“Making the Band” Season 3: Episode #10
Welcome to the final “MTB” recap of Season 3!!
DISCLAIMER: Okay, here's the deal with the recaps. I use humor in them...the humor is just my opinion so I don't expect you to agree with everything I write. Remember that if you are going to be offended because I make fun of O-Town DO NOT READ MY RECAPS! There are plenty of sites that give just straight recaps. You have been warned so please don’t send reviews saying that you are offended. Thank you!! (In case you’re confused….Ash:Ashley, Jacko: Jacob (this is a reference to Michael Jackson, I’m NOT making fun of him! Well…nevermind) T-Rev: Trevor, E-Squared: Erik, and I call Dan, Dan.)
Well, kids all good things must come to an end. I can’t believe this is the last time I’ll be recapping this season!! Here we go…
We start out with “Previously on Making the Band.” Random shots of the guys working on songs for the new album and being interviewed by that Shirley lady. Cut to shots of London. T-Rev and Ash are sitting with Morin. Morin asks them if they remember when Shirley interviewed them. They remember and he says she sent them an advanced copy of the article. Morin says it is a good article and she says some nice stuff. Someone says “Show Jake the first good article.” Jacko says he’ll believe it when he sees it. (When the camera looks over T-Rev’s shoulder we can see that the article is like two paragraphs. Seems like she talked to them for a long time just for that.) T-Rev reads the title: ‘O-Town More than a Boy Band.’ E-Squared reads a part of the article that says the guys are being guided by their mentor Clive Davis. He continues to read and it says the guys show the determination to get their songs on the new album. Ash takes over and says that everyone will be wondering if O-Town will make the cut. Ash is glad that Shirley was able to remain objective since he seems to think that she thought O-Town was the greatest band ever. (Not going to touch that one.) Cronin thinks that Shirley was nice in the article because Jacko was nice to her. Jacko tries to maintain his angsty and tortured image by saying he wasn’t that nice. They all agree that he was nicer than usual.
Now we are at a London performance and the guys are performing “American Game.” The guys are singing and Dan is playing guitar. (Okay, now that I’ve actually heard the song it’s pretty good.) More shots of the crowd cheering wildly. (Hold up! Does that sign say ‘Erik: Sexiest Woman Alive’? Oh…my bad, ‘Sexiest Man Alive.’ Oops!) Jacko tells us that he and Dan wrote “American Game” and he is a little leery of it. After the concert Jacko asks Morin what he thought of “American Game.” Morin says it was great and that the crowd seemed into it. Jacko said he couldn’t see the crowd, but he could tell they were feeling it. (Duh! He is God after all.) Dan tells Morin he was like a rockstar. Morin said he was more like a rockstar with a crick in his neck. Dan laughs. Jacko wishes that Clive could have seen the performance. He tells us that the first album was all love songs and their new songs are causing a new reaction among the fans. Then he says something about sitting at your desk in an office and hearing that song. (Umm…okay.) He doesn’t understand how this song cannot be on the album!
We’re back in Orlando now. Next we see a montage of recording sessions. (Eww…what’s up with Jacko’s purple flowered print bandana? Did he steal E-Squared’s flower shirt that he was so fond of?) E-Squared says the guys need to stop writing and record something that Clive can listen to. Jacko explains to us that bands fall into two categories: Artists and Performers. He really wants “American Game” on the album. Jacko then informs us that O-Town is making the transition to becoming writers and producers…ya know artists. E-Squared is working on a song with Tamara Savage and some other peeps. He had a concept and he is hoping she can help him take it to another level. The song is called “Get Away.” Dan tells us the song “Yes or No” would not have existed without him. Hearing his song gives him a glow. Ash is working on a song called “By Your Side.” He can’t believe that Clive is going to hear it. People dream of playing songs for Clive and he has the chance. Tommy, he’s in the O-Town band in case you didn’t know, (I LOVE YOU TOMMY!) asks Ash how old he is. Ash says he is twenty, Tommy asks him how he got so deep. Ash says it’s because he listens to Dr. Laura. Tommy pretends he is disgusted and walks away while Ash tries to call him back. E-Squared, Tamara, and the other peeps are jamming and writing lyrics to “Get Away.” Then we see shots of Dan recording “Yes or No” while Jacko records “American Game” as Ash works on “By Your Side.”
Now we’re at a meeting. Morin asks how the material is coming along. Dan says it’s almost ready and Morin tells the guys the meeting with Clive is coming up soon. Jacko says they have more songs to record and not enough time to do it. Morin says these songs need to rock otherwise they may never sit down with Clive again. Ash says he wants to be represented on a portion of the album. Morin tells the guys he hopes the material makes it on the album, but people like Diane Warren, Steve Mac, and Nelly are submitting as well. (I pose this question once again…when the heck did Nelly become an accomplished songwriter?!) Ash says it’s hard to compete against these people. Morin goes on to explain what a one-hit wonder is. He doesn’t want the guys to only be remembered for “All or Nothing.” He warns them that the sophomore slump is real and they need to only concentrate on new material and nothing else.
Now we hear the LFO song “Every Other Time.” That can only mean one thing….Ahhhh…. Rich Cronin is in the house!!! (Wearing the same clothes he was wearing the last time we saw him.) Dan asks if O-Town’s songs are good enough to compete against accomplished songwriters. Ash tells us that he really respects and admires Rich Cronin. Ash asks Rich about his songwriting experience. Rich says he submitted sixty songs for the last LFO album and fifteen made it on to the album. (Did anyone see Rich Cronin on the show “Raising Dad?” I made the mistake of watching it and now I find myself strangely attracted to him. Hmmm…) Rich says he was always in the studio writing songs. T-Rev says that Rich has been working with Clive for three or four years and he helped to write LFO’s entire second album. Rich then says something about how Clive is looking for hits and if you say that girls like E-Squared he won’t be inclined to put E-Squared’s song on the album. (Riight.) Rich says that everything they write will not be a hit, but there is always that jem. T-Rev hopes that Rich’s luck will rub off on them.
Scary shot of Rich saying they should call the song “Hey, hey, hey!” and then he starts dancing around the studio. Ash explains he came up with a song title, “A Girl Like That,” but no lyrics. T-Rev, Dan, Ash, Rich, and random people are all vibing to this idea. T-Rev is excited that they are going to write this song. Montage of a truly terrifying jam session for this song. (Despite how scared I am of how they wrote this song I really like it.) Now Rich and Ash are alone and Ash asks Rich if they will produce that song. Rich says they will and Ash pretends he’s playing a guitar and tells Rich that the song has a Santana feel. Rich says “Santana feel? Are you on crack?” Okay not really, he just nods. Ash says he will be disappointed if none of his songs make it on the album. Rich tells him that all the guys have drive and want a fingerprint on every song. Ash is all like “That will be tough because Clive is asking all these famous songwriters to write for O-Town’s second album” or something like that. Ash says he wishes he could write sixty songs like Rich did. Rich says that Ash doesn’t have to write sixty songs because that’s just not normal.
Another meeting with Morin and Cronin. (CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES MORIN!) Morin says that the songs are good and he wants to know which ones they are going to pitch. Ash says “By Your Side.” Jacko says “American Game.” E-Squared says “Get Away.” Dan says “Yes or No.” T-Rev, Dan, and Ash all say “A Girl Like That.” Cronin says that the guys should be proud that they are meeting with Clive. Morin says that millions of people want to spend like five seconds with Clive and O-Town is getting a whole afternoon. T-Rev says that this conversation puts things to heart. Cronin says that even if the songs aren’t hits the least Clive could say is that they are decent songs. (I’m totally freakin’ here. I can understand everything Cronin is saying.) Ash says he’s getting psyched out, but he’s glad the guys are putting it into perspective. Cronin tells him not to freak and that no matter what they should keep writing and not be discouraged. Ash is nervous since everything is up to Clive now.
Dan walks into Clive’s office and they make small talk. Jacko voices-over that the odds are against them because they are competing against Grammy award winning writers. Dan hands Clive the lyrics and starts playing “Yes or No.” He says Clive should turn it up in case he wants to head bang. Dan dances around while Clive head bops. (It’s kinda creepy looking.) Clive says the song is not a hit, but it can be put in the possibility pool. He encourages Dan to keep writing. Now we see Jacko tell Clive that this next song is outside the box. He’s talking about “American Game.” (Jacko, the nonconformist strikes again!!!) Jacko says that this song is going against the R&B vibe their competition is producing. ( I’m not sure if this important but some J Records VP is there too.) Jacko is nervous, but has confidence in his music. (HEY!! This scene is the same scene we saw the other week when Jacko was playing “Meant for You.” You can tell by the location, the clothes, and the fact that Jacko still looks like a bobbing head dog. Who are these editors?!!) Clive says the song is too individualistic and no one wants that, but they will keep it in the pool. Jacko says that Clive is opinionated and says that Clive tells it like it is. Jacko disagrees and thinks Clive is not “hearing it.” (Well, he is really old…maybe he’s going deaf…oh…that’s not what he meant.) Back to the office where Ash is presenting “By Your Side.” He’s excited to hear his song, but wants it to be over with so he can hear Clive’s reaction. Clive says when writing a romantic ballad you either hit it or you don’t. (So wise…*roll my eyes*) The song has “decent potential” according to Clive. Ash is like “It doesn’t have…” and then he smacks his hands. Clive says that songs like that may wimp out the group. (He thinks we think O-Town is tough?) Now E-Squared is wondering if Clive will feel “Get Away.” Apparently not. He says the song is okay and VP man agrees with Clive. VP Man feels the song is “Aiight.” T-Rev says the guys have gotten a lot of “maybes” and he hopes “A Girl Like That” will change that. T-Rev, Ash, and Dan present the song and explain how they wrote it with Rich. Ash says this might be it. T-Rev is excited because he, Ash, and Dan wrote it….but HE WROTE IT! (Huh?) T-Rev thinks Clive loves it because he’s head bopping. After his own experience Dan doesn’t quite trust the head bop. Clive says the lyrics are good and the song is….GOOD! Shot of Dan in the confessional singing “Clive likes the song” and dancing. (Too cute!) Clive says this album must have songs that people all around the world should want to sing along with. Then he babbles about how O-Town needs to use their vehicles to continue success or something. He feels that “A Girl Like That” is the ticket. (Do you have any idea how ticked Jacko must be?! A song that he didn’t have any part in writing is the one Clive liked. Remember last time how he thought he was like the most awesome songwriter ever?! Take that Jacko! I love it.) Dan says that Clive probably respects them more because now they are songwriters. E-Squared says that now they are more than just five lucky guys…they are artists. This is a victory for O-Town!! The show ends with shots of the guys working and performing.
Well, there you have it. The end of the third season. I really enjoyed this episode. It was fun to see the guys working on their music.