So I have every intention of finishing the JTNL story, or at least getting it caught up to the present... And to be honest, the reason behind this interruption would not even exist were it not for the rest of the JTNL story...I am telling you, one thing leads to another for me...like that song. Rest assured, you will get a recap of the events leading up to this, but for now...
I am lead to understand I will be getting some traffic tomorrow, as a lovely little iPod shuffle of mine is appearing on a "sister blog"
SO, I feel like now is a great time to pimp a little bit.
My very first REAL editing project (the one my first post here is about...) is appearing on the band's website. Like their real website - their .com This is exciting for me. And a little nerve wracking...
But I had to take photographic evidence, for future reference of course.
See?I rock. That's my video front and center. And actually, that is mine to the right too... I am all up in that shit, "repping like a mascot", as Drake puts it lately.
And they rock too...and rasta. Do me a solid and check them out.
So Jason Castro...American Idol Season 7 contestant with the dreadlocks. Came in 4th.
But he also did something else. He put his friend's bands on his myspace page. A few of them, actually.
And in May(ish...) of 2008, I did what I always do on musicians' myspace pages and troll their top friends for other bands I will like. I did that with Jason and added this band, Jonathan Tyler & the Northern Lights. I listened to the songs on their page, and bought their album on iTunes that same night. Loved it. Listened to it all summer long. They are a Dallas based band, like Jason....so their schedule didn't bring them anywhere near me in VA. But in September, I found out I was heading to Dallas for a business trip (you know, the job that PAYS the bills...not racks them up...) so I looked at their schedule and found they were playing the night before I was supposed to leave. Sweet. Done deal. Made the arrangements with a high school friend and a Castrocopian friend to head out to Woody's Tavern in Ft. Worth, TX on Sept. 24th 2008 to finally see JTNL. I get there, sit at the bar with my friends and start looking around the bar, people (band...) watching. I see this guy sitting at a table in front of us and say to my friend "Holy crap, that guy is hot." LOL. Had to talk about something while we waited for JTNL to go on...
(Sidebar - this shit is NOT about who is hot and who isn't. I promise. Attraction is an added bonus...)
10 minutes later, that hot guy gets on stage and starts singing from the album I had been killing all summer. It is safe to say, that my ability to NOT stare went very far out the door. I fell for JTNL hook, line and sinker in about 17 seconds. And so did my camera.
The first one....I love this.
So after that show, which I will never forget, I got a chance to chat with Jonathan and Beau, get a picture and generally shoot the shit about how much I dug their album. I bought the "hard copy" and a tshirt that night, from the lovely Mo Brown. And the next day, I took my "prized possessions" back to VA, where I promptly told everyone that would listen - "These guys are the next big thing."
Understand, this was more than just falling in love with a band. This was a giant slap in the face for me, one that reminded me just how much I love live music and how much I enjoy being a fan. And it made me think - how can I do this, and give back...somehow...to the artists themselves, but also to the people that don't realize that they are fans yet.
Which is where my "light bulb" moment driving to Charlottesville comes into play...that happened in the time between my first and second time seeing JTNL. But I wanted there to be a purpose in the second time....and the contiguous times.
And my little "band taping business" idea was born. So when I went to Louisville, to be one of 8 people watching the band that night, I also took my Canon S3IS with it's nifty video feature, that was kind to me for Jason and my first little JTNL video.
Which is where I got this...."Time for Love", my favorite song of theirs at the time.
So, I then knew I needed better equipment. I knew that I needed to do this before the next time I saw them. I owe them a lot, because they continue to tolerate me "learning" on them. I got my camera, Canon HV20, before the next time I saw them...and they were the first band I taped with that camera....as it should be. *sigh*
And I ended up with this:
And this:
This was in Atlanta, in November....time number 3 that I had seen JTNL.
Not much "behind the lens" action being told, huh? Crap.
I still consider this the "getting to know you" part of my relationship with JTNL. I think by Atlanta, I was known...I don't know as what, but hopefully as some chick with a camera who loved this band "so much it hurt", to use a quote from Almost Famous. If there was more, I don't and don't want to know about it. I treat them like friends, even if that isn't a two way street. Treat others how you would like to be treated....help if you have the means to. So that is what I did....
It is merely a giving back thing for me. At this point, JTNL had revived me, got me thinking, inspired me to start a business and really take steps to do something about this interest of mine. Plus I knew people who would love this band, and couldn't necessarily "see" them - which is essentially the premise of my business - bring bands to people that can't get to them as easily or as often as I am able to. And bring them in a real and personal way.
I am going to conclude this chapter here, because the next chapter is a little complicated, plus it begins with a new year, so I need to think about the presentation of it a bit.
A teaser? It involves what happens when I do NOT bring my camera to a show and try to take a night off from Behind the Lens. I have done that about 4 deliberate times since this whole thing really took off, and each time has been dramatic in some way.
18 times? I think....I am pretty sure that is how many times I have seen Constantine since 2005. It seems like there are more that I am forgetting. But those are the ones I definitely remember.
Have I caught up to that since? Nope.
We are sitting at 13 for one, and 11 for the other. The rest are in smaller numbers...between 2 and 5.
My point is, I like to see the same acts over and over, in addition to seeing new bands. I am like that with movies and books too. If I like something and get positive vibes from something, I want it over and over again.
18, however is over a 4 year span.
The 11...less than a year. The 13...less than 6 months. Wow.
I have tried to explain this shit, even to myself sometimes...I just don't have one that can be put into words. There are a few reasons - I love performances and performers, and most of the time, the bands/artists that I love to watch live are just that - they give out more than music (on stage, people...) I also get off on seeing other people love the bands that I love. To watch new people fall for someone I have already fallen for is just a huge thrill for me. I like to share. I like to play "musical matchmaker".
And it's like Sheryl Crow so succinctly puts it, "If it makes you happy, it can't be that bad."
My "business" was born on October 19, 2008 on a drive to Charlottesville, VA to see a Jason Mraz concert. It came to me like a flash....a light bulb turning on over my head, like in a cartoon. It was a way to follow music in the way I like to follow it, and maybe have something come of it someday. Because I can't sing. I can't play an instrument. I can't write music or lyrics. I prefer to hang with those that can do those things... And I love to watch all of that from, you guessed it, Behind the Lens... So my business was born.
But even the drive to Charlottesville to see Jason Mraz was driven by a history and series of events and influence of people outrageously out of my control. And probably a boring story.
Makes for kind of a fun timeline though, so that is what we are going to get...
This would be a good place to start, I think. This was 2005ish. See that tall guy in the black shirt? That's my brother. That guy I have my arm around? That's the drummer. And the guy I am feeding a beer to? The guitarist. You get the idea. My brother got every single bit of the musical talent in my family. This is a guy who can pick up any instrument and play it. His choice is the 5 string bass though. The reason I love to know about bands is because of him. No question.
Ok, fast forward a bit...August 2006? This was the very first experience with being "Behind the Lens" in a video capacity. I always let everyone else do it, so that I could experience the experience. And I took photos. This time, I was first in a really excited line of eager fangirls to see a little summer tour...so I gave them a preview. Got them a "shout out"...
And that was a feeling I did not forget...from taping it, to presenting it. Kind of a weird power trip, in a generous way.
I didn't tape much more of Constantine, to be honest. That whole thing and everything it lead to was the base, the foundation of some knowledge that I have embraced since. In other words, it is a story I am going to keep to myself. Sorry. It's nothing big, I promise, you aren't missing much...but from Winter 2005 to the present day, this whole thing is a major vein in my heart of life.
But it isn't what pumps the blood, so to speak.
So the reason I started my You Tube account? I will tell you...the dreadlocks are a constant.... Jason Castro...in his first performance, on his first (of many, I am sure...) major tour. So what if it was American Idol. And so what if the security guy got mad at me for filming... This is what sealed the deal, so to speak.
My only video of Jason. Hopefully not for long. Jason put me in the throws of yet another Idol fan community (see link to Castrocopia....over there ---->) Which is how I ended up even driving to Charlottesville that day to see Jason Mraz, where I met up with another fan-type. We are an interesting group, to say the least. In general. Fans are unique people...
Jason Castro lead me directly to my muse...who lead me directly to my Habit...who lead me to here...THAT is a story I'll tell.
I appreciate your perusal. I do not pride myself on being a writer at all. I thought that was what I wanted to be when I was 11...but as time went on, it turned into more of a "talker" than "writer". Regardless, I am trying my hand at this, because I have a fairly recent hobby (?) that has generated a lot of stories, experiences and entertainment...and as I have emailed my friends (some) of the details, all of them have said "You need to write a book!" Uh. No.
But a blog I can handle.
So here we have it.
Behind the Lens
Pretty self explanatory. I have a fledgling video business where I tape bands and musicians, and put together videos for them. I have a lot of ideas and a lot of passion, and some very pretty boys I call friends that let me tape them. Hell of a learning process, right? I am a lucky gal. But at some point, it won't be practice...it will be the real deal.
So for the details of my business, check out the website....
This blog is for the stories. Because let me tell you, people do a lot of things when there is a tall blonde chick with a camera floating around...
So my first "real" post is a copy/paste from my myspace blog. I had to really get up the nerve to do this, so be kind...
I am a pretty brave chick.
I will do most anything once and talk to most anyone at any time. I am not afraid of new places and change. I jump into cold water and awkward situations easily most of the time.
So when I started this little "side project" of mine last fall, I figured I would run into obstacles and have to learn new things on the fly.
This is an understatement, to say the least. And about 80% of that knowledge has had nothing to do with video.
I have been following bands around for a while...I get hung up easily, and a lot of you know and can relate to this. I have tried to explain it to those that don't relate, and just can't....I like repetition in the oddest ways, for someone who hates monotony. I am pretty sure it is a feeling I am after, and if I find it, I keep going back for more. These days, I am trying to capture that feeling on film...
On one of my long drives home, fighting off some serious "post show let down", I had a stroke of inspiration. It was the fastest I have ever driven home after a show. And the 2nd longest time I have ever spent not sleeping in bed....working my ass off, and teaching myself some new things and reliving some stuff. 12 hours for about 4 minutes...which is a little cathartic, actually.
A few key folks have seen this, and for them I am really grateful because they helped build my courage. Why sharing this scares me, I will never know. I guess it is like a musician debuting a song for the first time...after they just learned to play the guitar.
But I have learned a lot about bravery in the past week, and I am taking my cues from that...
So without further ado, as I battle my inner Cowardly Lion and post my trailer for my little project....My name is Ash, and I have a Habit....
I rock. That's my video front and center. And actually, that is mine to the right too...
