Project Update

The Great Divide east coast tour is on it's tail end with stops in Providence, and two stops in New York left on the calendar. The past few days have been action packed for the band. The show at Rockwood Music Hall was five tickets short of a sell-out. 185 people showed to hear "Moorie" and other Great Divide songs written by the band's lead singer, Teddy Grossman. 

 The show at Rockwood Music Hall was followed by a three song set for representatives at Sony Red. According to the Sony Red website, "RED, a division of Sony Music Entertainment and headquartered in New York City, is widely recognized as the industry leader in music distribution and artist development. RED specializes in Sales, Marketing, Radio Promotion, and Product Development for more than 60 independent record labels." Obviously this was great for the band as they continue to get the exposure they need to realize their dream of touring full time.

 Another wave of positive exposure came from the band's appearance on the Artie Lange show, where they performed "Step Back" and "Ain't No Roads". In all, the tour has been a great success and the seeds have been planted for big things down the road. There should be a lot of pride at Bettendorf and Leyden High Schools as they were one cog in the wheel for the band's success.

FaceTime with the Band

Great Divide, while touring the East Coast, took a break from playing and traveling to FaceTime with Bettendorf High School students today.  The band was able to put faces to all the tweets and Facebook messages, while the students were able to connect with the band members, ask them questions, and get direct feedback from the band on their marketing efforts.  

This has developed into a perfect partnership in which the students are experiencing a world far beyond their classroom, and the band is committed to helping the students learn while reaping the benefits of their promotions.  Below are a few short video clips of the FaceTime interaction between Bettendorf High School in Iowa and Great Divide in Philly.

Introductions:



The Impact Our Project is Having on the Band:



Additional Impact the Band is Seeing From Our Efforts:



What is Your Favorite Great Divide Song You Play?



Do You Listen to Your Own Music in the Car? - "Rock out to yourself!"

Leyden HS Lights Up Twitter for Great Divide Project

Leyden HS began it's social media campaign for Great Divide today with a fury of tweets aimed at promoting the band in several locations on the east coast.  Armed with their own research, social media skills, and background info from Bettendorf HS students, it was apparent that Leyden HS is here to have an impact!   

Students are working together in long distance, co-mingled groups to promote the band in the markets in which they will be playing.  Each group has a target location/venue and students from both Bettendorf and Leyden.  Members of the group from each school are responsible for collaborating with one another to create a buzz for the bands videos and upcoming shows.  Momentum is building as increased video plays continue and as the band moves through the east coast with one successful show after another.        

Update from the Road

As Great Divide travels the east coast, the band has been great at staying connected to the students and the project through Twitter (@greatdividelive) and email. The band has provided a brief summary of each show for our students to reveal the good, and sometimes not-so-good, of life on tour. 

The 8X10 - Baltimore, MD (May 2)
Show went really well for first night! There were probably about 100 folks there, and they were a really good/responsive audience. Sold a bunch of merchandise, which is great! Our play was a little sloppy, but that's pretty standard for a first night.

Private Party - Philadelphia, PA (May 3)
It was an alumni event, so nobody was there to see us per se, so we ended up being background music for the most part and just played a lot of covers. Tonight's Philly show should be really good. Will keep you posted of course.

Milkboy Coffee - Ardmore, PA (May 4)

Show was awesome, best of the tour so far. Really attentive/engaged crowd…actually had some guys drive over 100 miles from Scranton to come see the show. One of those rare nights when it was the perfect crowd, sound was good, and the band really thrived on it. Made good money on the door, and sold a bunch of merchandise. WIN!

Photo by milkboycoffee via Instagram
http://instagram.com/milkboycoffee/

@greatdividelive: killin' it. #greatdivide #milkboy #milkboycoffee #ardmore @ Milkboy Coffee instagram.com/p/Y6dBgkj-L-/
— MilkBoy Coffee (@milkboycoffee) May 5, 2013

We're headed to Baltimore this afternoon to post up for a couple of days and just work and rehearse. It will be nice to have a couple days to focus on biz, and work on getting tighter for the run that starts Tuesday.

Check Out This Email

I continue to be impressed by the student's increasing list of accomplishments with this project.  After several informational emails back and forth with the manager of a venue on the east coast, a student received this email, and thus unlocked a world of potential.  Can't imagine the attachment that came with this email is shared often, if ever!

Leyden High School and Bettendorf High School to Partner for Great Divide Project. Student in OH Joining Too!

Leyden High School in IL and Bettendorf High School in IA have partnered to learn about social media marketing and increase exposure for the band, Great Divide. Leyden High School happens to be just miles from Chicago, the home turf of Great Divide. We had a Google Hangout with students from both schools yesterday. Also on the hangout was a lone student from a school in OH, who heard about the project and decided to join! We are looking forward to learning from and collaborating with Leyden HS and Johnathon in OH!

Bettendorf HS (Iowa) in Google Hangout with Leyden HS (Illinois)
and Johnathon (Ohio)

What is this project all about?

As we started this project, the students and Mr. Pisel discussed what we wanted to get out of this project. First, we wanted to produce a mutually successful social media campaign with Great Divide. We sought to increase exposure for the band while understanding the power of social media marketing. Second, we wanted to prove that high school students can use a school project to have real impact outside of the school environment. The students produced this video to further explain our objectives and how people can get involved.

(On a side note, this video was produced and edited by a BHS student that is not even in the Entertainment Marketing class. She did this as a side project proving that when passion and talent collide, the sky's the limit. So impressive!)