GYROS WE/ SHISH KABOB /a/MOPAUE/E.
York City-based label. The first Alpha-
bet City compilation was a fluke
spawned by another fluke.
After releasing a rap album as
Jesse Jaymes ( The Thirty Footer In
Your Face, Delicious Vinyl Records,
1991) that didn't make him the
household name that label-mate
Tone Loc became (though two songs
Itzler wrote appear on Loc's second
album), Itzler took to writing jingles.
One of these, airing on the New
Jersey Nets' radio station, got Itzler a
meeting with the client's husband,
New York Knicks General Manager
Ernie Grundfeld.
Itzler pitched an idea to Grund-
feld, Who then pitched the concept
of translating the commercial's ener-
gy into an "in-arena" song that
would keep Knicks fans pumped up
during time-outs. "Go, New York,
Go!" was the result.
Making its courtside debut in
1992, the call-and-response-driven
song was a smash, boasting a celebri-
ty-spiked video and
landing Itzler two
appearances on "The
Howard Stern
Show" (for whom
he wrote and
recorded "Go,
Howard, Go!").
Clamoring fans,
however, could
not find it in the
stores.
"Go, New
York, Go!,"
recorded under
the Jaymes
alias, became
available to Knicks fans in
March 1996, as part of New York
Knicks Home Court Hits. (An updat-
ed version — featuring Run of Run
DMC, Ed Lover and the
omnipresent Puff Daddy — is slated
to appear on the second Knicks CD.)
In the meantime, out-of-town
teams marveled at the energy level of
Knicks fans, who were egged on by
the galvanizing force of Itzler's song.
Though not the first to mix sports
and popular music, Itzler will not
hesitate to claim Alphabet City's role
in the proliferation of this union in
recent years.
"We are definitely responsible for
marrying the two on a professional
sports level, especially by doing it
regionally," says Itzler.
Upping the ante set by the "Jock
Jams" series, Itzler spices his collec-
tions with the sound bites that have
become Alphabet City's trademark.
"If you give the CD to an average
fan, and the music's good, and the
specific highlights give the guy a
chill and make him go, 'Oh, I
remember that,' that's a winner," says
Itzler.
Itzler, 29, and Alphabet City
Records president Kenny Dichter,
30, believed the first CD would do
well but did not expect the success
that followed. The label's second
release, Chicago Bulls' Greatest Hits,
which Itzler calls the label's best
work to date, sold 150,000 units.
Since then, Alphabet City has
released over a dozen custom-made
CDs for collegiate and professional
teams. Some teams, like the Bulls
and the Green Bay Packers, have
come back for more (Green Bay
boasts two CDs, Chicago's third is in
the works).
The U-M disc, honoring both the
Wolverine basketball and football
squads, is the first Alphabet City
release to pay tribute to two teams.
With U-M's recent Rose
Bowl victory,
an update is
almost a cer-
tainty.
The success
of this series of
CDs has led to
the expansion of
Alphabet City's
client list, which
now includes
Kodak, Foot Lock-
er and Coca-Cola,
for whom Alphabet
City has crafted a
series of region-spe-
cific ad campaigns
featuring each city's sports teams.
While pondering what may be
next for Alphabet City, Itzler, a Long
Island-bred Jew, won't dismiss the
idea of producing custom-made CDs
for synagogues. Though he doesn't
attend shul regularly, he feels his
connection to his Jewish identity is
strong.
Says Itzler: "I come from a kosher
home with two dishwashers. I cer-
tainly value the way I was raised, and
I know where I came from."
❑
The Ultimate Michigan Sports
CD retails for $9.99 and is avail-
able at Meijer, Harmony House,
M Den (Ann Arbor) and other
area music stores.
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REsTeuro NT
CONEY
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