Heaven.
Three of the four Chryslers. Bill, Binnie, and Sarah Jane.
Wowza. There are no words other than, wowza.
Yesterday two of the Chryslers worked for the Summer Sessions Waterfront Concert series that had its first show last night!! Bill worked on logistics and everything in between, while his daughter, Sarah Jane, worked in production (taking after Binnie like and totally rocking it). To say the least, it was a great day and we could not be more proud of the crew and every person that made the event happen. Los Lonely Boys were beyond amazing, and Tony Lucca got everyone super hyped up when they opened the show. We are so grateful that we had the opportunity to be a part of it and can’t wait for show number 2!
The Lynne Sherwood Waterfront Stadium on Monday night.
Our Bill worked so hard all day long but he got to have a great time during the show!
In other studio news, Control Room A is coming along really well and should be up and running within the next week. We have also started working on updating the entryway (it is going to look so cool oh my goodness). Everything will be done just in time for an event that we have coming up that is going to be awesome.
In addition to all that excitement our writing queen, Katlin Merby, has two things to share with you this post: the first being the low-down on the Musicians Roundtable, and a spotlight about our dear friend Michael Hampton! We hope you enjoy!
Happening soon: Musicians Roundtable
Third Coast’s, Mark Lavengood of Bearmark Productions, Nathan Purchase of Purchase Productions, John Sinkevics of Local Spins, and Elle Lively of Crooked Tree Creative will be hosting a music industry roundtable event on July 16th at 7 p.m.
The initial 50 spots at the table for the event were sold out within 24 hours of invitations being sent out. Since that was about a month and a half before the event even occurs, standing room has been opened up as well.
“The most valuable aspect of the event will be the opportunity to build relationships with other people in the industry in a really relaxed situation where artists will meet photographers, promoters will meet artists, and everyone will figure out how they can collaborate in some way. It will also be a chance to meet people that they may have never run into before," Lively said.
This event is for artists, agents, managers, booking managers, photographers, videographers, venue owners, promoters, producers or anyone who is apart of the music industry in Michigan. Such a diverse group of music professionals rarely get to end up in the same room for an event like this that is set up as an open format - meet and greet situation.
The first order of business at the event will be a welcome to the studio and an introduction of the staff. After that, Lavengood and Purchase will present, then Lively will talk about music industry sessions she will be running in the fall. Grand Armoury will be supplying a few kegs of beer for the event.
Spotlight: Michael Hampton
Michael Hampton’s involvement with music started when he was a small child, singing and performing at the church his mother and father went to in Missouri. He began getting experience with live production at that same church, theatres, and both radio and t.v. stations.
While he was in college studying classical music, the Vietnam war began drafting young men into the military. Michael joined the navy and worked with a company called Pacific Command Electronic Intelligence where he analyzed recorded information for the military. After his time with the navy, he lived in Hawaii.
Michael moved back to Missouri to live in Saint Louis and worked for western electric. He helped build a t.v. studio for them and once that was built, did voice overs for training films and layout designs for them at their printing shop.
After then, he moved to New York to help manage and produce for a group of musicians. New York is where he met his wife. They lived in Ohio for a while and he was the tour manager for bands that toured with acts such as Kool and the Gang, Parliament Funkadellic’s, Marvin Gaye, and many more. Michael went into the investment business to spend more time with his first born child.
Til this day, Michael is still a producer. He has been an executive producer with a guitarist from The Wrecking Crew, Louis Shelton, and produced an album for the world renowned Violinist Delana Jensen at Abbey Road Studios in London, England. At Third Coast, he has produced an unreleased album for L.A. based Ava Bowers and a project with a children’s choir from Western Michigan.
Many of the people that work in the studio are also part of the studio band. “I brought ava bowers in from LA to come in and work in the studio. After the first couple of hours she looked at me and said ‘I could tour with these guys, they are brilliant musicians and really fun to be around.’ That says a whole lot about the leadership and quality of the team that bill Chrysler has put together,” Michael said.
He has done his own music projects as a producer at Third Coast but on the daily, hopes that he can make a contribution to the studio as a business person. Currently, he serves as a business consultant for a young man currently recording at the studio whose name is Jake Kershaw.
“The studio itself is just a wonderful place in terms of equipment and from a technology standpoint, its really world class,” Michael said.
Michael has known Bill Chrysler for many years. The two met at a reception for Christina Aguilera. Bill asked him if he wanted to go into partnership with him on one of the mixing boards in studio A. This agreement inspired Bill to continue his musical interests in Grand Haven.
“I honestly believe that why I’m enjoying it more at Third Coast than I was expecting is that Bill Chrysler has put together a team of people that are not only really really smart in terms of understanding the technology of recording but they’re very creative people and most important of all they are just good people and they are fun to be around,” Michael said.