Bollotta-FIDE

BollottaFIDE's Anthony Bollotta and Alex Apostolidis are back in the ZOOM where it happens without a guest but with a potpourri of topics. Get to know them both a little more personally as they chat about Valentine's day, friend relationships in (and out) of the industry and cultivating music generationally as Alex is helping her daughter prep for college auditions. As they talk about dealing with...

Anthony Bollotta and Alex Apostolidis you Bollotta-FIDE hosts start this episode talking about following the rules, following the company culture, getting perms and 90 year old parents in their loose chat. They are joined today by Benjamin “Benji” Asher owner of the aptly named, Benjamin Asher Productions. Benji as many know him is one of the premier Bar/Bat Mitzvah DJ/Entertainer in the industry...

It’s the end of January and we are six weeks from Spring, YAY! Anthony talks about turning off his notifications to save time vs. Alex’s appreciation for her iWatch, and autocorrect fails. They are joined this week by Bryan Yamami the Executive Director of TaikoProject. Find out a little more about this growing company with an impressive resume that includes commercials, Academy & Grammy Award...

Rough start to your year, too? Anthony and Alex start with their thoughts on how 2021 has begun and their hopes moving forward, how tides change and getting over themselves when it comes to fear. They are joined today by Evan Ferrante (actor, producer, director & Tom Cruise impersonator). They get into Evan’s beginnings in the entertainment industry via. major television soap operas and musica...

We may be showing our ages on this one but respect is due to the younger generation that has taken over the event world. This week Anthony and Alex talk about Millennials! They read recently in an article on #SocialTables by #CVent about how Millennials are now the largest generation involved and they talk about what their focus is. Time to put the value on the overall experience over the material...

Anthony and Alex are back with their first recording of 2022! They catch up on their New Year’s Eve nights and the Andy Cohen or it all. As they get into the issue of appearance at work Anthony poses the question to Alex, “Who do you take feedback from?”. Taking inappropriate criticism in an appropriate way. The stress of dealing with people. Alex brings up a client call that she had today that to...

Happy New Year! Bollotta-FIDE is back with the first new episode of the year. BF’s Anthony Bollotta and Alex Apostolidis are joined this week by David Calzaretta, CEO of Magnificent Events out of Chicago and also the band leader of the award winning band Maggie Speaks. Anthony gets to the bottom of who is “Maggie” that the band’s name hails from and how did a musician/band leader find success in s...

The last episode of 2021 and it part 2 of Anthony and Alex’s fascinating talk with Mentalist/Illusionist David Winston aka Dana Law. This episode resumes with Anthony’s question about “What is Mentalism?” and David clears that up along with some quick mental math (get a pencil and play along). They talk about their favorite Broadway musicals and the memories around them and some chatter about the...

Anthony and Alex couldn’t leave you all hanging this Christmas, so here they are with their (prerecorded) annual Christmas Special! Anthony’s not feeling the spirit but his Bollottaphile Elf, Alex won’t let him stay in the holiday funk. It’s a full potpourri of light topics such as Christmas Ham prep, some of Rotten Tomato’s Best Christmas Movies of All Time List vs. Sappy Hallmark and Lifetime mo...

Anthony and Alex had such a great time talking to Mentalist & Illusionist David Winston/Dana Law that we had to split episode 55 into two parts! The dynamic duo start with a conversation about the holidays and some plans they have coming up. Then they are joined by David Winston aka Amazing Dana the Magician for a discussion about entertaining audiences closeup after a challenging 2020, his 41...

Anthony and Alex welcome two of Anthony’s fellow cohort members, Tessa Goettsch and Emily Parsons, from the Meeting & Event Management (MEM) master’s program at San Diego State University (SDSU). Tessa is the Director of Corporate Events for Brown & Brown Insurance. Emily is an Assistant Meeting Planner for the National Association of Attorneys General. They discuss their reasons for pursu...

Anthony and Alex are joined this week by Greg Schwem (corporate humor comedian, columnist, keynote speaker, author, radio personality). Anthony recently had the pleasure of experiencing Greg speak when they worked in Hawaii recently and Anthony knew he needed to bring everyone this Bollotta-FIDE artist. They get into how Greg shapes his material uniquely for each artist, fighting for attention fro...

It’s Thanksgiving week and we are THANKFUL for all of you that listen to us. Instead of taking the holiday off the crew got Anthony’s good friend (Broadway Musical Composer/Arranger/Musical Director/Performer/Educator) Wayne Barker on the line for a grab bag of topics. Anthony and Alex start off with chatter about their travel peeves and experiences. Wayne Barker (Composer of Peter and The Starcat...

Anthony and Alex are alone in the pod this week. Your favorite Bollottaphiles catch up and talk about Anthony’s recent trip to Miami to throw a 90th birthday party for his mom. Anthony gives a little more background about the new Bollotta-FIDE x SDSU MEM Master’s Class monthly series. (SDSU Meeting and Event Management Master’s Class Ep 1: IMEX-cited For This Series AVAILABLE NOW in the Bollotta-F...

Bollotta-FIDE x SDSU MEM Master’s Class: IMEX-cited for This Series Anthony and Alex find time during the busy slate at IMEX America in Las Vegas to introduce a new ongoing series on Bollotta-FIDE. Master’s Class follows Anthony’s journey in the Meeting & Event Management (MEM) master’s program at San Diego State University (SDSU). Carl Winston, Founding Director of the L. Robert Payne School...

What a dream! This week Bollotta-FIDE is joined by the creative design maestro JOE MINEO (Joe Mineo Creative, Author "It's My Party"). Anthony and Alex find out how Joe has regrouped, rethought and restructured in the past year. Joe lets us in on how he has set healthy boundaries with incoming clients and how he sets their expectations early on. Anthony and Alex get into how JMC treats every event...

Bollotta-FIDE takes a deep dive into HALLOWEEN. Anthony and Alex discuss their personal feelings and memories for the Spooky Season past and present. They go over a grab bag of Halloween traditions and how they started. Random sidelines like, 'HOW WOO-WOO ARE YOU?". Questions arise like, "Did you TP a house or were you TP'd?" Enjoy their Halloween romp. ASK ANTHONY at  www.bollotta.com/podcas...

This week Bollotta-FIDE puts the magnifying glass on the co-hostess with the most-ess, ALEX APOSTOLIDIS! Anthony takes a focus on the "best wingman" with this Q&A. Alex takes us on her journey from the coveted musical theater roles from her childhood, through her college experience and even a journey cross country on a train. They talk about her personal experiences like living in Seattle, her...

ENCORE of BollottaFIDE Ep 6, our most popular episode to date! Recorded in August 2020 (before the new mics) Anthony Bollotta and Alex Apostolidis are joined by the musical multihyphenate Kenny Ard. The pianist-showman-businessman-college professor-cabaret staple talks about teaching college level musical courses during the pandemic, Injecting new life into past projects and how rehearsing yo...

Anthony and Alex are in the Bollotta-FIDE today. Alex got a call for a last minute acting gig and she said, "YES". Everyone is asking for proposals and who are we to say, "No"? Updates about what's we have been seeing in the #virtualevent trends, it will surprise you. What's up with #AB5 at the moment from #eventpro and personal perspective. Broadway is open and LIVE theater is BACK! Gab about Hol...

Anthony and Alex are back and more Bollotta-FIDE than ever. No guests this week as they catch up. Anthony start with a discussion on engagement and is it actually adding to the value of the overall experience. They talk about converting a live experience to a virtual hybrid audience without making them feel slighted. Anthony gives his opinion on where virtual will still be used after everything is...

Anthony and Alex are both off tackling projects this week so enjoy this re-run episode in their stead. This week we are running the pilot episode of Bollotta-Fide! Who is Anthony Bollotta and why in the world does he think he has the right to Bollotta-fy anything? Get to know Anthony Bollotta through his sidekick Alex Apostolidis' in-depth interview about life, business and what is next in the wor...

Anthony and Alex start with a discussion about attitudes and the PRINT Survey that Anthony had to complete recently at his Master’s program orientation. In this supersized episode they are joined by Principal and Founder of Kaleidoscope Vue Consulting, Wayne Harth. In 2020 when the pandemic hit and after being furloughed for 8 months from his corporate hotel job, Wayne was presented with a new opp...

Recently Anthony had a challenging situation that left a bad vibe concerning his longstanding membership in a special event association, that situation lead to this week’s episode of Bollotta-FIDE. Anthony and Alex are joined this week by a panel of leaders from 4 different distinguished Special Event Industry Organizations & Associations to discuss their purpose, specific audience, their valu...

This one is VITAL for gig workers and independent contractor and anyone who hires them in the state of California. Don't be afraid! Bollotta-FIDE tackling the subject of AB5 in California (and the influence of the national PRO ACT). Some of today's episode may sound foreign to you, but they are going to break it down for you. Alex and Anthony begin with some details about new AB5 ABC Test and then...