Features
Pollstar Live! Updates
As Pollstar Live! and the Pollstar Awards get closer, we have a couple of announcements-slash-important updates for attendees of the Jan. 31 to Feb. 2 events.
First and foremost, the hotel hosting the conference, JW Marriott at L.A. Live, is completely sold out of discounted rooms and only a handful of rooms at rack rate were still available at press time. We will announce an alternate hotel option in the coming days.
As for the conference itself, we’re proud to announce a key event starring artist manager/spiritual guru Shep Gordon, longtime client Alice Cooper and, to keep things lively, friend and promoter Danny Zelisko.
The three will pick up wherever they left off on a 47-year-long conversation that could range in topics from saving the Hollywood sign to dead chickens to cuisine to how many times Gordon got bit by his dog Skippy.
Photo: Courtesy Ecco/HarperCollins
There’s also a chance Gordon will talk about ethics in the concert business, or the lack thereof. As for Cooper, if we ask nicely enough, he may do his spot-on Shep imitation. Gordon recently released his biography, “Supermensch,” named after the movie of the same name, a documentary on Gordon by SNL alumnus Mike Myers. The movie created a devoted fan base for the artist manager because of his shrewd, yet nice, business and philosophies, to say nothing of his outlook on life.
Cooper, of course, was someone Gordon met at a hotel poolside in Hollywood in the ’60s, which led to a lifetime business relationship and friendship. Also on the program is “Hey, Who Are Those Guys?,” a conversation with John Meglen and Paul Gongaware of Concerts West, moderated by author and journalist Michael Walker. It’s part of Production Live! Jan. 31.
Many of you may know Meglen and Gongaware despite their relatively low-profile careers that began in the mid-’70s, touring with artists like Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond and Led Zeppelin, working with managers like Col. Tom Parker and Jerry Weintraub, and learning promotion from legends like Tom Hulett and Terry Bassett. They are responsible for pioneering the Celine Dion residency in Las Vegas, produced Prince’s tours (including his famed 21-night sold-out stay at
They also came oh-so-close to presenting the “This Is It” performances for Michael Jackson. Expect them to talk about their unique method of touring and their views on maximizing ticket revenue.
Walker, a Los Angeles-based journalist and screenwriter, is an editor for The New York Times and Los Angeles Times and author of “Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock ‘N’ Roll’s Legendary Neighborhood.”