Jacob Bartfield never imagined a call from his brother about a gig would lead to an appearance on national television.
The 2002 Bethlehem Central graduate moved to Los Angeles six months ago for a change of pace after playing bass in the Boston-based band “The Pulse of Boston” for four years.
“I know a few people who live out here and my brother lives here, so it seemed like I’d have more opportunities,” said the 27-year-old.
When Jacob’s brother asked him if he would be interested in filling-in one time as bass player for a friend’s band, he was excited for the opportunity to connect with new musicians. Bartfield soon received a text asking if he could send them back a picture right away. He took the picture with his phone and texted it back.
“They told me when and where to show up and right away I called my brother asking what I was doing,” said Barfield, whose brother knew the saxophone player. “Then he told me, ‘Oh, you’re going to be on Glee.’ I said, ‘OK, that’s cool.’ I didn’t even know what I was doing at first, so that was kind of crazy.”
Bartfield was to appear in episode 12 of the Fox television show Glee’s third season, which featured the Latin singer Ricky Martin. The shoot with his scenes took place over three days, but first he had to learn the music.
According to Bartfield, all of the show’s music is prerecorded, so he really didn’t have to play anything. His role was to know the music well enough to make it look like he was playing correctly during his scenes.
“It’s still important to learn the music as close to note for note as we can, and look like we’re having a good time,” he said. “For one song I played electric bass, and the cord was plugged in but nothing was happening. I don’t even know if it was real.
Bartfield started his music career playing the piano and cello in elementary school. He then began playing the bass at 12 years old and later learned a little guitar. The former Slingerlands resident eventually attended the Berklee College of Music as a performance major.
“I’ve always loved music and knew that’s what I wanted to do,” he said.
Bartfield was told to wear jeans and a plain shirt to shooting each day. Some days, wardrobe would change what the band was wearing to make them match or compliment each other. He also got his hair and makeup done each day.
Unfortunately, he didn’t get to meet any of the show’s stars like Lea Michele, Cory Monteith or Chris Colfer.
“When on set you have to keep quiet and stay there while they’re filming to pretend like you’re playing. You stand by in an extra room when not involved in the take,” he said.
Bartfield said at first he was really excited to be on set but after a while he became bored since filming the same scene at different angles can become monotonous.
He ended up appearing briefly in three scenes — in the opening number of “La Cucaracha,” during the cover of Gloria Estefan’s “Don’t Want to Lose You” and the “Bamboleo”/ “Hero” medley scene.
According to Bartfield, the greatest experience was connecting with local musicians. He and members of the Glee band exchanged numbers and he made other connections that will hopefully lead to more work in the future.
“A few hours ago I got a text and they were almost going to need me on Glee Project, but the regular bass player ended up being able to do it,” he said. “I feel pretty good about doing something like this again because they know who I am now.”
Bartfield held a mini viewing party with his brother and their girlfriends in L.A., but their parents watched it at home, as did many of their friends and family.
“Of course we are so proud of him and know this is only the beginning of a wonderful and successful life,” said his mother, Andrea Bartfield.
Jacob Bartfield said to those in the Bethlehem Central music program hoping to make it into the music business, exposure is important.
“To be successful you have to out yourself out there and meet other musicians. Playing by yourself, nothing is ever going to happen,” he said. “The more people you know, the better position to be lucky.”
To see a clip of the show visit www.fox.com/glee/videos.
To learn more about Bartfield, visit www.jacobbartfield.com.
