Louder than Love at the DIA

Posted on February 1, 2012 by admin

I’m really looking forward to seeing Specs grad, Tony D’Annunzio’s work in the upcoming documentary Louder than Love. The documentary is focused on the 60′s rock revolution in Detroit!

While the West Coast was groovin’ to the sounds of the “Summer of Love” in 1967, Detroit was pumping out a hard-driving, gritty and raw sound that was “Louder Than Love.” The Grande Ballroom stood as the epicenter of the Detroit rock music scene that spawned in the late ‘60s. Serving as the starting point for bands such as MC5, Iggy & The Stooges, Ted Nugent & The Amboy Dukes and more, the Grande not only influenced local Detroit musicians but inspired bands from all over the U.S. and Great Britain. Legendary acts like Led Zeppelin, Cream, B.B. King, Janis Joplin, Pink Floydand the Who soon began to grace the stage at the Grande on a regular basis.

D’Annunzio’s documentary, Louder than Love documents the creative and revolutionary frenzy of Detroit in the 1960s with rare archival footage and interviews by surviving musicians, and explores the now abandoned theater haunted by this legacy. The film is a part of the Detroit Revealed on Film series held at the DIA’s Detroit Film Theatre. For tickets to the see the film visit the DIA’s website.

Detroit Revealed on Film: Louder Than Love

Detroit Film Theatre

April 5, 2012, 7:00pm

Detroit Revealed on Film is presented in conjunction with the DIA exhibition Detroit Revealed: Photographs 2000-2010. The films range from bold experiments such as a 3D film shot in the abandoned Packard complex (plant), a tribute to the storied Grande Ballroom (Louder than Love), a kaleidoscopic look at the aspirations of Detroit’s citizens and civic leaders (Detroit/State Theater) and documentaries about grass-roots efforts at revitalization and the urban agriculture movement (After the Factory, Grown in Detroit and Urban Roots).

Changes in Detroit

Posted on January 3, 2012 by admin

Always great to hear of exciting change in the industry! Read on folks…

Vicki Foley of Allen Park was elected the president of the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association for 2012. Foley will become the first female leader in the history of the 63-year-old organization.

Foley has served for several years on the panel of judges that awards academic scholarships to two Specs Howard students each year. She has 12 years of management experience with Comcast Corp.

Others elected to officer positions include James Rein, vice president; Sherrie Handrinos, secretary; and Bill Wischman, treasurer.

West Virginia Moving Up

Posted on December 31, 2011 by admin

It is great to hear from grads after they put the time in and make it happen! Congrats Chris!

Hey Uncle Kernen,

Just wanted to give an update to where my young career has taken me so far
after graduating from Specs in July 2009.

After less than two years in a small market (Parkersburg, WV) as a Sports
Director and eventually CHR Program Director… I achieved one of my dreams
much earlier than I expected when I applied for and was hired to be a new
member of Cleveland Sports Radio’s new FM station, 92.3 The Fan when it
launched in late August of this year. I know one of my favorite teachers,
Tony Sherock, would be proud that I made it back to our homeland by the
lake.

I am currently a full time update anchor, part-producer of the weekday night
show and am recently getting opportunities to host 1 – 1.5 hour shows on my
own in a large market.

I’m excited to see where this takes me next and look forward to a great
career in radio. I do have to thank Specs for lining up my original
internship with the Drew and Mike Show on WRIF and setting up the interview
that got me the Sports Director job in WV to build my resume and give me
some “post grad” experience before landing this current amazing job.

Thanks again!

Chris Fillar
RTV 1708 Radio Grad
92.3 The Fan – Cleveland

Right here in Southfield…

Posted on December 21, 2011 by admin

Sometimes many of our grads don’t end up working that far away from where it all started at Specs. Sara is one of those grads who has made it back home!

Dick,

I’ve been wanting to update you lately with what I am doing and that I finally became a news anchor and I also host a few shows as well. I work with the Middle Eastern America television (MEA) in Southfield and I anchor International news and host two shows. One of the shows is focused on Arab American cultural topics and the other show is a travel show about destinations in the United States. I even write scripts for commercials for our clients and I’ve even done a couple of voice overs as well..

MEA is on Comcast channel 667 and can be streamed live here. (It works best on Internet Explorer)

My set schedule is:

Tuesday night: ‘Vacay Spots’ (travel show) at 11pm
Thursday’s and Fridays: International news at 8pm
Thursday night: ‘MEA cafe’ (talk show) at 11pm

Hopefully I’ve made you and Specs Howard School proud of me!

Genuinely,

Sara Massoud
News anchor/host
MEA tv-radio

Trailblazer

Posted on December 16, 2011 by admin

Always great to hear a grad creating their own path in the industry. Read on for Martone Williams’ story.

Hi Mr. Kernen,

It’s been a very long time! I do hope that things are going well for you and the school. I have been very busy with creating a career for myself in the entertainment business. I would like to thank you and Specs Howard for giving me the tools that I needed to succeed in the world of broadcasting. I produce two popular Internet radio programs that are being heard in over 35 countries. I produce, direct and host a Internet web series program called Industry Revue. Things are certainly going well for my production company Enotram Entertainment. I just signed a deal to produce & direct a comedy DVD for comedian Laura Bartlett.

The reason I am contacting you today is regarding my latest venture. IndustryRevue.com is a entertainment social networking site that is geared to entertainment industry professionals and it will be up and running on 12/31/2011.

Don’t forget to check out his new site in the coming weeks!

Hall of Famer Update

Posted on December 13, 2011 by admin

Time for a Hall of Famer Update! Alex Tear, who joined the Specs Howard School Hall of Fame in 2005 has worked all over the state in radio including Sault St. Marie, Charlevoix, Cadillac, Lansing, and Grand Rapids. He was recently promoted within Clear Channel to their new Brand Management Team for Mainstream Top 40 stations as the Brand Coordinator and we couldn’t be more proud!

The Brand Management Team is one part of the New National Programming Platforms which will focus on developing on-air and digital programming content as it will leverage Clear Channel’s 850 stations and websites and iHeartRadio for listeners, advertisers and strategic partners.

The new Brand Management Team, which consists of a Brand Manager and Brand Coordinator for each format, will serve as Clear Channel’s in-house format experts. Other responsibilities will include the development of format-specific contest opportunities and involvement in research and major marketing initiatives executed within their respective formats.

It’s a Small World….

Posted on December 12, 2011 by admin

Under the category of “it’s a small world”…how’s this? Grad and Hall of Famer, Ron Bachman was in Toledo for a local car dealer who sponsors his Anti-Bullying program for Elementary and Middle School kids. He was asked to do interviews about the program at several stations, one of which was WKKO-K-100, Toledo’s long time #1 station. The interview was with the Operations Director and Morning show host, Gary Shores…also a Specs Hall of Famer. When Ron arrived he and Gary looked at each other and knew they’d met….and instantly remembered the Hall of Fame Gala where both were inducted. They’d not seen each other since! It IS a small radio world after all!

Reconnecting on Facebook

Posted on December 7, 2011 by admin

Facebook has provided me with a great way to keep in touch with grads wherever they end up. Below is a message I received from grad, Joseph Victor.

Thanks for accepting my friend request Kernen. I just wanted to say thank you for everything you taught me at Specs (from RTV 13-07). I ended up going the radio route through Specs, but things took an unexpected route and I have actually been working in the FILM INDUSTRY for the last couple years. From being a PA on several feature films and TV shows, an assistant director on some short films as well as some features, and recently directing a short film, commercial and TV Show Pilot, which we are waiting to see if we get the green light through the History Channel for. I’ve also have done some minor acting gigs as well with more to come in the future. Although I went to Specs for radio, I owe my current success to everything that Specs has taught me as well as the WONDERFUL teachers the school has. It’s been a real pleasure and I hope to visit the school shortly in the near future!

Thanks,

-Joseph Victor

It is great to hear from a grad working his skills and pushing himself in the industry. Job well done Joseph! If you want to keep in touch with me, I am on both facebook and twitter. Get on the clue bus and let me know what YOU are up to in the biz!

Hall of Fame Talent

Posted on November 29, 2011 by admin

Specs Howard Grad, Kirk Montgomery, is often found reporting on Denver, Colorado station KUSA, but he does much more than that. He is also a talented singer who shares his talents on a new CD. Kirk has collaborated with Denver band Opie Gone Bad on a new holiday album called “Opie Gone Christmas“. It features many acts that are popular in Denver singing a many holiday standards. Proceeds will benefit “9Cares Colorado Shares” a KUSA charity drive that supports local food banks. “Opie Gone Christmas” is available on Itunes along with a bonus track.

You can hear Kirk sing on the Joni Mitchell song, “The River,” and he also helps out by providing back up vocals in other songs on the cd. This is not the first time Kirk has shared his voice for the holiday season, as he has been with Opie Gone Bad before, performing with them in a 2009 holiday video for the song “Because It’s Christmas”.

Amanda Elliot: Game Maker

Posted on November 23, 2011 by admin

I admittedly know NOTHING about video games,
but when I mentioned one of our grads

worked on one called “Call of Duty ~ Modern Warfare 3″ to several “younger members” of the faculty, I was very impressed by their reaction. When it included jumping up and down I figured this was a big deal. Amanda Elliot has been out of school for 10 years, and in L.A. for 5. She operates a piece of very sophisticated equipment called a Smoke…don’t ask…but anyway, she’s been working on the game for over a month and it was released this November. If you’re a “gamer”, there’s a trailer online…but then…you probably knew that.