Hanson Music Video Shoot

L-R: Zac, Director Adam Neustadter?, Alex Beh, Nikki Reed, Drew Seeley, Amy Paffrath who faints in video, Taylor, Kat Dennings, Paul McDonald, Isaac

Today was so amazing, I don't even know where to begin!

Short version: Hanson put out a casting call for Los Angeles area fans to be in their new music video, I submitted, didn't get picked, but my friend did, so I knew when and where to show up, which I did, and ended up getting in anyway! The song is great (Sounds like it could be on Shout It Out), and Taylor told me that it should be released in "Uhhh...A couple months".

Long version:

On Friday, Hanson posted on Facebook that they were looking for fans in the LA area to be in their new music video, which was scheduled to shoot on Sunday. Thankfully a friend pointed it out to me and we both immediately applied, as it was a casted event. Saturday night rolled around and still no confirmation email saying I got picked. I was so anxious waiting for that email that I sat in front of my computer refreshing my inbox every few minutes. It made me feel better though that no one else on Facebook or Twitter was saying they received anything, so there was still hope.

I ended up falling asleep, but woke up that morning to a text from my friend saying she was selected. Yet, still nothing in my inbox. I couldn't bear the thought knowing Hanson was filming 10 minutes from me and not being there, so I decided to go and try my luck, hoping to get in due to no shows. And that's exactly what happened! There were only about 5 or 6 girls who showed up not having been invited, and we all got in!

Me getting my number assigned and picture taken

The shoot was at The Satellite, a small music venue in Silverlake. Call time was 11am, but my group ended up not going inside until around 2:45. There was a small group of people who were asked to get there at 8am for other shots. Then the 11am group got split up into 6 groups. I was in group 5. Once we got inside, the guys were already on the stage, messing around on their various instruments. They were all in black and white suits, and just looked amazing. I mean, I've never seen them look anything but amazing, but they looked exceptional today.

Credit: @stacepowe

The next 3 and a half hours was basically just getting filmed enjoying watching the guys, so you know, a hard days work. I was so excited to see Kat Dennings when I got inside, then found out she was in the video. Also in the video was Nikki Reed, Drew Seeley and Drake Bell. Also there, although not in the video (at least I didn't see her filmed at all), Meiko! If you saw them on their last tour, she opened for them. I became a big fan of hers after that and have seen her a few times since then. I ran into her outside and told her I was a big fan, which she seemed to enjoy, and thanked me.

Nikki played a bartender, who ends up leaving with Drew at the end of the night. Kat was with an unknown actor (former boyfriend of Jennifer Love Hewitt) named  Alex Beh. I unfortunately didn't see Drake, I believe he left before I got inside, so i'm not sure what his part in all of it was.

In between one of the takes, I was standing next to Nikki and a fan asked how she got involved with the shoot. She explained that a few years ago, the guys found out she was a fan (from a blog post of hers), and invited her out to a show. They had been friends ever since, and later found out that her very good friend Kat Dennings was also friends with the guys. The guys proceeded to ask both girls to be in the video, and both being huge Hanson fans, they were instantly on board. Just watching her talk about the guys, you could tell she was a true, genuine fan and was excited to be there. Finding out she was such a huge Hanson fan made me hate her a little less, only because I'm jealous of who she's married to (Paul McDonald... *Sigh*).

Kat was clearly very excited to be in it as well:

The song is called 'Get the Girl Back', so the story revolves around the guys in video trying to get their girls back. One of which (Alex Beh), spills a drink on his girl (Kat Dennings) and she takes off. The video even has a dance battle scene with Josh (JMac) Hanson! The song is super catchy and fun. It's along the same style as Shout It Out. They had a horn section on stage with them who call themselves the Brass Knuckles. They posted a video talking to Zac here:

 Taylor was very, very involved, and vocal throughout the shoot. He was calling out continuity issues and working on things with the director to get everything just right. Zac and Isaac didn't say much, and just left it to Taylor. Taylor took a special interest in the crowd and directed us multiple times to just go as crazy as possible, but as he said "We want you to go crazy! Well maybe not foaming at the mouth crazy, but crazy!". He was also big on making sure we had all the hand claps and rhythms down perfectly.

The highlight of the night for me was when I got selected to actually have a part! There was a scene where a fan in the crowd was to faint, and I got picked to be the girl that catches her, so I definitely will be getting some face time from that! Yay! The other highlight was when the guys came up to the front rows and shook everyone's hands, which was being filmed, and I'm hoping my shake with Taylor makes the cut! After the final shot inside, they said goodbye to all of us, and shook all our hands again. I even managed to form a sentence (which is a rare occurrence with me and Hanson), and asked Taylor when the song would be released and he responded with "Uhhh...a couple months", and kind of laughed. So basically, TBD.

Once we were done inside, we all had to lineup outside the venue for one more quick shot of all of us, as if we were going into the show. We also saw Kat, Nikki, Alex and Drew walking hand in hand as if they were leaving the venue. Taylor, Zac and Isaac even came outside to watch the final shot, even though they weren't in it. Once that was over, they invited us all to huddle around them and they graciously thanked us and said the new album would be out "soon". They gave hugs, shook hands and said goodbye to everyone. I didn't see anyone get a picture with them, since it looked like they took off pretty quickly, so I left too.

All in all, it was an amazing day! I'm so excited for the new album and of course for this video to premiere!

P.S. To all the other fans who were there, I just wanted to say, you were all so sweet as usual. I've never had a bad experience with Hanson fans, so thanks for keeping that streak going!

Death Cab for Cutie at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Credit: Mike Lawrie/Getty Images

Show: Death Cab for Cutie

Venue: Walt Disney Concert Hall- Los Angeles, CA

Date: 5/7/12

Show #30

This was a show I was dying to go to, but the insane ticket prices were keeping me from even trying. Ironically enough, I got a call from a friend 2 days before the show who said "I have an extra ticket to Death Cab on Tuesday, it's yours if you want it." Obviously I accepted, and wished calls like that happened more often!

I had seen Death Cab before, but I was particularly excited for this show because of the unique venue, and they were going to be backed by the Magik Magik orchestra.

Opening the show was Youth Lagoon, who if you're a fan of Death Cab, you'll definitely love Youth Lagoon.  It's a guy who looks to have outgrown his keyboard, but man does he know how to use it. Youth Lagoon uses trance inducing vocals and synth pop to capture the fascination of the audience. You can't understand a word he says, yet you find yourself trying to sing along while bobbing your head. If you need something to just zone out to and relax, I recommend Youth Lagoon. He was a great pairing with Death Cab as the audience was left wanting more. Fun fact about Youth Lagoon, he recorded his debut album in his bedroom, a kitchen and 4 car garage in Boise, ID!

Next it was time for Death Cab to take the stage! The addition of the orchestra put a refreshing spin on old classics. They didn't use the orchestra for every song, but when they did, it filled the concert hall with a sound I can only describe as enchanting. Yeah it's cheesy, but seriously.

I recorded a ton of video! Sorry about the shakiness, and bad framing, but cameras were not allowed, so I was slouched down in my seat covering the back of my camera so the brightness of it couldn't be seen by security or bother anyone behind me.

I Will Follow You Into the Dark w/ orchestra (Favorite performance of the night by far!)

Codes and Keys w/ orchestra

Steadier Footing
Different Names for the Same Thing
What Sarah Said
Title and Registration
Cath

Jordan Knight at House of Blues

Show: Jordan Knight
Venue: House of Blues, West Hollywood CA
Date: 3/8/12
Show #10 

On this Thursday knight night in Hollywood, hundreds of 30 something women flocked to the House of Blues to see a childhood crush come alive again. Jordan Knight, of New Kids on the Block was in town on a solo tour. Yet instead of hearing the normal boy band talk in line about where to put that new poster you just got from Tiger Beat, it was "I wish I could have gotten here sooner but the babysitter was late." While the fans may have grown up, it was apparent their inner teenybopper never left them.

While New Kids on the Block was before my time (All about BSB for me), I had the chance to see them on the NKOTBSB tour (3 times :-) and after the first song, instantly knew I was a  "Jordan girl" as the fans say. So I was very excited to hear he was coming to HOB.

The show was opened by a YouTube sensation named Chad, who was known for his 1 minute Boy Band Medley. Jordan saw his video and asked him to open the show! Pretty cool! The mash up can be seen below:

He also sang an original song which was pretty hilarious. Definitely reminded me of Andy Samberg.

He was followed by Spankie Valentine... She was... Hmm... Trying too hard may be an understatement. She acted like she was headlining at Madison Square Garden. Which I guess you gotta give her props for that, but it was just a little too over the top for Jordan fans, and the small venue. 

Then it was finally time for Jordan to come out! He opened with "Let's Go Higher", which was the perfect song to get the crowd going. But let's be real, he could have just stood there and stared at the crowd for 20 minutes and everyone would have still showed up. 

I think if you were to ask anyone there though, there would be a unanimous vote that the highlight of the night was when he performed "O Face". Why you ask? Let's just say, hip thrusting was back in full effect and the video I recorded of it is NSFW.

The other highlight of the night was when he picked 2 girls to come on stage with him during "Rockstar". Before picking the girls, he prefaced it by saying he always gets girls on stage who act crazy in the crowd, but when they get on stage, they're shy and don't dance. Unfortunately 1. I didn't get picked, and 2. the girls who were picked were extremely boring to watch and you could tell Jordan was upset they wouldn't do anything. Nonetheless it was fun to try and live vicariously through them for a few minutes.

All in all, it was an amazing show and completely exceeded my expectations. Can't wait to see him again!

Venue Tip

Do "Pass the Line"! While it's a ploy to get you to spend more money there, HOB has a program called "Pass The Line" where if you buy an entree from the restaurant, or spend $20 in the store, you get to go in a special line which goes in before the general admission line. A few things to remember for this:

1. Order food at the bar upstairs and then go eat in line. It's better to have someone in your party go order the food, while someone stays in line.

2. Make sure you tell them you're buying food for pass the line, they need to sign your receipt, that will be your early ticket in.

3. Ask where the Pass The Line is. You'll learn this place is super unorganized, and if you ask 10 different people, you'll get 10 different answers. I'll tell you that when I went for this show, I happened to ask the right security guard who told me where the right line was going to be, and everyone else had started a fake line, so I got to get in first. It was at the end of the hill, by the VIP entrance near the stairway to the Foundation room, near the Valet. Go there first.

4. Don't freak if a few people go in before you, there's usually a meet n greet that gets to go in even before pass the line. All in all it's worth it if you want to get up close.

To see all my videos from the show (yes, there's more!) visit my YouTube page.