Almost done...

We're just about done finishing up a new music video for a song called Cactus Garden. What a crazy project this has turned out to be. We definitely had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. My crazy family all chipped in on this one, so things were always on the verge of chaos and hysteria. Perfect for a puppet music video!

Puppeteers!

I must admit I had never given much thought to what it takes to be a puppeteer. However, after spending the weekend rolling around on the floor, doing countless sit-ups, dive-rolls, and neck crunching contortions, I think we've all gained a new respect for what it takes to put something like this together... Not to mention your hands are in little hot animal gloves while doing your puppet gymnastics?!?!

Building a Set

The first step in getting our video up and running was building a set. What we didn't realize was that by making the farmer life sized, we had to build an ENORMOUS set?! Damn... It was already too late at that point. Mom had spent hours trying to figure out how to make that farmer sing so we just went for it. I went out and bought a bunch of 2x4's to construct our backdrop. Mom bought a giant blue sheet and some paint and we went to work. We painted and constructed everything outside in pieces so we could fit it through the door and erect it inside. I'm actually pretty impressed at how well things turned out.

Domestic Dispute (1AM again?!)

For the last few nights I've been sleeping in my van in Hollywood. After being hit 3 times my first night, sleeping in the van seemed comical. After waking up to find the car in front of me had been broken into while I was sleeping, I started to feel like urban van camping might not be so safe. Tonight I woke up to a loud bang and what I thought was a car accident. When I looked out the window to see if the people were okay, I saw a man spread-eagle, face down ,lying on the hood of a car in the middle of the street yelling at the driver. What I thought may have been a serious accident was nothing more than a drunken domestic dispute. The man continued standing in front of the woman's car, despite her efforts to drive away from him. She revved the engine, threatening to run the guy over, but didn't have the gusto to squish his bare feet. At the point when she began flashing her lights and honking when people walked by (asking for help I assume?), I decided I better call the cops. I grabbed my sleeping bag and headed for my cousin's floor. I suppose the one good thing about staying in a bad neighborhood is that the cops were just around the corner.

Bumper Cars at 1am...

After a great day of driving, surfing and listening to music, I arrived in LA at about 11pm. For fear that my cousin's wife Natasha would smother me in my sleep for starting yet another movie project with Keefe, I thought it would be best to sleep in the van. Plus, we have a friend visiting from Columbia, Missouri who came out to help and he had already taken the spare couch.

For those not familiar with the area (Sunset at Highland), the majority of people walking around at night are prostitutes, homeless, crazy, drugged or any combination of the four. All spicy ingredients for adventure. I feared the night would be more interesting than I desired.

It was a little hard to sleep at first due to all the street lights, chatter of people walking by, and car/siren noise. However, around 12:30am, I began slipping into sleep. To my semi-surprise, the van jolted harshly at about 1am. I sat up quickly to see if a tow truck was preparing to haul me away. Instead what I saw was a very nice, new BMW backing into my van... He hit me a second time?! I jumped out of the van in just my underwear and a crazy look in my eye that only sleeping in a van can give you and walked up to his car (as he proceeded to back into my van again?!)...

I must have looked almost half as crazy as I am because the very well dressed couple inside the car rolled down the window (just barely) and addressed my concern. The guy driving wanted to explain that we was only barely hitting my car. His girlfriend was frantically apologizing and trying to get her boyfriend to shut up. I think they thought I was going to attack them?! Ha ha... It's that Northern California grizzle that scared them. I think I'm going to shave today.

Enjoying the journey...

While the drive from Santa Cruz to LA can sometimes be quite long (and hot in the case of my last trip), today the drive was beautiful. I stopped at Pismo Beach and decided to go for a surf. It turns out the suit I brought down with me has a giant hole in the crotch?! Even more shocking than the sight of me showing some skin on my very inner inner thigh, was the rush of 55 degree ocean water moving past my suit and straight to my groin region. Ha ha... I sort of wish I had some video of what my face looked like when I first jumped in the water. I imagine I looked pretty damn goofy... more than usual.

LA again?!?!

Lordy oh lordy, it has been a busy month. We finished the video for 'Winding Roads' which is up and around now. We've also shot a Muppets-esque video for a barnyard-boot-stomper called 'Cactus Garden'. Today I'm driving to LA again to work on yet another video with my cousin for a song called 'Hippie Chicks'... Expect to see some sweet dance moves in this one... Ha ha... I'm pretty sure Keefe's wife is about ready to murder me in my sleep. This is why I plan on sleepingin the van while in Hollyweird. You'll never get me Natasha!!!


WINDING ROADS:

Keefe

My cousin Keefe is helping me put together some really fun music videos for the new album. When has work felt like so much fun?!

A day in nowhere...

Sunrise in the middle of nowhere

Having arrived in the dark, we couldn't quite tell where we were. To our delight, nowhere was a great place to be.

The Middle of Nowhere...

My cousin Keefe and I packed our bags, a camera, a box of cereal, some milk and rode off into the desert. Our mission was basically to drive until we were nowhere. We jumped on the highway around 11pm and decided we wouldn't stop until there wasn't a city light in sight. Harder than it sounds in southern California.

After about two hours, a turnoff sign riddled with bullet holes, and a few dirt roads with "private" signs, we finally arrived. After rationalizing our concerns of being hijacked by thugs from a local meth lab, we got out the sleeping bags and hit the hay. We'd be up early to catch the sunrise.

Making a Video

In addition to the new album coming out on June 9th, I'm going to be releasing a few music videos with the help of my cousin Keefe. Man oh man this is a big treat for me. I'm not quite sure when or where these videos will be popping up, but I'll be sure to let everyone know as soon as they're available. In the meantime, I'll post some photos from the locations we've been shooting at.

Los Angeles

Say what you will about LA, but nothing says it like 6 lanes of stopped traffic in the middle of a hot and sticky afternoon. I drove down to LA to visit my cousin and work on some videos we've been putting together and got a taste of just that. This may have been one of the most uncomfortable trips I've ever made down south.

It turns out my radiator is failing, so in order to keep the van from over heating, I have to keep the heater running full blast. After the first hour my feet and face were so cooked, I began inventing new driving positions in hopes to avoid what felt like a 120+ heat current blowing over me. By the time I actually reached southern California, my shirt was completely soaked in sweat.

Unfortunately, to keep the van cool with this technique, the van has to be moving fast enough to keep cool air blowing through the engine. As soon as traffic locked up, the van started overheating! To avoid disaster, I had to cut over the "back roads" of shopping malls and gas stations, turning the engine off at every light, hoping no irreparable damage would be done. Ha ha...