[83] Capitol Street Party Features MTSU Onstage, Behind the Scenes

Sept. 19, 2011
Contact: Tom Tozer, 615-898-2919

Capitol Street Party Features MTSU Onstage, Behind the Scenes

MURFREESBORO—Middle Tennessee State University will be one of the sponsors of the fourth annual Capitol Street Party in Nashville this Wednesday evening, and students in the College of Mass Communication will have a huge presence during the festivities.
Both undergraduate and graduate students in the departments of electronic media communication and recording industry management, along with faculty and alumni, will help produce the event.
The music party, free and open to the public, will kick off a 7 p.m. on Demonbreun Street near the Music Row roundabout. Organizers anticipate a crowd of more than 10,000 people.
“This partnership between Capitol Records and the EMC and RIM departments is a tremendous opportunity for our students and for our University,” said MTSU’s Bob Gordon, EMC assistant professor, who teaches advanced television production. “It gives our students the opportunity to participate in a very ‘real world’ video production much like those that occur regularly in Nashville. It also gives both MTSU and the Nashville music and entertainment communities the opportunity for a long and mutually beneficial relationship.”
MTSU’s new $1.4 million Mobile Production Lab will be front and center, showcasing the latest in HD broadcasting technology. EMC students will ply their skills inside the truck running video production and cameras. MTSU’s logo will appear periodically on the large screen, as well as an MTSU TV commercial. Forty to sixty RIM student-volunteers also will be working on stage and behind the scenes.
MTSU alumnus Eric Paslay (’05) will be a headliner along with Alan Jackson, Eric Church and Jon Pardi. While attending MTSU, Paslay interned with Cal IV Entertainment and signed a publishing deal a few months later. Later he signed with EMI Records Nashville.
Paslay’s wrote “Friday Night” on the new Lady Antebellum album, as well as Jake Owen’s No 1 smash “Barefoot Blue Jean Night,” which he co-wrote with Dylan Altman and Terry Sawchuk. Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott also attended MTSU.
“We wanted to showcase our new talent,” said Amanda Good, marketing manager for Capitol Records, describing the origin of the street party when it was first known as the Capitol Pub Crawl. “At Capitol we have been blessed with having such a great roster of artists.”
Good said she was delighted to bring MTSU on board this year as a first-time sponsor.
“This is your centennial month, and we wanted to do something special for the University,” she noted. “It’s easy to get overshadowed by universities that are right on Music Row. At Capitol we like to work with people who want to make the most of this event—who feel that the event is as important to them as we feel it is to us.”
“MTSU houses the largest collegiate recording industry program in North America, located near America’s largest recording capital—Nashville, Tennessee,” said John Merchant, MTSU assistant professor of recording industry. “Our department is thrilled to partner with Capitol Records for the 2011 Street Party to showcase the capabilities of our students, faculty and staff,” Merchant continued.
“Providing audio, video and professional support for every aspect of this year’s event, today’s recording-industry students are on the leading edge of audio production technology and music-business savvy. MTSU and Music Row are the perfect match,” Merchant added.
“I’ve spoken with our students, and they are quite excited by this opportunity to showcase our talent in the college,” commented Dr. Roy Moore, mass communication dean. “We were particularly pleased to have been chosen as the academic partner from among the many fine mass communication programs in middle Tennessee.”
The presenting sponsor of the Street Party is Grand Avenue Chauffeured Transportation, and stage-level sponsors are Wrangler and rdio. For details and more information, visit facebook.com/capitolstreetparty.
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