Upcoming Fundraiser in Los Angeles

Chop Chop album release show & Come On Down! fundraiser
Featuring The Dollyrots & The Carrions

Please join us as the Los Angeles band, Chop Chop, blasts off for the infinite with the rock & roll space opera "Spark." The CD release party will be on Sunday, April 10th at Eagle Rock All Star Lanes (4459 Eagle Rock Blvd., LA) with:

The Carrions (featuring Cheryl from the Breeders)
and Special Guests: The Dollyrots

The night will be a benefit for our friends who are creating a documentary about The Price is Right called "Come On Down!"

Chop Chop website:
http://www.chopchopmusic.com/

The Carrions website:
http://www.thecarrionsband.com/

The Dollyrots website:
http://www.dollyrots.com/

The Dollyrots on The Price Is Right
http://www.lorangeblog.com/2010/01/video-dollyrots-on-price-is-right.html

Come On Down! A doc film by Caryn Capotosto & Jeruschka White
website: http://comeondowndoc.blogspot.com/
Kickstarter: http://kck.st/h90ixz

"There is more than one way to do electro-pop, but there is only one way to do it right. Los Angeles (via Boston) group Chop Chop fall into both the former and latter, mixing up its approaches to the genre but virtually nailing it, track after track"
-Euguene Weekly

"Cavanagh does things with her voice that will make grown men weak in the knees, singing about the minutiae of memory and thought, stark and naked in her honesty but wry and witty nonetheless...“Screens” over its duration manages to be serious and playful, challenging and engaging, and it’s a very exciting record that showcases a genuinely original talent."
-American UK

"Chop Chop is a truly inspired affair, raw in its approach and pure in its intent, a must-have for any fan of indie music with a distinct personality."
-Regen Magazine

Recent News

In 2009-2010, we embarked upon a complete re-edit of "Come On Down!" We recognized the importance of creating a tightly-edited, refreshing and positive film that focused on the charming cast of characters that we met and the shared cultural experience that they had.

The stories we have woven together share these devotees personal HISTORIES with the game show, their JOURNEY West to get to the show, THE MOMENT that they became one of the chosen few called to “come on down,” and their unique TAKEAWAY from the experience.

“The Price Is Right” holds a special place in the hearts of four generations of Americans- regardless of age, race, class, or gender. For many people, affection for the show stems from childhood or a family memory. For others, the possibility of a televised “15 minutes of fame” or valuable prizes is the attraction. But for the lucky few who hear their name before the iconic phrase, “come on down,” the priceless “Price-Is-Right-story” becomes the most cherished reward. The story becomes part of their identity as they re-tell it over and over again and re-live the experience throughout their lives.

As we continue to shape the final cut of the film, we hope that you will stay tuned and continue to support "Come On Down!" We are looking forward to a screening party near you!

Buzzzzzzz

In 2007, as we were wrapping up production we were interviewed by a writer who was preparing a story about Price Is Right fans (our tiny contribution to the article is in red below). What is most fascinating about the article is the comments and replies. So many people love Bob Barker!

End of an Era: The Price is Right — Mar 26th 2007

By Dakota Smith

Like a Broadway show in the midst of an endless run, The Price Is Right has changed little in the last 35 years. The three female models collectively known as Barker's Beauties still introduce dining room sets, trips to Fiji, and new cars. Specific games have come and gone, but longtime favorites like Plinko, Cliff Hanger, and In the Bag remain. And while Rich Fields may be the third announcer in the show's history, he still issues the classic invitation: "Come on down! You're the next contestant on The Price is Right!"

A shake-up, however, is on the way. This coming June, host Bob Barker will retire. And on the Los Angeles set-Stage 33 at CBS Television City-there's some trepidation about the future. As the network auditions such potential replacements as George Hamilton and George Lopez, even executive producer Roger Dobkowitz, who started working at the show in 1972, is in the dark about what's next.

"After 35 years, what's CBS going to do now?" says Dobkowitz. "No one wants the show to change."

Indeed, tinkering with the Price is Right formula seems sacrilegious. The top-rated and longest-running game show in America, and the top-rated daily show in the world, its fan base includes everyone from grandparents to college students (a demographic Barker secured during his beat down of Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore).

Barker's impending departure has made the show more popular than ever. In previous seasons, ticket holders would line up in the early morning hours along Fairfax Avenue, the main drag outside Television City. Now the fans hit the sidewalk at 9:00 PM the night before, just for a chance to see Barker in his final run.

"It's the saddest thing, because it's end of an era," says Ken Ratliff, 52-year-old resident of Cle Elum, Washington. Having spent the night on the street, Ratliff and his 24-year-old son Adam were ensured two spots in the 330-seat theater. Yet they still had to wait outside in a concrete holding area until the taping began. Also waiting outside: Donna Devault and Christine Perenich, former college roommates who had flown in from Maryland and spent the night playing Scrabble and knitting in a tent on Fairfax Avenue.

Hopped up on lattes, these sleep-deprived and giddy women were hoping to be picked as contestants. Should they be so lucky, what pricing games did they intend to play? "Roll in the Die!" Perenich shouts. "Golden Road!" says Devault, who was wearing a t-shirt that read, Kiss My Mommy, Bob.

In fact the producers do pick the show's nine contestants from this concrete holding pen. They begin by asking people where they're from and what do they for a living. A simple process, perhaps. But as Dobkowitz explains, no other show selects its contestants on such short notice-and most vet and coach them beforehand. "We really are reality television," he says.

What they are looking for, says the producer, is contestants "who are happy, who are just themselves." Avoided are people who ham it up for the camera. "We've been doing this long enough so we know when people are faking it," Dobkowitz notes. And although 90 percent of the crowd shows up wearing some sort of homemade t-shirt paying homage to the show or its host, apparel is not a factor.

As for Barker himself, he looks older, but certainly not frail. During commercial breaks at the taping, he chats with the audience, accepts gifts (ties, t-shirts), and autographs a woman's arm, which bears a large tattooed image of Barker's face. When the audience begs him to repeat the notorious line from Happy Gilmore, he feigns innocence. "Oh, I don't know if I can say that," Barker tells them, turning to one of his producers. "Can I say, The price is wrong, bitch?" The audience goes nuts. The producer nods; obviously, she's heard this shtick before.

The most surprising thing about a visit to the set is the sheer noise. From the very start of the taping to the Showcase Showdown, the crowd screams, yells, and shrieks out numbers and prices, making it nearly impossible to hear the interaction onstage between Barker and the contestants.

According to Jeruschka White and Caryn Capotosto, who have interviewed hundreds of contestants for a documentary-in-progress called Come On Down!, about half the winners sell off their prizes immediately, unable to afford the tax bite. Others hang on at any cost. "Even if people don't like the car," says White, "they keep it for sentimental reasons."

Across the Web, countless fan sites track minute details about the show's history, such as the date that Barker's hair went gray (October 15, 1987). YouTube boasts a decent library of clips, including one episode with a major wardrobe malfunction-a contestant's tube top slipped down when she ran toward the stage. ("She came down, and out they came," exclaimed Barker at the time.)

Additionally, the show's official website maintains an encyclopedic Q-and-A section, recording such factoids as the biggest winnings to date ($147,517, won on September 19, 2006) and explaining why only American-made cars are given away. (Too many complaints from viewers, says the site, noting that the decision was made after the first Gulf War.) Diehard fans can also look forward to the publication this September ofCome On Down! Behind the Big Doors at The Price Is Right, a memoir penned by longtime producer Stan Blits.

According to Dobkowitz, the show's amazing longevity is due to several factors, including Barker's popularity and its relatively simple premise: knowing how much an item--be it a bottle of Aspercreme or a Ford Fiesta-costs. "What's happened now is that we're like comfort food," he says. "It reminds people of when they were seven years old and watching the show."

And what's his favorite part of the job? Dobkowitz says it's shepherding contestants offstage after they've played one of the pricing games. "It doesn't matter whether they've won or lost, they're so happy," he says. "They tell me they've been waiting to get on the show for the last 25 years."

The Filming of "Come On Down"

Production on "Come On Down!" began in the fall of 2004 in Los Angeles. Our first interviewee was Ted Ott- the nighttime desk clerk at the Farmer's Daughter Hotel across the street from the CBS Studios where The Price is Right has been taped for 35 years. Because of the large number of guests at the hotel that have attended The Price Is Right through the years, Ted began a nightly "Price-Is-Right-Clinic" geared towards prepping his guests for their TPIR experience and adding to the excitement of the occasion.









































Later that winter filming resumed in Maine at the home of Real Barker, who has been staging a family Price-Is-Right tournament every Christmas Eve for the last 25 years as a device to keep the family together for the whole night on Christmas Eve. This has become a revered family tradition for the proud grandparents, their children, and their grandchildren, and has also been a lifelong dream for Real who had yet to actually go to The Price Is Right.




















































In early 2005 Real Barker got his chance, as the family made the pilgrimage to LA to try their luck on TPIR.

























Since 2005, we have been traveling the U.S. and interviewing past contestants of "The Price Is Right" -- from San Francisco to Boston, Las Vegas, Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta, Kansas City, New York, and many places in between to hear each unique rendition of the oft-retold 'Price Is Right-story.'

The Film

"Come On Down!" follows "Real Barker", a Grandfather from Maine, as he pursues his lifelong dream of being on "The Price Is Right." For almost thirty years, Real has staged a family “Price Is Right” tournament on Christmas Eve as a device to keep the family together. Despite several un-successful attempts to go to the show in the 1980’s and 1990’s, the Credit family once again sets out with hopes of being on the show.

In addition, the charismatic cast of characters that we interviewed includes housewives, rock bands, college students, scholars, grandmas, fanatics, and "regular Joe's." The “TPIR-stories” that we have collected offer a hilarious and lighthearted glimpse at a truly unique staple of American popular culture as devotees live their "American dream." As one fan proclaimed, “I compare it to Canterbury Tales… I think it truly is an American pilgrimage.”

Just as the show that inspired it, “Come On Down” provides a welcome reprieve from the many grave and serious issues that we face in the world today. In all seriousness, the film reminds us that family, laughter, and good, clean fun are also endangered in our modern world, and invites us to laugh at ourselves, meet our neighbors, and remember to “help control the pet population…. Have your pet spayed or neutered!” ~ Bob Barker