Sunday, October 25, 2009

HAVE A BACKUP PLAN!

As the soft, digital rain pours into my ears from my iPod, asleep in the rear of our tour van, I awake with my ears popping and the air coming through the window smelling far worse then the van itself does after three guys have called it home for the last month. I sit up and ask the rest of the band why my ears feel like they are going to pop out of my head, and what is that terrible smell? They inform me that we just dropped 1000 feet in two miles and that there is a paper mill at the bottom of the steep grade. Then Moey, pulls the van over and gets out of the van and says, “Ok, your turn to drive.” I say, “Ok what time is it and where the hell are we?” He says, “It is about 4am and we are traveling down Interstate 80 in Wyoming somewhere between Salt Lake City and Denver.” After filling up the van with gas and jump behind the wheel, crank up the iPod once again and prepare myself for the rigors of what will be a long and lonely driving shift. During that pre-dawn shift, I drove until the sun rose over the great Rocky Mountains. This tour was one month long and encompassed highways and nightclubs from Virginia to California and back. Growing up in “small town” Ohio, I could have never imagined touring the entire country or for that matter, doing it twice. But, there we were.

I toured in the band Red Metric for two years playing over 200 shows in 45 states. After the band broke up in 2007 I relocated to Chicago where I worked at Barnes and Noble College Bookstore at DePaul University. I was an operations manager there for a year and could not take it anymore. I decided to quit and go back to school to get my masters in entertainment business from Full Sail University. In this same time I joined the street team for House of Blues. On the team for only a month and I got a call from the marketing manager and she ask if I would like to become her intern. After interning for a month I got a part time position at the House of Blues retail store. After interning for 8 months I hit the road with my new band A Friend Called Fire for a month run which I booked myself with my company AMP Booking LLC which I started in 2005 but did not make the company official until April 2009.

I use AMP Booking to not only book my band but also other bands and showcase around Chicago. I currently book Wednesday nights at the legendry rock club Elbo Room (200 capacity) and just last week I worked a deal out with a new club called Reggie’s Rock Club (450 capacity) where I will be booking a few shows a month. I have only lived in Chicago for 3 years and I am working with some of the best clubs in the city. I did not do this by just sitting around at home but by going out to shows at different clubs and talking to people.

Over all I always have a plan and a backup one. There is nothing I want more then to play and tour in a band for the rest of my life but that is a one and a million shot. This is why I started AMP Booking and also working for House of Blues. I need something to fall back on if the band does not take me where I want to go. I know I will be working and playing in this business for a long time just by knowing the right people and work at the right places. At House of Blues I have went from working in the retail store to running band merchandise for each show that comes to the venue and just last night I will be doing security too. I feel by keeping an opened mined about doing different things in this industry will only help me get to where I want to go and always have a backup plan.


Author Bio:
Adam Powers owner of AMP Booking LLC and bass player for the band A Friend Called Fire grow up in Tiffin Ohio. After graduation from Heidelberg University in 2005 he toured with the band Red Metric for tow years. After the band broke up Adam moved to Chicago to work. Shortly after moving there he started the band A Friend Called Fire and working for House of Blues where he still currently works and goes to great school.

Websites:
AMP Booking Blog
AMP Booking LLC
Ning Profile
Myspace
Facebook
Twitter
Reverb Nation

Friday, October 23, 2009

AMP Booking Showcase @ Elbo Room

Over the last year AMP Booking has teamed up with local hot spot venue The Elbo Room where AMP Booking has booked over a 100 bands on Wednesday nights for the last year. Some nights have been better then others but AMP Booking does everything they can go get people out to each show! Owen Adam M. Powers is also the talent buyer for AMP and says: "Elbo Room is a great venue with some of the best sound and lights in the city for the size of club it is. If bands are looking for VIP treatment and being catered to your every need this is not the place for you to play. The staff at the venue is friendly and easy to work with. If a band has an ego I would say please leave it at home if you want to play here. But over all Elbo Room and AMP Booking likes to work with nice people".

If you are in a band and would like to play Elbo Room on a Wednesday contact AMP Booking.

Email: info@ampbooking.com
Or www.ampbooking.com

For upcoming AMP Booking shows visit: www.ampbooking.com

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Press Release

Chicago’s music scene has been a great part of Chicago’s History for many years. Chicago is known for having the best blues acts in the world. With the opening of AMP Booking in the summer of 2009 Chicago’s music scene will continue to grow not only blues scene but also all genres of music.

Chicago, Illinois June 11, 2009 – AMP Booking the full service booking and promotions company, official opened it’s doors to help bring the best concerts and live entertainment to the Chicago area. This detailed concert promoter put on its first concert at The Elbo Room July 25th 2009 and has continued to put on five concerts a month there.

Owner, Adam Powers. states, “Chicago has a great music scene that can get over looked easily because of the size of the city and always being compared to LA and New York. A lot of concerts are not taken seriously by club owners and in return are run poorly. With the addition of AMP Booking to the Chicago music scene will help Chicago gain more recantation for it’s music scene and for having the best concerts in the country by keeping a close eye on the fine details of each concert“.

About AMP Booking:

Owned by Chicago, Illinois resident Adam M. Powers, AMP Booking is a hard working, detail oriented booking and promotions company that brings the best local and national acts to Chicago. AMP Booking does not take any concert lightly regardless how big or small the concert is. “Every concert is a lager concert” according to the Adam Powers. “I want to bring fans closer to the bands and also keep the artist happy with the over all operation of the concert”.

Contact:

Adam M. Powers, Owner

adampowers@ampbooking.com

Phone: 419-618-0090

AMP Booking LLC.

www.ampbooking.com

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Monday, October 5, 2009

AMP Booking Bio

Like many professional musicians, Adam Powers’ love of, and passion for, music can be traced back to his formative years. Coming up as a teenager in small town Ohio usually meant ample time to succumb to the temptations of rural boredom. Rather than fall victim to the more mundane social follies symptomatic of teen hood, however, Adam chose instead to divert his attention to honing his skills as a musical craftsman and ardent student of the music business.

Adam’s first instrument was the drum kit. He began playing drums in grade school and continued into early high school, during which time he concluded that it was time to actually start a band. At the time, a capable bassist was not available in the area. So he decided to pick up the bass guitar and master the instrument himself. Thus, he would become the band’s bassist. Inspired by the likes of master hard rock bassists Cliff Burton and Jason Newsted, he devoured the instrument and never looked back. However, recognizing the songwriting limitations of his chosen instrument, he dove right in and developed proficiency on the guitar as well.

While in high school, Adam played with several bands. But, it was not until he co-founded his first band, Nevername, that he would really begin to grasp the complexities of what goes on behind the scenes in order to make a band go. Adam quickly learned that, in order for the band to really be successful, he would have to handle all aspects of the operation, from writing and learning new material to the business of making music, including the arduous and unglamorous tasks of booking, marketing and promotions. Ultimately, it was the diverse demands of his gig with Nevername that really ignited his passion for the business of music.

Nevername had a good run and left its mark on the local music scene. Adam’s affiliation with the band lasted throughout his college career. However, upon graduating with a B.S. degree in Business from Heidelberg College, Adam sought the challenges of more ambitious musical projects in larger markets. His search led him to Hampton Roads, Virginia to fill the recently vacated bass spot for freshly signed Digitone Records modern rockers, Red Metric. The band had nearly exhausted a national search for a bassist when a call from Adam for a last minute audition sealed the deal. Adam joined the band and, while simultaneously juggling his final college exams, immediately flew to Virginia to perform a CD release show and then hit the road for a national promotional tour.

The band racked up tens of thousands of miles, sharing the stage with several great national acts, including Joan Jett and The Blackhearts and The Smithereens. Though thrilled to be living his dream recording and touring with Red Metric, Adam aspired to a more prominent role in the business of running Red Metric. And the band was elated to have him take the lead. He assumed primary responsibility for managing booking and promotions for the band’s parent company, Red Metric Entertainment. Here, Adam excelled, booking more expansive tours with increasingly more ambitious and successful indie rock acts. His tireless work ethic and a grueling tour schedule substantially elevated the band’s national profile and reputation.

During his tenure with Red Metric Entertainment, Adam was able to really cut his teeth booking on the national indie booking scene. The result, aside from more tangible national successes for Red Metric, as well as a prestigious new guitar endorsement deal with Spector Basses for himself, was the establishment of (and growing respect from) a growing and diverse network of booking agents and venue owners nationwide. His achievements did not go unnoticed and he soon garnered the attention of national indie booking agencies Milestone Agency, and later MBM Entertainment, who were eager to recruit him to book their rosters of accomplished touring bands.

In the service of these agencies, Adam quickly became a favorite of management and bands alike, earning a well-deserved reputation as a hard working, ethical and affable booking agent. He soon blossomed into a formidable journeyman booking agent. Eager to make a more lasting mark in the booking and greater music business community, however, Adam struck out on his own and started his own national indie booking agency.

Adam founded AMP Booking in 2005 in order to provide an approachable, capable and well-connected booking service for indie acts worldwide. Since its founding, AMP Booking has successfully booked more than 200 shows for more than a hundred bands nationwide. Adam has had the privilege of contributing substantially to the careers of some of the hardest working and touring indie acts in the business. Some notable acts with which AMP Booking has represented include indie alt-rockers Sun Domingo, Brooks Wood Band and The Influence, just to name a few.

With more than 5,000 venue contacts coast to coast, Adam has established AMP Booking as a nationally recognized, one-stop-shopping booking house for indie acts of all styles. Where he once of necessity groveled to book his acts in even the lowliest venues, AMP Booking is now nationally recognized as a first-call booking agency. With that in mind, drop them a line and let them put years of experience and dedication and thousands of venue contacts to work for your act.

AMP Booking has recently relocated its home office to Chicago and is now booking shows/events in the greater Chicago Metro area. And, as if running AMP Booking were not sufficient to exhaust a mere mortal booking agent, Adam has recently signed on as one of the Talent Buyers for the Elbo Room in Chicago and now books shows for that venue.