My idea is to make a weekly, televised country music variety television show right here at NIED'S HOTEL... right down in the bar, in front of a live audience. I'd be the host. The Beagle Brothers, the Architects of the Bloomfield Sound, have signed on as "House Band." And for our first special guest star, we've got none other than the 10th Ward Treasure Herself, the Rose of Saint Kieran's, Molly Alphabet.
The show would bring you lots of Classic Country Music... Western Swing, Honky Tonk, Mountain Gospel, Bluegrass, even a little Rockabilly thrown in now and then. Plus original compositions by me, the Beagles, and the guest stars. We'd showcase both local artists and nationally tourin' acts.
I'm teamin' up with a Grammy Award winnin' sound recordin' engineer, Dino Gabriel DiStefano, who will produce the pilot and the series. Dino worked as mixing engineer on WQED TV's "Live from Studio A" series. His recordings at the Manchester Craftsman's Guild were Grammy nominated and Grammy winning projects. Dino is very excited about producin' the show and he's already got a fabulous workin' relationship with those Beagle Brothers. He produced their last three full-length albums!
Above: A short documentary by Frank Ferraro about Slim!
Now... an undertakin' of this nature would ultimately require significant commercial sponsorship. We're comin' to you on Kickstarter right now to fund one pilot episode. ONE FIRST CLASS, BROADCAST QUALITY PILOT... which we can then take to prospective sponsors, major foundations, non-profits, and other deep pockets. And we'd pitch it to local television production teams and even go for national syndication. But in addition to these traditional routes we would also fully exploit the many new and innovative distribution options available in cyberspace.
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Risks and challenges
Our Kickstarter Campaign has addressed a significant risk at the outset by selecting a realistic goal of funding just ONE pilot episode of our proposed weekly televised variety show. The risks and challenges involved in this discreet, focused project are small compared to those we will face once we have completed the pilot episode and move to the next phase of pitching it to prospective commercial sponsors, major foundations, non-profits, television production shops locally and in other media markets, and even try for national syndication.
The risks and challenges we face at this initial, pilot phase, which we intend to fund with our Kick Start monies, primarily involve the health and availability of the principal people, namely, the producer, Dino Gabriel DiStefano, and the host of the show, Slim Forsythe. All other personnel (even "key" personnel) could be replaced by adequate substitutes without derailing the project. Both Dino and Slim currently enjoy good health and have made this project a top priority. Both have set aside adequate time over the Summer of 2014 to finish the pilot episode. Much work has already been done on writing the episode. And the House Band and Guest Star have performed numerous times over the last several years with Slim Forsythe. Slim performs frequently at Nied's Hotel and has a strong relationship with the owner and proprietor, James Nied, who is completely behind the project.
Another risk might involve the contemplated venue, Nied's Hotel, in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of the City of Pittsburgh. Barring any unforeseen catastrophe, we anticipate the continued existence of the building, the restaurant, and the live music venue.
Another risk might arise if the pilot episode were to prove more expensive than we anticipate. This risk will be minimized by careful budgeting and aggressive use of in-kind contributions. Even a substantial "cost overrun" would not terminate this project. Enough people have a stake in its successful completion to remedy any shortfall, either on a temporary or permanent basis. And both the Producer and the Host would do all within their power to complete the pilot episode in the unlikely event that lack of funds threatened to halt production.
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