If you haven't been living under an iconic-music-video-deprived rock for the past twenty-five years (or if you've been checking up on our Opening Ceremony Fall/Winter 2015 coverage), you already know that everyone loves Spike Jonze. In addition to having his archive 35-milimeter photos turned into a collection, the man has directed everyone from Björk to Christopher Walken in a wide-variety of music videos.
Below, an excerpt from skate legend/zine-extraordinaire Mark Gonzale's limited-edition zine that he created exclusively for the OC Fall/Winter show, where he talks to Beastie Boys member Mike Diamond about chillin' with Spike back in the day.
A recent phone call between American professional skateboarder and artist Mark Gonzales (aka “The Gonz”) and founding member of the Beastie Boys, Mike Diamond (aka “Mike D”). The subject? Their longtime friend, Spike Jonze.
MARK GONZALES: When I saw the music video that Spike [Jonze] made for “Sabotage,” I was just blown away. When you guys were filming in different spots and stuff, what was that like? Did you guys have security or was it low-key, like how he and I shot Video Days?
MIKE DIAMOND: I wasn’t around when you guys were doing the Blind: Video Days stuff, but the music video for “Sabotage,” we did it all. That’s why I kind of think we worked well with Spike, because it wasn’t like we were trying to make something super legit. Back in the ‘90s, we had these loose permits and we ran around LA, and if we had done it properly, we would have had the fire department involved.
MG: Who was in charge of the locations? It was really awesome; I liked all the spots.
MD: We free-styled. A lot of the locations were close to Spike’s Hollywood production office, and then a bunch was close to where we were living in Los Feliz.
MG: It seemed like it was a lot of fun. When you watch that video, it’s like, “Wow, these kids…”
MD: That’s what I mean. We didn’t really have enough money to shoot at real locations, so it had to be stuff that we had access to.
MG: And when you guys worked with Spike, or you would see him around, what did you think of his dressing style? Did he dress like the younger crowd on the East Coast?
MD: This doesn’t exactly answer your question, but it’s okay. What was cool about Spike is that whatever we were working on, he would dress the part. For the “Sabotage” video, if we were dressed up like undercover cops, he joined in. For the “Sure Shot” video, we wore black ties, and he would also kind of dress it up, too. It was awesome.
MG: I know—he inspires me with certain things. It can be as simple as thinking, That is a cool little thing he does; I’m going to pick that up or copy that. I also liked his sense of travel. Before, when we would do skate demos in different countries, I would bring a lot of boards, or kneepads, and it got to be so heavy. Then I saw his style of traveling light, and I realized I liked that—that’s a good
Below, an excerpt from skate legend/zine-extraordinaire Mark Gonzale's limited-edition zine that he created exclusively for the OC Fall/Winter show, where he talks to Beastie Boys member Mike Diamond about chillin' with Spike back in the day.
A recent phone call between American professional skateboarder and artist Mark Gonzales (aka “The Gonz”) and founding member of the Beastie Boys, Mike Diamond (aka “Mike D”). The subject? Their longtime friend, Spike Jonze.
MARK GONZALES: When I saw the music video that Spike [Jonze] made for “Sabotage,” I was just blown away. When you guys were filming in different spots and stuff, what was that like? Did you guys have security or was it low-key, like how he and I shot Video Days?
MIKE DIAMOND: I wasn’t around when you guys were doing the Blind: Video Days stuff, but the music video for “Sabotage,” we did it all. That’s why I kind of think we worked well with Spike, because it wasn’t like we were trying to make something super legit. Back in the ‘90s, we had these loose permits and we ran around LA, and if we had done it properly, we would have had the fire department involved.
MG: Who was in charge of the locations? It was really awesome; I liked all the spots.
MD: We free-styled. A lot of the locations were close to Spike’s Hollywood production office, and then a bunch was close to where we were living in Los Feliz.
MG: It seemed like it was a lot of fun. When you watch that video, it’s like, “Wow, these kids…”
MD: That’s what I mean. We didn’t really have enough money to shoot at real locations, so it had to be stuff that we had access to.
MG: And when you guys worked with Spike, or you would see him around, what did you think of his dressing style? Did he dress like the younger crowd on the East Coast?
MD: This doesn’t exactly answer your question, but it’s okay. What was cool about Spike is that whatever we were working on, he would dress the part. For the “Sabotage” video, if we were dressed up like undercover cops, he joined in. For the “Sure Shot” video, we wore black ties, and he would also kind of dress it up, too. It was awesome.
MG: I know—he inspires me with certain things. It can be as simple as thinking, That is a cool little thing he does; I’m going to pick that up or copy that. I also liked his sense of travel. Before, when we would do skate demos in different countries, I would bring a lot of boards, or kneepads, and it got to be so heavy. Then I saw his style of traveling light, and I realized I liked that—that’s a good