Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Erskine.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Does by accident or chance qualify as a relevant answer? I joke about it but it’s not too far from the truth. Not in a million years would I have ever imagined that I would be sitting here a decade later doing an interview about Erskine Entertainment.
Truthfully, the story starts one night on Sixth Street (which I’m guessing took place somewhere in or around the early 90’s.) Though I had a strong love for music, it was pretty much solely based on songs and artists that I heard on the radio and could see at large arenas.
Of course, I still love a great arena or stadium show, but never again will it hold a candle to the “music scene” that I have so much love for and discovered on that night.
I was living in the greater Houston area at the time but visiting my close friend Monty Hobratschk in Austin one weekend. We were bar hopping on Sixth Street, as college students often do, when we came across a bar with loud music blaring and the stage backed up against the window so I could somewhat see inside.
Monty then casually mentioned that the bar was called Steamboat and the band was known as Little Sister. On a side note, many of your readers may know them as the national band, Sister 7.
It was the first night I saw this wiry, tiny young lady with these gorgeous, yet piercing, eyes perform. For the next 90 minutes, I watched as she and her band unequivocally left every bit of themselves on stage.
I was so blown away! But the moment that I will always remember most was a point in the show when she gazed into the crowd and happened to make direct eye contact with me. She just smiled and nodded her head to the beat as if to say “Yes, you get it man”. Melodramatic? Maybe. But it is exactly how I felt, and that’s what counts in my book.
In retrospect, I would best describe it as a moment that I suddenly just felt so very alive. I had found my tribe. It’s moments like that which make me strive for others to experience at our showcases today.
Here we are about 28 years later and I feel so blessed to have been able to relive that moment many times over with my dear friend and soul sister, Patrice Pike. Despite her national success and induction into the Austin/Texas music hall of fame, it was people like Patrice who still took the time and chance to work with an inexperienced and unknown promoter over 25 years ago.
I don’t know if Patrice will ever know what a role she played in the evolution of Erskine Entertainment, but I am grateful. I knew then that those were amazing moments made over a shared love of music that could never be duplicated in a stadium concert with thousands of people.
This leads me directly in to what led me to found my music company. It was Sister 7 and Patrice Pike which led me to set foot into the Fabulous Satellite Lounge for the very first time.
From there, enter David Beebe.
David is another person that likely doesn’t know the huge impact they had on me and the doors that he was opening for me.
I quickly became a regular at the Satellite Lounge as a devoted music fan frequenting the club most weekends.
It was at this point in my story where David, who was managing the club at the time, approached me with an idea: he offered me a job hosting and promoting a theme night every Thursday at the club calling it “Mike Erskine’s Planet Texas.” Funny, it seemed like I had hit the jackpot at the time as they offered me $3 for each person I brought in the door and a $100 bar tab at my disposal.
I still laugh at David’s pitch — “You are here all the time anyway, why not?!”
I honestly didn’t know much about promoting, but David offered me some words I have never forgotten —“Don’t worry, advice is free.” For whatever reason, that has stuck with me over the years and I find myself relaying it to younger people trying to break into the scene.
Through my one year at the Satellite, I met and/or worked with so many amazing artists such as Jesse Dayton, Vallejo, Steamroller, Podunk, Br59, Ian Moore, The Iguanas, and my brothers Global Village just to name a few.
I knew I was having fun but what I didn’t realize was the credibility this gig, and all these connections, would afford me in the Austin and Houston music scene going forward.
A year and a half later I was either booking or managing up to 16 bands at a time. I even had a stint working with a band called Tabithas Secret! Most will be more familiar with them after they changed their name to Matchbox 20.
It was then that Erskine Entertainment was officially born — over drinks with one of my oldest friends, Chad Strader.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think in any venture there are going to be some bumps in the road at some point.
Anyone that has worked with me before will tell you how much enthusiasm I have for this. For me, the trick is to try and find some balance.
There are definitely times that I need to reign in that passion and energy just a bit when things don’t make as much financial sense.
But with the challenges, there have also been some serious blessings that have made this past year undoubtedly our best.
Working with our great friend AJ Vallejo has brought so much to the table for us in 2022.
Not only has it been a blast featuring AJ and all of his projects, but he has referred us to so many great Austin artists that we have now added to our rotation of showcases!
~Lots of fun stuff being tossed around for 2023 with AJ! So stay tuned! ~
And lastly, I cannot say enough how thrilled I’ve been to have Outlaw Dave and his crew on board for almost all of our events this year.
Dave also brought us in on some big-time events this year including the Lonestar Rally, which was definitely one of the highlights of our year. I can’t wait to see what the future holds regarding our collaborations!
It’s these relationships that seem to turn all of our challenges into an afterthought.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
When I first got into the industry, I was really much more of a jack of all trades.
Erskine Entertainment provided management and booking services, event planning, talent buying, and even put out a few records for artists.
Fun fact: this was the origin story behind the name, “Erskine Entertainment.” We were striving to be an all-around one-stop-shop for all of your event needs, and then some.
Now that my age has a five in front of it, I’m very content just working on my terms and doing what I’m best at which is providing a good time all the while introducing people to new, fabulous music.
The industry is so very different now. With the evolution of Spotify, Apple Music, and so many other services, the means of making money in this industry has changed dramatically. It’s changed enough to where I shelved the company for several years except for an occasional event every now and then.
But in 2017, I really got the itch again and started putting together shows. But this time around I had decided that it would only be as an independent promoter, and not answering to anyone. The buck stops with me, so to speak. But with that independence comes more risk.
My standard business model has just been very straightforward: I contract out the artist and handle the production cost myself, but in return recoup 100% of the ticket sales (and occasionally a piece of the bar sales.)
But we do have any special agreements with certain venues that we partner with on our productions. But Erskine Entertainment starts and ends with me. I love this because I work with the artist I choose on the dates I want.
But when I say “we,” it’s because I feel like Erskine Entertainment is really a group or a family of sorts.
I do employ media/marketing people on a contract basis that I do consider my team.
And of course, if you follow me on social, you know that I consider all of the artists I work with my music family, and I strive to make them feel the same.
I will say this, I am super excited about some things we have on the table for 2023 and are in discussions to put out some new music under my brand!!!
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I love this question, and have given the same example every time I am asked this on radio and print interviews —
As a kid, I remember seeing an interview my dad did that aired on TV as he was coming up in the oil patch.
I honestly do not remember much of the interview, except for the part where my father laughed and said that he loved what he did for a living and followed that up with a big smile and said, “I can’t believe I get paid to get up every day and do this for a living.”
Getting to a point in life where you love what you do for a living, to me that is the definition of success.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/erskine_entertainment?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erskineentertainment?mibextid=LQQJ4d
