Very stoked to see this one in the inbox this morning – Village Pyschic have treated us to an upload in full of the Deluxe ‘Gnarcotica’ Great Lakes tour video from way back in 1998. Featuring a combined Spitfire Wheels, Real Skateboards, Anti Hero and Stereo squad, this one has hit the web in chopped form a few times, before disappearing from Youtube – possibly due to interdiction from the Fat Wreck/Epitaph axis of bad harmonization?

Anyway, hopefully it will survive the rigmarole of Youtube’s music rights policy this time around because I don’t think I’m exaggerating in calling this a piece of skate history. John Cardiel‘s classic nosebone in the rain that ended up on the cover of Thrasher’s November 1998 issue, Dustin Dollin back when he was still “Devil Spawn”, a teenage TNT’s tempter tantrum (a piece of alliteration I’m quite pleased with) and plenty more make this a much watch for pretty much anyone interested in where skateboarding was at 20 years ago.

The editing and in fact general vibe throughout is definitely a product of its time and, while hearing two Swingin’ Utters songs in one video is sadly a rare thing now, the use of teen emo kid Misfits rip offs AFI on a soundtrack is not quite as missed. Fireworks, slams, booze and dice, on the other hand, definitely follow the classic ‘skate tour survival’ formula. From skatepark demos to impromptu miniramp sessions and street spot hunting, this one just goes to show that Deluxe have been on top of the game with regards to hooking up some of the world’s gnarliest skaters for a long time now. Watch it, enjoy it and wonder where the fuck Ryan Wilburn has gone?!

Featuring John Cardiel, Tony Trujillo, Quim Cardona, Keith Hufnagel, Dustin Dollin, Chris Pastras, Ryan Wilburn, Keegan Sauder, Nathan Jones and Gabe Morford