In
the midst of downtown SLC you can find a number of venues with shows
coming through on an almost nightly basis. But when summer kicks off,
the Salt Lake City Arts Council starts bringing the heat and give the
venues a run for their money. ---
The
Twilight Concert Series
brings in some of the best acts it can year after year to perform
live at the Gallivan Center, completely free and usually filling the
plaza beyond capacity. Not to be outdone throughout the week they
also present the Brown Bag concert series, where vicariously you can
see a local band perform every day of the week at noon. I got
a chance to chat with Casey Jarman about his role and work with the
Council, chatting up both concert series and what to expect, as well
as his thoughts on other topics.
Casey
Jarman
http://www.slcgov.com/arts/
Gavin:
Hey Casey! First off, tell us a little bit about yourself.
Casey:
Not much to tell you really, born and raised here in SLC.
Gavin:
How did you get involved with the Salt Lake Arts Council?
Casey:
I have been with the Arts Council for around 25 years. I was
producing local concerts, spending time being a musician and working
part time as a geologist. I walked into the Arts Council offices to
see if they needed help and started working on the Brown Bag Concert
Series.
Gavin:
What were some of the projects you've worked on or been a part of
over the years?
Casey:
I started the Living Traditions Festival in 1986 and the Twilight
Concert Series in 1988 and have been working on the Brown Bag Concert
Series since 1984.
Gavin:
How did the idea of the Twilight Concert Series come about?
Casey:
I was coordinating the Brown Bag Concert Series and the Arts Council
had an NEA grant and wanted to expand the series to more dates. I
proposed the idea a new evening concert series held downtown during
the week for those people unable to make the Brown Bag Concert Series
during the day. Originally it was called the Brown Bag Twilight
Series and changed to the Twilight Concert Series a few years
later.
Gavin:
Considering the other stuff you plan, was it difficult to set up or
did it come off easy?
Casey:
Way different from today. In the beginning the Twilight Concert
Series was held at the Salt Lake Arts Center amphitheater, next to
Abravanel Hall. It was pretty much a one man show although I had one
other staff person to help with the series, I ran lights and sound
and we would set-up the stage in the morning then hurry over and run
the Brown Bag Concert Series, wrap that and run back to finish
setting up for Twilight. After the show we had to take down the
stage, lights and sound. We would get out of there at about 1AM. Very
fun the early days of the series. I can’t remember what the budget
was in those days, maybe a 10th of what it is today. I had a
Volkswagen Van and that served as the production vehicle for many
years. The artists were mostly local, there was modern dance and a
few touring artists.
Gavin:
Who were some of the first bands you got to perform for the
series?
Casey:
The first band that opened the series was the Saliva Sisters. Also
Ririe Woodbury, RDT., I presented everything I could find from
classical music to local rock and roll. I think that first year I
found a touring Swedish polka band coming through town and thought
they might be cool. They weren’t.
Gavin:
How was the success of that first year, and did you know it would be
back again at that point?
Casey:
I think we averaged about 250 to 500 people per show and it felt like a
success. I wasn’t sure if the Arts Council wanted to do another
year or not, but they did and I started to build a direction for the
series.
Gavin:
Where did the idea for the Brown Bag series come from?
Casey:
That was from Gerald McDonough. He's very creative
sometimes, eccentric writer and actor. The series had a little more
theater and less music in those days. The first year there were 13
concerts. Same number as the first year of the Twilight Concert
Series.
Gavin:
Did you feel it was more of a risk for weekday afternoon concerts,
or did you think there would be an audience for it?
Casey:
Gerald just wanted to make statement that arts could be anywhere for
anyone. If an audience showed up, great.
Gavin:
Was it easier to plan that series out, or did it bring in its own
set of problems?
Casey:
Anything downtown in the middle of the day has it’s challenges
there weren’t a lot of places to hold the series (still aren’t).
Dinwoodey Mini park was one of the main locations and it was great.
You need shade for both artists and audience members. Even in the
busiest places people will complain about the noise.
Gavin:
How has the popularity of Brown Bag done over time?
Casey:
Very steady for the last 20 years.
Gavin:
You're about to launch both series again for the summer. First, what
have you got in store for bands on the Brown Bag set?
Casey:
We open on June 29th at Exchange Place Plaza (between the Boston and
Newhouse buildings) with a band from Chicago, Fareed Haque and the
Flat Earth ensemble. Fantastic artist. The series will be a mix of
mostly local music and a few national touring artists. Jazz, indie
rock, Celtic, bluegrass…great mix of artists.
Gavin:
Second, who have you got booked for the Twilight set? Is everything
set or will there be some surprises?
Casey:
Twilight is all set and is going to be amazing! Check out the website for the full line-up. Progressive,
interesting, killer line-up that starts with Bon Iver and Jenny Lewis
on July 9th. There are 8 concerts and 16 bands and every night will
be absolutely awesome.
Gavin:
Also, what can we expect to see from the Market this year?
Casey:
Superb food, ice cold beer, delicious wine beautiful art.
Gavin:
A little state-wide, what's your take on the local art and music
scenes, both good and bad?
Casey:
Unbelievable right now. There is a lot of energy to create and
produce and lot of new alternative voices in visual arts, dance and
music. Very exciting. The bad is just the economy, but we all are a
little tired of hearing about that song and dance. Art thrives on the
edges and always will. I feel bad for our local artists and companies
who are making incredible sacrifices right now. And incredibly
impressed with the resolve and determination they have to
succeed.
Gavin:
Is there anything you believe they could do become more
prominent?
Casey:
Prominence is always judged at a distance. Being successful at home
can be just as difficult as it is out in on the road. Time and
commitment will produce results and if you want the big time it will
come.
Gavin:
Do you feel the city is doing enough to showcase local entertainment
and arts with the events it currently plans out, or could be be done
(i.e. concert series and festivals)?
Casey:
I think there is always more that can be done, but Salt Lake has had
a solid track record of support for the arts.
Gavin:
If you had the opportunity to do it right now, are there any
programs you'd like to create for the arts, writing, music,
etc?
Casey:
So much to do so little time…I would love to diversify Twilight and
expand it to one or two more nights a week, present an indoor series
during the winter, downtown dance festival, a three to four day large
scale music festival,…lots of stuff!
Gavin:
What can we expect from you and the Arts Council the rest of the
year?
Casey:
Well we are hanging in there taking our share of cuts, etc. but we
are fine and it should be business as usual.
Gavin:
Is there anything you'd like to plug or promote?
Casey:
All art, all the time.