Dead in 5 Heartbeats Latest

When it comes to Dead in 5 Heartbeats, the most frequently asked question we get here at the Asylum has to be, “so when is the flick gonna be playing at a theater near me?”  Well fellow Chromies, we’ve got some fresh dope on that score straight from the master director himself, Jeff Santo.  After talking with DI5H chief, we can say pretty confidently that the movie will open on April 5 in conjunction with Arizona Bikeweek (for additional 411 check out the Dead in 5 Heartbeats Facebook page), from there it’s going to hit the road on a five month fifteen city tour.

Jeff Santo, Sonny Barger, Jeff Black

In keeping with the movies gritty, authentic and independent vibe, the roll out of Dead in 5 Heartbeats is going to be a totally grass roots effort. Jeff plans to reach out to the biker community in each and every town, tapping into that organic rider spirit that has is such a huge part of the movie itself. We’ll be doing our part here at Chrome Asylum, passing on juicy tidbits as we get them.

Here’s hoping that list of cities continues to grow, and more and more folks get a chance to share in an authentic glimpse into the world we know and love, untainted by the lies and stereotypes of mainstream Hollywood. Finally a biker flick we can be proud of.

Stay tuned Chromies………………..

Lone Star Livin'

Those of you that are regulars here at the Asylum know that well over a year ago, I packed up the truck (pick-up and U-Haul, how’s that for Jode street cred!?) said “so long” to the fam, and headed east to the great state of Texas. Since the girl, aka my daughter, had yet to complete her senior year, I figured I best leave her and her mom at the Cali homestead, lest I lose my standing as “Father of the Year”. So for the last 15 months it’s just been yours truly, learning the ins and outs of this wacky country they call Texas…….here’s what I’ve come up with so far.

They say Ft Worth is where the west begins

Texas Nation – Texas is its own country dammit, or more accurately,  a republic, y’all. Trust me, you’ll hear that a lot, as in all the flippin’ time, Texans are a proud bunch and they want you to know that if you just don’t behave (the “you” in this case is the rest of the damn US of A) they’ll just pack it in and secede from your sorry ass. Don’t laugh, they mean it.

Howdy Partner – As a group, Texans are some of the most maddeningly, pathologically, aggressively, genuinely, and heartwarmingly friendly people on the planet. No BS, no Texas tale, it’s a fact. They will strike up a conversation, help you change a flat, or give you a heads up on cheap ammo……anytime, anywhere. Don’t freak, it’s not a scam or a hustle, they just wanna talk to ya, say “hey”. At first it’s a little weird, but you’ll get used to it………and trust me, you have no choice. They’re gonna get all up into your business. If that really creeps you out, your only hope is that eventually the “forgeiners” (that’s all of us pal, see Texas Nation) will push the natives out………then Texas would be no different from, say, New York, and then who would you chat up at the Tom Thumb?

Yee Haw! Rodeo Life

Weather or Not – The cliché goes, “…..don’t like the weather, just wait around five minutes, it’ll change”. That goes double for north Texas, although you might cut the timeframe in half. No one, and I mean no one comes to Texas for the weather. Summers are hotter than the self-cleaning cycle of your oven, provided it also doubles as a Turkish steam bath……..yeah, it’s freakin’ humid, oh, “but not as bad as Houston”. Awesome. At least it cools down at night, to about 90. The wind can blow in every direction at once, and we’re not talking tornadoes either. Ah yes, twisters, we have a wonderfully elaborate warning system here in Tejas, why, I don’t know, since we don’t have any basements to hunker in, and the houses are constructed to no apparent standard or code.  Local legend has it that the proper tornado survival equipment consists of a couple of lawn chairs and a cooler of beer……is that true? 

 What is a fact is that It rains so hard it’ll remove paint………..well, not really, but the damn hail does,  applying a lovely “Titlest” like treatment to what once was the smooth surface of your vehicle. At least you don’t have to shovel snow……..much. So what’s this crap about when the sky turns green!?! And how the hell can it rain from a clear, blue sky…………really!

Say hello to my little friend, he just might be in the hedge

Wild Kingdom – Here’s the straight dope………..every living thing in this state is trying to kill you, 24/7/365. Nothing personal, just the facts. Stinging, biting, scratching, clawing, infecting……..whether it’s the soccer moms of Southlake or the fireants under your porch, keep the topical cream handy and wear gloves, this is war. If you dig beetles the size of………well, Beetles, wasps the on the scale of hummingbirds, lizards watching O’Reilly over your shoulder, racket wreaking bugs that could drown out a Manhattan boulevard screeching from your flora……….oh, and did I mention the snakes? Don’t worry, they’re not all deadly, just stay out of the lakes, off the trails, and out of your yard, and you’ll be fine. What’s not to love????

Big City with a Small Town feel

But you know what? It’s still a pretty damn cool place to be…………and we haven’t even begun to talk about driving, shooting, and trying to buy booze on a Sunday!! Stay tuned fellow chromies!

Sonny Barger Exclusive Interview

Dead in Five Heartbeats, Three Days in the Desert

It’s been a couple of weeks now since principle filming wrapped on the set of Dead in Five Heartbeats, the movie based on the novel of the same name penned by the man himself, Sonny Barger (www.sonnybarger.com). I was lucky enough to spend a couple of days on set in the Phoenix area just prior to the last days of production. Who says working in the motorsicle bidness doesn’t have its perks!? Sure as hell isn’t me. Still can’t believe I get paid for this, but I’ll take it

Yours truly (lower left) and my extra pals. Jeff Black, the star of Dead in Five Heartbeats lurks in the back row (five from left)

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My ticket to the “fantasy factory” that is a modern day movie set was the fact that our company, Tucker Rocky, had stepped up to the plate as the official apparel sponsor of the flick. We provided River Road (http://www.riverroadgear.com/) and Speed and Strength (http://www.ssgear.com/) clothing for the lead characters, as well as, some of the extras. While the story is based on a work of fiction, all the action and characterization is straight out of real life……..well, more to the point, straight out of Sonny’s life. That’s not to say it’s a film biography, because it’s not. What it means is pretty much everything you see on screen happened at some time, to someone, in some context. Think a mix of reality show, documentary and full on feature film and you’re getting warm.

Jeff Santo (son of a very famous Cub by the same last name, you can look it up) is the director and creative genius behind the scenes. On a set populated by more than its share of “real deal” bikers and club members, Jeff blends right in. And if you want to find out just how tough he is……..start up a conversation during filming. Yeah, don’t screw with him. That said, Jeff was warm and engaging, and when he had time he was more than generous tolerating my non-stop barrage of questions. He brings a respect for the material and a passion for film making that is truly infectious. You can’t help but be stoked.

Jeff Santo (center in blue) working with cast and crew

The team Jeff’s assembled is a mixed bag of industry pros and kids newly minted out of film school, a totally rag-tag army of enthusiasm, all in it for the love of the game. With the budget these guys have to work with, no one, and I mean no one, is getting rich. Did I mention these are some of the hardest working people I’ve ever met? Just try wrangling bulky lighting rigs in 110 degree Arizona heat for twelve hours and you get the idea. Now do it for weeks on end for very little dough. These people redefine dedicated.

Remember when I mentioned “part reality show”? There’s a reason for that. See, aside from the lead character Patch, played by Jeff Black (great guy and a dead ringer for a younger Sonny Barger) and appearances by David Dela Rocco (Boondock Saints!!), and Dan Haggerty, the rest of the cast are either first time actors, or actual club members…….talk about type casting. And the crazy thing is, it works, and it works well. These guys life the live, so they know what’s real and what’s not. Everything from making subtle changes to the dialog to correcting the way bikes would be parked at a clubhouse; these guys ensure that this movie oozes with authenticity. You think a real One Percenter is going to utter dialog that doesn’t ring true, ah yeah, not gonna happen.

Jeff's hard working crew resets lighting for filming another camera angle

As is the case on any movie set, locations change on a nearly daily basis. Day one of my time on set  we  found ourselves at an actual clubhouse, refitted with Infidelz paraphernalia (it’s amazing the level of detail involved, from the club support t-shirts, neon bar signs, and even motorcycle accessories adorned with Infidelz logos……very cool!). The next day we were in downtown Phoenix in a working class neighborhood filming at what looked like an abandoned deli/bar/restaurant that had the patio converted to represent the Infidelz Arizona clubhouse’s outdoor bar. And that’s when I got my big break.

As I stood on the periphery of the set, doing my best to stay well out of the way (not always easy in the organized chaos that is a working set), I got a tap on the shoulder. Figuring I was impeding the progress of some harried sound guy, or an overburdened gaffer, I spun around while stepping out of what would have been the path of my unknown victim, only to see Zorana Barger (better known as “Z”) holding an Infidelz cut in her hand……..”so do you want to be an extra today, one of our guys is a no-show?” “Say what!?” OK, this just got real.

Patch's Victory gets set up with a camera rig

“Ah, sure”, I think I muttered………….how could you say no to Z?? Simple answer, you don’t! And to be honest the thought of having even the smallest part in the production of this movie sounded pretty cool, something to talk shit about with my riding buds. I’d be forever on film………or digitized, (DI5H was shot in a very high tech 3-D, as well as, conventional HD) or whatever. Cool.  I threw on my jean cut; damn, I wish I could have had one of the badass leather jobs, at least I was a “full patch” member and not a prospect!

I nervously ambled out to the set where I was promptly instructed by Jeff Santo to go get mic’d up. Huh? Standing around trying to look tough, maybe I could do that……..but dialog, with real actors, on a real set, with real movie people??? All the fun of playing pretend biker was replaced by the cold fear of screwing up. Screwing up in Sonny’s movie, screwing up after Z asked me to help out. Oh man……….

My acting partner and scene stealer Chico (r), an actual club member, funny guy, and damn good actor

Turns out I had only a couple of lines, and I guess it went pretty well, God knows Jeff has more than enough takes and camera angles to choose from so anything I did to mess up those scenes can most likely be disguised by skillful editing. And who knows, maybe sanity will ultimately prevail and they’ll cut me out altogether………one thing I do know is, you’re going to have to wait until the flick comes out to see if yours truly made it up on the silver screen. Sorry, no spoiler alerts here.

As we wrapped for the day Amy ( Amy ran the entire wardrobe department for DI5H, was our main link to the production team, and is one of the hardest working people I have ever met) came up to me and asked what I was doing for dinner. Seems her and her husband were going out for a bite, and there was a chance we would hook up with Sonny and Z, did I want to tag along? A chance to meet the man himself, have some food and real conversation!?!? Oh hell yes…….I’m in.

We drove to the outskirts of Phoenix to a little family owned Amish restaurant (who knew, Amish in the desert!) where we met up with Mr. and Mrs. Barger. After nearly 25 years in the motorbike business I’ve had the opportunity to meet countless racers from Rossi to Spies (for a number of seasons I actually managed a top flight AMA Supersport team for Cycle Gear), industry bigwigs, famous builders, Hollywood luminaries, and the like, but this was on a whole other level. I was stoked beyond belief; Sonny Barger and me, having dinner, just talking. Very cool.

The legend, Sonny Barger and me

We talked for more than a couple of hours, covering a wide range of topics, and while I don’t want to get into specifics, it was after all a dinner, not a formal interview, I would like to share a few impressions of the man about which so much has been written and said (much of it unfortunately nothing but rumors, untruths and outright lies). 

First off, the man is a real rider, a real enthusiast. He digs motorcycles, and he knows his shit. He’s up on all the current machines, and has opinions about motorcycling that might just surprise a few folks.  Not a shocker when  you remember that he owned a repair shop in Oakland back in the day. He still rides whenever he can, and enjoys the hell out of it. For that matter, Z is quite an accomplished motorbike pilote herself.

 First and foremost, for Sonny  it’s about the bikes…..as it should be. As we talked I was also impressed by what a humble, thoughtful person he is. No big ego, no bravado, no “do you know who I am” BS, just a regular, down to earth authentic man. That said, there’s no doubt that you’re in the presence of a real leader, someone used to commanding, demanding  and ultimately getting respect. Of that fact, there is little doubt. And the man doesn’t miss a trick, while we were chatting he even noticed that my watch was still on Texas time……..impressive. He loves animals and is passionate about his horses, up at dawn every day to feed and water them. You can tell they’re much more than “pets” to Mr. Barger. Oh, and by the by, I’ll bet you’ve always mispronounced Sonny’s last name……….most of us have. Here’s the deal, Barger is pronounced, “Bar-grrr” with a hard “g” as in "Gerber"; not with a soft “g” as in "Germany". So now ya know……….say it right!

Lastly, Sonny is fully committed to Dead in Five Heartbeats, he has been involved in every detail from the outset and has been a valuable resource to Jeff and his crew (no wonder really, he did after all, write the book…….which if you haven’t read, you should, it’s damn good). And that feeling of being "all in" for the cause is reciprocated by the film crew, everyone wants to get this thing right for Sonny. The passion and respect that permeates this project is truly amazing. And for that reason alone, I think we’re in for a really special treat when the movie hits the big screen.

Stay tuned for Dead in Five Heartbeats updates…………

Day24

Dead In 5 Heartbeats Day 23

Dead In 5 Heartbeats Day 22