Chris: Outside of being the host, what other roles do you have?

Stacey: Well, just like on "Trucks!", I'm the producer, the writer, I put all the projects together, and of course build 'em. However, I also am responsible for running this company, so it gets pretty hectic sometimes. Fortunately, I have some tremendous staff members that can carry the load when I am out of pocket.

Chris: Where do you film "GearZ"?

Stacey: We're in Madison TN, which is a suburb of Nashville. With this show, I wanted to put together a shop that has the feel and vibe of an old warehouse or service station. You know, just a really cool work shop with all kinds of vintage tools and mechanical junk. You never know what you'll see hanging on the wall or sitting in a corner. We're really fortunate that the shop is big--about three times bigger than what I had at "Trucks!", so I have a lot of room to store my junk... ha!

Chris: What is your filming schedule like?

Stacey: Crazy! We generally try to shoot a show every other week. That basically gives us a week to shoot the show and a week to prep it. That of course, is all theoretical. It really depends on what the content Is. If it's a show that's primarily an aftermarket bolt-on product, or something simpler like a how-to, it's a lot easier to shoot. If it's a hard-core fabrication show, or something that takes a lot of labor to do... well that takes a lot more time to do just because of the labor involved. As a general rule, It usually takes a couple of weeks to get it all together.

Chris: What is your favorite thing you like about doing "GearZ"?

Stacey: It's just fun. Like I said before, the projects can cover almost any part to the gear-head world... and that's really cool. You don't want it to be predictable. Obviously there will be a lot of car and truck projects but every once in awhile you gotta throw in something crazy like that V8 powered barstool we did last season. That makes people say, "what?... ride around on top of a V8 engine, are you crazy? I gotta watch this. This guy's nuts!" Obviously the heart of the show is the how-to content, and we try to keep a good blend of advanced building and design type projects, intermediate level projects for the weekend warrior, and very simple, easy projects that a beginner can do. This is very important to keep the show well-rounded and fun because we have viewers of all skill levels watching.

Chris: What happens to all the project vehicles that you build?

Stacey: Ah, the big question! Well, we don't crush them, that's for sure! Some of the projects are ours, some belong to friends, some belong to advertisers or sponsors, and some belong to total strangers that we got off the gearztv.com website. Some we build as giveaways, and some go to charities and other organizations.

Chris: Is you show scripted, or do you just wing it?

Stacey: More wing it than scripted. Basically what I will do is I will lay out bullet points of what I want to say. I do this to time out the show, too, so I don't get halfway through a project and I'm out of time. For example if it's installing a supercharger, I will go through their directions, lay it out, and look at the overall project. I'll then decide how long do I want this project to go. Is it one segment, two segments, the whole show or what? Once I've made that decision I'll plan the segments and decide what I need to tell the viewer that is the pertinent information, and what is junk that I can skip over. These shows were never meant to be, and never will be, a step-by-step assembly manual. That would be incredibly boring. But anyway, That's basically how I lay it out, and then just kind of wing it from there and that is almost impossible to script.

Chris: How many work on the production of the show?

Stacey: Well, that depends on what we are working on and what we are shooting, but generally we've got a staff of about 7. That's office people, and of course we've got sales people too. When we're shooting the show we generally have a staff of about 4 in the shop. We have a shooter, a grip, a director, and me. Sometimes we'll use two or more shooters depending on what we're doing, but we run it pretty tight.

Chris: What rides are in your garage right now?

Stacey: Pretty much what you see on the show. My daily driver is The Little Red Wagon, a 99 Dodge 4x4 short bed that I built on the show. Then there is Copperhead, the Rat Roaster, the Banshee, Sgt. Rock, and just a bunch of other junk. I hope to finish Sgt. Rock this Fall. I haven't had a chance to work on that thing for about a year just because I've been doing so many projects.

Chris: What is your favorite all time project vehicle?

Stacey: Aw man... that's a hard question because they're all so different. Each vehicle takes on it's own vibe and is designed and built for a different purpose so it is practically impossible to pick one favorite. Whatever vehicle I happen to be working on at the time of the question is probably the best answer I can give you, since that is where my focus is going to be.

Chris: What is your favorite vehicle that you would like to own or build?

Stacey: Wow... there are so many, Just about anything with wheels, as I am such a car nut. However, I'm dying to get my hands on one of the new Camaros. I'd like to get a hold of one of the new Challengers too. Now here's something that's going to make you laugh... and show you how far the insanity really goes. You know the Nissan Muranos? I really want to take one of those and make it amphibious. I'm not talking about just amphibious... I'm talking about making it where it is fully submersible. The reason why I'm looking at the Murano is because the shape really lends itself to that kind of modification. It would be so easy to turn the bottom into a hull and put a jet propulsion system on it and have it where you could jump that sucker right out into the lake and Go! People would freak out... especially if it went underwater! It would be awesome! Of course you'd have to leave the tires on it so you could drive right from the lake onto land. Honestly, it could be done and if I had any kind of spare time I'd get one and start hacking it up! Wouldn't that be cool?!?

Chris: The great debate: Ford or Chevy?

Stacey: Oh man... ya know I like them both, and Dodge too. I really do. I know you hate that answer but it's the true... I like them all! I have found that every manufacturer has done some really good stuff, and they've all done their share of not-so-good stuff, but it's all gear-head material and as long as you can turn wrenches on it and tweak on it, I love it.

Chris: What are your hobbies?

Stacey: Just guitar and music things, as well as other mechanical things. I also like most sports and love being involved with them and the community.

Chris: What else do you like to do in your spare time?

Stacey: Ha... what spare time???? My wife and I have restored a couple of old houses. She always has me watching those home improvement shows. I also like to just spend time with our family and friends. Our girls are young so we do a lot of little league baseball, swimming, etc. I'm also a big fan of flight and airplanes and would love to get into that more. Flight has always intrigued me. Hopefully one of these days I'll get my pilot's license so I can stick a really big engine in a really little airplane, and go racing... (sigh) It never ends...

Chris: Thank you for your time today, Stacey. I've enjoyed your shows over the years and I always look forward to seeing what crazy things you create next!