It's 7am here in the City of Angels, and I am enjoying that famous LA sunrise. You know, that one that nips over the parking garages, picking up the glittering reds of the car brake lights and the saturated grays of the smog as it rises only to bow in servitude to the neon studio signs? I'm here because our girl Hilary is the musical guest on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien tonight, and in a couple hours I'm off to play Rock Band 2 in the green room (our schedule says it's there) and ask Rob Lowe why Sam left The West Wing.The Tonight Show … [Read more...]
Any Kit Will Do
From our friends at a management agency, may we present The Worst Possible E mail:From: JournalistSent: Friday, January 08, 2010 5:35 PMTo: Artist AssistantSubject: Press KitPlease send a press kit. Thank you.[Auto Signature]Kindly note the lack of deadline, the lack of reason for the request, and--oh wait!--the lack of artist name. Happy Monday! … [Read more...]
2009 Pitchy Nominees, even though it’s 2010
Sorry, team: I've been a bad, bad blogger. This, this and this are to blame, but if I didn't have a day (" ") job, I wouldn't have anything to blog about. Life's a Pitch would be exclusively devoted to the last season of Lost and my ill-fated attempts at hot yoga, and no one needs that. I still want you to vote for the Best of PR and Marketing/Classical Music edition in 2009! It's not too late; you loved 2009!Alright, so the nominees are... Best Publicity MoveJoyce DiDonato literally breaks a leg.Gustavo Dudamel...I don't know, gets … [Read more...]
Location x 3
Some day my fancy apartment slash home office near Lincoln Center will come. But for the time being, I'm forced to find quiet yet cool, central yet uncrowded interview locations for my clients. This is fairly easy during the day, but gets a bit more complicated around happy hour. I thought other publicists (and journalists) might have this problem, so if we start a list here, I'll ask Doug to add it as a sidebar on the blog. I'll begin:Cafe Lalo201 West 83rd StreetNew York, NY 10024(212) 496-6031http://www.cafelalo.com/ Pros: Upper West Side, … [Read more...]
Bach to Reality
Life's a Pitch devotees (hey, Aliza) may recall the 2008 Arnold Schoenberg birthday festivities, during which Hilary answered questions about that Chopsticks-easy violin concerto he wrote. I actually just ran through it this morning. Cake. On Monday, January 11, Hilary will take your questions about J.S. Bach to celebrate the release of her new album, Bach: Violin and Voice. Joining her on the album are baritone Matthias Goerne, soprano Christine Schäfer, conductor Alexander Liebreich and the Munich Chamber Orchestra, with whom our girl will … [Read more...]
Girls straddling footballs sell things
...you heard it here first. I'm feeling especially generous this New Year's Eve eve, so I want all you orchestras, chamber music ensembles, and record labels out there to feel free to make this ad your own:Thank you, Penn Station, for all the class you bring to this world. … [Read more...]
And while we’re on the subject
I never know if press release subjects should be catchy or informative. On the one hand, I realize how inundated journalists are with releases, pitches, and e mails of all stripes, so while I usually tell people to assume writers don't read beyond your first paragraph, we might be at a point where they don't read anything but your subject. Should an e mail subject be something that makes journalists open your press release or something that prevents them from having to?I have this Gmail account where all the nonsense I sign up for is dumped. … [Read more...]
Another decade bites the dust
Let out your breath: it's time for the Second Annual Pitchies! Kindly submit your nominations for the categories below. There will be three nominees in each category, and (Very Official) voting will begin next week. I feel that because I have to pitch my clients to so many Best-Of lists, I should get one of my very own. We've very meta, here, so the winners get free advertising on this blog. Plus the GREAT HONOR of winning. Nominate yourself, your clients, your friends...I won't tell! Best Publicity Move?Last year's winner: Jeremy Denk … [Read more...]
Oh honey, so sublime
This post is going to appeal to circa five readers, but I couldn't help but share my shock/awe/glee. Bear with me for a moment. As I was buying tickets to Roundabout Theatre's production of Bye Bye Birdie on BroadwayOffers.com just now, I noticed that the site is protected by McAfee Secure! MCAFEE. Didn't Harry MacAfee have a food and grain business or some such thing? What happened to that? Did the trauma of Conrad Birdie's visit lead him to launch a security company?? Is that the sure-fire way to the respect he so desperately coveted … [Read more...]
In which I am pardoned for stealing electricity
Last week, I was told I was not allowed to plug in my MacBook Pro at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall cafe. Read the whole sordid tale here, and about Nico Muhly's similar indignity here. And both of us have bought SO MUCH CAMPARI there. The waitress could not give me an explanation, though I received several e mails (none from Lincoln Center) suggesting that Alice Tully is a union house and those rules probably extend into the cafe area, so while they wouldn't technically mind if I used their electricity (click here for some hilarious … [Read more...]
Flacks and the City
We're going to start a slightly off-topic new segment here on Life's a Pitch called "Things Amanda Cannot Even a Little Bit Handle." Feel free to pitch content you don't think I will be able to handle. Let's begin:The logic here appears to be that if there had been a relationship column in The New York Post for Ashley Dupre to read when she was growing up, she would not have become a prostitute. It follows, then, that Dupre should be the one dispensing advice to other would-be escorts so they can learn from her mistakes. Excuse me: from her … [Read more...]
“Snap out of it!”
Here we have Nicolas Cage, Mr. Darcy, Stanley Tucci, Morgan Freeman, Peter Sarsgaard and Christoph Waltz Talking About Art. You know, that old thing. The question of, "If we as actors don't actually create anything--books, paintings, poetry, music, scripts--can we call ourselves artists?" comes up; that is, are screenplay writers (/composers) artists while their mere interpreters actors (/musicians) are not? If this is boring to you, just skip to minute 1:46 when Nicolas Cage says, "When I see a great violinist like HIlary Hahn..." and … [Read more...]
In which I am accused of stealing electricity
Dear Alice Tully Hall, I hope this blog post finds you well. I often work at the cafe in your beautifully redesigned space, as blogged about here. I enjoy the glass walls, the proximity to that BCBG that always has good sales, and having Campari at my disposal at all hours of the day. This is all why I was saddened a few months back when I realized that the only outlets in the cafe area had been mysteriously turned off. Too bad, I thought: I look so hip and awesome with my MacBook Pro; don't you want me working in your window? Let me be … [Read more...]
Week in Review
First, an apology: I have four fantastic people lined up for Friday "Talk to Me About" interviews, and just haven't gotten my act together to write the questions. This is one of the many hazards of having a day-job. It's also time for the second annual PITCHY (c.f. La Cieca) Awards! If I have to worry about Best-Of 2009 lists for my clients, I get to have a Best-Of list of my own. Here are last year's results. And now for some marketing things I liked this week. Alias! Prostitutes! Video blogs! Tiger Woods! Physics! I've posted these things on … [Read more...]