It’s good to be good, but good luck sure helps out too. The ’Boro’s own Jeremy Ives has figured that out during the past few crazy, surreal months.
Ives can often be found somewhere strummin’ his Stratocaster and ripping rock ’n’ roll vocals with various musical endeavors, including AntiSense Therapy, while his Camel cigarette burns slowly in a makeshift ashtray. This MTSU Recording Industry student isn’t just another pretty face in the ’Boro, he’s also got some sort of slushy gray matter in his skull bucket that apparently fires enough neurons to qualify him into an elite group of contestants for the ever-popular television game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”
Ives tried out for the show back during the height of its popularity in 2001. He was among the few who passed the difficult general knowledge test of the 3,000 or so who attempted it. Although he was in the contestant pool, he never received a callback to appear on the show. The show later promoted more auditions, and Ives daringly skipped work and bounded to Opry Mills Mall for the written tryouts, which he passed with the relatively few people from the thousands that attempted the test. “Millionaire’s” producers then conducted face-to-face interviews, and knowing Ives, he was on fire with his usual enthusiasm and wit.
Not two hours later his cellphone rang, and a “Millionaire” producer was on the other end.
“I thought it was a follow-up call just to verify some information,” Ives said. “But she started talking about travel plans and I stopped her and said, ?Wait a minute. Are you telling me that I’m gonna be on the show?!’
“She laughed and said, ?yeah, that’s what I’m telling you.’ It was surreal; it was the last thing I expected. Completely flabbergasted.”
When asked about the game itself, Ives said, “Until I found out I was going on the show I didn’t know how much I didn’t know. They can, and do, ask you anything.”
Of course the obvious question we are all asking is this?how much did local boy Jeremy bank?
And here is the crapper to this story, and its name is Confidentiality Agreement. If he divulges any information about the show, especially about winnings, he risks forfeiting everything. All he allowed himself to say was, “I’m satisfied with the way I played.” And no matter how drunk I have gotten Jeremy, he won’t tell me (or his sweet inquisitive mama back home) what he won from his adventure on that New York Studio stage.
I suspect it is the big quarter of a mil, but that’s just a poke.
We will all have to watch at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 27 on UPN 14 to find out the goods.
Regardless of how much Ives wins on one of TV’s most popular game shows, you will still find him in the ’Boro swillin’ cheap brew and nabbing inexpensive garment gems at local thrift stores.
