Sandy Jacobson was born and raised in Los Angeles, with two half-brothers 14 and
16 years older than her...that gave her the gift of music a generation of ahead of her time. The show is dedicated to
the youngest of the two brothers, Roger Gelatt, who died prematurely in 1998.
Sandy has a long history with the arts. She began dance lessons, at age two
and danced her first performance that same year. At age four, she won a "Beauty Pageant," acquired an agent, and began
doing local television work. At age six, she was in a life-threatening car accident, that left her with countless injuries
and reconstructive surgeries...and forced her into "early retirement" from acting...
or so she thought...(read on).
Sandy spent from ages six through thirteen having reconstructive surgeries, and
initially spent three months in the hospital recovering. When she came home from the hospital, her two brothers bought
her a brand new color T.V., so that she'd have something to do. "The Monkees" television show was airing at that time,
and it was the only thing that made her laugh and forget about what she was going through. Roger, seeing how connected
she was to the show, bought her every album that was released, and bought her magazines with stories about them, every time
she went into the hospital. Her biggest dream was to "someday" see them in concert, hopefully meet them, and thank them
for making her laugh. Her favorite "Monkee" was Peter Tork, because while Roger was incredibly smart, he always acted
"dumb" when he was joking around with Sandy...and Sandy connected with Peter's character in the same way. (She knew
that Peter Tork, the person, was a lot smarter than the character he portrayed...because she knew that her brother was smarter
than the character HE portrayed.)
Not to be stopped, she wrote, produced, directed, cast, choregraphed, and sold
tickets for a play performed in her backyard at age eight. Two years later, at age ten, she was one of the voice-characters
in a story she wrote for radio that was performed on a local radio station. She continued dancing, and had dance solos
in high school musicals, and was head cheerleader in high school and college.
When her daughter became school-age, she introduced her daughter to countless opportunities,
because she believed her biggest contribution to her daughter's life was to help HER find HER OWN dream, and take it as far
as possible. She gave her daughter soccer, Brownies, art lessons, musical theatre, television and movie acting experience,
ballet, jazz, piano lessons, etc. Sandy participated in all of the activities equally...being a soccer mom, assistant
Brownie leader, and backstage parent assistant for ballet productions. Her daughter narrowed her choices down to ballet,
TV/Film and musical theatre, in that order...and at age twelve, her daughter announced that she "wanted to focus exclusively
on ballet." That's what she did...and she just retired from four years as a professional ballet dancer, with S.A.G.
and Equity affiliations.
Nine years ago, Sandy was rear-ended and diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress
Syndrome from that accident. She suffered flashbacks, nightmares, and short-term memory loss related to her childhood
accident, and relived that experience more than any other time in her life. A specialist helped her work through
that. And, it was also when she finally got to see Peter Tork, from The Monkees, in concert for the first time.
Through a series of professional exchanges which arose out of that concert, a solid
professional respect and admiration has grown. Peter has become a contributor to an amazing change in Sandy's life the
past few years...including encouraging her when she had the opportunity for a re-entry into acting...with her first audition
landing her a role in "Pirates of the Caribbean II." She has since worked in 8 Feature Films, 4 T.V. episodes, and was
the "Featured Girl" in an MTV-music video project last year. She has deep gratitude for every opporutunity to act
today...but is MOST passionate about the production of
BACKSTAGE: LOS ANGELES.
This project would not be possible without the support and assistance of the talent,
crew, and friends in Sandy's life today...including, in no particular order, and not limited to:
Peter Tork, James Lee Stanley, John McEuen, John Batdorf, (who were our first four
guests), Michael Sunday (host for most of our segments), John Charchalis, Mike Driml, Nathan McEuen, Bob
Stane @ The Coffee Gallery, Gary Mandell @ Boulevard Music, and Paul Kulak @ Kulak's Woodshed...and everyone who has referred
talent to the show.
As Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz" said to the Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow..."You're
the best friends anybody ever had!"
Sandy has recently been approached by a producer to turn her copyrighted life story
into a film. We will be shooting a trailer for the film in January 2009.
Sandy is available for speaking engagements to discuss overcoming obstacles in
one's life, and whenever possible to share her story with a child who may be facing similar life challenges. Requests
may be made via the contact page.
Sandy Jacobson's life story appears in:
- XL-Extraordinary Lives Magazine -
an
international publication for inspiring entrepreneurs (October 2007)
- BackStage.com (Jan. 2006)
- Dec. 07 issue of her College Alumni Magazine.
Sandy Jacobson's Credits / Speaking Engagements:
November 19, 2009 Sandy was asked to speak on a panel for
the
Television and Film Department at Loyola Marymount
University. Other panel members included
representatives
from Dreamworks, and Warner Brothers.
http://www.lmu.edu/home/
November 10, 2009 Sandy was interviewed on the nationally
syndicated radio show "The Strange Dave Show" at
9:45 PM EST. http://www.strangedaveshow.com
October 2008 - Sandy Jacobson, was a speaker/moderator
on
a panel that addressed musicians on "Alternative Ways to
Get Your Music Heard" for the
October 2008 FAR-West (Folk
Alliance Region - West) Conference.
http://www.far-west.org/
2007 NAMM Festival - January 18, 2007 attended the
NAMM Festival and shot the first interview segment
of her
music-interview T.V. Show, "BackStage:Los Angeles."
Sandy Jacobson was nominated for the
2007 Best
Indie Film Maker / Artist / Entrepreneur Craggy Award from Cult Radio A-Go-Go
Sandy has served as a volunteer for The Art of Elysium, a non-profit
organization that brings the arts to hospitalized children with critical medical conditions. http://www.theartofelysium.org/
Sandy currently holds memberships with:
Folk Alliance http://www.folkalliance.org/
The Grammy Association
http://www.grammy.org/recording_academy/
Sandy has been a member of N.A.R.I.P. and E.P.P.S. She also worked for
Strand Media Group as Assistant Producer and Office Manager for four Nationally-Syndicated music and interview shows, until
the company relocated to the East Coast in 2003.
Answer to the question:
"The Real Hero" is in each of us, including YOU...
every day that you get up and give each day the best you have to offer IN THAT MOMENT, regardless of what your circumstances or feelings tell you; because both your
feelings AND circumstances can change in a minute, a day, or a year, but what you DO with that time CAN change your life,
the lives of others, and maybe even the world...or at least the part of it that you occupy. It's when you do the things
that are hard to do, in spite of how you feel or how things look, that you have the opportunity to be a hero to yourself and
to others.
Click here to view our promo footage at The Egyptian Theatre for The Monkees 40th Anniversary screening of their Pop-Cult
Classic film "Head."
 |
|
|
| photo courtesy of Bob Sherman |
|
|
| Photo courtesy of Bob Sherman |
|
|
| photo courtesy of Bob Sherman |
|
|
| Sandy & her cousin P.J. in Wisconsin |
|
|
| Sandy on set of Pirates of The Caribbean II. |
|
|
| Jackie, Dona, & Sandy |
|
|
| Peter Tork and Sandy Jacobson, at a "Meet & Greet" for Peter's CD "Cambria Hotel" - Jan. 2008 |
|
| On Sunset Boulevard ! |
|
| Sandy Jacobson, with Caroline Boyce (Widow of Tommy Boyce of "Boyce & Hart") July 11, 2008. |
|
|
| Michael Sunday, Michael McLean, Sandy Jacobson & John Batdorf (singer/songwriter of our theme song.) |
|
|
| Peter Tork & Shoe Suede Blues performing at the 2010 NAMM Festival. |
|
|
| Sandy Jacobson with Peter Tork after the Peter Tork & Shoe Suede Blues concert at the 2010 NAMM Fest |
|
|
| "Guitars in the Classroom" in action ! |
|
|
| Scott Gates ran into Peter Tork at the Jan. 2008 NAMM Festival. |
|
One of the biggest joys of producing our show,
is the incredibly
genuine and amazing people that we have met from all over the world, and receiving
e-mails and photos from past guests
relating how they've run into other past guests in different parts of the country and having an
almost-immediate connection to eachother, through what we're doing with our project...
that's the magic...
and one of the biggest rewards!
|
|
| Paul Kulak and Sandy Jacobson after a recent concert at Kulak's Woodshed. |
|
|
| Michael Sunday, Sandy Jacobson, Laurence Juber, and Javier Otero. |
|
| Post-Production Photo... |
|
| Our Crew, and host, with our guests Mike Handcock & Ngahihi Bidois from New Zealand. |
|
|
| Michael Sunday, Ngahihi Bidois & Family, Sandy Jacobson during a return visit to L.A. from Ngahihi |
|
|
| On location with The Quarrymen - Colin Hanton, Sandy Jacobson, Rod Davis, and Len Garry. |
|
|
| Scott Gates with John McEuen (The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band) at The Coffee Gallery Backstage. |
|
|
| Chip Douglas, Bobby Hart, Peter Tork, & Davy Jones at the 40th Anniversary Screening of "Head." |
Chip Douglas produced "Headquarters" and "Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, &
Jones, Ltd." in addition to arranging and playing bass on The Turtles hit "Happy Together." Chip was a recent guest
for our show. Bobby Hart was part of the songwriting team of Boyce & Hart who wrote several of The Monkees songs, including
"Last Train To Clarksville." And, of course, Peter Tork and Davy Jones, two of "The Monkees."
|
|
| John Batdorf, Sandy Jacobson, James Lee Stanley in the studio. |
|
|
| Ngahihi Bidois (Guest), Michael Sunday (Host), Mike Handcock (Guest), & Sandy Jacobson (Producer). |
Our two guests from New Zealand!
|
|
| Peter Tork and Sandy Jacobson during the "meet & greet" after The Cambria Hotel CD Concert. |
|
|
| John McEuen (Guest) & Michael Sunday (Host) on the set of BackStage:Los Angeles. |
|
|
| Sandy Jacobson, speaking at the FAR-West Music Conference, Oct. 2008. Photo courtesy of Russ Paris. |
|
|
| Some of the people who helped make the 2008 FAR-West Conference a success ! |
|
|
| We Five (our guests) with Michael Sunday (Host) & Sandy Jacobson (Producer) |
|
|
|
|
| An elementary school photo of my half-brother, Roger Gelatt, who always made me laugh. |
|
|
| Richard Mikuls, at The 2007 NAMM Festival. Richard passed away June 9, 2008. |
Among his many music accomplishments, Richard was most recently a
long-time and important member of Shoe Suede Blues.
|
|
| My mom, who always believed in me, (even when I didn't), with my two half-brothers. |
|
|
|
|
Recent Event -
Sunday, April 11, 2010, the Los Angeles Screening of
the International Premier of the film "DREAMCATHERS" -
The story of nine ordinary people living extraordinary lives
!
A Rock Your Life film by Mike Handcock.
|
| DREAMCATCHERS - the story of nine ordinary people living extraordinary lives ! |
|
|
| THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN BY MIKE HANDCOCK ! |
|
| Sandy Jacobson (in black) at the Los Angeles Screening of the Int'l Premier of "DREAMCATCHERS" |
|
When
Mike Handcock was shooting this film, he asked permission to shoot some footage with our producer, Sandy Jacobson, and
she agreed. Being a film veteran, Sandy knew that a lot of what gets shot for a film, ends up on the editing room
floor...and didn't give it another thought. Over lunch, the day of the Los Angeles Premier, Mike Handcock surprised
her with the news that she has a cameo in the film ! Thank You, Mike !
Click here to view the Official Trailer for DREAMCATCHERS - the film about nine ordinary people living extraordinary lives
!
We would like to acknowledge
our Hosts and Friends of the
2010 NAMM Festival:
Our Hosts:
|
| Manuel Rodgriguez & Sons Guitars |
SPARS - The Society of Professional Audio Recording Services
Peter Tork & Shoe Suede Blues
Our Friends:
Laurence Juber
Brian Ray
|
| Guitars in the Classroom |
Info on The 2010 NAMM Festival
|
