Nerds hit the big time, win MTV Video
Contest
For 10 recent Glenwood High School graduates, the dream became reality Sunday night in
New York City.
The 'Nerds in Disguise' video, directed by Matt Hartzler and co-produced by Hartzler and Jake
Giganti, won the Pepsi Rock Band Music Video Contest at the MTV Music Awards.
The other co-stars in the video - Mitch Falter, Taylor Blake, Shane Reynolds, Ben Parks,
Charlie Clausner, Mike Ranos, David O'Brien and Alec Veldhuizen - also were in attendance at
the VMAs and walked the red carpet to receive their "Moonman" award.
The group was able to spend six days in New York, though Hartzler's schedule at Amherst
College did not allow him to spend quite as much time there. He was provided a driver by
Pepsi to travel back and forth to school, and Pepsi also picked up the tab to fly the other nine
'Nerds' to New York.
"It was overwhelming and surreal - it was a crazy experience," said Giganti. "It was a great
experience to represent Springfield, Chatham and GCNN. Seeing this actually happen is pretty
awesome. It's one of the greatest senses of accomplishment I've ever had."
The group had quite a week in New York, including doing a photo shoot for the November
issue of Spin magazine, hanging out with MTV executives, touring Ground Zero and other sites
and meeting a number of celebrities.
Online voting determined the winning video, and Ryan Bandy, GCNN Coordinator at
Glenwood High School, added, "I don't know how we will ever top this. It sets the bar very high.
This was a lot of hard work and Matt put in hours and hours and hours to put this together.
"It's an incredible video, and they knew how to market it," Bandy continued. "They got the
press and their schools involved and got kids to vote for it there."
Estimates put the television audience for Sunday's VMAs at 40 million people. Locally, over
100 fans packed The Creek Pub and Grill in Chatham to cheer on their very own local
celebrities.
Contest
For 10 recent Glenwood High School graduates, the dream became reality Sunday night in
New York City.
The 'Nerds in Disguise' video, directed by Matt Hartzler and co-produced by Hartzler and Jake
Giganti, won the Pepsi Rock Band Music Video Contest at the MTV Music Awards.
The other co-stars in the video - Mitch Falter, Taylor Blake, Shane Reynolds, Ben Parks,
Charlie Clausner, Mike Ranos, David O'Brien and Alec Veldhuizen - also were in attendance at
the VMAs and walked the red carpet to receive their "Moonman" award.
The group was able to spend six days in New York, though Hartzler's schedule at Amherst
College did not allow him to spend quite as much time there. He was provided a driver by
Pepsi to travel back and forth to school, and Pepsi also picked up the tab to fly the other nine
'Nerds' to New York.
"It was overwhelming and surreal - it was a crazy experience," said Giganti. "It was a great
experience to represent Springfield, Chatham and GCNN. Seeing this actually happen is pretty
awesome. It's one of the greatest senses of accomplishment I've ever had."
The group had quite a week in New York, including doing a photo shoot for the November
issue of Spin magazine, hanging out with MTV executives, touring Ground Zero and other sites
and meeting a number of celebrities.
Online voting determined the winning video, and Ryan Bandy, GCNN Coordinator at
Glenwood High School, added, "I don't know how we will ever top this. It sets the bar very high.
This was a lot of hard work and Matt put in hours and hours and hours to put this together.
"It's an incredible video, and they knew how to market it," Bandy continued. "They got the
press and their schools involved and got kids to vote for it there."
Estimates put the television audience for Sunday's VMAs at 40 million people. Locally, over
100 fans packed The Creek Pub and Grill in Chatham to cheer on their very own local
celebrities.
Chatham Clarion
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Issue Date: Sept. 17, 2009