What are a few characteristics of Liam Pace’s skateboarding and his music taste? They roll at a fast pace, hit hard, and can fire up a crowd! We recently got in touch with Liam as he spends some down time in Mammoth Lakes, California, after his Europe travels for Simple Sessions (congrats on the dub!) and the skate rager that is Copenhagen Pro. We got the lowdown on some of his favorite music, the Beastie Boys album his parents used to have on replay, and a custom-curated playlist. All this and more in Liam’s On Rotation interview below.
Let’s get down to some music. What’s your favorite type of music to listen to?
That’s a tough one, but I’d probably say like metal. I like a mix of it all. I listened to a lot of stuff from the 90s in the early 2000s and even some more recent stuff.
Can you name some of the bands you’ve been listening to?
More recently, I’ve been listening to Spite, this group called Knocked Loose, and I’ve been listening to a lot of Black Sabbath and Deftones.
Where would you say your metal inspiration came from?
I don’t know; I’ve always been drawn to it. There’s something about it that I’ve always liked. I like everything from the 70s groove and Boogie music all the way up to some more recent stuff, but metal is definitely my favorite.
Were those some of the same type of music your parents listened to while growing up?
When I was younger, my parents definitely played a lot of 90s metal and rock, a lot of Beastie Boys, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Just kind of had a good mix of everything.
Where there any bands that you were obsessed with as a kid?
I would probably have to say like the Beastie Boys, even though that’s not metal at all, but my parents always were playing Beastie Boys in the car.
That’s so sick. Do you remember the album they’d play?
Licensed To Ill was the album that played the most.
Switching gears into some skate-related stuff. Do you ever like to skate with headphones?
Sometimes but not when I’m in a crowded park, just because I like to pay attention. I go fast, and I don’t want to hit people, so I like to be aware of what’s going on around. But having a speaker is always nice.
What about during a contest and you have the whole park yourself? Do you ever throw on headphones to focus?
No, not really. That kind of messes with me like having too much stuff going on, and it’s directly in my ear. I just try to tune out everything else that’s going on around.
If you could pick a song for your contest run to play on the speakers, what would it be?
Oh, that’s a tough one. I don’t want to pick a song to which I know all the lyrics super well and sing along to it because that might mess me up while I’m trying to skate. But I also want something good. If I can have a song playing during a contest, I think just for the fun of it and the good mood it brings, it will probably be like Brass Monkey by Beastie Boys.
How about any skate videos that influenced you because of the music or favorite parts that stand out?
I used to watch Powell Peralta’s FUN! [2009] and Pretty Sweet [Girl/Chocolate, 2012] a lot. I definitely liked the music that they use, but it was more for the skating. Though Alphonzo Rawls’ old parts, those songs that he used to pick were awesome.
You recently had your Monster Army video part drop this past March. How involved were you with the edit, and how did the song you ended up using come about?
I told [Josh] Peacock I wanted something a little heavier to go with my skating and all that, and I just let him pick a song. I actually didn’t even hear the song until the part came out. I just put my trust in him, and he did a pretty damn good job at it.
What’s it like spending so much time in the van with Peacock?
We always shoot the shit in the van or listen to good metal music or something funny. It’s always a good time in the van with him.
We’ll finish this out with a tough ender. What would be your dream song if you could pick anything for your next video part?
I think it would be really sick to use God is Dead by Black Sabbath. That song is so rad and has really cool highs and lows. You’d have to have a long part filmed for it, but it’d be really rad.
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