|
The Promoter |
There were no theatres, clubs, lounges, promoters or booking agents available to a teenage band in Vancouver in 1956. About the only place to play was a basement jam session for friends and neighbours... that must be where the old stage introduction "Good evening friends and neighbours" came from. Anyway, that's how I started out... I practiced in my room until I thought I wouldn't embarrass myself and then brought it to the basement sessions with "best friend" Larry Tillyer (Stretch) and whoever else would sit in... Eric Olsen, Laurie Bader and Wayne Dinwoodie come to mind. We eventually graduated to the local Community Centre where we played at dances for the local Fraserview (South Vancouver) kids. After becoming known a little through word of mouth etc. it was obvious somebody had to sell the band. Jack Cullen was the hottest DJ in town at the time and he did his part to assist the band. He put us on the air "live" on his Owl Prowl radio show and we became very popular with the kids. He also hired us for some shows he was promoting such as Bill Haley & the Comets (at Vancouver's Kerrisdale Arena), Ivory Joe Hunter (at the PNE Gardens) and with Gene Vincent (at the Silver Moon Ballroom) in White Rock. Larry's Dad became our manager and he did his best to promote the band. Very little happened after that initial rush and the band drifted apart through marriage and day jobs, etc. I would sing occasionally with a few of the weekend bands. But, because there were no agents or promoters for teenage bands, I promoted myself as best I could. I knew I had a talent for art & graphics, so I would make posters and promotional materials by hand and began to rent halls and put on dances for the kids. |
|
*** |
| Although I had been promoting dances on my own, it would be a
stretch to say I was a promoter. However, the skills of learning where
to place advertising monies (which were shoestring amounts) was
invaluable stuff. I learned that collecting a mailing list at the dances
by having the kids fill out a coupon for door prizes was an inexpensive
way to develop a direct mailing list... I didn't have to rely on the
expensive radio and newspaper ads. My mailing list and well placed
posters were all I needed to fill up the community halls around the
city. As the radio stations played more an more rock'n'roll music, the
opportunities grew. A teen-age disk jockey, Red
Robinson, had captured
the kid's attention and was the main
reason why Vancouver was bubbling with teen activities in those days. In 1958
Red had an "Elvis Contest" at the
Orpheum Theatre to discover Vancouver's own Elvis which he would promote via his
radio station promotions, etc. I, of course, entered the contest... I
lost... or at least I didn't win. Jimmy Morrison (of the Stripes) was
the winner. I always thought I was the better singer and it became a
spirited competition for a couple of years. When Red Robinson left
Vancouver to
work in the US, Jimmy
Morrison became the forgotten man. And, then my recording of "The
Blamers" was released and became a #1 hit in 1960... Jimmy
Morrison & the Stripes were buried forever. However, the Prowlers band wasn't together
at the time, and I was being offered performing jobs. So, one of the
weekend bands I was working with (Gordie Cowan & the Originals) quickly learned the song and we became
known as Les Vogt
and the Blamers. The band learned and played all the other hits of the day as
well. The popularity of "The Blamers" gave me instant
recognition and a positive credit that would open a lot of doors for me
in down the line. It was the beginning of what would be my future in the music
business... concert promotion. Vancouver became a regular stop for the rock'n'roll recording artists of the day. All the US bands that played the Seattle area were always excited about coming to Canada and Vancouver was just a 2 hr drive away. I befriended some of the agents & promoters in the Seattle area and asked them if I could buy an extra date on the acts that were ending their tours in Seattle. One guy, Pat Mason, an agent and promoter (Far West Amusements) in Seaside, Oregon became a long-time associate and supplier of US touring attractions. I think the very first booking we did together was Eddie Cochran at the old Edmonds Rollerway in Burnaby. Pat Mason was the manager for Gene Vincent, and later on for Paul Revere & the Raiders. Pat would be my supplier for many of the acts that I brought to the Vancouver area. When Red Robinson returned to Vancouver in 1961, I was established as a boy promoter and doing quite well on a part-time basis. I was still delivering milk (the singing milkman) to make sure my family's needs were met. It was inevitable that Red and I would team up and form an entertainment promotion company (Jaguar Enterprises Ltd.) that would prove very successful for a number of years. Red would advertise the events on his radio program (as well as MC the shows) and I would take care of all the other organizational work. It was a mutually beneficial partnership that allowed us both to purchase our first houses. In fact, the profits from a series of 3 Roy Orbison shows in 1961 gave us both the down payment amount required. Some of the acts we brought to the Vancouver area during the sixties were Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Knox, Bobby Curtola, Glen Campbell, Bob Luman, Bobby Bare, Johnny & Dorsey Burnette, Donny Brooks and many more. Red would ultimately get into the advertising business full time and I became a full-time promoter giving up my day job so to speak... I always considered delivering milk to be my part-time job. Anyway, I believe the opening of the Grooveyard in 1965 was the starting point for everything good that was yet to come. It provided the cash-flow for survival and the opportunity to work full time in the music business and also provided seed money for other projects that followed. For example, the bands became known throughout the Province and I started to promote them at dances in other communities on the weekends. At one point, I was staging dances in Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops and Prince George every weekend. As the Grooveyard became successful... I was offered the Ike & Tina Turner show thru Charles Sullivan (a black promoter from San Franciso) due to a cancellation in Seattle. We hit it off and this association led to a mutually beneficial relationship that would provide me with many top attractions such as James Brown, Wilson Picket, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Little Richard and others. It opened the door for dance events at much larger venues such as the Garden Auditorium on the PNE grounds and, eventually, even larger concert events at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre and PNE Agrodome and Coliseum. |