The name of the location currently occupied by Key Club may have undergone several changes since it first opened its doors as “Gazzari’s” back in the 1960s, but the level of talent that’s come through the famed venue has always been sky high. From The Doors and Tom Petty to Guns N’ Roses and Kanye West, the venue has been host to a wide array of diverse talents, and Key Club’s contribution to this year’s Sunset Strip Music Festival is no exception, with Unwritten Law, Casxio, Awolnation, and Nico Vega all scheduled to perform. LA Music Blog recently talked David Gordoni, the talent buyer for the Key Club about how he got involved with the venue, what his day-to-day duties entail, and what fans can expect when they stop by during SSMF this weekend (besides some sure-to-be-appreciated air conditioning).
How did you end up working in the whole venue world?
I’ve been here for two and a half years. I worked at William Morris for four and a half years before this. Kind of mutual friends, kind of the opportunity landed my way, and I guess the rest is kind of history.
What led you to the talent buyer position?
It’s a buy/sell world, so selling and now buying.
You mentioned that you started at Key Club through mutual friends. Were there any other venues you were looking at, or was it just one of those things where it fell in your lap and you decided to go that direction?
Yeah, it was just the opportunity that was there. It’s not like there’s a plentiful amount of opportunities, just talent buyer positions that are open, so it was the only venue that was looking at that point, but it was a good opportunity nonetheless.
What would you say your day-to-day looks like as a talent buyer for Key Club?
It’s anything from sending offers, following up on those offers, making sure our shows are being promoted properly, from online to street team flyers to additional miscellaneous ways of promoting shows, be it dealing with hotel concierges, and giving comp tickets away, or running specials on Goldstar, or trying to get as much online promo through a series of online blogs and web scenes. Just making sure the calendar’s filled with profitable dates, forecasted profitably, and then following through with promoting those dates, booking as far out as I possibly can.
As far as musicians go, what does Key Club look for when choosing bands to book on dates?
We have Sean Healy. He’s our outsourced local talent buyer, so when I’ll confirm a show that’s being filled by local support, he’ll go out and suss out opportunities that are best for the show. Oftentimes, for lack of a better term, we have bands that will do the pay to play, where we’ll give them presale tickets and they’ll guarantee a certain amount of those be sold. At the end of the day, it is a business.
Other times I’ll book a show and the support will already be decided. It’ll be a tour package, so it’s usually a combination of those two options. Sometimes it’s a tour package plus one or two more locals. That’s generally how it goes. I defer all of those inquiries to Sean because it’s outside my realm.
What does it take to prepare for an event like the Sunset Strip Music Festival?
This is the second year the street festival has closed down the Strip, so we’re kind of experienced at what to expect, but it’s just like any other show in the sense that the venue’s gonna be open to the folks that are attending the festival. It’s just open to capacity to flow, and it’s just
making sure that we program the room properly, both upstairs and in our plush lounge downstairs.
What does Key Club have planned for Sunset Strip this year?
Local acts that have either a draw or have a buzz going on. The festival runs from one to 10, and then the venues inside the street closure are gonna have after parties. We’re just gonna have the venue be open free to the public, and we do have a show that’s gonna be completely after the street fest is done. We had to keep in mind that we wanted to book something strong, something that people would want to see, but it’s just getting as diverse and a good enough variety of bands and shows put together as we can and getting them at the right price, too.
If someone wants to reach out and try to book a date for Key Club, would it be you that they contact?
They would talk to me and then I’d suss out the opportunity and what made sense if it was a local act. If it doesn’t have enough draw to headline, I would send them to Sean. If it was something that would be worth four to six hundred tickets, then yeah, I would suss that opportunity out.
For more information on Key Club, check out:
The legal capacity at The Key Club is only 400 people throughout the entire venue. Just ask the West Hollywood fire department. The Key Club makes money by setting up expectations that can’t be met.