MMC 14 Acoustic Stage Coverage
by Rachel Rocks
Welcome to the GRAND coverage of Millennium Music Conference 14 from the eyes of the PA Musician Magazine Booth! It was hard to see the booth pretty much the entire conference because usually there was a crowd of people standing in the room enjoying the music. Both days from the beginning till the end music was being played on our stage. Each performer got to play 2 songs on a first come first served basis.
It all technically started at 10:45am on Friday when I pulled Joey Dalto from his booth for The Pennsylvania Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to be our guinea pig to make sure we knew how to run our sound that was set up for us by Bob at My Wife’s Sound Company. Joey whipped out his cell phone and used a $10 tuner application to tune our guitar. He says that’s the best 10 bucks he ever spent. Mom, aka Robin Noll, did a good job running the sound because Joey sounded as good as ever!
Ryan Hammer from Rockville, MD heard the music and came a running. We heard him the night before at the Abbey Bar so I told him to come find me. He played his song “Inspiration” which must have inspired more people to play on our stage because our whole day was a blurr of amazing music.
Next up was Dave the Roadman from Honeybrook. He wasn’t playing a showcase event for the MMC, but he came down to check out the trade show and network as much as possible. It’s a shame how many selected bands don’t take advantage of coming to the Trade Show Floor. There are so many amazing people to talk to, not only the great panelists themselves, but just networking with other musicians. Hopefully Dave found what he was looking for and more at the MMC.
Dave Moran from right here in Dillsburg was up next. Dave mainly plays worship music. This year for the first time they had some Christian musicians playing at the Capital Area Christian Church in Mechanicsburg. I was glad to see they made room for some Christian musicians. Hopefully next year there will be even more!
Brian Xander, from Lehighton, stepped up next, he was quick to point out that even though his name spells “Rednax” backwards he is not a true redneck. One of his friends is a very big Nascar Race fan, so he wrote him a special song called “Drive Fast, Turn Left” it was hilarious, and definitely got some people to walk in the room and check him out.
Mary Jennings, aka “Jennings” from New York, came in next carrying her keyboard. We met her at the Abbey Bar and we invited her to our booth. I was glad she showed up to share her music. After she played she was generous enough to keep her keys at our booth for the entire conference. It was fantastic to be able to offer a keyboard for people to play. She helped even more musicians get the chance to share their music.
Karen Zimmer also from New York showed up next. We also saw Karen the night before, and it was great to see her again. Karen sang her song “My Angel” which is so beautiful. We all need our own angel in our lives that we can count on. Check out Karen’s ad in this issue so you can check out her music for yourself.
Next up was Jill Cagney from New Jersey. A fellow Mom, I loved her banter about life while raising kids. She hated Facebook till she figured out she could use it to spy on her kids. She actually wrote a song all about it called, “Facebook.” Now that’s what I call good use of Facebook. Hahaha. Jill recorded her first CD Sometimes I Tell the Truth right here in Harrisburg with Jason Rubal at Seventh Wave Studios. She’ll be recording her next CD there hopefully sometime this year.
Ryan Kiscaden stopped by and introduced me to his most recent band member, Ivan Swangren. We convinced Ivan to sing a couple songs for us, and thankfully Frederico had a booth with all of his amazing percussion instruments so we were able to hear Ryan do some drumming too! The full band is known as the Ivan Swangren Trio, I can’t wait to check them out soon.
Next up was our first taste of country from Corey Jones. If there is one thing we’ve learned from Simon Cowell, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Corey belted out those country tunes and got everyone’s attention.
Finally we have our first repeat from last year, Finespun from New York. Finespun popped their acoustic cherry on our stage last year, and since then, they’ve toured FYEs playing acoustically. The played “Sticks and Stones” with a lot more confidence this year. I was lucky because I finally got to see them plugged in at Jackson’s Junction, and now I understand why they thought they could never play acoustically. Great musicians can do anything they put their hearts to, and these guys are all great! Hopefully we’ll see them back again next year.
Our next guest was from Japan, the band Imari Tones. They were also going to be playing at the Capital Area Christian Church. It’s pretty awesome when you find musicians that travel the whole way from Japan for the MMC. I just wish we could get people to travel from York and Harrisburg to enjoy the conference. The Imari Tones were a little nervous about playing because of the language barrier, but music is universal, and I’m just glad he played our stage.
Adam Blessing finally hunted me down, and I got to hear him play! Adam’s voice is something to hear for sure. He plays all around the central PA area, so keep your eye out for him. He played his song, “The Midas Touch.” I can tell you he definitely has the midas touch on his guitar. He is a great musician and I’m proud to say he’s from Harrisburg.
Tommy Wentz signed up next. He plays regularly up at the Meiserville Inn which is up in Snyder County. He plays with our old writer Dave Blackledge when Dave gets the chance to still come down there. Tommy chose to bring in his electric to plug in. He needed the harder sounding guitar to be able to sing with. Tommy also came down to check out the conference and do some networking. Tommy actually played both days at our booth. He was one of only 3 performers that took the time to play twice. Thanks Tommy for stopping by!
Corey Jones came back again, this time he brought his whole country band, Mississippi, with him. Corey did a great job by himself but with the band he was even stronger yet. I can only imagine how good they are when they’re all plugged in and playing with their full band.
Shaun Ruymen, from Princeton New Jersey, took some convincing but eventually he played on our stage too. I couldn’t believe his voice. Out of everyone so far, he really caught me off guard. His voice is crystal clear and one of a kind! I was so mesmerized I don’t know what songs he played on our stage, but since then I’ve been on his myspace page listening to his tracks and enjoying his music! Especially “Believe” and “Luckiest Man Alive.” They ended the conference by having a huge Smash and Trash with some local radio personalities from 105.7 the X and some other panelists. It was all about getting their honest “knee jerk” reaction to your hit song. Out of over 60 artists that stuck a CD in the box, Shaun’s just so happened to be picked! At first he was extremely nervous when he heard his song being played, but then he got the review... They were all amazed, and declared that his music was a “smashing success!” Shaun was shaking with excitement over their review, but he definitely deserved it!
Next up was Derrick Allen from the band Southern Junction all the way out of Alexandria, Kentucky. Derrick played one song solo, and then his guitar player Zach jumped up there with him for their great hit “Good Ole Boy.” It was some great original country rock. Derrick Allen and Southern Junction are represented from Broad Horizon Records. See their business card ad in this issue to see where you can hear their amazing music and get them booked at your next big fair, festival, or venue!
Jim Horn from Deezle Church heard those twangy Kentucky voices and came a runnin! It turns out they all grew up in the same neck of the woods, so it was cool for Jim to see and hear a taste of home. Jim and Darrell Adams from Deezle Church started off playing a crowd favorite, “Joceyln” and then of course played “Catastrophe” and “Whiskey.” Deezle Church amazes me everytime I see them, no matter what their situation is. The next night they had the awesome opportunity to open for David Allen Coe and they rocked the sold out venue!
Finally a mystery had been solved... I kept seeing the name Chasing Darwin all over my myspace and facebook pages. They seemed to “like” everything I had to say. Then when we were at the Abbey Bar I even saw their name written on a chalkboard. Then they came up to the booth and said, “We’re Chasing Darwin.” I was so excited they probably thought I was crazy. Chasing Darwin was missing their lead singer, but they decided to get up there and play anyway. I definitely liked what I had to hear. I can’t wait to see these guys and the rest of their band performing sometime Out and About in the Harrisburg area.
Tim the lead singer from Pan.a.cea was hanging out checking out the stage and finally decided to sing a couple songs. The one song “Now or Never” is from their brand new CD, “We the Broken” that is available in stores now! Tim was promoting their big show on main stage later that night. I caught the full band live before and they have so much energy on stage, they are a great band to go see and hear, that’s for sure!
Marc Berger, from Ithaca, New York, came prepared to our booth. He had his own guitar and everything ready to play! He was even our first harmonica player of this conference. Since I grew up with my Daddy playin the harp, I love hearing the harp getting added in to any song. His music is more folk sounding than rock. He played a great song called “Take It on the Chin.” Especially sometimes in the music industry you just have to take it on the chin, and learn from your experience and move on.
Next up were the youngest performers of the conference, Connor Brandenberg and Nicholas Coover from the band Against the Current. I believe they are 16 and 17 or somewhere around there, so it’s a little hard for their band to get gigs now except at great places like the West Shore Free Evengelical Church in Mechanicsburg. Connor and Nicholas showed some great talent at such a young age, and as soon as they get the chance to get their full band rockin’ at a venue near you I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised!
Up next was our first dose of Valerie Nicole with her drummer John playing on a cajohn. What an amazing instrument. John really knew how to play that thing. It was very awesome. Talk about a drum you can play anywhere! Every time I see Valerie Nicole with her new band I am amazed at their talent. I can never get enough of her song “Livin in the Moment.” Valerie is an amazing musician that plays her music every chance she gets. She came back the next day all by herself to make sure and create some hype for her show at Malone’s on Saturday night. Valerie has a passion for music that is for sure!
As if we didn’t have enough amazing talent on our stage Suzi Brown from right here in Harrisburg, showed up next. Suzi’s songs not only had amazing lyrics, but her guitar playing was what really made your jaw drop. It was great standing in a room full of male musicians and watching them drool at Suzi’s finger picking on the guitar. She also used her guitar as a percussion instrument all at the same time. It was great seeing a female musician stop traffic on the trade show floor to see and hear her talent! Suzi is all self-taught she learned most of her tricks by watching people on You Tube and figuring out how they do what they do. Suzi plays locally all around Harrisburg with a show coming up on March 5th at the Crimson Frog Coffehouse. I wish I wasn’t going out of town or I would definitely be there.
Well the poor guy that had to follow Suzi’s performance was J.J. Voss from Canada. J.J. was a Hillbilly storyteller. His voice and lyrics were shocking. He sings so melodically, but when you actually listen to the lyrics, you can’t help but laugh. We met up with J.J. later that night when he was waiting for a cab and needing a ride. We wound up giving him a ride back to the hotel because as us locals know you can’t really depend on the cab companies in this town.
Finally, the last band of Friday’s trade show… Adam Smith. Adam came all the way from Nashville, TN. He sang a great song called “On the Way Too Heaven.” Unfortunately all I could think of was in a few minutes I was going to be on my way too heaven because I’m going to be able to get my first bite of food since breakfast!! What a long but amazing day.
After a VERY full night of rockin’ out to tons of great music at 6 different MMC venues and a couple hours of sleep we were right back at it with our first performer showing up at 10:50am! That performer was from Face Down in High Water from Erie, PA. Matt Downey, was the first brave soul to get up and play and sing for us, but before long his brother Dave took the stage. Neither were the actual lead singer of the band, but for how good these two were I can only imagine how good their full band is.
The next guy on the stage well before noon was Tom O’ Connor from Arlington, VA. We were all feeling the effects from our late Friday nights, but Tom sung his heart out in a couple great songs for us.”Why Do We Fall” is simply amazing. Tom was great acoustic but when I went to his myspace page to hear his recordings with his full band with keys, violin, guitar, drums, etc. It was really awesome! Tom’s music is a great mix between pop, rock, and folk. To close off his acoustic set he also broke out with Miley’s “Party in the U.S.A” It was so funny we were all laughing. He said he might just have to start a set like that to get everyone’s attention, knowing his personality he probably did.
We had a repeat visit from Shaun Ruymen which I was very happy for. Up next was Kelly Carvin from central Jersey. She was playing solo for the MMC, but on her website I was also checking out her full band Kelly Carvin and The Future. She’s another one of those artists that blends so many genres altogether, her music is easily loved by everyone who listens. It’s crazy how much talent we saw at the MMC, I can’t imagine picking all the different artists.
Nancy Micciula, from Philly, also known as the “blue scarf girl” showed up next. She has such a bubbly voice you can’t help but smile while she performs. Her song “Wildflowers” really hits home for me. All I wanted for my wedding seriously were wildflowers and this song sums up all the reasons why.
We saw New Day Dawn from New Jersey the night before, but it was nice to see and hear them again. We saw the rockin’ version on Friday night, and now we got the unplugged version. Both ways were actually very rockin! Dawn has a special roar in her voice that’s nice to hear. She definitely knows how to belt out some music!
Avi Wisnia a veteran from last year stopped in next. He was very excited when he found out we had “Jennings” keys this year. He got the keyboard all set up and even set up a little display with his cards and CDs so everyone in the room would know who he was. Avi has a booming voice and Frederico joined him on the drums, so we got in big trouble for being too loud... trust me, it wasn’t the first time. Avi is an amazing musician and a great guy just to talk to about the music industry.
Next up was Scott Krokoff from Queens, New York. He reminded me a lot of James Taylor as I was listening to his songs. Just his whole rhythm and demeanor. He’s a great musician and songwriter.
Gee Davey was baaaacckk! We met these guys last year and hit it off. They really want to come down here and play more often and I really wish we could figure out how to get that in motion. On our stage they sang one of their new songs, “San Jose” from their upcoming CD The Razorblade Diaries. I can’t wait to hear their entire new CD.
Zach from Akron, OH took the stage next. He played his showcase with his full band but for our stage he was the only one around. Zach was networking by handing out air freshners.. Finally my car doesn’t smell like old McDonald’s food! Thanks Zach! The whole time Zach played he had a big smile on his face. The love for music just beams out of this guy!
Alison Tartalia from New York stepped up next to use the keyboard. She was the first musician that had a little more jazz in her voice while she sang. It was refreshing to hear. We were so lucky to have the keyboard so we didn’t miss out on great musicians like Alison.
Next up was another hometown native, Mycenea Worley. She played one of my favorite, “!00 Days.” We’re so lucky to have so many amazing musicians right here in Harrisburg, Mycenea is definitely one of them. Every time I catch her perform I’m amazed at her talent.
The next shocker of the trade show floor, Paul’s Grandfather from New York. Three ladies with just one guitar and a shaker from Frederico’s booth, and harmonies that will make your jaw drop. They were definitely one of a kind that’s for sure.
Next up was Lunic, from Albany, New York, a six piece band with an electric violin. We were terrified at how loud they were going to be. The conference was almost over, but we weren’t ready to be shut down yet. They actually wound up being one of the quietest bands of the day. It was awesome. Seeing their set made me change where I was going Saturday night. I at least wanted to catch a couple songs from this band and I’m glad I did.
Eryn Shewell stepped up next. Her voice was very soulful with a touch of jazz and blues all at the same time. Eryn played with her full band at Malone’s too. It was hard to leave when I knew she was up next, but I made promises to some other musicians. Hopefully next time she comes to town I’ll get to check out the full band.
Groove Session all the way from California were up next. After they played two songs, “Promises” and “Lost Train” I was shocked to find out that it was their very first time playing acoustic. They pulled a Finespun.. they went back to their room and played around with some songs till they were happy with it and then played on our stage. Groove Session is a great name for these guys because it did feel like you were just hanging out having a ‘groove session.’ I hope these guys continue playing acoustically, because they pulled it off effortlessly.
London Egg is a powerpop band from New York. Even when they were playing wearing their jackets with the London flag on them I was asked if they were from the UK, so they definitely pull off the image they are trying to portray. They definitely sound Beetleesque that’s for sure.
Bill Kurzenberger from Columbus, Ohio, grabbed the keyboard and played us a song. It was called “Venom Wine.” Later in the Smash and Trash he also got a Smashing Hit review from the panelists. It was awesome to see Singer/Songwriters getting the same great reviews as the full bands.
Joey Dalto who started this whole crazy article came back to play a couple songs. Luckily for him while he was playing this time Fox 43 news stopped by and recorded him. He wound up making the 11 o’clock news. Pretty awesome.
Even this late into the conference we still had our first hip hop artist, Dave Vegas from Philly. He also convinced Fox 43 to stick around and got a glimpse of himself on the news too. He sang the song “Paparazzi” which was simply hilarious and so true all at the same time. He had some choreography that he did with it that made the song even more interesting. I’m glad he stopped by to show off his talent!
Shane Cooley played our stage last year so it was nice to see and hear him again. This year he played us his new song, “Twilight.” That’s a good name of a song write now with all the hype from the book!
My good friends Sickle Eye stepped up next. They promised me they’d play so they finally showed up. Sickle Eye had a special guest with them, Mike Clarke, formerly of Tripp McNeely. Mike hasn’t given up on music. You will see him playing again sooner than later.
I saw some guys wondering around with an orange sticker on their badge so I knew they must’ve been special. Sure enough, Calendar for Preston from Columbus, Ohio, were special enough to make it onto the compilation CD. They are song #7, “Paint By Numbers”. They played it for us on our stage, and I knew that I would love my compilation CD again this year too!
Johnny Action Figure from Philly made the long haul back to Harrisburg on Saturday to do some networking on the trade show floor. Some of that networking included playing on our acoustic stage. We saw them Thursday night at the Abbey Bar, and for the acoustic set they were stripped down to just an acoustic guitar and their amazing harmonies. These guys can definitely sing! I’m glad they chose not to miss a beat and took advantage of all that the MMC offered them.
Wow! I can’t believe it the last band of our acoustic stage at MMC14… The Pledge from York. They played our stage last year. I’ve seen the musicians with another band, but this new band with a female lead singer is pretty awesome to hear. They are represented by 315 Artist Management and are currently auditioning bass and guitar players.
I finally made it to the end. I can’t believe 53 different acts on one stage in 11 hours! It was intense but tons of fun. Unfortunately we can’t get all the pictures printed in our hard copy, so if you don’t see yourself here, please make sure and check out www.pamusician.net, for all my live shots from the MMC! If you have any questions e-mail me directly at RachelRocks@pamusician.net. Last but not least remember it’s only $30 for a business card sized ad in the PA Musician Magazine. It’s enough to get your name and website out there to the masses throughout the state of PA. We are the magazine for the people who play music and for the people who love music! Advertise with us you won’t be disappointed. As always, get out there and Support Local Music!