Nick Edelstein

Posts Tagged ‘UGA’

GSPA ‘09 was “Most Successful Conference Yet”

Monday, October 5th, 2009

: Image via Wikipedia

I had the pleasure of returning to GSPA this year as their sole live performer / entertainment. I was very excited, having played the conference in 2007. The University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism hosts the Georgia Scholastic Press Association annually, in the Tate Student Center on UGA’s main campus.

Our trip to Athens was uneventful, as usual (hwy 316 can put you to sleep!) but the renovations to the Tate Student Center were eye-opening. It looked a million times more attractive than when I attended [school]. We set up our gear promptly, assisted by wonderful staff (thanks Karen!) and an intern from UGA’s Music Business program.

During the concert some journalism students snapped photos and took notes, then we did a Q&A session! An excellent article – written by the students – sums up the conference (click here to read the article).

Tags: Athens Georgia, Colleges and Universities, Education, georgia, GSPA, Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, journalism, MBUS, music business, Q&A, UGA, United States, University of Georgia
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First Live Radio Experience

Friday, October 19th, 2007

I had hoped to write this upon returning to Decatur – while the excitement was still fresh – but unfortunately that did not happen. Other obligations got in the way, as they always do. My good fortune to always be occupied is also my misfortune. So, you read correctly! I was live on WUGA 91.7 / 97.9 FM on Friday, October 12, 2007!!! The first time a song from my debut album aired was back in 2005 (wow!), and I have gotten a lot of airplay for my music since then, however this was the FIRST time I ever appeared live on a station! WUGA is the official NPR station for Athens-Clarke County (GA, USA). It’s known as “The Classic” station because of its NPR affiliation, however WUGA plays a lot of non-Classical music including weekly Jazz and Blues programs. I appeared on a show called It’s Friday which is a weekly program airing on Fridays from 4:00-5:00 PM. This was not only a great opportunity, but also a great time slot, as 4-5 PM is the start of rush hour! I can’t imagine how many new fans I made as eager listeners tuned in on their way home from work and school (Athens is home to the University of Georgia, hence the station’s call letters).

       When I arrived I was promptly greeted by the program’s host, Robb, who is a great guy and very pleasant company. He made me feel right at home in the recording room. It was a room too, not a booth – quite larger than I had expected with 20-foot ceilings and cement block walls. There were dozens of lighting cans hanging from the rafters. I later learned that the room was a television studio before the radio station took over (which also explained the ’green screen’ cloth backdrops and scattered ficus trees). Heather Purdin, who now lives in Boone, NC but used to live in Athens, went on before me. Well, actually I played an instrumental improvisation on my guitar during Robb’s opening remarks and then Heather proceeded with her interview. She performed three songs very beautifully. After the 30-minute mark it was my turn, and I felt very comfortable. I encourage all of you who missed the live broadcast to listen to the audio feed posted here. Comment! I thrive on fan feedback and criticism. Oh, I have video too but have not yet figured out how to convert it to a managable file size. Looking forward to your comments   ~NE

download these podcasts or use the streaming player on NEbula
Intro
Song 1
Song 2
Song 3
Interview
Song 4

Tags: 91.7, 97.9, Athens, Blues, Boone, broadcast, Clarke, Classical, Decatur, FM, Friday, georgia, Heather Purdin, interview, Jazz, live, NPR, performance, radio, The Classic, UGA, university, WUGA
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Friday morning, Oct. 12

Friday, October 12th, 2007

I think perhaps I have seen more than my share of 3 AMs at the young age of 24. My eyes are heavy but I can not rest. My mind races. These 48 hours are jam-packed with excitement and “firsts.” Last night I played a concert for the University of GA. As a student I recall dreaming of the day that I would return to entertain my alma mater. While the show did not take place in Hodgeson Hall, it was in the Grand Ballroom of the student center. Also, our concert was the opening event of a Georgia Scholastic Press Association conference – the inaugural year – so the audience was comprised of about 200 high school students. While this number does not approach my personal record, it was the best/biggest production I’ve ever done to that age group. Another exciting aspect of the show was performing as a 5-piece (drum/bass/guitar/organ/sax). While this was not the first time I’ve had a 5-pc. band, it was with some of the best musicians I’ve ever played with. And, thanks to a recent run of good luck, the 5-pc. setup is increasingly more common. When I began my solo project in 2004 I dreamt of someday having a permanent saxophonist and I feel that may soon happen. So, the audience was really awesome! We got tons of applause and cheers, and autograph requests. It was great. We took video. It’ll be online (on this blog) ASAP.

‘night ~NE

Tags: 5-piece, ballroom, GSPA, high school, Hodgeson, Press, sax, scholastic, Tate, UGA, video
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