TAKING A HARD STANCE. From left to right, Christina Parker, Lance Katcher, and Rad Anthony Brown are some core members of Midwest Mayhem, a booking and promotion company that helps local bands throw shows and promote them, all in the name of building up Eau Claire’s stellar music scene.

Behind every great gig is a ton of work that involves booking, promotion, and event management. Most of the time, what a band really needs is a professional hand in the matter,  and that’s where Midwest Mayhem comes in. Founded by Lance Katcher in 2014, Midwest Mayhem is meant to provide local and regional bands more opportunities to improve their experience when doing shows.

“The motivation came from me being a part of (the local music scene) as a fan and a friend to a lot of band members,” Lance told me. “There’s always talk about how hard it is to get booked, not getting paid for gigs, or stuff getting stolen; it’s something I’m trying to change. These are artists; I believe they should get paid for their work.”  

Getting a Gig Together

Since its start, Midwest Mayhem has grown to include a dedicated team of locals who share Lance’s vision of improving the local music scene, including Rad Anthony Brown, booking manager/promoter, and Christina Parker, operations manager. “Everyone is involved very heavily,” Brown explained when I asked about the process. “Just because the show is booked doesn’t mean the show is done.”

Whether it’s a band requesting to get on a bill or a venue needing to fill a date, that’s just the first step. Once the show is booked, Midwest Mayhem starts getting the word out through promotion, which is made a lot easier with their street team.
“We have a group of individuals, with some people leading the street team, that help out with posting the flyers, doing the promotion, sharing it on Facebook, to get the awareness out there,” Christina said. “We have a really strong street team.”
From there, they continue getting the word out until the day of the event. When it’s time to have the show, Midwest Mayhem goes and makes sure everything runs smoothly. For everyone involved, it’s a full-time commitment, which is impressive since this isn’t anyone’s day job. Everyone works a regular job on top of all the work they do for Midwest Mayhem. “We all put in every last minute of spare time outside of work that we can,” Christina told me. They are always looking for more help, so if there is any interest I helping out, then feel free to contact them.

Beyond the Show

Aside from booking and promotion, Midwest Mayhem contributes to the local music scene in several other ways. One way is through album reviews, which are posted on their website and their Facebook profile. With a group of writers who contribute their time, bands of any genre can submit a request to have their album reviewed. Midwest Mayhem assigns the album to one of its  writers to have a listen and put thoughts to paper.

Don’t have an album recorded yet? Now Midwest Mayhem can help with that too. Just this month, Lance started Ground Zero Records to provide local groups with practice space and recording opportunities. “Bands have the option of coming in and practicing while getting a video and audio recording, too, which is something that is really helpful, especially when their working on critiquing what they’re doing,” Lance explained.

With the studio currently located in Christina’s basement, Lance wants to give local bands a better, affordable option that doesn’t involve traveling as much as five days a week to the Twin Cities in order to get an album recorded.  Bands have already started practicing there, so book a space and check it out.

The Future

Midwest Mayhem has several shows coming up to look forward to. In November they have “Slasher Fest” at The Pizza on Friday the Thirteenth. Themed around the notorious day, this event will include Micawber, Tomorrow Brings New Blood, Bereaver, and North Carolina-based The Devil in the Details. This is an all-ages event, too, so feel free to stop by The Plus and have a good time. On Dec. 5, Midwest Mayhem will have another big show featuring Granite Rose, Arms for Elephants, Stay Strong, and a new band called Audiophilia. This one is at House of Rock.

Along with everything that they do, Midwest Mayhem is also starting a podcast that will include band interviews and the discovery of new music that will be discussed with a panel of people.  Lance plans to work with Ryan Quinn, a hip-hop artist who works at a radio station in Rice Lake, to help get the podcast up and going.  The podcast hasn’t started yet, but Lance is very excited about it and how it will help Midwest Mayhem continue to grow. Be on the lookout as this continues to develop.

For more information on booking, getting an album review, or how to get involved, visit midwestmayhempresents.com.