Nick Marinelli Interview: Video Games In Concert
The last time I spoke with Nick Marinelli, he regaled us with tales from his years as executive director of MAGFest. Last summer, he moved on from MAGFest, so what has Nick been doing for the last year or so? A little something called Video Games In Concert (VGIC).
Was Video Games In Concert something that you had been planning before you left your position at MAGFest?
Nick: Video Games In Concert—the world’s first and only booking agency for video game music bands—was not my idea! It was actually the brainchild of Danny Flam, the head of ConSoul (also a member of The Game Brass). Last Fall, after I had moved on from MAGFest, I was pulled into marketing for The 8 Bit Big Band. I was just going down my list of Twitter followers, asking for RTs, when I messaged Danny. He messaged me back, and he was interested in working together on a project.
Danny had just gone to this event called WOMEX (World Music Expo), where bands go to find booking agents and vice versa. In any case, he was handing out his business card for ConSoul, and people there were blown away by the idea of a professional video game band. So, Danny invited me to NYC, we went to out to lunch, and he said, “Check it out. We can put together a label and start going to these showcase events. We can bring video game bands into the mainstream.”
And then Coronavirus hit.
Nick: (laughs) Yeah. So, we contacted a dozen bands or so, trying to find the best from each genre. We hired a graphic designer and created a website. We purchased a table at the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) conference, which was the week after MAGFest. Then, we went to APAP and got a whole bunch of contacts from that.
That being said, it has been tough booking anything because the whole world is shut down. (laughs) One of our hottest leads is in Saudia Arabia, but that entire country is shut down for the next couple of months. I mean, they cancelled Ramadan this year.
Wow. I have so many questions, but let’s start with this. Were you looking for something like Video Games In Concert or did you just seize the opportunity?
Nick: I was looking for ways to continue helping the game music community, and honestly, I’m a little surprised that no one has done this before. All the bands that we’ve talked to have thought this is a great idea. Our goal is to have video game bands play more mainline festivals and venues—Bonnaroo, Coachella—not just MAGFest.
So, you have a plan right now, and you’re moving forward. Tell me a little more about how you built your roster.
I think I knew all of them personally. I just thought about most of the main genres—hip hop, jazz, rock, metal...
...Country.
Nick: We’ve got a bluegrass band!
Yeah, The Hit Points, right?
Nick: Right. So yeah, it’s been fun working with the bands. They’ve been excited and also understanding that things have been a little slow. That being said, we did get a good lead recently.
At APAP, the U.S. State Department took particular interest in VGIC. The State Department has this program called American Music Abroad where they send American musicians to countries that wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to that kind of American culture. So, the State Department encouraged us to apply to the program, and we submitted five bands. Two of them got to the audition phase, and we’re supposed to find out this week or next if those bands got accepted.
So, you’re spreading VGM across the world. That’s awesome. So, do you plan on expanding your roster any time soon?
Nick: I would love to expand the roster, but I also don’t want to grow too fast.
What other leads can you talk about? You mentioned the State Department and Saudi Arabia, so are you looking worldwide?
Nick: Well, Danny is chasing a lead right now, but I’m not sure of the details. I wish I had more to report, but we do have one booking for Super Guitar Bros at a public festival this June, if that doesn’t get cancelled.
Well, yeah. This is a difficult time for this something like this to get started, but let’s think positively. What would be the next step for Video Games In Concert?
Nick: We plan on attending a lot more of these conferences and booking events, but we also want to be more discerning about which events we attend. For instance, one big drawback of APAP is that it’s very focused on theatrical performers as well as jazz, classical, and classic rock performers. There didn’t seem to be quite as many opportunities for EDM, metal, and hip-hop acts, so the plan is to explore the booking world some more to look for opportunities for all our bands.
Well, I think that gives us a good picture of Video Games In Concert. I’m glad to have this chance to talk with you because the second I heard about VGIC, I thought this was such a cool idea. Also, kudos to the web designer, because it’s a very intuitive website.
Nick: Well, the logo and all the website styling was done by Adam Hoffman. (HoffmanCreative.net). He’s the guy who’s been doing MAGFest graphic design for 10+ years. The video was done by Nick Piegari (FixingYourVideo.com).
Before we wrap things up, do you have any final thoughts?
Nick: I think I had mentioned this before, but private events are great opportunities for video game musicians to play. So, if you work in a remotely hip company that puts on decent summer parties or holiday parties, you can help support VGM bands by passing that info along to us using our contact form.
Hold up. I just got a brilliant idea. Video game wedding bands.
Nick: I got The OneUps to play at my wedding, and it was the best money I ever spent.
Did you really? Oh, that’s awesome. Well, thank you very much for your time, and I wish you all the best with Video Games In Concert.
Nick: Thanks!
ConSoul (and Danny Flam)