Busy Time...And That's Good

It's been longer than it should have been since I posted a blog. You probably didn't miss it though. If you are like most people, you have events in your life that keep you going day after day. We here at HTV have been struggling to keep up with all the events in the region. Football of course is winding down to the nitty gritty. Christmas parades are in the offing. But I have to tell you, one of the most fun projects lately is our new program "Spotlight on Music". Last night (11/5/09) we had Lightnin' Charlie as our guest and he was pure fun. Oh yeah, he played some great music, but he had a lot of fun doing it and we had a lot of fun watching. You need to be at Java J's on the first Thursday of every month to catch the taping of the new show. But you get to see it edited down for TV on the last Saturday of every month at noon, 6pm, and midnight (technically Sunday morning, I know!). TriCities Christian School is going for another State Championship, and Aaron Collier and Amanda Clark will be there to capture the game for you. It's very exciting to be able to bring your local programs to you right to your living room (or other room of choice). But we have fun doing it. So stay in touch and keep an eye out for us in your neighborhood.
Your friendly local TV guy,
David

Rhythm, Roots, and A New Show

Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion was a smash hit! Our thanks to Leah and all the great volunteers who make this one of the nation's premiere events every year. Heritage TV is proud to be a media sponsor of the reunion. It may take just a little patience, but the performances we captured this year will be making it to our channel in drips over the next months. Please keep an eye on the schedule on our main webpage. It was great fun and also a lot of work for everyone. My thanks go out to HTV's great crew. Even braving sudden downbursts of rain. Just like all the participants and musicians, we could sleep for another week or so, but alas, we are back at it.

This Thursday (Sept. 24) we will be taping our very first "Spotlight on Music" show in front of a live audience at Java J's on State St. in Bristol at 6pm. Hope you will be there. Again we ask for patience. It's our first one and we will be feeling our way around to get things the way we want them. (Then we will change them again for the second show because we probably didn't get it right the first time, and on and on.) We are honored to begin this new program with a special and unique talent, Annie Robinette. We will talk a little with Annie about whatever comes up, including questions from the audience, and she will perform as well. Other artists coming up in this series include Lightnin' Charlie, Reagan Boggs, Houser & Co., and April Taylor. We will let you know days and times as they approach. But, be there Thursday. Jerry Phillips and I will co-host the show, Amanda Clark will woman the cameras, and Lawson Garrett will get the sound right. Thanks to Julie Marion for all her helpfulness and hospitality at Java J's. It's going to be fun! Be there and help us out with our first show.

David

Spotlight on Music

Great news for music fans of all kinds. Heritage TV has developed a new music program that's just a little bit different and you are going to enjoy (we kind'a just took a guess on that). Jerry Phillips and I will co-host a monthly show live at Java J's on State Street in Bristol on the first Thursday of every month beginning in November at 6pm. Except (there is always an exception, but instead of an "*" I thought I would go ahead and explain it here. The first show will take place on Sept. 24th. After that it's the first Thursday of every month at 6pm. We are going to tape the show with a live audience, so we hope that a capacity crowd will show up for the first taping and all subsequent shows. A huge list of performers have already expressed interest in performing. And since it's monthly (at least right now) the slots are limited. But if you are a performer that may be interested in getting on the list, send us some stuff. Info and demo. You can get the ways to send it from our website: www.heritagetv.com. We also are holding out hope that eventually we will be able to cablecast the program live on BVU/OptiNet channel 3. That's up to those great techs at BVU to figure out the details of that and if it is feasible. In the meantime, it will be taped in front of a live audience with an airdate to be announced. There are actually people at HTV who do the scheduling and I never have an idea when it will be until they tell me. I always get that question. Aaron and I did youth football last night at Sugar Hollow Park and got that same question, "When will it be on?".

We will post an update when we get the answer to the regular airtime spot for the Spotlight on Music show. The main thing is to get your body and your buddies to Java J's on Sept. 24th at 6pm. Jerry, Amanda, the performers, and I all look forward to seeing/meeting you.

David

Fairs and Roots and More

The Heritage TV crew is staying busy this summer. Coming up in the next few weeks: the Lee County Fair. It has been getting better every year and you can watch for the crew in the yellow shirts (that's us) to be there to cover the action. Beauty pageants to pro wrestling, and even lawn mower racing. Think I will leave my lawn mower in the shed. Don't want to set the fairgrounds on fire. (Guess that would make them the firegrounds.)

And of course, we are all excited about the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion on State Street in Bristol Sept. 18 - 20. A good variety of music is ready to go, so stop by the Rhythm and Roots website and order your tickets now. Be sure to say hello to the friendly people in the yellow shirts (that's us).

We have new handy dandy equipment at our "mothership", our offices. So we are able to change our office hours to Mon. - Th. 9am - 4:30pm and Fri. 9am - 3pm. Friday's office schedule is subject to change in case we all need to get out of here to cover events for you to watch.

Still have some new programming we are planning. So keep that station tuned to Heritage TV. Accept no substitutes.

Till next time,
David

What We Are Up To

First I have to explain that it was someone else's idea that this blog would be weekly. Timidly, I agreed to that, but not living up to it. So, as in everything else, I'm going to have to try harder.

Heritage TV is proud to a Diamond Sponsor of the exciting Virginia Highlands Festival. We have lots of great performances you will be seeing soon. As I write this I am looking forward to being behind the camera tonight for the annual Street Dance featuring the popular group Phantom.

If you like Celtic music, some that stretches the borders and fuses with other forms of music, you will really enjoy the performances from the Celtic Weekend that was masterminded by Sandra Parker.

We even got a little opera to add some class to the programming.

Sports Compass with Aaron Collier will be reappearing this upcoming week, three times per week. Check the schedule for your channel at www.heritagetv.com. Aaron will also host a new live sports interactive program on the Norton station Mondays at 7pm. He will have guests and invite your phone calls to discuss sports in the region. Be sure to tune in.

In Gate City you may have seen us getting the lineup for the Mountain Music Festival. Good entertainment on SCTC channel 84.

There are some new programs in development, but more info will be coming on that later. In the meantime, if you have a question or comment you would like to see addressed in this blog, please let me know. That may give me a reason to be prompt!

David

Not So Easy

This is meant to be a weekly blog about all things HTV. That has turned out to be harder than expected. It isn't difficult. Just that old writer's thing about starting with a blank page. Anyway, I do have HTV stuff to report to you.

Amanda Clark has been really busy. Besides the normal work she does for HTV, she is also one of our busiest videographers. You see her at most Border Bash events in Bristol, the Bristol and Norton 4th of July celebrations, and coming soon (unless you are reading this later), she will be covering the annual Customer Appreciation Day for SCTC at Natural Tunnel State Park on Saturday, July 25.

Aaron Collier recently joined HTV as our Sports Director/Account Executive. Aaron has been doing sports play-by-play for us for a number of years and will now bring that experience and his love and knowledge of sports to you on a regular basis. Soon he will bring back "Sports Compass", a half-hour weekly program devoted to regional sports featuring interviews with coaches, players, and fans. Also watch for Aaron's live program to air live on the Norton station Monday nights at 6pm. Sports afficianados will be able to call in with their views, predictions, and comments for Aaron and his guest(s).

As always, there is a lot to watch and more on the way.

David

When Will It Be On?

Thought this would be the appropriate subject for our inaugural blog. This is the one question invariably asked by people attending events we are videotaping. It is usually embarrassing. At the time we are taping the event, we normally do not have an answer for the question. Not too complicated to understand, but hard to explain sometimes.

Here's the process. The event is videotaped, as are events from around the region, on an almost daily basis. Many times several events in the same day. Each week, after we know the length of the programs we have produced, the programming schedule is put together like a puzzle. While we are taping, we have no idea where that event can fit in until everything has been produced and edited.

The easiest way to stay up-to-date on when a program will be on Heritage TV, please visit our website: www.heritagetv.com. Click on the station channel number you receive, and if all is right in the world, the schedule will be there. And it's updated as much as possible, so keep coming back.

While at the website visit some of the new pages such as "Other Stuff" and "The Daily Read". Be sure to join our Heritage TV group on Facebook. And, finally, look for us also on MySpace at MySpace.com/heritagetv.

Thanks for reading our very first blog. Keep coming back to see how long we can keep it going!

David