The Mayor sits down with The Queen of Hearts, Janine Vollmer, one of the makeup artists, stylist, and photo assistants (read: pack mule) for the Hooters Calendar (She also happens to be Mrs. Calendar Dude!) We talked about her side of the story making the calendar, life on the road and what it's like working with "365". As she said: "After all...behind every great Hooters Calendar photographer is a great Hooters Girl! No...wait...or is it IN FRONT OF every great Hooters Calendar photographer is a great Hooters Girl? Yeah...that's it!"
Mayor: Traditional Question I ask everyone: How many Hooters have you been to?
J9: More than most people...but less than you
Mayor: You happen to be a Hooter Girl Alumni, what was it like being a Hooters Girl?
J9: Great! It was the easiest waitress job ever...it was fun and laid back...the money was good...the people I worked with were awesome...the "fifteen minutes of fame" was incredible...and I wouldn't have met my husband if I hadn't become a Hooters Girl...working there was one of the best things I ever did!
Mayor: Which six Hooters did you work at?
J9: Gwinnette, Charlotte I & II, St. Pete, Palm Harbor, & Clearwater
I moved from Gastonia, NC to Alpharetta, GA with a boyfriend who was hell bent on my becoming a Hooters Girl instead of a being a Longhorn Steakhouse girl...I did not want to wear those short-shorts, and I didn't have any "hooters" to speak of... but, as any good girlfriend would do...I stuffed my bra and timidly started working at Gwinnette, Ga. I was there for a few months, then we moved to Charlotte, NC where I worked at South Blvd ( got fired...oops!!! Damn those rules about missing your shift!! ) I worked for Outback Steakhouse for a while...realized how great Hooters was...got rehired at the Charlotte Independence Blvd. store...moved to Florida with the boyfriend, and worked at the St. Pete location...where I started dating Doug ( very long story made short )...transferred to the Clearwater Hooters, and helped out at the Palm Harbor store when they needed a bartender...not a good bartender by any stretch of the imagination...but someone to grab a beer and run the register, nonetheless. So, to answer your question...that would be 6 Hooters...yep, I worked at six of them.
Mayor: How did you and Doug meet?
J9: That's easy...in a nutshell...it's classic "boy-meets-girl"
..."boy takes pictures of girl for the calendar in a Charlotte, NC Hooters"..."girl thinks boy is an a-hole"...a year later, "girl moves to Florida with her boyfriend"..."girl breaks up with boyfriend"..."girl starts to like boy she thought was an a-hole"..."girl stalks boy"..."girl moves in" because she has no where to live"..."boy wants girl to stay"...happily ever after type stuff =0)
Mayor: I read when you worked in Clearwater a customer used to come in a couple times a week and would tip $120 no matter what he ordered, what was so special about the # 120? (and what would he usually order?)
J9: Oh jeez...he was a handful! He would come in and sit at the same table.....we would actually try to move people if they took his spot, because he would get upset and leave if it wasn't available. Our manager tried to play fair and rotate our sections so we'd all have a chance to wait on him at least once a week. He was extremely particular with his orders. For example...when he would order a burger, it had to be trimmed to fit the bun perfectly.....you had to keep his drink full...you couldn't spend too much time with other customers if you were his Hooters girl...you had to listen to his oddly perverse storytelling...I could go on and on...but if he felt that you didn't treat him correctly, he'd punish you by not leaving the expected $100-plus tip... he gave me a waffle maker as a prize because I opened the door for him one morning and smiled. A very strange but generous man. I wonder if he still goes there.
Mayor: You were the inspiration for the Halle the Hooters Girl Comic right?
J9: Not really, but sort of? She was actually the inspiration for the tweezer attack on my eyebrows, growing my bangs out, and the funny way I write the letter "H"! Hey, Halle had to have a cool autograph, right !
What happened was...Doug Wright drew Halle and everybody saw it and thought she looked like me! He had never seen me...when we met he was a little freaked out. Yeah, I do have the blonde hair, the big lips, and I did have a red jeep wrangler, but that's it. I had a blast playing dress up and portraying Halle...and my signature is the bonafide "certificate of authenticity Halle Hancock"...so that's really cool!
Mayor: What's your "typical" day like during production / on location?
J9: OMG!!!! We get up too damn early...we work too damn hard...we sweat too damn much...some girls whine all the damn time...my damn back hurts...I get tired of the damn fast food and the damn uncomfortable bed in the RV!!!!! But damn it , it beats working for a living! (or so I'm told)
Mayor: What's it like on the road with Doug? (Is he a typical male and not ask for directions when you are lost in middle-of-nowhere-North Carolina?)
J9: Oh nooooo...not at all...he's the furthest thing from the a-hole I initially thought he was...Shhhh...don't tell...he's perfectly fine letting everybody think he's a prick! He's just misunderstood. But, he is the first to ask for help, directions etc. He's a pussycat, a very goofy, witty, intelligent guy! He drives around the country thumping on his chest while playing helicopter traffic reporter-guy, listens to talk radio, moo's at the cows, say's "butts up" at a herd of grazing antelope, yells "HAY" at random roadside hay bales, has a map collection bigger than anybody, makes milkshake mustaches while slurping frostys, wears my bra on his head ( oh, too much information ) and lets me sleep while he hauls my ass around the country.
Mayor: Are the models easy to work with?
J9: Yes....No....80% of the time they're nice...even super-cool, entertaining, loveably cute and funny! Some of them have become our good friends. But I do remember the bitches!!! Especially the ones who disrespect Doug or talk shit about him before they realize who I am!!! That's funny...I love to see the look on their faces when he introduces me as his wife! Priceless! Too late sister!!!! Most of them think he's just some random photographer from podunk, who was sent to take their "try out" photos. And, even if he was...I will never understand where some of them get off acting like such ungrateful, whiny, spoiled brats. They need to know that Doug and I have a lot more control over who may get selected for the calendar, fun trips, and other promos and national exposure, than they realize...we're there to help them and to make them look as beautiful as possible...the last two people you want to piss off are your photographer and your makeup artist! We won't work hard for you if you're mean to us.
Whew!!! I needed to vent my frustrations...sorry you had to hear all that. I do feel much better, though...Thanks!
Mayor: How long does it take to prep a girl for a shoot: from makeup to the setup of pose and shooting?
J9: 30-45 minutes for makeup per girl...during that time, Doug figures out his shot. It's pretty easy...we can get what we need in around 4 to 6 hours.....depending on how many models we have that day.
Mayor: Who picks the swim suits (do you have a designer that gives you guys stuff?)
J9: The girls bring what they have and we pick what will be shot...we ask them first what their favorites are, and we'll shoot those if we like them too.
Mayor: Any wardrobe malfunctions?
J9: Yep! We've seen it all...and sometimes it wasn't a malfunction!
Mayor: Any shenanigans on location you can share? (or good jokes on Doug?)
J9: I'm an only child...I'm not good at sharing!
Mayor: Ok level with me, who REALLY "pack mules" the bigger loads of photo gear when on location, you or Doug? ;-) I imagine it's you cause you have makeup gear and he has his photo gear…
J9: I do!!!! Are you kidding!!!! He's evil!!! He has me running around, back-and-forth...get me this...bring me that..."hey babe, I need..." I guess the delicate artist cannot be bothered with such menial tasks as schlepping the gear around! But I've got some kickin' biceps from all the lifting!
Mayor: Do you have anymore Behind The Scenes video going up on YouTube?
J9: Well...I've posted all the stuff I have. Since we shoot predominately in the spring/summer, you'll have to wait a while. I do hope to make future videos more interesting. I was just playing around with it before. I'll take any suggestions on future content.
Mayor: : Ideas? Yes! The Mayor behind the video camera on location! Haha ;-)
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On behalf of the citizens of Wingville, thank you for your time! It was great getting another point of view and some great stories!
Check out some great Hooters Calendar Behind The Scenes video on her YouTube Channel
As always, keep up with what the crew is up to on the Hooters Calendar Blog Get your copy of the 2009 edition at the Hooters Calendar Store
Buy it now!
All photos copyright Janine (& Doug) Vollmer
