We were cutting it down to the wire. Singacoustic 5 in Santa Monica, CA raised a few challenges for us trying to get it all together, the main one was finding the artist since we are not based in S. California. The show requires 3 local singer-songwriters, and they have to reside close to the hosting recording studio, at a decent distance to it, at least.
An email was sent out to Singacoustic previous artists asking for their help in recommending local Los Angeles singer-songwriters, and Ira Marlow responded with a name, Andras Jones (watch out for a future blog about the artist). I got the pre-show production excitement and off to Google I go, typed the name to find out about the artist, very impressive indeed. I contacted Andras and asked to feature his music on Singacoustic and he replied that he would love to perform. One down and two to go.
As I explained in my previous blogs, in order to book an artist for a show, you have got to have a date, time, and place, and since we did not have any of the above, I told Andras Jones that I shall be in touch once I get my affairs in order. And there lies the second challenge.
Singacoustic Production Manager, Kristofer Hall started looking for studios in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area and he came back with a few to choose from, all within a great distance. After negotiation with a few studios, we settled on hosting the Singacoustic 5 at The 4Th Street Recording in Santa Monica, CA. I couldn’t keep Andras Jones hanging for long, I needed to get moving and decided the show shall be on May 4th. I sent an email to Andras and it was all good.
Now, in a short time, I needed two more artists. Through my postings on Facebook Groups asking for artists, repeatedly, I got a few names to choose from, and after reviewing their songs on Spotify and SoundCloud, watching their videos on their websites and Youtube, reading their bios, and going through their social media profiles (it’s pretty exhausting at a time)
I kept on looking and found this amazing artist that blew my mind listening to her first song, and her name is Shelley Segal (watch out for a future blog about the artist). I immediately contacted Shelley and she agreed and happy days are here again.
Time was winding down and the panic was settling in. I booked the Airbnb for our trip, made the necessary arraignment, and had no third artist. In a brief discussion with Singacoustic host Ana Sophia Dunham and production manager Kris Hall, it was related that we might end up producing the Singacoustic 5 showcase with just two artists. A week before the show, I received an email that Barrett Wilson (watch out for a future blog about the artist) signed up and submitted the online form for artists to submit their credentials. I looked Barrett Wilson up, and I immediatly fell in love with his groovy style. I contacted Barrett, and bam! I had the third artist just in time.
The Santa Monica trip was great, Ana, Kris, and I had a great time driving to Santa Monica, talking and discussing details about the show. We had a great Airbnb house, the 4th Street Recording staff was very accommodating. For the first time, we used our video production gear for the show, a great success with our cameras and the encoder and the streaming capability. Technology never seems to stop amusing the heck out of me. I’m so glad that from now on, Singacoustic video and live stream is an in-house production.
The show was great in featuring a talent that is not known out of its demographics and once again it proved the point that what you hear in the mainstream media does not include the local and exceptionally talented singer-songwriters around the country.
My mistake, for leaving the car unlocked for a brief moment, when it was parked right in front of the studio entrance as someone got in, stole my prescription glasses (why?), Ana’s old iPod full of music (an old iPod I say), and the iPhone charging cable (really?). There were other items that could’ve been stolen so maybe that person was in a hurry.
All in all, it was a great trip, a successful one for sure. What is the next city?