From my local newspaper:
http://m.lancasteronline.com/featur...a0e-da35-11e4-b7dc-4f339db6a12b.html?mode=jqm
Lancaster's next reality show, "Cutting Crew," highlights The Cutting Edge - Trending - lancasteronline.comback*Side Panel*
New reality TV show- "Cutting Crew"
Lancaster's next reality show, "Cutting Crew," highlights The Cutting Edge
By ERIN NEGLEY | Staff Writer*|Updated*Yesterday
When people settle into a chair at The Cutting Edge Barbershop, sometimes they don’t know what they want and their barber isn’t entirely sure, too.
Then inspiration strikes and a few minutes later, they’ll go on their way in a fade topped with swoops, dots and swirls; a beard cut in a geometric pattern and maybe dyed a bright color.
It’s a lot of look for a haircut and that’s exactly what the barbers want.
“Basically when you do designs, that’s pretty much like a walking billboard for you. People are going to stop and ask who did that?” said shop owner Amit Corso.
The haircuts, as well as the barbers, attracted enough attention for the Lancaster barbershop to star in “Cutting Crew,” a new reality show debuting Saturday on El Rey network. The eight-episode TV show highlights the barbers, their styles and their customers.
“I’ve assembled a team of award-winning barbers in Lancaster,” Corso says in the show’s intro, setting the tone for the series. “If you want a boring, cookie-cutter haircut, go to a salon.”
The Cutting Edge
Corso, 31, has owned his shop for 10 years and now has a space on a corner of East King Street near Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology. After a childhood of home cuts, he went to a barbershop and was blown away by details of a good haircut. So Corso started cutting hair in his basement and eventually got his barber license.
The shop’s six barbers will do traditional and trendy haircuts, but they specialize in creative styles cut with razors and sometimes dyed.
Often, customers will have something in mind and the barbers will work with them on a design, similar to what you’ll see in a tattoo shop. Other times, people will give their barber free reign to be creative.
“I never know where it’s going to go,” Corso said. “When I’m starting, I don’t know how it’s going to end. You kind of just throw your lines in and take it from there.”
The creative work brings in more clients and attracts attention beyond Lancaster. In 2012, Corso won first place in the Bigen Barber Showdown, the largest barber competition in the country.
He also helped create a few competitions, including the EGO Barber Competition held in Lancaster in the fall, and launched an app for barbers to share haircuts.
Corso also caught the eye of producers who saw a niche for a show about great haircuts, something that has value in pop culture but is under the radar, said Flavio Morales, executive vice president of BIG VIDA Entertainment, a Burbank, Calif production company. He looked for a barbershop with great characters and a great dynamic, he said.
In Corso and the crew at The Cutting Edge, he found hard-working young barbers willing to amp up their personalities for the cameras.
“There’s a really strong brotherhood,” Morales said. “They’re also goofy.”
The company filmed a pilot, and once El Rey network bought the show, the camera crew returned during the summer to film seven more episodes.
Filming made the shop a little crowded and pushed the barbers to work long days.
“Just trying to do that, run a business and cut my clients, it was definitely a challenge,” Corso said.
Most customers signed a waiver, agreeing to be on the show. There were some who didn’t want to be filmed, so the barbers cut their hair before the crew showed up or in the back room.
“It was definitely time consuming but we hope the end result is all worth it,’’ Corso said.
The barbers haven’t seen the episodes yet but they have an idea of how the show will look. Barber Alex Vazquez described it as a cross between the styles of popular TV shows “Miami Ink” and “Jackass.”
There are plenty of jokes and a little drama. Most of the action takes place inside the shop, but viewers see an occasional glimpse of Lancaster’s character (yes, there’s a buggy shot).
The show focuses on how the barbers relate, in between making creative designs for customers. In the first few episodes, they’re asked to come up with haircuts influenced by cancer awareness, a hashtag for a musician’s song and a pet bird. Then there’s the gnome haircut.
The barbers were a little skeptical about filming a reality show. But after getting to know the camera crew and looking at other work-related unscripted shows, they relaxed.
“We were so excited to show the rest of the world what we have to offer,” Vazquez said.
As they wait for the show to air, they are excited and nervous. They are also hoping the show will boost the business and maybe attract the attention of celebrities or sponsorships.
Barber Melody Rivera said she hopes “Cutting Crew” will show people how barbers build relationships with clients and double as a therapist.
“I’m excited for everybody else to see the kind of creativity that goes on here,” she said.
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To watch
When:
Launching on April 11, Wednesdays 9 p.m.
Where:
on El Rey Network - DirectTV (channel 341) and Dish Network (channel 253)
