Seasons on the Move

Did nothing in Osaka. Rain, rain and rain. Went to the airport at night and slept in the lounge.

Tokyo – July 10th

Shot a little more stuff for the film with an extra roll I had saved. Got some nice vistas from the Government Buildings in Shinjuku. After that, Fab and I killed the day shopping for knick knacks and doing some serious browsing.

We got on the night bus back to Osaka around 11pm and spent another uncomfortable night aboard the Ladies Dream. I  sat and listened to music and thought about Stephen Malkus and how, over time, he should be remembered as one of the great guitarists of the late 20th/early 21st century. See “1% of One” off “Pig Lib” for proof to this claim. I also thought about how I once told Blair Stewart that I thought Bobby Conn was going to be huge, a claim I would still stand by if the rest of world hadn’t turned out to be so lame.

Tokyo – July 9th

Met up with Soe at her tattoo parlour in the morning. Both Fab and I were feeling good about the day ahead. The light outside was even and there was no chance of rain. Soe was excited to see us and also felt positive about the film. Then we tried the new camera. The internal light meter was completely fucked and apparently so were we. Soe made some calls to some friends of hers to see if we could track down another super 8 camera. No luck, although we did manage to track down an 8mm camera.

On the verge of a nervous breakdown, I fled back to the hostel out in the sticks to retrieve the initial camera, knowing that its light meter worked fine. If we had to take light readings with one camera and shoot with the other then so be it. As it turns out, we ended up finding a camera shop in Shinjuku that was able to fix the initial camera (long story).

After getting back on track we shot the film, entitled “Cherry Blossom Party”, with relative ease and celebrated at night by downing a few Kirin Classics with Soe and her husband Hiro back at the tattoo parlour. Fab mulled over getting a tattoo while I talked about Bad Brains, Gorilla Biscuits and Minor Threat with Hiro. Coincidentally, Soe had Fugazi’s “Steady Diet of Nothing” playing over her computer speakers. On the night bus a few days before, I listened to “Reclamation” over and over and came to the conclusion that the song might be Ian Mackaye’s crowing acheivement. I also considered getting the Kino camera tattooed on my arm as a reminder of how painful the start of this film had been.  

Rolled into Tokyo exhausted and cranky. After a brief breakfast, Fab and I went to check into a hostel located out in the sticks. We spent our first anniversary (we were married on July 8th) on a dorm room floor surrounded by young dudes and dudettes living in Tokyo and teaching English. Quite romantic indeed. 

At night we laid on the floor and fretted that we had not yet seen the rushes from the initial shoot and thus did not know what we needed to reshoot. We decided to reshoot everything ( a bitter pill to swallow) and then passed out, hot and humid in the stuffy room.  

Beijing to Osaka to Tokyo – July 7th

Flew into Osaka from Beijing and immediately boarded a night bus called “The Ladies Dream” bound for Tokyo. We both spent the night twisting and turning trying to get comfortable. We both failed.

Tokyo. Tuesday.

Fab and I took it easy. We needed a day of rest after shooting. We spent the day wandering around town. There was a minor earthquake and a natural gas explosion in Shibuya. All in all a pretty quiet day. Oh, and Fab got her bra and three pairs of underwear stolen from the drier at a local laundrette. A while ago, there was a guy who got busted by the cops for stealing panties in Tokyo. Apparently when they raided his house, he had 30,000 pairs in his apartment.  

Tokyo. Wednesday.

Another track meet of a day. We finished shooting the film after running around all over town trying to get this fucker in the can before Soe started work at 12:30. We finished on time, but then quickly realized that the camera may or may not have been advancing the film. Fab and I checked all our rolls of film only to find that only a select few had been (apparently) advanced. Fucking disaster. We both broke down in tears on the street in Shinjuku, defeated by Tokyo.

However, the camera’s counter moved the entire time of shooting and everything seemed mechanically sound. Mass confusion. I had to call the lab in California at four in the morning to troubleshoot. Basically, I may or may not have been pretending to make a film in Tokyo. The problem is that, according to the lab, some rolls do not roll out entirely. I do know that at least three rolls were were shot because they rolled out entirely. The others, hmmm…. we’ll see.

The good news is that our actress, Soe, has booked off a few days so we can re-route through Japan to finish shooting. I will not be defeated, nor will she. The stuff I saw through the viewfinder was too good to just let go.  More on this later as we are about to board a plane to Beijing.

Tokyo. Monday.

Shot the first part of the film today. We filmed in Shibuya with Soe, our lead actress. She was fantastic. She’s covered in tattoos and cool as hell. The day was a total track meet and the shooting was frantic. Tokyo wouldn’t have it any other way. Mike did continuity and Fab kept me in line with questions about shots and assisted the camera. Soe said she was glad to share in my art. I get off on shooting in public spaces and filming on the train was totally awesome, dude. Go guerrilla, go!

Jen and Mike got tattooed at Soe’s shop at night. After they were all inked up, we went to a little restaurant in Shinjuku with Soe and her apprentice, Goki. Rowdy salary men filled the joint and we taught Soe the meaning of “bitch” when drinking booze. Soe then took us for some karaoke near the subway station. We settled into a private booth, ordered a gang of drinks and heated up the mics. Highlights included Mike’s rendition of “Love Me Tender”, Soe’s version of “Material Girl” and the group sing-a-long of “Satisfaction”. At 3am we called it a night and called a cab.

Tokyo. Saturday.

Fab and I went down to Shibuya to test out the Kino camera and shoot some super 8 film. I found out quite quickly how ridiculously small the viewfinder is. I had problems seeing clearly because my (apparently) freakishly long eyelashes got in the way. The hordes of people did not help the matter.

After being scorched by the sun, we went to Nakameguro with Mike and Jen and had some Mexican food and margaritas. We went home early so we could get up at 6am to stand in line for a baseball game that started at 1pm.

Sunday.

We all went and saw a ball game out in Chiba with Jen’s boss’s son Ken. Chiba Lotte Marines vs. Hanshin Tigers. There are a few differences between American baseball and Japanese baseball. First, the coveted seats in Japanese baseball are in the outfield. People lined up over night to sit in the bleachers. Second, the crowd is fucking crazy and is separated into distinct sections for each team’s fans. For proof, You Tube Chiba Lotte Marines. Third, there are ties in Japanese baseball. The game went to extra innings, but ended after the 12th inning and ended in a 0-0 draw. Fourth, Bobby Valentine, Chiba’s coach, is a massive celebrity.

We downed a few beers in the hot sun which made all of our heads swim, passed out from heat exhaustion on the train home and then called it a night.

Tokyo.

Mike and I went scouting locations for the film shoot: Shibuya, Shinjuku, Kabuki-cho, Ginza and Roppongi. Mike got us turned around looking for a specific tree in Ginza. All he could remember about its location was that it was near a TGI Friday’s. We found the tree after some serious walking and then headed for Roppongi to take a look at a large wall displaying random digital numbers.

Fab and Jen spent the day wandering around, shopping and riding the bus. Mike and I rolled in style and took the train. Fab bought me a notebook and Jen bought Mike a set of lime green headphones. After getting soaked in the rain, we all went for dinner a Japanese pub and talked about the up coming film shoot and our lack of contact with our lead actress Soe.

On Friday, we took a train out to Enoshima Island. Had Ramen noodles for lunch and a giant Asahi beer. The remainder of the day was spent sweating, taking photos and climbing steps to see various Buddhist temples and shrines. Took some great photos of a fisherman fighting the waves on a rocky outcrop.

At night, we went to see a bunch of Japanese hardcore bands at Club Heavy Sick, a small club in Hatagaya. Before heading inside, we hung out on the street smoking cigarettes and drinking beer with Kaori and Soe, the prospective actress for our film. Soe said she was down for the film and that all she needed to do was check her schedule at her tattoo parlour to see what day would be best.

The show was called “Kill Enjoy 2″ and featured five bands from Tokyo and one from Nagaski. Good to see a decent punk show. Missed most of the first band, Delashine, while waiting in line for a drink. We entered the tiny back room to catch the start of the second band, Rinko SS, which featured a lead singer aping Iggy and Mick.   It’s You, Soe’s band, played third. Her husband Shiro shredded his vocal chords screaming political diatribes, none of which I understood. Velocityut, from Nagasaki, played second last even though they were the headliner. Their set literally lasted three minutes, but managed to whip the crowd into a frenzy. Mike and I got pulled into the melee. The last band, Metchu, had a dainty female lead vocalist/guitarist in a flower print dress who screeched like hell over top of throbbing feedback until the lights came up and the night was over.