Degy International
Artists Roster -
Perpetual Groove,
Moonshine Still,
Seth Yacovone Band,
Barefoot Manner,
Michael Glabicki of
Rusted Root Solo,
Delta Nove,
Boogiehawg,
Kelly Bell Band,
Tito Puente Jr.,
Worry Stones,
Legendary JC's,
Dr. Dan Mattrazzo,
PHIX,
The Toasters,
Green Genes,
Faceplant,
Cider,
Voodoo Blue,
Big Bang,
Keysor Soze,
Leon Milmore,
Watershed, and
Honey Tongue

Chad Denney
VP, Nimbleslick Ent. (with Degy Ent when this interview was done)
Atlanta, GA
1/22/2004

Hey now, the rumor is Sir Elton, himself, was amongst us as Chad
Denney and I sat down to chat in his office located within the offices &
studios of Tree Sound Studios, Norcross, GA.    

I quickly learned this dynamic young man is actually an industry
veteran with over ten years experience booking major and up
and coming artists on the jamband circuit... which according to
Denney is one of the toughest music crowds around.  "The scene
comes down to musicianship, itself.  For other genres, you can
sometimes fool your audience.  But, that's what attracts people
to this scene for the most part - the level of musicianship." says
Denney.  

Chad Denney began his career in the music industry at the ripe 'ol age of
22.  He cut his teeth promoting and booking an unknown band at the
time... Ancient Harmony.  Today, he heads up Degy Booking
International, an impressive booking agency capable of booking its
high-profile roster of clients into the smallest of clubs and bars nationally
to the largest of festivals and events around the world.

JG: Hey man, I'm diggin' your office location...very cool.  So how do you like living in our fair city?

CD: It’s good to be back – not from here originally – I’m from Albany.  But Atlanta feels like home.  The Southeast music scene is a good place to be….with all genres well represented.   Any artist out there touring nationally, they’re doing Atlanta.

JG: To what do you attribute Degy’s success?

CD: Having great artists, and a well rounded staff of agents. All of DBI agents come from many
different parts of this industry, and I think that makes us stronger as one.

JG: How many “major” recording studios would you say are in Atlanta?

CD: Yeah…hmm…about ten.

JG: Do you mind if I ask how old you are?

CD: (smiles) 33!

JG: So…how long have you been working in the music industry?  Describe your career to me…

CD: I’ve been in the industry 10 years.  I graduated high school, attended a little college, owned a landscaping business with my Father…and then started doing booking and publicity for Ancient
Harmony.  They had their first CD released on Lauan  Records.  

In ’98, I dropped the landscaping business and went into the artists booking business full-time.   I moved to Colorado and went to work on Multiple Artists.  I was primarily working with Ancient
Harmony…but other artists, as well.  One year after being in Colorado, I met up with Ari Nisman, CEO of Degy Entertainment.  We had some discussions and then I moved to New York and worked under Degy Entertainment while helping build Degy Booking International, offering complete in-house entertainment services – management, booking, and publicity.

JG: Hmmm…so how long have you been with Degy?

CD: 2 years 6  months.

JG: What do you think is the secret to success for a band?

CD: Well typically, the first thing a band needs to do is grow locally first.  Following that, expansion on a regional level is the next logical step.  There are 15-20 major markets in the Southeast.  Once a band can make it onto the regional scene in a strong way, the next step is, of course, the national scene…and then internationally.  Now, say a band has some money backing them.  In this case, if you've got $50K, you can work on a more national level with a great team around you.  (chuckles)  I believe some bands may have the wrong idea about how publicity and booking services work.  I may book a show for a band, but people aren’t going to come to the show just because I booked it.  The band has to have the draw to make that happen.  They have to build a good following and typically, this starts with friends and family and just extends out from there.

What it comes down to in the long run is longevity.  Every band is different.  Every band needs a
different plan to create that longevity.  A formula for success would be finding the balance that makes the best business sense for a particular band.

There are three revenue-producing “business” areas a band needs to concentrate on.  These are
merchandising, live shows, and publishing.  All three are equally important.  You can’t be great at one and fail at the other two.

JG:   Chad, I wanted to definitely ask you about how up and coming bands can best promote
themselves -- iif giving away their music on CDs at shows is a good idea, etc.
 
CD:   There's so much music that's free and available to people that it can turn some people off.   But, I do think it's a good idea for up & coming bands to get their music out there anyway they can.   We definitely live in a time when it's relatively easy to put that together.   It's my philosophy the industry has been headed in a certain direction over the last few years. With so many downloads going on and the Internet changing the music industry structure, it will eventually be the artists best chance of  making money,  to sale you the live show you have just seen, before you leave.   You're gonna draw  more people into your show if they know your music. Also, the people that missed the show miss being there while listening, so eventually when you come back around you have a much bigger audience with another opportunity to sale merchandise and make people smile.
 
The best ways for bands to promote themselves is to get a street team together - really use your available resources - push the website - use jambase.com, jambands.com and pollstar.com.   There are some good resources out there.   What's interesting to me in the jam scene is the lack of self promotion from stage.  So much of this scene is about the music, self promotion gets lost. That's great when you have plenty of fans and don't have to worry about drawing numbers. Most of the bands you know in this scene has great teams around them and can sometimes make up the difference, but all in all, always take advantage of a good opportunity.   It's not as intuitive as it is in say hip-hop or mainstream rock.   Bands need to build a community around the band.   This starts with friends and family - draw from that base & build the community - constantly bringing in new people.  Before you know it, you're drawing people at shows.
 
JG:   Cool... I have only one final question.  For those who may be interested in a career like yours in the music industry, do you have any recommendations on how to make that happen?
 
CD:   Yeah. look into internship programs, as well as a degree in business or marketing - you'll put a lot of that knowledge to work in the music business daily.   Nothin' comes easy.   You gotta do your  time. You get what you put into it... just like life itself.   The best place to start is find a favorite band & start helping! <big smile!>

          
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