Building a successful promotion company is far from easy. Even more difficult? Doing it all over again.
Austin native Graham Williams, founder of Fun Fun Fun Fest music festival and Transmission Events, is doing just that. Earlier this year, he split off to found a new booking agency called Margin Walker. (Listen to the full interview to find out why.) But one thing has stayed consistent: his desire to push the envelope.
From booking Jimmy Eat World for his first show to launching the upcoming Sound on Sound Fest at a renaissance faire, Williams is continuing to transform Austin’s live music scene. Find out how he got his start — and what’s next — in this exclusive interview:
On his first punk show in Austin:
It was Dead Moment when I was in sixth grade. My older sister’s boyfriend liked Whitesnake, who was opening. So, I begged my parents to let them take me and begged her to take me, and my mom [said no, so] I baked her a cake and I wrote her a long letter.
When I found those bands, and was able to talk to a guitarist after a show and ask them about the record, it felt like I was part of this community. I was drawn to that when I was young, and wanted to be involved in music in some way. I didn’t think I’d work in it, I just assumed I’d play in a band or something.
On how he started booking acts:
When I was in high school, I played in a band and there weren’t a lot of all-ages rooms in Austin. The only places that were all ages were really big, like Liberty Lunch, 1,200 cap venues. Then, beyond that, all the clubs were 21 and up — they were bars. If you wanted to do a show, you had to set up a show somewhere.
So I started doing shows when I was in high school out of necessity. I never made money on it — I never thought you could make money on it. If you’re lucky, the bands made money, but even that was rare. I never thought about doing it as a living. Then I got a job at Emo’s.
On starting Fun Fun Fun Fest:
I was booked at Emo’s that weekend and Circle Jerks needed a show. Then I got a call: Peaches needed a show. I had all these acts that can sell out Emo’s, and they weren’t booked in the music capital of the world. I was sure we could put them somewhere.
So, I hit the numbers like, “You guys want to try it do it like a festival? Like an all-day show? Because I have a bunch of great bands that I think would bring a lot of people out, but we don’t have anywhere for them to play.” A few thousand people showed up. That’s how Fun Fun Fun was born.
On how Austin has changed:
When I was a kid, I just wanted people to go to shows. I would make fliers for shows that I had nothing to do with, and put them around town because I wanted the show to be bigger. If I had a friend who was working at Kinko’s, I’d take a flier off a pole, have them make copies, and put more up. I knew it would suck if there weren’t more people there.
I genuinely just wanted our scene to grow and there to be more music and more stuff happening. I think more people means we can grow the things we like. We just have to protect them at the same time — it’s a balancing act. Now there’s a lot happening and it’s harder to do, but there’s also a lot more to pull from that didn’t exist.
More people can be a good thing for all the local businesses and the cool restaurants and bars and boutiques and vintage stores and record stores. They’re all thriving to a degree because of it, but they’re also facing high rent challenges. You’ve just got to take the good with the bad and work around it.
On launching Sound On Sound Fest at a renaissance fair:
We wanted to take the spirit of Fun Fun Fun and reimagine it with the same kinds of bands, same fans, same concept… But we asked, “What do we do that’s different?”
Finding a great setting has always been something we’ve wanted and have been lacking. Like Hangout Fest, a festival on a beach with the ocean — that’s beautiful. Primavera Sound, which is a great festival in Spain, takes over this park on the beach that was built for the Olympics.
So to find a place with a castle and a jousting arena and stockades — it was just hilarious. It’s their off-season, so I just asked, “Can we rent your ren faire and have a show here?”
To get an inside look at Austin’s live music scene, listen to Popcast episode 4 with Graham Williams.
