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Show BlfflfPEOPLE An interesting look at people in Davis County It's off to Hollywood and,,. 1.4 "- . , - V ILL" "" '-Sr & f Later this month the Flying Zucchini Brothers will travel to Hollywood for their national na-tional television taping. Who are the Flying Zucchini Brothers? First, they are not brothers and, in fact, don't even live in the same neighborhood... Secondly, Second-ly, they are a quintet of "singers" who won't sing (and, in fact, will be tossed off the show if any of them even utter a note or a squeek)...And finally, they are a group of young men who have seldom even seen the television program they're appearing on. But Dick Clark doesn't care--and he's lured hem to Hollywood with a chance for them to earn an instant $1,000.. .and then $5,000.. .and then $25,000. Not bad for five teenagers in Kaysville, ! Utah. Not bad for 15-year old Justin Brown who last visited California 10 years ago as a small tyke at Disneyland. Justin is the so-called "leader" of the Flying Zucchini Brothers, and it was he who suggested sug-gested to his friends that they attend a Salt Lake audition for the syndicated television program "Puttin On The Hits" locally broadcasted broad-casted Saturday mornings on KSTU-Channel 20). The group had no name and had never performed together, but they agreed and noted that the audition "sounded like fun." So they found a song (a little-known non-English non-English tune, "Musta-fa," from a rock album by Queen), asked one of the boy's sisters to sew some baggy pants, borrowed five blousey-looking blousey-looking shirts from the Davis High drama department de-partment and began practicing. They didn't practice too long they only had one week before be-fore the audition. The Flying Zucchini Brothers were one of some 100 Utah acts appearing at the Crossroads Cros-sroads Mall audition. Their job was to play the t song, perform a choreographed act and "lip-synch" "lip-synch" the words. ("One sound from your voice or an instrument and you would be disqualified," dis-qualified," said Justin.) "It's harder than you think not to say anything. If a group has a guitar, for instance, you must place tape over the strings so you don't accidentally strum one of the strings.") A representative from Dick Clark Productions Produc-tions narrowed the 100 groups down to a final 15 and sent a videotape of the finalists to company com-pany headquarters in California. Three weeks ago Justin's Father, Fred Brown (an assistant principal at Viewmont High School), received a telephone call. "This is Dick Clark Productions in Hollywood," Holly-wood," began the caller. "Sure it is," laughed Fred. "I was sure it was a joke, some crank call." It was a call, but not a prank. The Flying Zucchini Brothers had been selected to represent repre-sent Utah on the television program to be taped in Hollywood on July 22, said the caller. The boys would soon receive confirmation and a studio contract along with five airline tickets and hotel accommodations for three days. The company would also "foot the bill" for an adult chaperone, Justin's mother Michael (an English En-glish instructor at Davis High School). The boys would be competing against three other lip-synch groups for a $1,000 cash award. If they were selected the winner by the "celebrity judges," they will advance to the quarterfinals, receive more tickets to Hollywood and have a JUSTIN BROWN chance at $5,000. And if they were selected again, the "brothers" could appear on the championship show offering a $25,000 grand prize. "Would they be willing to perform?" asked the caller. The answer was an automatic yes-and the five young men began thinking about how to pack their luggage. "We're still amazed that the judges sleeted us as the winners," says Justin. "There was so much talent in Salt Lake. In fact, the Dick Clark representative said she had never seen an area with so much talent. I think our act won because the song is little-known and we combine com-bine a lot of gymnastics in our stage presentation." presenta-tion." Stage presentation is nothing new to several of the boys. Justin, a Tallyman at Davis High, is involved in musical theatre at the school as is 14-year-old Casey Loveland, entering Davis this fall, and 16-year-old Craig Nybo, a Davis Junior. Rounding out the quintet are two brothers, Mark Steiner, 17 and Eric Steiner, 14, both of whom are unacquainted with "star" treatment on the musical stage. But though they lack experience, the Flying Zucchini Brothers won't wilt once they take the stage. "Heck, we were happy with the free T-shirt we won in Salt Lake," laughs Justin. "The rest of this is just gravy. We just plan to enjoy the trip and do our best." And hope, once on stage and in front of the national TV cameras, that they can remain totally tot-ally silent. |