Vishal Agarwala was tired of bands he loved not touring in Gainesville, so he started his own company to bring his favorite artists here.
Now Garage Mahal Presents, the former Grooveshark employee’s promotions company, has booked close to 40 live shows in Gainesville. Booked artists have included R.A.C., a collective of musicans that remix different genres of music, and the punk band Black Lips.
Agarwala said the company identifies the potential audience in Gainesville for a genre of music and then brings in bands with the best live performances. Audience members may not be familiar with every band at a show, but they come expecting a great live concert.
“I definitely feel like it’s a service to the community, and it’s appreciated,” Agarwala said.
Warren Oakes, former drummer of Against Me! and a client of Garage Mahal Presents, agreed that the company has contributed to bringing live music to Gainesville.
Garage Mahal Presents acts as a liaison between bands and seven Gainesville venues including Double Down Live and The Atlantic.
Agarwala’s staff includes an assistant agent and a street team of about eight people. A freelance designer is used to create promotional material.
Two to four shows have been booked by Garage Mahal Presents each month since the company’s creation in January 2011.
In March, a Garage Mahal Presents concert featuring the Black Lips reached capacity at The Backyard, a venue owned by Oakes. The band hadn’t toured in Gainesville since 2009.
For several touring bands like the Black Lips, shows in Gainesville are sporadic. Because of travel expenses, some bands refrain from booking shows in Florida.
“Everyone plays Atlanta because Atlanta is on the way to everywhere,” Oakes said. “Once you dip into Florida, you’re guaranteed to have to backtrack.”
Oakes also said that Gainesville’s well-connected community of concert seekers has helped define the Garage Mahal brand name. Audiences have begun to associate the promotions company and its associated venues with high-quality live performances.
“At this point, people just trust us not to book bad shows,” he said.
Garage Mahal Presents will relocate to New York this year, Agarwala said. He plans to move from Gainesville in June, leaving his current assistant agent, John Berna, in charge of the company.
Eventually, Berna will rebrand the company and Agarwala will continue Garage Mahal Presents in New York.
During the summer, the company will try to book more student bands that are unable to tour during the school year, Berna said. Fewer shows have been booked for summer months because of the lack of student population.
“It’s a good time for the transition,” he said. “Lots of people are out of town.”
