By Nick Quartapella

Few students are aware of the bands and musicians that make up Kutztown’s abundant and diverse local music scene.  That being said, an even smaller handful of students are aware of the places that these bands perform, leading to a lesser amount of exposure due to a smaller audience. Although many may be interested in these bands, often they do not know where to find them.

This is what KU Electronic Media students Nick Quartapella, Dillon Snyder, and professor Cara Cotellese took into consideration when creating an open-microphone TV show showcasing the area’s local music talents. The show, aptly named by current host Collin Miller, is called Mic Check.

Since its inception over a year ago, Mic Check has gone from a cheesy-looking 15 minute long uphill encumbrance, to an attention grabbing half hour show.  The show embraces the musical styles of the featured band by matching camera angles, lighting and cuts to the music itself.

The format of the show is a three-song set by the featured band, interviews with the band and concert updates.  Segments outlining music news, music history and new album releases have been recently added to the show.

“Mic Check has grown to emanate excellence in both entertainment and production values,” said Dillon Snyder, producer and co-host of the show.

The show is entirely orchestrated, brought out, critiqued and edited by students. Each crew member is detrimental to the way the show looks every episode and no role is considered minor. Crew members meet on Sunday mornings to shoot the show in Rickenbach’s TV studio; spending between six and eight hours on Mic Check.

The overall goal of the show is to allow students on and off campus to listen to the great local music acts in the areas surrounding the University. It also gives bands needed exposure to gain a following.

“Being on the show was great because it was our first TV studio experience and it allowed us to focus on the energy we were creating by ourselves, through our music, rather than the energy between us and a crowd,” said Rob Orthwein, guitarist of the band “Rodgechotteri” who performed on the second season of Mic Check.

For more information regarding Mic Check, such as joining the crew or performing on the show, email miccheckkutv@gmail.com with the inquiry topic in the subject box. To find out when episodes are airing, “like” Mic Check on Facebook at Facebook.com/miccheckku and to watch previous episodes of the show visit Mic Check on YouTube at YouTube.com/miccheckkutv.