Jack Johnson Just Sold Out A 2,000-Seat Theater With 25-Year-Old Surf Films

All photos by Todd Glaser.

Last night Santa Barbara’s historic Arlington Theater was filled with over 2,000 eager souls, hungry for banana pan… I mean an evening filled with ‘tasteful’ music from Jack Johnson and friends, along with two newly remastered films: Thicker Than Water and The September Sessions. 

The show also included an in-depth Q&A with the crew who not only brought these films to life a quarter century ago, but showcased their relevance and impact on filmmaking today. The names Chris Malloy and Emmet Malloy ring a bell? Appearances also came in the form of Timmy Curran, Rob Machado, Brad Gerlach, and more stars of the aforementioned classics. 

The night commenced with live music from Todd Hannigan and Xocoyotzin Moraza, followed by the screening of Thicker Than Water. The two paired like oxygen and spark, reminding us that music and surfing together is greater than the sum of its parts. Which is probably why Jack Johnson was able to create something so timeless in these films. 

“We used to sit around on these trips, and I can honestly say, the reason I had the confidence to go out and start singing in front of other people was having friends who were so supportive. And you can tell when your friends are bullshitting you (crowd laughs) it was so nice to have them around and I just want to say thank you,” Jack explained to a rapt crowd.

Piggy-backing off that was Dan Malloy: “It was one of the coolest things ever to be in the room when Jack was working on that first album, and then seeing him put it out there — then it just goes into the next stratosphere. It was a wild experience.” 

As Jack, G Love, The Hermanos Gutierrez, Zack Gill, and Rob Machado hit the stage, an improvisational set took place as The September Sessions played behind them. This cemented the fact that surfing is best consumed in a sensory immersion chamber.

“From being in front of the camera and then coming home from those adventures, the movies were cool, but they weren’t reflecting how magic the experience was that we were having,” says Chris Malloy, nostalgia-dosing his own surf career. “And so the idea was, hey before we have to, like, get real jobs, let’s write a love letter to surfing. And that’s what it really was. There was no big plan or budget with these films. It was just about how we could put our heads together and write a love letter to surfing.”

Letter: received. 

Check out the trailer of a new documentary Directed by Emmett Malloy SURFILMUSIC — following the evolution of Jack Johnson.