Lots of new listening. I learned of the recent series of Boris 7" singles too late to subscribe from Southern Lord and get the free fourth one on colored vinyl, but was able to piece together the basic set of three anyway. Thanks to Andee, Cup, and crew at Aquarius Records in S.F.'s Mission and online! Also picked up the new Doomriders. Holy crap! I feel like Barney discovering beer: "Burp! Where have you been all my life?"
My friend Kevin Imamura of Nike SB hooked me up with some new shoes last week. Very cool, very bold, very simple--even simpler than they look since a glance at the box reveals that they're part of Nike's Considered Design effort to use cleaner materials and less waste. It's an ongoing, self-regulated process, and I think it's cool.
On a related note, when I interviewed Kenny Anderson for his article in the new GR, he talked about how he chose his sponsors. Elwood Clothing is on board with his idea of using organic cottons, bamboo, and other sustainable products. One day, Kenny is going to make a short documentary about where clothing comes from... I was impressed enough to buy Elwood's "Kenny" shirt, which has a tag that clarifies that it was made with minimal impact to the environment. (His wheel company, Satori Movement, also makes wheels with vegetable oil and recycled cores.)
Kenny walks the walk, too. Two vegetable oil-sipping Benz autos are parked outside his house, which is being renovated with old grown hardwood floors, denim insulation, and the works.
I was introduced to Element shoe designer Paul Kwon by his skate buddy and my longtime friend Ray Barbee. Paul mentioned that he had been working on some sustainable shoes and wanted to hook me up.
These Winslows are a part of Element's Earth Collection. The soles are made with the cold-cure process and the uppers feature organic parts. (The Conscious By Nature shoes are a little harder core in the green department.)
Finally, here's a pair of board shorts by Matix. My friend Jason Walker works there as a designer, but I actually bought these just before my last trip to Hawaii. Nothing special about the material that I know of, but instead of including a shredit card/wax comb, it came with a biodegradable trash bag to take to the beach and fill with garbage.
I have to admit that I didn't break it out on the sands of Waikiki, but I did use it to pack my dirty clothing and then use as a trash bag at home...
There's a growing army of people choosing to eat local, organic foods (sometimes vegetarian or vegan) and drive vehicles with better gas mileage (if they can't skate, walk, bike, or take public transportation) and clothing may as well be part of the equation, too. Throwing away all your clothes and resetting your closet with greener goods isn't smart, but if you're choosing between two pairs of sturdy, good-looking, skateable shoes, why not pick the one with a greener footprint?
When I pick up mail from the GR store, I usually divide it between catalogs and samples for Eric, bills for Cate, and review stuff for the mag big. Today I found mysterious package addressed to me. No clue as to who it's from. Amazingly, it was full of straight-edge 7" singles from the '80s and '90s!
First off, YOT's farewell 7" from 1990, with "Disengage." Ray of Today went on to form Shelter, work with the KC, become a MMA enthusiast, and contribute to GR. Also, one of YOT Walter's other bands, the highly regarded Quicksand. Nope, not the white vinyl version, but I don't care too much about that sort of thing.
Not that I'm against colored vinyl or don't think it's cool that my benefactor gave me not one but two colors of Blackspot's Check Out The Helmet EP. The thanks list includes "Irvine Orientals"!
You have to be pretty knowledgeable about the straight-edge scene if you are familiar with Mouthpiece and Outspoken. Both on New Age records.
411 was a great band. I saw Dan O'Mahony and company open for Fugazi at the Palladium. House of Suffering... yet another great band named after a Bad Brains song, with links to Amenity and Inside Out.
The NYHC must have been bummed that they misspelled the final word of "Shall Be Jugded" all over this awesome release. Judge--yet another Porcell (YOT) band with the man lending guitar and production.
You knew straight edge was over when guys were leaving to play on major label projects like this or CIV's solo stuff...
Thanks to the someone out there for the hookup. Merry sXe-mas, and don't let anyone spike your eggnog!
No, jury duty never comes at a convenient time. And waiting around with a room full of strangers isn't fun. Complicating matters are the group fear of H1N1 and collective stress over the holidays. But I didn't mind getting it this week. There was no traffic, it made visiting Clement at JANM really convenient, and I got to catch up on some reading that I've been saving up since receiving my notice in the mail.
First off was Cometbus 52. As it says on my Staff Recommendation note on his latest mag at the GR store, Aaron Cometbus is a fixture in indie punk rock culture and one of my literary heroes. Alluding to touchstones of punk culture without being bogged down by actual descriptions of music, this particular issue recounts his stay in St. Louis and brings to life a generation of punks that juggle their addictions to music and coffee. How much of it is truth or fiction? That's not the point, because you're not supposed to search the bins at Amoeba, Headline, or iTunes for the bands that are mentioned. What counts is Cometbus's honesty in capturing the enduring underdog spirit of punk--not to mention the unspoken poetry of its doomed-but-cyclical nature--and the readers looking at his or her own scene (music-based or not) afterword.
The newest issue of Cometbus, which came out just a month after the last one, is the equivalent of a split EP. Half of the contributions come from longtime CB writer Maddalena Pollenta, and they can be difficult to read. Her writing tends to be less narrative and less anchored to a timeline, which is good because her subject matter is a lot harsher. Her approach makes death, dope, and depression less clinical and more human. Of Aaron's pieces, I thought his essay about ex-punks making up a quarter of NYC was really interesting. His interview with John Holmes was an insightful glimpse into the past, too, adding remarkable depth to his cartoonish imagery that most people know from the first two Ramones albums.
I get to meet a lot of my heroes via Giant Robot--interviewing John Woo for the latest issue is just one example--but I got kind of freaked out when Aaron called GR to find out how many copies of this issue Eric wanted to order. I was composed enough to tell him that his last issue sold out on Sawtelle before I could buy one, and that I really enjoyed his last band when they played in Eagle Rock earlier in the year. He knew GR well enough to say that he wasn't sure what duties Eric and I had regarding the mag and shops, and that I should have said hi, which was cool.
I actually purchased the two issues of Cometbus, but the last item I read was a review copy of a book on the Anthrax Club, a punk venue that operated from 1982-1990. While I didn't know much about the Stamford or Norwalk scenes, I did listen to punk during those years and can appreciate the trailblazing aspects as well as the evolution of music that took place during the years. The book is highly complimentary toward the proprietors--made by a fan with their full cooperation as well as quotes from musicians that any punk will recognizes--and that's okay. This book is about a local spirit and not sociology or economics.
One of the first things I thought when plowing through book was that not every scene is lucky enough to have a Glen E. Friedman, Anna Summa, Gary Leonard, Ed Colver... These pics seem to be by fans, which lends a real clubhouse feel that's appropriate. There are plenty of shots of the audience, which you don't see often enough, and the pictures of the bands are often unflattering, which supports the text's assertion that the club was small but cozy and honest.
Band photos and quotes include Fugazi, Gorilla Biscuits, 7 Seconds, Rollins Band, Insted, Descendents, AOD, Dr. Know, No For an Answer, Sick of it All, Cromags, Bold, Swiz, SNFU, OPIV... Friends of GR include pre-Raghunath Ray of Today, Smalley in Dag Dasty, Zach in Inside out, and vintage "Lady Killer"-era Vandals! Check out the preview below...
Since I never learned how to use a manual camera, I have a ton to learn about photography. So my ulterior motive for attending the free Moonrats show at The Echo last night was to experiment with low-light shooting using the GF1. I'm not sure if it was the perfect night or worst night to do that since the stage lights--which are always funky anyway--were kept on dim for the entire set. Not many decent pics came out, and I probably should have given in and just used flash. Oh well. But the set was quite good--more proggy than their songs on YouTube suggest--and I saw Becky Stark for the first time in years. She sang backup on the third or fourth song, and told me afterward that she and keyboardist/vocalist/guitarist Aska make music together as well, and have some gigs coming up.
Leaving the Echo, I was pretty demoralized about shooting pictures. Luckily, the combination of a light mist with neon lights made for the photographic equivalent of low-hanging fruit on the way back to the car. Nothing takes low-light pictures like the Ricoh GR-D, but this was a good confidence builder.
My brother Greg surprised his daughter by having an elf deliver a potted, living Christmas tree during her birthday party. I saw the footage, and even though it the elf wasn't played by a midget, it was still really cool. Saoirse and her friends went on to decorate the tree with a mixture of collected and handmade ornaments. I was particularly impressed by the gingerbread-man shaped ornaments decorated as various stages of MJ. Above: Captain EO.
Above: "Billie Jean." Below: "Beat It."
Each one has a year painted on the back, so Saoirse will be able to reflect on the magical moment dad took her to see This Is It and loosen the grip of High School Musical on her listening habits.
Last night we went to the Clairemont neighborhood of San Diego to attend my niece Saoirse's sixth birthday party. We arrived too late for cake but in time for pinata busting and a walk down the street to check out the local Christmas lights.
I've blogged about this string of homes before, but it never ceases to amaze me. Even in the midst of recession and gloom, the residents keep going for it.
If anything, it is bigger than ever with a horse-drawn carriage and hot chocolate, cider, and cookies being given out for free on many driveways.
The home above gets points for just using bulbs--no inflatable crap or gimmicks. The one below might be the only one with a black Santa (I think). Points for that, too.
There were tons of pedestrians walking on the sidewalks and lots of cars driving through the neighborhood with lights dimmed... I overheard that prospective buyers into the area are asked to sign paperwork stating that they are aware of the annual tradition and are okay with it.
Above, stuffed animals minus Mike Kelley-style voices or irony. Below, low-fi cutouts are cool.
Below who's driving this thing? Energy shortage--what's that?
Since we're not crafty or baking people--but we are cheap--Wendy came up with the idea of me making a mix CD to give out with this year's Christmas cards. I thought it sounded like a fun idea, but decided that the songs shouldn't have anything to do with the holidays. (Everyone should have the X-mas songs by the Descendents, Ramones, FEAR, Butthole Surfers, Redd Kross, Shonen Knife, etc., etc. right?) Instead I came up with the idea of a Hospitality Mix, featuring bands that have stayed at or played at our house, and luckily she signed off on it. Some of you already got one. If not, make time to visit me in the next week or so. Or just make it yourself.. MARTIN, WENDY, AND ELOISE'S CHRISTMAS MIX 2009 ***From Our Home to Yours***
Hospitality mix/bands that have stayed or played at our house...
1. Green Day - Going to Pasalacqua
They were the first band I ever hosted, touring for 39/Smooth, back at my old place on Commonwealth after a gig at the UCLA student union. Fortunately, my housemates happened to be away that night. I got a speeding ticket with them in my car on the way back to campus to get their check and see the Mr. T Experience play a lunchtime show.
2. Seam - Rafael 3. Seam - Bunch
Seam was the second band to stay at my house. I drove down to Bogart's in Long Beach to see them play with The Fluid and Poster Children. During their set, they mentioned that they needed a place to crash, and that a place with a jacuzzi was preferable. I guess that didn't happen since they followed me all the way back to my place on Ames in Los Feliz. Then-drummer Craig puking out of my car window. I became pretty good friends with the lead singer and guitar player, Sooyoung Park, and the band kept coming back to stay with me through all their incarnations until they stopped making music. They even stayed with my brother in San Diego!
4. J Church - Yellow, Blue, and Green 5. J Church - Open Road 6. J Church - Panama
I got to know the group after Lance Hahn introduced himself to me at a UCLA show. It turned out he was a fan of GR, and we had only two stapled-and-folded issues out at the time! J Church is one of my two favorite bands (the other is The Clash) and I was lucky enough to get to know the main man and see him fairly often--sometimes not even on tours--before he died in 2007. R.I.P.
7. P.E.E. - Treeeed 8. Silver Sun - I'll See You Around. Andeee Conners was one of many drummers for J Church, which was one of his many bands before "settling down" with the Aquarius Records shop. I got to host his great band P.E.E. when they were on tour with the underrated British pop group, Silver Sun.
9. ICU - Aluet
On a business trip to Seattle, I was blown away seeing ICU open for Dub Narcotic Sound System and just happened to be introduced to lead guitarist/turntablist/theramin player Kento Oiwa the next day by our mutual friend Tae Won Yu while visiting Olympia. That turned out to be ICU's second show ever, and my place became the group's base whenever they'd hit L.A. for their first tours.
10. The Make-Up - Born on the Floor 11. Dub Narcotic Sound System - Ridin Shotgun (Remix)
These bands crashed with me upon recommendation by Tae Won Yu. They probably don't remember me because they're pretty big groups that have seen the world, but I got to hang out with them at their respective peaks. They played back-to-back shows to close down Jabberjaw, and then I later on I saw them at the Troubadour (and even got to introduce The Make-Up onstage).
12. The KG (Kicking Giant) - 13. Emily's Sassy Lime - Pineapple Boys Need Not Apply
Tae Won Yu's band. I got to know him after the Rachel era, but became friends with his next two drummers, Kento Oiwa and Danny Sasaki, when they came through town. Emily, Amy, and Wendy became friends of Giant Robot so long ago that I can't even remember how or when I met them. Among other things, they played with KG at Beyond Baroque in Venice at a GR show the night before we had J Church and Seam play the backyard of the old GR loft near Little Tokyo.
14. Enemy Mine - Inverted Circle Danny Sasaki with members of Godhead Silo. I took them to the Bronson Park ditch to skate the day after they played The Smell.
15. Old Time Relijun - Garden of Pomegranates Stand-up bass player Aaron Hartman's post ICU band. I still see him a lot, and expect to see him with his new group one of these days.
16. The Invisible Cities - The Only Reason The Club Was Made 17. Goh Nakamura - Somewhere The Invisible Cities and Goh Nakamura didn't actually spend the night, but they had breakfast with us before they played a matinee in our living room. Close enough.
18. Death Cab for Cutie - Photobooth
The band didn't actually stay with me while on tour, but I put up bassist Nick Harmer and mutual friend Aaron Stewart-Ahn while they were on a pilgrimage to E3. In turn, Nick put me up in Seattle when I was selling merch for Damon & Naomi and Boris later on...
19. Whysall Lane - The Way Back
Adam Pfahler also drummed for J Church. He also played with Jawbreaker and this band with Richard Balayut from Versus. In 2006, Whysall Lane played our wedding, along with the Ray Barbee Band and Cover Me Badd.
20. Alive - Adam's Choice (HKFA rehearsal)
Well before the boy-band project, Daniel Wu stayed with me during a road-trip with his buddy Jimmy. Probably some other times, too, but that was a memorable one with trips to the Bronson Ditch and Roscoe's, as well as San Diego.
We get swag in the GR PO Box and most of it is filler, but today I got a SanDisk memory card reader from Red Bull. Thanks, I needed one! Looks like Leica is another partner in their latest project. I wouldn't mind getting something from that company next...
Haven't checked out the contents of the enclosed Compact Flash card yet, but I was motivated to unload some pics off my camera's SD. No, not a Leica, but at least the Lumix GF1 is in the storied brand's extended family.
On Sawtelle, the Upper Haight, and the East Village...
Advance copies of the new issue have finally arrived from Canada and they can be found at the GR shops... Fresh and sweet like wine gums, Giant Robot 63 is a perfect stocking stuffer.
What's in it? - Hong Kong film god John Woo - Cover artist Megan Whitmarsh - Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi - Hong Kong art filmmaker Yonfan interviewed by Daniel Wu - An encyclopedic look back at 2000-2009 - Pro skateboarder for life Kenny Anderson - Hong Kong's best actor Nick Cheung - My Perfect Day in Singapore by Sooyoung Park of Seam - Musician Mia Doi Todd meets the Golden Half - Indie filmmaker from the Philippines Ana Agabin - Indie crime writer Leonard Chang - Taiwanese pop band Wonfu in America - New music, anime, videgames, comics, and more...
Dracaena sounds like the name of a space vampire, but it's really an indoor plant that's known to act as a natural filter for airborne toxins. Wendy chose it to act as our Christmas plant. Not happy with the ideas of growing, chopping, and chucking trees for just a few weeks of admiration or buying a fake one, she researched a variety of houseplants with a nice, vertical shape that would be able to support lights and ornaments. Our home could use a plant in the room year-round, anyway. She noticed Dracaena at a fancy West Hollywood landscape design boutique but balked at the $225 price tag, and then considered shopping for one online before deciding that a plant is something that should be seen from every angle, and in person.
We wound up buying ours from the Sunset Nursery in Silver Lake. We were torn between a healthy, medium-sized specimen for $85 or a taller-but-neglected counterpart that was browning, full of cobwebs, and marked down from $100 to $50. After mulling it over during lunch, we returned to discover that the former was gone and bought the latter. That's what we were leaning toward anyway since the concept of buying the unloved one is closer to the holiday spirit--a real Charlie Brown tree--and we're cheap. Wendy cleaned it up real nice, so hopefully we won't kill it!
I've had high-end desserts from Jin Patisserie before, but never actually been to the Venice tea spot. We went yesterday to celebrate Wendy's cousin Linda's birthday. She was booked for dinner and was working during the day so a bunch of us converged there during her shift.
The setting is quite elegant and the scone set was quite good, but I actually like the candy-like macarons even more. Eloise, too...
Wendy's cousin Linda, the cooking instructor and creator of our wedding cake.
Birthday balloons.
Even on someone else's birthday, still all about Eloise...
Last night I saw The Slits play The Echo. The original version of this band formed in 1976 and toured with the Clash and Buzzcocks on White Riot Tour. I've seen the other two bands play, so I guess this means I can say I was there. Sorta. This lineup has founder and lead personality Ari Up with old-school member Tessa Pollit. They are pretty much embody Bob Marley's song "Punky Reggae Party," and Ari Up even claimed and channeled that spirit after the first song.
While the group oozes with tradition--yet is often ignored, something the dreadlocked singer mentioned when wondering why the Slits were not name-checked alongside The Only Band That Matters and the Pistols by the Edge in It Might Get Loud--there's a lot of youthful energy brought by the newer members.
I thought the temporary members who played keyboards and added vocals and brought a layer of L.A.-style Mika Miko power to the quite British Spirit of '77 vibe. They should have been there for the recording of the new album, Trapped Animal, which I thought was interesting but overproduced. Post punk but not cold in any way, infused with reggae but not taking itself too seriously, and fun as well, The Slits are still a great live band.
Yes, the classics are on Youtube, but live is always better. Especially their time-tested cover of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"--a show stopper if I've ever heard one. The band says they're coming back to the U.S. next year, so check them out for yourself...
There's a ton of great articles in Giant Robot 63, which is on the verge of dropping, but one I want to point out now is an interview with legendary Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo. His latest movie, Red Cliff, is an award-winning, star-studded, nearly five-hour long, epic period piece that was released in two parts in Asia, where it was received enthusiastically by fans and critics. An edited version is now rolling out across the U.S. When I met the director at his Los Angeles office, we talked about both versions of the historic saga, as well as his canon of classic Hong Kong gangster movies. An excerpt is below.
GR: You’ve done period pieces before, haven’t you? JW: One or two, but not like Red Cliff, which is a real one. And those weren’t the movies I really wanted to make. I always wanted to make the gangster films like the French. In the meantime, I always wanted to make a great, epic movie like Lawrence of Arabia, Seven Samurai, or Spartacus. But I was young and that was just a dream to me. I didn’t know or expect that it could happen. Because I felt I was just a director. I could never make a movie like Lawrence of Arabia because I didn’t think I had a gift. I was thinking, “Just make a film like Le samouraï (the Jean-Pierre Melville film), and that will be good enough.” But only later, after I had made a few films and gotten a lot of experience, did I think I could make one.
GR: You mean after doing A Better Tomorrow and The Killer? JW: After doing A Better Tomorrow and The Killer and Face/Off.
GR: In those movies, you can really see a progression in your style. JW: Yes, I was always trying to develop personally, and always trying to do something different–always trying to do something that I really admire.
GR: Was it hard to say something like, “You know, I really like making gangster films, but it’s time to do a Western.” JW: I’ve been wanting to make a Western for a long time since Sam Peckinpah and Sergio Leone are such great influences on me, but it’s hard to find a studio. It’s also hard to find a good script.
GR: I was actually thinking of Peace Hotel, but I guess you only produced that. JW: Yes, I produced that.
GR: Was that your last movie before going to Hollywood? JW: No, no, no. It was second to last. The last was Hard Boiled.
GR: When was the last time you watched those particular movies? JW: I only watched them once. I never watch my own movies twice because I never feel satisfied with any one of them.
GR: Really? I’ve seen those movies dozens of times and remember every single line! JW: Whenever I watch any of my movies I always think, “Oh, I could make it better.” There’s always something wrong. Here and there, I think, “Why is it cut so fast in that scene? That shot should have been longer” or “Oh, I don’t like the music. This sounds like a TV movie!” I always find something wrong because I always want to make a perfect movie.
GR: Actually, I thought you were quite good at acting as a bartender in Hard Boiled. JW: That was Chow Yun-Fat’s idea. And, actually, that part wasn’t in the script. After we finished the movie, Chow Yun-Fat said, “John, why don’t we do a scene together?” He wanted to show our real friendship onscreen. On one of the last days of shooting, we’d been working 24 hours and were tired, but made up two scenes on the set. He said, “How about you being my teacher? You tell me to do something and give me some good advice?” I’m not a good actor.
GR: Sounds like you’re your own harshest critic. To provide not one but two cuts of Red Cliff must have been painful. JW: It was pretty painful at the beginning. But the editor did such a good job I was okay with it. The biggest reasons for making the two versions was that the Asian audience knows the history and all the characters, but the American audience is not as familiar with them. So we have to lose some of the scenes, put more focus on the main storyline, and lose some of the characters. I actually like both versions.
Look for the very lengthy interview in GR63 on stands and an interview upload online soon.
We don't usually like to give too much away when it comes to the contents of upcoming issues of Giant Robot, but The Cove is a movie that everyone should know about sooner than later. In it, Louie Psihoyos tells the story of Ric O'Barry, the animal capturer and trainer for the Flipper TV show who, after realizing that he was partially responsible for the establishment of a dolphin entertainment industry that treated its stars cruelly and unusually, became an advocate and activist for the highly intelligent sea mammals. After O'Barry became aware of dolphin hunts and slaughters in the Japanese town of Taiji, he allied with Psihoyos to document, expose, and hopefully stop the activity in its cove, which is not only harmful to the dolphins but local residents who are unwittingly fed and poisoned by the mercury-rich meat.
To help drive eyeballs to the DVD, which was released earlier this week, here's a rough, brief excerpt of a much longer conversation that will run in GR64.
GR: People who learn of the movie from its poster have no idea what it is about from the image and the title. The movie looks really tranquil and peaceful on the surface--kind of like the town, I guess. LP: There is this illusion about the serenity of the town. You go across the bridge into Taiji, and there are two bottlenose dolphins flanking the structure. There is a big, life-sized sculpture of a humpback whale mother and calf with a sign in English: “We love dolphins.” Embedded into the sidewalks are every dolphin and porpoise known to man. There are whale tail sculptures, and in between the whale museum and the city hall is the cove. It is a national park, a nature preserve.
GR: The “We love dolphins” sign is almost like the Twilight Zone episode, “We Serve Man.” LP: I went to the Melbourne Film Festival and was sitting with a bunch of directors, who happened to be horror film directors. I was really honest, and said, “I hate horror movies!” They asked me what I do, and I explained it to them and they all looked at each other and said, “You made a horror movie!” And it is true. The ironies made it a ready-made movie set of a horror movie.
GR: I thought it was interesting that while your friend who worked at ILM designed fake rocks to house the cameras, the blood was scarier than anything a special effects person could ever make. LP: I didn’t want to make a horror movie, but I was still very interested in the structure of what makes a good one. The best ones leave a lot to the imagination, and The Cove is PG-13. A kid can see it because you never see the actual violence. You imagine it. We had a lot of graphic stuff, but left that on the cutting room floor.
GR: Even though you had surveillance cameras shooting nonstop, the actual depiction of the slaughter lasts less than 10 minutes. LP: More like 3 minutes. We had about 40 hours of footage shot from four different angles, and it took about a year and a half to cut it down to 17 minutes. I spent a month of 2 or 14 hours a day looking at the last 17 minutes. A lot of it was just too violent, and would just turn audiences off.
To me, the most violent parts are after the killing scenes are over, when you see people smoking by the fire and the carcasses rolling up. They are laughing and lighting up cigarettes, and the banality of genocide is disturbing. The campfire scene where one guy is polishing off his motor and another guy smoking is holding onto fins--if you had scripted any of that, it would be way over the top. They were talking about the Old Guard talking to young people about how they had a hand in slaughtering the nearly extinct blue whales. That was when we knew we had a movie. Originally, it was supposed to be a television documentary.
If you live in Japan, Singapore, or the Philippines, don't miss your chance to see +/-. These noise rockers/friends of GR have blown way past the "with members of Versus" status and deserve to be checked out while they're in your town. Pinoy people, take note that the Manila show has moved from Embassy to Encore!
I just received an email from Jerry from the Waiola Store in Honolulu... The new location off Kapahulu (just around the corner from Leonard's Bakery) is finally opening tomorrow! This is the soft opening, so no plants or balloons, but there is a Furlough Fridays special: Kids under 11 get a small shave ice for 25 cents. This deal goes on until March 1, 2010. Time to get a fake ID and get out there.
Above, Jerry and me at the original location in October. Below, my brother Greg, his daughter Saoirse, and azumi bowl with mochi and condensed milk. Best. Shave. Ice. Ever.
Roughly 150 people RSVPed for last night's screening of Hollywood Chinese at the Chinese American Museum in Downtown L.A.--in conjunction with the current exhibit of the same name--and the planners thought that perhaps 120 showed up. (I don't think they counted Wendy or Eloise, above.) Award-winning filmmaker/second-time curator Arthur Dong and I did quick Q&A sessions before and after the movie. The first segment was amazingly easy and excellent, maybe because we were amped and there was a captive and eager crowd.
This is what half of the crowd looked like from the stage. (Way in back you can see longtime reader and friend of GR, Thomas Nakanishi, who works practically next door to CAM at the Office of the Mayor. Hence, the suit. I believe you can spy GR's own Michelle on the very left border.) I have to admit that the second Q&A wasn't quite as flowing as the first--perhaps because I was playing with Eloise during the film or the crowd was getting restless, leaving, etc. But Arthur was still great and it was still just as much fun.
Another view from my seat onstage... Of course, that's Arthur in the foreground. In the middle is the awesome Dora Quach from CAM. In the background is the snack table, which was ravaged! No snacks were left whatsoever, but you can visit the exhibit through the end of May 2010 and buy the DVD from the filmmaker himself. I highly recommend both.
I went to the Chinese American Museum this morning to meet staffers Dora and Pauline, as well as filmmaker Arthur Dong, whom I'll be interviewing before and after his latest movie, Hollywood Chinese, screens tomorrow night. To be honest, I wasn't that worried about the Q&A, but I did want to check out the museum's exhibit that has been built around his documentary of the same name. The movie shows the treatment of Chinese Americans in Hollywood movies from Charlie Chan to The Joy Luck Club. But the topic isn't something that Arthur arrived at just to make a movie. The Flower Drum Song program in Chinese that he picked up from a S.F. theater during childhood, which is actually part of the exhibit, shows that he's been a collector and observer his entire life. The film is just an extension of it, and the exhibit bridges the two.
The artifacts range from old to new, high to low. Above, cinematographer James Wong Howe's Oscar among vintage Yellow Peril and Suzie Wong paraphernalia. Below, Chinese exotica including Big Trouble in Little China action figures.
One of my favorite sections is a hallway. It features Mexican lobbycards with amazing painted artwork and posters from two relatively obscure Westerns. It's an awesome use of space for stuff that could have been distractions in the main rooms.
The biggest star besides Charlie Chan is Fu Manchu. The media guide for The Fiendish Plot of Fu Manchu is incredible. Among other things, it suggests to theater owners to have employees dress up in Chinky gear and have local radio stations to announce the "Fu Manchu time" on the hour with a gong.
I have way too many questions to ask in the two brief slots that Arthur and I are being given tomorrow night, but I'll try my best. Yes, the CAM website has an RSVP listing but attendees will not be limited to people with reservations. The movie is informative and fun, Arthur is a smart and interesting guy, the event is free, and there will be refreshments. Hope to see you there.
On the other side of a couple weeks of nonstop deadline time, I spend the day with Eloise to give my in-laws a break from babysitting. We went to the L.A. zoo with cartoonist Martin Cendreda and his daughter Margot. Above, the silverback and his daughter. Below, Margot and Eloise with the orangs.
What a day. Hope Eloise isn't getting her hopes up for tomorrow!
Arthur Dong at the Chinese American Museum, Thursday, Dec. 3
I was asked to conduct a Q&A with filmmaker Arthur Dong at the Chinese American Museum on Thursday, December 3. Although Arthur is best known for his hard-hitting documentaries about gays in the military, gays who grow up in hardcore Christian families, and prisoners who have been convicted for hate crimes against gays, his most recent piece is not about hate but a labor of love. Hollywood Chinese is a loving but critical treatment of the roles and treatment of Chinese in mainstream Hollywood movies, from Charlie Chan to Suzie Wong and beyond. It's fun and thought provoking, and so is the museum exhibit that is related to it...
I'm flattered that they thought of me as a person who could help out, and I hope to see you there. Here's the scoop:
Hollywood Chinese Film Screening and Curator Talk with Arthur Dong Thursday, December 3, 2009 / 6–8 p.m. CAM at El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument Co-presented by Visual Communications
Lights, camera, action! Watch the film that inspired the exhibit—Arthur Dong’s Award-Winning documentary, Hollywood Chinese! The 90-minute film screening will kick-off with an insightful Curator Talk with Arthur Dong, where he will discuss the origins, inspirations and motivations for the Hollywood Chinese project. To RSVP, please call (213) 485-8567 or email RSVP@camla.org with the subject heading “Curator Talk” by Nov. 30, 2009.
