Nothing excites me more than when I have the opportunity to stumble upon a new and refreshing blog. Our former Yow Yow! interviewee Molly Young was recently featured on Sunday Routine – a blog that gives us a peek into the Sunday routine of New Yorkers – and of course we had to feature it.
Check out her post here.
The other day, Yow Yow! had the wonderful opportunity to interview the lovely freelance writer Molly Young and today she revealed to us all today that she had actually just done a recent profile on actor Zac Efron for Elle. Molly is notorious for her profiles and since I’ve never shared with you all any of her pieces before, I thought now was a better time than any.
Check out her profile on our former Disney heartthrob here.
For the past several years, I have been following a blogger who goes by the name of Molly Young (AKA Magic Molly) – Molly is an extremely talented writer who freelances for GQ and New York Magazine, but on top of that she’s also an employee working for one of my favorite brands – Warby Parker – over in New York. Over the last few years, I have followed her writing, but also pieces in which she has been featured in by others who are just as intrigued with Molly as I am. She’s a gorgeous 20-something who has a way with her words, but is also just witty as hell. Enjoy!
Q: What does a day in the life of Molly Young look like?
Molly: Wake up early. Get an issue of the New York Times, walk to the office, and make myself breakfast. Usually peanut butter on crackers and a monstrous cup of coffee. Then work-work-work. Everyone works long hours, so I break it up by going for walks throughout the day. After work, I’ll go get a drink with a friend, walk home, read a book, do some writing, attempt a crossword puzzle, fall asleep. That’s a typical weekday. I have a very PG-rated schedule.
Q: Can you tell us about a piece that you are working on right now and who it is for?
Molly: I’m writing a piece about corporate culture for the New York Times.
Q: How long have you been writing and when and how did you develop a passion for it?
Molly: I started writing as soon as I started reading. It was the only way to solve a problem that I kept encountering, which was the problem of reading a good book and then having it end. I hated when good books ended! So I started writing sequels. It seemed like a rational way to address the issue. I had no concept of authorship—the stories I read seemed like common property, so I was happy to pick up their plots where the authors left off.
Q: As a freelancer you probably accept stories to write and throw out your own pitches. How do you become inspired with a pitch?
Molly: The process of creating a pitch goes like this: 1) Identify something that interests me; 2) Figure out if it is relevant to other people. That’s all. If an idea passes both tests, I go into research mode.
Q: You work at one of my favorite brands – Warby Parker in NYC – what is your role and what are your favorite things about working there?
Molly: I work on content and creative strategy for Warby Parker. There are a million things to love about the company, but I’ll pick a few: the people who work here are smart and kind, the products are beautiful, and for every pair of glasses sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need.
Q: What are your favorite pair of glasses that you own from them?
Molly: I wear the Zagg in Tennessee Whiskey, because they make me feel like a cartoon scientist. My work ethic seems to improve when I wear them. (Not joking.)
Q: Molly, I heard that you were a San Francisco native! I’ve become fond over the city in the last year, can you let us in on some of your favorite spots?
Molly: Yes! I’ll tell you my favorite way to spend an afternoon. Start at Green Apple Books on Clement Street for used books (be sure to explore the cramped, dusty sections upstairs—especially the Sociology section, which is filled with crazy shit.) Next, walk a few blocks down the street to Good Luck Dim Sum, at 736 Clement Street. Ask for one order of har gau (shrimp dumplings). Then, reverse your course and proceed to Toy Boat Dessert Cafe, at 401 Clement Street. Get an espresso and some ice cream, read your books, and stare at all the freaky Pee-Wee Herman toys on display. If you have any energy left, walk to Goodwill at 820 Clement and find a pair of cool orange platform shoes for $2.
Q: Everyone has always advised me that when you move to a completely new place for the first time, life can be a little bit rough. Did you have any struggles when you left the west coast for the east?
Molly: Of course. I was constantly lonely. It helps to sit yourself down and say, “Self, you’re going to feel low for a while and it will take time to adjust. But don’t worry, it’s normal and it’s temporary.”
Q: When I first came across your blog a few years back, you went by Magic Molly. How did that nickname come about?
Molly: I started teaching myself rudimentary HTML in grade school, and my first website was designed for my family’s viewing pleasure. I called it “Magic Molly” because that’s the first thing that occurred to my 6th-grade mind. Now I’m stuck with it. Ha! But I have to admit, it pleases me to have this remnant of my 12-year-old self trailing me around. She was a weird kid.
Q: I’ve read several articles in which you’ve been called an “It girl.” When you hear that, what do you think?
Molly: It reminds me of the IT department of my office, so I reflexively read it as “Information Technology girl”, which is way cooler than what it actually means.
Q: Quick! What was your favorite article to write ever?
Molly: For a piece called “Leading Mannequins” in GQ, I flew out to Los Angeles and immersed myself in the world of Hollywood fashion stylists for a week. It was like being an alien. I love exploring pockets of the economy and figuring out how they work.
Q: Is there ever an interview that you’ve done that you wish you could have had a do-over on?
Molly: I did a Longform podcast recently and couldn’t bear to listen to more than two minutes of my voice. The podcast appeared in my iTunes, I started listening, and instantly did a full-body cringe: that’s what I sound like? Oh god….
Q: Since you’re a blogger yourself, do you have any other favorite blogs? If so, what are they?
Molly: The blogs I read are mostly aggregators of longform pieces—sites like Byliner or Longform. I’ve also been been combing through Dwight Garner’s pieces for the New York Times and admiring how energetic and precise his writing is.
Q: Molly, this year on Yow Yow! we are focusing on the life of a 20-something and being a recent post grad transitioning out of college. What advice do you have for young adults our age and moving into the adult world?
Molly: Find a company or a publication that you love and do whatever it takes to get in the door. It doesn’t matter where you start. Working at a place (and with people) you respect will bring out the best in you.
Also, avoid journalism school. Here’s why.
Q: At your age, many would consider you an incredibly accomplished writer. What is next for you? Are there any future endeavors that you would like to pursue outside of writing?
Molly: I’d love to continue pouring my heart and head into Warby Parker. We want to prove that businesses can be clean, lean, smart, and responsible. I spend every day working to show that companies can do good in the world—and of course, when I get the chance, I love writing the occasional article too!
Check out Molly’s blog here and follow her on Twitter @magicmolly
I am so thrilled to introduce Yow Yow’s latest interview today featuring the lovely and inspiring SuChin Pak. Readers, here at Yow Yow! we love our MTV. For those of you who have been with us for awhile, you probably remember me interviewing Liz Lee, former Real World-er Chet Cannon, and the boys of The Buried Life previously. It has always been my goal to highlight interesting characters in these interviews and to feature individuals who were accomplishing great things in their lives. We took a break from interviews for a year, but I am so excited to bring them back and start a new series of interviews surrounding strong and successful women that I look up to! With that said, let’s just get into it.
Q: You currently hold a number of roles such as working with DailyCandy and Hester Street Fair not to mention being a newlywed and a new mother. Congratulations, by the way! If you could give yourself an official job title, what would it be?
SuChin: Can I have 2 titles?!?! I’m the Chief Correspondent for DailyCandy and Co-founder/Curator of Hester Street Fair.
Q: What does a day in the life of SuChin Pak look like?
SuChin: Because I juggle so many different projects, every day is a rotation of either DailyCandy, Hester or other stories I’m pitching. I get up in the morning and spend some time with my son and then the rest of the day is spent on the computer and conference calls mostly. I’m usually putting together a story for one of my video series on DailyCandy. Currently Coveting is a weekly video series where I talk about the things I’m most obsessed with that week; 5 Questions is another video franchise on DailyCandy where I interview someone I really admire in fashion, film or pop culture; I have a regular interview column on DailyCandy Kids talking to mom-preneurs who are successful at juggling everything and then I do segments for The Today Show, E! News, Access Hollywood and other press outlets for DailyCandy. There’s a lot of researching involved which because DailyCandy is all about food, fashion and fun…is a pretty sweet deal! Hester Street Fair is launching our 4th season on April 27 in New York, so right now, it’s crazy time! We’re combing through the best vendors, putting together the roster for the season and generally brainstorming fun ideas and events we can do at the market. We are also launching our 2nd season of Hester Nights which is a weekly nighttime food market at the Eventi Hotel in Midtown, Manhattan. PHEW! Plus of course, I have a new baby and somewhere in there I try to stay in touch with friends…oh and I’m traveling back and forth between NY and LA every month….now that I’m thinking about it, I should probably slow down!!
Q: You started the Hester Street Fair a few years ago, can you tell us more about this and why it is so important to you?
SuChin: The Hester Street Fair is an outdoor specialty goods and artisanal food market in the Lower East Side of New York. 3 friends (including my brother, Suhyun) and I started this project in 2010 because we were passionate about our Lower East Side community and wanted a space where people could gather, connect and have fun! We have always been obsessed with flea markets and as the number of markets started to dwindle in the city, we really wanted to revive this idea of connecting people to the products and food they buy in a real personal way. It’s become a launching pad for small businesses—a sort of testing ground for new ideas and new entrepreneurs. We had no idea that it was going to turn into such a passion project for so many other people. My whole career, whether it’s on camera or with this market has always been about giving people a platform to express their passions. It doesn’t matter if I’m interviewing a band about their new music or talking to a cool designer for DailyCandy or helping a new business launch with their first product at Hester Street Fair…the mission is the same—to give other people a chance to pursue their passion in life.
Q: Hester Street Fair will open again at the end of the month. Are you doing anything differently than in past years? What can we expect?
SuChin: We focus on getting the best vendors, the best products, the best food possible every year at Hester. We only have 65 slots, so you can imagine there are a lot more who apply that don’t fit for one reason or another. The market is different every week because we try hard to rotate in as many new vendors as possible. So, we strive to be a “different” market every week!! Expect more ethnic street foods, expect more curated vintage and handmade and we also have a lot of natural beauty stuff in the line up as well this year.
Q: SuChin, you first got your breakout start through MTV. How did you feel about being the Asian face of the network? Was there any pressure tied to that and did you know that you would become such a role model?
SuChin: I never feel pressure because I’m Asian American because there’s nothing contrived about that identity…I am who I am and all of my experiences are filtered through that lens of being a child of immigrant parents. As far as role model….I just try to do what I love with integrity and intelligence…sometimes I’m better at it than other days, but if that’s something that’s inspiring to someone else, than I feel honored.
Q: Through MTV, we had a chance to see you in a number of roles – not just reporting the news. We saw you in the series My Life (Translated), working with Teen Mom, True Life, and even during election season in the past. You have always been an advocate for young adults and you have seen them tackle some hard issues. What is the most important lesson that you have learned through these experiences and what advice do you have to offer young adults as they graduate college and enter the real world?
SuChin: More than anything, I’m passionate about young people and the choices they make, the lives they lead and how to support them. I think the best advice is to be open to everything. Be open to new experiences, people, opportunities, projects….the more out of your lane it is, the better. One, you never know where these roads will take you. I don’t know how many times “random” events have come around to bring me work. Secondly, getting good at thinking on your feet, growing and expanding your limits is a muscle that you should develop early on while you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Later on, you’ll be too afraid to take chances if you don’t do it early on. Everything, every person, every moment is an opportunity to learn something which will be of use to you immediately or years from now. If you welcome life that way, then there are no failures, there are no wrong decisions…challenges are opportunities to learn. And one more thing…at the end of the day, let it go and start the next day fresh. Whatever mistakes you made, whatever success you had, learn from it and then let it go. Don’t get stuck on the past, approach each day with a blank slate.
Q: Since you worked with MTV for so long, you must have impeccable music taste. Tell us who you’re listening to these days.
SuChin: I have horrible musical tastes. Ironically, I had never even seen MTV until after I got the job. My parents, like so many other immigrant parents believed that “paying” for television was sacrilegious. I love pop music. Bruno Mars, Mackelmore, Jay-Z…it’s about as mainstream as it gets.
Q: There is a common stereotype among Asian immigrant parents that their children are meant to grow up to be doctors, lawyers, or engineers. How did your parents support your career and did you always know that you wanted to go into journalism?
SuChin: My parents didn’t support my career at first. To be honest none of us knew until MTV, that this was even going to be a career for me. This is the thing I always say, and maybe it’s not an opinion that you may agree with…but if you have a passion for something in life that goes against your parents’ wishes, standing your ground with them will be the first challenge that you’ll have to overcome. If you can’t stand up to your parents on how you want to live your life, then standing up to your boss, your colleagues, the world is going to be a long uphill battle. You don’t need their approval, but you can earn their respect. Maybe not today, but once they see that you are working hard at something every day, they will learn to respect you.
Q: You were recently hired on as a correspondent for DailyCandy. This role is very different from what you have been used to working with television and being in a fast-paced environment with live news. What do you love most about this new role?
SuChin: I love that I get to be creative every day and to create every day. The DailyCandy team and I come up with a fun idea and then it’s in production. The wait time for approvals edits, etc., in TV time moves so much slower than life online. I love that I get to cover fashion, food and young emerging talent. I also love working for a company that’s mostly run by women for women. There’s something incredibly nurturing and empowering about that.
Q: Since you are working for a blog like Daily Candy, do you have any favorite blogs that you like to read on your own time and if so what are they?
SuChin:
Q: You have got all of these projects under your belt – how did these projects all come about? Are these things you always dreamed of doing or did they happen organically?
SuChin: It always happens organically through people I know or worked with. There has only been one time in my life that I got a job just out of an audition. DailyCandy happened because of Hester Street Fair. They loved the curation and the idea that we were supporting emerging talent which is basically DailyCandy on a bigger scale. It just goes to show you, if you follow your passions, even if it seems a little off your path, it will come full circle. And of course be nice to everyone you work with…!
Q: SuChin, you have been an inspiring role model to me ever since I was 11 years old and seeing you on MTV News. I’d love to have a career like yours. What advice do you have to give for young adults like myself hoping to follow in your footsteps?
SuChin: There’s a whole world out there waiting to hear your stories. You don’t have to wait for a big network to find you…you can launch your career from your laptop. If you want to write, write! If you want to be in front of the camera, start filming and posting videos! If you want to direct films, go ahead and start now! Learning your craft every day, practicing and critiquing yourself is the best way to get really good at what you love to do, so when the opportunity comes your way, you’ll be ready to take it on.
Q: Well SuChin, you’ve done almost everything! What’s next for you?
SuChin: I have no idea…but I can’t wait!
To learn more about the Hester Street Fair – visit their official website here.
4 years. Can you believe it? It’s surreal to me that I’ve kept Yow Yow! going for this long, but at the same time having Yow Yow! is also kind of like my very own personal diary. It’s kind of cool! I get to look back on some bad writing, some bad photos (or photos that are no longer photos) and some really embarrassing moments in history.
At the same time, I’ve also had the opportunity to witness AMAZING things in history. This year, Yow Yow! didn’t change much, but I did. I graduated from college y’all! As a small child, that day seems so far away – light years away! I’ve got my degree. I found myself a big girl job. I fled from Seattle – never thought that would happen either, but it had to someday. 2012 was good to me and 2013 (I hope) will be even better for us – me and Yow Yow!
So let’s get to the numbers, shall we?
Stats from 2011 will be on the right and italicized while stats from 2012 will be left and bold.
750,119 total visits to Yow Yow! – – – – – – – – – – - 1,128,873+ (since the day isn’t over yet and this does not include up until New Year’s Eve) total visits to Yow Yow!
*In just 2012, there were 377,996+ visits to Yow Yow!
5,510 Posts, 1,153 Comments 8,763 Tags – – – – – – – – – - 7,067 Posts 2,187 Comments 10,229Tags (cumulative)
Top Post of 2012 – “Hipster Disney Princesses In Real Life” – 43,998
Top Post Written in 2012 – “Hipster Disney Princesses In Real Life” – 43,998
Busiest Month in Terms of Views – January 2011 (31,761 views) – – – – – – – — October 2012 (49,821 views)
Average Visits Per Day – February 20122 (1,060 views) – – – – - – – – - October 2012 (1,607 views)
*Busiest Day – October 5, 2010 (4,239 views)
Credits + References
Worked with
Festivals Covered
*We hit 1 million hits y’all!
*And I finally got to meet one of my interviewees in person – Miss Euna Kho (Bearbot)
*Yow Yow! also participated in the blackout back in January for SOPA
This year, the statistics behind Yow Yow! have served as a great resource for me in deciding which direction to take the blog. The stats may not have been as high as they were last year, but regardless the blog is still trucking on and you know what? I’m proud of what it’s become after three years. I’m still enjoying writing for it and if you guys are still enjoying the content – then that’s all that matters to me.
Stats from 2010 will be on the right and italicized while stats from 2011 will be left and bold.
465,007 total visits to Yow Yow! – - – - – - – - – - - 750,119+ (since the day isn’t over yet and this does not include tomorrow) total visits to Yow Yow!
*In just 2011, there were 285,112 visits to Yow Yow!
3,538 Posts, 1,163 Comments 6,534 Tags – - – - – - – - – - 5,510 Posts 1,523 Comments 8,763 Tags (cumulative)
Top Post of 2011 – “Meet: Cathy Nguyen” – 18,460
Top Post Written in 2011 – “Elizabeth Taylor Dies of Congestive Heart Failure” – 3,592
Busiest Month in Terms of Views – December 2011 (31,200 views) – - – - – - – — January 2011 (31,761 views)
Average Visits Per Day – December 2010 (1,018 views) – - – - - – - – - February 2011 (1,060 views)
*Busiest Day – October 5, 2010 (4,239 views)
Interviews Conducted With:
Actor Chris Smith
MTV reality series star Liz Lee
Duncan Penn and Ben Nemtin from The Buried Life
Credits + References
Worked with St. Martin’s Press
Worked with Teen Vogue
Worked with Clean & Clear
Worked with Knock Knock gifts
Featured by Q13 FOX News
Referenced by Outside Lands Music Festival
I don’t make this up. This is in the exact order and I’m going strictly by the numbers on this one.
And there you have it!
In 2009, I was just about ready to give up on my MTV and throw in the towel for good. Frustrated by a successful season of guidos and guiedettes, I had lost any hope that I had in the network to bring in shows that would speak to my generation. What I wanted to see was real people sparking motivation and inspiration among young adults my age. As a sophomore in college back then, I felt comfortable in my routine of going to class, going to my job, and writing for this blog, but is that all that makes up a life? That’s not all I wanted to make up MY life. Life is too short. It’s too short to do the things you hate because you have to. It’s too short to not take the risks on things that you want to do. Are we using our time wisely? That is essentially what The Buried Life is all about.
The four guys from Victoria, BC made up their list of 100 things they wanted to do before they died and after doing so, I imagine that they just shrugged their shoulders and asked, “Why not?” The guys have crossed off 75% of their list and have added more items expanding their list past 100. I have to also note that their list includes things like: “Crash a party at the Playboy mansion,” “Play basketball with President Obama,” and Deliver a baby” among other things. And guess what? They’ve done it. They have traveled through Canada and America in a purple bus named Penelope crossing things off their list, but their project isn’t just for them. Every time they achieve something from their list, they help another person cross something off of theirs.
Having the opportunity to interview The Buried Life guys was something that I have wanted for Yow Yow! even before the show had aired. I was blown away by their project and have a great deal respect for them and what their doing. Spending the day with them when they were here at Seattle University is an experience that I will never forget. They are the type of guys that you would want as your friends and they are exactly the same in real life as they are on their television series. Below is the transcribed interview that I had with Buried Life cast members Ben Nemtin and Duncan Penn, which originally started as just audio using my FlipCam until the guys decided that they wanted to film each other back and forth answering the questions. If you’re wondering why the camera’s so jerky and the footage is so raw – that’s why! It’s cause it wasn’t planned. From the interview you’ll learn who is the messiest to live with, what the guys would be doing if they weren’t pursuing The Buried Life and what is in store for them next.
Q: First off, I’d like to welcome you to our campus and thank you guys so much for being here!
Ben: Thank you.
Duncan: Thanks for having us.
Q: It’s been almost two years since we were first introduced to you by MTV and the project has definitely been going on for much longer than that. What did this journey look like before you guys had the television series in terms of funding, transportation and support from your family and friends?
Ben: I would say that it’s changed in terms of exposure, but we try to keep it as close to how we started as humanely possible. We made a commitment to each other when we started the show that we were going to do our best not to change anything and so we’ve had to keep each other in check, but we have the same crew. We’re in control of the show. We edit it and we choose the music and we hire everybody. We’re really lucky to be able to do all of that. Our mantra is that we make stuff that we think our friends would like and that’s what we’ve always done and so that’s what we try to stick to.
Q: You guys are obviously pretty close friends, but close friends or best friends don’t always make the best roommates. Was it tough to be on the road for so long? Did you guys ever get on each other’s nerves?
Duncan: Well, Jonnie and I are brothers, but we’re all like brothers and we fight like brothers. It’s actually unbelievable how well we do get along, I would say considering we lived in the back of a bus for so long. Dave’s really messy – as you can imagine, but we get along very well. That’s the thing – you know – we weren’t best friends coming into this. We met very serendipitously and have become very close and have been through a lot of big ups and huge downs together… in the trenches.
Q: I imagine sometimes this journey has to be difficult. I mean you’re meeting strangers along the way and everyone has a story to tell and sometimes those stories are really difficult to grasp and there are so many backgrounds – some emotional, like Sam. At the end of the day, what makes it all worth it for you?
Ben: I think what makes it worth it is just seeing the response and the impact it has on people that we’ll never meet – random emails from someone saying things like, “I was suicidal and I saw the show and now I’m not.” You get one of those and that makes it all sort of worth it. Also, we’re doing everything we’ve ever wanted to do. This kind of project has turned into our lives and that’s something that’s just really really cool.
Q: You guys obviously have great taste in music –
Duncan: Obviously.
Q: You were at Capitol Hill Block Party and you choose your own music for your show. Are there any up and coming bands that you would recommend for Quadstock?
Duncan: Yeah, Tupac. It’s just this up and coming band – a lot of urban stuff.
Ben: I really like The Tallest Man on Earth? He sounds exactly like Bob Dylan.
Q: This isn’t your first college tour, but I want to know what motivated you guys to have this college tour in the first place?
Duncan: You know what? We’ve been speaking at schools and universities from the very beginning. Ben and I – when we were first starting out – used to go speak to ESL classes at the local university for 40 bucks just to make some money and to talk about the project. But for us, the speaking part is really rewarding because it’s a chance to kind of talk…television is a very one-sided conversation – and going and meeting the people and actually asking the question, “What do you want to do before you die?” is a way to have a conversation and meet the people who are watching the show and are interested in the project. It’s been really rewarding to make those connections.
Q: Before you guys started this project, you were all students and you all had jobs, but if you weren’t doing The Buried Life, what would you be doing?
Ben: Oh that’s a good question! If we weren’t doing The Buried Life…
Duncan: I’d be an astronaut. Maybe an astronaut cowboy.
Q: Can you describe what that is?
Duncan: Yeah, it’s basically an astronaut. You seen cowboy movies?
Q: Uh…a couple.
Duncan: It’s basically like cowboys on the moon, but you’re an astronaut and you’re mostly just doing lassos in zero gravity. Full time.
Ben: And I would be something like nuclear physicist or a brain surgeon, uh something that uses a portion of my abilities, you know?
Duncan: A rocket sociologist.
Ben: A rocket scientist
Duncan: You’d be into rocket scientry.
Ben: Rocket surgery and stuff like that – and such.
Q: I noticed that the most recent item checked off your list was #116 Design a Shoe. It looks like you guys are expanding pass 100 so what does this mean? Have you already completed your 100 things off your list? Are you guys going to 200 now?
Duncan: That’s a good question; I’ve had a lot of people ask. The thing about the list is that it’s not necessarily about the 100 things. Things drop off the list; we add things to the list. It’s always been about going after the things that you’re truly passionate about so we’re always adding things to the list. Design a shoe was very exciting for us and that idea spawned from seeing the little kids walking around in their LA Gear’s that light up and being like, ‘Why can’t adults have sick light up shoes?’ and that is why we made those.
Q: In what ways has this experience affected the way you look at life today?
Ben: How is th- you mean The Buried Life?
Q: Yeah.
Ben: I think it’s totally changed our perspective. I mean – it’s change my perspective. The fact that you can just do whatever it is you want to do. There’s really nothing that you can’t do. If you work hard enough and you want it bad enough, you make it happen.
Q: I learned yesterday some kind of disappointing news that MTV would not be renewing your third season. What were your reactions to that and what plans do you have for The Buried Life in the future with or without MTV?
Ben: Good question. Well, we’ve been talking with MTV about it for awhile and we didn’t really want to make the same show again. And so we actually just signed a deal today with them to develop a new series so that’s why Dave and Jonnie are in Vancouver right now – they’re filming. Basically that happened today and we’re working with them to kind of reformat it and play with some stuff. So I mean, yeah, we’re not going anywhere. But it’s good because The Buried Life has always been stepping it up and going the next level so that’s what it is for us – it’s like what’s the next level for the show and that’s what we’re working on right now.
Q: Great, I’m glad to hear it. I have no doubt in your guys’ success and I think you guys are going to continue to do great things and inspire people all over the world.
Ben and Duncan: Thank you
Q: Are you still in contact with the people you’ve helped along your way?
Duncan: We’ve actually made some really close friends over the whole thing and it’s been a privilege to be a part of a lot of those stories – talking about Sam and Laban tonight. After the episode was finished, we had the privilege of watching their relationship as it kind of fostered. It’s funny, we just did four speaking engagements and we had somebody that was in the episode in each one of them – somebody that we had helped so we’re always seeing them and it’s pretty cool. And Ben’s really close with Lexi – who he helped in –
Ben: Minnesota
Duncan: Minnesota. Rochester, Minnesota.
Q: What was that one about again?
Ben: She wanted to make it okay for it to talk about depression in her hometown. And I met this rock and I helped the rock and we still – I’m in contact with it all the time.
Duncan: Yeah, the rock really wanted to rock and roll and so Ben uh –
Ben: …gave it a little nudge
Duncan: …gave it a little roll. It’s a true story.
*****
Thank you so much Ben and Duncan! We can’t wait to see what you guys do next and we hope to see you very soon!
The act of transcribing the 11 minute interview with The Buried Life guys has begun.
Started at 10:47
Taking a break at 11:28
Only have gotten through 6 minutes and 38 seconds of the interview.
This ish don’t come easy y’all.
I don’t like the idea of writing a post and then forgetting about it once it’s published. One of the things I love most about my jobs/projects and even writing for this blog is having the opportunity to check in with some of the people that I’ve worked with in the past. I like to hear when others are doing new things and making progress because it’s the same thing we all go through. It’s exciting!
So the one update I have for you today comes from a former Yow Yow! interviewee named John West. His entire first album can now be streamed on Spotify! It’s one of my favorites and makes for a great study sesh soundtrack.
that yesterday’s interview with…
If you’ve been following Yow Yow! for awhile, then you know that this has been something that I have been wanting to do for almost close to two years. Before the show came out in January 2012, I spent that winter getting in contact with the guys and exchanging a few emails back and forth to set something up. Before we knew it, the show premiered and almost instantly, things started taking off for the four guys from Victoria, BC. That had been the last time I had talked to them until yesterday when I had the opportunity to be involved with our Student Activities in bringing them to our campus to share the story on their journey, how their project got started and the people they’ve met along the way.
Some highlights from today:
Overly excited girls outside of Campion Ballroom freaking out over the guysIf you’ve ever watched the series and thought to yourself “These guys are hilarious – they seem like people I’d be friends with,” – you are absolutely right. They are exactly how they appear on television – BIG kids with even bigger hearts. Katie, Cameron and I had a fantastic time spending most of our afternoon with them and I am so appreciative for events like this on campus. If the guys are coming to a city near you – check their tour schedule because after this tour, they’ve got another one – I strongly urge you to go because you’re going to hear some incredible stories from them and laugh your head off.
After next week, I’ll begin transcribing our 11-minute interview and maybe find a way to post up some behind-the-scenes footage for you as well! You’ll also find out which Buried Life cast member is the messiest, what inanimate object they have recently been keeping in touch with AND what plans the guys have in store for The Buried Life now that we’ve learned a season three is not in the works. Keep checking back for updates!
For pictures from last night’s event, click here
Yow Yow! appreciates brooding Ben.
Or rather…today is the day! I don’t want to jinx anything, but if all goes well, then Yow Yow! will have a new “Meet:” post with some people that I have been waiting a very long time to interview. The questions are refined. I feel focused. I know way more information than I need to, but that’s alright.
Wish me luck!
I think I have a few people in mind I’d like to contact, but does anyone have any suggestions?
Last year, my roommate and I were obsessed with our TV time. We had our scheduled shows to watch almost every night and if for some reason we had to miss an episode, her and I would stream it together from my laptop the day after. One night during TV hour, I caught a promo for MTV’s new series “My Life As Liz.” Liz Lee was a high school senior from a city in Texas with hair as red as Hayley Williams. She wasn’t a part of the mean girls, though she once hung out with them. She wasn’t a mathlete, a prep, a jock, or a sexually active band geek, though she does enjoy singing! Liz and her best friends would actually prefer to call themselves the “Nerd Herd.” The show revolved around her life, her relationships, and the end of her senior year in high school, but basically what you need to know is that this girl is badass. Liz is totally a girl that I would have hung out with in high school and I think that’s probably one of the reasons why I adored the show. Although the series was shot with reality television style camera-work and editing, the show is completely unscripted. As the season went on, I became more interested in trying to reach out to Liz for an interview on Yow Yow, but unfortunately wasn’t able to. It took me a year, but I’ve finally gotten my interview! Two weeks ago, Liz and I finally had the chance to speak with each other on the phone (my second phone interview since Brendan Leonard.) where she filled me in on her first year of college, her first season shooting My Life As Liz, and now her second season, which premieres tonight on MTV at 11PM after Teen Mom 2.
Q: Hi Liz! First off, how old are you and where are you from?
Liz: I am 19, and I am from Burleson, Texas.
Q: How did you acquire your own show? Did MTV approach you or did you approach them?
L: MTV was shooting a pilot for another show at my school focusing on my school’s journalism program. (Supposedly a spin off of The Paper) The producers interviewed me and the test shoot morphed into my own show.
Q: Prior to forming a contract with them, did you have any hesitations about letting MTV into your life or did any of your family/friends have any hesitations?
L: Before shooting season one, my family was concerned about me being in the public eye and living out my high school experience in such an open way. They were only familiar with reality shows that involved drinking and partying, which also concerned them. They wanted to make sure that my show was positive and reflected my life and the situations encountered by my friends on the show in an accurate and positive way.
Q: Looking back on it now, how do you feel about those hesitations? Are they still there or how have they been resolved?
L: The hesitations have been resolved because they were able to see that my show is of a different breed. They also feel that it’s totally worth it because of the way that the fans of the show have reacted.
Q: So it’s been a year since we’ve seen your show’s first season. What has changed and can you set the scene for what the second season will look like?
L: Well, now I live in New York and I graduated from high school and now go to an art school called Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. It’s my first year of college and it just sort of follows that big change, you know, the dynamic between you and your old friends and trying to find new friends and trying to be independent in this huge scary place. It’s sort of like – not every college experience is like an Asher Roth song or a movie. It’s showing the tough side of it especially since the Pratt curriculum is pretty heavy undertaking. So I’m trying to juggle school and all of these adjustments at the same time. It follows the relationships and how the dynamics change and stuff.
Q: And how was your first year of college?
L: It was a struggle at first because it was this whole new place. I had never been this far away from home and I didn’t really have any friends up here so it was just kind of tough. But now, I kind of feel like this is where I belong and I feel like I’ve finally found my place with friends – and it’s just great.
Q: That’s great to hear. This is my third year in college, but I remember that same feeling of being down and trying to adjust with friends at school and with friends away at school and managing those relationships as well.
L: Yeah, well because there’s just sort of this stereotypical college experience that you see on TV or in movies and I come to college expecting that I’m going to immediately have a social life and a bunch of friends, and it’s just not that way especially with school. It’s tough.
Q: But college must be a lot easier because there’s no Cori there right?
L: Yes, it’s great! It’s awesome!
Q: I can’t remember if you mentioned it in one of your episodes, but how did that rift happen in the first place?
L: We were really close freshman year – like really really close. I sort of started to break off of that group of friends – the like blonde girls in the show – and she wasn’t really too happy about it, I guess. She was always kind of catty, but I just kind of thought that’s how friendships were. I remember sitting with my nerd herd for the first time and at the lunch table it was like I completely forgot that there were friends you could trust, you know? That you could confide in and that wouldn’t talk about you behind your back.
Q: After having one season out, do you think that MTV has portrayed your life pretty accurately? Do you think they ever edited anything deceivingly at all?
L: No, it’s really accurate. It’s through my eyes. It’s through my prism as I see it.
Q: Do you have any hand in how it gets edited at all or is it just left up to them?
L: It’s never been edited in a different way than it was shot. They’ve never put things out of order or took things out of context. It’s all been accurate.
Q: What was it like to watch your life on television from over a year ago? Do you sometimes cringe at some of the things you said or did or do you wish you would have done some things differently?
L: It’s weird; I don’t really have any regrets. Everything, even the awkward stuff, were things I learned from. I was open and honest about that struggle and I’m glad that people got to see that. I know that when I was going through those experiences, if I were to know that someone was just like me going through the same things, maybe I would feel a little bit less alone and it would have been easier.
Q: Last year, I saw some comments after the show aired that people speculated that the show was scripted or they couldn’t believe that it was real. How do you respond to these types of comments and do you understand why they might think that it is scripted?
L: Yeah, well definitely, I mean it’s a hybrid. We’ve never been handed a script. There was never a script for the show, ever. All the characters are real. They act the same way in real life. They have the same name. They’re not actors or actresses and never planned to be actors or actresses. You know, it just sort of happened and all of the relationships and the people are real. The shows and themes are how I see it, but the people are portrayed exactly how they are as well as the relationships. Sully and I have been friends since the 8th grade and we’ve been really close ever since.
Q: And what has the show taught you about yourself?
L: What has the show taught me about myself…It’s really weird and awkward seeing myself on TV. It’s kind of like when you hear yourself on a voice mail or something, it’s like, “Do I really sound like that?” “Do I really look like that?” All the stuff that I learned wasn’t necessarily through the show. I think I’ve learned a lot over the time the show was shot though. It wasn’t necessarily through the show, but through the events.
Q: On a scale of 1-10, how comfortable are you with the cameras now in your second season?
L: You know, I don’t even think it was the cameras. I think it was the people behind them. It’s weird having so many people stare at you at the same time when you’re shooting, but we’ve sort of grown to be like a family. I really trust them and I don’t even notice it anymore. I just act natural because they’ve been there for so long.
Q: So is this the same crew you had in the first season?
L: Yes, there’s some added members, but aside from that – even with the new members, we grew close over time. We just hang out like family. It’s really cool.
Q: When did you guys actually wrap up the second season?
L: It was awhile back – maybe three months ago was when we finally finished editing and the voiceovers.
Q: Going back to high school again, what is your best memory from high school?
L: The best memory I can recall was the talent show. I was so afraid and so nervous and I was just anticipating the worst. Then to have Bryson show up and be there for me… to see my friends in the crowd supporting me and to hear people clapping; it was just a really cool feeling because all that stress – all the anticipating and the horrible stuff – it was just the exact opposite. I felt really accomplished.
Q: Do you ever get mistaken for Hayley Williams of Paramore?
L: Yes! I actually was just talking about that in another interview. I was eating at this Chinese restaurant called Joe Shanghai when I was with the rest of the cast and this kid walked up to me asked me if I was Hayley Williams and everyone I was with answered “Yes” for me. It was a really awkward “What do I say?” but he got so excited. He honestly had no idea who I was, but I felt like I was disappointing him.
Q: Oh no!
L: Sometimes it happens on Twitter too. A lot of times on Twitter, people are like “Oh you guys look alike.” I personally don’t think we look like. I think we both just have red hair haha
Q: Tell us about a typical day in the life for Liz Lee.
L: Well, I go to school at Pratt Instititute and it’s an art school in Brooklyn. The curriculum is just really heavy undertaking so I’m usually doing homework or going to school. On Wenesdays, I’ll go to comic book shops and aside from that I’m kind of a hermit and I play video games and watch Netflix.
Q: So are you a sophomore in college now?
L: Yes.
Q: And what are you majoring in?
L: It was art history, but now I’m taking some writing classes. I think I’m going to veer into that major.
Q: What kind of music are you listening to these days?
L: Bad Books is a band I’ve listening to a lot of. Who else… I would blank out on this list. I’ve been listening to a lot of Bad Books and old school hip hop like N.W.A. I don’t know why I’m revisiting that, but it just seems like a good time. I’ve been listening to the new Cold War Kids album too. It’s pretty neat.
Q: If you could choose a musician or band to be the soundtrack to your life, who would it be?
L: The band that reflects my life best right now is Anamanaguchi. I love that they hacked a Nintendo and Game Boy to create such awesome music. Nerds love video games so I find their music very fitting.
Q: So last night before finishing up these interview questions, I watched the trailer again and I have a few questions for you. I know you can’t give too much away so if you want you can answer them in one sentence or however you would like. First off:
Q: Is Bryson in New York with you?
L: I can’t really give it away. It could be either or. I could be back in Texas or he could be in New York.
Q: Can you tell us anything about this new guy Louis?
L: Louis – oh my gosh, he’s so great. He’s such a good guy! He’s such a gentleman and it really shows how he’s such a good guy. He’s in a band called Augustine and he’s such a talented musician, it’s incredible. And he’s just a total dreamboat altogether. He was one of the first friends I had in New York and he really kind of helped me adjust.
Q: You seemed a little lonely in the trailer and you expressed your feelings about it. Have things since changed?
L: Yeah, actually. Things are a lot better now. I finally know where I’m going. I haven’t quite mastered the entire subway system, but I’m meeting new people, making new friends, and you get to see that in the show and those people. I’m doing a lot better. I actually feel like I belong here for the first time.
Q: So what are you doing with your life these days and where can we expect to see you next? Do you think there might be a third season or even after My Life As Liz wraps, is there anything else you would like to pursue?
L: You know, it’s really cool to be at Pratt and being surrounded by this community of artists and being able to make friends with these people who are animators and drama majors and photography majors. I’d really like to collaborate with some of them in the future. Maybe with a comic book and writing it with them and illustrating it or even a cartoon and animating it or something like that in the future. Right now, I’m just focusing on school. It would be cool if there were a season three, but I don’t know just yet.
Q: What are you most excited to have the world learn of you through this next season?
L: I’m really excited for fans to see romantic relationships unfold from the other cast members. There are tons of surprises in store for fans who want to see a different side of Sully, Taylor and Miles. They have love interests this season and it’s a totally new dimension of their lives this season.
Q: Lastly, do you have anything you would like to say to my readers?
L: I really appreciate my fans out there. I’m so grateful. I’m really excited about this next season. It’s just filled with so many twists and turns every episode – it’s just crazy and wild. It’s also a really fun and interesting season.
Thanks Liz! We wish you the best at Pratt and on the upcoming season of your show.
Catch My Life As Liz every Tuesday at 11PM after Teen Mom 2!
In the middle of finals week last quarter, I discovered a web series called “Dorm Life.” Not to be confused with MTV’s failed reality series, “College Life,” - Dorm Life is a fictional short series that revolves around a dorm floor and their crazy antics. You have the overly-excited about everything resident, the best friends from high school, the sheltered geek who hopes to branch out in college, the funny guy, and then there’s the dreaded RA that everyone can’t stand. Sound familiar? Maybe even like your own college experience? As soon as finals week was over, literally the first thing I did was catch up on this series. I spent the first week of my winter break watching both season 1 and 2. As soon as I had finished, I started researching when a third season would be in the works. I contacted a couple of the actors from the show, and managed to get in touch with the main character Mike Sanders played by former UCLA alum Chris Smith. Dorm Life is a refreshing series with a whole lot of wit, charm, silliness and nostalgia. I guess I can’t technically say nostalgia yet since I’m still in college, but hell – nostalgia for my older readers.
Q: Hi Chris! How old are you and where are you from?
Chris Smith: I’m 25 years old and grew up in South Lake Tahoe, CA. I was born in Hillerod, Denmark.
Q: What was your major?
C: Theater Acting from UCLA and I graduated in 2007.
Q: Tell us a little bit about Dorm Life and how it was created.
C: “Dorm Life” came about pretty simply actually. Me and six other friends who were part of an on-campus comedy troupe decided that we wanted to keep making funny videos together after graduating. We brainstormed through a number of ideas, but “Dorm Life” kept sticking around and making us laugh. We all had unique dorm experiences and we really bonded over that. I had been in communication with the Social Media Studio “Attention Span Media” and we both partnered on the creation of the first season. Attention Span served as the production company and the rest, as they say, is history!
Q: How did you come up with these characters? Were you imagining certain stereotypes of college students at all or were some of their traits based off of the actors or maybe even people you knew in college?
C: The characters in Dorm Life were like mosaics from our collective dorm experiences. Early on in the writing process we brought in lists of our individual “Dorm-Lives” and basically sat around telling stories. Naturally, certain common traits and characters started to rise from the crop. From there, we decided on which characters we thought would be most fun to pair together in rooms and started to play in their interactions. After we cast the show, the actors started to add their own layers and we found a fun rhythm through improvising on set.
Q: You play new freshmen Mike Sanders, were you anything like him at all in college? How were you similar or different?
C: Haha, truthfully I was similar to Mike as a freshman…but I think I had a twinge of Josh in me as well. I was a theater major and was voted ‘floor entertainer’ in my floor government. I drummed up a lot of adventure and pranks on the floor but I was much sillier than Mike I think. Mike is more ‘movies and TV’ where Chris is more ‘circus’.
Q: I read that all of you were students at UCLA, but assuming that the show was created after you guys were finished with school, how were you able to film it? You didn’t actually film on their campus did you? How were you able to film “the res hall” scenes?
C: Because it was way too expensive to film on UCLA’s campus, we started looking into hostels and welfare hotels (no joke!). When that didn’t yield any results, we almost didn’t get to make the show! We only had a small window of time where we could use all the actors and the opportunity was closing. But at the last minute, Attention Span spoke with representatives from a small Buddhist college in Rosemead, CA that had a dorm wing available to film. We checked it out and it was perfect.
Q: Were any of the storylines from the show based off of your own experiences?
C: Many of them were sparked by our experiences. One of my favorite storylines was the ‘Mystery Hot Girl’ pursuit. My college roommate was a bit ‘new-to-everything’ and ended up falling for a girl down the hall. He didn’t know how to tell her, so I devised that he write a note and we would attach it to his Roomba and send it to her. I’ll never forget piloting the remote control vacuum with the fate of his love life on its back. We smashed it a few times into her door, and when she opened it, we bolted. I’d like to say that they ended up getting married….but it didn’t work out. Instead, we used it as inspiration for one of the sequences in the show.
Q: Give us your craziest college story.
C: My craziest college story (or at least the one that comes to mind right now) actually happened my freshman year at UCSD. (I was a sophomore transfer to UCLA). Me and a buddy on my floor really wanted to explore the UCSD campus at night. So we decked ourselves out in black and armed ourselves with flashlights to see what back alleys and secret passages we could find. We ended up staying up all night and brought our exploration to the edge of campus near Blacks Beach where there is a long winding path that leads you down some cliffs to the ocean. We decided to run down and catch the sunrise, but along the way, I saw this strange mass climbing up the path towards us. It looked too big to be a person and was moving in a strange gait. We were both convinced that we were approaching a strange ocean creature that had wandered up the path- a sea lion maybe? We both got really freaked out and debated going back. But after we decided that it was for the good of science that we document this creature, we pushed on. We got closer and closer to the ‘thing’ and saw that it was black on both ends with a large white stripe in the middle, but it was still too dark to see clearly. Finally, we got close enough to really see it and saw that the white stripe wasn’t a pattern of fur or anything, it was actually a bare butt. The ‘creature’ was a super-drunk surfer who was wandering aimlessly up the path with his surfboard and his pants around his ankles. We asked if he was okay, and all he could mutter was, ‘rough night’ and then kept walking. I later found out that that person was Jim Brandon from Dorm Life. (Okay, that last part is a lie).
Q: What was your favorite episode?
C: I think my favorite episode is ‘Pranks’. Early on in the writing of that episode, I was a huge advocate for the ‘Window of Pane’ (the glass prank Mike pulls on Marshall). A lot of other people thought we should come up with something a bit easier to do, but I fought tooth-and-nail for it. We ended up finding a polycarbonate dealer who cut a piece to fit the doorframe perfectly. It was our most expensive prop on the first season and we knew we were only going to get one take to pull it off. While we were shooting it, we had all of the cast and crew gathered around to watch. When it worked, everyone broke out into cheers. I think that episode is a lot of fun, and also brings up one of my favorite on-set memories. [This is also one of my favorite episodes!]
Q: College is the best four years of your life. True/False?
C: Tralse.
Q: If you had to give advice to a new freshman student living in the dorms, what five things would you tell them?
C: 1) Hang out with your floor.
2) Play floor bowling as often as possible.
3) Don’t IM your roommate while they’re sitting across from you.
4) Bring a surprise pizza to one of your floor government meetings, even if you’re not in it.
5) Watch Dorm Life!
Q: What do you think college has REALLY taught you?
C: To be a sponge for new experiences and people. Having an open mind in college sets a precedent that you can carry with you into the ‘real world’.
Q: I recently acted in a friend’s five-minute movie and until that experience, I never really understood how much work and time went into something like this. We spent about two days filming for a five minute short film. For Dorm Life, the episodes ranged from 5-14 minutes, about how much time did you actually spend filming per episode?
Both seasons of Dorm Life were shot like feature films- meaning that we shot most of the episodes and scenes out of sequence so that we could be most efficient with people’s schedules and each new location. Season 1 was shot in 16 days (about 12 hour days with one day off) and season 2 was shot in 21 days. After production, I spent about two months editing season 1 and about five months editing season 2.
Q: Can you tell us any behind-the-scenes secrets from Dorm Life? Any juicy gossip?
C: I’m pretty sure that every cast member in Dorm Life has, at one point, kissed each other.
Q: The show was incredibly popular on Hulu and it was even nominated for awards in which you had won a couple. Did you ever imagine Dorm Life to become this successful? What has the success done for you and all of the cast?
C: I think we all knew we were tapping into something special when we set out to make the series. Not in a ‘let’s make this and get a bunch of awards!’ way, but rather, doing our best to make a college show from the college student point of view. I think the success of Dorm Life stems from that sense of familiarity for people who went to college.
Q: This is off topic, but can you tell me a little bit about That Juggler Guy?
C: Haha! Absolutely! “That Juggler Guy” is my ‘juggling persona’. Yes, I said that right. I have been a juggler since I was twelve years old and started a juggling group with my brother and a friend called ‘The Tahoe Jugglers’. We performed around town while I was at high school and did a bunch of charity events and street performing. When I went to UCLA, I was ‘The UCLA Juggler’ (a position me and my friend came up with) and performed at the football and basketball games which got me to travel with the basketball team to three final four tournaments and a couple football bowl games. I went on to juggle in Hong Kong, Beijing, Copenhagen, and just got into Cirque du Soleil as a physical actor. Like I said before…I’m a bit more circus than Mike Sanders.
Q: Do you think the webisode could ever be turned into a television show? Would you push it if you had the chance to?
C: We’ve always considered pushing Dorm Life to TV and would love the opportunity. Hopefully it comes sooner than later before we need to turn it into ‘Retirement Community Life.’
Q: I spent the first few days of my winter break off from college to watch both seasons of Dorm Life. I was so mad that the last season was actually released back in 2009 and that I was almost two years too late. Any chance of a third season?
C: It’s definitely possible! I know the third season is still being pitched around. It’s just a matter of the right pieces falling into place.
Q: Chris, what are all of you and the cast up to now? What can we expect from you in the future?
C: All of us dorm lifers are still pursuing careers in the arts. Jim Brandon and Brian Singleton just finished the NBC ‘Writers on the Verge’ program in hopes of getting staffed as TV writers. Jessie Gaskell is the head writer for E!’s TV show “The Dish”. And the rest of us are still pursuing various creative paths in acting, writing, and producing. [Note: You can also catch Nora Kirkpatrick on ABC Family's Greek!]
I spent my 2010 getting agents for acting and writing and am excited to start creating again. I’m going to be making a bunch of comedic shorts (with some Dorm Lifers) this year while writing a feature film to make next year. My first feature film (which I made when I was 18 in tribute to my late father) just came out on iTunes last week. It’s my first filmmaking attempt, so I still cringe a bit at it, but it’s a great feeling to get it distributed. Plus all the proceeds go to a scholarship I set up at my old high school for kids who have overcome adversity and pursued a career in the arts. You can rent or buy it here:
Beyond that, the Dorm Life group is still chugging away in LA. After all, season 3 is always a possibility…
To watch every single Dorm Life episode, click HERE! Your ability to be unproductive begins now.
