Media Five Entertainment is a Pennsylvania based artist management and booking agency founded in 1970. The company has assisted in the careers of musicians and performers in the music industry. In addition to promoting regional and national acts for over 50 years, Media Five Entertainment agency exclusively managed the American rock bands Live and Fuel from their earliest conception to achieving international success in the 1990s.
After Woodstock, the Pennsylvania and New Jersey region provided opportunities for budding musicians and emerging entrepreneurs. With a broad vision on how to capitalize on such a possibility, Media Five Entertainment was founded in August of 1970 by a regional TV producer (Don Hunt), photographer (Tony Morrow) and a musician (David A. Sestak) from the Lehigh Valley area.
The Easton, Pennsylvania based agency specialized in booking regional bands and bringing national acts such as Aerosmith, Billy Joel, and Kiss to eastern Pennsylvania under the name Extensions of Man Concerts. Other notable national acts Extensions of Man worked with in this period include Daryl Hall and John Oates, Duke Ellington, Steve Miller Band, Sam and Dave, The New York Dolls, The Trammps, and ZZ Top. This early era of Media Five Enertainment helped to develop the company's reputation and ability to promote concerts and manage recording and performing artists.
All but one performance by Joel in the Lehigh Valley area was put together by Sestak and Extensions of Man.[1] Joel's familiarity with the area undoubtedly inspired the naming of one of his best-known songs, "Allentown," which was released in 1982. In December 1982, continued interest of Joel's music in the Allentown-Bethlehem area led Sestak to persuade local music director Bruce Bond to start a petition drive. The petition asked Joel to play in Allentown and was eventually signed by more than 10,000 people.
When Joel's fall tour was announced there was no Allentown date, however Sestak had been collecting news clippings and sending them to Joel's publicist, Elaine Shock, who apparently passed them on to Joel. Joel personally phoned radio station 95.1 WZZO FM to discuss, and on December 27, 1982, Joel performed for 6,300 people at Lehigh University's Stabler Arena. "Everyone was there," said Sestak.[2]
In the 1980s, as the company had established itself as a booking agency, Media Five further expanded to create an artist management division, developing local bands from the ground up and guiding them through recording, album releases, radio promotion, marketing campaigns, corporate sponsorship and touring. Artists during this period included The Sharks, Robert Hazard and the Heroes, and Pretty Poison. Lehigh Valley bands such as Magnum and Fury were booked at the Jersey Shore and for Florida Spring Breaks during this period.
Sestak and Media Five Entertainment were instrumental in the development of the multi-platinum band Live. Live's roots began in the early 1980s, when future members Chad Taylor (guitar), Patrick Dahlheimer (bass), and Chad Gracey (drums) began playing together under the name First Aid while attending middle school in York, Pennsylvania. After losing an area talent contest, they decided to enlist singer Ed Kowalczyk, and as a foursome the group played under a series of names before settling on Public Affection. It was at this time Media Five Entertainment began to manage and assist in the development of the band.
After earning a loyal local following, Public Affection released a cassette, 1989's The Death of a Dictionary on their own Action Front label. Shows at CBGB and other famed New York clubs followed, eventually earning them a demo deal with Giant Records that proved unsuccessful. The completed demo did earn them a deal with Radioactive, however, and before drawing their new name out of a hat, the band recruited Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison to produce group under the new band name Live.
Heading into the 1990s with two decades of booking, promoting and developing artists, Media Five’s Artist Management Division capitalized on two decades of show business experience and networking. In this period, Media Five guided beloved regional rock bands into success as internationally recognized pop icons, negotiating all business matters, overseeing album recordings, creative styling, art direction, radio, television and Internet promotion, marketing campaigns and worldwide tours.
With the guidance of David Sestak of Media Five Entertainment and Peter Freedman of Peter Freedman Entertainment, the 1990s were Live’s most prolific and successful period of recording and touring. Their music was described as “anthemic” and “spiritual” drawing frequent comparisons to 1980s bands such as R.E.M. and U2. Despite the band’s first commercial EP release Four Songs not charting, the band and management persisted in developing its identity. Some of the material for the band’s full length 1991 debut Mental Jewelry was based on the writings of Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti outlining the band’s creative direction and foreshadowing lyrical imagery Live would soon be known for. With this release, Live’s debut made the band one of the key players in the post-Nirvana alternative music scene thanks to singles like "Operation Spirit (The Tyranny of Tradition)" and "Pain Lies on the Riverside.”
In 1994 Live’s second full length album Throwing Copper quietly charted for several months, requiring patience as the band and management stayed the course. The first single "Selling the Drama" eventually reached Number 1 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, becoming their first of three singles to reach the top of this chart. The song also reached Number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100. "I Alone" reached Number 6 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks and the third single "Lightning Crashes" hit Number 1 on Modern Rock Tracks while also charting Number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart in 1995. The song also topped the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for 10 weeks and the Modern Rock Tracks chart for nine weeks. These three singles paved the way for the subsequent hits "All Over You" and “White, Discussion". "All Over You” went to Number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart and Number 1 on Billboard's Recurrent Airplay chart. It also charted at Number 4 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks and Number 2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. “White, Discussion” reached Number 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, Number 15 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and Number 12 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
Debuting at number 38 on the US Billboard 200 on May 14, 1994, Throwing Copper reached number 1 exactly one year later, going on to sell eight million copies in the U.S., over 700,000 in Australia and New Zealand and over 375,000 in western European countries. Coming in at 60 on Billboard’s decade-end chart performance, Throwing Copper has been continuously recognized as the band’s best album and a key popular music release emblematic of the new directions of 1990s rock music.
Secret Samadhi, the third Live LP, followed in early 1997 debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 upon its release and also achieving number 1 in Canada, New Zealand and number 2 in Australia. All four singles from the album charted in the Top 20 of US Modern Rock Tracks, including “Lakini’s Juice” at number 1 and “Turn My Head” at number 3.
During this period the band toured internationally and at high profile American music festivals such as Woodstock ‘94 or notable appearances on popular culture stages like Saturday Night Live. Live followed up its highly successful eight year run of three platinum albums, four #1 U.S. singles and international tours with its fourth full length release in 1999, The Distance To Here. The last Live album to achieve gold or platinum status in the United States, The Distance To Here debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200, selling 138,000 copies in its first week and was certified Platinum within a month of its release. All three of its singles reached the Top 25 of U.S. Mainstream Rock charts with “The Dolphin’s Cry” peaking at number 2.
In the later half of the 1990s, David Sestak and Greg Epler of Media Five Entertainment also assisted in the development and management of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania band Fuel,[3] overseeing the band’s formation, demo recordings, major label signing and eventual release of the band’s first two platinum selling albums.
Fuel’s first full length album, 1998 Sunburn charted #1 on the US Heatseekers Albums eventually selling one million copies. The band’s debut yielded the hit single “Shimmer” reaching number 42 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts. The band’s second album Something Like Human earned double platinum status. Something Like Human yielded the #1 Rock Atlternative hit "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" staying at #1 for three months. In 2013 the song was later named number 6 Alternative Rock song of the past 25 years according to Billboard's Alternative Chart 25th Anniversary: Top 100 Songs.
Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, Media Five Entertainment has also represented and managed notable bands like Breaking Benjamin, Weston, July For Kings, Solution A.D., and Joe Hedges.
As the millennia and the music industry changed in the 21st century, Media Five Entertainment continued its inspired “artist first” initiatives begun in the 1970s. Media Five mentored and launched careers of booking and management clients such as Breaking Benjamin, Go Go Gadjet, Sandlot Heroes and Tyler Grady of American Idol fame.
Throughout the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s, Media Five Entertainment has represented and continued to book hundreds of original and cover bands in the eastern United States. In its 50 plus year history the agency has been responsible for approximately 200,000 bookings, oversight of no less than 500 bands and over 300 promoted or produced major shows and events.