Life Inside the TLA: Meet Ticket Window Andy Riehs.
Text and image by Megan Matuzak.
The Theater of the Living Arts has been Andy Riehs’ stomping ground since he was 11, when he would sneak into shows to see bands like Simple Plan and Good Charlotte.
A Northeast Philly native, Riehs would hop onto buses and the El just to stand in the warm glow of the TLA’s stage lights.
He was around the venue so often that the bouncers and manager of the venue took notice. They eventually offered him a job in security.
“I’ve had people throw up on me, pee on me, curse at me,” Riehs says with a chuckle. “When I did security out front, I had a guy try to sneak in 20 cans of beer in his cowboy boots. That was insane.”
Now 24, he stations himself in the box office at the TLA, which is always bustling. The phone rings off the hook with ticket sales and furious patrons who won’t take “sold out” for an answer.
He works alongside his father, Andrew Sr. and sister Rachel.
The Riehs family is the first thing you see when you arrive at the TLA. Andy Riehs and his sister man the ticket booth, handling will call and questions. Their father scans tickets and pats down the eager concert goers. If anyone gives Andrew Sr. beef, you can best be sure that his son has his back.
Riehs’ father also runs Riehs Florist in Northern Liberties, a family-owned shop that opened in 1885. It is no surprise that life in the flower shop and at the TLA overlap frequently. Ok Go once requested their instruments and mic stands be covered in flowers, which were supplied by the family business. Hip hop artists like Young Jeezy call on Riehs’ family for single roses they hand out to the lucky ladies in the crowd begging to be serenaded.
When he’s not at the TLA, Andy Riehs often positions himself in front of his police scanner.
“I really love music and the TLA but originally, I wanted to be a cop,” Riehs notes. “I used to listen to the police scanner with my grandmom. She got me hooked.”
He’s always had an interest in law enforcement as his uncle is a SWAT team member. But don’t be mistaken – Riehs doesn’t plan on blowing his spot at the TLA for the police academy anytime soon. He plans to climb the ranks in the music business, hopefully doing production and booking at the TLA.
“I’m always here,” Riehs says with a wide grin on his face. “I love it. No one knows the TLA quite as well as I do.”
Meet the Music Video Makers: Bands in the Backyard.
Text by Cary Carr. Image courtesy of Kyle Costill.
Over the past few months, Kyle Costill’s small backyard has been receiving a lot of visitors. A series of Philadelphia bands, one designated for each month of the year, have been setting up there and performing for the up-and-coming project, Bands in the Backyard.
Costill teamed up with David Kain to create the web project, in which episodes of the outdoor sessions are posted alongside up, close and personal backstage clips with various bands before they perform.
A former musician with the band Trouble Everyday, Costill conceived of the project with a goal in mind – to put musicians and artists in a situation they’re not used to, while providing viewers with a unique and musical visual of the transition of seasons.
While trying to showcase all the great talent in Philly, Costill makes an effort to pick bands with their own distinctive sounds.
“There’s not just one type of style that’s making Philly cool,” Costill says as he gushes over bands he’s already shown off – Summer Fiction, Ports of Call, Faux Slang, Streetwalkers, Oh Pears!, Arc in Round and Break It Up.
Although not trained in videography himself, Costill isn’t afraid to pick up the camera. But he also has an extensive team behind the BITBY movement, including his younger brother Tyler, who often brings along a film crew from Drexel University.
Costill, a full-time graphic designer, wants to turn BITBY into his full-time career by generating a collaborative effort between photographers, videographers and creative thinkers. The entrepreneur says he has high hopes that the project will enable viewers to see what bands really go through while simultaneously inspiring musicians to continue doing what they love: creating music.
“In video, you can get moments where you can really see how into it the band is,” Costill says. “There could be little victories for everyone.”
Meet the Music Video Makers: On Canvas.
Text by Cary Carr. Image by Ashley Hall.
By intertwining musical performances with interviews and intimate biographical information, WHYY’s Emmy Award-winning program On Canvas breaks ground, creating thoughtful content that entertains as well as it informs.
“We like to think of it as a behind the scenes look, with interviews with the artist that you would maybe never hear anywhere else,” says associate producer Lisa Gray. “You might find out something interesting about them that they never told anyone else.”
Now in its fifth season, producer Steve Kwasnik and Gray, along with staffers Trudi Brown and Pete Scaffidi, are thinking of new, innovative ways to showcase artists performing at venues around the region.
Take for example their recent episode with jazz pianist and North Philadelphia native Jimmy Amadie. The well-known musician played for the first time in 46 years at a concert at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The episode, which took about one month to produce, shared Amadie’s intimate back story on his battle with tendonitis, told between footage of the emotional performance.
Although On Canvas features nationally recognized artists, the producers take pride in their Philadelphia musicians.
“Someone who is local and has gone out and made a big name for themselves, we of course have a special affinity towards,” Kwasnik explains. “We’re always like, ‘Well, if they’re from Philly, we have to be able to shoot them.’”
For the kickoff of On Canvas’ fifth season, they documented In the Pocket, a music project featuring a collection of Philadelphian music legends. The episode featured The Hooters’ David Uosikkinen, who leads the project in which they record the “essential songs of Philadelphia.” Former Hooters Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian were joined by Tommy Conwell, Jeffrey Gaines, Cliff Hillis, Graham Alexander and Richard Bush, among others. Proceeds from In the Pocket sales benefit Philadelphia’s Settlement Music School.
Other episodes have documented a wide variety of artists, from Buckwheat Zydeco to Ra Ra Riot, Dr. Dog to George Winston.
“I think once people see the show,” Gray says, “they’ll learn so much about the artist and what the person’s all about that once their name comes up again in conversation, they’ll have a lot to say.”
Meet the Music Video Makers: Gianni Lee.
Text by Cary Carr. Image by G.W. Miller III.
It’s almost impossible to keep up with Gianni Lee as he explains his long list of projects: owner of clothing line Babylon Cartel & CO., self-taught DJ, music video producer and creative manager for Jade Alston, among other projects. He’s the epitome of a self-made entrepreneur and this 25-year old is just beginning his journey to fame.
Lee’s interest in music peaked after he enrolled at Temple University. After learning the basics of video production and combining that with the creative skills he developed at Philadelphia’s Charter High School for Architecture and Design, Lee created Babylon Cartel, a clothing line paired up with original music video content.
“Fashion and music can co-exist because a lot of times, people try to make money off it,” Lee says, taking a break from checking his Twitter account. “I try to merge the projects together.”
In 2011, Chill Moody asked Lee to shoot a music video for his song, “My Eyes.” Lee improvised the concept and edited the content, working alongside the hip hop artist. Lee also produced videos for R&B singer Jade Alston as well as Paris Artelli.
“In this day and age, we’re very visual,” Lee explains. “It takes much more to captivate us than it ever did before, so you need creative people to come across and just keep thinking of wild ways of making videos.”
While Lee aspires to become an international DJ, he says his love for Philly and its exploding electronic music scene will keep him here.
“I like the hustle of Philly,” Lee states. “Philly has its ups and downs but in 2011 there were a lot of young people coming up and they’re making their own way.”
Meet the Music Video Makers: Mr. Green.
Text by Cary Carr. Image by Grace Dickinson.
Philadelphia is a goldmine according to Aaron Green. With the amount of everyday talent you can find on any given corner, the hip hop producer, better known as Mr. Green, has world of raw material to work with. His innovative video series “Live from the Streets” is just starting to take off and take hip hop in a whole new direction.
Green, 29, has been producing and mixing beats for 10 years. After creating his first album, The Only Color that Matters is Green and producing songs featured on MTV’s The Jersey Shore, the classic hip hop fanatic is ready to introduce our city to something out of the ordinary. Read more…
Meet the Music Video Makers: Dan Centrone.
Text by Cary Carr. Image by Grace Dickinson.
Dan Centrone sits on his computer, scrolling through music videos featuring breakthrough artists like hip hop sensations Kid Ink, Travis Porter and Jahlil Beats. He knows every word, every transition and every scene, inside and out. He knows because he’s the one who brought their records to life.
Centrone, 20, already runs his own business, Dan Centrone Films, and he receives requests from artists all over who need him to make their songs go viral. His work has been topping the charts on YouTube and even featured on major music websites like AltPress.com and XXLMag.com. Read more…
Ground Up: The Headliners.
Text by Sofiya Ballin. Top image by Michael Beon. Bottom image by Caitlin Morris.
The home of Philly’s hip hop trio Ground Up is reminiscent of a frat house. As soon as you step through the door, you’re hit with the feeling of haste, the smell of smoke and immense amounts of testosterone.
Frank Santella, one of the group’s managers, runs up and down the staircase, rounding up the crew – Bij Lincs, Malakai McDowell and Al Azar, so they can head off to the studio. Azar, one of the two MCs of the group, is the last to get in the car. He smokes his joint and looks out the window as the car speeds off. Between puffs, he describes the differences between regular Al and Azar, the performer. He makes it clear that Azar is in no way a persona.
“Azar is Al but he’s a little more outgoing,” he explains. “Azar has to have a smile on his face all the time.” Read more…
Adventuredrum: The Drums of Tomorrow, Today.
It could be said that every city needs a dance band, or that every dance band needs a city to call home.
Brand new dance troupe/ project Adventuredrum combines upbeat drumming styles and sampled sounds with a twist on big band mentality, says creator Christopher Powell, who also performs with Man Man and Icy Demons. The band debuted Friday at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of their Art After 5 series.
“Here’s the great thing about it [Adventuredrum]: It introduces you to a whole new group of people who you have never met, and new friendships come out of it,” Powell explains. “I’m sure next time there will be a whole other, more expanded invite list because of meeting new people through this.”
Adventuredrum is a testament to Powell’s philanthropic focus on everything drum-related. The project has surpassed hypothetical “bar talk” to become a fusion of the collective spirit of Philly and the spectacle of many drummers, backed by synthesizers and eventually, artists from all reaches of the arts.
The Art After 5 opportunity was too irresistible for Powell to pass up. Through Adventurdrum, the worlds of artists, musicians and performers collide to create a unique vibe, according to Powell. Collective DIY couldn’t be more Philly.
“Composing for such a large group tends to be pretty loose,” he says. “There is a ton of room to play around. It is kinda a fun social experiment. Everyone is able to do what they want to do but I give them relatively simple guidelines.”
Powell describes the musical themes as dancey but there are also more conceptual themes intertwined. When a bunch of drums get together, it ends up being a spectacle, much like Powell’s experiences with The Boredom’s 77 BOADRUM in New York. Adventuredrum aims to share that spectacle.
Friday’s performance, which also featured the West Philadelphia Orchestra, will be the jumping off point for outdoor summer shows and an opportunity for even more of Philly’s artistic community to contribute Adventuredrum.
– Text by Megan Matuzak.
Check out the new videos for Prowler‘s “Skinny Bones” (above) and The Heat Run‘s “Rise” (below).
City Rain: “Real Good.”
Check out the new video from our friends at City Rain.
JUMP: The Philly Music Project 