have a full song (more or less) for their section. But there were a couple of longer songs which had 3+ rider mini sections. Some bastard recently had the nerve to bring in a major BMX magazine that these sections were boring, and I could just not disagree more. Hey bastard, fuck you. All kiddin aside, most of these mini sections were packed with some unbelievable riding from people that you don't always see too much of. And the fact is, if you don't know it already, believe this -- there are so many amazing riders that don't receive the coverage they deserve. My favorite mini sections were Phil Wasson (excellent original stuff), Josh Stricker (he can kill a tabletop off a treetrunk), Brock Yoder (clockin' in with some seriously wild dirt style), Sean Emery (he can bunnyhop pretty damn good), Matti Branscombe (he is underrated and kicks serious ass), and finally JD Heino (he grinds and bashes the shit out of everything -- really brutal). I also liked Garrett Byrnes snippets in the intro.
In general, most everyone's section is enjoyable if not eye opening throughout. My favorite sections come from Butcher (unreal nollie to gappin' a double set of stairs?), Pat Schreader (versatile and innovative), Ron Kimler (smooth + tech + big = good), Ryan Corrigan, Derek Girard (the maniac -- really, really dialed -- jumps it big and kicks back like he is in a Lay-Z-Boy - oh so smoothe - the man is a machine), Vic Ayala (can you say Fuckin' Unreal), Magilla (= a lesson in trails + too much milk), Scerbo & Dossantos (as expected, deliver solid parts), and Mike Tag (what can you say, he rules -- this proves it once again). The really standout section for me was Vic's. It's truly amazing -- incredibly tech and burly at the same time -- one of the best sections of this year (or ever in BMX video history). Hey, even Crandall has a perfectly respectable section.
This vid is amazing in so many ways. It's packed with incredible riding that will engage you from beginning to end. There are some big burly tricks and plenty of tech stuff too. And as I said at the beginning...FBM really knows how to capture what is great about BMX and get you psyched on it. In my opinion All Time Low is one of the best vids of the year 2002, so far... which is to say that it is definitely worth the money. But just remember, this vid is not one for the whole family, so keep it on the down low.
Released in 2004. Featuring : A 10 Year Slide Show, the history of FBM on film, New Footage, All Five of FBM's Previous Videos, A Collection of FBM's Past Commercials, A Credits Compilation, Unseen Bonus Footage.
Bonus Features : Raw Footage, Leif Valin Flatland Section, 2004 Ghetto Comp, Unreleased FBM Video from 1994, FBM Commercials.
Steve Crandall, www.fbmbmx.com, may 2007 : You might be wondering what the deal is with this video. It's called "don't Buy this" and its a 5 dollar DVD, not a full feature production, but it is a full DVD, just not in a traditional format, it's informal,lighthearted and fun. Riders also in the DVD include Mike Tag, Mike Corts, Derrick Girard, Tony Hamlin, Dylan Cole, and more. The Bonus section has an old, semi obscure Albert Street Promo, I found on VHS in My closet, a handful of songs in live performances By Lucero, and Portals, and FBM road tip promo, a bunch of commercials from the past year and half, etc... Tony Cardona also has a section thats pretty awesome! In case anyone was wondering, Aaron Ross does not have a part in this DVD, no Human in the world is capable of Puling off THAT MANY video parts, He just finished the Chill Bro section, and the Etnies Video, and is also working on the New Odyssey Video, so we are going to wait till he is done with those projects, and hopefully have something in the near future, sans bike throwing. We Heart AAron Ross Big Time!
