The Westcott Theater owner sits with his back to a monitor that shows a live feed of every corner of the venue.

The office from where Dan Mastronardi manages the theater is upstairs from the stage, but a cover of British rocker Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll” — known as the “Hey Song” to sports fans — reverberates in the closet-sized space, making it feel like he’s standing front row.

For once, he’s not running the show. Mike Summergrad, who took Mastronardi’s MUI 200: “Live Music Promoter” class last semester and now interns at the Westcott, booked the bands, ran the sound check and attracted an audience chanting for an encore by the end of the night.

These experiences typically only come by getting into the music industry, but as part of the class, students can learn them firsthand from Mastronardi and then apply them at events hosted at the Westcott and The F-Shed at the Market, which he also owns. The class, which Mastronardi started last year, is offered through the College of Visual and Performing Arts. Students split time between the Westcott, The F-Shed and the SU campus, where the course is held.

Mastronardi came to Summergrad, a senior psychology major, with an open date of Friday, Feb. 13 and told him he could fully manage the concert. He had never run a show before outside of a summer internship and his experience in the class, so this was his first chance to “take the ball and run with it,” Summergrad said.

Summergrad booked four student acts: Pizza Party, a pumped-up, self-described “party rock” band; Basket(s), which plays mostly acoustic, mellowed-out indie rock; and openers Harryhausen and DJ Jett.

“When we were sound checking and hearing them get to play through a big PA system, I was like, ‘Wow this is an opportunity to take these young college acts and give them a place to grow on a big stage,’” Summergrad said.

These are the kinds of lessons and realizations that can’t necessarily be taught through a textbook, but can be learned in the class, at the Westcott and in the real world, Mastronardi said.

He’s spent at least a decade working in the Syracuse music industry, having watched once-local bands like indie rock band Ra Ra Riot make it big in the national scene. When he acquired the Westcott in 2008, Phish-influenced jam bands ruled the local scene, drawing mostly “hippie types” from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. More recently, he worked with Andrew Taggart, one-half of the electro-house duo The Chainsmokers, when Taggart was a freshman at Syracuse University.

This led Mastronardi to believe that college-age students and musicians are the ones driving the music trends.

“The music industry is based off of what college kids want,” he said. “By the time you’re 18 to 22, you’re dictating what people listen to. So if you guys want EDM, we’re booking EDM, and if you guys want country, we’re booking country.”

Concerts are also a big part of a college student’s experience, said Taylor Henry, a junior film major and student in the class. Venues like the Westcott and the F-Shed allow music lovers to see different acts than those offered through SU, she said.

Last week, the students had a class at the Westcott for the first time, Henry said. So far, they’ve learned the basics of music promotion, but will now start learning how Mastronardi handles the business side of management.

“There’s a difference when you’re feeling the stresses from the things they’re talking about,” Henry said. “Anything I’ve done with music — working on set or working with musicians — you learn more from doing things, so I think it will definitely be a good hands-on experience.”

When Austin Holmes, a junior acting major, had class at the Westcott, it was his first time at the venue. Even though the theater isn’t as big or well known as the venues University Union uses, he said it can be a good way for student musicians to get their foot in the door.

“I don’t think anyone’s bringing in Beyoncé,” Holmes said. “But it’s such a good time because you can fill up the place.”

Originally, Summergrad told Mastronardi he hoped to have student bands play at Chuck’s Cafe and have DJs perform at Funk ‘n Waffles, but now he has a completely different plan in mind — one he hopes to see through as he continues on to graduate school at SU next year.

He said he wants to have student bands from SUNY-ESF and SU play at the Westcott on a weekly basis, which could ultimately create a fresh, local student music scene for years to come.

“That’s what the really cool thing about it is — there are so many young, diverse acts at SU,” Summergrad said. “So you can have someone who is a punk rock type band and put them on stage with a DJ or a rapper, and it exposes students to things they wouldn’t normally see.”

Mastronardi said his relationship with SU students has grown “1 million percent.” The biggest reward of the class is when his students become successful, even though seeing them leave is bittersweet, he said.

“After you do something long enough you become a professional at it, it’s not about the books anymore,” Mastronardi said. “I want to give them the tools and experiences so that they can go be that CEO of whatever company they’re going to have.”

Published on February 18, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Annie: apalme05@syr.edu