BoyBand Woods Hole Festival Premiere

This coming Saturday, (August 7th) BoyBand will be playing at 7:00pm at the Woods Hole Film Festival in Woods Hole, MA. We want to pack the house and show everyone that BoyBand is not only just an amazing comedy with amazing music but is also an event film as well. If you are in the area this Saturday we would love to have you come to Woods Hole before the film dressed in your BoyBand gear or 80s clothes to help promote. Following the 7pm showing of BoyBand there will be an 80s themed party DJ’d by the BoyBand music producer Kaz Gamble.

BoyBand spotted in Worcester Magazine

Worcester Magazine

That ’80s film
Rutland filmmaker debuts trip back in time on Friday
Melissa McKeon

Rutland native Andrea Ajemian hardly remembers 1982, but like many who were just entering their teens later in the decade, she does remember the music that was born during that era.

“When I was in high school, everybody was crazy for New Kids on the Block,” she recalled.

Ajemian, who graduated from Wachusett Regional High School in 1993, admits she wasn’t much into the music scene in college; she was too busy preparing for a career in film, with some business thrown in. It’s a path that has led her to producing, where her business education and experience comes in handy.

When she heard John Artigo’s idea for a film about the boy bands of the 1980s, she jumped at the chance to produce it.

Artigo’s vision–a comedy about a high school quarterback who leaves it all behind to turn his heavy metal band into the first boy band–had everything Ajemian likes: fun, nostalgia and opportunities for young musicians and for teenage actors to get a foot in the door.

But it also had its challenges. Neither Artigo nor Ajemian were musicians.

“John and I were at a loss when we came up with this concept and put the script together,” Ajemian said. “We said, ‘we can’t pull this movie off without a real music person.”

Enter Kaz Gamble.

Gamble grew up in Worcester but was pretty far away from home pursuing (with great success) a music career of his own. He came home for a visit and was presented by his parents with a newspaper clipping about the movie. They were looking for someone just like him. It was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

Gamble had recently spent some time DJing oldies, so he admits the music of the 1980s was fresh in his mind.

But the task was daunting: come up with 20 original songs with the boy band feel.

“I went to film school, so I knew that making a film is a lot of work,” he said. “And it’s always harder than you think it’s going to be.”

Gamble went at it full bore. He researched extensively and then did what seemed impossible: produced modern music with an ’80s feel, and without the modern methods to prevent the modern sound from creeping in.

Harder than it sounds, he admits.

After accepting that he’d have to ditch a lot of the modern methods he was so familiar with, he faced the task of trying to replace them.

“You can’t believe, audio production has evolved so much since the ’80s,” he says. “It’s so out of fashion, so you can’t even get a lot of those sounds.”

Gamble couldn’t even find information online about mixing techniques; he went to thel ibrary to find a 1980s book about mixing to guide him.

Gamble wasn’t just writing music to sound like the 1980s; some themes were meant for older characters, whose music was from another era. And to be authentic, he realized that he’d have to take into account all the influences of the 1970s as well.

He’s feeling confident that he’s achieved the gaol: Folks who’ve previewed the movie think some of his songs are authentic to the era, not new imitations.

The movie has plenty of local appeal. Besides set at the fictional Worcester High School, it was filmed entirely in Worcester County. Also, besides Ajemian and Gamble, several local actors and musicians get their screen time with the bigger stars: Recent Wachusett Regional High School grads Nina Genatossio and Ryan Letourneau go to work beside One Tree Hill star Michael Copon and well-knowns E-Knock, Lorenzo Hooker III, Robert Hoffman, Ryan Hansen and Ming Na.

Mixing locals with Hollywood types is part of what makes the film so satisfying to Ajemian.

“In Worcester County, kids in that age group don’t get the opportunities to work as they do in L.A. or Boston or New York,” she said.

BoyBand: Breakin’ through in ’82 opens Friday, June 4, at Showcase Cinema North for a week’s run. An after-party at 9 p.m. ($7 cover) at Gilrein’s, 802 Main St., Worcester, will feature composer Kaz Gamble, who wrote the movie’s 20 original songs, as DJ, spinning 1980s music as well as the film’s soundtrack. boybandmovie.com

Film Review for BoyBand

Locally filmed ‘BoyBand’ conveys entertaining parable
Jeffrey Long
Telegram & Gazette Reviewer

Filmed and set in Worcester, “BoyBand” is an amusing film about youth culture that returns us to the early 1980s, a time as twisty and colorful as a Rubik’s Cube. People did word processing, but couldn’t yet send e-mail. They could watch a video, but where were the video rental stores? And a cowboy from Illinois was in the White House.

Written and directed by Jon Artigo and produced by Andrea Ajemian, this comedy follows the fortunes of talented high school quarterback Brad (Michael Copon). This guy’s gridiron achievements are so legendary and he is personally so charismatic that his male schoolmates believe the mere invoking his name when out on a date will help them score.

But for Brad, all is not right in paradise. There is a hollowness in his life that no cheerleader or state championship can fill. He has been leading a double life, furtively hooking up in dark alleys with some “metal heads” (as his father disdainfully calls them). Brad dreams of openly performing with a heavy metal teen band, even as mainstream pop music culture is stumbling away from Disco and toward Madonna.

Moreover, even at the professional level, not many individuals transition well, in the long run, in trying to move from a life in athletics to one in the performing arts. For every Mark Harmon or Jim Brown, there is a least one Tanya Harding or O.J. Simpson.

So when Brad decides to take off his cleats and climb up on stage, he is greeted by looks of icy betrayal when at home and a sloppy Joe on the side of his face when walking across the school grounds.

With the full-throttle launching of his artistic energies, Brad in effect has hurled his life forward like a Hail Mary pass. But will his efforts connect or fall short?

This movie is hardly groundbreaking in its plot structure, as it is a straightforward narrative that has no reason to call attention to itself.

And the story is, admittedly, chock-full of stock characters: the Jock, the Sweetheart Left Behind, the Evil Authority Figure,, the New Age Freak, to name a few. The actors inhabit these roles credibly, although suspension of disbelief is needed to accept the legitimacy of some of the relationships between characters. (For example, why on earth would Brad remain with Pamela for so long? And what is up with his parents’ bizarre living arrangements?)

More than 20 original songs, composed by Worcester’s own Kaz Gamble, fuel this hard-driving comedy.

There is considerable sexual talk and posturing, both in and out of the film’s many dance numbers. But raunchiness is not what primarily supports “BoyBand,” which is ultimately a broadly entertaining parable about following one’s dreams. (The scene featuring the band’s performance of the song “Dreams” is a standout.)

As the narrative advances, so does the engaging quality of the dance sequences. Particularly notable are Michael Copon’s deft footwork and the break dancing and other athletic moves performed by Derf (E-Knock) and Joda (Lorenzo Hooker III).

In the end, this is both a rousing and sweet film about a teen whose “road less traveled” turns out to be paved with heavy metal.

It is hoped that this fourth collaboration between Jon Artigo and Andrea Ajemian will, like its story’s protagonist, emerge as a hometown hero. Locally filmed ‘BoyBand’ conveys entertaining parable

Worcester Magazine Sept 10, 2008 (PRESS)

The cell connection between Worcester and the Ogunquit beach where Andrea Ajemian is walking crackles with static, but hearing her is not a problem. She’s ready to talk about the post-production work on her fifth feature, We Got the Beat, and her enthusiasm springs through the earpiece.

“The typical comedy is 90 to 100 minutes, but we went into it with a 107-page script,” Ajemian says of The Beat, which charts the rise of the first boy band. “The first rough cut was three hours long. [Director] Jon Artigo and I are editing; we want to see what we can come up with on our own.”

The producer’s longtime collaborator, Kaz Gamble, with whom she creates the “Worcester Love” series of shorts, is handling all the movie’s music and sound design elements. Once those are in place, it’s likely more cutting will be necessary to meet a tight running time.

The film, shot at various locations in Worcester County, stars a mix of established actors like Ming-Na (“ER”), Kurt Fuller (“Wayne’s World”), with up-and-comers Michael Copon (“The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior”), Robert Hoffman (pictured, “Step Up 2: The Streets”), Rachel Specter (“The House Bunny”) and Ryan Pinkston (“College”).

To read the rest of the article -  http://www.worcestermagazine.com/content/view/3191/ (it’s in the middle of the page)

PHOTO OF ROBERT JAMES HOFFMAN by John Lenis

Film Crews are Like families (weird families)

Just one big happy family, that takes trips together, and lives together.

Sentinel and Enterprise July 31, 2008 (Press)

From the Sentinel and Enterprise:

Comedy set in the ’80s being shot at Doyle Field

By Dan Magazu

LEOMINSTER — An independent movie is being filmed at Doyle Field in Leominster, and the producer is looking for local residents to be in it.

“We want to pack the football stands on Monday,” producer Andrea Ajemian said Wednesday during a break from filming at Doyle Field. “We are shooting the big football scene in the movie and will be getting a lot of close-ups of the crowd.”

“We Got the Beat” is set in the early 1980s and tells the story of a top- recruited high school quarterback who quits football to start the first-ever boy band, Ajemian said.

“It’s a comedy starring Robert Hoffman and Michael Copon,” Ajemian said. “We’ve been shooting for about two-and-a-half weeks and we wrap up on Aug. 15.”

Music producer Kaz Gamble came up with the songs for the fictional boy band dubbed A New Condition.

FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE GO TO:

http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/ci_10053292

Kaz, a Slate, a Rice Cake, and Peanut Butter

This is how its done in Hollywoo.

Orange Ocean CD release party.

Worcester felt like NYC or downtown LA this past weekend when I mc’d the Orange Ocean CD release party on the top floor of an office building. They had guest list girls, a huge security guard, a DJ, a diverse fun crowd, and duck yao.

I was introducing the director to the ORANGE OCEAN – my favorite Worcester band. They are amazing and I hope to get their music into the soundtrack somehow. Opening acts included Baker and Afro DZ Ak.

Amazing day for New England sports fans thanks to Jon & Andrea.

The Boston Celtics won their first championship last night since the 80s. Even though the trades for KG and Ray Allen were factors, another big reason is that Jon Artigo and Andrea Ajemian are doing a movie here in Massachusetts.

Every time Jon & Andrea make a film in the area – another New England sports franchise wins their first championship ever or first in many many years.

Check it out:

“RUTLAND, USA” >>> NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (1st Super Bowl win ever)

“FREEDOM PARK” >>> RED SOX (1st World Series in 86 years)

“WE GOT THE BEAT” >>> CELTICS (1st since 86)

Are the BRUINS NEXT???

BRUINS FANS CLICK HERE TO HELP BRING THE STANLEY CUP BACK TO BEANTOWN.

New “Artigo Ajemian Films” Logo

NEW LOGO:

WHY THESE COLORS?
Orange is Andrea’s favorite color and Jon’s favorite is blue.
And brown is deeply balancing and with nourishing feng shui energy.

and they’ll fit in with WGTB all the other films colors without
clashing too much.