SCHOOL - Music Inc. Magazine

gone through clinics about promoting
themselves. We’ve
already had talks with them
about how to book yourself and
how to try out new players if
one isn’t working out.”
A week after the concert,
each band headed into a professional
recording studio to
cut a one-song demo. This
year’s first-place Stairway winner,
Back In Your System, got
to record a three-song EP that
will receive airplay on a local
Sacramento radio station.
“They’ll get 1,000 copies, all
packaged with bar codes, and
they go on sale at the record
stores around town,” Maggiora
said. “They’ll also open up for a
major act at a concert.”
OUTSIDE HELP
If it sounds like a mammoth
undertaking, that’s because it
is. Skip’s Music recruits more
than 20 outside coaches that
work with each individual
band throughout the program.
The company also involves
other industry pros who present
clinics on such topics as
song composition, lyric writing,
stage presence and music
business. None of the outside
coaches make a fortune with
Stairway, but Maggiora said
that’s deliberate. “They need
to do it for the right reasons.”
Maggiora also gets more
than a little help from his industry
friends. Several suppliers cosponsored
the final Aug. 15
showcase with funding and
gear. Remo even created a special
bass drum head with the
Stairway logo for the kit onstage.
“I felt very honored by the
show of support that was given
[to] Stairway by the presence
of so many,” Maggiora said.
For these suppliers, it’s an act
of giving back to Sacramento’s
music community, but it’s also
good PR. Reps from Ibanez and
Fender manned booths in the
Crest Theatre’s lobby where
attendees could try out their
wares. The Fender booth featured
a sneak peek at Blacktop
Strats, Teles and Jaguars a week
before their release date.
“Usually, we do an event
like this at trade shows that’s
only for dealers,” said Emery
Fry, Fender’s product education
manager. “This gives a chance
for 10-year-olds, 30-year-olds,
70-year-olds to see our product
and find something that’s going
to touch them.”
THE CAREER LAUNCHER
The first band to hit the stage,
Morsen, took first place at
Stairway last year. It combined
Ozzy-esque vocals with modern
metal aesthetics and sounded
surprisingly tight for a bunch of
folks who looked no older than
17. (The average age of a
Stairway participant is 13.) As
with many other Stairway
alumni, Morsen stayed together
after it finished the program.
Maggiora explained that the
band has since opened for major
acts in the area.
“We’ve had many successful
artists who credit Stairway to
Stardom for launching their
musical careers,” he said.
“Some are just local stars, but
many have found their way
into the national scene. One of
ours is in Demi Lovato’s band
on tour with the Jonas Brothers
right now.”
Maggiora smiled proudly as
he spoke of these success stories.
He said he’s gratified that
more females are getting
involved in Stairway each
year. Still, he’s not satisfied.
He wants even more future
stars to arise from Skip’s
Music, and he’ll die trying to
cultivate them.
“We haven’t had a Michael
Jackson out of this yet, but
there’s one in here someplace,”
he said. “We’ll find him.” MI
b ROCK STAR
TREATMENT
Stairway to Stardom takes kids through the
full experience of being a gigging rock star.
Participants begin in the backstage
area, where they tune up.
Following the performance, bands and their coaches are
interviewed in the green room for a cable access TV special.
Each band will be featured performing a song in the
program, as well.
Last, bands sign autographs for family,
friends and fans in the lobby.
To ensure each
band gets heard,
the program’s
rotation isn’t
announced until
the day of the
event.
OCTOBER 2010 I MUSIC INC. I 17