Girls in boots. Playing songs by The Kinks. Everbody’s gonna be happy! Catch one of Silicon Valley Rocks!’ own—The Minks at El Rio in San Francisco. The ladies go on around 10 p.m. We’ll be there passing out postcards and channeling Ray Davies.
Monthly Archive for October, 2008
Folks, we have bands in the house! I am so excited by the diversity of this group and know this will be a great show! We even have a couple of “Silicon Valley Rocks Specials” - groups who have formed just for this event. Here’s the lineup (not necessarily in this order):
- BLACKMAHAL - HTTP://WWW.MYSPACE.COM/BLACKMAHALSF
- FONKSQUISH - HTTP://WWW.LAST.FM/MUSIC/FONKSQUISH
- KEVIN MANEY & HIS BRIEFS - HTTP://CDBABY.COM/CD/KEVINMANEY
- THE MINKS - HTTP://WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THEMINKS
- THE MUSIC LOVERS - HTTP://WWW.MYSPACE.COM/THEMUSICLOVERS
- THE OPEN SOURCE BAND FEATURING JONAH MATRANGA - HTTP://WWW.JONAHMATRANGA.COM/
- SPIN CONTROL FEATURING DON CLARK AND PAUL BERGEVIN
Each band has 20 minute sets and then the next band is on. Stay tuned to the blog to learn more about the bands, who they are, who inspires them, and where they work.
This the first in our interview series of music influencers.
Shelley Lazar, a Music in Schools Today (MuST) Board member since 1995, has been dubbed “the mastermind behind rock royalty’s all-access passes” by Vanity Fair magazine. A colleague of rock impresario Bill Graham since the late 60’s, Shelley worked as a New York City schoolteacher and administrator for twenty years before moving to San Francisco in 1990 at Bill Graham’s request. She was Vice President/Artist Relations and Special Events Director at Bill Graham Presents (BGP). Immediately after Bill Graham’s death in 1991, Shelley became Founding Director of the Bill Graham Foundation. In 2002, she started her own entertainment services company, SLO Limited. In April, 2008, SLO was purchased by Ticketmaster and is now called SLO VIP Ticket Services, a division of Ticketmaster.
SVR: Tell us about your first experience with music education.
Shelley: At my first Spring Concert as a teacher/conductor of fourth graders in 1970 – My class was playing “The Good Old Duke of York” on their recorders and there was no one to play the cymbals. Solution? I tied a cymbal to each knee and became the solo cymbalist as I conducted an orchestra of giggling 10-year olds! I had a great love and heartfelt joy in teaching young children. Music was always a major component of the day’s activities and lessons (classical, folk, opera, ethnic, rock and pop).
SVR: How did you meet Bill Graham?
Shelley: Bill Graham entered my life during his Fillmore East days. I worked with him on world tours and special concert events that he promoted (The Rolling Stones, Amnesty International Concerts for Human Rights, Live Aid, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, etc.). In 1990, after working full-time in two different fields for over two decades, Bill convinced me to move to San Francisco and work as a full-timer BGP staffer! After his tragic death in 1991, we established the Bill Graham Foundation in order to continue Bill’s philanthropy and to continue to have his name associated with music and cultural arts in the schools. It was his charitable “passion,” as it has always been mine. He unstintingly provided music scholarships, after-school art, dance and poetry programs, ticket donations to schools and benefits that would raise dollars and awareness of the need for the arts in schools.
SVR: Why is it important to support music education for kids?
Shelley:
I feel that by supporting music education, I am not only fostering an interest in music and an enthusiasm for concertgoers, which certainly enhances my business, but I am also fostering the myriad of benefits that children receive from music education…their physical, intellectual, emotional and social growth.
SVR :What are you up to now?
Shelley:
SLO VIP Ticket Services has had an extremely busy 2008! We just finished working with George Michael, Rod Stewart, Linkin Park, Paul McCartney’s concert in Tel Aviv, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the VH1 Rock Honors, MTV Music Video Awards and MTV Movie Awards shows, Pope Benedict’s Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium and we are currently working on the Tina Tuner, Celine Dion, Bob Dylan, The Who, Lionel Richie, John Legend, Andre Rieu, Robert Plant/Alison Krauss, Billy Joel, Dolly Parton and Pink world tours. I have worked with the Rolling Stones since the early 80’s and I am hopeful that, once again, we will all be able to “experience” the “world’s greatest rock & roll band” in 2009!! And…let’s not forget Led Zeppelin!!
SVR: OMG, Led Zeppelin? Can you tell me more?
Shelley: Nothing more to tell other than it’s being seriously discussed…
The answer is…lots of people. Especially those who don’t understand how music can expand kids’ minds, develop creativity, teach discipline and tenacity, and actually improve test scores. To educate about on the cause behind Silicon Valley Rocks!, I’d like to share a bit about Music in Schools Today. That’s where the proceeds are headed.
What they do:
- MuST reaches over 15,000 San Francisco Bay Area children a year with a variety of music programs in schools and community centers.
- They recycle used musical instruments into schools. They hand tailor programs to meet individual school or center needs. MuST works especially with at-risk youth in our music circle program. We help the school to network into the community through children’s performances and after-school guitar & percussion classes. They spend a huge amount of time and money training teachers to integrate music into education.
- “Music plus music integration” is one of their newest and most exciting programs. Schools integrate and involve music in every phase of learning from math to science to language arts. Music is involved throughout the school day and parents are invited to participate with their children in school learning centers with inviting music rooms and music gardens.
- They have been have been a lead creator in a Music in Education National Consortium program that is unique, cutting-edge and transforming music education in the United States. It is currently being used in over 600 schools in 6 states.
The results:
- A four-year study of 1,000 of our Bay Area at-risk “music circle” students indicated that these middle school students scored more than 50% better on GPA, and 50% better in attendance rate. The average rate for these children ending up in Juvenile Hall is 30% but for our children, it was 1%.
Why we need to support MuST:
- I don’t think I need to explain what happens to public education when the economy is weak. What are your thoughts, personal experiences, comments about why music should be part of a school curriculum? Leave a comment.
The music industry business model, as we have known it, is going away. I know, we’ve been saying this for years, but really folks, it is happening now. Here are a couple of events that are about what’s here, not what’s coming. And, look for Silicon Valley Rocks! deals and discounts to these events:
Music Makers and Technology Shakers
Wednesday., October 15th, 2008, 6pm - 9pm, at Slide in San Francisco, CA
Register at http://musicandtech.eventbrite.com to participate in this thought-provoking discussion. Use discount code “w2alison” – for a 10% off musician ticket price.
Join the discussion with artists, seasoned executives and music industry disrupters who will join us from KCRW to Real Networks to Sellaband.com (all the way from the Netherlands). Hear influential technology and music leader’s talk about the changes in the music industry, new business models, current trends and how the startup community can empower change for artists around the globe. This is open to everyone from professionals to musicians to technology entrepreneurs with an interest in music / media entertainment startups.
Panelists:
» Angelina Moysov (Singer / Songerwriter for Persephones Bees)
» Lucia Iman (top-selling artist on SellaBand)
» Pim Betist (Founder and Creative Director of SellaBand)
» Celia Hirschman (KCRW Commentator “On the Beat”)
» Cecily Mak (Senior Counsel at RealNetworks and Rhapsody)
» Jay Durgan (President of Raiden Holdings and former Head of Bus. Dev. at Warner Music)
» Elise Nordling (Music Director and DJ for Indie Pop Rocks!)
For more information: http://www.women2.org/october-2008-music-and-tech
SanFran MusicTech Summit
Monday, October 20th, 2008, 9am (start), at Hotel Kabuki in San Francisco, CA
Buy a ticket to the Summit and get your Silicon Valley Rocks! ticket included in the price. Use discount code “svr” to ensure proper handling.
The SanFran MusicTech Summit will bring together the best and brightest developers in the Music/Technology Space, along with the musicians, entrepreneurial business people, press, investors, service providers, and organizations who work with them at the convergence of culture and commerce. We will meet to discuss the evolving music/business/technology ecosystem in a proactive, conducive to dealmaking environment.
Select list of speakers include:
» Glenn Otis Brown, Esq. - YouTube, Strategic Partner Developer
» Peter Gotcher - Topspin, Co-Founder & Chairman / Director of Pandora Media, Dolby Laboratories, Line 6, Avnera Corporation and Dash Navigation
» Steve Jang - imeem, CMO & Head of Business Development
» Ethan Kaplan - Warner Bros Records, VP of Technology
» Paris - Guerrilla Funk Recordings
» Derek Slater - Google, Policy Analyst
For more information: http://www.sfmusictech.com/index.html
One of the nice things about living in the foggy Richmond District is that I am a short walk to every GG Park music festival. One of my favorite events is Hardly Strictly Bluegrass which is literally a gift (a $2 million one at that) to the city.
Last night, amid the threatening clouds and the dirty hippies:), I was able to stand 20 ft from Robert Plant and listed to one of my all-time favorites - Battle of Evermore. A haunting melody that even this sucky video manages to convey. Seriously, don’t watch it - i didn’t bother to add it in the post - just listen.
Thank you, Warren, for this gift. And may the rain stay away today.
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