Dan Maddalone is a member of the local recording and distribution companies Five Kill Records and Bee Side Cassettes, organizer of the basement music venue Chateau Shows in Albany, show promoter and the sound engineer behind many local DIY album releases. He was nominated for his persistence and dedication in hosting, promoting and producing local music. 

“I used to be like, ‘You can’t get paid to be obsessed with music.’ Turns out you can, spoiler alert,” Maddalone says. “With the house and the bands, I want to give a platform to so many people who deserve it. I started doing this 10 years ago and so much has changed. I’m happy people were able to pull me up so now I’ve got a spot and I’m trying to grab as many people as I can and toss ‘em up. Who knows, maybe somebody will stick.”

 

Photo: Shannon Straney

“It’s rare to see someone so dedicated to providing as engaging an experience as Dan,” said local music photographer Kiki Vassilakis. “He’s always challenging the way the music business is ‘supposed to be’ while also being open for discussion about it and it’s just really inspiring to see. More young kids in music should be exposed to folks as passionate about the local scene as him.”

Judybelle Camangyan is a sound engineer and instructor at Women’s Audio Mission in Oakland, Calif. who worked with Maddalone often during their time in Albany attending The College of St. Rose for music and running the DIY venue The Rice House from July 2016-2018. Camangyan and Maddalone are also on the Albany record company Bee Side Cassettes team together with Martin Pohl and Dan Paoletti. 

“Dan’s a powerhouse, really,” Camangyan says. “He just keeps going. I don’t really know what his end goal is but he’s always doing things for the community. Apart from hosting shows, he’s worked on records for people and really [does] more than you’d think. He’s supporting and helping other people grow in what they do without a second thought. That’s something really admirable about having him in the area, he’s a key foundation to all of these projects and all these ideas moving forward.”