Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Local music scene loses a major player

Despite Toledo’s growing visual arts community, the area’s music scene has had rough times. Still mourning the loss of venues, like, Mickey Finn’s, Bar EDM, Mainstreet, Omni, Woodchucks Bar & Grill, Murphy’s Place and The Black Cherry, a community of talented musicians, the scene is having a hard time staying afloat.

Further instability is evident as Innovation Concerts, the booking agency for  Frankie’s and other local venues, announced that they will be taking a long break after their Saturday, November 28 concert at Frankie’s, featuring The Casket Company, Silver Age, Stretch, Unsinkable Molly Brown, Blackeye, Missing In Cincinnati and Affairs. 

“We’re just constantly losing money on every show,” said Broc Curry, president and founder of Innovation Concerts. “I have to take money from my other businesses to keep things going and that’s pretty much how it is has been since the beginning. Right now, we just need a break to take time to look at things… and we’re trying to help find someone to help keep Frankie’s going.”

A tough call

Since 2012, Innovation Concerts has nurtured Toledo’s music scene by booking shows for both local and touring bands. While Innovation started up with the help of an investor, they were on their own after six months. A small group of 6-8 people worked hard, used their own money, and dedicated their lives to promoting music in Toledo. 

Innovation Concerts has booked concerts at the now closed Bar EDM, the Blind Pig, Frankie’s Underground, Headliners, Howard’s Club H, Iggy’s, Mainstreet, and The Cla-Zel. 

“Everyone works 70+ hours a week. We’re at the point where I am crossing my fingers at every show. My thoughts range from, ‘how many people do I need to break even’ to ‘how big will the loss be?’” said Curry.

The decision to put Innovation’s activity on hiatus was considered in the past, but Curry had a difficult time pulling the trigger because of his support and belief in local talent. 

“A few weeks back, we had a show that didn’t do very well. At midnight, I realized it was my birthday, and it hit me that on my last birthday, I was in the same situation and I told myself that if things didn’t change in a year we’d have to close up. Of course, I’d made that kind of promise to myself a few times, but we kept going. But that night, I paced around my house until 6am and couldn’t get it out of my head. For three months straight, any time we opened the doors we lost money. So, the next day I talked to my staff and told them what I was thinking. Everyone agreed that we had to face the reality – there just aren’t enough people supporting what we are trying to do,” said Curry. 

A problem nationwide

The issue, dwindling local support for live music acts, is exacerbated by Live Nation and Ticketmaster.  Live Nation, the entertainment company, which currently enjoys a virtually unregulated monopoly on live music, with exclusive rights to venues, artists, dictating performance venues during a tour. Ticketmaster, which controls the majority of retail ticket sales online, essentially pushes independent promoters out of the industry. 

“Live Nation really owns the business,” said Curry. “I started booking shows when I was 14, and when I was a kid, I could get huge bands for $500. But now, we’re dealing with $5K. Even if tickets are $15 and 100 people show up, it’s still pretty obvious what we lose on a consistent basis.”

A local solution 

While Innovation’s hiatus is deemed temporary — an unspecified break for the team to reconnect and recalibrate –  their announcement of a much-needed break is a symptom of a growing problem. A scene isn’t just made up of musicians, but audiences, too.

“There are a lot of bands in Toledo. Our band list alone has 200+ talented musicians, but it requires people to come out and support them,” said Curry. “We’re definitely not saying there is no support, we have a committed group of people who just love it, but even double the audience wouldn’t be enough. We were only drawing a third of the people we need to break even. The thing that kept us going was people coming from Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Ann Arbor… at least half the crowd is from out of town. We just weren’t seeing enough local people coming out to shows on a regular basis.” 

Innovation’s hiatus should serve as a hard learned lesson for Toledo’s music fans: If we want your scene to prosper, we need to participate in it. Go to shows, or talented and creative local musicians will be playing covers and competing with TVs at bars. 

Or worse— move on to venues in other towns.

For a list of all of Innovation Concerts final concerts, please visit Innovationconcerts.com

The Final Shows at Frankies Inner City
308 Main St.
419-691-7464 | innovationconcerts.com

6:30pm. Wednesday, November 1
Suffocation, Decapitus*, Mutilatred*, and Constricted* (Death Metal:  $17 in advance, $20 at the door)

9pm. Friday, November 20 
Chino XL, MBK*, Icon*, Philippe*, J-Hubb*,  and Bolic + Flaco* (Rap : $10 in advance, $13 at the door)

8pm. Saturday, November 21
Awake At Last, Cross My Heart*, Second String Hero*, Glascity*, and Ethos*(Pop Punk/Mixed Alternative : $6 in advance, $8 at the door)

Friday, November 27
Upstairs at 7pm: My Special Agent* (EP Release Party), Hour 24*, Travail*, Raine Wilder*, Light Horizon*, PtfP*, Unlabeled*, and Columbine (Mixed Alternative: $5 in advance, $7 at the door)

& In the Underground (Frankie’s basement) at 9pm: Broken Glass: Black Friday 2015/All Request Night (Dark electronic, industrial and goth dance night, featuring DJ Havok* and DJ Pockets*: $5)

7pm. Saturday, November 28
The Casket Company*, Silver Age*, Stretch*, Unsinkable Molly Brown*, Blackeye*, Missing In Cincinnati*, Affairs* (Mixed Alternative: $5)

Despite Toledo’s growing visual arts community, the area’s music scene has had rough times. Still mourning the loss of venues, like, Mickey Finn’s, Bar EDM, Mainstreet, Omni, Woodchucks Bar & Grill, Murphy’s Place and The Black Cherry, a community of talented musicians, the scene is having a hard time staying afloat.

Further instability is evident as Innovation Concerts, the booking agency for  Frankie’s and other local venues, announced that they will be taking a long break after their Saturday, November 28 concert at Frankie’s, featuring The Casket Company, Silver Age, Stretch, Unsinkable Molly Brown, Blackeye, Missing In Cincinnati and Affairs. 

“We’re just constantly losing money on every show,” said Broc Curry, president and founder of Innovation Concerts. “I have to take money from my other businesses to keep things going and that’s pretty much how it is has been since the beginning. Right now, we just need a break to take time to look at things… and we’re trying to help find someone to help keep Frankie’s going.”

A tough call

Since 2012, Innovation Concerts has nurtured Toledo’s music scene by booking shows for both local and touring bands. While Innovation started up with the help of an investor, they were on their own after six months. A small group of 6-8 people worked hard, used their own money, and dedicated their lives to promoting music in Toledo. 

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Innovation Concerts has booked concerts at the now closed Bar EDM, the Blind Pig, Frankie’s Underground, Headliners, Howard’s Club H, Iggy’s, Mainstreet, and The Cla-Zel. 

“Everyone works 70+ hours a week. We’re at the point where I am crossing my fingers at every show. My thoughts range from, ‘how many people do I need to break even’ to ‘how big will the loss be?’” said Curry.

The decision to put Innovation’s activity on hiatus was considered in the past, but Curry had a difficult time pulling the trigger because of his support and belief in local talent. 

“A few weeks back, we had a show that didn’t do very well. At midnight, I realized it was my birthday, and it hit me that on my last birthday, I was in the same situation and I told myself that if things didn’t change in a year we’d have to close up. Of course, I’d made that kind of promise to myself a few times, but we kept going. But that night, I paced around my house until 6am and couldn’t get it out of my head. For three months straight, any time we opened the doors we lost money. So, the next day I talked to my staff and told them what I was thinking. Everyone agreed that we had to face the reality – there just aren’t enough people supporting what we are trying to do,” said Curry. 

A problem nationwide

The issue, dwindling local support for live music acts, is exacerbated by Live Nation and Ticketmaster.  Live Nation, the entertainment company, which currently enjoys a virtually unregulated monopoly on live music, with exclusive rights to venues, artists, dictating performance venues during a tour. Ticketmaster, which controls the majority of retail ticket sales online, essentially pushes independent promoters out of the industry. 

“Live Nation really owns the business,” said Curry. “I started booking shows when I was 14, and when I was a kid, I could get huge bands for $500. But now, we’re dealing with $5K. Even if tickets are $15 and 100 people show up, it’s still pretty obvious what we lose on a consistent basis.”

A local solution 

While Innovation’s hiatus is deemed temporary — an unspecified break for the team to reconnect and recalibrate –  their announcement of a much-needed break is a symptom of a growing problem. A scene isn’t just made up of musicians, but audiences, too.

“There are a lot of bands in Toledo. Our band list alone has 200+ talented musicians, but it requires people to come out and support them,” said Curry. “We’re definitely not saying there is no support, we have a committed group of people who just love it, but even double the audience wouldn’t be enough. We were only drawing a third of the people we need to break even. The thing that kept us going was people coming from Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Ann Arbor… at least half the crowd is from out of town. We just weren’t seeing enough local people coming out to shows on a regular basis.” 

Innovation’s hiatus should serve as a hard learned lesson for Toledo’s music fans: If we want your scene to prosper, we need to participate in it. Go to shows, or talented and creative local musicians will be playing covers and competing with TVs at bars. 

Or worse— move on to venues in other towns.

For a list of all of Innovation Concerts final concerts, please visit Innovationconcerts.com

The Final Shows at Frankies Inner City
308 Main St.
419-691-7464 | innovationconcerts.com

6:30pm. Wednesday, November 1
Suffocation, Decapitus*, Mutilatred*, and Constricted* (Death Metal:  $17 in advance, $20 at the door)

9pm. Friday, November 20 
Chino XL, MBK*, Icon*, Philippe*, J-Hubb*,  and Bolic + Flaco* (Rap : $10 in advance, $13 at the door)

8pm. Saturday, November 21
Awake At Last, Cross My Heart*, Second String Hero*, Glascity*, and Ethos*(Pop Punk/Mixed Alternative : $6 in advance, $8 at the door)

Friday, November 27
Upstairs at 7pm: My Special Agent* (EP Release Party), Hour 24*, Travail*, Raine Wilder*, Light Horizon*, PtfP*, Unlabeled*, and Columbine (Mixed Alternative: $5 in advance, $7 at the door)

& In the Underground (Frankie’s basement) at 9pm: Broken Glass: Black Friday 2015/All Request Night (Dark electronic, industrial and goth dance night, featuring DJ Havok* and DJ Pockets*: $5)

7pm. Saturday, November 28
The Casket Company*, Silver Age*, Stretch*, Unsinkable Molly Brown*, Blackeye*, Missing In Cincinnati*, Affairs* (Mixed Alternative: $5)

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