(P.S. If you're only interested in the story of the evening I met Kevin Smith, scroll waaaaaayyyy down to "Day Two".)

Hey friends... Since so many of my people have asked about the big LA weekend, I thought I'd just go ahead and write up a quick blog and post some pics from the weekend. I'll keep it short and sweet...like a novel. Also, most of the images were taken with my iphone, so in cases of indoor lighting, they're not the best, so apologies on the lack of image quality...

(Disclaimer- this all happened late October, and I'm just now finishing writing about it, in mid-December! Sheesh.)

The Preface

On Saturday, October 17th, my buddies (Augie, Dave, Dev, Karin, Ken, Anna, Lindsay, Karen, and my brother Jordan) all went out to see filmmaker Kevin Smith's Q&A show at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. For those of you who don't know, not only does Kevin Smith write and direct those movies we know and love, but he also had a sort of side-career going out and talking about his life at colleges, interviews, puts out DVD's, and records free podcasts (dubbed 'Smodcasts'). I'd always been a big fan of Kev's spoken-storytelling stuff. It's hilarious, candid, raunchy, sometimes inspirational and touching. Jordan and I listen to the Smodcasts weekly, while working at our job (video game developer Loose Cannon Studios) and it's become a mainstay during our workdays. I've been known more than once to have to leave the building and try to catch my breath and calm down because I'm laughing so hard, and don't want to annoy co-workers around me.


So, we were very excited to see Kevin do his talking show live. We weren't disappointed- it was a hilarious and awesome show (the first time he'd talked in Seattle, if I'm not mistaken). After the show, we hung out at the Triple Door down the street, then called it a night. I returned home to an email waiting in my inbox... stating that my art had been accepted into the Kevin Smith Smodcast gallery art show, going on in LA the next weekend. The gallery owner Jensen told me that I'd been one of 3 fans to be added to the other 25 artists already on board. I was told that Kevin had not yet seen the art, but that he definitely would that coming weekend, as he'd be in attendance at the gallery show.

See, I'd submitted a piece of art the previous month to Kevin's "View Askew" website message board, an active community of fans, some of whom had started creating art of Kevin's various Smodcast episodes. I decided to do one of my own, and had posted it on the board. After enjoying a few nice comments from fellow board members, I didn't hear much more about it, and that was that.

The art

So, fast forward another month, and there I am, having just gotten home from a Kev event, and I'm being told that I'd been invited to show my art at the Kevin Smith art show. I thought about it for a while... and decided to go down and meet the man in person. My old friend Shelley lives in LA and had extended a "come visit anytime" invitation to me, and I decided this was the weekend I should take her up on it. So, scrambling to get prints made to frame and others to sell, (with great help from Dev and Jordan), and one overpriced ticket later, I was all set to rock my big LA weekend.

(P.S. If you're only interested in the Kevin Smith encounter, scroll down to Day Two.)

Day One: Thursday, October 22nd

Caught my flight out of Seatac at 7:30 am. I hadn't slept at all the night before; I pretty much worked through the night on a piece that I had promised a friend and was running late on. So I finished that up, delivered it around 4:30 am, packed, left at 5:30 am, was on a plane to Burbank at 7:30, closed my eyes and then instantly re-opened them (I slept through the whole flight, awesome) in Burbank at 9:30. Instantly was reminded that I'm not built for hot weather; I'm more of a cave dweller. I come from the land of the Frost Giants, not the Sun Gods... so, already way too hot and out of my element, I wait for Shelley ("Michelle" to all her LA friends) to pick me up.

Soon as Shell gets me, we drive around town like bats out of hell. She gave me a quick whirlwind tour of different neighborhoods while doing quick errands. She drives like a fucking lunatic, and I'm scared for my life. I realize not only does she drive like a maniac, but she drives with NO REAR VIEW MIRROR, and additionally, one of her side mirrors is busted. I think this is hilarious, though paradoxically I'm scared for my life. I'll feel this way all weekend whenever we drive.

The plan for Thursday is to drive out to Joshua Tree National Park, where Shelley has a gig photographing a country band. It's a good excuse to just go hang in the desert. They've got this cabin out there, and we head out, getting water and beer on the way. We get to the cabin and meet the guys, they're all nice enough. The cabin is CRAZY... tons of animal heads and skulls mounted everywhere, including giant moose heads and antlers and such. It's truly an old western cabin home. We load up the van and go out farther into the desert, and into the National Park. The plan is to go photograph the band at the spot at Joshua Tree where Graham Parsons' body was stolen, brought here, and burned. (For more on that legend, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gram_Parsons ) On the way, we're tripping out on the weird, alien natural beauty of the desert, and drinking beers and listening to old country. I make a couple of attempts to speak the language, asking if they're into Townes Van Zandt, talking about Johnny Cash and Vince Mira, but the guys are in their own world, bonding with eachother and not caring too much about the newcomers. I get that; they're on tour and having a grand old time with eachother. I get the sense that they're a bit in love with their own image, but nothing wrong with that I suppose. It's a fun time overall.

At the site of Gram Parsons' burning

Joshua trees

Shelley shoots as the country band plays some tunes

We get to the site. The band suits up in their crazy country costumes and Shelley starts taking pictures of them hanging out, drinking beer and playing tunes at the Graham Parsons site. I'm basically taking in the beauty of the desert, snapping photos with the iphone, and listening to the country band's tunes. They're not bad. I assist Shelley a bit when she asks, giving her some shade as she snaps shots. The desert is crazy... it's an alien landscape. I notice when walking around that there's snake holes everywhere (the band dudes say that they're snake holes... who knows). But I keep my eyes peeled for snakes when walking around, that's for sure.











Shelley finishes shooting the band and we pack up and go home for a few indoor shots at the cabin. Shelley wants that dusk lighting to filter into the cabin for the shots, so we race home before the sun goes down completely. We get there and she finishes up with the band. After that we all just relax outside the cabin, talking and drinking beers. We decide we're all famished and that we want to go to Pappy and Harriet's, a local legend. It's a well-known bar/restaurant/music venue. http://www.pappyandharriets.com/ We get there, have a couple more beers and some delicious dinner, and then say goodbye to the guys. Shelley rockets home through the desert and I fall asleep again, since I've been feeling completely sleep-deprived all day long. We get to Shelley's place in LA, blow up the air mattress, and I crash hard.

Shelley and I at the site of Gram Parsons' burning

Day 2: Friday, October 23rd (aka the big Kevin Smith day)

I sleep until noon. Shell had to work, and she left early. I get up and decide to go walk around the Angelino Heights/Echo Park neighborhood, where she lives. I walk up and down Sunset Blvd, tripping on how different LA is from Seattle (or any other town I've been to). I find this awesome store called the Echo Park Time Travel Mart ( http://344design.typepad.com/photos/timetravel/01epttmmarquee.html ) which sells products related to time travel, both past and future.. I purchase some Viking Deodorant and a Fire-Awareness poster meant for cavemen.

Awesome fire awareness poster from the Time Travel Mart

I flirt with the girl behind the desk for a couple minutes, then I'm out. I also visit a snooty hipster bookstore/cafe called Stories and grab a burger at another little place on my way back.

I get home, shower, and get ready to go to the big Kevin Smith Smodcast art show. I'm a little nervous about meeting one of my heroes, and hope I don't come off too nervous, starstruck or fanboyish. But overall, I'm definitely looking forward to the night. I'm supposed to show up a half hour early to sign and number the prints I've previously sent down to the gallery. I head out and take the bus from Shelley's place to West Hollywood, where the gallery is located. It's Gallery 1988, if I haven't mentioned that yet.

All the art from the show is posted here:

http://smodcastg1988.blogspot.com/

I get to the gallery and notice that it's right next door to Golden Apple Comics, which I'm sure Kev's fans don't mind one bit. They're already lined up down the street and at one point in the evening, will wrap around the block.

Line around the block, next to Golden Apple comics

I go in and meet Jensen, the main guy at the gallery, and Amber, another one of the gallery staff. I thank them for accepting my work and inviting me, and then go back and sign and number the prints. Both Jensen and Amber will prove to make me feel well at home the entire night; they're awesome. After signing the prints, I just kind of mill around, looking at all the great art. By this point they're letting in the public and it gets pretty packed. I meet one of the other Smodcast artists who have work up, a dude named NC, and his girlfriend whose name escapes me. NC is a super cool guy and we chat for a while. I then notice Mos (Scott Mosier, Kevin's long-time producer and fellow Smodcaster). I go up, introduce myself, thank him for all the great Smodcasts, and tell him I'm the "Delorean" artist. He says that he digs the piece and I thank him, and get a couple quick snapshots with him. I tell him I'd be happy to personalize a print for him, to which he's into, and then he's off. I'm super happy to have met one half of the Smodcast dynamic duo.

Scott Mosier ("Mos") and me

I walk around looking at more art, chatting with more artists, having a beer. Then, I notice Silent Bob's in the house. I see Kevin making the rounds, looking at all the art, most of which it seemed he hadn't yet seen. He's cracking up and seems to be having a good time, smiling and lauging as he takes in each piece. As he gets to my illustration, I see the reaction on his face that I was looking for- he starts laughing.

Kevin lauging while checking out my art

I go up and tell him that I'm the artist, and that I'm glad he digs the piece. He says that he "loves the shape" of how he's depicted. I jokingly tell him that I was almost tempted to message his wife Jen (who I depicted as a high school cheerleader in my art) on the View Askew message board and ask her what her actual high school colors were, so I could add them to the art in an effort for accuracy-- but decided against it, as I figured that would come off as stalkerish and creepy. Kev laughs and agrees. He says he loves it and tells me that Jen's going to love it too. Happy, I ask for a couple snapshots and he obliges (as he will for the remainder of the evening, for both myself and all the fans in attendance, happily and graciously).

Trav and Silent Bob, NOOOTCH

A few minutes later I see Kevin's wife Jennifer, and Jason Mewes (Jay of "Jay and Silet Bob" fame) and a couple of their friends. I get a quick hello and photo of Jason, but not much more than that, as the gallery and bar area are getting pretty packed.

Jennifer Schwalbach Smith and Jason Mewes arrive

Snoogans!

Having met Kev and Mos, as well as a quick Jay and Jen sighting, I consider the evening a success, but it doesn't end there. I meet a couple great guys from the View Askew message board. These "boardies", Gavin and Tom (or Mot) tell me that they're on the View Askew hockey team! Apparently they play field hockey with Kevin and Scott somewhat regularly. I also meet and have a cool conversation with Mike, another of the hockey team, and his wife Sylvia. All very super friendly and cool people.

Gavin's tattoo- the View Askew Street Hockey Team!

Gavin and Tom

Gavin and Tom ask if I've met Kevin's wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith yet, and I reply that I haven't. They say that they want to introduce me to her, which I'm stoked about. We go on a quick search to find her, checking out the impromptu party that's gathered in the back parking lot, and after a while, I'm introduced to her. She's lovely, of course, and is carrying Shecky (the famous weener dog Kevin often referrences/screams at in Smodcast). I shake her hand, give Shecky a quick scratch behind the ears, and we chat about the piece a bit. She keeps thanking me, saying over and over, "Thank you so much for doing this"! "Thank you so much!" and I'm thinking to myself, "hey, don't thank me, I'm just happy to be included in something this cool..."

Me, Jennifer Schwalbach-Smith, Schecky the weiner dog

We pose for a couple quick snapshots and something odd happens... from out of nowhere, Shecky gets the look of a mad killer in her eye and flies off in attack mode, jumping out of Jen's arms and zooming across the gallery floor to attack another dog that someone had brought in. A dog much bigger than herself. It was a big noisy commotion, and Jen runs off to get Shecky the Killer Weener Dog and save the day. It was crazy! Jen comes back with Shecky, a little disheveled, and we're all in amazement at what just happened.. we kind of chuckle and we pose for the photos... She says to me "you have to realize, I just about had a heart attack!" and adjusts her hair for the photo (though she looks lovely already). I look down and see that Shecky's still locked eyes at the other dog across the room, with a total look-of-death stare. It was a trip. So, I get the photos with Jen. She was super friendly, sweet, and gracious, just as all the members of Kev's family.

Schecky's on the move! Other dogs beware..

Jen, having recovered Schecky from his murderous rampage, explaining to me how she just about had a heart attack...

By this time Shelley has joined me at the gallery and saw all that commotion with Schecky. After, I introduce her around and decide to get one more quick chat with Kevin, who's still happily obliging fans and chatting away. After a few minutes of him talking to some other fan about Batman, I come up and say hey. Mosier joins us at this point, and I hear him tell Kev that he's going to take off. The hockey guys want another round of photos, which I'm happy about, though I didn't want to overimpose... Kev says he's happy to do more photos. Scott looks at me and kind of laughs, going "...again?" I smile and shrug, and even though he was wanting to take off by that point, graciously agreed to a couple more photos with me and some other fans.

Shelly arrives at the gallery

Yet more photos with Kev and Mos

At that point, we were about ready to go, and at the last minute I notice a fan has bought one of my prints and had Kev, Scott, and Jen sign it. I was stoked about that, though stupidly I didn't even think to get one for myself or any of my friends! Sigh... maybe another time.

A fan and his signed print

So, all in all it was an awesome night (and certainly well-documented by cameras).

I personalize a couple prints for Kev/Jen and Mos, and then we take off. We meet Shell's friends Jeanette and Wuju and we go get some Indian food across the street. They seem cool and fun. I notice Jeanette is wearing a bit of bling around her neck that reads "Fuckface" which I think is hilarious. We have a couple glasses of wine (one of which was terrible) and a bit of food, then Shelly takes Jeanette and Wuju on a quick tour of the art show, as they hadn't yet seen it.

Once they'd seen the show, we decide to take off and get drinks elsewhere. The first place we go is AWFUL- a hipster bar packed so full with hipsters you could barely get through the crowd. They were packed in like cattle. We meet Shelley's friend Kristine there (who I'll talk to much more later). I'm told that the bar is sometimes very fun, it's just hit or miss... but that night, it just wasn't my cup of tea. We decide to take off in search of a more relaxed bar.

Me and Shell

Shelly, Jeanette, Wuju, some dude whose name I don't remember, and Kristine

We find another bar, kind of a dive bar, much more comfortable. We settle into a booth and get some beers and shoot the shit about movies and whatever. Kristine and I share a few smokes and talk about Art Center, as she works there. I've always half-entertained the idea of attending art school there, so I ask her all about it, and she happily obliges and fields my questions. She's good people.

We call it a night. Back at home, Shell and I go up to the roof and enjoy the view of downtown LA, talking about all kinds of stuff before crashing. It's late by the time we crash and we vow to sleep in.

Day 3: Saturday, October 24th

We wake up around noon. While Shelley's getting ready, I get online and see that Kevin Smith is doing a Q&A show in LA that evening at the Orpheum theater. I start to think to myself... "hey, why not? How many opportunities will I get to see Silent Bob speak live?" I bring it up to Shelley and she's into it, so we purchase tickets. It really is turning into the big Kevin Smith weekend. After we get tickets, we run out to meet Jeanette and Wuju for a late breakfast at a little place on Sunset. After a delicious meal there, Shell tells us that we're going to cruise up to her friend Trish's house and meet her, and chill out. We all go load into her little car, and she tears around LA on a search for grapefruit juice (Trish has requested that we bring some). Once the juice is obtained, we drive up the winding hills up to Trish's pad. It's a gorgeous day (the whole weekend was unseasonably warm, even for LA). We get there and find Trish chilling out in her hammock on the side deck. She greets us and gives us a tour of her beautiful home- it's such an awesome place, kind of Spanish villa style place with a wide open living room that has a view of the whole city. It's decorated beautifully and you can instantly tell that Trish (and Charles, her husband) have some taste.

Trish makes us some kind of tropical cocktails involving vodka, Lemoncello, and the grapefruit juice, and we chill out and chat and drink cocktails. It's mid afternoon on a beautiful day so we go down to the back deck, on the lower level, which looks out on the awesome view of the city. More and more cocktails are made by Trish, who's more than a gracious hostess, as well as some snacks. It's a lovely afternoon and I'm enjoying hanging out with Shelley and her friends.

Early evening, Trish's husband Charles gets home and joins us. We play records, have more cocktails, and chat about life, work movies, etc. I'm interested to hear about Charles' career, as he's a working actor. He tells us about the various stuff he's done, which includes a long run on a soap, and a few other dramatic roles, though he tells us he prefers comedy. When Shelley and I say that we're excited for the movie "Paranormal Activity", Charles expresses annoyance about the fact that the movie cost $15K to make, or more accurately, he feels that the marketting machine behind the flick fosters that rumor, which he's skeptical of, and he tells me that "As thinking adults, we might wanna stop and think about this stuff", pointing to his temple in a "Duh!" fashion. Properly scolded for believing the hype, we finish our cocktails and decide to head out to the big Kevin Smith show at the Orpheum.

We cruise back downtown, stopping on the way at a little taco truck by the side of the highway, where a bunch of Mexican families where hanging out, eating, playing music, and selling bootleg DVDs and trinkets. The food is delicious. Then, we jet on over to the Orpheum. Downtown LA seems really dead, there's like nobody out on the streets. We find parking right in front of the theater, and go on inside. The theater itself is really cool!

At the Orpheum (I noticed Mos, Mewes, Jen, Dave Klein, and their respective dates in the first Skybox to the right of the stage).

Kevin takes the stage at the Orpheum in his bathrobe.

We find our seats in the balcony, and Kev comes out. Unlike Seattle, there's some empty seats available above and behind us, I'd say that it was about 3/4 full. Kev notices and comments on this in his usual self-effacing way. He's sporting the bathrobe again, as he did at the Seattle show (and, I noticed, a recent Jimmy Kimmel appearance). The man knows how to get comfortable in front of an audience, that's for sure. The show is of course hilarious and very cool. Shell has a hard time not fidgetting in her seat, as she has the metabolism of a hummingbird, but she's enjoying the show nonetheless. 3 hours later, the show ends, and we're out. I decide to pick up a show poster on the way out, as the poster lists both the Seattle and the LA date. I'm pretty fried by this point and just want to catch more sleep, so Shell drops me off at her place and then takes off to attend a friend's party. I do email and stuff online and then crash.

Day 4: Sunday, October 25th

The next day, Shell and I drive out to a cool little breakfast restaurant with a pretty outdoor covered patio section. We meet Jeanette, Wuju, and Jenny there. The day is dedicated to celebrating Jenny's birthday. During breakfast we run into some of their actor friends. Everyone here in LA seems to be good looking, and I assume many of them are actors. When breakfast is done, we drive over to Jenny's house, and I meet her husband Shawn and a couple of their other friends. Jenny works at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (where Emmys are held). We've all been invited to a free showing of "Where the Wild Things Are". We head on over, checking out all the statues and plaques outside the building. Inside, find our seats and chat til the flick starts.

Outside the Academy's theater

Hannah-Barbera plaque

Jim Henson's Muppets plaque

Inside the Academy theater

Jenny and Shelley pose at the top of the theater steps

I'd heard mixed reviews of "Wild Things", so I'm curious... As it turns out, I mostly enjoy the movie. After the flick, we find a liquor store and pickup some beers. Then we head on back to Jenny and Shawns for Jenny's birthday shindig. Shawn has made this awesome gumbo and there's tons of great food. I meet a bunch more of their friends and everyone seems friendly and cool. A great time is had by all.


At the birthday party- Shawn and Jenny

Shawn taking the ladder up to the roof

Good peoples

More good peoples (and me in the background discussing the Wire ad nauseum)

Jenny enjoying desert

More desert (and more discussion about The Wire)

Kristine and Jenny

I talk more with Kristine there, and we make plans for me to visit Art Center the following day, which is great because usually it's by appointment only. Kristine's the alumni director there and gets me all set for the following day.

Shelley and I head home and stay up late talking all sorts of nonsense, and finally crash.

Day 5: Monday, October 26th

The next morning, Shell and I get up and head out, to meet Jeanette and Wuju at a Halloween costume place. The girls are on a mission to get their Halloween costumes for the following weekend. We go to a place that rents costumes to the Hollywood crowd... Shelley has the idea to dress up as Animal from the Muppets, and at the place she finds a ball nose. (it'll turn out later that she changes her mind, going as Space Girl instead). But she looks pretty hilarious in that nose, zooming around LA at her usual pace.

She drives me up to Art Center College in Pasadena. To get there, we drive up Chevy Chase Avenue, and I talk trash about Chevy Chase the whole way, cuz the man hasn't been funny in 30 years. Once we get to Art Center, we swing by Kristine's office and then they introduce me to Elias. Elias is in admissions and tells me all about Art Center's programs. I'm really considering making it happen, as I've been longing for some more advanced instruction, particularly in traditional media. All I need to do is find $120K. I'm surprised to find that for a college known for such amazingly vibrant and intense artists, the campus itself is really cold, grey, and drab. It seems more like a box of giant cubicles than an artist's community of any kind. Oh well, it's the instruction that matters.

Shell and I swing by the cafeteria and download. I'm excited at the prospect of making college happen, and we chat about the financial aid of it all, and what it'd be like if I lived in LA (a weird thought). Then we take off for the Burbank airport, and within an hour I'm back on a plane heading home.