PLAY: LOCAL A&E
It’s Just Not A Party Without CTO
How Carmen Tomassetti made his locally grown company globally recognized from a studio space above Main Street. By Caitlin Maloney • Photography By JPG Photography (jpgphotography.com)
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hirty years ago, on any given night, you could find Carmen Tomassetti playing music at bars in the city. At the time, Carmen’s music career was just getting started, but he soon worked his way down to the Jersey Shore and eventually onto Florida to perform on the cruise ship circuit. “It was then that I realized I had to get serious about music,” Carmen said. “I saw myself becoming a cruise ship piano player with a ruffled shirt playing for tips and I said, ‘I can’t do this, I need to start a business.’” That’s when he first launched Carmen Tomassetti Orchestras (the original CTO) and began managing bands in the region—booking them for weddings, corporate and nonprofit events. Over the next 10 years, as his bands became popular, Carmen realized he needed a place to properly showcase their talent to potential clients. He eventually found the perfect space above 4450 Main Street and has been there for the last 15 years. At the time, Carmen probably thought the intimate space was plenty big, but now, some showcases are standing room only and clients even stand in the stairway just to hear the bands perform. “Nobody showcased for the first five years, we were the only company doing it and we really changed the marketplace here,” he said. “And now everyone does, you can’t make it in the industry if you don’t.” Not only was Carmen a trendsetter for band showcases, he was also the first in the industry to use a three letter company name. After a few years as Carmen Tomassetti Orchestras, the company quickly became known simply as CTO, and now in the Philadelphia area alone there’s CTO, EBE and BVT. Besides being known for their name and their showcases, what CTO 42
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is most known for, is their talent. Carmen gets his talent in one of three ways: he either puts talented musicians together to create a band of their own, finds a band that already exists and brings them into the CTO family, or sometimes he takes in bands and retools them by swapping out a few members or adding additional instruments or singers. “Sometimes just adding in one person is all it takes,” Carmen said. “It’s amazing to watch a band transform so much from the minute we bring them in from when you first see them at a showcase to when they are ready for their first performance.” As far as bands are concerned, CTO has something for everyone. When booking a band through CTO, clients work directly with Carmen’s right hand girl Angelina Costa, who has been with Carmen in the Manayunk space from the beginning. Angie has an initial meeting with the client to get to know their personality and help match them with the band that’s the best fit for them. If someone wants a band with a wild personality, Angie would recommend Park Central; Fifth Avenue is their more seasoned band; and then there’s Tribeca, who’s more young and trendy; Midtown Express is a good mix of everything; and Grand Central is their rock and roll band. “I always recommend coming to a showcase,” she said. “It’s usually an ‘aha’ moment when you see a band you know is right for you. People who come in for showcases are blown away by the talent.” At the showcases, the band’s give a 20-30 minute live performance to give clients a taste of their performance style. “Trying to plan a wedding is like putting on the Academy Awards, it’s a lot of stress,” Carmen joked. “Angelina takes them through the process
manayunk.com | Winter 2016
11/2/16 4:57 PM