The bands of BVT had a great weekend of giving back to the community. On Saturday evening, Strangers headlined The Lemon Ball, a yellow-tie gala supporting Alex’s Lemonade and raising funds to fight childhood cancer. The evening went off without a hitch. The event was held at the beautiful Philadelphia Marriott Downtown and included dinner, dancing, a silent auction, and a touching awards presentation that brought a tear many an eye in the audience.
Strangers was pleased to have the opportunity to perform at such an inspiring and giving event. There were about 800 people in attendance and the Strangers band kept them dancing and having a good time. Strangers also had the opportunity to meet American Idol Star, Jordan Sparks, at the event. See some pictures of the band with Jordan below.
Sunday was the 33rd Annual Flyers’ Wives’ Carnival held to support the Flyers’ Wives’ Fight for Lives charity fund. This was Brandywine Valley Talent’s fourth year being a part of the event, and we are very proud of our partnership with the Flyers’ Wives’ organization. The carnival was a great family event and brought in Flyer’s fans of all ages. Guests participated in activities such as a Dunk Tank, Shot-on-Goal, Rock Band, and many Carnival Games. There were also live and silent auctions throughout the day and opportunities to receive autographs from and pictures with favorite Flyers players.
BVT provided all the entertainment for the evening. Exclusive bands, Contagious, City Rhythm, and Midnight Hour provided high energy dance music on the main stage in the Wachovia Center. The Britton Brothers, Mike Budzia, and Kurt Manderbach could also be found performing at various locations around the Center. Toner Sound worked in conjunction with BVT to supply DJs in certain areas. Tony Forliano provided entertainment at the carnival’s after-party.
All the bands and performers did a spectacular job and had a great time at the carnival. It really is a fun event, not just for the guests but the entertainers as well. Not to mention, the satisfaction that come with the knowledge of supporting a good cause.
Parts of the carnival were shown on Comcast Sports Net, and Kurt Titchenell, BVT’s owner and president, and bandleader of Jellyroll, was even interviewed on TV by Jim Jackson!
Here are some pictures of the event!
City Rhythm on Stage!
Contagious performing in their Flyers gear!
Contagious on the JumboTron!!
Award Presentations - Midnight Hour on Stage with the Flyers’ Wives
Midnight Hour performing!
Holly Cote (Flyers Wife) with Maura (Wachovia Center Staff Member)
Usually our blog entries focus on the work we do as a band, the weddings and private parties we play, and the work we do with various venues in the greater Philadelphia region. However, I wanted to take an opportunity to herald the great work our guitar player, Jerry “Rooster” Corrado and his wife Joan did this year around the holidays.
Every year, Jerry puts up a huge display of Christmas lights on his lawn in East Bradford (near West Chester). He really gets into it, and his lawn show is second to none. The local television news stations frequently come to get shots of his lawn, as do the local papers. Jerry spends untold hours setting up the lights, the inflatable figures, etc., and then he’s out there maintaining them just about every day from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. He even had extra electrical power installed in his house just to support the Christmas lights he puts up each year.
The lights attract people from all over … they come and park out in front of Jerry’s house with their kids and just stare at the incredible lights. Every night, you’ll see as many as 10 or 20 cars lined up at different times of the night to look at the lights.
This year, Jerry and his wife Joan had the idea to ask those people to bring along a toy to donate to the pediatric unit of Chester County Hospital. It was a wonderful idea, and a huge success; they collected almost 200 toys for the kids, and delivered them throughout December to the hospital.
The Daily Local News of Chester County ran a story about Jerry and his wife Joan in December that tells a little more about their great contributions … here’s a link to that story:
Article about Rooster’s Toy Drive
So, the next time you see our guitar player, give Rooster a much deserved pat on the back for doing something special this year to bring cheer to some sick children during the holidays. Way to go, Rooster and Joan!
Jellyroll had a busy weekend October 23rd through 25th with an event each day. On Friday evening, Jellyroll performed at the wedding reception of Doreen Donnelly and Mike Korba. This was a particularly special wedding, as Doreen is a good friend to members of Jellyroll and BVT. Doreen is an event planner for MEDecision and Jellyroll has played at many of the corporate events she has planned.
The reception was held at the Ballroom at the Ben where Ott Ricci, the maitre d’, put together a wonderful event. Photos were taken by Faith West Photography and the beautiful floral displays were put together by Jim at Ring of Roses. Doreen and Mike shared there first dance together as a married couple to Shania Twain’s “From This Moment On”. Parent dances included “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts and “I Hope You Dance” by Leanne Womack. The bride also requested the band play “Single Ladies” by Beyonce. This is a fun song that everyone really enjoyed, especially the women in attendance.
On Saturday, Jellyroll performed at Sarah Lustgarten’s Bat Mitzvah at the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia. Jellyroll is proud of their long association as a preferred entertainment partner with Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia. The beautiful decor was provided by Party Productions. Daniel Briones, and maitre d’, Rick, also worked to ensure success at the Four Seasons.
Jellyroll worked together with Emcee Paul from EJ the DJ at this event. A highlight of the evening was when Paul and an array of dancers carried Sarah into the room on their shoulders for her grand entrance. At this point, Sarah performed a song which she wrote, “Candy Store”, as Jellyroll accompanied her. Band members and guests were both in awe of the talent of this young girl. Dancing ensued throughout the night as adults and kids, alike, filled the dance floor!
The weekend ended on Sunday when Jellyroll performed at the wedding of Randi Sosnow and Brad Brack. This lovely couple had their wedding reception at Spring Mill Country Club. Barnet Paul of Hy Paul Studio provided the videography and photography for the event. Floral arrangements were provided by Dominic Graziano Flowers and Gifts.
Randi and Brad had a beautiful outside ceremony, which Jellyroll provided the music for. Following the ceremony, guests moved inside for cocktails, dinner, and of course, dancing. The couple’s first dance together was “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz. Jellyroll learned this special song just for them. Other special songs of the evening were “In My Life” by The Beatles which was dedicated to Randi’s father, grandmother and grandfather. “In My Daughter’s Eyes” by Martina McBride was a special request from Randi’s mom. There was also a traditional Jewish Horah and Crowning at this wedding.
If you want to talk about unusual events, than you should hear about the fundraising event Jellyroll performed at on Friday, October 2nd, to benefit the Friends of Laurel Hill Cemetery. It is not every day you hear about a gala for a cemetery, but Laurel Hill is a truly unique and special place. Laurel Hill is one of the only cemeteries in the country that is a National Historic Landmark, and the Friends of Laurel Hill work to preserve and promote the establishment. This was the 5th annual Gravediggers’ Ball held to benefit the landmark, and this year’s event was held in memory of Harry Kalas whose final resting place is at Laurel Hill. It was inspiring for Jellyroll to be a part of this event, honoring the beloved Philadelphia broadcaster.
The evening started with a moving tribute to Harry, followed by Jellyroll playing “High Hopes,” a known favorite of Mr. Kalas. Guests, many of whom were dressed in costume, really enjoyed this. Everyone sang along, and then stayed on the dance floor to dance the night away. Here is an excerpt from the Kalas family testimonial to the Friends of Laurel Hill: “I loved how the band asked everyone to sing along to High Hopes. Sometimes it can seem kind of cheesy when people do High Hopes in honor of Harry, but because it was such a great band, and what they said before they started singing, it really felt like a loving tribute and I have to commend the band for that because that’s not easy to do. So it was really an incredible night and we were so pleased to be a part of it.”
The following evening, on October 3rd, Jellyroll performed at the wedding of Kristen Bowers and Keith Griesbaum at the Hotel du Pont. The evening was entirely enjoyable as the bride and groom were a pleasure to work with, and Jillian, a member of the Hotel du Pont staff, ran a great show. Linda Simunov, the couple’s wedding planner, ensured that all the details came together to create a flawless and memorable evening for the bride and groom. Michael Kehr was the photographer for the evening, and he took some great shots of the happy couple with their friends and family. Below are a few of his photos from the wedding!
The special dances of the night included the bride and groom’s first dance to “Can’t Help Falling in Love with You” by Elvis. The bride and her father danced to “The Way You Look Tonight”, and the groom and his mother danced to “Wonderful Tonight”. The rest of the night Jellyroll performed high-energy dance songs that really got the crowd moving. Jellyroll experienced one of their most exciting endings to a reception when the bride and groom joined them on stage in front of a packed crowd of guests for the last song of the night, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”.
Many people have been asking me if the Sid Miller Dance Band will be performing at a public venue so they can come out to check us out. The last time we performed at a public venue was in January of this year when we provided dance music for the Auto Show Black Tie Gala. So, I am very excited and pleased to announce that the Sid Miller Dance Band will be performing at the Octo Club on Friday night, August 28. We will be doing three shows from 10PM to 1:30AM. The Octo Club is located on Delaware Avenue at Vine Street (211 N. Columbus Boulevard). It’s beautiful outdoor restaurant/club. We hope to see you there!
Ashley Baker and Russell Procopio:
A Contagious Party Event at Greenville County Club!
The Contagious Party Band made its first appearance of the year at Greenville County Club in Wilmington Delaware. Originally part of the “DuPont” estates Greenville County Club provided the perfect ambiance for the wedding of Ashley Baker and Russell Procopio. With a fun and rambunctious introduction song by U2 the couple then shared their first dance to Celine Dion’s “Another Year Has Gone By.” The lovely ladies who front the Contagious Band (KB, and Shake) did an awesome job performing that and the parent dances of ”I Hope You Dance” and “Wind Beneath My Wings”. With hugs and smiles all around it was a preview of the fun for the evening’s event.
The guest really took the band to task and the dance challenge was on. Contagious does this all of the time but Ashley’s and Michael’s guests came to celebrate with the lovely couple and really showed their stuff. Highlighting the evening is some video that I just must see. One is a guest that led the crowd though a rocking version of Sweet Home Alabama and finally one of younger guest of about 10 years old (or so) rocking out and “Hitting” the high notes to Journey’s “ Don’t Stop Believing.” Memories of a life time with family and friends for our blissful couple to start off their journey through life together. The Contagious Band was honored to be the entertainment for the evening’s events and offer our best wishes to Ashley and Russell. Thank you for allowing us to be there when it all began.
Best Regards
Doc
Contagious Party Band
A Weekend of Fireworks for Midnight Hour
Happy Fourth of July, everyone! We just logged another full weekend of gigs, fun and special moments with some great people, and we wanted to tell you all about it.
On Saturday July 4th, Midnight Hour performed for newlyweds Seth & Calli Alberts at Appleford Estates in Villanova, PA. Our keyboardist (Vinny Dimento) and guitarist (Gerry “Rooster” Corrado) performed the music for the wedding ceremony on the grounds of Appleford, and it was really beautiful. Later, the bride and groom were announced to “Bittersweet Symphony” under the tent, and shared their first dance to Kenny Chesney’s “Me & You”. It was a marvelous night, topped off by some fireworks that some locals set off around 9:30 … and then the band closed out the night at 10:00 with a full dance floor. Special thanks to that guy who got up with us and performed “Satisfaction” by The Stones … that guy was great. Thanks for having us, Seth & Calli!
On Sunday night July 5th, we performed for another wedding at The Chase Center in Wilmington, DE. Rachel & Hal Ossman were married on site, and once again Vinny performed for their ceremony, preparing special Jewish traditional music that they had requested. Later we performed an extended Hora for their families, including “Hava Nagila”, “Artsa Alinu”, “Ose Shalom”, and “Havenu Shalom Aleicham”. When our music for the Hora ended, the dancing just kept going and the crowd stomped and clapped and sang other traditional songs, having a wonderful time. Later, the bride and groom danced to the song “Amazed” by Lonestar, and the dance floor was full all night long.
We also celebrated the birthday of our own Tom “Tiny” Callan this past week – Tiny is a great guy, and boy does he love birthdays! He made sure everyone knew it was his birthday, and we had lots of fun with him this week.
Also wanted to mention we premiered our new light show this past week, and it looks great – it was kind of like having our own little fireworks show on the 4th of July. We can size it to fit any room and it adds great color and motion when the band is playing. We’re excited about it, and we hope you get to see it some time soon.
Take care,
Pepper & The Midnight Hour Band
Midnight Hour Performs at 2009 ISES Liberty Awards Gala
On Wednesday June 24th 2009, Midnight Hour was honored to perform for the International Special Events Society (ISES) Liberty Awards Gala at the Park Ridge Hotel in King of Prussia, PA.
The evening’s theme was “Bring on the Bling,” and everyone in attendance got into the fun spirit by decking themselves out in upscale threads. A special booth was set up to apply glitter and temporary tattoos for those brave souls who wanted to go the extra mile in getting the bling going.
ISES President Nancy Bauman (NKB Events, LLC) was the evening’s gracious host, and we were thrilled to get some time to talk with her about the work she does with ISES. Nancy’s term as President comes to a close soon, and her successor is going to be Larry Ott, CSEP, of Open Aire Affaires. Larry was also great about spending some time talking with the band, not to mention the time he spent on the dance floor … pretty sure his smooth dance moves have a lot to do with him being President Elect of ISES. J
The folks at ISES asked us to open up with a song that they felt would sum up their vision of a “Bling Fling” … the classic Aerosmith & Run DMC version of “Walk This Way”. We were more than happy to oblige, and we had the house rockin’ from the start of the evening. The ISES team had decorated the room beautifully, and everyone agreed the Park Ridge had never looked better. It was the perfect setting for a terrific party. We went on to play other classic house party songs like “Jump Around”, “Let Me Clear My Throat”, and “It’s Getting Hot in Here”.
We’d like to thank everyone at ISES for choosing us to be a part of their special event. We met some of the area’s very best event specialists, from a woman who specializes in puppetry to a guy who does the biggest fireworks shows on the east coast, and we look forward to working with all of them in the future.
Contagious Party Band: Shines at the Crystal Tea Room
The Contagious Band has once again been honored to have the privilege to perform at the Philadelphia landmark The Crystal Tea Room where the standard is set for elegance and style. There was no more appropriate place than here for the reception of one of the most adorable couples I’ve ever met Katie Schuster and Dr. Michael Johnson.
Surrounded by all their family and friends the magical evening started with Katie and Michael’s first dance was to Elvis Presley’s “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You”. The moment seemed timeless. This may sounds like a Best Man speech when I say it but meeting them and watching them together it would be a challenge to image them with anyone but each other. They just fit so perfectly together.
For the parent dances the Contagious Band got to show our skills a little by setting up “I Loved Her First” by Heartland for Katie to dance with her father Daniel. With the Groom’s family being from Augusta Georgia we learned and performed a very special “Georgia On My Mind” by the late great Ray Charles. Seeing that Savannah Georgia is my home town we’ll have to keep the Georgia On my Mind song around for future use.
There are so many parts that make up a successful reception. The staff at the Crystal Tea Room made is so easy for Contagious to help make the evening unforgettable. We were aware of all the events that needed to take place and with their expert coordination made the evening seamless. Although I saw a wedding Bouquet completely “destroyed” during the toss to the single ladies J it was a ”fun” part of the evenings events. The dance party was incredible and the crowd met the challenge of The Contagious front line and kept the energy high all evening long. Katie and Michael finished off the evening showing their dancing skills and left everyone with a smile.
A special thanks to The Crystal Team room and most of all Katie and Michael for allowing the Contagious Band to be there when it all began. Best wishes to you both as you share life’s journeys together.
doc
