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| Written By Rick
Ellis, Thursday, March 29th, 2007 Q: What did you learn about the show after season one? Were there some things that you really liked, or things that you really wanted to see changed? A: One change that I insisted on was that this season had to include more of our veterans. It takes months to train someone to be a Coyote Ugly bartender, and frankly, concentrating primarily on the new people in season one just didn’t give viewers an accurate sense of what to expect in our bars. Q: In real life, how long does it take to properly train someone? I’m guessing that no matter how naturally talented someone is, there’s still a lot to learn. A: I tell my managers to not be discouraged if it takes four to six months for a new girl to get completely up to speed. It’s a long process and requires a lot of hard work. And I’m not sure that really came across last season. The toughest thing is for the girls to move beyond a cookie-cutter bunch of routines to becoming something creative and special. Q: The first episode of the new season focuses entirely on the veteran bartenders. Watching the episode, I think viewers get a better sense of what it means to be a Coyote Ugly bartender. Were you happy with the way that episode turned out? A: I haven’t seen the final version yet, but it turned out to be a lot harder for me that I had expected it to be. I had to cut girls, and that wasn’t easy. They were the best of the best, and it wasn’t easy to make those decisions. Q: Knowing what you know now about it all plays out throughout the season, are you happy with the decisions you made? Are there any veterans you wish you had kept instead? A: Not really. I can’t say much, but I think it turned out the way it should have. I was happy with the results. Q: The first season of the show was pretty successful, and I wonder how that impacted your clubs. Did it change the type of people that came in, or how they acted? A: Well, the success of the show certainly meant that new people were coming in, and for that matter, we were getting people who wanted to work here because they thought they might be on TV. And we had to say to people very clearly that we do what we do for the business, and if you end up being on TV…that’s a bonus. But you shouldn’t count it, and you shouldn’t change the way you do things on a daily basis. Q: How about the customers? A: Well, it was more of an issue after the success of the movie, but sometimes we need to remind customers that having fun and wild and crazy isn’t the same as being wild and angry. Q: How has the success of the show changed your working life? I’m guessing it’s even harder to just walk into a club and do what you need to do. A: Well, I’m signing a lot more autographs and a lot more people recognize me. I don’t mind it, but I miss the more casual interaction with customers and my girls. But I don’t miss the days when I was closing up things early in the morning. Q: You and some of your veterans talk a lot about the “Coyote” philosophy and what it means to be a Coyote girl. Can you talk a bit about what you expect from the women who work for you? A: Being a Coyote girl is about empowerment and being comfortable with your sexuality and being a woman. It’s not just about being the best-looking woman in the room; those looks won’t necessarily make you a success. The best people are the ones with personality. They can sell drinks -- they really connect with the customers. Q: If CMT wants to do another season of the show, are you interested in seeing it happen? A: I have a feeling that we’ll see another season of the show. There’s already some talk that it might happen, and that’s fine with me. Q: You live in New Orleans now, and I wonder how the club there in New Orleans is doing in these port-Katrina times. A: Things are going well now, but it was certainly tough in the beginning. Before Katrina, we had 23 employees here and just after we were down to 7. We’re back up to 14 and while things aren’t 100% in New Orleans, I’m optimistic about the future. Q: What’s in the future for the "Coyote Ugly" chain? A: We’ll continue to expand. And I really like the idea of some sort of combination with a restaurant and casino. So I think that might be in our future at some point. Season two of "Ultimate Coyote Search" premieres on CMT on Thursday, March 29th, 2007. |
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