Straight Outta His Mind

In our little snow-covered world, the difference between being simply a great skier and being a skilebrity depends on one thing and one thing alone: relentless self-promotion. Glen Plake has his hair; snowboarder and skiercross champion Shaun Palmer has been known to strut around in crowns and gold-sequined tuxedos. But topping them all is new school freestyler Brad Holmes, who rolls around in a classic Caddy with a stars-and-stripes paint job; wears fuzzy green-and-gold lamé zoot suits; has his own cologne, Attitude by Holmes; and is soon to unleash his musical debut onto the world.

“Yeah, it’s a CD,” explains Holmes. “It’s on Double Needle Records, which is affiliated with Kik Wear clothing company…. I think it’s gonna be called Straight Outta Tahoe.” (As of press time, there was no reaction from NWA members about this title.) Holmes says the album will be a mix of rap and punk rock, the genres that most influenced him in his youth.

“Eventually, I want to go on tour around ski resorts and play after events and stuff,” says Holmes. “I’ll have my own tour bus that cruises around. The ultimate goal is to make it big, but who knows?”

Certainly not us. But stranger things have happened.

Disc of the Month
BEAU JOCQUE AND THE ZYDECO HI-ROLLERS, Give Him Cornbread, Live! (Rounder)
When six-and-a-half-foot Beau Jocque passed away in 1999, zydeco lost a towering figure in more ways than one. Jocque was zydeco’s Bob Marley (or perhaps its Run-D.M.C.), infusing his Cajun sound with an irresistible rock energy that made fans out of Northerners who couldn’t otherwise have told an accordion from a typewriter. This 1993 set finds Jocque positively on fire, ripping out long, fast jams and catcalling back and forth with his powerhouse rhythm section. When the big man hollers out, “shake that bootie to the Beau Jocque Boogie!” you can practically hear the crowd getting down.¿Charlie Glass