Drinking with the Mermaids in Montana
Earlier this month, I found myself in Great Falls, Montana for work – a part of the country I’d never been to before. Great Falls is located in northern/central Montana, in relatively flat area where the Rockies can be seen in the distance. Great Falls still boasts the expansive skies which scream ‘Montana’, and is in close proximity some of our country’s most breathtaking natural beauty — Glacier National Park is 3.5 hours to the north, and Yellowstone is 3 hours to the south. Montana a great location for all things outdoorsy, and the lack of humidity was a nice break from the sweltering Nashville heat. With 4 days in Great Falls, our crew sought out the best haunts: the Montana State Fair, Jaker’s (a northwest chain but still great food — the scones are to die for), Borrie’s (family-owned; fantastic steak). And, finally, on our last night in Great Falls, we landed at the infamous Sip-N-Dip. It seemed a little sketchy from the parking lot, but we’d heard from locals that the Sip-N-Dip had been rated the #1 Bar on Earth by GQ two years ago (a little internet search turns up a plethora of MT tourism websites touting this fact- although the ranking was in 2003, not 2009). We also heard rumors of mermaids. Naturally, our curiosity was piqued, and we ventured inside. The Sip-N-Dip Lounge is found on the second floor of the O’Haire Motor Inn, which is just outside downtown. In all honesty, I was expecting a dive bar set in a club atmosphere. What I discovered upon walking up the stairs into this “other world”, however, was ENTIRELY different. The Sip-N-Dip is a cozy, smoke-free lounge with ambient lighting and a tiki motif. The bar is a decent size, and along with an excellent selection of mixed drinks and draft beer, there are mermaids. Yes, I said mermaids. Mermaids?! OK, they’re not REAL mermaids (obviously). They’re young ladies wearing swimmer’s goggles, a bikini top, and one giant fin. They’re really good at what they do, too — they swim gracefully through the tank, in various patterns, twists, and flips; if they notice you’re trying to take a picture, they’ll do their best to “pose” for you. There are no oxygen masks — they swim around for 30-45 seconds, and then resurface for a breath of air, and it really is just a breath. The night we were there, there were two mermaids that alternated every twenty minutes. I CANNOT imagine swimming underwater for that length of time, even with “air breaks”. Although it may suggest otherwise, and while “Mermaid Entertainment” is definitely different–...
LVAs
When I get asked what I’ve worked on, or what I enjoyed working on, I often have to rack my brain to try to remember and fail at coming up with any sort of intelligent or thoughtful response. In the beginning, when I only worked on one music video a month, it was easy to remember all the details: crew, location, director, artist, song title, actors, extras, etc. Sometimes, projects blur together and I have a hard time remembering the details. So, this is a post summarizing some of the more memorable shoots (good and bad). First Shoot Award Mat Kearney’s “Breathe In, Breathe Out” It was my first ever on-set experience; as a wide-eyed intern who mistakenly sent an extra to the artist’s RV. Whoops. Details of that job include: Director: Roman White Location: The Arcade, Downtown Hours: 3pm – 6am; but I’d also started my day at 10am at the office… The Kicker: I was an intern — an unpaid intern; but I was enthralled to be there. The Other Kicker: This video was supposed to air during/after Grey’s Anatomy, and I remember telling everyone to watch it — family, friends from home, classmates, etc — because I was so insanely proud to have worked on it. Only, it didn’t air when it was supposed to; got pushed an hour or a week or something, and they completely cut out the Alaskan girl because they didn’t like her “look”. Highlights: -spending many hours with Ryan Fuqua in the Arcade, using faulty knives to cut many many zip ties holding up American flags. I would later have to run to Wal-Mart to purchase more zip ties so we could re-hang them all. – It was 35mm, baby!: That’s right, I’m “old skool” enough to have worked a solid year in the presence of true “film” projects, before the dawn of the digital era. Runner Up: Could also throw out a mention to my first paid shoot, Alan Jackson’s “Small Town Southern Man”. Watch Mat Kearney – Breathe In Breathe Out on Vimeo. Coldest Shoot Award One Night Rodeo – “Alive and Living” Before the days where I learned to spend top dollar on warm winter gear, I endured one of the coldest shoots of my life in February of 2009. Director: The Brads (Blake and Potsy) Location: Smyrna Airport Temperature: 19 degrees in the hanger with a cold cement floor. Highlights: Eric Williams gestured to the vending machines and stated, “Well, there’s craft service.” Most Ridiculous Award Josh Thompson – “Beer on the Table” It wasn’t the video that was ridiculous — it was the wrangling of all of...
A word about Couchsurfing.
I first learned about couchsurfing a few years ago when I was scanning gumtree for potential sublet opportunities. It struck me as an irresponsible thing to consider — a breeding ground for potential kidnappers and rapists. I immediately dismissed the idea and went on living my life, pining away all the while with desire to one day venture to Australia. Two years go by. I’ve finally purchased the plane ticket to Sydney and everyone in close proximity to me is freaking out. My mother suggests, “You should look into finding a friend down there to show you around.” I suddenly remembered the idea of couchsurfing, and forgetting my previous notions, it struck me as a brilliant idea. I joined the official CS website and attended a local CS meeting and started sending out requests. That’s how I found Jim. I was slow to send requests to guys at first simply due to the solo-girl-in-a-new-continent fact and the safety considerations that come with it, but he had the highest praise out of other Sydney hosts, including the thumbs up from multiple female travellers, so I figured I’d be in good hands. I arrived in Sydney, stayed in a hostel the first few nights, and met up with Jim on my second evening. I met a bunch of his friends, another couchsurfer, and we headed out to a rugby game. In my short two days that I couchsurfed with Jim, he took me to the fish market, South Head, and Bondi Beach, I met Melissa and Raquel, and we spent Easter together (in the form of a pub crawl – ssh). I then left Sydney and did a small tour of Australia, including Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast. But I got along so well with Jim, Raquel, and Melissa that I decided to pay them another visit before heading to New Zealand (plus Switchfoot was playing a show in Sydney…) Anyway. I stayed with Jim for another 5 days and hung out a great deal with Raquel during that time. I also had a firsthand celebration of ANZAC day as Sam and Jim are in the Australian Navy. And, finally, I left Sydney and moved on to New Zealand. I’ve been back in the US for almost three months. In that time, I’ve stayed in pretty good contact with both Raquel and Jim, if only through Facebook chat and the occasional text. I’ve missed both of them a great deal, and Melissa posted a photo of the gang out without me, and commented on my absence. Jim said he was planning on “swinging by” North America next year after...
Well, …ington
So I bounced over to the North Island a few days ago, on a day that was so windy we had to pull up upon attempting to make our first descent into Wellington and circle around for another pass. The pilot did manage to put the plane down the second time, and rather smoothly — everyone applauded. I really, really like it here. I would venture to say Wellington has felt the most like home out of all the cities I’ve visited. On a clear day, the mountain range surrounding the bay is absolutely beautiful, and today my LOTR tour (nerd alert…) took us by Breaker Bay where I saw a breathtaking sunset and could even see the mountains on the South Island. Being here in “Wellywood” has gotten me thinking more about work and what I should do about it all. Immigration laws in NZ demand that jobs only be given to overseas folk should there not already be a Kiwi equipped for the job. And, let’s face it: being a set production assistant isn’t brain surgery. But what if? My desire to get involved goes hand-in-hand with my reasoning for being in the film industry. I want to be involved in something bigger than myself, creating something that thousands of people can appreciate for decades to come, and that’s exactly what movie-making allows us to do. But I would love to work on something great. I think the magic of Lord of the Rings is that no one realized how successful the movies would be, but yet they devoted two or more years of their lives to the project, created deep friendships, broke rules, and lived daily adventures that forever changed them. Their adventure is not unlike the adventure described in the books, and that kind of an experience is what I’m striving for, and that’s why I love being on movies more than anything else. How awesome would it be to leave it all behind for a year to move to a distant land, focusing on nothing more than one project with one group of people and have that piece of work recognized by millions around the world? You could forever say, “I had a part in that”, and forever whenever you stumbled across a person who you worked beside, you could share that knowing smile — It was our journey and only we know. I went surfing at Lyall Bay yesterday where the waves were far gentler and less intimidating than back at the Gold Coast. I even stood up a couple of times! On this trip I’ve realized how adventurous I am, how the 9...
it’s no accident we’re here tonight
A beautiful autumn day back in Sydney. I’m so elated to be back with my couchsurf family — all four of us hailing from different continents, where nearly every conversation is a lively and educating one– otherwise, it’s completely ridiculous and it’s probably the Brazilian’s fault. Seeing Switchfoot tonight, which is a bit surreal. I keep peering around every corner hoping to catch a glimpse of them ambling around the city, but no luck so far. I think I missed my chance at Snapper. Seeing my favorite band in my favorite city in a country I’ve been dying to visit for 12 years. Life is...
About
I'm Laryssa, and when I'm not working in film or television, I'm attempting to travel -- or I'm here, providing resources for working in film or travel. Read more Elsewhere on the internets
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