BY ERIC HARABADIAN
their vehicle. Fans also have about 150 square feet of space so they can enjoy a show next to their car. If they need to use the restroom they can enter our virtual queue and we notify when it’s their turn to use the restroom. There we regulate capacity, we take temperatures of guests and everything is sanitized.” With upwards of 30 drive-in concerts under their belt, Harding and staff have found the shows to be quite rewarding. “We launched this series in Anaheim at City National Grove,” says Harding. “And over time we’ve perfected and honed our model. Now we’re focused on exporting and hosting other drivein concerts nationally.” Richmond, VA’s Broadberry Entertainment has adopted and had success with the drive-in concert model as well. The company has hosted a number of socially distanced events at large and currently dormant sports stadium parking lots throughout their immediate region. A number of safeguards are, of course, in place. And Broadberry co-owner and talent buyer Jessica Gordon discusses some of the challenges in making these kinds of shows happen. “The amount of work that goes into booking and producing one of these shows is the equivalent to booking 30 shows in the old days,” she says. “ To take an empty parking lot and turn it into a venue—especially a production heavy band like GWAR, which we had here recently—is an incredible amount of labor and work, both in advance of the show and the day of the show. There is no infrastructure, so it’s very expensive and time consuming.” Despite the inherent challenges, one of Broadberry Entertainment’s more sucGWAR cessful events was the return of the infamous heavy metal creature feature GWAR this past October at the Diamond Drive-In in downtown Richmond. GWAR is celebrating the 30th anniversary of their album Scumdogs of the Universe and they brought all the mayhem and madness one would expect. “It was nice to play in front of an audience of automobiles instead of human beings,” says one of GWAR’s head honchos,
Blothar the Berserker. “We find automobiles much more attractive than humans anyways. But it was no different than the Warped Tour or some big festival. It was just an ocean of cars.” GWAR’s show is very theatrical and involves dousing the audience with various disgusting liquids. But, despite the socially distanced arrangement of the premises, Blothar and crew seemed content with the outcome. “Actually the audience wasn’t that far away from the stage and we had a barricade in front,” says the berserk one. “We were able to hit the front row with the liquids. For GWAR, the challenge is being able to maintain the messiness of the show. But the sound was great and I liked the fact that people could tune in to their car radios like an old-fashioned drive-in movie.” Crooner’s Supper Club is an award-winning venue and one of the top jazz showplaces in the Midwest. The Minneapolis club is run by Ian and Andrew Walesch and their attention to detail—from BILL GRISOLIA implementing safety practices to the comfort of their guests—is impeccable. Like a lot of venues, when the pandemic hit, there was a lot of reworking of their business model. “We’ve had about 200 shows since June 1st,” says Ian. “I don’t think there’s anyone doing what we’re doing right now.” The brothers started in June as a drive-in situation, with room for about 80 cars. But, after a time, feedback from guests leaned more in favor of socially distanced table seating. So they set up large tents that could house around 180 patrons and they kept the drive-in component in a limited capacity, as well. With a number of venues currently dormant because of the pandemic, Crooners is one of the few in the Midwest that is actually thriving. “Many people have told us it was their first time out since March,” says Andrew. “When people
decide to trust us with this experience, we not only want them to feel safe but receive good service. We want it to be a special night.” Finally, Bill Grisolia is a blues-rock vocalist/keyboardist and bandleader that wears many hats. As president of the Long Beach Blues Society and a member of The New Blues Revolution, he is a community activist, festival promoter and video producer. When the COVID lockdown emerged Grisolia hit the ground running. “We had to pivot,” he says. “We began to emphasize other things that are part of our careers as artists, like songwriting and working on a new EP. We shifted our live performances to video and also did more fundraising and direct relief. I’ve also done over 100 videos on my Bill Grisolia Facebook page called ‘The Daily Dose’ where I sing solo and play piano.” Some of the community oriented programs Grisolia has spearheaded and maintained during the pandemic include “Blues in the Schools,” “Blues for Vets” and “Blues for Seniors.” And, a number of these programs have an online component as well. “We’re very proud of a program we put together called ‘Give a Gig,’” continues Grisolia. “We realized there were a lot of musicians not getting gigs, so we started this program to get them direct relief—gas cards, money, food and food cards. We raised about $10,000 and we probably benefitted about 40 families. It was a way to help the southern California community.” Grisolia, whose upcoming new EP is called Purple Heart, has been hosting blues jams again in the Long Beach area with The New Blues Revolution. “Since we have pivoted we are looking for additional ways we can create and perform for the public,” concludes Grisolia. “We want to engage the public in our performances, even include them in the writing process. And that will only lead to additional creative output—songs and the like—which, hopefully, will help us come together.” • Click here for a list of companies & organizations that provide help and services to musicians affected by the pandemic.
December 2020
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