Thank you so much Mike for doing this! It really helps!!!
Questions- How hard was it to get the yma's together?
What are you planning for the next yma's?
Can you absolutely confirm there will be another yma's?
What gave you the idea for the yma’s
What do you have planned for Perfect Pair?
How did you learn to play guitar?
What made you want to go into music?
Answer- The YMAs were harder to put together than anyone can imagine. When your dealing with musicians...some can be divas, some can be unreliable, and most are difficult to work with. They are all good people, just tough to deal with so many different personalities. That was one aspect of it... I had to decide on design for logos, website, categories, sponsorship costs...all the stuff that isn't music, but it needed to grab attention.
The other part was to make sure that the YMAs meant something...to know that someone will take that award home and actually hang it up and be proud of it. How do you do that??? Promotions...I chose to get media involved because we all know...if you hear your name on the radio...hear your name or see it on TV...then that recognition is worth something!! That's where Mike Case, Stan Boney, Guy Dastolfo of the Vindicator, all come in to play. They help to "sell" the event.
The last piece was the most important...Format of the show, and when I knew I had something great, somewhere to give the money. I knew that if I set the format for this event, it would have a schedule, a certain expectation, that will come every year. Donating to charity was the way I wanted to go. What better charity than the creative bridge coalition?? It was started by a great musician from Ytown, and it incorporates music with special needs children!!! A great way for all musicians to give back while getting the recognition in return!
I am planning the 2015 YMAs.... I am set to announce the line up in about 2 weeks. Initially, I wanted Glass Harp. Initially, they said yes...I set the pavement the way Glass Harp would have felt comfortable. Well, life happens and Glass Harps bass player is having some complications....so, they respectfully asked that I hold off on them this year due to a serious health problem...
The idea for the YMAs came from Rock Erie Music Awards. I like to think that our YMAs was a lot better...due to all of the media involved.
Perfect Pair was a project I started because I felt a need for a fun acoustic duo. Sometimes you want to go out for a drink, listen to a band, and not have to scream to each other... I saw Perfect Pair as a complete interaction tool...a great way for me to entertain people with music, but also get to talk to the crowd and have fun, just as if I am hosting a party. It turns out, the area was looking for an act like ours!
I have a lot planned for Perfect Pair!!! The Voice for Ashley auditions are coming up! We will definitely audition for Americas Got Talent again!! And, we will continue to grow our music, form friendships with people who enjoy us, and throw in some original tunes!
I learned guitar when I was 14 years old. To be honest, I did it to impress a girl.. I took drum lessons from age 7-15. I played drums for my first band....but, a girl I had my eyes on liked the guitar.
I started by teaching myself the chords. Once I picked that guitar up, I never put it down. I stayed in my room for hours to learn songs as fast as possible. Now, at this age, I was also really into sports! I played baseball, football and basketball from the time I was 6 until I graduated high school. I was small, but competitive and very fast. When I picked up that guitar, it changed my life from sports, to music! I finished out high school playing sports, but had no interest in playing college....I wanted to play music! I started a band in Toledo, that's where I went to college. I left this small area to go somewhere new, where no one knew me. By the time college started, I had long hair(it eventually dreaded) and was all about guitar and playing songs I wrote! I answered some ads and met some decent musicians so we started a band. We played together for 3.5 years. We had great opportunities and did very well for ourselves! In this time I also went to
an audition for Limp Bizkit, and I also got asked to audition for a Canadian band, Our Lady Peace(look up Starseed, Supermans Dead, Naveed). So, I pushed my guitar playing and music... I didn't make the audition for the bands, but I believe doing things like that made me who I am today...
Questions- How hard was it to get the yma's together?
What are you planning for the next yma's?
Can you absolutely confirm there will be another yma's?
What gave you the idea for the yma’s
What do you have planned for Perfect Pair?
How did you learn to play guitar?
What made you want to go into music?
Answer- The YMAs were harder to put together than anyone can imagine. When your dealing with musicians...some can be divas, some can be unreliable, and most are difficult to work with. They are all good people, just tough to deal with so many different personalities. That was one aspect of it... I had to decide on design for logos, website, categories, sponsorship costs...all the stuff that isn't music, but it needed to grab attention.
The other part was to make sure that the YMAs meant something...to know that someone will take that award home and actually hang it up and be proud of it. How do you do that??? Promotions...I chose to get media involved because we all know...if you hear your name on the radio...hear your name or see it on TV...then that recognition is worth something!! That's where Mike Case, Stan Boney, Guy Dastolfo of the Vindicator, all come in to play. They help to "sell" the event.
The last piece was the most important...Format of the show, and when I knew I had something great, somewhere to give the money. I knew that if I set the format for this event, it would have a schedule, a certain expectation, that will come every year. Donating to charity was the way I wanted to go. What better charity than the creative bridge coalition?? It was started by a great musician from Ytown, and it incorporates music with special needs children!!! A great way for all musicians to give back while getting the recognition in return!
I am planning the 2015 YMAs.... I am set to announce the line up in about 2 weeks. Initially, I wanted Glass Harp. Initially, they said yes...I set the pavement the way Glass Harp would have felt comfortable. Well, life happens and Glass Harps bass player is having some complications....so, they respectfully asked that I hold off on them this year due to a serious health problem...
The idea for the YMAs came from Rock Erie Music Awards. I like to think that our YMAs was a lot better...due to all of the media involved.
Perfect Pair was a project I started because I felt a need for a fun acoustic duo. Sometimes you want to go out for a drink, listen to a band, and not have to scream to each other... I saw Perfect Pair as a complete interaction tool...a great way for me to entertain people with music, but also get to talk to the crowd and have fun, just as if I am hosting a party. It turns out, the area was looking for an act like ours!
I have a lot planned for Perfect Pair!!! The Voice for Ashley auditions are coming up! We will definitely audition for Americas Got Talent again!! And, we will continue to grow our music, form friendships with people who enjoy us, and throw in some original tunes!
I learned guitar when I was 14 years old. To be honest, I did it to impress a girl.. I took drum lessons from age 7-15. I played drums for my first band....but, a girl I had my eyes on liked the guitar.
I started by teaching myself the chords. Once I picked that guitar up, I never put it down. I stayed in my room for hours to learn songs as fast as possible. Now, at this age, I was also really into sports! I played baseball, football and basketball from the time I was 6 until I graduated high school. I was small, but competitive and very fast. When I picked up that guitar, it changed my life from sports, to music! I finished out high school playing sports, but had no interest in playing college....I wanted to play music! I started a band in Toledo, that's where I went to college. I left this small area to go somewhere new, where no one knew me. By the time college started, I had long hair(it eventually dreaded) and was all about guitar and playing songs I wrote! I answered some ads and met some decent musicians so we started a band. We played together for 3.5 years. We had great opportunities and did very well for ourselves! In this time I also went to
an audition for Limp Bizkit, and I also got asked to audition for a Canadian band, Our Lady Peace(look up Starseed, Supermans Dead, Naveed). So, I pushed my guitar playing and music... I didn't make the audition for the bands, but I believe doing things like that made me who I am today...