Ok, let's try going from where I left off...
After I finished my previous post I drove myself to Ohare and hopped a big ol' jet to sunny Los Angeles. My nerves were still getting the best of me at that point. I was just waiting for something to happen to keep me from living out this crazy fantasy.
Once I was in my seat on the plane and in the air, all my anxiety seemed to just vanish. I had 4 hours of uninterrupted time with my own thoughts. I realized that all the nervous energy I'd been dealing with over the last few days was all related to actually making the trip happen. Now that I was on my way, I had nothing to be nervous about. I had a few hundred people telling me how happy they were for me and how much I deserved this opportunity just before I got on that plane. Seemed logical for me to go ahead and believe that they were all sincere. I never in my life expected to have that kind of love and support behind me. I was and am truly touched by it. At that point I was definitely feeling lots of excitement about finally having an opportunity to speak face to face with Joe, but I wasn't nervous about it at all. I was feeling pretty confident actually. Confident, and proud to have the opportunity to play "ambassador" for my Million Sistahs.
I did have a moment of panic when my flight landed at LAX and I discovered that my phone had died during the flight. My friend was coming to pick me up at the airport, but we hadn't actually discussed where we were going to meet up. ACK! Fortunately I kept my wits about me and quickly found a wall outlet and plugged in my charger. Rachel and I successfully located each other (eventually, but that's another story), and we were off to her place to wind down and prepare for my big day. (Just to prove that my anxiety really did vanish on that flight- We stopped at Jack In The Box on the way to her place and I devoured an order of Chicken Fingers and French Fries...the first food I'd eaten in at least 2 days!)
Rachel and I sat and chatted for a while. Caught up with each other a bit since we hadn't seen each other since June (and only very briefly then!). Then we went over my wardrobe options together and packed up all the things that I would need so that I would be ready to go first thing. The call time was 8am and we had a bit of a drive, plus she wanted to give some extra time just in case we got lost. I think I fell asleep in about 20 seconds once I made it to the bed. I know I didn't even say good night to Rachel.
Wednesday morning I woke up bright and early and hopped in the shower to get ready. I'm so glad that I'm not very tall, because the shower head hit me just about at the base of my neck as it was! I finished getting my make up on, dried my hair, and submitted myself for a quick once over by Rachel. I had some trouble figuring out if I was supposed to actually wear one of my wardrobe choices, or just bring them along. Eventually I decided that taking the outfits separately seemed like the wiser choice. Rachel grabbed a CD for me to have Joe sign for her, and we were off.
I was incredibly calm during the drive to the studio. Rachel was pointing out interesting landmarks as we drove. She showed me the studio they shot Boston Public in and a few other places of interest. We made it to the studio with plenty of time to spare. There wasn't a lot of parking available, so Rachel dropped me off in the parking lot, gave me a big hug and wished me luck, and went on to find a way to keep herself entertained for the day. I met a few of the other girls getting out of their taxi and showed them where we needed to go. (Sorry girls, but I can't remember who it was!) We walked around the corner to where the studio had set up a booth to sign in, and as I approached the rest of the girls someone said "Hey! You're Simply Shannon!". It was so funny to be recognized that way. Definitely one of the more amusing memories that I'll hang onto.
About 5 minutes after I got there, Taryn (the sweet girl who got to call us all and tell us all the details of the shoot) came outside and had us all start signing our release forms and getting checked in. We had to sign the release and then hold it up next to our face for a photo. They checked our id's to make sure that we were who we said we were, and sent us inside to await further instruction. The area we were set up in was basically a big warehouse space. There were folding tables and chairs set up, but the lights hadn't been turned on yet. One side of the room was taken up by what was obviously the set. We were on the back side of it, so we still had no idea what it looked like. There were some girls from the wardrobe department hanging around and they seemed almost as confused as we were! Eventually they started taking us back to a changing room a few girls at a time to go over our wardrobe choices and decide which outfits would work best.
Once I had changed into my approved outfit I went back to hang out with the rest of the girls. At that point things still felt very chaotic even though it was pretty quiet. One person would say an outfit was perfect, and then 2 minutes later someone else would come around and question it. (Were the colors too bright? Should she wear a hood or a beanie? Is that jewelry too shiny? Is that lipstick too much?) Fortunately I appeared to be in the clear, so I just kind of milled about chatting with the other girls and taking pictures.
After a few minutes of chatting I looked up to see a group of young men walking in the door. I recognized that they were the members of VFC immediately and without really even thinking about it I called out "Hi Drew!" to Drew Ryan Scott (He co-wrote the single that we were shooting the video for). Drew smiled and walked over and began introducing the rest of the band to me and the girls that were standing with me. Once he had finished with the rest of the crew he said "& I'm Drew"...I laughed and said "Well I KNOW you!" and Drew gave me a big smile and then leaned over and gave me a big hug. It was very sweet. After that we stood and were chatting for a few minutes. Drew asked if Joe was there yet and we told him we hadn't seen him yet. Drew started joking about how he was going to have to give Joe a hard time because he beat him there and I cracked up and told Drew that Joe had actually lied to him. We were all told that the call time was 8am, but Joe told Drew that it was at 7:30 because Drew is notoriously late. (in Joe's defense- I think it was about 8 when Drew walked in the door) Drew seemed to think it was pretty funny. After that the guys kind of wandered around and a few people asked to take pics with them, so I decided I might as well get one too.
(l-r Jayk Purdy, TC Carter, Drew Ryan Scott, Me, and David Lei Brandt)A few minutes later Drew announced that he was going to go to McDonald's and they all left. Since none of us really knew what was going on, we continued to just chat with each other and some of us ate some breakfast while we waited to be told what to do. By then there were some tasty male extras wandering about and we grabbed one of them and had him take some group pics for us.
At some point we heard that Joe was there and that he was excited to hear that we were all there too. I remember noticing that there was some music playing on the other side of the set, but the volume was very low and I couldn't make out what it was. A short time later one of the crew came out and asked if we liked the song. Turns out that it was THE song! It had a great beat, but I still couldn't quite make out enough to know if I loved it or not. We already knew the name of the song (Here We Go Again) at that point because it was listed on the release forms we'd had to sign.A little while later a large group of people emerged from the other side of the set and one of them signaled for everyone to quiet down and pay attention. I can't remember how it all happened because it was during the speeches that Joe quietly entered the room-
but I know that Ferris (The Production Manager?), John Davis (The Producer), and John Brenkus (The Director) all spoke briefly. I know that we were given information about safety on the set and told where the emergency exits were...but I haven't a clue what was actually said. After they all finished welcoming us and telling us what to expect, Joe stepped up to speak.
He thanked everyone for coming and then explained to the rest of the cast and crew that he had invited about 30 of his fans to participate in the video via a twitter contest. He said that we had come from all over- including Europe! He laughed and said "I think they're crazy, but I love 'em!" I can't remember what else he said, but once he finished we were told to hang out just a bit longer, and someone would come tell us what to do soon.A few minutes later one of the guys from the crew came out and started taking a few girls at a time onto the set. Standing around waiting felt a bit like being back in high school gym class waiting to be picked for a team. I can't say that I was terribly surprised to see that the hot little mamas were asked to go on set first. Eventually we all made it onto the set and were given directions for the first scenes. I can't go into detail yet, but I can say that the directions I received were not very specific and left me feeling a bit confused about what I should do. I spent the first half hour or so of shooting feeling like a total moron. I could see that I wasn't the only one though, and that made me feel a little better. Things got easier as the morning progressed.
Joe was not in the first scenes that we shot and he was sort of wandering about the set doing other things. At one point he wandered right over to where I was standing with a camera man and reporter and proceeded to give an interview for E! right in front of me. It was awesome. I was standing on top of a table and had the perfect view over the reporters shoulder. They were maybe 10 feet in front of me. I still don't know when the interview will air, but hopefully I'll be able to record it, just because it would be cool to have. I also watched Joe pose for some publicity shots. I wasn't sure at the time what he was posing for, but I saw the pictures online right after I got home from LA. So cool to that I got to watch them take the pictures that everyone else is now drooling over!
During one of the breaks from shooting I went to use the restroom, and when I came back out I practically ran TC Carter over as I walked out of the hallway. He just smiled and said hello. Then I came around the corner to find Drew casually chatting with Joe (who was wearing jeans and a WB at the time...GAH!) I didn't want to just walk past them without saying hello, so I casually punched Drew on his arm as I walked by. He turned and said "Hey!" and Joe turned to see what was happening. This was the first time that I'd actually been close enough to Joe to say anything, so I just smiled and said "Hi Joe" and then continued walking. I heard Drew saying that he was taking off and that he was sorry he couldn't stay, and some girls were asking Joe to sign something. He politely turned them down saying that he would be happy to do it later. I stopped to say good bye to Drew, and mentioned to him that one of my friends would be upset if I didn't say Hi for her. He laughed and said "Um..ok. Hi Mel."
There isn't all that much that I can really say about the majority of the day until after the video is made public. I will say that it was truly amazing to watch Joe at work. The video concept was his idea and he was very involved in the entire process. The man is DEFINITELY a perfectionist. He was visibly anxious all day long. I think mostly because he had to do things that he is not used to doing and he was nervous that something would go wrong. In this case, a slip up could mean that someone might get injured. I can't say I blame him for being a bit on edge. I think that having some of his fans around really helped him out. He feeds off that kind of energy and knows exactly what to do to get the kind of responses he needs to boost his ego in precisely the right way. That quality in another man might come off as obnoxious, but somehow Joe makes it seem charming.
The cat is already out of the bag about Joe being shirtless for much of the day. I can't say why, or how the shirt comes off...but it sure was fun to witness! The first time it happened was hilarious. I think we all knew it was coming, but we couldn't really wrap our brains around it until it happened. He was very casual about it. Just sort of did it, and then waited for us all to react. He had the most evil grin on his face too. We were all VERY well behaved. I think you could have heard a pin drop in those first few seconds...right up until Drew decided to step in and make us all laugh. He's good at that. The shirt was on and off all day long. I hate to say that it became routine because it never got old...but I did get sort of used to the fact that I was within a few feet of a shirtless Joe McIntyre by the end of the day. (Never did stop staring though! He wasn't lying when he said he's in the shape of his life. YUM!)
I will also tell you that shooting a video is no picnic! We were on our feet for 12 full hours. It was in the upper 80's that day and the lights on the set get so hot! I was wearing a thick, lined hoodie and leather pants ...NOT ideal. (I should probably mention that the leather pants actually split up the rear end part way through the day! Thank goodness it was right before the final take of the scene we were shooting!) & it wasn't like we were just standing around twiddling our thumbs all day. We were actively involved in pretty much every scene that was shot. There was a lot of down time between takes though. It was cool to have a chance to chat with all of the other extras. Most of them were pretty young and had some amusing stories to tell. They all seemed to get a kick out of the "twitter girls" and enjoyed joking around with us about Joe. It was definitely a long and very tiring day. Poor Joe had to have been completely exhausted by the end, but he was such a good sport.
Once the final scene was shot, Joe came and stood on a table right next to where I was standing to announce to everyone that we were finished. He said that he had a few more things to do, and that we should go relax and he would come to chat and sign autographs and take pictures in a few minutes, but that first we were going to take a cast and crew pic. Since I was standing right there, I decided I would seize the opportunity to be near Joe for the pic. Everyone else immediately collapsed in on us and Joe looked down at me and said "We're going to take more pics later...you should go up to the front so that you can make sure that you're seen". I looked up to see where the camera was and knew it wasn't going to be a problem, so I decided to stay put. I thanked him and said that I would be ok. After we took the picture I waited to make sure that Joe got down from the table ok, and then I turned to him and said "I LOVE the song by the way!" He lit up like a Christmas tree and thanked me. I don't know for sure, but it seemed like I was one of the first people to actually tell him that.
Afterwards I joined the other girls in the restroom as we tried to make ourselves decent. Thank goodness someone thought to bring body spray! I can't imagine what I must have smelled like at that point. ICK! After I changed into more comfortable clothes I went back and devoured an apple and chugged some water while we waited for Joe to make his grand entrance. I was catching up with twitter while I waited and saw that Rachel was waiting in front of the building and had seen Joe take his things out to his car. It was funny to see her tweets telling people what she could see and hear from her vantage point. Dave Harris from Retro Rewind was wandering about and so I took some time to chat with him while we waited for Joe. Somehow I became the official photographer for the group as everyone took turns taking pictures with Dave. It was fun.
A few minutes later Joe casually wandered in grasping a big slice of pizza. He smiled and greeted us and then joyfully declared "My first carbs!" and took a nice big bite. (sorry Joe, but it was too cute to pass up)
Then he said that he thought it would be easiest if we all stayed where we were and he would come around and make sure he got a chance to talk to everyone. At that point I saw Heather walking over to present the cards that we had all signed for Joe and his family and I decided that it would be a good time to give him the letters that some of the girls who couldn't make it had asked me to pass on. I handed the letters to him and told him what they were, and then I returned to where I had been sitting to wait for him to come around to me.It's funny because I had so many things that I wanted to ask him about, or tell him- but in that moment my first priority was making sure that I got Rachel's CD signed for her. If she hadn't offered to let me stay with her, I'm not sure that I would have been able to make the trip, so it was really important to me that I take care of that for her. So Joe finally came over to me and I said "Before we do anything else, can you please sign this for my friend Rachel? She let me stay with her and she was actually at the book thing you did at the school the other day" At first I think I took him by surprise because I didn't try to get a hug or anything, but once I mentioned the school thing he was like "Oh yeah!"...once he finished signing I said "Oh, I'm Shannon by the way" and he said "Oh...right! Hi! It's nice to meet you!" I laughed and said "It's nice to meet you too Joe!" and then he sort of pulled me in to take our picture. He pulled me in real tight kind of hugging me against him, and then leaned his face over to mine so that we were almost touching. I was enjoying every second, but it took me a bit by surprise (as you can probably see in the pic!)
I think Dave Harris took the picture for us, but I wouldn't swear by it. I was still in a bit of a daze and Joe wandered off to talk to the next person before I had a chance to say anything else to him. I was kicking myself for being so dumb and forgetting all of the things I wanted to ask him about. I continued to take pictures while he was chatting with the other girls, and tried to get his attention to find out if we could hear the whole song because we'd only heard a tiny snippet during filming. I'm not sure he ever heard me ask, but one of the other girls finally got his attention. He looked almost surprised when we asked, but then he said "Oh! Hang on a sec, let me see what I can do" and then he disappeared for a minute. He came back and told us to follow him. I was so surprised that I didn't even think to grab my camera, I just took off after him!He led us into a theater where John Brenkus was sitting at a conference table in front of a computer. As we walked in I decided to ask Joe if he would sign my tshirt (I was wearing my LGT shirt) when he got a moment. He got all flustered and said "Um..yeah, I don't have a marker though!" I told him it was ok and he said I should go find a good seat before they were all taken. Then...we entered paradise! Joe and John allowed us to view the rough edit of the video and listen to the song with them. It was amazing! Not only was it absolutely incredible to be some of the first people to see the video, but we actually got to watch it WITH Joe! Watching him soak in our excitement was probably one of the coolest moments I've ever experienced. We were all hooting and hollering and singing along and he and John were just beaming. After the video finished we asked if we could watch it again. They happily obliged. We managed to convince Joe to take a group picture with us after that. Of course he had to give us a hard time about it first, but I think he was pretty much on cloud 9 at that point. I know we were!
As we were all filing out of the theater I could tell that he was feeling much more relaxed than he had been all day. I asked the girls if anyone had a sharpie and Elizabeth graciously loaned me hers so Joe could sign my shirt.
After he finished I had the opportunity to ask him a question that had been bugging me for weeks..."Joe, did you sing any part of Truck & Fish?" (for those of you who don't know- T&F is an unreleased and very silly song that Jordan Knight recorded several years ago) Joe got a perplexed look on his face and he said "No. Why? Does it sound like me?" I said "People keep trying to convince me that it's your voice, but I never thought it sounded like you" He started to say something else about it, but then he got distracted by something else and moved on.I also took a moment to discuss Rock The Block and LGTF with him at that point. He was very sweet and seemed sorry that he couldn't be more helpful about answering the questions I had.
At that point I felt like it was time for me to get back to poor Rachel who had been waiting for me ALL day long, plus I had a 6 am flight to catch- so I just quietly said good bye to everyone and left. Rachel pointed out Joe's car to me in the parking lot as we pulled away. I don't think it will ever matter, but I know what Joe's license plate says. :)
It truly was an amazing day. I made a whole bunch of new friends, and have memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I just hope I don't look like an ass in the video! (Joe says the single is due to drop on November 16th...I'm sure the video will be right on it's heels. I'll make sure to share it as soon as it's out)
If you happen to be on twitter and are curious- all of the twitter girls have been sharing our favorite memories. The can be found by searching for #jmvidmemory
