Indie Showcase: Life on the V: The Story of V66 (2024)

WEBVTT THAT. >> THE FIRST YEAR WAS INSANE. I GOT TO THE STATION AT 5:00 AM A ONE HOUR BEFORE AIRTIME, ONLY TO FIND OUT THE TRANSMITTER WASN’T READY. THEY CALLED US UP AT 5:40 AND SAID WE CAN’T HEAR YOU, WOULD YOU PLEASE PLAY VIDEOTAPE SO WE CAN SEE IF IT WILL WORK? WE PLAYED THE HEAT IS ON. >> V66, THE BEAT GOES ON. ♪ [APPLAUSE] >> WE ARE ON TELEVISION. GOOD MORNING. THIS IS THE NEW V66. I AM BILL STEVENS AND YOU ARE WITNESSING TELEVISION HISTORY. THIS IS BOSTON’S FIRST VISIT VIDEO STATION 24 HOURS A DAY. THIS WAS AROUND "THRILLER" WHEN IT HAD COME OUT IN THAT TIMEFRAME. THE HOME YOU -- WORLD OF MUSIC VIDEOS WAS EXCITING. WE WERE ALL EXCITED AND THOUGHT THIS WOU BE -- WE KNEW IT WOULD BE EXCITING. FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS A MUSIC VIDEO COMMERCIAL TELEVISION STATION WE ARE N CABLE. YOU DON’T NEED TO SPEND A SURE MONEY TO BE HERE. >> AT THE END OF THE SHIFT, YOU GO HOME. I WOULD GET OFF AT 10:00 AND STAY UNTIL 3:00, I WANTED TO BE THERE. MY MAIN MEMORY WAS JOHN LAUGHING IN THE STUDIO, PRESSING THE WRONG BUTTON OR, DEAD A, IT WAS JUST A FUNNY, YOU KNOW, DAY. >> IT WAS A MAGICAL MOMENT WHEN THEY FIRST WENT ON. >> V66 IS NEW ENGLAND’S MUSIC VIDEO STATION. STAY TUNED AND MAKE IT YOURS. >> IT WAS ALSO A TIME WHEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP, LAUNCHING BRAND-NEW THINGS, WAS HAPPENING. USA TODAY WOULD BE A NATIONAL NEWSPAPER. YOU WOULD SEE IT LAUNCHED. MTV HAD BEEN LAUNCHED NOT PREVIOUS 24 -- THE IDEA OF A LOCAL CHANNEL YOU CAN PLAY MUSIC VIDEOS ON WAS EMBRACED. IT WAS A BIG DEAL AT THE TIME. HOW IS THAT FOR MUSIC VIDEO ROCK BANDS? YOU CAN ONLY SEE IT HERE ALL DAY, ALL NIGHT, LIVE O DAVE TV. ANTHONY: HE HAS MELLOWED SINCE THEN. HE COMES WITH US FOR HOLIDAY LIGHTS. SHAYNA: THIS IS THE DIRECTOR OF LIFE ON THE V, THE V66 STORY. HOW DID THIS PROGRAM COME ABOUT FO YOU? WERE YOU A FAN, OR DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED AFTER-THE-FACT? >> I WAS A LITTLE KID IN BEDFORD , LEARNING ABOUT MUSIC AND V66 WAS A GREAT THING FOR SOMEONE LEARNING ABOUT MUSIC BECAUSE THEY PLAYED A WID VARIETY. THEY GO FROM ONE GENRE TO ANOTHER. A HEAVY METAL INTO A RAP, DANCE POP. IT IS GREAT IF YOU WERE JUST LEARNING ABOUT MUSIC. I LOVED IT AS A LITTLE KID. I GR UP, SKIP HEAD TO THE MID-2000, I WORKED FOR THE FUSE, A CABLE TELEVISION CHANNEL IN NEW YORK. THEN I WAS OUT WITH FRIENDS AND SOMEHO V66 CAME OUT IN THE CONVERSATION. HAVEN’T THOUGHT ABOUT IT BUT IT UNEARTHED MEMORIES. I GO HOME AND GOOGLE, FOU IT WAS LIKE THIS MESSAGE BOARD WHERE FANS HAD SUCH SPECIFICITY OF, THEY PLAYED THIS VIDEO, DIFFERENT FROM MEAT -- FRO MTV, OTHERS, WENT DOWN A RABBIT HOLE. MORE RESEARCH, THE MORE I SAW HOW THIS COULD BE A MOVIE. THE FACT I WAS A CINEMATIC STANDPOINT, A VISUAL MEDIUM, DOCUMENTING A TV STATION, SO YOU HAVE FOOTAGE TO COMBINE WITH MODERN INTERVIEWS. ANTHONY: TELL US ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO STARTED THIS THING. >> JOHN WAS ALREADY A RADIO LEGEND. HE ALREADY WAS ESTABLISHED BOTH AS AN ON-AIR DJ AND OWNERSHIP OF RADIO STATIONS IN THE AREA. HE GOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET A LICENSE FOR A TV CHANNEL IN MASSACHUSETTS. HE TOOK HIS EXPERIENCE FROM RADIO AND BROUGHT IT INTO TV. HE SAW A RADIO AS A WAY OF BRINGING TOGETHER A COMMUNITY OF MUSIC FANS AND INTERACTING AND GIVING, PUTTING IT TO THE FANS AND HAVING THEM CALL IN AND REQUES. THEY COULD WIN CONTESTS AND BE A PART OF THAT. HE BROUGHT THAT TO DEVEL -- BROUGHT THAT TO TELEVISION. HE SAW METV AS WHY NOT LOCALIZE THIS? WE CAN TALK ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING HERE AND SPONSOR EVENTS AND CONCERTS. CABL WASN’T GREAT IN NEW ENGLAND BACK THEN. IT WAS 35%. EVEN IF YOU WERE EXCITED ABOUT THE MUSIC VIDEO PHENOMENON, IF IT WASN’T OFFERED IN YOUR TOWN, YOU WERE OUT OF LUCK. HERE WAS THIS FREE OVER THE AIR TV CHANNEL THAT PREMIERED IN 1985 AND WAS A GODSEND FOR MUSIC FANS, COLLEGE STUDENTS. EVERYONE FELT LIKE IT WAS THEIR CHANNEL. SHAYNA: WHY DO YOU THINK THE STATION LASTED SO LONG -- SO SHORT? >> IT WAS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED AND OPERATED. IT WASN’T A SUBSIDIARY, SO THEY LEARNED THE HARD WAY THAT THE MUSIC VIDEO ALONE ISN’T EXACTLY ENOUGH TO SUSTAIN A TV CHANNEL. MTV, VH1, THEY TOOK A DECADE TO GET THAT POINT, NON-MUSIC PROGRAMS OR PACKAGING MUSIC PROGRAMS INTO THAT. ANTHONY: WHERE CAN PEOPLE SEE IT? >> AVAILABLE ON DVD, AMAZON, STREAMING ON AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, VIDEO AND OTHER PLATFO