Posts Tagged ‘lucie mcgrane’

Video, Video: Swagger Sticks “She Wants Everything”

Posted: June 2, 2010 in D.I.Y., Music, Music Video, Punk Rock
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If you’re into burlesque dancers, boy bands, drag queens, obsessive teenagers, German DJs, wasted cheerleaders, magicians and power-punk rock then L.A.’s Swagger Sticks first video for “She Wants Everything“ might be just the thing you’ve been looking for.

About a third of the video was shot at The Bootleg Theater in Los Angeles and stars Lucie McGrane, Michael Lopez and has a cameo by Flula Borg. This was directed, edited and co-produced by Dan Schmeltzer of Traveller Film. Your humble correspondent and lead Swagger Sticker, Aron F. Gibson, was the other co-producer.

          

Miraculously, the video was completed for less than the cost of my annual cell phone bill. Welcome to the DIY word of rock n’ roll! Complete control and shallow pockets.  Also, because I wanted to create an “80′s-esque MTV video” with a storyline, and not just a bunch of band sequences, meant that Dan and I had to work hard at coordinating every last detail to make it work. 

"But Mom, this is my favorite band..."

Garage Band
The production involved about twenty-five cast and crew (who basically worked for free food) on multiple days of shooting around Los Angeles (the original plan was for two days of shooting in my guest bedroom and garage).         

This eventually grew to include a day of shooting in my home studio, downtown on the iconic Third St. bridge, on a hill in Lincoln Heights, in Little Tokyo and then, finally, the live band sequence was shot during a marathon fourteen-hour day at the The Bootleg Theater where I got to do a Dave Grohl-inspired drag scene.  

Now I know why everyone in town wants to be an actor. It was incredibly fun hanging out on set waiting for your turn in front of the camera. This was also an amazing learning experience, sorta like a film school boot camp, and I’m already looking forward to shooting our next one. I’ve officially “Gone Hollywood.” 

Thank you Dan Schmeltzer for your incredible attention to detail and for bringing this to life. You are a true pro and it was a privilege working with you (and now The Swagger Sticks can proudly say they have something in common with MC Hammer)! I also owe a big thanks to everyone else involved in the production for their hard work and support, especially my favorite girl (and co-star) Lucie McGrane.  

On Set @ The Bootleg: Matt Canale, Lucie McGrane, Aron Gibson, Michael Lopez

For more about the cast, crew and production during the shoot, check these posts:  

     Swagger Sticks Video Pre-Production 
     Swagger Sticks Video: You’re Grooounded!
     Swagger Sticks Video Madness: The Crew 
    ‘The Sticks’ Video Shoot This Wednesday 
     Bootleg Theater Video Stills     

Long live rock!     

Web Links
The Swagger Sticks        
Dan Schmeltzer/Traveller Film         

AFGMR! 

 

Bootleg Theater: Swagger Sticks Video Stills

Posted: July 24, 2009 in Music
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The Swagger Sticks had a BIG day of shooting this past Wednesday, July 22 at The Bootleg Theater. It was a total blast! We finally got to film the band sequence. Here are some stills and some pics I took throughout the day.

I also included pics from our two previous days of shooting (March 22 and April 4th). The cast and crew were just awesome!

Also, if you haven’t seen the teaser clip of the video check this out!

Click on each thumbnail for a full-size view.

AFG Must Rock!
Check out: The Swagger Sticks

Sneak Peak! Unathorized Swagger Sticks Video Footage!

Posted: May 9, 2009 in Indie Rock, Music, Music Video
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Ok, Swagger Sticks fans, here’s a sneak peak at the intro to the “She Wants Everything” video. This is unauthorized! This clip is about 25 seconds long…no shots of the band…this is the intro with favorite Drag Queen, Garaon “Milo” Lopez and Lucie McGrane.

The Swagger Sticks Video: “Youuuuuu’re Grounded!”

Posted: March 22, 2009 in Indie Rock, Music, Music Video, Punk Rock
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You're Grounded!
The Swagger Sticks Favorite Gossip Girl:
Lucie McGrane as The Teenie Bopper

Wow, what a weekend! I wanted to let everyone know that this past Saturday we finally kicked off the first day of shooting for the The Swagger Sticks power pop/punk anthem,”She Wants Everything.” The forty-five second mini-movie intro features 99-Cent Calendar Girl sensations Garen Michales aka Michael “Milo” Lopez as the Drag Queen Mom and Lucie McGrane as the Teenie Bopper.

Behind the camera was director Dan Schmeltzer of Travellor Film and Art Director Eddie Opodaca. Since we weren’t shooting any band scenes I worked as the assistant producer/art department/PA/bringer-of-the-donuts.

I met Dan a couple months ago when he came across The Swagger Sticks MySpace page. The timing couldn’t have been better since I’d been looking for a good indie director to shoot my first video. We co-wrote the treatment/script and, after lots of planning, scheduling conflicts and then more planning, we started filming this past Saturday.

Michael "I'm ready for my closeup" Lopez as Drag Queen Mom
“All right, Mr. Dan, I’m ready for my close-up.”
Michael “Milo” Lopez as the Drag Queen Mom
and Director Dan Schmeltzer

Lucie and I spent a frantic morning getting ready for the shoot. She had to go down to Hollywood Blvd and buy one of those little plaid mini skirts (the ones they sell in all the stripper stores) and pick up a suitably “drag-ish” wig for Milo.

Lucie was also was tasked with finding lots of teen magazines so we could transform the spare bedroom in my house into the quintessential teenage girl’s room. A big thanks goes goes Eddie for his great art direction and to Lucie for digging up lots of her old stuff animals, pink heart-shaped pillows etc., which made for great props.

That same morning I  picked up my PC from the shop so I could design the video audition flier, which was used as a prop in the opening scene, and then stopped by the San Rio store at Hollywood and Highland (no teenage girl’s room is complete without a little Hello Kitty).

Dan got to my place at noon and began setting up. Almost instantly, the house was transformed into a sound stage with with lighting rigs and cables running all over the place. There was also wigs, costumes and makeup strewn all over the dinning room. At one point, I started thinking, shit, what on earth have I gotten myself into? But once we started working it was clear that Dan was a total pro and that was going to work out great.

Before w/Eddie Opodaca

Before w/Eddie Opodaca

As far as the story line, I don’t want to give too much away at this point but I will say this much: Lucie and Milo were hilarious! They’re both incredibly talented actors so I’m stoked that they’re going to be a part of Swagger Sticks history-in-the-making (probably more likely infamy-in-the-making but we’ll just have to wait and see).

Transformation Complete!

Transformation Complete!

I’m still cracking up, days later, when I think of Milo busting through the door and yelling in what can only be described as the huskiest of husky drag queen voices: ”Youuuuuu’re Grounded!!!”

We’ve got several more sequences to film: (1) The bizaro-world auditions, (2) the band chillin’ out and then (3) the live performance. Over the course of the next few days we’ll be working on scheduling the next day of shooting so stay tuned for more.

In the meantime, you can rock out to ”She Wants Everything” on The Swagger Sticks MySpace page.

Cheers,
Aron (Lead Vocals/Guitar)
The Swagger Sticks
talltodd27@yahoo.com

The Dead Black Bunny Sessions

Posted: February 18, 2009 in Indie Rock, Music, Punk Rock, Studio Recording
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Duudddee, I'm so wasted!!!

Duudddee, I'm so wasted!!!

Hello everybody, The Swagger Sticks are back at Moonlight Studios today (Wednesday 2/20) and I’m blogging in real time again. Jeff Lewis is behind the soundboard and we will be recording Simon Hancock as he plays drums on four more Swagger Sticks songs. The guitars, bass, vocals etc. have already been recorded so it will just be Simon playing his signature “SH” drum kit that he bought for like 200 bucks at a garage sale. 

I think it’s going to be a great day for some rockin’. The weather broke after five days of  freezing rain (freezing by LA standards) and I take the clear skies as a good sign. If only I could find my sunglasses…I have to squint as I drive because it’s so bright outside.

My enthusiasm is suddenly dampened when I pull up to Moonlight just as Simon is unloading his gear. He’s found a dead black bunny lying in the gutter directly in front of Moonlight. For the superstitious, this could have been disasterious. So, just to be safe, Simon kindly moved The Dead Black Bunny (I just know this is destined to become a band name at some point) out of the gutter and onto the grass for a more dignified resting place. R.I.P. Dead Black Bunny. We shall rock for you today.

Drum Tracking
First up on the block is “Worldwide Pop Star.” We spent some time getting the right levels for each of the nine microphones used to record Simon’s drum kit…kick, snare, symbols, toms etc. Jeff had Simon do a quick run through of the song so we could adjust the levels.

I’m sitting in the back room of the studio listening with head phones on while Simon is recording.  I just wrote this song a few months ago over Halloween weekend. I’m lovin’ it. In terms of direction, this is more of a dance/pop songs so I told Simon to think in terms of The Faint or The Bravery.

Next up is “Borstel Breakout,” a cover by Sham 69. This one’s a straight ahead punk rock song clocking in at 2:04. Simon added some incredibly awesome fills. A side note, Simon’s stepfather is from Borstal, England and his Grandfather was actually a prison guard at Borstel, which, incidentally, is a prison for “wayward boys.” We’re done with this in one take.

On to the next one: the poison-inspired “I Wanna Rock (On Plymouth Rock).” The middle section actually intended to be a rap so he added a nice funky beat to during the bridge. We played this live when our band opened for Dread Zeppelin back in November so he knocked this out in one take.

Ok, now on to our last song of the day – “Arrivederci Pittsburgh.”We have been recording for less than an hour and half (not including an hour to set up) so the session is going by incredibly fast. Jeff would later tell me that this was the fastest drum session he’s ever done at Moonlight. Wow! Our prep work on Monday, and Simon’s ability to knock songs out in one take, have made this session a breeze.

We did, however, we have to stop this take after about 10 seconds and start over again because the sample rate in ProTools was incorrectly set at 44.1 instead of 48K, which had the affect of slowing the tempo down considerably. It sounded like I was singing in slow motion so I tapped Jeff on the shoulder and said “Hey, this sounds really slow.” A quick adjustment and we’re off. Simon nailed it in one take. He added a nice country-esque shuffle to the track with lots of great fills, rolls and work on the hight hat. We’re done!

Next Steps
Ok, now that all we’ve tracked drums on all songs for the album, the next step is to come back on Moonlight on Monday, March 2 to mix the drums levels, add the appropriate effects (reverb, compression etc) make sure everything sounds good.

In parallel to that, I need to go back and record some more lead/back up vocals and do some additional editing in my home studio. The more I can do in my home studio, the more time I can save (and the lower my costs over at Moonlight).

I’m going to bring Lucie McGrane back from some more vocal work on “Arrivederci Pittsburgh” (she currently sings on the bridge) and I’ll also have her sing back ups on “Here Comes The Cougar.“

Hopefully Jeff and I get the all the final mixing done by the end of March so we can work on mastering the full album.

Well, that’s all for now…I’ll start talking more about my video in upcoming posts and the process for designing the artwork for my CD (and more).

~ AFG Must Rock!

Sources:
Check out The Swagger Sticks on MySpace

Just Extended: 99-Cent Only Calendar Girl Competition

Posted: January 28, 2009 in Music
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Miss November

Little Miss Sunshine: Lucie McGrane as Miss November

Last weekend I saw Ken Roht’s “99-Cent Only Calendar Girls Competition” over at The Bootleg Theatre and it changed my opinion of musicals forever. This is one of the most incredible shows (of any kind) that I’ve ever seen. It simply blew my mind.

And I hate musicals. Hate ‘em. When I was ten, my mom made me go see Miss Saigon. I remember wishing, during the final act, when the chopper is lowered on stage, that it would tip over and decapitate the cast the cast so we could go home.

The next year she dragged me to Les Mis, the most monstrously boring musical ever made where, after rubbing my eyes in disbelief for four hours, I contracted pink eye. Needless to say, I never saw another musical after that (other than the first South Park movie).

But the 99-Cent Only Calendar Girls show kept me on the edge of my seat the entire night. It’s is a cross between the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Willy Wonka and a Drag Queen Beauty pageant. Think Roger Waters meets John Waters; Pink Floyd meets Pink Flamingo. It has the decadence and glamour of a lost Roxy Music video and the deadpan witt of Flight of The Chonchords.

All the costumes are made out of materials from the 99-Cent Only Store, which means LOTS of plastic and vinyl, configured in ways simply unimaginable. The tightly choreographed dancing, with as many as thirty cast members on stage, is simply amazing. It’s hard to pick a favorite with such a great cast but I couldn’t get enough of new comer Miss November, played by Lucie McGrane, in her brightly colored plastic prom dress, followed by Miss February, played by Lauren Oppelt and consumate show stopper Miss December, played by Michael Lopez. 

There’s lots of R&B styled singing the audience gets to participate in choosing the 99 Cent-Only Calendar Girl each night. During intermission you get to vote to determine the five semi-finalists and then, after the second act, the audience picks the winner by “lobbing not hurling” a ping pong ball at the calendar girl of their choice.

The show has been extended and will be re-opening in March. For more visit The Bootleg Theatre for 99 Cent-Only Calendar Girl Competition tickets and info. You’re gonna love it!

For more 99 Cent-Only Calender Girl Competition reviews, check out the following:
- LA Weekly
- Los Angeles Times 
- Backstage