Checked out Josh Pomer's TK8 Last Ride Film and Music Show the other night, accompanied by a performance from Tom Curren.
It was an endearingly low-fi affair, in stark contrast to the over-produced, over-hyped sponsor flicks that do the rounds these days.
Prior to the film, Curren played live music, as advertised. Unfortunately this live music consisted of Curren lightly tapping a tambourine, while a mysterious older gentleman sang original compositions. One of these songs was entitled "Westsiders" in honor of Mr. Pomer's next project - a Bra Boys inspired account of Flea, Ratboy, Barney and Vince Collier. The impromptu promo song included lyrics such as "The Westsiders are our hope for the future, The Westsiders can save the world."
Wow.
As the film began, Curren mercifully switched roles with his optimistic bandmate, relegating him to percussion as Curren played guitar and sang. A more cynical man might speculate that the duo had ingeniously set the bar so low that Curren was sure to shine in comparison, like a vain aging woman who brings a fat friend to a party.
It worked. Curren played live in lieu of a soundtrack, and his music sounded better than Daize Shayne, Donovan Frankenreiter, Tim Curran, and even Jack Johnson. And I'm not just saying that.
Go check it out for yourself, if you don't believe me - TK8 shows on Wednesday in La Jolla and Thursday in Newport. Making independent surf films is a losing game, so buy your .
Comment of the Week.
Comment of the week goes to Dave Mailman, who seemed to develop a moderate-to-serious addiction to the PostSurf commenters arena this week.
Honestly, I'm on the road right now, and I didn't take the time to read through all of the comments. But I'm certain that many readers hammered out insights that eclipsed those of Mr. Mailman.
However, the crown goes to Mr. Mailman simply because he chose to stand by his opinions by attaching his actual name to them.
(Dave Mailman is not an un-clever pseudonym - he's an actual person who does the webcast commentary for various ASP Europe and WCT events).
One of the common criticisms my work receives (usually from anonymous commenters) is something along the lines of this: "Whatever, dude, any coward can talk shit on the internet."
There is, of course, truth to this observation. Which is why I think it's important to attach my real name to everything I write. Just like Dave Mailman, I actually have to interact with the people I write about. It raises the stakes.
Think about it the next time you leave an awesome, snarky comment on a website. Knowing that you'd inevitably run into the person you're writing about, would you attach your real name to your comment?
Dave Mailman says: May 26, 2009 at 9:04 am
... Not as creative or emotionally disturbed as some of the characters inhabiting this virtual reality world that is PostSurf, but I do like to set the record straight for everyone when I can… This site is kind of like a drug, though. You know it’s not good for you, but with crew like BR around you know your going to have a good time!
PS: Definitely not condoning drug use… just a metaphor.