Oxygen, New York City
November 20, 2000
But of all the days, of ALL the days to send me crosstown in the morning....
I had lobbied pretty much for the last six months or so to get Rockapella booked on "Pure Oxygen." I got the DJ excited enough about them to them proclaimed Artist of the Day not once but twice. But even still, actually getting them to perform in-studio seemed a fanciful dream. Too many other things would have to fall into place. But then magically, in early Septemeber, the ball started rolling. Our people called their people who floundered a little before picking a date. Did they want it closer to Christmas or around Thanksiving? Hmmm... In the end, they settled on November 20th. The booking was confirmed. Amen.
In the interim, I bought a new pair of leather pants. Shiny, boot-cut ones that actually make me look like I'm hot (even though I'm really not). For several reasons (I'm a big diva that way, for one thing), but I also figured they would come in handy for the O2 appearance. Since I normally work in a standard dress code of jeans (creativity doesn't really necessitate corporate casual), I felt a little odd about going to the office in full-on rock star mode, but this was a special occasion.
Trying to be at least somewhat productive, I made an effort to get to the office a little early, so I could take care of paperwork I had laying around and clean up my space a little. As far as I knew, the gang and their entourage were supposedly showing up around 11 to do their sound check. They were doing an in-studio at WPLJ until 10am and then had to get downtown to Chelsea. I was in the process of getting a few things done when I got sent crosstown on what turned out to be the errand from hell. It took me 20 minutes by cab each way to pull it off. I actually almost ran smack into Della Reese in my mad dash out of the building -- she was doing a pre-tape interview upstairs for the show. No, no, can't be bothered with celeb gawking, have things to do, gotta get back by 11am. DRIVE THIS CAB!!!! GO!!!
I staggered back up at around 11:15, completely breathless, my heart racing from bolting up the stairs. This huge pack was already in the green room -- Keith, Phil, the guys. I threw my coat down in my office and walked as calmly as I could manage over to the green room, said my hellos. Time came for the sound check. One by one, they all trotted out to the performance area. As he came out of the green room, Jeff looked me up and down and quipped, "Nice pants." Thank you, I now live in some warped Dockers commerical.
Up until the taping actually went live, I did manage to get some work done. A little paperwork, put some CDs away. Had some company in my normally solitary office space which was nice for a change, when part of the entourage decided to hang with me. Once the show actually started at noon, I was on set for the whole time and then in the green room whe the guys had down time. The table in the green room was cluttered with cell phones, which struck me as pretty damn funny. Bear was on his cell for a good portion of the time. Jeff just seemed to be struck by the sheer novelty of wireless communication and kept pressing buttons on his. Someone had a cute little red Nokia, I'm not sure whose it was (hey, come on, I have a Sprint PCS, no cool colors). At one point, while the guys were busy busting out a holiday favorite on the set, I had a chance to chat with Phil, road guy extraordinaire, who is just an all-around nice guy. And when Fred wasn't manning the board for high-quality sound output (god bless you, Fred, and I mean that), he came by to shoot the breeze as well. One cool thing, I actually got to witness some impromptu harmonies in the green room, a little quasi-rehearsal before they headed out. THAT was the best part of the whole thing, I think.
After that the guys were up on the mezzanine with DJ Monica Taylor (nee Joseph), doing a few bars from "That's The Way" while Bear was making faces at the camera like the ham he is. I was standing downstairs, essentially staring up at their butts while they filmed. I always end up with the oddest views, I tell you. Once they were done and filed down the stairs to the main level, Bear looked at me, nodded at my pants and grinned "Are those comfortable?"
I had to laugh. "Yeah, actually they are."
Then it was back to the green room for a good long while. Some nice folks employed at Oxygen who knew Scott's wife Lisa stopped by to say hello, with their baby daughter, Gracie. "Hey!" Kev exclaimed. "I have a daughter named Gracie, too!"
Whoa, eerie.
At the end of the day, they were called upon to serenade the newly married Monica with "Stand By Me" and hand out the champagne flutes to the hosts as the show closed. Scott then forgot his in the green room and had to dash back in and grab it, still keeping his cool. You can actually see it on the broadcast, he scurries back itno the green room and then reappears, still crooning all the while. He almost ran smack into me on his reentry but I dodged.
And then it was done. Kevin changed back into his street clothes, Bear donned his ultra-cool black leather trenchcoat, Scott whipped out the sunglasses, and they were ready to roll. A rather whirlwind morning, I have to say. Scott declared that this had been "a good one" and Kevin, sweetheart that is, gave me a big hug before they left.
So I didn't change the world. But I like my job. I have to say that much.
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