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The Lounge Show is off the air until Public Access comes back, if it does. Here's the story on how it all started.
Taboada2010@hotmail.com
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What's
incredible is that we started this thing as a way to learn how to use video equipment without having to buy it ourselves.
I had heard that this cable TV thing that was brand new in San Antonio was giving locals their own channel and slots. A 30
minute, once a week segment to do whatever you wanted to do, edit it, and then pop it on TV for all of San Antonio to see
(provided you had cable at the time).
My
friend Greg and I went to see what this was all about. Sure enough, after taking a 3-day class (it's a lot less now)
and checking out the equipment provided (Obviously, stuff Ed Sullivan sold them used), we set out to film stuff. There we
were, with all this semi-pro equipment and no idea what to do. After milling around some very bad ideas, we decided to visit
places in San Antonio and do a brief story on each. This turned out to be a decent plan and most places were keen on the idea
of local exposure.
At
first, the show was very interesting and informative (a bit too much of each. Sometimes it got boring...well... most of the
time.) After I started getting more relaxed with the theme and the camera lens, the show became much more fun. We started
getting calls from people who did interesting things and wanted us to do a story on 'em. Even more local, one of a kind businesses
were dropping lines our way.
I get recognized allot because of that little
show. It's always the same. People never set out to watch it, they usually stumble across it while they're channel surfing.
This is strange to me because, for about the first two years, it felt like no one had cable. No one said anything about the
show. Just some family and friends. Then, things just started happening. More and more people would come up to me and say
they just saw me on TV last week.
But they would always describe a show I did about
8 months before. See, it works this way. On my spare time I check out the camera equipment and shoot about 2 shows in one
day. A couple of days later, I go in to return the equipment and edit the footage I just shot down to 30 minute segments
each. After I turn those in, Time-Warner plays them once a week (one episode per week) until I hand in some fresh shows.
I
always try to keep the stuff fresh. Time-Warner changes the show slots once a year. This year, I'm on Thursdays at midnight.
It's really hard to believe it's been 10 years since I started the show and allot of people have yet to see it. It's
still fun to put together, though. The transformation you've experienced recently is that of my lounge show.
I sing at various places with a selection of sixties and seventies tunes done up "my" style. I decided to pop some on
my cable show. Like it? Good. Don't like it? CHANGE IT!! I love my life and what I do. You should do the same.
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