Video Vixen

It's not often you (or specifically me) get the chance to be an extra in a music video. (Sure, I stumbled into a video shoot for Ashlee Simpson when I lived in Las Vegas, but it was purely by accident - I swear.) So when a good friend called and asked if I wanted to be an extra in Leverage star Christian Kane's new country music video I jumped at the opportunity. When would a music video shoot in Portland ever again?

So last Saturday my friend and I dressed in our best "country - gothic" garb and headed to Dantes, a shady bar downtown. (Note: despite my Texan heritage, my best "country-gothic" garb ended up being my sequin Rodarte for Target tunic, black leggings and boots). We were hearded into tents with other extras, most of whom seemed to be huge fans of the show Leverage (which happens to film here in Portland). They all screamed when stars of the show would walk through the parking lot we were being held, including the video's director Timothy Hutton.

After a few hours of waiting in the hot sun, we were handed fake bottles of beer and given our instruction - head inside the bar and dance/sing/scream along to the music. Seems easy right? Well, not when you have to do the take 7 or 8 times, with a bunch of hot, hungry, sweaty extras (one poor girl even passed out!). But I'll admit, it was a lot of fun and I ended up enjoying the song (House Rules) quite a bit. Here are some photos from our long day:

Christian with his "groupies" (aka. cage dancers from Dantes)

Performing with the band

Director Timothy Hutton

The absolute highlight of my day was seeing Leverage star Beth Riesgraf. Not because Parker is my favorite charecter on the show, but because she was toting around a black Rebecca Minkoff Mac clutch. My friend and I couldn't stop staring at the bag (I ordered the exact same one in ivory just days before!). I got the chance to tell Beth how much I loved it when she walked by me at one point. We were so impressed that my friend ended up ordering the same bag the next day. How's that for marketing?

After a long day of sun, fake beer and country music we headed home. It ended up being a fun experience and I look forward to seeing the video on CMT.