  Friend, • What Carolyn Is Up To: Mother's Day at The Huntington • Upcoming Events: Carolyn's Interview on Distinguished Speaker Steve Lopez! • Feature Article: How to Decorate an Event with Music • About Carolyn: Meet The Artist • Carolyn Recommends: The Smokehouse Restaurant in Burbank Please add "carolyn@pacificharps.com " to your white list or address book in your e-mail program, so that you have no trouble receiving future issues!  Mother's Day at The Huntington
 Carolyn's Interview on Distinguished Speaker Steve Lopez!  Recently at the Los Angeles Distinguished Speaker Series, Carolyn played for award-winning columnist Steve Lopez, and the interview is coming soon! Watch for it in the next newsletter - meanwhile, a little about Steve Lopez: Steve Lopez joined the staff of the Los Angeles Times in May 2001 after four years at Time Inc., where he wrote for Time, Sports Illustrated, Life and Entertainment Weekly. Prior to this, he was a columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune. His work has won him numerous national journalism awards. His best-seller, The Soloist: A Lost Dream, An Unlikely Friendship, And the Redemptive Power of Music about his four-year odyssey with homeless musician, Nathaniel Ayers, became a hit movie and catapulted Lopez to the national stage.  How to Decorate an Event with Music by Anne Roos How do you choose the right musicians for the chosen location? I like to think of this as decorating the stage with musicians and decorating the room with sound. The instrumentation needs to work within the chosen musical theme and fit properly at the location. Can the musicians all fit on the stage? Can they load in, set up, and perform easily? Where will you place them in terms of the main action of the event, be it a wedding ceremony, a corporate function, a fundraiser, or a big, rousing party? Here’s a 10-point litmus test for determining what kinds of vocal and instrumental combinations will work at the chosen venue: 1. Do the size of the venue and the size of the guest list make sense for the instrumentation that interests you and your client? It might be a tight squeeze to get an eight-member octet into a little chapel that holds only thirty guests, and conversely, a solo guitarist may get lost in a reception hall that can seat three hundred, unless he is placed on a well-lit stage.Note the size of the performance area. Make sure that it’s on level ground and not on sand, wet grass, or a slope. Also make sure that it isn’t near a food-service station and that it’s clear of foot traffic. Give the musicians enough space to do their job and be seen. Can you now clearly see where to place them and how many band members will fit the space? (Rule of thumb: Each musician takes up the space of about three people who are seated and facing each other comfortably.) 2. Can your musicians see the action? Sure your brass trio will make their presence known if they play up in the choir loft of the church. But can they see the bride enter from there? How will they get their cues? It’s incredibly frustrating to musicians to be placed in an area because they’ll look “pretty there”, but they cannot see the dance floor, cannot see the bride, cannot see the master of ceremonies, cannot see someone giving them important cues regarding the agenda of the event. The dance band can’t read the crowd, can’t keep the action going, and this sets them up for failure and a dud of a party. 3. Can your musicians see their music? Consider the lighting in the room. Adding a spotlight for your musicians allows the guests to see them, and it allows the musicians to see what they are doing. If the event takes place outdoors, place the musicians so that they are not facing the sun. Musicians blinded by the sun may need to turn in another direction or move to another area altogether. 4. Is electricity available? For a sizeable guest list, your musicians will need to amplify the sound so everyone can hear. Similarly, if there are sound distractions, such as street noise, they’ll need to mic their instruments. Check to determine whether electricity is available, and if so, map out where the outlets are located. Once the musicians are hired, they’ll need this information so that they’ll have the proper extension cords or will know ahead of time to rely on battery-operated amplification. 5. Can the musicians easily load in? If the musicians are forced to double park on a busy street or park three blocks away, then you may be stuck with an extra charge for their set-up time. It might be a good idea to plan to prepay your musicians’ parking lot or valet parking charges. If you don’t, then they may pass along that cost to your client, plus a bit more for their trouble.To see the rest of this article, visit http://eventplannersassociation.typepad.com/blog/2011/05/how-to-decorate-an-event-with-music.html!  The Smokehouse Restaurant in Burbank  As if prime rib for $14.95 on Mondays just wasn't enough, on Thursdays The Smokehouse offers a bacon wrapped filet mignon for only $17.95, not to mention that on BOTH of these days, all bottles of wine from the regular wine list are 50% off! The Smokehouse is a charming restaurant just off of Olive Avenue situated right next to Warner Brothers Studios, where it has been a favorite of locals and travelers alike since 1946. To say nothing of their unforgettable cheese bread, in addition you can also have your photo taken at your table, to remember the wonderful experience! Visit them for more information at: |
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