Berklee Today

JUN 2012

Berklee today is the official alumni publication of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a forum for contemporary music and musicians.

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L.A. Newsbriefs WesFest 7 Raises $25,000 From the left: Dawaun Parker '05, Makeba Riddick '99, Keith Harris '99, and Berklee's Chief of Staff Carl Beatty participated in a February panel discussion on hip-hop and r&b; songwriting in West Los Angeles. This year opened with a slew of alumni events in Los Angeles, and one of the most inspiring was "Hip-Hop and R&B;: Songwriting and Production." Held at the historic Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, the event featured Grammy Award–winning alumni Makeba Riddick '99, Dawaun Parker '05, and Keith Harris '99 discuss- ing their creative process and career paths in a conversation moderated by Berklee's Chief of Staff to the President Carl Beatty. The at-capacity audience was treated to invaluable behind-the- scenes insights, anecdotes, and advice. Our Los Angeles alumni have been busily engaged in a range of profes- sional activities. Recording engineer Jorge Velasco '07 has been wrapping up a project produced by Phil Ramone for singer Matthew Morrison (of the TV series Glee) and a new album by Michael Bolton. He also engineered vocals for albums by Usher and Cher. In addition, he worked on the latest Pet Shop Boys album with producer and engineer Andrew Dawson '01. On the touring front, Angela Johnson-Swan '05 recently relocated to Montreal after being hired as the guitarist for Cirque du Soleil's new production "Amaluna." The company's Canadian tour kicked off in April 2012, and a U.S. tour is slated for 2013. Recently, alumni attending the ASCAP "I Create Music" Expo joined Peter Gordon and me for a special networking lunch. In attendance was notable guest alumnus Seth Saltzman '81, ASCAP's senior vice president for member management. Songwriter Femke Weidema '06 received the ASCAP Foundation's Harold Adamson Lyric Award in the pop music category. This award hon- ors talented writers who demonstrate an intelligent and sensitive use of lan- guage in the musical theater and pop and/or country genres. Weidema, who splits her time between Los Angeles and Nashville furnished her new Nashville studio with the award. In March, Jeremy Borum '05 copro- duced Dream Gallery with composer Mark Abel for the Delos label. The music, a 70-minute song cycle for full orchestra and vocal soloists, also fea- tures Borum on piano. For more, visit www.jeremyborum.com. The EPS Guitar Company has unveiled a new bass for Pancho Tomaselli '11. The signature series LTD PT-4 instrument is based on Tomaselli's custom specifications. He plays bass for War and can be heard on the group's 2008 Greatest Hits Live album. Tomaselli also plays with the alternative rock band Philm. For more on the new bass, visit www. espguitars.com/news/ spotlight-panchtomaselli.html. The album American Road by the Tierney Sutton Band (featuring Tierney Sutton '87 and Christian Jacob '86) received two Grammy nomina- tions this year. This disc was released on BFM Jazz, a division of BFM Digital, whose cofounder and CEO is Steven Corn '84. BFM Jazz also recently signed a deal with former Journey drummer Steve Smith '76, and his instrumental group Vital Information. A live album of Vital Information's best songs titled Live! One Great Night was released in May through BFM Digital and Universal/Fontana Distribution. The recording also features Baron Browne '79 on bass. For more information, visit www.bfmdigital.com. That's all for now. —Justine Taormino '06 Alumni Regional Representative, Los Angeles laalumni@berklee.edu The Aristocrats (from left to right) guitarist Guthrie Govan, drummer Marco Minnemann, and bassist Bryan Beller were the headliners for the March WesFest 7 concert. WesFest 7, the seventh annual WesFest benefit concert, took place at the Roxy in Los Angeles on March 4. More than 300 attendees enjoyed a four-hour concert that was memora- ble not only for its energy but also for its record-breaking fundraising results. The WesFest concert series is the centerpiece for a continuing fund- raising drive for the Wes Wehmiller Endowed Scholarship Fund, which honors the legacy of Wes Wehmiller '92, a Berklee graduate and highly accomplished bassist, athlete, and photographer who died of thyroid cancer in 2005. The March concert was head- lined by rock-fusion supergroup the Aristocrats, comprising guitar- ist Guthrie Govan (Asia, GPS, Dizzee Rascal), bassist Bryan Beller '92 (Steve Vai '79, Dethklok, Mike Keneally), and drummer Marco Minnemann (Steven Wilson, UKZ, Adrian Belew). The band's set also featured special guest guitarist and keyboardist Mike Keneally, on three roof-raising tunes. Keneally was the headliner at the very first WesFest concert and has participated in nearly every subse- quent show. In a long-standing WesFest con- cert tradition, the 2011 Wehmiller Scholarship winner performed at WesFest 7. London-born Berklee stu- dent Hayley Jane Batt wowed the crowd with her superior bass chops and vocal prowess. She anchored Danny Mo & the Exciters, featur- ing legendary drummer John "JR" Robinson '75 (Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Madonna, Eric Clapton), as well as singer/songwriter Kira Small '93 (Peter Frampton, Martina McBride) on lead vocals. The band was led by Bass Professor Danny Morris '78, Wehmiller's teacher and close friend. "John Robinson summed it up," Morris recalls, "when he said to Hayley, 'You can play, you can write, and you look great!'" Among other performers at WesFest 7 were musicians who knew and worked with Wehmiller during his 12 years in Los Angeles, including alumni Colin Keenan '93, Joe Travers '91, Griff Peters '93, Matt Rohde '91, and Chris Golden '95. Also joining the group was the first Wehmiller scholar- ship recipient, Will Snyder '06. Snyder and all the past recipients exemplify the continuing growth in the schol- arship that honors the memory of Wehmiller. This year, the concert and related efforts raised more than $25,000 for Wehmiller's scholarship. Since the concert's inception in 2006, the show has generated more than $120,000. —Peter Gordon '78 Director of Berklee Center in LA The 2012 Wes Wehmiller Scholarship winner Hayley Jane Batt and drummer John "JR" Robinson. Spring 2012 37 Photos by John Wehmiller

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