Rock your way to the top

Feb. 15, 2009

Want to make it big in the music industry? The prevailing wisdom is one should move to a music town such as New York, L.A., Austin, Nashville or Chicago. So moving to Northern Michigan wouldn’t be con-sidered a good music career move. Just don’t tell guitarist and producer Joey Callahan that.
“I grew up in Chicago and vacationed here as a kid, in fact my family goes back three generations vacationing in Northern Michigan,” said Callahan. “Well, about five years ago I brought my then-girlfriend to Traverse City for a vacation and I felt this vibe here. And before I knew it, I opened a recording studio here.”
Callahan’s studio, Radius Recording, is located at Logan’s Landing in Traverse City and is attracting musicians from all over the country. He has partnered with the Grand Traverse Resort and Casinos and WKLT to host the largest music competition ever held in Northern Michigan.

THE PRIZES
Rock Your Way To The Top is open to any band from Michigan. The winning band will receive $2,000 in cash, studio time at Radius Recording, and have a major music producer work with them. The winning band will also open for Puddle of Mudd on June 27 at the Leelanau Sands Show Room.
The competition started a month ago with three bands competing at a time (every other week), and the next competition this weekend at Level 3 nightclub at the Turtle Creek Casino. The finale will take place May 2 at the Leelanau Sands Showroom. Besides offering up his recording studio as part of the prize, Callahan has also secured several of his industry colleagues to fly in to judge the competition. These are A-list Grammy-winning producers and sound engineers.
“For example, this weekend we have Derek Tyson Geisser coming in, and he has produced, recorded and worked with a who’s who of the industry, including the Smashing Pumpkins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billy Idol and Ozzy to name a few,” said Callahan. “When the Grand Traverse Resort and Casinos contacted me with the concept, I said I could bring in a caliber of industry people who have not been here before.”
Other judges include Martin Atkins, former drummer for Johnny Rotten (plus numerous other bands including Ministry and Nine Inch nails) and author of the 2007 book Tour:Smart which is considered the industry bible for touring musicians. Atkins also teaches classes on how to tour properly. Rock legend and Northern Michigan resident Mark Farner of Grand Funk fame is also judging, as is Howie Beno, whose production work includes Blondie, Red Hot Chili Peppers and others.
Guitarist David Shankle of Manowar fame will join Atkins, Beno, Farmer and award-winning sound engineer Chris Steinmetz as part of the finale weekend judging team. Steinmetz is considered one of the tops in the industry and his credits include Paul Simon, David Lee Roth, Kanye West, Smashing Pumpkins, Jay Z, Jimmy Buffet, Usher, Kiss and Madonna among others.

ROCK ROOTS
“This is a pretty impressive lineup of judges,” said Callahan. “These judges, at least those that have been in so far love the area. They are really impressed with everything we have here.”
Callahan’s industry background dates back to the ‘90s when he was in the industrial metal supergroup 13MG as the band’s guitarist. He lived the rock star life, touring on buses, performing at major venues, and appearing on MTV. The band enjoyed several hits on Billboard’s dance club charts. Callahan built a reputation in the industry for his fierce guitar work on stage and in the studio. He had endorsement deals and appeared in several industry publications.After seven years on the road he decided to explore the business side of the industry.
“I went to work for Kevin Berg and Associates; they are one of the largest entertainment event-marketing firms in the world,” said Callahan. “I worked as a creative writer for them and facilitating special events in 20 major urban markets.”
Callahan’s creative writing and marketing expertise led him to his next venture. In 2002 he created 140db, a collection of highly skilled web designers. His company provides web services for Nike, Adidas, Capital, Sony Records and Grammy-winning musician John Mayer, among others.
In 2004, he started the state-of-the-art Radius Recording studio in Traverse City. Callahan has attracted major musicians to Northern Michigan to record and use his facilities.
“We are available to anyone. A lot of musicians from the area are also using the studio,” said Callahan. “We also have a performance space and a dance floor here. So we have been recording live concerts here. We have major electronic DJ’s coming here throwing dance parties.”

MAJOR MUSIC EVENT
Positive feedback about Northern Michigan from Callahan’s music industry friends has spawned a new idea.
“I am in the early stages of putting together for 2010 a major music event here. For a lack of a better name I am calling it the Midwest Music Expo. It would be similar to South by Southwest in Austin,” said Callahan. “I am impressed with what Michael Moore has done to make this a movie town. Now, I want to make this a music town as well. The initial response from the industry has been positive. The casino likes the idea as well. I am thinking next April -- a time when the weather is good and the hotels could use a boost. We would have workshops, panel discussions and bands. And musicians would be able to showcase their talent in front of industry people. We have clubs and stages of all different sizes here.”
Callahan has endless energy when it comes to promoting music and musicians. He is also working with a group to create a musicians co-op.
“We want to have this co-op that would serve as a resource for musicians and clubs. It would be web-based. So bands could post info about clubs around the state and clubs could post comments about bands,” said Callahan. “We would also create an area for people who are willing to host bands. So if you are a bluegrass band and are going to Petoskey, this site would list people who are interested in hosting bluegrass bands.”

Rock Your Way To The Top continues this weekend at the Level 3 nightclub at the Turtle Creek Casino. The competition continues through April 18 with this Saturday as the final day for bands to register. Any Michigan band interested in competing should go to casino2win.com for a registration packet. For additional information about Rock Your Way To The Top and Radius Recording go to radiusrecording.com or call Joey Callahan 231-354-7453.