http://www.tbrnews.com/articles/2010/09/18/stepping_out/step1.txt
by Shaun Hague
September 17, 2010
The Rolling Stones, Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, The Band
and George Harrison are all iconic music superstars. Each of them has
their place in the beloved history of rock 'n' roll. Manhattan Beach
resident and rock concert pioneer Dave Furano also has his place in
history with those acts. With a career filled with amazing memories,
Furano managed the famous concert hall Winterland alongside the music
industry's biggest concert promoter, Bill Graham, who tour managed
Bob Dylan and has been providing tour merchandise for artists like
Bruce Springsteen and Barbara Streisand for more than 30 years.
Furano, along with Rock 'N' Fish owner Michael Zislis, recently
opened the restaurant/outdoor beer garden called Rock & Brews in El
Segundo. The joint is filled with amazing pieces of vintage rock
memorabilia, great food and a constant spin of music from the legends of rock.
The Beach Reporter recently sat down with Furano and got the scoop on
his new venture and his memorable times with some of the best-known
musicians in history. Furano is an unsung legend in the music
business and an inspiring individual.
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The Beach Reporter: How did you go from tour manager for Bob Dylan to
the food industry?
Furano: My favorite restaurant in the South Bay has always been Rock
'N' Fish. I go there quite frequently. One day, I asked owner Michael
Zislis if I could help him theme his new restaurant at L.A. Live in
downtown Los Angeles. I wanted to put some "rock" in his Rock 'N'
Fish … as I worked closer with him, I realized that I was working
alongside a very talented guy. So, I asked Michael to come check out
this rundown building in El Segundo I wanted to buy and possibly turn
into something. When Michael saw the large outdoor patio area in the
beat-up restaurant, he said if I could turn it into a beer garden, he
would get on board with me. Together, we produced a great mixture of
amazing food, great beer and rock 'n' roll.
I was really blown away by all of the amazing music art and the
soon-to-be-famous "Wall of Rock." Will this ever become a legit music venue?
No, but I very much want to showcase different artists of the past
and honor them at Rock & Brews by playing their catalog all day, and
having painters come in and sketch out the featured artist live in
front of all of the patrons, which they can buy afterward. As for the
"Wall of Rock," my primary role in the music biz has always been to
serve the artist and sell their swag. I continue that by showcasing
these classic pieces of rock art and bringing them into the restaurant.
How did you land a job as the right-hand man for the legendary Bill Graham?
I was walking home one day in San Francisco from the college where I
was going to get my arts degree. I was walking by Winterland and saw
all these ice-skating girls walking into the building … So I followed
them in. Immediately entering the building, a gruff voice asked me
what I was doing there. So, I said I was looking for a job. While
filling out the application, a dress rehearsal for one of the ice
shows (the song was the "Blue Danube Waltz" featuring Peggy Fleming)
was starting up. It was an overwhelming experience to watch this
amazing live performance happen … it was a watershed moment in my
life. Shortly after getting a job, I started working nights down at
Winterland. At the time, there was not much live music going on at
the venue, then … it was all happening across the street at The
Fillmore Auditorium with shows being run by a guy named Bill Graham.
While out on tour in Boston doing merchandise and tour managing the
ice shows, I got a call that something had gone down at Winterland
and I had to return home immediately. The Grateful Dead had laced the
water at Winterland with LSD, a show that was being produced by Bill
Graham, and the mayor of San Francisco wanted to shut down the venue.
So, I started working in conjunction with Bill as the manager of
Winterland to make sure everything went smoothly when Graham put on a
show there. From that point on, I worked very closely with Bill and
all of his shows at Winterland (which would eventually become "Bill
Graham's Winterland") … and other "Bill Graham Presents" shows.
In your 20s, you got the opportunity with Graham to tour manage Bob
Dylan. What was that experience like?
We got hooked up with Dylan by way of music mogul David Geffen, who
had just taken Dylan off Columbia Records and onto his own label. It
had been years since Dylan had toured. No one had seen him live in
quite some time … so it was really an amazing thing to be a part of.
Here I was at such a young age, managing 8,000-seat shows and
traveling all over the world with Bob Dylan's "Rolling Thunder
Revue." That tour made Bill Graham Presents one of the biggest
concert and tour promoters in the world. Eventually we were tour
managing and producing concerts for CSN&Y, George Harrison and a slew
of others. We did thousands of shows.
How did you fall into the merchandising world, in which you now are
the official licensing guru for acts like Bruce Springsteen, Barbara
Streisand and Billy Joel?
My brother Dell (who is now the president of Live Nation
Merchandising) and I started out back in the 60s by making shirts for
every band that came through Winterland at the time. We would stencil
each band name into our Winterland template and sell a whole bunch to
fans at the shows. At the end of the night, we would head backstage
and give bands a cut of T-shirt sales. Of course, they loved us for
doing that, and we started offering our services for their whole tour
around the country. Over time, that became a huge success. Our
company did Bruce Springsteen's tour merch all the way back to 1975.
When Bruce pulled Courtney Cox up onstage in his "Dancing in the
Dark" video, she was wearing our "Born in the USA" t-shirt … we sold
millions of those shirts. Eventually, we sold our company to Live
Nation two years ago.
What is the most memorable moment from your tenure in the music biz?
The Last Waltz at Winterland (The Band's final show together, which
featured appearances by Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Bob
Dylan and many more). If I were to really say what was most important
in my life or career, it's being married to my wonderful wife for 35
years and having two amazing children.
For more info on Rock & Brews and their upcoming "Rocktoberfest,"
please visit www.rockandbrews.com.
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