LIVE MUSIC TASK FORCE KICK-OFF CONCERT
The LIVE MUSIC TASK FORCE
invites you to a free concert celebration
launching a new campaign to support live music.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2005
NOON TO 4
YERBA BUENA GARDENS
SAN FRANCISCO
(Mission Street between 3rd & 4th)
Featuring
The Fabulous Bud E. Luv Big Band
Bobby Webb and the Smooth Blues Band
Tim Price Jazz Orchestra
Cubanacan
and Special Guests
Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy
an afternoon of LIVE MUSIC
and dancing in the sun.
In association with the Market Street Association\People in Plazas, the Music Performance Fund, the Musicians Union Local 6, and the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival
www.livemusictaskforce.org
Bobby Webb & The Smooth Blues Band Kicked Off The Day
The Tim Price Jazz Orchestra
The Tim Price Jazz Orchestra
Dancers get down.
Alex Walsh (Live Music Task Force Coordinator)
sings a song with the Tim Price Jazz Orchestra
State Assembly Member Mark Leno presented the Live Music Task Force
with this Certificate of Recognition
Patti Carlise from the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services lends her support.
The Fabulous Bud E. Luv
Master of Ceremonies Dick Bright sits in with the Bud E. Luv Big Band
Cubanacan
Cubanacan brings it all back home
The crowd loved it.
See you next year!
PRESS RELEASE
LIVEMUSIC TASK FORCE LAUNCHES WEBSITE & ANNOUNCES FALL
KICK-OFF CONCERT AT YERBA BUENA GARDENS IN SAN FRANCISCO
The Live Music Task Force launches its website www.livemusictaskforce.org, created by YVOD, a Bay Area web and marketing company. The new website highlights the Live Music Task Force Kick-off Concert scheduled for Sunday, October 16, at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco.
The Kick-off concert will be an admission-free concert featuring high-profile performers from the Bay Area with national and international reputations. Celebrity MC's/speakers will underscore the value and importance of live music in our culture and daily lives.
The website, currently focused on the October Kick-off concert, will soon have a live music calendar, podcasts, and ways for people to help. The Live Music Task Force plans to mobilize a national campaign based on efforts started in the Bay Area.
"The Live Music experience is among the deepest and most profound to be found in life," says David Schoenbrun, founder of the Live Music Task Force. "No technology can replace it, not in the theater, nightclub, or concert hall. Yet every week we hear of another group opting for technological alternatives - from Disney on Ice, to the Oakland Ballet's Nutcracker, to the computerized player piano in the Stanford Court Hotel. The Live Music Task Force supports every adult and child's need for the live musical experience."
David Schoenbrun, President of Musicians Union Local 6, is one of many industry leaders supporting the Live Music Task Force. The organization's newest partner and fiscal sponsor is Meg Madden from Music In Schools Today (M.U.S.T.), an organization which supports, develops and promotes music education for youth. Ten percent of all monies raised by the Live Music Task Force go to support M.U.S.T. programs. The Live Music Task Force steering committee includes Jocelyn Kane, San Francisco Entertainment Commission, Marshall Lamm, Yoshi's, Jacqui Naylor, Singer, YVOD Marketing Director, Merl Saunders Jr., Executive Director of the San Francisco Chapter of NARAS (The Grammy's), Patrick Simms, ICAN Gallery, Lynne Valente, Market Street Association, Melinda Wagner, Musical Fund Society, and Alex Walsh, Musicians Union Local 6, Live Music Task Force Coordinator.
For more info please visit www.livemusictaskforce.org, or call: (415) 575-0777 ext. 308.
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As Printed in the Musical News, the official newsletter of Musicians Union Local 6
Live Music Task Force Kick-off Concert a Smashing Success
By Alex Walsh
The Live Music Task Force Kick-off Concert on Sunday, October 18, at Yerba Buena Gardens, was a HUGE success. "The weather was great, the crowd was great, and the music was great," said Scott Kessler, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival staff member. Four great bands performed, Bobby Webb & the Smooth Blues, the Tim Price Jazz Orchestra, the Bud E. Luv Big Band, and Cubanacan. The effervescent Dick Bright was the Master of Ceremonies.
The day started bright and early as the stage crew headed by Larry Walker and Michael Hatfield began unloading and setting up the backline gear. A 'backline' is the name for the equipment that all of the bands will use in common, such as a drum kit, amplifiers, music stands, etc., rather than each group bringing their own. This saves transition time between bands and makes it easier on the musicians. As the stage was being set, with the help of local 6 volunteers and staff, refreshments were placed in the green room, Live Music Task Force name badges were handed out, and the information and t-shirt sales table was set-up. By noon the sun was out and the morning dew on the grass had evaporated. Showtime!
The Man himself, Bobby Webb, started us off at 12:00pm noon with his Smooth Blues Band. The crowd, which grew steadily throughout his set, loved it. Bobby sang and played saxophone, even playing two saxophones at once during a tune, while his band ripped the place up behind him. Bobby's guitar player got so excited he broke his strap - then borrowed mine and broke it too - I'm still waiting for that replacement! (I'm serious)
After Bobby's set, Meg Madden from MuST (Music in Schools Today), the Live Music Task Force fiscal sponsor, spoke briefly about the importance of music education and about the need for campaigns like the Live Music Task Force. Jazz singer and Live Music Task Force Steering Committee Member Jacqui Naylor also said how honored she was to be working with us and our cause. To fill up time (and to avoid playing taped music as much as possible) I then took out my acoustic guitar (sans strap, so I had to sit down) and started playing a Bo Diddley inspired original "Love From Outerspace". To my surprise the Tim Price Jazz Orchestra joined in (a thrill for me as it was the first time I've been backed up by a 17 piece orchestra—Las Vegas here I come). By this time the sun was HOT, but Tim Price kept things cool with crowd pleasers like the theme from the Pink Panther. The audience was intrigued, I think, because how often does the average person hear a live 17 piece band? Not very often. This of course was our point.
During the second break, California State Assembly Member Mark Leno presented the Live Music Task Force with a Certificate of Recognition that reads:
"Congratulations on the occasion of launching the Live Music Task Force. Live music adds immeasurable value to our culture and our daily lives. I commend your commitment to preserving the tradition of live music and your dedication to starting a national campaign to advocate for it. Congratulations and thank you for all that you are doing!" - Mark Leno, Assemblyman, 13th District, October 16, 2005
David Schoenbrun, founder of the Live Music Task Force, received the award on our behalf. Patti Carlise from the San Francisco Mayor's office also gave her support to the Live Music Task Force and spoke briefly about the Mayor's plans. And then, as if transported by some strange mixed cocktail drink of unknown origin, our collective lounge lizard dreams came true as the Bud E. Luv Big Band featuring the fabulous Bud E. Luv slithered onto the stage. How can I describe what I saw? Titillating, entertaining, thought provoking. "Made me weep," said one full grown man in the audience. "I cried," his wife chimed in. "There are children in this audience, what were you people thinking?" sneered one observer. "Make it stop." said another. "I like it," said the man with the bad tupee. But seriously, all kidding aside, Bud E. Luv ROCKED.
For the last set break, with the sun still blazing and no wind in sight, Local 6 President and Live Music Task Force Founder David Schoenbrun stormed the stage. He discussed, among other things, the threat of the Virtual Orchestra and its possible impact on the "live" part of "live musical theater". He also thanked everyone involved with the effort of putting the concert together. Lynn Valente, director of the Market Street Association's People in Plazas Program which helped fund the concert, and a Live Music Task Force Steering Committee Member, shared her experience running her noontime concert series. "Audiences are always so appreciative of live music", she said,"and oftentimes realize that it's been years since they've seen it." She also acknowledged David's role as the founder of the organization and my role as the coordinator of the show (thanks Lynn).
By this time we all realized that the weather was not going to turn sour on us. After a few minutes of taped music the high energy latin group Cubanacan took the stage and brought us home dancing. The music lasted until about 4:15pm, Lynn Valente said final thank you's and goodbyes, and then it was over. People lingered on the grass as we began the break-down and clean-up process, which was relatively quick and painless. After all was said and done, the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival invited the Live Music Task Force back for next year.
Thank you to our dedicated Local 6 volunteer staff for making the day run so smoothly, and double thank you's to Don and Alice Kennelly who spent many hours on the phone contacting and coordinating our volunteers. We also thank Michael Hatfield and Larry Walker for providing the backline for the show, and to Larry for handling stage manager duties. As a kick-off concert for our campaign, the day was a true success. The Live Music Task Force is now officially on the map, and we have many ideas for gaining the media attention we need to get the message out that live music needs our support. Go see live music!
Local 6 Volunteers:
Terry Adams
Brook Aird
Wayne Allen
Dana Bauer
Chuck Bennett
Diana Dorman
Gretchen Elliott
John Groves
Steve Hanson
Katie Johnk
Alice Kennelly
Don Kennelly
Pat Kroboth
Yehudit Lieberman
Amy Likar
Larry London
Steve Meicke
Cyrle Perry
Eric Thompson
Jim Schallenberger
Daryl Schilling
Juan Vega
Posted by livemusictaskforce at 03:26 PM
