Jim Douglas is the President, Producer and Manager of ‘Primetime Entertainment’ and co-owner of ‘Left Coast Music Group’. Since his humble beginnings, he has been extremely active in the music business. ‘Primetime Entertainment’ has been around since the mid-eighties and currently they are based in San Ramon California. The company works on high-end concerts with large names. From local and regional events for cities, charities, malls, downtown associations, amusement parks, to Fortune 500 Companies.

Jim Douglas and ‘Primetime Entertainment’ are responsible in producing and booking concerts world-wide for top-notch recording artists and bands: Tony Bennett, Pat Benatar, Kenny Loggins, The Counting Crows, Julio Iglesias, Chicago, The Scorpions, K.D. Lang, Willie Nelson, Natalie Cole, The B-52’s and plenty more; there are too many to count.

Jim Douglas and his other company, in which he co-owns, ‘Left Coast Music Group’, manages Narada Michael Walden (one of the top 10 music producers in the world), Jody Watley (Hit Recording artist), Craig Chaquico (former guitarist for the band, ”Jefferson Starship”), Maxine Nightingale (70’s Disco Diva), among others (both including established and developing artists).

Originally, Jim Douglas started his company in his bedroom at his parent’s house in Danville, California. Today, he’s a very successful businessman.

Jim loves the process of helping a performer fulfill their dreams, and he and his companies are lucky to have a great mix of clients that inspire them to get up every day and shake up the trees.

Please go to the web sites for more information: (www.primetimeentertainment.com) (www.leftcoastmusicgroup.com)

Jim Douglas Interview

By Antonia Venezia

Antonia Venezia: Please tell me about 'Prime Time Entertainment' and the production services you offer?

Jim Douglas: Our Company has been around since the mid-eighties. We've had locations throughout the Bay Area over the years but are currently based in San Ramon. We're a small boutique production house that provides everything from top name, celebrity bookings to production rentals, labor contracting, event design, sponsorship marketing and much more. We have a fairly developed client list that we are grateful for. Each year we get to work on a mix of very high-end concerts with large names to local and regional events for cities, chambers of commerce, downtown associations, charities, malls and private parties. We also do a decent number of corporate events, with locations in the Bahamas, Mexico, Canada, Hawaii and many others.

Recent events include: hiring the Doobie Brothers for a 50th Birthday party (100 people in attendance), George Thorogood and the Destroyers for a major oil company and providing celebrity, regional entertainment and production for the City of Fremont's 50th Birthday Celebration.

AV: You've done many productions for well-known artists. How was it working with Tony Bennett?

JD: Tony Bennett was an incredible gentleman. He went out of his way to thank everyone on the crew when he was done with his show and was very gracious. His voice was just magic. That's an example when doing this for a living simply can't be beat.

AV: How was it working with Pat Benatar?

JD: That's a tough question. The first time we worked with her was at Wente Vineyards on 9/12/01. Everyone was pretty much in shock over the effects from the day before. Pat was thinking about canceling the show and I spent a majority of the day convincing her tour manager and husband that the show should go on. My objective was to protect the winery's interests. However, it was a tough show to get through because clearly everyone's minds were elsewhere.

AV: I know you also represent artists - Please tell me about some people that your represent.

JD: I co-own a Los Angeles based artists Management Company, called ‘left Coast Music Group’. We represent a number of established and developing artists including, former ‘Jefferson Starship’ guitarist Craig Chaquico, Ray Parker Jr., Narada Michael Walden (one of the top 10 best producers in the world), 70's disco diva Maxine Nightingale and others.

JD: You can find out more by checking out our web site at http://www.leftcoastmusicgroup.com. It’s always fun listening to stories relayed from some of our more established clients. Just last night, I was going through video footage at Narada Michael Walden's house from a show in May at Carnegie Hall with him, Sting, Billy Joel, Sheryl Crow, Larry Carlton, James Taylor, Lenny Kravitz and others. He had helped Sting put together this great benefit concert. In fact, he is so well loved and connected that he was able to get Sting, Carlos Santana and Stevie Wonder to all appear on the first single for his upcoming record release in February. Maxine has great stories about the divas of the Disco Era. Craig Chaquico, joined the ‘Jefferson Starship’ in the 70's at age 15. Oh man, does he have classic stories….all G-rated of course!

AV: I read that you started off as a regional booking agency about 20 years ago - Please tell me how you got started in your business. What were some of the steps that you took to create your career in music?

JD: I started the company in my bedroom at my parent’s house in Danville. It took six months to book my first gig and I made a profit of $10. I was so jazzed. I had absolutely no clue, no experience, no mentors, no money, no anything. In order to get questions answered about really fundamental stuff I would actually call East Coast booking agents out of the blue, and say "I'm brand new at this but can you tell me how to do this?”. I would call people with really stupid questions; but I had no idea how to do contracts, what commission to charge, how to deal with payments, how to advertise, etc.

JD: I had grown up playing live music in local bands around Danville and went away to Music College in Los Angeles and to San Diego State, but never really had a grasp of the business. I completely learned by the ‘school of hard knocks’ and I would've saved many a misstep by having a few mentors. The good thing is I finally learned enough to get by and kept on growing. To me, that's the key, to keep growing - Study, build your network, keep your word, always grow, listen more than you talk, don't just settle for mediocre, embrace expansion, learn how to find the right marketing mix for your projects, and keep the goal of exceeding expectations.

AV: Out of all the things you offer to your clients - production, contract negotiation, staffing, marketing, etc..., which job inspires you the most?

JD: For the production company, it would be having a very successful show with happy artists and clients alike. For the management company, it’s really all about the music. I'm a nut for good melody no matter what genre. I love the process of helping a performer fulfill their dreams and we're lucky to have a great mix of clients that inspire us to get up every day and shake up the trees on their behalf.

AV: Tell me about some of the festivals, concerts and productions that you have coming up in the New Year.

JD: A mix of event clients we have includes: Paramount's Great America Redwood Amphitheatre (10,000 seat), Wente Concerts in the Vineyards, the Fremont Festival of the Arts, Danville Music in the Park and hundreds of other shows each year.

AV: Are you a musician as well?

JD: Yes, played guitar since age 9, but stopped playing in bands at age 24, when I started the business. It’s my therapy these days.

AV: Tell me anything else that you would like the readers to know about you and your company.

JD: We book great entertainment. Hire us by calling 408.289.9333!

AV: How do you go about finding new talent to represent? Do they usually come to you or do you find them?

JD: It’s a mix of referrals, getting materials sent in and us doing research into what other Talent Buyers and events are booking around the country. We prefer to get full press kits sent in versus online promo kits such as Sonicbids.

AV: Which was the biggest show that you ever produced and/or your favorite production?

JD: I can answer both questions with one show. It was the first ‘Bonebash’ for ‘107.7 The Bone’ in San Francisco at the Cow Palace. We had the Scorpions, along with the San Jose Symphony. Opening bands included Night Ranger, Pat Travers and a local Led Zeppelin Tribute band. The catering bill was something like $28,000 and the band requested 14 phone lines, lots of limos, groupies, deli trays, hair, etc. The headliner even traveled with their own masseuse!

AV: Tell me a little bit about the shows that you put together for Julio Iglesias and Tom Jones.

JD: Pretty much the artist's crew comes into a venue and directs our people on what their needs are for the day. We'll work from a contract rider that spells out everything from catering needs to dressing room set-ups, sound system and stage lighting needs and more.

JD: With regards to Julio, you could tell he was a pretty classy guy. However, I don't recall anything overly magical about the show - Just another day at work. However, each time we've worked with Tom Jones it was a true experience. I was the one who would get to collect the giant pile of female panties that were thrown onto the stage during his set. It’s amazing how worked up people would get to his music. Let’s be honest, with songs like "What's New Pussycat", they are classics!

AV: Where were these shows?

JD: At ‘Wente Vineyards’ for both.

AV: How far ahead do you start hiring bands and other musicians for concert bookings?

JD: We start booking headliners in November and regional artists in February for shows that will occur starting in spring and continue throughout the rest of the year.

AV: Please tell me about 'Left Coast Music Group'?

JD: I've produced shows for close to 20 years but only managed artists for about five. ‘Left Coast Music Group’ is actually a partnership that officially started January 1st 2006. Both principals, myself and my partner Steve Belkin have a fairly broad and diverse background in the music business and try to offer our clients a comprehensive scope of services.

AV: How do you find your opening acts?

JD: In many ways - Mailers and emails are best. Phone calls are tough because we're just so slammed during the day that it’s hard to take the time to chat for long. If we receive a demo we like, it usually moves away from the circular file to the maybe file.

AV: Where should people get in contact with you?

JD: Email is best. Jim@leftcoastmusicgroup.com

AV: Please name some of the venues that you produce concerts for.

JD: (see above) but also Bishop Mule Days, Sierra Hope Ride, Santa Barbara Smooth Jazz Festival (which I own), Blackhawk Plaza Summer Concert Series, Livermore Pro Rodeo, Broadway Plaza Jazz Series and many more.

AV: Add any question that you would like me to ask.

JD: Suggestions to new bands???? Build your base and grow from there. Most bands don't realize the long and hard road it takes to financially make it in this business. Unless you have the goods and completely live and breathe it, then you should just keep it as a hobby. There's no shame in that. Thanks for your interest!

Jim Douglas

Prime Time Entertainment, Inc./Left Coast Music Group

125 Ryan Industrial Court, Suite 104

San Ramon, California 94583

408.289.9333 Phone