Sprout Music Collective and Social lounge have been bringing in some of the best music to West Chester that i know of. Sprout Specifically has helped me to manifest one of my video creating dreams of shooting bands in a studio setting (it ended up being different then i had imagined my dream would go, was a live setting). Sprout took care of all the things i probably wouldn't have wanted to spend my time doing like finding bands that were available to fill up a thursday- Saturday night lifestyle, setting up sound out of the monitors correctly with a paid sound person that knows his stuff "Usually Stephen Riley the sound guy" plus beers are cost effective for the worth that each purchase helped the bar (heck what am i saying i still plan to go there to drink n dance) it's not like i will stop going there, more so that i will stop bringing my camera with me on random nights to shoot bands that don't even know i'd be there doing so....it would have been annoying to have to hit up each band before hand to see that it was ok if i shoot their show, instead taking a risk on my part that they will hopefully like what i do or not really care (that's how things went most bands/ artists were really happy i was shooting/ listening to them or didn't care) usually i do ask when possible to make sure they want people to be able to hear their music around the world online. The Owner of Sprout has always been Matthew Sugalski as far as i know who had hired Alexander Lamont to find the best talent in the area to come in...Alexander Lamont had previously been introduced to me as a employee at boxcar that did Social media, event set ups, other stuff there as well......I think Alex had a different vibe taste for music with connections that worked better for him to to what he did for sprout during his time creating events there then if he had stayed at boxcar. Boxcar had a great Brand but sucked at marketing itself if you ask me which is one reason why they might not be around..The staff was all great, owner was friendly...it's just i think their online marketing sucked during a period when Facebook/ instagram/ youtube was the most important media to take advantage of as a business.
ok, lets get to why i think UNCLE JAKE AND THE 18 WHEEL GANG @SPROUTMUSICCOLLECTIVE was a great last casual random video shoot. It was perfect because it reminded me of where i started in the local music scene. i started on the stage at boxcar which was owned by James Robinson at the time (originally The Note owned by Bam Margera) the first time i got on stage i was doing so as a open mic musician. Tom Dieffenbach (the host) known for his guitar/ banjo/ vocals having played with The Bent Benjamins offered that i play his electric acoustic (my guitar was acoustic-non electric) anyways.... i got up on stage and the first song that came to me in the Boxcar atmosphere having seen Tom's folkish style was a lumineers song called The Lumineers - "Stubborn Love"...i played through most of it that i knew then broke a String on Toms guitar infront of everyone which for some odd reason felt naturally right to happen to me on my first time playing live infront of people. Why does this Correlate with Uncle Jake and the 18 Wheel Gang being the last casual random video i shoot? cause they were a amazing folk band that is on the same level or talent if not more then the Lumineers...and their main guitarist of 18wheel broke a string on his own guitar, then on the one he was borrowing...it was like a symbol i didn't notice till this moment...the guitarist of 18wheel had a red beard like tom( the open mic host at boxcar) has had before too...(that is what made this a good ending if that makes snese)
This is really a start to a new beginning with moving on to the next thing as i tend to do every couple years or so....video has been important for me years of creating compared to other passions is all i can say.