The Hardest $100 I Ever Earned

i can't believe it took 10 years, but i have finally gotten to see this video.
this is a pretty mediocre music video by a band called Gravity Kills -- they never really made it very big.
this music video is special to me, because I'm in it (not that you can actually see me).
10 years ago, the summer before i went off to college, my friend Sarah and I were hired to be in the video because a classmate's mother was the casting director.
(growing up in LA, most people you know are in some way or another "in the business".)

the day of the shoot, Sarah and I showed up at an empty airport hangar, which was set up to look like an underground sewer.
the wardrobe mistress dragged us into a cramped trailer, and handed us our costumes,
which consisted of: ripped fishnet body stocking, black brazier, black satin underwear, and lace-up biker boots.
after changing, we were smeared with oily black body paint.
then we were told to cover our bodies with the cold, wet mud that was all over the hangar floor.
it was not the prettiest i've looked, for sure.

as you can see from the video, it's basically a lot of moshing about with lots of dirty people.
so many elbows, knees, and various body parts banging in to me -- the day after the shoot, i counted 43 different bruises on my body.
they did dozens of takes, and each time we'd have to listen to this song again and again and again.
the whole thing took an entire day to film, plus some added scenes the next day.
the highlight was after it was over, when we were given icy cold hose water to clean ourselves off with. lovely.

i never saw the video when it briefly played on mtv all those years ago, but now, with the power of the internet, i can see the fruit of my labor.
i think i saw myself for half a second, clinging to a ladder leading up to the surface.
but you can definitely see Sarah's face, peeking out of a manhole for a moment.
come to think of it, i haven't seen her in 10 years either. where does the time go?

see the video