Houston event-producer transforms a warehouse to a music venue, to stream live performances
HOUSTON - Live music is one experience that's been hard to find, during the pandemic, as bands and musicians have few places to play. But, one Houston company, in the music business, got tired of waiting and found a way for the show to go on.
On a recent weekend, the local cover band Jus Coz ripped through 16 tunes in front of a virtual crowd of a thousand people. Instead of a club or event, the venue was a small windowless warehouse in Northwest Houston, set up with lights, sound, fog-machines and cameras to simulate a live-show.
The group's been together for a few years, and have been using their shows to raise money for charity, COVID.
"There was just no way to do a gig... and without Texas Live Sound, and their help...we wouldn't be able to impact our community and continue our mission. "There was just no way to do a gig," says Jus Coz bassist Ray Keech, "Without Texas Live Sound, we wouldn't be able to impact our community and continue our mission."
Mike Davis is the owner of Texas Live Sound. Before the coronavirus, Davis says the company was producing up to 40 live events a week. When the workload dried-up, Davis and his staff started brainstorming on how to pass the time, and get back to producing music. After some trial and error, his warehouse studio is available for hire, where he can record a session and stream a band's performance to the web.
"We're just hoping that we can get more bands in here to get some more music out there to the people," says Davis, "I miss music, live music, a lot."
It is strange, not playing in front of real people. For that, a stream of Facebook comments helps share what people are thinking. Not perfect, but good enough to be able to play for someone, even if it's virtual.
"That's what live music is all about: having fun and interacting with your crowd," says Davis, "Even though it's a virtual crowd, with the comments and everything, you can still interact with them and give them live music."