Venue Orientation & Information

---Welcome New Venues!---

[Related Link: History Page]

The MultiFestival Showcase Series aspires to help enhance Ohio music scenes and the experiences of Ohio's greatly talented, yet under-exposed artists by continually producing 7 to 10 act events featuring a "rainbow genre" or vast variety of styles. These events, ultimately, are comprised of known local artists intermingled with lesser-known local artists and musicians from other showcase cities, a.k.a. "Performing Ambassadors". At times, MultiFestival also brings touring regional artists into Ohio showcases adding another element to our showcase offerings. In the MultiFestival Showcase Series there are 2 main types of events or showcases. SoloFest features soloists. MultiFest features soloists through bands or all bands. The event title has an "identifier" followed by the type of event. For example, Upper Arlington SoloFest, North Campus SoloFest, Buckeye Music MultiFest, or Metal Punk MultiFest, though occasionally the Multi prefix will be replaced with Rock (RockFest), Punk (PunkFest), Blues (BluesFest), etcetera.

Though MultiFestival occasionally produces genre-themed events, variety and diversity are constant banners of the series. It is a norm to have several artists of opposite or vastly different genres and modes of performance on the same bill. MultiFestival believes that exposure to variety and diversity is extremely important. Bias and intolerance festers wherever senses and thought are devoid of alternative opportunities. So please be open-minded to genres, personal style, writing and performance that may differ from artist to artist, event to event.

MultiFestival provides in-house flyers or posters, issues press releases (and actively tries to arrange pre-publicity with all media, ie: radio, print, etc.), enters event information on area music/event sites, sends emailing lists, thoroughly organizes all aspects of the event including *Event-Specific Logistics (*please see note at the bottom of this post)programming, artist booking and confirmation (updating the venue as needed), load-in, set-up, equipment movement, schedule, stage management, MC/Hosts and more, for each event. MultiFestival also handles any and all payments to artists after whole payment from the venue is received.

As of this post (7-31-05) MultiFestival has produced 100 events with over 2000 musicians taking the stage performing at over 40 Ohio and northern Kentucky venues since inception in August, 2003. The series encourages the venue to have a booking manager (or someone whose judgement is entrusted by the venue) present at the event to observe artists performances and freely attain contact info for artists to offer dates of their own or in combination with other artists on a future bill. MultiFestival takes no finder's fee or commission unless asked to procure a MultiFestival artist a booking. Again, the venue is encouraged to freely make the contact with the artist(s) in question.

The MultiFestival Showcase Series books door and guarantee events based on currently existing precendents and procedures of the venue and in considering special circumstances. The series takes expenses and usually a fee off the top (and occasionally additional funds for future operational items) then makes any due payment(s) to artists. The series is very simply about music proliferation, comradery, networking, positive experiences, do-it-yourself artist development, expanding a club/venue's offerings to its clientele, increasing a venue's clientele and continuing to produce these events.

The venue should help promote the event with calender ads, calender flyers or any other methods the venue would normally employ. Unless a special agreement has been made, extra promotion and publicity is welcome, but not neccesary.

Help us to help Ohio's rich talent pool and help us to help YOU! When we work together, everyone's a winner!

Thank you for your participation and/or consideration of the MultiFestival Showcase Series! And please do not hesitate to contact mykerock@multifestival.com for more information, questions or comments.

~MultiFestival Orientation

Click here to view examples of *Event Specific Logistics, Orientation, Schedules & Information

Click here for Related Link, HISTORY Page

>OSU Lantern Article 9-23-05

Multifest begins tonight
By Ishmael Ali Elias
Published: Friday, September 23, 2005
The Ohio State University LANTERN Student Newspaper
www.thelantern.com

The Multifestival Showcase Series presents the 2nd annual Buckeye Music MultiFest tonight at Tommy Keegan's, 456 S. Front St., in the heart of Columbus' Brewery District.

The showcase series, founded in August 2003 by Columbus musician and promoter Myke Rock, was started to help under-exposed musicians network and display their talents to a wider audience.

According to the MultiFestival Web site, the series was originally scheduled to take place only in Central Ohio and fade away after a few events, but instead has evolved into what Rock calls the only series in the world which showcases over 1,000 bands at 30 venues annually.

This years featured artists include: Peter Conrad, Myke Rock, Erin Mihoci, RiaSoul, Head Room, The Common Drive, Anthony Booth featuring David Leibfruend (Soulution), Jake Iannarino & Larry Ramey (The Boss Players), and Mandy Cook.

Rock said that although some MultiFests have certain themes, such as metal and punk rock, this showcase is about musical diversity.

"I try to plan out how the evening should go in terms of different styles of music," Rock said. "(The idea) is to expose people to things they may not normally listen to. You'll hear anything from reggae to blues to indie rock, and so forth."

Rock, who plans, organizes, hosts and even plays in festival, said each event seems to do better than the last and is only going to improve. In the near future, he hopes to add sponsors to the series in order to help artists gain even more exposure.

"It's all about spreading out the MultiFest / SoloFest (showcase for soloists) system," Rock said. "It's as far reaching as possible in many different clubs throughout Ohio and certainly here in Columbus, where we're based."

The Manager of Tommy Keegan's, Ray Miller, said that his pub was great for an event like the Buckeye Music MultiFest because it's big enough to host a number of bands, but cozy enough to provide an intimate atmosphere.

The event draws between 50 to 150 people, Miller said, so it's a good place for bands to reach smaller crowds before they move onto larger venues.

"Friday should be a great night," Miller said. "There will be around eight or nine bands and a good variety of music."

Rock said that Tommy Keegan's is generally for patrons 21 and up, but this Friday's event will be for anyone over 18.

"We're trying to get as many students out as possible," he said. "It's a good way to get in your last big party before you hit the books."

The "Other Paper" Columbus On Myke Rock & MultiFestival 100! ~ 7-14-05

This article appeared in Columbus' News & Entertainment Weekly The Other Paper in the July 14 - 20, 2005 issue just prior to MultiFestival 100.

THE OTHER PAPER / PAGE 17 / JULY 14 - 20, 2005:

Column Cusp O' Fame - The Continuing Saga of Cap City Songsters

See a bit of everything

By Brian O'Neill

Myke Rock wears a lot of hats. He came to prominence as a gateway to getting Ohioans on the trashy daytime talk-show circuit, but he's always been more interested in local bands than Jerry Springer. He is currently doing a Beatles set on bass, but you're more likely to see him at a MultiFestival Showcase.

The 100th series event is Friday at Tommy Keegan's. Rock has played "about 96 of them," he said. "The only one's I miss are when we have 2 going on at once."


"The club owner really has to be someone very
special to understand what I do": Myke Rock

Rock started the MultiFestival Showcase Series nearly 2 years ago. This one will be just like the other 99 of them-a bevy of talent from all across the musical spectrum gets together on one stage to impress and sometimes confuse concertgoers.

"Originally, I went out and posted information on community websites throughout Ohioto get musicians who were interested," Rock said. "That was so successful. I got a hige base of musicians throughout the state of Ohio, and that was pretty much the entire first year. The way it worked was I get a list of bands and soloists and then go to the club owner and say that I could have a nice line-up from these artists."

According to Rock, that can be the hardest part.

"The club owner really has to be someone very special to understand what I do," he said. "Not many club owners would say to me, 'OK, book this Friday in a month and a half even though you don't know who's going to be on the bill right now.' That's a big leap of faith. Someone has to buy into the process to trust me."

This is especially true give the eclecticism that Rock tries to book for his events-it isn't unusual to see a line-up featuring a dozen acts, none of whom sound remotely like the rest.

"I remeber one show we did in Covington, Ky.," he said. "We had a jazz guitarist and a female piano player, and there was a punk band in between the two. It was neat. Maybe we lost a person or two throughout the evening, but, at the end of the night, people came up to me and said, 'This is a great idea. I can come and see everything.'"

INFO:
The 100th MultiFestival is Friday at Tommy Keeagan's, 456 S. Front St.
Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $3 ($1 before 8). 221-9444