Well, every blog has to start somewhere. And if I’m going to maintain one on this website (which only makes sense), then, well…

A little bit about me:

My name is Jessie Rodgers, and I own and operate Guttermouth Promotions. I started promoting bands via social media in 2011, at the age of 16, in order to get more in touch with the heavy metal and rock scene I had just started getting involved in. This “just-for-fun” venture showed me the local communities where musicians get their start – and as I came in contact with bands from Charlotte to Santiago, from San Francisco to Jakarta, from Sao Paulo to Damascus, I realized that music is a unique force that brings together vastly different communities.

Within a year, I was recruited to write articles and album reviews for heavy metal webzines such as Destructive Music and Kingdomz X. I brought this media experience with me when I started school as a mass communications student at UNC Charlotte; a friend convinced me to get involved with the school’s nascent online radio station, Radio Free Charlotte, where I began a weekly radio show. I used this opportunity to put the spotlight on the southeast’s regional musicians, debuting tracks from bands like Stellar Circuits and Trioscapes, and conducting live interviews with members of bands such as Between the Buried and Me, RED, and Diamond Plate. Over time, I worked my way through the ranks of the radio station, eventually becoming the manager who oversaw its staff and operations.

The first concert I ever booked was for a Radio Free Charlotte event at the beginning of 2016 – an opportunity to bring the radio station face-to-face with the music community, even as it was reeling from the loss of beloved venues such as Tremont Music Hall and the Double-Door Inn. As venue closures continued in the southeast, the importance of live music for both fans and musicians became a hot topic throughout the Carolinas’ music scene, and I found myself attending concerts as frequently as I could. From every show, big or small, I learned something new about live music (and marketing) simply by paying attention. Who was in attendance, and why? What made one show successful while another one flopped? What affect does the local music scene have on the community, and vice versa?

The lessons I learned simply by watching, and the connections I had made in the music community, allowed me to begin booking and promoting events regularly. The lessons I have learned since have been mostly from personal experience (not every show goes according to plan!) I now actively book shows in both North and South Carolina, sharing the region’s rich, diverse musical culture with as many people as possible.

Okay. But what’s with the website?

Promoting underground music to a mainstream audience is an exhausting task, and while social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram are a powerful tool for promoters and marketers (the same role by two different names, in my opinion), there is a segment of the population that simply does not use social media. The more reliant the music scene becomes on social media promotion, the more that demographic is cut off from these events. Some of us just want to take a break from Facebook for a month without taking a break from local music, after all.

In addition, the new website will allow me to streamline all of the information about upcoming shows for both fans and artists/promoters. The Upcoming Events page contains everything you need to know about Guttermouth Promotions shows, and clicking on any headline brings you to links to download promotional graphics (which is a great resource for venues and bands, but if others want to share a flyer or adopt a banner on their profile…well, I won’t stop you!) I’ll be uploading videos and photos from concerts, sharing updates from the artists you’ll soon get to see, and sharing additional content that doesn’t necessarily “fit” on social media.