maniaTVblog

maniaTV: Calvin Harris

I spent yesterday afternoon lounging at the pool at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood with my new friend Calvin Harris. Well, ok, it was more like 20 minutes…..and I wasn’t “lounging” per se….more like planning the next stages of shooting….nonetheless, I got to hang out with Calvin Harris! First of all, he’s MUCH taller than I antipcated (6’3”? 6’4”?). Second, he’s from Glasgow so all I wanted to do was listen to him talk – who doesn’t love a Scottish accent! Third, he was hilarious! Calvin definitely knew how to wield that dry, British humor. We chatted about everything from his girlfriend (sorry ladies), golf in Scotland and who he was working with currently to his upcoming performance at Coachella. He was surprisingly laid back and very nice, considering he had just arrived in LA at 6AM that morning and had a performance that evening. I wouldn’t have had the same disposition on only a few hours sleep. Unfortunately, my time with Calvin was limited as we had to drop him off at sound check. Calvin, if you are reading this, don’t forget…you promised to teach us all a dance move the next time you were in town. We’ll hold you to that!

Anjali

maniaTV: too cool Jane's Addiciton reuniting

We take all of the credit.  Jane's fans you're welcome!!!!!!  The NME awards tomorrow night should be interesting.  If these guys get through that performance then maybe, just maybe we'll get them in the studio for a session.

maniaTV: Del The Funky Homosapien

Mistadobalina Mr. Bob Dobalina…who doesn’t know Del The Funky Homosapien?

This week we had a great shoot with MANY artists. First up was Del, who not only performed in our studio but also taught our host, Samantha Maloney, how to play Contra on the XBOX. He and his crew were fun and were cool enough to come by before their USC performance with Lupe Fiasco. It was a great Saturday jam.

Sunday, the ethereal and incomprehensible Morcheeba performed. Ross Godfrey and French singer Manda floored our crew and producers with their hauntingly beautiful acoustic performance. “Enjoy the Ride” represents the philosophical direction of their album, Dive Deep, and their zen-like presence was wonderful for a Sunday afternoon performance. It was so quiet during their set you could hear a pin drop in the studio…..

Wednesday, we met up with Meiko, who just finished the Hotel Café tour. We had lunch with her at Charcoal and her warm, funny Southern disposition charmed us all. It’s fascinating to hear how she shot her own video in her room, released her own record and put her own song up on Itunes. That song became a #1 seller on Itunes and she has fast become “the one to watch.” It truly is the age of the artists again. She did make a nice observation about our production crew, saying, “you all seem like family – that must make working so much nicer” Thanks Meiko, we do love working together!

- Anjali

The Crystal Method on maniaTV's AllAccess

Scott Kirkland and Ken Jordan….known as The Crystal Method to their fans but to me, they were “Scott and Ken” after our shoot yesterday. Not only did I get to hear some of their new material (very top secret!) but I also got to see the creative process in effect, with Sam drumming live over their track. They couldn’t be more cool and laid back. My first conversation with Ken was about how his girlfriend’s cat attacked a lizard and left it’s tail on the ground by his pool – he actually showed me the tail. Awesome. My first interaction with Scott began by him telling me how he and Ken used to record all their material from a homemade converted garage studio. They only recently moved into the beautiful studio that we visited and it’s amazing to think how many platinum albums were created in a garage! I can’t talk about the music I heard too much but all I can say is that this next album is going to be KILLER.

ManiaTV Live stage performances...

from anjmal: Del the Funky Homosapien was beyond awesome! Great shoot today, Morcheeba in tomorrow.

maniaTV: Long Live TV

“Long live traditional television, thanks to Internet television – The global traditional television sector, despite the occasional shock, should remain in good health throughout the year, and there is a good chance that Internet television will have contributed to traditional television’s fortunes.” Deloitte Analyses top trends for technology, media and telecom industries for 2008

As consumption patterns change, networks and advertisers increasingly realize the power of internet TV to support their branding goals. The benefits Deloitte describes for the TV industry are not limited to that industry, as brands can now use cutting edge integration to ensure the content they sponsor has a shelf-life with global reach. Brand integration is a billboard that never gets ripped down on a road people will travel for years to come. 

Refering url http://www.businesswireindia.com/PressRelease.asp?b2mid=15593

maniaTV: Shooting Crystal Method tomorrow

That doesn't sound right. 

The Crystal Method will be in the studio tomorrow shooting footage for the first episode of AllAccess.  We will be recording a song with them and Sam Maloney.  Bloody awesome.

maniaTV: Tighter Targeting Best Way to Increase Advertising ROI According to MarketingSherpa 2008 Online Advertising Handbook + Benchmarks

maniaTV is used as a source on how to effectively market and advertise online in this $500 handbook.  They profiled us all by themselves and we have to pay for it so it is not a puff piece.  I'd love to talk to them someday...  www.marketingsherpa.com

http://www.sherpastore.com/onlinead08.html?9679&sub=adbenchmark08a

maniaTV: AllAccess - Amy Finnerty, Producer

So I'm producing this show for mania TV called All Access.  I got hired, and 5 minutes later my boss Stefan asks me to meet with some girl about being the host of a new music show.  I say "sure".  I come around the corner in the main entrance of our building, and Sam Maloney is sitting there!  She's the girl i'm supposed to meet with!  We both sort of scream out in a bizarre mix of excitement and confusion.  "What the hell....it's you? ....it's you!...it's you?....it's you!"  Sam and I have known each other on and off for a long time.  We met while she was playing drums for Hole and I was working at MTV.  She's since been in bands like Eagles Of Death Metal, Peaches....and yes, people.....Motley Crue.  Somone who can vibe with Courtney Love, Jesse Hughes, Josh Homme, Peach, and Vince Neil is my kind of girl. I mean, I've been on the road with Nirvana, and I lived with the Wu-Tang Clan for 2 years as there A&R person.  I thought I was hot shit.  The concept of All Access is that we spend a day in the life with an artist each week.  What we do each week will differ based on the bands interests, time schedules, desires, etc.  If a band is super busy touring, we'll jump on the tour bus and go on the road for a bit.  Or if they have just a day off in between shows, we might do their laundry for them, or throw them a BBQ at Sam's house.  Next week we are shooting our first show with The Crystal Method.  Scott and Ken live in LA where the mania TV studios are, so they have more time to spend with us. Sam is going to take her drums to The Crystal Method's studio and record a song with them.  Then we're all going to go The Bank.  The Bank is a club in

North Hollywood

that Ken and Scott throw a party at on Thursday nights.  It got burnt down, or flooded or some horrible thing, recently.  So we're going to take a look at it and see when the club might open up again.  Then Sam and The Crystal Method guys are going shoe shopping at the Nike store.  We're also going to stop by Indie 103 where The Crystal Method spin a live set on Friday nights.  And that's not all.  But I can't tell you the last thing we're doing because it's a surprise to The Crystal Method.  The show isn't all about The Crystal Method, though.  We're going to show the audience some pre-produced elements too.  Things like live performances from our Gibson Garage stage, music videos (omg, wait until you see The Kills video, directed by Sophie Muller), as well as new music and live performance reviews. 

We shot an "open" for the show last week.  Super fun.  My crew shows up at Sam's house for a pre-production meeting, and her boyfriend Mike is barbequing for us and passing out drinks! Everybody who works on the show is a character in the open, plus a couple of friends.  Watch the show and I'll tell you who's who sometime.  We shot it backstage at an LA venue.  Kind of feels like The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up" video.  But All Access style.  That’s all for this week. I’ll take some pictures at the first shoot with The Crystal Method and put them up on the site for you guys next week.  If there’s anything you want to ask your favorite band, see on All Access, or hear about our shoots….let me know! 

….I’m off to Comedy Cocktail.  Amberj Lawson’s comedy night here in LA.  (she’s our Executive Producer of Comedy)

maniaTV: NBC to produce complementary webisodes to Trad TV shows

Way to Go NBC.  ABC has been doing this with Lost for a little while as well. 

o NBC to Debut Webisodes for Top TV Series

New York - NBC has announced plans to launch original webisodes in July for some of its most popular TV shows, including "Heroes," "The Office," "30 Rock" and "Chuck.