PandoMonthly at Bennett Media Studio

PandoMonthly at Bennett Media Studio: A Fireside Chat with Ben Lerer

Thursday, August 16, 2012 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM (EDT), New York, NY

On August 16, PandoMonthly, a division of PandoDaily - a newly launched web broadcaster hat offers technology news, analysis, and commentary, with a focus on Silicon Valley and startup companies is coming to Bennett Media Studio to have their third monthly conference event in New York City. Entrepreneur and investor Ben Lerer will be the main guest speaker of the night.

Lerer is the co-founder and CEO of Thrillist -- the modern lifestyle brand for hip, urban guys everywhere. I always thought of Thrillist as DailyCandy for dudes, but it has continued to evolve well beyond the basic email newsletter. It now includes street wear flash-sale site JackThreads and the Groupon-like Thrillist Rewards.

Lerer is also a partner in Lerer Ventures, a firm that is aiming to do for startups on the East Coast, what SV Angel has done on the West Coast (read: Invest in most everything promising). Indeed, the two firms have a co-investing agreement to cross-pollinate Lerer Ventures' Huffington Post-soaked media expertise with SV Angel's Ron Conway-soaked Silicon Valley dominance. Given that Thrillist grew with very little venture capital, I'll be curious to hear Lerer's advice for startups when it comes to raising cash.

Lerer Ventures' portfolio includes BirchBox, Chartbeat, greplin, Pair, Romotive, RebelMouse, and plenty of other companies we're watching closely. It also includes PandoDaily.

GET A TICKET

Piri Concert with Gamin Kang at BMS

On Jan 17, 2012, Bennett Media Studio again welcomed a full house for an intimate concert of Korean Traditional and Experimental music, with Gamin Kang as the featured artist.

Gamin Concert Jan 17, 2012 from Bennett Media Studio on Vimeo.

Gamin Kang, the main performer of the night on ancient Korean instrument Piri, played together with Satoshi Takeishi on percussions as well as Jin Hi Kim on electric Komungo, which is a traditional Korean stringed musical instrument.

The three artists connected the old and new with traditional Korean instrument—meeting the sophisticated sounds from new experimental languages of contemporary music, offering the audience a real East Asian Cultural feast exclusively at BMS in New York City.

I took this photo of the audience after my closing remarks and asked them to say goodbye to the artists.

Bobby Flays cooks in Ed's Kitchen

Bobby Flay from TV Food Network, and owner/chef of Mesa Grille and Bolo in New York, shot several episodes of his TV Show here at Bennett Media Studio. He was a delight to work with, and having him film his show here was a real treat. It felt like having " personal" cooking lessons to see how he spins his magic with food. On this episode below, ( one of 20 shows shot here) Bobby demonstrates how to make Acorn Squash. He cooked this recipe on the Grill located on the Terrace off the Kitchen.

He will be back in my kitchen in a few weeks to do 20 more shows. I will get a chance to share with you some more recipes. Or you can wait until these shows premiere on the new season for TV Food Network.

Private Dinner with Wine Tasting at BMS

I hosted a wine tasting and a private dinner here at Bennett Media Studio on April 26th, 2011. This event was co-produced by DailyFoodandWine.com and featured wine connoisseur, Alex Elman. She has also created some extraordinary wines. You can see her web site HERE.

Although blind, she has tremendous experience and credentials as an executive in the wine business (Perrier-Jouët Champagne in Epernay, and Sherry Lehman in NY). She now imports small production, hand crafted, artisan wines to the U.S and has her own label of wines. Elman’s wines are honest, focusing on the sustainability of the vineyards where they are produced, as well as truly representing the wine’s terroir.

Today, she travels the world with Hanley, her seeing eye dog, in order to find the best wines that the earth has to offer. Hanley is a good sniffer, but stays away from the wine. Good dog.

For this event, we limited it to 30 people who have a keen interest in wine. Most were press people, wine bloggers, and just wine imbibers ( like me) to mix it up and taste some nice wines. We will be doing some future Video for the wine blog, and a posting here at BMS Studios. This may become a monthly series, particularly during the summer when we can go outdoors on the terrace and eat/BBQ/ and enjoy the early evening weather.

If you want to attend future tastings, please contact us.

Please contact register@bennettmediastudio.com if you are interested in joining us!

BMS presents Counterpoint AfterHours

Here at the studio, I will be hosting "Counterpoint AfterHours" - an evening of new writing curated by Counterpoint Theater Company. Counterpoint Theatre Company is an international collaborative of artists, committed to producing a global exchange of the most innovative new writing as well as bold re-imagined classics. We will feature new short works by some clever and talented writers from London and New York, and live music from our friends, The Vanguard. Watching these guys at a soundcheck session is a real treat..and they thrive in front of a live audience. Sticking with our season's theme of "What's Love Got to Do With It?", we're focusing on crossed wires, gullible lovers and guilty secrets, and asking our writers to respond to the provocative phrase, "I LOVE YOU...I THINK".'

The multi-award winning US/UK lineup includes Counterpoint's Resident Playwright, Bekah Brunstetter (NY Innovative Theatre Award), Lily Bevan (artistic director of the Osip Theatre), Joel Horwood (Cameron Mackintosh Award), Josh Koenigsberg (2010 Playwright in Residence, Urban Arts), Michael Lew (Heidman Award winner), and Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (Smiffie Award Winner).

April 21st, 2011 8:00 pm, $10 Cover CASH ONLY at the Door! Doors open at 7:30pm

RSVP on Facebook!

Directed by Allison Troup-Jensen

Creative Team: Artistic Director: Allison Troup-Jensen Executive Producer: Rachael Stevens Development & Event Coordinator: Lauren Davis Waisanen Education Director: Anna Andersen Associate Artist: Elizabeth A. Davis Artistic Assistants: Alex Mallory, Paten Hughes

SALME geishas performed at BMS

Salme Geishas performed at Bennett Media Studio on April 6th, 2011. This performance at Bennett Media Studio last week opened SALME's NYC tour, hosted by the Japan Society.