Music & Arts:Take A Listen at the Mayville Bluegrass Festival
By Nick Corsi

ITS THAT TIME OF YEAR

Nothing much in the world is more soothing then sitting in a field and listening to acoustic guitars, fiddles, mandolins, stand up basses, sweet vocals and all the other sounds come along with Bluegrass.

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Music & Arts: Edinboro takes us somewhere else…

By Nick Corsi

DOWNTOWN EDINBORO ART AND MUSIC FESTIVAL

We kicked off the summer season at Raven with the Edinboro Art and Music Festival. This small but packed venue really gives us a chance to get back into the swing of things. I remember someone saying if you like what you do, then you never work a day in your life, when you are working at this festival…”work” is the last thing on your mind.

DONNA THE BUFFALO

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Music & Arts:Raven Sound Utilizes Twitter
By Nick Corsi

FOLLOW @RAVENSOUND

I recently began utilizing Twitter to promote Erie, PA based sound reinforcement company Raven Sound. I knew that I wanted to include at least one social networking site into Raven’s marketing mix, and the fast and easy updating potential of Twitter while on the road and on stage doing gigs was the deciding factor in incorporating the ever growing Twitter.

THE TWITTER PLAN (more…)

Music & Arts: A Time For Rest
By Nick Corsi

SOME GREAT MUSICIANS WILL TELL YOU…

They will tell you this: A lot of times, it’s the notes that you DON’T play that truly make a composition what it is. An experienced musician knows when to hold back and let silence or resonance to fill the air. Sometimes we forget what “rest” can do for a piece of music, for a project, or for our work.

APPRECIATION AND ANTICIPATION

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Music & Arts: “Act Locally” Benefit Concert
By Nick Corsi

FINALLY – SOME OUTDOOR MUSIC!

This past Thursday at the University of Pittsburgh, our Habitat for Humanity Chapter put on a Benefit Concert. As a University chapter, we have a long term goal of eventually sponsoring the entire cost of a Habitat home. This goal will see its fruition in years to come, but the fund raising is ongoing and provides a slow but steady stream of income to the account. Each year our Benefit Concert provides for this goal and also acts as a capstone event for the year.

PLANNING (more…)

music & arts: classical music lessons

TED.COM – BENJAMIN ZANDER ON MUSIC AND SHINING EYES

Cant see it? Get FlashPlayer, or view at TED.com

DON’T BE AFRAID – CLASSICAL MUSIC IS YOUR FRIEND

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music & arts: Entry 3 of 3 in Music Festival Event Planning

MUSICAL FESTIVAL PLANNING

This post is the third and final in a series of 3. I have been exploring the planning of music festivals through the insights of one of Erie PA’s best event planners, Tammy Roche. Check out the first article “Music Festival: It’s All About Creation” and the second “Music Festival: It’s All About the Music.”

TIME TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

So far we have talked about planning committees, music selections and event strategy…all that is left is to make it happen. The final installment of Music Festival planning focuses on some of the logistical issues that are faced when planning and implementing a music festival.

WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR IT? (more…)

music & arts:Entry 2 of 3 in Festival Event Planning

MUSIC FESTIVAL PLANNING

This blog post is the second in a series of 3. It is a look into musical festival planning through the insights of one of Erie PA’s best event planners, Tammy Roche. If you haven’t read the first article, “Event Planning: Its All About the Creation,” check it out here.

WHAT IS THE CORNERSTONE OF A MUSIC FESTIVAL? (more…)

music & arts: Entry 1 of 3 in Festival Event Planning

WITH WARM WEATHER COMES SWEET SOUNDS

Believe it or not, the summer is actually coming, and nice weather means one thing for music…outdoor concerts! But these concerts don’t just grow out of fields and shutdown streets, they grow from the fertile soils of hard work, teamwork and planning.

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing one of Erie, PA’s premiere event planners, Tammy Roche, Director of Marketing and Development at the Erie Art Museum. Each year the Art Museum puts on a fantastic Blues and Jazz Festival at Frontier Park in Erie, PA. Tammy plans the whole thing and has been nothing but successful. Here are her insights into outdoor festival event planning.

THE BASICS

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music & arts: ode to event planners

CONCERTS: MORE THAN THE MUSIC

Have you ever gone to a concert or festival with ONLY music? You may think yes, but if music was all that you noticed, it is because some event coordinator really did his or her job. The performers on stage are not the only ones at work behind the success of an event, many more forces are at work.

WHAT KIND OF EVENT ARE YOU PLANNING?

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music & arts: inspiration of Joy Ike

DYNAMIC, DEEP, AND DIGGING IT

Attending a coffee shop gig a few weeks ago, I was told that Joy Ike was playing, and she would be a great artist to have on the bill for the Habitat For Humanity Benefit Concert I have been planning. I wasn’t disappointed, and I don’t think you will be either. If you are in Pittsburgh, check in to seeing her play and if you aren’t, check out Joy’s Myspace for a few tracks. Her sound is dynamic, thoughtful and fuses a brilliant spectrum of sound together, painting a beautiful picture.

THE LOW-DOWN

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enlightened orgs: kiva

NOT JUST CONTRIBUTING, BUT CONNECTING

Introducing Kiva.org, a Web 2.0 company focused on connecting generous contribution with the creative potential of those living in poverty. Kiva’s mission is simple: “to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.” I had the pleasure of listening to Co-Founder Jessica Flannery speak this past weekend at Jubilee in Pittsburgh. Her speech offered two valuable insights:

1) A glimpse of hope - the poor of the world have the talent and creativity to become self sustaining…all they need is a boost in the form of capital
2) Advice – on how to realize the dream of any company, Kiva’s Story has something to offer to all of us.

FROM $14,000 TO OVER $60,000,000 IN LOANS

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Inspiration: Jubilee

INSPIRATIONAL CHRISTIAN CONFERENCE WITH A UNIVERSAL HUMAN MESSAGE

I never thought attending a Christian conference would present me with such an abundance of culture and progressive thinking. This weekend started out with a talk by Gabe Lyons, co-author of the book “unChristian,” describing perception research into how the world views Christians. This research was conducted the same way a company conducts market research to understand brand perceptions, awareness, etc .

His research suggests, among other things, that people perceive Christians as having lost touch with culture and creativity – they are sheltered…out of touch with reality. These opening remarks began a weekend of inspiration, insight, and an exposure to some remarkable individuals who prove such an argument couldn’t be more wrong.

THE ULTIMATE FOCUS…THE HUMAN MESSAGE

How will you use your God-given talents, abilities and opportunities to cultivate learning, creating, building, and serving? And…how can you accomplish these goals in such a turbulent world?

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music & arts: The Ongoing History
By Nick Corsi

What is alternative rock?

I have always been a big Alternative Rock fan. What is alternative rock? Well, you could categorize it using a number of sub-genres such as grunge, punk, indie, hardcore, metal, or any off-shoot that isn’t completely mainstream. The last 40 years have provided an explosion in the amount of genres rock n roll has to offer. Classifying, categorizing, and placing different artists in the proper labels is incredibly difficult. But I know a guy who can give you a little help if this is something you want to tackle…

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music & arts: mind your music

A GREAT FIND

I had the pleasure of stumbling upon this book two years ago in my local Barnes & Noble. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but this just jumped out and said “pick me”. This book is for anyone who enjoys music, science, learning, great stories, and a pleasant change from everyday reading.

EVER WONDER WHY?…

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New fan? or Never seen an episode? Watch them for free at ABC.com’s Lost Page

music & arts: how entertainment can be a window to our lives

LOST RETURNS!

This week Lost, and all of its cryptic yet elegant glory, returned to ABC for a 3 hour Season Premiere. If you haven’t watched it before, Lost is a show about a group of people who have crash-landed on an Island in the Pacific Ocean. It doesn’t take long for the survivors to realize they are embarking on an endeavor that will provide them with a renewed sense of self. Over the course of the last 4 seasons, they experience times of happiness, hopelessness and utter confusion.

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music & arts: the realities of production

THINK ITS GLAMOROUS?

Think the entertainment industry is like the 3 hour awards shows we see four to five times a year on TV?  I sure hope not, because even though certain rockstars, moviestars, and broadway stars are constantly being taken care of, those who work in this industry are actually “working” and working, “a lot.”  And take it from me, it’s not always pretty.

WHAT IF ROADIES ACTUALLY DID RUN THE WORLD? THIS VIDEO COULDN’T BE CLOSER TO THE TRUTH.

Can’t see it? Get FlashPlayer, or view at YouTube.

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music & arts: understand what you are working with

WHAT ARE YOU HEARING THESE DAYS?
When you go to a concert whether it be jazz, acoustic, rock n roll, orchestral, Broadway, or whatever strikes your sonic fancy, what do you hear?

Do you hear the actual voices and instruments being played on stage? Think about it… In the instances of true musicians (no lip-syncers here), of course they are playing actual instruments and singing with natural voices. However it is up to the sound engineer(s) mixing the performance to make the musicians sound as good as possible.

WHAT IS GOOD?

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Music & Arts: If you want the art, you have to stroke the ego…

PROFESSIONALS AND NOT-SO-PROFESSIONALS

The music industry is a crazy place. Its so dynamic that it contains some of the richest and some of the poorest people in the world. However, regardless of what level a musician stands on or climbs to, there is always one underlying nuance poised to raise its ugly head when the time is right – THE EGO…

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Business Opportunities: Sound Reinforcement

INTRODUCING MUSIC INDUSTRY ARTICLES BY NICK CORSI

Nick Corsi represents the new generation of sound reinforcement professionals and upcoming entrepreneurs, combining his love of marketing and music. He is also responsible for the RavenSound.com website. I’ve invited Nick to share some of his articles with our readers on our Sunday Music posts. Enjoy – David VanAmburg

WE WERE REALLY FEELIN’ THIS ONE

Jazz Erie brought tenor sax player Pete Mills to the Ambassador Conference Center this past Saturday for an incredible night of tenor sax jazz. A very simple system setup and some incredible musicians made the night enjoyable and easy-going for Raven engineers Nate “Slim” Harpst and Nick Corsi.

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