It's been quite a while since our last blog and there are a lot of exciting developments to report. We've completely immersed ourselves and the company into Television production, partnering with Mike Ousley productions on the local production of "Lucky Break", currently hosted by Brad Perry at Lone Butte Casino. I (Jeff Lowy) and Associate Producer Aimee Schwierjohn have hosted live auditions on Wednesday nights, along with the "world's most dangerous DJ", Rob Shakmanwith great turnout and response. I continue to function as one of the three judges along with Jan Ziff of Successes.com and CBS Radio and Linda White Wolf of White Wolf Productions, a platinum Grammy recipient/producer. The show airs on CBS (KPHO) 5 in Phoenix…and we're hoping to renew next season at Lone Butte shortly. If not, we'll be finding a new venue from which to air the locally popular show. You can find it on Facebook (become a fan!) and complete episodes at www.wingilariver.com. Really exciting news-we're in talks with Cecil Chambers, award winning record and film producer, and CEO of Triumphant Pictures on creating a Spanish language show for Univision and a "Teen Idol" show, possibly beginning in March at a local Valley mall….and potentially nationwide in partnership with a very large management company. On the event side, we've produced videos for the grand opening of the new Wild Horse Pass Hotel and Casino along with a charitable effort on behalf of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Arizona. I'll post those very soon…if not today! We also produced a completely outrageous and high quality Las Vegas-style "Showgirl" review for a promotion at Jobing.com. Check out the videos here soon….along with some pictures in the slideshow below. Thanks to Darcy, our choreographer, Kirsten and Andrea, our costume designers, and all of the crew-Todd, Chad, and the rest of the gang for implementing an on-site dressing room, security, stage and decor, and soundstage. As always, Georgia Varela, operations manager, handled all of the coordination with aplomb. If you get to work with her on your event…you're in great hands. The grand opening of the new Wild Horse Pass Casino and Resort provided us with three days of constant events and production. Thanks to motivational speaker Mike Miller, author of Sales at Combat Speed, and CEO of PrimoSolutions, LLC, Emil Miller of Phoenix Sound Labs and countless others for their support and superb efforts. Andrea Vote, our floral designer, and her team, have been cranking out hundreds and hundreds of outrageously creative and stunning arrangements for numerous events. Pics are attached….check them out! Our new showroom and foray back into the social markets have been extremely successful and special thanks go out to Goodwill Industries for giving us great opportunities to work with them on events, Scottsdale Health Care, who now asks us to organize their health fairs and the Novak, Blumenthal, and Dortwiler families for giving us the chance to demonstrate our wedding coordination expertise and creative input into their events-from linens and chair covers to centerpieces, entertainment and floral arrangements, candles….anything needed for a great event. Lots more to come….we're doing all types of printing in-house, created ATM machine covers for several local casinos, and are producing a spectacular Jazz Brunch in Chandler, with local luminaries like Alice Tatum, Sherry Roberson, Jerry Donato and Augie Mendoza, Tim Downs, and soon-Bridget Maynes, Delphine Cortez and Margo Reed (tentatively). The Encore Band is making a resurgence, displaying it's 30 years of experience and "chops" at a recent event with long-time members Greg Anderson, Randy Walker, Joe Schofield, Dave Schmidt, Claudia Maynes-Burkland and new rising local star Jermaine Johnson-discovered at the Lucky Break competition. Lots of old stand-bys but also a new Michael Jackson set, some Jason Mraz, Counting Crows, Journey, and pop hits by Coldplay, Sara Bareilles, and lots more. Corporate and social clients should definitely check out the new look and playlist. Again, a lot more has gone on…and I'll follow up soon with video and photos of events for local companies like ReBath, Clean Cab, and large corporate events for Genentech, Marsh (on the road in Dallas) HP, and many more. Stay tuned….we're going to return to a weekly (or more blog) to entertain you over the holidays. Finally, a shout-out to my son Sam Lowy, who is directing the ASU improv troupe, Barren Mind, participating in the university's sketch comedy troupe, Farce Side, and working on his own projects, "Marvin's Room", Tempe's first independent Improv group, with shows at the Madcap Theaters every other Friday night, getting his stand-up skills honed at ASU's Comedian's Club, and, like all young performers, working in the Encore warehouse in his "spare" time. Check out Marvin's Room on Facebook and become a fan!

Last year we started working with Lone Butte Casino and Mike Ousley Productions out of Birmingham, Alabama on the production of a television show called "Lucky Break" as a promotional tool for the casino and an opportunity for local talent to compete for weekly prizes and a grand prize audition with record producers in Las Vegas or Nashville. Encore worked closely with the casino, transforming their Cascades Lounge into a full-blown television studio. We helped obtain the proper lighting and sound equipment and designed and built a great stage set for the backdrop to the performers appearing on television. The lounge now serves as a television production facility on Wednesday and Thursday nights. I was asked by the marketing department to serve as one of three judges, and as it turned out, I was the consistent weekly judge, appearing in 24 of 26 episodes including the semi-finals and finals. The show turned out to be very successful on a number of levels. Hosted by Chris Parker, morning drive-time DJ at Mix 96.6 in the Phoenix market, there were hundreds and hundreds of contestants who signed up to perform Karaoke, provided by killer DJ Rockin Rob (Rob Shakman) and be judged on a scale of 1-7 (21 being a perfect score-go figure!) by the three judges. Chris Parker was a great host and the post-production handled by Ousley's team did a more than respectable job. Working through a couple of production issues, and in an effort to improve the viewer's loyalty and the content of the show, we proposed several new ideas in conjunction with the marketing team at Lone Butte, led by "Chaz" Fowler and including Lananh Tran and Larry Lynch. The improvements included "auditioning" contestants, interviewing the weekly winners and creating a human interest angle which would provide the viewer with insight into the contestants and changing the show from a talent show to a full blown "reality" show. Encore now produces the Wednesday night portion, bringing people into the lounge and taping the performances. In addition, we select the contestants for Thursday night tapings, and do the on-air interviews. Aimee Schierjohn, our newest hire and recent graduate of University of Arizona's Business School handles all of the contestant contact, organization, confirmation, and interviews. The first week went extremely well….great turnout in the lounge on both Wednesday and Thursday, with local singer/actress/writer/publisher, Laurie Fagen handling the hosting duties and Jeff Lowy, Jan Ziff (returning from last season) and last season's overall Finals winner, Becky Witter, handling the judging duties. Follow this blog for more information, which will keep on coming. We have great advertising rates and sponsorship opportunities available, so please contact us for some great deals on airtime as well as product placement and on show mentions, etc. It's a great way to get your company's name out in the local market on a show that is watched by locals, that has great ratings in the market and great overall exposure. Pictures, videos, etc., will follow. In the meantime, you'll note that our homepage is also serving as a landing pad for contestants to pick their artists and songs for the competition. Here's a clip from one of last season's shows: If you're in marketing at a casino outside the Valley area, this show could be produced in your market as well and bring you great returns on a very reasonable investment. Contact us for more details. It's a turn-key marketing product and tool that your audience and your community will LOVE! Encore Creative helped Lone Butte Casino and Mike Ousley Productions is now marketing the production throughout the west coast U.S. for night clubs, casinos and other venues interested in driving traffic and creating brand and customer loyalty. Themed shows, like "You Wanna Be A Country Star" or other themes applicable to your market are also available. Check out Lucky Break on Saturday nights on KPHO, channel 5, at 10:35pm!!!