TOW They Make It Special: Behind The Music
So, I was watching VH1's Behind the Music of No Doubt, and I got this idea. This goes along with the story I am working
on, but is NOT the next part in the series. Chapter 4 will be posted soon!!
Okay, now to understand this one, it's probably best that you watch(or have at one time seen) VH1's Behind The Music. If you've
never seen it....what the heck is wrong with you? It's one of the best shows on television? Anyhoo, this is written like a Behind The Music
episode on Chandler and Ross' band.
**Narrator: They were one of the most popular bands of the 90's, and as we begin a new milleniuum, they are showing no sign of slowing down.
Formed in a college dorm room nearly 12 years ago, they have seen each other through the tough times, and nearly fallen apart twice.
But their strength is in their friendship, which is as solid as their music. On the eve of the release of their seventh studio album, VH1 takes
a look at PMQ, Behind The Music.
**Opening Sequence**
**Narrator: New York University, October, 1987. A young keyboardist sat in his cramped dorm room, annoying his neighbors with the synthesized sounds of
dog's barking and helicopter propellers. Most students thought the skinny Paleontology major was just making noise, but to a young guitarist, it was just
the kind of creativity he had been looking for. The keyboardist, Ross Geller, never thought he could turn his hobby into a career. That was until he met
Chandler Bing.
**Ross Geller: I used to play my music for other people, but I just always assumed that it would be my hobby. I mean, Paleontology was a more
practical career choice at the time, ya know? But then I met Chandler, and he was so passionate about his music. And he was the first person to
tell me that I had true talent.
**Chandler Bing: I knew the talent was there. It was just hidden way way deep down in there (laughs). I knew that once we
got rid of the barking and sirens, we could really do something.
**Narrator: And do something they did. Along with drummer Phil Vincent and bass player Chris Salman, the foursome booked small club dates
and school functions. Bing's offbeat songwriting and smooth voice made him a campus favourite among males, while the females fell for his
movie-star good looks. The band was soon playing almost every night, and found it difficult to keep up with school and music.
Against the wishes of their parents, the band quit NYU in their senior year, to focus on their passion.
**Judy Geller: I couldn't believe it when Ross told us he was quitting college! I mean, he is the smart one in the family, the one who
was supposed to be good, and responsible. It was very frusterating.
**Narrator: Although they were a popular band on campus, PMQ were about to be hit hard with the reality that life as a starving musician
wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.
**Commercial**
**Narrator: Chandler, Ross, Phil and Chris became a huge hit locally, and decided to quit college to persue their dreams.
But once they were out in the real world, they found that finding an audience was much tougher than it had been in Greenwich Villiage.
For the next several months, the foursome struggles to find their voice, and to find their audience.
**Chandler: I think that we had all considered quitting and going back to NYU at one point or another. But then we would all talk about
how we needed to stick together to make it work...that made it a little tougher to leave.
**Narrator: The band was going nowhere. And each member of the band was forced to take on a part-time job just to survive.
**Ross: At one point, I think we were all living in a studio apartment. Four guys, in one tiny room. But we hardly ever saw
each other, because Phil and I worked during the day, while Chandler and Chris worked nights. We rarely had time to rehearse
anymore, and the music was getting stale. Chandler wasn't writing much, and the old stuff was getting boring.
**Narrator: Chandler was going through severe writers block, but inspiration was just around the corner. And while Chandler
tried to find himself, Phil found a new passion. When Behind The Music continues.
**Commercial**
**Narrator: With Chandler Bing going through writer's block, and reality hitting the band in the face, Phil Vincent found solice
in a vice that would soon spin out of control; gambling.
**Chris: Phil would disappear for days at a time, and then reappear with a load of money and stinking of alcohol. It was bad for the band,
but I think that secretly, we all needed him to bring in that money, because we all had sh*%ty jobs.
**Narrator: Phil's gambling did disrupt the band. While they all struggled to keep Phil from going off the deep end, Chandler found inspiration
in a woman who would become subject of Chandler's first original song in over a year and a half-her name was Kathy Rigbey.
**Chandler: I met Kathy at a diner that me and the guys started going to a lot. She was a struggling actress back then, and had to wait tables to
help pay the rent. You know how it goes. We hit it off right away. I'd say she was my first real love.
**Kathy Rigbey: Those guys would come into the diner every day, talking about their music, and their band. I always
thought they were obnoxious. Chandler came in by himself one day, and we really hit it off. He's a great guy.
**Chandler: The relationship lasted almost a year. That's an eternity for me, ya know? She ended up cheating on me,
and it took me a long time to get over that. But I credit her with breaking my writer's block.
I wrote a lot of stuff over the next few months. "Emotional Knapsack" is about Kathy.
**Narrator: "Emotional Knapsack" became the song that would propell the band to superstardom. But before that could happen,
PMQ had to get their own act together. It was time to give Phil an ultimatum. His gambling was now out of control, and his
constant absence was hindering the band. He either needed to clean up or get out. For Phil, it wasn't even a choice.
He was hooked on gambling. He walked out on his friends, and his dreams, and PMQ suddenly found themselves in need of a drummer.
Enter Joey Tribianni, a young drummer from Queens, who answered an ad that Chandler had put out 2 weeks earlier.
He was not the most talented drummer who auditioned for the band, but he hit it off with all of the guys immediately.
**Joey Tribianni: I thought that these guys were really cool. We hit it off right away, and I thought that if I could get into
this band I could score with lots of chicks. So I was happy they picked me.
**Narrator: With their new drummer and their new songs, PMQ hit the road, playing small clubs and bars all over the tri-state area.
One night, while playing a small bar in lower Manhattan, they were approached by a young record producer, who was in town
to see a different band. Fate was playing its hand one more time, and this time, it would take PMQ to places they never thought they'd go.
**Commercial**
**Narrator: PMQ managed to get through their growing pains, and in the summer of 1989, put together their debut album.
"She feels weird since I've been gone," their debut single, peaked at a disappointing 92 on the Billboard hot 100.
But the band refused to give up hope. They decided that touring was the best way to promote the new album, so they hit the
road, hiring on Ross' younger sister Monica as their tour manager. She brought on her best friend Rachel Green, and suddenly,
PMQ had a crew.
**Chandler: Monica and Rachel were really great about boosting our morale in those days. Plus Ross had a huge crush on Rachel,
so he was always trying to show off. It was hilarious.
**Ross: He said what? I SO did NOT have a crush on Rachel! Psh, that's just ridiculous.
**Joey: Yeah, he's lying. (laughs) He's totally lying.
**Narrator: The band toured hard, promoting their album, and building a bond that would see them through the roughest ride of
their lives--the ride to superstardom.
PMQ released their second single, "Being There," late that summer. "Emotional Knapsack" was the b-side for the single.
It was a disc jockey in Atlanta that decided to put on the b-side, and when he was later flooded with calls requesting the song,
he knew he had a hit. Soon the band was playing to sold out crowds, and watching their new single fly up the charts.
By the end of the summer, the band was playing major venues in cities throughout the US. The following spring, "Knapsack" was climbing
the charts in the UK and Japan. Everyone was enjoying the sudden success, and all of the spoils that it brought.
As they geared up for their first world tour, the record company began breathing down the band's neck for a follow-up cd.
No one felt the pressure more than the band's resident scribe, Chandler.
**Chandler: I actually remember being in a meeting with one of those slimy execs, and him telling me that I wouldn't be able
to ride my one decent hit forever. And I thought to myself, "You SOB, I haven't even BEGUN to write hits." I think at
one point I told them that I had more talent in my little finger than all of them put together.(laughs) I was pretty damn
full of myself back then.
**Narrator: Upon returning to the US, the band parted ways, and didn't perform or record together for five months. The rumours
about what happened on that tour were spreading faster than the bands newest single. The band has never talked publicy about
what happened on the tour. Critics and fans feared that the band was finished. Then, in the winter of 1991, a severe car accident
seriously injured one of their own, and brought the six friends back together under the most daunting circumstances.
Two weeks before Christmas, Ross and Monica began the journey from a party in Manhattan to their parent's home in Long Island.
The car spun out of control, and veered off of the road, nearly killing Monica, and pulling Ross into a deep depression. The accident
also gave Chandler more inspiration for the next record.
**Commercial**
ug....writer's block blows.....more later!
So, I was watching VH1's Behind the Music of No Doubt, and I got this idea. This goes along with the story I am working
on, but is NOT the next part in the series. Chapter 4 will be posted soon!!
Okay, now to understand this one, it's probably best that you watch(or have at one time seen) VH1's Behind The Music. If you've
never seen it....what the heck is wrong with you? It's one of the best shows on television? Anyhoo, this is written like a Behind The Music
episode on Chandler and Ross' band.
**Narrator: They were one of the most popular bands of the 90's, and as we begin a new milleniuum, they are showing no sign of slowing down.
Formed in a college dorm room nearly 12 years ago, they have seen each other through the tough times, and nearly fallen apart twice.
But their strength is in their friendship, which is as solid as their music. On the eve of the release of their seventh studio album, VH1 takes
a look at PMQ, Behind The Music.
**Opening Sequence**
**Narrator: New York University, October, 1987. A young keyboardist sat in his cramped dorm room, annoying his neighbors with the synthesized sounds of
dog's barking and helicopter propellers. Most students thought the skinny Paleontology major was just making noise, but to a young guitarist, it was just
the kind of creativity he had been looking for. The keyboardist, Ross Geller, never thought he could turn his hobby into a career. That was until he met
Chandler Bing.
**Ross Geller: I used to play my music for other people, but I just always assumed that it would be my hobby. I mean, Paleontology was a more
practical career choice at the time, ya know? But then I met Chandler, and he was so passionate about his music. And he was the first person to
tell me that I had true talent.
**Chandler Bing: I knew the talent was there. It was just hidden way way deep down in there (laughs). I knew that once we
got rid of the barking and sirens, we could really do something.
**Narrator: And do something they did. Along with drummer Phil Vincent and bass player Chris Salman, the foursome booked small club dates
and school functions. Bing's offbeat songwriting and smooth voice made him a campus favourite among males, while the females fell for his
movie-star good looks. The band was soon playing almost every night, and found it difficult to keep up with school and music.
Against the wishes of their parents, the band quit NYU in their senior year, to focus on their passion.
**Judy Geller: I couldn't believe it when Ross told us he was quitting college! I mean, he is the smart one in the family, the one who
was supposed to be good, and responsible. It was very frusterating.
**Narrator: Although they were a popular band on campus, PMQ were about to be hit hard with the reality that life as a starving musician
wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.
**Commercial**
**Narrator: Chandler, Ross, Phil and Chris became a huge hit locally, and decided to quit college to persue their dreams.
But once they were out in the real world, they found that finding an audience was much tougher than it had been in Greenwich Villiage.
For the next several months, the foursome struggles to find their voice, and to find their audience.
**Chandler: I think that we had all considered quitting and going back to NYU at one point or another. But then we would all talk about
how we needed to stick together to make it work...that made it a little tougher to leave.
**Narrator: The band was going nowhere. And each member of the band was forced to take on a part-time job just to survive.
**Ross: At one point, I think we were all living in a studio apartment. Four guys, in one tiny room. But we hardly ever saw
each other, because Phil and I worked during the day, while Chandler and Chris worked nights. We rarely had time to rehearse
anymore, and the music was getting stale. Chandler wasn't writing much, and the old stuff was getting boring.
**Narrator: Chandler was going through severe writers block, but inspiration was just around the corner. And while Chandler
tried to find himself, Phil found a new passion. When Behind The Music continues.
**Commercial**
**Narrator: With Chandler Bing going through writer's block, and reality hitting the band in the face, Phil Vincent found solice
in a vice that would soon spin out of control; gambling.
**Chris: Phil would disappear for days at a time, and then reappear with a load of money and stinking of alcohol. It was bad for the band,
but I think that secretly, we all needed him to bring in that money, because we all had sh*%ty jobs.
**Narrator: Phil's gambling did disrupt the band. While they all struggled to keep Phil from going off the deep end, Chandler found inspiration
in a woman who would become subject of Chandler's first original song in over a year and a half-her name was Kathy Rigbey.
**Chandler: I met Kathy at a diner that me and the guys started going to a lot. She was a struggling actress back then, and had to wait tables to
help pay the rent. You know how it goes. We hit it off right away. I'd say she was my first real love.
**Kathy Rigbey: Those guys would come into the diner every day, talking about their music, and their band. I always
thought they were obnoxious. Chandler came in by himself one day, and we really hit it off. He's a great guy.
**Chandler: The relationship lasted almost a year. That's an eternity for me, ya know? She ended up cheating on me,
and it took me a long time to get over that. But I credit her with breaking my writer's block.
I wrote a lot of stuff over the next few months. "Emotional Knapsack" is about Kathy.
**Narrator: "Emotional Knapsack" became the song that would propell the band to superstardom. But before that could happen,
PMQ had to get their own act together. It was time to give Phil an ultimatum. His gambling was now out of control, and his
constant absence was hindering the band. He either needed to clean up or get out. For Phil, it wasn't even a choice.
He was hooked on gambling. He walked out on his friends, and his dreams, and PMQ suddenly found themselves in need of a drummer.
Enter Joey Tribianni, a young drummer from Queens, who answered an ad that Chandler had put out 2 weeks earlier.
He was not the most talented drummer who auditioned for the band, but he hit it off with all of the guys immediately.
**Joey Tribianni: I thought that these guys were really cool. We hit it off right away, and I thought that if I could get into
this band I could score with lots of chicks. So I was happy they picked me.
**Narrator: With their new drummer and their new songs, PMQ hit the road, playing small clubs and bars all over the tri-state area.
One night, while playing a small bar in lower Manhattan, they were approached by a young record producer, who was in town
to see a different band. Fate was playing its hand one more time, and this time, it would take PMQ to places they never thought they'd go.
**Commercial**
**Narrator: PMQ managed to get through their growing pains, and in the summer of 1989, put together their debut album.
"She feels weird since I've been gone," their debut single, peaked at a disappointing 92 on the Billboard hot 100.
But the band refused to give up hope. They decided that touring was the best way to promote the new album, so they hit the
road, hiring on Ross' younger sister Monica as their tour manager. She brought on her best friend Rachel Green, and suddenly,
PMQ had a crew.
**Chandler: Monica and Rachel were really great about boosting our morale in those days. Plus Ross had a huge crush on Rachel,
so he was always trying to show off. It was hilarious.
**Ross: He said what? I SO did NOT have a crush on Rachel! Psh, that's just ridiculous.
**Joey: Yeah, he's lying. (laughs) He's totally lying.
**Narrator: The band toured hard, promoting their album, and building a bond that would see them through the roughest ride of
their lives--the ride to superstardom.
PMQ released their second single, "Being There," late that summer. "Emotional Knapsack" was the b-side for the single.
It was a disc jockey in Atlanta that decided to put on the b-side, and when he was later flooded with calls requesting the song,
he knew he had a hit. Soon the band was playing to sold out crowds, and watching their new single fly up the charts.
By the end of the summer, the band was playing major venues in cities throughout the US. The following spring, "Knapsack" was climbing
the charts in the UK and Japan. Everyone was enjoying the sudden success, and all of the spoils that it brought.
As they geared up for their first world tour, the record company began breathing down the band's neck for a follow-up cd.
No one felt the pressure more than the band's resident scribe, Chandler.
**Chandler: I actually remember being in a meeting with one of those slimy execs, and him telling me that I wouldn't be able
to ride my one decent hit forever. And I thought to myself, "You SOB, I haven't even BEGUN to write hits." I think at
one point I told them that I had more talent in my little finger than all of them put together.(laughs) I was pretty damn
full of myself back then.
**Narrator: Upon returning to the US, the band parted ways, and didn't perform or record together for five months. The rumours
about what happened on that tour were spreading faster than the bands newest single. The band has never talked publicy about
what happened on the tour. Critics and fans feared that the band was finished. Then, in the winter of 1991, a severe car accident
seriously injured one of their own, and brought the six friends back together under the most daunting circumstances.
Two weeks before Christmas, Ross and Monica began the journey from a party in Manhattan to their parent's home in Long Island.
The car spun out of control, and veered off of the road, nearly killing Monica, and pulling Ross into a deep depression. The accident
also gave Chandler more inspiration for the next record.
**Commercial**
ug....writer's block blows.....more later!