Design Leader. Visual Storyteller. Creative Problem Solver.
Design Leader. Visual Storyteller. Creative Problem Solver.
At the height of the pandemic, when the world and the pulse of New York City—its nightlife and live music scene—were completely shut down, I conceived, developed, and produced what would become my most ambitious and creatively fulfilling project to date.
The Fiore Escape was the name I gave to a series of shows that involved an experiential transformation of the entire second floor and fire escape of my Lower East Side apartment into a vibrant and fully functioning rock music venue. With a sound system we built—featuring a 16-channel mixer, multiple amps, PA, in-ear monitor system, and LED and stage lighting—we poured music and LIFE back into the streets of New York City. The Fiore Escape shows ultimately reached hundreds of thousands of people across several continents with over 445,124 social media impressions worldwide.
Art direction by Jill Fiore, Drone footage and video editing by Michael Weimann.
The Fiore Escape began modestly with myself and a bassist out on the fire escape with a single-channel vocal amp and small practice amps. Center stage was wrapped in a frame of white stage lights, along with back lighting of pink Christmas lights reflecting on the brick. A lead guitarist was in an adjacent bedroom window with a strip of yellow LED lighting framing it to visually connect him to the two of us out on the fire escape.
The success of the first show prompted creative expansion. I added a fourth musician to the final window, a saxophone player, to fill the entirety of the building's width. I upgraded to a better vocal amp and proper bass amp, strengthening the clarity and power of the overall sound. Utilizing every window allowed for a seamless visual connection among all four musicians, creating an 'Amsterdam Red Light District' visual effect. The enhancements heightened the audience's experiential journey and set the stage for further improvements in subsequent shows.
After the initial success and local press coverage of the first performance, I proactively maintained media interest by pitching “the return of The Fiore Escape.” I added a contract drone operator to capture footage from many vantage points, and ensured a professional photographer was always on the scene to capture stills. As the owner of this footage and stills, I shared it when both ABC News and Access Hollywood reached out. Their news coverage further expanded the reach of the experience, inspiring viewers with the story of creative resilience and connection in the face of extreme adversity.
By the third show, the LED lights of the musician windows were no longer static—they were operated by a lighting designer and software system from an iPad in the crowd below. We welcomed a 16-channel mixer and a sound person to operate the system remotely from the street. We deployed an in-ear monitor system, allowing the band members, located in different apartments or separated by walls and brick, to hear each other clearly in the mix and achieve a much more professional sound.
Additionally, I installed an LED sign displaying my social handle @soundandfiore, allowing onlookers to easily tag and share, further extending the event's reach and amplifying our online presence.
It was a truly epic show! ABC News was there to cover the performance and interview the band, and the resulting news piece showed just how much the community came together and embraced this extraordinary event.
After being featured on Humans of New York, my life changed in a matter of minutes. The posts on Instagram and Facebook together garnered over 445,124 impressions worldwide, and the flood of comments blew my mind. Feeling an overwhelming sense of connection with the world, I was inspired to give something back.
I expanded my crew and evolved the production to include a six-camera livestream feed for show #4, allowing all my new friends and followers in other countries to watch and have a New York experience wherever they were. This setup included an active live feed from the drone, four cameras on the actual fire escape positioned to capture each individual musician, and an elevated camera operated by one of my crew members who sat atop his jeep to capture the perfect elevated front-facing view.
After several successful performances, my ultimate goal for the Fiore Escape, already a historic event, was to incorporate live drums. We constructed a drum riser in my bedroom to elevate my drummer to window level, ensuring visual consistency while allowing him to sit and play an electric kit directly connected to our sound system. The addition of live drums filled downtown New York City with the professional sound of a full live band from an apartment building into the streets for the first time in the city’s history.