Ep. 25: Performance Opportunities and Building Connections with Coffee Break Entertainment - Alek Glauvitz

[00:00:00] Stephen: Welcome to Secrets from the Scene. My name is Stephen Helvig and I'm your host. Today I'm joined by Alec Glavitz. Alec is the proprietor of Coffee Break Entertainment, which is a new ish company here in the Twin Cities. Coffee Break Entertainment is a booking and events agency helping to connect artists with shows here in the Twin Cities and businesses with events that are going to bring in people via these artists. It's a really, really cool company. Alex, a great guy. There's a lot we're going to talk about today, including [00:01:00] advice for going about booking these things. But more than anything, I just want to highlight this as a service. So if you're a new artist and you want to get connected, this is a place to start. but Alec has a, Has a history in playing in local bands. Like many of us do. he attended McNally. He's got a music business degree. he's also branching into things like tour management and, basic artist management as well. So without further ado, please welcome Alec. Alek: Howdy folks, how's it going? Thanks for having me, Stephen: Thanks for being [00:02:00] here. Alek: Yeah, buddy. Stephen: How's your day been so far? Alek: Beautiful. This cup of coffee you made is immaculate, man. Thank you so Stephen: AeroPress, man. Alek: Hey, you know, Coffee Break Entertainment, I kind of like coffee a lot, you know? Stephen: I needed to bring my game when you showed up. We got to have good coffee ready to Alek: Yes, sir. It's great, man. Thank you So, much. It's been a great day. Thank you again for having me. Stephen: well, thanks for reaching out. I'm really excited to feature your business and introduce you to more people in the scene. Obviously you're already well connected. You're working with a lot of bands, I recently discovered your, business through Instagram and we connected online You know, I thought, what a great resource. I really like what you're doing. And I think there's a lot of people that could learn a lot from you about like, maybe just getting a show from you, but, as we're going to get into how to, think about what shows you're getting and what the purpose is and all of that. I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. Let's start by just talking a little bit about you and what your background is and what has brought you to today where you're running this booking agency. Alek: Yeah, man. So, I was [00:03:00] a homeschooled kid. Homeschooled my whole life. My first, public school setting was college, actually, which was pretty wild. So growing up, I was just a video game nerd and then, my story is funny. It's similar to Post Malone. Actually, I got Guitar Hero 2 and my dad was watching me play. And he's like, you have like a natural curl to your fingers. You want to play guitar? And I was like, no. And then one Christmas I got this gigantic, super heavy box and I was pretty sure it was an X Box and it was full of packing peanuts and rocks. And at the very bottom, it was a receipt for my first guitar lesson. And I was. Stephen: Ha ha. Alek: it, but I showed up to my first lesson and Scott Bauer was my He just like showed me all of the reigns on music. It was immediately a first love something that I wish I had picked up earlier I was 13 at the time and that's how I got into music And then as I practiced and learned You know, I had this dream of like, okay I got to be a rock star and I got to go to LA. I got to go to New York I got to go to Nashville So when I was deciding where to [00:04:00] go, I talked with my guitar instructor and I was like, should I go to Berkeley? Should I go to McNally? And Scott Bauer, my instructor actually went to both. And he said, you'll get a great education at Berkeley, but you'll make great connections at McNally. He's like everybody there, the student to instructor is on a first name basis. So you'll, Get a lot from there. So I decided to go to McNally, stay close to home and dude, I loved it. It was so much fun. And I, while I was attending, I realized how much of a music scene is here in the twin cities. Like everybody knows Prince, but I didn't realize Dillinger 4 was from here. Husker Du was from here. Like the replacements, like going to McNally's when I was like, Oh wow, there's a scene here and I already love Minnesota. This is my home state. So how can I give back to the scene? So that's kind of how I got into music and how I started finding a love for booking and putting on events. cause there's, you know, we have so many cool resources here in the Twin Cities, like First Avenue and The Current and, you know, [00:05:00] well now it's shut down, but the Minnesota Music Coalition and those sorts of things. so I wanted to give back to the community because there's such a thriving music scene here already. And so I've been learning as much as I can, just working in this industry for a while. And so while I was attending McNally, a buddy of mine named Matt Hagner, he and I ended up starting a company called All in the Couch. And we were doing like artist management and booking. Matt was handling the management. I was handling the booking. We ended up working with, uh, some bands from McNally, started there and then slowly branched out into other bands and stuff. But man, I learned a lot during that time. I built relationships with First Avenue, I built relationships with The Current, and smaller venues around town. At the time, a friend of mine had a studio space above, Station 4, Rest in Peace. It was like a metal venue, and he had the space that was right above it. And so we used to do DIY, like, secret shows all the time, which was cool. And some of the bands that played those DIY shows have gone on to do great things, like [00:06:00] Love Sequence was one. Love Sequence has now broken up, but, all of the members of that band are still doing great things in the cities right now. Like Bobby Rethwish, he's the front man of the band. He's doing solo DJ stuff. Mixed with a full band, which is cool. And he's played like fine line and that sort of stuff. and then we worked with early eyes, early eyes ended up playing one of our DIY shows, which was really cool, man. Stephen: And they're signed to Epitaph now, I Alek: Yes, sir. Yep. Guy Tano was another band that we worked with at the time. we got their first seven street entry show, which got them on first avenues, radar, and the rest is history. So I just had a love for just finding bands that have a lot of potential and are good people. and getting them in front of audiences and in different venues that they needed to play. and then we eventually brought on another business partner who had like a studio space. So we were kind of turning into a label and over time, like I realized, okay, I have two to three jobs and I'm trying to book all these shows and the bands that we're working with [00:07:00] were pretty young at the time. And so financially it was really difficult and it was taking all of my time. And so I ended up stepping away from the company. I think? All on the Couch still exists more as like recording service today, which is cool. Stephen: Studio or live? Alek: I think both actually, shout out to Nick and Walt. Love you guys. Yeah. so they're still doing things. And then, I decided to take a break. I wanted to focus on just my own music. Cause at that same time, I was also playing in cover bands. So back in high school, I had an original punk band called 156, and I was the booker for that band. And we were all kind of writing together, but Cory, the bassist, was writing a lot of the songs. So we kind of had our own jobs where Cory was the writer, we would all collaborate and come together, and then I would set up shows for us. And we played a lot of shows, that band went through many different members, and we lasted until I think 2018, 17? Somewhere around there, and then it eventually dissolved. But from that I learned, Okay. here's how [00:08:00] you focus on original music and put together shows, and small bills, and like how you promote those shows. Then on the flip side, I worked with Whiskey Stone, who, they're a cover band, they're still gigging.great guys. And from that I learned, okay, as a cover band, here's how you put on a really good show. Here's how you work with the venues. here's how you pertain to the audience because everybody showing up wants to hear their favorite Tom Petty song or their favorite Lynyrd Skynyrd song. And so I, in that avenue, I learned, okay, make sure, you know, you're playing the songs right, get the people involved and all that showmanship is what I learned from that, but also how to work with venues. Do you find that there's a difference in how you work with venues in a cover band versus an original band? a little bit. Yeah. when you're in an original band? the whole point is to kind of grow your name, get your brand out there, sell t shirts if you can, and the venue is looking for people who are going to stick around and drink. And so as an original band, it's a little more difficult to get in front of audiences, at bigger venues because they want [00:09:00] to make sure you can sell your tickets and you're going to bring people for Sure. And so as an original band, you tend to start smaller, maybe do house shows and stuff and get. and then grow. and also trying to get paid as an original band is really hard. You're basically as an original band, pro tip to everybody listening, you're basically a glorified t shirt company, just FYI. Cause that's where you're making your money, man. but as a cover band, Everybody knows it's going to be a hit. You just have to sound good, essentially. You know, I've seen cover bands that don't sound great, but everybody's still drooling and bowing down to them because they're playing their favorite songs that they want to hear. So, as a cover band, it's a lot easier to get gigs. It's a lot easier to get paid well. It's kind of a guarantee that it's going to go great because venue's perspective, they already know that people are going to come and enjoy the music and they're likely going to stay a long time, sing along, and drink a lot. So as a cover band, it's a lot easier to get shows and get paid well versus an original band because of that, unfortunately. Stephen: Okay. So, well, let's get back to your [00:10:00] timeline. you leave on the couch, and you take a little break. What happens next? Alek: So at that time I started playing with Russ Parrish, uh, we were just the Russ Parrish band, now we're still playing together as Russ Parrish and the Lone Oaks. we were doing a bunch of shows together, kind of building our name, working in different spaces, and then we had our first Nashville show booked. And we were so excited, and that was April of 2020. Uh,so the world shut down, and it kind of forced all of us to just kind of like, sit back and think and reevaluate what we're trying to do. Because it was so go, go, go, say yes to all of the gigs, figure out what the next move is going to be. Actually, not even, we were just like, we'll take all of the gigs that we possibly can. And then when the world shut down, that was a moment for us to like, really sit down and think, okay, is this what we want to do? Are we wasting our time? Is it worth going to the venues that we've been playing at? Like, what are we doing as a band? So, that pause was actually really cool because at that point I had been done with All on the Couch for about [00:11:00] two and a half years or so. And I still had like a bit of an itch to do what I was doing with All on the Couch, but I just didn't know what I wanted to do. Plus, honestly man, I kind of felt like a failure. I was like, dude, I worked so hard and like, I tried to get these bands in front of me. People and in good venues and at the time what I didn't recognize at the time was we were laying the stones to have like a nice path and I couldn't see the forest through the trees I was so focused on oh, man We didn't get that gig that I I wanted these bands to get because I know they deserve it And so it was just disheartening after a while and so covid Really made me realize like oh, no, I still have a passion for this. I still have a drive it turns out You We were just laying down the stones to make a beautiful walkway and I was so focused on that walkway being completed so quickly that I couldn't, I just didn't realize how much work we were actually putting in and we were soon going to reap the benefits, you know. And then I started seeing those bands do great, like [00:12:00] Gaitano has since sold out seven, sorry, the main room a couple times, which is amazing. some of the other bands that we worked with at the time have like moved to different states and they're doing great. So I realized, oh yeah, we were And it just takes a long time sometimes to get to that next level. Stephen: Most times. Alek: Most times. At least a decade, you know, I feel like. That's kind of the rule of thumb after about seven to ten years is when you really start seeing all the work that you put in start paying off.so Yeah. COVID happened and I recognized that I still had the passion and the drive, to do what I was doing with All In The Couch and I wanted to get back into the scene. And so I started thinking about, okay, what worked and what didn't work, with what I was doing in particular with All In The Couch. And I think, as far as the booking goes, okay. Additionally, I also have worked at the caboose and I've done shows at seven street entry. So I was like, okay, I know what the venues want from original bands. I know what these venues want from cover bands. I know what the bands want [00:13:00] as both an original and a cover band, basically people hanging out and enjoying your music. A venue wants people sticking around and consuming, you know, whether it be food or beverages or whatever, just be there and have a good time. Stephen: So. I figured, okay, I could take all these different aspects that I've experienced from being on both sides, the venue side and the band side, and, tried to figure out how, you know, I can offer the best possible experience and kind of be that middleman for both, you know? So, at that point, is that essentially when you decide to crank up coffee break? Alek: Yeah, exactly. So, it was 2022. I started scheming coming up with like the business plan and all that jazz and what I wanted to do. when I went to go register with the state, I found out I needed a logo. So I had a friend of mine, Emily White, shout out, over in the UK, she designed the original logo, which was a cute like coffee cup with like the steam coming out the top. I had everything that I needed. I registered with the state and then I started scheming, okay, [00:14:00] how should I begin this? My plan was one to two events a month, right? And that was the goal. So as of September, that's when I officially launched my first two shows. the first one was at Bryant Lake Bowl. And then the second one was at Third Space Cafe in Uptown. For both of those shows, it was kind of like, I'm going to take some of my favorite local bands, put them together and, you know, just see what happens. And. They both went really well. And I was like, okay, this is fun, I should do more. So, again, the plan was one to two events a month. It just, the company blew up, man. As soon as I did the Third Space event, the people at Third Space approached me and they were like, Hey, like, we have a liquor license. Not a lot of people are consuming, alcohol before three o'clock. So, would you be interested in putting together a music series to kind of help us promote the alcohol sales and just get people vibing and hanging out longer in the cafe? I said, absolutely. That turned into an Every Thursday from November until the end of February. that just ended [00:15:00] now. and then once I got that weekly series going on, my friend Jason over at Lakes and Legends was like, Hey man, like, we want to do original music on Fridays. Can you fill two hours of original music? And I was like, challenge accepted. Yes, of course I can. And so then the last one was I went to Roke over in St. Paul and I just asked for one show in December. We got that set up and it was great. and then before it was a week after I set up that show, they hit me up and they were like, this is Travis and Adam, the owners of Roke, they were like, Hey man, do you, uh, want to put together a show around Thanksgiving? And I was like, Sure. why not? And then a week later they were like, Hey man, so we want to open up Another day of the week. We're thinking Tuesdays, would you be interested in booking like a showcase every Tuesday? And I said, heck yeah. So literally within my first month and a half of business. I had three weekly series, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. What that did is that forced me to scheme through all of the [00:16:00] bands in the Twin Cities, find who has a good following, who is cool and nice and easy to vibe with, who has enough original material to cover an hour or two. Like, I just built this quick roster of like all these great bands and got to network with all of them. And as you speak with one band, they tell me about another band, and It's a huge web. It's crazy. So literally within my first couple of months of business, I already had a list of like a hundred bands I could just call upon. And then that, that also led to like venues reaching out and being like, Hey, man, the opening band dropped off or we need an opening band for the Stephen: Yeah, now you're a resource of being a connection to other artists. Yeah, cool. Well, let's, let's just recap a little bit of this, quick and then break down exactly what Coffee Break is doing now. so you, You start like everybody, playing in bands, learning instruments, that sort of thing, attend McNally, make more connections, meet more bands. One of your first sort of business endeavors is on the couch with some [00:17:00] friends. You start picking up and using the skills that you learned at McNally, but you start doing things like booking shows for other people, dabbling in artist management, and I'm sure a couple other label type services as you, as you mentioned. But on the same hand, it's a ton of work, little money oftentimes, especially with those kinds of startups. so you, you exit that. But then go back to playing, being an artist, but you're also working in clubs at that time. You're working at venues, you're working at breweries, you're working where there's live music. So you start to understand the other side of the coin. That it's not just about, Hey, let's have a band in here. The venue also has to make some money and there needs to be people there. So you start to understand What they're looking for, what the space is looking for and what's, what success means to them. COVID happens. You get some time to reflect and you realize that you might be a good middleman for the artists and all this stuff and Coffee Break Entertainment is born. All right. So we're up to date. We've got Coffee Break. you [00:18:00] launched that. It's clear there is immediately demand for it. You've got the cafe in Uptown. You've got, Lakes and Legends and Roke. And what was the, it was, there was another one, right? Alek: those are the main showcases, weekly series. Stephen: yeah. And, you know, start coordinating all of this. All right. So dive in kind of to the specifics of what your company does. Cause obviously you're booking shows and you're helping connect artists with show opportunities. but you're also helping these businesses fill up their spaces and sell more stuff. Right. so when you put together events, what does that look like? What are people asking for specifically? And how does that vary from place to place? Alek: Okay, so this is where, my expertise comes into play because it is never a straight answer. Every venue and every band is a different story. So I'm going to take third space into consideration First, Stephen: First, just talk to [00:19:00] people about where third space is, what it is. So if people have never been there, they can be familiar with what you're talking about. Alek: Oh, you should check it out. So Third Space Cafe is in Uptown Minneapolis. It's an adorable little cafe. they have a very large space. Erin is the owner. She has basically an all female staff. Like, it is just a great spot to go and have a cup of coffee, go for a first date. Stephen: How, how many people can, can they hold for a show? Alek: think about a hundred, maybe a little under. Stephen: that's pretty big. Alek: Yeah, it is pretty big. they got tables and stuff and not a whole lot of space to store the tables, so I'd say probably comfortably 80. Stephen: Okay. Alek: So them in particular, man, like they didn't have a budget for the music. They just knew that they wanted to do a series. So what we agreed upon was like a suggested donation of 5. So it's like, we sort of set a cover, but It's we're not gonna like ream you if you don't pay it, you know It's kind of more just like come enjoy the space grab a cup of coffee Grab a beer have a sandwich and enjoy the music, you know It could [00:20:00] be background music and if you want it to be background Go sit in the back of the cafe If you want to be more in the forefront and enjoy the music that's happening then sit closer to the stage area, you know Yeah. So that one in particular is like, okay, so now I have to find bands that can fill two hours of time that are basically playing for free. So what immediately happened in my head was, Okay. I'm not going to be able to get Gaetano for this show. Like, definitely not, you know, so who else can I have? So that started making me branch into smaller artists that have been doing open mics that are able to fill an hour, maybe two hours, So I would reach out to these bands and just say, Hey, here's the spot. Here's the date. Are you interested? If you bring all your friends and tell them about the suggested donation, you know, there's potential to make some good money on it. You're going to get a free sandwich out of it. basically just come and showcase your music, get some practice and come hang out. so that was great. And that's what happened. And then. I think about the situation [00:21:00] with, Lakes and Legends. They had a budget of, like, 200. Stephen: they're a brewery. Alek: They are. They have now passed, unfortunately. They closed, 2023. but, When we were doing that, they had a budget of 200 per night. So, and they wanted original music only. And the reason being is because, ASCAP and BMI are a thing. Those guys are really good at hunting down anybody and everybody who offers live music. So you have to be really careful if you're a venue and you don't have your ASCAP. Or BMI licensing. Make Sure. you get on that because you could be a cafe that fits 30 people and they will find you. yeah, I worked at a cafe once that fit about 45 people and I got calls from them twice a year and uh, yeah, they'll find youanyway. So they wanted original music only because they didn't have those licensing. It was mostly just like silent in the tap room anyway. So, I had to find original acts. that could fill one to two hours. If they could only do about an hour, maybe 45 minutes, then I would book them for the first half. And then I'd find somebody [00:22:00] else who could fill the second half. So if it was, if it was a band that could fill the full two hours, they got the 200 bucks. If it was a band that could only do one, then they got a hundred bucks. And I would be there physically with my sound system to make Sure. I was basically running the show and inviting people in and all that jazz. So, that's different from third space because third space, they have those licenses. So you could come in and play covers, which is a lot easier to fill time if you can play covers. If you're an original band, it's a little trickier. Not everybody has. Even 20 minutes of original material. So that was a real challenge because I had a short amount of time to find all original acts. again, I went through probably 150 emails, dude. Stephen: Well, yeah, because obviously you have to have enough material, but additionally you have to be okay with the conditions of the show, the pay and so on that, where you're going to find some bands that can fill it, but it might be too low paying for them. Alek: And what's funny is when I was doing it, cause they wanted mostly solo, duo, maybe trio. And what's funny is as I was doing it, as a [00:23:00] musician myself, my goal is to make 100 per hour as a musician. So as I was reaching out, I was like, guys, I'm so sorry. It's only 100 for an hour, 200 if you can fill the two hours. The amount of people that reached out to me and they were like, 200 for original music? Sign me up, dude. I'm like, okay, cool. Right on, So. That just opened up my mind to other aspects too, and realizing that, okay, maybe not everybody has had the same opportunities I have, and so I personally would be a little pickier about those shows, but these people wanted the chance to come and play. Stephen: Everybody's at a different stage. When you're getting started out, lower pay is often one of the conditions that you accept to, you know, to cut your teeth, to get good at it, to have an opportunity to play on stage in front of people. but as you, as you've developed that and you have experience, then naturally, yeah, you should be more picky about the gigs you take. Alek: Yes. Stephen: in a little bit, but, uh, How much influence do you have over like what the event is going to be? Do you ever combine events with [00:24:00] other things like trivia or things that you see in those kinds of spaces, or are you live music only, and then it's just a matter of negotiating like what the budget is and what the vibe is going to be like. Alek: Yeah, as of right now, I haven't really done anything in addition other than, the first event that I did at Third Space that eventually led into the series was, I called it Mochas at Midnight. And I wanted it to be just a community night for everybody to get together, whether they lived in uptown Minnesota or not. basically just come together and hang out. So I um, Jono. Johnny Osland played and then Emma Jean played, so we had about two, a little over two hours of music and then we had some of the baristas did like vintage markets and so they had their own like. vintage markets in the back and then, oh my gosh I should have looked them up, there's a gentleman who does live art, not live art, I'm sorry, he does art, at Third Space Cafe. He has a studio space in the basement. And so he puts his art up on the walls [00:25:00] and it's super great. It's, it's available for sale. So I was like, dude, you're already here doing things. Would you do a live painting during the event? And then we can put it up for sale or, you know, if, if the price doesn't match what you want, then you can at least have a new piece to go up on the wall. And then your name is out there and people get to physically watch you put this piece together. So that was really cool. since then I haven't really done too many other things like that. I'm definitely open to it though. So to answer your question, I guess, every show has been different. in the case of Roke, on Tuesday nights, they're like, just get us good music in here man. They do a lot of like, heavier shows and EDM shows. So I'm the one bringing the singer songwriters to the Roke. I have more say on that, thanks to them. They've given me a lot of flexibility to kind of do what I believe in and get who I want. Yeah, I guess every venue's different. When it comes to fulfilling these showcases, it's more, Me making the venue happy, what do they want, and then I supply. When it comes to just a straight up Coffee Break [00:26:00] event, then I have all of the say. my first big Coffee Break event happened a couple weeks ago. my wife and I play as an acoustic duo called Beyond the Trees. So we played with Sammy Jean Cohen, and she put together an all female band. And I called it my biggest Coffee Break show because it was the first time the company rented out. We rented out the Grand Event Center down in Northfield. And, since all of my money was on the line to make that show happen, you're darn right I wanted it to be what I wanted it to be. Which was just like, good vibes, kind of a country folk sort of night. And, I know that Northfield has like a bit of a built in following, like, Even if they don't know you, they're going to show up and check out the show. So, I put a lot of emphasis on hoping that that was going to be the case. And then additionally, of course. you know, I boosted the promotions on socials. And, I went down and physically put up posters for an entire day. I went to St. Olaf. I went to Carleton College and walked around the campus. And, that was a cool part too. The venue actually allowed us to do [00:27:00] two, ticket tiers. Thanks. So we had a student discount, which was cool. And I wanted that to be the case because a lot of times these college students want to go check something out, but they can't afford it. You know? So my whole thing was like, it's 10 bucks straight for like a college student. And then everybody else who can't afford it that wants to come check it out, can't afford it and we'll come check it out. So. We offered that, lower price for the college kids and it worked, man. We had, uh, about 12 or 13 St. Olaf students walked in and I was, I was doing everything. I ran the sound, I played it, I ran the door and as people were coming in, I was like, Hey, how'd you hear about this? And all of the St. Olaf kids were like, we saw the posters on campus. We're like, this looks fun. And the poster design was great. Shout out to Emma Jean also for that, poster design. But Yeah. it worked out really great. So Yeah, every show is different. when it's a Coffee Break curated show though, I have all of the control to turn it into whatever I want. some venues are picky and they don't want vintage markets there, or they don't want live painting. And I get that, you gotta watch out for the stage and whatever, or the [00:28:00] floors, they don't want paint all over the floors. But I love that aspect of, uh, you know, bringing the community together and offering other things in addition to the live music. Stephen: Yeah, and you know, when we were talking when we first met, one of the things that I liked and I thought really aligned with what I'm also trying to do with the podcast is that you had said that you wanted Coffee Break Entertainment events, whether they're hosted by you or just facilitated with another venue hosting or whatever. To be a place where people can go to connect, where community can come together. And that's a big reason why I wanted to have you on today is to talk about this as a resource so that if you're a singer songwriter, solo artist, or if you're in a band you've been struggling to find shows or knowing where to start. Reach out to Alec and see if he can get you on a bill or at the very least connect with him so that you can go to some of these events, show up on one of those Tuesday nights or, you know, Thursday nights, talk with the other people that are there and introduce yourself because these are the kinds of [00:29:00] resources in our city where you can really start to build your network and you can go from knowing no one to knowing quite a few people really, really quickly. So I just want to encourage people to do that if, if you're just getting started in, in the. Or if you're just looking to expand the network that you already have. Alek: I'll piggyback off that and say that that is 100 percent true. I did a little coffee break appreciation party. at Third Space Cafe, it was the second to last Thursday that we were there. And I didn't have a band booked. you know, it was January and I'm looking ahead and I'm like, Okay, I don't have a band booked for that night. I can either stress out and try to find someone. Or, I could just turn it into a little party. I did. I made it an open mic sort of situation, and I had people show up who have. been following me on social media, but I've never met. They've sent me DMs, or they've commented on my stuff, but I've never met them in person. Some of those people showed up, they played on the showcase, or not the showcase, I'm sorry, the open mic, and it turned into a gig at the showcase. just the other day I had Dan Engsberg, Engsberg? Sorry, bro. I'm [00:30:00] botching it, but he showed up and did the open mic and I was like, dude You've been commenting on my stuff. I've never met you. It's a pleasure to meet you right now. You sounded great I need another band. I need one more guy on the bill for the show at At the Roke on a Tuesday. You available? He's like, dude. Yes, and it was great he brought like 10 people and it was a nice little jam and nice little party and Yeah, I guess you just never know come out and network Come see a Coffee Break event. I get a lot of people putting in submissions on my website and I get a lot of people reaching out via social media and I feel bad because I can't always reply to all of those inquiries because there's a lot. Keep bugging me I will get back to you and if I don't get back to you via messages, just show up to one of my shows and let's chat. you're on my radar, I guarantee it. It's just a matter of whether or not I can fulfill what you're looking for at this time. Stephen: Yeah. Well, okay. Let's talk about that. you've submitted a message, you've showed up, you've made the connection. you put on a variety of events. So there's going to be different answers to this, but talk a little bit about. Who you're [00:31:00] looking for Alek: Sure. Stephen: and who you're not looking for. You know what I mean? Like what makes a good fit? Who are the people you can help, and who are the people you're like, that's, that's not something I do, you know? Alek: That's a great question. Okay, so the easy answer to that is I don't really do metal, and I don't really do hip hop because I've just never been in that scene. I also don't really do jazz very well because I might know a couple venues that you could, that I could probably put you in, but I'm just not as versed in that world as most people are. But I also know a lot of people who are in those worlds, so if I might not be able to help you out, I can at least send you in the right direction. With someone who that I know will treat you right and probably get you something.I'm more focused on the singer songwriter, rock sort of stuff because that's what I've been doing for so long. as I mentioned earlier, I was in a punk band, called 156. So I'm versed in that scene, I haven't done it in so long. Rest in Peace, Triple Rock, [00:32:00] that was like the spot I used to put on shows at all the time. The Caboose isn't really doing a whole lot of things anymore, but that was another spot I would play in. And, there's a lot of DIY house shows. And I've actually reached out. I'm not going to name any, but I've reached out to quite a few on social media and literally all of them are either shutting down or taking a break this summer of 2024. So the punk DIY sort of thing. I can't help too much as far as. But I'm down to work with you because I want to get back into that scene. That'd be great. singer songwriter. I've been doing folk Americana stuff for so long. So I know a lot of cafes and I know a lot of smaller venues that are looking for that vibe. So I can put you in one of those places. cover bands. Same thing. When I was in the cover band, we had a booking agent for a while, and this is another thing that I try to bring to the table that's a little bit different. I want to work with you directly to figure out what your goals are, because when I was in the cover band, Our agent would send us three to five [00:33:00] hours out of town to play for a really good paycheck, and that's cool, but then it's like, okay, now we're just gone for so long and we're not going to drive five hours or 10 hours round trip just for one little show. So why don't we set up another show around that time, you know, and it was cool, but it became a drag after a while. and so. I want to be able to sit down and be like, okay, what do you want? What are your goals out of Stephen: Yeah, and that's that's a great segue into I think the next thing we should talk about which is so you've kind of said Hey, if you're a singer songwriter if you're Americana alt country rock that sort of thing. That's the kind of events you're currently connected with That's what you're most likely going to be able to help with but there's different ways that you help There are pre existing events where you're essentially filling slots. you know, somebody might reach out and then they're just going to be on your radar, on the roster of like, Hey, I have an opening. Would you like it? You know. [00:34:00] And then there's more of the direct one on one management of people where you might get to know that band better, do more customized booking for them, take a little bit more of a management role. Obviously that's you're only going to do that with a few. You can't do that with everybody. cause I know you offer both those things. So I want you to talk about that a little bit. Alek: Totally. So, if you look at my website, I have a list of artists that I'm working with that is, an agreement between Coffee Break Entertainment and those bands to keep their calendar full or busy and everybody's different. Like Eli Gardner, I'm working with him right now and he's looking to play as often as he can but he has his own limitations. He doesn't want to go super far out of town unless of course it's a mini tour. Like if I'm going to send him to Milwaukee, I'm going to get him a Thursday, Friday, Saturday. on the way there and back, you know, make it make sense. there are some people who are just, that I'm working with that are just like, I just want to play twice a month or every weekend, you know. The deal that I'm doing with all these [00:35:00] bands is non exclusive. So if a venue reaches out to you and you don't want me to take a booking fee, set it up. It's all you, man, because I'm just trying to help you get out there. but if you want me to kind of handle it, then you can pass them my way and I'll work with the venue and whatnot. But yeah, every band is different, so I like to sit down and work with you and figure out what is it that you are looking for, what are your goals, for example, in 2022, I personally wanted to play 100 shows, right? And I did. I actually, I made it to 96 because I got COVID, so I missed 3 shows in one weekend. and then another one canceled on us, but what was nice was I still had a roster of some artists and friends that I was connected with and I was like, Oh, I can't do this show. Can you hop on it?and they took it over. So I was still able to supply music to the venues. I wasn't leaving them totally high and dry and they were dark for the night. but as I set that goal, I didn't realize how much more thought I should have put into that. So I played my damn near a hundred shows. Right. [00:36:00] But I showed up to these venues and I was like, Oh, this is not the vibe. This is these people I'm going to be background music, or this is just a paid practice or whatever. And so what I learned was like, it was amazing to play a hundred shows. I think what it actually did was gave me a bit. of legitimacy to friends and family, because they were like, dang, dude, like you're playing a lot of shows. You must be like, Really busy and like doing really well, and it's like sure, but I didn't think about what I needed to do with these shows So Yes, I played about a hundred shows But some of the venues were not a good fit and some of the venues were a great fit But they didn't pay well, and so as I went through all these shows I reflected at the end of the year, and I was like okay, what places didn't pay well, but I got 15 follows on Instagram, and I know for a fact that these people said if I ever come back to this city or this venue again, they're gonna bring their homies. And so if I go back to that space, I should probably have [00:37:00] merch, because I think those guys are gonna buy it. And then there were some venues I played where it was like, okay, this is, you know, This is paid practice. It was a paycheck, you know, I wanted more out of it. I had bigger expectations and then I showed up and realized what the room was. And so that's something I'm trying to encourage all the bands that I'm working with is like, think about those details when you're setting up shows, because everybody wants to play first Avenue, but guess what? You're not going to play first Avenue, unless you can prove you can sell tickets and you can prove that you can bring people out no matter what day of the week it is. Right. And once you do that, then you're on their good side and they're going to be hitting you up for more things. But if you do that and you botch it. You better be good and ready for that next time you're there, you know, because first Avenue runs a lot of different venues around all of Minnesota and even beyond. They're basically a gigantic promoter. And they're not just like one venue. So you need to keep that in mind. Like if you're playing at any of the first Avenue venues, you better be good and ready because if you don't, if you aren't, and the show goes bad, there goes the turf club, there goes seven [00:38:00] street, there goes like so many different venue options for you. So. You need to be thinking about that too. Like, yeah, there might be, you know, a cool little venue in Hudson, Wisconsin. And you're just like, yeah, it's 35 minutes away. I'll go play, you know, for a hundred bucks or whatever. But if you're not thinking of these things that the venue wants, Stephen: Yes,- there's the repercussions of, of just being prepared for a show, when it comes to thinking about what kind of show you want to get, there's multiple factors in. First and foremost, it's where are you at? In your developmental journey, is this your first show? Like that's a different type of show than, no, we've been playing for years and we can sell out a place, right? Different ends of the spectrum. So you have to be realistic about what you're asking for and what you're ready for. and what your draw is going to be and all that kind of thing, because as you've said, every single time it, it matters how many people you can bring. It matters. It's not just about the music. Live shows exist because people go to them. If no one goes [00:39:00] to them, no one cares. So, you have to consider your circumstances. Okay, well that's a part of it. But then the other part is, cause maybe let's say you, you have a, a little draw throughout the Twin Cities and, And now you have a lot of choices. You can play a lot of different clubs, but it doesn't mean you should. There is such a thing as playing too many as you did with a hundred shows. You realized that that, well, there's diminishing returns very quickly if you overplay the same place. So you have to ask what your goals are. If you're just starting out, you might have. The situation where it's like, we just need to learn how to get good live. And that's where some gigs can be what you termed as practice gigs, you know, because maybe you are just sort of background noise. You're playing at a brewery where there's already, people are having fun drinking and they just want music in the background. They're not worried so much about your draw. That can be a really great gig if you don't have good draw, but you can play well. but you know, people may not really pay attention to you. [00:40:00] That's the trade off. Alek: you have to be okay with that, Stephen: and you have to be okay with that. Then there's listening rooms and there's rooms that are only going to have people in there if you bring them. So if you don't have a draw, you don't want to play those rooms. There's different things. Then there's, the other economic side of it of, Well, if we're going to travel to a gig, we have gas money, we might have to take some time off of work, things like that. If that gig only pays a hundred dollars, only pays 50 bucks, only pays a sandwich, whatever it might be, Alek: heh. Stephen: it may not be worth playing. In the early days, a lot of people just say yes to everything because it's fun. You're getting experience. And in general, it's usually a good idea to get as much experience as you can. Part of learning what works, what doesn't work. how to figure out what gigs are for you and not for you is just doing it. you know saying yes, but the mistake i've seen a lot of local bands make is they stay in that Mindset with that philosophy for too long and what happens is you just get burned out You start showing up [00:41:00] and going through these motions And it is a lot of work. So when the magic of it wears off a little bit and you leave with way too small of a check for the amount of time that you had to put into that, it really can grind you down quickly and it can grind a band down quickly. And so It's really important to think about these things, not only for the sake of the venue, for the sake of relationships, but for the sake of your own mental health, so that you are getting rewarded properly, adequately, let's say adequately for what, for what you're putting into it. That's Alek: on my own experiences, but that was something that Russ Parrish and the Lone Oaks went through for a while. huge shout out, I have to give a huge shout out to Mike's Tav and Roundhouse Brewery. Mike's Tav is a venue in St. Paul. it's a weird room, man. Like, it's the type of room where, you get the mix of all of the college kids from like St. Kate's, St. Thomas, and all that right around the corner in Concordia. But then you'll also have [00:42:00] like the 50 plus year olds that just live in the neighborhood and have been there forever that just want to come in and have their middle or high life and it's like okay that room in particular it didn't pay it paid decently for what it was or what it is but we were a trio so we were essentially walking out like a hundred bucks per guy for a three hour night sometimes longer because of encores or whatever but we had to support each other And so we had to lug our system in and we'd get there an hour, hour and a half early and set that up and do our sound check. And then we'd play the three hours and then we'd tear it down and then we'd network and we'd talk with people. So this was like a seven hour event, you know, and like some people will look at that and be like, and literally we would play some nights. It was packed. It was like cowboy Jack's downtown, dude. It was just like shoulder to shoulder spilled beverages everywhere and crazy. And then there were times we'd show up. And it was like, we're playing for 10 of our neighbors right now. You know, like there's not a whole lot of people here. It was easy to look at the money and the amount that we were making and the amount of work that we had to [00:43:00] put in to make the show even happen. And then easy to also to look at those rooms where it was a dud, you know, and it's easy to look at all of those factors and be like, man, why, what are we doing? But we all knew as a band that it was worth playing that room because It grew our fan base incredibly. That was one of those rooms where it's like, yeah, it's worth taking the pay cut. And it's worth lugging in all this gear because we've sold merch every time we've played. And we at least have somebody coming in and they're like, they'll message us. They'll be like, dude, I wanted to come out. I was going to bring friends. Something came up in the family. I can't make it or whatever. They would actually reach out to us and give us an excuse to not show up. And we saw that and we're like, There's something happening here. This isn't like one of those rooms where you play it once and then you're you're like Oh, we'll be back in a month. And then people say oh, yeah, we'll see you and then they don't show up They were actually reaching out to us and letting us know why they couldn't come and so we were like, okay Obviously like we [00:44:00] have a real following here We need to keep doing this and so we did and it was the same thing with roundhouse brewery every time we went up to Play at roundhouse the staff was great. The people were amazing It's a long drive up to Nisswa from Stephen: I was going to ask. Where's roundhouse? Alek: Roundhouse Breweries in Nisswa, Brainerd, Gold Lake area. we would get, weekend full gigs at Madden's resort up there and Russ would usually do it solo or maybe, you know, with a drummer or whatever. but he asked me to come one year and it's, it's a resort, so you don't really go off, but I was like, let's go hit the town. We ended up going to roundhouse? Brewery, talked with the manager at the time, Molly, and she was like, you guys are playing Madden's like, We should probably give you a shot, especially if you're driving all the way up here. So we would do Friday night, Saturday afternoon by the pool, Saturday night, and then Sunday over at Roundhouse. So like four shows, three days, which was nuts. And it was a total of like 12 hours of music, you know, in the course of three days, which is a lot of work, dude. But anyway, point [00:45:00] is, it was one of those spots where we played it once and we were like, okay, this was cool. And then we played it again. And again, and again, and over time we realized, Oh Yeah. like sometimes it's a full house and sometimes it's not, but what's happening is again, just like Mike's tab, these people are reaching out and they're asking when we're going to return and they're actually inquiring what the band is doing and they're following us on socials and they're commenting and they're, following along. And we were like, we need to keep playing this room because we're actually building a following. And then just February 1st, it was a Thursday night. we played seven street entry. And we sold it out, dude. And we had, Mike's Tab ended up closing that night, and the entire staff came out, and some of the regulars came out, and it's like, okay, that was absolutely worth that investment, like, in the exchange of not making what we wanted financially on a show, it turned into a sold out show and diehard fans that are still coming to our shows now, even though we haven't played Mike's Tab in, like, six, seven, eight months, like, it's been a while, so it's cool, man, so [00:46:00] those are the things you need to think about, what is, Try every room once and then afterwards Think about it, and think, okay, you know, is it worth coming back to this room for reason A, it's gonna pay well, and, you get to work on new songs, and try working on your craft still, you know, or B, is it gonna build more of a following, or C, whatever your reason is, man, if it doesn't make sense for you, do it, if not, do it. Try it once, learn from that experience and move on. But those are things that I think a lot of bands overlook. They don't think about these sorts of things. They just go, I want to play a show. It's like, okay, cool. But let's make sure you're doing it Stephen: and that's okay in the beginning, you know, and I think that You know, if, if that's where you're at, great, get, get experience, get better at being on stage and playing live, but at some point make a very conscious transition to being pickier so that you don't overplay your crowd and you're not burning yourself out. Playing shows is really a lot of work. And so, you know, just be smart about it. and [00:47:00] if you have a band, make sure everybody else is on that same page too. And feels like, yes, my time is worth the amount of money this is paying. Cause if that gets off, things get rocky with that band quick. So, Alek: as you go on. You might be best buddies and that's why you started the band, but Stephen: I want to talk about two more things, that I have in my notes here when it comes to putting together shows. from a band's perspective and also for Coffee Break, but Okay, let's say Got an event coming up, right? Maybe it's one of your regular series. Maybe it's a one off event. Maybe it's Something new but a band connects with you. It's coming up What is expected for promoting that show? What is your role in it as the company and what's the band's role? Alek: For sure. I watched the episode you had with Tanner from the green room and I totally agree with him, man. Like if you're not posting about the show at all, I'm probably not going to work with you again, man, because I can tell that's going to be a dud. from my end of putting the show together, once I [00:48:00] have the lineup and I know what the vibe of the night is going to be, I go out to all the open mics and I try to perform as well at the open mics. But if I'm not performing, I'm at least going out and I'm like, Hey man, We have this really cool Americana night going on, you know, over at Roke next Tuesday. You should swing through and check it out. I heard you play and you kind of do folky Americana stuff. I think you'll dig these guys that are playing. Here's who's playing. Here's the Facebook event. Whatever. So I'm physically going out and telling people about it. I will Take into consideration whether or not I think a show is worth printing posters out for, cause that's a lot of money, and also again, a lot of time. If it's a bigger show that I want to be extremely successful, and I want people there, I will take like a hundred bucks, two hundred bucks, I'll Print out posters. I'll go out, I'll put those flyers out, in markets that I think are worth it. Like I'll hit a lot of record shops or you know, if the show is in uptown, I'm gonna put all of the posters around uptown and then I'll hit some of the cool spots like electric fetus or whatever, where people are [00:49:00] probably gonna be hanging out in, so physical posters, if it makes sense. I'll take a social boost. I'll put like 20 or 30 bucks, sometimes more on, meta and pay for like the Instagram ads and the Facebook ads. and then, I think about all these things depending on like the size of the bands that are playing, you know, like I booked, Ava Levy. And Emma Jean, and, Oh, my goodness, I had one other artist on that bill, it was a Tuesday night at Roke, like, Ava Levy has like a following, you know, the Levy's have been around the Twin Cities forever, so I knew that she was gonna have some pull, and then Emma Jean, she's opened up for like, Trampled by Turtles, and Charlie Parr, and she has them on speed dial, so like, she has rapport already, so I was like, okay, this show, just by having their names on it, We're probably gonna have a good poll. So, I put less effort into social boosts and posters and put more of an effort of going to open mics and being like, and just talking to people around town. I'm grabbing a cup of coffee at the cafe, and I'm like, [00:50:00] the music you're playing right now kind of fits the vibe of the show I have coming up. What are you guys doing on Tuesday? You should come check it out. So a lot of word of mouth. I feel like that goes a lot further than an Instagram message to, you know, So that's kind of what I'm doing. So take it into consideration. Is it worth putting money into this? Do I think I'm going to get a return to be able to put a couple hundred dollars into posters, boosts, and promo? and then from the band's perspective, I expect them to post about it and talk about it at their other shows. If they're doing an open mic, take two seconds. Before you play your song or after be like, Hey, I'm Alec. I'm playing at, you know, Roke next Tuesday. Come check it out. You know, also on the bill is so and so. the band should post about it. I think they should post post about it once or twice. maybe once, once it's announced. And then again, as you're approaching it and then throw it in your story, you know, just get the word out, send your messages, send a text, make a phone call, you know, try to get people out if you care about it. You'll find people to show up, you know, and I know some days are hard, like a lot of [00:51:00] people make excuses right away Like ah tuesday night, man. I don't know if I can get people out at 9 p. m on a tuesday Well, did you try give it a shot? Call your mom be like mom I'll buy you a martini if you come out and hang out, you know And same thing for the venues too Like I expect the venues to post about it like twice if they can you know it doesn't have to be a big deal, but just a friendly reminder, you know that's what I do, and that's my advice. Please just promote it in person, at your events, and post online. Stephen: The other question I had for you is the negotiation process.what does that look like for you? What does it look like for the bands in terms of just the money side of things? Alek: Yeah, man. so, every room is different. In the case of the Third Space and Roke showcases, they did not have a budget. So I am splitting the door with the bands. We're doing like an equal split four ways, essentially. So like if I have three bands and the Coffee Break would be the fourth [00:52:00] member that we're splitting the money with. But then in the case of, uh, the bands that I'm booking for, I'm just taking a percentage. So like some of the bands that I worked with early on, We agreed just 10 percent and I was like, you're helping me. I'm helping you. Like I'm getting my name out there. So I'm taking 10 percent for some of the newer acts that I'm working with. I'm taking 15 percent because they have more of a name, they have more going on. And so it's like, okay, I got to put a lot of work into like getting you out there because of all the requirements that you have. so that's my negotiation with the bands that I'm working with. And same thing with the venues too, I'll ask them if they want a showcase, I'll ask if they have a budget, if so, how do I work with that budget and make it make the most sense for me to do it and for the bands to do it, you know. when I'm setting up a show, With a venue. Every venue is different. Like, I think Tanner at the Green Room was saying that they take 70, or 30%, they do like a 70 30 split, or somewhere around there. mentioned it to me. That might be the case, but I can't confirm or deny. Okay, well I can't [00:53:00] confirm or deny. either, but I think that's what he talked about. Something like that. First Avenue, pre COVID used to do 70 30. Post COVID, now they're doing 60 40, so the bands get 60%. They take 40%. but the exchange is they don't take any cut of the merch, which a lot of venues are doing right now. And, that's something sometimes you have to negotiate. I haven't personally had to yet, but when that time comes and somebody like a bar wants to take a percentage of merch from the bands, then I will argue on your behalf to get a percentage of the bar sales during your show, because why would you be dipping into stuff that I'm paying for and providing? If I don't get anything out of yours either, you know, and most venues probably won't do that So then in that case I would fight for a better deal with the door, Yeah, generally merge sales is going to be larger venues. Not, not really what we're covering today, but, that's fair. Although, um, there was I don't remember what venue it was. It doesn't matter. I did run into that recently though where I was like, oh, okay Like they wanted to take 10 of merch sales and I was like these bands don't have merch. Sorry, man You know like let's not even talk about [00:54:00] it Yeah. That's interesting if it's, if it's trickling down into smaller spaces, but, Yeah and Bryant Lake Bowl. I love Bryant Lake Bowl, because they're small, uh, they take 50 percent of the door. So, I'm okay with doing that for now and proving to them the quality of artists and shows that I'm bringing in. we haven't had a sellout there yet. They only have 80 seats. So, as soon as we hit a sellout, that's when I'm gonna be like, Okay. Let's renegotiate. You know I'm bringing quality artists, you know that I'm filling up the room, and you know that they're gonna eat. If we were to promote a dinner special or a beer special, would you be willing to take less of the door in order to make this show happen, you know? And, again, just being flexible and working with people and understanding where they're coming from. Like, Bryant Lake Bowl, they don't do a whole lot of shows, and, you know, late nights they probably do more bar sales than they do food, so. I'm sure they're looking at their overhead and they're like, we have to take 50%. That's totally understandable until I build that relationship with them. And it's really [00:55:00] tight. I'm not really looking To renegotiate that. Cause that's just the deal they do. And I respect that. Stephen: To some extent, you have to get your foot in the door first, right? And then if you've got some leverage, leverage meaning you've proven that you can bring something valuable because you can bring a crowd, a crowd that consumes food and drinks beverages, then you have leverage and renegotiating is perfectly fine. Don't be afraid to do that. I have talked to a lot of bands that are playing bigger and bigger shows that don't negotiate much at all. They just assume that the first price that's thrown out is the last price. It's not always true. It might be, but unless you're willing to ask, you'll never know. So don't be afraid to renegotiate, but be reasonable with. you know, what, what size the venue is, is this an all out music venue, or is this a cafe that's just trying to bring in some extra people? Those budgets are going to be wildly different. Like you said, with third space, they don't even have a budget for music. So you can't expect to get paid a lot there. You know, those are the kinds of gigs that you're playing to get. Your [00:56:00] own craft up to maybe make a few connections to do some networking and stuff, but it's not going to be a money gig, generally speaking. Just smart to think about what it is up front. What leverage do you have? If you don't have any, then, you know, Alek: Be willing to take whatever they have to give. And then again, Yeah, yup. And don't be afraid to do that. You know, like, that's great. That's a great spot to showcase whatever songs you're working on. New songs, old songs. Try a new cover song. Stephen: It all goes back to what do you need out of the show? If you need practice, you just need time on stage, then you can take certain shows for that. If you need it to start paying serious money, then it's time to start saying no to certain shows and making some demand up for a bigger show and finding a space that does pay well for your crowd to turn out. Yes. Yeah. did we miss anything that you wanted to cover in terms of Coffee Break? Like if somebody wants to reach out to you and connect, what's the best way to do [00:57:00] that? Alek: Yeah, you can hit me up on Instagram. You can send me a DM, Instagram, Facebook, or I have a spot on my website, coffeebreakentertainment. com. There's a form you can fill out. it's just basically like, what are you looking for? And it, you know, I get that directly into my pocket, which is nice, so I can read through it. I get a lot of inquiries coming through. So like I said, at the beginning of the podcast, it's like sometimes it's difficult to keep up with the amount of inquiries that are coming through. but don't be afraid to reach back out. I will follow up with you at some point. And, uh, some of that might be just because, like, Literally in one day, I might be so focused on just three bands and all I can do is like send inquiries for three of the bands I'm working with and that's a full eight to ten hour day and then the next day I gotta pick my next artist and work on that and then by the end of the week. I'm spending my time following up with all these venues I've contacted over the week. And so, because I'm still new and because I grew so fast, I'm still learning what my workflow is and what [00:58:00] makes the most sense. But I'm always taking notes and keeping track of these things too. So like if, if I get an inquiry from you and you're interested in putting together a show, and you just want to know, you have a couple questions, maybe put that at the beginning of the message. It's just like, I have a question about, Putting together a show or I have a question about how you would approach this I'll get back to you quicker about that versus if you hit me up and you're like yo I want to put together a show. It's currently the beginning of march and I want my show to happen I'm doing an album release show on april 1st. It's like that's not gonna happen No venues are available right now or anything so i'm not gonna put as much of a focus on that? inquiry because You need to be realistic. so hit me up on the socials, hit me up on my website, ask any questions you have. I'll eventually get back to you. and if it's something that's like three to four months in advance, you'll have a better chance getting a response from me sooner because that's more of a realistic thing we can make happen. but otherwise I'm happy to hear from you. I'm going to put you on my roster of artists to contact. I will check out your stuff. I [00:59:00] promise. And if I have a show that I think you'd fit really well on, I'll be hitting you up. And if not, then I at least have you on my roster of artists to call upon when that time comes. Stephen: think it's fair to say that if you also show up and you support the other acts that are going on, brownie points. Alek: Yep, absolutely. Stephen: And it's just a great way to be a part of the scene, you know, get out there and build your network and connect personally. It's always, it's always better. Alek: It's so much better. Yeah, show up and support Stephen: Well, one last thing that I've been asking pretty much all the guests, is, you know, if there's a takeaway for you of the things that you've learned over the years, whether it's just through this conversation specifically on live shows and booking or something else in general, but do you feel that there's a tip that you could pass along to other people that you feel like has been a secret to, uh, the success you've had so far and, and starting this company and, playing in live bands and that sort of thing? Alek: Yeah, man. honestly, just don't be a dick. Be nice. I say that? you can [01:00:00] say that. Don't be a dick. And like, just have a good attitude and, Recognize that we're all in this same industry together, you know, like sure there's competition and there's ego, but at the same time, leave that at the door, man, just show up, have a good time. There have been shows that. I have both played and have observed where The band that's on the stage or even myself playing to a crowd of five people, you know, I'm still pretending that there's 500 there. I'm putting, I'm pouring all of my heart and soul into that show. And I've seen that too, where bands will get up there and you're like, Oh man, there's like five people here. These guys are just going to get up there and play their set and walk away. And they put on a spectacular show that goes a long way, man. Because then the venue, again, the venue is looking at that and they're like, Okay, cool. We want more people. Maybe the venues are like, okay, we needed to promote this a little bit more, too. That just goes a long way, man. So just be nice, because you never know when you're gonna run into somebody, who will bring value to [01:01:00] you later, It's a small scene, man. The Twin Cities is large, but at the same time, it's small. And so, word spread's really quick, and you'll get more work, and and have a longer career in the music scene. If you're just nice and get along with everybody as best as you can. We all have our days, obviously. but understanding and recognizing that you might be having a day or the person you're working with might be just having a rough day and don't hold a grudge against them, give them another chance. I always say. I don't hold a grudge, I just remember things. And I give everybody three chances. And if after three chances, they've proven to me over and over that just, they're difficult to work with, and maybe they're not the nicest all the time, I probably won't call upon you again, man. If you're nice, and Just get along as best as you can with everyone. It's gonna go a long ways. yeah, actually, real quick story, I'll keep this as short as possible, but, uh, this happened once, uh, my first retail job was Party City, right? And there was this kid that, had started like a couple months after me, I was 18, 17, 18 at the [01:02:00] time, and he was like 16, he would come in with a cane and a top hat, and he was like, one of those people that's just so smart, they're socially awkward, and all of my Co workers. would give him guff all the time, and kind of treat him, you know, And I was the only one on staff that actually like would talk with him and hang out with him and grab lunch and whatever, you know, we'd chill, and it was sweet. And then we kind of lost touch. And then fast forward a couple years later, I was working at a music lessons place at the time, and he started taking voice lessons. And I was like, what's up, dude? Like, good to see you, Joe. Like, what's up, you know? And, uh, he made a point to tell me that he remembered that I was the one guy at work that actually treated him like a person and hung out. And I was like, cool man, that's awesome. And then fast forward another couple years after that, I'm sitting at a class in McNally and his brother was there and he recognized me from just, talking with his brother about this cool guy that, you know, he ran into at the music lessons place after working at Party City. And then another year after that class with his older brother, they asked me to help, open a [01:03:00] music lesson shop. they purchased this, uh, chain of music lessons. And I firmly believed in everything that the company was about and all that. And he right away, the older brother was like, dude, like, I wouldn't trust anybody else other than you like you're great with people and you're just like really sociable and just really kind Will you be my manager and that was a job? I had for a little while and I met so many more people in the scene through that job And so all of that to say I don't think I would have gotten that job that got me to the next point in my life If I would have been a dick to that dude at Party City. It's like, what a weird chain of events. But again, like, the world's small, man. And you just never know who knows somebody. So, just be nice, be kind, be generous, and, uh, be understanding. And it'll get you far. It's gotten me far so far. And I've thoroughly enjoyed my life, so let's keep on rockin baby. Be nice. Stephen: Well, thank you so much for sharing that. I couldn't agree more. all these things, all these decisions we all make goes to making our scene [01:04:00] a better and better place. So let's all contribute and do what we can to keep making it great for everybody.with that, I think that's a wrap, man. Thank you so much for doing this. Alek: Thank you for doing this, Steven. This is Stephen: Yeah, my pleasure. please reach out to Coffee Break Entertainment if, uh, if you think that's the right fit for you. also connect with us if you are still listening to the episode, you got feedback. always happy to hear it. I'll have my contact info in the show notes, Alex's contact info in the show notes. tell a friend, share it, like, subscribe, all the good stuff. Thanks for listening. Until next time.