Hollywood Haiku...

Barenaked Ladies
taping a pilot on FOX
we are so there guys



YES!

It's true, the greatest band ever taped a pilot for the FOX Television Network on Tuesday, January 25th. Fortunately for us, Kayla received an email notifying her of the die-hard-fan-must-see event and she convinced me that while they were offering admittance to the first 500 only, that we could make it.

I was a doubting Thomas, but after 8 hours of standing near the corner of Hollywood & Vine, we were all (Kayla's sister Callie came too) admitted to what will go down as one of the most entertaining moments in my life. I'm sure that if you're not a big fan of "The Ladies" that I must sound like a total dork with a pinch of fairy. That's the problem. These guys are one of the most successful acts outside the US. Sure, they're Canadian...and while some of us think our northern neighbor has blessed us with many artists, comedians, musicians, and beers...many Americans would rather listen to their Top 40 Record Industry driven radios.

And I understand that since they're not all under 20 years old, or sleeping with Paris Hilton, that they're not making the kinds of albums that seems to scream "buy me" to 14 year old girls in the US. Fine. I can accept that, really. In fact, I prefer that my favorite band NOT be squeezed between a Britney Spears and Matchbox 20 CD Sandwich in some kids collection.

But for Christ sake, PLEASE WATCH THIS TELEVISION SHOW!!!

Here's the deal: These guys are funnier than MOST crap we put on TV here. Seriously, every live show these guys have usually leaves their fans in stitches as well as weary from all the dancing in the aisles. This is a live band, no doubt. Ever had a favorite band that you could feel something from? Well there are literally millions of people across the world who "get" these guys...and they get their fans.



The thing is, you've probably only heard their "one week" hit from about 8 years back. This is because while that album sold super multi platinum, people assumed that every song they did was in that quirky beatbox white-guy-rap style. The truth is, it's extremely difficult to label these guys. Music Industry powerhouses need these labels to control their universe. The Barenaked Ladies are Rock, Pop, Adult Contemporary, and Folk, with an odd College Band style "sing along" melody development thing.

But they're neither of those things individually. The only way I can really explain what you'll get from a band that understands how emotional music can be...but don't take themselves very seriously...is that you can put any of their albums in your stereo, press repeat, and leave it all day. It's one of those.

A Soundtrack to your life kind of band. At least they are for Kayla and I.

They're OUR band. They're the guys who write the songs of our life together, and we appreciate everything they've done for us. You develop an extremely strong emotional attachment to a band that is literally there for all the moments you remember. Each of their albums spans a year or so long period of time in our marriage. The individual tracks bring the sensation and tangible reality of memories -- good and bad -- right to the surface of your soul.

That's a very powerful thing, and happily sitting on a piss covered sidewalk with a huge crowd of people who all seemed just as elated to be there and to share a very similar experience...well that was really damn cool.



When we got inside, we immediately noticed that they didn't have any chairs! Some of the people outside had been standing around 11 hours or so...but the Ladies kept up jumping for the entire 4 HOUR SHOOT.

Yes, 4 Hours.

The guys ran the whole night without any signs of trouble, directing us and tweaking their setlist for everything from the music for the intro and outro's from commercials to taping the actual theme song to the show itself. They came out with a huge punch playing "Maybe Katie" from their new album "Everything to Everyone" and promptly informed us that we had just enjoyed "The most Rock-N-Roll you'll get tonight." Everything that followed was VERY television; i.e. little snippets of our favorite songs, with scattered costume and lighting changes.

The thing is though, they guys were so happy to take requests between camera setups and whatnot. They were really enjoying themselves, and you could tell they were really working hard at the same time. I hope they got what they needed from the crowd as a whole because Kayla and I screamed our heads off on cue...and even jumped up and down pretending to go nuts at times...because we couldn't have been more excited.

The Ladies even hung out and signed autographs after the whole thing. I got Kayla's DVD signed by all the guys, and we finally got to meet these strangers who already feel like family to us. It was a really special night, and even more enjoyable than a concert because of how intimate and really really funny the show was.

I'll never forget it, and I HOPE Fox picks up the pilot. Then you would finally get to see these guys goofing off and doing sketch comedy. This is the reason people follow this band like the Grateful Dead. The only difference being that BNL fans...well, that we bathe and have jobs.

Well, some of us do anyway.