Michael J Downey's Blog

Current mood:focused

After I left the band Femme Fatale (MCA/Atlantic), I opted for a minor 'career change.' I studied TV/Film at UCLA night school, and started working on feature films, commercials, and my favorite - music videos. Looking back, I can't believe how fortunate I was. Shooting in Death Valley with Rickie Lee Jones, in Arizona with Dan Seals, and all over LA with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, et al. I was doing lighting in these videos (Gaffer or Best Boy).

Except for one - the Quiet Riot video was shot at a power plant in Pasadena. I knew some of the guys because we played softball together at Beeman Park on Sundays. So they asked me to be in the video. At the beginning of the video, when the trap door opens on the tank, I'm the second one out - wearing my purple satin "Prince" jacket. Right after that they started throwing the guitars in the shredder...NO!!!

Enjoy...