My name is Joe Ragosta and I sing in the band Patent Pending. (That's me in the center of the above photo.) To give you a little bit of a back story on who we are, Patent Pending is a pop-punk/rock band that's been around for 11 years. We're a rag-tag group of kids from Long Island, NY that have been touring in the same dingy, smelly, air-condition-less van for the past 9 years. Scratching and crawling our way through the musical trenches in venues ranging in size from basements in New Jersey to Warped Tour amphitheaters across the country.
With gritty, grass-roots promotion and a whatever-it-takes attitude, we've been able to carve a (very) small pocket for ourselves in the gigantic ever-spinning wheel that is the music industry. A few months ago, Billboard called and asked us to be part of The Billboard & Chevrolet Battle of The Bands that we eventually went on to win. You can learn more about our band, the battle and our struggle over at Billboard.com/battle , but for now, this is the story about the biggest night of our lives, the 2012 Billboard Music Awards!
Battle of the Bands Main Page
Battle of the Bands Photo Shoot
Winning Battle Performance
Billboard Music Awards Red Carpet
BBMAs Performance
Backstage After the BBMAs Set
Being in a small band, it's easy to have the attitude of "pop music sucks." It's easy to say that what Justin Bieber sings about, what Katy Perry is wearing or what LMFAO is saying is of no concern to the music that we are making. To me, this couldn't be further from the truth. These are the taste-makers. These are the people who, like it or not, are pretty much the soundtrack to the lives of anyone who leaves their home for any length of time because you can't walk down a city street without seeing their faces or hearing their songs. To be included in a night like this with people like that was something I couldn't possibly begin to accurately describe without sounding like a 13 year-old fan girl. SO FAN GIRL I SHALL BE! Here are some of my personal highlights from the 2012 Billboard Music Awards.
Patent Pending Wins the Billboard Battle of the Bands
First of all, we were assigned "talent escorts." Their job is to stay with us all day to make sure we have anything that we may need and to make sure that we get where we are going on time all day long! This may not sound like much, but it's pretty much a human alarm clock with water bottle holding capabilities! They were so kind and organized, I honestly can't get over how fantastic it was to have them on our team for the day. We arrived at the MGM Grand Arena for a closed dress rehearsal soundcheck early in the day. Just the site of the arena from the state of the art stage was enough to make our heads spin. We're used to playing in small dark clubs in scrappy towns, so this was obviously quite a change of scenery for us. When we got there, CeeLo Green was finishing his soundcheck… I think it goes without saying, CeeLo + Goodie Mob + Pyro = Bonkers! I counted over 35 stage hands helping us load our 15 pieces of gear onto the stage. Their efficiency was only outdone by their kindness.
After we were done checking, many men with headsets swooped in like ninjas to break down our gear. Within seconds, our equipment disappeared like it was part of a Chrss Angel show (sans the douche-y commentary!). As we turned to walk off the stage we heard the dudes talking into their headphones saying "Set for Kelly Clarkson!"… "Ms. Clarkson is almost to the entrance ramp, please set staging to mark." I know that this sounds like just words muttered into a headset, but WE ARE TALKING ABOUT KELLY FREAKIN' CLARKSON HERE! She's a legend that has more top 10 hit songs than we have albums. We were sharing a stage with her, icon Stevie Wonder, Usher, Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood and not to mention the entire thing was being hosted by Ty Burrel and Julie Bowen of (one of my favorite shows) "Modern Family"! It was right about then that we started to realize the gravity of the situation that we were in and the magnitude of the opportunity that we had been blessed with.
Just then I walked down the ramp and found myself singing out loud "Jason Deruuuuulllllooooo." I imagine this is a common reaction by anyone who runs into him, but I do remember putting my hand to my mouth immediately in an effort to hide what i had just said out loud! I remember having to tell myself "Dude, you're going to see a lot of famous people who have no idea who you are today and if you say things out loud, they are going to hear them… so SHUT UP!" It seemed like he didn't notice, which I'm guessing is a good thing.
We were then whisked away to wardrobe. They were super cool about letting us dress in our own style and letting us be ourselves. Minus a tie or two for the red carpet, we all just wore things that we already owned. I think that was one of the most relieving parts for us. It was important to us throughout the whole process that we didn't sell ourselves out and do something or wear something that we wouldn't do on our own already and the powers that be were incredibly accommodating to that.
While we were at wardrobe we actually got the chance to meet Kelly Clarkson! She talked to Anthony about how much she loves his hair. You could see him melting inside. I think he's always had a thing for her. I'm only saying that because of the Kelly Clarkson poster that hangs behind his TV in his room back home. He handled himself like a real pro! He was even able to form two complete sentences which actually turned into a full conversation. Like most people we met this weekend, Kelly's talent is only outshined by her kindness. We met Carly Rae Jepsen's band. Those dudes were rad and I was stoked to find out later in the day that not only do they play every note when they perform, but they also play them perfectly!
NEXT PAGE: Joe and the Band Trade Cold Pizza for Swag Bags... Also: CLAIRE AND PHIL DUNPHY ARE STANDING NEXT TO ME!
