Base Party 2009 Wrap Up

Thursday 27th August saw Wanaka treated to some amazing live performances from some of NZ's best acts at the Lake Wanaka Center for the first night of Base Party 2009.
 Ladi6 kicked things off around 9.30 and had the crowd pumping right from the start, with just  DJ Parks as support Ladi6's amazing stage presence made it feel like a full band behind her. After rolling through some of the stand out tracks from her debut solo record 'Time is Not Much', Ladi6 dropped a brand new remix track that amped things up to 11. Closing with a brand new track Ladi6 left the stage with some new found fans in the crowd I'm sure. 

 After a very short break, the mighty Rhombus graced the stage, and they didn't fail to please. Keeping the vibes up and flowing on from Ladi6's Hip Hop styles Rhombus moved into funky breaks and really kept the crowd moving. Finishing off with some heavier DnB tunes setting things up nicely for the Upbeats. 

 The Upbeats, in full DJ mode proceeded to drop some of the heaviest tunes I've ever heard, the bass frequencies were insanely low, shaking the whole building. The crowd just lapped it up and kept on dancing till the wee hours. Overall night 1 had really good vibes all night, even the local constabulary commented on how good the vibe was after their walk thru.

 Night 2 of Base Party 2009 saw a somewhat interrupted beginning, as the Lake Wanaka Centre fire alarm was tripped around 10.30 sending all the party people into the street as the Fire Brigade came in to check things out. After about a half hour the all clear was given and everyone headed back in and the DJ's pupmed things up to get the crowd moving again. In the Smaller room Ol Dirty Knights had them jumping to some killer hip hop and breaks tunes, even Rick James' Super freak got a spin (thanks Leon)

 In the Main room Dick Johnson was spinning super smooth House and breaks keeping the floor moving so by he time Kid Kenobi & MC Sureshock hit the stage everyone was getting into the groove. A multiple DJ of the Year winner in Aus, Kid Kenobi lived up to his reputation and dropped some huge beats and had the crowd freaking out on the dance floor, while MC Sureshock kept the crowd pumped. OptimusGryme followed and had the Dubstep kids stoked as he dropped some super heavy tunes to an appreciative crowd.

 Overall Base Party 2009 was a great success again, thanks to all who came along to celebrate 10 years of party action. I never would have guessed after i put on that first Base Party in the old Wanaka town hall that we would still be here 10 years later so thanks to all who have helped to put on these parties over the years and everyone who has ever come to a Base party, you're the ones who made it all worthwhile, cheers.

 Peace and good beats

Matt

BaseNZ.com Video Gear Guides - Snowboard Binding Technology

Hey Crew,

 another Video Gear Guide is ready for the masses. This time we're looking at new snowboard binding technology for 2009. Plenty of good stuff in there so check it out.

If you have any questions about snowboard bindings or anything you see in this video please get in touch, matt@basenz.com I'm more than happy to talk tech on bindings.

www.BaseNZ.com

Good Stuff, Online - All The Time!

Good Times At Turoa

Hey Team, Our North Island Roving reporter Kingsley has a new report from Turoa from last week, read on

We've managed to tick up 8 days so far this season, which isn't too bad I guess. Shot up last Thursday (20th) and again on Sat (22nd). Thursday morning was absolutely epic. On the reports they have stated it was the best day of the season yet, freshies overnight, knee deep in the bowls and shoots, 10cm across majority of the field. Blue skies and no wind. We hit 4 hours of awesome runs from the express. We found ourselves in a section where they had blown a good 20cm off the side of a bowl for avalanche control. That was all sitting in the bottom of the bowl at the base of a 6-8 foot drop in. That was an awesome ride.
But of course, good old Ruapehu, about 1 the weather packed in with low cloud encroaching and killing visibility, but hey, we were there so we just hit the parks for a while until the cloud cover kicked us out. Then we were back at the base, setting up kickers on the hill next to the learners slopes. That was kinda a fun way to finish the day off. Saturday was pretty sweet also. Started off pretty rusty as all were still tired and sore from Thursday. So after many a bail we decided it was time for a break. So we rested and amped ourselves up for the rest of the day and then we were into it. Just goes to show what a difference state of mind makes. Back country was all open, so we shot a few runs down by the organ pipes which was sweet. Come 2pm, the weather closed in again. But this time the cloud was high and it was snowing!! It snowed right till when we left at 4.45 which was great as the cloud was high and the vis was unlimited. So with that we shot out into Solitude and made our last run home, a full top to bottom, freshies floating around and more falling. That was nice, probably my best run of the season. After a shocking start, it was an absolutely epic finish to the day. We all left totally stoked and on a mad buzz from that last run. But needless to say, it was energy drinks all the way home.

~Kingsley~

Thanks Kingsley

www.basenz.com

BaseNZ.com Video Gear Guides - Safety & Protection

Hey Crew,
if you've taken one too many beat downs on the mountain we've got the lowdown for you on all the safety and protection gear you might need for a safe day on the hill. Covering helmets, wristguards, impact shorts, back protection, knee guards and full body armour. Check it out

www.BaseNZ.com

Base Party 2009 is coming over 2 Big Nights

BASE Party 2009

2 nights, 2 rooms, and a Jam Packed line up of Live Acts & DJS

Thurs August 27th & Saturday August 29th @ the Lake Wanaka Centre

DOPE FOR A DECADE

The 10th Base Party is bigger than ever! With two nights and the best of the best of Kiwi artists, Dope for a Decade will not disappoint! Purchase your tickets online NOW!

Flying in from Wellington with killer tunes to rock the party, once again, are Kiwi favourites and headlining act, Rhombus.

With the release of their 3rd self-titled album late last year to glowing reviews, Rhombus are gearing up to throw down the fresh cuts for the Wanaka Massive!

Rhombus will bring their iconic dub& bass sound to Wanaka, featuring the vocal styles of Lisa Tomlins and MC Antsman, along with the dub stylings of Simon Rycroft and Thomas Voyce, plus Peter Hill on Guitar.

With numerous tours of New Zealand, Japan and Australia, this well-oiled machine is set to ignite the dancefloor with a mixture of brand new tunes, old favourites, and a special visual show, all designed to power-up the party! As those fortunate enough to catch Rhombus from 2years ago can attest, this is a band not to be missed.

Not only will Rhombus Be there, but also The UPBEATS.

Influenced as much by fresh Vogel's toast, indoor cricket, eighties glam rock stage costumes and just the right amount of hermitism as they are informed by Jamaican dub, Memphis funk, Detroit techno and the timeless musical traditions of folk and Bluegrass, Jeremy 'Terror Snake' Glenn and Dylan 'Downie Wolf' Jones are The Upbeats, an internationally renowned New Zealand based d&b production outfit turned DJ duo who just aren't like the others.

Abstracting inspiration for their production name from Lee Scratch Perry’s 1976 release The Upsetters: Super Ape back in the watershed year of 1998, The Upbeats (otherwise known as the Big Skeleton) have cut a unique and unclassifiable figure on the global d&b circuit since formally emerging back in 2001.

What sets them apart from the rest of the pack is their character and influences as artists and individuals. Self-depreciating in humor and iconoclastic in approach, The Upbeats unique 21st century urban pub rock breakbeat fueled sound injects just the right dose of fluro, sweatbands, mullets and midi-triggered live reese basslines into d&b’s often formulaic, faceless nature.

Don’t get it twisted though. They might seem like the Kiwi d&b version of Flight of The Conchords, but with a catalog of releases on scene leading labels like Bad Taste, BC Presents, Virus Recordings, Project Human, Soul:R and Subtitles, and a touring history that has taken in most of New Zealand, Australia, Europe and North America, it’s safe to say The Upbeats are anything but New Zealand’s fourth most popular comedy-folk duo.

For a full line up for each night check out Base Party 2009! Tickets are available online at BaseNZ.com, instore at Base or at Play it Again Records Wanaka and Queenstown or Cosmic Corner Dunedin.

Burton NZ Open 2009 Halfpipe Finals

Hey Crew, well I'm not going to say too much here as the riding really says it all, but suffice to say, last Saturday saw some of the best halfpipe snowboarding the world has ever seen, being there in the flesh was an amazing experience, the risk and the magnitude of what the riders were doing really comes thru when you're on the edge of the pipe. The 2009 Burton NZ Open Halfpipe finals will go down in history for sure, check it out...

NZsnowboard.TV - Burton Open Halfpipe Finals from Tim Pierce - Zeros&Ones on Vimeo.

Base is looking for a Full Time Sales Assistant

Burton NZ Open - Half Pipe Quallifiers

Day 2 of the Burton NZ Open was a ripper with blue bird skies and some amazing action in the halfpipe qualifiers. Check out the action

Burton NZ Open Halfpipe Qualifiers - NZsnowboard.TV from NZsnowboard.com on Vimeo.

Burton NZ Open - Slopestyle Qualifiers action

Day 1 of the Burton NZ Open got underway yesterday with some great action in the slopestyle course put together by the park crew at Cardrona and despite the snow and wind the riders were killing it. Check out the action courtesy of NZsnowboard.com

Have YOU seen the Line Afterbang???

Line Skis have changed the ski building game again.... these days skiers are hitting terrain and features that your more likely to find in a skate video, albeit covered in snow. So why not build a ski the same as a skateboard?? So they did, check it out

Line Skis Introduces New Deck™ Ski Construction
- Four Years in the Making, Line’s New Construction utilizes the most respected construction in Action Sports.

Seattle, Wash. – For 2009-2010, Line has invented a completely new ski construction that replaces the core, topsheet and sidewalls with a seven ply Hard Rock Maple veneer Deck™ construction, edge to edge, tip to tail. Line eliminated the traditional topsheet, sidewall and core in its new Afterbang ski and instead built the ski exactly like a skateboard deck. Four years in the making, this twin tip park and urban banger’s construction results in uncompromised strength and resistance to shock throughout the entire ski.

The Hard Rock Maple veneer Deck™ of the Afterbang provides strength and resistance throughout the entire ski. The seven layers are stacked from bottom to top, each layer progressively shorter in length to create an engineered flex pattern, similar to leaf-spring suspension in cars. A fiberglass laminate configuration on the top and bottom controls torsional responsiveness and flex.


The revolutionary Afterbang construction process is also friendlier to Mother Earth than traditional ski construction methods, using 40% less plastic than cap construction, 50% less plastic than sidewall construction and producing 60% less wood waste.

Paying homage to the days of neon and half pipes, the one-of-a-kind graphics are even done by legendary 80’s skateboard artist Jimbo Phillips.

“For the past 14 years our mission at Line has been to always question status quo. We are a different kind of ski company that thinks differently from the product we create, to the way we ride it, to the way we communicate it and everything inbetween. This ski is truly the epitome of that mindset and extremely rewarding to see it prove that there’s still opportunity for such a unique product to be created still today.”, said Line Skis Founder and Brand Director Jason Levinthal.

About Line Skis:
Line Skis was founded in 1995 with a mission that still holds true today: grow and rejuvenate skiing by building innovative, high performance, rider driven ski products that support the next generation of skiers pushing the sport. Today Line offers more than 16 models of highly innovative freestyle and freeride skis. For more information on Line and to join the Skier's Union, visit www.LineSkis.com.

Midweek Bliss at Turoa

BaseNZ.com's North Island Roving Reporter Kingsley has taken the pilgrimage to the Volcano for another killer day on the snow, read on

Hey guys, another small story for ya from up here in the north.
Bluebird alert had come out for Thursday 6th August 2009. So with that we
were off. For some reason things just weren't the same today when we set
out.
It started at 5.15am when I awoke from a really weird dream. It was one of
those dreams that no matter how much you try, you just can't shake the
feeling from it. In my dream we were cruising the backcountry when the
mountain began to shake. Next thing I knew we were dodging flying rocks as
the volcano was erupting. So that was an interesting feeling that I
started the day with. Jumped in the car and shot off to grab the boys. It
was an eerie feeling. The sky was clear, the moon was so full and bright
it was casting shadows down the street and it was silent, dead silent.
As the car load of guys got bigger the excitement I had expected began to
grow. We had driven for 40 or so minutes when it started to rain and with
that our excitement began to lessen. About a hour and a half into the
journey we had passed the rain and were heading past an area of road works
when a funny noise started coming from outside the car. We had a
puncture!!! And to make it worse, we had nothing to take the wheel off
with. So thanks to some nice road workers we managed to get that sorted
and were back on the road.
The remainder of the trip was all good. We hit the Mt Road and passed
through the clouds to the glorious sight of a bluebird day and a mt full
of snow. Finally, after all the odd feelings and mishaps on the way, we
were where we wanted to be, in the conditions we had expected. Everything
was right in the world once again.
So, as per usual, slightly icy conditions first up in the morning so we
stuck to the basic freshly groomed runs, but come 11 the snow had
sweetened up to something nice. We mostly ran High Noon Express runs till
around 1. It was great. Stopped for a few photo's in my awesome new pants
(Groovstar Crown Lime tie Dye, thanks BaseNZ) and generally cruised around
having a ball.
There were no major happenings. One of our guys took out a skier who
decided to stop right infront of him, he then hit a little something which
bailed him and twisted his ankle. So he was off to the car and over for
the day. We ran the Why Not's plenty in the afternoon, awesome lips for
grabbing air off and great stashes of wind blown powder in the gullies.
Come 3.30 we were thrashing it hard, getting as many express runs as
possible before she closed up for the day. So at 3.56 we jumped aboard for
the last ride of the day, got to the top 4-6 mins later and sat round
untill the crowds has dispersed. We had the last run of the day, just as
the sun was beginning to set over in the horizon. So that was it, last
run, not a soul in sight on the snow, the Mountain was ours.

So, 4 days under our belts so far, 3 bluebirds and 1 puncture, we are
pretty stoked so far this season.

Looking foward, as always to the next stunner day, shredding up that big
old volcano, and hopefully my dream was only that, a dream.

Cheers

~Kingsley~

The New 2010 Burton Custom V-Rocker is here!!

That's right crew, the long awaited arrival of the 2010 Burton Custom V-Rocker is here. We have super limited numbers of 2010 Burton Custom V-Rocker's in store, out of only 10 that came into NZ we got 5, 2 have gone already and we have a 156 and two 154's left. No Burton Custom V-Rockers made it into Australia, so if you want to get your hands on one of these very limited boards get in store or order online now.