A green screen lies tacked to one wall of the room, while the others display flimsy wood paneling. The distinct odor of cat hair emanates through the air, wafting toward two sets of stage lights bolted to the ceiling. This is the living room of Rich Stahle’s cloistered Baldwinsville apartment, which doubles as the nerve center of his thriving business.

‘It’s my Home Depot studio,’ said Stahle, smirking. ‘It works well by trial and error by setting up lights and moving them different ways.’

Stahle is the purveyor of Underground Video Television, a broadcast enterprise serving primarily New York state. The covert location is a holding tank for more than 150 music videos featuring bands equally true to their obscure titles: In Flames, Prong, Type O Negative and Strapping Young Lad, just to name a few. Starting May 11, UVTV will move from public access channel 98 to channel 76, where it can also buy airtime and commercials.

Only five years ago, Stahle was laid off from his software engineering job, spending the majority of his time ‘blowing my savings drinking and playing video games.’ His life took a turn for the better when one of his buddies suggested launching a music video program for television. After his friend left the project for a job offer in Florida, Stahle continued building the business on his own.

‘It was something to do because I was bored,’ Stahle said. ‘As it evolved, I really enjoyed it, and it evolved into a business.’

Since then, Stahle has been joined by Jerimi Walker, director of promotions and marketing, as well as two show hosts and a number of production crew members. The team sends two or three people to tape local concerts of national, signed and unsigned bands. Tapings have also originated at private shows in places such as basements and warehouses before getting synchronized with recorded music.

Stahle conducts the intensive editing process entirely on his own, using the only computer at his disposal in the corner of his carpeted living room studio. The total count of his filmed productions now exceeds 200, most of which are available on the channel’s Web site. Both Walker and Stahl said their commitment to UVTV is testament to the fact that their enterprise is a labor of love.

‘I don’t know what a work week is,’ Walker said. ‘We just work when we want, which is pretty much all the time.’

The hardest part of the taping process is catching the right angles and shots so material can be used for edited videos, Stahle said. When the bands, which often attract cult followings, are wild on stage, it is easier to cut clips and create special effects such as tinting, he added.

‘I was helping tape Brand New Sin and somehow got pulled into a (mosh) pit with a camera,’ Walker said. ‘I got bruises the size of baseballs on my knees.

‘I think I speak for everyone when I say it feels really cool to be part of something like this; energy of the kids is crazy. I’ve known lots of bands since the age of 15 or 16, and getting to work with them now … that’s just crazy.’

Watching young bands under the radar make it big in the music business is another added perk of her job, Walker said.

‘You can tell if they’re going to make it or not … work ethic is the biggest part of it,’ she said.

Dan Wagner, a member of the band Wagner, first met Stahle in 2001 while his group was playing out on ‘the bleachers in Liverpool.’ Stahle walked up to Wagner and said ‘You’re off the wall. I’d like to get a video with you, let’s tweak it up,’ Wagner said. Two years later, UVTV taped its first live recording of Wagner, and the finished product impressed him enough to start planning for a second session.

In addition to Stahle’s expertise, Wagner noted that the entertainment qualities of music videos have helped UVTV become a lucrative business for bands trying to market themselves.

‘One great thing about the video – it catches your eye,’ Wagner said. ‘You got one tune, whatever, but you got something zipping at you. It holds your interest, holds your mind and helps determine whether you like it or not.’

As UVTV continues to move forward, Walker said she hopes to expand their television access from 10 cities to 150 while maintaining the business’ homegrown personality. Georgette Nicolaides, a business professor at Syracuse University and camera operator for UVTV, is confident this goal is more than a pipe dream.

‘They have a mission to expand across the country. It’s very doable,’ Nicolaides said. ‘Together as a team they have the right skills to bring it to the next level.’

Published on April 3, 2006 at 12:00 pm