Rick Savage Visits Sons Of Anarchy Set; Happiness Ensues

I think everyone wants to be part of something bigger. Something special. Something original. I think that’s why some people start bands or write scripts. They want to leave their mark on the world. Of course some of us have to do it vicariously. I did it through The Wire, The West Wing, The Sopranos and now Sons of Anarchy.

Do you watch this show? You really should. Seriously.

Its about a motorcycle club (do NOT call them a ‘gang’) in the fictional town of Charming, CA. SAMCRO (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original) is the chapter of the club the show follows. They sell firearms, repair bikes, get into scraps with rival clubs and protect their town from outsiders.

Sure it’s a show about badass dudes on Harley’s, but it’s really about more than that. It’s a show about family, loyalty and respect. A show that makes you kinda wish you lived in a small town and it definitely makes you wish you were part of a motorcycle club. Trust me, I’ve started my own. (See the video below.)

WAIT A SECOND! THIS ISNT ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY! WHAT THE HELL RICK?

Yeah, you’re right. The show is awesome and you should watch it. That’s the end of the review portion of this blog. The reason I am writing about SOA is because I went to the set last week!

DUDE!

Ok, I know this town is full of jaded people who don’t care about something as cool as a set visit to a TV show. It’s the same people that act like they aren’t excited to be backstage at a concert, even though they are. Drop the BS BRO! Just admit that you are excited and roll with it. That’s what I’m doing!

The great people at Los Feliz Charter School for The Arts (http://losfelizarts.org/) held a fund raising auction and one of the items was a trip to the SOA set. Oh, you better believe I snatched that up. This was not a “oh, you’re a KROQ DJ” so we are gonna take you to a TV show so you will talk about it. This was 100% legit. Even better that it was for a great cause like Los Feliz Charter.

I met up with my contact at the set and got a quick tour of all the SOA sets. The detail that these sets have is AMAZING. I don’t know who gets paid the big bucks to design these, but they are worth every penny. As I walked through all the sets, pictures of the actors when they were younger covered the walls. These are things you will never see on the show but they still go into that much detail. I walked through all the bedrooms, the apartments, the club house and the repair shop. Trust me, they are as cool in real life as they are on the show. It doesn’t feel like a set at all. The clubhouse was so real, there was even a biker extra taking a nap on the couch. You have no idea how bad I wanted to snap a pic of me in the clubhouse, but I was afraid my day would end right there so I couldn’t risk it.

After the tour, my contact (she was the coolest) led me out to where they were shooting a scene. Here is where it gets tricky.

I can’t tell you what scene it was for two reasons:

1) I don’t want to spoil anything for you.

2) Pretty sure they would sue the F out of me if I revealed what they were shooting.

What I can tell you is that these actors are no joke. They take this stuff insanely serious. They had to do a bunch of takes from every angle and each time I got chills. Maybe that was because I’m a super fan of the show, but I think even if you didn’t know what was going on you would have had the same reaction. That was what I was most surprised about. I never thought acting was easy, but the effort that went into shooting this 30 second scene was incredible.

The producer on set was very cool and let me sit in “Video Village” so I could watch and listen as they were shooting the scene. The family attitude on the set was awesome. Dayton Callie, who plays the police chief, even showed up just to hang out and watch them shoot. That’s right, he wasn’t even shooting that day, but he still hung out. (Although, a few guys did mention he was there for the free food, but whatever.) He was a great guy and told stories of a jazz band he used to play in many years ago.

I met a few other cast members and they all were super cool. No one had a “Hollywood” attitude or blew me off. Hell, Charlie Hunnam (Jax) even asked me for a light on one of his breaks. Doesn’t get much cooler than that. Theo Rossi (Juice) came up and introduced himself. Classy dude (with awesome skull tattoos.)

No sign of Katey Sagal, Drea de Matteo or Taryn Manning on the set though. (Is there a hotter group of 3 gals on a show together right now?) I totally would’ve made a move on one of them if they were around. And by “totally” I mean “get scared and not talk to them.”

I didn’t get a chance to meet Kim Coates (Tig), but he was on set when I was there. Once again, I can’t reveal anything, but trust me. This dude is the real deal. Insanely gifted actor. Clearly takes his gig serious. And, honestly, looks like a biker that would shank you if you looked at him wrong. I think that’s just his character, but you think I would risk it and try to shake his hand? I think not good sir.

Same thing goes for Ryan Hurst (Opie.) Watching him act was such a thrill. Choosing a favorite SAMCRO member isn’t easy (or safe), but I think he’s at the top of my list. You can see the pain of Opie in Ryan when he acts. And he also happens to have the greatest beard in the history of television.

OH! Kurt Sutter showed up to the set too. He is the show creator and executive producer. He was also a writer and executive producer for a little show called The Shield. No big deal. It’s funny, when the main dude rolls up at anything, you can see the shift in everyone’s attitude. It’s not like they are scared, but it’s like “Ok, Kurt is here, lets not F this one up kids.” He seemed like he had a million things to get to, but he did give me a head nod. I nodded back and put on my mean biker face. Then Kurt said “Hey dude, wanna be in this scene?”

Nah, that last part didn’t happen. Next time maybe.

I hung out on set for about 4 hours. I could’ve stayed there all day, but didn’t want to intrude more than I already had.

You gotta check out this show. The second season premiere is on September 8th on FX and the first season is out now on DVD. GET IT!

Oh, and if you want to learn about Savage Outlaws, check the video. Yes, the song used is the intro song for Sons Of Anarchy. If I can’t become a member of SAMCRO, then I’m gonna steal their theme song.

(Disclaimer: If you are a member of a real motorcycle club, please don’t take this seriously. I am the only member of Savage Outlaws and I think that’s where my MC life will begin and end.)