You grew up skateboarding in Sacramento. Can you tell us about that?
Well it was a natural progression from roller skating, once I saw the older rocker kid in the neighborhood with a skateboard I knew I had to get one. So I did, and I’ve never stopped riding them. Growing up in Sacramento was cool because it has a lot of concrete and sprawling options to skate, and skaters. But what really influenced me was growing up near a “Go Skate” shop and hanging out there everyday. The older dudes were cool and there were some good curbs and that was my slappy grind training grounds. As I progressively became better and older I ended up skate- boarding with these dudes and I still do. We had a lot of small local contests back then too, it was just a solid environment to grow up as a skateboarder.
How about going to shows at that time?
Back then there were some decent spots to see shows, only punk shows in my early days. We had, Club Can’t Tell and El Dorado Saloon, where as a little skinny punk I saw some crazy events happen, both musically and socially. The Exploited, DRI, Dagnasty, and Dr. Know show is one that I fondly yet vaguely remember. Later there were some great venues like, the Loft, and KDVS would put together some cool shows, others I can’t remember.
Can you tell us about the time you DJ’ed somewhere in Indonesia?
Ha, oh ok this is a random story but usual type of scenario for my life. So I was in Indonesia awhile ago and at this time I was traveling around by myself, hoping to find old car parts but also skateboarding and just broadening my perspective on life through challenging experiences. So I get off at a train station in some small town and this Indonesian dude immediately wants to ask me questions, he seems cool enough and my age but I don’t know. So he gives me a lift on his motorcycle to my hotel, and then, thanks see ya later kinda deal. The next morning he’s waiting for me and wants to be my tour guide, well ok, kinda weird but again, ok I guess. He asks me about music and I told him what I’m into so he said he wanted to take me to his friend’s radio station and check it out. Ok, that’s interesting, so yes. We get there and this radio station is a shed! I thought, Ok, here’s where I die, good job Matt, it’s been fun. We open the door of the tiny shed and inside is this kid, a chair, a microphone, and the inner workings of two tape players on a small table. Of course, a radio station! I’m not dead, I’m a guest. So I had with me a bunch of tapes I made for the trip, yes cassette tapes. So they put me on the air, asked
me questions, had callers call in and ask questions which was hilarious because the only question anyone could ask me was, “how is your family” and “do you have brothers and sisters” . So taking phone calls became pretty annoying but playing a bunch of old punk and indie rock was fun and I gave them most of my tapes. The best part is they had me do an announcement recording saying, “this is Scott from California and you’re listening to *blank radio station “ They didn’t want me using my first name because they didn’t like it! Weird. The next day in town I heard my- self on the radio and then jumped on a train and went somewhere else.
Then somehow you ended up in a small town in Oregon opening up a vintage store ---> How did that happen and what was the thesis behind that?
Because I love random challenging experiences I guess, yes, this hap- pened... I was selling a lot of vintage in Japan, first cars, then Brazilian LP’s and clothing. I went to Japan to visit with buyers and establish better relations and such, while in Tokyo I fell in love with secret little boutique shops in weird parts of town, some with no signs, just hidden unless you’re in the know. Returning to California I quickly wanted to open up a weird hidden shop too, so I did, in Grants Pass Oregon! haha, what was I thinking? Ok, it was called, “The FunFunFun Shop” and in downtown in an old building upstairs of a diner called “Tee Time”. So here I am in this weird small town driving my old green Dodge Dart and shaggy hair wearing dirty jeans and converse buying up tons of awesome vintage and sitting in this little shop like a complete fish out of water! But it was the best experience ever and I quickly realized sitting in a shop all day was taxing so my friend from Japan sent his daughter over to be my in- tern as an exchange student or something. I don’t know but she watched the store and the kids in town loved her, I think she ended up marrying one of them? The shop was cool and inspired some of the weirder local kids, I let them have art shows and tried to be supportive of the commu- nity but it was just too random so like a carnival I packed up and moved to Portland with a huge collection of vintage clothing.
How did you get into re-building and racing cars?
My passion has always been cars. As a kid I knew when a new Matchbox toy car would be added to the store inventory and on my birthday if you bought me action figures I’d be bummed, only cars. My first car at 16 was a pile of parts and a complete disaster but it somehow managed to get back on the road, it was a 1964 VW Notchback. I took the windows out and they didn’t get back in so I drove to high school wearing ski goggles, haha, oh fun times. For me old cars are like a curse that I am terminally blessed with, I don’t want to need them, but I can’t seem to live without them either. So I decided to just embrace it, accept it, enjoy it, and live it. I’ve traveled to corners of the world finding old parts, shipped cars globally, and collected for years.
Although I’m rebuilding a 1952 Porsche now I’m not sure if a rebuilder
is the best description even though I do rebuild them with the help of professionals on occasion. My passion lies within finding them, rescu- ing them, the hunt, the thrill, the catch and release, the adventure. Also, driving old sports cars is something I just can’t live without, I am working towards the vintage racing aspect of it but that isn’t what I am known for although in my older years I aspire to achieve, as a hobbyist not profes- sionally.
Why Porsches?
I LOVE old Porsche cars! The design and craftsmanship, the engineering and visual appearance, I can’t get enough. And most of all driving them just makes me happy. I consider them art, and I look at it as collecting art. A valuable piece of art to an individual is something that gives you fulfillment visually speaking and provokes some sort of emotional con- nection. For me, that is an old Porsche 356, Gmund, Spyder, Speedster, 904, Coupe, Cabriolet, they get me.
Are the skateboard and car cultures related? Different?
There are a lot of ways you could interpret that question based on the individual’s experience. Yes, they can be related in the sense that people push each other and themselves to become better, either at a trick or how tricked out. It’s all about tricks. But uniquely for me that relation is based solely on doing something you love to do and to let it consume you as some would say. Both are full of comaraderie but yet can be a solo existence as well. I guess I just feel all types of social cultures are both related and different at that same time so it’s up to the beholder to make up his or her own correlations..
**(maybe too much “deep thoughts” by me?
Can you tell us about the race in Mexico you were just at?
Yes, the “La Carrera Pan Americana” a week long historical organized road race through parts of Mexico driven in Vintage race prepared cars.
I have been intrigued by this event for years and Porsche was heavily involved in the early 1950s. They had discontinued the race for years because it was just too dangerous and too many lives were being lost. This last year I was part of a team for a 1953 Studebaker, as an assistant mechanic/support vehicle, with the car builder. This is a structured but wild road race, it pushes people to the edge and can be very dangerous and devastating. The event travels from one historic city to the next, never sleeping, lots of repairs and unforeseen battles, just a continuous rush. I enjoy every minute of it and hope to stay involved in one way or another as long as it is offered, I have been asked to drive this event in 2015, fingers crossed, someday...
What’s next for you?
I’m continuously searching out hidden and lost old sports cars, that will never change. Building up my old Porsche collection is my main focus, so that never changes either. I am newly working on a project with the help of Mark Kaiser of “Mt. St. Mtn. records”, creating a website to develop
an online community based on vintage speed, speedcollective.com, so hopefully that will be something new for me and you. It’s still evolving.
Want to move to Joshua Tree?
Yes, I want to move to Joshua Tree as soon as you find me a house with a swimming pool and shop building.