Bugsy and Melissa. Bugsy and Melissa.
my friend Bugsy lent me a bowling pin bank and asked me to take it around the
country and photograph it:
me and chad.
So, I had a blast on the east coast DIY film tour. Showed it to cool crowds in Portland Maine, Boston, DC, NYC and Providence. I also did an NPR interview in DC (I will let you know when it airs), and hooked up some (cheap) paid national cable/satellite distro for the film with these folks: http://www.freespeech.org I also wrote a very long article on my Palm Pilot about the tour, it was fucking great. It was called "Rock Bad, Flick Good" and was about how much cooler it is touring alone with your film than with a rock band full of guys who hate you. It also talked about how I actually fell in love twice.). I guess God or someone saw fit to snip my tail and quench my bragging, because at LAX on the way home I spilled coffee in my bag and destroyed my Handspring Palm Pilot, (that's what I get for being a yuppie. and it was starbucks coffee) and all the data in it, and the keyboard ($250 total…so much for the fact that before that, I'd broke even on the tour, even with the plane ticket, rental car, gas, tolls, meals, etc.). Maybe that's just what I get for going to Starbucks. Oh well. Here's a bunch of photos, and some articles and interviews. http://www.diyordie.org/DiyEastTour.htm It's my birthday today. May 24. I'm 38….…..I should be out partying, but that's not what I do, I just do art. I'm on the computer digitizing images from my trip. Funny review of my movie/me: http://www.cascobayweekly.com/cbw/column/edge-preview05.09.02.stm ALOHA: I had an intense day my second day in NYC. Interviewed my friend Phil Sudo in Manhattan who is very very very sick with cancer. (can't eat, very underweight, weak, but still very full of life…very inspirational) His book, Zen Guitar, was a big inspiration for my movie. His stuff is here: http://www.zenguitar.com including his cancer journal (he told me he's working on a book called Zen Cancer) I tried to interview him last year to have him in the movie, but he was in the hospital. We've been pen pals for 3 years, but never met. He's from Hawaii and signed a copy of my book for me and a copy for me to give to Ian MacKaye. He wrote in my book "Aloha", which as you know, means "hello" and "goodbye". Heavy. Interview is digitized and up here: http://www.diyordie.org/sudo.htm -------------------------------------------= This cool kid named Ari came to several East Cost showings and did an e-mail interview with me. Here's some of it: 3) DIY had its starts around 1977 or so. the term "do it yourself" is older...there was a TV show called that in the 50s...a home improvement show. the punks borrowed an older term. Where do you see it going? um....I see corporations getting bigger and bigger, and I see DIY as important in increasing availability and viability of non-big options..... I don't consider myself anti-big business....I consider myself pro-big business....but I do consider the fact that America's agenda is much about crushing all others as a problem.....I think we need to take a look at why people are crashing airplanes into our office buildings.....I think it's partly because corporations are becoming more powerful than some foreign governments. I see DIY as a remedy....people would be wise to consider trying to make a small powerful living doing important things. I respect that more than climbing into the machine butt-first and saying "take me please". 4) Did you go to film school? nope. this is my full first movie. self-taught with help from my friends. all my experiences are here: http://www.99centfilmschool.com I made a five-minute short before this, and made a short super-8 thing in high school, but that's all. Filmmaking has always interested me, but only recently did the technology (Digital Video and non-linear desktop editing) make it within my reach. I got it quickly because it included things I was already good at: photography, music, writing, computer and also people skills. 5) Have you been, previously, to any of the cities you will be showing your film? Such as Chicago, Seattle, Albuquerque, Vancouver, etc? Do you know people in those cities? I've been to all those cities, touring with a band called BOMB. I like doing this better.....in a band we argued all the time. This is nifty...I'm alone, but meeting cool people everywhere, and don't have to lift equipment. in How do you determine where to show the film if the venue doesn't contact you first? Got some numbers networking with other indie filmmakers. If I had no number I had to get creative....call the college radio station ad ask around, do searches on the internet, Also, now a lot of people are contacting me...which makes it a lot easier. This movie seems to be something that folks wanna get behind....the people involved, as well as the thesis, ....it seems like it's filling a need..... It's not just preaching to the converted either....I'm not just showing it at punk rock venues...I'm showing it, for instance, at a museum in San Francisco....they contacted me, are flying me up from LA and paying me a small honarium....that's cool. I'm still 10 grand in the hole, but starting to make a little of my money back. I made $130 tonight. That was good. I also 6) What are your thoughts on the phenomenon of people leaving a movie theater prior to the completion of the credits? Myself, I enjoy watching the credits to see how many people and what roles of people were in the film. Yet, more often than not, the vast majority leave once the credits start (or at least the cast of characters ends). Why is this? Is it a bad thing? 7) Black clothing has long been associated with not just the gothic movement but also has become vogue for artists. Is one accepted more if he/she wears a black leather jacket, black tee-shirt, black jeans, etc? Again, is this a bad thing? 8) What is the significance of the "kitty" with you? Your website kittyfeet.com, your sweatshirt "bad kitty" -- what does it all mean? 9) And finally, according to Michael Wareham Dean, what is art? Picasso defined art with lines. Einstein defined art with words. How do you define art? 6) What are your thoughts on the phenomenon of people leaving a movie theater prior to the completion of the credits? I feel it's disrespectful.....Myself, I enjoy watching them and did even before I made films. I was taught this years ago by a girlfriend who didn't even speak English, but felt it was inconsiderate to the people who worked on the movie. Why is this? Many people don't look at films as art,...they look at them as something to fill gaps between birth, food, defecation and death. Even big Hollywood flicks can make you feel like jumping up and taking action...but this usually fades...this is because they are written on a formulae to invoke this. and I don't mean "formulae" in a figurative sense...I mean literally...it's taught in schools and books. If you don't believe me, I'll drop you a sliver of it and let you look for it and you WILL find it. ......the hero is trying to solve a problem...but fails over and over. near the end, he passes a trial by fire and becomes pure of heart enough to solve the problem. 7) Black clothing has long been associated with not just the gothic movement but also has become vogue for artists. Is one accepted more if he/she wears a black leather jacket, black tee-shirt, black jeans, etc? Again, is this a bad thing? I think that black has always been associated with the rebel....from old-guard French anarchists to James Dean to Sid Viscous.....I think black says "I'm original enough to stand on my own without color." or perhaps conversely, "I'm anonymous". It also seems anti-social to some, which ads to the intimidation factor, if you're into that sort of thing. My daughter wears black because it's the only color no gang has claimed at her school. I wear it because it might hide how fat I'm getting from sitting in front of a computer all the time. Also, I'm too poor to do my laundry every day and black hides stains. I only think that wearing black is bad if it's a uniform of non-conformity. i.e...it's still a uniform...and that's not even bad. People will do what they do....I am powerless over idiots. I just avoid them. 8) What is the significance of the "kitty" with you? Your website kittyfeet.com, your sweatshirt "bad kitty" -- what does it all mean? I like cats. A lot. 9) How do you define art? I don't. Thanks a lot, Ari Q.And do you still get fanfare from your beautiful women book and movie? A. the movie isn't made yet...just the 5-minute trailer short I mentioned earlier. book....some people love it, some hate it. I sell about one copy a month now.