Los Angeles is burning

Ok so our last week in LA. Chalker leaves us tomorrow morning at 5am. Dom, Matt and i all leave on Wednesday morning. Sad times ahead as this has been our home for the past 6 weeks and Dom & I don't even have a home to return to in Sydney. Woe is me and such is life. Whatever.

So here is my round up for the past however many days since my last blog.

Thursday morning we wake early to drive to San Francisco, we are heading up there to shoot some second unit footage of Fat Wreck Chords and Gilman St. Get to Fat. Awesome offices. We meet Mark there and everyone is super cool and nice, Fat's offices are pretty punk. Fat Mike has this zebra patterened carpet that actually hurts your eyes to look at. I think everyone there(excluding him) hates it. We finally find the correct Golden Gate Bridge and drive over it Full House style. Head back to LA and take a few wrong turns which adds 2 hours into our already 6 hour trip, boring. Get home and go meet our friends Emma, Shannon and Kasey for drinks at La Pourbelle. I love this place. It closes and we head back to our place for more drinks, Dom brings some dudes back who turns out is in Maroon 5. Night turns messy.
I bail. Dom is still up in the morning and the photos must be seen to be believed...


(Matt and the Golden Gate bridge, not the shitty Bay Bridge. Fuck that bridge)

Friday i have a meeting with my friend Chris who manages the All American Rejects, who we became bros with on the Simple Plan/Kisschasy/AAR tour back in 05. He works with Pat Magnarella who manages Green Day, i hang out with them both and ask if Green Day will be in our film. I have to get some footage to Billy Joe. Then off to LAX to pick up my friend Jacki, she's in town for the weekend. Get caught in traffic for 3 HOURS! Hey Jackson, thanks for flying in at 5pm!!!! Anyway drop her off at her friend Kates house, she lives in the same villas that the show 'The Hills(or poor mans Laguna Beach)' is shot. That night we head back to La Poubelle. I LOVE this bar. The bar does not love me back :(. Another after party, i fall asleep before it begins.


(the legendary 924 Gilman St)

Saturday is our BIG house party day. I'm excited. We have a sweet pad for house parties and a whole bunch of people have told me they're coming. I decide we should start it at 4pm, while the sun is out and have it on the patio. Good thinking Jai. Logical, right? WRONG. Nobody shows up for the first 4 hours, then my friend Brian rocks up with this girl Angela. I think she got too drunk and had to leave at this stage Dom and Chalker also leave, it's now branded "Jais party" because no one else wants the bruise to their self esteem from having a party no one shows upto. At about 11pm, Jacki and her crew come around. There are about 15 Australians in our house now including Tex Perkins and some dudes from Powderfinger. Everyone is cool, we leave to another party across the road that belongs to the dude that plays guitar for Tenacious D.


(My set up of snacks for the successful "house party")

Sunday is pretty chill, Dom, Matt and I go for lunch at the Mustard Seed in Loz Felis. Our friend and Something With Numbers manager, Stephen Wade get's into town and we go have dinner by the Troubador. We are heading to the Australian showcase there tonight and our new friend Tex Perkins put us on his guestlist. Thanks Tex. We see Henry Rollins is at the show, i'm super tired so i go home and watch American Hardcore - which has Henry all through it and footage of him bashing some dude. Sweet shorts Henry.


(I made this mess myself because there was no one else to make mess)

Monday, i wake up to Stephen Wade in our lounge room. I don't think he has many friends in LA. We then head to Epitaph where we are interviewing Rancid today. We have interviews set up with Tim, Matt and Lars. We are greeted by our new friends in the lobby of Epitaph which is this awesome old train station or something and do the interviews. Lars has us in stitches, he is fucking hilarious. Matt kept speaking about the Wiggles and Tim is Tim, one of the coolest guys ever and offered for us to stay with him when we come back to LA after SXSW. We took him up on his offer. Thanks Tim. That night i get home and speak to Tim Curran the pro surfer/musician on the phone, we were meant to interview him today but will be doing it next week instead. I eat In and Out Burger for dinner. I love that shit. Then my friend Martin aka PHDJ comes over at 1am with Stephen Wade. I guess Stephen does have 1 friend in LA. Tomorrow morning Stephen Chalker leaves us for New York. I will miss you friend. Photos below.


(Hanging out with Rancid at Epitaph. Dom is way more punk than Lars)(Kidding Lars)