Don Giovanni Premiere Recap

Spoiler: It went incredibly.

(clicky make biggie, thanks Greg!)

I'm one of those people that's hard to please, as a general rule. But I can firmly and happily report that if not one more thing came from this entire movie project I'd be satisfied. Everything went off without a hitch, and exceeded my expectations. From the turnout to the weather to help from strangers to my two best friends winning the race, I was blown away. My only worry is how I'll ever top it, in terms of things I organize and in terms of personal satisfaction.


The alleycat swelled to 67 people, which I believe is a record for Salt Lake. It was a scramble downtown then up to the theater, check out the manifest here. At one of the stops Cory, Mark, Mark's friend and Meera decided to make a little high art with the help of the racers:

Pretty talented bunch, I gotta say. After that they got photo-shot by Tom Fleming halfway up the hill, here are some of the best ones:

Tony was first up the hill, and apparently took Tom by surprise.

Joergen's suffer face.





For more alleycat awesomeness check out this great little video shot by John Schafer. Thanks John! Check this shot of Heather and JC he nabbed through the Sketch Alley:




Once people started to accumulate up top we gathered up and went inside to watch the movie. Full house! 250 people came out to watch the inaugural screening! They were very kind and energetic and appreciative as an audience, they laughed in all the right spots and made me feel pretty great about the movie. I had to laugh, because as a filmmaker it probably never gets any better than an auditorium full of your closest friends and family. That experience will stick with me for quite some time, I imagine, I'm thankful for it.


Afterward I got to announce the alleycat winners and give them their prizes in front of a roaring crowd! Must be nice... We got some GREAT prizes from our sponsors:

For the top Women's Prize we got a brand-spankin' new pair of Outlier's Woman's 4Season Pants and a Pink Damselfly Saddle from Terry for runner up. We got a ton of great stuff from Pikey Bags, Blaq Design, Archive Bags, Discrete Headwear, Lifetime Collective, Velo City Bags, and Hold Fast. Schwalbe sent in 2 sets of Blizzard Tires, and Peonfx gave us a wild riding hoodie I wanted to keep.

But the top of the toppest, the best prize, by far, came from Burro Bags out of Jacksonville Florida. They sent us Salt Lake City's First EVER champion/bragging-rites bag, custom-made for the event:

And gawd damn it's beautiful.




Speaking of, this gawdy creation will rest on the shoulders of Alex Haworth whenever he feels like stepping his hipster-cred up a notch. Not only is this Al's first Alleycat win (He's placed second twice before, I believe), he's also my best friend and the Director of Photography on Don Giovanni! I swear I was surprised as everyone else when he won the race, even though between that and what comes next I should be accused of rigging it.


Because little Jessica Gilmore, my girlfriend, accomplice, and stunning supporter, won fastest woman and 7th Place overall. You go girl.

I can attest that she wanted the win BAD, going so far as to strap a map to her handlebars for the logistics of the race.

I felt great organizing this event, and extend my sincere thanks to all the friends, family, groups and organizations that helped me along the way. Off the top of my head I'd like to thank Dima, who helped land all the prizes for the race.

friggin' cutie.

Lindsey's Mom, who stepped in to help me sell tickets, otherwise I'd have been swamped. Greg Hebard, who is a good friend and puts up with me making mistakes. And for all of those who toiled, lent, waited, froze, and worried for me these past several months, I cannot thank you enough. You know who you are.

Here's the rough placement for the cat:
1st (Overall, 1st SS, General Badass): Alex Haworth (DP/Editor, Don Giovanni!)
2nd (Fix): Patrick Beecroft of Legal Messenger Inc.
3rd (Fix): Tony
4th (Fix): Joergen Trepp of Jason's Deli!
5th (Fix): Chase
6th (1st Geared): Greg Hebard of Jason's Deli!
7th (1st Woman's Fix, Overall, and Stubborn as Hell): Jessica Gilmore
8th: Max Hoagland
9th: Nate Borganicht (Birthday Boi!)
10th: Adam
11th: Lindsey (1st Woman Geared, 2nd Overall) (Plays Bike Punk in Don Giovanni)
12th: Benji
13th: Nate
14th: Peter Andersen
15th: Max Goldsmith
16th: Inacio Lopez (Plays Ottavio in Don Giovanni)
17th: JJ of LMI
18th: Zach Pina of Salt City Couriers
19th: Gary of SLCBikeCollective
20th: Tobi (3rd Woman)
21st: Dima Hurlbut (FLATTED, better luck next time :P)
22nd: JC of U of U Bike Collective
23rd: John
24th: Raphael
25th: James Miska (Musician on Don Giovanni)
26th: Matt Delporto (who designed our movie poster!)
27th: Luke Williams (Main Musician on Don Giovanni!)
28th: Connor Rickman (Producer, Don Giovanni!)
29th: Heather (4th Woman)
30th: Suzi (5th Woman)
31st: Gudrik
32nd: Skyler Chubaks
33rd: Simon Williams (UPM on Don Giovanni!)
34th: Matt
35th: Cat
36th: JD
37th: NOPE (First Tallbike!)
38th: Chris Rugal
39th: Vinnie of Jason's Deli! (He's a Car Driver, relax :))
40th: Al
41st: Lexie (DNF)
42nd: Joellen Morisson.
DFL: Matt Lemmons (Maybe?)

NOW, let's keep this sort of thing happening. Alleycats all around, everyone plan one. I don't care if there are no prizes and the stops are manned by pieces of paper, let's DO it! I'm waiting to hear if this movie gets into the Bicycle Film Festival, in the mean time lets make some more. I wanna ride in one! Thanks Salt Lake, and good night.


All the pictures we've seen and TONS MORE (Like EVERY SINGLE RACER GOING UP THE HILL) can be seen on my flickr page. Thanks to Tom, Al, Greg, and Zach Pina for the photos. Read More......

Caravaggio, remembrances from 2006.

I was a better writer then.

Caravaggio's La Madonna dei Palafrenieri

"Three figures, light from the ambiguous front and an overhead window.
Mary is so attractive, so innocently evil, as she compels her
strangely halo-less son to crush the skull of a snake beneath his
feet. In the face of danger for the child, Mother insists, aids, yet
shields his body with her own foot. The snake's fragile, roping body
reflects the spin of the obscenely thin halos, its impotent
expiration a quiet indication of Christianity's tendency to dominate
and destroy nature. A momentous painting." Read More......

Beautiful Don Giovanni Film Poster

Back before we started shooting I commissioned Matt Delporto (one of the voices behind the Salt City Rag) to do an epic, hand-drawn movie poster for the film. Sketches, re-draws, character studies, plot reads, rejected ideas and many, many desk hours later we have the official Don Giovanni Movie Poster:

Full screen that sucker!

I love what he did with it. I'm charmed and pleased to have such a good record of the film. For our next ambitious art project we're trying to replicate/recreate the image in a high-quality multi-layer screenprint that will be available hopefully at the gallery roll and also to reward some of our cast and crew for their hard slave labor work. Be sure to come out to the alleycat, premiere, and general bike revelry on April the 24th. Read More......

LA Marathon Crash Race

When Jessica and I were in LA last week we raced in the Wolfpack Hustle's Crash the LA Marathon Race. Several videos have been made of the event but this one's the best so far.


That first shot really shows the insanity that was 350-400 people racing in the middle of the night. You can spot us at 0:24, incidentally :) Read More......

Announcing the Tale of Don Giovanni Premiere

It's time to screen this bad boy!
Anyone who's been following this blog knows how long this film has been in the making, it's incredible, really. So now, more or less, I'm done. More words after the jump, but first I'd rather let the work do the talking. I give you the Trailer! (full screen that sucker):

Vimeo not working? Here's a REALLY crappy youtube version.

So, quickly, to recap: The Tale of Don Giovanni: That Indomitable Hipster is my first narrative film and a romping bike adventure. It's around 24 minutes long and has more scenes than a drunken prom date.

It is the story of Don Giovanni as told in Mozart’s opera, adapted into a hyper-exaggerated bike hipster vs. anarcho-punk world on the streets of Salt Lake City with updated sexual politics. Wackiness ensues. There are fixie riders, mountain bikers, flashy hipsters, smelly punks, a transvestite or two, many instances of the word f**k, a sex scene, a rape scene, and lots and LOTS of bikes. There's a dumpsterdoven BMX called the monarch and a man getting hit by a bus. The soundtrack is completely local and completely inspired and I weep to think of what I would have done without talented friends.

It took a tremendous effort to make and the work of many, many people, all of whom deserve way more credit than I'm able to give them. This project rallied people from all aspects of my life, and I was horrified I'd let them down. I don't think I did. I hope you'll come ride in the alleycat (which won't be nearly as hard as the one we shot for the film) and attend the premiere with your fam and friends. Please distribute this flier far and wide, I want to fill the post and possibly overflow to do multiple screenings. This community rocks and I'm happy to be a part of it.

See you on the 24th. Read More......

Featuring: Bygones of the Dada Factory

Austin McBride, the optimistic scam-artist, used to live with us in an unusual way, if you remember. Austin converted our closet into a quite impressive minimal monk's hidaway with the help of interior designer Ryan Manning. He's since moved to San Fran, but the room remains. Greg came in to take some photos for Ryan's Portfolio:


Felt panel slides away to reveal collapsible closet. Note golf tee.


Muted sci-art and tunes center.


Good use of crates.


Simple futon would be rolled out here and double as a chill space for rhapsodic psychological discussion.

We miss Austin sometimes. Read More......

Life Evolving, Movin' right along.

Wow, so I've been busy.
Finished the Don Giovanni film, have submitted it to the Bicycle Film Festival, finger's crossed! In other news I've booked the Post theater for it in Salt Lake, April 24th, for an premiere local screening! Mark your calenders for a bike extravaganza, More to come there soon.

got a great new job teaching art from the unlikely platform of a 40 foot vegetable truck, rumbling up to all the schools in the valley and giving lessons on graffiti and impermanence to 5 through 50-year-olds. Yes, I'm the #1 driver/docent of the 337 Project's Art Truck!. More on that soon too, but needless to say it's been fulfilling and challenging and makes me feel more like an adult.

Spring is here and riding's been great. I've gone on some long fun ones recently, including an 80 mile day with Ryan and some other local bikers all around the valley then out to the great salt lake. Ryan and I got to swap philosophies while bombing down hills at 90th south, some serious Calvin and Hobbsian shit. I mean that in the out-of-control kid-in-wagon sense, not to reference the level of discourse. A ride's been meeting at noon at the gallivan on sundays, come out and go fast.

I've been volunteering at the Bike Collective again, which is fun, and reminds me why I like mechanics and teaching and logic problems rolled into one. A bike mural is in the works, too, which could be neat.

Speaking of murals, we had a painting night down at the Dada Factory, Luke, Al, and Jessica made some really cool stuff. My painting was atrocious, but I like it. Check al's out over on his blog!

But never let me fool you into thinking I don't have spare time. Really, I'm usually doing this:


Jessica and I have been planning on moving out of state for grad school next summer. To this end I've been working on all my bikes, trying to streamline them, and my material posessions in general, into just the essentials. It's been neat and challenging, getting rid of stuff and being efficient.

Life, man, it's alright. Now I just need to learn to eat better. Read More......

Philosophy and Myth in John Gardner's Freddy's Book

I'm going to try to write little book reviews, as I forget everything I read. No offence taken if you skip them.


Horrible scan of a great cover.

I just finished Freddy's Book, a moody and ruminating frame-story tale set in the Swedish post-middle ages, right on the rise of Lutheranism and the birth of the printing press. John Gardner is a Medieval literature specialist famous mostly for Grendel, which I remember almost nothing about excepting that I really, really enjoyed it. Like all of his books I've read this one does a fantastic job of embedding various competing philosophies within the narrative. It overlaps the folklore and myth of Sweden with the contemporary continental issues at the time in a way that stays relevant and thought-provoking.

After the book got properly into its personal mythology the philosophical musings became especially powerful, kicked off with a discussion on evolution in terms of religious systems. Bishop Brask is a jaded clergyman who decides that the sustaining element of any man-made society is simply might. The strongest survives, he concludes, regardless of whether the strongest is correct. In his day he sees Catholicism losing ground to Lutheranism and foresees the eventual abandonment of religion as a folly. The constant revision of the bible in the 1500 years in-between Brask and Christ affrims his sense of Religious Darwinism. God is dead, or at least hasn't spoken to anyone sane in that millenia-and-a-half. Later, he turns his jaded eye toward the notion of truth and the intentions of those in power, wondering how truth can be found in a complicated world of many contending self-interests.

Though god may be dead, the Devil is more alive than ever, and physically manipulates the events of the world. His effects are observed by the knight Lars-Goren, who brings a taciturn contemplation to the novel's measuring of good and evil. The cut-throat city is pitted against the naive rural, Mysticism dances with rationalism, and everything is trivialized in the face of the individual passage from life, to death.

Gardner takes pleasure in his characters' turn of phrase, which is a bit much in the early introductory frame story. But after a while his characters self-consciously mock the meaning and use of rhetoric, whether it's the devil forgetting what he's saying halfway through spinning a plan into existance, or Bishop Brask being paralyzed by whether or not his delivery of some rhetorical point is staged perfectly or not. There are self-referential jabs about the point of striving to write, to communicate, and a decent story of political cunning to tie it all together.

All in all a book for boys (mostly), a chance to loosely brush up on medieval history, and several beautiful takes on melancholy philosophies along the way. The calm Lars Goren and his eerie confrontation with a dead witch are great. The mysterious indigenous Lapplanders of the north are beautifully created as well. If you start it and get bored, skip to the last 3 chapters for some great climatic mental struggles with futility, good, and evil. Read More......

Al's Art in the Trib

This article makes me so happy.


Not only does it center around work by my best friend and film partner Alex Haworth, it references my good friend Laura Decker too! Oh, and it mentions this blog :). Coupled with the fact that the inversion needs to die and be taken seriously by Salt Lake, I'm very happy about all this.

Local art's feeling good right now, as if awakening from hibernation, It's great to be a part of it, and I'm looking forward to what comes out of the spring. Read More......

Masterful Paint

I don't know a thing about this fella, except that this is his flickr account and he looks like this, but he's a pretty impressive painter. He masked this Pinerello with actual leaves.:






Supa-cool. Read More......

Luke's Show, Luke Sez

My dear buddy Luke Williams has some news!:

"Hi friends,

This Thursday is going to be a really big show for Matteo. We're going to be playing some new stuff that we're really excited about, including one song that I wrote.

This is also a big show for me personally, as I'll be playing a pretty large set of exclusively new stuff (post-ancient eyes EP). So, new stuff! yeah! good job luke!

Here's the info:

2/18/10 @ Kilby Court, 7:00, $6. The set order will be: Luke Williams, Matteo, The Archer's Apple.
You can listen to the Matteo EP here: www.myspace.com/chinesematteomusic"

I'll be there! Read More......

More Salt City Sprints Madness

Come one come all to the Third Annual SLC Roller Sprints. LADIES GET IN FREE! Come race!

This next Saturday the 20th at 7-10 PM, Nobrow Coffee. Pretty sure the W Lounge Event on the 19th isn't happening.
Read More......