Lisa Reiss is the founder/president of Pearl Productions, a 13-year-old company that started with a focus on sponsorship opportunities for venues, events and artists such as the Maui Music Festival, Gathering of the Vibes and the Magic School Bus touring company but quickly branched out to assist not-for-profit venues with their programming needs.

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"Usually my client is the venue," Lisa says. "They come to me with their calendar, their budget and their wish list. I come to them with research on local demographics, including competition in their market. I negotiate the deal and the date, review the contracts and offer advice on marketing, promotions, etc. I take a personal interest in every show I book. Personally I love the older theaters. The refurbished vaudeville houses and remodeled movie theaters have such a beautiful ambiance that coupled with the right talent, magic can happen. I enjoy being a part of that formula."

Lisa's music career began while a student at Pennsylvania State University where she worked on the University Concert Committee with acts like Genesis, The Jerry Garcia Band and Graham Nash. She also worked as a disc jockey at WGMR in State College, Pa. and booked bands for local bars and restaurants as well as working as a clerk in the town's local record store.

After graduating with a degree in Speech Communication/Broadcast Option, Lisa officially began her career in the music industry as an assistant to Mark Rothbaum & Associates, Inc., management for Willie Nelson, Miles Davis, Kris Kristofferson, Shelby Lynne and Emmylou Harris. Her responsibilities ranged from overseeing the Willie Nelson Fan Club to managing Willie Nelson Music Publishing to contract review and itinerary planning for the company's diversified roster of artists.

Lisa left her position after 13 years to become the executive director of The Charles Ives Center of the Arts, now the Ives Concert Park, a 5,500-seat venue located on Western Connecticut State University's Westside campus in Danbury, Conn. She streamlined their programming efforts by bringing in larger shows like Kenny Loggins and Traffic as well as producing the first Duracell Jazz Festival, a two-day event modeled after the Newport Jazz Festival with George Benson, Dave Brubeck, the Rippingtons and others. Lisa also upgraded basic elements on-site such as the electrical service and the backstage area to make the venue more competitive for larger shows.

Today Lisa makes her home in Connecticut with her two daughters and continues both her programming and sponsorship work through Pearl Productions. She has become an industry asset to the not-for-profit sector, receiving most of her leads from other industry people. Lisa assists her non-industry clients to understand the inner workings of the concert business, guides them through the process and enjoys celebrating with them as their productions become reality.

Experience & Advice
If you're running an outdoor venue where the seats aren't covered, and you don't have rain insurance, you might as well go home!

What is the difference you have found in booking not-for-profit concert vs. a regular show?
Many not-for-profit organizations don't have a lot of prior experience in negotiating contracts, booking talent or presenting concerts. They're made up of volunteers. Some agencies shy away from not-for-profit venues and benefit concerts because there is no industry person involved. I help to bridge that gap. I have the industry experience, which I use to both book the show and guide the venue. It's a win-win situation.

What have you done in the sponsorship world?
My first experience was while working at Mark Rothbaum & Associates, Inc. Willie Nelson was often approached by companies to endorse their products. When I went to work at the Ives Center, I realized a venue could offer the same appeal as an artist when packaged correctly. That was in the early days of sponsorship coordination, and there were very few guidelines, but there was a value for the sponsors' name being assigned to t-shirts, advertisements, banners and ticket faces even though it didn't cost the venue anything to offer these marketing tools. Add sampling and give-aways to the mix, and I learned how to create successful sponsorship packages.

One of my most successful sponsorship ventures was the Duracell Jazz Festival. By offering Duracell early entrance to the park and hosting their annual company picnic before the festival actually started, Duracell was able to allocate the funds that had been used for their annual summer outing to create their own jazz festival - one that they "owned" no matter where it was presented.

Do you miss managing?
Yes. Managing an artist gives you a unique first-person perspective, but it also limits your vision. I needed to broaden my horizons and explore other challenges in the music industry. I was most interested in what brings people to see an artist than I was in why an artist wants to live on the road.

What did you learn from managing that you brought to the Ives?
After working first-hand with Willie Nelson, I came to appreciate what an artist looks for when deciding whether or not to appear at a venue. It's not always just about the artist guarantee. This is their work space and, first and foremost, they need the venue's respect. If you design a venue experience - not just for the audience, but for the artist as well - that artist will give you a 150% and tell other artists about your venue. Artists have their own network just like any other segment of the industry.

How do you feel about the secondary ticket market?
I hate it. As a consumer I suffer the same "I can't get a good ticket without spending a fortune" syndrome. As a talent buyer, I hear from the patrons at shows how hard it is to get a good seat without paying an outside broker. Unfortunately, the secondary ticket market is inevitable. I'd like to see more regulations controlling the resale of tickets by the secondary market.

Do you use MySpace.com as a marketing tool?
Not really. Most of the shows I buy are targeted at an older demographic who aren't regular users of MySpace. Many of them only know about MySpace or how to use it, if they have children or someone sends them a link to the site.

Overall, how effective is MySpace to market events?
There's still a large consumer base that prefers their information in print or by email. If you were booking a band like Dashboard Confessional, then by all means use MySpace, but if you're bringing in America, stick with mailers, fan blogs and websites.

First concert attended
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus, Ohio. It was sometime in the late 60's. My family went to the fair just so my father could see that show. Me? I loved the throngs of people packed into the grandstand. I could barely see the stage but the sound of the music drifting up and over the audience left a wonderful impression on me.

Years later, as a teenager in Morgantown, W.Va., my friend's dad worked for West Virginia University's Coliseum, and we went to one concert after another: Grand Funk Railroad, Isaac Hayes, Seals & Crofts, the Carpenters, America, a road show of Tommy, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Todd Rundgren & Utopia and many more. Often, we'd sneak in before the shows to watch the load-in and sound check. I was drawn to the inner workings of the industry and fascinated at the transformation from college gym to concert venue.

First concert worked
I joined the University Concert Committee at Penn State in 1977 and worked both backstage and as an usher at many of the major shows. The three that really stand out are Genesis; Graham Nash with Leah Kunkel, Mama Cass' sister, opening for Graham; and the Grateful Dead. My first encounter with Dead Heads was a little nerve racking but meeting Jerry Garcia over barbeque backstage was fascinating.

First industry job
After a year of booking bands in local clubs, deejaying at a country western radio station and filling racks at a record store, I went to work as an administrative assistant for Mark Rothbaum & Associates, Inc. MRAI represented Miles Davis, Willie Nelson and a host of others including Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris and Shelby Lynne. I was there for almost 14 years. I started as an assistant and learned the artist side of the industry from the ground up. I worked on everything from sending out press kits, reviewing contracts, typing itineraries and managing Willie's Fan Club to administrating Willie Nelson Music Company and arranging guest passes at our shows. I was there at Miles Davis' comeback concert at Avery Fischer Hall in New York City. It was a different job every day, and I loved it.

Career highlights
I left MRAI to become the executive director of the Charles Ives Center for the Arts on the West Side campus of Western Connecticut State University. It was the job of a lifetime someone handing me a theater and asking me to make it work. I brought both the venue and the programming to a new level. My second year there I created the two day Duracell Jazz Festival with the help of George Wein of Festival Productions, which indirectly led to the creation of Pearl Productions, my company of 13 years.

Career disappointment
Most recently, it was presenting the New Cars in Peekskill, N.Y. The show was part of their Road Rage tour, and while it was one of the best rock and roll shows I'd ever seen on a PAC stage, ticket sales never got off the ground and the show tanked. At one point management actually offered us a price tag of $20,000 to cancel the show. I was astonished. I'd never heard of paying someone not to show up. While other venues decided to take the offer to cancel their shows, we stood our ground with the promise from management of a possible refund after the tour ended. Meanwhile, when the canceled shows were pulled from the New Cars website, ours accidentally went with them causing panic among our ticket buyers and causing us to lose any possible ticket sales from the nearby canceled shows. As a result, our ticket sales came to a grinding halt, and in the end, the theater lost $18,000. Our pleas to management fell on deaf ears. It was a terrible hit for a not-for-profit to take and, in all my years in the music industry, I'd never seen a management team so mismanage a situation. Even today when I see announcements for New Cars dates, my stomach does a flip.

Greatest challenge
Staying up to date with today's music and the technology that drives it. My two teenagers have shown me things I never knew existed. They've access to more choices with a keystroke or a click of a mouse and they don't have to buy a CD or wait for a concert. They've instant music gratification. Just once I'd like to present a show that my daughters and their friends would be excited about. Now that's a challenge!

Best business decision
Starting Pearl Productions. I found my own niche working with smaller venues and not-for-profit theaters and groups.

Best advice you received
The day I started at MRAI, the office manager told me to keep my mouth shut and my ears open, and I just might learn something. I learned a lot; David "Mom" Burbank told me to find the person at every event that had a clue and stick with that person no matter their title. I use that advice everyday; My lawyer told me never to make a business decision at night; Winston Churchill said, "If you're going through hell, keep going!";
but the best advice I ever received was from my parents who told me while I was still in college, "Don't let any one tell you can't." Most memorable industry experience
Going to the Grammy's in 1990 - before it became a big arena show. That was the year Bonnie Raitt won for "Nick of Time," and I realized I was part of something bigger than I had imagined.

What friends would be surprised to learn about you
I always wanted to learn to play the drums. I can't sing, but I can find the beat.

Industry pet peeve
The rising cost of artist fees and the lack of reasonably priced tickets for good seats at the big shows.

If I wasn't doing this, I would be...
...teaching. I'd like to teach a course on the music industry -- the stuff you can't learn from a textbook. Or write a book about it.

Industry mentors
Glenn Kidder: the first artist I worked with for telling me to do what I love;
Mark Rothbaum: Willie Nelson and Miles Davis' manager for teaching me how to do it;
Beau Siegel: formerly of Oakdale Theater for inspiring me with his work ethic;
Joe Brauner: talent agent for giving me direction;
David Burbank: road warrior for teaching me to have faith in myself; and not to mention the countless artists I've had the pleasure to meet and work with: their gift gives me endless energy.

Lisa can be reached at: 203-740-8775; e-mail: pearlw1@juno.com