Knucklehead's About to Add More Knuckles

[gblowfish]

If there's one thing Kansas City music fans know well, it's that our town could use a music venue designed for a capacity of around 1,000 people. We've got some strong club options (RecordBar, the Riot Room, the Tank Room) and some beautiful theaters (the Midland can fit 3,200, the Uptown 2,300), but there's a gap when it comes to mid-size venues. The new-ish El Torreon can fit 500 people, and Knuckleheads can accommodate up to 600 (if you count the 400-seat fair-weather outdoor stage).

It seems that, at last, Knuckleheads owner Frank Hicks has a plan in mind to bring KC up to code. Across the street from the East Bottoms saloon sits a vast (and underutilized) garage, which Hicks would like to turn into the Knuckleheads Garage. This new sister venue would accommodate 800-1,000 people.

To help with the startup construction costs of the venue, Hicks and the Knuckleheads team have launched a Kickstarter campaign. They hope to raise a sum in the neighborhood of $35,000. There's just over a month left on the campaign, which ends Saturday, February 14.

"We've run out of room over there [in the Saloon]," Hicks says in the Kickstarter video. "We've done everything we can to attract the larger audiences and fans, and we're out of space."

The campaign description notes that there are long-term benefits for local music lovers who pledge some dollars to the new space: "With the Garage, we'll be able to bring in bands and artists that are too big for the Saloon, giving fans another music venue choice here in Kansas City."

http://www.pitch.com/FastPitch/archi...-in-the-spring

[Iowanian]

Originally Posted by Strongside

I backed on the Kickstarter. Everyone should do the same. It's an awesome venue.

I don't see the point in kicking in to fund a private business, that I'll have to pay to attend shows. It makes sense if it's a non-profit or community project, but my donation turns into private profit.

That said, I wanted to see a show in December and had 5 friends wanting to go, and it was sold out.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

I don't see the point in kicking in to fund a private business, that I'll have to pay to attend shows. It makes sense if it's a non-profit or community project, but my donation turns into private profit.

That said, I wanted to see a show in December and had 5 friends wanting to go, and it was sold out.

which show?

[gblowfish]

My pal Mr. Doggity's BBQ sauce is used at Knucklehead's, and he's sold pulled pork sammiches out front for several shows including Paul Thorn, Merle Haggard, The Mavericks and others. He has a BBQ apron signed by Merle himself that says "Mama Tried...Merle Haggard." How cool is that???

[Iowanian]

Originally Posted by stevieray

which show?

Sturgil Simpson Dec 2nd I think.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

Sturgil Simpson Dec 2nd I think.

That was pretty common for that whole Sturgill tour. He booked that tour in a bunch of smaller venues. Then his popularity absolutely exploded between when the tour was booked and when it happened.

You're lucky, because he won't be playing that size venue any longer.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

I don't see the point in kicking in to fund a private business, that I'll have to pay to attend shows. It makes sense if it's a non-profit or community project, but my donation turns into private profit.

That said, I wanted to see a show in December and had 5 friends wanting to go, and it was sold out.

Seeing more and more of this. One of our local breweries got a kickstarter funded to help them "expand" and become more economically sustainable (really it was to bail them out of existing financial difficulties). Six months later, they went out of business. The problem wasn't cash flow, it was business management.

As someone later said in our local online news source about it: if their business was solid and feasible, they could have found true investors or gone through a bank.


I'm not saying that this guy's stuff isn't solid, but it's an increasingly common occurrence around here to see private entities using crowdfunding. A local raw juice company did it as well to start up a restaurant. Hell, as a business owner, though, it's a great deal. You get an interest free cash infusion. Hard to beat.

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by stevieray

just a heads up, he already owns the buliding.

Awesome.

[Simply Red]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Why does he need a kick starter campaign to fund this?

yeah I thought the same, WTF?

[Radar Chief]

Originally Posted by NewChief

Seeing more and more of this. One of our local breweries got a kickstarter funded to help them "expand" and become more economically sustainable (really it was to bail them out of existing financial difficulties). Six months later, they went out of business. The problem wasn't cash flow, it was business management.

As someone later said in our local online news source about it: if their business was solid and feasible, they could have found true investors or gone through a bank.


I'm not saying that this guy's stuff isn't solid, but it's an increasingly common occurrence around here to see private entities using crowdfunding. A local raw juice company did it as well to start up a restaurant. Hell, as a business owner, though, it's a great deal. You get an interest free cash infusion. Hard to beat.

I have a hard time believing Frank is so strapped for cash that he lacks the capital to pull this off on his own.

[penguinz]

Originally Posted by stevieray

just a heads up, he already owns the buliding.

Even more reason he should not be begging for $ on kickstarter.