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Rolling Stone April 17 2001

Bands On The Run PREMIERES SUNDAY, APRIL 1ST, 2001 AT 10PM: VH1

A reality show for the great unsigned

Pity the poor schmuck at VH1 forced to endure the pain of listening to thousands of CDs received from unsigned groups hoping to be on the new "reality" program BANS ON THE RUN. That poor schmuck, however, did a swell job whittling the talent down to four reasonably decent rock bands, made up of attractive wanna-be's who come bearing sound bites. As Cory Kreig, guitarist for Flickerstick proclaims, "We're gonna drink, we're gonna party, and we're gonna meet chicks, and if you don't want to do that, then why the fuck are you in a band?"

BOTR feels a lot like MTVs ROAD RULES but with musicians, relentless boozing and the very desirable Amanda Rootes, who sings in the all-female quartet Harlow. BOTR's road rules: The bands travel to the same city to perform in separate venues (booked by VH1) on the same night. At the end of the fifteen-week series, one band will win a cache of booty that includes fifty grand. Two bands will be eliminated along the way, which means plenty of sabotage that reality-TV fans crave. When the bands aren't Richard Hatch-ing each other, they show a sincere passion. Says singer Beastie Ulery from the power-pop crew Soulcracker, "I know in my heart of hearts that nothing is more important... than this band." Not very rock & roll, but sweet nonetheless.

Of course, the real reason to watch BOTR is not the music but the partying and sexual banter and censored-for-TV cussing. Smart money would be on the geeky Josh Dodes Band and the superorganized Soulcracker, but it's the sexy punks in Harlow who deserve the prize. "We've pretty much decided that we're not gonna win and that we don't give a shit, because we're having fun," says Rootes. As long as you're having fun, Amanda, so are we. - DAVID MALLEY

Elle April 2001

SURVIVOR: The band version

For BANDS ON THE RUN (Premiering April 1 at 10:00P.M.), VH1 chose four unsigned bands from among thousands of entries to compete for $50,000 and the ultimate industry prize: a shot at a recording contract. Let loose with new equipment and SCOOBY DOO-esque vans, the bands embark on a nationwide tour, cameras in tow. The rest - promotion, pricing, and of course, performance - is up to them.. Every four weeks, the group with the least amount of revenue gets voted off the island - uh, kicked off the tour - and the one who earns the most after ten wins. Here, we take you, VH1-style, behind the music. - A.G.

HARLOW A.D., Los Angeles

FACE VALUE: foul-mouthed, leather-and-laced, vampy four-woman band - Rebecca, Amanda, Chimene, and Rayshele. MOTTO: Boys like girls who like girls. SOUND: Punk-pop (think Sex Pistols meet Spice Girls). BUZZ: None, really. SUCCESS FACTOR: High. Although the laziest of the four bands, their get-drunk-with-the-locals brand of marketing pulls in the crowds.

from the AOL news ticker...

VH1 Debuts Survivor With Music

The Associated Press Mar 26 2001 1:24PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Call it ``Survivor'' with music. Put rock 'n' roll bands on tour with no money, leave them to their own devices to succeed and, if they fail, vote them off the musical island.

It's VH1's ``Bands On the Run,'' a raucous, sometimes raunchy race for notoriety that's part CBS' ``Survivor,'' part MTV's ``Real World.''

Debuting Sunday at 10 p.m. EST, ``Bands On the Run'' follows four unsigned rock bands as they compete in a 13-week road trip to win cash, music equipment and the opportunity to make their own music video.

``I've always had a fascination with band dynamics. With that in mind, I was sort of looking for a show that would have an element that was different,'' said Jane Lipsitz, the show's co-producer.

While the game element is somewhat intriguing, it's the band members' over-the-top antics that gives the show its entertainment value.

Each week, the bands travel to different cities with one mission - make as much money as possible by selling tickets and merchandise at their gigs.

To make the money, the bands are given $20 and left to their own creativity to promote themselves. At the end of the night, whoever has the most money wins the contest.

VH1 keeps a running tally of receipts. Those with the least amount of money will be taken out of the game in special elimination episodes. In the end, two bands will be left to compete for $50,000 and the music video. Those competing include Soulcracker, a pop-rock quartet from San Diego; Flickerstick, a Dallas-based rock band; Harlow, an all-girl punk group from Los Angeles; and the Josh Dodes Band of Philadelphia.

While the show's cast is made up of legitimate bands, Lipsitz admits they were cast for their personalities as much as their abilities. ``We were looking for compelling people who people would want to tune in to every week,'' she said. ``But these are real bands. We're sort of documenting life on the road and throwing this game element in there.''

But is it reality? Lead singer Josh Dodes calls it a ``close facsimile.'' ``What's real is the intensity you see on stage, the music,'' he said. ``But living on $20, just showing up and trying to get people to your show? No smart band does that. When we go out on the road, we have a tour manager and somebody to help with promotions.''

Harlow lead singer Amanda Rootes said the show captured her band well. ``There are a few things they twist around in the editing process. But I think we come across really the way we are,'' she said after watching the first episode. The opening episode finds three of the four bands gathering in Venice, Calif., where they turn over their bank cards and credit cards and are told to head to San Francisco for their first gig. The Josh Dodes Band joins the second episode.

But the game show immediately takes a back seat to the bands, who are playing their own personal games. Flickerstick's drummer Dominic Weir immediately emerges as the one you love to hate (think Puck of ``Real World'' or ``Survivor'' winner Richard Hatch). When the group's lead guitarist, Cory Kreig, finds out his father has died while the group was on the road, Weir is insensitive. The incident sets the stage for conflict to come.

Meanwhile, Harlow and Soulcracker are having their own problems. Harlow's members, together less than two years, is struggling to come up with ideas to promote their band. And Soulcracker's pop music is a little staid for San Francisco's underground music scene - and puts them at odds with Harlow, the band they dub ``the vampire girls.''

``At the end of the day, the people from `Survivor,' `Road Rules,' `Real World,' shows like that, go home and watch what other people have to say about them,'' Lipsitz said. ``But for these bands, when it's all over, they still have to be bands.''