No 16-Year-Old Girls

“I’ve been offering free music-video production, but either the bands suck or the singers who respond are 16-year-old girls,” says Shannon Wafford of Snow Productions, a local production company.

“I ran ads in the Reader and [on] craigslist to do free video, so I can get a good demo. The only people who reply are bands or singers that…are not original, don’t have a CD recorded, don’t have a complete band, are death metal, or are under 18. If I’m going to do $5000 worth of work for free, I need to get the best all-around demo out of it.”

The 40-year-old Wafford grew up in San Diego and played in an early band with Ernie Longoria of Sprung Monkey. Wafford currently directs and coproduces the local cable show Music Patrol, an offshoot of mylocal band.com.

“They decided to start a TV show that highlights bands and venues in San Diego,” says Wafford. “We can get 30 minutes of airtime for cheap late at night, which is perfect for our demo graphic. We have some demo DVDs, and they’re working on getting sponsors.”

Wafford has produced concert performances by P.O.D., Sprung Monkey, and the Iron Maidens (“With Michelle Meldrum, just before she died this year”). He also filmed a Las Vegas show featuring Siegfried and Roy (“Before the tiger got pissed and mauled Roy”) and the 1998 Super Bowl performance by the Beach Boys in San Diego. About that last gig, Wafford says, “They didn’t even have their electric guitars plugged in.”

Performers interested in the free video production can contact SDProducer@aol.com.

– Jay Allen Sanford