Wrong Room, Wrong Room Raider

Andrew Bernhardt, 23-year-old guitarist of OB band Cape May, will be featured on an episode of MTV's Room Raiders. Bernhardt was selected for the program after Dusty Paul, Cape May's drummer, submitted an application at the Fashion Valley mall. Bernhardt's band mates felt the show would be an opportunity for free publicity. "They [production company Granada] explained to me that it is the third most televised show in the world," Bernhardt said.

The episode features three local female contestants competing to win a date with Bernhardt. The women watch footage of Bernhardt performing with his band, but Bernhardt is kept in the dark as to the identity of the girls. He examines the contestants' bedrooms, using their personal belongings and living habits to make his choice. The girls do the same at Bernhardt's living space, the house in OB where three of the four band members live, concentrating on the living room/rehearsal space, which is also the bedroom of lead singer/guitarist Andre Che, not Bernhardt. "The band room is more interesting than my room," Bernhardt said, "and it represents myself better."

Once Bernhardt had chosen a winner, the Room Raiders camera crew filmed their "date." "Usually [Granada] don't even [send the contestants] on a date. That goes right along with the low budget. For our so-called date, we just sat in the back yard and I was teaching her how to play guitar. She was chunking through a G chord, and then I played her one of my songs," Bernhardt said.

Even though the two had similar lifestyles and tastes in music, the show fizzled, and Bernhardt hasn't spoken to her since the day of the taping. The future of the footage now lies in the hands of the show's director, "Trip," who, according to Che, "wouldn't make eye-contact with anyone."

Granada taped an entire performance of Cape May's song "Rock City," which, along with their previous video, "Blackballer," may appear on the broadcast tentatively set to air on August 11 at 4:30 p.m.