Joelle’s 2009 On The Verge Recap

How On the Verge 2009 Changed My Life

We had a time.  Remember when Angela Chase said that on My So Called Life?  That’s the best way I can describe the past year of filming On the Verge. Not only was it our first full year of production, it was a year of memories and learning experiences for us all.

Here’s OTV one-year later through my eyes

ON THE VERGE LAUNCHES (and PV gets a brand new Web site!)

The first time I saw our trailer, I got chills and watched it about 100 times in a row. Finally! I knew all those years of sweat and tears producing Planet Verge as a ‘zine would lead to something and this is it!

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SOHODOLLS:

I worked on production for a music tv show in college, but this was the first time I really interviewed a band on camera. And it just so happened to be a band I worked with as a publicist for the past two years, but never had the chance to meet because they are based in the UK. It was magical and I miss their British accents.

For the first few episodes, Jordana, Jess and I filmed intros to On the Verge episodes in my apartment.  I like this style, but we started filming so much so fast, that keeping up with this format became impossible.

I also broke my rule of never taking pictures with the bands I interview for this.  I previously never did that because it is so groupie-like and I’m always cautious to be ultra-professional. Women in music, unfortunately, still have a stigma.  But you know what, I don’t care anymore!

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HANSON:

I set up this interview about six months before we even really went into production because one of my best friends and former PV staffer, Roe, is obsessed with Hanson. After this interview and seeing them perform live, I fell for them, too.  I still have to edit a lot of this interview. The guys gave great insight into the music industry and deserve the respect of everyone.  I plan on our episodes showing that.

It was also at this show that I met Megan, our newest OTV host.  We had an extra ticket and Roe used to work at Starbucks with Megan (the same one I worked out while funding PV in print)!

Now, Megan and I are like BFF and go out on girl dates where we ghetto shop and laugh about our taste in men. I drive.

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BUTCH WALKER:

He’s a Planet Verge staple and his music is a huge influence on my life. This episode taught me that even though I think the camera is filming a tight shot of my face, it isn’t. So I decided to never use note cards again and simply rely on my charm, adrenaline and knowledge to get me through an interview!  Jessica is going to probably kill me if I don’t edit her segment with Butch soon. But, like I said, we filmed so much so fast, we’re a bit backed up!

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SHAWN HARRIS:

Ah, the Matches. Ever since the first time I saw them perform, I knew their frontman was someone I had to interview. He seemed beyond interesting. It was actually after this interview that I made the decision to stop eating chicken. Well, right after I had a post-interview grub run to Burger King before the show. Chicken was the only meat I ate- probably because I’m allergic to the world and it’s one of the few things I can consume.

Jordana started doing vegan segments on the show and Shawn lives by this diet, so I brought him some vegan brownies and tried them on the air with him.  They were so good, that I started to eat more cruelty-free products. Rice milk and coconut milk ice cream have since become must-have products on my grocery list.   When I listen to “Little Maggots,” I always think back to this day.  Sadly, all the vegan footage is missing.  Probably has something to do with the fact that we filmed it in the midst of getting kicked out of the venue because some other band was sound checking.  I’m still on the hunt for it.

There’s a lot to this interview that has never seen the light of day. If any hardcore Matches fans want the entire scoop on A Band in Hope, demand it and I’ll edit it for you!

Also, since this fateful day, I got to be the band’s publicist. Pretty much a dream come true- until they broke up. But now I can introduce each of their awesome new bands to the world, right?

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ON THE VERGE ACE OF CLUBS SHOW:

This was our first live event as On the Verge. The Matches were in NYC showcasing, so we booked a show with the Matches and our good friends Drive By and Those Mockingbirds at Ace of Clubs.  It was blast.  Those Mockingbirds played its first set this night.   And we were able to exclusively debut two brand new songs from The Matches via acoustic performances. It was Dylan (the bass player’s) 21^st birthday and we all celebrated at Angels and Kings later that night, where Shawn did a guest DJ spot.

On a side note, I was pretty psyched that I found an awesome LBD for $9 (originally 60 smackers) to wear to this. AND bonus- I met Jenna!   She’s now our staff photographer (she did our official photoshoot) and a great friend. I heart PV girls. They are the only ones who truly get me. It’s a rare breed of dedicated, hard working girls to take on the music industry- and succeed!

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OTV PHOTOSHOOT:

Angels and Kings was gracious enough to lend us the venue for a day to do a host photoshoot.  It was the beginning of a beautiful relationship and now we have huge things in store from both our companies! Stay tuned.

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THE GAY BLADES:

I’ve known these guys and have been a fan of their old band forever. The first time I met Clark, he was doing kartwheels at a BBQ.  This interview happened to take place like two hours after Michael Jackson’s death was announced.  We actually filmed a cover of “Black or White” outside on the sidewalk.

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CLOSURE IN MOSCOW:

I have never musically loved a band PV randomly interviewed as much as I love Closure in Moscow.  They came to our studio post-Thunderstorm while in town from Australia and we had a grand old time.  I called Manny to push back the interview time and he asked me if he should put on a clean shirt for this.  We learned a lot of Aussie lingo.   I also swooned when they slipped Silverchair into their performance.  The world needs more Silverchair.

Oh and I also didn’t bother to wash my hair this day because Jess was hosting. Then, I found out vocalist Chris was a vegan and we did a quick interview. I can’t watch it. The humidity in the studio wrecked havoc on my locks!

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DAVID GARRETT:

I’m not going to lie. We saved his beer can (he only took a sip and requested light!).  I researched this man like crazy because I knew NOTHING about classical violin music. I’m glad I pushed myself to do this because it was lots of fun. But let me tell you, I was so nervous because he wanted me to sit next to him while he played. Like, what do you do when a genius is next to you performing?  He let me pick the song, so that was pretty cool. Unlike our studio- with no air- we were all dripping under the lights! Sexy. Or not.

I made Nicole (also a new PV girl!) come with me because she plays violin.  She left in awe.

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SUPER PET EXPO:

This episode still has to be edited.  But I got to meet Elwood, The World’s Ugliest Dog and get in a cage with three wolves. It was like a dream. There was another wolf that, as we filmed, its trainer fed it a chicken leg. We were obviously not allowed in the cage for that!

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MARCAN TIGER PRESERVE:

I can’t wait to edit this and share my dream come true with the world!   One of my missions in life is saving the tigers and I got to get thisclose to them while I interviewed their trainers. At the end, they gave me a special good-luck gift- a tiger whisker! It’s sealed in a picture frame and I will cherish it forever. You have no idea how thick that baby is!

They actually let Jenna put her lens through the cage to take up-close photos of the cats and stood by us with sticks to protect us. At one point, a tiger plunged at us and Jenna was caught a bit off guard, as anyone with a 600-pound paw coming at them would be.

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AIMEE ALLEN:

Like Sohodolls, I had the chance to work with Aimee before I actually got to meet her in person. We met through Unwritten Law’s Scott Russo, when they teamed up for Scott & Aimee. Their song, “Crazy,” is actually a theme song for OTV. I was so excited to finally have a tattooed girl on our show! We filmed in her air conditioner-less RV in NYC. She made us sing backup gang vocals. I just pretended! Didn’t want to ruin the episode and all.

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CHRIS UNCK:

We actually filmed with Chris twice. The first time was in Asbury Park before a Butch Walker show (Chris plays guitar in Butch’s band).  Jess, Mark & I took Chris to dinner, where he entertained us with insane stories.   During the actual interview, we tried to recap what happened, but all just ended up hysterical.

The next time I talked to Chris, he was in town to play the PV sponsored AKoustic Monday at Angels and Kings.  Off camera, Chris had told me that he used to be straight-edge. So, I threw that into the interview just for fun.  I ended up completely shocked and pretty speechless once Chris told me why he’s not ‘edge anymore. But I can’t tell you until the interview airs! Stay tuned.

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EYE ALASKA:

I was so excited to see them play our PV/ AK show. But they showed up hours late after their van blew a tire. As they took the stage, I was a few blocks away eating pizza!  By the time I got back to the venue, I had literally two minutes before I had to jump infront of the camera. Still went great, though.

Well, that’s all I can remember. Pat yourself on the back if you read thus far. It took me three days to write it and I didn’t even include every episode I filmed!

*By Joelle, who can’t wait for OTV 2010!

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• The Matches Make Getting Lost on the Way to a Show Worth It
• If I Were You… I’d Buy the Matches New CD
• Bad News, Good News