The Curator of C-Ville Sound

Very high on the list of individuals who have most shaped the current Charlottesville music scene is promoter Danny Shea. Responsible for the booking—and partially for the existence—of the recently-closed Corner venue Satellite Ballroom, Shea brought large-scale indie rock to Charlottesville on a regular basis. After the Ballroom closed, Shea picked up a job booking for Starr Hill Presents, an organization awaiting the renovation of its venue, The Jefferson, on the Downtown Mall. In the meantime, Starr Hill, an arm of mainstream giant Red Light Management, books shows at other local spots. Even without a venue, Shea has managed to book several well-known artists for the upcoming months.

The Declaration: How did you end up in Charlottesville?

Danny Shea: I went to VCU and moved to Harrisonburg after I graduated. My wife was going to JMU. I was working at the Plan 9 there and then started working at the Plan 9 on the Corner, and ended up moving to Crozet in ’99. I’ve been there ever since. I’ve never lived in Charlottesville.

The Satellite Ballroom opportunity came out of working at Plan 9?

The Ballroom was always supposed to be an events space. That was part of the reason that Plan 9 took the lease there. But they ran out of steam. They ran out of budget and enthusiasm. At that point that was really the only reason I was at Plan 9. So, Chuck Adcock worked there and used to work also at Michael’s Bistro—he came up with the idea of turning it into an events space as a separate business, and he brought me on board. He’s the one that really stuck his neck out.

It seems like you have to work hard to bring the caliber of shows that you are interested in to Charlottesville. Why here? What is special about Charlottesville?

That’s a larger question. I’m putting shows on in Charlottesville because that’s where I live. That’s where I operate. Charlottesville: Everybody that lives here feels like its unique. Per capita it supports the arts. It can be a real challenge—when you’re talking about bands I want, most of the shows are really challenging. In terms of getting people to come, it’s a small town, but it can be surprisingly enthusiastic about certain events. People moan all the time about lack of turnout at shows. It’s got a small town charm but its got a lot of amenities you might find in a larger city.

What is the progress on The Jefferson? When do you expect that to be open?

We’re hoping mid-November we will be having events there. There’s a lot of things that need to happen between now and then.

Any goals?

Fleshing that place out as a destination venue, and making it the best venue this town’s ever had, having a great experience for everyone. Hopefully that will just translate into events that people want to go to, to support it. That’s the thing; it’s not a matter of personal taste, necessarily. We really just need events that resonate with the public. Most of the time, finding that lower common denominator is not necessarily reflected in personal interest. I think the best clubs are chameleons. They can do all kinds of things, and speak to all people who are enthusiastic about music, no matter what kind it is.

At the Dec we’ve talked and written a lot about the strange gap between U.Va. kids and the local Charlottesville scene. Do you think that the Ballroom had something that the Jefferson won’t have in terms of its proximity to Grounds? Do you think that will be a problem?

We’ll see. Yeah, I think that will be an issue, to a certain extent. I think that Downtown already has had potential, but even more so when The Southern and The Jefferson are up and running, it will be hard to deny the downtown mall. There are all kinds of things happening here that just won’t be happening there. That gap [between U.Va. and Charlottesville] can be on the Corner too. Separating five dollars from somebody to get in the door can be difficult too when there is a bar right next-door. We had our share of shows where the Corner was a mob scene but the show was under attended. U.Va. is a strange school. The Ballroom was definitely targeting a very small percentage of the student body. Fortunately, it is a large student body, so targeting ten percent is still a lot of people. I think that may have even been a problem for the Ballroom. A venue of that size, on the Corner, maybe should have catered more towards the general demographic. That room was too big for a lot of our shows. I think that’s part of the strength of the Southern and the Jefferson being right next to each other. We will be able to scale things appropriately.

Do you think that the local scene has expanded in the absence of more touring bands?

I think there is always ebb and flow. What you hope is that it is vibrant. You can’t take that for granted at all. I heard this interview with this kid who was on the Nevermind cover, and he wishes that he was eighteen when the album was made. Kids don’t pick up guitars as much as they pick up [Rock Band]. They’ll virtually play music instead of actually playing music. Though there might be something to the idea of more house parties in the absence of the Ballroom.

Even though The Southern and Jefferson are still in the works, there are some larger caliber shows booked for Charlottesville at other venues recently. Has something changed? Why hadn’t this happened before?

At the Pavilion it’s been a tough year. It’s been a tough year all the way around, regardless of the industry. The music industry is not much different. At the Pavilion, the list of shows that fell through this year is impressive. You would have loved to have gone to many of the shows. It’s not from a lack of effort; you just have to be persistent and hope something eventually falls in. It’s not a change of focus at the Pavilion, just a matter of fielding what opportunities you get. In terms of the smaller shows, ever since the Ballroom closed, I’ve had to be very creative in trying to figure out how and where we can do what we can do. Fry’s Springs is a really fun place—its got its shortcomings too—but I think for the right show it can be really cool. The Bonnie Prince Billy show was really great. I didn’t know that place existed, and if it weren’t for the Ballroom closing I probably wouldn’t have. I put on two shows at Outback Lodge when the Ballroom was open and I’ve put on a bunch more since. I had been in Gravity Lounge once before the Ballroom closed and I’ve put on fifteen or twenty shows there since.

You started a new job booking and promoting for Starr Hill Presents just as the Ballroom closed. How has it been?

It has been a real learning experience. The thing is, I feel like the role they have for me hasn’t surfaced yet. They didn’t say, “Go out and put on shows at a lot of clubs.” I suggested that and they said, “OK.” I’ve kind of given myself work to do. It has been a lot of work, but it keeps us on the map, it keeps my relationships open with agents, and it provides more good things for Charlottesville. It wasn’t like Charlottesville never had good indie rock shows before Satellite was here, either.

Upcoming shows by Starr Hill Presents can be found at www.starrhillpresents.com.