Wicked Audio

Race to the Top

September 24, 2011

For most, pushing a 500-pound machine to 200 mph isn’t their idea of enjoyment. For a few, it’s what they live for. The first year Oleg Pianykh raced his sport bike he won the amateur championship. He is one of a handful of racers that have done so. He’s not the bragging type but we are so we’ll do it for him. He’s one of the top racers in his category and as far as we’re concerned, he’s on his way to the top of everyone’s list.

Born in Russia, Oleg came to the U.S. in 1996 because his brother has cerebral palsy. Oleg’s family left their home country in search of medical help. He was ten at the time but his hunger for speed was quickly making itself known. Oleg loved the idea of racing cars as a young boy but his parents would have not been able to afford the tremendous costs.

While drag racing cars he caught a glimpse of his future. The bullet bike he saw that day captured his imagination and his hunger for speed found its sustenance. Without even knowing how to ride a motorcycle he bought one and determined he would learn. Learn he did. Oleg found that the open road wasn’t a legally ideal place to race his newfound love so he took to the track. His first time out on the blacktop it claimed him as a victim. But Oleg doesn’t focus on his crashes and he gets up and keeps pushing his machine faster and harder after every fall.

Oleg takes his racing seriously and stays in great shape in order to guide his stead around the sharp curves and hooks in the track. He’s committed and enormously passionate about racing and about his sport and says that music drives him to be better and faster. Whether he’s training, racing or just keepin’ it cool Oleg uses music to create the right mood at the right time for the right job. He pumps himself up before and winds down after a race with music and he uses Wicked Audio to provide that perfect track for just the right moment. Here’s to you Oleg and to your perfect track.

Wicked Audio Interview: Katie Mumm

May 24, 2011

Katie Mumm, of Marsh Valley, Idaho, and her husband, Jedd, have made a home out of a ski resort and a lifestyle out of riding fresh pow. Read up as she breaks down how she got to this perfect life. It has something to do with getting beat up by horses and being a pretty above-average human being.

How long have you been skiing?

I started skiing 10 years ago with my middle school’s winter sports program, but I didn't hit the hills hard or start living the ski bum life until I graduated high school four years ago. Since then I’ve had 90+ days a season.

What’s the biggest trick you’ve landed?

A laid out back flip off of Rock Chuck, this big cornice at Targhee.

Was it on your first try? How do you get to the point where you say, “I think I’ll try a laid out back flip?”

No, definitely not on my first try. For me, it came with the acceptance that it didn't matter if I crashed. It's trial and air. Get it?

Yes. Nicely done. Are you competitive? Do you work hard in order to do things other people can’t?

I am very competitive, but I’m trying to teach myself to do things for their own enjoyment instead of just to be the best.

What do you do for fun besides skiing?

Bike. I love to road bike, mountain bike, motorbike and dirt bike. I love music. Running the Salmon in a kayak with my sister is the best thing on a hot summer day. Rock climbing, too. If I’m outside and breathing the fresh mountain air, I’m usually content.

Favorite music?

Iron & Wine, Kn'aan, Phantom Planet, Matt Pond PA, Kid Cudi, The Sounds, Priscilla Ahn, Adele.

First album you bought?

The Road to Eldorado soundtrack.

What’s the oldest band you like?

Simon and Garfunkel.

What do you like to do indoors?

I love to read. I really like my college classes. Cleaning the house always feels good, and sometimes I curl my hair just because I want to.

What are you reading right now? Do you have a favorite book?

I’m reading First They Killed My Father, a memoir of a Cambodian girl during the reign of the Khmer Rouge. Favorite book is probably The Chronicles of Narnia, but I love lots of others.

Got a day job?

I am a ski instructor in the winter, I teach dance, and in the summer I work at an outdoor equipment rental shop.

Favorite movies?

Avatar, by far. Don't make fun of me.

Describe your personal style.

I used to say I didn't know what my style was, but one day I realized it could be whatever I wanted depending on how I felt on that day—high heels and jeans, baggy shirts, lace, chacos, baseball caps, skinnies, flares, khakis, bandanas. Really just whatever my mood puts me in.

Favorite food growing up?

Brownies.

Favorite food now?

Brownies with chocolate chips.

Ever been in a fight?

I have four sisters. I've been in a few doozies.

Got any cool scars?

I have a scar above my left eye from getting trampled by a horse. And a fake tooth from the same incident.

You didn’t mention that when I asked if you’d been in a fight. What in the world happened?

I was saddling my horse when I was 15 and she spooked and knocked me underneath her. To say she 'trampled' me sounds a little dramatic, but I came out of it with a deep split in my eyelid, a gash in my gums and a few missing teeth.

If you won the lottery, what charity would you donate to?

I wouldn't donate it to any specific charity; I would spread it out to all of the people that I've met that have made me wish I could win the lottery and help out. I can think of about 8 off the top of my head. I’d buy my dad a tractor.

And what are you doing now, pre-lottery?

I worked in a few orphanages in Ecuador with tons of amazing little kids and it was one of the best experiences of my life. I am doing an internship with a substance abuse treatment program. I hope to always remember the needs of others before my own wants. Also, skiing is about both adrenaline highs and a deeper joy that fills a spot in my soul. I want to share some of that. Jedd and I volunteer teaching local school kids at Targhee, and we get free lift passes we can give to anyone we want. Bringing friends up who can’t afford lift tickets makes for some of the best days on the mountain.

Like to travel?
I love to travel. I don't have much interest in places like New York and Paris, but someday I am sure that I’ll stumble through and love them. I love small towns. I like to travel off the beaten path—preferably on a motorcycle, so I can be as spontaneous as the land inspires me to be.

Which one are you on the camping trip? The patrol leader? The early riser?

A little of everything—the campfire singer, the cook (good food is a necessity while camping), the adventurer. Everything but the early riser.

Jedd Mumm 130 Feet Later

February 26, 2011

Jedd Mumm doesn’t have to prove to you that he’s a world-class snowboarder. It’s not a sticker on his truck or a Facebook post or even the jump at Grand Targhee that’s named after him that lets you know how much he loves to ride. It’s deeper than that. It’s the way he’ll talks for ten minutes before you realize everything he’s said is tied to snowboarding. It’s the way every extra second is spent on the mountain. (He even works the graveyard as a snowcat operator.) Even when Jedd’s not talking, you get the sense he’s imagining the feel of his boots, the cold air. “I love snow,” he answers, not quite sure what the questions was.

He’s in a good spot for snowboarding. His skier/snowboarder wife and he live in Driggs, Idaho, 25 minutes from Targhee, his home mountain. Oh, and about that jump: What do you gotta do to get a 130-foot gap named after you? “Build it, I guess,” Jedd says. “Make it happen. I saw it when I was 15, made it happen with my buddies when I was 21. I was the first one to hit it so they said, ‘Hey, let’s call it Jedd’s Gap.’” Since then it’s been the site of some wicked air and some gnarly wrecks. Huge backflips, backside 360s, cork-7s—all while wondering if this jump will be your last. It takes vision to see a jump like that, discipline to build it and a large dash of audacity to huck it the first time. Luckily, Jedd Munn’s got all of that in spades.

Jedd’s a product of the modern age, musically. He doesn’t listen to music in terms of genres, or bands, or albums even. “I just know songs, mostly,” he says. In a post-Napster world, the mp3 is king. “I’ll get a good mix, or I’ll hear song on a snowboarding video and it will just stick.” Right now his soundtrack is Ratatat, MGMT, Modest Mouse, M83, K’naan and Kid Cudi.

That mix-and-match mentality carries over into his style, too. “I just know the clothes I like. I’ll see something and think it’ll look good on me and I’ll buy it. Then I just grab whatever’s there when I get up in the morning. I’m pretty relaxed. I hardly ever look in the mirror. I grab whatever’s out, put it on and I’m out the door.” “Easy peasy,” his tone seems to suggest. “Lemon squeezey.”

That’s what it is with Jedd. If you’ve got to think too hard about it, it’s probably not gonna come off. You think too hard about what music is cool, you’ll end up listening to what someone else likes. You try to dress like a dude in a catalogue, you’ll look like an idiot. You think too hard before you hit Jedd’s gap, you’ll break your neck. None of that’s a problem for Jedd: he’s rockin’ his tunes in some snappy Wicked headphones, looking correct and hitting double corkers off Jedd’s Gap. He does what he likes, and he does it well. ’Nuff said.

Empire Brands' Wicked Audio Unleashes Trend-Setting Line of Innovative Headphones at CES 2011

December 29, 2010

Fashion-forward company launches its newest 3D series featuring striking raised graphics and mind blowing sound

Lindon, UT (December 29, 2010) – Empire Brands, manufacturers of aesthetically appealing headphones, will be releasing its new 3D series line of headphones, at CES 20111. Falling on the heels of two widely acclaimed collections from Wicked Audio, the earbuds (Empires, Little Buds, Jaw Breakers and Metallics) and the headphones (Reverb, Tour and Chill), the 3D series rounds-up its popular releases this year.