Last night I got to go to the La Paloma theater in Encinitas to attend a showing of Rob Machado’s new movie “The Drifter.” This was a really, really fun thing for me to do. Rob Machado is a world champion pro surfer, and probably my favorite pro surfer. I just love his style and his understated manner. I had no idea when I came out here, but Rob is from Cardiff, which is right down the road (Cardiff is part of Encinitas).
Anyway, The Drifter is less of a surf movie in the traditional sense and more of an introspective documentary / travelog about his wanderings in Indonesia trying to get away from society as we know it.
Before the screening Rob played with Jon Swift, a great singer/songwriter/guitarist. This was an amazing treat, since I had been a fan of Jon Swift ever since I saw “Shelter.”
A little bit of background: Shelter was the first surf movie I ever saw. I bought it when I just started surfing, when the sport was still this entire unknown world that I was embarking on. I used to be intimidated going into surf shops because it just seemed like this other culture that I was not a part of. Shelter is still one of the best surf videos to date. The music in the video is fantastic, and features Jon Swift playing some great music including “Run, Run River.”
Well, much to my absolute delight, after the screening of The Drifter, Rob and Jon played another acoustic set while they showed bonus surf footage from the movie. Basically we were watching a surf movie with live music. The vibe was absolutely amazing. Well, the last song they played was “Run, Run River” and it just brought back all these cool nostalgic feelings that I still get when I watch Shelter.
Jon Swift, Rob Machado and Friends
I love surf movies, and after following Rob, Jon Swift, and Taylor Steele for years and years from our little outpost on Long Island I was so excited to see them all in person, meet them, and talk to them.
Taylor Steele is really cool. He is the creative mind behind a lot of groundbreaking surf movies. Rob is very quiet and shy, and Jon Swift was easy to talk to and very friendly. I was thankful my friend Lori was there – she’s not shy at all it seems, and she was more than willing to chat everyone up. I probably would not have even attempted to get an autograph. Instead it turns out that Lori went to High School with one of the musicians in Jon Swift’s band. (You can’t walk 2 feet in this area without bumping into someone who has a connection with Lori, haha.)
Taylor Steele and Rob Machado do a QandA Session After The Film
Anyway, it was a really great night. I got my DVD copy of The Drifter signed by Taylor Steele and Rob Machado, and I’ll probably put it in a frame. I also got a few Jon Swift CD’s and he signed them as well. It’s crazy – just a few years ago I was searching all over for Jon Swift’s music and couldn’t find it. Now I have his CD’s, met him, and got him to sign them. It’s funny how life works. If you had told me back then I’d be actually meeting these guys I’d have been utterly amazed.
Rob, Lori, and I
I guess it seems silly that I’m getting all amped up about meeting a few minor surf industry celebrities, but it’s just that when something becomes a big part of your life like surfing did, and you build up all these nostalgic memories, it’s kind of a big deal. I think coming from New York it’s even moreso since you never see any pros or famous surf people, and California and Hawaii and all those other exotic and famous surf locales seem a world away. As I travel around and meet more people through surfing it seems the world gets smaller by the day, but I hope it never loses its lustre for me. I never want to lose that excited, daring feeling of breaking into a secret clubhouse that I had when I first started surfing.
Here’s video I took of the end of the song “Run Run River”: