 Welcome to the Davis Media Access Program in the studio. My name is Bill Buchanan. I'm the guest host for this program. Normally, I have a radio program for KDRT, which is also part of Davis Media Access, a program called Davisville. But I'm here today to talk to Danny Tomasello. Danny is the founder, and I don't know, you probably do a lot of different things, for the Davis Music Fest, which just wrapped up its third season. So Danny, thank you for coming by the show. Yeah, thank you, and thanks for guest hosting. I recognize your voice on the radio. It's very soothing, so this should be easy. Couple of radio guys on television. Yeah, that's true. Folks, this could get very easy here. Davis Music Fest just wrapped up its third year in June of 2013. So you had 13 venues, 65 bands, about 2,000 people came, I think. Yeah, those are rough papers. So how'd it go this year? Wrap it up for us. Well, I think it went really well. It was a success in the sense that there were no major glitches once the fest got rolling. Everybody that came out had a great time. We ended up... We compensate every musician that comes out, so I always like to talk about that, because I think it's not a free thing. So they get paid for their time. They get paid for their time. It's not a lot of money in a lot of cases, but we do feed everybody. 253 musicians, I believe, were out there in one day. Well, I guess one and a half days. Yeah, it's all day Saturday, right? Into the evening and then half a day on Sunday. Yeah, so this year was the first year we had a second day. And it started at 11 a.m. at the Davis Arts Center. And then a couple sets down there are up there, I should say, and then everyone went downtown to the outside venues between Delta, Venus, and the Armadillo stage. It started around three. And then some of the normal regular venues in town that host bands, they got in full swing around six or seven and played till closing or midnight or one or whatever. So you said this is the first year you had a second day. Right. So how does this compare to last year or the first year? You have more people, you have more bands? We did have more people, so we're growing. Unfortunately, we had a lot of people that were participating without paying to come in. And so we envisioned more people would be buying tickets, either pre-sale or would come down because it was a benefit. So that, I would say, would be the one overestimation on our part was how many people would be coming down to support the whole thing. So your point is you had 2,000 people, but they weren't 2,000 paying. Right. And so did you make your expenses? We fell short of expenses actually this year, but not a lot. We needed about 100 more paying customers and we would have covered everything and 200 more and we would have matched our donation to the Davis Schools Arts Foundation last year, which was 2,500 bucks. Yeah, we should make that point that when, at least when you're covering your expenses, this is a fundraiser for arts in the schools. Yep. And so it's funny because last year we did, we had about 1,500 people came out and there were more people had paid this year. I don't know, it was kind of interesting. A lot of people were sort of standing around the outside stage. We had people that were standing out in front of any wine bar. We had people coming through Central Park the next day. But you know, that was sort of a, we knew that going in that Central Park on Sunday, those bands were part of Livestrong. So Livestrong Challenge is a bike ride that happens in town to raise money for victims and their families of cancer. And it turned out in 2012 that the Music Fest and Livestrong Challenge were on the same day. So they actually reached out to us and wanted to make sure it wasn't a coincidence in 2013. So we partnered up with them. We actually booked the bands for outside. They normally had DJs and it was just sort of an after-party. And we said, how about live music for that after-party instead? And we'll put them on the bill and then festival goers with their wristbands can go and that all worked except for, you know, they don't close down Central Park really. Yeah, well that's part of the problem isn't it? With an outdoor festival is that you can have people listen and they don't necessarily have to buy a ticket. Right. And you know, frankly, it's fine. I mean, you know, it's, some people don't have the means to do it and it's cool that we're promoting, you know, Davis as a music-loving community and what we need to do next year is just have that factored in. You know, and a little later, I'd like to talk to you about your plans for next year. But I wanted to ask first, I mean, why do you do this? I mean, it's obvious, you know, right? You love music and there's a lot of talent you want to bring here and we're in California. There's all sorts of talent coming through here. But why do you do it? It's a lot of work. It is a lot of work. I think the reason I like to do it is there frankly was the opportunity presented itself. I was in a good position and I thought, you know, the time is right for this kind of thing. I was just, you know, I just go to a lot of shows. I know some of the venue owners really have respect for, you know, what they're doing as far as bringing small bands to town. Listen to KDRT, listen to KDBS, go to some of those shows. And there's just, you know, I was always going to these shows and thinking, God, there's so much great music out there and it'd be nice if there was, you know, a bigger sort of spotlight on at least one day a year. And I had friends that were working for the Downtown Business Association and I'm a little older than the average, you know, KDBS show goer, let's say. And so I was able to kind of connect the dots that way and figured, you know, this is going to be a cool thing for me to just get involved in. But I had no idea that three years later there'd be 67 bands. I mean, that wasn't really part of the plan going into this whole thing. My friend. How did you end up with 67 then? If that was more than you expected, did you just sort of keep booking people? Yeah, it's funny because the people on the booking committee were like, really, you know, you added another one and it's not like it's the Danny show. I mean, there definitely is a booking committee and we settle on what we're going to do. This year we had to replace a venue that went out of business last year. So we added Pence Gallery and then Davis Art Center had contacted me about doing something and then Mandavi contacted us about doing something and next thing you know was, you know, we had a lot more venues that were interested. So... Well, that's a successful... Absolutely. I mean, that's a sign of success is that you have all these people wanting to do this and I'm not a musician, but I got to believe that a festival that pays every musician for performing is a mark above the ones that are just, hey, come play for free. Right. And we... We absolutely want to make it an experience for all the musicians and the venue owners. I've said from day one, I want people to wake up the next morning and go, wow, that was awesome. I'm really glad we did that. You know, let's do it again if we can. That's really the... That's the bottom line success. If people wake up the next morning stoked, they went, great. But, you know, to get back to how do we get that big? It was a matter of, you know, the booking committee got bigger this year and we had, you know, offers out and then it was plugging in some of the holes were, oh, you know, this... Are you all filled up yet? A lot of the musicians themselves and, you know, would have friends in other bands and say, you know, they've heard about this. They'd love to play. I think they'd fit well here or there. So we just had a, you know, and it was like, well, we could start a little earlier in that venue. Let's plug them in. And so it just... But at one point, yeah, I was like, okay. Okay, so I've got to ask, is 67 more than you're going to want for next year? Yes. Okay, so you'll dial it back. Any idea how many... Well, the reason for that is not because of... that 67 was too much. I think it was, you know, the festival goer felt a little overwhelmed. Yeah. And what happened was even with the people that were sort of standing around watching without going in the venues, people were spread too thin, you know. It was just... And the changeover times were pretty back-to-back. We had like 15 or 20 minute changeover times, which meant that people didn't, you know, okay, where should we go next? They kind of got caught up and whatever. So... Okay. I think by having, you know, if we go back to, say, 50 bands, I think would be a better goal and space it out a little better, have some nice changeover times, and give people the opportunity to get places. That's the biggest feedback we had. So not quite as compressed, I'm getting a sense. Yeah, not quite as compressed and not so many options. Would you still do it over a couple of days? Yeah, I would definitely do it over a couple of days. I think the Sunday component was really just a natural, even if Liv Strong didn't come in. I remember after the first two fests, waking up on Sunday and feeling like this big wall of... You just did this big thing the day before. It's still the weekend. Yeah, it's Sunday. It's like, gosh, it'd be so nice to go somewhere. And, you know, Delta Venus, it provides such a great atmosphere with the shade and the outside, and we had classical music, and then Lauren Cole Norton played. It was just real nice. And this leads into, I wanted to ask you what some of the highlights were of the festival this year. Which ones were, and it could be performances, it could be moments you just thought was really cool. It could be, I don't know, someone you saw in the audience. The very best moment, I think, of the day, I was riding my bike from the Davis Art Center and heading down, and we had just kicked off the first two bands, and they were geared towards kids. So... You said once at the Art Center. There was the Art Center. Yeah, it was the Hoots and Music Mat and the whole nine yards, and they're great for kids and people know them. And that was another, you know, can't charge really out there at Community Park at Davis Art Center. So it was, and we gave it away to kids intentionally, you know. So anyway, I was riding my bike down, and my phone was just blowing up from all these people that were, hey man, have a great day, and let me know if you need me. And we're super excited, and just tons of friends that really weren't even part of the organization or the committee ahead of time were just letting me know they had my back. And that was a real highlight for me. You know, KDRT was and has been a supporter of it all along, and I knew that stage was going to be great, and that ended up being another real highlight was downstairs at the Lodge. In fact, maybe we'll stop now and let her... I think we have some footage of the dancers' stage of the... Yeah. This is, tell us who this is. So the Lodge has two levels, a lower hall and an upper hall. And this is... This is Meisner and Smith. Meisner and Smith, I was just going to let them play. Let's stop talking. Down the street, she's only strong. Life comes up. One moment here and gone. Come round to find out it's been a song all along. So, yeah, so that was Meisner and Smith in the lower hall, and they're just going to come up here to John Langford in the upper hall, and... But, yeah, that downstairs space was real special. Oh, and by the way, I just want to let people know that Sarah is with us here in spirit and two-dimensionally. You should explain who Sarah is. Sarah Ealy is one of... She's my partner in crime on the Awesome Patrol show, which is a radio show we have here on KDRT from 5 to 6 on Fridays. And that's her with her arm up right there. That's her with her arm up with thumbs up. She was having a great time, and I think that may be the Meisner-Smith set, or it could be the start of C of Bs. So downstairs, it was Meisner-Smith, C of Bs, and then John Vanderslice, and he ended up having a standing on top of the catered merch table, and it was a real intimate moment with folks. And that type of thing, that's definitely a highlight for sure. So now you had a couple of challenges, too. I mean, anything you put on like this is going to be... You lost a headliner. Lost a headliner at the Mondavi Center. Yeah, it's real unfortunate. I mean, I guess exhaustion happens with some of these guys. I mean, he canceled. I guess we should explain. I mean, he wasn't literally lost. He canceled the performance. He canceled his whole Northern California tour. Yeah, he was exhausted. He had just been... Things happen. That was J.D. McPherson. J.D. McPherson, right. And you picked up a new venue. So we picked up a new venue, which, before I get into that, I do want to mention that one of the other sort of headlining stages was the Armandillo outside stage. And the guy named Chuck Prophet played out there. And I think we have a clip of that as well. But, yes, here it is. And so I'm glad that we showed that. One of the other highlights was actually a story after his set. And generally in these festival settings, you have your time slot and that's it. And this was the last venue out in front of Armandillo. And it was late. You know, we've got sound requirements and everything as far as when we need to shut down. But he was pleading to the showrunner going, come on, man, these guys are so into it. Let me just... Just one more, you know. And so, I mean, the fact that he wanted to go back out is such a huge testament, you know. Now, that sounded pretty good there. Who was Chuck Prophet? I don't know. Chuck Prophet and the Mission Express. San Francisco rocker. He's been around a while. This is a good example of... I don't know. He's not somebody that I booked. Yeah, but that was a good sound though. And the fact that it was dark there in the stage and all that, I mean, that sounded like something more... Well, that's a good point you're bringing up. We hire all professional sound engineers too. So none of the venues have just somebody out there with a PA and figuring it out. So we have sound engineers in all the venues who we also pay. They actually have sound engineers who make the most money in this industry. It doesn't matter who shows up. They get paid. That's true. And they do a great job. So hats off to them. So Electron Pro Audio was out there. The stage was provided by a grand affair who was another sponsor. And Mondavi actually did the lighting. So... They did the lighting for all the... They did the lighting for that outside stage and actually for the upper hall as well. Mondavi was great about the whole JD McPherson thing. I mean, they were as bummed out as we were. And they really did a great job. They made good on everybody who has a ticket for JD McPherson can turn it in for a Lyle Lovett ticket and you get a full refund. Yeah, I saw that. I thought that was pretty exceptional. Real classic. It's not like Lyle Lovett is a low-end act. Yeah, definitely classic. But now you did pick up a new venue, which I suppose was an example where something that was sort of a curve ball you turned it into something that actually worked out pretty well. Yeah, the week before the fest was way more stressful than the actual day of the fest. And that was because of JD McPherson's troubles and then we actually lost another band, another unfortunate family incident with one of the band members, just, you know, family's first. It's the bottom line. So when family happens, we're like, you know, do whatever you need to do. And we replaced Joy and Madness with Element Brass Band, sort of, you know, quick last-minute thing. And then what you're talking about is that Davis Flea became our new venue. The former venue, they just decided, you know, we've had too many complaints. We don't want any more loud music out here. That was at 4th & L, the other one. Yeah. So that's kind of away from downtown. Yeah, it was away from downtown anyway. It was a total blessing in disguise because the Flea space was great and we're showing some now. So that's drive-thru mystics. You know, I gotta say, they looked like they'd be at home playing and, I mean, just looking at the venue looks like kind of a converted garage. Yeah, the Flea space is, I mean, it's a warehouse that's over by behind Red Rum Burger, in front of Olive. And that was maybe their second show that they've had there. And fortunately, the gal that runs or used to run the space out at Bike 4th is also putting on shows here. So it was a pretty easy transition. We just didn't know that the Flea space was available until it was. It was Wednesday night at 10 o'clock. I got the call that we were going to switch right before Saturday. So that was a little bit. But you kept it all going together, I mean, right? Yeah. Kudos to 2407 Graphics for really rallying behind a new schedule and getting that out. And, you know, Copy Land isn't a official sponsor, but man, we really lean on Wilson and those guys to turn things around quickly. For like posters and such? Posters and handbills and, yeah, whatever we need printed. They did a great job. So, yeah, we made that happen and turned it around. It ended up being a real blessing. Like I said, it's much closer. And we're like, you said, you can hop on your bike and go through the tunnel and you're right out there. So, yeah, I caught a couple of sets. I didn't catch that drive-through mystics. But I was lucky. I saw them about the week before out at Luigi's. So you've done three years of these now. And there is a lot of music in the area. I mean, there's San Francisco and Sacramento and Davis. Sure. Are you getting the audience you want? The people that are coming out are absolutely the audience we want. Yes. By design, we do this. No offense to undergrads. But by design, we do this a week after school gets out. And that's not going to take. Well, it was your point. Because this isn't picnic day part two. I don't want people out there for their first beer. This is like, let's do something that rewards the already, the music community that exists here already. It's, let's kind of just expand from that a little bit. And people that go and support shows already, bands that are from Davis, from Sacramento, bring in some Bay Area acts from Southern California. We had one from Nebraska. So we had some that came in. And it was like, you know, if you go to shows already, if you play music here, this is a nice reward. You get to go see the rest of the performances. And that's the other thing. All musicians also have a wristband that gives them access everywhere all day or all weekend. So it's sort of a give back to, hey, you know, this is a cool town. Let's highlight the venues that we have, that have shows regularly. Let's reward the fans that come out regularly. And let's show people that maybe don't come out a lot. That this town has a great scene to offer. So, yeah, the fans are totally appreciative. You know, that's, you ask why I do this, really for the high fives in the street and for people to say, hey, that was a really cool thing. And that's, that's why I do it. I mean, I started the nonprofits called Music Only Makes Sense because it doesn't make a lot of money as we saw this year. But it's okay. You know, I mean, we're still, we're still young. We're still working out Kingston. And that's the name of the group that puts on Davis Music Fest is... Music Only Makes Sense. Or Moms for Short. Moms for Short, right. Yeah. And so, and we're doing another event, which is on October 12th, and we're partnering with the Davis High School Blue and White Foundation. Yeah, and that one will be at Central Park, I think. Yeah. And that one, we do want all you undergrads to come out and have, not have your first beer, but come out and enjoy that one. It's a little more like a traditional festival where you have, you know, we're gonna actually, we're gonna fence off part of Central Park. Two stages have alternating bands, beer gardens and food, and, you know, it'll be all ages, and it'll be just your traditional type of fest. You know, I take your point about a picnic day that you don't want this to become, because picnic day, it's been a little better the last year, too, but it just sort of turned into this big outdoor beer party. And when we started in 2011, it was on the heels of the real bad year picnic day. And so, when I met with the city folks talking about, hey, I have this idea to bring, so we had done a benefit out, actually with Blue and White, so it's kind of coming first for a circle. And Blue and White is another foundation that benefits schools. Right. That benefits the high school. And they do all extracurricular activities. They don't just support football in the stadium. That project's done now. In fact, they just sent, they sent a bunch of kids from Madrigals to Italy, the Blue and White Foundation. So they do, you know, I think that they're doing a good job of bringing highlights to the impact they have on all students. Anyway, we did a benefit show after their traditional golf tournament several years ago. And that's how I got into booking any bands or doing any shows. But I was getting a sense, you were starting to tell a story that in 2011, you go to the city, you say you want to do this, and they're thinking, we just survived picnic day. Exactly. What are you talking about? Yeah, yeah, it was like, well, what are your plans? Well, it was, you know, this is going to be small. That's how we were sure. I go to shows and there are 20 people standing around watching this killer band, and I can't believe it. So it's, you know, I don't expect a whole lot of people, you know, in the first year or two. And then I was pretty blown away last year. In 2012, we did, we had close to 1,500 people. And so I thought, oh, wow, this is, you know, let's do more bands, let's do more venues. And I just overestimated it a little. It wasn't too bad. So what's your story? I mean, how did you end up doing this? How did you develop this love for music? And why Davis? I mean, did you grow up here? No, I didn't grow up here. I married into Davis. Funny, I actually met my ex-wife at Picnic Day in 1995. So you came to town for Picnic Day? I came to town for Picnic Day. I was living in San Francisco. I've always loved music. I've always liked going to concerts. To me, that... Wait, is that what you do for a living? Do you...? No, I'm in technology. Okay. Technology sales. So this is just something you really enjoy doing on the side? And this actually is an outlet for me because in business, I do a lot of over-the-phone and online and don't actually shake hands with folks. So this gives me at night and on weekends and at meetings, and I can actually be part of the community in that sense of actually doing something. But yeah, I was just going to shows and liking it and thought I could do this. I know we're getting near the end, but Sarah, who's not here tonight, had told Landon and Christensen something interesting in the Davis Enterprise. And I bet you have an opinion about this, too. And I want to just read... This is a story that he had written about the Davis Music Fest. And she told him it's a little bit magical, helping the kids, helping the downtown businesses. There's that element that's really enduring and special. This is Sarah talking here, folks. Town of Davis is really invested in the arts. She says, five years from now, Davis is going to be a tour stop for bands along the way. It'll be built into tour schedules. She says, there's a lot of room to grow and I feel Davis is ready for it. I mean, that's one of the big questions, isn't it, in Davis is, you know, we've got a lot of music. Over the years, we've had sort of up-swellings of music. I mean, we had the Palms in town for years. We moved to Winners, Freeborn Hall, put on a lot of concerts. Mondavi does now. We used to have venues downtown. Do you think Davis is about to grow in terms of its musical presence? And if so, why now? Well, I think, yes, first off, I think we are starting to see, you know, acts like Mondavi's doing a really good job of bringing more rock and roll type acts to the Mondavi Arts Center. It's not just symphonies. I think that there is a big contingency of people from Sacramento or Davis that will drive to the city, being San Francisco, to see a show. And, you know, it's kind of like why the Davis Live Music Collective formed. Let's bring the acts here. It's a natural stop between San Francisco and Portland at a day and do a stopover. And after that quote in the paper, I said they already are. And it's true. The agents, I told that to Landon. So the... But the sense that I got from the comment is that we could expect more than we've had even. Yeah, I think so. I think, well, there was a whole conversation about the dimple space. You know, when the dimple went out of business about making that a venue. There's next to Starbucks downtown, that currently empty building. Yep. And I've had lots of discussions about that, and that's not going to happen in the immediate future. But there's an interest there, whether it's debt space or somewhere to have a, you know, four to five hundred capacity venue, which is kind of where we don't have that market right now. Mindavi has a two hundred person space. There are a lot of two hundred to two fifty spaces in town. And then you go to Mindavi, the big rooms, like sixteen hundred people. So that... So you think the demand is here or people would come to... Absolutely. I think people are ready to see shows, you know, every weekend, two or three. It just... What needs to happen is different genres need to be present. So, you know, you don't want to have an all country bar and all metal bar and all indie or all folk or whatever. I think that if you have a promoter who can put in different... Sort of like Asa Spades is doing in Sacramento, there's no reason why we couldn't have something like that, especially with the student population. And I'll tell you, one of the things about Freeborn, I don't think it's personally a great sounding venue. I like going to shows there. I mean, I've seen one of the best shows of my life there. But I think, you know, the fact that it's dry... Okay. So, yeah, I think there's room. Well, we're out of time. So, we've been talking with Danny Tomasello. I can talk for hours about this stuff. He's the founder of Davis Music Fest. I'm Bill Buchanan. This has been in the studio at Davis Media Access. Thank you for listening. Yes, thank you, DMA.