Phoenix Coffee and Out Of Place present Dawn Patrol coffee

Friday July 22, 2010 Dawn Patrol coffee will be available at Phoenix Coffee shops and Whole Foods.

Dawn Patrol is the coffee collaboration between Phoenix Coffee and Out Of Place.

During the Cleveland Film Festival I was reminded of how much coffee we drank at Bela Dubby while editing the movie.  Bela Dubby was a short walk from Scott’s place and they served hot, freshly brewed coffee from Phoenix Coffee.  On March 16, 2010, I posted a message on our Twitter:

“@west9thphoenix how about Phoenix be the official coffee bean sponsor of Out Of Place!? Tweet if interested….”

A few hours later I received a direct message from Lizzy Caston from Phoenix asking me what I had in mind.  We began to throw ideas back and forth and the Dawn Patrol blend was created.  Every surfer knows the routine.  Waking at dawn, driving to the shore searching for waves.  An integral part of that routine for me is brewing a pot of coffee and filling my thermos.  There is something about drinking a cup of coffee at sunrise on the beach.  I love the way everything looks.  It is an incredible way to wake up, even if there are no waves.

I have had so much fun working with the people at Phoenix.  Being a huge coffee nerd (my birthday present from my girlfriend was this) it has been an enlightening and exciting experience.  Sarah Wilson-Jones, the owner of Phoenix, asked me and the OOP crew to come by the Phoenix roasting headquarters to talk coffee and figure out what Dawn Patrol was going to be.  After partaking in a coffee cupping (sort of the equivalent of wine tasting) we nailed out the Dawn Patrol blend, a top secret mix of Costa Rican (home of amazing surf and coffee), Ethiopian, and New Guinea (also home of some of the worlds best coffee and mysto epic waves).  The blend is incredible thanks to the highly developed palates of Sarah and Wes, the resident Phoenix Coffee-barista-wonder-boy-flavor-consultant (stay tuned for an interview with Wes about Dawn Patrol and Cleveland coffee).

We worked with Sean Higgins (www.thebubbleprocess.com), the Phoenix in-house designer on the label.  The dude has chops.  Check out the new Phoenix site he did graphics for.  I couldn’t be happier with the label he designed.

Beginning tomorrow Dawn Patrol will be available in Phoenix coffee shops and Whole Foods.  And on Saturday at our screening at Cedar Lee (@ noon) the coffee and OOP shirts and CD’s will be for sale.

Let me finish this up by saying that we are working with Trevor Marzella (I should saw we are “lucky to be working with Trevor Marzella“) on the DVD design.  We are shooting for a mid-August release.  Stay posted.

In the meantime, drink lots of coffee, surf naked, go see Out Of Place at the Cedar Lee!!! and watch the Mad Men premiere this Sunday July 25th.  Thanks Lizzy, Jamie, Sarah, Wes, Chris, Nikki, Irene, and Sean for making Dawn Patrol awesome!

Hawaii Premier July 10th and 24th…really

Sometimes reality is hard accept. The fact we’re premiering in Hawaii this month is a case in point. I still wonder if it’s really true or not. But really….Out of Place is

showing at the 3rd Annual Surf Film Festival, Doris Duke Theatre, Honolulu Academy of Arts. Six screenings in all. We are ecstatic about this.

So we come to the Islands in the most humble spirit, hoping simply to make some more friends and to celebrate our shared passion for life on the water. Vince Labbe will be in attendance on July 10th, ready and waiting for your adulation or ridicule.

There are some beautiful films on tap. Highlights include Gum for My Boat, Lost Prophets, Wake Unto Blue, Fresh Fruit for Rotten Vegetables, Last Paradise, Fiberglass and Megapixels, You Scratched My Anchor, The Oxbow Waterman Experience and Hanging Five, which features the artist Andy Davis.

Also, please check out the wonderful Somewhere Near Tapachula by our good friends from down under, Stefan Hunt and Jonno Durrant (Surfing 50 States). You can see the trailer on Youtube. It is amazing.

Many thanks to Jersey native Gina Caruso along with Eric and Jackie Walden of Chinatown Boardroom for putting this program together. I can’t wait. We are unbelievably stoked to be a small part in this great lineup.

OUT OF PLACE
HAWAI’I PREMIERE
Director: Darrin McDondald/Scott Ditzenberger
USA, 2010, 65 mins.
July 10 and 21 at 1, 4, and 7:30 p.m.

Honolulu Academy of Arts/Doris Duke Theatre

900 South Beretania Street
Honolulu, HI 96814
Phone: (808) 532-8700

Theatre entrance on Kinau Street, between Ward Avenue and Victoria Street.
Box office
(located at museum’s main entrance)
Mon 10 am-3 pm
Tues-Sat 10 am-4 pm
Sun 1-4:30 pm

Tickets may be purchased on the day of screening at the Academy Box Office or at the Doris Duke Theater door one half hour prior to screening.

To purchase online please visit www.honoluluacademy.tix.com

LIGHTHOUSE FILM FESTIVAL RAP SHEET

Lighthouse International Film Festival Rap Sheet

or

That Piney has a heck of a nice truck

As all good stories are road stories, last weekend we found ourselves on the friendly confines of the barrier island just south of the place I used to call home. The beaches along this stretch are very beautiful. A nine hour drive with some of the best friends you could ask for made the trip well worth it. 

If there’s one thing I miss about the Peoples Republic of New Jersey it is the people. This includes my great friends who managed to stay home and carve out some kind of meaningful life for themselves. One of these friends is Officer Christopher J. Ebert. While we sped around a veritable police state on Long Beach Island, Chris showed up just in time to buy the beers and generally encourage public indecency. He’s a good person to have around. 

And of course there were new friends to share the experience. Like Honorary Festival juror and super director Julien Nitzberg. We met at the Friday “Sea of Darkness” screening (two thumbs up) and he quickly won me over with his knowledge of obscure Cleveland punk bands from the 1970′s. Julien tore up Tribeca with his critically acclaimed “Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia.” You should definitely check it out. Unreal. I’ll always remember and appreciate his show of solidarity at the Awards by heckling the winning films on my behalf. Thanks Julien.

We got to meet ESPN surfing columnist and all around pro Jon Coen (Go Lacey Lions). He is one cool cat. Like me, his lovely wife is a Brick Township High School alum (Go Dragons). I just sent Jon a dvd screener so maybe we’ll get a nice review on ESPN in a few days. Or maybe we’ll get a really horrible review…who can tell. And really, is there any such thing as bad publicity?

Also spent some quality time with Long Beach Township’s own Don Myers. Don, a waterman in the truest sense of the word, has been the Lifesaving supervisor for over 40 years. When he talks surfing, you can close your eyes and picture it all in in vivid black and white.  He had some very kind words for us, he said he was very moved by Out of Place. He definitely gets a star on our walk of fame (soon to be constructed, somewhere). Don’s first waves were at his family vacation house on the shores of Lake Ontario. Vince stopped by the lifeguard office where Don offered to give him free reign of the lifesaving boats and jet ski’s to check out. Suddenly, the Atlantic has become even more dangerous to swimmers. 

It wouldn’t be a classic weekend without a MORGAN SIGHTING on Saturday.  Morgan Rae Berk, please move to Ohio. We will set you up.

The screening itself went by fast. I sat in the front row near my Jersey buddy Jeff and that fourteen year old drunk named Chris From Huntington.  There was a girl in the front row who seemed quite a bit enthralled. She was quickly scribbling notes almost the entire time. I didn’t get a chance to meet her. I was wondering if maybe she was a media guest or something.  

And a very special thank you to the guy who bought the soundtrack.

Now I have to give some real props to the staff and volunteers at Lighthouse.  These guys rule. To have a successful Festival you need selfless people behind you that believe in the cause. Check. This is a relatively young event at age two, but this thing is in good and capable hands. Thanks for making the 2010 Lighthouse International Film Festival one to remember.

No we didn’t see the Jersey Devil like I promised. And yeah, we were raided and half of us get tickets for public drinking at the campsite. Somehow fourteen year old Chris From Huntington gets off with a warning. By the way, Mike June of Philadelphia PA, your summons is in the mail. And yeah, I can still feel the moisture of Chris From Huntington’s horrible bird flu-like cough spraying me in the face while trying to sleep in the tent. Not easy to shake something like that. But the campsite was scenic and just about ideal. Stewarts Root Beer cures all.

The Piney’s next door were entertaining, and did indeed have a nice truck. Then Thomas Wilson shows up with Oysters and Mussels which quickly earns one idol status. 

Before I ramble on and risk missing Action News at 11, I will echo Don Myers comments about Out of Place. “The best things to capture are the adventures you experience with your friends.” And this weekend was all about it. We revel in the shared experiences in life that are meaningful, fleeting or just plain ridiculous. 

Of these I feel fortunate to find myself surrounded by the best. 

*this batch of pics courtesy of jamie yanak

Love is (MADE IN THE 216) Weekend

A short note goes out to everyone within a day’s drive of Cleveland:  We are taking over the 216 area code this weekend!

First over on the east side of town, Co-Directors Scott and Darrin will be helping open a month long gallery show.  The show titled LAKE EFFECTS presents a collective body of work by regional photographers who have each reacted to Lake Erie in varying ways.  Co-Director and WOSU videographer Darrin McDonald will show some of his work as well as creative trailer loops of Out of Place.   The opening reception is tonight Friday, June 11th from 6-9pm.

If you miss this don’t fret, our movie will help close the show on Saturday, July, 24th by showing at the Cedar Lee Theater for a matinee viewing. Details at http://www.heightsarts.org.

AND TONIGHT TONIGHT TONIGHT TONIGHT…URGENT NOTICE…ONE NIGHT ONLY…

Out of Place showing tonight with a special midnight viewing at the Capitol Theater on the corner of W. 65th and Detroit Ave on the Detroit Shoreway in Cleveland, Ohio. Our movie is included in the weekend long celebration of all things related to the 216 area code, Made In The 216 (WWW.madeinthe216.com).

Do you want to acquire OOP schwag?  Here’s your chance.  Tonight and tomorrow we will be selling soundtracks from the movie and t-shirts showing Cleveland love.   We hope to see you there!

Looking back on Cleveland, ahead to NJ

Living in the past for just a moment longer, I want to mention how incredible it was to participate in this years Cleveland International Film Festival. I cannot begin to tell you what a rush it has been for us.

New opening night and overall attendance records.

Two invites for additional screenings.

Three sold out shows.

Really, the organizers and volunteers are absolutely dedicated to making this one of the preeminent festivals in North America. Thank you to all of our friends, new and old for making this event such a great and memorable experience.  Even our post film Q & A is getting slightly less awkward. Special thanks to the girl who said our film was “like a love letter” to her home town.

Now onward.

This coming Saturday June 5th we are screening at the Lighthouse International Film Festival down in Long Beach Island, New Jersey.  Once again we will be fortunate to have so many friends and family in attendance.  This is going to be a great trip back home to the Jersey Shore.

http://www.lighthousefilmfestival.org/guide/2010/06/surfing-out-of-place/