05/28/2022
https://youtu.be/UuuB_ouVw9Y
10 years ago today I had the amazing honor to produce a concert on top an ACTIVE United States Aircraft Carrier LIVE on SIRIUS XM national radio, docked in the NYC harbor for “FLEET WEEK”!
The band consisted of 3 college students and 2 amazing solo artists who my company has bleeped to manage. 2 of the students were in the Music Technology program I created, at Stevens Institute Of Technology.
While I was inside a radio studio at Sirius XM‘s headquarters in New York City a woman was telling what she does to help young soldiers who just completed their term and could not find a job in America. She was a philanthropist named Cynthia Artin. I just finished my very special 20 song DVD which I titled”Smart Trax®️“ I was given a very rare award by the head of the United States department of justice for creating “positive messages through music“ for the youth of the nation, and this DVD was a sampling of the project I have been working on for 20 years.
She boldly turned to me and said that she wanted me to produce “PROJECT ELEVEN”! With obvious curiosity I asked what she meant? She said encourage 11 college age bands across America to each right one song to give tribute to our soldiers who have either risked or lost their lives since 9/11, and, release it on 11/11/11 “VETERANS DAY”, and give all the proceeds if any to the “Wounded Warriors” foundation
If you came to my studios next day and met the executors of my student run record company who have recently run out of money to do anything commercial because no one buys music anymore. They quickly jumped on this and took it on to be the project for this year with great furver. We actually launched it on 11/11/11 at 11:11 am The concert on our campus.
In January 2012 I got a bizarre phone call from a new attorney at the campus asking if this was a nonprofit venture. And with pride I responded yes it is it’s helping our soldiers. She shut down our record company! (This has one of many many unique circumstances I witnessed with the upper administration over the years, The President of the University was recently fired, which I had nothing to do with, you can go and Google it to find out the reasonings.)
Moving forward on a “positive note“ in May 2012 I was approached by Me. Webb who is the host of this radio program with his opportunity and these five amazing musicians decided to form a band for the event. There is another band that my friend Mark Barash was managing who joined in. Now to add some frustration to the venture because it supposed to be about goodness, the day before Mr. Webb came to my studio and was frantic because he said that the United States Navy didn’t have a sound system and that if you wanted to do the show we now have to pay like $11,000 for a sound system. So the three of us as producers had to split that and pay cash to make this event happen. I had no problem because it’s for our soldiers but the principle here was definitely to be questioned !
On Saturday of memorial weekend it happened, and one hour before the ship lost electricity and we could not do a proper soundtrack! Fortunately I hired the best LIVE sound engineer, Mr. Rob Harari, who I had also hired and groomed to become a professor in my program. We pulled it off with just is a couple of minor glitches due to the circumstance, and it was a great honor for the students and a wonderful tribute to our well deserving soldiers!
Every single one of these musicians is particular, and I can only wish them well in their careers today as they move forward in the entertainment industry!
More at
http://www.getsmarttrax.com/ProjectEleven.html
On May 26, 2012, Joy Medina and the band SpeckTrum, gave a world premiere performance of the Anthem "Brave New American Heroes" on the USS Aircraft Carrier/A...
