RESIDENTS `STEP OUT' WITH COUNTRY TV SHOW

Clint Black's music video for his latest hit "Good Run of Bad Luck" has nothing on the romping, stomping, shooting, wailing, good-guy-versus-bad-guy fun that took place at the Black Forest Western Days Saturday and Sunday.

But the latter can be seen leading into the video on Saturday's edition of "Steppin' Out Country" on KFVS-TV Channel 12.

The crew of the country music video program shot the introductions to the videos and interviews that will be featured on the program, on location at the Western Days festivities.

The scenes -- a bank robbery, a western saloon brawl, a walk down the Black Forest's version of Main Street and a Old West wedding in front of a covered bridge -- took the greater part of the afternoon to shoot.

The actors, aside from the show's stars Tracy McSherry and Larry Mars, were about 20 area residents who donned old western garb for the weekend.

Lisa Sparkman, dressed in a skimpy red satin dress and fish net panty hose portraying a "saloon girl," can be seen in the upcoming episode of "Steppin' Out Country," sitting on Mars' lap as he introduces the Clint Black video.

Immediately following Mars' announcement, the bar erupts into a shooting match between area bad-guys, each thinking the other is cheating. Sparkman is cast to the side as Mars is shot by one of the bad guys, then robbed of his cash.

"I had a ball," Sparkman said. "My husband and I came out here to have some fun. We didn't even know that `Steppin' Out Country' was going to be here today. That's just an added treat."

Linda Job, producer of the local television program, said the crew -- including herself, McSherry, Mars and another technician -- likes to shoots spots for the program in parks and at festivals throughout Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois, Western Kentucky and Northern Arkansas.

"We got started in October," she explained. "Since then, we've been all over the place, shooting spots that go with the videos we will air and showcasing some of the local areas a lot of people don't know about."

McSherry and Mars, radio personalities from WDDD 107.3 in Marion, Ill., provide the foundation for each week's episode, but the talent is often drawn from a local pool.

"Using people who aren't actors or celebrities really doesn't slow the filming down," said Mars. "We usually can be done in an afternoon. And if we're having fun, it can take all day. Either way, we don't mind."

Mars helped with the direction of the robbery scene, where the Sheriff of Black Forest City was shot by one of the bad guys. A saloon girl ran out into the street, found the man dead and stole his pocket book.

"We do a lot of ad-libbing," said McSherry. "A lot of the things we say comes to us as we're saying it."

After Sunday's shoot, McSherry and Mars headed back into Cape Girardeau to interview Mark Chesnutt and Clay Walker for upcoming segments of the show.

"We do all the star interviews ourselves," explained Job. "Because of (McSherry's) connections in the music business, we have them calling us asking to be on the show. Everything has just really fallen into place for us."

McSherry added: "Doing this show has taken us to spots all over the area that are truly beautiful. Filming in those areas is like performing a public service for residents who might not know about the natural beauty or local attractions all around them."

"Steppin' Out Country" airs at 6 p.m. and midnight on Saturdays, and again at 6 a.m. Sunday.

The final shot of the afternoon Sunday featured Greg Macke and Darla Seabaugh, who were married the day before in an 1870s, Old West setting. Macke is a U.S. Marshal in the little western town; Seabaugh is a basket weaver.

"Steppin' Out Country" asked the happy couple to again take their wedding vows, this time in front of a covered bridge replica at the edge of the Black Forest.

"I asked her (Darla) to marry me on Christmas Eve," said Macke. "I knew I wanted to have a western-style wedding out here, so I asked her if she wanted to do it during Western Days.

"I'm still kind of wondering why I did that," he admitted. "What happened is we ended up having to get ready for both Western Days and the wedding. It's been kind of hectic for the last couple of weeks."

Seabaugh arrived at her wedding in a carriage drawn by two Belgian horses. She was wearing a early-American dress she made herself. Onlookers were seated on straw bails covered with quilts.

"After the ceremony under the flag pole, we got back on the carriage and rode off into the sunset," he said. "Now, we're going to live happily ever after."