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Posts Tagged ‘cartoon network’

Camplified Founder Aimee Brings The Rock To KSA

Friday, July 16th, 2010

Last May, I was heading to Central Park on my bike like I do every year to join the Skier family (of AMSkier Insurance) and many of their friends for the TD Bank Five Boro Bike Tour, which helps support the American Diabetes Association. As I was on my way to meet the group, I noticed an incredibly tall man and a petite woman by his side speaking to Henry Skier. Both faces looked very familiar, but I couldn’t place them right away — maybe because it was 8am in the morning, and I don’t like to be up before the crack of noon (especially on a Sunday). I began to wake up real fast when I realized that this couple was Marc and Caroline White, the directors of Kutsher’s Sports Academy, the camp I attended over 25 years ago! Memories from camp flashed through my head and in typical Aimee fashion, all I wanted to do was chat them up about camp, old friends, counselors and the latest on the new spot in Great Barrington, MA, where the camp is now located.

Fast forward to last Sunday, when the opportunity came to be that Camplified, in its ninth season, would roll onto the new KSA property — sound crew in truck, staff in Camplified van, followed caravan-style by Thomas Fiss’ branded Samsung van, Rachel Platten and Highbench. This would mark the first time that Camplified would embrace Kutsher’s, as well as my first time back at camp since the 1980s, a place that shaped many parts of my life, my brother’s and many of our Florida friends. Driving up to camp, along the windy roads, I nearly jumped out of my skin with enthusiasm, as if I was back on the bus so many years ago, pulling into camp with all my friends. And then there was that moment, where you realize your not 13 anymore, you are grown up and in front of you rests the place that inspired Camplified in its entirety. It was so surreal — the tears rolling down my face partially attributed to happy childhood memories of camp and also the reality of what my life was like back then. I remembered Parents’ Day at camp, when my grandmother was still alive and she would accompany my parents to see all the activities her grandchildren were enjoying at summer camp. It amazes me how fast we all grow up. (more…)

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Camplified Loves Black Bear Lake

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

The Camplified vans rolled into Clarksburg, NJ, to visit Black Bear Lake Day Camp on Thursday, and not surprisingly, the campers were STOKED! Pop rock brother/sister duo Michael and Marisa brought the rock, along with Josiah Rea and others. Our photos say it all:

Photos clockwise from upper left: Black Bear Lake welcomes Camplified, Josiah Rea hangin’ with the ladies, campers go ga-ga over WAT-AAH!, Michael and Marisa rock out, chillin’ at the Cartoon Network tent, Marisa beats the drums, Josiah and Michael teaching at the guitar clinic sponsored by Gibson Guitars, Michael and Marisa signing autographs. Photos courtesy of Greg Leddy. Click image to view in full.

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Camplified Hits Eagle River Day Camp

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

Yo, yo! Eagle River Day Camp got all Camplified ‘n’ stuff last Wednesday, despite the scorching Northeast heat! The campers stayed cool with some WAT-AAH!, Juicy Juice and sick beats from Thomas Fiss and the Camplified gang. Here, see for yourself:

Photos clockwise from upper left: Campers chill by the Camp Van during morning announcements, more Eagle River announcements, Camplified’s Assistant Tour Manager Tim Sharkey with Eagle River Day Camp Program Coordinator Bonnie Weinstein, campers learn guitar at a music clinic, Thomas Fiss rocks the crowd as usual, Cartoon Network Q&A session, Thomas Fiss goofs off with the Eagle River staff, beatin’ the heat with some Juicy Juice. Photos courtesy of Greg Leddy, Aimee Berger and Samsung Gravity. Click image to view in full.

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YAY! Free Things!

Friday, July 9th, 2010

Who doesn’t love freebies? We here at Camplified sure do… and the best part? We wanna share it all with all of you! Head on over to Twist Magazine to enter to win one of five Camplified Prize Packs (pictured above)! Just leave ‘em some love and a comment on this post to be entered to win some cool stuff from Stardoll, Scholastic, Cartoon Network and more.

That’s not all! Starting today, we’ll be hosting a Camplified Freebie Friday on our @Camplified Twitter, where we’ll be giving away something super cool to our Twitter followers. Anyone and everyone can enter (campers and non-campers!), as long as you live in the United States and well, anything else that is mentioned in our Camplified Contest Rules. Today we’ve got an iPod Shuffle courtesy of EdisonLearning up for grabs! Simply re-tweet this message before midnight tonight, follow @Camplified on Twitter and you’re automatically entered to win! Winners will be notified via direct message, so I can get your address to send out the prize. Woohoo! We’ve also got some other cool stuff to give away in the coming weeks from Stardoll, Juicy Juice, signed CDs from our Camplified musicians and tons more. Yay for free stuff!!!

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NOW ANNOUNCING THE CAMPLIFIED 2010 TOUR

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

With Atlantic Recording Artist Cody Simpson

Entering Its Ninth Season On The Road, The Camplified Tour Will Be Playing In Front Of
More Than 30,000 Teens And Tweens At Over 30 Different Summer Camps Across The Nation

NEW YORK, NY — Ready to embark on its ninth summer tour, Camplified is set to rock teens and tweens at over 30 camps across the United States, July 5 through August 13. Each tour stop features a host of talented musicians and bands, along with a broad spectrum of some of today’s hottest brands and corporate sponsors. The result is a true VIP concert experience, complete with meet and greets, contests, giveaways and more.

The brainchild of music executive Aimee Berger, Camplified originated in 2001 when Berger, frustrated by the lack of finances devoted to artist development within the record industry, created a grassroots marketing effort that could benefit more than just emerging musicians. Berger partnered with Primary Wave Music in 2008 to expand the Camplified experience with corporate sponsors, as well as create a broad digital community at Camplified.com where campers, bands and brands are able to interact and stay in touch long after summer camp ends.

The 2010 music schedule for Camplified highlights an array of talented up-and-comers, including new Atlantic recording artist Cody Simpson. With nearly 6 million views on YouTube, Simpson recently released his first single, “iYiYi,” featuring Flo Rida. This will be his first public tour. “I am so excited to go on my first-ever tour,” enthuses Simpson. “Having the opportunity to perform live is something I’ve been dreaming about since I first started playing guitar and singing.” (more…)

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This Just In…

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

CAMPLIFIED PARTNERS WITH PRIMARY WAVE MUSIC

Playing In Front Of 40,000 Teens And Tweens At Over 35 Different Camps

NEW YORK, NY, August 24, 2009 —In its 8th and most successful summer, the CAMPLIFIED tour played in front of 40,000 teens and tweens at over 35 different camps. CAMPLIFIED is a nationally recognized musical endeavor, providing teens and tweens at summer camps the experience of a rock concert, complete with the VIP/backstage experience.

The brainchild of Aimee Berger and Carl Freed (of Trevanna Entertainment), CAMPLIFIED was conceived in 2001 when Berger, frustrated by the dwindling monies being set aside for artist development within the record industry, had the idea to get back to grass-roots marketing.

“I started reminiscing about the good old days at summer camp,” recalls Berger. “I wanted to put a tour together that would bring emerging artists into the camps where there’s a captive and receptive audience.”

Berger partnered with Primary Wave Music in 2008 to help expand the Camplified brand with sponsors and create a digital community, www.camplified.com for campers online. “The CAMPLIFIED event is a unique marketing vehicle for both brands and bands during the summer, but best of all, the digital community being constructed at Camplified.com will allow the bands, brands and campers to interact long after camp ends,” says Berger.

At CAMPLIFIED events, the campers are able to interact with the performers, and participate inage-appropriate sponsored activities such as a Rock Band Competition presented by MTV Rockband. This year, other sponsors included Little Brown Books, Cartoon Network, YuGiOh, Scholastic Books, Ian’s Natural Foods, HP Computers and Sonicbids.

Lisa Ickowicz of Little Brown Books says, “It’s great for the sponsoring companies because they are able to reach their target audience to promote products while also adding to the kids’ camp experiences.” Ickowicz adds that the company wanted to jump on board because CAMPLIFIED events seemed like the perfect place to merge different forms of art, “It’s a great situation for the kids because not only are they having fun at camp, but they get the added experience of seeing a great new band or meeting a favorite author”.

Doug Pierce, the owner/director of the Pierce Country Day Camp said, “CAMPLIFIED did an outstanding job involving the kids,” says Pierce. “Their artists were camper-friendly. It really became an interactive event.”

The bands/artists included Jaicko, 2AM Club, Kicking Daisies, Duke Squad, Loomis and the Lust, Lauren Frost, Jersey Kidz, Misha Williams, Lansdowne, Taylor Bright, Phil Bensen, Rick Seibold and Faces Without Names.

Press Contacts:
Primary Wave Music
Justin Shukat
212.661.6990
jshukat@primarywavemusic.com

Tiffany Bakker
tiffanybakker@y7mail.com

About Primary Wave Music Publishing and Marketing

Primary Wave is one of the largest music publishers and music marketers in the United States. It is a global music company that markets its unique repertoire, which includes an interest in the Beatles songs written by John Lennon, the catalogs of Kurt Cobain/Nirvana, Steven Tyler/Aerosmith, Daryl Hall & John Oates, Robert Lamm, Jimmy Pankow, and Lee Loughnane of the band Chicago, Maurice White (Earth, Wind & Fire), Steve Earle, Lamont Dozier, Daniel Johnston, Bo Diddley, Holly Knight, Sara and Janna Allen, Justin Furstenfeld/Blue October, Six Degrees, Marvin Hamlisch, The Matrix music production team, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and approximately 3,000 titles from a major film music publishing catalog as well as a 50% interest in the original music company Think Music.net, a joint venture with Pulse Music. In addition, Primary Wave has co-publishing deals with The Airborne Toxic Event, Anberlin, Saving Abel, Shwayze, Albert Hammond Jr, New Boyz, John Forte, The Boxer Rebellion, Matt Serletic and Emblem Music Group, Saxon Shore, Steve Morales, Taddy Porter, and The HitterZz as well as marketing and administration agreements with Graham Parker, Katrina and The Waves, Reveille, Evolution Entertainment/Twisted Pictures, QED, Team Baby Entertainment, Andy Razaf, Reggie Watts, Ray J, and Gregg Allman. Primary Wave is based in New York with offices in Los Angeles and Austin, Texas.

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We Camplified Weequahic!!

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Spending the day at Weequahic was a blast and an extremely unique experience!

Not only did our activities go off without a hitch, but we were honored to help break their color war! It was amazing! Most of the Camplified crew had never seen such a thing, including myself, so we were pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm and excitement that soaked the camp.

Color War !!!!

Color War !!!!

We threw a Rockband competition earlier in the day so the winners could grace the Camplified stage and play for their fellow campers. Little did they know that their prize would be COLOR WAR!!! All of our artists on the bill that day participated in the fun!

One of the finalists!!

One of the finalists!!


Duke Squad closing out the exciting night for Weequahic!

Duke Squad closing out the exciting night for Weequahic!

All in all, Weequahic was a unique experience for everyone. Camplified broke a color war and it couldn’t have been better!!!! Thanks for letting us help you begin your color war, teams Army and Navy!!!!

Posted by Alicia Pettine

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Weequahic teaches Camplified some color war tricks!

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

Camplified visited Camp Weequahic in Lakewood, PA today. Weequahic is in the same area as a recent camp we visited, so we were happy to return to the part of NY where we’ve already made some great memories. Camp Weequahic has been around for a few decades – and the grounds are amazing! The directors were so welcoming and accommodating to us today – between all of our great activities and the amazing freebies we leave in our wake, sometimes we can be quite a handful! But the minute we pulled on to Weequahic’s grounds we knew we were in for a special day.

We got started with MTV’s Rockband, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Cartoon Network in their beautiful rec center. It’s an incredible space and offered more than enough room for our crew and equipment, and the many visitors we received throughout the day. You can always count on MTV’s Rockband to get the party started early – today’s big hit was Survivor’s “Eye Of The Tiger.” Interestingly enough, it happens to be the camp’s fight song. It was perfect! Across the hall was the Cartoon Network station where kids got caught up playing FusionFall and watching some great videos.

Lisa, our FusionFall expert, helps some campers get acquainted with the game

Lisa, our FusionFall expert, helps some campers get acquainted with the game


And just a few steps away our Yu-Gi-Oh! experts were teaching campers all about the game and tricks they can use to get better on their own.
Our Yu-Gi-Oh! expert Robert teaches a camper some new tricks

Our Yu-Gi-Oh! expert Robert teaches a camper some new tricks


The dull roar coming from inside the rec center was pretty crazy – lots of busy, happy campers!

Tonight’s concert featured sets from Misha Williams, Kicking Daisies, and Duke Squad. Misha started the night off right with some great dance music, and some beautiful guitar work. Kicking Daisies were up next and they were a huge hit. KD does a great cover of GNR’s “Hot For Teacher” – every single time the campers go wild! It’s great!

Kicking Daisies gets the crowd into it

Kicking Daisies gets the crowd into it

Finally, Duke Squad hit the stage to round out the evening. The boys from Montreal always keep the party going and they get the party poopers up on their feet and dancing. It’s definitely their feel-good music, but also just the pure energy from the band members that make you want to dance. They obviously enjoy what they do – and they’re really good at it!

The boys from Duke Squad celebrate their set with some help from the campers

The boys from Duke Squad celebrate their set with some help from the campers

We had an unusual end to the evening…..Camplified broke Campe Weequahic’s color war! It was huuuuuge. The campers had been asking us about the top-secret event all day and the Camplified crew was having a really hard time – we’re not that great at being mischievous! But once the news broke after Duke Squad’s set, there was no stopping the energy. As the campers made their way to their starting positions for the next few days of intense activities, we discussed Scholastic Books and Ian’s cookies with the directors. Although we couldn’t give them to the kids directly (they were already off and running with their color war) we knew they would be super excited when they received them from their counselors the next day. Although it was a bit disappointing that we didn’t get to see their faces when they received them, just remembering the reactions from the kids at the other camps – and knowing how excited Camp Weequahic’s campers would be was good enough for us.

After all was said and done, Camp Weequahic was an amazing stop on the Camplified ’09 tour. We had some very excited campers who got pumped over MTV’s Rockband, learned Yu-Gi-Oh! and some new Yu-Gi-Oh! tricks, and got to play some CN FusionFall. And if that wasn’t enough, they were then treated to some rock from Misha, Kicking Daisies, and Duke Squad. It was an amazing day – even the crew couldn’t help but have a great time at camp today! Thanks Camp Weequahic – hope to see you next year!

Posted by Jess Fontaine, Crew Member

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Camplified brings the rock to Camp Kenwal

Tuesday, August 4th, 2009

Camp Kenwal, in Melville, NY welcomed the Camplified tour onto their campus today. Kenwal is a great day camp with kids of all shapes and sizes – we don’t see many really young kids on this tour, so today’s visit to Camp Kenwal was fun from the minute we rolled into their parking lot.

We were very lucky with a beautiful day today and we set up to Cartoon Network and MTV Rockband activities outside on their tennis courts. This proved to be a very smart idea as we had so many kids that wanted to be involved – it was hard to get them all close enough to the activities! First up was Cartoon Network where FusionFall was set up. We had five HP laptops running the game while different groups of boys and girls alternated turns. We had some campers that were familiar with the game and had played in at home, while others were just hearing about it – and getting to play it! – for the first time.

MTV’s Rockband was also set up on the tennis courts. Between two stations Camp Kenwal campers drummed, sang, and strummed their hearts out. The rock “anthems” still reign supreme when kids are selecting songs, but that’s ok with us. Rockband’s got a great selection!

Later that day we had some music. Today’s concert featured Taylor Bright, Misha Williams and Duke Squad. Taylor had made some friends at camp who joined her onstage, while Misha brought up a few campers to help her dance it out to a song. Both girls were great today.

Taylor brings their campers to their feet

Taylor brings their campers to their feet

the kids loved Misha!

the kids loved Misha!

Duke Squad closed the show with a rowdy set – full of rock and pop and lots of jumping around. Although the stage is was set up in the cafeteria-area, the kids were out of their seats and dancing through most of the show. It was a great show!

Phil from Duke Squad makes some fans very happy

Phil from Duke Squad makes some fans very happy

Thanks again, Camp Kenwal. We had a great time playing with you guys, and enjoying some rock music – hope you did too! As these camps get better and better, I find myself not being able to wait until tomorrow. See you guys at Camp Weequahic on Wednesday!

Posted by Jess Fontaine, Crew Member

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Camplified has its first ever free show at Garden Sk8 Skatepark in Pine Brook, NJ!

Sunday, August 2nd, 2009

Camplified brought the tour inside today as we visited the gracious hosts at Garden Sk8 skatepark. The interior of Garden Sk8 is covered in hand-painted original art and is breathtaking. It acted as the perfect backdrop for our activities and bands today. It was a super fun vibe.

We set up Cartoon Network in the main office area and the kids started coming up to us even before everything was plugged in. It was a tough environment for activities – kids would come by and get excited about what was there but would already have their minds made up about heading in to skate. We had a lot of people coming through and promising to come back. So, later in the afternoon as people were heading out, the Cartoon Network station got really crowded! Luckily, we were able to keep all the kids happy with a lot of help from Lisa (Lisa is Camplified’s own FusionFall pro). We came across some kids with existing accounts but, for the most part, the Garden Sk8 kids were FusionFall rookies. It’s awesome how into the game these kids get – and right away! It was a happy day over at the CN station.

Dylan (5 yrs. old) really got into FusionFall!

Dylan (5 yrs. old) really got into FusionFall!

Rockband was set up across the lobby and the musical selection was diverse today. Where we usually hear a lot of Paramore, today was a lot of Bon Jovi and Metallica. We love the regular selections, but the music choices today were a great change to our everyday routine. The skater kids had a great time rocking out.

Rocking out to Rockband

Rocking out to Rockband

The concert was a full bill today – we had four bands on the schedule. First up was Kicking Daisies – they were great. Always full of energy and enthusiasm, Kicking Daisies were a great start to the show.

Duran, Ben, Carly and Caitlin bring the rawwwk

Duran, Ben, Carly and Caitlin of Kicking Daisies bring the rawwwk

Next up was BYS. We haven’t had them on the tour for the last few dates so it was really nice to see them again. Camplified ’09 isn’t the same without them! They’re a great band to work with and they always bring so much energy to their sets.

skater kids enjoying BYS's return to Camplified

skater kids enjoying BYS's return to Camplified

Next up was Duke Squad, a band out of Montreal. The band usually plays originals, but they switched it up today and introduced some covers into their set. Their regular fare is pretty great – super catchy feel-good rock pop, but seeing them take on the music of others was a treat too.

Duke Squad rocks out at Garden Sk8

Duke Squad rocks out at Garden Sk8

Lastly, Misha Williams took the stage with her guitar. She was joined at the end of her set by some Camplified staff and the boys of Duke Squad. They all had a great time and as an audience member, it was really fun to watch.

Misha Williams get some help from Duke Squad....and other audience members!

Misha Williams get some help from Duke Squad....and other audience members!

Garden Sk8 skatepark was a new venue style for Camplified. In addition to the great space and our incredible hosts the bands seemed to really enjoy the event. The skater kids were really excited about our activities as well. Over all, it was a great day in Pine Brook, NJ. Thanks Garden Sk8!

Posted by Jess Fontaine, Crew Member

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