On the heels of X Games, I am typically exhausted for a good week. Between the two-month long lead up to the actual event, followed by the weeklong deluge of work-sleep-eat that encompasses the actual event, it's a lot of work. I know, poor me, I have a job that allows me to work around something I love, blah, blah, blah. I shouldn't complain.
During the lead up to X Games, something unexpected happened completely unrelated to the event. A video that I had long been anticipating actually finished up post-production and was burned to DVD: Empire BMX's long-awaited "Bad Idea." Thomas Williams of Empire BMX was kind enough to send me a copy of the DVD during the lead up to X Games Los Angeles, and I took the time to watch it several times, but between Chad Kerley preview packages and everyone in the BMX industry suddenly needing access to X Games two days before the event, I didn't really give the video the right attention it deserved.
Last night, I finally turned every distraction off and watched "Bad Idea" from start to finish. But before I did that, I decided to place the video within the context of the filmmaker's first "classic" video. That filmmaker, Dave Parrick, has been filming and editing videos since the late '80s, first with Club Homeless (later Homeless) and later with Trash Video.
Parrick is considered by many, including myself, to be one of the first ever seminal BMX freestyle videographers in a class among names such as Eddie Roman and Mark Eaton. But whereas the other esteemed names have since moved on to different projects outside of BMX, Parrick has never strayed far. His last video before "Bad Idea" was the Etnies Footwear video "Forward."
During the '90s, Dave Parrick produced several classic videos that to date are still timeless, groundbreaking and highly influential. The first of which was the final Homeless Bikes video, "Trash." The video's tagline, "A film based loosely on the handrail," blew the doors wide open on street riding, grinds and the way in which the evolving world of BMX street riding viewed and related to street architecture for years afterward.
Before "Bad Idea," I watched "Trash" again and was immediately transported back to a time when baggy shorts and four-piece Haro Kneesaver bars ruled the land. The video is almost two decades old, but it still resonates thanks in part to Parrick's devotion and expertise as a filmmaker. After "Trash," I pulled up "Bad Idea." Nineteen years apart in release dates is basically a millennium in BMX, but Dave Parrick's ability to recognize inherent style and frame riding within its proper context is unmatched in the realm of BMX, and his quest for perfection continues in "Bad Idea."
Featured riders include Kevin Porter, Aaron Ross, Chase Hawk, Tom Dugan, Sergio Layos, Chris Doyle, Danny Hickerson, Dylan Smith, Tom Smith, George Boyd, Morgan Wade, Sean Sexton, Tony Cardona and more. Bonus footage is included, the soundtrack fits perfectly and Dave Parrick, despite playful death threats from Empire BMX via Twitter to get the video done, remains one of the greatest BMX filmmakers to grace BMX with videos.
Starting approximately July 13, "Bad Idea" is available from Empire BMX mailorder in Austin, Texas.
