The following is a message from the CEO of A Dante Production. 

As we end 2022, I would like everyone that helped make Dante Tick. It is time to celebrate the arrival of another new year in our lives. New Year 2023 is almost upon us, evoking the hope of a bright, promising, and assuring future. With every New Year, we hope to grow closer to our cherished goals. There is no better time than this to wish all of you a HAPPY NEW YEAR! 

Questions to be answered as we charge into 2023:

• What makes Dante Tick? 
• What are we preparing ourselves for? 

We have developed a company to provide: 

• Exceptional music entertainment and management to enrich and enhance the quality of life for our patrons.
  
•  An infrastructure to meet the diverse needs of the citizens in North Central, Florida.
• Concerts and live entertainment in a friendly and welcoming environment for visitors and residents.
  

Skill is the unified force of experience, intellect, and passion in their operation. 

The inclusion of new talent is a phenomenal asset, we welcome Pride, R&B Divas, and the Divas of Jazz. Just think they fit well with groups like Groov which on its own stands above the fray. Behind the scenes are some amazing people that you don’t hear about. (Let’s break it down).  

Below are the people that make Dante tick:  

Here is why A Dante Production sounds so good during our concerts!  Maybe you’ve witnessed a show where the instruments were cranked to 10, but it all just sounded like crap. 

Preparing the stage for a concert in the open air.

Bad sound at a gig can happen for many reasons. The good news is that despite the challenges that come from playing somewhere new, there’s a lot we do to make our live sound shine:

1. Leroy McClendon – He is our Sound Engineer.  Leroy checks the stage setup to see if the amplifiers, acoustic instruments, and microphones aren’t placed well, then he checks to see if he gets screeching feedback or level (volume) imbalances on stage. Here are two great rules of thumb.

• A little closer to you than the other musicians
• Facing your head (and not your knees)1.  He checks to see If you sing into a microphone, and make sure it’s always facing away from the stage monitors and venue speakers. Otherwise, the mic will start amplifying the speakers, which are already amplifying the mic, and you’ll get a very unpleasant—and loud—feedback loop.

  2.  He checks the venue setup. On stage, the sound should be optimized to make the musicians happy; in the venue itself, it’s all about getting a great sound for the crowd. For example, if the venue speakers are too close to the ground, the audience at the front will get blasted while the audience at the back hears a totally different tone. It never hurts to ask Leroy if we can shift some of the equipment around.

  3. Communication with Leroy is important. This is a big one. Leroy helps the band set up the stage and then controls the soundboard throughout the show. Want more vocals in the monitor? Just remember that the sound is in his hands.

4.  Microphone technique.  Standard vocal microphones If the singer’s not at the right distance from the mic, then the sound will suffer. And if you’re singing into this mic from a foot or two away, it can be impossible for Leroy to turn you up to audible levels.

5. Levels, EQing, and Effects.  There are many, many effects you can add to your sound, but just using the right levels (volume) and EQ settings can go a long way.  As a singer, you don’t want to add too much reverb which is a common mistake among vocalists.

6.  Equipment.  We put this at the end of the list because the venue’s equipment—the speakers, cables, soundboard, etc.—is usually outside of his control. Often, we just show up at a gig and must deal with what they have.

Bring your own mic. That way, you’ll know it hasn’t been dropped a million times, plus it’ll be easier to get up nice and close to that mic.

We show up early. That’ll give will give us a chance to test the equipment, find any problems and swap them out. It also gives you time in case you forget something and must run to your local music store to buy it and we have done this!

Dante as a company always has something new on the drawing board. The most recent addition is making Ms. Jeanine McAdams, the Music Director for the company.  Jeanine feels success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it and she is busy.

Jeanine was born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota.  She started learning piano at the age of 5 and did her first professional gig at age 14.  She is a Grammy Award and Gold Record recipient as a pianist/keyboardist/vocalist with the internationally renowned group The Sounds of Blackness. She has performed/recorded and toured with artists such as Prince, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Brown Mark, Luther Vandross, Sinbad, Miles Jaye, Janet Jackson, and Najee.

Jeanine has also performed for various Christian artists for the House of Blues, Gospel Brunch at Disney Springs and shows at the Epcot Center, including Joyful – A Celebration of the Holidays.  Her Musical Director Theatre credits include The Gospel at Colonus, The Wiz, Sister Act, Once On This Island, Dreamgirls, and most recently ELF – The Musical and an upcoming documentary Born to Swing about the life of classical/Jazz pianist Lillette Harris. Her television credits include the Arsenio Hall Show, Byron Allen Show, Super Bowl Saturday Night, and Soul Train.  She also served in the Music Ministry establishing Youth choirs and Worship teams and works as an accompanist for Orange County Public.  

L.D. Robinson is the director of marketing, and she is both a creative and a marketing genius.  L.D. feels the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. The hours L.D. puts into designing our future are unbelievable, she has a creative mind, and we discuss my visions via phone, and she creates from there. L.D. left a highly visible job to start her own business and she is an asset to Dante Production.  L.D. is a creative genius and provides all the designs on social media and the Dante flyers. 

James A. Womack, Sr. 

James controls the promotions, venues, and all related matters.  James was an instrumental person in the revival of Dante Production, James saw a need to provide North Central Florida with some cultural entertainment.  James started JAW Promotions to be the advanced ARM in the establishment of various events. JAW Promotions is the first entity to locate a venue, make the arrangements, and make the date, and time for a concert before passing all the pieces to A Dante Production. 

What’s New for 2023?

S.W.I.T.C.H.  – S.W.I.T.C.H. is our new department responsible for the design and management of events–in other words, Event Planning. Is TIME ticking away as you plan your event?  S.W.I.T.C.H. will assist in your planning for your Wedding, Party, Anniversary, Networking, and/or any event you can think of. S.W.I.T.C.H. is headed by Ms. Donna Gray-Banks.

Final Message from the CEO

BIG THANKS to James Womack of JAW Promotions and Gary Johnson for keeping the dream alive. The articles in that popular online magazine, BLACK MEN IN AMERICA.COM are altered to perfection. Gary often talks me “off the ledge” when I am ready to call it quits.  He is the calming force within A Dante Production.

Dante Production, LLC was developed in the 1980’s time-frame.  The company was formed as a family company as a legacy company to allow the Dunham Family to always have a fallback means of employment. The growth of the company exceeded all expectations and became a household name in the DMV. The CEO’s move to Florida did not include the revival of the company, however, a need was recognized in North Central, Florida. This revival came with a new method of operation. The laws and regulations in Florida were different, and a new mold of what will make Dante tick had to be developed. The CEO had to be creative and remold some thought patterns. Back to the drawing board means back to work.

The changes needed to be included, social, political, technological, scientific, economic, or otherwise—require that we help navigate through new and increasingly complex legal landscapes, which profoundly impact the companies and municipalities for which we work and our communities. In many instances, we are responsible for helping shape those new musical concert landscapes. I must say, “thank you” to all the members and associates of Dante for your continued participation and enthusiasm in our professional community, and sponsors for your incredible support and advice.

“I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than attempt to do nothing and succeed.”