A Fat Wreck Production Blog #7- Day 2
"A Day Late And Always A Couple Bucks Short"
The one point I’d like to get across to you first is this: camaraderie in punk rock is alive and well. There’s a common thread that runs through the punk community in San Francisco; it weaves in and out the fabric of the city’s ethos. Mission Dolores Park defines this mentality. The park has one of the most amazing views I’ve witnessed with my own eyes. I encourage you to go there if you are ever in the Bay Area; the park, the people, the happy pups, it’s just an all-around great atmosphere. It changed my perception of this frantic chaotic trip that I had from the night before to a calm equanimity.
We have yet to encounter anyone that hasn’t embraced what we are doing. So far, all of our interviews have been amazing. Johnny Bonnel from Swingin Utters was gracious enough to invite us into his home for his interview. There was an instant comfort walking into to his modest home and seeing a wall full of vinyls, fruit on the kitchen table, and photos of his family everywhere. It’s amazing how someone you've only conversed with through email would welcome a film crew of six to bombard their home to discuss a topic of passion. Great dude.
I also have to hand it to Pirate Press: they seemed just as excited to have us filming there as we were to be filming there. Never have I felt like being part of a family so fast with complete strangers. Not only are they an amazing group of people, but they do amazing work as well, from box sets (Graf Orlock’s boom box) to special edition re-releases to records packaged in actual metal (I think they were made of steel). They are pushing boundaries with their creative approach to box art and vinyl/cd sets. This also paved the way for an interesting night. Pirates Press’ very own Ben Murray, of Heartsounds, played that night at The Bottom Of The Hill in San Francisco with Massachusetts’ own A Wilhelm Scream.
Last year at Fest in Gainesville, Florida we had a chance to sit down with Wilhelm’s bassist Brian Robison for an interview. Fitting us into his schedule, we had an opportunity to have a chat with Nuno, Wilhelm singer. Words cannot express how awesome that guy is. Even after the interview, which we happened to squeeze in right before their set last night, he stuck around to chat with us off camera for a bit, almost running late to perform his own set.
The whole day was followed by the most unexpected nightcap. Has anyone heard of the Sunrise Hotel in San Francisco? Don’t fret; we hadn’t either, until the following morning. After checking into a shady hotel at 3am in the downtown district, we didn’t realize what type of area we had aimlessly shuffled into. Apparently, earlier this year, a body was found in the trash chute. And we were sleeping, on the floor, mind you, down the hall from where this went down. The parking ticket the following morning was just the icing on the cake.
