Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 31, 1995 TAG: 9504110002
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Promoting is in his blood. For better or worse.
"This is where my heart is," he says.
That's why Arrington, 31, has taken leave from a good job selling cars to gamble - again - in the unforgiving world of entertainment promotions.
Sunday at the Roanoke Civic Center auditorium, he is bringing in one of the gospel musical comedies that have been growing in popularity around the country over the past several years. This one is titled "Where Do I Go From Here?"
Which is a question that certainly could apply to Arrington as he finds himself getting back into a game that has burned him in the past.
He ought to know better.
But remember, he's smarter now.
That's why he is proceeding more cautiously than before, with a minimum of risk.
Meaning he can't lose his shirt, although he could be out part of $6,000.
Only he's not worried.
"Where Do I Go From Here?" should do well, Arrington says, just as another of the musical shows, "My Grandmother Prayed For Me," did well when it came to Roanoke last month.
These touring shows are hot right now, filling an entertainment void caused by the lack of R&B music acts on the concert circuit. They also are filling a demand among black audiences for entertainment about everyday black life that blends a positive message with music and humor.
In fact, Arrington is so confident that he has two performances scheduled for "Where Do I Go From Here?" - one in the afternoon and one that night.
Plus, he isn't acting as the lone promoter for the show. He has a partner locally and an outside promoter who is actually sustaining most of the risk in bringing the production here.
That's where Arrington is smarter now, where he learned from past mistakes.
Those lessons he learned almost 10 years ago when he was a cocky kid who had already worked on a limited basis with the likes of Rick James, The Isley Brothers and Parliament.
He wanted more. He wanted to be a promoter. He wanted to bring some entertainment to his hometown on his own. So, with his own money and money raised through local investors, Arrington booked Cameo and War for a concert at the Roanoke Civic Center.
Only War backed out at the last minute - even after Arrington had sent the group its airfare. That forced him to refund tickets for people who didn't want to see Cameo alone.
Then, adding to his trouble, there was the cost of rent for the civic center, insurance, sound and light equipment, security, catering and limousine service.
"There are just so many hidden costs. It's unreal," Arrington says.
Total losses: $9,000.
In other words: his shirt.
But he tried again anyway, this time bringing in Trouble Funk for shows in Roanoke and Beckley, W.Va. It was part of a package deal in which he had to buy the act for two nights.
To Arrington's credit, Trouble Funk made money in Roanoke. However, he says the audience barely topped 100 in Beckley the next night .
"We lost every dime of it."
And then some. It took him four years to pay off the debt from those ill-fated shows, four years when he got smart and got out of promoting.
Well, OK, not entirely.
Instead, what he did was essentially the same thing he had done before, the thing that had sparked his interest in promoting in the first place. He worked as a local advance man, someone to help promote shows by booking hotel rooms, arranging advertising and distributing posters.
Arrington had been doing local advance work since his days at Patrick Henry High School. He got into it through radio station WTOY, where he often hung out.
He was 16 when an announcer at the station, Sir Duke Ellington, asked if he would like to be a runner for an upcoming Rick James concert. The job entailed fetching dry cleaning and sodas and doing other errands for the band and crew.
That led to other runner jobs and then some advance work with acts like The Isley Brothers, Parliament, Earth, Wind & Fire, Teddy Pendergrass and others.
At the same time, another announcer at the station, Jerry Carter, started supplying him with records and Arrington started his own DJ business playing parties and dances.
Carter also gave him his spot as promoter of the Sunday Soul Roller Skating Party at the Star City Roller Skating Center, which was a lucrative gig for someone so young. He did it for five years.
"In school, man, I was so cool," he says. "I would carry a briefcase."
After Cameo and Trouble Funk, however, he scaled back. "I just wasn't smart enough like I thought I was."
But he couldn't help himself.
Last year, he was hired to travel with and do advance work for the gospel musical "Reverend, I'm Available." He also had a hand in bringing the show to Roanoke, along with "My Grandmother Prayed For Me."
That old feeling returned.
For Sunday's shows of "Where Do I Go From Here?" Arrington and a partner, David Ramey, are putting up about $6,000 to cover advertising and promotion costs. Other expenses are being covered by an outside promoter.
It's a smarter way to get back into the game, Arrington says. For their relatively small risk, he and Ramey stand to earn 50 percent of the show's net earnings after expenses are paid. It should be enough to garner them a modest profit if the show does well.
As for where Arrington goes from here, he wants to use this weekend's earnings as seed money for future promotions. With Ramey, he recently opened a production company called DJ's Enterprises.
Ultimately, he says, he would like to promote a big concert again, but one that also offers something positive like the gospel musicals. He pointed to a recent "Jam For Peace (Stop the Violence and Increase the Peace)" concert in Milwaukee that featured big-name acts like Keith Sweat and Salt-N-Pepa. As he dreamed, there was a gleam in his eye.
"I'm back into it," he said.
For better or for worse.
FACTOID: "Where Do I Go From Here?": Sunday 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., Roanoke Civic Center auditorium. Tickets $14.50 for the 3 p.m. show, $16.50 for the 7:30 p.m. show. 981-1201.
by CNB