Mark Yannetta phones home

Classic Albums Live, 2015, OCT 17

Jimi Hendrix - Are You Experienced

Folsom, California

 

 

Toronto crew = Clifton and Mark Y.

 

Flight departed Toronto, arrived in San Francisco.

At Pearson airport it took almost 1.5 hrs from check-in to clearing customs.

This seems to becoming typical for US flights out of Pearson.

Arrived almost on schedule in San Francisco (10:30am-ish). Rental car was reserved by Tracy which was very important because there were people showing up with no reservation and no cars available.

Since we arrived the day before show, we took advantage of some San Fran sight-seeing. Awesome day !

Left San Fran about 5:30pm and arrived in Folsom about 8:30pm. There were some minor traffic delays and we stopped for a coffee.

Went to Hampton Inn in Folsom. Rooms are quite large and very comfortable. Would recommend same place in future.

Day of show lobby call was 1:30pm. The LA crew was also there at that time. All are very nice guys. Spent some time hugging and chatting.

LA crew = Blair-drums, Andrew-guitar, Matt-keys

Venue is less than 10 minutes from the hotel.

Arrived at venue just before 2pm. Met with Mary Carrera (booking/promoter) and got along very well.

Backline company arrived about 2:15-ish. Although they seemed to arrive a little late, they had things set up quickly and we were running sound check around 3pm-ish.

Sound check went pretty smoothly with John at FOH and Eduardo on monitors. I think Eduardo is also the stage manager.

Since sound check went fairly quickly, we were able to run through almost every song on the list. This helped us iron out a few bugs.

Afternoon snacks were available and dinner was provided at the venue.

Show time was 8pm. The band did a very good job and Clifton was awesome. There were some very minor imperfections but that’s gonna happen with 4 new guys. The audience seemed to really love the show and Mary was also very happy.

I didn’t get an official number from Mary, but she said we had most of the floor and first 2 rows of the balcony. My guess is it was about 600 people. See attached photos for venue.

Drove back to San Fran the next morning (3hrs) and flew back to Toronto. The drive from Folsom to San Fran was beautiful.

Me and Clifton would like to thank Tracy for sending us from Toronto to San Fran instead of the Buffalo to ????? to Sacramento.

Conclusion : Classic Albums Live put on a great show, the audience loved it, and me and Clifton had a lot of fun.

 

Mark

GIG

greetings all

i’ve written a musical

GIG

it debuts in toronto in february

at the panasonic theatre on yonge street

i’ve got a good feeling about it

the same way i felt when i started CAL

GIG is the story of five singers and their quest for the lights

alongside two agents and their quest for the money

four musicians play onstage - not in a pit - always interacting

and four ensemble members keep the scenes moving

they physically change the sets

it’s quite the production

the show unfolds like a concert

the twist is that GIG features the backstage onstage

we all get a peek at what goes on behind the scenes

there’s a lot of comedy

a lot of drama

and most importantly - a lot of music

music is the first star of GIG

GIG started out as a TV show

years ago shari and i were at a concert

we were in our seats watching all the pre show goings on

and shari said ‘this would make a great TV show’

i agreed and immediately started writing

i wrote 13 episodes

and wound up meeting with the big decision makers at all the canadian networks

everyone loved it

but nothing happened

i think a lot of that goes on in the TV world

so last summer - i’m up at rob’s cottage

lamenting the work vs. reward vs. hope dynamic

and rob says ‘turn it into a musical’

i agreed and immediately started writing

and recording the music

then i went to see the good people at mirvish

like minded people who love and care deeply for the arts

they loved GIG

and began walking me through the process of getting it to stage

i can’t say enough about mirvish

the legacy of the name alone has ensured quality and commitment 

that embodies the spirit of toronto

we’re up on sale right now

we’re doing a ‘soft launch’ - which means if you’re reading this

you can purchase preferred advance tickets at a discount

because this is a brand new canadian musical

i didn’t have any media to launch with

so i began casting early - drawing deep from the CAL pool

and we made a bunch of promotional videos

they’re all up on the site -  gigmusical.com

we had so much fun shooting them - lexi - as the groupie - is hilarious

there was a moment when we were having our initial meeting

all sitting around a table

i saw all these beautiful hopeful faces looking at me

there was a tangible vibe of aspiration

we all feel like we’re creating something special and important 

we all believe deeply in GIG

find some time and check out the web site

there’s a zen ticket button

and if you click it and follow through

you’ll be supporting the arts and the spirit of the toronto

you’ll be supporting performers musicians and actors 

and you’ll be supporting a dream 

that we all get to take part in

you can say - i was there when it launched

wish us luck

we’re finding our way 

shine on

craig martin

october 9, 2015

coffee and toast with peanut butter