It was a pleasure talking to John Dynes, the floor director for Canadian Idol, at last week’s Idol rehearsal. I have met John a few times over that last couple of years and it was great getting a chance to talk to him and show you why he is “Mystery Idol #1.” Part of the team that you don’t get to see each week that is responsible for making Canadian Idol the show that it is every week, John is a valuable part of the process. Most Idol fans have seen him at the live shows, telling everybody when to clap after commercial, but this is your first chance to actually get to know him. Find out why I will have an extra edge on the competition for Media Idol next year and if you want to know more about the meaning of his band’s name, you will have to ask him. He was the second “Mystery Idol” that I interviewed. Enjoy.
Murtz Jaffer: Hey, are you ready to rock?
John ‘JD’ Dynes: Yeah.
MJ: It’s going to be quick and painless.
JD: Kind of like my sex life.
MJ: (Laughs). I want to ask you about Man Gravy. I have heard that it is a band that you play in.
JD: It’s a band that I play in with a group of television guys that just started jamming a couple of years ago.
MJ: With the inclusion of instruments this season, do you find that staging the show has been different than in years past and is it sort of more of a burden for you to like ‘okay, now we have to worry about the instruments?’
JD: Never a burden. Always a challenge. Which I enjoy. It certainly has added more to the show. In my professional opinion, if I actually had one of those, I think it has actually made the show a lot better and I’d love to see the Americans do it too. They have probably got as much talent down there on a per capita basis. I think it just adds to it and it showcases these guys a lot more. You see Dwight out there playing a Santana song.
MJ: With an electric guitar!
JD: So good! I mean it’s amazing. For us, yeah it adds a little more to the day but it is certainly not a burden. It is more of a challenge.
MJ: How much advice do you give the contestants when you see them perform the song? Is it a lot of ‘I think you would look better here, I think you would look better there’ or is it more of them saying ‘I want to start here, I want to be here at this part?’
JD: My role is basically to put out fires before they happen. Working with Joan (the director) as long as I have worked with her, I can in most cases (not always, every once in awhile she sets me straight), I can just tell in being an ex-camera guy (I was a camera guy for 30 years). I can tell what looks good and what doesn’t look good and where Joan is probably going to want them. I would never advise them on going to a certain place but I know what doesn’t work, so it’s mostly just putting out fires and saying ‘let’s not do that until we get Joan’s opinion on it. But chances are that this position way over here isn’t going to work for camera. The show’s about them, we want them to be as visible to the audience as possible and anything that takes them away from that, more than likely gonna advise them (for lack of a better word) that that isn’t going to be good.
MJ: For the most part, do you think that they have free reign or would you say they have more limitations than liberties?
JD: The only limitation that I have seen is that if you’re a guitar player or a piano player, you’re stuck in that spot. Matt got up today which is great and Dwight’s been stepping up but you are limited by the instrument that you are playing. Other than that, I think the instruments has opened it up for them and I think that has given them a lot more artisitic…
MJ: Opportunity?
JD: Opportunity for openness which has really helped.
MJ: Approximately how long do you work with each competitor. Is it just for the band rehearsal today and then for the performance show on Monday?
JD: It depends on when it is. Top 100, I have very little to do with them other than to say ‘hi, how are you doing?’ Make them comfortable before they go on. Top 22, that’s really where they are learning about television. We do a TV 101 at the very beginning of the season. We go over everything with them. Where the cameras are, both steadycam and handheld and that’s probably when I get the most work with them. Just trying to get them comfortable with where you should be, where you should go, what works for television, what doesn’t work for television. And as we go on, they just get more comfortable with the process. I don’t even have to tell them after awhile. They’re just so good with it.
MJ: In terms of you per contestant. How much time do you spend with each one per week? Couple of hours?
JD: Yeah. And I try (especially at the beginning of Top 10 and even 22), I won’t take a lunch. I’d rather spend time talking to them, finding out what they are all about. ‘Cause generally, who you are as a person is how you perform too. That gives me an insight into what they like to do and what they are going to do on stage.
MJ: So I guess for Media Idol next year, we’re going to have to go for a drink first to ensure that I don’t lose again.
JD: Absolutely. Dinner’s good too. (Laughs).
MJ: Sounds good. That’s perfect, thanks.
JD: Thanks, good seeing you again.
