Little Toy Gun, Kiefer and Me

Making a video in 2008 with honeyhoney

By 2008, I had done a decent amount of touring, but it was all DIY touring. The booking and promo of these tours had solely rested on my/our shoulders so any decent turn out, local press, etc was a win because we had done it ourselves. With the end of E>K>U>K’s run looming over me, I was in an in-between state with what was coming next, so when I got an offer to do a big (ger) tour as a side guy, I couldn't say no. 

I was working at a music school in Manhattan Beach when I met Ben Jaffe, who’s band, Zanzibar Lewis with singer, guitar, banjo, fiddle-ist, Suzanne Santo, was picking up local steam at places like Hotel Cafe. Ben was a drum instructor like me, but he also taught guitar just like our mutual friend Wendy Wang. They eventually and frankly, quite quickly, got a record deal with an indie called Iron Works which was co-owned by none other than famous actor Kiefer Sutherland. After a name change to honeyhoney, the band was offered an opening slot on a US tour with Lifehouse playing large clubs, like House Of Blues and mid-sized theaters, like The Wiltern in LA for a three week start and an optional extension. Ben, after seeing E>K>U>K and us getting tighter and musical buddies, offered me the drummer position and our mutual friend Wendy, the bass. It was a solid crew. The Avengers were assembled. 

(Ben, Suzanne, Wendy, The Hulk)

With that said, I will write more specifically about the tour at a later date, but for now I wanted to talk about the music video shoot we did when we got back from the tour. 

Because the tour was going very well, it was time to start working on marketing for the upcoming album (or EP?) that was coming out for honeyhoney. Full transparency, I was not drumming on that recording, I just played live but being the live band as it was we were all to be featured in the music video and wouldn't you know it, the video was to be directed by none other than famous actor Kiefer Sutherland! 

We shot the video about 2 days after we got back from tour in the Old West “Town” called Melody Ranch, which is used for movie shoots way out in Santa Clarita/Newhall. Our call time was early and included some makeup and placement shots, but it was really for Ben and Suzanne who acted in the video and I was just part of the performance piece. To fast forward a little bit I actually didn't get camera ready until very late in the evening,  but with that said it was an interesting look into the life of being on set in a very real way, only less than a year before I started working in production myself. 

The band didn't really have a trailer, so we kind of hung out with the extras, had lunch and shot the shit until Ben or Suzanne had to be called for their acting parts. Unfortunately, Wendy could not be there, so Ben's friend stood in as a bass player. (If you watch the video you will notice you do not really see the bass player's face, which I find kind of funny.) 

After having watched a few scenes get shot, I noticed Kiefer would take the horse he rode in the video out for a ride in between takes, I suppose as a way to stay in character while set ups happen. Seeing him majestically ride that horse up the hill, stop and look beyond the horizon and ride back down was very amusing to me. 

Anyway, after lunch, Kiefer came to check in on us and asked where our trailer was. We sorta laughed and said we didn’t have a trailer and that we're just hanging out. He made a face that was both angry and “who farted?” then picked up his Blackberry, (2008!) and made a quick phone call. I kid you not, within 10 minutes, a trailer the size of a Los Angeles loft pulled up seemingly coming out of thin air. For context, Newhall isn’t that close to Hollywood or Burbank, but I wasn’t aware of this stuff then… This trailer had it all; big bed, a kitchen, AC, snacks, drinks, amazing smelling bathroom you name it. Looking back, it's probably what Kiefer used when he's on set. The power this man was yielding at that moment was insane and I was here for it! 

I remember us sitting in there taking it all in and out of nowhere he shows up, with full makeup, dressed like a cowboy outlaw, to the side of the RV in his horse. He saunters into the trailer, lies down, not in the bed mind you, but on the floor right by our feet and like Count Dracula, arms crossed, he closes his eyes and falls DEAD asleep for 10 minutes, wakes back up, ejects as if a button was pressed in his back, leaves the trailer, jumps on the horse and goes to the next take. No words were exchanged. It was pretty incredible and for me, a little look into the idiosyncratic life of an actor. Disco naps, riding horses in giant trailers. What a life!

We finally got to the performance part of the video now that the actory-outdoor stuff was done. As a director, Kiefer was, at this point, very hands-on since he didn't have to worry about acting or horse riding anymore. He wanted the performance to move and have dynamics.

During the tour, he’d fly out to visit us from time to time and he seemed to take a real liking to me as a performer. He would come up to me after shows and say really nice things about my playing and performance style, which meant a lot considering I felt like a stranger in a strange land mixed with imposter syndrome, by playing these big venues, so it was nice to have some validation especially from someone who is very good at something like he is with acting…and napping. He wanted to show that in the video, so there were a lot of takes of him swinging the dolly my way, which to be honest felt good and again…validating. 

After that shoot, I decided I wasn’t going to do the rest of the US tour and neither was Wendy. I had commitments and felt a need to stay and play already booked shows with my own bands. When I think about that decision, it sometimes bothers me because it’s possible I could have really gone the extra mile with this band and perhaps played Coachella, as they did twice, or had those opportunities that they had, but something inside told me to stick to my own path, so I did. I don't have regrets, but it would have been interesting to see what happened if I had stuck around. Shouldacouldawoulda, right? 

There was no bad blood, and in fact we’re all still friends, albeit remotely as lives shifted in many directions. Ben has been playing with Kacey Musgraves and I beam when I see him on live TV, like SNL and I get really proud of him for sticking to his musical career, never stopping, never sacrificing who he is as a player and songwriter. It's very cool to see. Wendy scores TV shows now, most recently, the Hulu show about the Clippers, Clipped. Suzanne started a family but still plays gigs, and puts out great records. It’s so amazing to be around such talented people and be given opportunities like this.

Nurture that itch you have and support your artist friends. These little moments may seem small, but they make a full life and I am grateful to have this silly story in my back pocket. 

There's a lot more to say about this group and that experience, but I just thought that shooting the music video was a funny anecdote and besides, my guys in The Pretty Flowers said and I quote “I smell a Substack!” when I was telling them about this the other day, so who smelt it dealt it, right?

Here’s the video if you’re interested! Thanks, dad for watching this all the time! 

Thanks for reading… By the way, how the hell is it already Halloween next week?! Let’s discuss then….

For now, check out The Pretty Flowers next gig if you’re in LA this weekend!

Tickets: https://dice.fm/event/q25vyo-mihi-nihil-the-pretty-flowers-27th-oct-gold-diggers-los-angeles-tickets?lng=en-US

Stay happy and healthy!