Wheelbite

Wheelbite were a band from Richmond, VA during the late '90s/early '00s. This 7" EP was released in 1999 on Malfunction Records and is their only release (a CD was later released that combines this 7" with some demos). The name Wheelbite implies some obvious skate influence and while there is no actual board on the cover there is a dude biting a wheel. The truck and other wheel are on the back cover and the insert has a drawing of a dude skating. There are 2 skate tracks on here: Duane Peters and Hanover Street.

Kevin

Kevin was a short-lived mascot for Rainbow Chips Ahoy! (or as they're now known - Chips Ahoy! Candy Blasts). He was introduced around 1990 and lasted a couple years before disappearing. He is cursed with a Midas-like touch except everything he touches turns into rainbows instead of gold. He is seen here in figure form from 1993 riding a skateboard through some clouds. The wheels do not turn but there are small wheels on the bottom that do and incorporate pull-back action.

Skeleton Figurine

I found this dude at my brother's house when I was trying (unsuccessfully) to fix his computer. He still gave him to me as payment. He's a pewter figurine who may have had a loop on his head for a necklace at one point but he now dangles from his back leg. He's in a rather awkward double grab position, but who am I to judge how the dead skate?

Headcount Records

Headcount Records is a label out of Richmond, VA run by Bobby at Vinyl Conflict, someone with whom I've had the pleasure of skating as well as driving around Maryland looking for ditches. I've also purchased more than a few records at his store that have or will be featured on BPA. Face the Rail's Fractures EP is a record Bobby gave me last time I was down in Richmond. The cover does not feature any skating but the inner label shows a Headcount Records logo in pool coping blocks with a tailgrab frontside grind.

Donald Duck IV

Donald Duck returns for his fourth appearance on BPA and his second in pin form (his other 2 appearances were a PVC figure and a bendy figure). This pin is a bit larger than the previous Donald pin and the graphic is a bit radder. There is no date on the back but it does say Sedesma which means it was made in Spain and according to Disney collectors that equates to a lack of quality. My brief search for info on this also informed me that Disney collectors abbreviate Disney as Dis when using it as an adjective (like Dis-collectors or Dis-fans), something I have often heard in reference to Discharge (Dis-bands or Dis-core were common phrases to describe what is now known as d-beat).

Little Foster

Little Foster is the mascot of Fosters Freeze, a Dairy Queen like fast food chain in California. He's an anthropomorphic ice cream cone in a chef hat seen here cruising on a fish-shaped mid-80s deck. As you can see from the backside pic, this figure was originally a keychain. From 2007.

Skate to Hell

Gang Green's 2nd appearance on BPA comes in the form of their sophomore release. The "Skate to Hell" 7" was released in 1985 on Taang Records and is one of the great '80s skate punk covers (after the action shots of JFA, Code of Honor and Disaster Area). The cover features singer/guitarist Chris Doherty in a Budweiser shirt on an early '80s pig. Although the cover photo doesn't convey the same energy captured in the aforementioned 7" covers, Gang Green make up for it with the title track. Since that track was previously featured on BPA as the b-side to their skateboard shaped pic disc, I'll link to this b-side: "Alcohol."

Edit: Matt over at Smash! Records has informed me that he is "pretty sure" this photo was taken in front of the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, a venue we saw many punk bands at in the late '90s. A quick search shows Gang Green playing a show there on June 25, 1982, quite a bit before this record was released but that would explain the board shape. Check out the Pushead flyer for that show at Noise Addiction blog.

Chiseled Spam

This sticker has a copyright of 2002 on it but I remember it hanging on the wall at Reptilian Records in Baltimore in the late '90s. A quick search shows that an older version has a 1996 copyright to PosterPop (without the .com). Coop did a ton of work for a ton of bands at that time (cover art, flyers, shirts, stickers, etc) and his work is easily recognizable. I always pondered buying this sticker at Reptilian but I was poor college student and felt that I should be spending $4 on a 7" rather than a sticker. I guess I'm doing well enough to afford this sticker now.