ABOUT
PIER GIACALONE
Rock The Vote 2005
LIVE AT THE BULL MOOSE
Pier Giacalone:
I have been studying guitar and music in general since the age of 7. This included studying classical guitar through Jr. High and High School, then winning a college scholarship to study music. I earned a BFA in Studio Composition from the conservatory at Purchase College - SUNY.
My first professional gig was playing guitar in the show band on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines at the age of 20. The same year I began running live sound at the venerable indy landmark Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ.
In 2005 I spent the year as Regina Spektor's personal soundman on tour. As it turned out, Regina had gone through the exact same music major at the same school that I had (only a few years after me). This common experience was very helpful in our communication and I ended up traveling across the US and Europe with Regina. Along the way I got to mix venues such as Radio City Music Hall, The Beacon Theater, Irving Plaza, The Bowery Ballroom - abroad The Royal Swedish Opera House and many many others. One big perk was I got to meet then Senator Obama on the first time Regina performed for him. The President is a fan; he's had her perform at the White House too.
During my time with Regina I also recorded/mixed/mastered a live EP called "Live At The Bull Moose" (Sire/Warner Brothers). The EP is a fan favorite and currently available on itunes. Only 2,000 physical CDs were produced so they now sell as collector's item on Amazon for as much as $250! There are several songs on the EP that have never been released on any other recording, including the fan favorite "Pound of Flesh". Cuts from The Bull Moose have been used as B-sides on singles from Regina's Gold and Platinum selling albums "Begin To Hope" and "Far". If you look on the thank yous for "Begin To Hope" you'll see listed in the middle "Pier, Jen and Baby Ben" My first son was conceived during that tour - something Regina was very proud of - and ultimately his arrival was the reason I stopped touring which I have no regrets about.
I have been producing and engineering now for 28 years, a span that has included everything from managing my college's studio and interning to owning and operating my own mastering studio in NYC, and full service studio here in PA. From mixing Billy Preston and Ben E. King in a small club to international touring, mixing 7,000 seat venues. From playing guitar in a cruise ship show band to touring with my own band and opening for Blues Traveler in front of 10,000 people. I have been a music-maker and music-facilitator my entire life, which at 48 is starting to actually mean something :). Music is my passion and it always has been. It's my greatest honor to help people realize their musical dreams on either side of the studio window or on stage.
Pier's Credits (Partial):
Zayn Malik (2017)
Regina Spektor (Front of House mixing live + recorded/mixed "Live at The Bull Moose" EP
Justin Guarini
Sloan Wainwright
Billy Preston
Ben E. King
Jeff Daniels
The Blues Brothers Band
Jay Azzolina
T.O. Sterrett (PBS Documentary Composer)
Sire/Warner Bros
Knitting Factory Works
EMI India
Polygram Gospel
For a full bio visit http://www.piergiacalone.com
About Hopetown:
Pier opened Hopetown in its current location in January 2011 after a brief partnership with the extremely talented Mike Pfeiffer, who started the studio in Furlong, PA 2 years earlier.
Since opening in Carversville Pier has grown the studio adding a wide array of fantastic instruments and serving the vibrant local music scene as well as noteworthy artists from Philly, NYC and elsewhere.
Pier has taken great pleasure in working with local businesses like Bucks County Drums (Chris Carr), DW Fearn / Hazelrigg Industries (George and Geoff Hazelrigg), Studio Logic Sound (George Hajioannou) and Dtown Guitars (Rob Martyn) in growing Hopetown into the amazing creative space that it is today.
Hopetown is very fortunate to benefit from a network of incredibly talented studio musicians on a variety of instruments.