Posts

ROCKstar of the Month of March: Alascia Jones

This month’s ROCKstar of the Month is Alascia Jones, all-around ROCKstar at Rock The House! In recent years, Alascia has helped keep the office running smoothly by handling a lot of RTH’s daily tasks, working with our clients to ensure that everything is perfect for their events, and even helping the rest of our team prepare for their shows each and every weekend.keep

RTH_Rockstar_of_the_month_alascia_Jones_event_consultant

Alascia joined the Rock The House family in August of 2014, and has since proved to be an invaluable asset to our team. Serving as the Director of Special Projects of the International Live Events Association’s local Cleveland Chapter Board, it was clear to tell that Alascia was an excelling event professional from the start. Always ambitious and ready for the next challenge, Alascia has become an expert at any role she’s performed throughout the company.

A Few Fun Facts About Alascia Jones:

  • Favorite Group or Artist? Beyoncé
  • Favorite Guilty Pleasure Song? Marky Mark & The Funky Bunch – “Good Vibrations”
  • Favorite Snack? A “Guyzone” from Guy’s Pizza
  • Most Relatable Cartoon Character? Pepper Ann…. “I can relate to her on many different levels!”
  • Favorite Thing About Being on the RTH Team? The close-knit ties and relationships that make up the Rock the House team. Even after I move on from working in the office, I will always be a part of the RTH family!

RTH_Rockstar_of_the_month_alascia_Jones2

“Alascia is such a ROCKstar! With her ability to ‘multi-switch’ and her ‘ready to learn’ mentality, she has not only become an expert in all the areas in which she was hired, but she continues to pick up additional projects and tasks to assist our team in moving forward! We’re so happy that she is spreading her wings, but we will miss certainly miss her in the process!” – Amy Van Duyne, CSEP & Executive Assistant to the CEO

As of late, Alascia has accepted a new position in the event industry to further grow herself and her career. However, she is more than deserving of our distinction of our ROCKstar of the Month award, and we wish her nothing but the best in all of her future endeavors.

Interested in joining the Rock The House family? Visit RTHCareers.com to learn more about our various positions and how you can work directly in the event industry. Photos courtesy of the Rock The House Photo Archive.

RTH Signature Event: State Industrial Products Bi-Annual Sales Conference

RTH_State_Industrial_2017

Last month, RTHAV partnered with State Industrial Products for their most recent sales conference. While their headquarters are based out of Cleveland, State Industrial’s products are utilized all over North America, and their sales departments stretch to the far ends of the United States. With such a diverse sales team coming together in one place, and over 100 years worth of business in the books, our team knew they certainly had their work cut out for them with this event.

RTH_State_Industrial_2017_Stage

Taking place every two years, this 3-day conference consisted of many different seminars and activities for State Industrial employees. The first two days were all business, as guests attended various sales meetings and breakout sessions to continue building up their skillset and sales repertoire. While this may sound like any old company retreat so far, attendees were in awe of the spectacle that awaited them inside the Grand Ballroom of the Cleveland Renaissance Hotel. RTHAV’s skilled lighting designers used several-colored washes to add character to the massive space, which were programmed to move on various cues between presentations and during the awards banquet that took place on the second night of the conference. RTHAV also overtook the stage, equipping it with a gigantic 18′ x 32′ AV Stumpfl projection screen to display various media such as PowerPoint presentations, videos, and more from a Christie Boxer 4K30 projector. A lectern was also centered on the stage for keynote speakers, whose message bellowed through the speaker stacks that hung above and made it nearly impossible for guests to ignore.

 RTH_State_Industrial_2017_Giant_Connect_Four

After the closing remarks and final breakout sessions on the 3rd day, it became clear that there was only one thing left to do… Have a good time! As guests filed back into the main room, they were greeted with a wide assortment of giant, classic games like Connect Four, Light Brite, and even a 13′ Foosball Table that allowed for over a dozen players at once! RTHAV also supplied a coinless-claw machine filled with party favors, our signature 4-player Rock Shots Basketball, our virtual SportsZone gaming system and a photo booth with a customized props. The final celebration was capped off with music by our own DJ, Mattitude, mixing live for a vibrant dance floor on our all new Touch Screen DJ System.

RTH_State_Industrial_2017_Mattitude_Touch_Screen_DJ_System

Focused around the theme “Inspire”, it was clear that the message of the conference resonated with State Industrial employees as they headed home that Sunday evening. After a long weekend filled with excitement, fun, and necessary business, the entire State Industrial management team was relieved to know that this imperative conference was truly a great success. That wondrous feeling is surely one of the many reasons that the company chose to work with RTHAV once again after years of continued service. A direct result of our team’s attention to detail, dedication to their work, and their ability to not only get a job done… But get it done well!

Photos courtesy of the Rock The House Photo Archive. Interested in working with RTHAV for your next event? Contact our team of event professionals today to get started!

ROCKstar of the Month of January: Cory Shy

With so many large events happening for us in January, it only makes sense that our first ROCKstar of the Month for 2017 is one of our top project managers, Cory Shy! Cory has been an RTH team member for 6 years now, originally starting as a part-time technician and continuing to work his way up to more leadership roles through our production sector, RTHAV.

ROTM_Cory_Shy1

A renaissance man of the production world, Cory is well-versed in many different fields ranging from video, to lighting, to audio. Most recently, Cory has taken full control of the Today’s Bride Wedding/Fashion Shows. With Rock The House (RTHAV) acting as the official production partner for these shows, there are a lot of moving parts involved in making an event of this magnitude come alive. However, having proven his responsibility and leadership skills time and time again, Mr. Shy handles projects like this without a hitch by expertly directing fellow team members to ensure everything runs at company standards.

A Few Fun Facts About Cory Shy:

  • Favorite Cartoon Character? Rocko from “Rocko’s Modern Life”
  • Favorite Movie? The original “Jurassic Park” (After seeing the film with his brother in theaters when he was about 6, it lead him to read the original Jurassic Park novel, as well as other works by author Michael Crichton.)
  • Favorite Artist(s)? Flaming Lips
  • Pre-Event Snack? Ohio City Subs’s “C-Town Slugger” … By far the best gas station sandwich around.
  • Guilty Pleasure Song? Katy Perry – California Gurls
  • Favorite RTH Event? About two summers ago, both Conny sisters got married and we collaborated on two massive tent weddings at Conny Farms with our sister company Selective Sound Entertainment. The setups took a whole week (each), and featured thousands of feet in string lighting and over two dozen different chandeliers.
  • Favorite Thing About Being on the RTH Team? The ability to have different work stations at various job sites makes it something fresh and new every day. Some things remain constant, but the people and clients always change, and it allows you to work outside your comfort zone. Plus there’s a great team behind us that enables us to always have what we need and work at such great venues.

ROTM_Cory_Shy2

“Cory’s a terrific team member to have and a great part of our roster. He continues to increase his responsibilities so that as we grow, we grow together.” – Ben Allison, Production Manager

Regardless of all his accomplishments during his time at Rock The House, Cory continues to credit our team for contributing to his success.

“I’d be nothing without the people that guide me… The people who have taught me, work alongside me, and have helped me achieve the level of production our shows have, and require. I wouldn’t be where I am without them… It’s a big group effort. – Cory Shy

Congratulations to Cory again on being awarded the ROCKstar of the Month, and we thank him again for all his hard work, dedication, and service! Interested in working with Cory Shy for your next event? Contact our team of event professionals today to get started! Photos courtesy of the RTH Photo Archive.

RTH Signature Event: The Duve Wedding

Duve_Wedding

Rock The House makes dream weddings a reality for hundreds of couples each year. However, it’s not every day that one of those couples is a member of our team! A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of helping our own Marketing Manager, Nick Duvé and his husband, Stephen Duvé, celebrate one the best nights of their lives in one of the greatest weddings productions we’ve ever put on.

As a former DJ and Host at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and a connoisseur of ‘Fairytale Weddings’, as well as his time spent with us at Rock The House, Nick has seen just about any wedding possibility you could think of. That all being said, Nick had gathered plenty of ideas for his own wedding throughout his years in the industry… and he had all the resources to make them happen. With the help of Meredith Masaveg of Rain Wedding Planning, Nick and Steve began planning their big day.

“This wedding was much more then just about Steve and I. It was about celebrating all of the friends and family who have helped us along our journey. We wanted to give them an experienced they will never forget and with the help of some very talented vendors, and I think we accomplished that”. – Nick Duve

Duve_Wedding_Seating

The Duvés decided that the Akron Art Museum was the perfect location for both their wedding ceremony and reception to take place. An already stunning venue, Rock The House provided full production and lighting work throughout the museum, while our sister company Selective Sound Entertainment provided ceremony services, with Vice President “Jay R.” Rich as the officiant and first DJ. Chairs the wedding and reception were provided by Be Seated. After the ceremony guests were invited onto an outdoor dancefloor for cocktail hour, before stepping inside the newly-transformed art museum for the dinner reception.

Duve_Dinner

A beautiful ceremony is only complimented by an unbelievable reception, and that became no clearer to guests than when they first stepped inside the building. After a 5-star dinner provided by Driftwood Catering and frosty desserts brought by Mason’s Creamery, guests were personally invited once again onto the outdoor dancefloor by Nick and Steve for their first dance and formalities. However after a short time of dancing, guests were stopped by RTH MC Sparky B. and invited back inside the building for a very special surprise from Nick and Steve. The Duvé’s weren’t done quite yet.

Duve_RTH_Reception

When guests arrived back inside, they were in awe to see a Vegas-inspired dance club, which had been in plain view the whole time, but simply hidden behind a wall of drapery! The perfect light show was coordinated by an RTH lighting designer as Sparky B. continued to hype up the crowd! Lights were only the beginning, as the Duvés surprised their friends and family with music by celebrity DJ Brian Dawe of VH1 & MTV! The night to remember was all captured on film by Matt Reisinger of Elite Entertainment, and still-frame images were shot by Marc Anthony & Tony Ryan Photography. Special thanks also go out to L’Nique Linen Rental, Nikki’s Perfect Petal Designs, Paul Mitchell the School: Cleveland, and Justin Campbell from the Akron Art Museum, who all did their part to make the day a success for the Duve’s! You can find more pictures, and videos from the Duvé Wedding by following the hashtag #HereComeTheDuves.

Want Rock The House to make your dream wedding a reality? Contact our team of event professionals today to see what we can do for you! Photos courtesy of Marc Anthony & Tony Ryan Photography and The Rock The House Photo Archive. Videos courtesy of Rock The House and Matt Reisinger of Elite Entertainment.

Your Guide To A Hauntingly Good Halloween Party

RTH_Jack_o_lanterns

With the leaves falling from the trees and the summer heat drifting away, it can only mean one thing; Fall is finally here! With Fall comes pumpkins, football games, flannels, and of course, Halloween. As the days get shorter and the nights get longer, Halloween is the perfect time to throw some of the craziest parties of the year. As your friends and neighbors prepare by decorating their houses and making fun costumes, here is your guide to throwing a spectacularly spooky soiree they won’t soon forget! Putting on a Halloween celebration may seem like a monumental task, but really it can be broken down into three main facets: Lighting, Special Enhancements, and Entertainment. Luckily, Rock The House is not only able to provide you with all of these things, but we’ll even walk you through each step of the planning process! Here are a few of our ideas, if you dare to dream big!

Lighting:

RTH_Spooky_Lighting

Lighting is a very powerful tool for any event you may be throwing because it allows you to not only transform the look of any space, but also the mood that is set by that space. Orange uplighting on a bare wall is a great way to give your guests a mysterious feeling as they arrive, or use it on some white drapery to make your own wall! Black lights are also known to set an eerie tone, and can be a great addition to any room’s design. While these lights are used to set the room’s general atmosphere, there are also advanced lighting options that will help bring your party to life after it kicks off! Strobe lights, hazers, and blinders are all great ways to turn your average room into a full-fledged Halloween production. Freedom sticks and gobos are some other good additions that can really bring a space together nicely.

Special Enhancements:

RTH_Chandeliers

Once you’ve got the lighting in place, it’s time to polish off your production with some extra flare. Fog machines are a great accent to our advanced lighting choices, or you can add some chandeliers to give the room a touch of aged elegance! Also don’t forget about any of our fantastic extra entertainment options, such as Rockshots, LED Ping Pong, Giant Foosball, and more! Our selection of games and extra activities are a great way to ensure that guests will stay entertained both on, and off the dancefloor!

Photo Opportunity:

RTH_Halloween_Photo_Oppourtunity

Another special enhancement that is a must-have for any Halloween party is one of our many different photo opportunities! Photos booth options have become a new staple piece for guest interaction, and can be very appealing to those who may be a bit too shy to put their dancing shoes on. Not to mention that if you’re throwing a costume party, your guests will be itching to get a picture of themselves in their new attire! Add social media sharing, and guests can easily share their photos directly to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or even have their pictures sent to them instantly through e-mail or text message.

Entertainment:

RTH_Halloween_Entertainment

When all the lighting and production work is done, you’ll still need to entertain your guests! Whether you prefer live entertainment or a good old-fashioned DJ, Rock The House is always ready to make your party ROCK! Our masterful DJ/MC pairs are trained to play for any kind of crowd, and our in-house, award-winning party band Rock The House LIVE is able to play a wide variety of genres from funk, to rock, to today’s biggest hits. No matter which option you prefer, you can be sure that all your guests will be out of their seats, enjoying themselves the entire night! As you can surely see by now, trick-or-treating isn’t the only fun thing you can do in October. Now’s your chance to throw a party so good, even ghosts from last Halloween will want to attend! Contact our team of event professionals today to get started, and mention this article and receive 5% off your Halloween event. Images courtesy of Google Images and the Rock The House Photo Archive.