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Original MTV Veejay Mark Goodman Dishes On The Early Days, Present Day

Jen Carlson

Published Jul 28, 2011

Modified Jul 28, 2011

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Jen Carlson

Published Jul 28, 2011

Modified Jul 28, 2011

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MTV is turning 30 this year! To celebrate, we talked to one of the original five veejays on the network, Mark Goodman, about the good ol' days of MTV, 1980s New York... and how airing MIchael Jackson's epic "Thriller" video could have saved him if he got to the studio too late. Goodman was a veejay from 1981 to 1987, but like many who watched him on the air then, no longer tunes in to the network.

First, what are you up to these days? I’m working at SiriusXM. I’m on three channels there. The Big 80s on 8 (obviously) from 6 to 10 a.m., The Spectrum (Ch.28 from 6 p.m. to midnight), and Classic Rewind (Ch 25 Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.).

MTV is turning 30 this year, how are you involved in the celebrations? MTV is like an aging rock star who doesn’t want you to think about how old he really is. No mention of it over there. We’re celebrating on SiriusXM 80s on 8. This Mon 8.1 Nina Blackwood, Martha Quinn, Alan Hunter and I will be in the same studio celebrating and reminiscing. We’ll recreate the first 5 hours of MTV musically and hang with special guests: Rick Springfield, Pat Benatar, Eddie Money and more (at 7 a.m., repeating throughout the day). And my almost alma matter VH1 Classic is airing “MTV30 On VH1 Classic,” a three day tribute to MTV beginning Saturday, July 30th at 6 a.m. to Monday, August 1st at 12 a.m. “MTV30 On VH1 Classic” will relive countless iconic moments in MTV’s history with segments from memorable musical performances, hit series, specials, promos and news events that shaped the history of the network. Also airing MTV’s first original hour of programming from its debut back in 1981 during the tribute marathon July 31st, at midnight.

How did you land the veejay job? Two auditions. The 2nd of which I had to actually walk and talk while gesturing to a board with pictures of the Eagles pasted onto it. Then I had to interview Robert Morton (later the producer on Letterman) who pretended to be an obnoxious Billy Joel.

What were the first days of MTV like, what was the energy like in the studios? The first days were hectic. We had been rehearsing for a few weeks in July leading up to the launch. The VJs shared one small dressing room. The girls had to go and change behind the clothing rack. We had to do 24 hrs of MTV every day. But of course we were on 7 days a week and the studio was open only 5. So two days a week we had to do what we called 48s. Shooting 48 hrs of MTV plus interviews promos and whatever other insanity was needed to try and get sponsors. Those days started at about 7 a.m. and went to about 11 p.m. We’d be delirious by the end of it. We started off not really knowing each other and by the time we moved from that studio the crew and the VJs were like family or Viet Nam Vets who’d shared the same terrifying experience. The VJs and much of the crew are still friends to this day.

Who were your favorite bands back then, and now? I was a big fan of Tom Petty, The Clash, Nick Lowe, Peter Gabriel, Madonna, and Bruce of course. I’m a huge Springsteen fan. Now I’m more into dance music and DJs. Skrillex, Rusko, Deadmau5. I love Needtobreathe, Fleet Foxes, Kings Of Leon, Head and the Heart, Scars On 45. But I have also always loved disposable pop like Katy Perry, Gaga, Rihanna.

And your favorite videos? Peter Gabriel did the best videos. Big Time, Steam, Shock The Monkey. There was this guy Chas Jankle, who had a video we aired for like a week, called "Questionaire." I loved it because it used some very ingenious ways of doing video effects with lighting and camera angles and other natural methods. Song was pretty good too. I did love the Duran Duran destination videos: Sri Lanka, Antigua. And they really embraced the medium, using iconic film influenced story lines and avant garde directors.

What was your most memorable moment on air? Live Aid. 18 hours of special moments.

What do you think of MTV today? I don’t watch. I’m too old for the target demo. But it seems they know what their chosen audience is interested in.

120 Minutes will be returning, with Matt Pinfield, is there any other older MTV program you'd like to see return? I love Pinfield. I actually hosted a few episodes of that show. Older programs than 120 Minutes? There weren’t many that could come back. I hosted the first syndicated show MTV ever did: “The MTV Top 20 Video Countdown,” but what would be the point of that coming back? It would probably look stupid now. We used to do a show called "Liner Notes" in the very early years. I did Paul McCartney for that show. It was all the cool artists of the moment—some still here but most are gone.

Since we're a NYC-centric blog, can you share one of your strangest "only in NY" moments over the years? When we first started airing the full length Michael Jackson "Thriller" video we used to play it like every 20 minutes. At least that’s the way it seemed. One morning I was late getting from my apartment on the Upper West Side to the studio at 57th and 10th. I’m standing in the middle of Columbus Ave waving at every cab headed downtown. Finally I get a cab and I jump in the back and tell the driver I’m in a big hurry to get to 57th and 10th. The driver looks in the mirror at me and says in his best noo yawk accent “Whatza matta Mawk? Late gettin’ to da studio?”

“Yeah” I say. ‘I’m really late. Can you get there as fast as possible?”

“Ah don’t wawry” the driver says. “If yaw late day can jus show ‘Trilla’ anuddah 14 times till yoo get dare.” One of my greatest MTV moments and only in New York.

Where were your favorite venues here in the '80s? And now? When I first got to New York in 1980 I went to this club on 72nd and Columbus. Was it Tramps I think? I loved Danceteria… saw so many shows at the Ritz. I went to Nell’s a lot once we started airing in Manhattan and I could get in. These days I’m seeing shows at Bowery Ballroom, the Living Room, Terminal 5. I’ve seen a few great shows at Roseland then and now!

Tagged

interview

mark goodman

mtv

veejay

Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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