"Rock Fresh" Premiere on Ovation TV / April 1st

"Rock Fresh" has its Ovation TV premiere tomorrow night @ 6pm PT/ 9pm ET tomorrow on (ch. 175 on Time Warner). Here's the television snipe..



Here's Gone, me and Swan back at the GQ premiere of "Rock Fresh" at the Egyptian Theatre 2004..



To see the rest of the photos, go here.

Sunday Viewing

Felt like sharing this, The Wascals' first single/video "Class Clown", off of their ill-fated 1994 freshman album "Greatest Hits". Classic case of egos clashing, and as a result, the album was never released by Delicious Vinyl until just recently. These kids were fresh, I'd idle by my tape recorder in hopes of catching a dub off of either The Joint/the Beat or We Came From Beyond/KXLU. BTW, happy bday Fatlip. Your ID's here at the house.

Brother Joe

My buddy and overall talented comedic actor Joe Hursley stopped by yesterday to build..



If you don't recognize him in everyday clothes, Joe's been in some interesting films including "Accepted", "Resident Evil: Extinction", and the upcoming "Fast and Furious 4".



He also happens to be the main character in my series "The Clinic". Took a drive to discuss a feature idea that's quiet as kept..



Stay tuned.

The Asian Curse

Most people know it, few understand it. When your good Asian friend goes out drinking with you, do you notice he/she begins to blush, or even turns a lobster red?? About a 1/3 of all East Asian people lack a certain enzyme that effectively metabolizes the alcohol they drink. Here's an enlightening article that explains the 'Asian Curse' well. And if you're Asian, you probably should read as it directly affects your health, not because you're tired of being at a brightly lit art show and your best friend beelines over to you and says, "Damn man, you're red!" I myself usually just get the "Did you just come back from vacation, you're pretty tan Danny!" There's always Pepcid AC.

Korea vs. Japan

Last night went to the World Baseball Classic Championship game between Korea vs. Japan at Dodger Stadium..



I walked up, expecting to hear seminal baseball organs. Instead, I was greeted to the sound of gongs, trippy..



International commentators and translators..



Ichiro started heating up..



So did this drunk Korean dude..



Mark, Scotty, and I decided to cruise around a little. We met up with some friends at a section that was a little more livelier (and contentious)..





And then Korea lost in extra innings :( Hats off to Japan, they played a hell of a game. So to drown our sorrows, we decided to stop by Dan Sung Sa for some grub and soju. There's Mark wondering what the riot would be like in Ktown had Korea won..



I guess we'll never know.

The Future of the Narrative..

I've always felt lies here. POV roller coasters!

Obama Reaches Over the Pond, And Then Some..

"Tokyo: The Movie"

3 international directors (Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, and Bong Joon-ho) converge to create this new film about the imaginative chaos that is Tokyo. "Tokyo: The Movie" has one engagement at the Nuart in West LA on March 20th. See you there. Here's the trailer..



This collaborative approach reminds me of one of my favorites films of all time, "Paris Je T'aime", which combines the incredible talents of the world's greatest auteurs. The Cohens, Tykwer, and Van Sant were the standouts for me. The most striking element of this film to me was how teams of different directors/DP's managed to conform all their styles/looks to create a film that seemingly appears as if it were directed by one. A wonderful achievement in cinema. It even makes Parisians seem likable! Here's the trailer if you've never seen..

The Twittersphere

How ridiculous are we getting as a species? This parody pretty much sums it all up.

The Comeback Theme

Last night I finally paid my $28 and caught Darron Aronofsky's "The Wrestler". If you're in a cave you may not know he's the same helmer who created the painfully exquisite "Requiem for a Dream". "The Wrestler" was f*****g amazing. Mickey Rourke paints the most likable character I can think of in recent times. He goes by Randy "The Ram" Robinson, but he's more like the sacrificial Ram. Ram fell from grace, and now to support himself has been reduced to small ballroom matches where he lets himself gets abused on by his opponents for the sake of the spectacle. What a performance, Mickey isn't back, he's here. And the guys are probably happy to know that Marisa Tomei is naked in half of the film. Here's the trailer if you've never seen..



And this comeback theme where character parallels the actor is nothing new. Have you seen "JVCD"? It stands for Jean-Claude Van Damme. If you were a fan of early 90's action flicks like "Bloodsport" and "Double Impact", you might find it interesting. JVCD is a mock-retelling of his rise/fall, all wrapped up in a stylish, parodic narrative film. Here's the trailer..

Melrose in Despair

Took a leisurely stroll down Melrose West and noticed a new trend - "Out of Business" signs. I counted about 39 total between La Brea and Fairfax, give or take. For some good shops like Kendo and Workmen's, it's sad. For others like "Avi's Biker Fashion", it could be a blessing. Either way, here's some of the proof...


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Kendo..



















Hints to the lessors that they've long needed to bring down rent. The old Jamba Juice..







Did you know that Melrose in the late 70s was LA's original prostitute thoroughfare? The old Workmen's Outlet..





Sophie demonstrating..









But people often fail to notice who the real victims of this recession. It's this poor little orphaned palm tree. Somebody please, find the golden inside of your heart. Unroot and adopt him..



Let's get this economy moving and not let the media further perpetuate this recession. Make it rain!

"This Is The Life"

My friend Omid (Beneath The Surface) hipped me to this doc months ago when it had a small screening at the Silent Movie Theatre. Sadly, I had prior engagements. It's a rare visual glimpse into my favorite hip hop movement of all time, the Good Life era of the late 80's/early 90's grown right here in Los Angeles. The movement gave birth to such luminaries as Freestyle Fellowship, Cut Chemist, Volume 10, Ellay Khule, Pigeon John, Busdriver, etc. The doc is playing a one week engagement in Downtown starting tomorrow..



Here's the trailer..



Here's also an old promotional video I dug up with Freestyle Fellowship. It's a bunch of vignettes, strange air in the room, eerie..

Korean Konkords!

Yeah boy!