Interview with Bogdan Gomilko, Jethro Tull live promoter
Nov 28, 2021 11:05:44 GMT
maddogfagin, ash, and 3 more like this
Post by lukaswas on Nov 28, 2021 11:05:44 GMT
To admin: I wasn't sure where to upload this. I thought Q&A is not a proper section. Feel free to move it somewhere, if you want
Exclusively for members & readers of The Jethro Tull Forum...
Interview with Bogdan Gomilko
Jethro Tull live promoter in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine.
2010 - now.
Hungarian with Ukrainian origins.
Exclusively for members & readers of The Jethro Tull Forum...
Interview with Bogdan Gomilko
Jethro Tull live promoter in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine.
2010 - now.
Hungarian with Ukrainian origins.
First of all Bogdan, it is really nice to talk with you. Please tell us about your professional experience and how your work as live promoter began.
For 42 years of my life, I was doing something completely different – originally, after university, I was a German and Russian high school teacher for 2 years. After that, I was an interpreter, a private teacher, worked at a TV, was also a sales manager, and then a manager for an export trade company etc. In 2002, the company I have worked for 12 years closed down, and I had to decide how to go forward. I never liked working for somebody else, to get to a workplace on time. This also comes with many constraints, and I never liked those either. So, I decided to start with something else, namely, organising shows, which I had absolutely zero experience of, but I could speak five languages, which I thought was a good start. I have always loved rock music, even when I was only 11-12 years old. I have visited a great deal of shows in Hungary and abroad. What is more, I could sometimes also get into the backstage with the help of my journalist friends…
So, on the 9th of April, 2003 I organised my first ever show in Budapest, which was Arena. You know, the British prog band, the group of Mick Pointer, ex-drummer of Marillion. 120 paid, failure, but I was extremely happy! After that, came Dead Soul Tribe, The Flower Kings… I went with the prog line, loved prog, and this gap was still open in Hungary. But, as it was found out, this genre is only for a narrow audience, and neoprog does not have a huge market in Hungary. I didn’t even have a company, and had to do my first three shows more or less unofficially. Then I built connections, started a company, and I got my hands on Uriah Heep quite soon, in the beginning of 2004. It was a show with huge success, about 1800 audience, I earned a serious amount of money on the show, first time... Needless to say, I lost the whole amount on the next 4-5 shows… I had to pay the “school of rock”. This is the story in a nutshell.
When did you meet Ian Anderson himself for a very first time? It had to be exciting!
I first saw him on stage on 2nd of July 1986, Budapest, at MTK Stadium during a Jethro Tull show. He was 12-15 meters away, in rain. Again, during a show, I was a bit closer in Vienna. This was in 1999. I was standing in the second line, and I was repeatedly taking photos with a FLASH. Then, at the end of a song, Ian quite angrily said: “Hey you! Switch off your f**king camera”. Well, this was meant to me... This was the first time he “talked” to me – I am proud of it. But, if we are being serious, then I first met him in 2004 at a backstage for an interview, a friend of mine did it. I have the first photo together and the first autographs from that time. 6 years passed, and I started to work with Jethro Tull.
How is it to work with the man? I've heard Ian can be not very easy, people call him a „control freak”. Difficult work, isn't it?
If you know Ian and the requirements, it is absolutely not hard to work with him. You simply have to do what he asks, and the requests are known for every promoter well before, based on the rider. Ian is a very precise person with exceptional hearing, he is remarkably punctual and plans everything ahead. He only wants one thing that is the most important, to give a very good show for the audience with good circumstances: this means technique, comfort, no delays, and quality. For this, you need a reliable local tech team, a good venue that is preferably air-conditioned etc.
Then, how about current Jethro Tull band and crew? How that aspect of your job works?
Current band: great musicians, love them, we have been working together for 11 years. I just met the new guitarist, Joe Parrish for the first time. I liked how he plays, I think he is a great guitarist, and he fits into the play. The crew has been the same ever since I started to work with Jethro Tull: Mark Wheatley as lighting and video director, Mike Downs as sound engineer, Chris Archer as a production director and tour manager… To be honest, we had some problems (not with the show) in Budapest a week ago: the temperature couldn’t be turned down to 19 degrees on the stage, even though the venue has been the same for 11 years: the backline company forgot to bring 2 stage fans.
Do you have some nice anectodes from the Tull backstage, worth to mention to us?
Honestly, not really… Ian is a serious man, and although he has a great sense of humour, if it is a show day, he is only busy with that. He did tell me some happy stories about the old Jethro Tull, these stories are 20-30 years old. He also told some family stories, but I’d rather keep those to myself. In any case, when he has time, he is an extremely interesting conversation partner. He knows much about the world, a good observer, and gives interesting interviews. Maybe you didn’t know, but in 2017, he asked me to go to Chernobyl together. At that time, we organised a show with my Ukrainian partner in Kyiv. Ian wanted to come three days early and go there. My partner organised it, we went into places where a regular tourist could not. It was a huge experience for everyone. Ian was really glad that he could be there.
Yes, I know about that Chernobyl trip. I even saw a pictures! But let's go back to 1986. As you mentioned, you are one of these lucky guys who actually were at Jethro Tull's very first ever show behind an „iron courtain”, in Budapest, Hungary. What are your memories?
It was great. They performed in front of 30.000 people. There was rain at the end… Beer… It was a big experience. To this day, I still have the ticket and the flyer for the show – signed since then (I admit, I saw them personally! - LW). To be completely honest, I was 26, and wasn’t a huge Jethro Tull fan, I simply was visiting every show, as everyone else that was born behind the “iron curtain”. Until 1983, there weren’t even such possibilities (I have been living in Hungary since 1985). Back then, my favourite was Iron Maiden (although I still adore them), but I went to everything. Nena, Eddy Grant, Nazareth, Paco de Lucia, Queen, Manfred Mann, and a hundred else.
You are a promoter for Tull, not only in Hungary, where you live since many years, but also for Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine. I know the current „Jethro Tull. The Prog Years” show in Bratislava has been postponed. Budapest, as you already mentioned, luckily, went on. I am sure it was a great show. I saw Tull in Ostrava, Czech Republic lately and it was so enjoyable.
How about possibilty of making gigs in Romania now? It seems last time Tull played there was in 2017. Any chance for come back?
Yes, besides Hungary, I also organise Jethro Tull in Slovakia with my partner since 2012, and in Ukraine too (The next Tull show in Kyiv will be on the 8th of April, 2022). In Romania, I was not the one that organised in 2017, but if I remember correctly, there were a lot of technical problems back then on those two shows, as Ian told me. He doesn’t really like to talk about this, unfortunately the organising was far from his expectations. One of my partners from Transylvania asked me to bring Ian to a festival before Covid, but Ian is not a fan of open-air shows.
You organized also Jethro Tull exhibition at Hungarian Museum of Rock, Budapest, 2017. I was there before Tull concert (sold out!), met you in person and was truly impressed. Was it mainly or completely your collection, isn't it?
Tull exhibition – yes, this was mainly my collection! Probably 95% of it was mine and 5% another person’s. It was his idea. He works for that Hungarian Rock Museum. I have got/bought/traded much more Jethro Tull items since 2017 exhibition. Some of them are really rare, like the “Budapest” song maxi single for radio only.
How many artists had you been promoting? Please tell us bit about that.
How many artists did I promote? Difficult to say… One day, I will count them. Just some of them: Jethro Tull, Uriah Heep, Marillion, Bruce Dickinson, Toto, Whitesnake, Robert Plant, Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Black Sabbath with R J Dio, Asia, Beth Hart, Keith Emerson, Carl Palmer, Dream Theater, Winery Dogs, Twisted Sister, Fish, Glenn Hughes, Helloween, Jan Garbarek, Jake E Lee, Jon Anderson, Manfred Mann, Nazareth, Omega, Porcupine Tree, Queensryche, Riverside, Rick Wakeman, Status Quo, Tarja… And many more! But also, a lot of great smaller bands/musician.
That's impressing! You did a „Concerto for Group And Orchestra” recently, in Győr, Hungary, including such music stars as Bruce Dickinson and Roger Glover, not forgetting Jethro Tull keyboardist John O'Hara. Who got an idea of making such grand „Deep Purple” project and how it went?
I knew that this project “Concerto” exists. But I have never even dreamed about working with him… Well, they only did two shows in Canada, Quebec in 2017, sold out. But this is Canada, you know! I knew the drummer of this project, Bernhard Welz from Austria, he is my friend, we met many times at the backstage by Deep Purple. I also did many shows with Jon Lord in 2009 - 2010, and Bern also played with Jon Lord in Germany and Austria. So, he sent an email to me in 2019 with this idea – to do this show in Hungary. We just talked about it, I made some calculations… And then pandemia came, and this only remained as a plan. Yet, he really wanted to go through with it, and after a year we started talking about it again. Because of Covid, nobody believed that this will successfully happen, but we did the show last minute, before the restrictions. This was one of my greatest experiences in my life: to work with Bruce and these kind of musicians. They were also happy.
I am glad it went so successful, despite a Covid. So here is my another question: how much pandemia changed your job?
The pandemic didn’t change my job, just killed my job. For more than 1.5 years, I was unable to work as everyone else in the live music industry: musicians, technical crew, organisers, agencies, venues… Those who had savings survived, or had to do something else. I know musicians, promoters and technicians that for example, went to work as food deliverers in Budapest, London and Germany. For me, it is one thing that I couldn’t earn any money. Another problem was that for 1.5 years, I couldn’t improve myself professionally within the industry. I somehow felt useless in this world. I am an active person, and I hate doing nothing. I had symptoms of depression multiple times, mostly only for some days, but that is enough already. Now I had the opportunity to work for some months, and we are again in this dead end with Covid. However, I am really glad that we managed to do The Pineapple Thief show in October, and the “Concerto” as well as Jethro Tull in November – they were great experiences. I hope I can still work 1-2 times in December. We don’t know what 2022 will bring, at least the first 2 months, but it doesn’t seem optimistic.
I feel very sorry for your symptoms of depression during lockdowns. It's a horrible disease, I know that well. Maybe pandemia didn't - as you said - kill your job completely, as you are working again. The show must go on!
Please share with us bit more about you, hobbies, passions, family and so on. I saw your photos on Facebook. It seems you like to travel a lot. I am with you!
Happily married, two sons, 25 and 30 years old. Hobbies: music, concerts, reading, travel, nature, collecting CDs, LPs, autographs, all the rock memorabilia- guitar picks, passes, pins, badges. Favourite bands are Jethro Tull, ELP, YES, Iron Maiden, Bruce Dickinson, Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Marillion, Uriah Heep, Ozzy Osbourne, Queen, Rush, Rick Wakeman. And more...
You are surely a man of success. Working in life passion, which is a music, is a great privilege. Not everyone can have it. What is your advice for people, like me, who are still trying to find a 'proper job', satysfying on both personal and economical levels?
Indeed I was lucky that I could transfer a hobby I had for years to be my permanent job, my business. This is a fortunate thing, since people generally do not like their jobs (they may even hate it), but they have to do it, because you have to live from something. If you do not like your job, but you are well paid, that is another case... You are right, what I am doing, working with the musicians, my heroes of music is a great privilege. In 2003, I jumped on a departing, very fast train of rock and roll at the last minute. What I mean is, I could still start to organise shows right now, but now there are very few so-called "rock stars" left that I also like the music of. I still had the luck to work with legends such as Jon Lord, Ronnie Hames Dio, Keith Emerson, Ken Hensley, Lee Kerslake, John Wetton... And unfortunately, there are at least 20 others that are not among us anymore. There were also many who I only met - Lemmy, Greg Lake, Chris Squire, John Lawton, Dusty Hill... The list is long.
Advice for the people who are still trying to find a proper job: I think there is no recipe for this. My case is quite rare, but if someone likes sports, music, animals, airplanes or nature, then he or she should start finding a job in that area or create a business if there is enough courage and money for it. Yet, most of the people play it safe and do not want to take a risk, so they will instead do something that is not risky, but not so enjoyable either. If it is well paid, then that is another case. However, if there is no sense of achievement in it, and neither money, then one has to leave and move forward.
Thank you very much for the interview Bogdan. It was a great pleasure to talk with you.
(c) Interview conducted by Lukas Was from Warsaw, Poland. November 2021.