Gerry Hurtado (September 9, 1959 – October 13, 2015), known professionally as Skatemaster Tate, was an American musician and former television show host.

Biography

Tate was born Gerry Hurtado in Los Angeles, California to his father Jorge, a local machine shop foreman, and his mother Hilda, a clerk at the nearby

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. Tate was a top amateur skater in the early 1970s, but in a 1987 People Magazine interview, he downplayed his ability by saying he "only skated for fun". Tate later attended a broadcasting trade school, and applied his trade by working as a DJ in punk rock clubs. From his time in the clubs, Tate took up more interest in the newly growing

skate rock Skate punk (also known as skatecore and skate rock) is a skater subculture and punk rock subgenre that developed in the 1980s. Originally a form of hardcore punk that had been closely associated with skate culture, skate punk evolved into a mo ...

movement, and recorded his first song, "Skaterock Rap", in his friend's basement in 1983. Upon its release, it became popular with

skaters Skater may refer to: Sports *Someone who practices skateboarding *Someone who practices roller skating *Someone who practices inline skating * Someone who practices ice skating *An ice hockey player who is not a goaltender *Skater (subculture), ...

and Tate came to emcee parties and skate contests in both Los Angeles and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In the mid-80s, Tate was touring as an opening act for the all-girl

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band Screaming Sirens, and his music was showing up in skate videos. He released his first album, ''A Way Of Lif'', in 1988, and the song "La Cumbre" appeared on the

Powell Peralta Powell Peralta is an American skateboard company founded by George Powell and Stacy Peralta in 1978. The company rose to prominence in the 1980s as skateboarding began maturing as a sport. The company featured the Bones Brigade, a team featurin ...

video ''

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'' during a scene where the team tours Mexico. Tate originally wrote the song as a tribute to a local skater hangout. Tate later became the Host of ''

SK8-TV ''SK8-TV'' is a program shown on Nickelodeon that began in 1990 and was originally hosted by Matthew Lillard (who went by the name Matthew Lynn at the time) and Skatemaster Tate. It was a skateboard variety show that featured on-set interviews ...

'', a half-hour television show on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

, with co-host

Matthew Lynn Matthew Lynn (born 1962) is a British thriller writer, financial journalist and publisher. He is the author of the ''Death Force'' series of novels. He has also written under the name James Harland. Early life Lynn was born in 1962 and grew u ...

. The show only lasted one season and was pulled after 13 episodes. Since his departure from SK8-TV, Tate has also recorded with such acts as

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and was a producer for the acid jazz group The Stone Boners. His song "Jolt" was later featured in the 1991 comedy ''

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'' On October 13, 2015, Hurtado died of liver cancer at the age of 56.

Discography

* 1988: ''A Way Of Life'' (12", MiniAlbum) * 1990: ''Floral Bouquet'' (LP, Album) Russet /Beware Records * 1990: ''Fourth And Broadway'' - Built For The 90's (Compilation, song "Justice (To The Bass))" * 1991: ''Do The Skate'' (LP, recorded as Skatemaster Tate And Concrete Crew) * 1991: ''Justice (To The Bass)'' (EP, single) + 1991 ''Fourth And Broadway - Re-Birth Of Cool'' ( Acid Jazz Compilation, Song "Joe's Jam")

Producer

* 1991: ''Acid Jazz : Collection Two'' (producer for The Stone Cold Boners - Words From Your Mother (Land)) * 1991: ''Totally Wired 5'' (producer for The Stone Cold Boners - Too Damn Hard) * 1991: ''Totally Wired 6'' (producer for The Stone Cold Boners - Lesson One)

Appearance

* 1988: ''

'' skate video (song: "La Cumbre") * 1991: ''

'' soundtrack (song: "Jolt")

Notes

References

* "He's Not Lean but His Rap Is Mean, So the Thrashers Relate to Skatemaster Tate".

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

27. 23 (Jun 8, 1987): 155 * "Albums – Do the Skate by Skatemaster Tate and the Concrete Crew". ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' 67. 24 (Jun 15, 1991): 44. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tate, Skatemaster 1959 births 2015 deaths American skateboarders Musicians from California People from Los Angeles Place of death missing Television personalities from California Deaths from liver cancer