Aaron Slocum and The Maple Room

By Bob McKillop

 

Livingston Taylor is on the stage at The Maple Room, and he’s got me under a spell.

His body and soul is fully engaged in entertaining me, as he churns through his confessional, comedic tune, “I’m Not As Herbal As I Ought To Be”.   I am marveling at his expert guitar work, while simultaneously hanging on every word, so that I don’t miss the clever lyrical hooks that make the song so funny.

We’ve all had these moments where the magic of a performance seems to lift us to a different plane, where we are connected and communicating with the artist on a level that transcends a mere sensory experience. I think we all understand that the venue, as well as the performer, plays a large role in creating these incredible live music experiences.  The quality of the sound reproduction, the lighting, the arrangement, decoration, hospitality and comfort of the room, and of course, the degree to which the artist has been made to feel at home, all contribute to the magic in those moments.

Aaron Slocum is in the business of making that magic happen, and he’s very good at it.

Aaron is the theater manager at The Maple Room, the terrific Lewiston live music venue that opened last September.   Like an expert short order cook, he keeps disparate and seemingly unrelated elements and processes simmering in the background, and then combines them at just the right moment to create something that transcends the value of the individual parts.

Some of those elements can seem far removed from the magic, at times.  Aaron spends a lot of time on the phone or at the computer, working with booking agents and artists in scheduling the shows.  He says that it’s a process over which he has very little control.

“It’s kind of funny, because, as a booking person, I don’t have a huge amount of control over the calendar; it’s kind of driven by when the artists that I’m looking to pull in are available,” he explains.  “I get in touch with the booking agent for the people we really want to see here.  They generally have a small availability for the area based on their tour schedule and what their booking people are doing.  The booking agent gives me a list of dates on which they may be able to pull off a show, and I’ll look at the dates that I have available for the venue, and I try to make match.”

Aaron is also responsible for promoting the shows; he says that he is still learning about what methods work best, but that radio promotion seems to be fairly successful.  Word of mouth advertising is also very important to developing a base of regular patrons.  The goal is to convince people to come to shows even if they aren’t familiar with the artist, because they trust the Maple Room to book great talent.

The financial aspect of running a small venue can be tricky.  Fewer, more profitable shows seem to be the model that has the best chance for success.  Finding sponsors for the shows is another important aspect of Aaron’s job.  It’s a small margin business, and every decision has the potential for affecting the financial success of a performance.

On the day of a live show, Aaron may arrive at the venue as early as 10:00 in the morning, and usually no later than noon.  His first concern is the comfort and availability of the artist.  He checks on whether they had any trouble with their accommodations, whether they need anything, and if there are any contract rider requirements that need attention.  He runs errands to pick up the delicious baked goods and refreshments that the venue provides, and puts together the program for the evening’s show.  He feels that the program is an important part of bringing people into the experience, because it gives them additional information about the artist or the performance that might be difficult to convey otherwise.

Below, Livingston Taylor and Aaron before the January 25 show at The Maple Room

Photo courtesey of The Maple Room

and Inner Circle Productions

During the afternoon, Justin Baker, the Maple Room’s production manager, strikes the stage, adjusts the lighting, and prepares the sound equipment.  Aaron will lend a hand in these activities if need, but sometimes spends this time “putting out any fires that flare up prior to the show”.  He tells a story about how the power was shut off hours before one show due to a billing mix-up with the electric utility company.  He spent most of that afternoon un-tying that knot, and the show went on as scheduled. 

Justin Baker’s job is very important to the success of the venue. The Maple Room has earned a fine reputation for the quality of the audio equipment, and the expertise that Justin brings to the task of amplifying the music from the stage.  The physical layout of the stage, the lighting, the room arrangement and acoustics, and the decorations on the walls, all contribute to creating a very special listening room experience.

Once the artist arrives at the venue, a few hours before show time, Aaron makes sure that they are comfortably settled into the “green room”.  He helps with the load-in of the artist’s gear, and makes sure that the sound check goes well and is done on schedule.  Aaron also makes sure that he is available to the artist to solve problems or answer questions that might arise.  The degree to which the artist is happy and comfortable can have a huge affect on the quality of the show.

The doors to the venue open one hour before show time. Aaron’s crew of interns and volunteers join the Maple Room staff in selling tickets, ushering patrons to their seats, providing refreshments, selling artist CDs and merchandise, and generally getting the audience in place and happy, prior to the show.  Then, the house lights go down, the stage is lit, and all of these preparations and elements combine in the musical magic that occurs over the following couple of hours.  If everything has gone well, each member of the audience comes away from the show feeling as if they had a unique, personal communication with the artist.

Aaron loves his job, and does it well.  He is very happy to be a partner with Taylor Mesple in this enterprise, and the two of them work well together on this operation, and on several other projects that Inner Circle Productions has in the works.  These include a new record label and a commercial recording studio.  There’s going to be a lot going on in the Lewiston music scene, and Aaron and Taylor figure to be right in the middle of it.

If you haven’t yet visited this fine listening room, you should.  It is a wonderful place to experience live music in a very intimate, welcoming, and comfortable setting.