KG Event Management + Branding

What Are You THINKING?…..

kgmgmt — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:21:18 +0000

Can we talk for a second about WHAT has happened to CRS (Country Radio Seminar)? This year brought a much younger participant demographic to town as most of the old radio and record label regime has either been phased out or left on their own. What comes with a younger audience is a social media fiasco, fedoras, skinny jeans, a heightened sense of where country music might be headed and somehow less judgement about the artists who are there pitching radio. Gone are the days when one could stand at the Bridge Bar all night and see everyone they had ever worked with, worked for or competed with, making and breaking artist careers with suite parties and shots of Jager.

If you want to meet people from Music Row who live on the road or huddle in their offices when they’re home then you know CRS is where you can find everyone under one roof. Aspiring artists mark their calendars for CRS each year and spend all year planning their pitches and their wardrobe in an to attempt to secure a record deal in under 30 seconds. Let me just tell you….the scene has become darn near hilarious.

What you put out there…is open to interpretation. You can walk with confidence even if you’re unsure, fake it til you make it and all that jazz but when you walk around looking like THIS we all think the same thing….Are you for sale? Come on, that dress is so tight I can see what she’s thinking. Does this look like country music to you? It’s not even where it’s been or where it’s going. Seriously.

Is This You???

Pleading your case with “Martina McBride (don’t get me wrong…she’s amazing) is my inspiration and I’ve always wanted to be just like her”…followed by your harrowing rendition of Independence Day while standing in the Bridge Bar is NOT going to get you into a meeting with a contract. Now, if you want to make a few bucks on the side during a busy work week….this is the outfit you choose. Your brand has been established. Your complaints about how people look at you and treat you is astounding to me considering you chose this outfit intentionally.

Some more CRS photos for your enjoyment:

He ALMOST changed out of his pj's

Flannel is back!

Is this a tattoo of Duck Hunt?

At The End Of The Day It’s Really About Hope…..

kgmgmt — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:20:53 +0000

All of it. The song, the artist, the label, the audience, radio, TV, ticket sales, concerts, fundraising, counting on other people to do their job, to show up, to perseveare, to succeed. The thing about hope is….it’s kind of irresponsible. As my favorite blogger Danielle LaPorte says “hope is for sissies, intention and faith are for heroes.” I love it. It seems harsh at first but then again how many times a day are you counting on someone to follow through and their response (to the end goal, to the question, to ANYTHING) is “I hope so”. Really? How about you just DO it? Then we can all move forward. That would be awesome.

People seem to feel that there are unmanageable expectations put upon them. You want me to show up on time AND work a full day? It’s 70 degrees outside I don’t want to miss the day! WHAAAAAT? Your intention will determine your outcome….hope is great but it doesn’t really help push you forward. We hope for a lot of things but here are certain things (like things you actually want to accomplish) that require a level of intensity and focus that can’t come from anyone but you. I’m tired of the excuses (that includes me) it’s time to get things done.

Hope is for sissies. Intention and faith are for heroes.

I Have A 36 Hour Rule…..

kgmgmt — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 02:04:46 +0000

About being in Vegas. I usually don’t stay more than 36 hours. But I agreed to this time because I was helping a colleague with a client installation at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) at the Convention Center and I’m a total nerd when it comes to the inner workings of enormous events. Especially events in a city where nothing is real.

Only in Las Vegas

While wandering around during a non-work day I realized I derive a lot of inspiration from Vegas. I love for our events to be a break from everyday life but Vegas has taken it to the ultimate level. They are constantly in branding and event mode and even for me….after 36 hours I’m toast. Only in Vegas can you see kids ice skating in the desert and a gondolier floating by at the SAME time. It’s not just silly, it’s VEGAS SILLY.

Down With The Haters

kgmgmt — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:38:12 +0000

I thought the new year was going to bring new attitudes, new ideas and ok…. a feeling of lightness. Instead I walked into a rash of emails from the “you won’t be able to do that, it will never work, no one can do that” category. Uh, esscue me…have we met? I’m from the “don’t ever let them tell you you can’t do something” school of thought. I’m considering making my email signature read “please save your reply if it’s echoes the thought ‘that will never work’. Have a great day!”

I think we can all agree the past few years haven’t been easy. I get it. They were particularly hard on me as well. From what I can tell they weren’t easy on ANYONE. Seriously, I don’t know anyone in business, with a business, working for someone else, with money, without money who has said anything along the lines of “what? the past few years have been GREAT! I don’t know what everyone is complaining about”….have you?

Let’s make 2012 the year of “lets dive in and make this happen” instead of the year of “no you can’t”. You people are wearing me out. But you won’t break me.

End Of The Year Already???

kgmgmt — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:03:14 +0000

I have rarely been accused of being “too nice” until now. Clearly I have lived in the South for too long. My Chicago cloak of sarcasm has worn through and now I actually feel bad for snapping at people who snapped at me in the first place! I was in NYC last week enjoying the lighting of the Christmas Tree in Rockefeller Center in nearly 60 degree temperatures! Even with the warm weather it was amazing to me how crabby people seemed to be and how nastily they talked to each other. Sure it was crowded and there were kids running crazy, tons of shoppers, people pushing strollers, construction on the sidewalk and police blowing traffic whistles….but really what do you expect in New York City at CHRISTMAS?
The week was great business wise but it was brutal during the time in between meetings. Which is odd, because normally I have a much different experience. This guy in an elevator actually admonished me for one click of my phone. Not clicking away on a text message or talking loudly, I clicked the button to shut it off. He waited until the door opened to say “you know I’m pretty sure there is a button in your settings that will silence that click so it doesn’t annoy everyone in the room”….my response to him is not fit to print but trust me when I say it was a ZINGER! He was unscathed….however it bothered me for more than 5 minutes (when i never would have thought twice about it before) and I have retold the story so many times now that I keep thinking I’ll feel better about being nasty back to someone who was being nasty to start with. To no avail.