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What do you do if in the midst of one once in a lifetime opportunity, another comes knocking from 10 time zones away?

Well, if you’re Morristown attorney Betsy Stibler, you take your son’s advice and you go for it.

In January, Stibler was enjoying a family vacation in Morocco when opened her email to find that out of more than 35,000 applications, she was among 350 to serve as seat fillers at the 68th annual Grammys in Los Angeles.

She had applied, months earlier, via the Seat Fillers & More website before the family had decided to go on the Morocco trip.

“I put in the request form and totally forgot about it. Then we were in Morocco, about 10 days before the award show, and there was a Google Calendar invite – said 68th Grammys main show awards.

“That’s how I found out I was elected.”

Still, the logistics were daunting. There was a fairly tight window between the end of their trip to North Africa and when she would have to arrive in Los Angeles. There would be the flight home – between threats of severe winter weather – and then the flight out to LA.

She’d have to secure lodging, travel to and from the airport all while dealing with the hangover associated with going from East Tennessee to North Africa and back and then traveling to California.

“I wanted to go but was already in North Africa and wasn’t sure what to do,” she said. “My oldest son Kirk was like ‘you have to do this; this is the coolest thing ever.’”

And it was. It was the coolest thing ever.

She found herself essentially playing professional musical chairs amongst some of the most popular music acts in the world and several legends like Reba McIntyre, Cher and others.

The World of Seat Fillers

Essentially, the deal is this. The powers that be who broadcast major events don’t like seeing empty chairs on the screen. However, during commercial breaks people get up and mingle, use the restroom, get a bite to eat or something to drink. Sometimes they also have to get up to perform, accept an award or go speak with the press.

The seat fillers’ job is keep a close eye out for empty seats and, as the clock ticks down, identify those seats which will not be filled by the end of the break and then go fill them up.

“Our job is to make sure there is no empty seat in front of any camera angle,” she explained. “I wound up moving six or seven times. After Justin Bieber performed, I noticed a lot of seats empty in the lower bowl.

“When Harry Styles gave out the Album of the Year award I was in the front row.”

For Stibler it was something of a dream come true. Her music fandom dates back to a library of 8-track tapes including Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline and Elvis but includes an appreciation for modern music as well.

She and her daughter Emma have traveled to see Harry Styles, Taylor Swift and others.

And now she was seeing many of those people up close, some of them performing, some of them accepting awards or just mingling.

“Music has just always been a part of my life,” she said. “I love it.”

She said it was a brief admittance into another world.

“It felt like artists there with their family and friends, you know. It’s being broadcast to the whole wide world, but it doesn’t’ feel like that in the room,” she explained. “The venue is small and it feels very intimate. It makes you acutely aware you’re in someone else’s world and you have a role to fill. Even if you never show up in a camera angle, you were a part of that show.”

The Logistics of Seat Filling

Seat fillers arrive several hours early to get coached up on the rules and how to operate.

They are not to initiate conversations with the celebrities but are free to engage if the celebrities or others at the table speak with them.

They are given ribbons and wristbands to wear to let everyone know their job and there’s no misunderstanding by which someone thinks a seat is being stolen.

They told cautionary tales about seat fillers overcome with fandom and ruin the vibe for themselves or the stars and their friends and family.

“You have to be a normal person, they’re normal people, too,” she said.

In addition to legendary performances, including a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne with Post Malone, Chad Smith and Slash and another to D’Angelo featuring Lauren Hill, Leon Thomas and others, she got to see how the behind-the-scenes logistics work.

“It’s almost more interesting when you’re not on camera for the show,” she said. “It was pretty incredible to see the live show and see all the equipment and how it was moved. Everything happens in the arena when the cameras are off.”

Beyond the Grammys

Stibler didn’t have much time to explore while in LA. She was there fairly briefly and was still recovering from the massive time changes.

But she was able to see the Grammys Museum which she didn’t know existed but enjoyed very much,

She also was able to meet up with a friend from home. Music producer Alex Warren, known professionally as Lex Lucazi, had left his home in the Lakeway Area to celebrate with Empire, an independent record label for which Warren works.

Warren’s label mate Shaboozey won the Country Solo Performance Grammy and the Country Duo/Group Performance Grammy.

Editor’s Note: We are working with Warren for a story on his Grammy’s related adventures for an upcoming edition of the Citizen Tribune.

Back at home

In the span of a couple of weeks, Stibler went from a spur of the moment trip to North Africa, touring the markets of Marrakech with snake charmers and swaying cobras to a brief pitstop in Tennessee in the middle of a pair of major winter storms to LA sitting a few feet from Cher as she accepted a lifetime achievement award.

It was a whirlwind.

“I was little worried. ‘I’m already jet legged and tired, Am I going to be too tried to do this?’” she said. But I literally enjoyed being every place in that room. It was super cool.

“Honestly, you get to see 10-12 different performers do their thing. You couldn’t have seen all that talent in that room going to dozens of shows.

“It was a lot of fun.”