INDEX Focd. Kids Pages Parenting... Table hopning Bob Mackin News bmackin@nsnews.com CALL them the acciden- tal salesmen. Derek Arrowsmith, Rob Christy and Yani Christie are self-proclaimed _ professional audience members of jam bands. For years they had to travel south of the border to sce their favourite music performed live — until they decided to change that. Mainstream concert pro- moters didn’t want to risk importing a band, renting a concert venue and trying to sell tickets for an act that receives no airplay. Even if the act plays three hours to a non-violent audience with some money to spend. The trio turned T-shirt company Terrapin Productions into a North Vancouver concert promo- tion agency, brought Mer! Saunders to Vancouver in September 1998 to play Richard’s on Richards and the rest is history. “T could never be a salesman in any other way, in telemarketing, ‘selling anything,” said Arrowsmith, 30. “But we are salesmen, that’s what we're doing. We're trying to promote x-band, the fact is it’s so something worth selling.” Arrowsmith, Christy and Cluristie are busy selling tickets for shows this weekend featuring guitarist Steve Kimock, a favourite among fans of taday’s and yesterday’s top jam bands, Phish and the Grateful Dead. Kimock is a musical idol and they've booked hirn to play the Vogue Theatre Friday and the Boot Pub in Whistler Saturday and Sunday. It will be the first anniversary of Terrapin’s name change to the catchier Upstream Entertainment. “Most of the bands we deal with come from the states, so they're coming upstream,” said Christie, 26. “We’re not mainstream, we’re upstream.” It’s the fifth time they’ve promoted a Kimock per- formance and every time attendance has increased. and Whistler. This one will cost $16,000 to produce and should raw more than 650 at $27 a ticket. Upstream has a faithful core of 200 locals who show up regardless of who’s playing. For bigger shows, Upstream draws a large group of fans from Bellingham. For a two-night Upstream-produced stand by Colorado’s String Cheese Incident in December, Arrowsmith said 500 people came to the shows from the U.S. He finds it more than a little ironic that Upstream is stuck with a $450-border fee every time it brings an act to work in Canada. Upstream does its part to encourage tourist spending because bigger acts like Kimock and SCI have a nomadic audience which needs to rent hotel rooms, buy restaurant meals, fill gas tanks and visit tourist attractions. Another challenge is the currency crunch. Like the Vancouver Canucks, they charge Canadian dollars at the box office, but pay the talent in American dollars. Sall, they’re hopeful of a modest profit which can be used to reinvest in promoting a show by a relative unknown like Adanta’s Sound System Sector 9 on March 10. They'll be lucky to break even, but it’s an investment in the future. Sector 9 could someday headline a theatre or arena show, and Upstream wants to be there with it as promoter. NEWS photo ike Wakefield UPSTREAM Entertainment's (from left) Rob Christy, Derek Arrowsmith and Yani Christie have carved their own niche in the concert promotion business — producing shows by U.S. jam bands in Vancouver Their greatest research and marketing tool is the Internet, where they keep tabs on the travels and wa- vails of bands, and trade set lists and songs, via the MP3 format. Upstream’s Web site will be online early March at . They want to offer a phone and mail order ticketing service (“so every time the phone sings it might be cha- ching, instead of ring-ring,” said Christie). A record label and travel agency under the Upstream umbrella are also on their wish list. All three had their musical epiphanies at Grateful Dead concerts. Arrowsmith, who grew up in Montreal, saw the fate Jerry Garcia and co. for the first time in Buffalo. Christy and Christie, both West Vancouverites, saw the Dead in Tacoma and Eugene, Ore., respectively. . “I personaliy believe that the music we’re interest- ed in is enlightening,” said Christy, 29. “It brings out the best in people.” Face of Business profiles independent business leaders monthly in the News. If you want to be interviewed for a stary, or recommend a unique individual, please con- tact Bob Mackin, 1139 Lonsdale Ave, North Vancouver B.C. V7M 2H4, or e-mail . IN Greater Cyberia, we are what we book- mark. The North Shore’s Julie Prescott shares her favourite five World Wide Web hot clicks. Prescott is vice president of North Vancouver-based World Tribe, a marketing, design, communications and project management firm. Says Prescott, “The biggest challenge I have is to just stick to a few sites. With limited time and overwhelm- ing amounts of information, I tend to go where I know | will get an international per- spective and links to just about anything.” Prescott likes: @ www.frommers.com A fabulous budget travel site with great holiday ideas and cheap airfares. Not that I travel much, these days, but | do tike to live vicariously and dream about going off the beaten path. & www.eblast.com Encyclopedia Brittanica’s net portal. Wonderful for research, great dictionary. @ www.cnn.com World news, the latest in techology, health, business, fashion, music... a window on the world. www.virtualpromote. com I subscribe to this newsletter which is chock full of practical information on how to make the best use of - the Internet, from a promo- tional standpoint. @ www.jeopardy.com When my brain hasn't had quite enough exercise for one day, I escape tv» play a few games. (Never during office hours, of course.) 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