Extra

There was a period in December where I took a break from blogging.

We had friends visiting from out of town. There was Christmas. And there were other projects that made me just want to place a pause on The Brown Knowser.

One of the projects was a first for me, though it's something I've always wanted to do: act.

Okay, this wasn't much in the way of acting. I was an extra in a music video. But I did do a bit of acting.

Local pop band Lessons In Crime were shooting a video for their latest song release, "Sorry To Disappoint." They were looking for people aged 55 and older, so I fit right in on that criterion.

The set was Hummingbird Hall, where I used to be a regular for karaoke nights, before they stopped holding them.

Lessons In Crime: Paolo Pace (left) and Liam Schwisberg (right).
A behind-the-scenes cameraman stands in between.

The premise for the video was that we were attending a colleague's retirement celebration, and Lessons In Crime was the featured band. We cheer on the end of a speech by the retiree before the MC introduces the band.

And that's when the audience falls silent.

The members of Lessons In Crime pour their heart out to their song, whilst the audience looks bored or indifferent. When the song ends, there are no applause: there's awkward silence, broken by a cough from a member of the audience (me!), and finally the band walks off in shame.

It was a lot of fun to shoot. I sat at a table near the front of the stage and I had to keep a deadpan face. I yawn, glance at my watch, clean my glasses with my tie, and look around the room to see if everyone else is as bored as I am.

For some takes, the leader of the band, Liam Schwisberg, gets up and personal with people at their tables, including me. We all recoil in either disgust or repulsion.

When I suspected the camera was on me, I tried hard to put on a face that made me look emotionless. It was kind of hard to do because the song is quite good. The video featured a sax solo from the founding member of Ottawa band, The Commotions, Brian Asselin, who I know from attending some of their shows but most importantly, through his twin brother, Jeff, who was Kid 2's drum teacher.

Brian and I only shared a few words before we were all directed to take our places, and he was gone as soon as he finished filming his part, before the rest of us were done.

Paolo, on piano.

It was tough to resist bobbing my head or tapping my foot to the beat, but it was a good way to dip my toe into the art of acting.

Okay, it was still rank amateurish. Liam, on the other hand, is a natural performer and can act as well as he sings.

At the time of writing this post, the video hadn't been released. Since then, however, the band has released a version of the song, which they've called the lyric video. You can see it here.

As soon as the video in which I participated is out, I'll share it with you.

I've joined an organization that announces casting calls, and I hope that I can take part in other extra roles. Stay tuned.