Kurtis Dickerson works with artists under Orangehaus Entertainment, AU’s new booking agency. (Photo: Cristian Sandoval)
It is notoriously difficult four aspiring artists to achieve success in the music industry. As Radiohead sang in 1993, “Anyone Can Play Guitar,” but what they failed to mention was that only a select few could gain notoriety doing so. Now, achieving success as a musician has become easier for AU students with the founding of Orangehaus Entertainment.
An extension of Orangehaus Records, Orangehaus Entertainment is a booking agency that will pair independent student musicians with student booking agents who will then find gigs for their respective artist. Each booking agent is paired with one artist and given a quota of contacts, which they must reach in order to ensure that they are contacting venues and working with the artist. Both the artists and the booking agents are exclusively AU students.
“We want it to be educational, a learning experience,” said Kurtis Dickerson, a junior marketing major and the vice president of affairs for Orangehaus Entertainment. The goal is for the agents to “learn from mistakes in an environment not as cutthroat or not as competitive as a booking agency may be after graduation.”
This philosophy also applies to the artists as they are gaining “real world experience and perspective” by sharing a ticket with industry professionals, other artists and bands.
The idea for the agency was planted last year as the label wanted to provide booking services along with real world experience for students, but it was not feasible until a grant was made possible by the Coleman Entrepreneurial Fellows Program through the Falls School of Business.
Michael Tomlinson, a junior psychology major, is one of the recording artists represented by Orangehaus Entertainment, and he has already had 15 shows booked through the agency. He called one of these shows, his first appearance at Birdy’s in Indianapolis, the best show he had played so far.
The agency’s goal of being an educational experience for the artists has certainly been fulfilled in Tomlinson’s experience.
“I’m growing in my knowledge of not only different venues to play at, but also what to expect from them, how to get my foot in the door.” In addition, he stated that he has learned how important it is to establish a relationship with the venue.
Orangehaus Entertainment is also trying to branch out geographically, as shows booked by the agency are not restricted to central Indiana. Dickerson says there are “no barriers geographically, in any way, to shows that are being booked.”
This is clearly shown through two artists represented by the label, Joshua Powell and Tyler Fields, who have their respective agents working together to plan a summer tour for their bands, Joshua Powell and the Great Train Robbery and Brother Nature.
The tour will tentatively begin in Indiana and travel through Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia before finishing in Powell’s home state of Florida.
Throughout the tour, Powell states that the two bands will be “trying to maintain the DIY ethic that so characteristically brands the folk scene” and they are “incredibly excited about sharing our art with as many people as we can and hopefully make some of them into friends.”
Although not a part of the tour, fellow Orangehaus artist Michael Tomlinson has shows booked in both Illinois and Tennessee in addition to numerous shows in the Hoosier state. The agency also enables musicians to play in venues that they may not have been able to otherwise. Fields states that his favorite show thus far was at a venue called Rachel’s Cafe, which has a transgendered owner. This created a diverse demographic in the audience that may not have been available otherwise.
Additionally, Powell recalls a story about one club his band played at which was exclusively a 21-or-over club. However, at the time, everyone in his band except one member was 20 or younger. The club was very strict about this and made them wait outside in the cold until the moment they went on stage and were kicked back out immediately after finishing their set, wishing the next band good luck and thanking the owners of the venue.
There are currently four artists represented by Orangehaus Entertainment: Tyler Fields, Michael Tomlinson, Joshua Powell and Rob Krosley. There were five, but Greg Hojnacki recently ended his relationship with the agency in order to focus more on his artwork. Orangehaus Entertainment is now looking for a new artist and new booking agents.
