Mattituck Man Headed to the Grammys; Company Receives Two Nominations

One Mattituck man will be rubbing elbows with the brightest and most glamorous in the music business at the Grammy awards this year — and it's not the first time.

Last year, Christian DiGirolamo moved his publicity firm, Two for the Show Media, from Westchester, NY to Pike Street in Mattituck. 

A "very high profile publicity firm in the music field," DiGirolamo said his company has a total of 15 Grammy nominations to its name.

This year's nominations are for Best Jazz Vocal Recording, with Tierney Sutton's "After Blue", the music of Joni Mitchell, garnering the nod. In the category of Best Instrumental Composition, the nomination was for Scott Healy's "Koko on the Boulevard", from Hudson City Suite; the piece was nominated for Best Instrumental Composition. Scott  is the long time keyboardist for the Conan O'Brien Show.

"People always ask me about the Grammy's," DiGirolamo said. "They say, 'Thats great! That's so cool!' From our standpoint, the part I am most proud of is being chosen and trusted to be on a team that is in place to tell the world about a specific musical project. When you receive a Grammy nomination, I guess it means you did your job. However, the Grammy is not even discussed without the artist. No music, no Grammy."

Reflecting on the artists he represents, DiGirolamo said, "Scott Healy is without a doubt one of the most talented, gifted pianist/composers I have had the pleasure of working with. He is also the nicest person in the world. There could not be a more deserving person."

DiGirolamo said he knew from the start that the Tierney Sutton project, "After Blue", would be recognized.

"The day these CDs arrived I told my assistant, 'This will get a Grammy nomination,'" he said. "She gave me the crazy look. It is that confident in its arrangements and musicianship. If you like Joni Mitchell, the always incredible Tierney Sutton is something to check out.  This is our second Grammy nomination with Tierney."

DiGirolamo's firm specializes in public relations and media services for the jazz and music industry and handles artists including John Ambercombie, Wycliff Gordon, Jeff Watts, Marcus Strickland, Wayne Escoffery, Jay Leonhart, Don Braden, and Reuben Rogers.

DiGirolamo's odyssey began in the Berklee College of Music in 1986. "Since then it has always been music," he said.

After leaving Berklee to take a full time job at Systems Two recording studios in Brooklyn, "which was becoming the mecca for jazz recording in New York," DiGirolamo next moved to Sausalito, CA, for a gig as an assistant engineer at The Legendary Plant Recording Studios, where he worked with headliners including Santana.

Next, DiGirolamo taught high school music in the Bronx and on Long Island for a few years. "It has always been music. Playing it, recording it, promoting it, or teaching it," he said.

"As I saw the business changing and understood how to make those changes work, I started Two for the Show Media on February 14, 2006."

With a wall of Grammy wins and over 500 recordings, DiGirolamo said his vision for Two for the Show Media "has been to assist today’s musical artists with marketing in a business that has completely changed on them. And to do it honestly."

Big names appreciate DiGirolamo's approach. "Chris DiGirolamo is a top-notch publicist while keeping his soul intact. Thank you Chris for being who you are," Ellis Marsalis was quoted on the firm's website.

Candidly, DiGirolamo added, "Our primary purpose, of course, is to get media coverage for new CD releases and tour dates. However, the artist today is under such a challenge to promote themselves due to the market change, that many have no idea how to proceed."

DiGirolamo said he's seen many dreams come to fruition with the Grammy nominations and wins. "But in the world of music, the vision changes every day. That is why I have the best job in the world."

Mattituck was the ideal marriage of big-name business with small-town values, DiGirolamos said.

"This is a small community and everyone knows what’s happening. Business owners talk all the time and the idea that we can be here doing so much big, under a small-town umbrella, is great. So with technology where I can have meetings anywhere in the world via the Internet, we bring the heart of the music business right to Love Lane. Who would have thought?"

When he put down roots, DiGirolamo said the area was full of surprises. "One of the things that shocked me when I first moved here was how many well-known musicians live in our area that people are not aware of. There are several famous jazz artists that we have worked with — and they all live within a few miles or so of Love Lane. There is a feeling that people want to live and work here, especially in the field of the arts."

Although he grew up in Douglaston, Queens, DiGirolamo has always had a penchant for the North Fork.

"The most important factor to be here was having my kids grow up in a beautiful area. I grew up with a window view of the Grand Central Parkway. That was not happening for my kids. My family had a summer house here in Southold for years and every Sunday night I would drive home to Queens and say, 'One day I am not making this trip home.' Now, I don’t."