FRIDAY, JANUARY 13^TH – BELLAMY BROTHERS VIDEO SHOOT IN MIAMI BEACH, FL:
Normally, I don’t write “Road Kill” reports from my travels within the U.S. But this one definitely is an “exception to the rule”!
I am traveling to Miami Beach (actually South Beach), FL today for a video shoot with the Bellamy Brothers and an Austrian/German Pop Star – DJ Otzi. This is a “duet project” by Universal Music Germany.

The “fun” began several months ago when we were unable to find out “where” the video would be shot. We were told to “hold” January 13-19 and they would let us know. The first choice was the Canary Islands….a very long trip for us. Then 3 weeks before we were to depart, we were told either the Canary Islands OR New York City. We were voting for NYC! Then 2 weeks prior to departure, the location changed to Miami Beach…..much better for all of us.

Everything came together quickly then 2 days prior to departure, Gerry (DJ Otzi) notified us that he had just been to the doctor and was told he absolutely could not fly! Universal decided not to cancel anything but to go ahead and film the Bellamys and then “blue screen” DJ into the segments! The day that Iris (our partner in Switzerland) was flying to Miami, she sent me a text saying “Gerry is on my flight”! So, he disregarded doctor’s orders and flew to Miami anyway!!!

Universal had selected a fantastic hotel for us – the Mondrian. Then, they changed the hotel to the Raleigh because of the Bellamys request for a bathtub in the room. The Raleigh is a very, very “old” art deco hotel. Not nearly as nice as the Mondrian but we couldn’t get them to change it back even though we told them the Bellamys did not need a bathtub.

I departed on time and arrived at the hotel about 30 minutes before the Bellamys. The people at the front desk were unbelievably sweet and helpful. The desk clerk said she had good news for me….my room was ready for check in (duh….it was already 2:30 pm!) and I had been upgraded to an ocean view room (means nothing to me since I won’t have time to look out my window!). I thanked her and headed upstairs. As I said, the hotel is very, very old. The elevator is an antique! But my room was about the size of a walk in closet. Couldn’t even open my suitcases! The bathroom was really tiny. I went back downstairs and told them I would pay to upgrade and that I needed larger rooms for the Bellamys as well. They were very helpful and upgraded us all to suites at no cost. It’s still “difficult” because the outlets are all the way across the room from the desk where I’m working on my computer. But the internet is great and free….most important thing about a hotel for me.

I worked for about an hour and then walked down to Wal-Greens to purchase some protein bars. I couldn’t find them and asked the store clerk where they were located. NO ONE working at Wal-Greens spoke any English! It was a disaster and I left without protein bars!

Changed clothes and met the Bellamys in the lobby to film an EPK with a local television station and then have a Production Meeting. Only the Bellamys and I were the only ones to show up! I had been calling Gerry’s manager’s room all afternoon and no one answered. Finally I called his cell phone and he said there was no EPK filming and no production meeting!!!

Iris arrived shortly thereafter and we all had dinner at the hotel restaurant. Really nice people in the film crew and the Label Head for Universal Germany is here and really sweet as well. Should be a fun time. Got in bed at around 1 am and have to be ready to go at 8 am.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14^TH – VIDEO SHOOT FOR “CROSSFIRE”:

Had breakfast with David and Iris at 7 am. Really great egg white omelet. The hotel gave us “breakfast coupons” but the only thing you could order with those was a glass of orange juice and a basket of bread! No one used them.

We departed on time to a “prison road” to film the first segment with a really old blue pick up truck. The prison road happened to be located in the Swamp! And, the weather had turned cold. We all brought “beach clothes” and were freezing!!!! The location was very cool but there was a steady stream of four-wheelers and really red neck pick up trucks (and redneck drivers) going back and forth on the road. Evidently there is a “hunting camp” somewhere down the road. The Bellamys had rented a large SUV, the film crew had a large van and then we have this huge, really awesome tour bus. Besides the Bellamys and DJ, his manager, and label head, we have the Video crew, hair and makeup stylist and the TV crew.

Filming went relatively fast but seemed much longer than it was because we were freezing. We broke for lunch and were supposed to go to P.F. Changs but instead went to a really bad part of town to a truly horrible pizza/pasta café. The food ranked right up there with some of the absolute worst I have ever had. L When we got back to the car after lunch, Jenny became very agitated and said Howard’s Ipad was “missing”. She had left it in the floor of the SUV. The SUV was locked with the alarm set. Then she noticed that her camera was also missing. Two $5,000 “rental guitars” were still in the back of the SUV and two $1,000 GPS units sitting on the dash were still there! We told the others what had happened and that’s when the film crew noticed things missing. The “boom box” with our playback music, one lady’s Ipad and the lady from the TV station was missing a brand new $5,000 camera she had purchased just for our shoot. She had not insured it and is a single mom with 2 kids. Felt so sorry for her! We called the police who said they would “eventually” come out and take a report. We also found a “dent” right around the key hole on the SUV where they had stuck something in the lock to open the door. Still can’t believe the alarm didn’t go off.

One of the camera guys is a Seminole Indian and he walked down to a pawn shop about a block from our cars. The owner said a tall, skinny black guy had been in a few minutes earlier trying to sell him the Ipads but he would not buy them. We also noticed (for the first time) that there were HUGE signs on the doors of the restaurant where we ate saying, “DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN YOUR CAR”! Just two weeks ago, two buses filled with school kids were robbed. They took one kid’s hearing aid and lots of Ipads and cell phones. We spent hours trying to track down the thief and filling out the police report. Then we drove to an even worse part of town to finish the filming. A “street artist” drew the Bellamys/DJ logo in paint on the street for us. Only he got busted by the police! All they did, though, was tell him he had to cover it with grey paint when we left!!!

Finished up at around 5 pm and went back to the hotel. Iris and I decided to get in some really quick shopping and left for the Bal Harbour Mall at 7 pm. Only, the entire mall was all designer stores – very expensive. Iris and I prefer to buy those brands in China! J So, we left there and went to a huge mall near Ft. Lauderdale. It was awesome but we had less than an hour to shop. I got one pair of jeans and Iris bought lots of items “on sale”. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and then went back to the hotel and off to bed at 1 am again.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15^TH – FILMING “LIKE A STAR”:

Today we are filming “Like a Star” at a seaport landing area that is super cool. The weather is MUCH better today…actually warm with only a little wind. Had breakfast with Iris and then today she and I rode I the bus to the location. The very first “take” was awesome. But, of course, they continued shooting for hours….just to be sure. J

It was an unbelievably “scenic” area. And, while we were filming, a sea plane actually landed and docked by us. We were even able to secure lots of “sea gulls” for the video. One of the techs lured them with food and then kep “shooing” them into the shots. Today, they catered in sushi and sandwiches rather than risk going to a restaurant! We finished up “Like a Star” pretty early and then shot the EPK. Of course they were NOT going to let us go that early…..so we went to a second location to film some more footage or “Star”. The tour bus is really cool and has an entire “lounge” on top of the bus. Put the Bellamys and Gerry on top and drove them around Miami and got some amazing footage! We finished up at around 3 pm and Iris and I rode back to the hotel on the top lounge of the bus. Traffic was very heavy, so we went slow and it was an awesome view. At one point, the street signs and palm trees were almost touching the top of the bus. Iris almost got whacked in the head by a pair of very high-heeled lady’s read shoes that someone had tied together and thrown over the power line! She saw that as a “sign” that she needed to go shoe shopping and hopped off the bus. J Then, later this evening, David explained to us that the shoes thrown over the power line means “drug deal here”. Wow. Learned something “new”.

I was determined to get in a jog and did. Ran down the beach for 5 miles and if you think you’ve “seen it all”, trust me you haven’t until you come to Miami Beach! Wow! What a scenic jog I had.

Met Iris in the lobby for dinner at 7 pm and we went to one of Gloria Estafan’s restaurants that my buddy Bryan had recommended. He was right…the shredded chicken was to die for! The music was very, very loud…but fun. I actually joined Iris and had a Mojito. It was delicious. Never had one before but won’t be my last!

As we walked back to find a taxi, we saw this great store. They have fantastic jeans, jackets, shoes, and belts. Fantastic prices too. But they are open until 1 am every night, so I’m sure we’ll go back tomorrow night.

I didn’t eat all my food but brought it back to David for him to try. He loved it, too.

Been working in my room for hours now but going to bed soon. Last day of the video shoot tomorrow!

Jude

MONDAY, JANUARY 16^TH – FILMING IN THE MOORINGS, ISLAMORADA, KEY WEST, FL – NOT A HOLIDAY FOR US!

Forgot to mention one of the other challenges BEFORE we ever left for Miami. We booked our flights to arrive on Saturday the 14^th. Then a couple of days before departure, learned that we were supposed to begin filming early Saturday morning instead of Sunday morning! So, we had to change all our flights.

For a “minute”, departure from the hotel was set for 6 am. But since breakfast didn’t start until 7 am, the time was changed to 8 am departure again. I met Iris for breakfast and it was a new “staff” working the restaurant. It’s a very strange set up anyway. There is no “restaurant” inside the hotel – only couches and chairs and round tables. You have to eat outside which would be perfect except it’s been much too cold. The new waitress told Iris breakfast didn’t begin until 7:30 am and Iris corrected her. She finally took our order and I cannot understand why restaurants insist that their wait staff NOT write down orders but memorize the customers requests. We both ordered the same thing – coffee, egg white omelet with mushrooms, spinach, avocado and tomatoes – no cheese -- and wheat toast. When the order arrived, it was not egg whites so we sent it back. They brought it back with tomatoes and cheese! We told them just to bring the avocado, spinach and mushrooms separately…felt like I was back in Kuwait having “omelet surprise”!

Left at 8 am for the 1 hour 45 minute drive. The bus has wireless and I brought my computer with me. Was able to work the entire drive which was great. Not a holiday for my clients!

The place is absolutely spectacular. Very clear water and very expensive homes. They gave the video company a “rule book” on things we were not allowed to do. It turned cold again today and was very cloudy. Was FREEZING down on the beach where all the scenes were shot AND we had to shoot two videos today. “Hotel Angel” is still my favorite song on the project and we also filmed “Let Your Love Flow”. There were some really beautiful locations and would have been very enjoyable except for the weather. We had to keep waiting for the sun to come out to start shooting, so the pace was extremely slow. Broke for a catered lunch at 1 pm and we still had not even finished “Hotel Angel”. We finally finished up “Love Flow” at around 6 pm but still had to do an interview for the EPK. Didn’t finish that until almost 7 pm.

I had totally forgotten that one of my dearest friends lives near here – Steve Cole! He read my road report and busted me first thing this morning. I can’t believe I didn’t let him know I would be here so he could come see me. He did get us reservations for Joe’s Stone Crabs tonight which we had been unable to secure ourselves. He’s going to try and come by to say hello since we won’t be there until 9 pm!

The Bellamys wanted to go straight to the restaurant for dinner and not stop at the hotel because they were tired and hungry. The “girls” wanted to go to the hotel and change into nicer clothes but we got “over-ruled”. J Gerry decided he would rather eat at the hotel, so all the favors my friend pulled were for nothing. Then as we were leaving the island, Gerry decided we should all eat together and would join us. We arrived at the restaurant at around 8:30 pm and Steve was there to meet us. At least he’s still speaking to me! Still so embarrassed. Anyway, the restaurant does not seat the party until everyone has arrived. Steve talked them into letting the 6 of us sit down and assured the Maitre’D that the others would be there in a few minutes. A few minutes turned into 20 minutes, then 30 minutes. The waitress was NOT happy with us as there were a lot of people waiting for tables. David slipped her a large tip and she calmed down a bit but she had every reason to be upset. I was horrified that I had called in a favor from my friend and was probably causing problems for him with his “connection”. The rest of the party finally arrived at almost 9:30 pm. We had already eaten our starters and half the bread on the table. And, they showed up with one more person than we anticipated. The table was already crowded and no room to add another table, so two people had to sit at the end of the table together.

Good news is the food was amazing. I had a salad, sautéed spinach with garlic (no boyfriend to kiss tonight), and the Stone Crab. The crab claws were already cracked and were huge. Best I’ve ever had anywhere. Some of the Germans had never eaten crabs but quickly became “fans”. We were the last ones to leave the restaurant and you could tell everyone was happy to see us go!

Got in bed around 1 am and will be able to work out tomorrow before flying home. Universal came up with a title for the cd – “Simply The Best”. This works great for Germany and America because it’s the “best” songs included on the cd from the Bellamys and Gerry. I’m really excited about this project and think it’s going to be huge – not just in Germany, but lots of other countries, too. Fingers crossed!

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17^TH, FLIGHT BACK TO NASHVILLE:

Got up at 7 am and had to “force” myself not to go jogging again because I needed to work out with weights. Hard to do with beautiful weather (nicest day we’ve had, of course, since we’re leaving!) and the beach beckoning. There are a couple of “tents” (cabanas) by the beautiful outdoor pool with 2 treadmills, a bike, and a weight bench and weights. Got in a decent arm, leg, and ab workout.

Showered, packed and then met Iris for our final breakfast together until we meet up in Germany in March. This time, the waiter wrote down our order and got it right. Iris left at 10 am and I walked down the street and made some purchases for my grand babies. J The Bellamys and I departed at 12 noon – me to the Miami airport and them to Ft. Lauderdale. I had about 1 ½ hours before boarding my flight so I got some emails answered. My flight left on time and I had not checked the “weather” in Nashville. Should have. It was one of the small planes and I was in the single window seat in the Exit Row. We were supposed to land at 4:15 pm in Nashville but at 4:20 pm, we were still not making any progress toward landing. The last 1 ½ hours of the fight were horrible – really bad turbulence. Since I was sitting by myself, there was no one for me to hang onto – okay, claw their arm! I gripped the armrests and kept my eyes shut most of the time. At one point, I opened the window shade and dared to peak out and see what was happening. Not good. We were in the clouds for more than an hour and when we finally emerged, there were huge black clouds above us, then we were in a “clear” spot and huge black clouds below us. I was very, very happy to get on the ground – almost an hour later than scheduled. Either they took us a different route or we were in a holding pattern for a long time.

I’m home until next Wednesday when I fly to Chicago to meet up with the Lt. Dan Band for our trip with Gary Sinise to Kuwait – for the weekend. J

Jude