Yellowcard coming to USU
In keeping with the trend of high-profile bands gracing the Cache Valley community, Utah State University will be playing host to Yellowcard who is scheduled to play Sept. 30 in the Spectrum.
The multi-platinum pop-punk band is being brought to Logan courtesy of Tom Atwood, co-owner of Pakt House Productions and USU student, and his partner Steven Garret.
“For me being from Logan, I have a special interest in bringing bands here,” Atwood said. “However, I’m really trying to cater to Cache Valley as a whole. Not just by bringing Yellowcard, but by drawing an audience from Orem, Salt Lake City and Southern Idaho to Logan.”
Atwood also brought Eve 6 to his home town last year and helped put on a battle of the bands for local talent which inevitably lit a fire under the music scene in the valley.
And Yellowcard’s presence couldn’t be timelier.
“That’s why we’re really excited about it because they haven’t done a show since last spring. This is like a one and only show. In fact, they were recently talking about going away for a while so for Yellowcard fans, this is a huge deal,” Atwood said.
And any one who loves the band or acoustic music in general is going to hear Yellowcard in a way they’ve never heard them before– entirely unplugged, Atwood said.
Opening for Yellowcard will be alternative rock band Allred and special guest Jason Reeves, co-writer of the Colby Caillat Coco album. Both bands have a very relaxed style and will blend perfectly with headliner Yellowcard, Atwood said.
This show will be the third Atwood has done in the past year. After the success of Eve 6 at the end of spring semester, the 24-year-old promoter stunned the industry by booking Second Hand Serenade who performed in June at Thanksgiving Point.
“It was a hugely successful show. It was quadruple the biggest show the band has ever had live. They were stunned that they had such a loyal fan base here in Utah,” he said.
During that show and those previous Atwood was operating under the name Almeria Entertainment, which is a production company he established on his own. It wasn’t until the Second Hand Serenade concert that Atwood and his partner Garret joined forces to begin another venture, Pakt House Productions.
But booking bands and putting on successful shows isn’t just something you wake up and do, Atwood said. Atwood, who is a junior at USU studying Spanish, said he has to research every band before he books them, and is constantly putting his money and reputation on the line.
“Where I’m coming into this industry new, it’s hard for me to get my foot in the door because I’m competing against other promoters that have relationships with these agents,” he said.
The first concert Atwood ever put on was Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband, which he funded out of his own pocket. He and an organization on campus partnered together to bring the band out, but since he was only an armature promoter at the time he ended up losing $1,500.
Since then however, Atwood has researched the art of concert promoting and worked toward building a resume that would continue to attract big names bands.
In concert promoting, there are two main ways to go about business, Atwood said. One is being previously established and waiting for a band’s agent to contact the promoter with information about a tour that’s coming through.
However the alternative, which is what all up-and-coming promoters go through, is much more difficult.
“The other way to bring in a band if the agent is not contacting you is to pick the band, make sure they are available, contact the agent yourself, and pretty much sell yourself and your credibility to the agent, because a band like Yellowcard isn’t going to do a show just anywhere,” Atwood said.
All of what Atwood had to learn to ensure his business thrives was done on his time, and his dime.
“I do this because I’m passionate about it. It’s something I love. This isn’t something that I just decided to do one day. It has taken me a while to figure out how to bring in a band and make it attractive to them and make the show a success.”
Tickets for Yellowcard can be purchased online at www.smithtix.com or at any Smith ticket outlets.
–greg.boyles@aggiemail.usu.edu