Arts
PRESENTER of the YEAR
HEATHER CAMPBELL
Fall 2009 |
His career as a concert promoter started on a whim six years ago. Two hundred people came out for his first show.
“There was kind of a rut in bands playing for underage kids. I had some design skills, so I put together a poster. My mom owned a dance studio. It was big enough to hold 100 people, had low overhead and already had a sound system. (I) found people who were interested and tested the waters,” he recalls.
Today, most of his shows are at the Jubilee Centre on Applegrove St. in the city’s West End. Since many in the audience are under 19, these events are not licenced and the show is usually over at 11 pm.
“As long as people want to come to the shows, I’m happy to make it happen,” he says with some modesty.
Bringing bands to an audience may sound simple, but there is significant financial risk. Concert promotion is a risky business that requires unique talents. Chartrand’s talent has been recognized by Music and Film in Motion as Presenter of the Year.
Chartrand is a musician—he plays bass for Vicious Cycle and tours across Canada with them—so he has a pulse on the music scene and the audience. He knows teens who are too young to get into bars still want to listen to live punk and metal bands.
He also knows from experience that touring bands need to have a stopover between Thunder Bay and Toronto. He gets bands to rest in Sudbury.
(There was) “one band going east and another going west, we ended up having them play together and brought out two crowds.”
Chartrand has worked to develop a loyal audience for the shows. He uses a variety of marketing methods including social networking media such as Facebook where he has more than 2,300 people linked into his page. He also has PUNKSUD.net, a website he put up for people to chat about the local music scene and find out where bands are playing.
“Eighty percent get invited from social networking sites, but there are still many who want to see a poster on the lamp post,” he explains.
Aside from being a successful concert promoter, he completed a graphic design program at Cambrian College and has just finished his BA in communications studies. He is considering going for a master’s degree because he hopes to one day teach college students.
Chartrand has also established an impressive portfolio of design work while operating out of his home office. Much like his ability to garner an audience for punk bands, he’s attracting a good client list for his creative designs.
Although many young people leave Sudbury for bigger and more exciting cities, Chartrand is happy to stay.
His long term goals? Keep doing he’s doing.
