This was surreal. In the early Spring of this year I ordered a free CD (I paid the shipping) from this Chicago band I had never before heard. I saw their ad, listened to a few tracks on streaming, and ordered my own copy of their original music. That part’s not surreal. That’s just a clever marketing tactic they got from the publishing industry.
Where it got to be something special was when my friend Matt Smith, the co-owner of Blue Macaroon Theater Co., reached out to me to see if I was available to run their show. Here’s this band I just discovered and all of a sudden it’s up to me to help them sound their best for their new album’s pre-release-night show.
The show was hosted by The Summit FM as a part of their Studio C on the Road series, which we get to occasionally run. The radio station’s program director Brad Savage was the MC for the night and hosted an interview with the band in between the two sides of the album.
Please enjoy this performance of “Dear Billionaires” by The Empty Pockets out of Chicago, Illinois, recorded live at the Blue Macaroon Theater in Doylestown, Ohio.
For this show, sound was run by Dustin Werstler. Cameras were operated by Jesse Myers and Asa Pilbeam, both local singer/songwriters. Director of Photography, Jesse Myers. Produced, edited, and directed by Dustin Werstler.
If you’re like me and keep wanting to replay the show, here’s an alternate version with the interview edited out to keep the music flowing.
Here’s our audio recording and mix from the performance.
Here’s their album “Dear Billionaires” on Spotify.
