![]() "Behind the Music" has a formula familiar to anyone who has seen the classic rock-group parody This is Spinal Tap. "I feel like I\'m getting a second chance."Now artists beg to come on the show, and Gaspin sometimes has to politely explain that their lives aren\'t interesting enough.Which brings us to the biggest danger of the series. Other has-beens had similar experiences."Instead of joking about it, they\'re now embracing it," he said. Why air all that dirty laundry?But his new career as a punk rocker needed a publicity boost, so he agreed to film a "Behind the Music." A strange thing happened: people began laughing with him, not at him, and the empty clubs where he used to perform suddenly filled up. ![]() He fell into a depression, did too many drugs, even tried to commit suicide. His "Ice Ice Baby" was a big hit, then even more quickly a subject for derision. ![]() "For a lot of these artists, it\'s the first time they\'ve talked about some of these things."Vanilla Ice didn\'t want to talk. The artists must agree to tell all, and allow use of their music.David Cassidy talked about how he worked and played too hard to enjoy any of his time as a teen idol."There\'s a closure for a lot of them," Gaspin said. VH1 doesn\'t do unauthorized "Behind the Music" episodes. ![]() Rock stars aren\'t usually shy about talking of their lives, even the embarrassing parts. The five best-known members of Fleetwood Mac laid out their story of sex, drugs and rock \'n\' roll in excruciating detail.An inflated self-image is another prerequisite. He thought it would be a great human story, and the disgraced duo were only too willing to talk.So was MC Hammer - happy to explain how his $30 million fortune disappeared (mostly on luxurious cars and homes). Gaspin wondered what had happened to the two men of Milli Vanilli, the pre-fab pop band forced to give back the 1989 Grammy Award for best new artist when it was revealed they were lip-synchers who didn\'t even perform on their album. And it\'s next to impossible to change channels.Before you know it, you\'ve watched an hour about Tony Orlando, even if you haven\'t thought about him for 20 years and didn\'t plan to for 20 more.One of the music business\' most embarrassing stories launched the series. You\'re not driving in their car with them when they\'re drunk."Gaspin used to work at "Dateline NBC" and that background is clearly evident on "Behind the Music." The show is slick, the stories skirt the line of sleazy melodrama. And you\'re watching it from the comfort of your house. "I think there\'s some comfort in knowing that these lives are so miserable. VH1 recently scheduled "Behind the Music" for every night at 9 p.m., quietly began selling episodes on videotape, and is talking with record companies about releasing discs of artists featured on the shows.Most people inclined to watch VH1 have at some point in their lives played air guitar to their favorite songs, or styled their hair for how it might appear on an album cover.So it reassures these viewers to learn that the people who lived out their dream didn\'t always find it so wonderful, said Jeff Gaspin, the VH1 executive who masterminded the series."They say, \'my life isn\'t so terrible. They get their blood transfused to get rid of all the chemicals.When it\'s all over, when they\'ve lost their talent, their hair and most of their audience, they\'re vain enough to think the world still wants them on stage.In short, rock stars lead lives that invite voyeurism - usually accompanied by a good soundtrack."You give a 20-year-old kid $10 million, adoring fans and a life on the road - that equals controversy and a great story," VH1 President John Sykes said.That\'s why the music biography has quickly become the cable music channel\'s signature series, and now something of a business in itself. They hurl television sets from hotel windows. They sleep with models, or anyone else who happens by.
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