Media Five Entertainment

Last updated

Media Five Entertainment is a Pennsylvania based artist management and booking agency founded in 1970. The company has assisted in the careers of musicians and performers in the music industry. In addition to promoting regional and national acts, the Media Five Entertainment agency exclusively managed the American rock bands Live and Fuel in the 1990s achieving international success.

Contents

History

Media Five Entertainment was founded in 1970 by David A Sestak, a musician, and artist from Easton, Pennsylvania. The agency specialized in booking regional bands and bringing national acts such as Aerosmith, Billy Joel, and Kiss to eastern Pennsylvania under the name Extensions of Man Concerts. In the 1980s, as the company had established itself as a booking agency, Media Five further expanded to create an artist management division, striving to nurture local bands from the ground up. These artists have sold a combined 20 million records worldwide.

Billy Joel

All but one performance by Joel in the Lehigh Valley area was put together by David Sestak himself. Joel's familiarity with the area undoubtedly inspired the naming of one of his best-known songs, "Allentown," which was released in 1982. In December 1982, continued interest of Joel's music in the Allentown-Bethlehem area led Sestak to persuade local music director Bruce Bond to start a petition drive. The petition asked Joel to play in Allentown and was eventually signed by more than 10,000 people.

When Joel's fall tour was announced there was no Allentown date, however Sestak had been collecting news clippings and sending them to Joel's publicist, Elaine Shock, who apparently passed them on to Joel. Joel personally phoned radio station 95.1 WZZO FM to discuss, and on December 27, 1982, Joel performed for 6,300 people at Lehigh University's Stabler Arena. "Everyone was there," said Sestak. [1]

Worldwide success

Sestak gets credit for bringing Live, once just a local band named Public Affection from York, Pennsylvania, to super-stardom in the mid 1990s with their breakout second album, Throwing Copper , fueled by the #1 hit single, "Lightning Crashes". Sestak was the band's manager until mid 2000 and has been thanked first in the liner notes of Live's first four major label albums: Mental Jewelry , Throwing Copper, Secret Samadhi , and The Distance To Here . In 1998, Sestak also played a vital role as co-manager in the success of Fuel, another Pennsylvania band with two platinum albums to their credit, including 2000's Something Like Human . That album yielded the #1 modern rock hit "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)". The song was recently named Billboard's #1 5 rock song of the 2000s. [2] Media Five has also represented and managed notable bands like Breaking Benjamin, Weston, July For Kings, Solution A.D., and Joe Hedges.

Current operations

Media Five Entertainment represents and books nearly 25 original and cover bands in the eastern United States. Sestak also chaired the "Managers, Agents and Promoters" panel in February 2008 at Pennsylvania's annual Millennium Music Conference.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Joel</span> American singer, songwriter and pianist (born 1949)

William Martin Joel is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his signature 1973 song of the same name, Joel has had a successful music career as a solo artist since the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allentown, Pennsylvania</span> Home rule municipality in Pennsylvania, United States

Allentown is a city in Pennsylvania and the county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the third-most-populous city in Pennsylvania with a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 census and the most populous city in the Lehigh Valley metropolitan area, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th-most populous metropolitan area in the nation as of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Live (band)</span> American rock band

Live, often typeset as Līve, LĪVE, or +LĪVE+, is an American rock band formed in York, Pennsylvania, in 1984 by Ed Kowalczyk, Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), Chad Gracey (drums), and Chad Taylor (guitars). As of 2022, Kowalczyk is the only remaining member of the original lineup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuel (band)</span> American rock band

Fuel is an American rock band formed in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania guitarist-songwriter Carl Bell in 1993. They are known for their hit songs "Shimmer" from the album Sunburn (1998), "Hemorrhage " and "Bad Day" from the album Something Like Human (2000), as well as "Falls on Me" from the album Natural Selection (2003). In addition, the band has had multiple videos in heavy rotation on MTV, performed numerous live network TV performances in the US, Canada, and Australia, and had their songs on film soundtracks such as Scream 3, Daredevil, Godzilla, and A Walk to Remember. Sunburn is certified platinum by the RIAA, while Something Like Human is certified double-platinum.

<i>The Nylon Curtain</i> 1982 studio album by Billy Joel

The Nylon Curtain is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on September 23, 1982, and produced by Phil Ramone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music of Pennsylvania</span> Overview of music traditions in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania

The Music of Pennsylvania dates from the pre-colonial-era through the 21st century, and Pennsylvania has been the birthplace for some of the most prominent musicians of their respective eras and the introduction of entire new genres of music to the nation and world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phil Ramone</span> American music producer

Philip Rabinowitz, better known as Phil Ramone, was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business partner Jack Arnold at 112 West 48th Street, New York, upstairs from the famous musicians' watering hole, Jim & Andy's, and several doors east of Manny's Music. The success of the original A & R Recording allowed it to expand into several studios and a record production company. He was described by Billboard as "legendary", and the BBC as a "CD pioneer".

<i>River of Dreams</i> 1993 studio album by Billy Joel

River of Dreams is the twelfth studio album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel, released on August 10, 1993. River of Dreams presented a more serious tone than found in Joel's previous albums, dealing with issues such as trust and long-lasting love. It was rumored that the themes of trust and betrayal, particularly certain lyrics from the songs "A Minor Variation" and "The Great Wall of China", stem from Joel's legal disputes with his former manager and ex-brother-in-law, Frank Weber, who reportedly embezzled millions of dollars from Joel and used dubious accounting practices to cover it up.

<i>Songs in the Attic</i> 1981 live album by Billy Joel

Songs in the Attic is the first live album by Billy Joel, released in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allentown (song)</span> 1982 single by Billy Joel

"Allentown" is a song by American singer Billy Joel and the lead track on Joel's 1982 album The Nylon Curtain. Release as the album's second single, it was accompanied by a conceptual music video. Upon its release, and especially in subsequent years, "Allentown" emerged as an anthem of blue-collar America, representing both the aspirations and frustrations of America's working class in the late 20th century.

A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or sports businesses. In addition, an agent defends, supports and promotes the interest of their clients. Talent agencies specialize, either by creating departments within the agency or developing entire agencies that primarily or wholly represent one specialty. For example, there are modeling agencies, commercial talent agencies, literary agencies, voice-over agencies, broadcast journalist agencies, sports agencies, music agencies and many more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSAN</span> Radio station in Pennsylvania, United States

WSAN is a commercial radio station licensed in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It is owned by iHeartMedia and serves the Lehigh Valley radio market. It broadcasts an oldies radio format, with its studios and offices in the iHeart Broadcasting Center in Whitehall Township. It is the oldest station in the Lehigh Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uptown Girl</span> 1983 single by Billy Joel

"Uptown Girl" is a song written and performed by American musician Billy Joel from his ninth studio album An Innocent Man (1983), released in September 1983 as the album's second single. The lyrics describe a working-class "downtown man" attempting to woo a wealthy "uptown girl". The 12" EP has the tracks "My Life", "Just the Way You Are" and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", whereas some 7" single versions featured "Careless Talk" as a B-side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Just the Way You Are (Billy Joel song)</span> 1977 single by Billy Joel

"Just the Way You Are" is a song by Billy Joel from his fifth studio album The Stranger (1977), released as the album's second single in early November 1977. It became both Joel's first US Top 10 and UK Top 20 single, as well as Joel's first Gold single in the US. The song also topped the Billboard Easy Listening Chart for the entire month of January 1978.

<i>Nervous Night</i> (album) 1985 studio album by The Hooters

Nervous Night is the second studio album by American rock band The Hooters, released in May 1985 by Columbia Records and on CBS Records in Europe. The album features two of the band's biggest and best-known hits, "And We Danced" and "Day by Day". It also includes the minor hit "All You Zombies", which was a rerecorded version of a single that had first been released in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Allentown, Pennsylvania</span> Overview of the culture of Allentown, Pennsylvania (USA)

The culture of Allentown, Pennsylvania dates back to the early 18th century settlement of the city and the surrounding Lehigh Valley, which was then part of the Province of Pennsylvania, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, by German immigrants almost exclusively affiliated the Lutheran, Moravian, and Reformed faiths, three of the most prominent Protestant denominations.

Havana Jam was a three-day music festival that took place at the Karl Marx Theatre in Havana, Cuba, from March 2 to March 4, 1979. The event was sponsored by Bruce Lundvall, the president of Columbia Records, Jerry Masucci, the president of Fania Records, and the Cuban Ministry of Culture.

WVBU-FM is a public broadcasting station licensed to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. The station is currently owned by Northeastern Pennsylvania Educational TV, the owner and operator of WVIA-FM and other broadcasting outlets in the region |WVIA.org|. For most of its broadcasting life, WVBU-FM was owned by Bucknell University, and operated as a student-run activity. It was commonly known as the “Voice of Bucknell University.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">This House Is Not for Sale (song)</span> 2016 single by Bon Jovi

"This House Is Not for Sale" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi from their thirteenth studio album, This House Is Not for Sale. It was released as the album's lead single on August 12, 2016. The song was written by Jon Bon Jovi, John Shanks, and Billy Falcon, and it was produced by Bon Jovi and Shanks. Bon Jovi has said of "This House Is Not for Sale": "this song is about integrity and what we were going through these last three years. We've become even closer and, as the song says, 'this heart, this soul, this house is not for sale.'" It is the first single to feature new guitarist Phil X, who was also a co-writer. The song also features the promotion of unofficial bassist Hugh McDonald to a full-time band member.

References

  1. Royal treatment bonded Billy Joel to 'Allentown' » PopMatters | News and Commentary |
  2. "Billboard". Billboard .