Don't Bite the Pavement

Tomy's "Don't Bite the Pavement" is a game where you attempt to navigate a marble through a series of obstacles before the timer runs out. The obstacles are described on the back and have very little to do with skateboarding:

It's been awhile since I've seen skaters cross a drawbridge or take a balloon ride or even railslide down a old mine shaft. This was originally a haunted house themed game that I actually owned as a kid (pictured at the very bottom). The copyright on the back says 1982 but the skateboarding graphics seem a bit too new for that. I would guess that sometime in the '90s, probably around the start of the X-Games, Tomy took an old game and slapped some new graphics on it. Anywho, I remember this game being pretty fun. I picked this game up on eBay for pretty cheap (I actually paid total less than what the poor seller paid for shipping). The game was missing its marble, the balloon riders and the top arm with the guy doing an air. I grabbed the marble out of the Haunted House that I still had at my parent's house and stopped by the drug store to pick up a D battery (which they only sell in packs of 2). Not only did this game not work but my old Haunted House didn't work either. Better luck next time I guess...

Memories of Tomorrow

Memories of Tomorrow is a hardcore & thrash compilation that came out in 2000 on Youngblood Records. The cover was drawn by a guy named Mark Kromer who also did a couple other hardcore record covers but not much else that I could find. The line-up holds a fair amount of bands that have already appeared on BPA, including: Lifes Halt, No Reply, What Happens Next? and Vitamin X. 

Honker

Honkers are mostly nameless muppets from Sesame Street. Their horns honk when their noses are squeezed, which I think is their sole form of communication. This guy is from a set of foam alphabet letters that I originally intended to give to my nephew until I saw this dude. I found this set at Goodwill and it was missing a couple letters already so my nephew will just have to settle for 1 more homemade letter. Check out the muppet tag to see all the skating muppets previously featured on BPA.

Bobby Banana

The Dole banana returns to BPA with this graphic that is on the side of the boxes of bananas at the grocery store. According to his signature his name is Bobby Banana. This is very similar but slightly different to Bobby's last appearance in pin form, where he is peeling himself while skating.

D.I.

This D.I. 7" does not feature a skater on the cover but it does have a drawing of the drummer on a board on the back. This 7" is from 1988 and is a bit past D.I.'s prime. It was released by Circle-A skateboards and was only available with the D.I. deck which featured a similar graphic. You can see the deck in the ad featured at skately.com

Tom

Tom returns to BPA for his appearance, but only his first time actually skating (or at least holding a board). He previously appeared as a scooter figure hacked into a skateboard and standing next to Jerry skating. You might think Tom looks a little odd here and you'd be right - this is younger Tom from The Tom & Jerry Kids Show. The show ran from 1990-1994 and, like all kid versions of shows (Muppet Babies excluded), it was terrible. This figure was made by Comics Spain in 1992. I find it odd that there a fair number of figures just holding a skateboard. So much so that I've finally made a label for them and retroactively added to the previous figures.

Bust Yer Buns

This belt buckle features an unusual mulleted barefoot skater riding with both feet pointed forwards. The graphic appears on the packaging for Trickway Wheels (discovery courtesy of Skate and Annoy). The phrase "Bust Yer Buns" is a reference to the Jan & Dean song "Sidewalk Surfin'." The song uses the tune of The Beach Boys "Catch a Wave" but changes the subject from surfing to skating.

Ill Repute

Ill Repute's Omelette LP is a collection of tracks from various compilations with a couple demo tracks thrown in. It was released in 1985 on Mystic Records. The cover features cut out photos of the band wedged in a drawing of an omelette with a drawn skateboard tacked in under the guitarist's (or bassist's) picking hand (clearly the photos were live pics with the instruments cut out). That same dude is wearing a Stalag 13 shirt featuring the skeletal skater. I can't tell if he is actually wearing that shirt or it was just cut and pasted in.