Friday, June 27, 2014

GC Pro Works with Make-A-Wish®


Make-A-Wish® Southern Nevada program participant Diego, performing with his new DJ gear at a recent 5K event held by the organization. Photo courtesy of Make-A-Wish® Southern Nevada.

— GC Pro uses its incredible depth of inventory, its vast resources and the compassion of its employees to provide accessible products for children in the Make-A-Wish® program —

— Two young aspiring DJs now have professional-level rigs that they’re already putting to use at gigs, with all equipment, assembly and training
provided by GC Pro —

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA, June 27, 2014 — Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro), the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users, has been regularly collaborating with Make-A-Wish® Southern Nevada, a chapter of the national organization that grants the wishes of children diagnosed with life-threatening medical conditions in the United States and its territories, to provide access to musical instruments and professional audio equipment for children in the program. Most recently, the GC Pro office in Las Vegas worked with the southern Nevada chapter to make the dreams of two young DJs come true. In the cases of Kyle and Diego, two youngsters suffering from debilitating, life-threatening conditions, GC Pro fulfilled their wish list.

The new rigs for each DJ now include a Numark NS7II DJ Controller with case and stand, QSC K12 powered speakers and KW181 powered subwoofer, an Apple MacBook Pro laptop computer, Pioneer HDJ2000 professional headphones, Ableton Live 9 software, a Sennheiser E835 microphone and an Akai Professional EIE PRO 24-bit Audio/MIDI interface with USB hub. All of this equipment was provided fully assembled, configured and installed by Michael “Mickey” Lomboy, a member of the GC Pro Affiliates Program, with training also provided by GC Pro personnel – all part of how GC Pro supports Make-A-Wish’s acclaimed charity work.

“These kids are amazing,” says John Stevens, the Account Manager at GC Pro’s Las Vegas office who acted as the liaison for the project and for other similar collaborations since June of 2013. “They’re up against some serious illnesses — Kyle is permanently in a wheelchair and Diego has a serious neurological condition. But they are both really focused on becoming DJs. We wanted them to have the tools to achieve those dreams.” And that’s exactly what’s happened — both kids are already using the gear to play shows and concerts in front of substantial crowds.

Miriam Ceballos, Wish Granting Coordinator at Make-A-Wish Southern Nevada, had praise for GC Pro’s contributions to their cause. “We work with many vendors on these projects, and I can say that every time we’ve worked with GC Pro it’s been a pleasant and fulfilling experience, for us and for the kids,” she says. “DJ wishes have become very popular lately, and GC Pro knows exactly what the kids want and need, and it’s always right there when you need it. Sometimes the kids know what they want, and whatever it is, you know GC Pro has it in stock. And if the kids aren’t sure, GC Pro is there to help them figure out what works best for them.”

John Stevens notes that working at GC Pro is always fulfilling because, he says, “Every day you’re making someone’s dream come true, to be an artist, an engineer, a producer, a DJ. But with Make-A-Wish, it takes that feeling to a whole new level. When you see the kids smile and light up when they get that equipment, it pulls at your heartstrings. It’s the best feeling I’ve ever gotten here at GC Pro.”

For more information, please visit www.gcpro.com.

===

About Guitar Center Professional/Guitar Center
Founded in 2001, Guitar Center Professional is the outside sales division of Guitar Center that focuses on the needs of professional users. Its clientele includes recording studios, audio engineers, producers, recording and touring musicians, live sound venues, post production facilities and more. Emphasizing extraordinary individualized service via local account managers, GC Pro offers expert consultation and a comprehensive selection of the world’s finest equipment for music and audio professionals. More information on GC Pro can be found by visiting www.gcpro.com.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Heitor Pereira Creates “World Cup, It’s Time!”

The FIFA World Cup is one of international sports' biggest events, happening every four years and garnering a massive audience of soccer (aka "football" outside the USA) fans around the world. Beginning June 12, the 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil, one of the sport's biggest hot spots. It's only fitting that longtime GC Pro customer and friend, Brazilian composer Heitor Pereira, was tapped to help create a special song for the event.

Working with ASCAP, Pereira co-wrote and created the song “World Cup, It’s Time!” as part of the ASCAP Songwriter Residency, a partnership with acclaimed after-school program America SCORES. Heitor Pereira is more well known as a blockbuster film composer (The Smurfs, Despicable Me), as well as the guitarist of English soul band Simply Red. He recorded the song with twenty 6th grade America SCORES students from Charnock Elementary School in Los Angeles, CA. “World Cup, It’s Time!” was recorded at Remote Control Productions, the renowned Santa Monica scoring company owned by Hans Zimmer, and is available to stream or download for free with the rest of the "ASCAP Songwriter Residency: Volume 6" album here.

Enjoy the video of the song's creation and learn more about the project below.