Some new Live video

Live clips of Elisa Girlando have been starting to surface all over the place so I made a link of them on youtube for you to check out. Also here's one from DYkstra park friday evening audience about 400 people. Its not the usual song for Elisa so I thought you might find it interesting. Leave me a comment what do you think?

Dave.hitplay

A review of The Living ROom, NYC!

Oh yeah I was gonna tell you about the RED/SONY music showcase we had for Elisa Girlando at the Livingroom in NYC wasn't eye.

Well I took the day off from work to be well rested (cause I new if I made any mistakes playing Phil would kill me), so no mistakes here. We left for the city at 2:30 pm cause the traffic into the city can be at best unpredictable and at worst a nightmare. More on traffic later.

Getting to the club was uneventful (how we like it), so was setting up through our sound check. Getting to the club reasonably early lets you get the vibe for the place going. I was feeling very confident.

After our sound check we had about 1 hour to start getting ready.So folks started to pop in. That's always a good sign. During the check ELisa was hitting the songs perfect so our collective confidence was growing. I cant say enough to bands out there that you need to rehearse and rehearse so when the real thing comes you're not thinking and just grooven. Doing the dress rehearsal at the sound stage was a pain, but man did it pay dividends Thursday night at the Living room NYC.

I know record folks like these early (7pm) weeknight shows cause they get done with work, have something to eat, see the show and go home. But man they are a pain if you and your fans live in Jersey!

I new we had one chance to make a first impression and I wanted to make sure we had a large turnout, so I called in some BIG favors and got a bus to take people to the show!The bus trip is becoming legendary. Apparently a lot of these people don't get out much. Add to that no food, a lot of alcohol, and a few old time partying type instigators.Combine this with a ton of traffic and you have a "cougars gone wild" party bus with total mayhem and a side order of "girls gone wild".

We were into our set when the bus arrived but we all could feel the presence of the people staggering in. It was an energy boost like the Calvary arriving. We did not need it but boy it sure sealed the deal.

The band played flawlessly, Elisa Girlando sang like a star and the people in the audience new they had something special. After the show I talked briefly with Alan Becker VP at RED. He seemed blown away. Told me how good it was and how large the crowd was. He went out on a line to set this up and I think he was feeling pretty good about the results. We will meet with SONY/RED in the coming weeks to refine our game plan and I will keep you all posted.

Problems we did have a few:

1. Amanda Carl who co-wrote the original songs was not allowed into the show because she was under age! (bogus)

2. Doorman was a bit of an ASS harassing people a little; very unnecessary!

3. A bus member vomited on Bob the President of RED!!! I think it was either a near miss or a shoe slopper but that is gonna cost me some shoe polish next time I see him!

4. Elisa's mom ,Donna, was on the infamous bus and was upset at the carrying on and that the bus was 10-15 minutes late. She never was late for a show before and that upset her very much

5. We had to stop playing even though it was a sellout and people were going crazy cause another group was due on at 8pm. Club could have let us go on with the crowd we brought them.

recap. We sold the place out, played as good as we could took them all to school about how good players can be supporting a singer and had a real powerhouse vocalist who stole the show. The following quote from Andy Gesner of HIP video promotion sums it all up:

"Speaking of performances, I wanted to congratulate and applaud you on the outstanding performance you had last night in New York City. Realizing that Elisa is still a very young artist, I was concerned that the packed room and all the pressure might be visible. Boy, was I wrong! Her confidence and incredible voice stole the show, and the overall presentation was magnificent. The musicianship was stellar, and there was a palpable sense of love and positive energy just washing over the room. Now more than ever, I’m thrilled that you will be a part of our big event in just two weeks(maxwells show Hoboken NJ)!"

dave.hitplay

"Another Songbird" can be seen by millions of viewers!

When we finished our first round of recordings with Elisa Girlando we backed off and gave our ears and minds a little time to decompress. Then when we went back through the songs one song jumped out at all of us "another songbird". We were concerned about leading with a ballad, but the vocal was so good we felt we had to go with it.

About that time we were approached to make a video. After discussions we felt the visuals from another songbird with Elisa would make for a great video. We went with the performance and went with "another songbird" as the video. We were more than pleased with the results.

We then had this tremendous video with this tremendous vocal and we decided to push the video ahead of our RED release; get a little pre-show buzz going if possible.

After interviewing several people I came across an old friend Andy Gesner who runs HIP video promotion. I felt very comfortable that Andy and his team would give us a great effort in getting the video out to the tertiary, secondary, and if we got lucky primary video markets. Phil and I discussed and Phil gave me the go-ahead to hire Andy.

The results from our first two weeks with another songbird is VERY Positive. We received adds throughout the county with some very big adds including:

1) FUse On Demand: 18,000,000 households add for September

2) Powerplay Music TV: 17.8 million viewers

3) Sidewalks: 3.5 million viewers

4) Street Timez 190,000 viewers

5) VME media 5,000,000 viewers

6) Screenplay 25,000 retailers nationwide

7) multiple Internet sites including :billboard/tvguide/allmusic video, 9:30 club, singinfool and many others!!!

We have a great song, we have a great vocal, we have an awesome video and programmers are seeing it. Wait until they see Elsia live it will blow their collective socks off.

Live SHows:

1. Point Pleasant Thur July 30'th Jenkins on the boardwalk-huge

2. The Living Room: Our RED music showcase all should come to this one! Thur 8/6 @ 7PM sharp!!!

3. Sparta Dykstra Park acoustic set Elisa alone Fri 8/14

4. Maxwell's Hoboken NJ Fri 8/21

5. Krough's Open Mike every Thursday we are not performing 10pm

Kicking into High Gear

peace,

dave.hitplay

ps check out Elisa on Twitter : elisagirlando

Whats the word this week at Hitplay

As soon as Elisa Girlando finished her third song at Kroughs open mike last Thursday she was approached by the talent agent wanting her to play the club. By the end of the first 30 seconds she had the place under her spell. Codos to Dave Bollard for his jembe support.

SONY/RED showcase is Thursday august 6'th 7pm sharp at the livingroom. Nice story on Elisa in the living room artist page

Elisa will be performing on her own without the famed "out of truth" august 14'th in Sparta NJ at Dykstra park 7:15 sharp

Elisa and out of truth are slated to open the HIP video promo night at Maxwells Friday august 21st, should be a rocking night don't forget your earplugs!

Hitplay is debating whether to place one additional song on the rise-up CD for hard release. The song "again and again" is so powerful that hitplay president Phil Garland is seriously thinking of making the addition.

peace

dave.hitplay

Elisa Girlando CD "Rise Up" out now

The debut CD by Elisa Girlando entitled "rise up" is now available for digital download on itunes! The long awaited premier features 10 full length songs. The songs include the single "another songbird".

Another Songbird made a stir on reverb nation rising into the top ten this spring, and the video is set for national release this week. Being promoted by HIP video promotion, look for the video nationwide. Props to the HIP blog for the shout out.

Elisa will be ready to start performing with the popular "out of truth" band this summer. Elisa will also be performing with a paired down band enabling her to perform more intimate venues as well.

Elisa is also launching her new web page www.elisagirlando.com. Come over and check it out.

dave.hitplay

21,000 Hits

Hi Folks, Dave from HitPlay here happy to inform you that Elisa Girlando surpassed 21,000 myspace hits today. All this before we have released her debut CD "rise up". We are also moving closer to picking a promotion company to co-promote the Elisa Girlando video "another songbird". HIP video promotion. Life is funny, turns out their president Andy Gessner is a fellow I've known for close to 25 years. He played with the band Spiral Jetty back in the day. Many a show I played with that band.

Things are getting hectic; and that's good.

peace, 

dave.hitplay

HIP video promotion looks good

Spent the day interviewing and talking with potential promotion companies for the Elisa Girlando CD. I think I'm liking HIP video promotion and the musebox. Will be meeting with them in the future to begin a marketing plan to work in conjunction with the SONY RED team.

Spent the evening rehearsing for Elisa's upcoming NYC debut. We are awaiting the date but it should be happening in June. The band is cooking and Elisa sounds terrific so don't miss that show!

Tiger Bill just sent me a slew of video snippets from the Boodles gig and they look great Ill try to get them onto the blog soon.

peace,

dave.hitplay

That Loving Feeling

What makes a band a special thing? Why are some groups of very talented players uninspiring and the next group so much more to behold? That is the magic and mystery of music is it not?

I've had the privilege over many years of playing in many bands. Some with great players who underachieved. Some with average players that made great music and inspired fans to love them.

I've been thinking a lot about this during the past week. Playing with "Out Of Truth" has been a great honor. A rare mix of great players who when they get together make awesome music "the magic factor". But what keeps a group together is respect and a feeling of familia. Like the crazy family that if you say anything bad they all gang up on you: that's how a band needs to be respect for each other and the music.

Tonight I'm going to bed loving the music and respecting the players and unable to wait to play the music for the people. That is a comforting place to be.

peace,

dave.hitplay

Another Great Show

Well it was quite a night at the  Mohawk house. After some serious technical sound problems delayed the start of the show by over an hour thing s settled in nicely. Props to Screaming Colour for opening the show and cutting their set short to get Elisa on stage by 10pm.

What followed was a 2 hour master concert by Elisa and Out Of Truth. The show rocked and as we left around 2AM I could feel the great vibe still lingering in the air. 

Next week we pick a publisher for Elisa and HitPlay records.

dave.hitplay

Man this is a lot of work

A GamePlan for the Elisa Girlando Project :updated MAY 09

 

1)   CD : completed and mastered.

a.    Tittle? Y/N “rise-up”          actoion:

b.    Graphics: new photo? Y/N action:

c.     Art work: disc makers? Or private artist?

d.    Liner Notes: Elisa with edit by Phil

e.     First run 1000 copies for promotion 1000 for sale?

2)   Live:

a.    NYC: Have RED/SONY book city showcase have in house marketing staff work the party

b.    Tour: Currently looking at 12-14 dates Conn/NY/NJ/Pa/Del

                                                     i.     Continue to work with agency to get this coordinated

 

3)   Promotion:

a.    HitPlay PR: finish RED release send to PR web

b.    Do monthly PR web release

c.     NJ Girl does good interest article: get to all NJ papers this week

d.    Coordinate promo release on E-Girl with RED (next meeting)

e.     Radio: 8 week initial campaign for industry awareness. Need RED input here

                                                     i.     College

                                                       ii.     AAA

                                                         iii.     Adult AC

4)   Internet:

a.    What will RED be doing need to hammer down next meeting with contact people and responsibilities

b.    Blogs/websites/socialmedia/streetteams/design what cant get from RED need to purchase

c.     How can Hitplay Mike coordinate this with RED

 

5)   Publisist: what is the best timing before during or after CD release.

a.    If before need recommendations from RED and start the process now

6) Alternative Branding: per RED we cant do this

 

 

 

CD COMPLETE !

The debut Elisa Girlando CD is finished and will be delivered to RED music tomorrow. The CD contains 10 tracks. We anticipate a digital release in approximately four weeks and a hard copy release four weeks after that. Now comes the real work marketing and playing live. Should be Fun!

DAVE.HITPLAY

New! - "Another Songbird" Music Video

Phil dont hit the soundman or the daniella cotton story

We were asked to play with Daniella Cotton today for a summertime concert. We played with her last summer and the mix of her rocking with Elisa's bluesy vocals was pretty good. So why are we hesitating??

Well the show last year was one of our worst, and not because of anything we did. The sound company was a bunch of knuckleheads who treated us like a lame opening act rather than the powerhouse band that "out of truth" is and the great vocalist that Elisa Girlando is. We are peace loving people here at hitplay but I thought Phil was gonna deck somebody. So when we were asked today I hesitate to say yes because if things go the way they did last year.... We will all need bail money for this show:)!

Any rate on a good note we are scheduled to go into RED next week and meet about the E-Girl release so this show is really taking a back seat in my mind.

peace,

dave.hitplay

A tremendous show another milestone

This past weekend we had the debut performance of Hitplay recording artist "Elsia Girlando and Out Of Truth". The show took place at Bodles Opera House in Chester, New York. We choose this venue for their love of music. We also wanted to see how the band and E-Girl would mesh, away from the NYC crowds.

Well we couln't have been happier. E-Girl sang her heart out, the band played their guts out, and the near capacity audience was BLOWN AWAY!!!! What a night!

After a discussion with CEO Phil Garland, who performed with an intensity I have never seen before, we all feel the band is capable of playing with anyone anywhere in the world. Elisa's vocals where spot on perfect, and the banter between songs was both relaxed and intirguing. The show is ready to go my friends so dont miss it.

Also today I was notified by Mike Lewis, director of internet marketing at HitPlay, that E-Girl's myspace page surpassed 19,000 hits tonight.

Another great week here at HitPlay.

peace, 

dave.hitplay

My MySpace Hell or how 4 months work disappeared in an instant

Well hitplay fans, we can't have a great week all the time now can we. This week started out very hellish! I was getting ready for E-Girl to hit 19,000 myspace hits this week in conjunction with her top ten listing on the reverb nation charts. Then it happened.

I logged onto the myspace page and it was GONE! Gone I said. No 19,000 hits no 3500 email fans no 11,000 listens to E-Girl songs. Gone all gone. Just a note saying the page has been deleted! We spent the next three days trying to figure out what the --- happened and were getting nowhere fast.It got so bad we were making plans to just start a new page, after four months work!

And by the way you cant get any info from myspace if you need it, nadda nothing.

Then just as mysteriously it was back. Like a lost child showing up at the doorway it reappeared. I aged a few years and got a cold from the stress, but its back home safe and sound. I am well a little wiser. 

 My take home point, nothing is a sure thing and the Internet can be a very mysterious place.

Don't forget boodles this Saturday night.

peace, 

dave.hitplay

Candace Giaquinto joins Out Of Truth band

We are pleased to announce the addition of Candace Giaquinto to the "Out Of Truth" band. Candace is in rehearsal with the band and will be playing percussion, some bass, some harp, and backing vocals. The band will be supporting Elisa Girlando with her up coming CD release on HitPlay records.

Candyce Giaquinto’s powerful and distinctive vocals reflect a unique blend of influences ranging from R&B, soul and blues, to jazz and rock. But whatever the style, one of her greatest talents lies in her ability to always deliver a genuine and emphatic performance.

In addition to her vocal prowess, Candyce also plays flute, bass, harmonica, mandolin and percussion. She is an accomplished writer as well and one of the primary writers on the most recent album by The Suits, as she was for her former bands, Bliss and The Adults. Working out of her home studio, she has also written and produced several soundtracks.

Candyce's compositions are as diverse as her vocal talents and reflect a variety of styles from austere and moody to searing Latin, jazz and Afro-Cuban inspired pieces. Lyrically, she will take you on an emotional journey, often told through the eyes of one of her vivid characters.

Throughout her musical career Candyce has performed in numerous venues where she has shared the stage with Black Sabbath, Colin Quinn, Room Full of Blues, Papa John Creach and Kathleen Turner. She has also entertained many foreign dignitaries including the Prime Minister of Italy.

In the summer of 2004, Candyce traveled to China as the featured vocalist and percussionist in an R&B / jazz / reggae band, touring seven cities including Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

In addition to her live performances, Candyce has spent a great deal of time in the studio recording her own compositions, jingles, corporate tracks and has recorded work for “Sex and the City” and “The Sopranos”.

Wherever and whatever the performance, Candyce’s expressive renderings are sure to leave a lasting impression.

You can see Candace live with Elisa Girlando and the Out of Truth band throughout 2009. Its shaping up to be an awesome year isn't it!

Welcome Amanda Carl

HitPlay records is proud to announce songwriter and recording artist Amanda Carl has joined our team. Amanda has co-written several of the songs on the upcoming Elisa Girlando CD. The songs, co-written with Phil Garland, include the first single on the CD "songbird", as well as  "rise up" and a little bit".

Additionally, Amanda produced the live "in the studio" video for Elisa Girlando, and performed background vocals on "a little bit". 

Amanda has also been seen around the studio and that raises the possibility of a studio album. Finally, Amanda can be read on the hitplay blog from time to time.

HitPlay is about the "artists" and we feel we have a great one with Amanda; so stay tuned....

dave.hitplay

Decisions decisions

The CD is mastered and we have it in our little fingers. Man does it sound good. 

Now we are faced with very BIG and very IMPORTANT decisions here at HitPlay.

First: Do we go with our gut and release "songbird" the ballad as the first single. When you get a vocal performance like we have on this with the power of a great song it just seems to be a tremendous way to introduce Elisa Girlando to all of you.

Second: Do we bring RED all the songs we have complete for digital upload or do we just bring a couple of the singles to go digital.Digital uploads plug the songs into the SONY/BMG/RED universe. We would only wait because we have one more song to record that we feel could also be an extremely strong single and want RED to have the entire package before we give it to them.

Third: Now that we have most of the music complete do we start placing the songs online for you all to hear  through the hitplay core platform we have spent the last three months developing, before RED releases them? My feeling is lets get the tunes out to the public.

Fortunately we at HitpLay have some pretty good music brains working through these questions this week (myself excluded). Tom Carraba at SONY/BMG has an advanced copy of the CD and we are looking to ask his opinion on these questions as well. Tom was instrumental in introducing us to Allan and Bob at RED music so all parties involved value his thoughts and opinions.

These are important questions and it gets to the meat of the blog; this is the stuff success or failure is made from.

More to come,

dave.hitplay

Elisa Girlando - "Another Song Bird"

we are who we are,and who we are is hitplay and thats cool

We at hitplay love music. We are in a position to take the music we love and bring to the world via or relationship with RED music and their relationship with SONY/BMG. Not a bad place to be here at hitplay.

But whats the point? why would major label people (who we love) give us the opportunity to develop artisit's like ELisa Girlando? Well thats the interesting thing.

I think I know why, do you?

The answer came to me while I was perusing a billboard magazine the other day.

While looking at that magazine I had an epiphany. Yes I said an epiphany. I noticed that many of the top selling albums where from bands that I listened to years ago (pink floyd, led zepplin etc) SSooo why does our deal relate to "the dark side of the moon" record??

Well great artists and great bands often need time to develop Page needed the Yardbirds and Pink Floyd needed many records (and many bong hits) to get to dark side of the moon. Its like a major leaguer: you don't hit 320 with 45 home runs out of high school. Even with a daily dose of testosterone, it takes time to develop.

And that's why HitPlay is SO important to the big label. We will give artist's with great talent like Elisa Girlando the ability to develop. There will be no pressure that if we don't sell 850,000 units of the upcoming CD that we will be forced by corporate ($$$) pressure to try a different act. No we know Elisa is a star and we know we need to develop her audience and her career. That's the importance of hitplay to the mother label. Without us they continue to drift from act to act until they find one that hits or move on.

We are making careers here and that's why RED and ultimately SONY wants?needs? us to succeed. As our artists grow the revenue stream to the mother label grows while we use our money time and effort to develop the acts we love and know will succeed.

And that's my opinion, tell me what you think.

Dave.HitPlay