Scott and the entire Argonaut crew were extremely nice to us while we filmed there. Not only did they let us film there for free, but Scott came several hours early to let us in. On top of that, they also generously donated a gift certificate to our fundraiser party in November. We couldn’t have asked for a better bar location for filming.

TONIGHT is a benefit for the Argonaut. Below are the details. I encourage everyone who can come to go!

$20
5pm – 11pm
ALL PROCEEDS to benefit The Argonaut

http://www.ticketalternative.com/Events/11659.aspx

Complimentary Cocktails

If you are interested in donating to a silent action please contact myself at
steve (at) rockandrollhoteldc.com
or 202.388.7625

Again, 100% off all proceeds will go to the Argonaut.

Upstairs @ The Hotel Bar
Rock & Roll Hotel
1353 H St NE
Washington, DC 20002

http://www.rockandrollhoteldc.com/

1. How did you get involved in music?

Both of my parents were musicians in India so it kind of runs in the family. As a child I remember singing along with my mom and banging the tablas with my dad. We moved to the states in 1988, and I think somewhere near there I got my first introduction to The Beatles, CCR, REM, The Who, etc and there was no turning back after that. My brother and I started making instruments out of cardboard and other household objects and start working on original material. I recently went back and listened to some of those recordings made on an old boom box. They’re pretty hilariously awful but we were all about it at the time. I eventually got a drum set and a guitar and have not stopped since then.

2. What’s the latest on Prabir and the Substitutes?

After four long years of treking all across America and seeing the highs and lows of everything within one another the band finally called it quits in December with our final concert to our hometown family and the tons of friends we had made along the way. We’re all still very close to one another. All ended on good terms. We were ready to just move on. I’m currently working w. some classically trained musicians and some of the other guys are starting a project that should be making some noise pretty soon. The project I’m working on is called Prabir/Goldrush (www.prabirgoldrush.com)

3. What was the creative process behind recording “Five Little Pieces”?

Five Little Pieces is a song I wrote when one of our good friends left the band and moved back to North Carolina. At first I started off being very sad about him leaving but then realized that the rest of the band was still intact and we were very much so still a unit. The song is a celebration of friendship and making the most of what you have been given despite the oodles and oodles of shit that life sends your way every day. Can I say oddles on this site?

Also it’s interesting because the song is basically about the band, which at the time was five young adults making it through day by day. Woes of work, love, money, etc and how even with all those problems we still came out singing. I think its a positive song. I never could tell. It basically said a lot of stuff sucks but at least we can still make noise together…for now.

4. What are some of your favorite television shows?

As a child I loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, and Perfect Strangers.
As a teenager it was Married With Children, The Simpsons, and Saturday Night Live.
As a college student I watched Conan, The Simpsons, and any nature documentary I could get my hands on.
As a young adult I was glued to reruns of Seinfeld, Austin City Limits, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
As whatever I am now its Planet Earth, 30 Rock, and Weeds.

5. How old is a ‘young adult’ and why?

You know, I’m not sure. I recently was talking to a friend about that. I think, if I had to take a guess, it would be someone that is between college and in the basic steps of establishing a strong career, but then that kind of eliminates a lot of people. I don’t know. Does everyone at some point become a young adult? Am I? I can’t tell. I guess someone that is in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties that is trying to scrape by. Yeah, that works.

1. How did you get involved in music?

Well I’ve had music nearby since I was a little tyke. My father played, and still plays guitar and sings, so I had that influence from early on. I took quickly to listening to a lot of pop and rock music from an early age as well. I was going to concerts by age 11 or 12 (I won’t tell you which ones since that will date me). I started taking clarinet lessons around that time when I found an unused clarinet at my grandparents’ house. But after I realized I wasn’t rocking out enough on that thing, I officially started taking lessons on the guitar after I convinced my mom to take me to Sears, of all places, to get me a beginner’s guitar. And then down the road I realized that getting a job in some office wasn’t for me, so I decided to pursue music more seriously. And bought some better guitars.

Brad Pugh of Practically Einstein

2. What’s the latest on Practically Einstein?

Well I have just come back from a short solo tour of Denmark. That was an exciting, but hectic trip. We are getting ready to properly release the new single (“Soldier Girl”) along with a B-side, “Fool Her”. We are off to the Jersey Shore this weekend…and also getting ready for some cool local shows coming up, at the Rookery, IOTA and at some Nats games.

3. What was the creative process behind recording “Soldier Girl”?

We wanted a bigger rock sound for this song than some of our previous recordings. There are a lot of guitars in there. We also wanted a bit of ‘80’s influence, but to of course avoid having it sound too dated. We used some keyboards inspired by Dio’s “Rainbow in the Dark”! It’s very tricky to get cool key sounds without having it be extremely cheesy…hopefully it worked…

There are also some sound effects, which is a new thing for us. The idea was to add some atmosphere and a sort of cinematic setting to be visualized.

War (J. W. Crump) and Johnny (Roberto Carmona)

4. What are some of your favorite television shows?

Since my schedule is a bit erratic, I don’t get to be a regular viewer of too many shows in the traditional time slots. But I do really like “The Office”. Usually I watch late-night shows on the Science or History or Discovery Channel. I like “Survivorman”, “How Things Work” and “FBI Files”. Also reruns of “Family Guy” and “Futurama.”

5. How old is a ‘young adult’ and why?

I think a young adult is anyone that is seeking out their place in the world. So really this depends on the person, I would think the age can vary. It takes some people a long time to get settled, and for good reason this day and age…but hopefully they are not living with mom and dad too much past the age of 30!

Brad Pugh (guitar and vocals), Rob Kuczynski (guitars), Dave Moran (drums), Phil Saraceno (bass)

Michael Grew

Numbers of Tickets

1 $5.00 2 $10.00 3 $15.00 4 $20.00 5 $25.00 6 $30.00

Name of Purchaser

After many months of hard and creative work, we are ready to screen our spec TV pilot to an audience for the first time.  We sincerely hope you will join us on Wednesday, April 28th (9PM) at E St. Cinema for the show!

Anastasia Wilson and Matt Melnicoff

Location: E St. Cinema, located at 555 11th St NW, conveniently near the Metro Center and Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro Stations.

The whole cast!

Time: The show starts at 9PM. It’s suggested to be there by 8:45PM to pick up your tickets at the will-call table provided and to snag a drink and some snacks.

The Logo, as seen in the opening credits

What You’ll See: Several trailers from other production companies of their upcoming projects, the award-winning short film Inertia by Merge Films, a feature presentation of the Young Adult spec TV pilot as well as a behind-the-scenes interview special.

Lauren Abramson, a sock, and Mike Morsey

Tickets: To purchase tickets, please use the Paypal link below. Each ticket is $5 to help offset the cost of theater rental. Each ticket purchase also enters you in a raffle for prizes to be given away at the screening!

Tickets are also available at the door, but there is limited seating so it’s suggested to buy early!

J. W. Crump, Nick Gay, and Matt Melnicoff

Look at this sexy stud

1. How did you get involved in music?

I got involved with music because my Mother and Grandfather (who played in the Army Field Band and the Redskins Band) both played the flute. They wanted me to pick up an instrument, so when I was nine I chose to play the trumpet. I wanted to play the drums, but my mom told me the neighbors would be angry with me because of the noise. So I picked what I thought was the next loudest instrument. I played my first solo, “We Three Kings,” in the Holiday Concert at my elementary school. Even though I officially started playing an instrument at the age of nine, legend has it I began beat-boxing before I could learn how to speak.

2. Are you currently with any bands? Have you released any CDs?

I am currently playing in two bands. I play bass in a folk-rock band called Pablonious Bill who is fronted by Paul Rosenfelder. I also co-front a band with my good friend and artistic partner Aaron Bliden. The band is called Little Justice. Currently, we are working on a musical and a concept album. Last summer we entered our first musical into the Capital Fringe Festival where it won the award for Best Musical. The musical was entitled Please Listen; A Musical Chaos. Neither Pablonious Bill or Little Justice have officially released any CDs.

Here is Mark with another loud instrument

3. What was the creative process behind recording “Smoochie Girl”?

The creative process started when J. W. requested that I write a cheesy pop song to be used in Young Adult. I asked J. W. to send me some words to help give me an idea of what he wanted the song to feel like. One word caught my eye and my heart strings: ’smooches’. The word smooches might be one of the most precious words in the English language, so from that word I derived the word ’smoochie’ as an adjective to describe one who enjoys giving one ’smooches’. Nothing sounded more perfect to me than a Smoochie Girl. I then thought of sock hops and old pop songs that had that head-bob feel. At this point I realized using a falsetto was absolutely necessary. I tried the first line of the song in a long car ride and was sold instantly on what this song was going to be. When the words “Hey Little Smoochie Girl!” rolled off of my tongue, nothing in the world seemed more perfect to me.

4. What are some of your favorite television shows?

Some of my favorite television shows are: Top Chef, Arrested Development, Modern Family, Summer Heights High, The Office (America and BBC), The Simpsons, Home Improvement, and Project Runway.

Rockin' out

5. How old is a ‘young adult’ and why?

I believe young adulthood begins when you are able to speak English fluently (or any other language). Between the ages of 2 and 4 sounds about right. This is when ‘old adults’ begin telling you that they will treat/speak to you like an ‘adult.’

Check out more of Mark by browsing his brand-new MySpace page.

1. How did you get involved in music?

My father bought me an electric guitar and lessons for my 16th birthday as Eric Clapton’s father did the same to him, and the rest is history. Over time I evolved from chasing the hit record to using my passion for movies and television by writing music for film/TV and have had many successful placements in commercials and media projects worldwide.

2. What are some programs/films/shows where we can hear your music?

My music features in the soundtrack to the Golden Globe winning film The Wrestler. Films this year featuring my music include Jeffie Was Here (makers of Hoodwinked) and The Way.

You will be able to hear my music in the Smithsonian Network TV documentary The Rivals due to be broadcast in Fall 2010. My track “Skater Punk” was used in the US National TV spot for the DVD launch of the hit film Couples Retreat (2010). I have also had music used in corporate websites, TV, Radio and internet adverts as well as audio media, toys and computer games.

3. What was the creative process behind selecting the music for Young Adult?

Everyone that knows me won’t deny that I have a creative and large imagination. I am very visual and see music in a scene, and this process helps me tie the two together. I always try to think outside of the box as well a use tried-and-tested means for a scene. The question a music supervisor should be asking [in the spotting process] is “Do we really need music?” as it is easier to add too much music and harder to limit it to only where it is needed.

4. What are some of your favourite television shows?

Well, being English, I love the old comedies like One Foot in the Grave, Father Ted, and Fawlty Towers. For US shows, I love LOST, Desperate Housewives, Fringe, and Heroes. I am a big animal documentary fan too.

5. How old is a ‘young adult’ and why?

Maybe in the UK it’s 20-24, and I guess in the US: 24 upwards? I guess a young adult is someone fresh on the market, doing their first job, and has a large group of friends. These are the days that shape your life.

Rob has done great work for the show. To see (and hear!) more of Rob Neary, check out the links below:

Rob’s website: www.robneary.com

Rob’s Production Music library: www.license.robneary.com

Also, Rob always has new tracks coming out. Click here to follow him on Twitter!

1) Ishu and I explored the Eastern Market on a beautiful Sunday to take some additional transitional footage for the show. We got some great clips including some skateboarders, a view of the Capital Building, and numerous people shopping at the Market.

2) We’ve achieved picture lock. Big thanks go out to Rich Volin and Cameron King for helping us achieve this big milestone in the project. Now it’s off to our colorist Gene Ertel and post-production sound guy Drew Kennedy to finish up.

3) In perhaps the biggest news, we’ve officially set the premiere screening date for the show! It’s going to be on Wednesday, April 28th, 9PM at E St. Cinema. In the coming weeks before the premiere, we’re going to have a lot of fun stuff coming out online including interviews with some the bands, interview clips, and more! Starting in April, we’ll provide a link to buy tickets for guests to fill this amazing 235-seater theater.

1) We filmed the added minute-long scene featuring Roberto Carmona, J. W. Crump, and Susannah Wells. Our lovely extras from the day included Raven Bonniwell, Erin Cunnane, Syeita Lowery, Michael Marcan, and Steve Petersen. Our editor now has it in his hands to add to the show.

2) Our Opening Credits Editor, Cameron King, sent us the rough cut of the opening credits. Long story short, I squealed a little. You can see more of Cameron’s work on The Video Makers.

3) We’re currently researching venues for a late April screening. We will post details here (and everywhere I can humanly post) as soon as we know them for sure.

4) We’ve officially selected the songs to be featured in the show. Look out for a blog post detailing all of the bands.

5) Check out the bonus screen shot from the episode!

What's with the sock? Find out soon!

Matt and J. W. with fake shopping carts

Afterward, Matt, Lauren, and me grabbed the Flip Cam and had some fun. Check out the video below: