BLOG — LONDON

There's not much we can say about Filmage that we haven't already said a million times before. It is an amazing film that should be required watching for everyone wanting to start a band or make a film. You could hate the Descendents, hate music, hate documentaries, and you will walk away loving all three. We loved it so much we went all the way to London to give our support to the Filmage guys. 

Grab some popcorn the movie has started.

The UK edition of the Descendents X HMNIM tee.

The Q&A with the Filmage guys and Mark.

How cool is this screening room? Dozens of couches and chairs.

Mark and a Descendents fan. 

None of this would be possible without, Mark, Filmage Crew, and Everything Sucks Music.

London has called and we have answered. We've jumped on the coattails of the Filmage movie crew and HMNIM is headed to London. The Descendents documentary has been playing all around the USA and is finally going to be playing across the pond. First stop is London, and that's where we get on. There are two showings on Saturday the 16th, 8:00pm & 10:30pm and two showings the following day, Sunday the 17th, 1:30 & 4:00pm. All four screenings will have our very own Mark Hoppus in attendance to make the movie experience that much better for everyone. Sure, he's in the actual movie but that wasn't good enough, he's going to be right there eating your popcorn and talking over pivotal scenes in the movie.

 

As we did in San Diego, we've come correct with a limited edition Descendents X HMNIM collab tee. In San Diego, we had the black tee edition, for London we played around with a Union Jack colorway, but in the end we decided that was a bad idea, so white it is. With special London edition artwork in the neck, and a hand-numbered hangtag. 300 shirts were printed for the event. Once they are gone, they're gone.

 

Last night, London saw the opening of the latest Lazarides annual art show, this time aptly titled "Brutal."  It took place in an abandoned bank building on The Strand.  First recorded in 1002 as "la Stranda," meaning "shore," The Strand runs along what used to be the north bank of the Thames River, before the construction of the Victoria embankment. It now delineates the southernmost edge of the Covent Garden district, and is in no way pertinent to this blog post, or the art contained herein, other than the fact that it is the name of the street upon which the show took place.  Also, my wife almost tripped crossing the road and her friend dropped her phone, but the screen was okay.  Let's move on, shall we? 

Lazarides is the gallery at the cutting edge of the intersection where fine art meets street art, and this show is no different.  Walking into the venue, you feel like you're entering a zombie apocalypse, or a rave from the early '90s.  Decaying walls, exposed concrete, darkness, and loud music.  We arrived early and were met with performance artists beating the walls with metal pipes and baseball bats.  A crowd gathered and watched as they eyed the audience members and launched into a macabre contortion act.  

We wandered the dark ground floor halls of the forgotten financial institution, and around every corner we encountered work from some of the world's foremost artists.

 

Conor Harrington.

 

Antony Micallef. 

 

Miaz Brothers.

 

Pete Hawkins.

 

 

And other works from Know Hope, Estevan Oriol (photographer for the blink-182 untitled album and director of the "Down" video), Todd James, Katrin Fridricks, Faile, and on and on and on.  Paintings, sculpture, wall projections, installations, video art, and photography.  

 

There was even a cafe in the back serving soup.

 

We spent the night hanging out with artist and collaborator Rich Simmons, and here's a photo of us awkwardly standing next to one another.

 

Here's another photo from the night, of me standing next to my wife in front of work by the Miaz Brothers.  She's the one standing on the right.

 

As we were leaving, the event was in full swing, and as we approached the exit, I got to meet Antony Micallef.  We spoke for a few minutes about art and and the importance of honesty in expression, and I'm happy to report that the dude is friendly, smart, and very down to earth. It's awesome when you meet one of your heroes and he turns out to be a great human.

 

Brutal runs through the 27th.  You can book tickets online.  Steel yourself and enjoy.