{"id":732,"date":"2020-08-28T11:55:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-28T18:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/backstagepass.concertarchives.org\/?p=732"},"modified":"2020-09-02T16:20:03","modified_gmt":"2020-09-02T23:20:03","slug":"chatting-with-lucas-canzona","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.concertarchives.org\/backstagepass\/chatting-with-lucas-canzona\/","title":{"rendered":"Chatting with Lucas Canzona, Artist Manager"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cBehind the Show\u201d is an ongoing series where we spotlight the work of people who help make concerts happen! Let us know who we should interview next: backstagepass@concertarchives.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This week, we chatted with Lucas Canzona. Lucas has worked in the music industry as a concert promoter, talent buyer, stage manager, production manager, brand partnerships agent, and now as an artist manager at Fairwin Ent. Lucas also co-created a Live Entertainment and Event Marketing course for Ryerson University. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Backstage Pass<\/em>: How did you get your start in the music industry? How did that lead to where you are now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucas Canzona<\/em>: I got my start promoting shows in high school. My science teacher was from Vietnam and he\u2019d go back to a developing village each summer with money he raised over the course of the year. It was really interesting to me because we\u2019d raise some money with him and he\u2019d bring back a video showing the bunk bed we bought for the orphanage, or supplies we bought to repair a roof. I\u2019d never seen such a direct link before \u2013 it showed me that with some more work, the impact could be multiplied. My friends in bands at the time also didn\u2019t have anywhere to play because we were all underage, so I started a non-profit [The Sound of Change<\/em>] to combine the two and put on local all-ages shows to raise money for different international development projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first show took place during the 2011 East Africa drought \u2013 it sold out before we opened doors, we sent all proceeds to Doctors Without Borders, and it proved the concept was viable. 18 shows later we were amongst the first to promote Canadian bands like Alvvays and PUP. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That start was a crash course in figuring it out as you go. At the core of it I knew I was really good at the left-brained stuff \u2013 making ideas work with zero budget, pushing my artist friends\u2019 creative work to the world, finding people really good at what they do and empowering them in their arena \u2013 and what I do now is an extension of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BP<\/em>: For most of your life you lived in Ontario. What influenced your move to Los Angeles? What differences between working in the Toronto area vs. LA have you found?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LC<\/em>: In 2018, I had moved to Nashville from Toronto. We were rapidly building out the teams for our clients, and more and more of our partners were in LA. We\u2019d have these weeks flying to LA where we\u2019d cram a month\u2019s worth of meetings in, and it just made sense to live in the middle of that, near the decision makers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I noticed while in Toronto, a lot of industry peers were taking their cultural cues (or orders, if they were a Canadian branch of an American company) from across the border. Why not go to the source myself? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To a Canadian, the scale at which people operate in LA is amazing. The ideas and the respective swings people have to take, are just way, way bigger. There\u2019s an energy to that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BP<\/em>: You\u2019ve worked as a concert promoter, talent buyer, production manager, brand partnerships agent, and an artist manager. Do you feel like that\u2019s a natural career progression in the industry, or is it more that you just like to try different roles?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LC<\/em>: I think you\u2019d be hard pressed to find anyone who\u2019d tell you they\u2019ve had a natural progression through the industry. Each of my lateral moves has come from saying \u201cyes\u201d to some big unknowns with a healthy dose of curiosity, or following a gut feeling. I\u2019m also not done moving around and testing new waters; I never want to be!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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