8-24-2020 10:40am

Scott Hall To Host Acoustapalooza At The Barrel On Sunday

Rick Amburgey Neighbor

The 2nd annual Hall Around Town Radio – “Acoustapalooza” will be held at The Barrel in Springboro, Ohio on August 30. The event, which will feature performances from nine bands and 10 solo acts, will raise money for local children with Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes. The performances by local music artists will begin at noon. Superior Hyundai of Bevercreek is the sponsor of the main concert stage and the side solo stage is sponsored by Ruscello’s Salon of Springboro. There will be great food, door prizes, raffles, a silent auction and non-stop music throughout the day. The money raised at Acoustapalooza will benefit the Dayton Children’s Hospital Foundation.

You have served as the emcee for many local events. How did you get into it? Since I was a teen, I have been involved with DJ work… Starting with school dances, providing wedding entertainment, being a club DJ at some of the areas largest nightclubs in the 80s and 90s and even going as far as working on radio stations such as WDJX and WPFB.

I had a love for entertaining people … the response of over 1000 people on a dance floor was a great adrenaline boost for me … I quickly lost any fear of talking in front of a crowd and “the rest is history” as I like to often say…

I also worked in the Fire Service that afforded me so many public speaking engagements and media relations situations. Due to my radio background, I was selected as the spokesperson (Public Information Officer) in my fire department at a very young age. Writing press releases, giving sound-bytes during high profile fire and rescue events became a daily part of my career. This also developed over the years to a national level with Ohio Task Force One (a Federal Homeland Security- Disaster Search Team) one of 26 in the country. I have done spokesperson work and press conferences in front of very large media groups including during Hurricane Katrina and also live from Ground Zero during the 9/11 tragedy just to name a couple of the larger ones.

What do you do to prepare to be the emcee for a particular event? I think the key to being a quality emcee or host of an event is to educate yourself (Know the Who What When Where and Why’s of the show your doing… I especially like to dig deep into the bands or entertainers joining me on stage so their introductions or chats (podcasts) with them can be rewarding by promoting them and educating the audience…I also work with the event to provide as much promotion as possible to help them sell tickets or fundraise if that applies…

What is the biggest challenge about emceeing an event? Staying on time can be a difficult task…. I am a real stickler for having a timeline and following it as close as we can…. That is another job of the emcee (to be on the mark on time and to keep the audience engaged in what is to come during a show) Fundraisers can be the most difficult because of prize and raffle contests that tend to really take up so much time.. That is why I like the silent auctions an 50/50 raffles (you can get them on and off quick)

Does a particular audience make it easier or harder to emcee an event? Absolutely….Let's take a musicians showcase as an example: Most people are there to hear the singer/songwriter play and talk about their music…. However, on occasion there can be a group or even just one person that are totally detached from what is going on and normally they can be loud and disruptive (especially during introductions or rules of the contest being passed on by the emcee). And also there is always “THAT GUY” yelling for “Freebird” or something like that that can totally throw off your flow while trying to host. Another challenging audience can be one that is waiting for a show to go on that is having some sort of delay or technical issues. People get really impatient when the start time isn’t being met.

What has been your most memorable experience as the emcee of an event? I have had the honor of introducing many national acts on a big stage over my many years…that is always memorable… However, I would say that one of my greatest (and nervous) moments was introducing a very high-ranking public official. That was incredible, but there was absolutely no ad-libbing or deviation from the script.

How important is a good sense of humor when emceeing events? As an emcee, I feel that you set the entire tone for the show…. No matter what kind of event it is the crowd is there for a reason and you are there to show respect to them and keep them engaged. As for humor, I love to throw some of that in… We all need to smile and just like a stand up comic some humor goes good and some not so well … over time you learn what works and how to work the room to be entertaining and not overbearing.

You also have a radio show on Facebook live. How did that get started? That was started when I lived in Florida and the Fish-Tale Marina gave me an opportunity to produce fishing and marine life podcasts along with interviewing the musical artists who played their Friends of the Arts Concert Series. (Glen Leonard of the Temptations, Al Holland of the Platters and the Beach Boys Touring Band were some). This grew into a business with sponsors on the fishing shows…etc. It was the beginning of something special for me and I am still producing shows daily for Hall Around Town Radio as it is now known… The opportunity now to talk about my love of music and support local artists in the process is very rewarding.

You also host trivia twice a week. Why do you think there is such an interest in this area for live trivia? Trivia has always been around … I think its increased popularity now is more of the social aspect. Our trivia nights have many regulars who over time have developed into a family of teams with a lighthearted competitive spirit. You can go somewhere and play on a little computer gizmo, but it’s just not the same without an interactive host leading the game and recognizing those in the room.

How do you try to set your trivia events apart from others in the area? I like to believe that my trivia is popular because of the entertainment value… I try not to be just a “talking head” (anyone can read questions). I strive to bring life to the weekly quiz and to be creative with the questions or music we are presenting. Our “Name That Tune” Music Trivia is one of my favorites to host… People love music and really get into the competition during those nights!

Anything else you would like to add? In closing, I want to say that this entire hosting, emcee, radio show and social media concept is building great bonds and relationships. The concept of “Musicians Helping Musicians” and those who support this community are so important to me…. I look forward to what the future will bring for all of us!