All Star Thursday

Live From Noo Yawk…

Well it’s always LIVE in my hometown and this past Thursday was had a slightly different feel to it. With Joey H. on the DL and Tedley on the Left Coast shredding in Santa C (Cruz? Clara? Claus?) the crowd was a little thin but no less jazzed. The ageless Trevor Brown was an early arrival along with a special guest Heaver, Mike of the Mighty Overhand. Also in attendence were Roger, Doug E. Fresh, Bradford T., Rob, Avi, Quadruple Yella Kevin who was able to pass on the jaundiced garment to Mr. Lou who lost the appelation of Fearless for this weak as one can’t be Yella and without fear it seems to me.

Personally I started out by returning to my heaving roots stretching the distance a bit and enjoying the flow of extended flight. It always feels good fling that thing and see if the flight path matches the combination of imagination and muscle memory that each individual throw requires. The subtle difference between a ‘Big Hook’ forehand which gets much air and gently floats in flat and the ‘Knife Edge’ a throw that looks errant and slices in to become a strike is one of the great joys of the game for me. That combined with seeing the power and grace with Mike throws that overhand which has enough Z’s for a combo at the end if its flight just made my day.

While Kevin, Trevor, and I started out, Thursday was primarily a day for pairs.

Roger and Brad; Rob n’ Dougie; Lou and Trevor with later Avi subbing in for Lou. It should be noted that Kevin, a relative newcomer really stepped up his game this week, throwing more strikes with greater Z’s along with a higer percentage of seals than our last outing. This is impressive because his play while wearing the Yella Jersey was quite good. Roger hit some sweet stuff and Brad nailed a mighty fine flying gitis which manage to capture with my camera (as soon as I figure out how to down load I can upload the image to y’all) 😉

While it took some time to get proper flow in the rather squirrely (even for NYC) wind, Doug and Rob took Jam of the Day honors. Though Fresh just missed sealing a Double Spinning Gitis in answer to Rob’s gorgeous Gitis off of a wild under the leg brush set, they both then took things to another level with a series of combos and co-ops that were at times remarkable for their dexterity of manipulation as the disc moved from UD to vertical to standard and all matters in between. There were hoops and foot brushed passes and that locked in sense that each knew where the other was going before the throw was out of the hand.

At the end of the day Roger busted and the three of them performed as only the Most Hein would have it. When Rob finally sat, Rog and Fresh finished with a flourish with Dougie’s “BEER!” Gitis seal as dusk settled in.

So that’s the news from NYC. I’m going to try something new over the next couple of weeks and get some thought on the Jam from our brethren. We all are brought together by the love of the game and I’d like to share some new perspectives with you all. Until then…

Tall Paul

Whassup to all JAMminators,

After missing a week of very heinous play (according to the Roger Report) I
returned this past week but did NOT have to wear da Yella Jersey haveing been
trumped by Kevin’s 4 consecutive absences (He was jaundiced per Joey H.) so I
got to just play hard.

Upon my arrival I saw we were graced by special guest Jammer Gary Auerbach who
was actually one of the first guests last year so I knew it was going to be a
good one. The Ageless Trevor Brown was there already and Brad, Rob, and Ted
came in from separate directions at the same moment followed in short order by
the Mighty Quinn, and Mr. E. Fresh himself. Gary and Trevor were already
flowing along and I got up with Ted to get him warmed up. Kevin, who is making
his bones as a Jammer busted the Beast and I having donned the jaundiced joisey.
He managed to step up big time sealing his first several moves and getting his
throw on target. Quinn, Roger, and Dougie got up next and soon the air was just
hummin’ with hein.

I don’t toot my own horn but I can say that I hit a under the leg set to a
shoulder roll to front roll for the first time ever while Ted did that crazy
smack brush of my counter UD overhand twice…not to mention a combo of single
and double spins in both directions into a HUGE Flamingo seal he pulled off
while still in 2nd gear. I had Rob sub in for me and I went to join Brad and
Gary. Brad with his assortment of behind the head pulls and blind throws was
cookin’ with gas and we had some nice flow going and when he broke for H20.
Gary then showed off some spectacular stuff including a a wild combo into what
he call his signature seal which I can’t begin to explain other than his arm
wrapped around his leg like a screaming eel as he caught the disc just before it
hit the turf.

The hottest Jams of the Day started concurrently when Ted and Rob started a
shred fest of extraordinary quality and then Gary joined Roger and Dougie. At
this point I honestly can’t describe too many specifics because there were 2
smokin’ jams going on at the same time. Rob and Ted locked in tight with
multiple co-op combos including a crazy chunk/thunk scarecrow seal by the Beast
and a very big air phlaud by the Echo Locator himself. The threesome of G, R,
and D were no slouches as the fresh blood got Dougie all into a frenzy and Roger
continued his season long habit of catching everything in sight. I think the
coolest thing about Gary is he is so smooth and so subtle that one almost misses
the degree of difficulty and virtuosity he brings to the jam…ALMOST that is,
as he was clearly awesome.

The last Jam was when Doug busted Rob and Ted and let’s just say stuff just got
out of control. The flow was tremendous with all types of tremendous vertical
and UD work, at least one major gitis seal by Dougie, Rob hitting a wild foot
brush to a spinning whatthafukizat catch, and Teddy being, well The Beast. So
that’s this week’s report. I keep writin’ ’em to hopefully inspire all Jammer
to make their way to the Big Apple some time soon. We’re always looking for
fresh blood.

Paul

BTW – Big Ups to Jill for bringing out Claire and BenJAMin and actually getting
her groove on, and the indefatiguable Chrissy who always comes out with good
vibes and that wonderful smile. These are the types of women we should all be
lucky enough to share time with. WORD!

Whassup to all:

The weather for the longest A*T of the year was nothing short of spectacular.
Low humidity about 82 degrees and there was even a bit of a breeze, though as I
have noted before…NYC Jammers don’t need no stinkin’ conditions!!!

I was a bit of a late arrival as were a bunch of folks. The ageless Trevor
Brown and Fearless Lou were already going at it pretty hard and Teddy O joined
in as I nailed up. I happily passed the dreaded Yella Jersey to Bradford Y.
Keller (Y is for , well, you know…) and got ready to play. Roger M. and Joey
H. got up next and were joined shortly thereafter by Doug E. Fresh. I was left
in a bit of a quandary as I would have had to bust one of two 3 man jams so I
decided to warm up by Heaving a bit with long distance flowmaster Jamie. This
is actually my preferred warm-up as I can loosen up my arm and run around a bit
while watching the joyous confluence of biomechanics, physics, and aerodynamics
that is throwing a disc. Once heated up I nailed a couple of 60+ yard forehand
strikes and some big air backhands while Jamie throw 3 consecutive blind
backhands right on target back at distance before taking a quick break.

Brad subbed for Lou (who is an early bird because his real job is as a an actor
on (or just off) the Great White Way) and then I went in for Trevor as Beast of
the East continued his habit of wearing out Jammer after Jammer. Brad bailed
not too long after and then it was me n’ Tedley for a while who hit consecutive
backroll to under the leg brushes setting up a big flamingo seal which really
got us goin’. Dougie Fresh then added some salsa to the mix by sneakin’ into
the jam. Teddy set the disc high over my head (which takes some doing) and as I
turned and stretched to save it, there was Fresh in to make the play. Joey H.
busted the three of us and the sky turned shred with multiple “O’Malleys” and
incredible flow. I took my own break and then watched as Ted, Joey, and Fresh
got into The Zone.

This is not the ESPN Zone, nor the Twilight Zone, but that place where only the
gifted and passionate dare to tread. TO hit consecutive double spinning pulls
into a very casual double spinning behind the back catch and then things got
crazy. The disc simply never hit the ground nor was there any controlled delays
as it stayed in mostly UD and vertical modes being brushed, cuffed, kicked,
tapped, sealed and tossed back into the fray for about 4-5 minutes straight. It
got to a point where Joey just kept laughing like a madman because everything
worked no matter how wild. When he finally sat I had to help him get his shirt
off because he couldn’t lift his arms over his head–but he was still smiling!!!
Ted and Doug closed out the evening with a flourish with some in the crowd
wondering if the former have been juicin’ with Giambi because the Beast just
ain’t natural. It was a great, great day! Wish you all could join us. Until
next time…

Paul

P.S. Kevin gets the Yella Jersey next week.
P.P.S. Rob Fried was NOT yella having gotten to the Meadow straight from his
flight back from AmsterJam. He didn’t actually play due to some unexplained
discrepancy in the tournament rules (No US players, I think) but he did very
much shred and properly represent the Jammers of NYC. Very proud of my boy!

The All*Star Thursday Chronicles continue with a torrential rush!

Having been Yella for consecutive sessions, I headed to the subway with my gear in hand looking forward to ridding myself of the dreaded camisa ammarilla. The sky had darkened while I was in transit, but I pressed on knowing that the hardcore of the Big Apple were unlikely to be deterred by the mere threat of rain. I began to doubt this wisdom when the rain began to fall in earnest. By the time I reached the Sheeps Meadow I espied Fearless Lou astride his trusty folding steed preparing to flee for drier climes but he said, “there go the boys!”. As I had the only umbrella of the bunch, Dougie Fresh, Joey H. and the Ageless Trevor Brown became even closer friends than ever to wait it out.

Trevor soon bailed but as the rain eased Mr. E. Fresh began to walk Northward simply saying “Bandshell”. We got underneath sheltering ourselves from the elements, changed into Jamming attire, nailed up and proceeded to play. As we warmed up Joey nominated Ted for his first wearing of the Yella Jersey to which the board members present concurred immediately. Just as we began to shred however, who should appear on the horizon but the Beast of the East himself. I immediately put forth Roger as the next designee, but lo and behold he too arrived. Well let the shredding begin!!!!

As always it is hard for me to quantify all that goes on when the flow is hot but Fresh nailed a gorgeous Flying Gitis pull into a Flying Gitis catch and moments later nailed a walrus of a barrel roll. Joey did some basically impossible combos that included some crazy foot brushes into multiple rolls both front and back. This was before he beagn to go a bit ‘flippy’ while scent marking the disc because he even surprised himself. After Ted wore out Roger, they took a quick break to greet the indefatiguable Chrissy, and then busted us to make the big 5 man finish. The best was yet to come with several “O’Malley’s” with the disc just flowing from man to man to man to man to man, and Roger making every seal in the book.

As darkness fell we all concurred that Brad was Yella now that he’s off the DL and I’m just glad to have that particular monkey off of my back. Thanks fer listening folks. Until our next adventure…

Tall Paul

P.S. Looks like I’m gonna be Yella for Seattle much to my chagrin. I have to work the NYC Latino Film Festival which is a great gig, but with simply horrendous timing. 😦

Hello to all!

Since I was “Double Yella” last week and the weather made for a smaller than normal turnout, I figured I’d give it rest for a New York minute sooooo…

After much internal back and forth among the Board regarding the lack of fresh blood, we were graced with the presence of Boston’s own Mr. Alan Caplin as our first out of town guest jammer (on the Meadow, PK) the return of semi-regular Pat Rabdau, and Richie Regensberg trekking in from the wilds of Long island.

They joined Rob F. Joey H., Ted “The Beast of the East” Oberhaus, Doug E. Fresh, Roger, Fearless Lou, The Ageless Trevor Brown, Jesse, and your humble correspondent, who absentmindedly left the Yella Jersey at home. The Board immediately penalized me for this foolish indiscretion so I’ll be Double Yella at my next appearence. 😦

The Jam of the Day honors were split between the 4-man of Ted, Dougie, Pat, and Roger and the trio of Rob ‘n Joey who had their jam busted by Alan. Their flow was only enhanced by the additional ingredients. Shredding was abundant in both jams though the most highly heinous of moves I saw was a big-air flying gitis seal by Doug E. Fresh. Special mention must go to Rob who is polishing his game as the NYC representative at AmsterJam (he’s set to play with Wicked Jonny Willet) and he has been a veritable Shrednought lately, so look out to our European brethren–the Hard Core of the Big Apple is comin’!! Also gotta say the Tedley started first and wore out several jammers as is his habit.

Absolutely awesome…his talent is only exceeded by his endurance and the joy with which he plays the game.

Finally, we’re gonna have a Special Edition All*Star MONDAY in honor of guest Jammer Bethany Sanchez. I will not be able to attend due to a work commitment, but I AIN’T YELLA!!!

Tall Paul, the Jammin’ Heaver

P.S. The Boys all got together and sign a disc for Peter L. and wish him good health and Godspeed in his return to jammin’ soon.

We have another chilly evening for this edition of All*Star Thursday but thing heated up fast. Fearless Lou was first on the scene, staking out the turf around the Manhole that serves as our anchor point. Even though I too arrived early, my appeal to the Board regarding special dispensation due to work related absence was denied–I will be Double Yella upon my return. Other attendees included Roger M., Bradford, Rob, Kevin, Jesse, the Ageless Trevor Brown, Teddy O. and Chrissy, the Meadow Muse too. The Mighty Quinn made an guest appearance with Joey H. wearing the Yella Jersey.

My time as observer was limited because I had the honor of getting the first Jam with Teddy Ballgame and my attention was focused on our Jam. Gotta say a couple/few things about this man. First (second and third), the guy is just a BEAST!!!. We started to play and he never &^$&^%$& stopped! He wore me out, and Fearless Lou who busted us after about 40 minutes was vanquished as well.

His passion, talent and endurance is just incredible, especially given that he deigns to play with players of whatever skill level and is always encouraging to his partners. I hit a rare (for me ) gitis, threw 10 consecutive lefty strikes, and hit some footbrushes that I never even attempted before due to the tremendous flow. Those of you that have seen or played with Ted play know that to list the combos and co-ops he creates is almost impossible. I can say that he hit an insane roll combination, into brush combo, and nailed a big air gitis on the run that I still am replaying in my minds eye. Once Fearless Lou joined us We had several O’Malley brush co-ops, and Ted did the craziest slap/brush/pass to Lou of a counter UD overhand throw from me that left me laughing out loud because I felt it coming and it happened just as I visualized.

The Last Jammers standing (other than TO) were Rob and Joey, (who wore the Yella Jersey) and they showed once again that their flow is among the finest you will ever see. With all due respect to all of the tremendous talent among our JOTN brethren (and sistren), I have nicknamed Joey “The Oracle” because his flow and disc knowledge some across as so completely Zen. The those guys finished with a very heinous brushing co-op with coming up with a gigantic Phlaud seal that damn near grew tusks.

The evening ended with a small gathering to break in Rob’s (very nice brown leather) couch and a viewing of some vintage Jams–the semi’s from the 1980 World’s. I don’t know all of the names though they included Coloradicals, Jeff Felberbaum, Krae Van Sickle, Donny Rhodes, and a slew of others whose names I recognized but I can’t recount now as I must get to work. Suffice to say that the level of play was wonderful to see and those guys set standards that all of us still strive to match. Oooooh I love this stuff.

See you in a couple of weeks.

Paul

To all my Plastic People,

This installment was noteworthy in that it was all indigenous Jammers with not one drop of fresh blood. We’re callin’ all y’all out now. If your even thinkin’ about coming to NYC for business or pleasure, you must build an All*Star Thursday into your itinerary.

When I arrived Fearless Lou, Teddy O., and the ageless Trevor Brown, were already going at it. I changed out of my civvies into my very subtle shorts (those who know me, know ‘zackly which ones) and subbed in for Trevor. Others in the mix were Bradford K, Doug E. Fresh, Rob Fried, Rocket Roger M, Spencer, Avi (first time this year), Kevin, Jesse. and our Mistress of Ceremony, Krissy.

There was a major front moving through so a breeze that began as a little bit squirrely, swirled into a quick maelstrom with a cold shower to boot but then the sun came out and the fun really began.

Jam of the day honors went to the 4-way featuring Dougie, Rob, Tedley, and Jolly Roger. The flow was very Zen with the A*T Styler moving from man to man without anyone dominating the disc. Don’t get me wrong, each man took their turn as a soloist with some unusual flourishes such as when Doug, Ted and Rob sealed consecutive combos with flaming flauds (sic?) or the 6-touch brush sequence with Dougie playing his own Eggman and Walrus (once again…The Big Seal!).

Ultimately it was the overall combination of Rob with his uncanny abilitiy to locate the disc (which I personally attribute to echo-location), Doug hitting yet another big-a***d gitis into a Kung Fu Hustle roll, Roger’s continuing to close the deal with nasty triple fakes, and Teddy O…man, I have too few superlatives in my vocab for the passion, persistance, endurance, skill, and especially flow homie brings with him week in and week out. I think Krissy must be have her Mojo workin’ overtime, and for this we are all Blessed!

So that it for this week. Get out ther in respective territories and rip it up sooner and later! If you ain’t ready to come to NYC now…then youse all am be YELLA!

Tall Paul

To Jammers everywhere:

The second A*T of 2005 was a cooler than the awesome Sunday weather, but hot as
blazes once the plastic began spinning. Folks began rolling in at 5:30pm and
started nailing up, stretching out, and going through assorted breathing
exercise rituals. In attendance were Brad, Spencer, Jesse, Kevin, Fearless Lou,
the ageless Trevor Brown, Doug E.Fresh, Rob Fried, Roger and me. Personally,
I’m trying to get some of the Heavers involved but in the meantime…

Ted, my boy Fearless, and Trevor (an original Central Park player) started the
first Jam and the shredding began in earnest when Rob busted and made it a
4-man. Kevin and Jesse got up next getting themselves all hot and bothered
while pushing each other to tighten up their throws. Last up were Mr. E. Fresh,
the Artful Roger, and myself. Now I ain’t the guy to toot my own horn but I can
tell you that we “got flow” almost immediately with Roger continuing playing his
own Eggman and Walrus (smokin’ combos into the Big Seal–get it?) 😉 and Dougie
showing his amazing dexterity, control, and fierce desire to achieve the highest
of the hein. When he hit the ground after missing his first attempt at a
spinning gitis, he growled a little bit and two combos later nailed that bad boy
with much air to spare before unleashing a perfect throw. I thought to myself
“Oh Yeah…It’s ON now!!!”.

One interesting note: The Sheeps Meadow is a magnet for many folks from across
the world. I had to bail early and as while getting dressed was informed that
there was a gentleman who stopped to watch Dougie, Roger, and I jam for a little
while–Sir Paul McCartney himself. I had a number of reactions internally but
the biggest thrill for me was the idea that a man who has spent so many years
giving so much of himself while performing in front of literally millions of
people, could find a few minutes to quietly check out what we do in our little
slice of heaven. The magic spell of Freestyle (once described as ‘Tai Chi with
a tool’ by one friend) that has us in its spell will ensnare many people for as
long as the disc stays off the ground. For me, I damn pleased that we got into
a flow worthy of a man with whom I share a name and whose work and talents have
enjoyed for my entire life. Yeah, I actually watched the Beatles on Ed Sullivan
and vainly tried to convince my my parents
to take my brother and I to Shea Stadium to see them live. Sorry for the
digretion from Freestyle into revery, but Life is an varied adventure…

The board did not address the issue in my presence, but the early nominee for
the Yella Jersey was VA State Champ Joey Hudocklin. Unless he showed as the sun
went down, he’ll be wearing the “La Camisa Amarilla” next week!

Tall Paul

The grassy green center of the NYC Freestyle Universe opened for business early
this year so April 14th brought us the first All*Star Thursday 2005. In
attendence were Brad, Roger, Bill Doobs, Fearless Lou, Pat Rabdau, Jesse, Kevin,
and myself. Teddy O., Joey H. & Rob Fried joined the fray as well, fresh off of
their flow-filled victory in Virginia (Thanks for representin’ da’ homies
fellas).

It was chilly but two 4-man Jams were notable smokin’: Bill Doobs, Brad, Joey
H., and Roger lit it up early then Ted, Pat, Joey, and a very Jolly Roger
proceeded to shred. Mr. Meier was in the heinest of moods and in fact went
dropless for about 15 minutes…only to be jinxed when Rob pointed this out to
the crew. It appears that Doug E. Fresh is gonna get the first Yella Jersey,
though with twin Daddy Duty responsibilties, he could get a special dispensation
from the board.

So to all of our world wide plastic people: we’re always lookin’ the fresh blood
of special guest jammers. So Don’t Be Yella!! Come on down to our Green Beach.

Tall Paul

P.S. Conditions? We don’t need no stinkin’ conditions!!!

Now that the Thanksgiving feast has passed and the winter is racing towards us, the devotees of flying plastic are, in most of the country, relegated to indoor spaces and telling tall tales of hot jams past. I am here to tell ya a story about not just one heinous gathering of smokin’ Freestylers, but a summer full of amazing feats of Frisbee derring-do.

There are some folks that believe that New York City is the center of the world and as a native ‘New Yawkuh’, who am I to disagree?* (see below) The cognoscenti will tell you Freestyle Frisbee had its genesis in Washington Square Park and in Central Park around the Bandshell and Frisbee Hill by most accounts.** (see below) It really found a home on the Sheeps Meadow when it reopened in the Spring of 1981. Any nice day, there were Jammers (and Heavers, our long tossing brethren) out for hours at a time over the last 20+ years. During warm weather months with their loooong days, after work was easy since life was without strings attached for the most part. As the time went by we all aged a little bit and gained sponsibilities like kids, real jobs etc. and the after-work crowd started to thin out.

Early in the Spring of 2004 on consecutive Thursdays, we were joined by a former regular, one Ted Oberhaus (with the lovely Chrissy riding shotgun) where some seriously amazing jams occurred. On that second Thursday Ted, Doug E. Fresh, Joey Hudocklin and Rob Fried combined to just set the place on fire. Coincidentally, Joey had told me earlier that week that while he and Ted had played together before, they never really shredded. Well, this foursome sure made up for it that day – the disc never hit the friggin ground and each combo and co-op was better than the last. I’m not the best when it comes to specific nomenclature but I can tell you that the disc always being turned over from U-D to standard and back. Nobody cared which spin was thrown, brushed, or kicked and there was much vertical work (Freak Me Out, Frank! is now a name of a crazy-assed throw). Of course, there were numerous double-spinning Gitis (sic?) seals, and Ted might have hit a triple to go with Joey hitting a Bodonkadonk (a UD Lairbs kick to the delay) – really twisted stuff. Afterwards, Chrissy, Bill Doobs, Ted and I were talking and she said You know we should pick a day maybe a Wednesday or a Thursday to get everyone to come out and play. I replied, Well you already picked the day, it has to be Thursday. With the special guest Jammers around, Ted chimed in that it was like having the All-Star game. Chrissy’s response was All*Star Thursdays! and we all had a chuckle. Joey added his too saying “And ya gotta show up, otherwise yer gonna be yella”, to raucous laughter. And then the plot thickened.

The following Thursday, my boy Fearless (Lou to the rest o you), myself (Tall Paul) and a couple of early birds were at the Meadow when Ted and Chrissy arrived with a huge black duffel bag and even bigger smiles. Homeboy breaks open the bag and pulls out brand spankin new Sky Stylers with a pinwheel logo along with “All*Star Thursdays” and “Don’t Be Yella” emblazoned upon them. Then he breaks out a medium-sized yellow T-shirt inscribed with “I Was Yella” on the front, and “Don’t Be Yella” on the back–the dreaded Yella Jersey! Unlike in the Tour de France where the leader gets to put it on, if you missed an A*ST you would have to wear the Yella Jersey. Anyone who came to consecutive A*STs was eligible for the jersey depending on the decision of judges (us). The jams that day were incredible and it was decided that Joey, who managed to miss that one, would be the first to put on that ugly yellow rag the following week, and a tradition was born.

As word got around, Jammers from all over the place started to show up. As you all know, there is nothing like having fresh blood coming in to join the circle of players. No matter how talented a given group may be, having new faces with their different styles changes the flavor of the Jam, which is a good thing! There was one day where there was an unbelievable 5-man Jam with a Wham-o 100 mold featuring Joe, Rob, Doug, Pat and Ted. It was special because the conditions in NYC (We dont need no stinking breeze!) are not always conducive to many players on one disc, but the flow among these gents was awesome to behold. My favorite time of each week was when the sun went behind the buildings and dusk began to settle in because folks were already hot and they knew time was short. Thats when the call of Beer! would arise, so each man would dig down deeper and want it just a little bit more than the next guy, thus summoning the Frisbee Gods to anoint them with the blessed nectar of hops n barley. It is tough to recall the actual moves but calls for Beer frequently involved upside down brushing co-ops. We have a couple of folks who were inspired to start jamming more seriously (Kevin & Jesse) because of the awesome level of play and the willingness of the crew to share their time and knowledge. And if you think that inclement weather slowed us down, the hardcore shifted over to the band-shell and played on the hard concrete like in the old days.

Here’s a listing of the Regulars, the Irregulars, and the Special Guest Jammers who graced our hometown. If there are any Guests who have special memories of their All-Star Thursday experience, or if there is anyone who showed that I have missed, please let me know.

Regulars: Ted Oberhaus, Doug E. Fresh, Rob Fried, Joey Hudoklin, Brad Keller, Tall Paul Mondesire, Fearless Lou, Danzo, Trevor Brown, Roger Meier, Spencer, Kevin, Jesse

Irregulars: Bill Dubilier, Pat Rabdau, Quinn O’Neill, Richie Regensberg

Special Guests: Gary Auerbach, Todd Broduer, Alan Caplin, Scott Sailor, Tommy Leitner, the Brothers Cooksey from Virginia, Jonathan Willet, Ryan Vinoski

Yella Jersey Designees: Joey, Doug, Fearless Lou (Double Yella), Roger, Brad, Trevor, Tall Paul, Bill Doobs (1/2 day), Spencer, Ted

Truth be told, there are a couple of folks who, along with Ted & Chrissy, deserve special mention for their contributions to our good times. The return of Joey Hudoklin to NYC from the Left Coast, really got folks here jacked up a notch and he discovered Malachys, home of the post-Jam hangout. Then there is Mr. Doug E. fresh who week after week sent out e-notifications to make sure that people were out there and psyched:

Sunset tomorrow at 6:51. Let’s not dilly dally. All Hein-No bail!! 80 degrees and sunny! The National Weather service has issued an All*Star Thursday Jam Advisory: THERE WILL BE COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF CUFFING; GITIS WILL OCCUR IN GREAT NUMBERS; SKIDS AND AGAINST MOVES ARE HIGHLY PROBABLE; SOME ACTION MAY OCCUR ON CONCRETE. BULGOGI IS MARINATING.

U know u r an all-star when:

1. U get inane emails from Fresh on Wednesday 2. U think u know what the move “malachy” looks like

3. U are wondering who the guest all-star will be this week.

4. U ARE NOT YELLA.

Come on Pete!

Thursday looks All-Starry.

Finally there is Rob Fried who made our NYC born tradition internationally known. When the intrepid Mr. Fried went to play in AmsterJam, he spread the word to our European brethren, so they too know that they should not be yella. Therefore in closing, Noo Yawk is throwing down the gauntlet to all the Jammers out there. Its tough to get folks together during the week after work, so why not institute All*Star Thursdays in your neighborhood? It doesn’t matter how many folks get out there, as long as you bust your behind upon arrival. It would be nice to know that no matter where in the world you play, there is one day that you can find your peeps and get your plastic inspired groove on, no frontin! All Hein No Bail!!! Rob also wants to let everybody know that All*Star Thursdays are continuing through the winter under the lights at the Washington Square.

* About the author – Actually, most serious Jammers (tournament types) from outside of the metropolitan area may ask, :Yeah, who are you anyway?” Well, I’m Tall Paul the Jammin’ Heaveror, the Heavin Jammer depending on your perspective. I was moved to put together this piece on All*Star Thursdays because of a deep abiding love and respect for a sport that almost everyone will watch (at least until there’s a drop) but not too many folk outside our circle understand.

I’ve been coming out to the Sheeps Meadow since it reopened in 1981 and became the destination for devotees of many eclectic sports, but especially those with a hankering for flying plastic. Like many of us, I learned to delay while playing Ultimate in college (SUNNY Binghamton Whippets 78-79) and can still recall coming into the Meadow for the first time–it was from the Southeast corner by The Rock. I saw what must have been 50 discs in the air and knew I had found my own slice of heaven. I was (and still am) enamored by the flight of the disc and came out religiously. I was friends with original Washington Square Wizard Jeff Felberbaum from before he started Jamming so I knew a few of the Freestylers by sight. The ageless Trevor Augustus Brown and Eddie Bennett were the first guys that let me bust their jam– I had no nails but plenty of moxie. Roger Meier later convinced me to put on nails circa 1985 and I was hooked. I learned to throw strikes with Zs by playing with Richie Regensberg and Bill Dubilier and learned a boatload about flow when I went to LA on vacation and played on the Venice Green (many thanks to Z/Dreamer) and when Angel was here for a spell in the 90s. Personally, I have to say many thanks to Ted, Rob, Joey, and Doug because they have on many occasions let me bust their Jams. I may have, relatively speaking, a limited set of moves but I have been inspired to do things I never would have tried before and I have learned to be a flow masterplaying point guard just as Angel taught me while he was here in NYC.

** – What follows here are some memories culled from the cranium of Roger Meier of the early days and the move uptown to Sheeps Meadow from the Washington Square Park…

The early days had two separate groups of Jammers, the Washington Square Wizards and the dudes from Central Park. The wizards were centered by Joey Hudoklin, Richie Smits, John Dwork and Jeff Felberbaum roughly from 1974 – 1980. The Central Park crew was comprised of Krae Van Sickle, Kerry Kolmar, Mountain, Brian Eure and Clarence Braithwaite, Gerry Lynas – who put out a newsletter, and a few others. The Central Park Jammers had a number of locations, one being in front of the Bandshell and another being “Frisbee Hill” just north of the Sheeps Meadow. The Meadow was a dust bowl used as a ball field for baseball, ultimate, football and was nothing like the Green Beach that we are blessed with today. There wasn’t any real jamming going on in the Meadow in those days.

The re-sodding of the Sheeps Meadow was a practically a religious experience. Watching them roll out the grass over the meadow was a sight I will never forget. It was at this point (circa 1981) that jamming really started to migrate uptown, though during the early 80’s there was still plenty of activity in Washington Square as many of us lived downtown. During the first few years, the Meadow was closed on alternate week-days forcing Jammers to other spots. I remember the gang used some types of smoke signals (Gub?) to spread the word if it was going to be a W-Square day or Meadow day, since this was in the pre-Internet/cell phone Dark Ages. During the mid 80s our knees started to age (just the knees mind you) and a few of us moved Uptown, the jamming became almost exclusively in the Meadow, with the exception of scheduled Square jams that continue to this day.

Paul Mondesire

tallpaul513@yahoo.com

2005 Bandshell