Today we’d like to introduce you to Bart Davis.
Hi Bart, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
We are L.A.vation-U2 Tribute Band from Los Angeles, and we began performing in 2011. Previous to that year, I had performed for almost 10 years in various U2 tribute bands along with my business partner and drummer, Jorgen Ingmar.
Once afforded the opportunity in 2010 to create our own band, we pooled our skills, resources, knowledge and experience to form a management duo, and set about creating a truly stellar, live performing tribute to one of the most iconic and world-renowned rock and roll bands of all time…U2!
Once we had the other band members in place, and to prepare for our initial launch, we invested in a 3-camera, hi-definition video shoot, which broke new ground in the tribute band world. Up to that point, most bands were uploading low-grade, phone camera video of their performances. Highlighted by high-quality audio, our videos jumped off the screen in comparison.
In our first year, we performed 30 shows, which we felt was a fairly decent achievement. One of those shows in November of that year, was at a well-known club in San Diego, opening for another tribute band. We were given a 1 hour set, no sound check, just throw it up and go, for a “whopping” $300.00. That wasn’t even gas money for all five of us!
The amazing part of the story is someone in the audience was impressed and suggested us to a booking agent, with whom in January of 2012, we negotiated a corporate show that turned out to be the global sales meeting for “the
pre-eminent, on-line social media company” that was just about to release their IPO! So that $300 show led to a sizeable, 5-figure corporate deal. The valuable lesson we learned was to play each show as if it were our last, because you never know who might be out there listening! To this day we take nothing for granted.
By early 2012 we were receiving inquiries from across the U.S. and around the world. We performed domestic shows in the San Francisco area, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Texas, and Florida, while also booking shows in Mexico, the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands.
While in the Netherlands, we drove to Paris, posed for a promotional picture in front of the Eiffel Tower, and once uploaded to the internet, our global reach continued to soar.
Since those first international shows in 2012, we have performed on 5 of the seven continents, from Afghanistan to Austria, Beirut to Brussels, Camarillo to Colombia, Dana Point to Dubai, and beyond.
We have also established a presence as one of the headlining bands for the Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruise lines, having sailed to Spain, Bermuda, all through the Caribbean, Canada and Alaska.
We have performed shows of all types and sizes, from large corporate presentations and festivals of up to 20,000, to local clubs and intimate private functions.
We continue to re-shape and refine our presentation in our quest to present a show as near to the original U2 as possible.
As we say, If you “Still Haven’t Found What You’re Looking For”, close your eyes and you’ll think you’re at a real U2 show. Better yet, keep them open, you have to see it to believe it!!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We have faced numerous challenging situations in our almost 15 years. Those include inter-personal conflicts, travel related difficulties, equipment breakdowns during performances, and even not being paid for a performance in another country.
All of these situations require the full spectrum of humility, empathy, diplomacy, communication, honesty and love.
They are not always easy to handle with four or five different personalities, egos, needs, personal baggage and histories.
In the end, care for one another must rue the day, though it may not always yield a resolution that satisfies all parties.
Acknowledgement of the time-honored, entertainment industry mantra must come first…”The Show Must Go On”.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I grew up in Alameda, CA, across the bay from San Francisco. We were instilled with a healthy work ethic very early on, starting with chores around the house.
I learned very young that if you wanted something, you had to work for it. Since the age of 13 at my first dish-washing job, I have always been employed. Even before 13, we would go through the neighborhood offering to wash cars, mow lawns, rake leaves and more. We even put on a puppet show for local kids, charging .10 cents!
Each year now, I take part in “career days” at a local school district, showing young kids what I do and intending to instill the belief that if you want something, you can make it happen, you just have to work for it. That includes being a good student, because elementary studies are the building blocks that can allow you to take advantage of an opportunity when one may arise.
The other tenet I impart is that there is something of value from every job, that you can take with you to the next job. It could be flipping burgers, but there is value there to be gleaned, and utilized at your next position.
In my current position, I am the guitar player in our band, but also half of the management team. My role is most of the “office” management, ie: the outreach to clients, responding to inquiries, negotiating and preparing proposals and contracts, show advance conversations with production coordinators at the venues where we perform, and much of the detail preparation surrounding any show we will be performing, from the timing of travel, arrival, set up, sound check, performance and departure. I also prepare set lists of songs as well as lighting cues for the venue operators. I handle all of the finances, including invoicing, banking, paying all members of our group, finalizing yearly income/expense reports, providing 1099 income statements to all players, and tax preparation.
My list of past jobs is quite extensive and some of those previous jobs helped me develop some of the skills I use in my current position.
In 1985 I moved to L.A., to attend a 1 year music school program, and was ready to interview at a hotel for a lower-level job moving furniture and cleaning for banquets, but while waiting for my turn, “out of the blue”, I was asked by someone passing by what I was there for, and what I had applied for. I had applied to be a waiter and this gentleman was the Director Of Human Resources, and he moved me into that interview cycle. Receiving that job allowed me to work on the weekends as a banquet server, which was a $4.50 difference per hour, (which is huge to a full-time student)! It also allowed me to develop skills in the service industry.
Once I was out of music school the next year, they weren’t handing out guitar jobs anywhere, so I began to work full-time as a server, while continuing to practice my craft and audition for gigs.
My aforementioned work ethic soon allowed me to stand out, and I was soon promoted to supervisor, which required a new set of skills and responsibilities. One of these was creating job descriptions for each position in our department. I was also in charge of scheduling a staff of 50, coordinating all aspects of banquet service, coordinating with kitchen staff, service staff, timing of events and more. Three years later I was promoted to Banquet Manager. I thought I would be a banquet manager by day and play music at night, but 14-hour days proved that to be a foolish prospect. After ten months I resigned to put all of my energies into music. After all, I hadn’t moved to L.A. to be a banquet manager!! But that management experience taught me many valuable lessons that I still benefit from today.
It has been a roller-coaster ride since that day in 1990, but that is the last regular full-time job I have had.
The next opportunity I had, was in 2000, to become a tour-manager/performer for over-seas entertainment for U.S. and NATO troops, first in Bosnia/Kosovo, then Germany and Western Europe, Japan and Korea.
This job provided a great opportunity to profit from my detail-oriented nature, as well as my love for travel, and placed me perfectly to learn and benefit from that position, which is directly correlated to what I do for our band.
I pride myself on being detail oriented, and communicating clearly, to make sure the details are considered and plans of action are put in place for successful outcomes. This includes consideration of the things that can go wrong, and allowing time in the plan to be able to deal with adverse situations. I also find it powerful to be at one’s best when things are worst. There is always a way to make the best of any situation, you just need to believe that anything is possible, that if there is a will, there is a way!
How do you think about happiness?
I am happy when spending time with my friends and family, also when I’m traveling, I love the feeling of getting up and going.
I am happy when our business does a great job and we receive positive affirmation and feedback from clients, fans, and fellow musicians and entertainment industry personnel.
I’m happy to be doing what I love to do to make a living, and at that point, it’s not work…(although, it’s a lot of work!!)
I am happy when I can help others, when someone says they need something and I can provide it.
I’m happy to be someone people can trust.
Pricing:
- We never draw a line in the sand when it comes to pricing. That said, we are always trying to increase our income while delivering an amazing product that delivers value for us and our clients.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.u2lavation.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/l.a.vation_u2_tribute
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/u2lavation/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bart-davis-18535a3b/
- Twitter: https://x.com/u2lavation
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/U2LAvation
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/lavation-u2-tribute/
- Other: https://www.bandsintown.com/a/9503329-l.a.vation-the-world’s-greatest-tribute-to-u2
Image Credits
Ben Wiersma
