Austin 2: Electric Boogaloo...

It’s kind of weird that I was just in Texas a few weeks ago…Déjà vu. (Writing this on the plane)

I believe it has been established that I am not a fan of flying. However, having done it multiple times in the last three weeks it’s not as bad for me anymore. I enjoy it when it is leading up to good times. And so far that is what my trips to Austin have been. I still am quite afraid of malfunctions and airsickness…And my head always feels like it is going to explode from the pressure…But otherwise…

…Landed safely…Picked up my Pontiac Grand Am and hit the road. I was pumped about this trip. I was going to meet a famous bat expert, see one of my favorite bands, hang out with good people, and speak at the University of Texas!? It’s sort of crazy that I got all wrapped up in that (thanks Brian!). I was really looking forward to it though. I was going to get to meet some pretty heavy duty film folks…and be considered “as important” as them. Very exciting!

Anyhow, so I got sort of lost on the way to my friend’s house (where I was to sleep). Finally worked it out and showed up to an empty house. Felt like a burglar keying in and unpacking. I tried to go to Barton Springs to hang out in the nice weather…but apparently they are closed on Thursdays (boo). I drove around for a while, sent some text messages (the devils tool), and checked out the “Amityville House of Flies.”

I went to Diesel to see a friend, and was informed that it was “First Thursday.” Austin maybe parties too much. It’s insane how everything revolves around “what are you doing tonight?” Not that it’s not like that everywhere, and it happened to be another hectic weekend (like SXSW) but still…Austin is like a resort town for those who just want to hang out all the time. Quite different from the Northeast…

I had dinner at that Casino place…Cheeseburgers (Millers Crossing was on). I checked out some of the “First Thursday” activities – This is I guess when a ton of stores along South Congress have free live music and free booze – It was pretty cool (lots of dogs). I ran into lots of people I met at SXSW…I met a ton of cool kids, so it was nice to see them again. Although it was a bit weird seeing them so soon considering that I don’t live there, just met them, don’t really know them, but was back…And pretending as if I did. But it was fine (I think)…

Friday (Day 2) was a big day. One of the main reasons for my return was to interview Dr. Merlin Tuttle (a very famous bat expert). He reluctantly agreed to this video taped interview (DVD Easter Egg…) and Friday was the day it was to go down. He gave me 15mins…No more, no less. Well, I got lost going there, because Texas has 3 names for every highway, and all these confusing “Loop” signs that throw you off. And mapquest sucks. So I was a little late…but eventually I worked it out and made it to “BatCon.” He was a nice guy…A little reluctant still, and basically didn’t let me interview him. He had about a 5min speech planned that covered all the bases, so I just let him say his jam…And then I left. It took about 7 mins total.

I was glad when it was over. I had been dreading this interview forever. Not because I didn’t want to do it…But it was sort of an ulcer, and he was reluctant from the “get go,” and I am a kid who made a movie about bats eating people and turning them into zombies…

Now that it was over, it was operation “Tiger Army” countdown! They were playing that night and I couldn’t wait! Their first headlining tour and I was going to get to see them in Texas and twice at home! Needless to say…They were AWESOME! NEVER DIE!

…

Saturday (Day 3). This was the day. This was the really exciting reason for me to be back in Austin. I showed up at UT in the morning, not really sure if anyone would be there to listen to me talk about a movie that nobody has seen. But whatever…

As it turns out, a lot of people were interested. I got to meet Kurt Wimmer, the director of “Equilibrium” and the upcoming “Ultraviolet.” He was really nice, and seemed legitimately pleased to meet me (what?). Bud Smith and Ron Bozman were great too. What the hell was I doing on a panel with Academy Award folk??? And Harry Knowles was moderating the final Q&A!

I owe a lot to the “Dos Blokes” crew. They are the coolest…Everyone in Austin is so supportive and the southern hospitality is really overwhelming. It was a really great time, and a real honor to be a part of this event.

All of panelists got to go out for BBQ afterwards (which was really good). It wasn’t until the end of that dinner that I got to talk to Harry Knowles. He spent most of the time talking to everyone else (fair and expected). But as everyone was leaving I went up to him to just say “nice to meet you” blah blah blah…and he was like “I need to see your movie!” Apparently some good friends of his saw it at SXSW and called him during the end credits and were like “Harry you HAVE to see this movie!” HOW COOL IS THAT!!!

Anyway, I had mentioned to him earlier that I went to the NYC “Braindead” screening he hosted a few years back. After I told him that I was I guess OK in his book. He said me being at that screening tells him exactly the kind of person I am. We chatted for a bit about some of our favorite horror movies…And even he joined in on the “you should move here” cult!

Man it was cool being part of something like this! Getting to be treated like a real filmmaker and getting to hang out/meet great people like all these guys is so exciting to me!

Oh! Also! Brian Clark reminded me of “EvilSpeak.” That movie has haunted my memory for like 15 years. As soon as he said Clint Howard…Military Cadet…I had like an epileptic moment where it all came flashing back! I’m so glad the quest is over…And I finally am reunited with that 80s delight.

On a side note:

The guy sitting next to me (on the plane) is watching the sex scene in “The Cooler.” It’s really uncomfortable. He is also coughing like each breath could be his last. I never sit next to random celebrities or hot babes…No, always crying babies and weirdo black-lunged perverts…


So (if you are still with me) I went to Emos later that night and saw “Dynamite Boy’s” last show (pretty good)... This weekend was RELAY WEEKEND (Huge Texas Track Event). I am going to venture a guess that I saw more black people in one place than I have ever seen in my entire life. Sixth Street was CRAZY!!!!!!

THOUSANDS of people flooded the street. Every once in a while you would hear gunshots (fireworks) and see just STAMPEDES of people running and screaming down the side streets. It honestly looked like the running of the bulls or tsunami footage…

The police rolled up in buses and broke out the riot gear. I had ringside seats to see this guy get his ass kicked by three big dudes (knocked out, head stomped on, the whole nine). Apparently it wasn’t safe to hit the streets at 2am…So I stayed locked inside Emos until about 430am. Finally after a brisk walk to the car, I got the hell out of downtown. It was nuts…

Sunday (Going home day) finally arrived. I hate going home day. I went to lunch and then to Hamilton Pool. That place is great. I said some goodbyes (always a bummer) and headed to the Airport. I got heavy duty searched at the airport. EVERYTHING came out of my bags. Apparently if you have “S’s” on your boarding pass you get searched this way. I passed.

This plane is getting really bumpy. It’s getting hard to write. I think I am going to call it quits and try to keep myself safe from all of my neighbor’s germs. I am pretty much done with this weekends shenanigans anyway…

Austin…I had a blast…Thanks again!

-Ti



P.S. We were invited to The Los Angeles Film Festival…Hollywood here we come!

SXSW 2005

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING IS VERY LONG AND SELF INDULGENT!


My SXSW experience…

- I am writing this with a red pen on a yellow legal pad at the Austin airport. I’m waiting for my flight home. Ever have one of those truly amazing times in your life where things are going so well that you are terrified of going home? SXSW is the king of those times…


2005 kicked off pretty shitty for me, but the past 10 days have nearly made up for all the crap and sickness I’ve been through. I’m not really sure how to write about last week’s Film/Interactive/Music festival…So I guess I’ll just start listing all significant memories I can recall in as close to sequential order as I can deliver…

First things first, other than a few chilly days, the weather was beautiful! Anyone from the northeast knows that March = Misery. It’s always rejuvenating to go to someplace green and sunny, and Austin was definitely that (80s when I got there). Austin AKA Awesome Texas is a fantastic city. I only had one friend when I arrived, but I left with like fifty. I haven’t made new friends in a while so it was really cool getting to hang out with all new people in an all new place. Quality of life is crucial sometimes and a week in Austin really reminded me of good times…

ANYWAY, when I first got into town, I walked like 10 miles to figure out my way around (it was snowing when I left, and I was in a T-shirt during the walk, so I would have walked double if I had to). I work for Diesel, so I found my way into their Austin store, and made friends with a girl who works there, Leanna. She invited me to hang out that night, but I had been up since 2am and passed out before she called. Turns out she knows my friend Lindsay, and would be very useful later in the trip…

I went to the Congress St. Bridge to see the bats fly out…It’s probably better in August when there are like fifty times the amount of bats, but it was still cool to see a ton of bats (considering). I shuffled back to the Hilton and hit the wall. I laid down for a minute, and the next thing I knew it was all over…

Of course I was the first in line on Friday morning to pick up my film badge etc. I met the two filmmakers of “Reeker” who were incredibly nice and supportive. We traded bat rings for scratch and sniff stickers and wristbands. Later that day I went all around town flyering all of the key venues. I didn’t feel the need to over do it though…I’m not sure why, but it just seemed like people knew about the movie already. The Alamo Drafthouse blew my fucking mind! If you don’t read Aint-it-Cool and don’t know what the theatre is you are really missing out. It is like a movie geeks dream…

I went to the beautiful Paramount theatre Friday night to check out the premiere of The Wendell Baker Story. It was PACKED…I don’t think I have ever sat that far away from a movie screen before (drive-ins included). The movie was filmed in Austin, so everyone was going nuts…That was great, because there was a genuine support for films and filmmakers at this festival. Everyone was on everyone’s side, there was no cattiness. That sounds kind of cheesy, but it wasn’t…SXSW really has an amazing supportive vibe that is unmatched by anything I have ever experienced. Austin is totally free of corporate mumbo jumbo and pretension...

Saturday was when things really kicked off for me though. The day was full of parties with free food and drinks. Lots of schmoozing (which I hate) and lots of business cards were exchanged (every one of them nicer than mine). “Hooligans” was that night…it was sold out and Elijah wood was there. The Hooligans after party was exciting, lots of partying and good spirits. Elijah wood was DJing with his IPOD…not sure if that was cool. But good times regardless…

Somehow I got in a group of people I didn’t really know who had a lot of pull (or money) because even though we weren’t on the VIP Wendell Baker party list…we got in. The party was sort of lame, but I got to see Owen Wilson putting the moves on a voluptuous blonde…Luke and Andrew were there…so was Seymour Cassel, Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Kimmel, and MY FAVORITE CELEBRITY SIGHTING…HARRY DEAN STANTON! Looking as disheveled and southern as humanly possible…

I met some of my friend Lindsay’s other friends that night and we went to emos instead. Emos, like the drafthouse, is probably the coolest bar/venue I have ever been to. It’s indoor/outdoor and two shows go on simultaneously...Hipster overload…but still cool…

Parties continued the next day and into the evening. Free food and drinks were my savior. I’m 24 and broke, budgeting this trip on my credit card…debt never tasted so good. Saw Palindromes that night. It was really good…Very funny, and it marked the first of the many pedophile films I would see throughout the week. Partied the night away…

MONDAY HIT HARD. My nerves were going apeshit. Those of you who don’t know me, I tend to out think/worry Larry David. So Monday was intense. I was sure nobody would show up, the tape would be blank, or terrorists would attack…something was going to go wrong. I met Wiley Wiggins that afternoon. He was really cool. Mentioned us on his website…he has by far the coolest phone in technology history…Will always be Mitch Kramer though…

Went to see Asia Argentos movie at the drafthouse…so I could clear my head, and get some dinner. I was so pumped to finally get to see Tim Armstrong bust out some acting chops…He’s not in the movie. How pain is that? I guess I will have to rent it for the deleted scenes. Movie was good…and full of pedophilia. The executive producer read an email from the writer of the book. It was SO LONG…like multiple deep breaths were taken in order to continue reading…pretty funny…not on purpose…

Midnight finally came. I felt like barfing. I walked to the theater in my shirt and tie. THANK GOD there was a HUGE line. We sold the place out in no time, and had to turn away over 100 people. I handed out bat rings and stickers to everyone to get in good spirits. Festival director Matt Dentler gave me the nicest most complimentary introduction of all time. I said a few words…The screening went off without a hitch. Might not be possible to ever have a screening go as well as that one did. The short DOS BLOKES that played before us is genius. A bulimic cannibal…amazing. The filmmakers were all great guys.

Film Threat gave us a kick ass 3.5 star review. Eric Campos is the man, and he truly loved the movie…that means a lot to me. So many people came up to me to tell me how pumped they were that the movie was old school horror goodness. Monday night was maybe one of the proudest moments of my life.

Tuesday RULED. It was technically the last day of the film festival. I saw “Tom” from myspace being stalked by hordes of interactive nerd girls. I went to Casino El Camino for dinner. That place is awesome…it’s like “The Titty Twister” from “From Dusk Till Dawn.” I had an awesome bbq cheeseburger while watching “Serpent in the Rainbow.”

That night after Hooligans took home the big awards, everyone went nuts. The closing party was one of the best events I have ever been to. The kind of thing where everyone you have seen all week, loses their minds and goes wild. By midnight, this networking event turned into a drunken dance party…never ceasing to disappoint. Everyone thoroughly embarrassing themselves, but having the time of their lives. I “met” Elijah wood…he was nice enough…Dash Mihok (not Michael Rapaport) was there dancing up a storm. Sean and I recognized the girl from Spiderman 2 (peter parkers neighbor). A kid I went to high school with, Aaron Raskin, was there with his film about Iraq. He is intense…All in all, the festival ended in a beautiful fucking bloodbath…

Music started the next day. I was amped to check on some bands I like that night. MTV films called me and took me out to lunch (I had quesadillas). That was my first “Hollywood” lunch/meeting…it went well, we talked about karate kid being maybe the most awesome movie ever made. I was really bummed that aint-it-cool didn’t cover the movie on Monday, so I called Harry Knowles to see what’s up. He answered (didn’t expect that). He assured me that someone would be there to cover it…I don’t think they were, but oh well…

The turnout for our Wed. screening was impressive. Didn’t sell out, but maybe like 25 empty seats. Lindsay and her friend came and really liked it. That was nice of them. The Q and A went just as well as last time, with nearly everyone staying to hear what I had to say. I usually hate talking with microphones, but I had a lot of fun doing it. We were time slotted against Billy Idol, The Donnas, and Elvis Costello…so it was pretty impressive that as many people came as they did…

Thursday was the day everyone went home (Jeff, Sean, Roger, Josh). Music was in full swing…wrist bands up to my shoulders at this point. Saw Helmet, Rehasher, MxPx, Some Action (John was our AC), Saul Williams, and Ash. This was also the day when the “move to Austin” solicitation began. It started as a joke, but became quite serious. If I wasn’t dirt poor I would do it in a heartbeat…But as it is, I have rent due and no gas in my car. I promised to consider it though…and I will…

On another weird note, I spoke to filmmaker TJ Nordaker on the phone that day as well. This is only weird because we are internet friends who are freakishly similar. Most of our myspace communication had gone way too far, but actually getting a phone call pushed it over the edge. He was nice…(we’re not gay).

That night was the big “Charles” party at the airport hanger outside of town. It is apparently the place to be. So we went. I had Lindsay boyfriends ID…this was because he was on the list and couldn’t go, and if I just showed the ID that my name was on the list I could get in. Well first of all, I am an ABISMAL actor. If there was any pretending needed to get this to work, we were sunk for sure. It worked though. They looked at the ID and thought nothing of it…HOWEVER it turns out Cody wasn’t even on the list. SO despite the successful fake ID efforts, I couldn’t get in regardless. Word is it was kind of lame this year, and freezing. So we went back to emos or something instead…

Friday started out rough, but ended great! I went to the Island Records/Mt. Dew show. It was ok…a lot of little kids though. I was going to go see Four Eyed Monsters that afternoon (Arin and Susan I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY!!!!) but the digibeta master that I fedexed to los Angeles the day before…WAS NOT GOING TO ARRIVE ON TIME! Chaos Ensued…Have you ever overnighted something and feared it not arriving, but thankfully it always does? WELL IT FUCKING DIDN’T! And this was VERY FUCKING IMPORTANT! So after calling the only person in LA with a copy of the movie, and finding out he was on vacation… I climbed into the hotel bathtub and prepped the complementary hairdryer…Alas…FedEx came through…some fancy driving or something I guess…even though it was not there by 8am, they did get it there by 330..screening was at 4. And thankfully so… had I ended it all before one of the best nights in Texas I would surely have been sore about it…

So if you are still reading this and are neither my mom, nor myself proofreading...I owe you one…

You may remember me mentioning I work for Diesel (King of Prussia Mall). Well it’s a great company…and I got to go to their “vip” sxsw Diesel-U-Music party (FYI it was 1000000000 times better than the lame fashion week party in NYC). The winners of the U-Music contest thing were THE BRAVERY and LOUIE THE XIV. So the party AKA the prom was at a weird dance hall. It was awesome. The bands were both really good (oddly enough Louie the XIV himself was staying on my hotel floor…well same level, not actual floor). When the bands weren’t playing there was a great DJ…I only note this because few people have the foresight to mix Hall and Oates with Operation Ivy…The man was a genius…

I hustled to the Drafthouse that night with a group of rowdy drunks. They split for emos…I went and introduced the film. Matt Dentler was there again with an incredibly warm welcome as always…I meant every word of my sincerest thank you to the South by Southwest Film Festival. It’s really important that things like this go on, because movies are important, and this festival is an amazing opportunity to share some of the best stuff out there with some of the best people…

After the movie I went to see The Queers at emos. They were amazing. They played from 1am-2am without stopping. A great show to end the night with…

Saturday was weird. It was my last real day in Texas, and I was starting to get bummed about having to go home and go back to work. I found out that one of my employers partners went to jail for 14months (nobody that has anything to do with The Roost or Diesel…don’t worry). But regardless, I knew this was the last night for me in a fantasy land vacation. I went to see my friend John’s band again (Some Action). Technical malfunctions and alcohol abuse equaled me seeing the singer naked.

Had lunch at Stubbs BBQ and went to the Fat Wreck/Jade Tree show. The Loved Ones were good. Jade Tree records is the only other thing of interest from Wilmington, Delaware (aside from credit cards of course). Went to emos for hip hop night (not my style). Said goodbye to some of my new friends…which was sad. Went back to the other show at 1am to see Against Me! Blow the place away. The night ended well enough I suppose. I had that tired melancholy feeling…so I didn’t bother trying to stay out any later. Went to bed in the Hilton for the last time…

Sunday was long and boring. Due to employment and hangovers I was stood up for lunch. I realized I only took about 6 pictures of my whole trip thus far, so I walked around soaking up the leftover sun, and took some unnecessary pictures of random Austin hot spots. Apparently someone was locked in a parking lot overnight and wanted to go home, because the gate had totally been rammed…really funny if you were there. Going home day always sucks I think. I spent most of the day aimlessly wandering. An occasional text message to pass the time (I normally hate text messages…but they are required at SXSW). I took a cab to the airport. The bell hop was like “TIGER ARMY NEVER DIE!” to me as I got in the cab…that was cool/weird. The cab driver BLASTED Snoop Dog the entire ride, obviously not phased by the fact that he had picked someone up. It’s cool though…Drop, drop, drop it like it’s hot…

I got to the airport 4 billion hours early (always my style). I had changed my flight to stay and extra day. I got a seat and started to write this bologna. I didn’t expect it to go on for so long, but I had such a good time, I didn’t want to forget anything (plus I had like 3 hours to kill). I couldn’t find Fangoria in the airport…I am apparently in the new issue, but Austin doesn’t sell magazines, so I won’t know for sure until I get home I guess. If you could see these 9 pages of chicken scratch you would think I was the killer from Se7en…

My flight is packed. Complete with the fat guy next to me sleeping on my shoulder with breath of an open grave. There is a guy behind me that I know from somewhere, and I don’t know how. I asked him how I knew him…he replied “you don’t.” He is wrong though…

Why doesn’t Southwest Airlines have assigned seating? It’s like pandemonium trying to get a seat. You walk on and all you see is middle seats all the way back…Assholes. I don’t like flying. I am deathly afraid I will be vomited on or killed in a plane crash (in that order)…

I am about to take off, hopefully I make it home alive…I don’t want to leave. I’m going to miss Austin. Actually what I will really miss is the feeling of legitimacy. For the past week I was a “Filmmaker.” People generally understood and respected what it is that I want to do with the rest of my life. As soon as I get off this plane I will just be another 24 year old who works in the mall. Not that there is anything wrong with that…I like my job…but you know…

We landed bumpy but safely (phew). I have to come back to Texas to interview a bat expert for our DVD. I’m going to do it soon I think…and time it with the Tiger Army show…All work and no play…

I’m tired and out of stuff to say. I think I will just end this with a big thank you to everyone who made it possible for The Roost to make it this far. From the bottom of my heart…it means so much.

-Ti


Memorable Quotes:

“How did you get Tom Noonan?” – Everyone who saw the movie
“Xerox your titties!” – Marisa (spring break ’05)
“I think something might be wrong with our RSVP’ness…” – Me (On Leana’s voicemail) – (say it out loud if you don’t get it immediately…)
“I’ve just got to pick up some zip disks.” – Palindromes
“Is Graham Reznick related to Trent Reznick (Reznor)?” – Painful QandA moment
“What the fuck is this shit?” – Guy who walked out of the first screening in under 3mins
“We are having a disaster, FedEx can’t deliver the Digibeta.” – Josh -Giving me and ulcer
“Our drummer drank piss this morning.” – John Gatlin
“That’s all I can get!” – Dash Mihok (about dancing with a wall)
“I paid my fucking five dollars, this is bullshit!” – Lindsay (bitching about a ticket she totally deserved)
“Did you notice we were sitting in a room full of lesbians?” – Me (the beginning of an awesome party)