NAMM/Downtown Disney LIVE Footage!

If you didn't catch us last January at NAMM and Downtown Disney, here's the live footage! Once again, I'd like to thank NAMM, SchooljamUSA, and YOU for helping us have this wonderful opportunity! I'd also like to thank the guys that put this video together. =D (They're really talented!)

SCHOOL JAM USA FINALS

Well, it’s about time I got to this post! The big day that happened last week! Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of pictures of sound check and such, but I do have quite a few photos of the show and the awards ceremony! Once again, I’d like to thank Schooljam USA and NAMM for this wonderful opportunity, it was truly an experience of a lifetime. If you guys haven't read the previous post, the Jessica Prouty Band got second place in the competition, with Cam winning the best teen percussionist in the USA, and the winner of the best teen vocalist in the US being yours truly. ;)  I’d also like to congratulate PELIGRO for going to Germany! Cody had known one of their guitarists, Chandler, from Berklee College of Music Summer Guitar Programs, and the JPB was able to hang out with them for most of the day on Saturday. They’re really great kids. They’re also very talented!

This was a picture of the view from our Hotel room at the Paradise Pierre that morning. Our room overlooked California Adventure Park in Disneyland. You can see the mountains silhouetted in the background… so pretty!

Before I get to the show, I do want to mention that we were able to go to an educational workshop with all the other bands about the music industry. It was great!

This was Cam and Andy in the green room after sound check. This photo really shows off Cam's facial features.

This is us with the one and only VINCE FERRAGAMO on Saturday night, Andy’s cousin and former super bowl quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams!

These next photos are of the show. I can’t quite get rid of the golden eye effect that’s on a couple of these shots – if anyone knows how to fix them, please let me know! x)

Oh hey look, there's Bridgit Mendler and Adam Hicks - the two Disney Stars that Emcee'd the event!

 Oh yeah, we're coordinated.

I like Cody's face in this one.

Andy!

Cody! Like I said... the red eye I wasn't able to remove. We all look like gremlins, actually...

This was in-between Escape and Falling - we ended up doing a really cool prelude to Falling! I hope I can get some video of it up here!

This is the last decent shot off of our camera! Andy needs to move to Cody's side of the stage more x). Anyone want to invest in a key-tar for him? They had some nice ones at the Roland booth at NAMM!

That's all for now! If I can get more video footage of the show, I will absolutely put it on the blog. If you want more information about the competition and the results, go to the School Jam USA website.

NAMM Part II

First off, I am happy to announce that the Jessica Prouty Band won 2nd place in the SchooljamUSA/NAMM battle of the bands, winning 1,500 dollars for our school's music program as well as a coveted place in the top teen bands of the USA. Cam also won the best percussionist award, getting Evans drum heads and a SHU bass drum microphone holder, and I won the best vocalist award, getting a Phonic 18 input mixer with USB wiring! As much as I love saying I won something, I feel like I brag too much if I say something about it. Ever get that feeling?

Before we get into the competition though, I need to talk about NAMM on Thursday and Friday. IT WAS INSANE. So many industry reps were on the floors, and there were so many awesome companies. We went around to a lot of the sponsors of SchooljamUSA, and they were very pleasant and welcoming. I have quite a few photos, so I'm going to add them and talk as the visual elements are displayed. I'm using a combination of my Kodak camera as well as my cell phone camera, so some photos might have higher quality than others.

Top and Bottom: Pictures of the NAMM floor! We got lost so many times our first day there. The bottom picture is from the Roland area of the NAMM convention in the arena. Everything from keyboards, synthesizers, bass amps, electric drums, keytars, and recording programs are all featured there. Roland is really pushing the limit on new music technology.

Speaking of Roland, guess who this handsome man is? I was able to watch a presentation of the SONAR X1 software program featuring Sean Murray, composer of the Call of Duty: Black Ops video game. I got to shake his hand too!

This is the last photo of the Roland area, I promise. Cam's just chillin', playing some Roland V-drums.

No... wait... there's one more. These two sick nasty musicians one Swedish, one Belgium, performed a live concert completely using electronic drums, synthesizers, and keytars. (Even a voice modulator box!)

Here's a shot of Cody and Cam at the T-REX booth trying out some guitar pedals.

I LOVED these bass guitars. They sound great, and they're soooo pretty. ;)

Here's a picture of my favorite one! -drools-

Oh hey, I'm trying out some BOSS pedals. The bass wasn't bad either! My favorite was the synthesizer pedal. x) Not that I'd use it in my music... well... maybe I should find a way to use it...

Here's Cam trying out more pedals on the main floor. I believe they're Taye drum pedals. >.> Taye drums were also used for the SchooljamUSA battle.

Just a few members of Poison hanging out in front of the John Lennon Educational Tourbus. Speaking of the tourbus, we were able to catch up with our buds Kevin and Ryan who run the bus! They're the guys that filmed/produced our music video Escape as well. I wish I got some pictures of them. D:

Look at the expression on Cam's face! teehee! He looks absolutely fascinated with the Pearl kit. What was really cool about this kit was that it was completely electric. I asked Cam what he liked about this kit later, and he responded that he wasn't interested in the kit, he was more interested with the Pearl Demon Drive double bass pedals that were on the kit. :o He was on that thing for 15 minutes.

NAMM really opened my eyes to the trade of music industry. Sure, the convention had quite a few instruments to play, but the real purpose of the NAMM show is for store and company owners to communicate and cooperate with the manufacturers to create a harmonic music industry for the rest of us who purchase these products. I was suprised that NAMM decided to open itself to the public on the last day of the show. I spoke to a few businessmen around the hotel, and they weren't happy with that at all. :o 

Well, that's it for NAMM! I didn't get a lot of photos of Andy for a few reasons - one being he wasn't there on Thursday, and the second being he didn't want photos of him. He was being a poop head. I will write another entry about the competition after I take a break. It takes awhile to put these together! :)

NAMM, Part I

I want to apologize for the delay in my blog entries - it's simply been so busy! I do have to say this though; NAMM is incredible. We looked at two floors of music exhibits, and believe me - these were stadiums upon stadiums length wise and width wise. Everything from guitars, drums, and keyboards, to wire reels and gig bags, EVERYTHING was there. EVERYONE was there as well. I caught a glimpse of select members of Poison, Cody met Guthrie Govan, and I met Sean Murray, the composer of the Call of Duty: Black Ops series! We also got to see some familiar faces from the east coast, including Candi Bramante of Daddy's Junky Music, members of the Rockin' Roland Band, and Kevin and Ryan from the John Lennon Educational Tourbus.

 I have photos I will put up here in due time. The past two nights have been exhausting, and if I don't go to put my makeup on, we'll be late for sound check. x) Once again, I'd like to thank everyone for your support! Wish us luck today!  I promise, I'll cover more of the NAMM show after the competition. :)

Day One: Disneyland; Tomorrow: NAMM Babay!

We arrived safely in California last night around 11pst! We’re still a bit jet lagged, but we’re doing fine nonetheless. I can’t begin to describe how beautiful it is out here. The high was 74 today, combined with a light breeze and a bright sun. I apologize to all of those who are in the midst of Massachusetts weather at the moment! I wish I could share the sunshine with all of you!

We spent our morning at a lovely breakfast at the Residence Inn; we then spent the day in Disneyland! It was Cody and Cam’s first time in Disneyland – Andy had been there when he was very young, as had I. Though I did not get video footage of the day, I managed to get a few shots of everyone!

Welcome to Disneyland, newcomers!

Everyone was a bit confused by the maps at first…

Indiana Jones

Just chillin’ at Winnie the Pooh

Do I see a SPANG t-shirt? Andy doesn’t seem too enthused with the end of the ride.

I love the expression on Andy and Cam’s face…

A picture of Andy at the Blue Bayou restaurant. Wait a minute, he's smiling?

Hi…Cody?

                                

Outside of “It’s a Small World”!

I believe this was inside “It’s a Small World”

And last but not least, a couple of shots at the Buzz Lightyear ride. If you couldn't tell, my brother like to be in a lot of these photos. He's the one in the World of Warcraft t-shirt and the red shorts. Of course, Andy has to be looking away from the camera.

Oh look, there's me in front of the alien...critter...things. I think I'm going to be heckled at for not knowing their names. It looks like I'm starting to tan already! Right...right? :\

Well, that about tops it for our Disneyland journey. The boys in the band went on Space Mountain, an indoor roller coaster, at least 3 times. Considering we went on this ride right after a large lunch... yeah... riding on it once was all I could handle. :) Tomorrow, we're switching hotels (from the Residence Inn to a Disney Hotel), then we're heading to the Anaheim Convention Center.

NAMM, you best be ready for the Jessica Prouty Band. See the vast display of proud, steadfast poses? That's right. We're coming for you. ;)

I'd also like to take this time to thank Richard from the Sad Cafe, he introduced us to a wonderful woman named Sandy! She's worked at Disneyland for the past 47 years!

One Day Away!

Preparations for the California trip are in motion! I just need to find a way to fit all of these clothes into a suitcase under 50lbs, and find my iPod. The airline companies are ridiculous charging people for their bags! It’s not a hazard to wear 4 t-shirts, 2 sweatshirts, and 3 pairs of paints, but it’s definitely a hazard to the weight of the plane if you put the extra clothes into your checked luggage. *sighs*

Alas, I digress! Clothing is in order, as are the toiletries and such. I’m a bit nervous for Cody and I – we’re planning on bringing our guitars on the plane as a carry-on. If the guitar cases measure below 5ft, they should fit in the overhead compartment, yes? If there are any experienced travelling musicians out there, we’d love some help on this issue!

I’m also a bit concerned about the weather conditions. Our flight leaves around 6:50 and I pray the snow holds out past that point. The last thing we need is a postponed flight and a night in Logan Airport. New England weather’s been pretty rough so far, eh? (I’m only part French Canadian). ;]

I hope to get some footage of the band tomorrow at the airport and on the plane to California – I will post it ASAP. We’re going to be staying up easily past 2 AM EST, so I might have to crawl to my laptop the next morning to upload. Unbeknownst to some, but known to most, I tend to play World of Warcraft until the wee hours of the morning 3 nights a week, so 2 AM isn’t too bad of a bedtime. As for the rest of the band… I can’t wait to catch them snoring on the ride to the hotel. >:)

The band will keep you posted, don’t worry! We also plan to go to Disneyland on Wednesday… are there any other interesting spots to hit up in Anaheim while we’re there? ALSO – if anyone has ANY suggestions for good eats around the Anaheim Convention Center – we will eat just about anything.

For those who haven't seen the winners of the competition along with the Jessica Prouty Band, go to http://www.schooljamusa.com/ to check out the other artists!

Let's Pack up and Move to California...

            After spending two hours configuring the appearance of the space, I am finally able to post without wincing at the computer screen! As most of you may know, I created this blog to share the events that commence in California next week, including NAMM, Downtown Disney, and of course, the shenanigans of the band. Videos and photos will be included. :]

            I’d like to thank everyone again for voting online at schooljamusa.com and helping us win this amazing opportunity. The whole band is immensely excited, and we can’t wait to represent New England in the battle of the bands at Downtown Disney. The question is this; how do we represent the east coast during our stay on the west coast, other than wearing sports team merchandise? My brain can only handle so much this week with the preparations! I need some brain power from you. ;)

            The last time I traveled to California was a few years back when my family stayed in Newport Beach. I can’t remember much of it, other than the beautiful landscape, all of the large homes, and Disneyland. It will be quite the experience going back there with Andy, Cody, and Cam. I’m afraid Cody won’t move from the NAMM floor after finding a guitar company he’s interested in, and Cam won’t budge after finding the poolside at the hotel. I wonder if Andy will find a California Gurl while we’re over there. *nudge nudge, wink wink* As for me, I’ll take it all in stride. I believe this trip will be one of the definitive moments in the start of something much, much bigger than anything the band could ever dream of.

            We’ll be departing from Massachusetts this Tuesday. I’m currently accumulating a list of things I’ll need for the trip.

            -toothbrush, toothpaste, toiletries

            -iPod – where is that again?

            -clothing

            -bass guitar

            -ear plugs

            -makeup suitcase (just kidding!)

            -Raggedy Andy – not my keyboardist, the rag doll!

            -Gaming headset

            -Laptop

            -Camera

            -mysterious fans lurking in suitcases, I won’t mention any names.

            -Phone Charger

            - Everything else I’m missing…

It’s a decent start, right?

            Though I don’t listen to this band, I find this song very fitting for the post, and quite catchy. Without further adieu, I will leave you with some Hawk Nelson.