Ride with Norman Reedus (2016) s01e05 Episode Script
Louisiana: Crescent City
1 There's no flavor like New Orleans flavor.
Look at this bridge, bro.
How cool is this? Yeah! - Hello, mon chéri.
- That just happened.
- Caramel! - Curves! - Welcome to New Orleans, Norman.
- Whoo.
(theme music playing) (insects buzzing) Reedus: Give me a plane ticket to anywhere in the world and this is where I'd want to go.
A couple of years ago I was the grand marshal of the Endymion parade at Mardi Gras.
Since then I've jumped at every chance I get to come back to Louisiana.
The mash-up of people and cultures, the contrast between rich and poor, Christians and pagans, storm survivors and, let's be honest, partygoers.
Louisiana's a great American enigma.
It's a crossroads where you can feel the friction in the air, and for me that's pretty cool.
And although my day job has led me back here once or twice, I've never really gotten the opportunity to explore it.
I'm back and this time I'm gonna do it right.
I'm taking a three-day trip on two wheels.
(motor starts) I'm starting in Lafayette and then heading east over the Atchafalaya Basin into Baton Rouge.
Following the Great River Road south along the Mississippi, I'm ending up in the Big Easy, New Orleans.
I'm bringing Brent Hinds of the band Mastodon.
We met backstage at a concert in Atlanta and bonded over music and bikes, people we both knew, and our shared love of Louisiana.
- Brent: Yeah.
- Reedus: We're gonna hook up at a little hole-in-the-wall taco joint Brent found while on tour.
- How you been, man? - I've been all right.
Reedus: Brent Hinds has been playing guitar for 15 years.
He scored three Grammy nominations along the way.
But he's still a country boy at heart.
He first came to New Orleans hopping trains as a kid from Alabama.
- Welcome to Taco Sisters.
- Oh, thanks.
What should I order? What's your specialty? We have the Wake and Bake Burrito.
Oh, now we're talking.
I'll take that without the burrito.
(laughs) Woman: Two coffees up for Norman.
And your Paula Special and Wake and Bake.
You used to come here as a kid like how often? We came here a couple times and got bit up by mosquitoes pretty good.
And then we went back to Alabama and got bit up by some more mosquitoes.
Do they got that Zika virus here? They don't have it yet, but we'll get it.
(laughs) - Is that slammin'? - So good, yeah.
They put marijuana in there? They might, I don't know.
It's really delicious.
How'd you get started riding motorcycles and stuff? Being from Alabama, man.
You know? I mean, you're born with a gun and a motorcycle in my neighborhood.
My dad, he reared us on motorcycles and guns and hunting and he was teaching three and five-year-olds how to be a man - before you even know what a pacifier is, you know.
- Right, right.
- I love the outdoors.
I love hunting and fishing.
- Oh, wow.
Why go to the grocery store when you can go to the woods? (laughs) Do you know New Orleans very well? I do.
I played there a lot and I hopped freight trains there a lot.
Last Halloween we played the Voodoo Festival, but it rained like a son of a bitch.
First time I came out here, I was in a movie.
And then I came back here last year.
I was the grand marshal of the Endymion parade at Mardi Gras.
- Wow.
- Yeah, I like New Orleans.
And you got a friend that does tattoos and stuff, right? Yeah, we're gonna go see Jordan and I'm thinking about getting me a Lemmy tattoo because he was kind of a mentor of mine and he was an old friend and we played a lot of concerts together and, you know? Let's go.
Let's hit it.
Yeah, man.
- This burrito was delicious.
- I'm ready when you are.
- I got to tell you.
- Yeah, I want to thank both sisters.
- Let's get matching tattoos.
- All right.
All right.
- Motorhead.
- Yeah, right? Matching bro tattoos.
There's nothing cooler than that.
All right, cool.
Yeah, man.
Reedus: Wow, this is like crawfish country right here.
Hinds: Hell, yeah.
It's beautiful out here.
Reedus: Louisiana is the crawfishing capital of the world, harvesting over 100 million pounds of those spiny little creatures each year.
So it's like Brent said, why go to the store when you can go to the swamp? Reedus: Look how nice it is out here.
- It's got that "Sleepy Hollow" vibe.
- Yeah.
Dude, look at these crazy old creepy trees and stuff right here.
Hinds: Don't look at that tree, man, or you'll get possessed by it - for the rest of your life.
- (Reedus laughs) Reedus: Brent and I are making the trip on a pair of Triumph Tigers.
The 800 series boasts an awesome double punch of power and torque spread.
And my custom XCx has a high-end adjustable WP suspension and a sophisticated electronic system.
I like the sound of these.
It's like a turbine.
Like "zzzz.
" I just found out that my bike tells me what gear I'm in.
- Yeah.
- I'm a slow learner.
Reedus: This bayou goes way back.
In the 1700s there were these Canadians that got fed up with the British who ruled with an iron fist.
Somehow they made it all the way down here 1,200 miles away.
- We in the bayou.
- Yeah, baby.
Reedus: Fishermen by nature, they turned crawfish into the Louisiana staple it is today.
And ever since, generations of Cajuns have been pulling bounty from the swamp.
And of all the crawfishermen in Louisiana, there's one who towers above the rest.
A true legend.
Mike Clay.
- How are you, sir? - Good, how y'all doing? Good, man, good.
Reedus: The 2013 Breaux Bridge crawfish king, Mike opens up his breeding pond to teach others about the Cajun tradition of crawfishing.
And they keep it simple boil them up with your favorite spice blend, grab a fistful, and chow down.
How hard is it to catch crawfish? I've never done this before.
- It's easy, believe me.
- Is it easy? We have some nets over here.
We got some bait already worked up.
Reedus: How long have you guys been out here doing this? I've been doing this since I was 13 years old.
Oh, so you definitely know what you're doing.
So you put the fish on the things and you just drop 'em in the water? That's it.
Piece of cake, right? So there's just billions of them on the ground right now? Billions of them.
Ooh, look at that.
Look at that crawfish right there.
Look at that.
Look at that big-ass craw.
That's a big one, boy.
Man, that's delicious eating right there.
- Put your finger in there.
- No way.
Ow! Mother[bleep.]
Ow! [bleep.]
! [bleep.]
! (music playing) Whole lot of crawfish.
That went in the real pants right there.
That was yeah.
I'm gonna stink for the next couple of days.
I'm gonna smell so bad.
Little wet butt going on right now.
Dude, this is so gross.
What do you do with this? Just scoop it in the water and you might catch something.
Really? (spitting) - (snaps) - (laughing) Man: Look, we got another net for you.
There you go.
That happens a lot, though, right? Not just me? (snaps) (laughs) That's two I broke now.
Two nets I broke already, yeah.
Pull it fast.
Pull it fast.
Hoo-yah! Aii! - Is he dead? - Yeah, he's dead.
No, he's still alive.
- He's moving.
He just gives up.
- He's just relaxing.
- He just gave up.
- He just Norman from "Walking Dead.
" He just fainted.
Crawfish can't handle celebrities catching them, you know? You know, this pond right here has produced the world's fastest crawfish.
- Oh, really? - Yeah.
- Do you guys race 'em? - Oh, yeah.
You put them in a round thing and see who gets to the edge first? - Yes, sir.
- Yeah, yeah, that's cool.
How do you pick a fast crawfish? Well, that's a secret between me and my two sons.
Oh.
It's how fast they move their tail.
I'm a natural.
(music playing) Come on, baby, you can do it.
- You ready? - Come on, baby.
I got faith, baby.
- Okay, $10 bet on it.
- 10 bucks.
- Come on! - Come on! Come on! - Run, [bleep.]
run! - Eat this guy! - Get him! Come on, man! - Come on, come on! Come on! No, no, no, no! I crossed the line.
I crossed the line.
Yeah, 10 bucks.
10 bucks.
You've earned your freedom.
Victory.
Now let's eat all their friends.
- Man: Put 'em in that basket.
- Reedus: Whoa! You got to catch 'em by hand and just pull 'em up and put 'em in the basket.
- Get on the side.
- Ai-yi-yi-yi! Ayi! Why don't we just pick this up and dump them in there? You want to dump them in there? That'd be easier for you? That seems like it's smarter, right? Okay, that's smarter for you, huh? - There you go.
- Know what I mean? Efficient.
This side in first.
Wow, that's hot.
- Oh, look at that.
I got one.
- That was a good one.
There's no shortage of these things out here.
How do you avoid butt juice? - You just eat it.
- It's all good.
Reedus: Life on the bayou goes back to simpler times when people were happy to live off the land and off the grid.
And despite the modern world's best efforts, in a lot of ways out here, not a whole lot has changed.
For Mike and his crew, there's clearly pride in keeping the time-honored traditions of their Cajun ancestors alive.
(camera clicking) And there's no better way to make a living.
Thank you so much, sir.
That was awesome.
- A pleasure.
- You enjoyed it? Absolutely.
It was a pleasure, bro.
Reedus: Being down here reminds me of that scene in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" when Jack Nicholson's character breaks everyone out to go fishing.
Don't be a fisherman, be a fisher of men.
Or something like that.
In other words, it's not about what you haul in at the end of the day.
What matters is the people you get to know on your journey.
The connections you make.
There's just one thing I'd like to add.
The journey is always better on a motorcycle.
(speaking French) Wow.
Yeah! (music playing) - This is a really cool area out here.
- Yeah.
Halfway between Lafayette and Baton Rouge is real cool.
Daiquiri drive-thru.
Did you see that? Yeah, man.
That's what I love about Louisiana.
Reedus: Riding in southern Louisiana, it's not long before you realize why they call this place the Bayou State.
This area is known as the Atchafalaya Basin and it's the only Louisiana basin that has a growing delta.
Narrator: Down where Louisiana is neither land nor sea, the bayou echoes through the Louisiana swamps.
At the fishing grounds, the weighted nets are tossed overboard to scrape along the muddy bottom.
Get a load of this and watch your step there, fella.
Of course it's work, but the result is quite a pile of fish.
Reedus: You know, the last time I was down here, I did a photo shoot on an airboat.
We covered a lot of ground, but it just left me wanting more.
So that's why we're on our way down Interstate 10 to Basin Landing and Marina in Henderson to visit with Captain Tucker Friedman.
Oh, you turned my heat seater on, you [bleep.]
.
- I don't know.
- What do you mean you don't know? I mean, I might have turned it on.
Reedus: Since 1999, Captain Tucker's been known as not only a guy who will find you an alligator, he'll speak to them, too.
All right, let's go find an airboat.
This place is awesome.
Looks like "Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
" There's a whole Easter Bunny theme going on here as well.
- That's not creepy at all.
- (laughs) - How y'all doing? What you guys up to? - How are you, man? - Can you take us on an airboat? - Sure can.
- Man, this is crazy out here.
- That's our backyard.
("Easy Rider" playing) All right, guys, here we go.
Come on, come on, come on Come on, riding easy Reedus: You can't see anything below.
You go under this, you'll never come back up.
It looks like we're on land.
This is amazing.
(kissing) (speaking French) (no dialogue) (speaking French) Wait, there he is.
He's coming.
To the left.
Oh, [bleep.]
.
God, here he is, right here.
Look at this.
OMG.
Look at this.
It's incredible.
(Tucker speaking French) Reedus: Wow! Hinds: Oh, my goodness.
- That was mind-blowing.
- (speaking French) Cherie is about a 14-year-old alligator.
I found her a few years ago.
She had run into a thorn tree.
She ended up losing one eye.
(speaks French) - Reedus: That just happened.
- Wow.
You know that lady, don't you? That's the only reason she kiss me, she's blind.
(laughs) When did you first, like, know that you could call the alligator over? Tucker: Well, when we were kids, you know, back in the early '60s, alligators were put on the endangered species list.
There were very few of them left.
And when we saw an alligator, we were so intrigued with it, you know? They have very long-term memory.
I've had alligators that I've made friends with and don't see them for six, seven years and they'll show themselves up again and it's just like we never missed a day, you know? - Really? - Wow.
Dude, you just called an alligator over here.
Hinds: Yeah, that was impressive.
Do you realize what just went down? I do that all over the place.
That's crazy.
Come on, come on, come on Come on, riding easy And I'm first to go and last to leave Reedus: Captain Tucker is a real salt-of-the-earth character.
When this area flooded after Katrina, Tucker stayed behind.
You can tell he loves this place and I can't blame him.
Thank you so much.
That was so fun.
First to go and last to leave - Cherie? - Cherie! Still in awe that the guy called an alligator over to him.
- Yeah, like a pet.
- He's the alligator whisperer, man, for real.
- Yeah.
- Whatever it is he's got, he's got it together.
He's definitely figured it out, that guy.
Are we gonna ride to Baton Rouge tonight? - Yeah.
- Awesome.
(music playing) Reedus: There's nothing like Baton Rouge roads first thing in the morning.
The canopy of cypress trees, the swampy sun, and dragonflies as big as your finger.
- Oh, good morning.
- Good morning.
My clothes still smell like crawdad.
- What are you looking at? - Just looking at your controls.
Where is your seat heater? It's on the side of my seat.
Like right here.
Don't turn it on like you did yesterday.
I didn't, dude.
I didn't.
I didn't.
I'm just gonna see what's going on, you know what I mean? You [bleep.]
.
You just made my bike go dead.
- [bleep.]
! - (laughs) Come on, buddy.
(laughs) Where are you, buddy? The bike stalled again, Norman, okay? Oh, [bleep.]
.
Maybe you hit your button.
I know what you did.
You turned the damn [bleep.]
bike off.
- You [bleep.]
! - (laughing) You like to pull pranks? I've been on tour for 20 years.
I know how to pull pranks.
(laughs) Sorry, sorry, sorry.
That was unintentional.
That was unintentional.
Ah, [bleep.]
.
What the [bleep.]
? - You all right? - I'm okay.
You can't hurt stupid.
(laughs) Hinds: Oh, there's a casino.
Reedus: Yeah, place looks hopping.
Are you good at blackjack? I have been known to be up several thousand dollars and down several thousand dollars and break several thousands dollars worth of [bleep.]
in casinos.
- (laughs) - That's the only way to do it.
- You got to let it loose, baby.
- Let's do it.
Reedus: I've lost a bet or two in my time, but I've never had the privilege to lose one on a casino riverboat.
- Hello, sir.
- Hey, how you doing? Casino that way? All right, thank you.
Reedus: Until the early '90s, these boats actually used to cruise up and down the Mississippi to evade local laws.
But these days Louisiana is kind enough to let them dock.
Reedus: This is beautiful.
I think it's a little too sensitive for you.
I'm trying to get in touch with my feminine side nowadays.
- Dude, that's the new thing.
- I'm starting to do yoga and stuff.
- So I'm full-on.
- Are you really starting to do yoga? - Yeah.
- Shut up.
Dude, teach me yoga.
- I said I'm starting.
I haven't done it yet.
- (laughs) Reedus: All right, let's gamble or something.
"Wheel of Fortune.
" You love "Wheel of Fortune.
" Come on, you didn't have a crush on Vanna White when you were a kid? Oh, look, I just won something.
How much did I win, nine bucks? - What did you put in? - 10.
- Okay, you lost - 80 cents and I was a winner? How's that work out? Well, I mean, you know, they just get you hooked on the sounds and the noises and stuff.
Where should we play blackjack? Is this good? Can we play? Yeah, you can play here.
All right, let's do it.
What's your name? They call me the Terminator.
Reedus: Oh, great, we got the Terminator.
All right, no more bets.
- One hand.
One hand.
- Oh, one I'm sorry.
- I already cheated? - You can only use one hand.
- How do I pick them up? - This a Louisiana thing? - Yeah.
- Hinds: Can I look at these cards? Yes, you can look at your cards.
- You can't bend the cards.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
- There's a lot of rules around here.
- There's a lot of rules.
- I'm feeling lucky right now.
- All right, 19.
You can't touch your money once you place the bet.
- Just hit him with a stick.
- I'm gonna hit him in a minute.
- I am.
- Slap him.
This is the perfect place to gamble for an amputee.
All right, hit me.
- Oh.
- Hit it again.
- What'd I get? - A six.
- Yes.
- Yes.
You winning all the money.
You're lovely.
Thanks for letting us play.
Let's go.
See you later.
All right, have a good one, guys.
Reedus: I've got my big win and now it's time to bounce.
New Orleans, here we come.
All right, you ready, Alabama? Let's go.
Let's go.
Look at this bridge, bro.
How cool is this? Oh, man, the speed limit is 70 and we're going 63.
That's not good.
Yeah! Let's go get some Lemmy tattoos.
Reedus: What Brent's talking about is Lemmy from Motorhead.
His friend is a really good tattoo artist and we're hoping to go get a little tribute thing.
It's only a 90-minute ride from here.
Hey, man, you still got to pee? Yeah, I still got to pee.
I got to stretch my legs, too.
Hey, man, I've heard of this place before.
Middendorf's.
- Really? - Yeah.
Look at that bike.
Yeah, it looks amazing.
I got to go pee.
- Is this your bike? - Yeah, man.
- What is that? - Matt.
How are you? Yeah, that's an old Suzuki Savage 650 converted to electric.
- You did all this yourself? - I did, yeah.
Does it make any noise at all? It makes a little noise when you're coming off the line.
And once you get to speed, it's pretty silent.
These are actually out of a Nissan Leaf.
- But these cells are amazing.
- Did you turn this thing on yet? - It's on.
It's on.
- It's on right now? - You want to ride it? - You should ride it.
- Can I ride it? - It's the trippiest thing you've ever felt.
It's kind of like a magic carpet ride.
You just get on and it floats.
- Wow.
- the cool thing is I can plug my laptop into it and, like, adjust the throttle torque curve however I want.
Did you get into this to be environmentally correct or I mean, it's a nice bonus, but I was looking for a bike when we moved to New Orleans and I saw this guy online.
He was selling a kit.
That's how I kind of got into it.
- And I'm just totally hooked.
- Wow.
- Crazy, right? - Holy [bleep.]
.
This is mind-blowingly innovative and just robot as hell.
One, two, one, two, three, four.
- Cool.
- Thank you.
Nice to meet you, man.
Nice to meet you, too.
Have a safe trip to New Orleans.
Hinds: Yes, sir.
We'll drive as fast as we can.
Yeah! We coming into New Orleans now, baby.
- You guys are doing it sleazy? - Yeah, we love the sleazy.
- Something like this would look pretty cool.
- Yeah, perfect.
Dang.
I think I'm in love.
Are we even close to the downtown? I don't know where the [bleep.]
.
We're about 15 miles out.
Yeah, we're good.
Trust me.
Reedus: We're on our way to one of my favorite cities in the world.
Oh, we coming into New Orleans now, baby.
Reedus: From Baton Rouge, it's a 95-mile ride southeast along the Great River Road to the Crescent City, the Big Easy, New Orleans.
("King City" playing) - Are we here? - Yes, sir.
You are now home In the City of Kings Come with me Come to the city Your king has finally come Reedus: One of the oldest cities in America, New Orleans has always done its own thing.
But I'd expect nothing less from a city that got its nickname from turning into a big speakeasy during Prohibition.
Hinds: This is awesome.
Welcome to New Orleans, Norman.
- Reedus: Whoo! - Ayi! I'm excited to see my buddy Jordan.
Yeah, I'm excited to meet him, man.
Reedus: First stop in town, Abracadabra Tattoos.
- Yo, Jordi.
- I thought I smelled something sexy.
What's going on? We rode some motorcycles over here, me and my friend Norman.
- Jordan.
- Nice to meet you.
I heard a lot about you.
- What's up? Cornbread.
- Nice to meet you, Cornbread.
- You guys enjoying the sleazy? - Yeah, we love the sleazy.
- So we want to get Lemmy tattoos.
- Awesome.
Reedus: Since the early 2000s, Jordan Barlow has been turning out some of the most creative artwork in all New Orleans.
He opened his own place two years back and already it's one of the most respected shops in town.
Good seeing you, dude.
Reedus: Brent and him, they go way back.
They met hoboing freight trains and have been tight ever since.
How'd you get that skeleton so small? Jordan: I went to Fiji, had them shrink it down.
You couldn't just have them shrink it down here in New Orleans? Voodoo enriched around here, I've heard.
Reedus: Place is so cool.
It's like a museum.
Dude, I like the gold AK.
That's the Russian half wood one.
We shoot those on the show.
- That sounds like fun.
- Yeah, yeah, it's a blast.
So I was thinking something like this would look pretty cool in the Motorhead font.
I was kind of thinking more like just super simple.
- Like a kid did it.
- All right.
- Yeah, like that.
Bam.
- All right, let's get that shirt off.
So how long's it been since your last tattoo? - It's been a long time.
- Yeah? What was your first one? I was 12 or 13 and I kept bringing this guy money.
He'd always kick us out.
We came in there with a big wad of money - and he goes, "[bleep.]
get in.
" - Make sure nobody was looking? Yeah, and he gave me this little lizard on my leg.
And we were like, "Yeah!" I mean, they're like the worst tattoos in the world.
Cornbread: All right, you ready for this one? Let's do it.
Reedus: Motorhead and Lemmy specifically are kind of one of the voices of our generation.
Born out of the punk scene in the 1970s London, Motorhead is often credited with the birth of heavy metal.
They're one of Mastodon's main musical inspirations.
Lemmy is kind of a hero to both of us.
I made it look just like a hand poked tattoo for you.
- Yeah, perfect.
- Is that the one? Yeah, that's perfect.
Thank you, man.
Yeah, thanks, dude.
Cool.
- Let me see it.
- Two seconds, man.
Why'd you get it so tiny, man? Oh, you had to do it because of the vest, right? - Reedus: Dude, that looks awesome.
- Thank you.
Perfect spot for it, too.
Dude, we got Lemmy memorial tattoos now.
- Done.
- Done, boom.
(thunder rumbling) Reedus: This city has been ravaged by fires and hurricanes.
But the waters, they only rise for so long and New Orleans never stops.
And if you wander around New Orleans long enough, you're bound to run into voodoo.
It's one of the most misunderstood religions in the world.
And it's run through this place straight from the beginning.
(camera clicking) - You nervous? - Yeah.
- You should be.
- Great, thank you very much.
I'm just kidding.
We're going to pay our traditional respects.
- Make things right.
- All positive, right? - All positive.
White magic.
- Sun's gonna come out.
We're gonna get back on the bikes.
- Here we go.
Hi.
Hi.
- Sallie: Hey, how you doing? - I'm Norman.
- I'm Sallie.
- Nice to meet you, Sallie.
- Nice to meet you.
- Hi, Sallie.
How are you? My name's Brent.
- Brent? - Nice to meet you.
- (dog barks) - Who do I hear over here? - That's Ayida the Akita.
Reedus: Sallie Ann Glassman isn't your typical voodoo high priestess.
She's been practicing here since 1977 and she's only one of a handful of Americans who have ever been ordained in the traditional Haitian initiation ceremony.
Every time I'm in New Orleans, I can feel it.
Glassman: Oh, New Orleans is full of spirits.
- Oh, I can just feel it.
- And history.
I don't know anything about it at all.
You say voodoo and everybody thinks zombies, right? - Yeah.
Yeah.
- You probably think zombies even more than most people.
To me, voodoo is not this dangerous hexing thing, 'cause it's not.
It's a beautiful religion.
It's all about raising your own power and becoming a participant in your own life.
- I like everything you're saying so far.
- Good.
- Yeah, that's great.
- This is really affecting me.
- Yeah, you're into this.
I can tell.
- I just constantly feel it.
- Can I hug you real fast? - Yeah.
- Group hug.
- Amazing.
Amazing.
We have a shrine for Marie Laveau.
Probably New Orleans's most famous citizen.
150 years after she died, people still go to her for empowerment and guidance and healing.
And I do a little ceremony for her out there.
- Let's do it, yeah.
- You can see how that feels.
We need to bring Marie's candles.
An offering to her.
- I'm blue.
- I'm reddish purplish.
First we always offer to the four corners of the crossroads.
We orient things.
Everything's done in threes because two could be a coincidence, but three means you're moving into intention.
Three drops.
Then kiss the back of your hand three times.
(kissing) (chanting) Stand.
(bell ringing) Okay, you did it.
- Thank you so much.
- You're welcome.
Reedus: You know, coming here, I didn't know what to expect, but voodoo, like this city, it's full of surprises.
Thank you.
Nice meeting you back there hiding in the shadows.
And I got to see another side of a guy I thought I knew really well.
Wow, she was awesome.
She made the weather clear up and my mind clear up.
- That's a 'Busa 1300.
- (tire squealing) Smell the rubber.
Smell it.
I definitely don't want to be a famous actor, I know that.
I don't think I've ever seen anything like this.
Thank you so much.
I'm not allowed for life in the Biloxi, Mississippi, Hard Rock Casino for the rest of my life.
- What'd you do? - I broke some [bleep.]
, then I pissed in a planter pot.
I was high on Jagermeister, the black out cough syrup.
I was on a beach, I was, like, 15 drinking Jagermeister.
This lady had this golden retriever sort of licking her in places in front of a crowd that was hollering and I saw it and I just started puking purple for like two hours.
(laughs) One time I drank some marijuana-laced tequila.
I woke up the next day and I couldn't see.
I was [bleep.]
blind for 12 hours straight.
I could open my eyes just a little bit to cry.
You've been pretty [bleep.]
hard core, man.
Yeah, I've pretty much done it all, my friend.
Reedus: When I shot the movie "Tough Luck" down here 15 years ago, everyone kind of looked at us like we were crazy.
But since then, New Orleans has turned into Hollywood on the delta.
Over 500 films have been shot down here including the epic American road journey "Easy Rider.
" And just like "Easy Rider," we got things we want to do, man.
- Hey, you guys open? - Man: Yes, we are.
- Oh, nice.
This place is awesome.
- Yeah.
Reedus: And right now, that thing is we want to eat.
Boudin.
Oh, my God, I got to steal this.
- This is too good, - "Be nice or leave.
" Two orders of boudin.
So what is this exactly? - It's kind of like stuffing - Is it sausage? that you put inside of a turkey at Thanksgiving.
- Mmm.
- Yeah, it's amazing, right? So that lady I can't get over that lady.
I'm feeling so much weight lifted off of my soul.
You became very emotional with all of that.
You really you're a feeler.
I mean, you listen to your music and you see, like like, you're full-on full raw power.
I'm not a fighter.
I'm a lover and I'm a lifer for my passion of art.
I feel like it's my goal in life to figure out - what the hell I'm doing here.
- Yeah, yeah.
Mmm.
It's interesting for me to have a new aspect of someone's personality be shown through a couple of days on the road.
You'll never find that part of yourself sitting in your living room.
Yeah, never.
That's why motorcycles go well with this kind of lifestyle, you know? It works.
You really do learn to not sweat the petty stuff - and pet the sweaty stuff.
- Yeah.
That's my next T-shirt right there.
- Fried oysters Florentine.
- Oh, wow.
- There you go.
- I don't think I've ever seen anything like this.
- Thank you so much.
- You're welcome.
You said something about New Orleans.
You said it's a place where a lot of people move to to be themselves.
- Mm-hmm.
- And that was so true.
It's a very eclectic mix of people down here that you'll find nowhere else in the world.
Yeah.
Oh, my God.
I just ate a lot of food.
This is something we should have shared, you know? Yeah, this is delicious.
Where should we go next? (music playing) Caramel Curves, is that what we're doing? Yeah, yeah.
Let's go hit up the Caramel Curves girls.
Whoo, all right, let's roll.
Let's do this.
Reedus: We're taking the four-mile ride to the northeast side of town to check out an all-female motorcycle group that's been turning heads even in this eclectic city.
(train whistle blows) I would love for you to show me how to hop a train.
- Okay.
- I mean, hopping trains must be like it must be as old as trains themselves.
You're exactly right.
It's a class A felony now to get caught on federal property.
- You're trespassing.
- Oh, wow.
But it's so Jack Kerouac, it's you know what I mean? Oh, yeah, yeah.
Wow, look at these bikes.
Reedus: This women-only motorcycle club, Caramel Curves, was founded right before Hurricane Katrina.
And like the city, they're still standing strong.
I believe we're at the right place.
I see a Foxy.
These are amazing, man.
Let's do it.
Reedus: With their tricked-out, custom-painted bikes and pink mohawk helmets, these riders are hard to miss.
And tonight they're celebrating their 11th anniversary.
Hinds: Hey, are you guys the Caramel Curves? Woman: We are the Caramel Curves.
Hey, hi.
Nice to meet you.
- How are you? - What's up? Nice to meet you.
Mel.
The most beautiful bikers I've ever met.
Without a doubt, yeah.
How'd you get the name Showstopper? - You can't tell? - (laughing) - That's what I'm saying.
- And your bikes are beautiful out there.
- Thank you.
- Can you do some tricks for us and stuff? - [bleep.]
, yeah, that's what I do.
- CoCo is all about tricks.
My tire, when I burn smoke, it's colored.
- Yeah.
- OMG.
Hinds: This just looks like the fastest bike I've seen in a while.
I think these girls are gonna smoke us.
- Hi.
- I want to get pictures of you, hold on.
You look so good.
- Thank you.
- Yeah! What kind of motor is in here? Is it a four-cylinder? 990 Rotax.
- It has 200 on the dash.
- Hinds: 200?! - Have you pinned it? - No, I haven't.
Fastest I've ever been is to right here, 140.
I've gotten to 180 if I'm going to work.
- 180 on the freeway? - And then I'm a nurse.
- So I got on these scrubs.
- Oh, wow, wow, wow, wow.
Then I'm coming across that high rise gunning it.
- You ready? - Yes, ma'am.
All right, let's get it.
- (motor revving) - Whoa! - (squealing) - Yeah! Ho-ho! - Wow.
- BBOB.
Bad babes on bikes.
I think I'm in love right now.
High heels and everything.
- Hinds: That's a 1,000.
- Reedus: Is it really? Yeah.
Okay, watch the [bleep.]
out, dude.
This is gonna be nutty right here, yeah.
Oh, stop.
Wow.
Ooh-hoo-hoo! Wow.
Oh, dang.
Whoo-wee.
- A perfect circle, man.
Look at that.
- Perfect.
So tell me, how did Caramel Curves start? Like, how'd you start it? Well, I was riding with the guys all the time and I always thought it'd be so cool to pull out with a bunch of bad chicks on bikes with heels on, you know? - Reedus: Oh, yeah.
- And so before you know it, we went from eight to we're 27 deep now.
- Oh, wow.
- We have Chicago, Baton Rouge, - Memphis, Alabama.
- All Caramel Curves? All Caramel Curves.
Tru, show 'em what girls do on 'Busas.
She's got the biggest bike in the club.
That's a 'Busa 1300.
Most guys scared to ride a 1300.
I'm scared to look at it.
(revving) (squealing) - Yeah! - Whoo! (whistling) Smell the rubber.
Smell it.
Reedus: What's going on right here? What is this? What are you guys doing right now? What does this mean? So you guys are a roller derby team? All of a sudden, like, you guys come rolling down.
I'm like, "What the hell is going on?" We thought it'd be better if we came in a pack.
Somebody take this photo.
This is too good.
(laughs) I mean, this is the most random thing I've ever seen.
- I love it.
- Woman: Caramel Curves! - Too good.
- BBOB! - Only in New Orleans.
- Yeah! - New Orleans is so cool.
- Only in New Orleans.
Hinds: Old school.
They hit a rock, they're going down.
Reedus: Oh, and one goes down.
It's all right, we got you.
It's on camera.
We got you.
Let me get these shoes in there.
Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Hinds: Wow, wow, wow.
I think we finally got these hot girls ready to roll.
("Two-Hearted Woman" playing) Reedus: The Curves are heading to a party across town and we're gonna tag along for a little ride before we head out for the night.
Two-hearted woman messing around Walking a fine line all over town - Where you guys at, in the back? - We're in the back.
- We're pulling up the rear.
- All right.
Live in a man's world, it will mess with your brain Yeah Yeah! You know, we got a reputation 'cause we look cute on bikes and all of that, but, man, we kick ass on bikes.
It's got to be Best you can So this is what it feels like to be riding with the Caramel Curves.
- It's an amazing feeling.
- This is awesome.
Here we get out.
We say our good-byes.
You know what I'm saying? Know what I'm saying? - Come here, girl.
- Glad to meet you.
I'll remember this for the rest of my life.
- Thank you, baby.
- What a pleasure.
Come here, beautiful.
Reedus: The Caramel Curves are breaking barriers in motorcycle culture.
Inspiring women to get on a bike and just be themselves.
- All right.
- Oh, thank you so much.
Reedus: Hey, Brent, come here.
Join us.
Come here.
One, two, Caramel Curves.
Yo, love you girls.
Caramel Curves! Reedus: It's been fun, but we got to keep moving.
Ready, Freddy? - Love you guys.
Take it easy.
- (beeps horn) Reedus: Now it's our last night in town and when the sun goes down Let's go.
that's when New Orleans wakes up.
And there's a "Boondock Saints"-themed bar down here I really want to show Brent.
- Let's check out Frenchmen Street, right? - Let's do this.
Where's the "Boondock Saints" thing you were talking about? I can't remember where it is, to be honest.
I don't know my way around so well.
We can ask people.
You know what I mean? - I think - Hey, Daryl! - What's up, man? Hi.
- Yeah! Yeah, what's up? How's that feel? You know, it feels good.
I never have the guy come and go, "You suck.
" You know what I mean? So that's good.
Well, anyone ever came up to me and told me that I suck - I would laugh my ass off.
- I would challenge them to a duel in the parking lot.
Hi, do you guys know where there's this bar called the Boondock Saints Bar? Yeah, where is it at now? Are we close? - Let me shake your hand.
- Yes, ma'am.
- I think it's on Iberville.
- What is it? - Iberville.
- Oh, thanks, yeah.
Here we go.
Bring on the madness.
- Good times.
- Yeah, babe.
- I'm so nervous, I'm shaking.
Oh, my God.
- Oh, shush.
- Come on, you got it.
Did it work? - Yeah.
Where's my dude? Boom.
One, two, three, four.
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
Come here, sweetheart.
Ready? One, two, three, four.
- Have a good one, guys.
- Man: Daryl! - Yeah? - (little boy speaking) - Thank you, sir.
- (laughing) Yeah.
So what's the name of the street? I definitely don't want to be a famous actor, I know that.
One, two, three, four.
Oh, thanks.
One, two, three, four.
Group shot.
- Thank you so much.
- Have a good one, guys.
- What's your hat? - Hi.
"Tattooed and employed.
" I like your hat.
- I love you.
- That's such a good hat.
You want to swap hats? - Woman: Yes! Yes, swap it.
- For you, I will swap.
Yeah.
Cool.
"Tattooed and employed.
" I love it.
You know what's crazy? I've been in here.
Jon Bernthal and Steven Yeun and I ended up in that bar where some guy tried to sell us mushrooms.
Let's go in there and have a - it looks like a noncrowded place.
- It's a cool bar, yeah.
- Should we have a drink? - Yeah, yeah, we definitely need a pit stop.
- Yeah, let's have a pit stop.
- I have a dry mouth.
Let's do it.
Let's grab a drink.
- Cool.
- All right, check this out.
Look.
This is I love that this is a table, dude.
I know, this is killer.
It's a fire hydrant with a table on it.
- You can pee on it and drink at it.
- I already peed on it.
- Cheers, dude.
- Cheers.
Thanks for having me.
[bleep.]
, yeah.
I'm sorry that you're too popular to go in public.
The cameras give it away, too.
They kind of draw a little attention.
You know what I'm saying? Let's be mobile.
Yeah, there's a crowd forming.
Reedus: Nothing personal, but Brent and I are gonna go enjoy our last night on our own.
See if we can go find this bar.
That way? Where the hell is this "Boondock Saints" bar? I have no idea.
(bell dinging) It's been a real pleasure, you know? This has been such a beautiful ride.
You have an open invitation to anywhere I go for the rest of my life.
Yeah, you, too, man.
Reedus: Bob Dylan once said, "There's a lot of places I like, but I like New Orleans better.
" Leaving Louisiana, I know exactly what he meant.
From the crawfish and gator whisperers we met on the bayou to the voodoo priestess and the Caramel Curves, even the hard-living guys like Brent, this place has always survived by welcoming all different kinds of people, whether they're escaping persecution or just looking for a fresh start.
And even though I didn't find that bar in the end, that's okay.
I found so much more.
- Did you turn my seat heater on, buddy? - I might have.
- [bleep.]
damn it, Norman.
- (laughs)
Look at this bridge, bro.
How cool is this? Yeah! - Hello, mon chéri.
- That just happened.
- Caramel! - Curves! - Welcome to New Orleans, Norman.
- Whoo.
(theme music playing) (insects buzzing) Reedus: Give me a plane ticket to anywhere in the world and this is where I'd want to go.
A couple of years ago I was the grand marshal of the Endymion parade at Mardi Gras.
Since then I've jumped at every chance I get to come back to Louisiana.
The mash-up of people and cultures, the contrast between rich and poor, Christians and pagans, storm survivors and, let's be honest, partygoers.
Louisiana's a great American enigma.
It's a crossroads where you can feel the friction in the air, and for me that's pretty cool.
And although my day job has led me back here once or twice, I've never really gotten the opportunity to explore it.
I'm back and this time I'm gonna do it right.
I'm taking a three-day trip on two wheels.
(motor starts) I'm starting in Lafayette and then heading east over the Atchafalaya Basin into Baton Rouge.
Following the Great River Road south along the Mississippi, I'm ending up in the Big Easy, New Orleans.
I'm bringing Brent Hinds of the band Mastodon.
We met backstage at a concert in Atlanta and bonded over music and bikes, people we both knew, and our shared love of Louisiana.
- Brent: Yeah.
- Reedus: We're gonna hook up at a little hole-in-the-wall taco joint Brent found while on tour.
- How you been, man? - I've been all right.
Reedus: Brent Hinds has been playing guitar for 15 years.
He scored three Grammy nominations along the way.
But he's still a country boy at heart.
He first came to New Orleans hopping trains as a kid from Alabama.
- Welcome to Taco Sisters.
- Oh, thanks.
What should I order? What's your specialty? We have the Wake and Bake Burrito.
Oh, now we're talking.
I'll take that without the burrito.
(laughs) Woman: Two coffees up for Norman.
And your Paula Special and Wake and Bake.
You used to come here as a kid like how often? We came here a couple times and got bit up by mosquitoes pretty good.
And then we went back to Alabama and got bit up by some more mosquitoes.
Do they got that Zika virus here? They don't have it yet, but we'll get it.
(laughs) - Is that slammin'? - So good, yeah.
They put marijuana in there? They might, I don't know.
It's really delicious.
How'd you get started riding motorcycles and stuff? Being from Alabama, man.
You know? I mean, you're born with a gun and a motorcycle in my neighborhood.
My dad, he reared us on motorcycles and guns and hunting and he was teaching three and five-year-olds how to be a man - before you even know what a pacifier is, you know.
- Right, right.
- I love the outdoors.
I love hunting and fishing.
- Oh, wow.
Why go to the grocery store when you can go to the woods? (laughs) Do you know New Orleans very well? I do.
I played there a lot and I hopped freight trains there a lot.
Last Halloween we played the Voodoo Festival, but it rained like a son of a bitch.
First time I came out here, I was in a movie.
And then I came back here last year.
I was the grand marshal of the Endymion parade at Mardi Gras.
- Wow.
- Yeah, I like New Orleans.
And you got a friend that does tattoos and stuff, right? Yeah, we're gonna go see Jordan and I'm thinking about getting me a Lemmy tattoo because he was kind of a mentor of mine and he was an old friend and we played a lot of concerts together and, you know? Let's go.
Let's hit it.
Yeah, man.
- This burrito was delicious.
- I'm ready when you are.
- I got to tell you.
- Yeah, I want to thank both sisters.
- Let's get matching tattoos.
- All right.
All right.
- Motorhead.
- Yeah, right? Matching bro tattoos.
There's nothing cooler than that.
All right, cool.
Yeah, man.
Reedus: Wow, this is like crawfish country right here.
Hinds: Hell, yeah.
It's beautiful out here.
Reedus: Louisiana is the crawfishing capital of the world, harvesting over 100 million pounds of those spiny little creatures each year.
So it's like Brent said, why go to the store when you can go to the swamp? Reedus: Look how nice it is out here.
- It's got that "Sleepy Hollow" vibe.
- Yeah.
Dude, look at these crazy old creepy trees and stuff right here.
Hinds: Don't look at that tree, man, or you'll get possessed by it - for the rest of your life.
- (Reedus laughs) Reedus: Brent and I are making the trip on a pair of Triumph Tigers.
The 800 series boasts an awesome double punch of power and torque spread.
And my custom XCx has a high-end adjustable WP suspension and a sophisticated electronic system.
I like the sound of these.
It's like a turbine.
Like "zzzz.
" I just found out that my bike tells me what gear I'm in.
- Yeah.
- I'm a slow learner.
Reedus: This bayou goes way back.
In the 1700s there were these Canadians that got fed up with the British who ruled with an iron fist.
Somehow they made it all the way down here 1,200 miles away.
- We in the bayou.
- Yeah, baby.
Reedus: Fishermen by nature, they turned crawfish into the Louisiana staple it is today.
And ever since, generations of Cajuns have been pulling bounty from the swamp.
And of all the crawfishermen in Louisiana, there's one who towers above the rest.
A true legend.
Mike Clay.
- How are you, sir? - Good, how y'all doing? Good, man, good.
Reedus: The 2013 Breaux Bridge crawfish king, Mike opens up his breeding pond to teach others about the Cajun tradition of crawfishing.
And they keep it simple boil them up with your favorite spice blend, grab a fistful, and chow down.
How hard is it to catch crawfish? I've never done this before.
- It's easy, believe me.
- Is it easy? We have some nets over here.
We got some bait already worked up.
Reedus: How long have you guys been out here doing this? I've been doing this since I was 13 years old.
Oh, so you definitely know what you're doing.
So you put the fish on the things and you just drop 'em in the water? That's it.
Piece of cake, right? So there's just billions of them on the ground right now? Billions of them.
Ooh, look at that.
Look at that crawfish right there.
Look at that.
Look at that big-ass craw.
That's a big one, boy.
Man, that's delicious eating right there.
- Put your finger in there.
- No way.
Ow! Mother[bleep.]
Ow! [bleep.]
! [bleep.]
! (music playing) Whole lot of crawfish.
That went in the real pants right there.
That was yeah.
I'm gonna stink for the next couple of days.
I'm gonna smell so bad.
Little wet butt going on right now.
Dude, this is so gross.
What do you do with this? Just scoop it in the water and you might catch something.
Really? (spitting) - (snaps) - (laughing) Man: Look, we got another net for you.
There you go.
That happens a lot, though, right? Not just me? (snaps) (laughs) That's two I broke now.
Two nets I broke already, yeah.
Pull it fast.
Pull it fast.
Hoo-yah! Aii! - Is he dead? - Yeah, he's dead.
No, he's still alive.
- He's moving.
He just gives up.
- He's just relaxing.
- He just gave up.
- He just Norman from "Walking Dead.
" He just fainted.
Crawfish can't handle celebrities catching them, you know? You know, this pond right here has produced the world's fastest crawfish.
- Oh, really? - Yeah.
- Do you guys race 'em? - Oh, yeah.
You put them in a round thing and see who gets to the edge first? - Yes, sir.
- Yeah, yeah, that's cool.
How do you pick a fast crawfish? Well, that's a secret between me and my two sons.
Oh.
It's how fast they move their tail.
I'm a natural.
(music playing) Come on, baby, you can do it.
- You ready? - Come on, baby.
I got faith, baby.
- Okay, $10 bet on it.
- 10 bucks.
- Come on! - Come on! Come on! - Run, [bleep.]
run! - Eat this guy! - Get him! Come on, man! - Come on, come on! Come on! No, no, no, no! I crossed the line.
I crossed the line.
Yeah, 10 bucks.
10 bucks.
You've earned your freedom.
Victory.
Now let's eat all their friends.
- Man: Put 'em in that basket.
- Reedus: Whoa! You got to catch 'em by hand and just pull 'em up and put 'em in the basket.
- Get on the side.
- Ai-yi-yi-yi! Ayi! Why don't we just pick this up and dump them in there? You want to dump them in there? That'd be easier for you? That seems like it's smarter, right? Okay, that's smarter for you, huh? - There you go.
- Know what I mean? Efficient.
This side in first.
Wow, that's hot.
- Oh, look at that.
I got one.
- That was a good one.
There's no shortage of these things out here.
How do you avoid butt juice? - You just eat it.
- It's all good.
Reedus: Life on the bayou goes back to simpler times when people were happy to live off the land and off the grid.
And despite the modern world's best efforts, in a lot of ways out here, not a whole lot has changed.
For Mike and his crew, there's clearly pride in keeping the time-honored traditions of their Cajun ancestors alive.
(camera clicking) And there's no better way to make a living.
Thank you so much, sir.
That was awesome.
- A pleasure.
- You enjoyed it? Absolutely.
It was a pleasure, bro.
Reedus: Being down here reminds me of that scene in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" when Jack Nicholson's character breaks everyone out to go fishing.
Don't be a fisherman, be a fisher of men.
Or something like that.
In other words, it's not about what you haul in at the end of the day.
What matters is the people you get to know on your journey.
The connections you make.
There's just one thing I'd like to add.
The journey is always better on a motorcycle.
(speaking French) Wow.
Yeah! (music playing) - This is a really cool area out here.
- Yeah.
Halfway between Lafayette and Baton Rouge is real cool.
Daiquiri drive-thru.
Did you see that? Yeah, man.
That's what I love about Louisiana.
Reedus: Riding in southern Louisiana, it's not long before you realize why they call this place the Bayou State.
This area is known as the Atchafalaya Basin and it's the only Louisiana basin that has a growing delta.
Narrator: Down where Louisiana is neither land nor sea, the bayou echoes through the Louisiana swamps.
At the fishing grounds, the weighted nets are tossed overboard to scrape along the muddy bottom.
Get a load of this and watch your step there, fella.
Of course it's work, but the result is quite a pile of fish.
Reedus: You know, the last time I was down here, I did a photo shoot on an airboat.
We covered a lot of ground, but it just left me wanting more.
So that's why we're on our way down Interstate 10 to Basin Landing and Marina in Henderson to visit with Captain Tucker Friedman.
Oh, you turned my heat seater on, you [bleep.]
.
- I don't know.
- What do you mean you don't know? I mean, I might have turned it on.
Reedus: Since 1999, Captain Tucker's been known as not only a guy who will find you an alligator, he'll speak to them, too.
All right, let's go find an airboat.
This place is awesome.
Looks like "Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
" There's a whole Easter Bunny theme going on here as well.
- That's not creepy at all.
- (laughs) - How y'all doing? What you guys up to? - How are you, man? - Can you take us on an airboat? - Sure can.
- Man, this is crazy out here.
- That's our backyard.
("Easy Rider" playing) All right, guys, here we go.
Come on, come on, come on Come on, riding easy Reedus: You can't see anything below.
You go under this, you'll never come back up.
It looks like we're on land.
This is amazing.
(kissing) (speaking French) (no dialogue) (speaking French) Wait, there he is.
He's coming.
To the left.
Oh, [bleep.]
.
God, here he is, right here.
Look at this.
OMG.
Look at this.
It's incredible.
(Tucker speaking French) Reedus: Wow! Hinds: Oh, my goodness.
- That was mind-blowing.
- (speaking French) Cherie is about a 14-year-old alligator.
I found her a few years ago.
She had run into a thorn tree.
She ended up losing one eye.
(speaks French) - Reedus: That just happened.
- Wow.
You know that lady, don't you? That's the only reason she kiss me, she's blind.
(laughs) When did you first, like, know that you could call the alligator over? Tucker: Well, when we were kids, you know, back in the early '60s, alligators were put on the endangered species list.
There were very few of them left.
And when we saw an alligator, we were so intrigued with it, you know? They have very long-term memory.
I've had alligators that I've made friends with and don't see them for six, seven years and they'll show themselves up again and it's just like we never missed a day, you know? - Really? - Wow.
Dude, you just called an alligator over here.
Hinds: Yeah, that was impressive.
Do you realize what just went down? I do that all over the place.
That's crazy.
Come on, come on, come on Come on, riding easy And I'm first to go and last to leave Reedus: Captain Tucker is a real salt-of-the-earth character.
When this area flooded after Katrina, Tucker stayed behind.
You can tell he loves this place and I can't blame him.
Thank you so much.
That was so fun.
First to go and last to leave - Cherie? - Cherie! Still in awe that the guy called an alligator over to him.
- Yeah, like a pet.
- He's the alligator whisperer, man, for real.
- Yeah.
- Whatever it is he's got, he's got it together.
He's definitely figured it out, that guy.
Are we gonna ride to Baton Rouge tonight? - Yeah.
- Awesome.
(music playing) Reedus: There's nothing like Baton Rouge roads first thing in the morning.
The canopy of cypress trees, the swampy sun, and dragonflies as big as your finger.
- Oh, good morning.
- Good morning.
My clothes still smell like crawdad.
- What are you looking at? - Just looking at your controls.
Where is your seat heater? It's on the side of my seat.
Like right here.
Don't turn it on like you did yesterday.
I didn't, dude.
I didn't.
I didn't.
I'm just gonna see what's going on, you know what I mean? You [bleep.]
.
You just made my bike go dead.
- [bleep.]
! - (laughs) Come on, buddy.
(laughs) Where are you, buddy? The bike stalled again, Norman, okay? Oh, [bleep.]
.
Maybe you hit your button.
I know what you did.
You turned the damn [bleep.]
bike off.
- You [bleep.]
! - (laughing) You like to pull pranks? I've been on tour for 20 years.
I know how to pull pranks.
(laughs) Sorry, sorry, sorry.
That was unintentional.
That was unintentional.
Ah, [bleep.]
.
What the [bleep.]
? - You all right? - I'm okay.
You can't hurt stupid.
(laughs) Hinds: Oh, there's a casino.
Reedus: Yeah, place looks hopping.
Are you good at blackjack? I have been known to be up several thousand dollars and down several thousand dollars and break several thousands dollars worth of [bleep.]
in casinos.
- (laughs) - That's the only way to do it.
- You got to let it loose, baby.
- Let's do it.
Reedus: I've lost a bet or two in my time, but I've never had the privilege to lose one on a casino riverboat.
- Hello, sir.
- Hey, how you doing? Casino that way? All right, thank you.
Reedus: Until the early '90s, these boats actually used to cruise up and down the Mississippi to evade local laws.
But these days Louisiana is kind enough to let them dock.
Reedus: This is beautiful.
I think it's a little too sensitive for you.
I'm trying to get in touch with my feminine side nowadays.
- Dude, that's the new thing.
- I'm starting to do yoga and stuff.
- So I'm full-on.
- Are you really starting to do yoga? - Yeah.
- Shut up.
Dude, teach me yoga.
- I said I'm starting.
I haven't done it yet.
- (laughs) Reedus: All right, let's gamble or something.
"Wheel of Fortune.
" You love "Wheel of Fortune.
" Come on, you didn't have a crush on Vanna White when you were a kid? Oh, look, I just won something.
How much did I win, nine bucks? - What did you put in? - 10.
- Okay, you lost - 80 cents and I was a winner? How's that work out? Well, I mean, you know, they just get you hooked on the sounds and the noises and stuff.
Where should we play blackjack? Is this good? Can we play? Yeah, you can play here.
All right, let's do it.
What's your name? They call me the Terminator.
Reedus: Oh, great, we got the Terminator.
All right, no more bets.
- One hand.
One hand.
- Oh, one I'm sorry.
- I already cheated? - You can only use one hand.
- How do I pick them up? - This a Louisiana thing? - Yeah.
- Hinds: Can I look at these cards? Yes, you can look at your cards.
- You can't bend the cards.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
- There's a lot of rules around here.
- There's a lot of rules.
- I'm feeling lucky right now.
- All right, 19.
You can't touch your money once you place the bet.
- Just hit him with a stick.
- I'm gonna hit him in a minute.
- I am.
- Slap him.
This is the perfect place to gamble for an amputee.
All right, hit me.
- Oh.
- Hit it again.
- What'd I get? - A six.
- Yes.
- Yes.
You winning all the money.
You're lovely.
Thanks for letting us play.
Let's go.
See you later.
All right, have a good one, guys.
Reedus: I've got my big win and now it's time to bounce.
New Orleans, here we come.
All right, you ready, Alabama? Let's go.
Let's go.
Look at this bridge, bro.
How cool is this? Oh, man, the speed limit is 70 and we're going 63.
That's not good.
Yeah! Let's go get some Lemmy tattoos.
Reedus: What Brent's talking about is Lemmy from Motorhead.
His friend is a really good tattoo artist and we're hoping to go get a little tribute thing.
It's only a 90-minute ride from here.
Hey, man, you still got to pee? Yeah, I still got to pee.
I got to stretch my legs, too.
Hey, man, I've heard of this place before.
Middendorf's.
- Really? - Yeah.
Look at that bike.
Yeah, it looks amazing.
I got to go pee.
- Is this your bike? - Yeah, man.
- What is that? - Matt.
How are you? Yeah, that's an old Suzuki Savage 650 converted to electric.
- You did all this yourself? - I did, yeah.
Does it make any noise at all? It makes a little noise when you're coming off the line.
And once you get to speed, it's pretty silent.
These are actually out of a Nissan Leaf.
- But these cells are amazing.
- Did you turn this thing on yet? - It's on.
It's on.
- It's on right now? - You want to ride it? - You should ride it.
- Can I ride it? - It's the trippiest thing you've ever felt.
It's kind of like a magic carpet ride.
You just get on and it floats.
- Wow.
- the cool thing is I can plug my laptop into it and, like, adjust the throttle torque curve however I want.
Did you get into this to be environmentally correct or I mean, it's a nice bonus, but I was looking for a bike when we moved to New Orleans and I saw this guy online.
He was selling a kit.
That's how I kind of got into it.
- And I'm just totally hooked.
- Wow.
- Crazy, right? - Holy [bleep.]
.
This is mind-blowingly innovative and just robot as hell.
One, two, one, two, three, four.
- Cool.
- Thank you.
Nice to meet you, man.
Nice to meet you, too.
Have a safe trip to New Orleans.
Hinds: Yes, sir.
We'll drive as fast as we can.
Yeah! We coming into New Orleans now, baby.
- You guys are doing it sleazy? - Yeah, we love the sleazy.
- Something like this would look pretty cool.
- Yeah, perfect.
Dang.
I think I'm in love.
Are we even close to the downtown? I don't know where the [bleep.]
.
We're about 15 miles out.
Yeah, we're good.
Trust me.
Reedus: We're on our way to one of my favorite cities in the world.
Oh, we coming into New Orleans now, baby.
Reedus: From Baton Rouge, it's a 95-mile ride southeast along the Great River Road to the Crescent City, the Big Easy, New Orleans.
("King City" playing) - Are we here? - Yes, sir.
You are now home In the City of Kings Come with me Come to the city Your king has finally come Reedus: One of the oldest cities in America, New Orleans has always done its own thing.
But I'd expect nothing less from a city that got its nickname from turning into a big speakeasy during Prohibition.
Hinds: This is awesome.
Welcome to New Orleans, Norman.
- Reedus: Whoo! - Ayi! I'm excited to see my buddy Jordan.
Yeah, I'm excited to meet him, man.
Reedus: First stop in town, Abracadabra Tattoos.
- Yo, Jordi.
- I thought I smelled something sexy.
What's going on? We rode some motorcycles over here, me and my friend Norman.
- Jordan.
- Nice to meet you.
I heard a lot about you.
- What's up? Cornbread.
- Nice to meet you, Cornbread.
- You guys enjoying the sleazy? - Yeah, we love the sleazy.
- So we want to get Lemmy tattoos.
- Awesome.
Reedus: Since the early 2000s, Jordan Barlow has been turning out some of the most creative artwork in all New Orleans.
He opened his own place two years back and already it's one of the most respected shops in town.
Good seeing you, dude.
Reedus: Brent and him, they go way back.
They met hoboing freight trains and have been tight ever since.
How'd you get that skeleton so small? Jordan: I went to Fiji, had them shrink it down.
You couldn't just have them shrink it down here in New Orleans? Voodoo enriched around here, I've heard.
Reedus: Place is so cool.
It's like a museum.
Dude, I like the gold AK.
That's the Russian half wood one.
We shoot those on the show.
- That sounds like fun.
- Yeah, yeah, it's a blast.
So I was thinking something like this would look pretty cool in the Motorhead font.
I was kind of thinking more like just super simple.
- Like a kid did it.
- All right.
- Yeah, like that.
Bam.
- All right, let's get that shirt off.
So how long's it been since your last tattoo? - It's been a long time.
- Yeah? What was your first one? I was 12 or 13 and I kept bringing this guy money.
He'd always kick us out.
We came in there with a big wad of money - and he goes, "[bleep.]
get in.
" - Make sure nobody was looking? Yeah, and he gave me this little lizard on my leg.
And we were like, "Yeah!" I mean, they're like the worst tattoos in the world.
Cornbread: All right, you ready for this one? Let's do it.
Reedus: Motorhead and Lemmy specifically are kind of one of the voices of our generation.
Born out of the punk scene in the 1970s London, Motorhead is often credited with the birth of heavy metal.
They're one of Mastodon's main musical inspirations.
Lemmy is kind of a hero to both of us.
I made it look just like a hand poked tattoo for you.
- Yeah, perfect.
- Is that the one? Yeah, that's perfect.
Thank you, man.
Yeah, thanks, dude.
Cool.
- Let me see it.
- Two seconds, man.
Why'd you get it so tiny, man? Oh, you had to do it because of the vest, right? - Reedus: Dude, that looks awesome.
- Thank you.
Perfect spot for it, too.
Dude, we got Lemmy memorial tattoos now.
- Done.
- Done, boom.
(thunder rumbling) Reedus: This city has been ravaged by fires and hurricanes.
But the waters, they only rise for so long and New Orleans never stops.
And if you wander around New Orleans long enough, you're bound to run into voodoo.
It's one of the most misunderstood religions in the world.
And it's run through this place straight from the beginning.
(camera clicking) - You nervous? - Yeah.
- You should be.
- Great, thank you very much.
I'm just kidding.
We're going to pay our traditional respects.
- Make things right.
- All positive, right? - All positive.
White magic.
- Sun's gonna come out.
We're gonna get back on the bikes.
- Here we go.
Hi.
Hi.
- Sallie: Hey, how you doing? - I'm Norman.
- I'm Sallie.
- Nice to meet you, Sallie.
- Nice to meet you.
- Hi, Sallie.
How are you? My name's Brent.
- Brent? - Nice to meet you.
- (dog barks) - Who do I hear over here? - That's Ayida the Akita.
Reedus: Sallie Ann Glassman isn't your typical voodoo high priestess.
She's been practicing here since 1977 and she's only one of a handful of Americans who have ever been ordained in the traditional Haitian initiation ceremony.
Every time I'm in New Orleans, I can feel it.
Glassman: Oh, New Orleans is full of spirits.
- Oh, I can just feel it.
- And history.
I don't know anything about it at all.
You say voodoo and everybody thinks zombies, right? - Yeah.
Yeah.
- You probably think zombies even more than most people.
To me, voodoo is not this dangerous hexing thing, 'cause it's not.
It's a beautiful religion.
It's all about raising your own power and becoming a participant in your own life.
- I like everything you're saying so far.
- Good.
- Yeah, that's great.
- This is really affecting me.
- Yeah, you're into this.
I can tell.
- I just constantly feel it.
- Can I hug you real fast? - Yeah.
- Group hug.
- Amazing.
Amazing.
We have a shrine for Marie Laveau.
Probably New Orleans's most famous citizen.
150 years after she died, people still go to her for empowerment and guidance and healing.
And I do a little ceremony for her out there.
- Let's do it, yeah.
- You can see how that feels.
We need to bring Marie's candles.
An offering to her.
- I'm blue.
- I'm reddish purplish.
First we always offer to the four corners of the crossroads.
We orient things.
Everything's done in threes because two could be a coincidence, but three means you're moving into intention.
Three drops.
Then kiss the back of your hand three times.
(kissing) (chanting) Stand.
(bell ringing) Okay, you did it.
- Thank you so much.
- You're welcome.
Reedus: You know, coming here, I didn't know what to expect, but voodoo, like this city, it's full of surprises.
Thank you.
Nice meeting you back there hiding in the shadows.
And I got to see another side of a guy I thought I knew really well.
Wow, she was awesome.
She made the weather clear up and my mind clear up.
- That's a 'Busa 1300.
- (tire squealing) Smell the rubber.
Smell it.
I definitely don't want to be a famous actor, I know that.
I don't think I've ever seen anything like this.
Thank you so much.
I'm not allowed for life in the Biloxi, Mississippi, Hard Rock Casino for the rest of my life.
- What'd you do? - I broke some [bleep.]
, then I pissed in a planter pot.
I was high on Jagermeister, the black out cough syrup.
I was on a beach, I was, like, 15 drinking Jagermeister.
This lady had this golden retriever sort of licking her in places in front of a crowd that was hollering and I saw it and I just started puking purple for like two hours.
(laughs) One time I drank some marijuana-laced tequila.
I woke up the next day and I couldn't see.
I was [bleep.]
blind for 12 hours straight.
I could open my eyes just a little bit to cry.
You've been pretty [bleep.]
hard core, man.
Yeah, I've pretty much done it all, my friend.
Reedus: When I shot the movie "Tough Luck" down here 15 years ago, everyone kind of looked at us like we were crazy.
But since then, New Orleans has turned into Hollywood on the delta.
Over 500 films have been shot down here including the epic American road journey "Easy Rider.
" And just like "Easy Rider," we got things we want to do, man.
- Hey, you guys open? - Man: Yes, we are.
- Oh, nice.
This place is awesome.
- Yeah.
Reedus: And right now, that thing is we want to eat.
Boudin.
Oh, my God, I got to steal this.
- This is too good, - "Be nice or leave.
" Two orders of boudin.
So what is this exactly? - It's kind of like stuffing - Is it sausage? that you put inside of a turkey at Thanksgiving.
- Mmm.
- Yeah, it's amazing, right? So that lady I can't get over that lady.
I'm feeling so much weight lifted off of my soul.
You became very emotional with all of that.
You really you're a feeler.
I mean, you listen to your music and you see, like like, you're full-on full raw power.
I'm not a fighter.
I'm a lover and I'm a lifer for my passion of art.
I feel like it's my goal in life to figure out - what the hell I'm doing here.
- Yeah, yeah.
Mmm.
It's interesting for me to have a new aspect of someone's personality be shown through a couple of days on the road.
You'll never find that part of yourself sitting in your living room.
Yeah, never.
That's why motorcycles go well with this kind of lifestyle, you know? It works.
You really do learn to not sweat the petty stuff - and pet the sweaty stuff.
- Yeah.
That's my next T-shirt right there.
- Fried oysters Florentine.
- Oh, wow.
- There you go.
- I don't think I've ever seen anything like this.
- Thank you so much.
- You're welcome.
You said something about New Orleans.
You said it's a place where a lot of people move to to be themselves.
- Mm-hmm.
- And that was so true.
It's a very eclectic mix of people down here that you'll find nowhere else in the world.
Yeah.
Oh, my God.
I just ate a lot of food.
This is something we should have shared, you know? Yeah, this is delicious.
Where should we go next? (music playing) Caramel Curves, is that what we're doing? Yeah, yeah.
Let's go hit up the Caramel Curves girls.
Whoo, all right, let's roll.
Let's do this.
Reedus: We're taking the four-mile ride to the northeast side of town to check out an all-female motorcycle group that's been turning heads even in this eclectic city.
(train whistle blows) I would love for you to show me how to hop a train.
- Okay.
- I mean, hopping trains must be like it must be as old as trains themselves.
You're exactly right.
It's a class A felony now to get caught on federal property.
- You're trespassing.
- Oh, wow.
But it's so Jack Kerouac, it's you know what I mean? Oh, yeah, yeah.
Wow, look at these bikes.
Reedus: This women-only motorcycle club, Caramel Curves, was founded right before Hurricane Katrina.
And like the city, they're still standing strong.
I believe we're at the right place.
I see a Foxy.
These are amazing, man.
Let's do it.
Reedus: With their tricked-out, custom-painted bikes and pink mohawk helmets, these riders are hard to miss.
And tonight they're celebrating their 11th anniversary.
Hinds: Hey, are you guys the Caramel Curves? Woman: We are the Caramel Curves.
Hey, hi.
Nice to meet you.
- How are you? - What's up? Nice to meet you.
Mel.
The most beautiful bikers I've ever met.
Without a doubt, yeah.
How'd you get the name Showstopper? - You can't tell? - (laughing) - That's what I'm saying.
- And your bikes are beautiful out there.
- Thank you.
- Can you do some tricks for us and stuff? - [bleep.]
, yeah, that's what I do.
- CoCo is all about tricks.
My tire, when I burn smoke, it's colored.
- Yeah.
- OMG.
Hinds: This just looks like the fastest bike I've seen in a while.
I think these girls are gonna smoke us.
- Hi.
- I want to get pictures of you, hold on.
You look so good.
- Thank you.
- Yeah! What kind of motor is in here? Is it a four-cylinder? 990 Rotax.
- It has 200 on the dash.
- Hinds: 200?! - Have you pinned it? - No, I haven't.
Fastest I've ever been is to right here, 140.
I've gotten to 180 if I'm going to work.
- 180 on the freeway? - And then I'm a nurse.
- So I got on these scrubs.
- Oh, wow, wow, wow, wow.
Then I'm coming across that high rise gunning it.
- You ready? - Yes, ma'am.
All right, let's get it.
- (motor revving) - Whoa! - (squealing) - Yeah! Ho-ho! - Wow.
- BBOB.
Bad babes on bikes.
I think I'm in love right now.
High heels and everything.
- Hinds: That's a 1,000.
- Reedus: Is it really? Yeah.
Okay, watch the [bleep.]
out, dude.
This is gonna be nutty right here, yeah.
Oh, stop.
Wow.
Ooh-hoo-hoo! Wow.
Oh, dang.
Whoo-wee.
- A perfect circle, man.
Look at that.
- Perfect.
So tell me, how did Caramel Curves start? Like, how'd you start it? Well, I was riding with the guys all the time and I always thought it'd be so cool to pull out with a bunch of bad chicks on bikes with heels on, you know? - Reedus: Oh, yeah.
- And so before you know it, we went from eight to we're 27 deep now.
- Oh, wow.
- We have Chicago, Baton Rouge, - Memphis, Alabama.
- All Caramel Curves? All Caramel Curves.
Tru, show 'em what girls do on 'Busas.
She's got the biggest bike in the club.
That's a 'Busa 1300.
Most guys scared to ride a 1300.
I'm scared to look at it.
(revving) (squealing) - Yeah! - Whoo! (whistling) Smell the rubber.
Smell it.
Reedus: What's going on right here? What is this? What are you guys doing right now? What does this mean? So you guys are a roller derby team? All of a sudden, like, you guys come rolling down.
I'm like, "What the hell is going on?" We thought it'd be better if we came in a pack.
Somebody take this photo.
This is too good.
(laughs) I mean, this is the most random thing I've ever seen.
- I love it.
- Woman: Caramel Curves! - Too good.
- BBOB! - Only in New Orleans.
- Yeah! - New Orleans is so cool.
- Only in New Orleans.
Hinds: Old school.
They hit a rock, they're going down.
Reedus: Oh, and one goes down.
It's all right, we got you.
It's on camera.
We got you.
Let me get these shoes in there.
Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Hinds: Wow, wow, wow.
I think we finally got these hot girls ready to roll.
("Two-Hearted Woman" playing) Reedus: The Curves are heading to a party across town and we're gonna tag along for a little ride before we head out for the night.
Two-hearted woman messing around Walking a fine line all over town - Where you guys at, in the back? - We're in the back.
- We're pulling up the rear.
- All right.
Live in a man's world, it will mess with your brain Yeah Yeah! You know, we got a reputation 'cause we look cute on bikes and all of that, but, man, we kick ass on bikes.
It's got to be Best you can So this is what it feels like to be riding with the Caramel Curves.
- It's an amazing feeling.
- This is awesome.
Here we get out.
We say our good-byes.
You know what I'm saying? Know what I'm saying? - Come here, girl.
- Glad to meet you.
I'll remember this for the rest of my life.
- Thank you, baby.
- What a pleasure.
Come here, beautiful.
Reedus: The Caramel Curves are breaking barriers in motorcycle culture.
Inspiring women to get on a bike and just be themselves.
- All right.
- Oh, thank you so much.
Reedus: Hey, Brent, come here.
Join us.
Come here.
One, two, Caramel Curves.
Yo, love you girls.
Caramel Curves! Reedus: It's been fun, but we got to keep moving.
Ready, Freddy? - Love you guys.
Take it easy.
- (beeps horn) Reedus: Now it's our last night in town and when the sun goes down Let's go.
that's when New Orleans wakes up.
And there's a "Boondock Saints"-themed bar down here I really want to show Brent.
- Let's check out Frenchmen Street, right? - Let's do this.
Where's the "Boondock Saints" thing you were talking about? I can't remember where it is, to be honest.
I don't know my way around so well.
We can ask people.
You know what I mean? - I think - Hey, Daryl! - What's up, man? Hi.
- Yeah! Yeah, what's up? How's that feel? You know, it feels good.
I never have the guy come and go, "You suck.
" You know what I mean? So that's good.
Well, anyone ever came up to me and told me that I suck - I would laugh my ass off.
- I would challenge them to a duel in the parking lot.
Hi, do you guys know where there's this bar called the Boondock Saints Bar? Yeah, where is it at now? Are we close? - Let me shake your hand.
- Yes, ma'am.
- I think it's on Iberville.
- What is it? - Iberville.
- Oh, thanks, yeah.
Here we go.
Bring on the madness.
- Good times.
- Yeah, babe.
- I'm so nervous, I'm shaking.
Oh, my God.
- Oh, shush.
- Come on, you got it.
Did it work? - Yeah.
Where's my dude? Boom.
One, two, three, four.
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
Come here, sweetheart.
Ready? One, two, three, four.
- Have a good one, guys.
- Man: Daryl! - Yeah? - (little boy speaking) - Thank you, sir.
- (laughing) Yeah.
So what's the name of the street? I definitely don't want to be a famous actor, I know that.
One, two, three, four.
Oh, thanks.
One, two, three, four.
Group shot.
- Thank you so much.
- Have a good one, guys.
- What's your hat? - Hi.
"Tattooed and employed.
" I like your hat.
- I love you.
- That's such a good hat.
You want to swap hats? - Woman: Yes! Yes, swap it.
- For you, I will swap.
Yeah.
Cool.
"Tattooed and employed.
" I love it.
You know what's crazy? I've been in here.
Jon Bernthal and Steven Yeun and I ended up in that bar where some guy tried to sell us mushrooms.
Let's go in there and have a - it looks like a noncrowded place.
- It's a cool bar, yeah.
- Should we have a drink? - Yeah, yeah, we definitely need a pit stop.
- Yeah, let's have a pit stop.
- I have a dry mouth.
Let's do it.
Let's grab a drink.
- Cool.
- All right, check this out.
Look.
This is I love that this is a table, dude.
I know, this is killer.
It's a fire hydrant with a table on it.
- You can pee on it and drink at it.
- I already peed on it.
- Cheers, dude.
- Cheers.
Thanks for having me.
[bleep.]
, yeah.
I'm sorry that you're too popular to go in public.
The cameras give it away, too.
They kind of draw a little attention.
You know what I'm saying? Let's be mobile.
Yeah, there's a crowd forming.
Reedus: Nothing personal, but Brent and I are gonna go enjoy our last night on our own.
See if we can go find this bar.
That way? Where the hell is this "Boondock Saints" bar? I have no idea.
(bell dinging) It's been a real pleasure, you know? This has been such a beautiful ride.
You have an open invitation to anywhere I go for the rest of my life.
Yeah, you, too, man.
Reedus: Bob Dylan once said, "There's a lot of places I like, but I like New Orleans better.
" Leaving Louisiana, I know exactly what he meant.
From the crawfish and gator whisperers we met on the bayou to the voodoo priestess and the Caramel Curves, even the hard-living guys like Brent, this place has always survived by welcoming all different kinds of people, whether they're escaping persecution or just looking for a fresh start.
And even though I didn't find that bar in the end, that's okay.
I found so much more.
- Did you turn my seat heater on, buddy? - I might have.
- [bleep.]
damn it, Norman.
- (laughs)