Photo by Jeanne RiceJeremy Pfeiffer wants to create serious entertainment in the world of public-access TV, a nether region that, no thanks to Wayne's World, has always been looked upon as something of a weirdo's basement. His show is OCA, which Pfeiffer hopes will provide a forum for OC rock bands to play their normally very loud songs in an acoustic style. (OCA debuted Oct. 29 and can be seen in some 140,000 Time Warner cable homes in northwest and central Orange County.) “I want to give back to the scene,” says the 25-year-old, who plays drums for Huntington Beach's Flippin' Whiteys. “I want to bring the scene together.” Of course, this has been tried before. Anyone remember similarly well-intentioned OC-band TV shows like Huntington Street Television? Or PTV, Jim “Poorman” Trenton's foray on late-night UPN? Or even the more successful, late, lamented Are-Oh-Vee, which ended its 13-year, 500-episode run in February? The focus of OCA, though, will be on live performances as opposed to videos, which can easily lead to unintended technical gaffes or amateurish, herky-jerky camerawork. But Pfeiffer promises OCA will have high-quality production values, assisted by some good ol' smoke and mirrors. He records the entire show using digital camcorders and puts special filters over the lens to make each completed program look as if it were shot on high-grade film. He also employs a lot of crafty editing tricks to make the whole shebang look like an intimate living-room session, something that wouldn't look out of place on VH1. The production costs less than $1,000 per episode (which means no one gets paid, baby), and Pfeiffer raises the money by selling advertising to skate shops and tattoo parlors. The first episode featured local reggae/rock band HB Surroundsound, who for 30 minutes played unplugged versions of their tunes, such as “Sirius” and “Songs of Redemption,” and then were peppered with standard what-makes-you-tick? questions during a follow-up interview session. New OCA episodes will debut in January and are set to feature such local punk bands as Death on Wednesday. As for future shows, Pfeiffer says most of them are already booked, but if you're in a band and still interested, he can be reached at Pf********@ao*.com. (The first episode of OCA will be repeated on Nov. 17 and 19). (Andrew Asch)
LAST SXSW CHANCE
If you're the type who procrastinates until the last possible goldurn second on everything, then let this be our friendly reminder that the final postmark deadline for OC/Long Beach bands to send in their applications for South By Southwest 2002—slated for March 13-17 in, as always, bee-yooty-ful Austin, Texas—is Nov. 9. So if you're perusing your copy of the Weeklyand you're reading this on a Friday, that means the deadline is . . . TODAY! AAUUGGHH! Quick, what's the damn website address? Where can I download an application? Who do I have to blow at the Weekly to get my band picked, since you guys get to choose one this year? (E-mail lurid, lascivious inquiries to rk***@oc******.com.) (Rich Kane)
