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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
HOB, Inc.
HOB, Inc.
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DukeBerryman
116 posts
Feb 03, 2014
6:36 AM
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My experience with House of Blues, Inc.
I am 45 years, and I've had a career in marketing and communications. I live in LA, and a few years ago I had the chance to interview for the House of Blues Foundation, a non-profit org run by the chain of clubs. The Foundation had been around since the start of the clubs.
In the 00's, the House of Blues went bankrupt. Big surprise, right? The chain was bought by Live Nation, and they installed a new President. Dan Ackroyd and the original investors are out, but Dan is still involved as part of the brand.
I interviewed at Live Nation's HQ on Hollywood Blvd. First, I interviewed with the president of the Foundation. She was a hard working gal from Boston where the first HOB was started. The Foundation uses blues music as a basis for music education programs.
The Foundation wanted to hire a marketing director to bring in sponsors and more constituents and donors. I told her I was originally from Chicago, was a lifetime member of the blues community, and was a non-profit marketing specialist. I told her I would love to help promote the music I love, and help with music education.
So, my pitch to her was to host the first annual LA Blues Festival. It would be run by Live Nation, hosted at the LA House of Blues, and profits would benefit the Foundation. Plus, a great opportunity for sponsors. She loved it, and passed me on to the President of House of Blues for an interview.
I met with him at Live Nation HQ. He's a restaurant guy, and doesn't have a clue about music, blues, or running a charitable org. I give him the exact same pitch, and he doesn't like it. He wants me to pick up the phone and get sponsors for the Foundation like I'm doing sales. I told him it doesn't work that way - sponsors need events and people to reach. Without an event and attendees, sponsors won't be interested,
I didn't get the job, the president if the Foundation quit, and the House of Blues president hired a new woman to replace her, someone with no arts education experience or blues background.
I've never been to a House of Blues. I lived in Chicago when they opened one there, and I was like, "Why?" Why open a corporate blues club in the city with most blues clubs in the world? Obviously, they ran out of money and were picked up by Live Nation. I want to support my blues artists and music education, but not this way.
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The Iceman
1440 posts
Feb 03, 2014
6:40 AM
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It's not unusual for corporate to take over an artistic event like this and approach it like some kind of bean counter's business plan.
I don't understand the mind set either, but it runs rampart when something grows large.
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The Iceman
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DukeBerryman
117 posts
Feb 03, 2014
6:43 AM
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How do you pass up a corporate opportunity like doing the First Annual Los Angeles Blues Festival?
Fuck it, let's do it ourselves.
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barbequebob
2461 posts
Feb 03, 2014
10:34 AM
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Long before Live Nation got in the picture, HOB was bought out by Disney and the original HOB that was located in the Harvard Square area of Cambridge, MA, which was both the smallest of the clubs in the chain and also booked more blues than the rest of the chain combined.
Once they got their hands on it, much of the goodwill got flushed down the toilet and it earned the nickname many of the Boston area musicians gave it, which was The House of NO Blues.
In many ways, this reminds of the type of club owners you will tend to see, which are from one extreme being actual true fans of the music or working or former musicians to the other extreme, which I called QBA's, meaning quick buck assholes where more than a few of frankly don't give a rat's ass about anything nut just care about how well the band draws, keeps the crowd for the entire night and that crowd is constantly spending money on drinks and music to them are basically a commodity and I've had a club owner say that straight to my face about that after he told me as I was getting the band's pay that he stopped booking jazz because, and I quote, "they fill a club up, but the crowd they bring in are a bunch intellectual fuddie duddies that buy 1 freaking bottle of Perrier water, nursing the goddamned thing and over intellectualize over everything." That's a true story that I can't make up.
The original HOB had Igris Tigrett and Aerosmith to name a few among the original owners who actually were fans of the music who also made attempts to hire local bands (and more than a few times overpaid some bands money you'd give to a national act but who weren't up to that kind of quality), but once Disney got into the picture, it went down hill from there.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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Slimharp
172 posts
Feb 03, 2014
11:23 AM
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Bob - Igris Tigrett from Memphis ?
I volunteered for many years for the top Jazz / Blues radio station in the L. A. area. There had been a major management shift and the new shift knew didly about the upcoming blues festival. Some of the acts had already been booked. They asked me if I could help. I gave them a list of do's and dont's and was on the ground floor of organizing ( like the 26th annual )festival. It worked well and the festival made money. The next year the economy was turning down. They changed venues and I begged and pleaded with them to augment the big name acts with very hot local acts. They added a few locals. There were many factors involved but the bottom line - they were paying to much for big names and not using enough locals. They broke even.
The following year the Suits and Bean Counters produced and promoted the festival. The station lost their ass. The Long Beach Blues Festival is no more.
Basicly the same scenario you all mentioned above. But guess what - the Suits and the Bean Counters got paid.
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barbequebob
2462 posts
Feb 03, 2014
12:15 PM
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The very same Igris Tigrett. It's sad, but very true about the business and too many people look at music solely as an art form, but you gotta remember, at the same time, it IS a business as well. Tho this maybe hijacking this thread a bit, one thing all bands and bandleaders better learn really quick is that if the club owner/manager/talent buyer isn't a musician or hard core fan of the genre you play, it's ALWAYS about how well a band draws, but also how well it keeps the crowd in the club and how much money gets spent by the club, and with the QBA types, like I said, if you don't well on those things I mentioned you have little chance of getting booked/rebooked (and club owners DO talk to each other) and even if the owner is a musican or jhard core fan, if you don't draw well, keep the crowd and the crowd you draw doesn't spend much money, they'll do the same thing as the QBA types as well because they're business people and like it or not, there is a bottom line.
@DukeBerryman --- If the festival isn't making money (like drawing even or less where the acts cost more than what's being taken in), it's like any other business where it's about return on investment. Your thinking is based largely on ideals, but when reality bites, it's gonna hit hard and just organizing these things is a lot more difficult than you think.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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DukeBerryman
120 posts
Feb 03, 2014
12:19 PM
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@Bob The woman president of the HOB foundation had to move to LA. She had a goddamn second home in Maine that she had to leave behind. I think she lasted 2 years, gave up and moved back. It's a lost opportunity that still bothers me and that's why I'm still complaining about it.
@Slimharp Let's start a jam using the Foundation Room at HOB in Hollywood - you can rent out the room for events, my friends have performed at events in the Foundation Room
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Slimharp
175 posts
Feb 03, 2014
12:28 PM
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Duke that sounds cool however I try not to go into L.A. if I can help it. What is the cost to rent the room ? How would we pay for the room ? Charge to come in to jam ???
Bob I agree. I think gone are the days when you popped up some good names and or / decent names and the house rocks/ or festival rocks. The ideal is to have a blend of music quality and appreciation and business sense mixed. I see more and more clubs and venues closing.
Last Edited by Slimharp on Feb 03, 2014 12:32 PM
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DukeBerryman
121 posts
Feb 03, 2014
12:48 PM
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You guys both make good points about the business side - everything needs the thumbs up from the accountant.
We basically don't have a blues club in LA. We've got one hard working promoter - Cadillac Zack - and he does jams in the Valley and Long Beach. Brings in amazing people like Alvin Lee and Joe Bonamasa and still has to pass the hat around.
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