I really can't be bothered blogging my last week 3 weeks in LA. We finally finished shooting our film with the Green Day interview, took a bunch of meetings for it, saw a bunch of movies and watched The Hills season 1 & 2 back to back on DVD. We also saw some bands like Silverchair, Say Anything, Hello Goodbye, Young Love, New Found Glory and had our first Thanksgiving with our friend Amanda and the Young Loves.
Here is a preview of the film.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
99 problems and a bitch are most of dem...
OK so by now you realize that i only really blog when i am overseas. Fortunately for you, the fans, i have spent half of my time out of Australia this year which means lots of interesting stories for you to get caught up in. This blog is going to be a quick look at my last 7 days, and HERE WE GO....
Sunday - Flying to LA today at Midday. Pretty hung over from Nizas bros engagement party in Cronulla the night before(The Shire. I vomited everywhere when i crossed that stupid fucking bridge). My upgrade to business is once again denied, fuck you Qantas. 13 hours later i arrive at LAX. Through immigration and to Dollar to pick up my Dodge Charger. I've decided to roll pimp this time. Being under 25 makes this shit really expensive. But i look cool so what. Get to Adrians where i am staying. Have a sleep and miss brunch with his homeboy Ariel who used to sing in the ska band The Hippos. Good band. That night we catch up with Tom Gates who manages Brand New, we head to the show with him and have a good time. Brand New are so fucking good it's ridiculous. Head backstage after the show and say hi to the band, they don't know what i am doing there i say i saw on Myspace they were playing a show so i flew over to see them. I think they believe me?????
Monday - WGA writers strike has started today. Basically the unions have called a strike on all writers for TV and film because the networks and studios aren't paying enough royalties on DVD and new media. This shit is pretty serious. All late night TV shows have been put on hold, so Letterman and Leno are all running re runs. No one is working. I decide to strike with me fellow WGA friends. I don't even write an email today. Have a few meetings during the day and head to Virgin Megatore by Laurel Canyon to buy some cheap films. Next i am off to Il Sole to have dinner with Tony Hawk, his wife Lohtse , Bill Silva and Adrian. Apparently this place is pretty styling. This is the first time i have met Tony who has agreed to narrate my film, i am kind nervous but he is a super nice dude. Tony Hawk rules.
Tuesday - More meetings. I go out to lunch with Pat Magnarella who manages Green Day, i show him the short for my film and he really digs it. He calls Billie Joe and arranges a time for me to interview Billie, which is really exciting and is my last interview before i finish the film. Everyone seems to be digging this trailer and it's causing quite a buzz around town. That night i catch up with my friend Trinity and we go see the new Wes Anderson film Darjeeling Limited at Arc Light. It's fucking amazing. I love Wes Anderson. For those of you a little disappointed with Life Aquatic, forget about it this film is great. It seems all the reviewers who are hating on it are retarded or something.
Wednesday - My last day in LA for this short trip. I get 4 meetings in today with a few labels and film agents. Adrian takes me to lunch on Geffen(Thanks Geffen) and then i am off to Bill Silvas office. Bill has arranged for a screening of the new Joy Division documentary(Not Control) at his friend Tom's house. Tom is the manager for New Order and made this documentary, we watch it in the screening room of his 1920's Spanish mansion. The film is really cool and just premiered at Toronto. I am now in a rush to the airport to get my flight to New York. Mother fucking Red Eye.
Thursday - I get into New York at 8am. I am super tired and really uncomfortable. I get to my friend Jackis around 10am and my first meeting is at Midday. I have a sneaky 1 hour nap and head to my meetings. That night i come home and watch Californication on Demand. Probably my new favourite show.
Friday - Today is better. I am fresh and New York is on. It's cold but it's cool. I have meetings all day, then that night fly solo to see American Gangster with Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe. It's really long but it's pretty cool. Then i meet up with my friend Laura, we head to the West Village to hang out with my bro Tony who has just finished shooting his first feature and is currently editing. We have some beers, meet Lauras friend Lauren and some doppleganger that i was calling Copperfield but resembled more of a GOB character from Arrested Development and not aesthetically because he looked like a young version of Rodney Dangerfield(When i say young he was 50 or something). Anyway the bar eventually closes and i go home to sleep.
Saturday - Today we are going to New Jersey to see Bon Jovi. My friend Jacki who i am staying with has work to do because she works for Island Records, the good thing is she has 2 AAA passes so i get to hang backstage at a Bon Jovi concert in his hometown of New Jersey. We are heading to the show with Masa from Japan who is like the Japanese version of Molly Meldrum, he is interviewing Jon today before the show. Masa rolls in style and we get to head to the show in a private SUV limo. So pimp, i can get used to this. At the show i can go anywhere so i get some much needed food from catering and then head to check Bon Jovi do soundcheck. Richie Sambora(the guitarist for Bon Jovi) calls out to Masa which we find amusing. "MAAAASSSAAAA". Masa is stoked. Then the interview. I am hanging in the room to watch the interview. Jon walks in and says hello to everyone. I actually have no reason to be in the room but try to look like i am meant to be there. The whole crew is Japanese except me and i watch the interview and eat cookies. Jon looks at me a few times probably thinking "who the fuck if this guy eating cookies and laughing". Later Jacki tells me what i wasn't allowed to be in there. All American Rejects are opening tonight so i catch their set and it's really good, they have super hot model girlfriends and stuff. Then Bon Jovi comes on. Seriously it was one of the best shows i have ever seen, they play You Give Love A Bad Name and the crowd of 20,000 is going crazy. My AAA pass lets me watch from side of stage so i am feeling pretty special now. It's super fucking cheesy but Bon Jovi is alright. Next we head back to Manhatten to Wendy and Todds house warming party in the West Village. Eventually we head home and listen to heaps of Cat Stevens before passing out.
Sunday - 3pm and i wake. FUCK. I don't feel like doing anything today. Andy who is Jackis flatmate has invited us down to his studio. Before we go Jacki asks me if i would like a ticket to Jay-Z tonight in concert. FUCK YES I DO. So we go and see Andy at his studio in Chinatown, get some great Chinese food, head to a bar and then to the Jay-Z show. I have never been to a real hip hop show before and all i can say is that it FUCKING ruled. Man, Hip Hop shows rule. The crowd which was predominantly black were going nuts, dancing, singing, rhyming and having a good time. He had a lot of guests on stage and everyone went berserk when Puff Daddy came out to Jam. One of the best shows i have ever seen. We leave before the end so we can get a taxi home. And here i am. Sitting in a great apartment in the East Village writing my blog. Tomorrow is my last day in New York before heading back to LA for a few weeks.
It's all pretty good right now.
x
Jai-Z
Sunday - Flying to LA today at Midday. Pretty hung over from Nizas bros engagement party in Cronulla the night before(The Shire. I vomited everywhere when i crossed that stupid fucking bridge). My upgrade to business is once again denied, fuck you Qantas. 13 hours later i arrive at LAX. Through immigration and to Dollar to pick up my Dodge Charger. I've decided to roll pimp this time. Being under 25 makes this shit really expensive. But i look cool so what. Get to Adrians where i am staying. Have a sleep and miss brunch with his homeboy Ariel who used to sing in the ska band The Hippos. Good band. That night we catch up with Tom Gates who manages Brand New, we head to the show with him and have a good time. Brand New are so fucking good it's ridiculous. Head backstage after the show and say hi to the band, they don't know what i am doing there i say i saw on Myspace they were playing a show so i flew over to see them. I think they believe me?????
Monday - WGA writers strike has started today. Basically the unions have called a strike on all writers for TV and film because the networks and studios aren't paying enough royalties on DVD and new media. This shit is pretty serious. All late night TV shows have been put on hold, so Letterman and Leno are all running re runs. No one is working. I decide to strike with me fellow WGA friends. I don't even write an email today. Have a few meetings during the day and head to Virgin Megatore by Laurel Canyon to buy some cheap films. Next i am off to Il Sole to have dinner with Tony Hawk, his wife Lohtse , Bill Silva and Adrian. Apparently this place is pretty styling. This is the first time i have met Tony who has agreed to narrate my film, i am kind nervous but he is a super nice dude. Tony Hawk rules.
Tuesday - More meetings. I go out to lunch with Pat Magnarella who manages Green Day, i show him the short for my film and he really digs it. He calls Billie Joe and arranges a time for me to interview Billie, which is really exciting and is my last interview before i finish the film. Everyone seems to be digging this trailer and it's causing quite a buzz around town. That night i catch up with my friend Trinity and we go see the new Wes Anderson film Darjeeling Limited at Arc Light. It's fucking amazing. I love Wes Anderson. For those of you a little disappointed with Life Aquatic, forget about it this film is great. It seems all the reviewers who are hating on it are retarded or something.
Wednesday - My last day in LA for this short trip. I get 4 meetings in today with a few labels and film agents. Adrian takes me to lunch on Geffen(Thanks Geffen) and then i am off to Bill Silvas office. Bill has arranged for a screening of the new Joy Division documentary(Not Control) at his friend Tom's house. Tom is the manager for New Order and made this documentary, we watch it in the screening room of his 1920's Spanish mansion. The film is really cool and just premiered at Toronto. I am now in a rush to the airport to get my flight to New York. Mother fucking Red Eye.
Thursday - I get into New York at 8am. I am super tired and really uncomfortable. I get to my friend Jackis around 10am and my first meeting is at Midday. I have a sneaky 1 hour nap and head to my meetings. That night i come home and watch Californication on Demand. Probably my new favourite show.
Friday - Today is better. I am fresh and New York is on. It's cold but it's cool. I have meetings all day, then that night fly solo to see American Gangster with Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe. It's really long but it's pretty cool. Then i meet up with my friend Laura, we head to the West Village to hang out with my bro Tony who has just finished shooting his first feature and is currently editing. We have some beers, meet Lauras friend Lauren and some doppleganger that i was calling Copperfield but resembled more of a GOB character from Arrested Development and not aesthetically because he looked like a young version of Rodney Dangerfield(When i say young he was 50 or something). Anyway the bar eventually closes and i go home to sleep.
Saturday - Today we are going to New Jersey to see Bon Jovi. My friend Jacki who i am staying with has work to do because she works for Island Records, the good thing is she has 2 AAA passes so i get to hang backstage at a Bon Jovi concert in his hometown of New Jersey. We are heading to the show with Masa from Japan who is like the Japanese version of Molly Meldrum, he is interviewing Jon today before the show. Masa rolls in style and we get to head to the show in a private SUV limo. So pimp, i can get used to this. At the show i can go anywhere so i get some much needed food from catering and then head to check Bon Jovi do soundcheck. Richie Sambora(the guitarist for Bon Jovi) calls out to Masa which we find amusing. "MAAAASSSAAAA". Masa is stoked. Then the interview. I am hanging in the room to watch the interview. Jon walks in and says hello to everyone. I actually have no reason to be in the room but try to look like i am meant to be there. The whole crew is Japanese except me and i watch the interview and eat cookies. Jon looks at me a few times probably thinking "who the fuck if this guy eating cookies and laughing". Later Jacki tells me what i wasn't allowed to be in there. All American Rejects are opening tonight so i catch their set and it's really good, they have super hot model girlfriends and stuff. Then Bon Jovi comes on. Seriously it was one of the best shows i have ever seen, they play You Give Love A Bad Name and the crowd of 20,000 is going crazy. My AAA pass lets me watch from side of stage so i am feeling pretty special now. It's super fucking cheesy but Bon Jovi is alright. Next we head back to Manhatten to Wendy and Todds house warming party in the West Village. Eventually we head home and listen to heaps of Cat Stevens before passing out.
Sunday - 3pm and i wake. FUCK. I don't feel like doing anything today. Andy who is Jackis flatmate has invited us down to his studio. Before we go Jacki asks me if i would like a ticket to Jay-Z tonight in concert. FUCK YES I DO. So we go and see Andy at his studio in Chinatown, get some great Chinese food, head to a bar and then to the Jay-Z show. I have never been to a real hip hop show before and all i can say is that it FUCKING ruled. Man, Hip Hop shows rule. The crowd which was predominantly black were going nuts, dancing, singing, rhyming and having a good time. He had a lot of guests on stage and everyone went berserk when Puff Daddy came out to Jam. One of the best shows i have ever seen. We leave before the end so we can get a taxi home. And here i am. Sitting in a great apartment in the East Village writing my blog. Tomorrow is my last day in New York before heading back to LA for a few weeks.
It's all pretty good right now.
x
Jai-Z
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Minotaur in Paris
Shit, this is kind of delayed as it has been almost 2 weeks since i last updated it and i have been back in Sydney for a week now. I'll try my best to piece together the rest of my trip.
So the day after Moulin Rouge in Paris, we goto the Louvre to see Mona Lisa. It's quite a small painting and obviously the most popular in the museum this is made apparent by a line to see the painting(which is enclosed in a glass case) and it's own personal security guard. People are allowed to take photos of it, so everyone is just taking happy snaps. I'm not. I head to the Egyptian part of the Louvre to see all of the ancient Egyptian artifacts and tombs. It's pretty cool and parts of my year 10 ancient history lessons are coming back to me. Today is our last day in Paris before heading to Venice. After the Louvre i head to a music store and pick up the 2 DAFT PUNK dvd's interstellar and D.A.F.T. Both are awesome especially Interstellar 5555. I'm pretty happy. As tonight is our last night in Paris, we decide to goto a bar for happy hour around St Germain and then head back to the Eiffel Tower and drink a bottle of vino on the grass.
Venice: We were pretty lucky to get 1 cent flights from Paris to Venice with Ryan Air, little did we know that Ryan Airs airports are so far from civilization. With no public transport to the one in "Paris"(i say "Paris" because it definitely wasn't in Paris) we had to get a 140 Euro taxi to the airport. Lame. After a quick flight we are in Venice, we get on the bus and head to the island where we are staying. We rock up and have no idea where we are going, but wing it and luckily find our hotel which is in a little side alley near the Grand Canal. Actually everything hear is side alleys, there are no cars or bikes in Venice just Gondolas and Ferries. As we walk into the Hotel at about 11pm, there is a little Italian man with fake teeth and white hair sitting at reception, he looks up and says "ALATTAS". I nod and try not to laugh. Laura just starts laughing. "We have been waiting for you ALATTAS" he says further. We put our bags in our room and then go and have dinner at a Pizza restaurant. Venice is amazing, it's kind of surreal in a way and i have never experienced anything like it before.
Day 2 Venice: So today we decide to buy a ferrie day pass and just see the island. We travel on ferries for awhile, getting off every now and then to check out some more alleys and lanes. At about 3pm we decide to go back to the hotel to have a rest before going out later(I'm getting old, I need afternoon naps). Turns out the last ferry is coming at 3pm and there is a massive queue for it. We are pretty well positioned and i think we have a good chance of getting on, that is until Lauras bag gets tangled on some old lady and the old lady starts yelling abuse at her in Italian, the next thing we know the old lady jumps on the boat and they pull the bar down so that we can't get on. Stupid old lady. I wanted to throw her into the water. So we are on the other side of the island and no way to get home, turns out it's only a 30 minute walk - so we take a scenic walk through the streets of Venice. Which is really fucking cool and I'm glad that we do this instead of catch the ferry(I still hate the old lady though). We get back to the hotel eventually and i have a nap. We decide that tonight we will go on a Gondola, so after dinner we try and track one down, we hear they are pretty expensive but you can barter with them. I unsuccessfully barter with one and his 100 euro price for a 3 minute Gondola ride doesn't change. Oh well, we go on the Gondola and it's pretty fun. Apparently there is only one company in Venice that runs the entire Gondola business. After our "informative" ride, we pay the man and buy some vino and drink on the banks of a canal until we eventually run out of wine and goto sleep. When we get back to the hotel, we get in trouble by the man downstairs for coming in late, i feel 15 again. Back off DAD.
HANG OVER. Today we are leaving Venice for Stockholm. I go and buy 2 presents for my friends Mark C and "Flattie of the year" Niza, i buy Mark a pair of boxer shorts with the dick of David on them and i buy Niza an apron with the dick of David on them. In Venice the dick of David is a really popular item and features on post cards, t shirts, boxer shorts and aprons. So next we are off to the airport to fly to Stockholm on another 1 cent Ryan Air flight, because my bag is so heavy i decide to take my camera case out of my bag. Unfortunately my camera case also looks like a bomb and as we are going through security, i get stopped so this metal container can get checked properly, by the time it's checked everyone else has boarded the plane and they are just waiting on me before taking off. I hear a beautiful Italian girl call my name over the PA. I fell in love briefly.
For some reason on all these flights i have never been seated next to Laura, which doesn't really bother me too much as the other 23 hours of the day are spent with each other and it's good to have some "quiet time". I believe she feels the same way as i am an annoying jerk most of the time. We get into Stockholm and somehow the plane has managed to land an hour earlier than expected??? The pilot was on mad speed. We get an hour long bus ride to the hotel which turns out is a Hilton. I am vert excited by this, i did book it, but i didn't realize it was a Hilton and it's smack bang in the centre of town. Score. After checking out our very nice room, i decide to goto the hotel bar for a drink by myself and have a lost in translation moment. Laura stays in the room. I buy a beer and it costs me 50 kromer WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF $10 AUSTRALIAN. FOR A FUCKING TAP BEER. I stop at 1 beer and goto bed.
Ok so the next part of my story may sound kinda weird, but it's cool OK. I had made a friend on Myspace who lived in Stockholm and today HE was going to show us around and take us to come cool bars. Kaine, is an Australian guy that has been living in Stockholm for the past 5 years. I am not sure how we became friends on Myspace but i am very glad that we did. Oh before i go into this i just need to say that Stockholm has the most attractive people in the world, EVER. Every girl is the hottest girl i have ever seen and they are so stylish too, everyone wears super cool street wear, it's like the white version of Tokyo. Anyway so we meet Kaine after he finishes work and i'm kind of nervous because this is like a blind date but with a dude. Straight away it's like we have known each other for years and are best friends. He takes us to some really cool bars and shows us some shops that we will be hitting up tomorrow(and Laura will be spending the rest of her money at). We get very very drunk and decide to call it a night, Kaine heads home and Laura and I back to our Hilton Hotel.
The next day is shopping day. I fucking hate shopping. I mean i like buying things but i hate people that come upto you and are like "HEY DUDE WASSUP MAN YEAH THOSE JEANS ARE DOPE BRO YOU SHOULD TOTALLY GET THEM THEY LOOK SO SWEET MAN LIKE WOAH GOT ANY PLANS THIS WEEKEND YEAH JUST CHILLING YEAH MAN SO ARE YOU GOING TO BUY THOSE JEANS BRAH BECAUSE I HAVE A DAILY QUOTA TO MAKE AND I REALLY HAVE NO INTEREST IN YOU AND HOW YOU ARE DOING OR IF YOU LOOK GOOD IN THOSE PANTS" You know the type? Anyway fuck clothes shopping. But Stockholm has the BEST stores i have been too. I goto the Cheap Mondays store and pick up 2 pairs of jeans for dirt cheap and then we head to American Apparel and clean the shop out. There is a sneaker store called Sneaker N Stuff which is incredible, i don't purchase anything though, but it has a cafe inside the sneaker shop and is a cool hang. So yeah shop shop spend lots of money eat food go back to hotel to meet Kaine.
Tonight Kaine has organized for us to goto a magazine party to see Jens Leckman play. He takes us on a scenic detour of Old Town which is amazing and gives us a brief history lesson on Sweden. We get to the party and surprise loads of good looking stylish people here, yep so many in fact it's really hard to move. Jens comes on and we can't even see him, so we opt for a couch and listen to him in the background. After that we are heading to see Sahara Hotnights DJ but for some retarded reason, some clubs in Stockholm have a drinking age of 23 and over. Laura is only 21 so we can't goto this club. Instead we opt for the equally cool Debaser which is a really good venue/club. We sit out on the patio, drinking beers and chewing the fat. Once again it's time to say goodbye and this is the last time we will be seeing Kaine on this journey. It's quite sad really. Kaine if you are reading this, thanks so much for showing us around Stockholm and hanging out. Made our trip.
The next morning we wake up knowing that today is the last day of our trip. We check out of the hotel and have a few hours to kill, so we check out this store that has the best shit ever in it. I buy a ridiculously expensive pair of sunglasses but they're bad ass so it's ok. Off to the airport, we get the taxi driver to take a picture of Laura and I which is one of the only photos that we are actually both in. Our flight to London is pleasant but i never look forward to landing in Heathrow, that fucking customs line is a shit. So we get in to Heathrow and what do you know, it's a 1 hour wait in the customs line. I hate Heathrow. After we eventually get out, we decide to stay really close to the airport as we are both flying our seperate ways the next morning. By the time we check in it's about 10:30pm and we are pretty buggered, an early night is had by both. Good night.
Last day: We wake up and check out. I am flying back to Sydney today and Laura is flying to Borneo to meet up with her Mum. I had made a request with Qantas a few weeks earlier to get upgraded to business class from London to Sydney using my Frequent Flyer points. When i check in, i see that i am seater in Economy. Fucking Qantas. By this stage, Laura and I are in different terminals. Bye Laura, have fun in Borneo. It was fun. I head to the lounge and ask if there are any spare seats in Business class, they tell me that there are 2 spare. MMMM i wonder why i didn't get upgraded then. 5 minutes later and i have boarded the plane, i ask to speak to the customer service manager on board about why i didn't get upgraded. She tells me that there are no spare seats in business, i tell her there are as i just found out from a sales manager that there were 2 left. She is annoyed by this and goes on to explain how the Frequent Flyer works. Fuck off i feel like saying. Stupid uppity bitch. Anyway i don't get upgraded. Boy am i looking forward to my 24 hour flight home to Sydney....
OK so there were some positives on my flight. Good films. Unlike my last long flight, the entertainment system worked this time(Fuck you Qantas). I watched and highly recommend the following films: This is England, The US vs John Lennon, Surfs Up and Strummer.
Finally i get off in Sydney, buy some shit from Duty Free and walk out to see "Flattie Of The Year" Niza waiting there to pick me up. It feels good to be home. I still hate you Qantas, fucking Arseholes.
Until next time
x
Jai
So the day after Moulin Rouge in Paris, we goto the Louvre to see Mona Lisa. It's quite a small painting and obviously the most popular in the museum this is made apparent by a line to see the painting(which is enclosed in a glass case) and it's own personal security guard. People are allowed to take photos of it, so everyone is just taking happy snaps. I'm not. I head to the Egyptian part of the Louvre to see all of the ancient Egyptian artifacts and tombs. It's pretty cool and parts of my year 10 ancient history lessons are coming back to me. Today is our last day in Paris before heading to Venice. After the Louvre i head to a music store and pick up the 2 DAFT PUNK dvd's interstellar and D.A.F.T. Both are awesome especially Interstellar 5555. I'm pretty happy. As tonight is our last night in Paris, we decide to goto a bar for happy hour around St Germain and then head back to the Eiffel Tower and drink a bottle of vino on the grass.
Venice: We were pretty lucky to get 1 cent flights from Paris to Venice with Ryan Air, little did we know that Ryan Airs airports are so far from civilization. With no public transport to the one in "Paris"(i say "Paris" because it definitely wasn't in Paris) we had to get a 140 Euro taxi to the airport. Lame. After a quick flight we are in Venice, we get on the bus and head to the island where we are staying. We rock up and have no idea where we are going, but wing it and luckily find our hotel which is in a little side alley near the Grand Canal. Actually everything hear is side alleys, there are no cars or bikes in Venice just Gondolas and Ferries. As we walk into the Hotel at about 11pm, there is a little Italian man with fake teeth and white hair sitting at reception, he looks up and says "ALATTAS". I nod and try not to laugh. Laura just starts laughing. "We have been waiting for you ALATTAS" he says further. We put our bags in our room and then go and have dinner at a Pizza restaurant. Venice is amazing, it's kind of surreal in a way and i have never experienced anything like it before.
Day 2 Venice: So today we decide to buy a ferrie day pass and just see the island. We travel on ferries for awhile, getting off every now and then to check out some more alleys and lanes. At about 3pm we decide to go back to the hotel to have a rest before going out later(I'm getting old, I need afternoon naps). Turns out the last ferry is coming at 3pm and there is a massive queue for it. We are pretty well positioned and i think we have a good chance of getting on, that is until Lauras bag gets tangled on some old lady and the old lady starts yelling abuse at her in Italian, the next thing we know the old lady jumps on the boat and they pull the bar down so that we can't get on. Stupid old lady. I wanted to throw her into the water. So we are on the other side of the island and no way to get home, turns out it's only a 30 minute walk - so we take a scenic walk through the streets of Venice. Which is really fucking cool and I'm glad that we do this instead of catch the ferry(I still hate the old lady though). We get back to the hotel eventually and i have a nap. We decide that tonight we will go on a Gondola, so after dinner we try and track one down, we hear they are pretty expensive but you can barter with them. I unsuccessfully barter with one and his 100 euro price for a 3 minute Gondola ride doesn't change. Oh well, we go on the Gondola and it's pretty fun. Apparently there is only one company in Venice that runs the entire Gondola business. After our "informative" ride, we pay the man and buy some vino and drink on the banks of a canal until we eventually run out of wine and goto sleep. When we get back to the hotel, we get in trouble by the man downstairs for coming in late, i feel 15 again. Back off DAD.
HANG OVER. Today we are leaving Venice for Stockholm. I go and buy 2 presents for my friends Mark C and "Flattie of the year" Niza, i buy Mark a pair of boxer shorts with the dick of David on them and i buy Niza an apron with the dick of David on them. In Venice the dick of David is a really popular item and features on post cards, t shirts, boxer shorts and aprons. So next we are off to the airport to fly to Stockholm on another 1 cent Ryan Air flight, because my bag is so heavy i decide to take my camera case out of my bag. Unfortunately my camera case also looks like a bomb and as we are going through security, i get stopped so this metal container can get checked properly, by the time it's checked everyone else has boarded the plane and they are just waiting on me before taking off. I hear a beautiful Italian girl call my name over the PA. I fell in love briefly.
For some reason on all these flights i have never been seated next to Laura, which doesn't really bother me too much as the other 23 hours of the day are spent with each other and it's good to have some "quiet time". I believe she feels the same way as i am an annoying jerk most of the time. We get into Stockholm and somehow the plane has managed to land an hour earlier than expected??? The pilot was on mad speed. We get an hour long bus ride to the hotel which turns out is a Hilton. I am vert excited by this, i did book it, but i didn't realize it was a Hilton and it's smack bang in the centre of town. Score. After checking out our very nice room, i decide to goto the hotel bar for a drink by myself and have a lost in translation moment. Laura stays in the room. I buy a beer and it costs me 50 kromer WHICH IS THE EQUIVALENT OF $10 AUSTRALIAN. FOR A FUCKING TAP BEER. I stop at 1 beer and goto bed.
Ok so the next part of my story may sound kinda weird, but it's cool OK. I had made a friend on Myspace who lived in Stockholm and today HE was going to show us around and take us to come cool bars. Kaine, is an Australian guy that has been living in Stockholm for the past 5 years. I am not sure how we became friends on Myspace but i am very glad that we did. Oh before i go into this i just need to say that Stockholm has the most attractive people in the world, EVER. Every girl is the hottest girl i have ever seen and they are so stylish too, everyone wears super cool street wear, it's like the white version of Tokyo. Anyway so we meet Kaine after he finishes work and i'm kind of nervous because this is like a blind date but with a dude. Straight away it's like we have known each other for years and are best friends. He takes us to some really cool bars and shows us some shops that we will be hitting up tomorrow(and Laura will be spending the rest of her money at). We get very very drunk and decide to call it a night, Kaine heads home and Laura and I back to our Hilton Hotel.
The next day is shopping day. I fucking hate shopping. I mean i like buying things but i hate people that come upto you and are like "HEY DUDE WASSUP MAN YEAH THOSE JEANS ARE DOPE BRO YOU SHOULD TOTALLY GET THEM THEY LOOK SO SWEET MAN LIKE WOAH GOT ANY PLANS THIS WEEKEND YEAH JUST CHILLING YEAH MAN SO ARE YOU GOING TO BUY THOSE JEANS BRAH BECAUSE I HAVE A DAILY QUOTA TO MAKE AND I REALLY HAVE NO INTEREST IN YOU AND HOW YOU ARE DOING OR IF YOU LOOK GOOD IN THOSE PANTS" You know the type? Anyway fuck clothes shopping. But Stockholm has the BEST stores i have been too. I goto the Cheap Mondays store and pick up 2 pairs of jeans for dirt cheap and then we head to American Apparel and clean the shop out. There is a sneaker store called Sneaker N Stuff which is incredible, i don't purchase anything though, but it has a cafe inside the sneaker shop and is a cool hang. So yeah shop shop spend lots of money eat food go back to hotel to meet Kaine.
Tonight Kaine has organized for us to goto a magazine party to see Jens Leckman play. He takes us on a scenic detour of Old Town which is amazing and gives us a brief history lesson on Sweden. We get to the party and surprise loads of good looking stylish people here, yep so many in fact it's really hard to move. Jens comes on and we can't even see him, so we opt for a couch and listen to him in the background. After that we are heading to see Sahara Hotnights DJ but for some retarded reason, some clubs in Stockholm have a drinking age of 23 and over. Laura is only 21 so we can't goto this club. Instead we opt for the equally cool Debaser which is a really good venue/club. We sit out on the patio, drinking beers and chewing the fat. Once again it's time to say goodbye and this is the last time we will be seeing Kaine on this journey. It's quite sad really. Kaine if you are reading this, thanks so much for showing us around Stockholm and hanging out. Made our trip.
The next morning we wake up knowing that today is the last day of our trip. We check out of the hotel and have a few hours to kill, so we check out this store that has the best shit ever in it. I buy a ridiculously expensive pair of sunglasses but they're bad ass so it's ok. Off to the airport, we get the taxi driver to take a picture of Laura and I which is one of the only photos that we are actually both in. Our flight to London is pleasant but i never look forward to landing in Heathrow, that fucking customs line is a shit. So we get in to Heathrow and what do you know, it's a 1 hour wait in the customs line. I hate Heathrow. After we eventually get out, we decide to stay really close to the airport as we are both flying our seperate ways the next morning. By the time we check in it's about 10:30pm and we are pretty buggered, an early night is had by both. Good night.
Last day: We wake up and check out. I am flying back to Sydney today and Laura is flying to Borneo to meet up with her Mum. I had made a request with Qantas a few weeks earlier to get upgraded to business class from London to Sydney using my Frequent Flyer points. When i check in, i see that i am seater in Economy. Fucking Qantas. By this stage, Laura and I are in different terminals. Bye Laura, have fun in Borneo. It was fun. I head to the lounge and ask if there are any spare seats in Business class, they tell me that there are 2 spare. MMMM i wonder why i didn't get upgraded then. 5 minutes later and i have boarded the plane, i ask to speak to the customer service manager on board about why i didn't get upgraded. She tells me that there are no spare seats in business, i tell her there are as i just found out from a sales manager that there were 2 left. She is annoyed by this and goes on to explain how the Frequent Flyer works. Fuck off i feel like saying. Stupid uppity bitch. Anyway i don't get upgraded. Boy am i looking forward to my 24 hour flight home to Sydney....
OK so there were some positives on my flight. Good films. Unlike my last long flight, the entertainment system worked this time(Fuck you Qantas). I watched and highly recommend the following films: This is England, The US vs John Lennon, Surfs Up and Strummer.
Finally i get off in Sydney, buy some shit from Duty Free and walk out to see "Flattie Of The Year" Niza waiting there to pick me up. It feels good to be home. I still hate you Qantas, fucking Arseholes.
Until next time
x
Jai
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Lots and lots of BOOBZ
The title will make much more sense once this reaches the end OK? Ok. I haven't really had a chance to update this in awhile and still there are no photos. To be completely honest with you, i don't think photos will ever show up here. I just hate photos. I hate taking them and i hate being in them. Sometimes i am jealous of people that can just pose so easily for photos, they wear the same face in every shot. It's almost kind of creepy. But alas i am not a photo person...
So after my flight from LA to London(which i slept all of) it takes me 2 hours to get through customs. Not that anything was wrong, the line just went forever. Boring. So as i come out Laura is waiting for me in tears, i mean i know i have this affect on girls but so soon? Kidding. No she was crying because she had her wallet stolen while waiting for me in Heathrow, from this moment onwards i am known as jaiTM. So we leave Heathrow and head to Stu and Chloe's whom we are staying with for the next couple of days. A great sleep later and we are on our way to Reading for the Carling Weekend: Reading Festival. The Scare are the first band on the NME stage and i walk in just as they finish their last note. Fuck. I was so angry. We decide to head back to the hotel we are staying at to meet Stu and Chloe who are staying in the same room. We meet up with them and head back to the festival, where we meet up with The Scare who are pissed at me for missing the set. Granted. Next i see my brothers from Gyroscope who are in England recording their new album. We go and watch Jimmy Eat World together who are amazing. I don't really remember much else of this day because i got kind of drunk, but i do remember spending a lot of time in the VIP area drinking Grolsh and seeing Butch Vig walking around. We leave the festival to party back at the Hotel we are staying at. There is a bar downstairs where everyone hangs out i guess. The singer from Interpol is down there and getting his tour manager to pick up chicks for him, unfortunately it's not going to well at first but eventually he does OK. Dude, it was probably because you were wearing a dickies hat. I mean usually you are one of the smartest dressed dudes ever, but when you're just chilling you look like the dude from Puddle Of Mudd. No offence. We drink alot, talk alot of shit and around 7 in the morning have all passed out.
Day 2: Reading - So i found it hard to wake up today. Very hard. Laura found it so hard to wake up that she didn't even goto the festival on this day. I got there at around 7pm, just in time to see Digitalism who were pretty good but not amazing. Then i went and chilled for a little with Matt and Carly before watching a little Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Chilli Peppers fucked up their first song 3 times in a row and John and Anthony had a little fight on stage, with the mics on!!! Flea must have been really confused or angry so he started screaming into the microphone "Raaaahhhh" "Rahhhhhhhh" "Raaahhhhhhh". Then someone through a beer into the crowd and it went on my head and i realized how much i fucking hate festivals and people that goto them, so i went back to the hotel. Tonight nobody was partying at the hotel, so i went to sleep.
Day 3: Reading - Today was a busy day for me. Lots of bands i wanted to see and interview for The Jai Show. We got there really early to see Hello Goodbye who were really good. Next we saw Operator Please, who had a really good crowd in their tent. Then we retired back to the VIP area to drink more beers, we shot an interview with Chad from New Found Glory and then Laura went back to the hotel. Please note that she got really sick on the first day and didn't have the energy to keep up with an energizer battery like myself. On the 3rd day i also ended up seeing Fall Out Boy, Klaxons, Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, New Found Glory, Gallows and CSS. I also shot a bunch of stuff for The Jai Show which will air on Channel [V] in October. Smashing Pumpkins were probably the highlight, they played Today really early on and that stoked me out. Once again not a party night, Carly lost her wallet so was kinda bummed out and 1 drink in the hotel bar later everyone had retired to bed.
The next day was fucking crazy. After a nice breakfast in the hotel, we check out and walk down to the station to see a 3 hour line to head back to London. Fuck that. We think maybe a cab will be the answer, but for $180 pounds($450AUD) that's also not a great idea. We are tipped off that it will be quicker to get a bus to Heathrow airport, then a train to Paddington and a tube to Queens Park(where we are staying). 2 hours later and it beats the 3 hour wait on a train full of hung over festival goers. We get back to Stu and Chloes and i crash out. When i wake up Laura has a vistor over called Liam, apparently he knows me from Sydney but my mind is blank. After awhile i work out that i do know him and that we had an argument once at the judgement bar in Sydney. What a fine establishment that is. Eventually he leaves.
The next day is really boring so i don't want to even bother typing it. Up early. Meetings all day with Matt. The Scare play at Brigton Bar which is their last show in the UK before flying home. Great fucking show. They are on fire. I leave after they play to see my friend Dan from Young Love, who are also playing tonight. I walk in on their first song. I love Young Love. They are so good, i only heard about them this year at SXSW but Dan and I became friends pretty quickly. Great set. I hang out with Dan for awhile after the show and head home. Tomorrow i fly to Paris.
Paris - Wake up angry. Call Mel, she counsels me. I feel better. Head to Heathrow, security is INSANE. British Airways club is the best. Get drunk in there. Board the plane. Fall asleep straight away and next thing i know arrive in Paris. Get the train to our hotel and then we are off to Eiffel Tower to meet up with a bunch of Lauras friends from Melbourne. Cool people. We don't climb it but rather sit on a grass patch and watch the light show, it's pretty amazing. For dinner we have a savoury crepe and then back to the hotel. I fall asleep straight away.
Today. Get up early for breakfast in the hotel. It's good. I go back to sleep straight after and get up around 1pm. I am one lazy motherfucker(but i never have). We get the train to St Michel - Notre Dame, first we get a sweet crepe which is fucking amazing. I want another one now. We walk around the streets which is pretty cool. Laura takes pictures of everything she sees and gets me to take pictures of her in front of everything she sees. Then we goto into the Notre Dame cathedral, i am not a religious person but i do appreciate the architecture and grand size of the building. It's incredible and apparently took 200 years to build. Next we are off to Bastille to have a look around, we see a cocktail bar and get drunk. A few drinks later and it's back to the hotel to get ready for Moulin Rouge, where we are headed tonight. We are running late so dinner consists of Mcdonalds, i make up for that by ordering a Royal with Cheese(reference not necessary). Now i am not crazy about going to the Moulin Rouge, it sounds pretty girly to me and dancing and costumes don't really interest me. We get in there and are seated in the middle, tickets are 90 euro which is pretty expensive and i'm kind of bummed out about parting with that much money. BUT then it all changes. The girls are topless and theres heaps of them, and they're all the hottest girls ever. All the music is in French so i have no idea what is going on except there are dancing girls with no tops and g-strings on EVERYWHERE. Is this place the worlds best kept secret? I was kinda annoyed that i didn't recognize Nicole Kidman though. The show went for 2 hours and they give you a bottle of champagne. In between some of the dance segments, they had routines which were either funny or just hard to believe. All in all i was really glad that i did come and check it out. I may even watch the film now. Mouli Rouge for president.
After the show we head back to the hotel where i am now. We have 2 days left in Paris before heading to Venice on Saturday. It's bed time.
x
Jai
So after my flight from LA to London(which i slept all of) it takes me 2 hours to get through customs. Not that anything was wrong, the line just went forever. Boring. So as i come out Laura is waiting for me in tears, i mean i know i have this affect on girls but so soon? Kidding. No she was crying because she had her wallet stolen while waiting for me in Heathrow, from this moment onwards i am known as jaiTM. So we leave Heathrow and head to Stu and Chloe's whom we are staying with for the next couple of days. A great sleep later and we are on our way to Reading for the Carling Weekend: Reading Festival. The Scare are the first band on the NME stage and i walk in just as they finish their last note. Fuck. I was so angry. We decide to head back to the hotel we are staying at to meet Stu and Chloe who are staying in the same room. We meet up with them and head back to the festival, where we meet up with The Scare who are pissed at me for missing the set. Granted. Next i see my brothers from Gyroscope who are in England recording their new album. We go and watch Jimmy Eat World together who are amazing. I don't really remember much else of this day because i got kind of drunk, but i do remember spending a lot of time in the VIP area drinking Grolsh and seeing Butch Vig walking around. We leave the festival to party back at the Hotel we are staying at. There is a bar downstairs where everyone hangs out i guess. The singer from Interpol is down there and getting his tour manager to pick up chicks for him, unfortunately it's not going to well at first but eventually he does OK. Dude, it was probably because you were wearing a dickies hat. I mean usually you are one of the smartest dressed dudes ever, but when you're just chilling you look like the dude from Puddle Of Mudd. No offence. We drink alot, talk alot of shit and around 7 in the morning have all passed out.
Day 2: Reading - So i found it hard to wake up today. Very hard. Laura found it so hard to wake up that she didn't even goto the festival on this day. I got there at around 7pm, just in time to see Digitalism who were pretty good but not amazing. Then i went and chilled for a little with Matt and Carly before watching a little Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Chilli Peppers fucked up their first song 3 times in a row and John and Anthony had a little fight on stage, with the mics on!!! Flea must have been really confused or angry so he started screaming into the microphone "Raaaahhhh" "Rahhhhhhhh" "Raaahhhhhhh". Then someone through a beer into the crowd and it went on my head and i realized how much i fucking hate festivals and people that goto them, so i went back to the hotel. Tonight nobody was partying at the hotel, so i went to sleep.
Day 3: Reading - Today was a busy day for me. Lots of bands i wanted to see and interview for The Jai Show. We got there really early to see Hello Goodbye who were really good. Next we saw Operator Please, who had a really good crowd in their tent. Then we retired back to the VIP area to drink more beers, we shot an interview with Chad from New Found Glory and then Laura went back to the hotel. Please note that she got really sick on the first day and didn't have the energy to keep up with an energizer battery like myself. On the 3rd day i also ended up seeing Fall Out Boy, Klaxons, Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, New Found Glory, Gallows and CSS. I also shot a bunch of stuff for The Jai Show which will air on Channel [V] in October. Smashing Pumpkins were probably the highlight, they played Today really early on and that stoked me out. Once again not a party night, Carly lost her wallet so was kinda bummed out and 1 drink in the hotel bar later everyone had retired to bed.
The next day was fucking crazy. After a nice breakfast in the hotel, we check out and walk down to the station to see a 3 hour line to head back to London. Fuck that. We think maybe a cab will be the answer, but for $180 pounds($450AUD) that's also not a great idea. We are tipped off that it will be quicker to get a bus to Heathrow airport, then a train to Paddington and a tube to Queens Park(where we are staying). 2 hours later and it beats the 3 hour wait on a train full of hung over festival goers. We get back to Stu and Chloes and i crash out. When i wake up Laura has a vistor over called Liam, apparently he knows me from Sydney but my mind is blank. After awhile i work out that i do know him and that we had an argument once at the judgement bar in Sydney. What a fine establishment that is. Eventually he leaves.
The next day is really boring so i don't want to even bother typing it. Up early. Meetings all day with Matt. The Scare play at Brigton Bar which is their last show in the UK before flying home. Great fucking show. They are on fire. I leave after they play to see my friend Dan from Young Love, who are also playing tonight. I walk in on their first song. I love Young Love. They are so good, i only heard about them this year at SXSW but Dan and I became friends pretty quickly. Great set. I hang out with Dan for awhile after the show and head home. Tomorrow i fly to Paris.
Paris - Wake up angry. Call Mel, she counsels me. I feel better. Head to Heathrow, security is INSANE. British Airways club is the best. Get drunk in there. Board the plane. Fall asleep straight away and next thing i know arrive in Paris. Get the train to our hotel and then we are off to Eiffel Tower to meet up with a bunch of Lauras friends from Melbourne. Cool people. We don't climb it but rather sit on a grass patch and watch the light show, it's pretty amazing. For dinner we have a savoury crepe and then back to the hotel. I fall asleep straight away.
Today. Get up early for breakfast in the hotel. It's good. I go back to sleep straight after and get up around 1pm. I am one lazy motherfucker(but i never have). We get the train to St Michel - Notre Dame, first we get a sweet crepe which is fucking amazing. I want another one now. We walk around the streets which is pretty cool. Laura takes pictures of everything she sees and gets me to take pictures of her in front of everything she sees. Then we goto into the Notre Dame cathedral, i am not a religious person but i do appreciate the architecture and grand size of the building. It's incredible and apparently took 200 years to build. Next we are off to Bastille to have a look around, we see a cocktail bar and get drunk. A few drinks later and it's back to the hotel to get ready for Moulin Rouge, where we are headed tonight. We are running late so dinner consists of Mcdonalds, i make up for that by ordering a Royal with Cheese(reference not necessary). Now i am not crazy about going to the Moulin Rouge, it sounds pretty girly to me and dancing and costumes don't really interest me. We get in there and are seated in the middle, tickets are 90 euro which is pretty expensive and i'm kind of bummed out about parting with that much money. BUT then it all changes. The girls are topless and theres heaps of them, and they're all the hottest girls ever. All the music is in French so i have no idea what is going on except there are dancing girls with no tops and g-strings on EVERYWHERE. Is this place the worlds best kept secret? I was kinda annoyed that i didn't recognize Nicole Kidman though. The show went for 2 hours and they give you a bottle of champagne. In between some of the dance segments, they had routines which were either funny or just hard to believe. All in all i was really glad that i did come and check it out. I may even watch the film now. Mouli Rouge for president.
After the show we head back to the hotel where i am now. We have 2 days left in Paris before heading to Venice on Saturday. It's bed time.
x
Jai
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Last day in LA
Ok quick blog in my last hours of LA. Tonight i fly to London for the Reading/Leeds Festival, The Scare and Matt/Carly have already left. I am booked on the Red Eye. 10 hour flight, not really looking forward to it but hopefully my fucking entertainment system works this time. Laura is going to meet me at the airport, she got in today, i hope she has a sign. Laura if you are reading this make a sign for me JAI AL-ATTAS. Thanks.
Alright so the past few days have been hilarious. Monday after our cars got towed, we head to Spaceland which is in Silverlake where The Scare are playing tonight. The Buzzcocks played this venue last Friday. The Scare are the first band on and the room id dead empty, we decide to wait 10 minutes and then people start rolling in. A few label A&R people are around which is a good sign. After the show Mick, Sam, Liam and I get in my PT Cruiser and head down to Newport Beach which is a good hour out of LA. We hear about a party down there and seeing as though i am going through my OC/Laguna/Newport obesession right now, i can't pass up the opportunity.
The one thing i will say about Newport is that it has probably the most beautiful rich people i have ever seen. It was crazy how hot everyone was. So we goto a club called Discoteca that Dexter puts on, once again Uffie is playing. She is seriously everywhere i go. The club closes at 2am and we hear word of an after party. Sam decides it's a good idea to follow these 2 girls that really don't want us to follow them, i came to this conclusion because i heard them say "No we don't want you to follow us, follow Dexter". Sam tells me that they want us to follow them still. Fuck it. I'll follow them. One of the girls has a ridiculously expensive Merc, i thought it was her families but it was hers(just paid for by the family). This is how kids in Newport roll.
What happens next is an insane car chase around the OC. The girl in front of us wasn't using indicators when turning and really trying to throw us off her tail. It was pretty funny, anyway she got away a few times but i caught up and eventually we stop at her house. I would like to say i am a great driver but to be honest, i fluked it, she was going SO fast. We get to the carpark of her place which is a fuck off apartment block. Amazing. She doesn't let us come upstairs and the 2 girls say they'll be down in 5 minutes and then we will head to the party. 40 minutes later they back down and Sam decides to ride with the girls so he can tell them to slow down and i can follow.
Another goose chase and we get to the after party. Which is basically just a bunch of people from the club chilling on couches and drinking wine in another fuck off Newport apartment complex. What excited me though was the girl whose house we were at had CDJ1000s in her living room, sweet, she let me play with them for awhile until i kept playing them too loud and her flat mate got pissed at me. Sorry bro. My bad.
At about 5am the party ends and it is decided that we will just drive back to LA. Liam and Sam take some anxiety pills and pass the fuck out in the back. After a 2 hour drive, many arguments and literally having to drag Liam and Sam from the back of my car, i get home around 7am and pass out. Newport was an experience, possibly one of the funniest nights of my life. Retarded.
Tuesday i have a few meetings. As i am driving back from one i see Travis Barker walking down the street. Yo Travis what's up dude. I then head to Casey, Shannon and Emmas new house in Beechwood Canyon. Amazing place. Right under the Hollywood sign. These 3 girls are Australian and Emma is acting out here, most notably she was in Entourage recently. Good one Emma. Then off to have dinner with our friend Louie Bandak, who has signed many a good band at Capitol Records. After dinner we head to Cinespace where The Scare are playing again. Tonight has a much better vibe than the Spaceland show. There is a huge line outside the club and we're all pretty excited. The Scare go on and play amazingly well. I think this was the first time i have seen Kiss smile since being in LA. Darren McMullen from The Lair on MTV has just flown in to LA and comes to the show. After the show many an after party is spoken about, i meet some random people from Wales who become my new friends for the night, we head to Steve Aokis after party which is at his new office. Danny Masterson from That 70's Show is there and they're all about to play poker. They invite me to play but at $100 minimum and me not having ever played with real people before, i decide to give it a miss. I bounce from Dim Mak around 4 and head home. Sleep. Adrian is in Chicago tonight with Lifehouse and Rooney, so i take his bed. Score.
Wednesday(Today). So we have a meeting with this guy called Chris who worked at Myspace records up until last week, now he works at Atlantic. Very cool guy. We have breakfast at The Grove and speak about bands and music and you know all that usual stuff. The whole time i just want to ask him about THE HILLS, because he was on it!!! You see the other day i was watching this episode and Audrina and Lauren go on a double date with this guy Chris and his flat mate. I didn't realize it at the time but it was the same Chris i was meeting with. So after my meal i say "Ok Chris, The Hills how did that happen?". He starts laughing. Then tells us how he hooked up with Audrina and how the producers of the show would make him say stuff. It was interesting to get an insight into my new favourite show. When we said our goodbyes i asked him if he could sign a copy of The Hills DVD for me. He replied with "Fuck Off".
Next, off to the William Morris Agency to see my bro Brian. As i am waiting in the lobby, Steve Aoki walks out with Uffie. See Uffie is EVERYWHERE!!! She will possibly be on my flight tonight. I say goodbye to Steve and ask him who won the poker game last night. He did. Good one Aoki.
And that my friends is everything, this took a long time to write and i probably missed a whole bunch of shit. But i actually have to leave now and drive to the airport. Traffic is going to suck balls. I love you.
xox
Jai
Alright so the past few days have been hilarious. Monday after our cars got towed, we head to Spaceland which is in Silverlake where The Scare are playing tonight. The Buzzcocks played this venue last Friday. The Scare are the first band on and the room id dead empty, we decide to wait 10 minutes and then people start rolling in. A few label A&R people are around which is a good sign. After the show Mick, Sam, Liam and I get in my PT Cruiser and head down to Newport Beach which is a good hour out of LA. We hear about a party down there and seeing as though i am going through my OC/Laguna/Newport obesession right now, i can't pass up the opportunity.
The one thing i will say about Newport is that it has probably the most beautiful rich people i have ever seen. It was crazy how hot everyone was. So we goto a club called Discoteca that Dexter puts on, once again Uffie is playing. She is seriously everywhere i go. The club closes at 2am and we hear word of an after party. Sam decides it's a good idea to follow these 2 girls that really don't want us to follow them, i came to this conclusion because i heard them say "No we don't want you to follow us, follow Dexter". Sam tells me that they want us to follow them still. Fuck it. I'll follow them. One of the girls has a ridiculously expensive Merc, i thought it was her families but it was hers(just paid for by the family). This is how kids in Newport roll.
What happens next is an insane car chase around the OC. The girl in front of us wasn't using indicators when turning and really trying to throw us off her tail. It was pretty funny, anyway she got away a few times but i caught up and eventually we stop at her house. I would like to say i am a great driver but to be honest, i fluked it, she was going SO fast. We get to the carpark of her place which is a fuck off apartment block. Amazing. She doesn't let us come upstairs and the 2 girls say they'll be down in 5 minutes and then we will head to the party. 40 minutes later they back down and Sam decides to ride with the girls so he can tell them to slow down and i can follow.
Another goose chase and we get to the after party. Which is basically just a bunch of people from the club chilling on couches and drinking wine in another fuck off Newport apartment complex. What excited me though was the girl whose house we were at had CDJ1000s in her living room, sweet, she let me play with them for awhile until i kept playing them too loud and her flat mate got pissed at me. Sorry bro. My bad.
At about 5am the party ends and it is decided that we will just drive back to LA. Liam and Sam take some anxiety pills and pass the fuck out in the back. After a 2 hour drive, many arguments and literally having to drag Liam and Sam from the back of my car, i get home around 7am and pass out. Newport was an experience, possibly one of the funniest nights of my life. Retarded.
Tuesday i have a few meetings. As i am driving back from one i see Travis Barker walking down the street. Yo Travis what's up dude. I then head to Casey, Shannon and Emmas new house in Beechwood Canyon. Amazing place. Right under the Hollywood sign. These 3 girls are Australian and Emma is acting out here, most notably she was in Entourage recently. Good one Emma. Then off to have dinner with our friend Louie Bandak, who has signed many a good band at Capitol Records. After dinner we head to Cinespace where The Scare are playing again. Tonight has a much better vibe than the Spaceland show. There is a huge line outside the club and we're all pretty excited. The Scare go on and play amazingly well. I think this was the first time i have seen Kiss smile since being in LA. Darren McMullen from The Lair on MTV has just flown in to LA and comes to the show. After the show many an after party is spoken about, i meet some random people from Wales who become my new friends for the night, we head to Steve Aokis after party which is at his new office. Danny Masterson from That 70's Show is there and they're all about to play poker. They invite me to play but at $100 minimum and me not having ever played with real people before, i decide to give it a miss. I bounce from Dim Mak around 4 and head home. Sleep. Adrian is in Chicago tonight with Lifehouse and Rooney, so i take his bed. Score.
Wednesday(Today). So we have a meeting with this guy called Chris who worked at Myspace records up until last week, now he works at Atlantic. Very cool guy. We have breakfast at The Grove and speak about bands and music and you know all that usual stuff. The whole time i just want to ask him about THE HILLS, because he was on it!!! You see the other day i was watching this episode and Audrina and Lauren go on a double date with this guy Chris and his flat mate. I didn't realize it at the time but it was the same Chris i was meeting with. So after my meal i say "Ok Chris, The Hills how did that happen?". He starts laughing. Then tells us how he hooked up with Audrina and how the producers of the show would make him say stuff. It was interesting to get an insight into my new favourite show. When we said our goodbyes i asked him if he could sign a copy of The Hills DVD for me. He replied with "Fuck Off".
Next, off to the William Morris Agency to see my bro Brian. As i am waiting in the lobby, Steve Aoki walks out with Uffie. See Uffie is EVERYWHERE!!! She will possibly be on my flight tonight. I say goodbye to Steve and ask him who won the poker game last night. He did. Good one Aoki.
And that my friends is everything, this took a long time to write and i probably missed a whole bunch of shit. But i actually have to leave now and drive to the airport. Traffic is going to suck balls. I love you.
xox
Jai
Monday, August 20, 2007
Superbad = Super GOOD
Fuck it is hot in LA right now. Like disgusting hot. OK so here is what happened over the weekend.
The Scare got in on Friday. I had 2 meetings during the day, one with RCA and other with Columbia. I was really excited about the RCA meeting because it was in the SongBMG building in Santa Monica and for anyone that watches The Hills, you will know that one of the girls Audrina does an internship there. Turns out she doesn't, and it was just a PR stunt for the story. Bummer. Anyway so after my meetings, i organize for myself, Matt, Carly and The Scare to head to Teddy's that night. But before Teddys, i head to The Grove to see Superbad on opening day. All i am going to say is Superbad is one of the funniest movies i have ever seen. It's so fucking good. Like fucking amazing good. If you haven't heard of it, google it(or IMDB it), trust me. I just know that it's going to be this cult film similar to what Napolean Dynamite was a few years ago. Mclovin T-Shirts are coming, be prepared.
For those of you not down, Teddy's is a very LA scene bar. It's incredibly hard to get in and unless you know someone or are super famous, you won't be entering anytime soon. Luckily for me i know someone, so we head into the place. Unfortunately tonight our celeb spottings were few and far between at Teddy's and i think everyone thought that The Scare guys we're actually famous. In the past when i have been to Teddy's, there have been some pretty famous cats hanging tough there like Zach Braff, Kevin Bacon, Mischa Barton etc etc. We decide to leave and head to a warehouse party downtown and our new friend Dexter worded us up about. Matt and Carly leave us at this point and it's just me and The Scare in my PT Cruiser.
The party downtown is in an awesome spot but by the time we get there it's pretty dead and there's an almost empty room with lasers and smoke playing ghetto trance. I decide to bail with Kiss and Liam, so we head the wrong way for 20 minutes towards Pasadena, stop for some Jack In The Box at 4am and drop the guys off and home for me.
Saturday morning is boiling! Matt calls me and tells me that Carly and him have got food poisoning and will not be able to drive down to San Diego where The Scare are playing their first US show. It is upto me to drive this massive beast of a van down to San Diego, what should be a 3 hour drive turns into a 5 and a half hour drive due to traffic. We get to the venue which is called Tower Bar, a tiny bar in ghetto central in San Diego. But the owner is this cool Australian dude who hooks us up with lots of free coronas. The venue itself is very punk rock, there is no stage, place fits about 70 people max and there is a tattoo parlour upstairs. The Scare play and go crazy. It's a very funny show. Kiss rips his shirt and makes dudes feel uncomfortable. Wez from Some Girls is in the audience aswell as the ex-Plot guys who have formed a new band called The Vultures also playing tonight.
The show ends and everyone is upto party except me and Liam who decide to go back to the hotel where we are staying at. The next morning we go and pick up Wade, Sam and Brock from Chucks place and Kiss has gone missing, as has his passport. Great. We finally track down his passport after driving all around San Diego and Kiss is apparently on his way back to LA?
3 hours later and i still haven't eaten. I get back to Adrians house and find Mick P sleeping on the couch aka my bed. He just flew in from Melbourne and is here for meetings before heading to New York. We all decide to head to Studio City for some sushi, after really not wanting Sushi Dan it turns out we settle for Sushi Dan. Then we head to The Grove to see Superbad but all the sessions are sold out so we see Bourne Ultimatum which is pretty bad ass. I dig it. Tonight we are heading to LAX, which is a club that DJAM and Steve Aoki DJ at on Sundays. It's a pretty popular night and Aoki has put us on the door. None of this lining up around corners deal for us. So we get in there, have some beers, talk some shit, Uffie does a surprise set and the dude that owns Ed Banger Records is in the crowd too. We see our friend Dexter and decide to bounce. As we leave, we see Wade walking up Las Palmas with some crew, they are off to Le Disco and myself and Micky P are going to head home.
That brings me to today. What another glorious stupidly hot day in the city of Los Angeles. Mick has a meeting at 1pm in Hollywood, he leaves the house and 2 minutes later comes back in telling me that both of our rental cars have been towed away. So after an hour of phone calls and trying to find out where the fuck our cars are, we find them and another hour later get a taxi to pick them up. We get there and it's like a jail. Except they have a little buggy and driver to take you to your car which is pretty sweet, i was kind of stoked about the buggy ride. US$180 later and i am driving back to Adrians. Now i am sitting on the couch infront of a fan getting ready to see The Scare tonight at Spaceland. Should be a fun show.
Fuck i need to sleep again, this weather is grossing me out.
The Scare got in on Friday. I had 2 meetings during the day, one with RCA and other with Columbia. I was really excited about the RCA meeting because it was in the SongBMG building in Santa Monica and for anyone that watches The Hills, you will know that one of the girls Audrina does an internship there. Turns out she doesn't, and it was just a PR stunt for the story. Bummer. Anyway so after my meetings, i organize for myself, Matt, Carly and The Scare to head to Teddy's that night. But before Teddys, i head to The Grove to see Superbad on opening day. All i am going to say is Superbad is one of the funniest movies i have ever seen. It's so fucking good. Like fucking amazing good. If you haven't heard of it, google it(or IMDB it), trust me. I just know that it's going to be this cult film similar to what Napolean Dynamite was a few years ago. Mclovin T-Shirts are coming, be prepared.
For those of you not down, Teddy's is a very LA scene bar. It's incredibly hard to get in and unless you know someone or are super famous, you won't be entering anytime soon. Luckily for me i know someone, so we head into the place. Unfortunately tonight our celeb spottings were few and far between at Teddy's and i think everyone thought that The Scare guys we're actually famous. In the past when i have been to Teddy's, there have been some pretty famous cats hanging tough there like Zach Braff, Kevin Bacon, Mischa Barton etc etc. We decide to leave and head to a warehouse party downtown and our new friend Dexter worded us up about. Matt and Carly leave us at this point and it's just me and The Scare in my PT Cruiser.
The party downtown is in an awesome spot but by the time we get there it's pretty dead and there's an almost empty room with lasers and smoke playing ghetto trance. I decide to bail with Kiss and Liam, so we head the wrong way for 20 minutes towards Pasadena, stop for some Jack In The Box at 4am and drop the guys off and home for me.
Saturday morning is boiling! Matt calls me and tells me that Carly and him have got food poisoning and will not be able to drive down to San Diego where The Scare are playing their first US show. It is upto me to drive this massive beast of a van down to San Diego, what should be a 3 hour drive turns into a 5 and a half hour drive due to traffic. We get to the venue which is called Tower Bar, a tiny bar in ghetto central in San Diego. But the owner is this cool Australian dude who hooks us up with lots of free coronas. The venue itself is very punk rock, there is no stage, place fits about 70 people max and there is a tattoo parlour upstairs. The Scare play and go crazy. It's a very funny show. Kiss rips his shirt and makes dudes feel uncomfortable. Wez from Some Girls is in the audience aswell as the ex-Plot guys who have formed a new band called The Vultures also playing tonight.
The show ends and everyone is upto party except me and Liam who decide to go back to the hotel where we are staying at. The next morning we go and pick up Wade, Sam and Brock from Chucks place and Kiss has gone missing, as has his passport. Great. We finally track down his passport after driving all around San Diego and Kiss is apparently on his way back to LA?
3 hours later and i still haven't eaten. I get back to Adrians house and find Mick P sleeping on the couch aka my bed. He just flew in from Melbourne and is here for meetings before heading to New York. We all decide to head to Studio City for some sushi, after really not wanting Sushi Dan it turns out we settle for Sushi Dan. Then we head to The Grove to see Superbad but all the sessions are sold out so we see Bourne Ultimatum which is pretty bad ass. I dig it. Tonight we are heading to LAX, which is a club that DJAM and Steve Aoki DJ at on Sundays. It's a pretty popular night and Aoki has put us on the door. None of this lining up around corners deal for us. So we get in there, have some beers, talk some shit, Uffie does a surprise set and the dude that owns Ed Banger Records is in the crowd too. We see our friend Dexter and decide to bounce. As we leave, we see Wade walking up Las Palmas with some crew, they are off to Le Disco and myself and Micky P are going to head home.
That brings me to today. What another glorious stupidly hot day in the city of Los Angeles. Mick has a meeting at 1pm in Hollywood, he leaves the house and 2 minutes later comes back in telling me that both of our rental cars have been towed away. So after an hour of phone calls and trying to find out where the fuck our cars are, we find them and another hour later get a taxi to pick them up. We get there and it's like a jail. Except they have a little buggy and driver to take you to your car which is pretty sweet, i was kind of stoked about the buggy ride. US$180 later and i am driving back to Adrians. Now i am sitting on the couch infront of a fan getting ready to see The Scare tonight at Spaceland. Should be a fun show.
Fuck i need to sleep again, this weather is grossing me out.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Hell looks alot like LA
First post of the trip. Unfortunately i don't have any pictures, so this may not be as INTERESTING to those of you who need visual stimulation to be mildly entertained. But let's be honest here, this blog is really just a self indulgent "journal" that i can read back at later dates and say to myself "Man I'm one cool Playa".
OK so the trip started in my second home, The Qantas Club at Sydney Airport. At the domestic versions of the clubs they don't serve alcohol until 1pm, which is whack. But at the International version it's self serve mother fuckers, so although it was about 10am and i was by myself i decided champaign would be my drink of choice. A few glasses later and i was on the plane already feeling kind of drunk but after taking my medication, i was feeling very relaxed. The people on the flight were a young married couple from Arizona and although nice, they wanted to talk and i wasn't really in the mood for chatting. But after it turned out that our 3 seats were super fucked up and our entertainment systems didn't work, we had no choice but to drink many bottles of white wine and chat. You know what? FUCK QANTAS. I fly with them so much and i had to fly 13 hours without any movies, TV shows, anything. It was hell. They wouldn't move me and they wouldn't fix it, i am going to write a letter complaining actually. There were really good films on the flight too, for those of you who know me well you'll be pissed to know that Music and Lyrics was one of the films and i couldn't watch it!!!!
Actually, i won't be so MELODRAMATIC. One movie did work, it was the "hilarious" star studded Wild Hogs. You know i don't think i laughed once, but i knew if i watched it it would cut 90 minutes from my trip. Inane. So 13 hours, 1 terrible film and no sleep later i arrive in LA. I get into the Customs line and see my new best friend Ian "Dicko" Dickson from Australian Idol(for those of you who don't know, we had a run in at Splendour In The Grass where he told kids on the bus that Kisschasy sucked live. I butted in and we became friends). I didn't get a chance to speak to him this time unfortunately. But if you are reading this Dicko, "Hello Mate, How was your flight?".
My car this time is a Cruiser which is pretty sweet. It looks like it was taken straight out of Gotham City(Batman reference). It's actually pretty gay but i got it for the novelty factor. Then i am on the road, first stop is Stefanie from Drive Thru's house where i am going to have lunch with her and Richard. We eat at this pretty sweet Italian place(Thanks for lunch guys) and then i am off to Interscope in Santa Monica via Malibu, which is such a nice drive. First of all i go and see my international best friend, Adrian Amodeo who i am staying with and who works next door to Interscope at Geffen. I am pretty tired by this stage and have been awake for over 24 hours now. After my Interscope meeting i fall alseep on Adrians couch in his office for a few hours, while he "works". Turns out Adrian now lives in the best part of West Hollywood, right near THE GROVE. I love The Grove. I am stoked. It's a 1 minute walk from his house, so we go to a Greek Restaurant for dinner there with his friends Amanda and Jenny. Thanks to expense accounts there is another free meal for me. Thanks Geffen and EMI publishing.
Now is the best part of my trip so far. We get back to Adrians sweet pad and on his 200 inch plasma television, we get the best television EVER. First of all is the new season of The Hills which is AMAZING. Followed by Real World Sydney which is AMAZING. Then to top it all off, a new series of Laguna Beach titled Newport Harbour which is super friggin AMAZING. Holy shit. The best 3 hours of television i have ever seen, and i was really tired and wanted to pass out really bad as by now i had been up for 30 something hours but this was too good to miss. Australians reading this. Real World Sydney is incredible, i don't know if and when it will air back home but you must see it.
SLEEP....
OK so the trip started in my second home, The Qantas Club at Sydney Airport. At the domestic versions of the clubs they don't serve alcohol until 1pm, which is whack. But at the International version it's self serve mother fuckers, so although it was about 10am and i was by myself i decided champaign would be my drink of choice. A few glasses later and i was on the plane already feeling kind of drunk but after taking my medication, i was feeling very relaxed. The people on the flight were a young married couple from Arizona and although nice, they wanted to talk and i wasn't really in the mood for chatting. But after it turned out that our 3 seats were super fucked up and our entertainment systems didn't work, we had no choice but to drink many bottles of white wine and chat. You know what? FUCK QANTAS. I fly with them so much and i had to fly 13 hours without any movies, TV shows, anything. It was hell. They wouldn't move me and they wouldn't fix it, i am going to write a letter complaining actually. There were really good films on the flight too, for those of you who know me well you'll be pissed to know that Music and Lyrics was one of the films and i couldn't watch it!!!!
Actually, i won't be so MELODRAMATIC. One movie did work, it was the "hilarious" star studded Wild Hogs. You know i don't think i laughed once, but i knew if i watched it it would cut 90 minutes from my trip. Inane. So 13 hours, 1 terrible film and no sleep later i arrive in LA. I get into the Customs line and see my new best friend Ian "Dicko" Dickson from Australian Idol(for those of you who don't know, we had a run in at Splendour In The Grass where he told kids on the bus that Kisschasy sucked live. I butted in and we became friends). I didn't get a chance to speak to him this time unfortunately. But if you are reading this Dicko, "Hello Mate, How was your flight?".
My car this time is a Cruiser which is pretty sweet. It looks like it was taken straight out of Gotham City(Batman reference). It's actually pretty gay but i got it for the novelty factor. Then i am on the road, first stop is Stefanie from Drive Thru's house where i am going to have lunch with her and Richard. We eat at this pretty sweet Italian place(Thanks for lunch guys) and then i am off to Interscope in Santa Monica via Malibu, which is such a nice drive. First of all i go and see my international best friend, Adrian Amodeo who i am staying with and who works next door to Interscope at Geffen. I am pretty tired by this stage and have been awake for over 24 hours now. After my Interscope meeting i fall alseep on Adrians couch in his office for a few hours, while he "works". Turns out Adrian now lives in the best part of West Hollywood, right near THE GROVE. I love The Grove. I am stoked. It's a 1 minute walk from his house, so we go to a Greek Restaurant for dinner there with his friends Amanda and Jenny. Thanks to expense accounts there is another free meal for me. Thanks Geffen and EMI publishing.
Now is the best part of my trip so far. We get back to Adrians sweet pad and on his 200 inch plasma television, we get the best television EVER. First of all is the new season of The Hills which is AMAZING. Followed by Real World Sydney which is AMAZING. Then to top it all off, a new series of Laguna Beach titled Newport Harbour which is super friggin AMAZING. Holy shit. The best 3 hours of television i have ever seen, and i was really tired and wanted to pass out really bad as by now i had been up for 30 something hours but this was too good to miss. Australians reading this. Real World Sydney is incredible, i don't know if and when it will air back home but you must see it.
SLEEP....
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