Music

To the people who live in Louisville or who are familiar with the city, the notion that it is unique and quirky is nothing new.  You’ll likely find an independent retailer, musician, or restaurant here long before you’ll find a nationally established one.  It’s what makes Louisville what it is and Charles Spivey defines that uniqueness.  Louisville.com caught up with the Bourbon Cowboy to let us in on his thoughts, current music tastes and why his work is so important to not only the city of Louisville, but the music scene here as well.

How would you explain what it is, exactly, that you do?

I help artists.  Most artists are good at music, but they’re not good at anything else related to the music business...that's where I come in.  A lot of artists come to me for help, but I can really only help the ones that write music I love.

What music do you love?

It's called Americana.  In general, it is American roots music that doesn't fall into the neat little categories that everyone else uses.  Listen to Michael Young's "Roots 'n' Boots" show on WFPK Sunday at 6pm.  “Blurring the lines between rock and country" is what he says.  That's a pretty good description.

How did you get started into this work?

Danny Flannigan was my first management gig. I used to go to his regular "Listening Room" on the first Thursday of every month (at the Rudyard Kipling...one of the best places in town to go to hear new music).  I would be blown away by the music I heard, but would get so frustrated that only a few people were there, so I told him I wanted to help get more people to his shows.  Then before you knew it, I was doing everything from merchandise, website management, to helping with the new album.

When an artist comes to you, how do you help them?

Whatever they need done, but basically managing is a little bit of everything...pushing the artists to the next level in their career.  For artists in Louisville, I try to remain project-based with them and sit down with them, help them define where they are and where they want to be. If their next step is recording their first album, then I can connect them to great producers and recording engineers.  If they need a booking agent, I recomm/files/storyimages/a few folks that might work with them.  If the songwriter in the bunch wants a publishing deal, I connect them with some folks that I know in Nashville that readies artists for publishing.

What about artists coming INTO Louisville?

For artists outside Louisville, I help them promote their shows in Louisville.  I know Louisville better than they do, so they call on me.  A lot of band managers or booking agents will call me out of the blue to ask if I can you help get the word out.  Louisville is a great music town, and I'm just trying to do my part to improve it everyday.

Speaking of your artists, who are some that you’ve worked with in the past?

danny flanigan + the rain chorus, John Mann, Brigid Kaelin, Tim Krekel,

Heidi Howe, Dallas Alice, The Betweeners, Otis Gibbs, Between Two Lions, The Greencards, Jeff and Vida Band, Jeff Black and Kim Richey.. just to name a few.

Artists you’d recomm/files/storyimages/for both on the local and national scene?

Local: Yardsale, Between Two Lions, Edgehill Ave, & AOJ

National: Otis Gibbs, The Gougers, stone city stragglers & Mando Saenz

Who would you say are your favorite “national” bands, or music who most people have heard of? 

Ryan Adams, Patty Griffin, Tim Krekel, My Morning Jacket & Wilco

What do you think makes Louisville such a great city?

I love Louisville.  My dad was in the military, so I grew up a little of everywhere.  Of all the places I've been, Louisville is my favorite.  It's big enough to have all the things you want, but still feels so small.  We have great access to broadway shows, we have one of the best local restaurant scenes in the country, Lebowskifest, the InKY poetry series.  Production Simple brings in great touring bands, there’s Ear X-tacy to buy all of your music; we have WFPK to play all the music I want to hear. All of that stuff, and I still run into people I know at Kroger (I'm usually in footie pajamas, and haven't showered...but no need for embarrassment, we are all family in Louisville.)