Once upon a time there were things called ‘binders’ (see photo) which were used to hold something called paper. The type of paper that was held in binders was primarily for office and administrative uses, and was used to document information. Long ago, in the early ages of computers, businesses and schools would have hundreds of these paper organizing tools, each holding hundreds of these paper units (they were called sheets or pieces). It might be hard to imagine, but this ‘paper’ was made from trees, and we (the people of earth) consumed so much paper and paper related products that it required entire forests to be cut down.  As the forests were cut down, new forests were planted in their place, but it wasn’t long before the rate of paper product consumption overtook the efforts to compensate for the loss of forest.  It was inevitable that the Earth’s forests would soon disappear forever.

In January of 2010, Craig Sumsky, the owner and Director of a small entertainment company, attended a N.A.C.E. meeting at The World Cafe Live in Philadelphia where he heard a woman speak about “Going Green”.  At the time, this was a term used for a movement in which companies both large and small could make changes that would save the earth.  The woman’s name was Lori Hill of Lori Hill Event Productions, and she inspired Craig to re-invent the way his company did business, and to be mindful of his responsibility to future generations.

Craig’s efforts sparked a worldwide movement, and within a decade all companies small and large had reduced their consumption of paper to less than five percent of what in had been ten years before.  This was the catalyst for a continuing effort that found viable alternatives to fossil fuels, and inevitably reversed global warming by the year 2025.  Shortly after, the nations of the world were able to use their resources to solve the problem of world hunger, while finding a cure for cancer and locating the island where John Lennon, Elvis Presley, James Dean and Jim Morrison had been in hiding.

All kidding aside, Cutting Edge Entertainment reduced it’s paper consumption by over 50% in 2009, and we are committed to continuing our efforts to conserve resources and eliminate waste.

Check out Lori Hill’s website, and help make a difference.

www.lorihillevents.com

Through a professional association, I was able to arrange a spot on the guest list for the ‘Beatles by Boggia’ event at The World Cafe Live, Wednesday, September 2, 2009.   The night was a celebration of the anniversary of The Beatles historic 1964 performance at Philadelphia’s Convention Hall.  The evening was hosted by WXPN’s Helen Leicht (Breakfast with The Beatles) and featured a performance by Philly native Jim Boggia and guest speakers Denny Somach and Larry Kane.  Having recently read Larry Kane’s ‘Lennon Revealed’ and currently two thirds of the way through his earlier ‘Ticket To Ride’ I showed up with both books in hand hoping to have them signed.

When I arrived, Denny Somach was on stage in front of a standing-room-only crowd introducing some rare footage of the 1964 Convention Hall show. As The Beatles treated the crowd to Chuck Berry’s ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ I made my way through the room towards the side of the stage where Denny was chatting with Larry Kane. When I first introduced myself to Larry, he thanked me for the book review, signed the books, and graciously posed for a few photos with me.  I think I must have shook his hand four times (sorry Larry) as I thought to myself  “This dude shook hands with Beatles” and so in a way… so was I.  He then had to excuse himself to go onstage and speak.

A lot of what Larry shared with the crowd that night referenced material covered in his books, so I was already familiar with much of it.  But I must say, to hear him tell it in person was so much more… well, personal.  He spoke for about forty minutes, stopping briefly to show a clip of himself interviewing Paul McCartney and John Lennon before finally concluding, wishing everyone well and heading for the ‘green room’ (it wasn’t really green, it was just a door marked ‘private’ just off the stage area).

I kept thinking to myself, “I’ve got more questions to ask this guy” and after some contemplation I made my move toward the private door.  As I approached, the only thing between me and that door knob was Helen Leicht who – when I asked if I could go inside and speak to Larry Kane – simply replied “I’m not in charge” with a warm smile, as if to say “Go right ahead.”

So I cracked the door and poked my head in to see Larry and Denny Somach sitting at a table chatting. They both turned toward the door and I asked if I might come in to speak with Mr. Kane a bit more. Larry just smiled and said “C’mon in.”  I slipped inside, sat down with the two Beatles gurus, and proceeded to tell Larry what an inspiration he was to me, and how much reading his book had really moved me, to which he humbly replied “I’m just a normal guy Craig, but I’ve got to get out there in a few moments and sign some more books so I can’t stay too long.”

Well, I chatted with Larry for what seemed like twenty minutes, and although I would love to share some of that conversation, I think that I’d prefer to keep our first round to myself.  Not that he was guarded about any of his answers, but I think that maybe a few of them might have been of a more personal nature regarding his interactions with The Beatles – specific incidents mentioned in his books – so out of respect to Larry, I’ll keep them to myself.  There was one thing, though, that I found personally interesting, and that I don’t see any harm in sharing.

When I asked Larry why he hadn’t referred to John Lennon as a “friend” in his book ‘Lennon Revealed,’ it wasn’t his answer – essentially along the lines of the need for objectivity in reporting – that gave me pause.  What grabbed me was when he told me that Yoko Ono had asked him the very same question.  Looks like Yoko and I have at least one thing in common.

As Larry got up to go sign some books, he shook my hand again and said “Call me anytime Craig, we’ll talk more” and quietly slipped out of the room. I rejoined the crowd outside the private room, and enjoyed a performance by Jim Boggia & friends doing some Beatles tunes (and doing quite a good job of it I must say).  All in all it was a fun night, and I came away from it feeling like I had really experienced something “Beatles.”  I look forward to listening in on Helen Leight’s Breakfast  with The Beatles radio program, reading some of Denny Somach’s stuff, and picking Larry’s brain in a more in-depth chat sometime in the near future.

Aside from all that, it was quite an enlightening experience to see so many folks gather to hear stories, watch rare footage and listen to the music of The Beatles (with the whole crowd singing along).  It was a very well put together event and it seemed like there was fun had by all.

-Craig Sumsky

www.cuttingedgedjs.com

All I can say is wow… World Cafe Live… yeah, the same World Cafe Live that houses WXPN and has all kinds of live performances… just wow.  I honestly never expected the facility to be so, (resisting the temptation to use more ellipses here), so cool.  Yep, cool, that’s about the best word to describe it.  I’m sure I could say unique (which it definitely was) or exciting or use a plethora of other words to describe it but cool just sums it all up.

We met with Gretchen McHale (Director of Event Sales) and I was truly blown away by the uniqueness of the facility.  In sixteen years as the director of an entertainment company I have never (honestly) seen something so darned… cool.  Often times clients ask me to recommend someplace ‘different.’  Well, look no more.  Gretchen was kind enough to send a few photos for me to use here, but you really need to see this place for yourself.  It screams cool.  It is big, but not too big, hip, and if you haven’t seen it before it is definitely worth the trip.  Before you plan your wedding, Bar or Bat Mitzvah or other formal event (holiday parties hint hint) give Gretchen a call.

Here is a link to World Cafe Live’s private events page on their website.

http://worldcafelive.com/book.html

As a final note I would just like to thank Gretchen for meeting with us.  Gretchen knows her stuff, and is an excellent fit for World Cafe Live.  It was really awesome to find that the person in charge of event sales could go head to head with me talking about bands and music… the DJ in me was quite impressed.  The whole presentation at W.C.L. was very impressive, and I look forward to going there again soon.

- Craig