Starting off 2015…
The holiday season flew by here at Bergsten Music. Now, with 2015 underway, we’re taking care of some of the housekeeping we aren’t able to do in our busiest months.
Our warehouse manager, Bob-spent the first four days of 2015 building us a new and improved storage space for our guitars and keyboards!
Inventory- it’s quite a process. This is the part where we ensure all the gear on our shelves match what we have in our system. So far so good! It’s also the time to determine what needs to be be cleaned up or simply decommissioned.
Catch up– only in the winter will you see so many of our audio engineers together in one place. It’s the perfect time to look over the latest boards/consoles in our rental stock.
We’re ready for another great year!
Warehouse Wednesdays
Behind the scenes at Bergsten Music on a typical Wednesday afternoon.
Artist Interview: Denny Dias – David Friend Recital Hall
Check out this interview with Denny Dias of Steely Dan, while sporting a Bergsten Music shirt!
Returning in July: The Levitate Music Festival 2014
On July 12th, the Marshfield Fair grounds will again, serve as the venue for the second annual Levitate Music Festival. This day long event will feature local artists, crafters and food trucks as well as an impressive lineup of musicians.
A family-friendly event, attendees can expect plenty activities for their little ones as they enjoy the delicious food and featured artwork. Bring some folding chairs or blankets to sit on and enjoy the experience!
Steely Dan guitarist Denny Dias plays Berklee concert July 18th, will feature Lisa Jason and Bellevue Cadillac’s Andy Bergsten
Originally posted @ BillCopelandMusicNews.com
Bass player Andy Bergsten, from Bellevue Cadillac, has announced he will be playing with Steely Dan co-founder Denny Dias and vocalist Lisa Jason at the David Friend Hall at Berklee College Of Music on July 18th. Booked as “Denny Dias Of Steely Dan, Introducing Lisa Jason,” the show will no doubt offer many Steely Dan favorites.
Dias was the founding member of Steely Dan, who, in 1971, placed an ad in the Village Voice for a keyboardist and bass player. The ad was answered by none other than Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, hence giving birth to Steely Dan. Dias was the primary guitar player from their beginning until the Aja album, which was when he left the band.
Bergsten and Boston vocalist Lisa Jason recorded a 1999 album which included some of Dias’s newer originals. Ms. Jason has recently been on a mission to get Dias’s Steely Dan history more recognition.
“We’ll be playing some old Dan stuff as well as some of the originals that haven’t been recorded yet,” Bergsten said.
A legendary guitarist, Dias recorded on Steely Dan albums, Can’t Buy a Thrill, Countdown to Ecstasy, Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied, The Royal Scam and Aja. He is well known for his guitar solos for “Do It Again”, “Bodhisattva”, and “Your Gold Teeth ll”.
A diverse musician, Dias, in 1991, joined the band Toto on their Summer Festival Tour. In 1992, he performed, in Los Angeles, in a tribute to Jeff Porcar, playing alongside such legendary musicians as Michael McDonald, Don Henley, Donald Fagen, Boz Scaggs, Eddie Van Halen, George Harrison and David Crosby. Dias has recently been playing with Spanky And Our Gang.
Introducing Lisa Jason who has been called “a breakout performer,” by Stephen Hanks, of Cabaret Scenes in New York City. She has also been written up in Boston publications: “Behind her petite 5’2 100 lb. (soaking wet) frame lays a powerhouse artist with an astounding vocal talent and a dynamite stage presence,” wrote John Amodeo of the Edge in Boston.
Ms. Jason is a nationally acclaimed singer/songwriter and her one woman shows have earned rave reviews from Provincetown to New York, Washington to the Caribbean. She has worked with the original cast of the Jersey Boys, Huey Lewis and the News, KC and the Sunshine Band, Otis Day, The Bonnie Raitt Band, John Cafferty, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Hooters, and many more.
She began collaborating with Dias on several recordings of his new music. She also collaborated with famed sound engineer Dinky Dawson on her second CD “Matter of Time”, featuring songs from artists, Dee Dee Stewart, David Pac, Ambrosia, Harriet Schock, and The Mamas and Papas.
A multi-faceted artist, she has been a featured singer with the Cape Cod Symphony, The No Rules Theater Company in Washington, DC, and she performed the National Anthem at Fenway Park. Her award winning song, Beautiful Child was adopted by The March Of Dimes, for their Northeast campaign efforts.
Ms. Jason and Mr. Dias are currently collaborating on a new CD, and are planning to tour in the near future. For information on their July 18th Berklee appearance, please visit:
Now available for rent! New Meyer M’elodie Line Array!
We have added a new Meyer M’elodie Line Array to our Pro Audio rental inventory!
It is now available upon request.
College/University Concert Planning: Things to Consider
If you want to produce a major concert at a college or university, be prepared, as it will take a lot of time, patience and hard work. Concerts at schools come with a specific set of circumstances that are usually not seen when booking with ‘for profit’ venues.
To make all of your concert planning efforts worthwhile, be sure to review our list of ‘Things to consider” before you start:
* The first step of this process, is to determine a clear purpose for the event. Why should this concert take place?
- To entertain the student body.
- To raise awareness and/or money for a cause or community.
- Teach event committee how to produce a concert.
Identifying the purpose of your event will help determine what act to book, how much money to spend, when/where it should happen, etc.
* Next, consider the goals of the event and the factors that will impact the planning process- such as:
- Is the concert closed to students or open to the public?
- Does the entertainment need to meet certain criteria (ie: genre- rock, comedy, hip hop) to ensure community interest?
- Will this concert be free or will attendees need to purchase tickets?
- What (if applicable) is the break even point? Does money NEED to be made?
- Will the event appeal to all student demographics? If not, can adjustments be made so it will?
Event Planning Tips: Industry Keywords
If you are someone who hasn’t spent much time planning comedy, music or theatrical shows the process can be quite overwhelming. Don’t let industry lingo complicate your event planning experience! Take a look at our list of most commonly used terms and their definitions as they pertain to event planning, below:
Advance– (in context: “I have to advance the rock show”): When someone affiliated with the act (usually a manager) calls to discuss event details such as arrival time, production requests, rider changes etc.
Backdrop– A large colored or painted cloth hung at the back of a stage to serve as a setting (theater) or background for the performance/event.
Backline– Musical equipment requested/required by the hired performers. In most cases, a tour manager will provide an artist ‘Rider’ (see below for definition) which will indicate what musical equipment is needed. In most cases, production companies like us are able to fulfill those requests.
Bid – an offer of a price for a service. Event planners often deal with many bids from potential vendors (providing the same service) and will usually pick the most budget-friendly price. Bergsten Music is frequently asked to provide/enter a bid when our services are being considered for a large scale event.
Break Even– The point where revenue generated from ticket sales is equal to the amount of money spent producing the show.
