Tag: entertainment_culture

Pintello Comedy Theater pros Jayson Stebbins and Denee Lewis Bohnsack get together to bring in playwright Jack Neary’s gentle and funny “First Night,” an amusing bit of witty theater. The two carry the production under the deft direction of Whitney Pintello.

The 2013 Kihncert - an all-day Rock & Roll concert co-headlined by former Poison frontman Bret Michaels and the Greg Kihn Band - is coming to Morgan Hill in October.Greg Kihn, the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame inductee and former DJ of KFOX 98.5 FM, announced the news on his website, detailing the Oct. 12 concert date at the Morgan Hill Outdoor Sports Center on Condit Road. The concert is scheduled to begin at noon and, with multiple rock bands expected to play, will last until 11 p.m.“I am pumped about this year’s Kihncert and to continue the tradition of great Rock & Roll with great bands in Morgan Hill,” said Kihn, whose past Kihncerts have included the likes of The Who, Lynyrd Skynrd, Steve Miller Band, Styx, Kansas, Yes, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Paul Rodgers, and Boston.Tickets will go on sale Friday on www.kihncert.com.Jeff Dixon, president of the Morgan Hill Youth Sports Alliance which has contracted with the City to run the Outdoor Sports Complex since July of 2010, confirmed that the Kihncert is close to being finalized, pending final approval from City Hall.“We are excited that we’re bringing the Kihncert to Morgan Hill,” said Dixon. “We think it’s valuable because of the economic impact, the visibility it brings to the great community we have, and it demonstrates what the Outdoor Sports Complex can be used for.”Director of Media Matthew Altamirano at Arts Related Technical Training for Entertainment Careers, or ARTTEC, a Morgan Hill-based production company that employs local high school students, is partnering with Kihn to produce the concert in Morgan Hill.“ARTTEC students are participating in every aspect of production,” said Altamirano, a 2008 Ann Sobrato High School alumnus, detailing that students will have duties such as live audio mixing, concert lighting and video images during the Kihncert. Altamirano said current ARTTEC students as well as any other high school students interested in joining the production team should visit www.arttecusa.com.The Outdoor Sports Center, which caters to athletic events for soccer, football, rugby, lacrosse and field hockey, sits on 38 acres off Condit Avenue in northeast Morgan Hill. This past summer, the facility hosted the California Youth Soccer Association’s District II Cup, which brought in between 15,000 to 18,000 visitors.Dixon said the facility has also hosted two non-athletic events: The No Bull Barbecue and the 2013 Morgan Hill Freedom Fest’s Fireworks Show. The Fourth of July show brought in an estimated 25,000 spectators.“We’ve always entertained the idea of doing an outdoor concert here,” said Dixon. “(The fireworks display) tells us that we can handle a large crowd.”Dixon added there was no damage to the fields from the fireworks show. The Outdoor Sports Center has hosted five events of 15,000 people and one of 25,000 people, according to Dixon.Dixon said the Youth Sports Alliance has submitted its special events permit application for city approval.“We expect based on our experience that we will be able to meet all City requirements to obtain approval,” Dixon said. “We’re committed to making sure Morgan Hill hosts a very successful event.”The first Kihncert was in 2002 and it has been held at South Bay venues such as the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View.

The Morgan Hill Downtown Association's annual Thursday Street Dance summer concert series starts this week on Third Street, with country music artist Kelly McDonald taking the stage Thursday night. The music starts at 7 p.m. near the intersection of Monterey Road and Third Street in downtown Morgan Hill. The Thursday Street Dance will continue until Sept. 26, with bands such as JJ Hawg, Wild West Show, Rock Hard, Cold Storage and others scheduled to grace the stage in the coming weeks. The concert series will take place at a new location this year - in the parking lot of the former Simple Beverages building at the intersection of Monterey Road and Third Street. Attendees and downtown visitors will not be able to park in the lot on Thursday nights for the remainder of the summer. The annual live entertainment series is sponsored by the Morgan Hill Downtown Association and its members. For more information and a full schedule of this summer's Thursday Street Dance lineup, visit www.morganhilldowntown.org. 

Our local movie theaters – Gilroy Platinum Theater and Morgan Hill CineLux - are a couple of my favorite places to spend my extra time (and money). There’s just something about sitting in a darkened theater with a group of friends - and strangers - eyes glued to the big screen, laughing or crying or jumping out of our seats.

Did you know that before Gilroy became the Garlic Capital of the World it had the distinction of being the Tobacco Capitol of the United States during the 1870s? Since 1850 our fair city has also been deemed the Hay and Grain Capital, the Fruit and Nut Capital, the Dairy and Cheese Capital and the Prune Capital of California.   

What inspires you? Professional musicians inspire me, especially those, like classical pianists, that don't generally fall into the "mainstream" categories. Why? Because despite the general belief that it is difficult to make money as a musician unless they have connections, they still do what they love because they love it. Money isn't their prime motivator. Their passion for music is, and I think that's extremely brave and courageous of them.

Eerie chills travel up my spine as the crypt door slowly opens. Nevermind that the sound is being made by the creaky handle of a paper cutter. I shiver with the effects of the curse that has haunted the mansion of the Rochambeau family for 90 years!

The bedroom recording studio inside the Willard Court home feels like a sauna: Window shut. Blinds drawn. Door closed. Padded panels line a corner of the room to help maximize sound absorption.

Residents and music fans are invited to a day full of live performances, original tunes and a farewell to longtime local act Fourwayfree at the Aug. 19 Morgan Hill Summer Jam.

Morgan Hill’s Poppy Jasper Short Film Festival this week announced that noted Hollywood film composer Harry Manfredini will be its star speaker in October.