This Thursday night on CMT Made

Wow. Where to begin?!? Three months ago my beautiful 80's rock star of a wife Nicole went to an audition for a new show called CMT MADE only to support a friend and gain a few funny story's to put into her SNL like repertoire. She is a riot. Anywho, it turns out (not to my surprise) that they LOVED, LOVED, LOVED her and that she was to be the only person from Tennessee to be chosen for the show. Oh by the way, if you recognize the name MADE it's because the show has been on MTV for years and won 3 Emmys during it's life. This CMT version is for us grown up folk, not teens like its MTV cousin. Okay, back to the story ...


The news was then followed by a visit to our home by the head of the production company that started TRL and The Hills among other MTV favs. All I can say about that trip for now is that more is in the works and we will let you know soon. VERY soon.

Nicole was given the green light to be "made" into a cowgirl - a mounted shooter to be exact - with myself and our eight lil' ones in tow. Filming on MADE started right away and the six week journey began. We soon met Angelo, our field producer/camera man. We were struck that his name meant angel as we had been praying for God's covering over the process. Amen indeed. He was perfect ... an award winning docu-film maker with sick tattoos and a love for all things music. A PERFECT match for our eclectic fam. He is now a friend for life. After a day or two of figuring out not to look directly into the lens and how to do an O.T.F. ('on the fly' interview - those lil' behind the scenes clips you see where the star talks about the prior scene) we were ready to go.

Soon we would meet "Outlaw Annie", Nicole's MADE coach. She was a trip and, while annoying at times, we grew to love her too. We were all on the same team. It was such a blast and we felt like a fish who had been dropped into water the first time - we had found our niche, especially Nicole. BUT, I would be lying if I didn't point out that it was insanely hard. Most days were 17 hours+ of filming. The last week Nicole filmed for 20 hours a day. Literally. It was emotionally trying, not to mention the physical abuse Nicole heaped upon her own body in order to achieve the goal.

By the end of filming, she could barely walk and is still in recovery for ligaments torn to the point of breaking in her knee. We now understand why people on reality TV break down into tears for what seems no reason. THERE IS A REASON ... trust me. Cameras and mic packs were on us at all times, even as we went out to eat, etc etc. As an M.C. I love me some mic but it's hard when wearing it all day. You forget it's on and that someone is always listening. Always. :) The only way I can describe it is with the phrase "Big Brother is watchin." Ha. My kids were so funny to watch as they became old seasoned industry vets interviewing like they'd been in the biz for 20 years. They loved it, though at times were over having to walk in and out of every room 2 or 3 times to make sure the camera caught the entrance/exit correctly. Knapsack even got a lil' bit of the action as Angelo filmed both a practice and a live gig.

All that to say we learned so, so much about ourselves through the experience. I can't say if Nicole became a cowgirl (you'll have to watch for that) but I can tell you that Nicole found a self-worth and purpose she never had prior and I found a deeper love and respect for my ridiculously amazing wife. I wish I was half of what she is. I can honestly say I'm the luckiest man on Earth. Challenge me on it ... I dare you. :)

I'll blog on this more as the days advance as I'm still processing the whole journey. Again, wow.

Please watch with an open mind. We have no idea what was put in the show and what was left on the cutting room floor but we do know that we were real. Most MADEs contain about 50 hours of film ... ours was almost 200 hrs ... we ain't playin' here folks. We showed he good and bad ... we showed our humanity and our faith ... we showed our passions and our fears. We showed US. Yes many scenes were somewhat staged as this is "reality" TV not actual reality but I will tell you what you will watch IS in fact real. It's The Miethes. Love us please.

Check out this link to the Nicole Miethe episode info.