Max Judo Tour Diary

Max Judo US Tour February 2008

Wednesday 13 February 2008

“Groundhog Day”
Leave Brisbane at 11.30am – arrive in LA 7.30am. Made it through customs – always a pleasure, something xenophobic about the whole US “welcome”. Check in to “Barfly” Travelodge at LAX – it has a Denny’s – 2 ingredients to keep the US from going into a depression – sugar (read corn syrup) and fat. Grab a rental car, and jet to HB (Huntington Beach) – closest thing the US has to the Gold Coast. The lads get acclimatised by checking out the stock at The Guitar Centre – everything’s a discount, compared to Australia. LA winter is cooler than the coast, so a quick visit to a Wal-Mart to get gloves etc, and then on to our choice of So Cal mex...Fred’s. These guys have the best steak taco’s, and serve Bud Light in what can only be described as a glass challis. Dinner with some of our HB contacts, and then back up the 405 (14 lanes of car mayhem) to chez Barfly. Why do both rooms smell of rotten socks?

Thursday 14 February 2008

“In Transit”
LAX to St Louis. US airport procedures ensure that you have to spend at least 3 hours in the departing terminal. Should we invest in airport service companies – they charge 3-4 times standard, and have a captive audience – seems like a “no-brainer”, to borrow an American term. Arrive at St Louis at 6pm. By the time we check in, etc, we’re looking for some great food. Stan, the bellhop, suggests the new casino, Lumiere, which has the best burger bar in town – they even have a $75 burger! Enter Josh and Mary – great guys, great times! So, after quick introductions, Josh suggested we have a party at his condo, in the upmarket St Louis suburb of Clayton. Having come half way around the world, for the showcase of a lifetime, a “loosen-up” party jam sounded just the ticket, so we got onto the equipment hire, DJ, etc, and plans were underway for Claytons loudest rooftop condo party! After playing blackjack with Josh and Mary, we headed back to the hotel – busy days ahead.

Friday 15 February 2008

“Convention, Clayton, and Cops”
Stan, the bellhop, suggested we try the diner up the street for breakfast – at this point, its worth noting that St Louis allows indoor smoking still, and that all doors and windows are shut, when its 2 degrees outside. As we entered the diner, I was looking for Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte – was I on the 48 Hours set? – a total time warp! Having said that, the breakfast was spot-on, huge, and not too fatty. We walked the four blocks to the convention centre (hot tip – if walking in a frozen climate, get footwear to suit) – there we met our new agents, Nancy, Jeff, and Corey. The stage was being set – massive is an understatement. Stan, the bellhop, was either very helpful, or laughing himself stupid, after giving us directions to The Guitar Center. It’s important to point out at this stage that a trip to a Guitar Centre is not just a window-shopping experience, but can take anything from one to three hours – rounding up four musician’s aint easy! Back at the hotel by late arvo, and we get a call from Josh – they want to drop by and discuss sound for the party! Turns out they have found the most expensive equipment hire company - $4,000 for the night! So, the party is definitely on, we just have to secure better prices. Josh suggest we discuss this at Lumiere, in the VIP lounge no less. VIP at Lumiere is very cool, the free drinks and food flowing fast, when Lucas points out that there’s a friend of a friend joining us. Sarah, a chic St Louis babe, joins us for drinks at VIP, and then the lads head off with Sarah for the Old Rock ‘n Roll Club, to check out a local band or two. Arriving an hour later, I discover the lads in their own private “cave”, having a discussion. More drinks brings on more clubs, the lads finally make it back to the hotel around 6am (good work Sarah!)

Saturday 16 February 2008

So, if you call John, who tells you to call Randy, who gives you the number for Bill, who knows a friend, Craig, that might know a guy called Marvin, who is currently out of town, but will get you Ron’s number, if you call back in 5, then a quality drum kit can be found for the party! – no problem. (Tip for Aussie's #2 – when on the phone, putting on an American accent actually works). Early evening sees us heading over to Clayton. On arrival, the venue turns out to be a sweet set-up indeed. Crowd is building, and the drinks are flowing – Josh is “pretty well frothin’” by about 10, and the lads jump on about 10.30 – and pump out a solid 60 minute set. The crowd loves the sounds, until the inevitable arrival of “Lois, and the Turtle”. She claims to be the body corp rep, however Josh is not too sure, so we follow his lead – “You guys play the loudest @$%#ing 10 songs you can!” Around the third song, Marty gets a torch in the face – Officer G**** wants the party shut down, and has four of Clayton’s finest with him to ensure this happens. Again, as Josh was our contact, and instructed the fuzz that “Lois can get F$#@$!” we were not sure what to expect next. Well, Josh pulled the ultimate McLovin (see Superbad, MJ’s choice for in-flight entertainment), threw his hands behind his back and was promptly arrested. By this time all we could do was stare in disbelief! If we could film it, we’d have the next “Cops” episode in the can! “This party is Shut Down”, declares the elderly cop (was he narrating, or stating the obvious, no party host, crowd dispersing into all three elevators quick-smart, band and DJ packing up). We though it was our civil duty to reunite Josh and Mary, so we headed down to Clayton cop shop. Officer G**** was very helpful, but advised that Josh wanted to stay the night, so we headed for the only sane solution, Jack in the Box. 25 minutes in a drive-thru at 2am, to get burgers and tacos! With clubs closing at 3am, we decided to head back to the hotel lobby, for drinks. What a night!

Sunday 17 February 2008

Very quiet day, this. With the big showcase on Monday, rest was the best.

Monday 18 February 2008

Sound Check at the convention centre, by 9am. BIG SOUND! All sorted, ready to go. Lucas wants to see snow, so joins me on the car-hunt. We decide the $3m Talbot Lago just isn’t for us, but the De Tomaso Mangusta might fit the bill. Back to the hotel to collect the lads, pack the equipment, and head to the convention centre, by mid-afternoon. The performance was huge, big sound, big crowd, around 2,500. Then the in-booth meet and greet, where the line was up to 40 deep. Our agents also represented Principal Belding, from Saved by the Bell! Josh & Mary invited us to The Hill, a district where the Italian restaurants run at more than one a block. Best meal of the tour – genuine Italian food. Then back to the convention centre for the second in-booth “meet and greet”. Lads shattered – hotel and sleep at last.

Tuesday 19 February 2008

Last Day. Headed to the diner to catch up with Eddie and Nick – another 48 hours! Dropped by the convention centre to give our stage manager, Dave Owens (a big thanks to him) CD’s. A quick chat with Nancy and Jeff, to let us know that the bookings are going well, so the August / September tour is looking promising. An attempt at lunch at Hooters leaves us with a bad taste in our mouths, food and company accounting for that! Head to the Arch, and the baseball stadium, museum, etc, for snaps. LAST NIGHT IN ST LOUIS. Josh, by now out on bail, and Mary swing by and we head out to J Bucks, a sports bar, for dinner, then on to Lumiere for drinks. Forget 6 degree’s of separation – try 2! At the bar who do we see – Officer G****, and his mates. They were right neighbourly, and one said he’d been to our myspace site, and loved the sounds! Josh looked a little sheepish, but all was ok. Sarah came by the casino, and we ventured over to the Renaissance Hotel bar, for the final-night convention piss-up. Huge, the lads were shown the nightlife again (big thanks to Sarah), and made it back to the hotel 15 minutes before the alarm.

Wednesday 20 February 2008

With the car packed and taxi sorted, we head back to the airport – the lads not feeling the best. The landing into LAX shook the lads awake! Back to Chez Barfly – tried to get a rental car – forgot it’s The Oscars week! Finally tracked a 300C down. Jetted up to Century City, for some business meetings, then back to the hotel – Denny’s and sleep. (“No more Denny’s” the lads cry – you watch they’ll be back!)

Thursday 21 February 2008

The final Guitar Centre “browse” turns out to be a big pick-up. Hollywood is always in town, with Edward Norton dropping in to buy some guitar strings, he see’s the band and grabs a photo opp and autograph, he was stoked….hmmm. Then down the 405, to HB – Fred’s is calling again! We decide to see our friends at The OC Tavern, and head down to San Clemente. We meet up with Young, he’s looking great, and we make plans for the summer! A local band, Off White, were playing some sweet tunes (a big thanks to the lads for the CD’s – they kept us sane while negotiating traffic in Downtown LA!) Brendan, tank half-full gets invited to play with another band, and to everyone’s credit, they kept up – not sure if Brendan or that band will ask if there’s a drummer or respond again! At around 11pm, we realise that In n Out will be closing soon, and jet up the 5, to HB, and the lads devour 4 x 4 Animal burgers, and “boats” full of fries.

Friday 22 February 2008

Back in the 300C and we’re off to Downtown LA, for another business meeting – all goes well, and we head to HB, to catch up with our mate, Scott. More beer at Fred’s, and the discussion turns to licensing our music to networks, etc, so we’re stoked about that. Back to the Travelodge – final packing, and the last Denny’s meal (can’t break the habit). Load up, and we’re off to LAX, for the midnight flight. This is where the “reverse Groundhog Day Effect” comes into play, and we arrive 13 hours later, on Sunday morning. Great Trip – Thanks to all that made it possible – look forward to seeing you again in summer.


Max Judo US Tour July 2007 - Episode 3 - Uptown Fun, The Hills, and Fred’s

Monday morning traffic! Figuring on getting from Huntington Beach to Century City, in one hour, we decided to leave Chez Josh (hotel), at 9am, for our 11am meeting with Austrade.
The Wandering Dodge served us well for the morning run – the carpool lane traffic traveling at a solid 55mph, compared to six other lanes of single car users, traveling at 30mph (Yanks think they’re smart!). After having the van searched by the National Guard, we were allowed to park, and then made our way up to Austrade, USA! (You know you’re close to “home soil” when the walls are graced with photo’s of Jack-Boot Johnny and Bubbles The Clown Downer.)
Tony George, our “Man in LA”, was nothing but helpful, and has given us the guidance we need, to establish our sound on the international scene. Tony also gave us direction to the “Hollywood” sign, as we thought that would be good photo opportunity. After about half an hour of luxury homes (how many Bentley’s can one guy have? – we saw a house with three!), we came through the famous, but seedier side of LA, complete with Mann’s Chinese Theatre, where all movies premiere, and the Walk of Fame hand prints are. Sharp left at this point, takes you uphill, to the sign, but the dodge wasn’t having any of that – until four Aussies pushed her up the hills! (It should be pointed out that the temperature on this particular day was over 30, and about the middle of the day) After some searching, we found the perfect spot for the shots. If as many of you as possible can contact us, and request the hand-holding ass shots – they’re a real treat!
By the time we got back down to Downtown LA, the Dodge had given it up – and we pulled off the freeway, with the front half of the van smoking like crazy. Just our luck to break down in front of the Holiday Inn – after a few rounds of drinks, the tow truck arrived, and we headed to North Hollywood, to pick up a rental.
By this time, we were heading home in peak hour traffic, and really looked forward to Fred’s taco’s and beer, by the pier that night. After a quick feast, we were off to the US Premiere of Bra Boys - more on that in the next installment.

Tune in for the next installment, over the coming days.

Max Judo US Tour July 2007 - Episode 2

After attending previews, premiers, after-parties, and a quick jaunt to Century City (more on this in later postings), it was time for the lads to show their form, at the OC Tavern. Having been down the night before, to meet Mike, the manager, who was only too keen to have the band wasted on Cinnamon Schnapps, we checked out the room, had a chat to the sound tech, who had experience with Xavier Rudd, and the like, so we knew the sound quality would be great.
We arrived at OC, to find the place packed, about 250 patrons, having dinner, and Blue Moon lager – a local drop Shanga fell in love with. The lads from Re-form, a Florida-based rock/punk/rap/reggae band had just arrived in what looked like Scooby-Doo’s Mystery Machine, with a horse float in-tow, stacked high with equipment. These guys knew how to do “Road Trips”.

A local band, Medici, opened the night, with some laid-back sounds. After a short break, Re-form ripped it up with a full 50-minute set of their blend. Finally, the moment had arrived – the lads jumped up, and gave the OC-crowd a taste of Aussie rock – and they loved it. All 200+ packed the room, and were moovin and swaying to the unique Max Judo sounds.

Lucas broke out his new didge (Key of F – fast, bouncy, and crowd-pleasing), Shanga decide to showcase “Gretsch”, his latest acquision (not to be confused with actually playing it – you don’t want to rush these things!) Brendan had new toys, in the form of cymbals, and he and Graham kept the rhythm tight.

With a solid Brazilian female contingency, to add spice to the dance-floor, the night was a run-away success, with the band finally catching some food at Denny’s, after packing up the ever-lane-wandering 1984 Dodge Ram, and making the run up the 406 in good time (half an hour on a five lane freeway, at this time of night, compared to 3 hours for the same trip, during the day). Denny’s served the finest in American Fat, with a touch of High Fructose Corn Syrup, to guarantee carcinogenic satisfaction. As we dined with the early breakfast crowd, around 3.30am, we realized that this was the start of bigger things for Max Judo.

Max Judo US Tour July 2007 - Episode 1

Well we are now in the U.S. and have finally shrug off the effects of jet lag thanks to a few surfs at Huntington Pier. We will keep updating our diary daily to keep you all informed of our travels and tales...
After the thirteen hour flight from Brisbane to LA, we arrived at LAX and were greeted by our LA agent and tour manager who provided us with our own Dodge Ram van with fold up deck chairs in the back.
Pulling out of the carpark, we ran into Hamish and Andy from Rove Live who were on their way to shoot 2 live shows. We asked them where they were staying and Hamish's quick response was "on Jessica Alba's lounge!"


Our days have been filled with several media and film premieres which included an acoustic performance before the U.S. premiere of the movie "Bra Boys" and meeting the original members of Dogtown and ZBoys at the Huntington Surf and Film Festival (big thanks to Leslie and Dave).
We went for tour up to LA and Hollywood where we took many photos that we will be on site very soon. The Hollywood Hills were not kind to our trusty Dodge Van however and saw the boys having to push the old beast up the hills on many occasions. The final straw for the old girl was back on the LA Freeway when she decided enough was enough and filled the cabin with smoke. We then had to arrange a tow back to Huntington and a new hire car was delivered.