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NEWS:
�You know, El Nino has been getting a bad rap. I met the guy a few weeks ago and he�s actually really nice. He�s just been totally misrepresented in the media.� --OBE Announcer Salema Masekala.
Mr. Nino kicked down the weather gamut from corn snow to hubcap-sized flakes, even throwing in some pretty heavy duty clouds for special effect, but nothing could get the riders or the bands down. Maybe it was because no one was really expecting a stormy day to be fun, but El Nino rocked.
The day kicked off with Darylistic, the thrash-hop band lead by pro snowboarders Shawn Farmer and Jim Hale. Though the crowd was pretty much non-existent when they started, their good hooks and laugh-out-loud lyrics attracted at least 100 people who normally couldn�t have cared less about an opening band.
While Farmer and Hale patrolled the stage, a crew of approximately 20 big air huckers practiced on the Stimilon-designed big air event. During practice it was all about the Jones� (Kevin and Jeremy), with a little Rippey, Borgstede, and Francke thrown in for good measure.
Between songs Hale and Farmer spilled their normal banter. �I�m going to go hit that jump, and Farmer is going to go hit that jump,� Jim Hale said. �I can guarantee you that no one from any of the other bands here today are going to do that.�
After Oleander left the stage the Bud Light Big Air finals got underway with a more extended format: this time it was the best two of three runs. As usual it was anyone�s guess as the first two rounds went off. Jeremy Jones kept stomping his backside Rodeo�s. Borgstede was doing some 900 variations, and Rippey was doing back flips with a couple rotations thrown in for good measure.
On the women�s side Tina Dixon was hucking the huge tail grab threes, Elizabeth Walker was going way too huge, and Janet Matthews threw down her consistent-as-all-heck backflips. In fact, she threw down the same run that allowed her to take home $1500 from the Board Stiff event in Seattle two weeks ago.
We all had to wait until after the Specials played before finding out who would be walking home with a giant $3000 check. Everyone jammed down to the stage to see if the old rude boys could still skank it up. If you�re wondering, the answer is yes. Playing a mix of old songs as well as a couple off the new album �Guilty Until Proven Innocent� the Specials showed a whole new generation of ska kids how much fun pop music can really be.
The only bummer of The Special�s set was that they didn�t play an encore. The audience tried to get the chant going, but it seemed too cold to make them come back out and play another song.
During the break Salema Masekala (the OBE announcer) took the stage to announce the winners of the big air contest. Janet Matthews repeated her win at Board Stiff by doing the same jump and getting the same $1500 check. The stylishly smooth Tina Dixon lofted some a nice tail grab spin and landed in second and Kim Bohnsack grabbed third.
Landings played the biggest part in the men�s competition and Jim Rippey stuck more than anyone else to nab the $3000 check. Myles Hallen, Jeremy Jones, and Nick Francke rounded out the top four.
Mark summed the day up for everyone when between songs he said, �You know what? This day was 300 times more fun that I thought it was going to be.�
And he was right.
OTHER NEWS
EL NINO NAVIGATION: HIGHLIGHTS | RESULTS | PHOTOS | AUDIOS OBE '98: BOARD STIFF | EL NINO | TOTALLY BOARD | SNOW JOB
SOL NAVIGATION: SOL | SCOOP | HARDWARE | INDUSTRY | CIRCLEPLUS | PUSH | TRAVEL | INTERACT | SCHOOL | WEATHER | TERRAIN | COMPETE | MEDIATOR |
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