Garden State Journal has become something of a community for Melbournians: a safe haven that expresses a feeling, a moment in time, or a place, captured by the mastermind behind the project, Dylan Walsh. A creative with a lens that is unlike none other, changing the way media is consumed not only in Melbourne, but Australia. We recently sat down with the genius behind GSJ to talk about an array of topics, including his upcoming film, his creative perspective, how social media is perceived in the modern day and getting over the judgement barrier.
So we’re just going to start off really simple for people that might not be familiar with your work. Why and when did you start up Garden State Journal?
I guess it depends how far back I want to go, but the story I always tell is that when I was young, I was always into filmmaking. I've met a lot of people who, when they're young, they make little movies with their friends, but I think the moment that set me up for thinking that this is something I could do long term was when I was about 12 years old. A friend of mine, his mum owned a hair salon on a street where we grew up in in Hadfield called East Street and he said, ‘oh, they've blocked off the street because they're shooting a film on my street! You should come over and look, it's really interesting.’ They had all these old cars, and these old sets, and I thought that sounded awesome, but I never ended up going. I kept saying that I was going to go, but I never ended up going there.
A few months later, my cousin Daniel, he got me into torrenting movies. You'd download them on websites, and I was randomly just downloading different movies. I would watch a trailer for a movie, and then just torrent it. I’d go, ‘oh, this looks sick. I’ll watch this,’ and I randomly came across this Australian movie called ‘The Mule.’
I only downloaded that movie because it had Hugo Weaving, who's the guy from the Matrix. It's a crime movie set in Australia, and it looked interesting. I was watching this movie, and about halfway through, there's a scene, and I thought, ‘oh, I recognize that street.’ There was something about that street, and in my head, I was thinking that there was no way this is that movie that my mate was telling me about. That was a ‘mind blown’ moment. It was literally in just one shot, but I saw it in the movie and I remember how much pride I felt because usually you associate all the movies we've grown up on as being made in Hollywood. They're made somewhere that we will never go, somewhere so far away and so removed from our lives. It wasn’t like this was in St Kilda or Carlton- this was Hadfield and Glenroy, which is a pretty lower-middle class working suburb. To see this area that I've grown up in and represented in a film, it blew my mind. I think that set me up for the rest of for everything, because from that moment forward, I think I was locked in. I made a few short films of friends, and then that led into attempting to make my first film in high school.
You see these videos of people in Europe and America, but you never see them in Australia and much less Melbourne. I think you're revolutionizing the way that film is consumed in not only Melbourne, but Australia in general. I'm not going to say I was the first person ever to find your account, but the first thing I saw of yours was when you had 8000 followers at this point. This was earlier this year, and then my sister sent me a post of yours a few months later and you had 12,000. How did you have that huge jump forwards?
The jumps, they happen at random points. I won't pin it all down to this, and I'll give [Broadsheet] credit, but I've also put the work in. The Broadsheet collaborations gave me a certain level of credibility, and it's not the cliche thing of blowing up overnight. You have to post those videos, and they do well, and then, slowly, over the following months, people come back and find them. I think the moments where I've had the growth have been where I've articulated something very clearly and in a very succinct form. I'll give you an example: I think in the period from those 8,000 to 12,000 followers, it wasn't that long ago. It came with a video I did called, ‘On a Rainy Day in Melbourne,’ and it had the Frank Sinatra song Somethin’ Stupid. Something about that video, I articulated my feelings very clearly and it hit at the right time. I feel that way about a lot of a lot of art- you could have a great story and have a great piece of work, but sometimes you just don't hit culturally at the right moment. And so, all my jumps I think have happened at moments, where I've made a video about a rainy day in Melbourne, and everyone's been feeling that around Melbourne, walking around in the cold. I posted it at the right time, where everyone is coming home from work. They've watched it and they've gone, ‘yeah, that's how I did feel today,’ or, ‘that's how I did feel this week,’ or, ‘I felt that the other day.’ I would say my growth has come from moments of right timing and articulating the right feeling that everyone has.
I’d say I’m just trying to find the beauty in the mundane. It doesn't have to be anything crazy. I've always found that people look for happiness in the most extreme of things. But people are unhappy, and always want something bigger, whether it be some kind of product. People are always looking for this really far out idea of happiness. It has to be found in a trip to Europe or has to be found in a new car. I guess that's always been my philosophy. I just don’t want to be holding on to my Europe trip to be happy. I want to be happy right now, with what I have. Just find the beauty in the little things.
You’re also known as ‘Melbourne’s Scorsese.’ What’s it like to hold that title?
That was a term that I think came with The Sydney Morning Herald article. I've worn that proudly. I kind of consider ‘Melbourne’s Scorsese’ is a period of my life that I see coming to an end now. I've been working on this movie, and I see that chapter of my life almost ending because the idea of being ‘Melbourne’s Scorsese’ is a product of that mindset I had when I was growing up, seeing that that film, when I saw my city. It was the want to be a filmmaker, and strictly a filmmaker. Everyone who grew up around me would say that's all I've ever talked about. That’s who I felt I was as a person. I guess I would say I have been ‘Melbourne’s Scorsese,’ and I will be that for a bit longer. But you know the writer Anthony Bourdain, I see it going more in that direction because I'm more interested in being more than a filmmaker. I'm more interested in hearing people's stories. Filmmaking is a part of that, but I think I'm realising that hearing people's stories is more interesting to me.
As you were saying, you like to make the mundane special. So, I’m seeking a bit of advice for young creatives out there: how do you get past the fear of getting caught out when taking photos or videos of strangers?
That’s the thing- I don't have any general advice because I'm still figuring it out myself. I don't know the trajectory of my life, but I know roughly where I'm going. It would be a bit hypocritical of me to tell people this is what you should do, but I guess on the point of getting past the fear of filming in public, I think that was something I learned by the time I started doing the street videos.
When I was 15 or 16, I started shooting my first film. It was a documentary/hangout movie about my mates growing up in Hadfield, Glenroy and Fawkner. I had saved up and worked and bought this expensive camera, which I still use now: my black magic. Once I got past the fear of getting mugged and robbed in the street, everything seemed doable to me. There’s one scene where I was riding a push bike, and I had this $2500 camera in one hand and I was shooting my mates riding their bikes down Sydney Road like a maniac. That was back when the bushfires were a thing, and it was the hottest day of the year. So there I was, riding my bike, and then I hit a little bump in the road. Next thing you know, I've gone off my bike onto Sydney Road- a main road- with my bike and camera. Lucky my camera didn't shatter everywhere, but my camera's gone on the road and the gears of the bike went into my leg. I've still got this massive scar. From that moment forward, I thought nothing will be more embarrassing than this. I should not have been riding a bike and a camera in one hand like it's a f**king blog camera.
If someone asks me what I’m doing, I just be nice and I tell them what I'm doing. I also be smart. There are certain areas I wouldn't shoot in anymore. You also try to be out of people's way. Don't be in front of them with the camera. I go very far away, and I shoot from there. You're never in people's faces. But again, ever since that moment, nothing will be as embarrassing as that.
Was there ever a fear of judgement from people around you?
Oh yeah, 100%. I'm moving past that now. I think probably since last year, because GSJ is going in such a clear direction it feels like I don't have to justify myself anymore. When I was younger, I had to explain: ‘No, this is what I'm doing. Trust me!’ Now, I just show people GSJ. This is what I’m doing, this is who I've worked with. I don't have to have any insecurity about who I am, which took me a long time. I think I've been working through that ever since I was 12 or 13, just coming to terms with being a filmmaker. I know I'm a filmmaker. A lot of credit for that goes to my friend and my collaborator Simon, who runs a brand called Milkbar. We met each other in high school and he's my best mate. As much as I taught him about creativity and just getting into the work with what you have in front of you, he taught me a lot about sticking your chest out and not being afraid of who you are. The one thing he always had was, and he will laugh about it, but he's always had this beautiful arrogance where he's not going to let anyone tell him what to do. I think when we met at that time in my life, I think I needed that. I think I needed someone to say, no, you should just be you. I love making movies, and I'm going to be this person. And while we're the same age, he actually taught me how to do that. He taught me to own who I am.
Second part of this question: nowadays that GSJ is so big, do you have to ask people to feature in your stuff or do they come to you?
That's funny. I feel I'm never too self-aware because I always go to people. It starts off by saying, ‘this is what I'm doing, do you want be involved?’ But people are very willing to jump on, because again, they've seen the platform I've built. Now I don't have to convince people to do things. For example, I cast a blues musician called Otis, who I cast in the film that I just shot. That was an example of me going to him. The great thing about being a good filmmaker is you have this tool that you can use. You can almost barter with other people. I went to Otis, and I saw that he was very charismatic, and he looked the part for this role that I wanted. I said, ‘look, I'll put you in this film. And then when it comes time, if you want me to shoot a concert, or a gig, I'll be available for that.’ You can use those skills rather than always saying that you’ll pay this amount of money, because again, I’m still young and I don't have a lot of money to pay people all the time.
What I've found is the people who I want to work with the most, particularly with casting in a film, my leading people were people who weren't looking to be cast. They were just like ordinary people and it's almost like they didn't want to be actors.
In the film, Otis plays Dave and Karsten plays Rob. Karsten, I met at uni and we were in a theater class together. I knew I was going to be doing these things down the line a few years ago, so I was actively looking for people to cast. Karsten would walk into that class every week, and he would walk in wearing slides, footy shorts and a singlet. All these other drama kids were performing and really into it. Karsten was interested, but it was like he didn't have the patience for it. Something about that was attractive to me. There were times where Karsten would literally walk into this room with all the performers, he would look around the room, and he would leave. He would just walk in and go, ‘Nah, I'm gone.’ I had to chase after him. He walked out of the class one day, and I had to chase after him and tell him that I wanted to put him in something down the line. I just had this feeling, and it was the same with Otis. They’re ordinary, but they're so good at the art of being themselves. They're such characters. Those are the people I want to cast and work with more than anything.
Let's talk about your film, because I've seen that you've teased it on Instagram, but you haven't really given any details at the moment. So, what can you tell us, if you can tell us anything at this stage?
100%. Like I mentioned before, I think this film is a rite of passage- almost like I have to go through making this film to move on with my life. Since I was 12 or 13, I’ve promised myself that I'm going to make a movie. It's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy, in a sense that you promised yourself and it’s going to happen eventually. This film, I would call it in many ways the beginning- the beginning of something bigger, but also the end of that chapter where I've told a story about a period of my life, and I can have closure on that chapter.
In terms of the details about the plot I'm not sure I can give much, but there are these two mates, Dave and Rob. Dave is a very hippie-ish character, and Rob is a more hard, serious bloke. I think Dave and Rob are almost the two sides of myself, like the two forces in me that are always battling and it's all about reconciling those two different sides of yourself and in friendships. We have that in friendships, where people have almost clashing personalities in a sense.
We moved into an Airbnb house and shot it there. My cast, myself, and my producer Sid moved into the house together. We lived there and we made the film. It was a very communal experience. It was professional, but it had a very ‘mate’ feeling about it. It was very, very special. To be able to do something like that with people who are your collaborators but are also your friends. I don't know if I'll ever get to do something at that level again where you move to a house together for two or three weeks, and you shoot every day, you eat together and you cook together. That's something that's a little moment of time.
So we were talking about Simon a bit before, but I've got a list of what your other mates do as well. Simon [Agosta] owns Milkbar, Zakk [Fonseca] owns Euphoric Craft, and Spenser [O'Leary] is a musician who put an album out recently, and is also 1/2 of Astelle House with Jackson [Cowden.] I could go on with all your other mates as well, but this is probably the most creative group of friends I've ever seen. Because you guys spend so much time together as well, what's it like spending so much time surrounded by other creatives?
That’s a great question. And it's funny because of all the people, you nailed it down to my core group. They are the ones I'm closest with- those four guys being Jackson, Simon, Spenser and Zakk. That group we formed I think late last year, with the idea being that in our group, we're all very different. Zakk works in marketing and obviously has a jewelry brand, Simon works in fashion and he's one of my close collaborators, while Spencer does his music and his brand with Jackson. They've moved on from that brand, but Jackson's a 3D artist and has worked with StreetX and Alfred Department, which is a big brand out in Queensland- he’s crazy!
The point being is that we aren't in the same field, and so I think we offer a lot to each other in terms of different perspectives. For example, me and Simon have a lot in common and we have a lot of similar tastes. But someone like me and Zakk, we couldn't be so different. Just polar opposites! I think that's what's interesting about the group. When I'm having conversations with Zakk, he's telling me about marketing and he's giving me a different perspective, as opposed to if I was surrounded by five film makers. It might just be an echo chamber. I kind of pride myself on surrounding myself with these people who aren't in the same field as me because I think the perspectives I'm offered from them are so deep. The perspectives I offer them are so different as well because I come from a filmmaker's mind. Zakk comes from a more business mindset, and so on. To answer your question, it's very special and it's something I'm only realizing more and more. A lot of people bring it up with me, how special the group we have is, and it's something I'm becoming more and more grateful for. We call ourselves a family now because we can say whatever to each other. If there's an argument or something (not that we’ve had arguments,) but we know that we need each other so much that we would just solve whatever's wrong. We would just put it out there and sort it out.
You've obviously been around the block. You've gone to many places, so maybe you could give us a few of your favorite spots to spend time at? It could be bars, shops, cafes, whatever.
Great question. For me, it’s not about the time I spend there. I'll give you the places that have the most memories for me. Where I grew up in, in Hadfield, on North Street, there’s an old IGA that's run by an Asian bloke. I just go in there and chat with him. Pane E Pizza is a restaurant/bakery that I love, next to the IGA on North Street. Roasting Warehouse is a gathering spot. You always see people. You go in there and you end up chatting to someone. I would call it the nightclub of cafes in Melbourne. It's a f**king nightclub. Legit. I love that.
There's a Turkish restaurant on Sydney Road called Alasya, and that's a regular because they're open till 2am. That's why we go there, because it's just reliable. I think the kitchen closes at 10pm, but just being able to go to a spot that you can go to late and it's always open to have coffee is great.
This is cliche, but it’s honest: Brunetti is a cliche spot, but Brunetti is just again reliable. I always go there. It's a good spot to tell people to meet you.
What I've found recently (and obviously this is the direction I'm going with my storytelling) is that the best places are when you're just invited into someone's home, and they cook for you. For example, tonight I'm going to my mate’s house and they make Spanish. There’s something there that you can't compare. I love to go to people's houses and have them cook for me, or vice versa. That's so special.
We might take the conversation to a different place now. My first interview I had was with a guy called Joel, and I had a girl called Mia after. They both went towards music for this question, but you might have a different perspective. As someone who's always out there doing different things, walking around different places, do you think you're inspired by both the environment and people around you?
That's a great question. I would say I'm always creating my own reality in my head. It’s a mix of both those things, of listening to a song, but then also the street that I'm in and the people I'm around. I would say it's 100% both, but I'd lean more towards people. I think in the past I would say I was more inspired by the art, but now I would say I'm more inspired by people and places- certain characters and certain places that have a certain feel to me. That being said, music informs a lot of the work I do, and obviously the music informs the videos. It's a mix of those I think.
But people really stand out to me because if you meet someone interesting or especially if you aspire to be a certain person, again, ‘Melbourne’s Scorsese’ is that idea. I aspire to be like that, or I aspire to be Anthony Bourdain. That's probably the most powerful form of drive- to have the essence of a person.
We were also talking a bit about running as well and that's sort of a big part of GSJ. One of your first magazines was about running, and your run group is the Port Melbourne Run Club.
That's a good pick up. That's just the five guys in that group that I mentioned to you before. It's an every Saturday thing. As an artistic, people aren't encouraged to take care of themselves and to keep their minds sharp, but that's such an important part of what we do. If you can't function artistically, you're not taking care of yourself. I’m not the healthiest person in the world, and I have certain vices, but running is a great counteractive to that because I think it keeps me sharp and it keeps me a little bit more switched on.
Let’s go back to being inspired by your friends and the people around you. Your mate Zakk, I have here that he started running when he was 13. Was he a catalyst to getting all of you guys into running?
Did you say Zakk started running at 13?
Yeah, I think so. That's what I’ve seen.
Jeez, you've done your research man. I would say it's accurate. But no, I got into it before I met Zakk through Simon. Simon was doing it and he dragged me along. But in the first volume I featured Kev, who used to work at Up There store and he's a part of being in that group of people who are a little bit older than me that I take a lot of inspiration from. Something about Kev was that he made it feel easy and accessible. He would post on his Instagram a photo of him going for a run, and then he would post a photo of himself just drinking a Milo straight after. I think being a little bit younger than him, and seeing this guy just post a photo of him having a Milo and going for a run, it broke down that barrier of people who do all this exercise as really health conscious and they only have a certain portion of food. But seeing Kev do that, it broke down the barrier in my head. I can go for a run and then I can still eat what I want to eat, and I can still enjoy all these things.
Let's talk about the social media thing now that you’ve mentioned it a bit. You talk about how Kev would put the Milo up on his story after his run, but on the flip side you’ve got all the ‘fitness influencers’ telling you what you should be doing; like a mold that people have to fit in. Obviously, it's a tool for your business, but what are your thoughts on how social media is seen?
Great, great question. I think our generation is having a more positive understanding of it. I think we're slowly shifting away from that mindset of, ‘oh, it's all bad. It sucks.’ I guess it all depends on what your feed is and what you're consuming. When done right, it’s the best. It's almost like your resumé for yourself as a person. That's what I find really interesting. I call my personal account a resume for who I am as a person. You can look through that and get an understanding of who I am. A great example of that is Otis, who I cast as Dave in the film. I went through his Instagram, I looked at a bunch of photos of him, and I didn’t know if he suited the part. He had this long, wavy hair. And then he posted a photo of him, where he'd shaved his hair off, and he looked like he fit the part perfectly. If he hadn't done that, I wonder, would I ever have pictured him in the role? Probably not.
The point is, the contents of what you post can be such a good reflection of yourself. I think it's so much about how you want to represent yourself. Whether it's a high-quality camera or your phone camera, the camera is pointing at something that you value. If your camera is always pointed at you and your mates on a night out having a big bender, that's saying something to me about what you value. If it's done right, it can be such a great tool for showing who you are as a person. This is how out of touch schools are, but there should be a class which is all about how to use social media and how to actually post photos, but in a way where you're creating a nice portfolio of who you are as a person. That class would be more valuable than f**king maths. You should learn how to present yourself and show the kind of person you want to be. It's so hard- even I'm still figuring out how to do it. I'm sure many people want to use it properly, but they just don't know.
Now you mentioned that it’s a way your profile is a resume or portfolio, me and my mates always talk about like how we hate those people that as soon as they post, they archive the post.
That's a great point. Why are you being ashamed of who you are? It's like speaking. If you're going to speak, speak with your f**king chest out and don't be ashamed of who you are. Don't archive it. It's just being a b*tch about it. If that's who you are, f**king show it, or just don't post it.
Wrapping up now, you put a lot of thought into music selection for videos. Lots of jazz music, and Paul Simon. Could you give us a few of your favorite, old timey songs?
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, by Paul Simon. Fall at Your Feet by Crowded House. Roadrunner by the Modern Lovers. Take It by Donnie and Joe Emerson, and I'll give you one more. This is a staple of my main playlist, Cause by Rodríguez.
Last question I have for you: do you have any words of wisdom, and then anything to promote, or anyone to shout out?
Again, I feel hypocritical to give words of wisdom because I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm still figuring it out myself, but I’ll give something that I'm working on. The word I've used is ‘attentive.’ Just listening to people. I'm trying to get better at that. Not just because I'm doing more interview stuff, but in my relationships with people, like with my family. Just actually listening to people. I know it's not advice, but just something I'm working on, and I feel like a lot of people should work on this. I think maybe a bit of a downside of social media and how we've been on technology is maybe we don't listen to each other as much, and be attentive and empathetic. All my progress has come from actually listening, and there are times when maybe I could have avoided making mistakes if I just listened better. If you're attentive and you listen, you can see something coming from a mile away. You don't have to get there and realise, ‘oh, that was a dumb decision.’
Obviously, this film will be coming out with more information. Thanks to all the people I've talked about today. They’ve had a big impact on my life, and even the boys who starred in the film, Karsten and Otis, I will give them a mention along with Sid, who's one of my good friends, and helped with the film. And thank you for doing this!
Links: Dylan Walsh / Garden State Journal
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