Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Mallare.
Ben, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have been a musical entertainer since a young age. I grew up performing covers of popular songs for variety shows in my hometown of Severna Park, Maryland. I attended college at Northeastern University, where I majored in music industry with a minor in business administration. The business knowledge learned here, as well as on-the-job experience from internships with Sony Music, Big Machine Label Group, Creative Artists Agency, and Country Music Association, gave me the acumen I needed to start my own company. Upon moving to Los Angeles in 2013, I combined by musical and business skills to form Ben Mallare Events & Entertainment. Our company is strongly centered in the principal of superior quality and customer service. We strive to create unforgettable moments for our clients, and we insist on only the best talent and event managers.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the great things about the development of our company is that we have been able to make incremental improvements and additions. I started as just an acoustic duo, which required minimal capital purchases. We grow every few months by adding more musicians, more equipment and more advertising – but never more than what we can handle. This has allowed us to stay financial viable the entire time. We do run into sticky situations on events all the time, though. For our travel shows, car problems and flight cancelations are inevitable and have created some pretty close calls, although we have never missed an event or started one late. We are in the business of making people party, and sometimes people get a little rowdy. We’ve had a few instances where guests have damaged equipment and disrespected my contractors, but never something we couldn’t navigate through. On the contractor side of things, managing personnel can be challenging at times. Because of the unpredictable timing and volume of bookings, as well as the nature of working musicians in Los Angeles, we work exclusively with freelance contractors for our performances. As such, we are constantly searching for and training new musicians, and it can be challenging to find the right person for the job. We are also still figuring out how to handle fielding multiple event on the same date. Beyond personnel issues, distributing and handling, transporting, and storing sound equipment is not always easy.
Ben Mallare Events & Entertainment – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We provide live bands for private events – weddings, corporate events, parties and fundraisers. We are most proud of the quality of our performances. We have elevated the definition of “wedding band” to something greater than what most people think of. I am most proud of our commitment to excellent customer service, and our attention to detail that puts us head and shoulders above the competition in Southern California.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I was most proud of our band setup for a wedding we did in September 2016 for a couple in Santa Barbara. We shot a promotional video live at the event, and we went all out to make the stage look fabulous. Before the show started, my drummer and good friend Nick had me take a moment to stop and look around. It was definitely a “wow, we’ve come a long way” moment for me.
Pricing:
- Our pricing varies based on the size of the band and the length of performance. Prices usually fall between $2,000 and $6,000.
Contact Info:
- Address: 230 N Valley St Apt 307
Burbank, CA 91505 - Website: www.benmallare.com
- Phone: 410 980 8370
- Email: ben@benmallareacoustic.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/benmallareentertainment
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benmallareentertainment/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/ben-mallare-events-and-entertainment-santa-maria
- Other: www.weddingwire.com/benmallareacoustic
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