don't go changin'

Great to see the Okayama Headset crew still tearing it up. Sundays at Momosta.
Highlight of the video though is around the 0:46 mark, finding Yuji in rare form as he ends a nice little no-handed wheelie by pitching his brand new Volume into a brick tree planter. His later appointment with the pavement at 2:20 is equally spectacular.
Props to my boy TK for putting this one together. At first, I was surprised to see edits from him so soon, because I know he's got a bigger project in the works, but this isn't it. Still keeping a tight lid on that one I guess.

systematic disregard for pedestrian law

Time to dust off the mankini and practice those trackstands.

'Jerks is back.

[Saturday, April 11 ~ 8pm-ish, Kita-Nagase, behind Okayama Dome]

calling all blue skies

I was gonna wait till I could get both videos up (no thanks to Vimeo's weekly limit), and for MYCTC to post more pictures of the event, but I guess the cat is officially out of the bag--just a few hours after I uploaded it to Vimeo, we got linked up on lockedcog, 3bancho, and hkfixed. So without further adieu, here is the submission TKYM and I cooked up for the Shikoku jam last weekend.

Enjoy.

We are HEADSET. Okayama sucks a little bit less behind fixie bars.

MYCYC really knows how to host

The Facebook exclusive video which is an extension of one of the scenes above will be up shortly. Stick around for that.

4cogs enter, 1cog leaves

Been single-mindedly slaving all week to get this stupid pile to work. I guess tonight we'll know whether or not it was worth all the trouble. If I've learned anything in these two weeks of frenzied slapping, trimming, and pasting, it's that straight up trick videos are not my forte.

Will have pics of the event, and then hopefully the video, followed by a second bonus short up sooner than later.

Stay tuned.

the perfect alibi

I look up at the clock. It's just past midnight. I have to go to work in the morning. "20 more minutes," I estimate.
Import, compress, trim, export, import, render, re-trim, and render again. I look back up at the clock.

It's 3:30.
I've yet to shower or brush my teeth. And I've forgotten to take out the trash. Shit.

Two more weeks.

"...tired and reckless and I can't go home..."

and what if I don't?

Barely had time to clear up space on the iLappy's weary external hard drive, as HEADSET is back on the pavement--this time shooting for local pride in a four prefecture fixie cinematic jam at the end of this month down in Shikoku. While I'll again man the editing helm, I've got help from local legend TKYM as my director of photography. Additionally, the whole crew has more than a few new tricks up its collective sleeve, plus we've added a second camera and a pursuit bike to our A/V arsenal.

a new breed of bosozoku

Hit the pavement last night to record my first ever chase sequence. But for this 'first', I found myself on the opposite side of the camera, running circles around the city and trying to outrun the chase crew. However, TKYM--the model citizen, was adamant about adhering to local traffic law--stopping at all stop signs and traffic lights, making sure our camera guy wore a helmet, and even went so far as to reprimand me for skitching a taxi down Momotaro Dori. I don't think it hampered much, because he and Frank shot some awesome shit. Even though I'd be just as excited if it were any of the other guys, I'm really stoked that it got to be me. Personal narcissism aside, I can't wait to see this up on the big screen.

say hello to mr. tube

Oh, and I shredded through my last Mondo Sport in the process. I blame the Nishiguchi overpass decent into a red light at 35mph.


Will keep you updated as the helter-skelter editing process rockets towards March 21st.
Really feels like we're going to kill it this time.

like donkey kong

Check this! HEADSET is in!

April 17th! Portland! Oregon! The Clinton Street Theater!

Bikes! Movies! Steez! More bikes! 

Paper bag! 

Fixed and the City: "el fin"

Four months in the making, "Fixed and the City" is a lot of things. It's the digital marriage of Panaracer rubber, asphalt, and sound. A moving picture mixtape. A single-speed mission statement. A dedication. A memoir. The difference between simple ownership, and unabashed love. It's less about the "scene," and more about a day in the life; fixed gears on this little concrete canvas of ours.

Oh, and it's about thirty minutes long.
Crack open a cold one, and turn the volume up.

Sorry to keep you waiting.





* Since this is just a weak sample, to hit the full version and/or download the torrent, follow this linkage to Vuze.com. And if those two clicks somehow end up giving you fits, blast me an email so I can set you up with my best Indonesian call center impersonation.

burn after editing

Late last night, the fixie project finally made it through the hellish MPEG conversion gauntlet, and into the annuls of YouTube, but this morning I awoke to find it had been inexplicably yanked even before I had a chance to see how it looked. Am I disappointed? Yes. But surprised? Not really.
Still, rather than resume the monthlong cranial abuse at the expense of the varnish on my desk, I'm pressing ahead to make the project available for download via torrent. Will hopefully have that link up shortly.

Additionally, in keeping stride with the project's original goal, a shortened, FatC "cliff note" version which should fit neatly under ten minutes, and attract far less attention from the unscrupulous, banhammer-wielding goons in San Bruno, is also under construction. Conveniently enough, this version will hopefully be sent off to Seattle for the Filmed by Bike festival in April, which just so happens to be a few short months away.

Crank the shitty-ass pop music. This one's going back under the tarpaulin.



ps:  While I don't currently have the resources to burn, and internationally 
ship a dvd of the full-length project file to everyone who wants one (those 
understandably without torrent access), shoot me an email and perhaps we 
can work something out. Promising lucky charms or speed stick in exchange 
would almost certainly expedite your request.

back to boston

This is what my Langster looked like when I picked it up back in June. Pretty much stock.

This is what it looks like now. Not all that visible in the picture, but new tires (umpteenth set), pedals/clips, tossed the brakes, and dropped two teeth off the rear cog. Oh, and the creme de la creme--super deep V rims, courtesy of the H+ boys at Cycroc in Osaka. Sickness locally brewed.
Still obviously missing the requisite suicide doors, but still--it's just that much closer to living up to the original concept.

All it's missing now, is a down tube holster for the tommy gun.

premiere'd

 

fixed gears, and candles in the Trees lounge
 

  

t-minus 15 minutes to seeing his heavy metal mug on the big screen

  

fried chicken and grenades (sweet band name)

 

here we go

brought to you by Chuck Berry

crowd digs it

The "Fixed and the City" project party drew to fitting completion, the scouting, drafting, shooting, editing, nail-biting, beer slamming, and udon slurping of the past three months. Even though he can't read English, I'd still like to pass along a huge thanks/air high-five to Nobu from Trees for setting the event up, and to Kyousuke from the now-defunct Round Wheel for all the parts, repairs, and inspiration that put us well on our way.

The troops have been rallied. And I think we're just getting warmed up.

lost and rendered

Well, it's done. This is what it looks like, as I sit back with a few cookies and some orange juice to wait out the encoding process. I'll try to make the full HD version available online somehow--either via YouTube, or on Vimeo (preferable). Stay tuned over the weekend, as I finally let this one go.

[update 1/19]

Been having some very serious technical difficulties on multiple fronts (compression and burning) that are keeping me from getting this baby on the web, and/or in your hands. If I said to "sit tight" before, kindly sit a little tighter, a little longer.
It's still coming--I promise.

that's how the whispers start

So I guess a blessing from Nobu makes it official. Which means I've got four and a half days to get these last few edits right before I toss it to the masses. 

The "Fixed and the City" Moving Picture Mixtape project finally premieres at Trees this Friday.

To say I'm nervous to have my little commemoration publicly shown would be a huge understatement. But what really gets me about this is having to get up in front of everybody and speak in Japanese--a masochistic sport I don't exactly have the most inspiring track record in.

Come on boss, that shit's just torture.

Anyway, start the countdown, son:

coming soon

Just a few weeks left. Crunch time.

If your compy has the stones, I suggest you check out the trailer in glorious HD over at Vimeo.

** update 12/20 **

Trailer is getting some traffic love, courtesy of the boys over at lockedcog.com, and our hometown boys at Trees. Shit yes.

Starting to feel the pressure.

like a pillar of salt

We were shooting some footage for the Headset fixie project down at the station a few nights ago, when someone had the bright idea (I was totally just kidding at the time) to take the fun underground, into the winding caverns of the Okayama Ichiban-gai shopping mall. I'll be the first to say that whipping blind corners and leaving fresh rubber on the glistening linoleum is all fun and games until somebody skids face-first into a storefront shutter.

Then it's hilarious:

seriously, just leave him

Still working on getting the music for this spot just right--I need something soft enough to accentuate our hallway stealth, but still with enough punch at the critical moment of facial impact to ensure that the metallic, echoing crash still resounds with the viewer long after the bowel-aching hilarity has passed.

cutting room floor

After logging yesterday's project footage into Final Cut, I took some of the more unusable leftover stuff and threw it into my low-tech iMovie blender for the boys over at Fixed and the City.

Long before we started this two months ago, I had an overarching plan for the master project down on my little Moleskin, but once the actual footage started coming together, what's unfolded in the FC timeline has been anything but what I could have expected. I'm very stoked about where this is going.

Stay tuned.

[Update 12/1]

The boys over at Milano Fixed way the crap out in Italy picked this up and posted it on their blog. 

Thanks guys, but this is just the cutting room. Will have a better sample for you soon. 

definitely not nothing

slow going, but at least it's going

have you watched the cities move?

HEADSET in October from Dagbert on Vimeo.


This one kinda fell together last night on accident. While previewing grainy footage shot a few weeks ago, my iTunes pulled a song out of shuffle that I had somehow purchased, but not yet heard. Even over the preview, the Republic Tigers' spinning and swaying vibes just somehow 'fit' the trackstands, skids, and spins. Granted, it wasn't our most eventful evening down at the park (our pre-dawn tearing around the city went undocumented), but we still had a good time. Always do.

Pay special attention to around 1:30 for a glimpse at the most desperate and stupid hardcore fixie hack I have ever seen in my entire life. If his franken-cycle doesn't outright kill him first, I imagine the sheer humiliation of riding it should.

Headset. Okayama fixie hardcore.

bullhorns at the ready

key to the nash

Somewhere between slamming old people juice and trips to the bathroom, I made it down to the park last night to talk locations, and do some test shooting with HD in low light settings. First video project I'd actually planned to take seriously, and it already looks like my little camera won't have the stones to get it done. We'll see though. Still hope in them Okayama hills, and new FX1000s in Bic Camera. Might still be better off hoarding the cash, and shifting the project focus to daytime; scrub expense to remain faithful to our character.

Damn shame, because Headset was made for these nighttime Okayama streets.