Reports from the scene

The Enrique Experience

The popcorn was popping, the red carpet rolled out and the celeb sightings aplenty at the eighth annual San Diego Film Festival, which this year boasted a beefed-up documentary section, including the West Coast premiere of William Shatner’s Gonzo Ballet, an unexpectedly poignant film that revolves around the Milwaukee Ballet’s dance interpretation of Shatner’s Ben Folds-produced spoken-word album, Has Been.

“Sure, you clap now, but let’s see how you feel afterwards,” the legendary thespian told the packed house at the Gaslamp Theatre, where he described the movie-making process as “having a baby, without the contractions,” spoke about having “mystical experiences” on horses and, despite his high-tech Star Trek past, confessed to being far from iPod-savvy. “I’m not touch-sensitive, as my wife will attest,” he joked.

But behind the self-deprecating façade is the trailblazer who engaged in the first interracial, intergalactic smooch ever aired on TV—and a true gentleman who always ends his tweets with “My best, Bill.” CityBeat caught up with Bill, and, from Spock to trannies, no topic was taboo. 

The Enrique Experience: It is my firm belief that the three best things Canada ever gave us are maple syrup, computerized brail and you.

Shatner: [Laughs.] Well, the brail is pretty good, but you forgot about Molson’s Ale and hockey.

That bitch Celine Dion, too. But you’re above ’em all. How is San Diego treating you?

I love San Diego. It’s really fixed itself up, and every time it’s resurging.

What was the best part of doing this documentary?

Going to the opening of it on my wedding anniversary and crying, just weeping next to my wife. You must understand that there are love songs that I dedicate to Liz that are danced to, so it’s quite something.

Your renditions of classic songs like Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds keep popping up on “worst covers of all time” lists. What drives you to keep going?

I haven’t reached the bottom yet.

Anyone current you’d like to cover?

Well, I write my own stuff now and have come up with some good material.

I bet you’d do a mean Lady GaGa.

Oh yeah, that would be good.

There’s talk that she’s a hermaphrodite, you know, which, added to the South African athlete scandal, is making for what I call the “Year of the Tranny.”

There’s nothing I can’t handle.

Did the historic kiss between you and Nichelle Nichols give you jungle fever? They say you never go back, but by the looks of your lovely wife, you did.

Well, she tans well, that’s for sure.

If you had a chance to do it all over again, would you play Spock?

[Laughs.] He’s tall and thin and rich, none of which I am.

Of course you’re rich.

Well, one out of three.

—Enrique Limón

Locals Only

Months of shit-talking and media instigation finally came to a head in the early-morning hours last Saturday when Wavves frontman Nathan Williams reportedly got into a physical altercation with Jared Swilley of the Atlanta band The Black Lips. The fight occurred at Brooklyn bar Daddy’s, where both men were hanging out after separate shows earlier that night.

The feud initially started as an Internet spat back in June, when music-news outlets reported that Swilley made disparaging remarks about Williams on Norwegian radio. Reports on the actual fight are conflicting, but the blog Pop Jew in Brooklyn was the first to report about it, saying that the two men had to be dragged apart and that Swilley was left bloody while Williams was seemingly unharmed. Williams later issued a statement on music website Brooklyn Vegan saying that Swilley was “talking shit” and “spitting in the face of all my friends” and “got what was coming to him,” but he made no mention of his own involvement in the brawl.

Swilley, however, got more specific when he talked to the website Buddyhead later that day, saying that while he was dissing Williams, the Wavves frontman was actually not involved at all.

“That faggot didn’t even touch me,” Swilley said about Williams. “I’ve never ‘come after’ that kid, it wasn’t four a.m., that wasn’t my girlfriend, no one was spitting, and I didn’t attack him.”

Swilley went on to explain that it was members of the Wavves entourage that broke a bottle over his head and beat him until he blacked out. The police responded to the scuffle, but no one was arrested. Swilley ended his Buddyhead rant by plotting revenge against the Wavves camp.

“He’s coming to Atlanta October 3rd and we’re gonna get ugly on him. We’re gonna destroy their van, we’re gonna destroy their faces, we’re gonna get crazy on em’. Nasty style.”

CityBeat tried to contact Williams through his record label but was unsuccessful. You can read the full history of the feud at www.lastblogonearth.com.

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A closer-to-home beef has sprung up between post-punks Apes of Wrath and surf-rockers Monsters from Mars. Seems the Apes are none too happy with Monsters guitarist Alex Jones’ speech at the San Diego Music Awards on Sept. 10, when Jones “accepted” the Apes’ “Best Alternative” award on behalf of their former guitarist (Andrew Geldmeier) because the other members “kicked him out” of the band. Apes frontman Rob Kent says that each member of the band had to work the night of the awards, and even though drummer Dustin Elliott had given Jones permission to accept the award, he notes that he was infuriated when they heard what had happened.

“I got a text from John Elliott”—Dustin’s brother—“who was at the show and he said that we won,” Kent says. “Then, I get another that says, ‘Oh shit… some dude went onstage and said some stuff.’ He explained and I was, like, what a fucking dick, dude. What gives him the right to do that? It was uncalled for and stupid.”

Kent also complained that the band doesn’t know what happened to the actual award and said he thinks Jones gave it to Geldmeier.

He later added, in a text message, “We [Apes] all just kind of said whatever. Andrew can have it as a memento of our time together. I do plan on talking major shit on Monsters from Mars.”

In an e-mail, Jones confirms that he gave the award to Geldmeier but was a bit more diplomatic in his response

“Andrew asked me for the award, and I gave it to him. I don’t see how it is any less his than the rest of the band, and it wasn’t my place to tell him no. Also, I told Dustin that I gave it to Andrew, so I assumed that they would work it themselves [sic]. I really didn’t want to get involved any further.”

***

A benefit show for A City Serene, whose members were seriously injured in a traffic accident on their way to a show near Bakersfield, has been scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, at SOMA. Artists and bands like Adestria, I Am the Heart Attack and others are scheduled to perform. Proceeds from tickets and raffles will go directly to the families of A City Serene to help pay for medical care.

Blues-rockers Family Wagon will celebrate the release of their debut, self-titled EP at Soda Bar on Friday, Oct. 2. Long Live Logos and Dead Feather Moon will open.

—Seth Combs