Ralphie's Bop City Pt. 2
So there I was, running this sort-of-art project. It started with a single answering machine on my regular
phone line, using an endless loop cassette answering tape, and eventually became a dedicated phone line using
3 rotating answering machines, each using regular tape.
One machine was always in the shop, one was
in use, and one was on deck. I changed the message, on average, every 2 or 3 weeks. I edited the messages using
2 cassette decks and the pause buttons - although for a few months I actually physically edited the cassette tape
with a blade, using a cassette splicing block, lots of patience, and a fine arsenal of swear words.
I kept this project mostly on the DL; I might
mention it in conversation, but it was a very casual thing. Since the project had gotten a fair amount of traction on
ts own word of mouth (see Pt. 1
of this story), I didn't feel the pressure to keep banging on people to call.
One question always came up once people listened to Ralphie's: "But how do you make money on it?" When
I answered "I don't," they invariably followed up with "But then why do you do it?" When they heard
me say "Because it's fun," they''d nod slowly, then look at me with an appraising glance. Why would
anyone do anything just for fun?
Only once (really) in 16 years was this routine
ever varied.
In the early 80''s, I had the good fortune to work on a project
with Mal Sharpe,
who did person-in-the-street interviews for a package of commercials I produced and d
irected for 1-800-OK-CABLE. Mal flew to New York and spent several days with a film crew (and me)
roaming the streets in midtown.
I knew Mal by reputation; he'd made 2 solo comedy albums for Rhino Records
of street interviews, and he'd hosted a pleasantly loony television show in the early 70's
called "The Street People." He was great to work with, and I was lucky to spend a bit of time just drinking
coffee and hanging out with him.
I told him about Ralphie's Bop City one afternoon after the
shoot, sitting in the cafe of his hotel.
"How does it work?"
"People call a
number, they hear the answers to a question, then I come on and ask the next question, then they can
leave an answer."
He sat quietly, considering this. "And the first question people always ask
you is ''How do you make money on this?'', right?"
I nodded, amazed. He just shook his
head. "Like money is the only reason to ever do anything."
Like I said: a
perceptive, talented person, and I was lucky to work with him.
I've included another
Ralphie's recording, it's the answers to the one I posted last week. In the next post, I'll
talk about some of the callers I actually met.