FAIRFIELD COUNTY
BUSINESS JOURNAL August 31, 2015 | VOL. 51, No. 35
4 | TOURISTS’ DELIGHT
18 | GOOD THINGS HAPPENING
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NORWALK’S GIGMASTERS IS FREELANCE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRAL
On with the show
Michael Caldwell, CEO and co-founder, Gigmasters in Norwalk. Photo by Bill Fallon
BY BILL FALLON Bfallon@westfairinc.com IN 1988, MICHAEL CALDWELL, CO-FOUNDER and CEO of entertainment-themed Gigmasters in Norwalk, attended Indiana University on a viola scholarship. Too much practice — “all alone, no windows, two to three hours a day” — doomed his viola career and he took up economics. He remained active on viola, though, through a single bulletin board’s postings for musicians, “the gig board” as IU students called it. Caldwell worked several years in finance in Boston and New York City until, in 1997, he resurrected the essence of the IU gig board as Gigmasters, which now employs 38 and fields about 1,000 inquiries per day at its website, Gigmasters.com. Caldwell said by not playing music, but promoting it, he and Gigmasters have helped “tens of
thousands” earn paychecks for their passion. The company is essentially a web-based gig board to connect talent across the music and entertainment spectrums in the lower 48 states, though 5 percent of its bookings are in Canada. When it comes to putting artists next to other artists, Caldwell said algorithms do some of the heavy lifting, “but we rely a lot on the human side.” Elvis, or in this case, his tributors and impersonators, remains very popular for events, corporate and otherwise. “He has a particularly passionate fan base,” Caldwell said of The King. Gigmasters offers hundreds of categories including entertainers — bands from rock to chamber to classical — and event vendors like photographers and florists. » GIG, page 13
Hotel upgrades
J HOUSE AND OTHERS OPT FOR AMENITIES BY DANIELLE BRODY dbrody@westfairinc.com WITH NEW AMENITIES, J HOUSE staff hope more visitors check in to the boutique hotel and more nearby residents check it out. The four-year-old hotel on East Putnam Avenue in Greenwich’s Riverside neighborhood has repurposed spaces to compete in the luxury hotel market and attract members of the community, General Manager Laura Gillis said. This summer, the hotel has renovated the former cleaning staff headquarters into a threeroom spa, slated to open Aug. 31, and turned its signature chocolate laboratory into a new coffee bar. Both are available to guests and the public. “It’s really going to go hand in hand,” Gillis said of the spa and cafe. The hotel is also renovating standard rooms
into a 1,651-square-foot presidential suite and a 1,149-square-foot ambassador suite. The attached suites include a bedroom, living room, kitchenette, 10-seat table and two private patios. The room will be available for overnight guests, businesses meetings or private events. Business travelers, families and community members already come to the hotel for its conference rooms, outdoor pool — day passes are available to the public — and J House Restaurant, formerly known as eleven14 Kitchen. Ginny Kozlowski, executive director of the Connecticut Lodging Association based in New Haven, said J House, along with other boutique hotels that occupy smaller spaces, are trying to fill needs in their market and engage the community. “Hotel trends, at this point, are starting
Danielle Cervi, director of the J House Spa, in one of three treatment rooms. Photo by Danielle Brody
to move toward being a part of a community, not just a place where people come in and stay and then leave,” she said. “They want » HOTEL, page 14