Vaughn De Spenza has worked globally for more than three decades. His companies are Reel Entertainment Group, LLC, of which he is the founder and president and Medallion Entertainment Global Alliance (MEGA). He has always been very passionate about music; according to De Spenza, music is the most transcendent kind of non-objective art because artists can build visions in listeners’ brains solely through sound. In 2010, he succeeded in bringing Wassily Kandinsky’s concentric art to Los Angeles in the form of a Concentric Art Music Series.
Although the recording industry was in a slump, veteran music producer Vaughn De Spenza believed he had found a solution in live music. And he’s put his concept into action in Culver City, California. Saturday nights at the Radisson Hotel LA Westside, De Spenza, president of Reel Entertainment Group, organized and launched a new live music series called Concentric Art Music Series. This series features independent recording artists and groups who perform a variety of genres, including, world music, blues, adult contemporary, Black Country and Western. According to De Spenza, the latter featured Mike Mann and Cowboy Soul was their most popular draw yet, with a near-capacity crowd, feeling that he tapped into black rodeo fans
De Spenza worked as a tour manager for Billy Preston when he was 28 years old. It was his first trip to Europe, which began in Budapest just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Being a part of the music industry for more than 30 years, he knew that the music industry was in jeopardy. With each passing day, he highlighted the importance of establishing a new paradigm that would allow local luminary musician’s to showcase their talents in front of a live audience. The performers of the Concentric Art Music Series include seasoned vocalists and musicians who have worked in the studio and/or on stage with renowned artists such as Quincy Jones, Jose Feliciano, Patti LaBelle, Kool & the Gang, and even Michael Jackson to name a few.
He started with Bill Reider, the Radisson’s general manager, and Jody Kono, the food and beverage manager, who approached De Spenza earlier in 2010 about assisting them in the production of a new music series. In 2009 they established a jazz series on Friday evenings in the Culver Club, the hotel’s supper club. It quickly became popular, especially after the local Jazz Bakery closed. Working with a hotel, especially one that is part of a large chain, had certain benefits, according to De Spenza. He considered the venue a distribution point.
De Spenza, he had bigger plans in mind; he filmed the second season of the series for archiving and distribution and is considering the release a compilation CD. He wanted to take the series on tour to other Radisson hotels, including foreign ones, in the future. Same as the way he launched The California Pavilion at Midem, which brought 41 American enterprises to the French Riviera under the title of the California Pavilion, the first US Pavilion to ever assemble at Midem. It was also the initial public-private partnership, with government financing provided by the Los Angeles Performing Arts Division’s Cultural Affairs Department for co-sponsoring a pavilion dedicated to local independent record labels and industry experts. The Medallion Entertainment Global Alliance (MEGA) was founded in 2007. Among the artist who performed live at the premiere were Calvin Owens, Robert Wilson of the Gap Band, Mario Reyes of the Gipsy Kings, Buddy Miles, Park Ave and 1001 Ways. The event was filmed by Schulman mobile videos and hosted by Jane Eugene of “Loose Ends.”
