The bite of Seattle

Linda Zopfi talks about what she looks for in a band when booking for The Bite. Article written by Arny Bailey Back to Cover

With the summer festivals in full ________

swing, there is a plethora (overused word of the day) of opportunities to strut your stuff in front of thousands at venues like The Taste of Tacoma, the Taste of Edmonds, Salmon Days, Newcastle Days, and of course, the Bite of Seattle.

This years Bite of Seattle was an astounding success. Of course, coming off the heels of 2007 where inclement ___

weather kept so many away that I could personally tell you the names of all the attendees, relative success wasn’t difficult to achieve. Even so, hundreds of thousands braved the 78 degree sunny weather and paid too much for parking to be entertained by local and national musical acts while grinding corn off the cob like a high speed lathe.

"Type A" on stage at the Bite.

With 5 music stages showcasing 105 bands, there’s enough musical selection to make any music-lover silly with choices. The list of performers this year was ripe with new talent in addition to the tried and true Bite-Wise bands from years past. In addition to the new and regular host of locals (I almost said hosts of locusts), nationally known artist Terry Evans www.terryevansmusic.com appeared on the Blues Stage.

Both The Bite of Seattle and Taste of Tacoma are produced by Festivals, Inc. who, for the past 28 years, has contracted with Linda Zopfi of A Zopfi Production, LLC out of Lynnwood for booking the music acts ( ). If you are interested in performing at the Bite™, Linda accepts submissions between January 1st and April 1st each year from full bands (no singles, duos or trios) in Washington, Oregon, California and BC or acts already touring through the area during the festival dates. By the way, if you don’t submit, you don’t play.

Linda Zopfi

I recently had the chance to meet with Linda and ask a few questions I’ve always wondered about. Here are her responses;

WM - How many submissions do you receive each year?

LZ - I literally receive hundreds of submissions, lots of which don't evenmake the first cut. I narrow down the appropriate submissions by stage (skewing toward the radio station ____

format somewhat), probably ending up with about 250 total to pick from.

WM - What are you looking for in those submissions?

LZ - Family friendly, professional sounding (and looking) bands only (no dancers, no variety acts, etc.). I look for music in whatever genre that will appeal to a wide age range audience, everything from seniors to teens - non-offensive, not too hard, but not too acoustic or soft.

WM - How do you decide who plays at the Taste and who plays at the Bite?

LZ - That's frankly a hard one. It's pretty subjective on what type of music I "need" at either event (whatradio station is sponsoring the stage) along with wanting to present a large variety of musical styles with mass appeal. I try my best to spread the variety around, and often find I book both events simultaneously. I can book with a little more "artistic freedom" in Tacoma since there are only 4 stages (this year one jazz, one blues, one ___

"The Grand Delusion" on stage at the Bite.

classic rock, and the "main stage" as I call it - because it was the "first" stage when the event began - where I book a variety of R&B, funk, soul, singer-songwriters, world beat, etc.)

WM - What's the procedure when a band is a no-show? Do you simply ask the band on-stage to play another set? Does this happen?_

LZ - It doesn't happen that much anymore given that I'm booking musicians/bands who understand the ramifications of a no show, but that is a decision made on the fly - typically between the stage manager and myself on a case-by-case basis. Occasionally we'll ask the band that is already playing to stretch (if theyare willing, and most are, since 40-minutes goes by pretty quickly and I __

often hear that musicians wish the sets were longer!) However, if the band has already finished their set before we've realized that a band, or a portion thereof of the group, just isn't going to make it, we'll set up for the next group, and allow them to go on early, if they'd like. For instance, this year in Tacoma, we had all the musicians, but no vocalists show up for a set, and the musicians just jammed (they were neo-soul/jazz, which makes that possibility easier) but they had a blast, and the audience really loved their music - a true description of "troopers" and also professionals!

WM - Who provided sound this year?

LZ – Triamp Group provides all the sound and all the backline for the shows. You can speak with Rich Clark or Nick Yanity. Great guys, great crew, couldn't do it without them!

WM - Do you get around to see any of the acts? A couple years back they had you announcing on an __________

adjacent stage to where I was performing. Is that typical?

LZ - Barring unforeseen circumstances or emergencies on other stages, I get around to see EVERY act I book for the events, both in Tacoma and in Seattle (they may not see me seeing them, but I'm there!). I believe it's my obligation to see - with my own eyes - everyone I ask to play. For my own information, as well as my company, I review everyone who plays to see if they should be invited back again for the festivals, or if there's some way I can use them in my own business for a corporate and/or private event - which is what I specialize in booking - the Festivals are a labor of love!

As for the MC thing, yes, that's my yearly "claim to fame" at this point. I was asked to MC about 25 years ago in Tacoma (Tacoma only) because we couldn't find a "real" MC to work the event, and it's kind of just "stuck". It's fun for me each season, and for a lot of the Tacoma folks who come _______

back year after year, because we've all watched each other grow up. I think (hope?) they also like the "back stories" that I can tell about each group who plays, how they were selected, what history they have with the event as a part of their introduction. It's kind of your own little glance into the inner workings of the band and my relationship with the bands. __

WM - Anything else you would like the Weekend Musician to know?

LZ – I’d love all the musicians who play, have played, or will play again to know that I sooo appreciate them taking time out of their careers & lives to play at the events. I know that it can seem like a whole lot of work to make all my deadlines, get through all my paperwork and hoops I make them

go through (part of the planning & organization I'm so well known for - yes I'm a detail junky), not to mention just getting to the stage to actually play. I do think it really helps weed out the bands that are in it for the long run and those that are just "playing around" and not serious about what they do. You can be serious, and still have a great amount of fun playing!

I honestly try to make it a positive experience for everyone who performs and I'm thrilled when someone tells me they had a great time, got a booking from their performance, sold a bunch of CD's or just had a chance to play for their kid who can never come see them unless it's an "all ages" event. I also love giving that "new band" a break and getting them "out there" for a larger audience to see. The bands that understand what kind of a vehicle either of these large festivals can be for them and USE it to their advantage are always groups that I will do my best to support in any way I can! ___

"Soul'd Out" on stage at the Bite.

This year I was able to book & support two different bands that included sons and/or daughters of musicians I work with regularly. That was a blast - to be able to help the younger musicians with a leg up in their music career, teach them what to expect and see them blossom - just amazing. They both went through the same submission process everyone else did, and made the cut! I also love introducing the Seattle and Tacoma fans to someone new that they end up loving as much as I do. It makes what I do feel worthwhile in some a small way! There have been times where I've stood backstage like a proud "mom" when I've seen the audiences react with such passion for someone they originally didn't know anything about. Priceless.

Thanks Linda!

So, if you want the opportunity to be seen by thousands, you have a few months to get your submissions together. I’ve personally played both venues several times with different bands. If the weather cooperates, attendees flock to these events like swallows to Capistrano. Sound and backline are provided by the festival and you get at least one parking pass for the sucker in your band with the biggest car to haul the instruments….and if he’s the vocalist that typically only has to haul his microphone, bonus!

Arny Bailey

MEET THE WRITER - ARNY BAILEY

President of In Form, Inc. Media Design and Chief Editor of Weekend Musician is a licensed architect practicing in the Pacific Northwest and weekend musician currently fronting ABOUT FACE, a classic rock cover band and The Grand Delusion a Tribute to the music of Styx and Journey.