MMC13…On the Acoustic Stage
Wow! Thanks John Harris for another great conference and for getting so many great musicians and industry professionals under the same roof! I met so many amazing people every day and night of the conference. This article is simply about the 11am-5pm part of the conference, for the evening and night time fun, you’ll have to check out my regular Out and About article.
The first day of the Trade Show started out a little slow, but by 1pm, it was the happening place to be. Our Acoustic Area right beside our booth has been a big hit for the past two years and this year was no different. It started out with a duo, Janie Womack and Julie Lowery. These ladies are from right here in Harrisburg and can be found playing at many of the coffee shops in the area. Janie plays guitar and does the lead vocals, and Julie does a phenomenal job at backing her up. The first act of the conference and we were already off to a great start.
Valerie Nicole came in fresh off of her cover photo shoot with Meredith Kaminek, www.throughmeredithseyes.com, and jumped on the stage. Last year the stage was very successful for her, landing her some radio interviews and lots of press. Over the last year Valerie has recorded her new CD “From the Heart” if you like Colbie Caillat, you definitely want to grab this CD! Valerie treated us the first time up with her great song “Misunderstood.” To learn more about Valerie please read her cover story in this issue!
Next up was Jim Horn, the lead singer for another local band, Tripp McNeely. Jim jumped on stage to play their song “Catastrophe” which can be heard and requested on 105.7 the X’s “Under the Radar,” on Sunday nights. The worst part about our stage is that it does exactly what it’s supposed to, and that is, leave you with wanting more of whatever great performer you just heard!
Edwin Tichenor graced our stage for the first time of a few next. He is not only a solo singer/songwriter also out of the Harrisburg area, he was also the one organizing the mentoring sessions. When he got a chance he would run over and play a few songs, we are always grateful for any entertainment he can give us.
Jon Dillon Schumaker stepped up next. He came all the way from Seattle Washington for this year’s conference. His voice was definitely one of a kind, and the way he picked the guitar was even more amazing. We were actually lucky enough to catch more of his set on Saturday night in the Bridges Lounge.
I saw Dimestore Profit’s full set at Gullifty’s on Thursday night, so on Friday they stopped by the booth to play a little more for everyone else. I was able to hear their song “Inspiration” with the full band and the acoustic version. It’s awesome to see the difference in not only the song, but the musicians as well. I was running in to these guys all over the conference at different venues supporting different bands, and pretty much everywhere. They were definitely taking full advantage of everything the conference offered them.
Spyderlylly, from New Jersey, took the stage. It was very cool to see one of the ladies wearing one of our shirts! Thanks for supporting the mag!! It was also very cool to see the whole band be women! Women were definitely out numbered at this conference, but I think that’s the same throughout the entire music industry. Spyderlylly did a great job and I hope to see them back next year!!!
One my personal local heroes was up next, The Programaddicts. Jamison has recently been writing practically a whole new genre of music! He played us one song I’ve heard before called “When I Was Young” but then he surprised me once again with a new bluesy rock tune called “One in a Million.” Jamison is full of so many tricks he got his song, “City Girls” picked up by Miramax for a film being released at the end of March. You can read all about that in my Out and About article. Trust me it’s an event you don’t want to miss!
The very first part of the conference that I help out with is stuffing all of the 500 and some bags to hand out to all the registrants. While I was standing at the booth a guy walked in and I said, “Wow! You look really familiar to me…” here it was Shane Cooley. I stuffed a postcard with a big close up shot of his face in the 500 bags, already his advertising paid off.. Shane came to play on our stage, so our advertising must’ve paid off too, see, advertising does work! One of Shane’s songs that stuck in my head was “Too Much Too Soon Too Bad.” Very clever song writing!
Gee Davey arrived on the trade show floor and immediately wanted to play on our stage. Some family was left behind at home in Long Island so they were listening on speaker phone while they performed. At the end of their set DJ said, “Hey we need all the applause we can get!” I was glad they stopped by for their two song teaser, because then I knew I definitely wanted to check out their show at Rumors later on Friday night! I’m hoping they work their way back down this way because I’d love to see them again!
Avi Wisnia looked a little nervous when he sat up to the stage, but he quickly explained that he usually plays the keys, he hasn’t played a guitar in front of a crowd for some time. If he wouldn’t have told us, I would’ve never known! Robin and JP were both able to catch his full showcase, which I heard it’s a shame I missed.
Next, three young guys came up and asked if they could play. They didn’t have a Showcase spot, but they’d really like to play a couple songs, after all they did come up all the way from Florida. I asked their name for the list and they said, “Muphin Chuckrs.” I started to get a little nervous, but I quickly learned not to judge a book by the cover! People were coming in the room to see who it was, wondering if it was the Jonas Brothers… These three guys have been playing together for 10 years and have put out 8 CDs! They’ve learned everything together, and you can tell they are a tight knit group! I’m so glad they took advantage of our stage and got the chance to share their music with other MMC attendees. After their set they were handing out free demos like crazy!
Ryan LaPerle did play our stage, but unfortunately I must’ve been busy talking! Go figure. Sorry Ryan. I can tell you one thing for sure, he must’ve been rockin’ because during his songs our banner started to fall down!
Andrea Nardello stopped by to give us a teaser of her set. She has an awesome voice and I was glad she was on my list of “must sees.” One of the hardest parts of this conference is trying to decide who I’m going to see and when. The last 2 years I’ve planned my nights around our advertisers, which seems to work. It stretches me a little thin and I still don’t get everywhere I want to be, but ya definitely have to have a plan if you’re going to accomplish anything!
Kerri Lee Smith came down from came down from State College for the conference and stopped by to play a couple songs. As she was playing Mom was getting pretty excited, as soon as she was done playing Mom asked her, are you playing Praise and Worship songs?!? Sure enough she was and Mom was more than happy to get a copy of her CD, as a matter of fact we’re listening to it right now!
The Burning State stepped up next. One guy jumped on the bongos and another picked up the guitar. With soaring harmonies these guys easily drew people into the room. They weren’t playing until Sunday, but they were there taking advantage of every workshop and panel they could. It was sort of sad to know how many bands weren’t there, or at least I didn’t see. I know people are really busy with their jobs and lives, but it was only for 2 days this year! I can’t complain we were hoppin’ the whole time, but I wish there would’ve been more people milling about!
315 Artist Management was there representing their bands and wanting to represent more. One band that was there that took our stage was The Pledge with a female rockin’ the vocals they stood out from the crowd. The drummer and bass player of The Pledge used to be with Torn From Red, so they definitely have some awesome stage presence. With The Pledge hailing out of York, hopefully I’ll be able to catch a full show soon.
Friday night I couldn’t stick around Mr. G’s long enough to hear Jared McCloud’s set, so he brought his set to me. After I actually got a chance to hear him play his two song teaser, I decided to go back up to Mr. G’s Saturday night where he was playing for the 2nd night in a row! Jared is a cool guy and a great musician.
Avenue B Mulitmedia had a booth in our room with us and when they saw our stage they decided to bring in one of their artists to let him play a little. He was Chaz DePaolo on guitar and vocals and Mr. Lou on Bass, when Frederico saw this combo he couldn’t help but grab some bongo drums and join in the fun. They played an amazing song called “Cadillac Baby.” Chaz is currently working on a CD called Bluestopia that I’m sure would be well worth getting your hands on if you love the blues.
Endall came in from New Jersey. Gareth and I were communicating well before the conference began and I was trying to convince them to play on our stage. He didn’t think they’d be able to because they are a “rock” band. They went back to their room and figured out how they could pull off their first acoustic set and they were amazing. I think the biggest challenge was for the singer. He’s so used to being so loud and boisterous and trying to hit all his octaves and trying to be quieter was a little difficult, but all of them pulled it off nicely!
The Slant I would have to say were the most entertaining of the entire conference. With an acappella, 4-way harmony opening, these guys were impressive. They all had some way to make music, even if it was using little shakers and adding in more sound by using the stools as drums. As they got more comfortable on stage they even got crazier! Thanks for stopping by and treating us to your music!
A Fragile Tomorrow were all underage, but their songs were already, just like one of their song titles says, “Beautiful Noise.” Towards the end of the conference everyone was trying to squeeze on to the stage so we got crazy busy. Will Hanza jumped on stage next, but I missed his set too with too much yacking…
Stark was pushing their show as much as possible so of course they took advantage of our stage to push their show at Rumors. It paid off in the end for them when I showed up at Rumors for their show Jim Price was already there. He was good and comfy with even a complimentary beer, so I decided I better head somewhere else. You know the whole seniority wins!
Holloe stopped by to play us a couple songs. Their harmonies were amazing! I could definitely hear why their song “Along the Way” made it onto the MMC compilation CD! They are heading into the studio in April, and I can’t wait to see how their CD sounds. They even played the only love song they’ve ever written in lieu of Valentine’s Day! Thanks guys!!
Kagero won the award for taking the longest to set up for their 2 song set, but it was worth it in the end. They refer to their music as Japanese Gypsy Rock. It was definitely very different and very catching to my ears! They stacked the stools by the wall and said “There are no chairs in rock n’ roll!” They even pulled out the harmonica, the only one seen on our stage this conference!
We met Finespun last year, but they weren’t able to handle playing on our acoustic stage. This year they were prepared and even though it wasn’t easy they “popped their acoustic cherry” on our stage! They played “Four Walls” for us and it was a great song. It was very hard to believe it was their very first acoustic appearance! Now, only two weeks after the MMC they are “FU!” (Finespun Unplugged) everywhere. Even at their local FYE for the release and signing of their CD “Fracture.” Oren said playing acoustic is cool because, “It’s a lot less s**t to carry!” Plus it was a lot of fun. I’m glad they didn’t feel like we were torturing them!
Sarah Donner stepped on our stage for some more girl power. Hearing her play you can just imagine her strumming away sitting in her living room. Her husband was there and he even said, he’ll never get tired of hearing her play! It is amazing to see how much dedication the family has for their loved ones. There were lots of musicians being followed around by family members who were just as enthused if not more enthused than the musicians themselves.
Darren Mastropaolo stepped up to the stage. It was getting towards the end of the day and all the time slots were already filled so I was doing a lot of explaining so once again I pretty much missed him. Sorry Darren!
Joel Dobbins is another one that usually plays the keys but he broke out the acoustic for us. He played his great song “Here in the Dark” but his song “Break the Locks” should definitely be the theme song for The Bachelor. Yes, I’m pathetic, I watch The Bachelor and all those other cheesy reality shows! I heard it for the first time the other day and I could just hear it playing as Molly is running into Jason’s arms…yeah, yeah, pathetic, but Joel better get it to the right execs and get it done, he could be making millions. Call Ellen, she’ll hook you up!
Wow! The last band of the daytime events… Spirit Lost. They might be last, but definitely not least! Hailing from out in Altoona in JP’s neck of the woods, we heard them for the first time last year at the MMC, and this year they were even armed with their new CD, “The New Beginning.” I consider the MMC the beginning of a new year for music, so it was a GREAT way to end the conference!
Well I promised everyone I would cover them not knowing that all together I’ve written about 30 different bands that just played on our acoustic stage! Not to mention 26 more bands that I saw at night! That is A LOT of music!!!! Thanks so much to everyone for the entertainment, I can’t WAIT till next year!!! See ya’ at the MMC!!!!!!!!