Gary James' Interview With Overland Production's
Gloryah Robinson



Overland Productions is a management/concert promotion company located in New York City. Their clients include The Talking Heads, The Ramones, Robert Gordon, The B-52s and Holly And The Italians. When this interview was conducted in 1982, Gloryah Robinson was a tour co-ordinator for Overland Productions. Gloryah talked to us about her job.

Q - Is it possible for your acts to go out and play clubs and actually make money?

A - Yeah, because people like us do it on a really low budget. We're not extravagant people. We don't have lobster dinners on our riders. Our road crew is minimal, plus we pool road crews. You're talking about a minimalist operation.

Q - Would you say contract riders are getting out of hand?

A - I don't know, because we keep ours to a real minimum. What happens is, the band is just paying for it. It's coming out of the band's money.

Q - Who has the upper hand in today's music business? Is it the agent or the promoter?

A - It really depends on the situation.

Q - How much money is involved in becoming a promoter today?

A - I think you'd have to be a fool to do it.

Q - Can you give me a ballpark figure?

A - Let's see. We promoted a Ramones show last year (1981) and it cost about $15,000 to put on two shows. And that was keeping costs down! The Ramones didn't have anything in the rider and they have their own sound.

Q - Is festival seating making a comeback?

A - I think no seating is making a comeback. A lot of the bands want to play in ballroom situations. A lot of our bands really like the ballroom situation and a lot of the English groups, especially the dance oriented ones.

Q - With record companies becoming conglomerates and farming out so much of their work, are they losing their creative abilities?

A - Yeah, because you got a lot of old people running record companies, don't you? I don't mean old chronologically old. I mean old in the head old. People who don't want to take risks. People who are kind of almost reactionary. That's the problem you've got. The record companies are so conservative. I don't think it has anything to do with farming work out.

Q - What were you doing before you joined Overland?

A - I was a Press Agent at Sire Records. Before Sire, I worked for Steve Paul, manager of Johnny and Edgar Winter. I also did catering for Sid Bernstein at Radio City. I've been in the business almost ten years and I know just about everybody in New York, London, and L.A.

Q - You might say you've got a pretty glamorous job, Gloryah.

A - There's a little glamour. There's a lot of excitement 'cause there's always something new and different happening. But there's also a lot of hard work. There are times when I've gotten out of here at nine or nine thirty and get home and couldn't eat 'cause I was so wired. But, I chose to do this.

© Gary James. All rights reserved.

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