Oh yeah! 2NR is movin up! Apparently someone over at the big office noticed that ImportTuner is actually THE best magazine on the stands and offered to give us a big budget. For this issue we got to experience a Hollywood-style shoot. Get the money. Blow the money. That's always a good plan.
Shooting at a Hollywood location has its advantages. We got to sit around and drink a little free beer (Thanks to those Dazz guys) and blare music like frat kids--but much cooler. The studio we rented had a pool table on an open loft overlooking the car, which seems kinda stupid now that I think about it--uncoordinated drunks with sticks, trying to keep their balls on the table while watching a model shoot.
The new shoot had some drawbacks. We had to start AFTER the 9-to-5, drive in L.A. traffic, wait a long-ass time while the studio setup the shoot and positioned a billion lights. Then we had to wait for Erin to go through five wardrobe changes before the interview. On top of all that? Cold Del Taco Burritos and fries.
It was hard to concentrate during the shoot; there were so many different procedures happening that we weren't used to. Seeing Erin out there modeling like a pro made it all worthwhile. It could have been the beer, but I doubt it.
2NR: During the shoot I noticed the tats. What's that on your back?
ELS: It's the sign of Gemini. We've got dual personalities. We're both good and bad.
2NR: Well, there's a little bit of good and bad in everyone.
ELS: I've got a little bit of evil.
2NR: Whoa! A little bit of evil? That spin-her-head-around chick had a little bit of evil in her too.
ELS: Well I could be either really really evil or really really nice. There's no in between.
2NR: You'd be an interesting date. Who doesn't love a girl that can spin her head around with a smile? How does a person get on your evil side?
ELS: Certain types of people bug me; a person that lies, someone that bullshits--you can tell when a person is just blowin' smoke.
2NR: How would you know if they've lied to you?
ELS: I was a Hooter's waitress for three years. I'm good at catching the lies.
2NR: Hooter's you say? Were you on the menu?
ELS: Most of the people ordered the wings and Bud Light. It was fun. Our job was to have a fun time with the guests. I liked that I got to sit around with all my customers, be a goofball, and they still thought I was cute.
2NR: How are you goofy?
ELS: I'll do anything. I'm a little outrageous. I'm loud, a little rambunctious.
2NR: That's big word. I understand you graduated from high school a little early.
ELS: I graduated from school at 16. At the time I thought I was a little too cool for school. So I wanted to get out as quick as possible. I took my GED and left.
2NR: What made you want to just leave school?
ELS: School wasn't for me. I wasn't in any of the cliques. I didn't like just sitting in class and figuring stuff out.
2NR: What did you do at 16?
ELS: I traveled around and had different jobs. I worked at the gym. I worked at Linens N Things. I worked as a dental assistant for about a year. When I was 18 I went to Hawaii for a year and a half.
2NR: It's seems to me that you can't keep a job!
ELS: I get bored easily.
2NR: Well what do you do now?
ELS: Just model.
2NR: What do you want to do as a career?
ELS: I want to be an actress.
2NR: Tried out for any roles yet? I've got a casting couch.
ELS: Not really. No, Thanks.
2NR: You need a beer. Los Angeles is a drive from your spot in San Diego.
ELS: By the time this 2NR issue prints I'll have moved up here. Los Angeles is a change of pace. I tend to move every year, year and a half.
2NR: So you grew up fast. How old are you now?
ELS: I'll be 21 in a two months.
2NR: On the cover of a magazine and you can't even drink to celebrate.
ELS: Not legally.
2NR: I know you don't drink but what do you think you're favorite drink would be?
ELS: I'd like Malibu Pineapples, a Vodka Collins. But I think I'd really like Washington Apple shots. It's Crown with Puckers and cranberry juice.
2NR: At your size, that would fuck you up pretty quick.
ELS: Hell yeah. They're real tasty though--I mean that's what I hear.
2NR: I like to say, they make you go down happily. What's something you've learned since being 16?
ELS: I should have stayed in school and had fun as a kid before I became an adult.
2NR: Yeah. You could have been the Homecoming Queen or Prom Queen.
ELS: Well, I got voted Best Hair! I was on the yearbook staff. I was ASB Vice-President. I took photography and liked it so much that it's my hobby now.
2NR: What else do you like?
ELS: I like cars and motorcycles.
2NR: Choose between the two.
ELS: A fast car. A BMW Z4.
2NR: Bah-ling. So this actress thing is your goal right now. What kind of role are you looking for and did I mention the couch?
ELS: Something like Angelina Jolie and Tomb Raider. And yes you did. Still no.
2NR: Lets get back to this acting stuff.
ELS: At 5 I was on a TV show when I lived in Korea. I've been in acting classes since I was about four-years old. Since then I've always wanted to be an actress. I don't want to necessarily hit it big, I just want to do what I love.
2NR: Have you ever used your acting skills in life situations?
ELS: All the time. I did it at Hooters. Acting classes gave me a lot of confidence. I can walk in anywhere and not be shy. I get to role play and put myself into a character. Doing that makes me understand different types of people better.
2NR: What about stunts?
ELS: I am the type of person that would try to do them myself.
2NR: You are definitely BANG-GING. (Pause) Yet a little rough and tumble.
ELS: I'm a little rough around the edges. I hang around a lot of guys. I talk dirty. I cuss a lot. I look like a princess but I'm really not. I'm not girly. I don't do my hair or make up unless I have a photo shoot.
2NR: What music do you listen to?
ELS: Hip hop and country. (She giggles)
2NR: You're all over the place. You really do live up to a Gemini's traits.
ELS: I love country music. I like that I can actually sing it and actually mean something. I like when hear a country song and I can say, "That's so me!"
2NR: Yeah. I also like the fact that them thar diddys is all abouts telling a little hoo-dad of a story. Y'alls dogs die too much and yer woman is always out a-cheatin'. Name a couple artists.
ELS: I like Martina McBride and Toby Keith.
2NR: How about in hip hop.
ELS: Outkast. I like Farrell.
2NR: Who is cute in each of the two?
ELS: Keith Urban and Farrell.
2NR: What's your type of man?
ELS: I like a rugged man. I like a man with tattoos.
2NR: I saw some of your splatterings.
ELS: I've got five. (Using her thumbs to point) Two butterflies and a Gemini sign on my back. I have a heart with wings with three pink stars next to it on my rear (Pointing to her left butt cheek). I have a lotus flower down front, close to the hairline (Points to her crotch. OK, not really, but that's what I thought I saw.)
2NR: Lotus flower? (You see how I did that?)
ELS: It's kinda like the flower you put in your hair except they're poisonous. And then I have tribal art with three red stars around my boob. (I tried not to look--but I did) And I have my Korean name tattooed on my neck.
2NR: Now that's gangsta! So you're Korean?
ELS: And Irish. My mom is Korean. My dad was in the Air Force. I was born in Korea. We moved to Arizona where my brother was born and went back and forth between the two places until we moved to Moreno Valley, California. My dad got out of the military and we lived in New Mexico for a while, then moved to San Diego when I was 14. I'd lived in 22 different houses by then. We moved about every two years. It was fun, but now I don't know how to stay in one place for too long. I love to move around. I went to Florida for a while, Hawaii for a while. I was in Texas for a little bit. But I always come back to San Diego. My traveling is more about getting the most information about the world that I can. I'm an explorer.
2NR: How bout boyfriends?
ELS:I got a little ADD. Can't keep boyfriends to save my life.
2NR: How many have you had?
ELS: Enough! Serious boyfriends? That I actually liked and lasted more than three months? Maybe two. I think I had a boyfriend for a year and a half. I'm not good with anniversaries and dates and all that. I think it's retarded that people have monthly anniversaries.
2NR: What's the perfect relationship?
ELS: It'll happen with someone that I'll have a great time with, from kicking back on the couch with a beer to going out and partying. It's gotta be with someone that won't try to put a hold on me. My theory is that I'm there because I want to be not because I have to be. If I wanted to be somewhere else, I would be.
2NR: Are you a romantic?
ELS: No.
2NR: What would you do to impress a guy?
ELS: Impress a guy?
2NR: You know, you like some guy... let's call him "Joel," and he doesn't notice you. What would you do to get "Joel" to notice you?
ELS: I'd just walk straight up to the guy and say "Hi. What are you doing later? Lets do something."
2NR: That's pretty straight-foreword, and so detailed.
ELS: Well when I go out, I dress up kinda 80s punk--fishnets, hot pink, belts and boots.
2NR: Most guys would see you walking up from across the room anyway. That steelo ain't exactly camouflage. Can you describe the guy you'd walk up to?
ELS: I like 'em rough. Long spiky hair, a goatee; some type of facial hair. I like light-eyes. Tall. He doesn't necessarily have to be built, but he's got to have tattoos. He's got to have a job, but money isn't important. I'm very independent. I've got my own money thank you very much! He can't be insecure because I don't deal with drama too well, like if I were to hurt their feelings or something like that. They need to get over it. Life goes on.
2NR: "Get over it" or "Deal with it" are one of the few lines that bug most people.
ELS: I totally agree. But don't mean shit if you know I'm going to do it anyway. You pretty much see what you get.
2NR: Pretty strong.
ELS: Yeah I know. That's why I don't have long relationships. Guys don't usually dig it. Guys get possessive or whiney.
2NR: Reeeallyyy? How will the guy really know that you're into him? ELS: You'll get the hint that I'm not tired of you yet if want to see you. You'll notice that I'll call you, and if I talk to you when you call me, we're good.
Interruptions always seem to end the conversation. This time was no different. Polite banging on the dressing room door was the difference this time. I normally expect Jason to barge in and bark out something indecipherable with his Brit-boy accent. Oh well. New studio, new photographer, new types of shots. New cut off time. I took down her number and told her I'd call her to wrap up the rest of the interview later. It was a late shoot that ended at 1 am on a hump day. I tried to call her but she wasn't havin' it. I'm over it now.
Name: Erin Lee Stephens
Ethnicity: Korean and Irish
DOB: June 2, 1983
From: San Diego
Height: 5' 1.5"
Weight: 90lb
Measurements: 31 - 21 - 31
Sign: Gemini
Turn-ons: Tattoos
Turn-offs: whiny guys, possessiveness
credits: zoo models