Last week in our Back To Bonnaroo section we shared a 2002 interview with Superfly Productions’ Rick Farman. Today we push ahead a year for this conversation with Superfly’s Jonathan Mayers.
Jonathan Mayers co-founded Superfly Productions in 1997. The New Orleans-based company first gained national recognition that same year by putting on late night shows through its Superfly During Jazz Fest concert series (including its SuperJam performances, such as the May 4, 2000 show that introduced Oysterhead). Last year Superfly, along with A.C. Entertainment produced Bonnaroo. In this interview, Jonathan, talks a bit about his past, looks back to last year and offers some thoughts on what is to follow as well.
Can you outline your responsibilities last year during Bonnaroo. To what extent were you able to take time to enjoy the event that you helped to set in motion?
I’m basically responsible for everything on stage and behind it. My primary job description is booking the festival- myself and Ashley Capps split the booking responsibility. I also oversee the production: sound, light, stage and video, all the crews. I was the artist liaison department as well. We’re fortunate though that we built this great team. I check in around the stage with the artists, managers and agents but everything is pretty well put together so I’m allowed to have a pretty good time on site.
Obviously most people who decide to become music promoters come to it through an initial passion for music. What sort of balance do you strike between facilitating others’ experiences and being able to go out there and enjoy a given show yourself?
It’s certainly a different experience than just being a fan out in the audience. Obviously I love what I do and it’s great to be involved in producing events and be involved with some of your heroes. It’s different though because I’m sitting there on stage watching and I’ve got a million things going on in my head. Even though you may not be doing a specific thing you have to know what’s going on at all places. I definitely enjoy it and I still have those great moments, those musical experiences.
Last Bonnaroo was one of those lifetime musical experiences and it was incredible. It’s important for me. Sometimes you work all day in the office dealing with so many issues that you have to get back to why you got involved in this business and that’s the music because you’re passionate about it and try to have those experiences. As our company has grown and we’ve put this great team in place a lot of my job is preproduction so at an event like Bonnaroo I still have responsibilities but I’m allowed to enjoy myself.
My first gig after college was booking Tipitina’s so outside college this is all I know. When I was fan I would wonder what’s going on backstage, how are they producing the event, it seems so glamorous. Then once you’re in it you realize everyone’s working. It’s a professional environment. You get your job done and that’s the most important thing. It’s that balance of enjoying yourself and being professional. As for being backstage, when I was twenty-one I realized that people are working. It’s not this amazing thing and really the place to be is out in the crowd enjoying the show. That always cracks me up when people say I want to be backstage and then they realize there’s nothing back there. It’s a fine line. It’s important for me to enjoy the end result, the music and the fans, the whole thing, because that’s what motivates you on Monday to work as hard as you do.
Was there any particular performance you took in at last year’s event that really stood out to you for one reason or another?
One in particular was Jurassic 5 because I think it showed that our scene isn’t narrow-minded at all. I was really excited to see the response to Jurassic 5 because I felt it really showed that we can do a lot of different things. To me also at the end of Trey, the event was winding down and we pulled it off, to stand on stage was an incredible feeling. It’s like when you work so hard and start a business and you struggle over it and finally see some of your dreams happening, that was the feeling for me.
What was that experience like when you came out on stage prior to his set for the final performance of the weekend?
It was surreal more than anything because I am a fan. It was our first festival. To put on this magnitude of an event and for it to come off so well and the fans to be happy and the artists to be happy. There were a lot of challenges and a lot of naysayers. So to pull it off just felt incredible and to be working among some of my best friends was an incredible feeling and a bit surreal. There was a high I’ve never had before and you have it at each level of your career. The first time you do a sold-out show there’s a certain feeling, the first time you do a theater show there’s a certain feeling but this feeling was different. For me it felt like all my hard work had paid off and it was something I was meant to be doing.
So where do you go from there to get that feeling again?
Two festivals? [Laughs]
Every year, every season, there’s new challenges. We try to continue to challenge ourselves because that’s what it’s about for us. We like to keep raising the bar for ourselves and keep doing cool projects, like those that came out of Bonnaroo: the CD, the DVD, a second event, all these different things. Every year we’ll look back and say, Wow I can’t believe we just did that, what’s next?’" You got to keep pushing the envelope but you’ve also got to keep that strong foundation, don’t get too far in front of yourself. A year from now there will be stuff that we’re doing that I’ll say, I can’t believe we’re doing this,’ and we’ll be having the same conversation.
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