Named after Shakespeare’s most gory and least popular play, Titus Andronicus is a fine four piece Rock & Roll act that hails from Glen Rock, NJ. They’ve been hard at work amassing a following the old fashioned way–touring, putting out records, and the band even has an appearance on Jimmy Fallon under their proverbial belt. And last Sunday, Titus and I got together for a quick-and-dirty afternoon. It didn’t start out that way. I thought they just wanted to hold hands and maybe talk. But before I knew it, we had thrown the language of rules and regulations asunder with polite abandon. Then we got intimate, as the grown-ups call it. Very intimate. With about 60 of their friends. In public, for everyone to see. Can you imagine?
I am a bit ashamed to say that I had not heard of this band before I was put in touch with director Tom Sharpling. (You guys might know Tom as the director of the latest New Pornographer’s video for the single “Moves.”) Tom and his crew were looking for an AP location to feature in Titus’s forthcoming video for “No Future Part III: Escape From No Future.” Being as how the fates have bestowed unto me a moderate amount of power in Asbury, we chose a location, the Casino Building, which is basically a big open breezeway at the South end of the AP Boardwalk. Cool. Tom came by to scout it out with some of his super nice crew. While we were there, we also took a look at the adjacent Carousel House, which is a big, closed off private space my company owns, too. We discussed getting in there after the main shoot to get some footage of the band while the sun was setting. Rad. Being that I’m in a band myself, I am always trying to lend a hand to fellow artists, and that location is pretty sick.
Sunday comes. The band shows up, careening in from another location—they were trying to hit quite a few that day, and set up begins. I unlock the doors, and band and crew enter. There’s about 40 or so kids milling around outside. Awesome. I figure they’re going to watch and then we’ll head out to the boardwalk for the main shoot.
Now like I said, the band and crew were on a whirlwind tour of NJ that day. And if you’ve ever been involved in running an event, when it’s DIY, time FLIES. Working with about 90 minutes less that originally planned, Tom waves the kids hanging outside the Carousel Building INTO the Carousel Building. Last guy who did that was a one Mr. Bruce Springsteen last December.
When everyone’s aboard inside The Carousel House, that’s the moment I get nervous. I cannot stress enough, however, that Tom’s crew, the band and the crowd were all polite as pie. One of the band members even had a grandmother present. Let me say here that honestly the band and crew were just trying to get the best shoot possible, and were not trying to “get away” with something. The afternoon honestly just took on a life of it’s own, and without the heart to shut down what was an essentially harmless operation, I let it ride. This wasn’t Pantera after all. It’s Titus. They’re smart like Pavement. Just kinda cool nerdy kids with a band…
Anyway, the punk rock side of me is really digging this—people from my nation, the nation of indie rock, had appropriated a space that was last visited by the honorable Mr. Springsteen & Co. The other part of me that literally holds the keys to this space, that is here because technically I’m at work supervising a shoot ( that I told the higher ups would be just a band and crew) is about to faint. Because I realize that several ordinances are probably about to be broken over the course of the next hour or so. It’s not just a simple shoot. It’s a SHOW that will be taped, essentially. No permits, no passes, no security, nada. Just me, a set of keys, a band, and now a crowd of about 60 people who are super excited to be in Asbury Park that day.
Titus runs through the single a few times, giving the crowd a chance to warm up, quite literally. It’s gotta be around 40 degrees, max, but once the band gets going, we all start sweating. Most of us are only sweating because a way awesome band is rocking through some amazing songs and we’re all pogo-ing along. I’m sweating because it occurs to me maybe I won’t have a job when the shoot’s over. But the train has left the station, and it’s not stopping for anything at this point.
In between takes Tom calls out, “Hey everyone, we’d like to thank Angie Sugrim for making this shoot possible today.” Words cannot relay the mix of adulation and terror I felt at that moment. The indie rock me is all, “Hell Yeah, DIY, MaximumRock&Roll, the reappropriation of private space for people like us” etc…The sort of grown up part of me that is trying not to singlehandedly shut down the AP Boardwalk is all, “Oh F@$k. Probably should have gotten permission. OOPS.” Thankfully the punk side of me held out, and I found myself jumping up and down and singing the last refrain of the single with everyone else. “You’ll always be a loser, man/ And that’s OK!” Yeah we will, and yeah. It is.
As you can see from the photos, no one died, nothing bad happened, and everyone had a great time. If you had seen The Carousel at 2 PM that day, and cruised back around 5:30, you wouldn’t even have known about the transient, autonomous zone that sprung up there in between those hours. And after calling some of my bosses and being assured that yes, don’t ever do that again (without the Official OK), but no, it’s not a hanging offense, I went off to do one of the things I am best at. Drinking.
So Titus is a fine band. They left me a copy of their extremely intelligent, emotionally stratified latest effort (Ang, do you have a turntable? Um, yeah of course!) The Monitor, autographed with many humble thank you’s. Then they got in their beat up van, put it into gear, and sailed off to the next adventure.
XOXO
Ang
