Music Matters.

Meet the professionals who volunteer their time and resources to making OC Live possible.

Music Committee Member: Neil Alexander

Pianist, Synthesist, Keyboardist & Composer who works with music in all forms and styles (including jazz, rock, funk, blues, electronica, ambient and contemporary classical). In a career spanning more than 4 decades Neil  has made his mark on the local and international music scenes, having toured the US, Europe, Mexico and Canada. I addition to his long running original music project Neil Alexander & NAIL he has toured with successful acts such as The Machine, The Mahavishnu Project, Marty Balin, Corey Glover (among others) and performed with a who’s who of local artists such as Tim Moore, local hip hop phenom Decora (for whom he was musical director for 4 years), Pee Wee Ellis, Ted Orr, Jesse Gress, Blue Food, Jeff Siege Segal, Tony “Thunder” Smith and many others. https://nailmusic.com/

Music Committee member Tom Kennedy:

Tom is passionate about the arts and is the founder of Rill Song Studios the music recording and visual fine arts studio where he endeavors in avocation in right brain activities to showcase his love of  music composition, landscape photography, video production and individual expression.

“Passionate in the study and capture of authentic moments in time… I enjoy being in the instant! Sometimes the moment is terrifying and intimidating like standing next to a raging waterfall; sometimes it’s tranquil and meditative like a morning mist rising over an Autumn meadow… these are the experiences I wish to convey. They bring me peace and provide an intellectual and emotional opportunity to share my vision, learn new things and experience the joy of life!” www.rillsongstudios.com

Music Committee Member: Waylen Roche

Waylen Roche is a Newburgh based music producer and performance curator. Roche, a North Florida native, spent 7 years in Brooklyn working as an educator, writing and performing music and hosting multi-disciplinary arts events in non traditional venue spaces, before relocating to the Hudson Valley in the summer of 2019. Since moving to Newburgh, Roche has continued to develop his skills as a singer-songwriter and keyboardist, while also working with the OCAC to develop and facilitate the OC Live concert series since the fall of 2020. Besides making music and throwing events, Roche is an avid hiker, loves growing organic vegetables and raising his 6 chickens, 2 cats and 1 dog.

Music Committee Member: Andrés Santiago

AndrĂ©s specializes in DJing, audio engineering and event production. Inspired by the underground mixtape DJ’s of NYC, he began making mixtapes in 1994 to exchange with friends in school. After 30 years of working in music entertainment, AndrĂ©s brings a passion for technical performance, selection and presentation. He has performed at thousands of events and has coordinated numerous small to mid-scale event production teams throughout his career.

AndrĂ©s has shared the stage with legendary acts such as The Roots, Jon Legend, Spazmatics, The Nightowls, Leon Bridges and The Randy Rogers Band. He has played at venues such as Stubbs BBQ, ACL Live, Circuit of the Americas, Zach Theater in Austin, Jimmy’s Don Coqui, SOB’s, Bronx Museum and Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. Some of his corporate clients include Google, Facebook, SpaceX, Formula 1, Verizon, Dell and SXSW among many others.

Based in Newburgh, NY, Andrés owns and manages Everyone Needs Sound, an entertainment and event production company focused on talent, audio, lighting and livestreaming. You can catch Andrés on Tuesdays 7-9PM EST during his weekly program, The Fantastic Galactic, a curated show that takes you on a journey through world musical expression and visual aesthetics. . https://everyoneneedssound.wixsite.com/controlthesound

Music Committee Member: Everett Collie

Everett Collie is an area creative who specializes in portrait and commercial photography and videography. He uses his skills to help Orange County-area businesses better connect to their clients and customers.
A South Florida native, Everett has lived in Middletown since the 1997. He and his wife, Cquera, started a media company around 2000, which eventually became EC Media Group, LLC. The company has been a New York State certified Minority and Women-Owned entity since 2018, working with students from SUNY Orange, SUNY New Paltz and Orange-Ulster BOCES to help give young photographers, video and graphic artists an opportunity to study their craft via a practical, hands-on approaches to learning.
“The next generation will help determine the future of the industry,” he says. “That’s why I think it is important to pay it forward by reaching back and lending a hand to the young people who want to learn.”
Everett has volunteered with Hudson Valley Honor Flight since 2014, photographing trips with area WWII, Korea War and Vietnam War veterans as they visit the D.C. war monuments and memorials. He has donated his time and talents to companies like Creatives MX, Orange County Arts Council, Orange County Citizens Foundation, Leadership Orange and many others. In his spare time, he works with the youth at the Middletown YMCA after-school program.
“This area is an amazing community to be a part of,” he adds. “It’s wonderful to live in such a diverse county. https://www.ecmediagroupllc.com/

Music Committee Member: Gretchen Weerheim

Gretchen Weerheim was one of the first to graduate from Hofstra University’s Music Business program. After studying and singing opera for too long, she took that experience and worked for the Metropolitan Opera Guild as its manager of family programs. There, she produced shows that taught everyone what opera was all about. In 2002 she was awarded the St. Gabrinus Fellowship from the University of Dortmund, Germany to teach music students about show production. Since then, she has dabbled in music here and there, is a big fan of indie music and emerging artists, and writes speculative science fiction.