Concert promoter aims to turn Solano into musical county

(Originally published in the 5/3/16 edition)

   As there are no big arenas in Solano County, a lot of people take for granted how much great music comes to the area. A lot of it comes courtesy of one man: Jeff Trager.

   Trager is a Glen Cove resident with almost 50 years of working in the music industry. In that time as an event promoter and booking agent, he has gotten to work with some of the biggest artists of all time: The Rolling Stones, Ray Charles, James Brown, Joni Mitchell, The Eagles, The Bee Gees, Bon Jovi, Kiss, Tom Waits, the list goes on and on.

   Among other things, Trager is credited with kickstarting Tina Turner’s long and successful career by promoting her first hit with her then-husband Ike, a cover of Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.”

  “Backstage at a concert with Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, she asked me to come backstage and she grabbed my hand and said ‘Thank you. Thank you for what you did,’” he said. “When I broke her first record, it changed her whole life. From that record she probably made about $100 million in her career. I got her the Rolling Stones tour because of it.”

   Trager’s resume does not stop there. He also promoted Vangelis’ theme to the movie “Chariots of Fire,” which was a No. 1 hit in 1982, and he worked with legendary Bay Area concert promoter Bill Graham on Day on the Green, a series of concerts held at the Oakland Coliseum from 1973 to 1991. A big theme throughout much of the concerts he has put on has been charity. In 1971, he put on his first fundraiser concert after one of his friends was jailed in Spain.

   “We drew 3,500 people on a Monday night, and that was pretty incredible,” he said.

   Since then, Trager has put on concerts such as the Fairfield breast cancer awareness concert PinkFest, the annual autism awareness concert Voices of Latin Rock at Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco and concerts to help raise money for Crystal Middle School in Suisun City and its students whose instruments had been broken.

   “I think people should give back, especially if they have the opportunity,” he said. “To me, it feels good to be able to give back to people who may not have as much as others.”

   Lately, Trager and his company Jeff Trager Presents have been working to put on concerts in Fairfield, including weekly Saturday night shows at the Chinese restaurant Sticky Rice Bistro, Thursday shows at Mankas Steakhouse and several concerts at the various Suisun Valley wineries.

   Perhaps his biggest projects have been monthly shows at Fairfield’s Downtown Theatre, featuring either comedians or musicians. This Saturday’s show will be a tribute concert to the legendary country singer Patsy Cline. Joni Morris, who Trager has described as “the No. 1 Patsy Cline impersonator in the country,” and Lyndesy Elm, a Vacaville resident who was a contestant on the ninth season of NBC’s “The Voice,” will be performing some of Cline’s most popular songs, including “Walkin’ After Midnight,” Crazy,” “Back in Baby’s Arms” and “I Fall to Pieces.”

   “You’re gonna hear all the great songs of the true music icon,” Trager said. 

   Trager says his goal is to keep bringing quality music to Solano County.

   “I want to get people to understand that they can hear good music without having to drive to San Francisco or Oakland or even Napa,” he said. “You have quality music right here in your own backyard.”

   Moreover, Trager wants his concerts to cause people to leave with positive feelings.

   “I love bringing good, quality music to each and every venue that I book,” he said. “It’s all about having people tap their toes and smile and walk out and say ‘Man, that was a great show.’ That’s what Bill Graham was famous for. When you went to a Bill Graham show, you walked out satisfied that you got your money’s worth and that you saw a great show. That’s what I like doing.”

   “Tribute to Patsy Cline” will be held at 8 p.m., Saturday, May 7, at Downtown Theatre, located at 1035 Texas St. in Fairfield. Tickets can be purchased at siteline.vendini.com/site/downtowntheatre.com. For more information on this concert or any past or future Jeff Trager Presents concerts, visit JeffTragerPresents.com. 

   

District 3 candidate Gabe Griess to rock the vote with Vacaville music festival

(Originally published in the 4/19/16 edition)

   

   In 1992, MTV initiated its Rock the Vote campaign to encourage its audience of twentysomethings to get out and vote. The maneuver worked, as youth voter turnout in that year's presidential election increased by 6 percent over the previous presidential election in 1988. In 2004, the message was “Vote or Die,” and perhaps feeling threatened by this campaign, the youth made sure to vote, yielding a 10 percent increase from the 2000 election.

   However, with the lack of a youth-oriented voter campaign in 2012, the percentage of young voters that year was 41.2 percent, down 7 percent from 2008. As America experiences its most inescapable election in quite some time, this begs the question: is anyone “rocking the vote”?

   Well, Gabe Griess, a Democratic candidate for California's 3^rd State Senate District (which includes Benicia), certainly is. He is doing so with Polipalooza, a free political music festival at Vacaville's Buck Mansion aimed at encouraging the youth to get out the vote.

   “The number one goal of this campaign has always been to inspire participation at all levels, but the group with the most room for growth is young people, who voted at 8 percent last election cycle,” Griess said in a statement. “So we are hopeful this will motivate people to register to vote and continue to be civically engaged. Your voice and your vote counts!”

   Griess is a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and veteran pilot of the War in Afghanistan. He is also a board member of the Solano Community College Educational Foundation, Rebuilding Together Solano, Vacaville Rotary Club and a trustee with the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post.

   The concert will feature six performers, three of whom come from Vacaville.

   The first local star to perform will be Lyndsey Elm, a former contestant on NBC's “The Voice” who got to be on Gwen Stefani's team. After the show propelled her into becoming a hometown hero, Elm has since sung the national anthem at a Golden State Warriors game, performed at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's “Holidays in the Park” and recently released a new single “Nothin' On Me.” Her debut EP is slated to be released in the spring.

   The Used Blues Band are an award-winning blues group who perform popular blues and jazz standards, renditions of classic top 40 hits and selections from the Great American Songbook as well as their originals. The group has performed all over the Bay Area.

   Taryn Cross, a country singer who began performing at the age of 15 and is currently recording in Nashville, will also be playing. Cross has released two albums and had the opportunity to perform with country music superstars like Randy Travis and Eric Church.

   Also performing at Polipalooza will be San Francisco-based folk singer Steve Meckfessel, San Francisco soul singer Nina Grae, Chicago-based singer Sue Schultz and slam poet Neelam Kumar.

   Polipalooza will be held noon, Saturday April 23, at the historic Buck Mansion in Vacaville, located at 225 Buck Ave. The event is free for those who RSVP at VoteGabe.com/Polipalooza. Beer and wine will be served to those ages 21 and older, and food will be provided by chef Brian Wollin. Attendees must be registered to vote. For more information, visit VoteGabe.com/Polipalooza.  

Music industry professionals to share tips with aspiring artists

(Originally published in the 11/10/15 edition)

   Looking to gain a career as an entrepreneur in the music industry? Solano College has an event to help the future Jay-Zs of the world on the path to success. 

   On Nov. 20, Solano Community College and the Solano Small Business Development Center will come together to host Music Biz Live 101 to assist those who are passionate about music by providing them with entrepreneurial advice to help thrive in the business. 

   According to Melissa Pegg, an assistant at SBDC, the idea is “to introduce entrepreneurship to the millennials.”

   “The goal is to bring high school kids and college kids together so they can learn what these artists who have already been in the business have gone through and what they’ve done to become successful,” she added.

   To get this message across, visitors will be treated to panels and performances by industry professionals, all of whom are local and many of whom are either current students or alumni of Solano College.

   Some performers have even achieved worldwide success. The headliner, Vacaville resident Lyndsey Elm, was a contestant on the current season of NBC’s “The Voice.” The 22-year-old wowed the judges with her acoustic rendition of Meghan Trainor’s hit “Lips are Movin’,” which led to all four of them trying to claim her for their team. The video of her performance has been viewed on YouTube over 1 million times.

   Elm was selected to be a part of Gwen Stefani’s team, but the contestant was eliminated in one of the Battle rounds. Nonetheless, Elm’s appearance on the show has led to a number of gigs since, including singing the national anthem at the Golden State Warriors’ Nov. 4 game against the Los Angeles Clippers. Elm will share her experiences to the attendees of Music Biz Live 101 and perform songs.

   “I reached out to Lyndsey through Facebook and got a response,” Pegg said. “We’re very lucky that she responded that way.”

   DJ Symphony of the rap group The Wu-Tang Clan will also be performing. The turntablist also runs the Symphony DJ Academy at the Solano Town Center, which Pegg happened to walk into when she was looking for performers.

   “I just walked into his shop and was talking with him, and he said ‘Well, why don’t I do it?’” she said. “He offered his participation, and that’s so awesome because it’s tough to get people to volunteer to do these types of events.”

   The rest of the performers will be Solano alumni and current students, including LaTiana Kates, Karyssa Lynne, the Flow Alliance Dance Crew, and more. 

   “For them to take the time out of their day to help support bringing the kids to the college, teaching entrepreneurship and giving back to the community is the best thing,” Pegg said. 

   In addition to the performers, there will also be a panel featuring professionals talking about the industry. Panelists include Solano music professor Kristy Juliano, Felstar Recordings President Felton Pilate, Vallejo rapper Dulon “Mugzi” Stevens and Christopher Upperman, a senior advisor with the national Small Business Administration.

   “They’ll talk about the business plan,” Pegg said. “Some of them will probably go into stories of how they made it.”

   Other topics will discuss financing, how to get a loan and what opportunities are available. Even if students do not have an interest in working in the music industry, Pegg says these skills are important for any aspiring entrepreneurs to learn.

   “Even if you aren’t going to handle finances, you should know what a balance sheet looks like,” she said. “It’s all about the bottom line when it comes to being an entrepreneur. To understand the concepts and the legalities of the business, we know you’re not going to be a specialist in it, but you have to understand what you’re getting yourself into so you can be successful.”

   “I was in the business for 15 years, and had I known some of the things that i know now, I would probably not be sitting in this seat,” she added.

   Music Biz Live 101 will take place from 1 to 4 p.m., Friday, Nov. 20, at the lecture hall and auditorium at Solano Community College Vallejo Center. The college is located on 545 Columbus Parkway. Tickets are $1 general admission, and there will be a $1 parking fee. Attendees can register at SolanoSBDC.org or EventBrite.com. All proceeds will benefit SCC’s music school.