Thursday, November 13, 2014
Concert Production: Managing NOT to be a fan.
I can remember the date well. Mainly because it was my Alma Mata's Savannah State University's Homecoming. This homecoming was special because it marked the first time in my short career of concert production that I was not assigned to set-up and load-out. I was so excited that I was finally getting the chance to showcase what I had learned. Today, November 12, 1994, I was a production assistant. I can almost hear the laughter. It may not sound like much to those who have been is the business for a while but, to a college student, that was a BIG deal. My duties for this day was to manage the backstage areas. By doing this, it meant that by default, I would have a lot of face time with the artists scheduled to perform. And lo and behold, two of my favorite artists, and the hottest artists out at the time, were performing that night. Outkast and Wu-Tang Clan were in the building and, I must admit, I was a little star struck. That was strike one. Now that I have done this more than once or twice, I see the importance of placing your personal feelings, positive or negative, aside. The problem stated when Method Man arrived at the venue solo while that rest of WU went back to the hotel. So, Method and myself get to talking industry and his new album Tical, pre-released that very day, and one thing lead to another and I found myself doing things that normal college student do. However, as a professional, it was out of line. This one seemingly harmless event set in motion a roller coaster of conflict for that night. However, I believe in the code in with we live by "what happens on tour, stays on tour" so I won't go into details. Just know that whenever you do industry, keep it business. Don't be a FAN.
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Greetings James,
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean by NOT being a fan while working in Concert Production. I’ve never been in that type of situation, but I’m empathetic to your learning experience of conversing with talent at a concert while working there. You were young during this experience; but at least you know what NOT to do. If in the same situation I would probably talk with talent too, but I may indicate to them, while I had a brief moment with them, that I would love to speak with them after the show if they had the time. But I’m sure that in the hustle and bustle of an event that there is not much free time after a show and the performer may forget, but you could possibly learn how sincere they are. We all have times when we go into “be myself mode” while working and we discuss personal things or things in our field. Just take it as a learning experience and I’m sure that you do not regret having been a FAN for that moment and it was a fond memory. I think that in any career you should be yourself and have fun doing it. I found something on the web that relates to concert planning and I thought that it would be an interesting read for you. I may not do any concert planning, but I figured I could read it too and learn a thing or two about what you do in concert production. The writer emphasizes that you shouldn’t take it too seriously, and just have FUN. Here’s the link:
http://www.concertideas.com/pdf/CIEventPlanningGuide.pdf