Latest / Caught on the Mike... / "For the Love of the Show" with Dave Campbell - Midwest Elite Concerts & 1% Productions

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"For the Love of the Show" with Dave Campbell - Midwest Elite Concerts & 1% Productions · Caught on the Mike...

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Disclaimer.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Listener discretion is advised.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Over the last few years, the Doodle Podcasts, we have talked a lot about it together a stakeful forward.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: One of the things we have not spent a lot of time talking about is what goes on with finding tools and what goes into putting on a successful concert.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's why I am very proud to have my very good friend David Campbell joining me on the show today.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: He runs his own company, Midwest Elite Concert, and he also works for one of the premier concert promoters in the area, 1% Productions.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: Ladies and gentlemen, this is Caught on the Mic.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: I think there are very few things in this world that surprise people anymore.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: We log on the internet, we get on social media every single day, and we learn something shocking, we learn something surprising, but I don't think anything could have been a bigger surprise than me reaching out to my friend Dave Campbell and saying, Hey Dave, you want to do the podcast on Monday?
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Dave Campbell, how the hell are you, man?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Fantastic, sir.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: How are you doing?
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Good.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: There's that sir I was looking for.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: And if you listen to the last episode, you've heard a few of those Dave Campbell sirs in context.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: I've been pondering this for a while now.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: I always wanted to have you on the show, and I know you've wanted to do the show, but I always felt it was a timing thing when the time was right.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: And typically when we get into the winter season, we get into the December, January, February months of the year, the hardest months to put together shows, promote shows, and ensure that shows are successful.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: And when I'm talking about shows, I'm talking about concerts.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: This is a really good time to kind of tell your story and maybe give some advice to people that are playing in music or doing comedy or trying to promote any kind of creative endeavor whatsoever on things that they should do and shouldn't do, the do's and don'ts.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: So without any further ado, Dave Campbell, why don't you introduce yourself and let's talk a little bit about your origin story?
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: My name is Dave Campbell.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um I'm originally from Anaheim, California, and I moved out to Omaha, Nebraska when I was three.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't remember too much of it, but I love saying I'm from California because it just sounds too generic and boring to me to tell everybody that I'm just from Omaha.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in '95, went to I Western Community College to get a degree in broadcast journalism.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um this was back in, obviously, like I said, in the mid-90s.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: So this is pre-Sophia John days, there before the river actually became more of a fun station.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I think their playing is classical and jazz back then.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: The river signal has always been ungodly strong for a college radio station.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: The river that we're talking about is 89 7 the river.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: It is a radio station based out of Council Bluffs, Iowa.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I remember I lived close to Des Moines and we would get 897 the River signal.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: I've traveled as far south as Maryville, Missouri, and almost to the borders of Kansas City, and we would get 897 the river signal.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it was ungodly huge for a college radio station.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: And once they changed format to alternative rock and then hard rock or whatever the format currently is, you know, that's when things really kind of blew up in the area.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: How did you make that transition from wanting to be a broadcaster to becoming a promoter, a music promoter?
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um the scenes had always been there.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: When I was in high school, I was like much of anybody we know, and I know you in particular, um, had tons of friends that played in bands.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I I I knew uh the blood cow guys back when they were all in um crystal meth and titanium white.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I knew um all the guys in weed and velvet pickles and stuff like that, and so they were always playing shows in friends' backyards or in Bayless Park, and I ended up throwing a show, I think it was the summer um just before my senior year in high school, and as cliche as it was, it was called Cambalooza, and it was in my backyard, and uh we had uh a wide variety of acts that played on my back patio, and my father and stepmother tried to make a profit off it.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: They went to High V and bought a ton of chips and drinks and tried selling them for like 50 cents a pop.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: And we got shut down during the headliner by the cops because there was too many noise complaints, even though I think at the time it was like four o'clock in the afternoon on a Saturday.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: Oh wow.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, I I had uh made a very novel mistake with that show that I I love bringing up because it's it's good for educational purposes.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I booked the show two months out, which ain't horrible.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I made the mistake of waiting until I think it was two weeks before the date to hit up all the talent and say, hey, uh show's coming up, blah, blah, blah.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: This is your spot, this is your set length.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, oh, we haven't heard anything since you first booked it, and we hadn't really seen any promotion.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: We we didn't think it was still happening.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, oh yeah, it's still happening, blah, blah, blah, blah.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_01: And but like, as you would know, that's uh, you know, pretty much kind of a rookie mistake.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, once you book the show, the first thing you do is you start promoting right away.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: Once you have a game plan.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that's a good segue into this next bit where why don't you explain to my audience what it is a show promoter, or you know, in your case, you're kind of working as a promoter and a booking agent to a certain degree, and production manager with what your career is actually now and what it's morphed into.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't you kind of explain what it is that you do and have done with your various companies up to where you're at now?
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, essentially with with like Midwest Elite concerts, it was all about okay, picking a date, a venue.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, do you go, you know, and get a headliner and then decide are we doing a normal show or are we trying to make a special event or theme out of it?
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um I used to have a really bad habit of thinking that I had to make something special with it because I've always had the mentality that if you're not making it over the top in an event, then it's not that important.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think there's a time and place for that.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I try to be way more selective with it now.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think it's something you have to do every time you do it.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_01: But regardless, um you book the date, the venue, your headliner, and you build a credible show and lineup, and then um you're just orchestrating everything else from there, you know, as far as a marketing game plan, um, you know, where you know, hire a designer to make your poster and then where are you printing them at?
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: How many are you doing?
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, get a distribution list and you're street teaming your ass off, you know, which street teaming, um, as most people have known, if you follow me on Facebook, um, is how I got my start in the business.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: I used to street team for Century Media, um, Roadrunner, Slipknot, Hate Breed, um, and a couple other local bands back in the day.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's what you know, street teaming at the ranch bowl all the time and hanging up countless posters at Homers is basically between that and my my high school, you know, backstage or backyard party, that was kind of how I got my feet started and made me want to do my own thing someday.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: When was that moment that you really found your footing with your current company?
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Because really you wear two hats.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: You uh own your own promotion company, Midwest Elite Concerts, and you are production manager for 1% productions.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: Is that correct?
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: I I work at at the waiting room lounge and the reverb lounge.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um we have both venues under the same roof, so it's it's essentially my my home headquarters, however you want to look at it.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: So if there's a show here, you know I'm here.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: So when when was it that you really kind of started getting rolling with Midwest Elite concerts?
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: And what was your original uh game plan or your original mission statement when you started that out?
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the original mission statement was I I I just wanting to book shows, and I was very selective initially with only trying to uh focus in on one or two headliners that were local, and I wanted to build um headliners in our own market with a lot of talent that was from all over the Midwest that I thought could be huge here.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because I was realistic about the fact that I couldn't afford to just go tap into agencies right out the gate and start trying to book national touring things.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: I wasn't gonna book nine inch nails for my first show.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_01: You know, um, it's not realistic, and I'd be committing career suicide, you know, trying to do that crap, even if I could have afforded the deposits.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: And not to mention, there's no way in hell I would have understood all the dynamics that go into trying to do a show on that level.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: There, there's so many moving parts to a show that huge.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's just like, holy crap, man.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um but anyway, um back to that, I I remember after the first two shows, it was cool because I started becoming friends with the opening bands, you know, and not just my headliners that I was initially playing favorite to.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: And it was just really getting to know our scene again after being out of it for a few years, and it really made me want to expand more.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, um, meeting you and Lowell, I I think played a huge part in having a better sense of business instead of just trying to do things my way all the time and not really, you know, I I wasn't really working with a ton of people that had a strong business um mentality to understand how the concept business worked.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they were kind of learning from me as far as anyone who was on my team in the beginning.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um you know, and I don't fault them from that because all they can learn is what I teach them.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, I was able to, you know, like I said, learn a lot from you and his do's and don'ts, as well as Lull.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_01: And um and then I think getting my foot in the door here in 2011, um, if you know Jim Johnson was the one that that answered my email first and said, Oh yeah, we'll give you a date in the summer.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it was six or seven months out, but I was so damn excited that because I thought I was basically throwing darts at something that would never hit.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: And the fact that it happened, and and I and I still remember the number of this day.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: So we do a show, it was on my birthday weekend, and it was a five-band billing, which I rarely do that anymore because I think five bands is too much, right?
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's a whole different conversation.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um but uh we did 126 people, and I was terrified to do settlement with Jim that night because I was afraid for him to tell me you failed.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_01: Because to me, it was like if we're not doing like strong numbers of 200 plus or something, we're not making it worth their time.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: And all and at the same time, I I feel like I would have potentially failed the bands too, because I was still very green at the time to their expectations as a whole, too, to what they were used to and what they were wanting.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: Sure, you know, and and then there was the whole financial aspect of everything because I think the first three, four years, um 90% of the time we were constantly paying everybody guarantees instead of working out percentage deals and things like that.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like I was shooting myself in the foot left and right.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: In the early 2000s, Omaha was being published in magazines like Spin Magazine, Rolling Stone, New York Times, Wall Street Journal as being the next Seattle.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we had a strong indie rock scene, but what a lot of people don't know is we also had a really strong mainstream rock, mainstream metal, uh pop punk scene here in Omaha, Nebraska going simultaneously, right?
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: So I would say that Omaha's music scene is very similar to pro wrestling in the fact that it's had several moments where it's had this renaissance and reinvented itself.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: So you think about the mid-90s and the ranch bowl and venues like that, where every band before they became famous, Dave Matthews band, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, so on and so on, so on, made a pit stop at this little venue in Omaha, Nebraska.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: That was like the first boom.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then you have the 2000s where you have the Saddle Creek explosion and you have bands like Clever, Pomeroy.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, the urge was coming through here, making regular stops.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: Fallout Boy, I remember seeing them do a crowd of 20 people, you know, same thing.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: Ranch Bowl.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then you had another renaissance that you and I kind of connected in, and I think it was the like late 2000s, early 2010s when Midwest Elite concerts was really getting their bearings.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I I think you know, you hit on a lot of points in a short period of time, and God bless you, Dave.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: But but I I think that was one of the things that you and I connected well on was you're absolutely right.
• 14:35
  SPEAKER_00: Artists are not generally good businessmen, and that's why they typically, if if they're successful, they have managers that handle that.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now, having a manager on a local level, I'm sorry, can sometimes be a little bit ridiculous, but I don't disagree.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: But but there is a reason that um, you know, artists typically don't handle that side of the business.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: The business aspect has always been one of my most favorite parts of doing music, so much to the point where I really kind of stopped loving the performing side of it, and I really started loving the business side more, and that's kind of where you and I connected because I remember the very first show I played with you.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: It was Shamrock Fest, I believe it was 2010, and you did you had a lot of guarantees that night, and even then I was like, bro, you gotta pump the brakes on this shit.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so let's talk about how you and I connected in that regard around that time.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm trying to remember how did we get introduced to each other because I remember ATA, I guess the artificial, excuse me.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, for anybody who doesn't know what the hell ATA is.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, they were the headliner, and I was trying to come up with this, you know, again, a themed event.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I remember we had Sidewise and Cohen Side, I think were on that build scene.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: I think the End in Red.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, is there a rock show that I didn't have the End and Red on?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: I must I must have booked them like the first three or four years.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: They went through the stone, I swear, like on every damn rock show I did.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um but anyway, how did we meet?
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: I just remember talking through Facebook, and then when we first met in person, when you first approached me, I didn't recognize you at first.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: And then when you smiled at me and stuck your hand out of shit in my hand, I was like, Oh my god, it's Mike! Okay, now I know you are and that's kind of where it hit, man.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: I just felt like we clicked right out the gate because I just I always loved your energy and passion for the business, and you were so open uh to share uh your wisdom and experience.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I didn't feel like you know, we weren't trying to screw each other, we were trying to help each other, yeah, you know, and and I think that made us in a sense on on even though we didn't work together that often, because honestly, you were one of the few guys that didn't need that, you know, because you knew what the hell you were doing, you know.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I I I look back at it and say, damn, I feel blessed and honored that that we did work together a couple times.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um but regardless, I mean, it was a good relationship, you know.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: I it it still is, Dave.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Let's not neither one of us are dead, but but I was talking about the ban aspect.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Well, but let's let's talk about why we did fortify that friendship, and that's that is that is really uh again a bunch of good points, but I think you touched on it really briefly.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was the fact that we were not afraid to be honest with one another, even if that honesty sometimes hurt, right?
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because the interest was always in making sure that we were looking for the greater good, because I always wanted to see you succeed, and I always felt like you genuinely wanted to see me succeed, and sometimes that's a really hard thing to find, specifically in the Omaha music scene or any music scene, and specifically whenever you have creatives working together, because everybody's looking to, in pro wrestling terms, put themselves over.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, in that aspect, you know, there's so many people that try to be your friend in this business, but like with you, I I was at your house, you know, like we I came over and you were a great host.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_01: I remember you coming out, greeting, greeting me and the family, you know, at my car door and walking us in, giving us the tour, you know, introducing us to, even though we knew half the crowd already, but still introducing us to everybody and and making me uh as comfortable as possible.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then you and then the exit of the day was the same fashion, and I never forgot that because the longer you're in this business, the less friends you realize you truthfully have.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_01: So many people are looking to take advantage of the position that you can offer them.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, and granted, yeah, yeah, there's always gonna be real relationships, but three forces them are absolute bullshit.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right, absolutely, and I I've talked about that before too.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's like, man, you want to see my friend list triple?
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: Let me announce that I'm starting a new band.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, turn your phone off in about the next week.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right, right, right.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I mean I'm not starting a new band.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Don't anybody you know derive that uh and don't even start the pitch.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: But um but but you know, um Black Friday weekend, come on, that's a year away, sir.
• 19:39
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, it's it's it's one of those things where sometimes building relationships in this business is a really challenging thing, and you just gotta identify the real ones, align yourself with them, and then you know, start to see if your vision and your interest of vision can align and benefit the both of you in some extent.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_00: So you and I have kind of shared a lot of these protocols whenever I would put together my shows that were not Midwest Elite concert shows, and I'd tell you, hey, this is what's worked for me, this is what didn't work, this is who's drawing, this is who's bringing people to the show, this is who's not.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: These are the bands that are promoting themselves, these are the bands that expect everybody to promote them for them.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, and that happens.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um so let's I think this is a good moment to kind of what does it take to build a successful show and a successful event on the local slash regional level?
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um you've got to be organized, man.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_01: For one, I mean, it's like for me, if I let's just say we're doing a show together and you're you're my intern shadowing me.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, okay, so we got the date, we got the venue, we got the four bands pick, just as an example.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um now it's okay, we got all our we got our posters, you know, it's already designed, and we got all that, but it's like it's just trying to make sure that did you did you hire bands that are playing multiple times a month, or are they spaced out enough to where they have a legitimate drawing power so that when they play, regardless of their spot in the lineup, it's important to the people that care about what they bring to the table.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, you know, um you know, it don't get me wrong, I love music.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's the reason why I even do anything that I do in any capacity, but at the end of the day, because of what I do, it is a business.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and if we don't treat it as such, there's no business tomorrow, you know, right.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's a matter of okay, well, here's my distribution list of where we're hanging posters, and I will try to say, Okay, hey, team A, will will you guys go and hit this region?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: I'm going to do these others, you know, and I try to make sure that I take a decent portion of it.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that way it doesn't come off like I'm making you do all the damn work.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I and I hate to say it, but there's been a few times because of of uh previous full-time jobs that I did that.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'd be like, okay, you know, you two are you know, you just flip us up, here's everything I paid for it, you do it.
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_01: I it's that's lazy.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_01: I that's not I don't believe in that in consistency.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um but it is it is an autonomous relationship, you know, and and and it is one of those things where um one of the things you just hit on was it's important that if you are a local artist and you are trying to promote yourself, you make sure people understand the value of your art, right?
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like it is a business, it is a business, and if the place that you're playing has a bar, they have to maintain their business too.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: So to get to the brass tacks of it, and nobody wants to say this because it's it's a dirty thing to come right out and say, but I I have no problem saying it.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: As an entertainer, your job is to sell drinks because that's how that's how your and tickets, but that's how your but that's how your venue keeps their lights on.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like right.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: Right, exactly.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's like it's great you got this show and you want to be an artist, but if you want to get another show and continue to be an artist, you have to realize there are certain things that keep the lights on that you have to contribute to.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's what adds to your opportunities.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: So when you talk about booking a show within a certain amount of time, I remember Sophia John years and years and years ago, I think it was in between the slipknot era and whenever she was at the ranch bowl, she told me one time a band should never play a market any more than once every six weeks.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: The same market, once every six weeks.
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_01: That makes about sense.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I've always had a rule that if that if you play one of my shows, I I had a minimum, and I do it longer now for my headliners, but I want 30 days blacked out before the date you're doing with me.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't want you announcing anything of your involvement in the same market until at least a day after our show is over.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_01: So for some reason you book a show three weeks later at some other place or whatever, and and they're already announcing that show and plugging it.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_01: I don't want your name or logo mentioned on it until we're done doing business together.
• 24:40
  unknown: Right.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_01: Otherwise, you just cheapen the value that you brought to the table with us.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_01: You know, even though you want me to be plugging it, somebody else's, and that's all that matters.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's your involvement period, whether you're the one soliciting it or not.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it used to be more problematic when there were more venues because there were more opportunities for the same bands to book multiple places and multiple times within a short window.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: So some of these rules or some of these suggestions might sound a little antiquated, but there's still a lot of value to it.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_00: So you talked about hanging posters.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: Is there still value in handbills and show flyers?
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we kind of kind of got away from that track.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, you definitely I think handbills are still a viable thing.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I I see Blackheart Productions do it all the time, and their shows uh consistently, I would say most of the time, do pretty well, um, whether it's punk rock or or whatever form of metal um Lucas is bringing to the table.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I think it's still a thing.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: I think in the current times, it's really iffy because of COVID.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: Like, do you really want to be handing out handbills?
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_01: Are people going to be receptive to taking them?
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, worst case scenario, leave the stack, it's not the end of the world, but at the same time, that whole leaving the stack thing um can be argued because I used to always say that I thought it was a waste of time, money, and material if you were leaving handbills on people's windshields.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: Because from a personal standpoint, if I see someone's handbill on their windshield, it pisses me off.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I don't know why it is.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: To me, it's like, damn it, you violated me or something.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: But no, you that's a I had not considered the COVID aspect before I asked that question.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: But the thing is, is back when we were doing RSing, um, that was something we talked about as a band because we always did the the postcard flyers, five by seven glossy flyers.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: We'd get five thousand five thousand of them for 89 bucks.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: It was a great investment because you'd divvy up a stack to all the bands on your show.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: And the thing that we always talked about as a band is hand them person to person because there's a personal investment there.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: If you're just throwing them on windshields, which we still did because it's like, well, we got this buttfuck ton of flyers, so we got to get rid of them somehow.
• 27:00
  SPEAKER_00: But handing them from person to person, you're building that investment.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you want somebody to invest in you, you got to invest in them.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I not considered the COVID aspect, but I have seen a lot of diminishing, um, I don't want to say diminishing returns, but I've seen the a diminishing use of handbills and flyers, like since when I were I was playing in bands, you know, a decade plus ago.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: But I think right now there's a generational thing where these younger kids that are in high school, early college years, they really like tangible materials, right?
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: So it could have a really good re renaissance and a good comeback if somebody were to start putting forth really high-quality flyers.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's not intended as advice, but it's intended as advice.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: But I mean, and when you speak of the younger generation, too.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's funny, you know, when you and I are doing work together, you know, we were we were at the beginning of the upswing of Facebook and coming out of the MySpace world, you know, where uh we were trying to make that transition, and and I think Twitter was starting to become a thing at the time too, which I've never really utilized.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's probably a mistake of mine, but um social media right now, as we know, is still pretty damn huge.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it seems like every year there's a new app out there that the younger generation in particular is primarily you primarily utilizing.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like TikTok and Snapchat.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's like if you can find a way to market whatever you are are trying to sell or do on those formats, if if that's your target audience, you're probably you have a decent chance of being successful, yeah, providing you have a viable product, which is the main thing I I stress all the time when people talk about I don't care how you market a show, we could we could sit here for five hours and bullet point a million things you could or could not do.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_01: But at the end of the day, if you don't have a viable product, it doesn't matter.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's the difference between recording a shit album at home on your on whatever cheap thing you bought for your computer and calling it good and hiring your best friend to make your album cover and calling it good or going to a great studio and making something great.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, it it's just whatever, you know, it's it's it's it's like great value versus the safe you get from Firebirds.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, I agree.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_00: I agree, I agree, and I'm glad you brought up social media because you know, tying that to physical promotion, like doing the posters and the handbills, and like putting value on your product, there's sometimes a perception that so social media is good enough, though, too.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that is such a bad uh thing because I'm gonna say it.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I feel like I talk about it in almost every single episode of the podcast.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: I talk about how valuable TikTok is right now.
• 30:03
  SPEAKER_00: I don't care whether you think it's a foreign entity or not, and if they're trying to hack your phone, if you're not on TikTok and you're not promoting your creative endeavor through TikTok, you are failing.
• 30:14
  SPEAKER_00: You are not um engaging an audience quick enough because I'm gonna say it Facebook is dead.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: You cannot promote things through Facebook anymore because the way Facebook's algorithms work now, it is an echo chamber.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: You are promoting things to people that have already seen you or friends and family.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: You are not gonna find a new audience through Facebook anymore.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to use Instagram reels, you have to use um TikTok.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: It if you can find a way to leverage Snapchat, that's great.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: Or go all in on Twitter, and I know that's a really controversial take right now because of everything that's going on with Twitter, but Facebook, Facebook is dead, like as far as trying to promote a creative endeavor.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: And I know nobody wants to admit that.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: We we we won't talk about how much I spent on Facebook from a last show.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um well, occasionally, but that's the thing.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: Even even paid impressions are really tough because I, you know, one of the things I talk about a lot with TikTok is I try and do a one-minute video every single day.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: And there are weeks where I will do a video every single day, and there were there will be weeks where I don't do a video at all.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: And if I were to go look at my statistics for how many unique downloads occurred that week with my podcast, the weeks where I do stuff on TikTok, even though I'm not getting much engagement, even though I'm not getting a bunch of a ton of likes or shares, I'm still increasing my download numbers pretty regularly when I'm using TikTok versus not using it.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I've tried the paid impression three thing uh through Facebook and through Instagram, and I tell you, the only thing that you're gonna capture through paid impressions are people that are already looking at your stuff or bots, and that sucks.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: It is the absolute worst.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: There's nothing worse than building up a community of bots around your social media.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I would say that's a very real thing, too, because the one thing I've noticed a lot of, regardless of whether it's a 1% show or one of mine, is as an example, our event pages for months now have been getting plagued by bots that are going in and saying, Oh, I can't go anymore.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_01: And um, I I want to sell four tickets and they all have different stories.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: And and I'll look the name up, and I'm like, no, you're not anywhere on the on the pre-sale list.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_01: So what are you talking about?
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_01: Like, this is totally bullshit.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: I I engaged one just recently.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: It was Pinnacle Bank, not Pinnacle Bank, it was um Pinewood Bowl here in Lincoln.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: They were promoting the Incubus concert over the summer, and Pinewood Bowl was doing a legit ticket giveaway contest, and so you had to comment what your favorite incubus song of all time was and who you would take with you to the show.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well, somebody cloned the Pinewood Bowl's account and started responding to all the comments.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_00: You've been selected.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: Click here to claim your tickets.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, geez.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I emailed the of course, I was right on top of that.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_00: I messaged the promoter right away and messaged the Pinewood Bowl.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, hey, I think you have somebody cloning your account, and they're like, Oh, thanks for bringing this to attention.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_00: You you actually helped us out.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, so did I get the free tickets?
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_02: Right?
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't backstage passes.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_00: And I've been trying to get incubus on the podcast for a while now.
• 33:46
  SPEAKER_00: So oh I bet.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great one.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: So, what is your current capacity with 1%?
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_00: What new things are you doing for Midwest Elite concerts?
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I mean, I'm I'm I've been here for almost 14 months now.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it still feels like yesterday that I started.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_01: This is God, you know, it's such a different environment.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_01: I have a very strong corporate background, and here it everything is so loosey-goosey and flexible.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's different, but at the same time, it's it's so weird, man.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um all I've been wanting to do since I got this job is create a legacy for myself.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: As if I if I was as this is gonna sound cliche and dumb.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: If I was to die tomorrow, I I want someone to be able to say, you know, uh, remember me as being the best in my job that I ever did.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_01: Because I live and breathe this crap and I am obsessed with it.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's hard for me to have days off, even before I worked here.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: It it I was just constantly trying to work on shows.
• 34:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's wild, you know, when you and I would work together, you know, we did shows only X amount of you know the year, and we had our full-time jobs and families that juggle on top of that, and maybe a part-time job during parts of the year.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: And now it's like this is what I'm doing every single day, and I'm constantly jugging juggling like 20 to 25 shows at once.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and 99% of those shows aren't even mine, you know, right?
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so, and and I'm constantly dealing with you know litigation on uh you know the the hospitality, you know, what we're doing or not doing, and you know, loading in and you know, and trying to make sure that we have everything that they need.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: And and I want to exceed their expectation all the time.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_01: And and the thing is, it's not just the client, it's I want Mark and Jim to value me in in a way that I'm not expendable.
• 35:44
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like I am I I'm an all-star on the team.
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_01: I want them to think that they made the best decision possible by bringing me on.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: Just for the sake of composition, why don't you tell my audience who Mark and Jim is and what 1% productions is?
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Mark Lee Woods and Jim Johnson own 1% productions, which also owns the waiting room lounge and the reverb lounge, where I work at here in Benson, Nebraska, which is a small suburb of Omaha or whatever you want to call it.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they also own the Admiral, which used to be Sokal Auditorium in Balton and Underground, downtown a 13th and was that 13th and Martha?
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 13th and Martha.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_01: And uh we then they have a new venue that's in my neighborhood in La Vista that'll be hopefully opening next year called the Astro Theater.
• 36:31
  SPEAKER_01: And that's a goal of mine.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: I I I want they dangled that carrot in front of me during my job interview, you know, to possibly run shows at the new places, and and that that place is gonna be an indoor outdoor um venue because they're gonna have the outdoor amphitheater and then the indoor that's gonna be huge, like house of blues size capacity and state-of-the-art facility, right?
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um so it's like those are gonna be enormous shows that I know are gonna require long days, but you don't do those shows every single day.
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_01: They only get X amount, and to have that huge of a challenge is everything to me.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_01: Whenever I get a big ass show, when I know it's a big ass show, I want to go above and beyond for that, but yet I treat every show the same.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like I feel like sometimes I drive the locals nuts because I am okay, load in's at this time, this is the time that doors are, this is what time we're starting.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I had a look, I had a local one time say uh they wanted to start at nine o'clock, even though the eight o'clock was was the startup, and I thought I was gonna have an aneurysm.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_01: You know, because I'm like, no, I'm I am I have been told and taught to be flexible with pushing, maybe 15-30 minutes, but an hour seems absolutely ridiculous to me.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, but anyway, um, I'm again, I'm just so structured with it with all that crap, and I'm getting lost when I'm standing around pinballing a little bit.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um that's okay, man.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_01: Really back in, Mike.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_01: Where the hell are we at?
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so Mark and Jim with 1% um have been promoters for a very long time.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_01: I believe um Annika Franco was the first show they ever put on.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_01: It was that so it was back in the late 90s.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_01: I want to say it was 97, if not 98.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I could be wrong on that, but I know it was somewhere around there.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and they were very involved with the whole in why Omaha has the indie rock scene reputation that it has.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 38:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, they're the best in Omaha.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and you know, any positive accolade they they have, they deserve, you know, and to be able to work for this team.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_01: When when I first got offered and interviewed for it, you know, it to me it was like this really happening because it was a dream job to me that I never thought would happen.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, when I applied for it, it said part-time position.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I was like, shit, I'll work this two or three nights a month and still work at Omaha 6.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_01: No problem.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_01: This will be great, fun time.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_01: I already run my own shows.
• 39:05
  SPEAKER_01: This will be a breeze, dude.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_01: Let me tell you, running other shows is so different than running a local show.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm sure as you would expect, because you're you're talking about it advancing through emails, if not potentially phone calls, for three to four weeks ahead of time and trying to make sure you have every electronic part that they need on that list and and in the hospitality writer, making sure do I need to go to Whole Foods to find this specific thing?
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_01: Or do I, you know, it's it's just and that's the crazy thing too.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's like you might have to make four or five stops to get the hospitality writer.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes it's like if you can't find it in one or two, then you know, deal.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, nah, I can't do that.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_01: I I want to I want them to come in and be like, I took care of you.
• 39:51
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to feel warm and fuzzy in the first five minutes.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_01: I want you to walk through that door and know that every bit of your writer is set up and that's everything on the stage, everything's ready to go.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_01: Just come in, load in, sound check, boom, have a great show.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_01: And because to me, that's the way it should be.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_01: Come in feeling warm and fuzzy and go home like, you know what, these guys really care, they took care of us.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's something that's commonly overlooked when people discuss the Omaha music scene and how it's grown and where it's been and where it's going.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: People will talk all day long until they're blue in the face with their rose-tinted glasses on about the ranch bowl.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_00: But what Mark and Jim have been doing has been this slow but bright burn across this long period of time that has really kept things afloat and elevated the quality of things to a certain extent.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, that's kind of what made the difference.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_00: That was a huge difference.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_00: As somebody that played the ranch bowl, and I'm not gonna shit on the ranch bowl, I'm not gonna not my style.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_00: I have fond memories of that place too.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: But as somebody that's played at the ranch bowl and then gone on to play at the waiting room, they are night and day difference.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like there is a difference in the quality, there's a difference in the presentation, there's a difference in the structure, and that's a lot of what you're talking about is the importance of structure.
• 41:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's what's important to your business, Midwest Elite concerts.
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's what's important to their business, one percent production.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_00: And one little side note about one percent productions, they got their name from a Jane's addiction song because they were big Jane's addiction fans.
• 41:34
  SPEAKER_00: Did you know that?
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, absolutely, because I remember when when they got to put them on at the Orpheum Theater, that was a big deal to Mark.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, I'm not sure if Jim's a huge James fan or not.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_01: I've never had that conversation with them.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_01: Right, right.
• 41:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um that's the cool dynamic about my bosses, you know, is is I they don't always like the same music, but they they have a good common ground, but there's definitely some different styles.
• 41:58
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like Jim's a little more punk rock and country and Americana, whereas Mark seems more guitar-driven.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I but that's my perception, and I could be wrong, but that that's that's what I see.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_00: But it's it's it's just great that they've been able to maintain this sense of quality and have been such a bright northern star for you in building your business and building your career in the music industry.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_01: No, by by far, Mark has shared an enormous amount of wisdom with me over the years and and kind of not just taught me how to do it, you know, his way, but just the way it should be in general, you know, it's just like when to announce things and and just every ingredient of how to make a show a success, you know.
• 42:45
  SPEAKER_01: Like he's been very kind to just point me in that direction.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_01: So again, you know, like when I remember when I interviewed um Mark text me, he's like, Why, why did you um why didn't you just call me?
• 43:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I'm like, what do you mean?
• 43:02
  SPEAKER_01: He goes, Well, I saw you posted for it, and and he's like, You could have just texted me or called me.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, I I guess I didn't realize that was a thing.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_01: I you know, I I never wanted to presume um how strong the relationship was or taking anything for granted, you know.
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_01: I've always kind of had Mark on a pedestal.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um even though I've worked with him for over a year, I I still look up to him anytime we talk, even if it's about our favorite pizza, like I value the conversation.
• 43:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's just it's like having your favorite uncle in the room.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I don't know what it is.
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_01: I I love the guy to death.
• 43:34
  unknown: Yeah.
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_00: So kind of looking through the history of you promoting shows with Midwest Elite concerts, and now you working with one percent productions.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_00: What is your mate most favorite show that you've ever thrown with Midwest Elite concerts?
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_00: My most favorite most favorite.
• 43:56
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, that's probably gonna change depending on.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_01: And what year are the temperature of the day, man?
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus Christ.
• 44:11
  SPEAKER_01: You know, back in the day, and we have video proof of this, you know, just so your listeners know.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_01: So Mike, back in 2011, I believe, or no, it was 2012.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_01: It was one of us two, made a really cool black and white YouTube video uh trying to help launch my company and like introduce us to what the show is.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_01: And once in a while I still go back and watch that and laugh at myself because I just I take myself and what I do too damn serious.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_01: And even 10 years ago it was that way.
• 44:39
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just like, god damn, I've never changed.
• 44:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um but uh you you're you're you're funny as hell in that video when you're adding your commentary.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um and that dance that uh the commercial you made, I I still remember too, speaking of the other video you made, um, the one I think for Dance of the Dead, um I that was amazing.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_01: I I wish we had done more of those because I think that was something bands should do it making homemade promotional material.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you took the time to come to different places and integrated footage, and and I liked how the whole Linda Blair thing out of the chair got you at the last second.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like it was like it was like I'm a horror fan, so it was like you took music and horror and combined it, and it was like, damn, this is pretty cool.
• 45:27
  SPEAKER_01: So for anybody's wondering, Mike and I did a did a Halloween show, and so he made this really cool YouTube commercial that we utilize on Facebook, I believe.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but anyway, um, goddamn, dude.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_01: Sham Shamrock Fest, I think was great because it was the first time I really collaborated with a wide variety of people.
• 45:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um and you know, it was the first time that I got to work with Chris Downing um with my own, you know, with my own business and really get to know him.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, same thing with you and just so many different elements, and it was a fun show.
• 46:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um goddamn Mike, you really perplexed me on that one.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_01: I I don't even think about that question.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_01: I never did I the the metal barbecues are amazing to me.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um those uh especially the one that we had last year.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um the band there's this thing now, and I don't remember if this was ever a thing when when you were doing shows at the Ranch Bull or even when you converted the Benson, um, or even the Roxbury.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's so many different places now you played uh with those different errors that our scene has had.
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_01: The uh selling of physical tickets has become a thing, and I'm I'm still on the fence with it.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_01: I I'm not a big fan of it, but I am okay when if I have a client that is very enthusiastic and passionate about it, you know, wanting to do it, I'm like, okay, fine, we'll do it.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_01: And and hopefully someone else on the show wants to do it because I think it's weird if you have a three or four band bill and only one or two are actually selling it.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but regardless, um, so we do this, we did the metal barbecue last year, and chasing chance, which is this up and coming pop punk band, um, is direct support, and they sold like 275 tickets or something like that.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_01: And our show ended up doing it like almost 500 people, and it was like from an attendance standpoint, it was the biggest metal barbecue we had ever had.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I just thought that was like it was I always loved in the shows in general, but to have one that pack meant a lot to me because I put so much time and effort into those, you know.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's fun to charge.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think we only charge like 10 or 12 bucks, and and we get like four or five really good metal bands playing, and all this free food that we're grilling up and serving fresh, it's all you can eat, and it's not just one plate you're done.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_01: You can keep going until we don't have any more.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_01: And what's really neat is every year, even the staff here at the waiting room, when's the next one?
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like they're always asking me when and then I can't think of a damn show I do that they ever asked me that question.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't know if it's just about the free food or what, but I mean I just it's just cool that they're really into that event.
• 48:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I feel like I actually branded something and made it to something that people want to play because I've had multiple bands, as an example of the tale I'm told.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I remember the first time they got to play, like this.
• 48:26
  SPEAKER_01: They I one of the band members told me that that was like one of their dreams.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_01: They wanted to earn that opportunity to play that show.
• 48:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, well, that feels great, you know, that someone cared enough about something that I'm doing to feel that way about it.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's a shared energy.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I gotta say, um, and I've got a few points to make on that.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I think one of the things that was great about playing your shows when I was playing in bands was the sense of camaraderie um at the shows with the other bands.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: It felt like a really no pressure environment.
• 48:59
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you'd have a little a little food spread, a little charcuterie board in the in the green room, and we'd snack on that.
• 49:07
  SPEAKER_00: And then, you know, back when I drank, I used to get into drinking contests with the Indian Red guys.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, all right, let's see who can out drink who, you know, and you know, the R Singh guys were already drunk because we'd already showed up to the show that way.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_00: But um, but we still played well.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I but that was something I, you know, to this day the Shamrock Fest is um one of my, I would say probably in my top four RSing shows that we played was the very first show I played with you.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it is because of that sense of community.
• 49:43
  SPEAKER_00: Ironically enough, the Dance of the Dead show was the very last show Ara Singh played.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and that show, I mean, we could we could that's that show could have its own podcast itself, but because that was that that show from a lineup perspective alone should have oversold any venue in town and then some just because of the lineup.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_01: Dude, that was like our Frostable at the time, you know.
• 50:11
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of people try to do these enormous band shows, and a lot of the times they the sustainability is unrealistic, and it's hard to keep it organized and on time and be a success.
• 50:26
  SPEAKER_01: But like the guys that do Frostable kill me, man.
• 50:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like they have this enormously long show that goes for almost six or seven hours doing waiting room and reverb simultaneously, but it ends up being this enormous thing, yeah, you know, and for us, when we put that together, um, yeah, that on paper, that should have been a home run.
• 50:48
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it should have been a home run.
• 50:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it should have been a home run times three.
• 50:52
  SPEAKER_00: Every single band that was on that bill was headlining their own shows and like like packing shows on their own.
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_00: So to put them all on one bill, it was like, what the fuck happened, man?
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_00: Right, you know, but still, regardless, you know, it was it was a very rewarding experience, and it was always rewarding getting to work with you, whether being an artist or like uh a peer mentor type thing.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_00: And it's one of those things to this day, you know, you and I will trade text messages from time to time just to check in and see how everybody, how each other is doing.
• 51:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I was going through a hard time in my life once, and you uh surprised me with tickets to a Justin Timberlake show, and you not a lot of people know how huge of a JT fan I am.
• 51:41
  SPEAKER_00: You do.
• 51:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um but it it's this has been a very meaningful relationship for me the entire time we've had it.
• 51:50
  SPEAKER_00: And the friendship that you and I have forged over the years, like doing this podcast episode was a no-brainer, and it's been a lot of fun to watch your business grow and watch you grow as an individual alongside it.
• 52:05
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I asked you the really hard question of what's your favorite show you've ever done is Midwest Elite Concerts.
• 52:12
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, spoiler alert, next time somebody asks you that question, you just answer with, man, that's like asking me which kid is my favorite.
• 52:19
  SPEAKER_00: Don't ask me that.
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um as far as being a music fan, everything you've done all these years, one percent productions, Midwest Elite Concerts, your time before that.
• 52:37
  SPEAKER_00: What is your best and most memorable music experience that you tell everybody about and you want to share with the world?
• 52:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, with one percent productions, I mean, for for me, it was uh again that I when I worked with Beach Bunny.
• 52:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um I remember the day I I knew it was gonna be a huge show, it was sold out, and for whatever reason, I just I took it on very personally to where I was like, okay, I need to prove myself with this one.
• 53:07
  SPEAKER_01: And it was one of those things where I worked my ass off to make sure that that show was an enormous success um from my end and that they were well taken care of.
• 53:18
  SPEAKER_01: And it was the first tour manager that told Mark personally that I did a great job.
• 53:25
  SPEAKER_01: Amazing and that that meant a lot to me, you know, that he took the effort, you know, and he even told me in self at settlement at the end of the night, you know, that dude, you went above and beyond.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_01: And and that was the the first of many that have been kind enough to tell me that.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm kind of a dork telling people, you know, we we like to share stories at the end of the night, you know, what you know, where are you going next?
• 53:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, how are you doing?
• 53:47
  SPEAKER_01: How you know, you're gonna know a little bit.
• 53:49
  SPEAKER_01: I give them a little bit of history on me and stuff like that.
• 53:51
  SPEAKER_01: And they're just like, wow, you've only been doing this for a year.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like a lot of people are really surprised, and and and they're just like, dude, I would have thought you'd been doing this for 10.
• 53:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and and that's really cool to hear because I'm working with professionals all the time now, you know, and and for me, it's like even though I try my damnedest to act and appear and work professional, I still see myself as this green guy.
• 54:15
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, like I'm still new to this.
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_01: And because this business evolves constantly, man.
• 54:20
  SPEAKER_01: And it it's it's got you talked about the wrestling thing.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_01: I think right now we're we're in our ruthless aggression period, man, because I feel like we're just trying to say we're coming out of the pandemic and and live shows are a thing now, and agents are swarming all the markets and venues with trying to get tours booked, and it's overwhelming, it's hard to get local shows, believe it or not, because there's so many touring shows trying to do shit when it's not the winner.
• 54:44
  SPEAKER_01: Point that out.
• 54:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's like um we're just looking who wants to step up and and grab it because we're in we're in a reboot phase, man.
• 54:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, if you want to look at it from an Omaha perspective, a Midwest perspective, or an international, you know, it doesn't matter.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's we are we're kind of reinventing the wheel a little bit.
• 55:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 55:05
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's who who wants it right now?
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_01: Because this is even though before the pandemic, if your band was kind of eh, like we're doing okay, we're making great music, but okay.
• 55:15
  SPEAKER_01: Right now, you have a chance to really grab the brass ring and do something.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, and maybe I considering the crap of Vince, I shouldn't be using him for an analogy, but it made it made sense to me.
• 55:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's a really good summation of all things, but I gotta tell you, Dave, don't sell yourself short.
• 55:34
  SPEAKER_00: You tell people that you've only been doing this one year with 1% productions, but realistically, you've been doing this 25 years, and it is everything that you've done before that has prepared you for this moment.
• 55:48
  SPEAKER_00: And the fact that you still view every day like you're green and that you're hungry means that you still care and you care about improving what you're doing, and you care about improving things for the people that you work with.
• 56:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's a mamba mentality, man.
• 56:05
  SPEAKER_01: I I've been stressing it ever since the first company meeting we had here when I started.
• 56:10
  SPEAKER_01: I I thought everyone was looking at me cross-eyed because I wrote up a speech and I and I had it, and I literally had um a section where I stressed Kobe Bryant's mamba mentality.
• 56:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's funny because I remember when the meeting was over, Mark was like, What's Mamba mentality?
• 56:27
  SPEAKER_01: So I bought him the damn book.
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_01: I went to Target the next day and bought the book.
• 56:33
  SPEAKER_01: There you go, buddy.
• 56:34
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_00: With the state of where the world is at right now, what is Dave Campbell's advice for making the world a better place?
• 56:42
  SPEAKER_01: Man, I mean, again, everything for me is music, you know.
• 56:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I I used to tell people I was a joke, but I was actually behind the facade of the joke.
• 56:53
  SPEAKER_01: I was very serious.
• 56:54
  SPEAKER_01: I say, when I get married, my best man is gonna be my 200-disc Sony carousel CD player.
• 57:01
  SPEAKER_01: Because all those CDs are my best friends because they will look me in the face and tell me like it is, and they always have my back, they don't leave me, and they will, it's just like that.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's those are you know, they're always there for me, bottom line.
• 57:15
  SPEAKER_01: You know, and and and I have this, I've always had this weird relationship with it, you know, whether I'm having a great day or a bad day, is like I like if I'm having a bad day, I'm like, man, I really need like right now, like if I'm having a uh bad day where I'm having like the Christmas blues or whatever, or I'm I'm missing loved ones, um, I need to hear some Blue October or some Olivia Rodrigo because someone needs to talk me through this and I need to sort it out.
• 57:38
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if I'm in a great mood, um, I gotta hear Beach Bunny and get really jacked up and all happy, and then when I need to get a serious frickin' mood, like it's Slayer or Lamb of God.
• 57:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, but bottom line, it it's uh advice that I have um before I pinball too far about that.
• 57:55
  SPEAKER_01: I just you know, god damn, man, you know, just create.
• 58:02
  SPEAKER_01: I think if there's one thing we've all learned from the pandemic, is we all got to know ourselves more.
• 58:09
  SPEAKER_01: Regardless of what struggle we face from it, we get we all got to spend more time with ourselves, not as our loved ones or the people we live with, but we got to know ourselves more.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_01: And if there's one cliche that I believe in, it's if you can't be alone and and know yourself and love yourself, how can you ever do it with others?
• 58:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so when you have all this free time, it's like learning to create artistically, I think is so important.
• 58:38
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you're doing it with with a paintbrush or a pencil or your your your mouth for doing spoken word or poetry, or you play an instrument, I think it's important to find that expressive outlet because I think being creative and challenging yourself helps the you continue to feel alive.
• 58:58
  SPEAKER_01: And it's in and maybe you can do it well enough to contribute something to the world that can influence and inspire others because goddamn, you and I can count so many sources in that aspect that brought us to where we are.
• 59:12
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, music is why we know each other, you know, and I know what your influences are and what what turns you on with that kind of shit.
• 59:19
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, it's like you know, I used to think for the longest hand, I used to be the metal guy and think Metallica was everything.
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_01: And then it got to the point where I was like, you know what?
• 59:31
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know why I'm being the gatekeeper with this crap.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_01: I don't need to be, it's stupid.
• 59:35
  SPEAKER_01: And um, you know, there's I love every bit of music out there.
• 59:40
  SPEAKER_01: You name an era, I guarantee you I own something.
• 59:43
  SPEAKER_01: I love Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, I love Elvis Presley.
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I I'm a big fan of of like uh old country, not not just Johnny Cash.
• 59:56
  SPEAKER_01: I love Johnny Cash, as you know, you opened for a Johnny Cash tribute band for me one time.
• 1:00:01
  SPEAKER_01: But I I love like just all that crap that was on Hee-Haw back in the day, you know, and maybe it's a nostalgia thing because of watching so much of it with my family, but it's just it it's a it's a feel-good thing, and I think that's still important for us now is just to find ways to feel good, whether it's creating something or or listening to the right kind of music, but most importantly, go to shows.
• 1:00:26
  SPEAKER_01: No, I'm serious.
• 1:00:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's not just because I'm trying to get paid, man.
• 1:00:29
  SPEAKER_01: Let me tell you something, man.
• 1:00:30
  SPEAKER_01: Coming this to me, I don't I am I this is not a concert venue.
• 1:00:35
  SPEAKER_01: This is fucking church, man.
• 1:00:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'm serious.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_01: No matter who is on my stage, they are there to preach and tell you the good word of the day and make you go home feeling better about yourself and forgetting every ounce of bullshit that you walked in with.
• 1:00:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, you know, like you are just excited to be here and talk about camaraderie, man.
• 1:00:56
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I if you're at a metal show, god damn, how many times have we all, you know, if you're in the mosh pit, you pick them up.
• 1:01:02
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and you get to know those people by the end of the night, and they're your best friends until you walk out the door, you know, and it's fun.
• 1:01:11
  SPEAKER_01: Like you go, like the beach burning show, my god, like everyone was singing so much and smiling and having a good time.
• 1:01:18
  SPEAKER_01: And you know what was crazy?
• 1:01:20
  SPEAKER_01: I saw so many people at that show crying as much as they were smiling, they were crying because they were relating to the words, and it was just like, my god, this woman is speaking from her heart and talking about real life things and relationships and so much stuff that we just post on Facebook about that we don't write songs about because we're too damn, you know, we're we're trying to be cool because I have songs too.
• 1:01:42
  SPEAKER_01: You don't know my songs.
• 1:01:44
  SPEAKER_01: I've got dozens and dozens of songs going back to high school that have never seen the light of day because I've never had a band.
• 1:01:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but it's it's this is church, man.
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_01: Come to church.
• 1:01:56
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 1:01:57
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 1:01:58
  SPEAKER_01: Exercise your demons in my in my presence because I'm telling you, whether you drink or not, you're gonna feel better about yourself by the end of the night.
• 1:02:06
  SPEAKER_00: I love it, man.
• 1:02:07
  SPEAKER_00: Where can everybody find you online, my friend?
• 1:02:11
  SPEAKER_01: Unfortunately, right now, just Facebook and Instagram, but I think we need to talk offline in the future about this TikTok thing.
• 1:02:17
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, yeah, we could definitely talk about that.
• 1:02:19
  SPEAKER_00: So, friends, you need to search out Midwest Elite Concerts on Instagram and on Facebook because now that Dave has done this podcast, he's going to keep up with it a little bit more frequently and do more frequent updates because we're gonna also talk about him getting a TikTok going as well.
• 1:02:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm gonna tell you, man, I have I know we don't see each other all the time.
• 1:02:43
  SPEAKER_00: I know we don't talk all the time, but we talk when we talk, it's important, it's meaningful, it's impactful, and I love you being in my life.
• 1:02:53
  SPEAKER_00: I love you like a brother.
• 1:02:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I tell you, Dave, I say this with every single episode, but and I'm sincere when I say it in every single episode, but this is on a different level.
• 1:03:05
  SPEAKER_00: The world's a better place with you and it, my friend.
• 1:03:08
  SPEAKER_00: God damn.
• 1:03:10
  SPEAKER_01: Don't make me cry on your podcast, dude.
• 1:03:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good place, Dave.
• 1:03:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh shit.
• 1:03:17
  SPEAKER_00: Dave Campbell, thanks for being a part of the show, brother.
• 1:03:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 1:03:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's been an honor and a pleasure.
• 1:03:24
  SPEAKER_00: I want to once again thank David Campbell from Midwest Elite Concerts for OneFirstep Productions for the OEAOs, and all the other things Dave does for being on the show today.
• 1:03:39
  SPEAKER_00: Do a search forum at Midwest Elite Concerts and OneForce Productions on your favorite social media platform today.
• 1:03:47
  SPEAKER_00: And while you're being generous with the follows, make sure you're following me on FotOnthemic on your favorite social media platforms, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, or visit me at www.fotonthemic.com.
• 1:04:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know I have a great time talking about music and fights and everything in between.
• 1:04:11
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot more great episodes where this one came from.
• 1:04:16
  SPEAKER_00: This has been caught on the mic with Michael Clark.
• 1:04:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Michael Clark.
• 1:04:21
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, thank you.