Darklight Entertainment
The Darklight name was born from the mind of South Jerseys Matthew Young in 2002, when he needed a company name for booking his first rock show in the region. In the following years, Matt became the guitarist of the band Return to Arms, yet found himself still drawn to booking shows for his band, along with other local, regional and national acts. Together with best friend Kevin Trzcinski, former member of South Jersey pop-punk outfit, The Crosstown Rivalry, the pair pursued booking and managing more actively and found a true passion for connecting artists with their fans.
Matt and Kevin knew that they wanted to turn this hobby into something much more and decided to do everything possible to make these dreams a reality. In early 2009, they created Darklight Entertainment, a company that would be one part record label and one part artist development.
Tired of seeing too many bands dreams squashed by bad record deals, neglected by unconcerned management and stripped of true identity, Matt and Kevin decided that Darklight would be more than just a label; it would be a family. Darklight would be a place where artists could truly grow, without the stifling confines and strict rules of most labels. In order to bring the label full force, Matt and Kevin teamed up with the brilliant minds of Steve Tamburello, Evan Schapiro and Staci Altomari.
Steve Tamburello broke into the industry after graduating from Hartford University for music management. It just so happened that Steve's college friend and roommate, Matt Watts, had began playing guitar in a band called The Starting Line while the pair were finishing school at Hartford. After a little bit of convincing, Matt Watts was able to persuade Steve to be his band's tour manager. After a 7 year stretch of tour managing for bands ranging from The Starting Line and Say Anything to Underoath and Motion City Soundtrack, Steve, originally from New York, decided to settle down in southern New Jersey. Still interested in working in the music industry, but not wanting to live life on the road anymore, Steve became very interested in what Matt and Kevin had going on and would quickly team up with the pair.
Evan Schapiro was a long time family friend of Matt's, and it just so happened that he was a very bright and innovative thinker. Not quite rehearsed in the music "scene" like Matt, Kevin and Steve, Evan brings a fresh outlook on marketing music to everyone, not just those in the so-called scene. Evan is a University of Pennsylvania graduate with a degree in marketing. After college, Evan moved to New York and immediately began managing marketing campaigns for such companies as VH1, Walt Disney and many Broadway theatres. After a year of working in New York, Evan moved back to South Jersey and became very interested in becoming a part of the Darklight family.
Staci Altomari was part of the original Darklight name, dating back to 2002 when Staci and Matt began booking shows in the Philadephia/South Jersey area. In the following years Staci would continue to promote and book shows in the area, both with Matt's help and by herself. Staci went on to attend and eventually graduate from Holy Family University in Philadelphia with a degree in finance. After hearing that Matt was bringing back the Darklight name, this time with big ambitions, Staci quickly joined forces again.
The pair enlisted young talent from across the region, and in May of 2009, construction was finalized on what was to be the actual home of Darklight, complete with a state-of-the-art recording studio located in Palmyra, NJ, directly across the bridge from Philadelphia. This building, also containing the main offices of the Darklight family, would be the center of it all: a place where artists can practice, record and interact, a space full of creative energy and new ideas.
Darklight is extremely excited to keep this momentum going, consistently creating new ways to get music out into the world and never losing sight of the relationship between the artist, the music, and the fans that make it all possible.
