When the rain would start a-pouring/Down the Jones Falls waterway/There was tons of trash/That would splish and splash/All the way to the Chesapeake Bay

If you’ve been looking to break into a music career, now could be your chance. Fans of one of Baltimore’s biggest celebrities have been invited to gather early next month to be extras in a music video.

No, it’s not a campaign ad for Mayor Brandon Scott, an experimental art piece for John Waters or a Ravens hype video featuring Zay Flowers and Lamar Jackson.

Mr. Trash Wheel!/Mr. Trash Wheel!/Mr. Trash Wheel!/He’s the hero of the Harbor

Baltimore’s world-famous aquatic trash interceptor, Mr. Trash Wheel, is inviting friends and fans to appear as extras in a music video for The Mr. Trash Wheel Song.

“My wheel is churning with excitement at the thought of using the power of rock n’ roll to inspire humans to clean up the Baltimore Harbor,” Mr. Trash Wheel said in an emailed statement.

The casting call asks for the trash wheel’s most dedicated fans to come out, wearing trash wheel merch or dressed up as their favorite member of the Trash Wheel Family.

The filming will be part of The Waterfront Partnership’s Baltimore by Baltimore festival on Sept. 6. Filming will be at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater, and people who want to participate are asked to arrive by 3:30 p.m.

Adam Lindquist, vice president of the Waterfront Partnership, said some “stars aligned” to make this the right time for a music video. The song, after all, has been around for at least 8 years.

“The humans behind Mr. Trash Wheel finally reached the critical mass of musical prowess and confidence needed to perform the song,” the nonprofit executive said in an email.

The Trash Wheel band, called the Lost Pythons (after the infamous snake incident and namesake beer), is almost entirely comprised of people who work on the Trash Wheel project.

Lindquist is on acoustic guitar and vocals. Dan Taylor, the new president of the Waterfront Partnership, is on lead guitar. Chloe Qualls, an education coordinator, will be rocking on ukulele.

The only non-Trash Wheel-affiliated member of the band is Jonathan Jensen, a retired member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, who is on vocals and bass.

Other factors that went into the timing include recent work with Aliceanna Collective, a local video production company, and getting connected with Tony Correlli, a music producer who was already a ”big Mr. Trash Wheel fan,” Lindquist said.

Admission to the Baltimore by Baltimore festival is free, but people who want to participate in the music video are asked to RSVP online. Lindquist said the daylong festivals have been popular, with more than 5,000 people attending in August.

Participants have also been asked to memorize the lyrics to the Mr. Trash Wheel Song, so be sure to study up if you’re planning to rock out.

Mr. Trash Wheel is one of four trash interceptors around Baltimore. He was the first one deployed, back in 2014, where the Jones Falls River meets the Inner Harbor.

Professor Trash Wheel was installed in Canton in 2016, Captain Trash Wheel was installed in 2018 at Masonville Cove, and most recently, Gwynnnda “The Good Wheel Of The West” was installed in 2021 at the mouth of the Gwynns Falls.

In total, the interceptors keep about 500 tons of trash out of the harbor each year, according to the Waterfront Partnership. The nonprofit makes data about what the wheels intercept from the harbor publicly available online.

The wheels have inspired offshoots in California and internationally.