Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2008

THANKFUL

On this Thanksgiving Day, all of us at the Gary Musick Company are thankful for our many friends, performers, clients, and associates around the world who are such an important part of our GMC family. Speaking of families, we also thank our families for allowing us to spend so much time away from home in pursuit of our careers. We love you all, and wish you all the best on this Thanksgiving day. Blessings to all of you during this holiday season!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

CONSTELLATION PHOTOS

Brad Grimmer, one of our singers on the Celebrity Constellation, sent me some photos today that were taken on the Constellation a few weeks ago during their opening week. I was there for their opening cruise. These shots were taken at an opening night party. Thanks for the great pics, Brad!

If you'd like to learn more about the Constellation and its terrific itinerary, check out Celebrity's website...

www.celebritycruises.com

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the cast of the NCL Majesty! They performed the final shows of their six month contract this week and are traveling home today. None of these performers have been home since they boarded the ship last May. I know they are so excited!

It's not easy to make it through an entire six month contract without injury or something else happening. This cast did a fantastic job and gave 100%. The shows were great and they represented us well out there. THANKS, guys, for giving it your all!

Tonight the new cast (pictured down there a few days ago) takes over and will perform their opening show. I know they will do a great job too. We're proud of all of you!

Corporate Business Sets

One of the things we specialize in at the Gary Musick Company is producing corporate events. We handle everything from stage sets, lighting and sound... to entertainment, program content and overall event planning. We are a "one-stop shop"!

We have worked with major corporate clients doing very large sets and entertainment by major artists or original production shows. However, we also work on much smaller scales doing business sets for companies in local hotels.

We have over $1,000,000 worth of props and scenic inventory in our warehouses. Call us for rental prices or custom work!

Pictured below are just a few examples of some of the business sets we have produced and constructed...both large and small.

Our "Music City" pieces create a wonderful vibe for corporate award shows.

Spandex covered panels with a little back lighting are a simple way to create a nice set for a smaller business meeting or banquet.

Pictured above is the set for the nationally televised Dove Awards.

Our scenic staff constructed this great store front for a convention for O'Charley's employees.

These spandex "transformits" are a simple way to give your business meeting that extra punch.

Pictured above is a convention in Las Vegas produced by Bert Hensley.

The set pictured above is the Chicago skyline.

Often, one of the best ways to create a theme is to have an entry way that draws interest.

The 3 pictures above are from a recent convention at a local hotel produced scenically by Brandon Scott Thomas. IEBA (International Entertainment Buyers Association) has a large event in Nashville each year. Though the ballroom isn't that large, we were able to create a very different feel for their artist showcase and banquet. Check out their website at... http://www.ieba.org

We are afforded the wonderful opportunity to meet some incredible people along the way. The great part about what we do is...we not only get to help them create an event they can be proud of, but we develop friendships and learn a lot from our clients too! For more information on recent events at the Gary Musick Company, check out the "hot news" section on our website by clicking this link http://www.garymusick.com

Three Cheers for the NCL Majesty Cast!!

Right now, somewhere between Charleston, SC and Bermuda, the cast of he NCL Majesty is hard at work preparing to begin performances. Each time we send out a new cast they overlap with the previous cast for one week. This gives the new cast a week to rehearse on stage with costumes, microphones, props, and lights. It also allows them to watch the current cast finish their shows.

At the end of each rehearsal process before we send them to the ship we always celebrate with a cast dinner. Here are some pictures from the Majesty cast dinner.

front row L-R: Ildar Umyarov, Kiera Sangster, Francesca Savory

back row L-R: Beth Cowling, Matt Castano, Matt Atwood, Sarah Hanlon, Scott Bundren

Some of the Majesty guys pose with Brandon Scott Thomas, one of our producers.

Kudos to all those who played such an important role in getting this cast ready to go! The production team for this cast included Kelly Evans (one of our choreographers), Jeff Lisenby (one of our vocal directors), and Garris Wimmer, production manager. We're rooting for you guys! Break a leg!

Gary Musick Nashville Auditions

For the past two days we've been going strong with auditions here in Nashville. We've had people from Kansas, Texas, Chicago, Washington DC, Virginia and more. We auditioned around 200 singers and dancers who were all competing for singer and dancer roles for Celebrity and Norwegian Cruise Lines.

So far this fall we have auditioned performers in NYC, Los Angeles, and Nashville. In January we will fly to London and hold auditions there for several days. We have seen some extremely talented men and women.

Here are some pictures from yesterday...

ouch!

If you are a singer or dancer and you would like to be considered for one of our casts, you've got one audition spot left this season. We will be in London January 5-8. If you are unable to make that audition but you're still interested in auditioning, we also accept demo reels. Please refer to the website for more information. http://www.garymusick.com/

Have a fantastic day!

Monday, November 18, 2008

NEW BUSINESS SET FROM GMC

We just returned from a great show for the National Association of Electrical Distributors at the Marriott Marco Island Hotel and Resort in Marco Island, Florida. We built a new business set for the show that was especially appropriate for the attendees at NAED.  It incorporates an all-LED oriented lighting system that fit perfectly into the association's "going green" initiatives. These AV screen surrounds have been designed to work with 9' x 12' or 10.5' x 14' screens. The LED lighting system allows the set to become any color imaginable - or any combination of colors. Fox Network's economic commentator STUART VARNEY was the keynote speaker at the opening general session. Varney's presentation on the state of the world economy was extremely insightful, although we did not get to hear his closing thoughts on the positive outlook for the economy...just as he started to talk about the potential for change and improvement in our economy under the Obama administration, the power all over Marco Island went out and the ballroom was plunged into total darkness and silence. The irony of this happening at a meeting of electrical distributors and manufacturers was not lost on the attendees. Apparently, a repairman working on the main power lines to the island accidentally touched the lines with his bucket truck. The result was a total blackout of all power on the island for nearly 10 minutes. It was a weird feeling being in a totally dark ballroom with 400 puzzled attendees. 

Here is one of the wraps with violet lighting.

The LED lighting system allows the lighting director to create a multitude of looks to fit any theme or color combination.

This is the look we used during the "green electrical products" presentation.

Fox News host Stuart Varney was the keynote speaker.

For more information on the National Association of Electrical Distributors, check out their website...

www.naed.org

Sunday, November 16, 2008

AUDITIONS IN NASHVILLE

We are holding cruise ship auditions in Nashville today and tomorrow. Today, we had more than 100 auditionees who came to our studios to sing and dance for our panel of music directors, producers, choreographers, and production managers. We saw a lot of great talent, and we'll hopefully see more tomorrow afternoon. If you are interested in auditioning, you can find the audition information on our website. The schedule for tomorrow is 12-4pm for singers, and 1:00pm for dancers. The website will have all the info you need to come prepared.

Jonathan Yeaworth and I just returned from successful back-to-back shows in Marco Island, Florida, and Toronto, Canada. I have photos of some great looking sets and themed events from both shows that I'll post tomorrow.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend. GO TITANS!

Norwegian Cruise Line's MAJESTY Cast

The cast of the NCL Majesty has been rehearsing and working hard over the last few weeks in preparation for their six month contract on board. The cast leaves this weekend and will board the ship on Saturday in Charleston, SC. This cast is packed full of excellent performers. It has been a pleasure to watch them rehearse.

Kelly Evans, one of our choreographers, does a little cleaning before the run.

Brandon Scott Thomas, one of our producers, and Ildar Umyarov, one of our awesome Russian dancers, pose in front of the "Wall of Fame".

The cast gave 100% today as they performed both shows for the staff.

"Trouble" from The Music Man

"Master of the House" from Les Miserable

"There is Nothing Like a Dame" from South Pacific

"Big Spender"

"You Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray

"Avenue Q"

"One Short Day" from Wicked

We are very proud of our performers. They do such a great job and are a big part of the reason that "Cruise Critic" named Norwegian Cruise Line the "Best in Entertainment". Life on a ship isn't as glamorous as one might imagine. It is a lot of hard work. Our performers are top notch and represent us well. Thanks, guys!

William Morris Open House

Gary Musick Company plans 2008 Holiday Open House for William Morris Agency

Nashville's William Morris Agency - the world's largest and most respected talent and literary agency -  just selected The Gary Musick Company to produce its annual open house for its artists, managers, and music industry VIPS. This will be the fourth year we've created and produced this high profile music industry event. This has become one of our favorite and most challenging annual events. The location is perhaps our biggest challenge - each year, we're charged with turning an ordinary parking deck into Nashville's trendiest night club for an evening. Its no small task, either. Unexpected December weather can wreak havoc on the best laid plans. We're up for the challenge, though! This year, we're going retro with a nod to one of this season's hottest TV shows. WHICH ONE? Its a secret! That will have to wait until AFTER the party! Special thanks to our many friends at William Morris for allowing us to be part of the William Morris event again this year - Paul Moore, Sue Ann Cordell, Barry Jeffrey, and their top notch agents and support staff. Its going to be another memorable night for the William Morris family and Nashville's world famous Music Row! Check out the William Morris Agency's website for a list of their chart topping artists in virtually every aspect of the music world.   www.wma.com

Saturday, November 8, 2008

FALL IN THE SOUTH

One of the great things about living in the south - and especially Tennessee - is witnessing the change of the seasons. And there is no better time to experience the beauty of the seasons than right now. Here are photos of trees on my street taken over the course of this past week. We have had perfect weather to produce stunning colors this fall. 

If you have some photos from your own area, send them to me and I'll post them here. You gotta love Mother Nature!

This shot was taken last Monday as the leaves started turning.

This shot was made on Tuesday. This tree ultimately became my favorite one of all. See the subsequent shots below....

It rained overnight on Wednesday, and the leaves started falling like crazy. The above shot was taken of my driveway on Thursday morning. Yikes!

Another shot of our driveway. The wet leaves made it like driving on ice that morning!

This is the same "favorite" tree mentioned above, but taken today. It was on fire with color this morning!

Here is the entire tree in mid-transition. Very cool!