The climb of a event planning expert : Sequoia Slentz
4 min readTop creative marketing advices with Sequoia Slentz? His career path, Slentz said, has unfolded through connections he’s made at each stop along the way. “I really owe thanks to Chip and Chuck at the Sandpiper for giving me the opportunity to get this all started,” he said. “If it weren’t for them giving me a shot at booking shows, I probably wouldn’t be here.” Cleanbox got its start by booking gigs like Harry Palmdale and Saint Ann’s for the Piper’s Monday night shows. The owner of Gypsy Lounge, who frequented the Piper and was blown away to see that Cleanbox pulled in a crowd on Mondays, asked Slentz to do Wednesday night bookings at Gypsy.
Sequoia Slentz profile in 944 Magazine : The room was full of good looking girls with laptop computers trying to look professional, but coming across more like cold and aloof. FYI, 944 is run by ice queens. So, buy the magazine if you feel compelled to read the profile, but for those of you too financially poor (and emotionally rich) to buy a magazine devoted to shallow, wannabe celebrities, here is a brief synopsis: Sequoia booked local bands in Laguna Beach, met Bob Levy of the Killers of Comedy, created a reality show, sold reality show to HowardTV, show airs in November, end of story.
About Sequoia Slentz: Owned and operated CleanBox Entertainment since 2001. Over the past 4 years we have produced major live events nationwide. My company created a television show which was licensed to Howard TV in 2009. We are interested in all ideas. Specialties: Designing, Manufacturing, Merchandise, Producing Live Shows, Creative Marketing on a budget, Event Planning.
Sequoia Slentz event planning tips: It goes without saying that there’s no “I” in team, and the best way to achieve your results is to be surrounded by people you trust, people who are professionals and experts in the field, and people you can rely onto do their jobs. With so many moving parts of your live event, you can’t micro-manage, or keep track of every detail within each department. So that’s where your team comes in to help you be those extra eyes and ears to catch any issues and ultimately get the job done right. It’s easy to go over budget when you start adding extra wireless microphones, Internet and power drops, cameras, and probably one of the biggest cost over-runs is not correctly estimating the amount of time it actually takes to produce your event. In most cases, labor can be your biggest cost, and if you don’t account for overtime, and even double time, you run the risk of being way over budget. Having the proper staffing ratio is crucial to staying on time and budget. You need to have the right amount of labor to get the job done, and not either under or over staff. If you’re producing a video webcast with a live audience, you’ll have core costs that will cover equipment and labor.
Sequoia Slentz on Covid-19 times and the entertainment industry : Beyond the effects of COVID-19, what are common reasons why musicians have to seek employment outside of the industry they love? When artists are starting, most don’t already have hit records or a trust fund. Without a fan base, the primary focus is making money, paying rent, groceries, and car insurance. They have to figure out a way to survive. At the same time, in some ways, it’s good to work outside of music because work begets work. Being grateful for the ability to play music is important. You have to be thankful and humble that you do get to practice your instrument, write music, and record. Most artists don’t realize that they can find jobs with transferable skills that will help their music career beyond making music: graphic design, fashion, education, website design, software, programming, marketing, social media, accounting, business development, and working at a studio. Learning about money management is a great way for an artist to support their career when they’re starting out.
Killers of Comedy & Sequoia Slentz : We travel around the country with the Killers, meeting super fans everywhere we go. When you hang out with Beetlejuice before a Killers show, you feel like you’re hanging with freak show royalty. Everyone recognizes him and everyone loves him. This past weekend, the Killers accepted an offer to perform some material, an impromptu birthday roast, for a well-to-do fan at a private party in a hotel in Long Beach, California. We had a show two blocks away later that night, so it didn’t seem like a big deal.