The HJN Team
For Hanover Jam Night to work successfully, a lot of moving parts have to come together. That's why it takes a great team to make it happen. Below are the roles required to make HJN a success.
If you are interested in joining the HJN Team in any of these roles, please reach out to Eric Chappell @ chappell.eric@gmail.com or 804-277-9250.
During-Show Roles
Show Director
A HJN show is complex, like any live production. The Show Director owns the vision and execution of the entire show, including what happens, when it happens, and who does what. This person manages the people and show flow in realtime to make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be at the right time. This person also handles any issues that arise to ensure that the show is smooth and professional. A great show director has excellent organizational skills and is able to coordinate a large number of people in a live situation.
Emcee
The Emcee is the glue that holds the audience experience together. Time is required between songs to switch out musicians and equipment and this is a great opportunity for the Emcee to lead everyone in sharing their love for live music. This could be done by sharing information about the musicians, interviewing the musicians, encouraging audience participation,or whatever the Emcee's creative mind can come up with. A great Emcee is comfortable at a microphone, can think on his or her feet, and has a great sense of audience engagement (or lack thereof) combined with an ability to get the audiences engaged.
Instrument Technicians
Essentially, there is a different band for every song at an HJN show. That means new musicians need to quickly get on stage and get connected while the last set of musicians needs to disconnect and and leave the stage. A great InstrumentTech will make sure this happens quickly and smoothly and work with the sound technicians to facilitate each change-out to make every song great. There are opportunities for two guitar technicians, a bass technician, drum technician, and keyboard technician. Great instrument technicians understand the basics of sound engineering and making sound connections.
Stage Sound Technician
While the venue provides a front-of-house sound technician, someone is required to manage the sound mix on stage so that the musicians can hear themselves and everything sounds good for them. This person will work closely with the FOH sound technician to make sure the night goes smoothly from a sound standpoint.
Greeter
Nothing makes an experience great like a smiling face to greet you at the door. Musicians and audience members will have questions as they enter and this person can be there to provide all the answers. Musicians will need to be connected with the instrument techs that get them set up, told where to store their instruments, etc. Also, there are t-shirts to be sold, donations to be collected, and volunteers to be recruited.
Between-Show Roles
Show Coordinator
Nothing beats a great HJN show, but the next day it's time to start planning for the next one. The next set list needs to be built, social media events and posts need to be created, musicians need to be contacted, new musicians need to be recruited, and more! This person gets the next show started, and while he or she doesn't do all of these things, this person coordinates all of the activities that lead up to the next show and makes sure that they happen! A great Show Coordinator is detail-oriented and has great organizational and communication skills.
Social Media Manager
Social media is an excellent vehicle for sharing great HJN performances and bringing more musicians and audience members into the fold. The Social Media Manager makes sure that HJN's social media presence helps to promote and grow the program and bring more and more opportunities to musicians and live music lovers. A great Social Media Manager is savvy with social platforms and understands how online audiences find and interact with content.
AV Capture Manager
HJN is the gift that keeps on giving when we capture great audio and video during the live shows. This allows excellent videos to be created and shared that showcase the incredible talent and joy that takes place during a HJN show. This person oversees the technical aspects of capturing audio and video, recruits and coordinates volunteer videographers, and gets all of the files to the audio and video editors for production.
AV Editor
Great HJN videos are a way to continue celebrating the talent and joy of HJN performances! After a show, the AV Capture Manager is going to have tons of raw audio and video files to turn into amazing final production videos for posting on social media. The AV Editor will make the magic happen and produce great videos that everyone will like, share, and comment on. A great AV editor has solid audio and video editing skills and has a good eye for great content. The AV Editor is also responsible for creating the practice tracks that musicians use to prepare for HJN shows.
Musician Outreach Manager
The key to HNJ is musicians getting together, making connections, and making great music. The right person can enrich and accelerate this process by coordinating these connections prior to each show. "Hey, we need a bass player for this song - who can I reach out to?" "John really wants to play this song. Who can I gather up to join him and make this a reality?" With some effort, creativity, and a make-it-happen attitude, the Musician Outreach Coordinator can make a lot of connections that would not have happened otherwise.