The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/29255
Living the Dream Four area musicians are making a go of it with their new production company, LiveLIVE!, which will host a music festival early next month Story by Cassandra Miller Dan Sternstein has been doing public relations for LiveLIVE! Productions even before the group moved into its office at 10 Market St. in Oneonta around the beginning of the year. Sternstein, 23, puts on his schmoozing cap whenever he senses an opportunity to promote LiveLIVE! (pro- nounced “Live” as in “They live in a tree house,” “LIVE” as in “Is that a live bear?”). And in the last couple of months he’s had actual bands and events to promote, including the group’s inaugural music and arts festival at the beginning of next month. “LiveLIVE! is about commu- nity, family, honest music and good art,” Sternstein said, with a smile. 16 O-Town Scene April 14, 2011 The idea of forming a produc- tion company had been kicking around Oneonta between young musicians for several years. But it was the combination of SUNY Oneonta music industry graduates Sternstein, Trevor Dunworth and Dan Votke, along with Oneonta native Nate Roberts, that made the idea a reality. The four musicians all work at the Black Oak Tavern in Oneonta together. Sternstein, Dunworth and Votke book and produce music acts (as LiveLIVE! since the beginning of the year). Roberts works the door, bartends and does odd jobs. (He also had been running a small com- puter repair business out of an office in the building where LiveLIVE! is now based.) “The Oak’s the hip spot to go for good music,” Stern- stein said. “The Oak’s been our home, and the support of the community (there) has been so great. ... The Oak has afforded us the opportunity to let LiveLIVE! blossom.” The budding production company is not only record- ing and producing albums with artists _ MAE and Genevieve Pedulla LiveLIVE! Productions includes Nate Roberts, Dan Votke, Dan Sternstein and Trevor Dunworth. the Machine Gun Funk, Cargo to Callisto and Micah Resney _ booking a regional tour for Yonrico Scott, creating artist websites and putting on shows in the Oneonta area, it’s also amassed a team of seven SUNY Oneonta interns to helm charity events. The members of LiveLIVE! are passionate about being a part of the community in a meaningful way. So far, the group has produced events that have raised funds for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and the Oneonta High School music department. The group also plans to donate a percentage of profits from its LiveLIVE! Music and Arts Festival. “We want to make sure some of the money goes back into helping other people,” Sternstein said. In addition to being a vehicle to raise money to sup- port area organizations, the festival is meant to be a family-friendly celebration of live music and art, ac- cording to Dunworth. Group members said children are welcome at the festival, with free admission for those 12 and younger. (Tickets for adults are $30 in advance or $40 at the door.) “LiveLIVE festival is a family,” Dunworth said. “We’ll be featur- ing local talent and local artists ... (vendors will be offering) every- thing from crafts to photography.” Dunworth is the “face” and “head” of LiveLIVE!, according to its members. He was one of the founders of the underground local music festival Headyfest, which last year had grown into a near- professional scale event, complete with tents, dozens of bands and hundreds of festival-goers. Al- though the LiveLIVE! festival is an extension of Headyfest, Dunworth is adamant about differentiating the two. Headyfest, which started as a sort of party with a group of friends, had a reputation for being a little crazy _ a representation the mem- bers of LiveLIVE! are making sure does not carry over onto the new festival. The group members have invested a lot of time and money into putting on a “legitimate” music and arts event and do not want the antics of festivals past to ruin what they have worked so hard to achieve with their new festival and new production company. “It’s a huge gamble,” Sternstein said. But, with Dunworth and Votke’s years of experience transforming Headyfest into a full-scale event and the passion, enthusiasm and organization of all of the Live- LIVE! members, the festival is in line to be a success. The guys started looking for a venue months ago, finally nailing down an area in the town of Oneonta known as “The Blowdown,” which for 10 years has been the spot for another local festival, Hoedown in The Blowdown. Continued on Page 17