“Making the Band” Season 3: Episode #7
Welcome to the super-fantastic “MTB” recaps!!!
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.)
Before I begin….what’s up with MTV playing mini-marathons of “MTB” on Friday night and Saturday morning? (Not that I didn’t enjoy them!) I wish they’d replay season one or even season two. Those were grand days….remember Raymond, Tyjuan, Marc, Mark, Andrew, and Jay? Sorry…back to the present now.
Okay, today we start off a tad differently and we see “Coming up on Making the Band.” I won’t recap that part because I’d just be repeating myself later on. The difference is Dan (Woo-hoo!) tells us that the guys are at the breaking point. Anywho, we see a performance on the Brit tour of “Love Should Be A Crime.” The song sounds waay messed up. (Kinda like there is a funky techno beat going on…reminds of me of “Riddle” right Green?) The guys are walking backstage and Ash says something about a headache. T-Rev is all like “What happened during ‘Love…’” Ash says he wasn’t getting any reception in his ear pack. T-Rev then pretends to know what harmony is and explains why the song sounded funny. Ash says he couldn’t hear what was going on. Shot of Jacko with no shirt on. (Ewww…) Then we see Dan, but E-Squared is nowhere in sight. Mike Morin is asking Ash why he didn’t tell anyone there was a problem. Ash swears he told Pug six times that there was something wrong. T-Rev starts yelling and telling Ash he should have told Pug the exact problem instead of just saying he had no ears. Now the fun begins! Ash, T-Rev, and Mike Morin all start yelling and swearing and stuff. (Lots of bleeps…I can only imagine what they were saying!) Then we see Ash walking towards a urinal and playing with his belt. (At this point I was like “Please keep your pants on.”) Thankfully we see a different shot of Ash saying he has a lot of stuff going on at once and he’s working to the best of his ability. T-Rev says he needs to get off this tour and have some days off. (Okay, I’m totally lost. The past four episodes have shown them on days off.) Ash says he’s not trying to make excuses he’s just trying to explain what happened. Jacko is all angsty and he diagnoses Ash with “chronic messed up timing.” Ash says he’s not going to say anything anymore because they will just accuse him of making excuses. In the confessional Ash says that everyone has a rough show at some point and he wishes the guys would get off his back.
Meet Chuck James, the scariest man alive. (Also the man with the fakest tan I’ve ever seen.) He apparently is a talent agent that Ash knows. He tells Ash he loved the show. Ash is shocked (That someone liked the show?) and explains that there were some “weird technical problems” but he doubts the audience noticed. Scary man is like “Really? I’m a freak and I didn’t notice anything.” (I swear to God that’s what he said. He is soooo creepy.) Anyway, Scary man says he set up some meetings for Ash in L.A. and wants to know if he has some days off. Ash is like “Yeah, it’s cool if I go” or something to that effect. (Dude, these guys are always moaning they don’t have days off and now all of a sudden they magically do?! I know this show is edited strangely but jeehz!) Ash tells us he’s always wanted to pursue acting and here is his chance. He’s also glad that Scary man has his back. Montage of Ash meeting with different people. Very boring…kinda humorous moment when a lady asks to see his headshot and resume and he doesn’t have one.
Now T-Rev is on the phone with his Dad. He wants to fly his Dad out to New York. His Dad doesn’t think he can go. T-Rev is like “You’ve been working there for thirty five years.” Dad says it’s only been twenty eight years. T-Rev says things have been tough lately and if he sees his Dad he will feel better. He needs something that feels like home. (What’s up with T-Rev’s hair? Sometimes it’s the crunkin’ fro look and then sometimes it looks like the fro shrank. Puzzling…) T-Rev’s Dad compares T-Rev’s life to the service as they sit in a taxi. Someone telling you what to do and missing your family. He says things will get easier. Back to Ash. He’s meeting with some woman named Elizabeth. She wants to know what Ash is exactly doing here. (Yeah, what is he doing?) Ash tells her he wants a supporting role in a feature film and when the job is done he wants people to be like “I didn’t expect that from him.” Elizabeth says that acting will be good for him so he can branch out and be his own entity. She’s like “You’re always associated with what…four other guys?” (I love how she has no idea who O-Town is!!! Fun stuff.) Ash is excited that he could be recognized for being Ashley and not that blond guy from O-Town. (Hate to break it to you Ash but I have a feeling that’s how people will recognize you for quite awhile.)
Montage of the sights and sounds of New York City. T-Rev’s Dad shows him where he grew up. The building looks like it’s about to be condemned and his Dad’s old apartment is all boarded up. T-Rev’s Dad lived in the apartment with eight other people his whole life. T-Rev is shocked. He’s so used to living in hotel rooms he can’t imagine what his Dad went through. T-Rev tries to break the boarding down, but his Dad tells him to stop in case the cops come. (We all know T-Rev was just too weak to actually break the board and Dad was just trying to save face.) Shot of T-Rev in the confessional imitating his Dad. Ash is on the phone with Scary man. Scary man tells Ash that the meetings went well and everyone loves him. At the moment he has a script that is edgy and the opposite of Ash’s image. Ash can’t believe how fast this is all happening. Scary man wants Ash to meet with an acting coach to prepare. Ash hangs up the phone and is so excited that he beats up his bed with a pillow while screaming “Yea!”
Shot of the compound. Dan and E-Squared are chilling outside. (Where’s Jacko? Probably in a garage somewhere writing angry music.) Dan’s cell rings and it’s Ash. Ash tells Dan how “pumped” he is. Dan looks like he could really care less and asks Ash if he talked to Mike. Ash says he doesn’t want to talk to him until he knows more about this acting gig. (I enjoy how the guys are only concerned with what Mike Morin thinks and not Mike Cronin. What does Cronin provide for O-Town…comic relief?) Dan reminds Ash not to miss his flight and to call Mike. Ash says he will. Instead of saying bye Dan says peace in his ghetto accent. (Awww…I love how Dan takes charge of everything, but he should have told Ash that this whole acting thing was never going to work out.) Dan tells us that he couldn’t imagine Ash picking acting over music. Tonight I’ve decided E-Squared will receive the ‘best line of the episode award’ because of this line: “Wow. If Ashley left the band maybe I could be the heartthrob!” (I’m still laughing….) Ash informs us that his agent got him a lesson with Howard Fine, a prestigious acting coach. (He says it all snooty…like that kid at school you can’t stand because he’s always bragging about everything.) Howard greets Ash and asks him about the role. Ash explains that the role is of Michael, a party promoter who is charming and ambish. (The word is ambitious dear!) Howard says Ash must become the character or some acting psycho babble. He and Ash do a “tug of war exercise.” Ash and Howard say the lines and pull at each other. Howard yells at Ash and Ash pretends he knows what he’s doing. He feels awesome. He loves acting! Howard invites him to his master class and says he will get another actor to play against him. Howard feels this was a good session. (What the whole five minutes Ash was there? Funny tidbit…Wade Robson calls his dance lessons master class so when Howard said that I was like “Wade’s going to be on? Sweet.” Sadly I was wrong.)
Now were at St. Matthews Baptist Church and a choir is rehearing. T-Rev and his Dad watch and Dad asks the choir members if they remember Deacon Penick, T-Rev’s grandfather. They all remember and he introduces himself and T-Rev. T-Rev gets teary eyed as his Dad talks about his grandfather. He is imagining the day when he’ll talk about his Dad after he has passed on. We find out T-Rev’s Dad used to be a tenor in the choir and then everyone sings “This Little Light of Mine.” T-Rev thinks about the things he takes for granted and realizes how he should appreciate what he has. He tells his Dad the experience was awesome, but can’t believe he never told him he was in the choir. T-Rev is excited he has a musical background. Back to Ash. He’s late for master class. (Should’ve had Dan remind him…) He gets up on stage and acts with this other guy. The whole scene is about how Ash’s character wants drugs. Howard screams at them to push farther and all that kinda stuff. (Flashbacks of my old speech coach screaming about pushing farther and how he hated us all and stuff. Good memories!) Ash looks completely insane and frankly he is scaring me to death. He says acting is like an adrenaline rush…like performing the perfect show. He can’t believe how intense this is and how people get to do this for a living. Next day…Ash tells Scary man how great master class was. (Why is there a Chuckie doll behind Ash’s head?!) Scary man and Ash talk about how great the role is. But Scary man warns that Ash shouldn’t audition unless he is serious about doing this IDEPENDENT movie. (Okay, now I understand how Ash might possibly get the role…it’s one of those straight to video deals. Suddenly everything is clear! JK…most independent movies actually end up doing pretty well.) Scary man doesn’t want the director to get all excited about Ash being perfect for the role (I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have to worry about that.) and then find out he is not available for the five week shoot. He has to choose between the band and acting, but Scary man doesn’t want to put him on the spot. (Kinda late for that don’t ya think?) Ash says that O-Town is his life, but he really wants to act. Flashbacks of Ash being yelled at and then shots of master class. According to Ash “This is hard!” Ash calls Mike Morin and tries to stall by asking pointless questions, but Morin knows the deal. Ash says he wants to stay in L.A. longer and Morin flat out tells him no. He needs to be back for rehearsals and other stuff. Ash hangs up the phone, lies down on the bed, and looks like he’s going to cry.
T-Rev and his Dad go to get some soul food. T-Rev talks about how hard his Dad works and how he never complains. T-Rev’s Dad tells him to keep doing what he’s doing. T-Rev talks about how tough it is. His Dad tells him that it’s going to be tough because everyone back home misses T-Rev as much as T-Rev misses them. Dad says that T-Rev should just keep on working and better his career. Who knows when he may need money someday? T-Rev surprises his Dad with Knicks tickets. (His Dad looks as excited about the Knicks tickets as the time T-Rev found out they were touring with Brit.) He gives him a hug and a kiss…it’s very sweet. T-Rev talks about how much family means to him and how the guys are his new family.
At the compound….the guys are on the couch. (E-Squared looks stoned.) Mike Morin asks Ash to explain what’s going on. Ash babbles about the movie for the millionth time. He claims he didn’t expect any of this to happen. (What the heck did he think was going to happen? If he knew he couldn’t take time off to be in a movie why did he go to all those meetings? Ahhhh!!) Morin says that they have a commitment to make and promote the albums and drop the new single before they can discuss other opportunities. He wants the guys to be successful in other areas…when they have time. E-Squared talks about how they need to get back in the studio and Jacko talks about writing songs. Morin doesn’t understand how Ash could have expected to get the days off considering he had about ten days off the year before. Morin says that if he took five weeks off during promotion his career would be over.
We see Ash hitting tennis balls and having flashbacks about everything that has happened. (The flashbacks are all hazy for some reason.) He says he really wanted the role, but he has to let it go. He’s sure a new role will come along eventually. Now we’re in the kitchen and Ash is bragging about how perfect the role was. (That’s it! Now I remember why I stopped liking Ash…he never stops showing off and whining!) Jacko, who is wearing my favorite hat might I add, tells Ash he made the right decision. (Decision? Like Ash really had a choice.) T-Rev welcomes him back and they embrace.
It’s the last Brit performance. Shots of the guys backstage. (Ahhh!! All my favorite guys! It’s Boston Mike! It’s Mr. Chapin! It’s Tommy! T to the ommy!) T-Rev voices over that he and the guys have got it good. Then we see a clip of the beginning of the “Take Me Under” performance and the show is over.
Next week…Ash gets lost in Germany…Literally! He’s like in the bathroom or something and the guys leave without him. Heehee…that is too rich. A local girl offers to help him and then he says something about being kidnapped. (Yeah, I’m sure you’ll get real far considering there is an entire camera crew following you.)
Well kids there you have it. Sorry if I was a tad harsh towards Ash. I mean I can’t act at all so who am I to talk, but still…nah I’d better keep my mouth shut. Small question: why is next week’s episode all about Ash again? I think we need a Dan episode…who’s with me?! Please read and review…I love feedback. Until next week….