Talkin' Baseball: Peanuts, Crackerjacks & Guitars
More than any other sport, baseball has a mythical, mystical quality which lends itself perfectly to music. From beloved team anthems to players' personal "at bat" music; from in-stadium sing-alongs to the countless songs about the game and its players, there is a unique and deeply intertwined relationship between the world of song and "America's Pastime."
Presenters
Judy Tint has over 25 years of experience as an attorney, consultant and producer in the entertainment industry. A graduate of Columbia Law School and Rutgers College, Judy specializes in music-related matters, and represents a broad variety of recording artists, songwriters, producers, independent labels, radio personalities, and other music-makers, from newcomers to legends. She is an Adjunct Professor in the NYU Music Business Program and a member of the Board of Governors of The Recording Academy’s New York Chapter, and has lectured extensively on various topics in the entertainment field, for organizations including South by Southwest, Practicing Law Institute, Women in Music, The New Music Seminar, CMJ Music Marathon, Columbia Law School, North by Northwest, and Grammy In The Schools. She has appeared frequently as an advocate for artists’ rights, and serves as Vice-Chair of the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts Division of the American Bar Association’s Forum on the Entertainment and Sports Industries.
Judy has served as a consultant and producer in connection with numerous entertainment projects, and has devoted her time and energy to a variety of benefits and other charitable endeavors. She is a longtime member of the Board of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, and was Executive Producer of the critically-acclaimed Capitol Records release, “The Rites of Rhythm and Blues”. She serves on the Board of Directors of WhyHunger, and held a two-year appointment at the United Nations, where she produced special events and oversaw the management and recruitment of UNICEF’s Goodwill Ambassadors and celebrity spokespersons. She created and produced a concert series at Lincoln Center with best-selling author/lecturer Marianne Williamson, promoted and hosted the long-standing China Club “Pro-Jam” (featuring appearances by countless celebrity guests), and developed and produced (with musical director Paul Shaffer) the live entertainment program at “Sullivan’s” in New York’s landmark Ed Sullivan Theater. Other organizations which Judy has helped support include The Starlight Foundation, The Nordoff-Robbins Foundation for Music Therapy, Feeding America, The Foodbank for New York City, the Oregon Foodbank, and The Community Foodbank of New Jersey.
While she has no intention of quitting her day job, Judy also performs semi-regularly as a vocalist and percussionist, and has made numerous appearances with her longtime clients, The Four Tops. She is a firm believer in the power of music to change the world.
Mike Mills is a member of R.E.M., a rock band based in Athens, Georgia.
R.E.M. has been one of the most influential rock bands of the past thirty years, having won numerous awards and touring most corners of the world. Despite having occasional hit singles, such as “Everybody Hurts,” “Losing My Religion,” “Man On The Moon,” “Leaving New York” and “Nightswimming,” R.E.M. has steadfastly maintained its artistic edge, and along with it, the band’s fan base and critical support.
Specializing in bass guitar, piano, keyboards, vocals and songwriting, Mills has also acted as the band’s co-producer. After thirty-one years and more than eighty million albums sold, the band retired in 2011.
Joe D'Ambrosio is a 37-year veteran of the Sports and Entertainment industries who heads his own talent management company, Joe D'Ambrosio Management, Inc. (JDMI). JDMI serves behind-the-scenes talent---producers, engineers, writers, arrangers, composers and mixers. In addition, JDMI produces special events for select clientele.
Joe began his professional career with the New York Yankees, rising from the position of batboy with the 1976 A.L. Champion and 1977 World Championship teams to Director of the Speakers Bureau, handling all personal appearances for star athletes including Billy Martin, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson and Rich "Goose" Gossage. His tenure with the Yankees earned him two World Series rings.
Before founding JDMI, Joe served as General Manager of Phil Ramone Inc. (PRI), the music production company of Phil Ramone, and personal manager of the ten-time Grammy Award-winning producer.
In previous incarnations, Joe also served as Director of Operations for the Classical, Jazz and Pop label, N2K Encoded Music, focusing on business development as well as production and manufacturing. As Phil Ramone's production manager, Joe worked with Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, and Julian Lennon, as well as TV and movie soundtracks that included Lou Reed, John Hiatt and Roberta Flack in White Nights, Madonna in Vision Quest, Ghostbusters and Moonlighting.
During his years in Chicago, Joe was Midwest Director of Sales for KAO Infosystems, a media manufacturing company pioneering CD duplication in the United States. While living in Los Angeles, Joe was the Director of Promotions and Marketing for the wildly-popular China Club. Joe was a driving force behind the West Coast version of the renowned China Club Pro Jam, overseeing the marketing of impromptu live performances by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Sting, Prince, Brian Wilson and Stevie Wonder.
Billy Altman is an award-winning cultural journalist and critic whose work has appeared in such places as The New York Times, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, Esquire, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Sport, Inside Sports, TV Guide, People, Entertainment Weekly, msn.com and foxsports.com. Most recently, he served as the Stop The Presses! columnist for Yahoo's front page division.
He covered New York baseball and other sports for many years at The Village Voice, and was head scriptwriter at Olympia Sports Networks for numerous syndicated radio programs, including John Madden's Sports Quiz and Flashback With Jack Buck. A longtime senior editor of Detroit's legendary Creem Magazine, he is a former assistant curator for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a recipient of the ASCAP- Deems Taylor Award for Excellence in Music Journalism.
The author of Laughter's Gentle Soul: The Life of Robert Benchley (W.W. Norton & Co., 1997), he currently teaches in the Humanities Department of the School of Visual Arts in New York City. And, last but certainly not least, he works as an official scorer for Major League Baseball at Mets and Yankees games in New York City. He's got a rule book, and he knows how to use it.
Saturday, March 16
