Camplified Blog

Archive for the ‘Guest Blogs’ Category

« Older Entries

Get Hooked On New Bands With Emerge Music Group

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

We recently met up with Ira Miller, founder of Emerge Music Group, who just so happened to turn us on to Camplified 2011 act, The Empty Pockets. Through Emerge, Ira helps bring emerging, up-and-coming musicians and bands to the forefront.  “Being in an independent band can be very overwhelming and disheartening,” says Josh Solomon of The Empty Pockets. “Thank goodness for people like Ira Miller of Emerge Music Group and Aimee Berger of Camplified. When I discovered people like Ira and Aimee putting so much effort into exposing completely unknown music to fans, it was both an emotional boost and an extremely helpful marketing tool.  I’m so glad Ira reach out to us and eventually introduced us to the fine folks at Camplified.”

If you’re someone who is always looking for that next talented, under-the-radar band, you should definitely be following Emerge on Facebook. And if you’re looking to get discovered and build a fan following, check out Ira’s tips below in this exclusive Q&A!

How did you come up with the idea for Emerge Music Group?
For about as long as I can remember, I always enjoyed finding that great new band before anyone else. And once I had heard them, I wanted to let other people know how great they were. I’ve been doing that informally for years and years and people started to look to me to find out about good new bands. But what really got the Emerge Music Group started was a realization that there are so many great bands out there and they are eager for people to hear their music. I’ve been on street teams for a number of bands (Guster, Jump, Little Children and others) over the years and almost 10 years ago I started volunteering with Aware Records‘ Rep Program which was a great experience. I got to help promote John Mayer before anyone knew who he was, sold merchandise for a wide variety of Aware-related artists and even got to spend a night helping backstage with Mat Kearney and his crew when he was on tour with Sheryl Crow and John Mayer. Before I started Emerge, I had a small “operation” called Nonprofit Promotions, and the goal of that project was to help connect bands that were looking for exposure with nonprofit organizations that were looking for bands for events or free/promotional CDs to give out as door prizes, etc. I did that for several years and distributed over 10,000 CDs to nonprofit events all over the country. After a while it became too difficult to find appropriate CDs to send to nonprofit organizations, so I started creating and duplicating my own CDs at home (with permission from the artists). One thing led to another and ultimately I realized that with the takeover of digital music, it didn’t make any sense to focus on creating physical CDs. Ultimately I started Emerge Music Group to help the bands that were on those CDs get their name and music out to more people.  That was the summer of 2007, and it’s been going strong ever since! I started with a few friends and family in the group and now at any given time we have between 750 and 800 people in the group on Facebook! (more…)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Camplified, Guest Blogs, Music | Comments Off

ShareThis
Back to Top

Exclusive Camplified Vlog From Jenny & Ashley!

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

Jenny & Ashley from the 2011 Camplified tour recently recorded the sweetest video blog for us! They dish on a hilarious moment that happened while on tour — check it out above. We miss you, too, Jenny & Ashley! Oh, and be sure to watch their hot new “Indescribable” music video here, featuring CAMPLIFIED!

Tags: ,
Posted in Guest Blogs, Music | Comments Off

ShareThis
Back to Top

A Day In The Life… Awesome Express

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Check out this amazing guest blog from Camplified 2011 band Awesome Express:

Our Camplified experience at Greenwood Trails in CT was awesome. As finalists in the 2010 Music On & Up Showcase series at the Boston Hard Rock Café, Awesome Express was selected by Camplified for a spot on the Camplified tour. We were so psyched when we heard we were chosen and saw a photo of our band on the Camplified tour bus! It was fantastic that Camplified supplied all of the backline. We were then able to all fit into our drummers’ minivan – three moms, the four members of our band and all of our instruments – for the long drive.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the tour manager, Dre, who brought us to the concert hall. Once inside, we were amazed by the state-of-the-art sound equipment and lights. The crew had already been there for some time setting up. We had a sound check and were blown away. We would like to thank Dre, Irene, Alex, Josh, the amazing sound man and his crew. We spent the entire day getting to know the wonderful campers of Greenwood Trails. The sponsors had some really cool booths set up and we played tug-of-war and other games with the campers and also attended the flag ceremony. William, known for his crazy curly hair, was a trooper and allowed the campers to style his hair with Monkey Brains! It was hysterical – until he realized the new ‘do would have to stay for the duration! The activities were fun because we were able to meet the campers and talk to them – lots were from other parts of the world and country, and certainly had never heard of Awesome Express! Chris, a diehard Celtics fan, found out you didn’t have to be from New England to be a Boston fan!

We had a quick dinner with the campers before the concert – we got the campers into a sing along of “Don’t Stop Believin’” to get them primed. The concert was amazing – we were on last, so by the time we got to the stage the crowd was already pumped from having enjoyed the cool sounds of Bera, the wonderful voice of Eva, and the phenomenal Varsity Girls! We are pretty energetic ourselves, so the combination was electrifying! The crowd was so supportive, screaming and dancing, we thought that this might be what its like to be famous!

The Meet and Greet was a great way to end the day. It was very cool! Camplified has been one of our most memorable experiences on our musical journey. We are now taking a short break while Charles Coleman and William finish their 5-week summer program at Berklee, Chris continues to jam with his friends and Charles Winston heads to his own overnight camp experience. We will be back at it before September, with a newly released CD and you will find us on iTunes by then. We hope our new fans will stay in touch with us on AwesomeExpressBand.com, Facebook, and twitter @awesomeexpress1!

Photos courtesy of Awesome Express.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Guest Blogs, Music | Comments Off

ShareThis
Back to Top

Guest Blog: Jessarae

Monday, May 16th, 2011

We’re pleased to announce that singer/songwriter Jessarae will be joining us for our 10th Anniversary tour this summer! Listen to some of his tunes now on Jessarae.com. He was so sweet to write a guest blog for us introducing himself. Check it out:

Hello Everyone!

I’m very excited to be a part of this year’s Camplified tour! I personally have never been to camp, so I look forward to not only performing for all of you, but also the experience of camp life! At the present time, I am in the middle of writing my new record and playing a lot of local shows in my hometown of Los Angeles.  By the time I get there, it’s really going feel like a vacation for me!

Please feel free to to visit my website www.jessarae.com or come say hi to me on facebook — I actually spend many hours personally writing back to my fans!! www.facebook.com/JESSARAEofficial

See you soon!! Peace and Love,

Jessarae

Tags:
Posted in Guest Blogs, Music | Comments Off

ShareThis
Back to Top

Guest Blog: Rachel Platten

Sunday, May 8th, 2011

Hey Friends!!

Although last summer seems years away now, the experience I had still warms me up like a giant sun whenever I think about it.

My experience on the tour was one of the most fun times I’ve had on my musical journey so far. Thomas Fiss kindly offered a spot in his van, so I got to ride with the boys, and (despite their lack of stopping for pee breaks) it was pretty excellent. The camps were such a wonderful reminder of my own positive experience at sleepaway camp (I attended Wicosuta in New Hampshire! :) ), and I absolutely loved arriving and taking the little tours around the activities and being reminded of being a kid again.

Every camp we visited had its own unique special thing about it, from climbing adventures to state of the art theatres, to beautiful lakes, to amazing athletic facilities. My drummer Craig and I felt like little kids again and wanted to take part in as many activities as possible (we were literally heartbroken upon being told that no, due to insurance purposes, we couldn’t be harnessed into the amazing trampoline-majig contraption at the Ivy League Day Camp in Long Island — that thing looked SO fun!).

And then there was the music. Ahh…

Playing for you guys was wonderful. You were such enthusiastic but mature listeners, such supportive fans, and fantastic participators. I loved having everyone sing along with me in my song “Some People Don’t Have A Clue” (hey, I guess it resonated! haha) and “Nothing Ever Happens.” I loved getting the honor of signing CDs for you guys and getting to meet so many of you and hearing YOUR stories.  I truly feel like I got to make friends along the road, many who have kept up with me on my adventures since the summer!!

So what HAVE I been up to, you ask? :) A lot, you guys!!! This year has been a dream come true, on so many levels.

After coming back from Sweden where I finished my record, I signed a record deal with Rock Ridge Music (ADA/WARNER MUSIC GROUP) & we planned for the April release of my record, Be Here. To build it up, I did a 46-date college tour this winter and spring, which you can read about on my Facebook page.

The record came out on April 26th, reached #4 on the iTunes charts, #6 on the Amazon Movers and Shakers list, was featured on the home page of the Deli, Paste, NY Examiner, LA Examiner, Portland Examiner, and much much more. It’s been a dream come true so far.  Honestly. I never in my wildest imagination could have dreamed up such amazing support (many of it from YOU guys), and I am so happy that the music has been resonating with people and reaching them. I just want to spread love to as many people as possible (as dumb and cheesy as it sounds, it’s true!). :) So if you want to help me spread the word, you guys can check out the new record on iTunes here or order directly from my merch store on RachelPlatten.com & tell friends!

We’ll also be doing a 3-month-long BE HERE tour around America joining up with some of my talented friends and hitting New England, the Southeast, Midwest, and hopefully the West Coast later this summer! Please check out tour dates on my website and come to a show if it’s in your town. It would be so wonderful to see your pretty faces again!

Well my loves, that is all from me! I am so grateful to have had the chance to meet all of you guys and play for you. I absolutely love writing songs & performing them for audiences like you guys is just the beautiful icing on top. Thank you for allowing me to (hopefully) spread some sunshine to you!

Lots and lots of love,
Rachel

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Guest Blogs, Music | Comments Off

ShareThis
Back to Top

Guest Blog: Highbench

Sunday, January 30th, 2011

Alternative/rock group Highbench hit up a few dates on the 2010 Camplified Tour last summer, and judging from bass player Andrew Western’s guest blog, they had a blast! Highbench is also on the Primary Wave Music Publishing roster, a company that manages the annual Camplified Tour. Andrew sent us the sweetest email after the tour, saying, “I wanted to say ‘Thank You’  and ‘Congrats’ on another successful Tour. We had so much fun! :) I wish we could have done all the dates. I personally took a lot of pictures, and video that is now being edited, which will be up on our site very soon.” We were psyched to have you guys, Andrew! After that, I just had to ask the guys of Highbench to write a guest blog for Camplified.com; check it out:

Having grown up in Alpine, Utah (with few opportunities to attend summer camps other than Boy Scouts), the notion of attending such a camp made us nostalgic of watching clips of THE PARENT TRAP (1961) when we were younger. We wondered if our Camplified experience would be similar — as we laughed conjuring up images of what a typical east coast summer camp might be like — and how the kids attending would respond to us.

Once we got the full scope of the CAMPLIFIED tour, we were pleasantly surprised to discover that the concept was actually quite brilliant, and we had high hopes for a successful outcome.

The highlight of the tour, of course, is the interaction with all the kids, and how each camp is different, and unique in itself. Not to mention the great reaction from all the kids while performing our set. The most memorable moment was inviting a 9-year-old (we met 20 minutes before we went on) to the stage to play “Sunday Bloody Sunday” on the guitar. It was his idea, so we supported the backup, and he rocked it! All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the overall Camplified experience and honestly — we would do it again in a heartbeat. We had such a great time playing Camplified this last summer.

Cheers,
Hb

Click here to preview and purchase Highbench’s latest EP, Borders and Boundaries, on iTunes. Photos above courtesy of Highbench.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Guest Blogs, Music | Comments Off

ShareThis
Back to Top

Guest Blog: Camp Echo Director & Camp Craze CEO

Friday, September 10th, 2010


Photos courtesy of Greg Leddy and Camp Echo.

Greetings from Long Island, NY! The 2010 summer may be coming to an official end, and fall is certainly upon us, but memories from the camp season will stay with us forever. Autumn is certainly a great time to reflect on the memorable moments that made this summer great! I should probably introduce myself, my name is Scott Rosenbluth, and I am one of the Directors at Camp Echo and the CEO at Camp Craze. Essentially, summer camp is my life, and I love waking up everyday to go to work FOR YOU, the campers!

I wanted to pop into the Camplified blog and tell you about one of my favorite memories from this past camp season. On July 29, 2010, the Camplified Tour rolled through the Echo gates in Bloomingburg, NY, and delivered an incredible afternoon of great music, entertainment, and a unique experience that is very rarely seen so up close and personal — especially at a SUMMER CAMP! Throughout the day, our campers and staff enjoyed interactive activities while hanging out with members of the Camplified crew and bands… How cool is that!? After a quick afternoon snack and a photo shoot with Thomas Fiss, we brought the entire camp to our Cabin Field where Highbench, Six Volt, Cody Simpson and Thomas Fiss rocked the house (well, field, but you get the point) on our stage overlooking the lake. Seeing our campers and staff rock out to Cody Simpson was something I will never forget, and if that vision didn’t do it, hearing “iYiYi” in the Dining Hall everyday, twice a day, certainly did!

Speak of Dining Hall, that’s where we went next so campers could attend the Meet & Greet with all of the bands, take some photos, get autographs, and walk away with some pretty neat stuff. It was the perfect end to another great Camp Echo day.

I have always loved the Camplified concept and am truly excited about the big 10th year! I need to send a really big shout out to Aimee and her crew who did an unbelievable job for us! Thank you for helping to make memorable moments for us this summer. I am sure you will be hearing from me again at some point down the road right here on the Camplified blog!

Signing Off For Now,
Scott

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Camplified, Guest Blogs, Music, Summer Camps | 1 Comment »

ShareThis
Back to Top

Ashlyne Huff: Guest Reporter Video

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

One of Ashlyne Huff’s guest reporters shot this super-cute video of Ashlyne at Rolling River Day Camp on August 6! The featured song in the video is called “Comeback,” off Ashlyne’s self-titled debut album. Ashlyne also just announced that she will soon start writing and recording her album and will be doing a live video chat with fans this Friday, Aug. 27 at 5pm EST, so be sure to check it out!

Tags: ,
Posted in Guest Blogs, Music | 1 Comment »

ShareThis
Back to Top

Guest Blog: Ashlyne Huff

Tuesday, August 10th, 2010

Singer/songwriter Ashlyne Huff spent a couple days at camp last week on the Camplified tour — she had such a blast! She even sent the Camp Crew the sweetest email, saying, “Thank you so much! Camplified is such a great idea, and I personally loved getting to do a different kind of show for a change. The campers were awesome, and I loved every minute. I hope to do a lot more in the future!” After reading that, I just had to ask her to write a guest blog on her experience at Rolling River in Oceanside, NY, and Camp Westmont in Poyntelle, PA:

Dear childhood, Why did I never get to go to camp? What I saw at Rolling River and Westmont made realize what I was missing all those summers! Don’t get me wrong, I loved all my dance competitions and everything, but it would have been great to have attended either of these camps at least one time! Camplified was just icing on the cake for me, personally. I could go to camp and play with every child, every teenager, and hang out with all the counselors and be JUST fine but no, I get to perform and sing for them! The music I write is for everyone young and old. It’s not about the words, it’s about having fun and dancing around and singing along. It may be my “job” but it’s not serious business — especially when you get to be around such cool kids! I got to decorate Stardoll T-shirts at Westmont and spend some quality time with the campers signing lots of autographs at Rolling River, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing. All I can say is that I BETTER BE BACK SOON! Kids, remember every moment… these summers you get to spend with your best friends and the best counselors! Life is good!

Love, Ash

Click here to watch Ashlyne’s music video for her hit single, “Heart Of Gold,” and/or purchase her debut album on iTunes. We’ll miss you, Ashlyne!

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Guest Blogs, Music, Summer Camps | 2 Comments »

ShareThis
Back to Top

Guest Blog: Six Volt Visits Camp Arrowhead

Friday, July 30th, 2010

When we found out that Six Volt’s guitarist, Granger, attended Camp Arrowhead in Marlboro, NJ, back in the day, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have him guest blog about his experience rocking out at camp last week. Six Volt played alongside Cody Simpson, Thomas Fiss and alternative/rock band Hollander, and the campers loved it! Check it out, through the eyes of Granger:

I remember when I was only six years old, playing and learning back at Camp Arrowhead. I never thought that I would return only to play a huge concert eight years later! As I roamed around the camp with the other SIX VOLT band members, I would point out the places where I used to hang out as a child. I felt so at home, but that was probably because I literally was but only 20 minutes away from where I grew up. Coming back to Camp Arrowhead was great — it sort of felt like I was simply jumping in my shed in the backyard and putting on a performance for the neighbors. I felt an immediate connection with the audience. It was like I already knew them, as if we were all fellow cabin mates. That’s the best thing about Camplified; I always feel like I’m just hanging out with a bunch of my friends. I love this tour in particular, because I can be just another member of the audience watching another artist like Cody Simpson or Thomas Fiss, cheering them on. It’s a great feeling in general because I know every other band feels the same way. You are just so connected and so at home that you don’t even worry about putting on a great show. You naturally will because you are so comfortable with the audience, it doesn’t matter. Everyone just wants to have fun! The campers and staff are so nice and incredible.

Camp Arrowhead, we will be back. Thank you for having us, it was awesome!!

Granger Whitelaw, Jr.
Guitar & Vocals, Six Volt

Photos clockwise from upper left: Six Volt band member Robby promoting the band, Six Volt rocks out on stage, Cody Simpson performs, Camplified crew members hard at work, Hollander jams, the campers having a blast, Granger with Thomas Fiss and Joey (winner of the signed PRS guitar), Meet & Greet with Cody Simpson, Six Volt and Thomas Fiss, Cody poses with Joey and Granger. Photos courtesy of Six Volt. Click image to view in full.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Camplified, Guest Blogs, Music, Summer Camps | 3 Comments »

ShareThis
Back to Top
« Older Entries