Montanan Magazine - TBN Entertainment

H'lil
LANS
BYSHERRY
JONES
WHO'S
THEBTTTER
DRUIUIMTR?
Brion Knoff, presidentof
TolentBuyersNeh,vork
ond o UM olum,
stondsnexl to fellow
E
drummerRingoStorrof
TheBeolles.The picture
e
wos tokenduring the
RingoStorrond His
AllstorBondliourof '05
+. (lefr).JomesYelich,on
5
ogentwith Porodigm
'E
ond UM olum, poses
E to the right of country
musicsuperstorAlon
Jockson,whom Yelich
€ helped"discover" 1ri9n4.
!
WWWUMIEDU/MONTANAN
sk JamesYelich about being a big shot on
the national entertainment scene,and he'll
tell you how 150 supersraragenrsonce gave
him a standing ovarion for introducing
himself as a guy from Red Lodge, Monrana.
Itk not the only time being a Montanan
has paid off for Yelich, an agenr with
Paradigm in Nashville, Tenn. \While
studying at UM in the late 1970s and early
'80s,
Yelich helped a roommare promore
concerts for AssociatedStudents of UM
Programming (now UM Productions).
Initially planning to work for the U.S. Forest Service,Yelich found himself dealine with a
completely different speciesof wildlife within a year of graduation.
Merle Haggard. \flaylon Jennings. Reba McEntire. Tiisha Yearwood. The Bellamy Brothers.
Yelich has worked with rhem and many more since he graduated in 19g1.
"l always loved music, and I always had an ear for a great song, he says.Those traits helped
him "discover" country musician AJan Jackson and made him a Haggard fan before he ever
worked with the man.
"I have more srories on thar guy," he says of Haggard. "\we would laugh every
day he was in
the offtce. He was probably the one who enrertained me the most. crazystuff"
MONTANAN
FAI"L2OO8
I 29
ust as beneficial to Yelich'scareer.however.
are fellow UM graduatesand members of the
so-called"Montana Maffa' Brian Knaff from
Glasgow,president of tlent Buyers Nerwork, and
Keith Miller from Kalispell, senior vice-president
at the William Morris Agency in Nashville.
"W'e all talk," Yelich says."Ve have a very ethical
way of doing businesswith each other in a very qazy
teft: RobBeckhom,
on ogentwith the
Williom Morris
Agency (for right)
stondswith ossociotes
ond countrymusic
stor Brod Poisley,
(center).Below:Rob
Beckhom(secondfrom
left) with (left to right|
Joe Don Rooney,Joy
DeMorcus,ond Gory
teVox of RoscolFlofts.
business.All of us rhat grew up there have that core
Montanan through us. We're very proud of where we're
"olil,
a very close-knit family. I'm proud to say
I'm from Montana," agreesRob Beckham, an agent
for sixteen yearswith the William Morris Agency in
Nashville. "lt's a very cool and very distinguished and
very successfulgroup ofpeople."
Not only has he worked with Yelich in the past,
Beckham says,but he now works alongside Miller at
Villiam Morris, where he has representedsuch big names
as Clint Black, RascalFlatts, and Garth Brooks, and for
e
whom he "discovered"country music star Brad Paisley.
The job has its perks. "l get to fly in private planes,"
he says."The Grammies were the best time."
But theret plenry offun to go around, and Beckham
sayshet more than happy to share.Over the years,he
t
estimates,a half-dozen or so UM grads have landed jobs
ar \William Morris. "I'm happy to help other people,"
Beckham says."Nobody does this by themselves."
E
t core
hat spirit of altruism was behind the 2001
E
E
creation of UM s Entertainment Management
d
Program, featuring guest instructors from
various walks of show businesswho share
i
revealing tricks of the trade.
"\7hat are we doing this for? For the
students," saysKnaff, self-proclaimed "godfather" of the
"Montana Mafia" and the brainchild behind the program.
tlent
As founder and president of the Las Vegas-based
Buyers Nerwork, Knaff books shows for casinos,theaters,
and other venues. He got his start in Missoula as manager
of his own rock band. Then, after graduating from the
UM School of BusinessAdministration in 1967, Knaff
moved to San Francisco,where he put on concerts in
Golden Gate Park and the famous Avalon Ballroom.
Since then, het worked with the likes of Dolly Parton,
Ringo Starr, and Chris Rock, and starmakerssuch as
producer Bill Graham-which is the real thrill for
Montanan
throughus.
We'revery proud of wherewe?%from.oo
him, he says.As owner of his own company and as an
instructor of entertainment management classes,he says
he has helped a number of UM grads and undergrads
gain purchasein what can be a very slippery industry.
I
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continued on page 32
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I FALI-2OO8 MONTANAN
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fom page30
f
a
T
I
naff,of course,didnt learnhis tradein the
Nor did the other "Montana
classroom.
Defending the Caveman, ReeferMadnessl, Sting,
the Rolling Stones,Brad Paisley:If these names sound
familiar, perhaps it's becausetheyve all played in Missou
in recent years.Thatt no coincidence,\Tebster says.
"Itt really been a great assetto have all these people
(from UM in various sectorsof the entertainment
industry)," rW'ebstersays."I think our connections in th(
l\'f,g,rji.i'ii*;il'*
ooThey
come
'
..)
|
says.Funded by students,
this as a profession," i..kh"the organization allowed an autonomy unique on college
campuses:ASUM's members did not have to report to
the Universiry administration or a board, but they and
their director were entirely self-sufficient.
"\f'e had the air spaceand the latitude to go out and
experiment with a lot of different
things, big concerts, buying a new
sound system," saysMike "The
Goon" McGinley'75 from Deer
Lodge, who has designed ffnancial
management systemsflor a veritable
"Vhot \fho" in show business,
including Sting, Paul McCartney,
the Rolling Stones,and Sheryl
Crow "It was a very, very cuttingedge kind ofprogram for a place
like UM in the 1970s.So we could
experienceas students a world most
ofus would have never had the
chance to experience."
ASUMb learn-by-doing
approach not only offered the sweec
taste of successto students who
put on shows, but it also provided
valuable lessonsin failure-such
as a Smokey Robinson concert in
the late 1980s that lost the student
organization "tens ofthousands of
dollars," saysTom \Webster,director
of the Universiry Theatre and an
instructor in the Entertainment
Management Program. Het also the
only "Mafioso" to have remained in
EltonJohn,who
performedin concert
ot UM'sAdomsCenter
ond
lost Sepfember
this April, come to the
Universitythrough the
help of olum Mike "The
Goon" McGinley,who
servesos o consuhont
with UM.
Missoula.
"I'm sure I could have gone to
a lot of placesand done well in
the music business,"saysWebster,"But I wanted to stay
in Missoula-and, by God, I created a careerfor myself
here, and I've always been thankful."
He knows all the others in the group, including Clint
Mitchell, a senior vice-presidentat Villiam Morris who
asked that \Tebster sharehis story. He and \Webster,it
turns out, went to high school together, and sdll play
golf whenever Mitchell visits Missoula from his home
in Los Angeles. Mitchell representsBernadette Peters,
fuverdance, Rob Beckerk Defending the Caveman, Reefer
Madness! and other acts.
52
I FALL2OOS
MONTANAN
businessreally helped us out."
It certainly helped where the Brad Paisleyconcert
was concerned, Beckham says,"Had I not been from
Missoula and asked a favor, that show would probably
have never happened."
The 2006 Rolling Stonesconcert offers another
example of how those UM contacts benefit Montana.
Bill Graham Presents-now Live Nation-approached
'Webster
about putting on a Stones concert in Missoula
and, although the promoter had worked with UM
many times before and "knew we were very competent,"
Webster says,its representativesnegotiated aggressively
from the start.
"Scott Douglas (director of the Entertainment
'If
you're over your head,
Management Program) said,
go for the cavalry,"''Websterrecalls.So he and UM
Productions director Marlene Hendrickson called Mike
"The Goon' McGinley.
"The Goon gave us some great advice, and we went
from there," lVebster says.He considersthe sellout
'\Tashington-Grizzly
Stadium show one of the high poin
in his career-and the Stonesapparently agree,because
"the scuttlebutt was that they thought Missoula was the
best date on the tour that they did."
McGinley shrugs off the notion that het doing
anything extraordinary by helping to bring his acts to
Missoula. UM contracts with McGinley as a consultant
to bring concerts like Elton John here.
"They come becauseitt a good place to play, and
it makes good economic sense,"he says,"or I wouldn't
make the call."
all it old-fashioned ethics. Call it the Montana
way of doing business.In contrastto its crimin
counterpart, the "Montana Mafia" has no hit
men, only hit producers. On the other hand,
choirboys they're not-not
vears.at least.
during their UM
"There could still be '\Vanted'postersfor half of
us," Knaff sayswith a grin in his voice."\Wewerewild
childrenthen." iltr
Former Missoulian reporter SherryJonesis
an author andfeelancejournalist liuing in
Spokane,Wash.Her fr* nouel,The Jewelof
Medina, about theyoungestwife of theProph
Muhammad, is scheduledforpublication in
spring/summer2009.