You may not know the the name Transmission Events, but you sure know the work that they do. Based in Austin, Transmission are the folks behind Fun Fun Fun Fest, the music festival held each fall at Auditorium Shores in the capitol city. They also do all the booking for prominent Austin venue Mohawk. So, you know, they know what they're doing, and their work comes with a pretty damn good pedigree.
Now comes the news that Transmission will officially have a presence here in Dallas, and they've picked up a couple of the most respected local talent buyers to help lead their expansion: Kris Youmans, co-owner of Three Links and the man behind Tactics Productions, will be working alongside Ryan Henry, the longtime booker for Granada Theater. Dallas and Austin just got that much closer together.
See also: Loft and South Side Music Hall Talent Buyer Kris Youmans Launches Independent Company Fun Fun Fun Fest Reveals Date and Stage Schedules Does Dallas Want Its Own Austin City Limits?
Transmission's general manager, Bobby Garza, says that his company's work booking shows in Dallas had brought them in contact with folks like Youmans and Henry over the years, and that moving to consolidate forces was a natural progression. "We feel Dallas is an amazing market," he says. "We think that there's a lot of amazing things happening there and we want to be a part of it."
Youmans says it's a move that's been a couple years in the making. Back in April 2012, for instance, Tactics and Transmission worked together to book the At the Drive-In reunion shows. "99 percent of the bands I book here, they book in Austin," he points out. "So it just makes sense to work together and bring in more of these types of shows; that was kind of the ultimate plan."
The two companies will now essentially be working together under the Transmission banner. "Tactics won't be producing any more shows," Youmans clarifies. "We felt like it was smarter to go under one moniker. Ultimately, really I felt like Transmission had the stronger brand with Fun Fun Fun. They're more nationally and really internationally known, so it just made more sense."
Youmans and Henry will be setting up a new office in Dallas to lead the local event booking for Transmission. The two once worked together years ago when Youmans was the talent buyer at the Granada and Henry was just getting started in the business, working security for the Lower Greenville venue.
Garza emphasizes that the move is one they hope will bolster Texas music in general: "Our company's been growing quite a bit in the last year and a half, and I think we always wanted to stay Texas-specific," he explains. "Austin is obviously our home base and where we've made a name for ourselves, but we think we can do the same things in other markets."
Most saliently among the news plans is the fact that Transmission will take over the booking for popular Deep Ellum venue Club Dada, as well as its sister location City Tavern in downtown Dallas. (Both are owned by Josh Florence.)
For the time being, anyway, Youmans says not to expect any major changes for local music fans. "We're probably just going to be doing more shows," he says. "Hopefully in the spring we'll have a collection of great shows at the Bomb Factory, but who knows what else." To that end, there's notion he can confirm isn't in the current plans: "I've gotten a couple questions about fests. Maybe at some point we'll do that, but at this point we're just getting in and starting running."
Garza says Dallas had some obvious perks from Transmission's standpoint: "Dallas has some amazing venues... Everyone we've worked with is really awesome to work with," he says. "I don't really like city-to-city comparisons. I've been to Dallas and checked out shows and hung out with Kris, and it feels like there's a lot of demand for shows and opportunity to bring in good shows."
Youmans isn't so shy about making the comparison, though: "One of the things I've talked about with [Transmission] is trying to change the perception of how Dallas is looked at by the majority of the folks in Austin," he says. He adds, with gruff laugh, "One of my hopes is that with Transmission coming into Dallas, maybe Austin folk will start looking at us like a legitimate city -- instead of just a bunch of rich fucks."
Legitimate or not, Garza is excited to grow the Transmission family, and looking forward to bridging the gap between Texas cities. "We're excited to be working with some folks in Dallas who are local natives," he emphasizes. "I don't think we would ever come into a city and try to take over. Our intention is to find good people who are on the ground and partner up."
Read the full press release on the next page. TRANSMISSION EVENTS ANNOUNCES EXPANSON AND PARTNERSHIP WITH DALLAS VENUES AND PROMOTERS
AUSTIN, TX (October 10, 2014) - Transmission Events, the full service events company and producers of Fun Fun Fun Fest, has announced they are expanding their booking and promoting services to Dallas and have hired veteran promoters Kris Youmans and Ryan Henry.
Transmission Events will be taking over the booking responsibilities for Club Dada and is in talks with other Dallas venues as well, in addition to hiring Youmans and Henry to bring shows catering to a wide range of music fans, including hip-hop, indie rock, electronic pop, metal, and all areas in between. Transmission seeks to bring the same level of performances, with an emphasis in discovery, which fans have come to expect from FFF Fest and venues like the Mohawk and Red 7. Transmission Events has been partnering with the Dallas music scene for quite some time now, and they are excited to further increase their involvement and partnerships to bring in even more shows to the Dallas area.
"Working with local stalwarts like Kris and Ryan who are already shaping the growing Dallas market makes sense as TE brings more shows outside of Austin," says Transmission Events General Manager Bobby Garza. "Our partnership with Tactics and numerous venues in Dallas over the last year or so has grown quickly. Transmission Events is always looking for strong local partners in markets outside of Austin to provide great shows and great music to fans all over Texas. This is the first step in that process for TE, and we are excited it's happening."
ABOUT TRANSMISSION EVENTS:
Transmission Events is a full service events agency that provides booking, location, production, sponsorship, and marketing services to a wide variety of clients across the country. Now in its 8th year, TE has experience producing events in 4 markets, including over 15 venues in Austin. Transmission Events also exclusively produces and manages one of independent music's most popular music festivals, Fun Fun Fun Fest. Learn more at www.transmissionevents.com
BIOS FOR KRIS AND RYAN
Kris Youmans got into booking and promoting shows twenty years ago in Denton, Texas when he started booking DIY shows at several different houses. In 1997 Kris helped book the Argo and he started the venue side of Rubber Gloves rehearsal studios in September of that same year. In 2002 he took a break from booking for four years to direct a slew of music videos. But in 2006 he got back into booking when he took the job as the talent buyer for the Granada Theater. Since he left the Granada in 2010, he has booked at the Gilley's complex in Dallas (which included The Loft, Palladium, and South Side Music Hall) and after a year there, broke off for the independent promoter life with his own Tactics Productions. Kris has also recorded and toured extensively with Dallas artists such as Sara Jaffe, The Paper Chase, and Austin's Bill Callahan (Smog).
Ryan Henry has been the talent buyer at the Granada Theater since 2010. Prior to that, he began his time at the Granada in 2009, working as venue staff in many different positions during shows. Ryan's experience with live music before then has been varied: he has played as a touring/recording musician, tour managed, and also served as a roadie, guitar tech, stage hand, and merch seller. Ryan is thrilled to begin work with Transmission in expanding from booking one venue to many other venues large and small throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area
