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Abbey Konowitch
October 25, 2016
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Veteran record industry executive Abbey Konowitch has had a long and successful career that included stints at Arista Records, MTV, Maverick, MCA and Hollywood Records, but it took seeing Cirque du Soleil's production of "The Beatles Love" to make him realize the possibilities of reimagining classic rock albums through the use of symphonic orchestras and real rock musicians. Given the success of Goldenvoice's recent Desert Trip concerts in Indio, CA, featuring six of rock 'n' roll's enduring icons for perhaps the last time, fans, industry figures and, especially concert promoters are wondering what happens when the likes of the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Who and Roger Waters finally retire from the road wars. The multimedia RockmaniaLive! - which has enlisted the services of Grammy-winning producer Rob Cavallo and noted composer David Campbell, Beck's father for its recreations - is the answer Abbey came up with. The first "friends and family" shows - which will incorporate Led Zeppelin's "Houses Of The Holy" -- are scheduled for Los Angeles, New York and London in December and January.
What was the light bulb moment that spurred you to come up with RockmaniaLive?
There were actually a pair of situations that struck me over the last couple of years. The first was seeing Cirque du Soleil's "The Beatles Love," seeing the reimagining of some of the most important music in my life. It was done in a unique way that was just so exciting; it enhanced the music and my recollection of that music. The actual epiphany came in meetings I had two years ago while I was considering getting into managing veteran acts that made a lot of money touring.
People at high levels kept telling me those artists are on a very short cliff. Not that the music isn't still popular, but physically, how long can they stay on the road? Age is catching up to all of them. As a marketer, I realized, here is a growing audience and a body of work that will be absent from the marketplace. I saw an opportunity, if I was able to create a classic rock experience that could entertain Baby Boomers and Gen X audiences, it could be big business.
As demonstrated by "Oldchella," the potential audience really could be wider than just that, too.
I didn't think that in the beginning. I thought the audience was just about the low-hanging fruit, the Boomers and their kids. What has since become evident over the past year is that the sale of catalog, representing these iconic artists, is dominating the marketplace. Statistics show classic rock is being streamed even more than current music. Now I realize the demographic for RockmaniaLive! is anywhere from 30 to 70. That means the show has to be cool, with a cutting edge, and more rock-oriented.
What led you to use symphony orchestras?
I knew that there was already a marketplace for symphony orchestras playing classic rock. It did quite well because the orchestras had to fill up performing arts centers. My idea was to create original rock tracks to go with the symphonies to enhance that musical experience ... to make it rock symphonies, not symphonies with a little rock. All I needed was to get a great rock producer who understood that concept, so I enlisted Rob Cavallo, who brought on David Campbell, whom he worked with on Green Day and Dave Matthews Band. With those two, I know we're going to create the best musical arrangements and experience of anything out there.
What is the difference between RockmaniaLive! and the plethora of successful tribute bands out there?
There's always been a robust business in mediocrity. Most are cover bands trying their best to imitate the greats. RockmaniaLive! is a different experience - the best rock producers, the best orchestrations, the best visual experience. Tommy Tallarico, the co-creator of "Video Games Live" concert for 12 years, has created these immersive visual experience for a decade, creating something different from the typical rock show. We're not a singalong karaoke; this is a bombastic, sonic and visual experience with some of the songs being sung by a known vocalist.
You are using Virtual Reality techniques in your presentations to promoters and TV networks.
We will be using VR to demonstrate to them that our show is better than all the others, and they should book us. We plan on filming two or three songs in VR to do just that.
Why did you decide to go with Startengine.com, a crowdfunding site, to raise money?
We have three levels of investment. One consists of independent investors who believe in the concept and want to own a little bit of this rock future. We also have corporate partners who are in negotiations with us to invest - music groups, promotion companies or brands. When we heard about equity crowdfunding, it offered a chance for regular people who want to invest from $1,000 to $10,000 to own a piece of this business. Not only are you part of the process - VIP tickets, backstage access, merchandise, etc. - but you have a chance to make money when we do.
The ultimate goal is to create a franchise, like Cirque du Soleil or Blue Man Group, where you can have it play around the world with different repertory companies.
We're not going to do a residency in Las Vegas. For the first two or three years, we'll do one-nighters at performing arts centers in each city. In the beginning, just U.S. and Europe, followed by Australia and South America, followed by Asia. We're going to use local orchestras at each stop, depending on the size of the venue. The idea is, the show can be locally cast. We bring our music, visuals and charts, then hire a local symphony, rock group and singer, so it can play in multiple continents and cities at the same time.
Do you feel as if the subjects of your shows will give RockmaniaLive! their blessings?
We'd certainly like that. We'd love to have Jimmy Page involved in our "Houses Of The Holy" show or Brian May taking part in our tribute to Queen's "A Night At The Opera." RockmaniaLive! offers great opportunities for them to keep their legacies alive by participating.
Holograms?
Not doing them. We've learned a lot about that business. We know all about Ronnie James Dio, Tupac Shakur and Michael Jackson. The problem is, it's like watching a movie. It's also very expensive. Our live singer will interact with the audience, providing an emotional connection to the music. I'm on the board of a company that does holograms, but I'm just not sure how that experience will play out. We don't think it works for us, though.
Have you approached any of the bands whose albums you intend to perform?
No. We're approaching it like any tribute or cover band would, with the utmost respect, not using their intellectual property, likeness or image, nor narration, but taking their music and creating an experience around it. Cheesy is not the name of our game. We want to create the highest-quality, most exciting visual and audio experience, based on the music of the greatest artists of our lifetime.
Funny, how it's all about the brands outliving the bands, sort of like Jeff Jampol is doing with the estates.
Jeff has done a brilliant job in managing the estates and legacies of incredible artists. We're not involved with their legacy, but their music. We want to keep it alive. We're not necessarily trying to revisit the experience of an 18-year-old hearing Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix for the first time. We want to create an audio-visual presentation for Boomers that makes their hair stand on end like it used to.
What does the success of "Oldchella" mean to RockmaniaLive!?
It was very clear, the opportunity to see these great artists one more time, all on one stage, clearly was absolutely essential to fans of this music. The audience came from all over the world - 20% from outside the U.S., 50% outside L.A. It shows us how big the audience is, and - not to be morbid - the attraction was, this could be the last time. That experience will be replaced by several other things, including, we hope, RockmaniaLive!
What has been the response from the major promoters, like Live Nation and AEG?
They all seem excited by the concept. They're all very aware that there are other companies doing this in the marketplace. They want us to show them ours before they show us theirs. Before you see RockmaniaLive!, it's hard to imagine what it's like. We have to build the show and prove we're better than the others. That's why we're staging three separate events to showcase "Houses Of The Holy" in Los Angeles (December 8th), New York (January 8th and 9th) and London (March 6th). We want people to join our club who believe in our music and vision, to bring us some synergistic relationships. I can't wait for you to see it.
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