On Tuesday August 5 we reconvened at the field behind the Station 41
fire department in Waverley NS to shoot the second video in the
trilogy, "United Breaks Guitars: Song 2". Once again, everyone
volunteered their time and talent to produce an outstanding video;
however, "Song 2" was a much bigger production than "United Breaks
Guitars". In addition to the main roles, we had nearly 100 extras in
the cast and in order to say everything we wanted to say with the
video, we required a broken guitar, an imitation broken guitar, a 40
foot high scissor lift, a limousine (complete with secret service
agents), one genuine imitation space capsule, a space suit, a tuba, 3
suits of German Lederhosen, a canoe, one white panel van and a woman
willing to wear tights and a big dollar sign.
The Song
It all starts with the song and "Song 2" was written in February of
2009 shortly after United Breaks Guitars (UBG) and was performed to
appreciative crowds before UBG was released to YouTube. UBG gives a
chronology of events of how it all started and how my frustrations over
nine months led to my commitment to produce the trilogy.
"United Breaks
Guitars: Song 2"; however, takes a closer look at my dealings with Ms.
Irlweg and targets the flawed policies that she was forced to uphold
which seemed to be designed to frustrate customers into giving up their
claim. The general idea of the song is that I’m pleading with United to
do the right thing because their policies are putting a real strain on
what could be a terrific friendship between Ms. Irlweg and myself.
Everyone I spoke to along the way, including Ms. Irlweg, apologized
just before saying there was nothing they could do to solve the
problem. So, in my emails with Ms. Irlweg I asked her the question I
pose in the song: "What did you mean when you said you were sorry. I’m
a bit confused"? When I was told there would be no further
correspondence on the matter from anyone at United I outlined what my
response would be and that they need not reply…that I would keep them
tabbed on my progress. They didn’t reply. So verse two reflects some of
the frustration I sensed in the replies to my emails and United "going
dark and silent as a submarine leaving me hanging like Apollo 13".
I think the chorus speaks for itself. When people witness their bags
being mishandled on the tarmac and then discover that their property
was damaged, it should be a "no brainer". Make it right and make it
right quickly: the policies that prevent customer service reps from
doing anything other than this need to go!
Regarding the music, I wanted "Song 2" to be fun and light-hearted
and nothing gets you there faster than a Tuba! This is the first song
I’ve ever written that seemed to call out for that instrument and I
think it fits perfectly, making you want to reach out and grab somebody
around the shoulder and start swaying back and forth.
"Why The Germans?"
There was real interest in "Why The Mexicans" so I assume there
might be some interest in the Oom Pa Pa guys in this one (henceforth
called the "Oom Papa’s" or, simply "The Papa’s". The presence of the
tuba and the feel of the demo left Chris Iannetti with the feeling that
a Lederhosen gag would be funny instead of going with the Amigos again.
We thought he was right so we got the costumes and fresh moustaches for
the boys and that was that. The "Papa’s" were born. The final version
has a little more Dixieland feel to it than the demo but in previous
trips to Bavaria, Don and I enjoyed a few beer in the Haufbrau House in
Munich and the Oom Pa Pa band there had the crowd swaying back in forth
with their music. We wanted Song 2 to have that same kind of magic and
hopefully the Papa’s will be our good luck charm.
The Musicians
Guitar and Tuba: I played guitar and tapped out a tuba line on my synth at home
Drums/percussion: Scott Ferguson
Clarinet and Saxophones: Ian Sherwood
Piano/Tuba Solo (synth): Kim Dunn
Vocals: Dave Carroll, Tammy Giffen, Ian Sherwood, Scott Ferguson, Julian Marentette, Jill Carroll, Max Carroll
Studio
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered at:
Ferguson Music Productions
18 Oathill Dr.
Dartmouth, NS
The Crew
Curve Productions Inc. once again took charge of delivering the
goods in terms of camera, crew, and lighting. Curve is made up of Steve
Richard (director of photography), Lara Cassidy (director and editor)
and Chris Pauley (musical scores, administration and just about
everything else),
We were fortunate to have a robust crew this time around and so my
gratitude goes out to the following professionals for donating a day in
the blazing sun to pull off everything we needed.
Production Manager: Shauna Hatt
Lighting Director: Todd Murchie
1st Assistant Direcrtor: Derek Filiatrault
1st Assistant Camera: Mike Snyder
Camera Assistant: Erin Veeneman
Props: Dylan MacDonald / Barb Richard
Production Assistant: Joshua Young / Janice Villagomez
Make-up / Hair: Annemarie Cassidy
Wardrobe: Barb Richard
Casting: Chris Pauley, Sheila Patrone
Behind the Scenes Video: Dominque Gusset
Behind the Scenes Stills: Rob McGee
2k Colorist: Jeremy Harty
DMT: Jeremy Harty / Caley MacLennan
Catering/Craft Services: Sharon Carroll
The Cast
Evil Baggage Handlers: Phil Salterio and Charlie Palmer were back as those crazy wingnut handlers.
Responsible Baggage Handlers: Elaine Oulton, April Osmond, Brian Lynch, Bruce Lancia, Dave Cornish
Secret Service Agents: Dave Gunning, Chris Coote, Jim Dorie, Dave Cornish, Pete Augustus, Nick Augustus
CEO: Scott Ferguson
Miss Money Money: Karen Rostek
The Oom Papas:
Papa 1: Mike Hiltz,
Papa 2: Chris Iannetti,
Papa:3 Ian Sherwood
Ms. Irlweg: Christine Buiteman
United Employee: Karen Murdoch
Repair guy: Julian Marentette
. . . and many patient and energetic extras
Donated Goods and Services
Sobey’s Fall River: Water and snacks:
McFarlands Rentals: Scissor Lift for the high angle shot
Waverley Fire Hall: The public rental for studio shots and extra holding area
Long & McQuade: prop guitar
William F. Whites: misc. equipment
PS Atlantic: misc. equipment
Peter Hawkins: Limousine
Taylor Guitars: One of my two fabulous new guitars is in the video.
(The "unbroken" one is called T-3 and it’s "dead sexy", even when it is
seen in my new "Dave Carroll Signature" case available from Calton
Cases)
The "Business Team"
The last few weeks have been incredibly full of opportunity and
obligations that I could not have met without the support and guidance
of:
Don Carroll: For being in Sons of Maxwell for over 15 years
Jill Carroll: "Office" manager
Sharon Carroll: Physical mail order and book-keeping
Max Carroll: lawn-care while I’ve been busy
Julian Marentette: Right hand man
Brent Sansom: Left hand man
Janice Garden: Family support & wardrobe
Johanna Harrison: MySpace editor, general online support
Mike Campbell: Short term career planning
Mickey Quase: Short term career planning
Christine Buitemen: Direction for Music NS opportunities
Phil Holmes: Career planning/ round table strategist
Chris Kievel: Round table strategist
Ian Cavanagh: Round table strategist
Joe Mosher: Round table strategist
Brian Fitzpatrick: Mobile communications
Christene Hirschfeld: Legal
Mark Dell’Erede: Accounting
Tim Hardy: Socan
John Sheridan: Social media analysis
Neal Alderson: PR advice
Alyson Queen: PR advice
Ryan Moore: Website design & maintenance
Tom MacLellan: Website marketing
Shannon O’Halloran: Graphic design
Peter Wells & Helen Harris: Rushing single and video onto Itunes
Ted Tupper: "The Computer Guy" for emergency computer support
HRM Fire and Emergency: For all you do
Bob Taylor of Taylor Guitars: For making "exceptional" instruments, for
your generosity and for loaning us a truly talented PR person in
Chalise.
Jim Laffoley of Calton Cases: For providing "exceptional" cases to protect "exceptional" instruments.
Harland Suttis: For a truly beautiful repair on the broken Taylor that started this project.