[MUSIC] I'm here with Todd Ohlhauser who is the owner of the Mercy Lounge, Cannery Ballroom, High Watt Club, a complex of music venues here in Nashville and I wanted to ask him a few questions about being a club owner. Todd, thank you so much for your time. >> Thank you. >> I really appreciate it very much. This, I guess, area has been a club for a long time in the 80s and 90s. I think The Cannery downstairs was a venue, but the real modern history of these venues that you run started, I think, in 2003, right, when the- >> Correct. >> Mercy Lounge was rebuilt. Can you tell us a little bit about how you've grown since 2003 and how it became a bunch of spaces for you? >> Sure, in 2002, 2003, my former partner lived next door to this building. This was kind of along with Exit/In, the place where bands played when they came through town in the 80s and 90s, and it had since become vacant and dilapidated, and he wanted to have a local bar. Of course, he built a space that was way too big for a local bar. >> [LAUGH] >> [LAUGH] And it eventually became a music venue. And right around the time that we opened, there was a venue called 328 Performance Hall, which was probably a 1,300, 1,400 cap venue that closed. And for a few years, there wasn't a space for acts of that size to play in Nashville. Nashville is rare in that it was one of the only cities that didn't really have a spot for artists like that to play. So after, I guess, we were open for a year and a half, we decided to look at renovating the Cannery space again. And for the next ten years, it was Mercy Lounge and The Cannery. So we had a 500 cap room and an 1,100 cap room. And then our landlord decided to renovate the rest of the building and put in a real elevator instead of the old freight elevator that had been here since the 1800s, and a stairwell and all that and was looking at renting other parts of the building out to other people. And I was just like, it'd always been in the back of my mind that I wanted to do other things with the building. So we jumped at the chance to open the High Watt, which is a 250 cap room, which had just been used for storage. And then the upstairs, the third floor space, is an event space where we do weddings, corporate events and the like. And that space had been empty, I believe, since probably the 50s. I don't think it had been used. >> So you're booking four rooms now? >> Yeah. >> Can you tell me how it is that you've managed to grow at? I mean, I know it's been a ten year process for you, but it feels like a remarkable success story in the midst of an environment. It's really pretty tough right now. What do you think that you've been doing right that you've been able to grow like this? >> I think a lot of it is just the relationships that we treat artists a different way. Everyone who works in the, whether, my former partner was a musician, my talent buyer John Bruton is a musician. I used to book and manage local bands. So we've all been on the other side of the spectrum where you come into a club and you're not really treated sometimes the way you should be. And we wanted this place to be a place that artists wanted to play because without the artists, there's no reason for us to open the door, so. >> [LAUGH] >> So we tried to make things nicer, more accommodating and really treat people well and treat the customers well. Instead of having a bouncer, yelling at everybody when you come in, and it kind of sets the tone. It's like you want people to come in and have a good time- >> Right. >> But you also want it to be a safe environment. And we've always wanted it to be a place too, where people can come even if they don't know who the band is. You can still come and have a good time. There's other things to do, other places to hang out. And if you want to go away in the back room and talk, you can do that, too. Where it's not just solely in for a show and the minute the shows done, you gotta leave. >> Mm-hm. [MUSIC] Can you tell us in really basic terms how the booking and talent buying side of things happens for a club this size? It's a regular rock club in any town in the United States. What's the process, or if you can explain the process between the booking agent or whoever's representing the artist. And then so they make the call to your club. And then how does it move forward from there? >> Well, typically, an artist agent will call or send an email and ask for an offer when a band is planning their tour. Sometimes, it'll be an agent that we already have a really good relationship with and have promoter history with that band and we're the only place they're calling. Other times, it's they're sending the same email out to all the clubs in town and best offer gets it. It can work both ways but, frequently, the club that has in the past, the club that has the promoter history usually gets it as long as they have a good relationship with the artist. And then at the same time there's, on the local level, it doesn't really work like that. We have to actually go out and see other bands in other clubs and be like, this is a good band. So there's a little bit of both going out and looking for it and having the agent call you. But, typically, on the national level, we're not going out trying to get bands to come here because they're already contacting us. >> So then, you've just described the relationship between the artist agent and the club and how that relationship happens. Then what is the role of a concert promoter then in that scenario? >> Well, the role of a concert promoter is to sell tickets. So whether it's, you have to have a marketing person, you have to have a. Yeah, and there's all sorts of different marketing strategies depending on the type of artist it is. For instance, you would promote an EDM show different than you would a rock show, different than you would a country show. A country show, you might focus more heavily on radio promotion, where in indie rock show, you would focus more on blogs and- >> Mm-hm. >> Things like that, more of an underground approach to getting the word out. And we also work with a lot of outside promoters that come in here, whether they're national promoters like AEG or regional promoters like Music City Booking that does a lot of all ages shows, metal shows, and things like that. So yeah, I mean, there's no, it just depends. It varies on what type of act you have, how you promote that show. >> But do you always use a promoter or only with some artists? >> Usually, I mean, either we're the promoter- >> Yeah. >> Or, for The Cannery, a lot of it, The Cannery shows are outside promoters, the bigger shows. But for High Watt and Mercy, I'd say 80% of them we're the promoter on, yeah. But we're an open room so we'll allow other promoters that we have a relationships to come in. A lot of rooms aren't, a lot of rooms strictly only promote their own shows, or they have an exclusive relationship with a certain promoter. >> Mm-hm. >> But we try to be independent. >> What are some of the greatest challenges that you face as a club owner right now? >> There's a lot. >> Yeah. [LAUGH] >> Greatest challenges, we have a staff of 30 plus and one of the biggest challenges is really managing everyone and having everyone on the same page, working in the same, going in the same direction. We're a bar and nobody gets into the bar business to make money. Most of our employees are musicians or have something else they want to do eventually. For instance, our sound crew, we probably have eight sound guys on staff but they get a road gig that pays way more than a club gig's going to pay. They're going to go out on the road so you're always trying to, and you always want everyone to do the best they can do. So we try and accommodate everybody. But trying to constantly manage where you have competent people at all times is hard because everybody has their own career and their own goal that they want beyond this. And then just dealing with things like security and making sure everyone's safe, and dealing with ridiculous laws of the state of Tennessee. Owning a bar in Tennessee, well, first of all, there's no such thing as a bar in the state of Tennessee until the past year. >> I didn't know that. >> Yeah, we were all restaurants. >> I didn't know that, yeah. >> Yeah, and just ridiculous, outdated laws that constantly seemed to be and always change. So you're right and, obviously, you want to do everything the way it's supposed to be done, but there's always these constant road blocks. And just the expenses of running a club. In Tennessee, the tax on a drink is 24.25%. So, a quarter of every dollar is going towards taxes. Insurance, running a music venue is, they insure you differently than you do somewhere else. And so it's really easy for everybody to look, there's a packed room with people, you must be making a ton of money. Well, the overhead, there's a constant increase in overhead and so many different aspects that you have to deal with in any given night that it can get hectic, especially when you have four events going on at the same time and you're trying to manage all four events effectively, it's a challenge. >> Yeah, I've been here on nights when I couldn't believe the numbers of people coming and going and everything goes. It's exciting, but I'm sure it's stressful for you. >> Yeah. [MUSIC] >> So have you had moments here in these places that stand out to you as highlights? What are some of the favorite things that have, I don't know, you pulled off here in this space? >> There's a lot, some of them they come to mind. We did the Americana Music Festival every year and it's one of my favorite weeks, well, it's my favorite week of the year every year. But there was one year in particular where John Fogarty did an unannounced set. And, I don't know, were you here for that? >> I missed it. >> Okay, all right. >> I was here when the Stones came. [LAUGH] >> Yeah, the Stones, having the Stones hang out here, that was pretty cool. >> [LAUGH] >> But yeah, so Fogarty comes in. It was going to be an unannounced set, and he brought in basically his whole set up. It was his PA, his stacks. And it was going to be a 45-minute set that turned into his regular two-and-a-half-hour show. >> [LAUGH] Wow. >> And everyone was like, well, I'm not going to cook. Tell him to quit. [LAUGH] It was really special. I mean, that was probably, I'd say, my favorite night we've ever had here. And then, yeah, having all four Rolling Stones hang out right here- >> Right there. >> Was cool. Having Robert Plant get up on stage and sing with Buddy Miller and Patty Griffin, that was cool. It's stuff like that where people that you grew up idolizing are all of a sudden hanging out, playing your venue. It's like, we never thought when we were kids that you'd be able to meet these people, let alone maybe hanging out and playing your club so, yeah. >> What do you wish that people knew about your business that you think the general public, people who are not in the music business, don't know? >> Just how hard it is to, running a venue is not, everybody thinks, I could do it better or I could do it, that looks like fun and it's like you just really have no idea what it entails and how hard everyone here works. By the time the doors are open, there's a whole group of people that work here who have already been here eight hours before the doors opened and who are going to be here sometimes four or five, six hours after the doors close. It's a tremendous amount of work to keep a place like this going, and it takes a lot of really talented and dedicated people, which I've been very lucky over the years to have a constant group of great people working here. >> What do you think some of the things are that our audience can do to best support music and the arts in their communities? From your point of view, what are the best things that the average citizen can do to help? >> Go to more shows. [LAUGH] >> [LAUGH] >> Talk about shows. Tell your friends when you see a good band. I mean, word of mouth is huge, and yeah, I mean, Nashville had a, there's an impression that Nashville has a soft market and bands constantly skip this market. That's no longer the case. You rarely see a tour where Nashville is not on the itinerary. But it's still, compared to other towns, for a town that's called Music City, a lot more people need to come out and see music. And it's hard when you're just bombarded with it constantly. But that's the biggest thing is this is how artists make their living, by touring. Record sales don't really cut it anymore. It's so, buy tickets and go to shows. >> Have you seen a change in the way that bands do their business as a result of the shrinking in record sales? Has that affected your business in any kind of way that you can measure? >> Just the fact that they're on the the road a lot more, so there's a lot more shows happening. >> Right. >> Yeah, I mean. Yeah I mean, there's a lot more shows happening, there's also a lot more clubs. So it hasn't really affected us that much, I mean, us on a personal level, but, as, I think, any town, there's now a lot more choices because there's so many more bands out on the road because you have to be. [MUSIC] >> What would you say to musicians who want to start playing shows and getting their foot in the door with the touring? I mean, do you have any words of advice for someone who's coming into your club and maybe isn't very experienced? What can they do to make sure that, I don't know, they create a good impression? >> A good impression with us? >> Sure, yeah. >> Just be professional and get here when you say, I mean, when the boating is loaded, try and be here. I mean, you can't always try and live from one city to the next, stuff happens. But just act in a professional manner and be nice. We're nice. 99% of the artists that come through here are very nice. I mean, if you're good and you make a good impression, it works both ways. If we make a good impression, you're going to want to come back and play here. If you make a good impression, we're going to want you to come back and play here. It's, yeah. >> Thank you, I think that's all of the questions I had. Thank you so much for your time. >> Thank you. >> I appreciate it very much. Great talking to you. >> You too. [MUSIC] [SOUND] [APPLAUSE]
