This year is starting in a great way for us. Our first concert this year will be Black Taxi. The third time in a year that we’ll have worked with them. The show will be for NEXT Music (allthingsnext.com) Charity Concert Series which is how we started the music season last year! In style with My Pet Dragon at Paulie’s in Pleasantville, NY. This year will be at the Captain Lawrence Brewery, our most fun venue! We’re expecting this show to sell out just like the last time we worked with Black Taxi at Captain Lawrence Brewery. We’re also expecting this to be just as fun as last time! So if you are going to the show this Thursday get your tickets at Captain Lawrence’s website (linked above).
Winter is usually slower for us. Not that the music stops, but there are a lot less weddings, festivals, and corporate events once you get past Christmas and New Years. Some birthday parties get planned. The biggest holiday of winter is Valentine’s day and that usually doesn’t draw crowds to large parties. Weddings do happen but really not a lot. This is where we get to work more on recording music and also catch up on new music we haven’t seen.
This is also the time where we begin scheduling our DJs and bands for the coming seasons weddings and festivals, so please give us a call (203) 200 – 0265 and get on the schedule soon.
Last year was a busy year for us. We had some milestone events happen in 2012 as well as some amazing fun! We did a small gallery of pics to give you a view of last years moments. Most pics were taken by Doug at Focus In Digital. Some were taken by camera phones as well. You should be able to tell the difference! Keep any eye out on our blog for pics and recordings from this Thursday’s Black Taxi gig and also links to recordings from last years great events coming up soon.
So, as we get ready to start our concert schedule for 2013 we’d like to tell you we’re looking forward to seeing you at one of these events. And you can contact us for help in putting on your own event! Remember, even a simple speaking engagement requires a professional touch if you want someone to pay attention to you. Be Effective-Be Heard in 2013!
Happy New Year to you all. Welcome to 2013. We’re very excited for this new year and have been preparing for a bigger year. We also want to thank all our staff, friends, and partners for an amazing 2012! Special thanks go to Focus In Digital for all the great photography work. And a special photography mention goes to Aaron Kershaw of Studio On Main in New Rochelle for supplying some amazing artistry!
Our Wedding crew ended the year with some exceptional receptions. Hurricane Sandy threw a curve ball at one reception. We got that ironed out and the music was pumping afterwards. It’s always fun to see one of our DJs getting people involved and moving with in a reception party. The performance production side has been continuing to upgrade the systems we use for live music. November/December saw a series of new upgrades to our concert system and monitor system. If you’ve been to the NEXT Music Charity Concert Series in November/December you would have noticed a bit of change in the subwoofer system. The Stationary Set and Deadbeat Darling really enjoyed the improved monitors systems. We have always gotten great feedback from the bands about our monitor systems but it is important to us to continue to improve and expand the systems we use to make the band’s performance easier. The better the stage sounds to them, the better they’ll perform for you! This year we worked with some amazing bands including The Attic Ends, The Modern Electric, My Pet Dragon, Black Taxi, Fifth Nation and others.
The promotions side did some great things through 2012, especially the Matt O’Ree Band double-header in Stamford, CT. A night of acoustic blues on Wednesday, then a full throttle performance on Thursday in front of thousands of people attending Stamford, CT’s Alive at Five Concert Series opening for classic rock’s Foreigner. This was an exceptional part of the year! We especially enjoyed watching the younger crowd really getting into the band. We will have more shows coming into the area around spring 2013 with fun being a priority. Info will be posted here soon.
Eric Safka of The Matt O’Ree Band signs an autograph for a new young fan.
The last 6 months of 2012 saw a major change to the NEXT Charity Concert Series which we have enjoyed working with for so long now. A move that added to the fun of the show and the challenge of the production! The venue changed to the Captain Lawrence Brewery in Elmsford, NY. Performances are held inside the brewery in a large space, with exceptional craft beers and food. The sound is big! The dancing is big! If you haven’t made it out yet to one of these shows make it part of your 2013 plans. Chris Bro of allthingsnext.com and the NEXT Music Radio Show/Podcast deserves a lot of praise for also constantly trying to improve his concert series and getting new music to the people of Westchester and Fairfield Counties. After all, this is an award-winning concert series and for obvious reasons! He has raised thousands of dollars for various charities. He has brought great live music to people throughout the area. He has improved people’s lives simply by the joy and love of music. We look forward to continuing to work with Chris and the NEXT Music crew through an exciting 2013.
So now we move into 2013. We have a series of goals to meet. The main goal is to improve the sound of life around you! We will make your weddings and parties more fun, your speeches and seminars more effective, and your concerts more energetic and moving! There is already a series of great performances scheduled starting with New York City’s greatest band Black Taxi on January 24th at Captain Lawrence Brewery. Our current small format (100-250 people) and medium format (250-500) systems will continue to be upgraded while we do have plans in place to build a newer larger format system that will match the sound clarity and dynamics we look for. Keep an eye on our blogs for more news about 2013!
Remember, music needs to be experienced. Live music is the only way to experience it. Make a resolution this year to get out and see more live music and new bands.
And finally our pics from the show, taken by our partner @ Focus In Digital (give the slideshow a chance to load)
One thing to notice in this gallery is the crowd at the stage. In all the other galleries out in the media, these photos are shown as the crowd for the next act when in fact they were there already watching The Matt O’Ree Band play.
As mentioned previously, The Matt O’Ree Band returned to Stamford, CT. This was a two night engagement. The first night at our old home venue The Rack N Roll Cafe involved a night of acoustic music from the boys. This show was planned to be as a completely different experience to what the area was about to see the next night. Two sets of blues, and rock tunes played not necessarily toned down, just different timbre and energy if you will. Speaking with those in attendance it was clearly a great idea. Some had seen The Matt O’Ree Band in the past and really enjoyed seeing them in this dimension. Others were enjoying their first experience with them. These first timers were telling me that the music was awesome but you could feel it could explode at any moment and they were getting this anxious feeling to see that happen. That was what the next night was for…….
6PM August 2nd, Stamford, CT. The annual Alive @ 5 Concert Series was at its 7th and final show. Frank Viele and the Manhattan Project had already left the stage. At this point, quite a few thousand had come into Columbus Park for the show which featured Foreigner as the headline act. The local Classic Rock station 95.9 The Fox had their morning djs up MCing the show. I took a position at stage left near the merchandise tent to see the reaction. I look through the crowd. This was a very mixed audience with almost equal parts of every age group. But there just a couple rows back. A sizable group of young kids. Pre-teens, mid-teens, late-teens. and early twenties. They introduce The Matt O’Ree Band. That moment the world seemed to change. That moment it was proven that musicianship and pure Rock & Roll energy are still appreciated in today’s world of Lady Gagas and techno wizard dance music. I watched these kids down front explode. Dancing and screaming with every note from Matt’s guitar and Eric’s keys. Shaking their fists to every beat of John’s drums and the rolling groove laid down by Scott’s bass. I walked around to see the reaction. People are on their phones yelling to someone on the other end “ARE YOU HERE YET? THESE GUYS ARE FUCKING AMAZING! HURRY UP!” And similar statements. Many were dancing. Some just shaking their head to the beat, some tapping their foot. The crowd continued to pour in and load up at the stage. Pushing to get closer. Screaming at every song. Whistling and cheering at every guitar or organ solo. Then John’s drum solo! This was not that every rock concert drum solo. And people recognized that! I heard shouts of “really?”. As the solo progressed the crowd began to surge with even more energy. The here and there whistling became more and more present. The once and a while “YEAAAAAH” became a building wind of screams. The band joins back in to finish the song and now the crowd is just jumping up and screaming with their hands reached out as if to try and grab their handfuls of this magic pouring off of the stage.
At this point, I could not tell you how many people were at the stage area. You couldn’t see through or around it. This was the view near the end of the show taken from Matt’s IPhone (notice how far back you can see hands raised?):
Matt O’Ree from the Matt O’Ree Band takes a photo of the crowd at the last Alive @ 5 in Stamford 2012
After the show. The guys signed autographs and took pictures with lots of people as the crowd waited for Foreigner to take the stage. Word comes to us that Foreigner wishes for us to stick around to meet up after the show. A crew member of Foreigner’s informs me that the guys in their band feel they have to really step up their game because of the way The Matt O’Ree Band energized this crowd. After Foreigner’s show the members of the band came back to the bus area to talk to the guys and express how impressed they were.
To me the greatest moment was during the autographs after the M.O.B guys came off stage. I happily retell the story here. With a crowd of people surrounding the guys, I noticed a kid of maybe 12 or 13 years old standing behind Eric as Eric signs an autograph. Eric turns and the kid reaches out his hand and touched Eric’s shirt. Eric leans down and the kid quietly says “you were really great”. I notice two Xs written on his hand in magic marker. This came from the entry gate to signal he was under age for alcohol. Turning to the kid, I joke about the marks and ask Eric to autograph his arm so the Xs would look cool! Eric was hesitant but a smile came over the kids face and he says “would you please”. After Eric signs his right arm he also asks him to sign a pair of white sunglasses. Eric does so and shakes his hand. The kid runs off to his parents who were standing just off to the side. They reach out to him as he shows them, with a big smile on his face, his souvenirs from Eric.
Eric Safka of The Matt O’Ree Band signs an autograph for a new young fan.
If you did not get the chance to see either or both performances. You missed quite a lot. But we will be posting pictures soon from both nights.
BNK Productions is proud to represent The Matt O’Ree Band in the North East. They are an amazing bunch of guys. Caring and friendly, but powerful in their craft. Their CD’s are available on ITunes or Amazon. And you can check them out at their website: www.mattoree.com
Also check out photo galleries from:
The Stamford Advocate (many of the crowd shots in the daylight in this gallery were during The Matt O’Ree Band’s performance)
And also check out these awesome pics of the acoustic performance the night before from Aaron Kershaw
Most of all, keep an eye out as we bring them back in couple months as they continue to tour the country.
Chris Bro of 
