A couple of months ago, Steffen Born asked if I could write a song for the Nasa Star 2 kite. I'd had a previous idea about writing a song about kite buggying and making a music clip to go with it, but I only had got as far as a riff and a couple lines of verse. I had not written anything for the last three years, but this was an offer and challenge I was very pleased to accept. Several hours of guitar playing and as many again of trying to get the lyrics to make sense and 'Shoot the Breeze' materialized. I know that the saying "shoot the breeze' means to talk idly, but I figure if whitewater kayakers can 'shoot the rapids', surely us kiters can 'shoot the breeze'. Of course, once I had the song, I had to make the video! So here it is.

Shoot the Breeze

Hey John this is awesome! Great song- fun video. I always enjoy your stuff and that's a sweet looking kite too!

The ending was hilarious BTW

I hope Steffen (Born) was impressed with that video, I sure was! Thanks, John. Your vids are always a pleasure to watch.

wow .....

This is so cool .... You ROCK ....

great job, John... great vid. great song.

I always have such trouble with vimeo though

I liked getting a good look at your camera mount. That's one thing I've always loved about your videos is the camera angle. I love to see that whole set up, kite, bug, and pilot.

I don't have a gopro, but I've made a camera mount for the little camera I do have and hope to get some decent footage soon. I'd love to get an even better look at your mount so I might imitate the angle. What kind of angles and measures does it have off of the back axle?

sorry to hijack,... we'll call it a minor "aside"

Nice work dude!

Hmmm. have not touched any of my guitars in a loooong time. Bad thing is ,they are hangin' on the wall,right above the amp. Might have to change that...

Thanks very much, guys. I was very pleased there was no one around to watch me playing guitar on the beach - that would have been pretty embarrassing.......but then I go and post it on youtube ?? hmmmm....methinks I'm weird!

Mr Oliver, the mount consists of a Downey T fence fitting, some 40mm PVC pipe and 45 degree bend with an alloy ring around the outside to accommodate a bit of thread for a lock nut. GoPro mounting plate is screwed to an appropriate size bit of dowel, dropped in and locked in place with the screw. The opening 30 seconds of this video: One hundred bucks worth of fun shows it quite well. It still vibrates more than I'd like - gotta work on that...

To bad MTV doesn't stand for Music TeleVision any more. This would be cool shown around the world.

Fun times as always John. great song. Should be in his promo DVD.

I’m totally getting this guys autograph when I fly over to his beach for and share a session! John YOU ROCK bringing a whole new level to kite buggy videos… Great job man!

Todd you need to bring it up a notch now. Sing out of the bath tub!!

Quote:

Originally posted by John Holgate Mr Oliver, the mount consists of a Downey T fence fitting, some 40mm PVC pipe and 45 degree bend with an alloy ring around the outside to accommodate a bit of thread for a lock nut. GoPro mounting plate is screwed to an appropriate size bit of dowel, dropped in and locked in place with the screw. The opening 30 seconds of this video: One hundred bucks worth of fun shows it quite well. It still vibrates more than I'd like - gotta work on that...

Thanks John, much appreciated,... I'll show you guys what I end up with next week hopefully!

Hey John....whooooooooooah....super cool, I was just enjoying the video and the sound track and had forgotton you had wrote and were singing it too...well impressed.

I also like the new Vimeo layout, much better

Way cool!

Yeah John! That wasn't just good for something one of our kite buddies wrote, that's a real commercially viable song and you did a great job of putting the video together again as well. That kite has a more of a manly look to it than so many other nasa wings. Looked like a fun day on the beach.

Always enjoy you're Buggy/kite vid's They are informative and well executed, you have now added a third dimension-entertainment. Nice work We will all be singing your tune.

Thanks for the kind words guys.

It was first time I had ever been asked to write a song commercially and Steffen Born (from Born-Kites) was very pleased with it. From what I gather, most of the kiting in Jena (Germany) is done with no lines - straight from the bar - and longboards on recreational paths and parks. I believe it's called 'streetkiting'.

I'd wanted to write a song about kite buggying for a couple of years and see if I could make a video to go with it but like many ideas, it ended up as a few notes jotted down and not much else. It was nice to get a little push from someone to make it happen.

I originally bought the 4m Nasa Star to use in the gusty inland winds around my farm where I need a 'diesel tractor' not a high performance kite. I find in the gusty winds, the higher performing kites tend to shoot forward in the gusts and bow-tie in the lulls and I just don't have enough room to get them up to speed. The Nasa Stars are just perfect for that. I was expecting that on the beach they might be really slow with very limited upwind ability, but they surprised the heck out of me and the pilot of the 4m Flow who I ran neck and neck with from one end of the beach to the other. Mind you, I'm glad I had a comfy harness on - after 90km of running up and down with the 4m in up to 12-22 knots, the hips were feeling it!

Funny, I never used to be a 'beach' type of guy. Now, if I'm not on the beach, I'm thinking about being on the beach. Or the claypan at Kingston - sort of a mini Ivanpah.

Cheers,

John