MTV has turned 30 years old and one of the MTV VJ’s talks with the people about the music videos, the birth of reality television and more. Former VJ Dave Holmes talked about the evolution of the network and what it was like to be an MTV VJ. Hit the jump to read the Q and A.
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Q.
IT’S NOT ALWAYS ABOUT WINNING
Just wanted to say I was glued to the “I Wanna Be a VJ” contest back in the day, and was so glad to see the career you made for yourself since. Like other reality show competitions, that was a case where the best person didn’t win. Whatever happened to that nut-case (was it Jesse?) who actually won?

A.
DAVE HOLMES :
Thank you! You’re way too kind.

I am asked about Jesse literally every single day of my life. Seriously! (And it’s okay with me.) And I couldn’t tell you where he is. There’s someone on Twitter who says he’s Jesse, but I just don’t believe it.

Q.
VJS
I have to admit I have forgotten his name, but I remember MTV once had a young man as a VJ. I met him and gave him a card and asked if he would please autograph it. He signed the card and then walked off with it. Someone later explained it was my fault: I forgot to explain to him I wanted the card signed and returned to me. Please tell me most of the other VJs were not as slow witted.

A.
DAVE HOLMES :
Ha! I’m sorry to hear that. But I’m afraid we were all pretty dumb.

Q.
WASHINGTON DC
I’ve enjoyed the MTV 30 that played on VH1 all this weekend, do you have any idea how they decided what went in? It was good to see Courtney Love pelting Madonna with compacts and Madonna vogueing as Marie Antoinette. What ever happened to Tabitha Soren? Didn’t she marry Michael Kelly of the New Yorker?

A.
DAVE HOLMES :
Isn’t that MTV30 thing interesting? A guy named Alex Coletti (who’s been at the MTV since the ’80s) put that show together, and I think it’s just whatever he could find. Seriously- there’s a Facebook group for those of us who worked there, and he asked us all whether we had any tapes sitting around. A LOT of the old stuff is just…gone.

Q.
WANTED: MORE MUSIC
I remember when MTV was about music. MTV should greatly increase the music videos it plays. Your thoughts about this?
– August 01, 2011 9:56 AM Permalink
A.
DAVE HOLMES :
You know, I agree. Everyone at MTV agrees. But here’s the thing: music videos get terrible ratings. We tried it a million different times in a million different ways when I was there. People just don’t watch them. MTV is above all a business. It runs on advertiser money, advertisers want ratings, shows rate well, blocks of music videos do not. Simple as that. Heartbreaking!

Q.
VIDEOS ON MTV
Everybody knows that the Buggles “Video Killed the Radio Star” was the first music video on MTV. But since MTV no longer plays videos, I’d like to know what the last video played on MTV was.

A.
DAVE HOLMES :
They do! I swear. It’s, you know, 2 to 6am, but still- MTV does actually play music videos. I wish there were more, and at friendlier hours, but there you go.
read the rest at WP