Friday, December 15, 2000 Nashville musician shoots video in Mexico Beach TROY ESPE Entertainment Editor Nashville musician Mark McGuinn doesn't look like a country singer. He wears a black turtleneck sweater, black-rimmed glasses, a goatee and backward golf cap. He might be the first beatnik cowboy. "I'll just let the music speak," McGuinn says. "I'm not trying to present an image. It's just who I am." McGuinn descended on Mexico Beach last weekend to film his first music video That's a Plan. The single hails from his upcoming debut album Mark McGuinn. The video will be released at the end of January. The CD is due out in June. About a dozen crew members set up cameras and props Monday at Canal Park. Atop a rusty pier, McGuinn and two bandmates strummed guitars and banjos. They lip-synced as a boombox blared That's a Plan repeatedly. Shovels, ladders and stage equipment littered the white sand. Pecos Films shot the video and chose Mexico Beach for the location. McGuinn had visited Panama City Beach a few years ago but was new to the Forgotten Coast. If music networks Great American Country or VH1 Country put That's a Plan into rotation, the video will be seen by millions. "It's a beautiful setting down here and all the people have been great," McGuinn said. "I couldn't be happier with the choice." That's a Plan is a whimsical ditty about a small-town boy looking to get away. Like the song, the video conveys escapism. McGuinn peers out into the Gulf of Mexico, hops a charter boat and even rows out to sea. "It's my vision about what the song is," he said. "It's about movement and motion." An enormous amount of work and money goes into a 31/2-minute music video, producers said. "They probably run through the song 20 to 30 times," said Aimee Roberts, product manager for McGuinn's label VFR Records in Nashville, Tenn. "If they did one shot, it'd be a pretty boring video." While locals are aware of the area's beautiful scenery, film producers are just discovering it. "I wish I had known about this before," Roberts said. "I'm glad we were the first to find it. Everybody's been really great. They've welcomed everybody with open arms and have been excited about it." McGuinn's hepcat style hails from his formal training as a jazz trumpeter. Growing up in North Carolina, he played semi-pro soccer before shattering his knee. While recovering, he taught himself guitar and piano. McGuinn moved to Nashville six years ago. His interest lied in songwriting. But when independent label VFR Records heard his demo, they signed him. "After about the third song of the tape, we were hooked," Roberts said. "He's going to take country music to a new place and a place where it needs to go." McGuinn co-produced the CD and wrote 11 of the 12 songs. Production finished up last summer. McGuinn will spend nearly a year promoting the album before it hits record stores. "I hope they see me for who I am and they have a great time listening to the music," he said. The writer can be contacted at espe@digitalexp.com