The Cartel In The Plastic Bubble – Band Jumps The Shark In Stupid Recording Stunt
The band Cartel are sealing themselves in a transparent bubble in New York City for nearly a month as they record the follow-up to their debut, “Chroma” – of course, cameras will be capturing their every move.
The stunt, a partnership involving MTV, Dr Pepper and Epic Records, is being called “Dr Pepper Band in a Bubble” (Catchy, huh?? –Ed.) and is intended to give fans a “first-time, real-time look into the making of the band’s newest album.” The five-member band will enter the see-through bubble at Hudson River Park’s Pier 54 during a live MTV broadcast May 24 and stay inside it until June 12 — when the bubble will “burst” — while everything they do can be viewed in-person, on-air and online.
The event, produced by Mediaedge:cia and Endemol’s True Entertainment, will air on MTV as a music special with four 30-minute episodes and also will be available on-demand at MTV.com. Webcams also will stream live on www.drpepperbubble.com. KFC also is a partner in “Dr Pepper Band in a Bubble.”
The bubble is a 2,000-square-foot recording studio designed by international firm TPG Architecture. It will consist of 55,000 pounds of steel truss and quarter-inch-thick fireproof rigid Fiberglas. Inside the bubble, Cartel will have access to a custom kitchen and dining room, a casual lounge area and a spa-like bathroom as well as a “Sleeping Bubble,” or mezzanine level, elevated nine feet off the ground and hung in place with airplane hanger cables.
The Future: This is way too tame. “Dr Pepper Band in a Bubble” needs a better twist… How about MTV will not let the band out of the bubble until the public declares the tracks they record are actually good enough for release. Maybe those cranes should start lowering the “bubble” into the Hudson River one inch every day until their new songs are ‘approved’ – if the songs don’t make the cut, the bubble is released and the Cartel are sent to the bottom in a new definition of “cement shoes.” Now that’s drama!
