WAVES. That’s what’s going on.

The north east winds  have made for some classic conditions on our great lake these past few days. The usual spots offered up just about everything from manic overhead to long rights and quick, punchy lefts that came in ocean like super clean sets of three.  It was cool to see Devin visiting from Arizona and back in the lineup. And I’ve been loaning an extra board to my guy Andre from Jersey. In return Andre’s been showing up at my place with some quality beers…it’s a good arrangement.

On the movie front we are pitching a feature article to our good friends at The Surfers Journal. Retro styling photo-genius Robby Staebler met us at the beach and at Ben’s Superelectric gallery for some portraits. Then on Saturday I took the opportunity to ransack Jamie Yanak’s amazing film slide archives. Needless to say TSJ is going to get some epic pics. Look for these sultry glamour shots of Todd, Mikey, Neal and more of your favorites very soon.

Kurt has entered us into all kinds of cool film festivals all over the world, and we are looking forward to taking our underdog project (and out killer soundtrack) to the viewing public.

Also, we are waiting for the final green light on a fundraising party at the legendary Beachland Ballroom on Sunday evening, November 15th.  The Barn Owls will be there playing live. We are chasing sponsors and donations for the occasion. More on that to come….stay tuned.

Finally, once again thanks to everyone for your well wishes on our success in New York.  Your kind words mean the world to us. Check this link http://www.vimeo.com/7034110 and you’ll see why we’ll be hitting up the NY Surf Film Festival next year as well. Feel free to pay particular attention at 3:51 where Kurt rushes the stage.

The Barn Owl’s Myspace

The Barn Owls - Gizzard Wizard:

Download audio file (gizzard-wizard.mp3)

Vince Labbe, the star of OOP, arrived at my apartment on Thursday with Chris Mcintosh, PR guru, his girl Nikki, and Kev Dog, our good dude.  It was great seeing some of the Cleveland crew that I befriended during the film’s production in NYC for its premiere.  We spent Thursday plastering posters all over town.  It was a lot of fun and great to see the poster in the wild. It began to set in that we were about to show the movie for the first time.  That night Vince, Irene, and I went to the rooftop BBQ for filmmakers in Brooklyn where we enjoyed the view of Manhattan, mingled with lots of cool people, and ran into Ted Endo, a writer covering the festival for the New York Times.  Ted happened to grow up a block away from me in Columbus, Ohio.  I hadn’t seen him since high school. Pretty far out.  We met Tyler Breur, a co-founder of the festival.  He’s one of those rare people that make you feel good just by being around them.  This dude is pure aloha.  As I understand it, Tyler and Morgan Burke were the ones who first started talking about putting on a surf film festival.  Once they got Michael Machemer and Adam R in the mix, the New York Surf Film Festival was born.

Friday was the first day of the festival.  Vince and I showed up at the Tribeca Cinemas ready to glad hand and talk story at the press meet and greet.   The cinema is beautiful and has a serious bar with a loft where various DJ’s spun music all weekend.   Vince and I ate way too many Kind Bars and drank too much Vita Coco water (both official sponsors and in moderation, healthy and delicious).  We were a bit shy in the beginning, but got over that pretty quickly and met just about everyone in attendance.  I met Joe from Drift Magazine.  Turns out I have been following Joe’s blog, the Pine Cone Haven, for a while and talked about it without knowing it was his. I love when stuff like that happens. Needless to say we are going to be doing an Out Of Place screening in Portland. Very good people.  We checked out the excellent Last Hope, directed by Aussie Andrew Kidman who played with his band adding a live soundtrack. Richard Kenvin’s section of the film about the conversion of Wind an Sea’s parking lot, a nexus of california surfing history, into a yuppie dog park was my favorite.

Saturday was spent hanging out at the cinemas meeting more people and checking out movies.  We watched Whitewash and had a great time with the filmmakers Ted and Arrion.  The film is about the history of blacks in surfing.  It is an interesting look into the reasons why you do not come across many black surfers in the lineup.   Arrion, the producer is a Cleveland native.  At the bar I overheard a woman saying she especially enjoyed previewing Out Of Place.   I introduced myself and she turned out to be none other than Cynthia Rowley, an incredible fashion designer and Michigan native. Saturday was great because Scott arrived in NYC with his wife Jen, father Glenn, Tom Heinrich, and Darrin Mcdonald.  Open bar. Enough said.

Sunday was the big day.  Scott and I were full of nervous energy.  I don’t think he ate a thing all day.  This was the moment we had been working for years to get to. Now what? We couldn’t do anything.  The film was finished and loaded to project. The movie played to a crowded theatre. And it worked. It actually played without a hitch and it was great.  People laughed.  People hooted. It was a dream come true to be sharing my work with family, friends, and strangers.   I think I held Irene’s hand the entire movie, tightly.  Tense until the movie’s credits finished scrolling across the screen.  It was perfect.  That night at the awards ceremony/party we won the award.  The room went crazy.  We have fans!  I moved to NYC this past summer and to win the award here means a lot.  It is a great welcome to my new home and to the local scene.   The viewer’s choice. Every time I think about it I smile.  People enjoyed the movie!

The New York Surf Film Festival is the product of hard work by passionate people.  It was the perfect place to show Out Of Place for the first time.  We are lucky to have been a part of it.

What’s next? We are trying to figure that out.   We want as many people to see the movie as possible.  We are currently submitting to festivals all over and setting up screenings.  Also, beginning early talks with distributors. Let us know if you want to help.

Photos from Morgan Rae Berk’s Facebook courtesy of Jake McBride

 I want to say thanks again to Vince and the others for being such good sports about filming. They let us follow them around for years and years with the supreme annoyance of our schedules, cameras and microphones.

Next I have to acknowledge the incredible series of fortunate coincidences like, for example, how Kurt got back from Hawaii exactly when we needed an editor to sort through our 170 hours of footage. You will see that Kurt put his own creative vision into Out of Place and an incredible amount of dedication as well. I am extremely  proud of how he seamlessly brought together the spirit of the culture within the unique imagery of the city.  We simply would not be here right now without him.

Finally, I have to mention Chris Sheehan (Celebrity Pilots/The All Golden), Colin Wilson, Gabe Shray, Neil Turk, Ben Gmetro (Dreadful Yawns), This Moment in Black History, Exit Stencil Records, Phil Klygo of weewerk, Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers), and last but not least, Robby and Jason Staebler of our “house band” The Barn Owls.  The soundtrack for Out of Place has been getting amazing reviews. It has been a real honor to work with these artists, the music has been a great source of inspiration from the beginning.

Thanks to everyone, we are so excited for the premier at The New York Surf Film Festival,  Tribeca Cinemas on Sunday. And this is just the beginning.

Tunnel. This guy loves his job. Right now he’s actually going on about the sociological reasons of why credit card debt adds up so easily. Later I am meeting up with Kurt to go over some last minute film details. More on that coming soon. Right now I’ve got to pay attention to what the driver is saying.

Short clip from the movie. Music by Gabe Schray.

On ExitStencil Records

On Myspace

The Dreadful Yawns - You’ve Been Recorded

Download audio file (01-youve-been-recorded.mp3)

Gabe’s Site: Actual Archives

Gabe’s Myspace

Gabe Schray - Submerged Dub With Trouble Books

Download audio file (06-submerged-dub-with-trouble-books.mp3)

I took Ichabod to Edgewater Park yesterday at sunset.  Cleveland sat below a line of hanging clouds. There were a few kids playing on the ice mounds.  And there was me and my dog. I lasted about 20 minutes before I got angry and ran back to the car. The cold was actually painful.  Check Flickr for more.

Most days Scott, the producer/director, is uploading footage, tweaking scripts, coordinating interviews and getting everything to flow towards the end product. This is all in addition to working his 9-5 legal job and showering twice a week.

Most days Kurt, the editor, is manipulating scenes, placing queues in Final Cut Pro, walking his dog, corresponding with the webmaster and getting the film to flow like a babbling brook towards the river mouth.

In other words, they are working hard at working hard. The end is nigh, the light is viewable, the fat lady FAT (Jim Rome reference) is warming up.

So our spirits were lifted when not one, but two very powerful tv media outlets and a renowned photojournalist (not named Jamie) contacted us with interest in this project that we have been calling our life recently. More on all of that media excitement coming soon.

For now, we want to thank our unofficial, unnamed sponsor for their second massive contribution of bagels (take that, dumpster). We also want to thank Lake Erie Monsters Hockey, Graystatic.com, the Manitoba Moose, LOST, Carlos Jones, brita filters, Google Reader, Rvin, Tony Rizzo and of course, Roger Vincent for the amazing Cavs tickets.

A pause was taken this season to catch up with local surfer, skater, and brewer Gennaro Barilaro at his place of employment. We wanted to wish him “Good Tidings” and collect his thoughts on the local scene and naturally, his place in it. Oh yeah, his job, is brewer at Great Lakes Brewing Company. Yep, that’s right, home to the infamous Christmas Ale.

Kurt Vincent, editor and resident Reds fan and I hooked up with Gennaro and his co-worker Jason to discuss the finer points of local brews, local breaks and sustainability this past holiday time.

The following video and snapshots will give you, esteemed reader, an inside scoop into the inner workings of the best brewery in the region as told by Gennaro Barilaro on December 17th, 2008.

Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Sound clips coming soon.

You can see more of Robby’s

work at his flickr page.

Myspace

This Moment In Black History  - About Last Night

Download audio file (13-about-last-night.mp3)
Courtesy ExitStencil Records

How B. headed off to Arizona for work. Contrary to the advice of the locals, he drove out to the desert at night, alone. Depending on where you are, Wikipedia says the number of stars visible to the naked eye tops out around five thousand. Lying there on the hood of his car and contemplating the vast spectacle of stars and satellites, How said the night sky was a revelation. He was able to regain his perspective just by taking some time to look up.

When How returned to Cleveland we killed a few hours in my living room with Vince, catching him up on the waves he missed. How talked about the duality of life, and that he was trying hard to keep things positive when things in his world were constantly changing. In many ways, surfing is about taking refuge in the water, and the sense of renewal it gives. It really helps to slow things down a bit. For How, the water gives him the chance to surround himself with the spirit of those he loves. His dedication to family is inspiring.

For us, he is someone worth listening to, a person who knows something about the true spirit of surfing. A native Hawaiian who grew up on North Shore, he was taught by the legend Rabbit Kekai. He grew into our small culture and rediscovered his love for the water here in the waves of shallow Lake Erie. He said, “There’s a welcoming surfing community here, it’s a family in a wider sense with a deep dedication. It always reminds me of Hawaii.” How is a guy who proudly wears his heart on his sleeve, a great friend that you always want to see out in the lineup. I Hope to see How again soon.

Falltime in Ohio has been pretty amazing. There is a forecasted high of 70 degrees for today! October has come and gone with some surf, some vivid colors and some excellent beers. Our country has elected a new president in an historic election several hours ago. And above all, Great Lakes Brewing Company has released its Christmas Ale

Before we explore the wonders of Xmas Ale, we thought a proper wrap up of the fall time and Octoberfest beers was in order.

The Great Lakes Brewing Company brews a perfect Oktoberfest every year starting in early fall. Their website provides a little history for you:

“Oktoberfest is Vienna’s stronger brother. Gabriel Sedlmayr adapted the Vienna style for brewing in Munich. Because refrigeration had not yet been invented, March was traditionally the last month in which lagers were brewed. Sedlmayr’s beer was made in March to last until September and was served in autumn amidst traditional celebrations.”

Just as the glow of summer has ended and the colors of fall rise up, so does this beer. The deep, amber hue makes you think of fall and turning leaves. The first sip is crisp, yet creamy, just like a brisk, yet sunny September afternoon. Alcohol content is fairly low, around 6.5%, yet just enough to make you want another bite of that Kielbasa sandwich. As with many GLBC or microbrews, a draught pint is immensely more tasty than a bottle. Draft Oktoberfest comes off smooth, creamy, rich even. A friend told me “The flavor never ends, man. This lager has no end to it. I could drink it all night long.” I think he did too.

Other microbreweries seem to make their Oktoberfests more bitey and crisp. I prefer the smoother style. There were not as many surf sessions in which to share this lager this fall due to a broken foot healing up. Guess we will have late fall and the holidays to make up for it.
If you can still find an Oktoberfest in your local beer aisle this week, get it. The weather and this beer will be perfect compliments, just as a cult leader and his “wives” are perfect compliments to each other. Share one of these lagers with a friend. Tell them I command it!

Last week I was drinking some beers with my dad. It was a great day to be alive in Lakewood, Ohio. He had just gotten back from a medical center in Westlake and I am assuming his physician told him to get drunk immediately. So I’m sipping a very nice local ale when the phone rings. It’s Johnny Santosuossa. And I figure he’s calling because Kurt and I just filmed a segment where he works, and he wants to make sure we make him look alright. After all, dozens of people will be seeing this movie.

Or, he could just be calling because he puts in way too many hours a week at his restaurant and he is just plain sick. He probably wants to vent or something. Actually filming him at the restaurant was a point of contention at first. He was not down with the idea of being seen at work while he was feeling so negative about it. He’s been missing out on a lot of waves this past year and he didn’t want to be remembered at the place that was stealing his life from him. But he assured me that this was going to change.

Johnny was amped. Over excited. Aggro. He called to put me on notice that he was back. He said “Ya know Scotty there’s this photo contest in TransWorld Mag. F- this stupid lake…I’m going to pull off some kind of sick maneuver on a wave that’s amazing…it’s gonna put your movie on the map. People will see that pic and when they find out it’s in Ohio they’ll be floored!”
He really said that.
Oh kay….

Now I can assure you, if this was anyone else saying this I’d be cracking up. But this is Johnny Santosuossa, and I didn’t mention that he is by far the best surfer I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I mean it, he’s a freak of nature. A Florida native who can do ridiculous things in the water, even on our smallish waves he can just rip things up. And now he is coming after the lake with a vengeance.

I mean it, he was actually sounding pissed off. He was going to take on the lake.

I promised him somebody would be there to capture whatever it was he was talking about. Either me, Kurt, Jamie, the Coast Guard or whoever would follow him and help win this contest that I’d never heard of. Sure it’s crazy, but lets look at this closely.

The lake is 10,000 years old. Johnny is in his 30’s. The lake is known to be cold, abusive, moody and prone to sudden violence. Johnny is a nice guy who sometimes hates his restaurant. Lake Erie has thousands of shipwrecks on the record. Johnny sometimes listens to records. The lake is 1.277 x 10^24 gallons. Johnny is a maybe 165 soak and wet. Erie is a Native American word. Santosuossa is Native Italian and difficult to spell. But i digress.

Here’s the main thing, Johnny has earned some major league street cred living in Hawaii and surfing some real big waves. In fact, I’ll bet that he’s surfed waves far bigger than anything our shallow Lake Erie is even mathematically capable of dishing out.

Now you won’t catch me bad mouthing the lake. The lake can, has and will again slap me around pretty hard. I’m afraid of it, and I don’t want any part of its cold and choppy revenge. Stay tuned. Johnny is aiming to take on the lake this winter, and I don’t know about you, but my money is on Johnny.

So we thought, “Hey, let’s actually let people know what we are drinking. Maybe a local brewer not to be named (GLBC) will catch on and be THE BREWER to Out of Place.” Anyways, what follows is the first installment in a series about the drinks we enjoy with the hope that you will search them out and enjoy them too! I will be posting reviews of the the beers I am enjoying every week.

This is the first time I have tried the high-quality IPA coming from the Chico, CA brewer. As with any IPA, the dry, hoppy taste is primary. It has a fairly high alcohol content of 8.6%, but is so subtle in strength you may not notice until it’s too late. The beer has a nice orange to amber color and is incredibly creamy for an IPA.

In two words, LOVE IT. BUY IT. DRINK IT.

I suggest you crack it open then let it sit for five minutes. This beer tastes so different and much better after warming up a bit. Drinking it chilled will mask lots of the good caramel and hoppiness. Above all, this IPA is so creamy and rich, you’d swear it was brewed to be an anniversary-type ale. Search one out today, yet do be careful. The alcohol content can sneak up on you. However, you may like this quality ale even more for that fact.

ENJOY!

I’ll explain. It was getting dark fast. I ended up staying late at work and literally sprinted back to the rapid station. Damn, I still had to get home to retrieve my board and wetsuit. By the time I got to Edgewater the northeast winds were dying, the sun had already set, and Jamie and Luke were just staring at the dying swell from the beach. There was only one guy left out, so I paddled out like a maniac and soon it was just he and I at the break sharing some glassy three footers.

When you’re a surfer here everyone knows everyone, except I had never seen this kid before. But nobody is a stranger here for long, however, and before you knew it we were talking it up, trading some nice small waves. Hearing that he grew up surfing Huntington, I joked that he had to be suffering some major withdrawal, missing out on much better waves and the real surf culture in California. Instead he told me about how lucky he felt being able to catch waves in a place where surfing was still very much an underground thing. He said that now he knows what it must have been to be Robert August back in the 50’s and 60’s, with longboards, a friendly uncrowded lineup and some nice little waves coming through.

Wait a minute, you’re what, 17 or 18 and talking about Robert August?

Hell yeah Chris. Hell yeah. Welcome to the lineup my friend.

I just looked back toward the city, all lit up with the skyline reflecting back at us in the water. I went from being down about missing a day of surfing, to realizing just how lucky I was to be out of work and able to catch just a few waves in the near dark. This is such a different place when we can just get a little something from the lake. Even some three footers on a calm evening can make a real difference. Chris from Huntington is definitely on to something here.

Note: we were able to interview Chris for the Out of Place last Thursday. He was up at the lake and living in his car so he wouldn’t miss out on the storms that were coming through. Well, we did get some waves, but they never actually got any good. I’m guessing Chris didn’t care all that much.

Photos taken by Jamie Yanak.

This is Neal Louma in the 1970’s. It is a still frame from the film.