BONES BRIGADE

I don't usually get star struck. I've seen rock stars, famous actors and NBA legends in person before and I always think to myself "Hey, there's so and so. That's pretty awesome."

Then they're gone and I forget about it a few minutes later.

Last night was different.

The Sundance Film Festival is in town this week. I didn't have tickets to anything and I hadn't even looked to see what was playing, so I just kind of figured I wouldn't be going to anything and I wasn't too bummed. Everything was already sold out anyway. I checked Craigslist and KSL, but all the tickets had already gone up to more than double the original price, so I didn't think too much about it.

Then my friend Casey texted me.

"I got you a ticket to Bones Brigade."
"I don't know what that is."
"Stacy Peralta's new movie about the Bones Brigade."

That's when I got excited. I was never huge into skateboarding because I was always afraid of hurting myself and I never had anyone to skate with. Most of my friends were far more into baseball and basketball than skateboarding, but I did have a few that were. I watched the Bones Brigade Video Show more than a few times and even managed to get a second hand Powell - Peralta board that I rode up and down the street, maybe to the nearest store—which was only a few blocks away. I never had the guts to try any of the tricks in the video, but that didn't stop me from watching it.

Last night Casey, Brook, Brandon, Andy, Dan and I lined up in the basement of the Rose Wagner theater downtown. We joked and had fun like we always do, then one of the Sundance workers came down with an announcement.

"We have some people from the film here and they'll be signing posters for anybody that would like one."

Everyone in our group kind of looked at each other and shrugged. We didn't really care about getting an autographed poster. What are we? 12? We didn't have any room in our homes for autographed skateboard merchandise from one or two random people in the movie.

We joked around a bit more and then we looked up the stairs just as the entire Bones Brigade made their way down. Stacy Peralta was in the front followed by Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Mike McGill, Rodney Mullen and Tommy Guerrero.

Every one of us shut up, looked at each other and then back at them.

"Holy shit," said Brook, "that's all of them."

We were star struck. Every single one of us.

Five minutes before, none of us wanted anything to do with a free poster. Now we all wanted one and we wanted it signed by everyone at that table.

One by one we made our way through the line shaking hands, getting autographs and talking to our childhood heroes.

It was like we were twelve years old again and we didn't stop smiling the rest of the night.

Oh, the movie was great too. Funny, touching, heartbreaking and amazing all the way around.

But that 20 minutes before the movie started was the best part of the day.

CATHEDRAL TATTOO

I've written about these fellas before—because they are all gentlemen, scholars, fine tattooers and also good friends of mine.

It's good to see them getting a little press here and there and they've just finished an interview with Gavin Sheehan—himself a fine gentleman that I've worked with a time or two before—for his City Weekly blog called Gavin's Underground.

You should all read it.

Gavin's Underground -- Eleventh St. Electric Gallery came to an end back in 2010, a lot of the patrons of the shop were curious what would become of their favorite tattoo location. The business essentially split in two, one-half continuing on as Yellow Rose Tattoo (whom we'll try to chat with down the road), while artists Tyler Densley, CJ Fishburn and Jake Miller formed a new place under the name Cathedral Tattoo. They took up shop along 400 South across from the Main Library and a major Trax station, welcoming all former clients as well as new downtown walk-in traffic, becoming one of the fastest-growing tattoo shops in years.

Continue Reading...

GOALS

I don't like New Year's. I mean, I don't like it as a holiday. Generally, I have no feelings about a new year, but New Year's is silly.

That's why I spent my New Year's home sick, watching 30 Rock, writing and thinking. I did a lot of thinking.

I thought about things I accomplished in 2011 and I don't really feel like I accomplished much. I worked a lot, which made doing things I wanted to do much easier, but it also left me tired and without energy for much else. There were some things here and there that I got done, but nothing I'm immensely proud of.

2012 will be different.

I'm not big on New Year's resolutions, because I feel those are too easily forgotten and a resolution implies that you need to change who you are. I like who I am. I don't need to change, I just want to focus on doing more of the things I love to do already. That's why I want to set goals instead. Goals for myself that might seem lofty, but shouldn't be and aren't. I spent far too much time sitting around my house watching TV on DVD or bullshitting at coffee shops last year instead of getting things done. I'll still have time for both of those things, but I need to get other stuff done, too.

And rather than make these goals in my head or on a little piece of paper that I'll misplace (or more likely that Harley will steal because it moves slightly when the heater blows on it), I'm going to do it here. I'll just throw it out on this blog, because there's probably only like 8 people still paying attention to it since it never gets updated (see goal Number 4 below).

Here they are in no particular order.

1. Write/produce comics - I can't draw for shit (as we've covered before), but I have incredibly talented friends that can. I've got two in the works. One is scripted and (almost) ready to draw and the other is in outline form that I'll hopefully get to this week.
- Untitled Space Adventure with Gardner Seawright
- Grudge City with Candace Jean

2. Art show at Cathedral Tattoo in July - Gardner and Candace are going to have pages from the books on display and we'll have the books to sell. It's part of Gallery Stroll that month and already booked. Now we've just got to get it ready.

3. Read more - Pretty self-explanatory. I'm setting a goal of one book every two weeks. That doesn't include comics. I think I can do that.

4. Take better care of trevorhale.com - I just want to do more stuff on here. I don't know what exactly, but there needs to be more of it.

5. Make a movie - Andy, Casey and I have been kicking around ideas about how to make a 8-12 minute short over the summer. Well, Andy and I started talking about it and Casey  pointed out that he has exclusive rights as my producer, so he has to be involved. We have no idea what it will be about or where we're going to show it, but we're going to to do it.

6. Make a Zine - Not only do I have a lot of very talented artist friends, but I have a lot of very talented writer friends, too. I want to make an old school, punk rock style, DIY zine. Haven't figured out the content yet, but that will come.

7. Craft Lake City - This kind of involves numbers 1, 4, maybe 5 and 6 from the list above. Craft Lake City, if you don't know, is a DIY craft show put on by SLUG magazine every August. Since I don't craft, I'll have zines, comics, buttons and t-shirts at the trevorhale.com booth. I haven't applied yet, since it doesn't open until March, but I have a good feeling.

I think those are the big ones. I may add more throughout the rest of the week, but those are the ones I've been thinking about a lot for the past few days/weeks/months.

There are a bunch of other little ones, like stop eating dinner after 10 PM—which I've already broken several times and it's only January 9th—and take better care of myself by getting out and going to the gym more and things like that, but those are small potatoes compared to the big 7.

2012 is the year that I bring my punk rock/hardcore Do-It-Yourself roots back full force. It's going to be a good year.