SILVER
JET VIDEO SHOOT – September 6-7, 2002
9am
– 4:30pm
I
arrived at 8:50 am on Friday Morning and was the last
person who shook Gord D's hand as he floated off to
the Band's holding room at 1:50 am Saturday morning
- What happened in between was no doubt a highlight
of my 11 years of Following the Band which includes
"working backstage" at the 1st Another Roadside
Attraction, the IVL release party, I & I at Much
Music, parting at an apartment in NYC where Johnny fay
stayed before a Henhouse show at Irving Plaza and Dozens
of other small & LARGE shows somewhere in the 45
range....
At
9am the first team of about 25 or so “extras”
were told that things would be an hour or so and we
would start shooting with the Band would be arriving
anytime. The second wave of about 150 or so “extras”
would arrive for 2pm for the main shoot which should’ve
ended at around 7pm. We were told if we were having
fun that we could stay for the whole “shoot”.
Nathalie from “Revolver Films” was a very
upbeat “Hip-Hopper” who said she was slowly
becoming a Hip fan….She would lead us through
the next 17+ hours. She told me that they received about
1700 emails and had to shut down the website! It was
overwhelming. People entered from Buffalo, London and
all-over. She actually hand picked by name, location,
age etc…about 240 people to call….which
resulted in the 130-150 chosen. (A few people brought
friends and Nathalie didn’t seem to mind.??? (I
know that hurts?) Also some of the girls I spoke with
had only seen maybe 1 or 2 shows)
I
will start here by saying that although there was some
serious Hip Fans in attendance it is a complete SIN
that dozens more from The Henhouse & Hipbase weren’t
chosen! Most were early to mid twenties with a few in
their 30’s. Things got all screwed up with the
Stage set-up apparently and we got the run around for
4-5hrs… So a few of us went out for a Liquid Lunch
to exchange stories and get to know one another . While
we were gone we were told that the Hip came out into
the “holding area” and signed autographs
and allowed for pictures saying thank-you to everyone
for coming and waiting it out. We missed that session
which was fine knowing we had many hours ahead of mingling
with the Band. Back with a Buzz and some new friends
the 2pm people had arrived and the room we once owned
was full of new anticipating faces and the waiting game
was still on. To kill time Nathalie was giving signed
posters away with the help of people giving her questions
to ask in a Hip Trivia game….or if you sang infront
of the 150+ crowd… you automatically got a poster.
A few people did and it wasn’t pretty. My answer
“the SAX” won me a poster…The Question
of course - what was the 6th instrument the HIP used
at one time back in the beginning?
4:30pm
– 7pm
NOW…
sometime before 5pm the first group was asked to line
up to be brought onto the set. HERE we go… Dark
at first… we turned a corner and the Set appeared
like a large hallway about 20 feet wide and maybe 50
feet in length…maybe 12ft high … Violet
Walls with round clear\white lights running down each
side at about the 7ft mark in a straight line…
this hallway ended at a knee high-Stage where we were
now standing. The boys were all wearing Black. Gord
D & Bobby with the full suits and the rest sporting
some black pant & shirt combo… Paul in cowboy
boots & a pair of Black Oakley’s which he
wore through much of the evening. Gord S’s Bass
was see-thru… looked like plexi-glass and Paul
and Bobby’s guitars had a Silver sparkle/glitter
face. There were tons of lights which made it appear
to be one big “tanning booth” … the
rest of the “extras” piled in behind us
trying to get closer even though we were constantly
told to “move back & spread out”. Reverb
from the Bass could be heard & both Paul & Bobby
were plugged in… Bobby to what seemed to be some
vintage Fender Amps. The only thing not plugged in was…
Gord D’s Mic! I am standing behind one person
in front of Gord Sinclair’s position…. Gord
D begins to chat with a few people and while Paul is
sitting on his amp plucking away someone asked if they
can have their picture taken with him, he says sure
and the guy hops up and goes over kneeling beside Mr.
Langlois “cheese” ..Off the stage he goes
and that’s that. Things were very relaxed. The
guys thanked small groups up front for coming and waiting
numerous times. Smiles on all the tired faces appeared
now that we were finally standing an arm-length away
from the Band… many people had to leave and never
even made it to this part of the experience. We were
told it was time to Rehearse and that’s what we
did, over and over. For the next hour or 2 we ran through
SILVER JET 12-20 times….sometimes the full song
and others just 20-40 second sections. Production would
crank out the IVL Album version and The Hip would play
live over top of it… while Gord D. lip-synced!
The music was usually so loud you couldn’t tell
except the guitars had a small but different sound and
with the Drums not mic’d they sounded like you
were in someone’s basement on and off. Gord D
had what looked like a set list at his feet which was
really a detailed lyrics sheet for…”Silver
Jet” with time intervals and verses. It is difficult
to write here how it felt the first time they went through
the full song, adrenaline, the lights, the heat, a nod
from Bobby, eye contact from the Gord’s and “us”
the select group of Hip fans chosen to be in “Silver
Jet”… Gord D signed a few things while in
between takes and joked with the 2 guys in front of
him who challenged him to a game of ice or roller hockey….
At one point I referred to the PGA tournament being
played here this weekend and said “Daley is at
10 under” looking for a response…Sinclair
looked up at me and asked “Really?” I said
“no”…that drew a small smile which
the guys seemed to appreciate throughout the long evening.
Some where around 7pm the Production Crew needed to
do a few tweaks etc…so the Band got a small break
here and as they climbed off the stage and into our
standing area some chose to stick around to say Hi,
pictures etc.. While most of us headed back to the holding
tank. Here there were boxes of bottled water and a box
of apples waiting for us there and a boom-box on in
the background. I stuck to the door we would be going
back into since it would only be 20-30min. and I wanted
to be right up against the stage again. Nathalie from
Revolver actually announced at this point that we could
call any friends who we thought may come down and join
in since we had still another 4 hours at least to shoot.
I called a friend and left him a message with the address.
They were obviously concerned with the amount of people
that had left and where the numbers may be in 2 hours?
7pm
- 10pm
Break
over – In we go… onto the set and right
up against the stage this time in front of Gord D and
Paul. As we stake our ground Gord is front and centre…
he says hi… the others just fooling around with
their instruments. Johnny Fay looks as tired as everyone
else but more irritated now heading into the 10th hour
or so of being in this old warehouse they called a studio.
As Paul stands up off his amp… to stretch his
legs I ask him if he had given Bobby the “wooden
guitar Pic” I handed him backstage at Darien Lake
last Sunday? He looked at me for a second and said “yes,
actually just yesterday I gave it to him” and
I responded with a thank you, telling him I appreciated
it. It’s now close to Rehearsal again… and
again the sweat appears on everyone… ready to
get started… I lean over to the people next to
me and say “imagine if they played Silver Jet?”…just
loud enough for Gord D to hear of course… he smiled
and they started from the beginning again. Gord leaned
way back with each hand hovering over his chest pretending
to hold himself up by his nipples. When they stopped
20 seconds later he looked down at us and asked if liked
that… “the inverted nipple hang ?”
Then someone asked for the “peacock”? The
rehearsals went on and on and the Director’s helpers
were asking for more energy! Gord D really did look
to the crowd and a few of us who were right in front
of him to inspire each 30 second or 3 minutes of Silver
Jet take… the rest of the Band fed from us also
followed by Gords moves and gyrations. At the beginning
of each take I tended to look at the lyrics sheet taped
to the stage almost as if it was a set list at a real
concert and asked Gord if he could squeeze in “Silver
Jet” or look at the guys beside me saying “Why
don’t we go with Silver Jet next?” Now I
am no comedian (obviously) but if you were as hot, tired,
hungry and thirsty as we all were …it did get
a chuckle… and finally as we headed into the last
take before our next break Gord D actually looked down
at me smirking… and said “what do think…
what should we go with?” … The band left
the stage and again signed a few things for people saying
hello’s & thank-you’s. Johnny told the
girl beside me he had to go to Kingston and then to
Boston. He clearly wanted to get the hell out of there.
Revolver then announced that Pizza had been ordered
and that we would be back for one final session. Out
into the holding tank I was almost dizzy with exhaustion.
I grabbed a piece of Pizza and headed outside for air,
called my friend again and left him a message. Back
in and over to the Door where a line-up had formed of
people who wanted to be closer. I did a count and there
were about 6 of us from the 9am crew who were still
there. New faces appeared, new age groups (40’s)
and Matt who I called showed up and was more than ready
to join in. Nathalie from Revolver asked how many could
stay another 2 hours? Then how many could stay another
4 in total even though it was close to 10pm. Most said
ya to the 2 hours but not sure about beyond that
10pm
– 1:50am
So
now we are told they are shooting close-ups of the boys
and that we can go in and sit at the back and watch
until we were needed again. In we go jockeying for positions
for when we are aloud to go up to the front. The Cameras
were right up in Gord D’s face. He gyrated and
did his dance and then left the stage to join some of
the Film Crew back in the Director’s Chairs about
10 feet away from where we were waiting. They blasted
out the CD version over and over as they shot Paul,
then Gord S and Bobby and finally Johnny. This easily
took an hour and now Gord was sipping on a Coffee brought
in by one of the “runners”. Each guy left
the stage after his part and headed by Gord D and the
film crew and went back to their Holding Room. At one
point when they were still up on stage except for Gord
D they were waiting for something and began jamming
away softly one instrument at a time…now they
had done this earlier but this time Johnny joined in
and it started to sound like something medium tempo…
bluesy, jazzy but nothing we had heard before…
it got a bit louder and they actually seemed to get
into it. Drifting off …the instrumental ended
and we applauded… the music was cool, the lights
were still very warm. OK now they are changing the camera’s
tracks and overall angles while the boys break we get
handed water and prepare to head back up to the front.
But it seemed like forever. My feet were pulsating…
like I was in a standing up contest or something. In
position finally… right back in front of Paul…
they ask us to close in abit towards the centre where
the camera is going to crawl from back to front. They
brought in another woman to play a part outside of us
extras… that would be standing 15 ft or so away
from the stage grooving to the band as we all had been
doing all night. The guys appeared again, Johnny stopped
briefly beside me to say hi to this fairly attractive
22-23 yr old beside me, thanked her for sticking around
and then hopped up and over to his kit. This Rehearsal
was pretty much the same only with the crowd bunched
up towards the centre, a different camera angle, this
new “hot extra” at the foot of the camera
and they wanted ENERGY and there didn’t seem to
be much left in the building…. ..We went through
a 30sec window once or twice and the energy didn’t
seem to be there… in the band or in the crowd.
What happened next was like a little scene from “Rocky”
The Director said “we need energy”…
Gord looked down at a few of us… and the one guy
beside me starts the chant just slightly “HIP
– HIP – HIP – HIP” well that
caught on and it got LOUDER…and they just threw
the KEW, Gord smiled and flew into the 30 sec challenge
like it was a unplanned Encore with us “extras”
going crazy! It ended and Gord did a few jump shots
(basketball) and I commented “swish”…
Gord walked over towards us smiling and looked right
at the guy who started the chant saying “thanks
guy, you pulled that out just on time… the HIP…right
on” Again though we went through more sections
of the song and tested everyone’s endurance, will
and determination. Finally at 12:30am or so that was
it! Johnny left the stage first giving his sticks to
the “queen” beside me who he had been eyeing
for a couple of hours. Some other girl in the centre
said… “Those are mine he promised those
to me.” Johnny was long gone now and I believe
Billy-Ray hooked her & others up with a set. Paul
hopped down in front of me and I said “great seeing
you again, (I reached in my pocket) here is another
one of those wooden guitar picks. This one is African
Blackwood.” Paul shook my hand and thanked me
saying it was cool and to take care. I looked over and
Bobby, Gord S and Gord D were all taking pictures and
signing posters. In 10 minutes or so Bobby was gone.
Gord Sinclair was gone and then there was Mr. Downie
signing every single last poster and posing for every
last picture. No security at this event just an exhausted
Gord thanking us. A few more people left but there was
one more shoot as they assembled everyone together around
this “video chick” the camera was to film
her walking towards the stage slowly past a few of us….going
crazy for this Rock Band. I finally got Gords attention
and he reached his hand out and said “Thanks for
keeping it Lite out there tonight man, it really helped
out” I said “no problem I have a “wooden
pick” here for you. They sound great on the acoustic,
it is made out of Bloodwood I told him.” He actually
stopped walking and said “thanks” in a very
genuine way. We wandered over to the small crowd of
25 or so left and gathered around this area for the
final shoot. I was just in behind the first row of people
who the girl was going to walk by which is right where
the camera was. Well Gord D walks up just behind me
and snuggles into the crowd as an “extra”
and actually stood with us for a few minutes joking
about how the director didn’t even see him. They
did one take or so while Gord was still there. He eventually
said thanks again and wandered off. We were now expected
to “come out of our shoes” with excitement
looking up at a blank stage with the music on in the
background?? That wasn’t gonna fly until Nathalie
& another guy got up on stage and did a crazy go-go
style dance together during the song-takes making us
all laugh and get into just enough to pull it off after
5 or 6 takes. THAT’S IT ! at 1:30 am approx. we
were done. Everyone headed towards the exits and Gord
D was still standing talking to some guy. I hung around
for a few minutes on set and chatted with my friend
Matt about his conversation with Bobby he had earlier.
He had asked about a request from the Henhouse…
“Another Midnight” Bobby said, that’s
a good request. Matt said if there is anyway to work
it into the Hummingbird Shows it would be VERY WELL
accepted…. So we began to leave and Gord D just
finished up hi conversation and we ended up walking
down the outside of the set towards our door to leave
and his door to the Bands Area. He shook our hand again
and I mentioned to him that I really enjoyed his solo
album with “The Never Ending Present” being
my favourite track from it…he answered with a
“Really?” then I added that I was curious
to hear what he thinks the “wooden pick”
after he gets to try it. He pulled it out holding it
up saying “Take Care guys” and he was gone
his way and we headed into an empty holding room where
there was one poster left…. Matt grabbed that
for himself and “we headed for home"
Thanks
to Nathalie & Revolver Films for being very professional
and treating all of us “extras” so great,
Thanks to all the new Hip fans I shared the day with
and thanks to The Tragically Hip for appreciating their
fans and signing every last poster that was asked of
them.
Jeffro
