The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/29255
Casual Chit Chat: Music Promoter Each week, we have a casual conversation with a member of the community. This week, Music Promoter Dan Sternstein of liveLIVE! Productions and Cassandra Miller chit chat, casually. You are a young gun at 23 years old; what’s your five-year plan? If we could flip a switch and magically be in 2016, what would our area’s musical landscape be like, and what would liveLIVE! be like? There are a lot of young people out there working hard and doing a lot of good, not just in the arts world. I hope that liveLIVE! is able bring out the raw potential of our little city. With help from our local govern- ment and the devotion of our supporters, we can further establish Oneonta as one of the cultural hubs of New York, and turn liveLIVE! into a brand that supports great art. We have made great strides already, and hope to continue to be able to operate in this way. What were your favorite bands in middle school? Who were the musi- cians who got you excited about music? The music I got into in my formative years was coming out of my camp counselors’ stereos and my father’s record player. The juxtaposition was fantastic. On one hand, I had my father listening to European Canto- rial music, and on the other, I was listening to these exotic (at least, for me) sounds of A Tribe Called Quest, Pink Floyd, Grateful Dead, The Doors, Mahavishnu Orchestra and John Coltrane. I began to realize our musical universe can be just as vast as our physical one. The goal of liveLIVE! is to support “honest music” and arts in the commu- nity. How has the production company done that so far? liveLIVE! is currently working on three EP’s right now from some of the best artists in the area. We feel like Alan Lomax, searching for music that has something to say. Our studio is not open to the public for recording. We 6 O-Town Scene April 14, 2011 Contributed handpick the artists we want to work with, and we completely support their work. When you listen to an honest record, you can feel it in the pit of your soul. We have also donated over $1,000 to charities this year, including Saint Jude’s Chil- dren’s Hospital, as well as raised money for the Oneonta High School Music Department. It feels good to know this money is coming from a grassroots company doing everything it can to be a part of the next generation of live music. What non-music hobbies do you have? Do you still have time to prac- tice those? I love biking, and I love reading. I make sure to keep both in my schedule. Other than that, it’s music, music, music. Go Huskies? What was your favorite part about attending SUNY Oneonta? How did attending school here change who you are? Well, I was able to start building my net- work here, and I have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful musicians because of my years at SUCO. The teachers are amazing there, and they should be given so much credit for the work they do. They taught me more than just how to live through music, but to appreciate how blessed we are to be musicians, and how to survive in one of the most competitive industries in the world. What five songs would you want to hear during your final minutes on Earth? Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D Minor would just about cover all the time I had. Bobby McFerrin would be nice, too. You work at the Black Oak Tavern; what’s your favorite after-work liba- tion? Absent a tall glass of mead, ice- water with lemon usually works just fine. What’s the best part about living in Oneonta? LIVE! Enjoyed.