Tim Peacock's Booking Odyssey
By
Eric Leighton - 5/31/2002
Reprinted by Permision from the Athens
News
The Athens music scene is a curious beast. There is more music happening in this town, per capita, on a weekly basis than almost any other town in the world. There are at least nine open stages weekly within a half hour of here. Some weekends there are thirty different bands that play in town. Music is strong here. It's in the ground or something.
Despite all of the music that happens, you still hear people groan that there is nothing to do in Athens. They tire of the same bands week after week. They moan that there are no national acts to go see. Well it's time to put their money where their mouths are (and my mom always told me not to do that). Thanks to the efforts of a few people, and I do mean a few, Athens, since the Fall, has seen more nationally touring acts pass through this town than we know what to do with, apparently.
Tim Peacock was one of those folks that wished some national acts would pass through our humble burg, and set out to do something about it. It all started when he discovered that Michael Hurley was living just a couple of hours from here. A self-professed Hurley "freak," Peacock wondered what it would take to bring him to town, so he found his number and called him. A short time later, Hurley was booked into the Casa Cantina, and Peacock was telling everyone he knew to come see the show, hoping he could make the guarantee. With a great turnout and obligations met, Peacock started thinking about all of the other artists he would like to see, and Peacock Productions was born. Norman Blake was Tim's next venture into promoting. This show at the Stuart's Opry House was very encouraging and he followed suit with a string of excellent shows, Ralph Stanley, Culture, the Mighty Diamonds, Wayne Hancock, Altan, Buckwheat Zydeco and C.J.Chenier, to name a few.
Not all of these shows were well attended. Therein lies the basic problem with being a promoter. Many of these bands are only available to stop through Athens in the middle of the week, saving the weekends for higher paying gigs in bigger cities. Many of the folks that can afford to pay the higher ticket price that must accompany a touring band, cannot get out during the week, and many college students can't afford too many high priced shows.
Since the fall Athens has been virtually deluged with nationally touring acts. The Union and the Swindlefish were about the only places to land a big act, and now, with the Blue Gator/Swindlefish bringing in sometimes two and three national acts a week, and Peacock Productions running full bore, it seems as though the town has sort of topped off it's capacity to consume live music. Peacock admits that he was, perhaps, too optimistic about people's abilities to absorb all of this great music. With booking agencies calling him left and right looking to fill dates, and having a few successful shows under his belt, he had a hard time saying no. Now he is feeling the pinch. The main concern is in his ability to be able to keep it financially feasible to continue bringing music to town. You can only lose money so many times before you start asking yourself if there might not be a better way to spend your time. He hopes that all of the people that called for bigger and better musical options will step up and do their part. He realizes that it takes awhile to re-orient people to the fact that there great shows occurring in town on a regular basis, but he isn't sure if he can afford to wait for them to learn.
Peacock Productions' next quality endeavor is tomorrow night when he presents the fantastic "Big Voice" singer from Zimbabwe, Oliver Mtukudzi in the Baker Center Ball Room at 8:00. This is a great opportunity to see an incredible, world famous musician right in your own back yard, so to speak, and the best way to tell the folks bringing great music to town that you appreciate their efforts.
