Voice of Nola (MIH 32)

Told y'all it was coming.

Roughneck F@#% Yo Couch Tour

(Editors note: If you’re underage and you watch this, your mom’s gonna be bummed. Oh, and the player might take a second to load.)


The footage from F@#% Your Couch Tour was just chilling in the TeamJaded vaults until Johnny Roughneck gave me a call a few weeks ago and asked me to put it together as a companion piece to the new Roughneck tour video, Decade of Aggression. So I did.

If you’re in the bay area, the premier for Decade of Aggression should be soon. When I know you'll know so you can go check it out.

The Back Story:

Some of y’all may have noticed that we give a lot of props to Roughneck Hardware on TeamJaded. That’s because Roughneck is down and we’re down for Roughneck. If that doesn’t explain it for you I’ll go into a little more detail. Roughneck is a skateboard hardware brand based out of San Francisco and run by one John Griffon, aka Johnny Roughneck. More importantly Roughneck is dirty, D.I.Y., and run by skaters for skaters.

I first met Johnny a couple of years ago when I produced a brand profile on RNCK for Current TV. I knew about RNCK through skating in S.F. I even had some friends who worked with Johnny, but I’d never actually met him, and I was a little nervous about asking him to work with me because he had a reputation for being, well… a Roughneck.

It didn’t help that our main friend in common told me that he’d talk to Johnny about it and never even mentioned it to him. So I bit the bullet, played the internet-working game, and got in touch with him myself. To my surprise he was both willing to and excited about working with me.

When I met him in person any vestiges of what I thought he was going to be like vanished. He was welcoming, helpful, and just down for skateboarding, and I really respected that. If you’ve ever watched that interview then you know that you can’t help but get caught up in Johnny’s excitement for skateboarding and that excitement translates into what Roughneck is about. If you haven't watched that interview, here it is:



After that day, I was just as down for Roughneck as Roughneck was down for skateboarding and I went to every Roughneck event I possibly could, from the Go Skateboarding Day Race Down Market St., to the Annual BART Tour, to whatever. Over that time period Johnny and I became friends and I made it a point to keep him posted on my video projects so that if another opportunity opened up for us to work together I could jump on it.

The F@#% Your Couch Tour was just that opportunity. I was on my way down to the mojave desert for a shoot with Gordy Toth (the biker). I don't ride bmx or anything, but I'd heard from my friend Jon Rogers at TBC Party, that he had the most insane backyard in the world and I just wanted to check it out. On my way I was going to pass through the Element YMCA Skate Camp. Coincidentally, Johnny was headed down to skate camp to premier the Roughneck video, so we formed like Voltron and the F@#% Your Couch Tour was born. He roped in the Oakland Kids and Hidehiko. I brought Swyler. And we hit the road. We both thought it was going to be hilarious to have such a random group of people in a van together going to such a random collection of places, and it pretty much was.

Watch the video. Fuck Yo Couch.

Credits

Produced and Edited by
Jeremey Lavoi
Co-Produced in Post by
Abby Berendt

Filmed by
Hidehiko Fujiwara
Jeremey Lavoi
Tyler Moore

Tour Members

In the Captains Chairs
Johnny Roughneck, Hidehiko Fujiwara, Tyler Moore, and Jeremey Lavoi.

Sitting anywhere in the van where they could fit
Chubbs, Lil’ D, Jon Stallings, Errol Langdon, and Major Jones.

Music by

John Phillips
Antagonist

Jeremiah Sinkie
remember the name (run the beat remix)
ccmixter.org

House Thug Productions
Militainment

Albertsx1965
Coast to Coast
ccmixter.org

Lilnohm
Inthebigining
ccmixter.org

House Thug Productions
Chug Life

Coffeetrim
Open Your Eyes (long island remix)
ccmixter.org

Gautch
Mumbo Jumbo
ccmixter.org

Mother Ship
When You Fell Down
myspace.com/mothership6666

John Phillips
Pestulance

Music Notes

A large chunk of the music in this piece came from ccmixter.org, which is a user generated music site that operates under creative commons licensing. Check it out. The rest of the music came from my friends John Phillips, Tyler Moore (House Thug Productions), and Aaron Collins (Mother Ship). Thanks y’all.

And for those of you wondering what's up with the Make It Happen vids, don't worry more Make It Happen will be coming at you soon. We've got all kinds of good stuff coming down the pipeline. Look out for the Chuck Perkins Vlog coming at y'all shortly.

We’re Currently on Current TV

No we don’t work for them anymore. Lets just say Current isn't necessarily known for being Current... if you know what we’re saying. So this week is our long overdue flooding of the Current TV network. That’s right, we’ve got another Pod on air.



If you want more info about this pod, check out our post from June called Displace Us.

It's now called Displaced Role-Playing. We called it Displace Me, cause like, that was the name of the event… we didn’t notice any LARPing… But hey, at least it’s on the air, seven months later… now if only they’ll send us our check.

We’re very excited and slightly embarrassed that this pod is on the air. Embarrassed because we’re in it and we look silly, but excited because the event was for an important cause. Namely raising awareness about the horrible situation in Uganda and bringing people together to help end it. We love the Invisible Children organization, and we’re happy to contribute to the cause.

Thanks to the Invisible Children movement for having us, throwing the event, hooking us up with the extra footage, and being rad people in general. Special thanks to Kenny Laubbacher and Susan Shrinkle. And thanks to the same Current TV team that helped get this thing through their very congested pipeline.

Through the Looking Glass (MIH 25)

How's it going y'all? Are you as overwhelmed as we are? We've been in NYC for over a week, and we still haven't posted the Philly Blog. Trust us, we've got a lot to tell you, but NYC has been a blur of schleping our gear across the city with some Guitar Hero action spliced in there for good measure. We cannot get that Kansas song out of our heads. But anyway...

We've been on the road for 2 months (you can see everywhere we've been here). We know, we can't believe it either. It's also hard to believe we've gone this far with so little cash. We absolutely couldn't have done this without the help of our friends and contributors. If you'd like to contribute cash to our cause click below:



It's paypal, it's easy... and we'd be very appreciative!

We've seen so much, done so much, we're not even sure how to digest it all. But we know we'll have sometime to figure it all out over the holidays. That's right, it's Friday, November 16th, and next Thursday is Thanksgiving. We've noticed that our hits drop significantly on the weekends, (I guess we're a good distraction for y'all at work and school) and we're betting that our hits are gonna slow down just a tad over the Thanksgiving week. So instead of busting out with a new vlog and more juicy travel updates, we thought we'd hit y'all with a little video retrospective of our trip so far. Vlogs 1 thru 5. Make It Happen 1 to Austin Craft Mafia.

Enjoy... we'll be back in a week or so.

Make It Happen

Vlog 1 San Francisco, CA


Vlog 2 California Coast


Vlog 3 Southwest, USA P.1


Vlog 4 Southwest, USA P.2


Vlog 5 Austin, TX Vol. 1


Stay Tuned...

Pink Antlers (MIH 22)

Finally, here it is... the first Austin video!

Take a look at our behind-the-scenes vlog from Make It Happen: Austin Craft Mafia.



For more information on the Austin Craft Mafia go here. Stay tuned for our final cut of thier story after the trip.

Soulja Boy (MIH 19)

We’re back in the Boot.
We got here last Thursday for double wedding action… as some of you might have noticed if you check our calendar. The two weddings don’t have much to do with Make It Happen, but everything to do with being there for your homies (Jeremey’s homies that is).

The first wedding was for the newly minted Dan and Jordan Robertson, which happened Saturday night in Lake Chuck. The next Lake Charles wedding is coming up this Saturday on the Collin’s Compound for Austin residents, the future Adam and Rachael Young. Bryant Collins is marrying them, and if you know Bryant, you know just how awesome that is. We’re looking forward to that wedding for sho, and for all those Austin heads coming down to the Chuck. So congrats Dan and Jordan. And congrats ahead of time to Adam and Rachael.

We suck and we didn’t really take any pictures at Dan’s wedding except for this picture of D-Mitch's sockless ankle.

But let us tell you that the reception was off the chain with a 3-year-old dancing full b-boy steez to that Soulja Boy song, some pink painted boobies on Jordan’s windshield, and the newly weds headed for “Floda or Bust!” Y’all are just gonna have to take our word for it.



Since we’ve been in the Chuck, Jeremey got to judge the Double Trouble skate contest at Ripperz Skatepark. Soon to be married Adam Young was also a judge, as well as a couple guys from the Skate Spot in Lafayette, LA.

(Oakley sponsored the event.)

We didn't have anybody on the course snapping photos cause Jeremey was judging and Abby was helping Brenda (owner/organizer) put together prize packages.

Clayton (the owner of Ripperz) gave Jeremey a little too much “soda” so he can’t really remember the names of the kids that won, but his homies Cody and Dez came in second. Brenda did a great job organizing, “Reverend” Bryant rocked the mic, D.J. Cazo was on the tables, and the contest pretty much went off. We’re proud of the skate scene in the Chuck, it’s going strong down in the dirty.

And speaking of skating, if you’re in the Bay on October 29th head on over to Beauty Bar for the ten years of Roughneck party, Jonny and that guy from Hightower are spinning…

…And speaking of stuff to do… In the D.I.Y. spirit a crew of kids right here in Lake Charles have put together a non-profit called Poor Pony with only one goal, to “make it happen” in the Lake Area. Poor Pony is throwing a big party in downtown Lake Charles this Friday the 26th, so if you’re anywhere near L.C. head down there for live music in all the bars, and bring a costume ‘cause the streets’ll be popping with a Thriller dance off.



Stay tuned for more of our adventures in Lake Charles, and we’re working on that first Austin Vlog at this exact moment, so that’ll be coming at y’all in the next couple of days.

Part Deux, Dos, Zwei, Twee, два (MIH 15)

Here it is, part two of our southwest adventure. We're headed back to Austin in a couple of hours and we're already drooling over the queso.

We're like totally making it happen.

Almost as good as the IMAX (MIH 13)

Here's another look into the travels of TeamJaded. This vlog is part one of the first leg of our trip through the southwest. We didn't have much luck in the ways of gambling or seeing the sights... but we tried to enjoy ourselves.

Coming soon: Part 2 (working title: "Sleeping Alien vs Predator Storm"). Abby thinks that title is funny for some reason.

And in the next couple weeks we'll be putting together a vlog that goes behind the scenes into our first shoot with the girls from the Austin Craft Mafia.

Thanks for watching!

Get in the Car (MIH 10)

Oh what?! Our first vlog from the road. This is a taste of the first couple of days of our journey. We'll be hitting you up with vlog updates every week or so (or to the extent that we can edit bits on the road). These are not the Make It Happen stories, just a glimpse of our travel experiences, so that everybody can see what dorks we are. Enjoy.

Make it Happen

(For a brief rundown of "Make It Happen"- check out the gray panel to your left)

For those of you who have been paying attention, and even for all y’all who could care less, TeamJaded is about to partake currently on a grand adventure. That’s right, we've dumped our apartments in the beautiful city by the Bay and have taken off across America in our brand new (to us) 2005 Honda Civic Hybrid. We are navigating the open roads of America for at least two months… or until we run out of money.

But before you jump to conclusions, we are not living out some San Franciscan, Jack Kerouac fantasy conceived after too many nights in the Barmuda Triangle. We left San Francisco; not just in search of knowledge and adventure, but in search of stories.

We recognize that the times we live in are filled with negativity and turmoil. Between the Bush Administration, the 2005 Hurricane Season, the War on Terror, rampant corporate greed, the clueless mass media, and... the Bush Administration there aren’t too many reasons to get out of bed every morning.

All of this bums us out, makes us feel helpless, and well yes, jaded. We recognize that our political system has failed us. The fourth estate, the mass media has failed us. And well, even the food we eat has turned on us. (And where are the bees?)

We don’t know what to do. We don’t have all the answers... or even any of them. But we do know one thing; somewhere (and probably even everywhere) in this great country of ours there are people who have not given in to hopelessness and complacency. They have risen above prime time TV, fast food, and Bill O’Reilly. Somewhere in this nation there are people making things happen and we are going to find them.

And when we do, we’re going shove a camera in their face because these people inspire us and we want them to inspire others.

Yes, the people we are looking for are very special. They’ve stood up and achieved amazing things without the help of governments or corporations.

We’re looking for individuals and small groups who have created something important for their community, something that was needed even if nobody knew it. These people that we’re looking for do not need to have a political agenda; they just have to be doing something positive and they must absolutely be DIY.

Are we looking for miracle makers? Self made astronauts? People who can play multiple instruments at the same time? No, not necessarily. “Created something important for their community” could mean helpful to just a few people, necessary for a small scene, or just the best thing ever for the entire nation.

It’s true, our criteria is a little broad, and a bit idealistic, but we need to cast a wide net to catch all the awesome we know is out there… and you can help us. In fact we need your help, because the people we are looking for are a lot of things... but easy to find isn’t one of them.

So if you know somebody, or a group of people who might be the perfect story for us, then please shoot us an email at info[at]jadedmultimedia[dot]com.

If you want a better idea of what we’re talking about, check out the story we shot on Bay Area all girls Hip Hop collective, Sisterz of the Underground.

The Sisterz are a group of women who started throwing hip hop shows in S.F. at the turn of the century and have become a bona fide force for women’s recognition in Hip Hop Culture. And what makes them positive (besides the force for women’s recognition thing) and amazing you ask? Well, they even run a Hip Hop Education program called Def Ed, where they employ the elements of Hip Hop to teach under-privileged inner-city kids and get them psyched about education. Watch the mini doc and (hopefully) be inspired.

Our launch date was September 15th, 2007. Even if you think the world is perfect and you’re not the least bit jaded, we hope you’ll join us. We've got a map of our route, our ever-changing schedule, and our vlogs (behind-the-scenes videos, if you will) up on the blog. We try to keep you updated with blog entries and videos of our progress and adventures along the way. We won’t deliver finished stories until the end, but we’ll definitely hit you up with teasers and updates, so that you all know where we are, how we’re doing, and if we’ve been inspired.

Now that you know the what, when, and why, we need your help to find the people making it happen D.I.Y steez. We also need couches to crash on. (And some more scrilla…)

Help us make it happen. …and America here we come.

TeamJaded

Sisterz of the Underground

I confess. I don’t know jack about Hip Hop. I’d love to hit you up with tons of facts about rappers or throw down some statistics on Bboys. And although I received first place for my “Hip Hop and the Media” audio entry at 2004’s Broadcast Education Association Festival, I admit that does not certify my knowledge of the subject.

So, when we decided to do a story on Sisterz of the Underground, I felt a bit timid approaching these Hip Hop gurus. Now, I’ve listened to my fare share of underground Hip Hop (or more accurately, I think is underground… probably isn’t). I’ve taken Hip Hop dance classes. I’ve dabbled in spinning. But when I witnessed the talent that came out of the SOTU Six-Year Anniversary party, I knew we were in for a killer story.

These women are amazing. They hit it all- Bgirls, MC’s, DJ’s, Graf Artists, Singers, Entrepreneurs, women of all talents, skills, and trades… the list goes on. And it doesn’t stop there.

The San Francisco based all-female Hip Hop collective is empowering youth, young adults and women across the nation to get involved and make a positive difference in their culture. With different programs and events throughout the Bay Area (and beyond), SOTU is teaching a generation about the positive laurels and constructive activism that Hip Hop culture was founded upon.

A full-length documentary needs to be done on SOTU… but we only had six minutes. So we decided to explore their story through a day in the life of Crykit, SOTU’s DefEd Program Director. We also sat down with SOTU’s Founder Sarah Smalls, and Head Organizer TraciP, and learned how this collective is shaking up a culture, and challenging the Hip Hop norm.

It was an awesome experience working with and learning from these women. They have a fantastic program that’s truly influencing a generation.

We gotta thank everyone from Sisterz of the Underground for giving TeamJaded the opportunity to share such a rad story. Also, Leticia, Celine, and the awesome students at Kipp Bay Academy, everyone at Cellspace, and 111 Minna Gallery, thank you.

Stuff On My Cat, My Cat On Stuff

Stuff On My Cat

Updated 7/20/2007: Thank you so much to Mario at Stuff On My Cat for posting our video and linking to our blog! Thank you to everyone who commented and enjoyed Maggie's 'stackage'. You're all amazing.

Although we at TeamJaded are dedicated to interesting news, people, and the occasional politics, we do enjoy our fare share of fun websites. I for one, am a huge fan of Stuff on My Cat. Everyday it makes me smile. So when we purchased a new camera (Canon XH-A1), I decided to shoot my cat while figuring out the settings. What happened was something I never expected. A video where I put stuff… on my cat. Yes, you read that right. It’s slightly amusing, as Maggie (my cat), acts as if nothing is happening.

A while back I wrote about Maggie. I thought I’d share it with you now that you know how deceivingly cute she can be.

This was written August 12, 2006, 9 days after I moved from NYC to SF.

I have a foster cat. Her name is Maggie.

Last week Maggie went on the most exciting adventure up to this point in her 2-year-old life. However, I presume the trip from east coast to west coast may have been more exciting for the passengers on Jet Blue Flight 97.

Upon boarding the plane, it was realized that the cage she was traveling in was approximately 'yay' centimeter too big to fit under the seat in front of me. Maggie, cage, and I proceeded to the rear of the plane hoping for a smooth transfer into the airline-supplied cage.

All goes smoothly, and Maggie pops her little head out of the top of the gated cage. Then she pops her front paws out. Then she wiggles a bit. I'm trying desperately to push her resisting body back into the cage, only to realize her harness (yes, she's wearing a harness) is caught on the wires. She looks frantic. She's wriggling with all her might. The passengers are now crowding around the scene like lookie-loos in an accident. Maggie is caught halfway in and halfway out of the plastic-bottom, wire-top box. Finally the man in front of me picks her and the cage up, takes her to the back and finesses her out. We lock the hole with a twisty tie. Maggie, all tuckered out from her exhausting and embarrassing endeavor, sleeps the entire 6-hour flight.

Please allow me to delve in all that is Maggie the Cat.

When I decided to house this cat for "a six week trial period", I must admit, I wasn't what one would call "smart" about this decision. In fact, I fully take responsibility for my somewhat ill-advised act of altruistic feline charity.

My hopes of having a companion of independent temperament, who required little to no attention was to be found in a small little ball of fur with unclipped claws.

Cute? She was. Friendly? She was not.

Twiggy was her shelter moniker. Sadly, the stick-like underfed cat that she was fit the ridiculous name. A fierce growl, squinted eyes, and turned down ears was how she welcomed my hand as I tried to pet her calico fur. No such luck. She retreated to the corner of her newspaper-lined cell, foot stepping into her water bowl.

"I'll take her," I say. It was as though all my intelligent senses had taken a coffee break; and while my brain cells were dipping biscotti in espresso, I accepted this miniature life into my studio apartment. For better or for worse, in sickness & in health, 'till "six weeks later" do we part.

Eight months and 2582 miles later, Maggie Francois Scratcher, is still my foster cat. No official adoption has been made, as the shelter never called to check on their precious little demon.

Maggie has successfully wrecked a linen closet, demolished 2 large cardboard boxes, ruined the armrests of a corporate housing suede couch, and, among other things, peed on a suitcase.

She runs laps around the apartment at 5 in the morning. She will attack ankles if not fed at a proper time. She growls with a haunting, low snarl in the middle of the night, hair on end, eyes fixated on emptiness. She tries to escape every time the front door is opened... or the window on a 26-floor apartment.

Now, these things aside, Maggie has learned to be quite the friendly cat. She enjoys a nice bout of catnip therapy, a good tummy rub and a playful jaunt with a menacing ball of trash.

For those who are wondering why her name was changed, please refer to the following songs.

There's actually a song called 'Maggie the Cat' by The Bangs. I have yet to hear it.

Rod Stewart: Maggie May
Oh Maggie I wish I'd never seen your face
You made a first-class fool out of me
But I'm as blind as a fool can be
You stole my heart but I love you anyway
Maggie I wish I'd never seen your face
I'll get on back home one of these days

Beatles: Maggie Mae
Oh dirty Maggie Mae they have taken her away
And she never walk down Lime Street any more
Oh the judge he guilty found her
For robbing a homeward bounder
That dirty no good robbin' Maggie Mae

Displace Us.

TeamJaded was fortunate to participate in Displace Me in San Francisco. Above is short documentary about the event and our experience.

Some may say this generation is apathetic. Often it is believed the privileged youth hibernate in their comfort; carefully sheltered by cell phones, wireless Internet, and Starbucks. However, on April 28th, 2007 that theory was shattered.

Local News networks may have briefly covered a glimpse of what happened that night. But the stories, the experiences and the aftermath of the evening still penetrate deep in the hearts and minds of those who raised their voices for Invisible Children.

About 2 months ago, over 68,000 people across the US attended “Displace Me,” an event to change Northern Uganda. Why Northern Uganda? And why did tens of thousands of youth and young adults care enough to leave the comfort of their homes and sleep on the ground?

Simple. They are not apathetic. They care about people they’ve never met. They rally to end a war they’ve never experienced. They raise money to create schools, they speak to congressmen to raise awareness, they contribute to a cause they desperately believe in: To end a war that’s ravaged a nation for over 21 years. It’s a war the US media and the US government have thrown aside ignorantly unable to establish a rationale to become involved. A war that has gone on longer than most who participated in Displace Me, have been alive.

For over two decades citizens of Northern Ugandan have been subject to war. The nature of what one UN official calls “the world's worst neglected humanitarian crisis,” is complex. According to the Uganda Conflict Action Network:

The war is essentially two conflicts in one: first the fighting of the LRA [the Lord’s Resistance Army], which is waging war against the Ugandan government and terror against civilian population in the north, and second, the real grievances of Ugandans in the north against the existing government.

The statistics are appalling:
-1.7 million civilians have been displaced
-1,000 people die every week due to inhumane living conditions
-30,000 children have been abducted by the LRA and forced to join its army
-Tens of thousands of people have be maimed or killed since the war started

Invisible Children, Inc. was formed after three young filmmakers set out in search of a story. In 2003, they found a tragedy that “not only disgusted but inspired them.” Four years later, a movie, a mission, and a movement have led a nation of youth to end a war. Through compelling podcasts, national events, short documentaries, fundraising campaigns, video diaries, house parties, cross-country road trip screenings, and a mind-blowing multimedia, interactive website, Invisible Children is a non-profit that’s changing the world- literally (physically, emotionally, and mentally).

The evidence is plastered all over their site. From the detailed homepage to a microsite dedicated solely to Displace Me. There you will find everything and anything from the historic event- pictures from across the nation, attendee’s YouTube Videos, movies from the evening… the list goes on.

And it didn’t stop after April 28th. The leaders of Invisible Children, Inc. have met with Senators and Congressmen. They’ve delivered to our countries leaders the thousands upon thousands of letters written from the Displace Me attendees. They are doing everything in their power to encourage our nation and our President to become involved in the Juba peace talks.

Displace Me: The Aftermath

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The hope? To end the war. Invisible Children will not give up. The thousands of people who support their vision will not give up. They will persist until it is over. They know that every war has an end.

For more info, please visit:
www.invisiblechildren.com
www.ugandacan.org

If anything, it started a discussion.

Whatever your opinion on the war in Iraq is (or as Jon Stewart would say, the “Mess O’ Potamia”), one thing is certain: TeamJaded’s “San Francisco Die In” will be on Current TV. There’s no telling when this event will actually occur, but viewers around the world will someday be able to watch on TV hundreds of protestors lying dead in the middle of downtown San Francisco.

Sound exciting? We thought so. Which was why, on a whim, TeamJaded decided to shoot the spectacle. What came of it was the following video:




Uploaded to Current’s website (as a straight up network purchase was shied away from- Al Gore’s network doesn’t want to look too lefty) the video slowly but surely made it’s way to the top of the leaderboard. And thanks to the votes of friends, family, and random people from the Current Community, “SF Die In” won the #1 spot on June 11th.

It was nice to see so many people voicing their opinion after watching the pod. It started a discussion (or texting feud), and even though we shot this with no motive, it was cool to see the emotion it provoked. Thanks to everyone who voted for this pod!