Mark Caro - ABATTOIR

"Broadcast to the World"

Featured Artist for April:
GINA ZAMPARELLI

Gina Zamparelli Biography:

My thoughts on Gina Zamparelli:
- Gina Zamparelli is one of the most well known, respected and beloved music promoters in the music industry. She literally created a music scene in Pasadena, CA, when she transformed a mostly forgotten theater called Perkins Palace into a star studded entertainment watering hole for some of the biggest stars in rock music. With her legendary rock concerts that she produced and promoted, that featured such artistes as RATT and WASP, she became the “go to” person in getting in front of the biggest audiences and every band in Los Angeles wanted to be featured on any concert billings that she was associated with. More importantly, no matter how busy Gina was, she always took the time to shake everyone’s hand and make each and every person feel important. She has never let success go to her head, which is a far cry from the norm in the entertainment business. Here is more on Gina’s background…
Gina Zamparelli Bio:
Gina Zamparelli presented many of the top concerts in Los Angeles during the 1980's and 1990's at Perkins Palace, The Roxy Theatre, The Whiskey, The Hollywood Palladium, The Santa Monica Civic Auditorium and The Wadsworth Theatre. She was heralded by the media as one of the first women concert promoters in Los Angeles. She sold out every concert in over a decade of shows in Los Angeles, helping to break many bands and secure them record deals. Her company also managed Perkins Palace (aka The Raymond Theatre in Pasadena, CA. She built Perkins Palace into one of Los Angeles' top award winning venues for live music, which has left its mark on popular music history. She has spent 20-years working to save Perkins Palace from redevelopment. She set new precedence creating one of the longest and hardest battles fought for a historic landmark in Los Angeles. Gina has taken her knowledge of venue operation and her love for old historic theaters and created a company that works with both cities and private owners to assist with the restoration, business planning and operation of historic theaters. She has successfully reopened 13 historic theaters in the US, which are now operating rock concert venues. Gina Zamparelli has also acted on an advisor for a Pasadena City Council campaign and helped start a good government initiative in Pasadena. She also sits on the Board of Directors for Hollywood Heritage and is active with many charities. In 2008 Gina Zamparelli will re-launch her concert production company again at the request of many bands, industry and fans. She will again work to bringing back to LA metal and rock concerts to the Los Angeles area. www.myspace.com/ginazamparelli

Gina Zamparelli's Exclusive Interview with Mark Caro:
MC: 1. How did you get started in Music and Entertainment concert promotion/production?
GZ: I was a musician and decided to go into the business end of music. I started by managing a local band and booking and promoting their shows. I found I was selling out their concerts and I really loved that part of the work. I thought instead of managing a band, producing concerts would suit me better. I rented a Odd Fellow's Hall in Pasadena which held 700. From day one, the shows were drawing 1,500 +. I then moved our shows to Perkins Palace (aka The Raymond Theatre) in Pasadena, which had a 2,000 capacity. We did so well, we took over management the venue for the next 10-years. The rest is history, we went on to produce concerts at many major venue's in LA.MC: 2. What is the most challenging part(s) of producing/promoting live concerts? GZ: What we do a little differently, is not just produce concerts, we like to create events. What I personally love is he marketing and advertising of an event, seeing a concert go from a concept to a successful event. The more time we have, the bigger the event we can create. Sometimes you're given just four weeks and it can be taxing to get all the particulars in order and do the special marketing and advertising we provide. Outside of that, securing the bands, the venue and sponsorship, so everything coincides can be challenging at times. But that's our job to make it all happen no matter how hard the task, and we strive to not just get the job done, but get it done right. MC: 3. You work with the biggest names in the history popular music - name a few that stuck in your mind as the most professional musically? GZ: Most professional musically, well, I'd like to think every band has their own talents and what they do best. There have been so many, but a few that I can remember distinctly blowing my socks off live were Steve Ray Vaughan, Van Halen (with all the original members) Toto and Fleetwood Mac. MC: 4. How has the business changed over the past few years and what adjustments have you made? GZ: It's changed a great deal. In the 80's and 90's, there was a profit margin for a promoter and you could break new bands, you could easily rent venues and ticket prices were reasonable. Today the costs of bands and venues for an independent promoters are very expensive. If you are not a corporate promoter and you don't have an exclusive on a venue, it's hard to get a good rental rate on a venue. The corporate promoters buy tours so it's sometimes hard to get "one-off" dates from bands. It's also almost imperative you have sponsorship to write down costs. Yet, I hate to see the independent promoter disappear, because there are special talents we bring to the events we give bands. So I believe the key is to evolve with this business and find new creative solutions. MC: 5. What are you doing these days? GZ: When the rock/metal market went South in the late 90's, like many bands from that era, I stepped away from concert promotion before my company lost any money..but always with the notion I would return. With my experience in the operation of Perkins Palace and a love for historic theaters, I created a venue consulting business. My work entailed showing cities and private owner's how to take a historic theater and create a working multi-use venue. I've helped re-open 13 historic theaters around the US and currently working on my 14th. I have recently partnered with a real estate company and we have branched out to the sale of historic theaters and finding historic theaters for those who want to purchase them. Also in the late 80's, I started a non-profit corporation to save my old concert venue Perkins Palace from becoming a condominium project. The effort lasted 20-years and was quite a battle. We won awards as the top preservation organization in Pasadena and in the State of California for our work. I went on to help start a "good government initiative" in Pasadena that was the outcome of our work for Perkins Palace and I've also worked on steering committees for Pasadena City Council campaigns. I'm also currently on the board of directors for Hollywood Heritage. Right now, I'm working on re-opening the concert production company and producing concerts again.MC: 6. What closing thoughts do you have for all your friends and fans out there? GZ: Thank you for this question, I've never really had the opportunity to thank the bands, individuals in the music business and all the fans of our shows for all the support you have given us over the years. So many of you have kept an interest in our work alive, even when we haven't been producing shows and that has meant a great deal. It's really been through your encouragement and requests for us to produce concerts again, that we will be returning in 2008. We hope to bring back our concerts as you remember them and I look forward to seeing some of our old friends and new faces at our shows. Our myspace page is: www.myspace.com/ginazamparelli

Gina told me her favorite Abattoir song is "Off". - - Enjoy Gina's hand picked selection of music playing right here, right now, all this weekend, on "Broadcast to the World" Weekend. - Thanks again Gina!

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