Tim Timberlake and Thomas Beals

00:03 My name is Tom bills. I'm 33 years old and it is March 17th. 2012 Saint Patrick's day. And we're at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia, and I'm here with my good friend and music advice Mentor Tim Timberlake. You're very charitable as well. I'm up. I'm Tim Timberlake and I'm 30 years older than Tom. So I'm older. There's the metal thing. I'm old enough to be his father and I'm 63 and it is March 17th and deed Erin go bra and I am here at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia.

00:45 And Tom, and I'm

00:48 The way back up primarily musically and he's an impressive fellow with with skills and many areas and I am inspired to hang out with him and and just hear about his life cuz he does some pretty remarkable things in many areas. Not just music, but

01:09 That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Maybe there's some more there somewhere. Maybe I can't I just I was trying to remember how coming into this how we first met. Do you remember how we first met? I don't I can imagine it was probably just made mention. I just I was trying to think where it actually was cuz it at graves. Maybe there's a Bluegrass Festival up in Syria, Virginia north of Charlottesville right there. That is we've been to a lot over the years. Maybe it was that you got it. I got it. I got it Ricky Skaggs Del mccoury at the Carpenter Center and you wanted MC that show that's Excel you got in touch with that work and all that was that was an experience for me and I was my first indoor style. Is that right?

02:03 Since you're on that track cuz I think it's fascinating cuz we want to talk about why and how music came to be a part of of what Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden offers but your walk with getting interested in promoting music given your background mostly is a guy raised on a farm and where you still are but but to get into the the scary intricate challenging you no business of Music promotion, what moves you do to make that kind of commitment

02:41 I think I mean ultimately came from my love of Music which also an came for my father who was a farmer and who with him I grew up on the farm and taught me a lot about life, but he

03:02 Replay, he didn't play he just he was he was a child of the sixties and late sixties. And I think he graduate from college in 72. So is a lot of Hendricks and you know, a lot of beetles and and blues nothing like that listen to a lot of old record, but he he passed away from cancer in 2000 year and graduated from college. And so that kind of it let the space on the farm obviously without us really knowing what was going to come next time in the far and now your brother Jonah had to make some decisions about what now, what are we going to do with that Walter much larger family situation and just Jonas and I but yeah that was part of it. And you know, what? Could we do and meet me being a very young and dumb at that point what I look back and maybe it was done. Maybe it was not I don't know, but I'm trying to think of different ways to

03:58 Munich re revenue on the farm board use the farm in different manners. So I decided to get in touch with the music festival promoter because I love music and I've been to a couple fun music festivals in I was 21 years old and I thought maybe that was going to be a good idea. But then on the other hand, well, you found all the beautiful pluses and minuses of being involved financially or in a business relationship with music. It's a whole different the whole different thing that I never I never could have imagined how it is and how complicated it is, but that led to working with another for motor for a couple years and then my brother and I starting her own production company and doing an outdoor Music Festival on our farm with how many of those did you guys do? We did five of those and we did a few other smaller ones. For Keller Williams on the farm Just One Day, campouts More local kind of thing.

04:58 Then that translated kind of directly into working at the Garden because of a friend of both of ours Karen absy who worked here who was in events here. Let's just a set that stage up a little bit then as far as music here the first time being on the radio in Richmond for for many years and when the garden was first getting started back in the 80s, I was fascinated with it, cuz I just love the notion of building a beautiful public garden out of an old Bicycle Club and end because of my job on the radio at interview people in all walks of life in the community that were doing things and I had guests on there's our lady of girl who worked here named Buffy Daniel who was in there kind of promotions back in the early days, and we got to be good friends cuz she's coming to Oz

05:58 I'm here what's going on at the Garden and we start talking about to have any music here. And then the first thing we think I think we had on the steps of the old Bloomingdale house, which is the original structure that the garden is built around now has grown so much. We had a concert with this group called The Front Porch String Band, which was a great bluegrass band featuring Claire Lynch. You still really one of the great female vocalist of the genre today, but we had a reunions of herb and back sometime in the 80s. I can't even remember and I was sort of the first thing I ever remember of of have seen any music here and then I guess in what a 99 when was the with Buffy was the first year that groovin in the garden began and it was something that feature it was it was five or six different shows during the Spring Lake Spring May into June that featured mostly local acts. We had the seldom-seen usually every year.

06:58 What kind of it they were they are kind of big out of town act even though it was just up the road. But do you know it was the kind of a big headline thing at that but it was run in house pretty much for many years. We didn't have somebody like you somebody who had some Savvy in in the whole ends and outs of staging booking negotiating good prices for bands all the things that go into putting on a show that most people don't even think changing a lot of that at that's what I've always wondered. Did you help with that in the first? Yeah. I mean, I was kind of in Buffy and then death who got think replaced her. I'm pretty sure that's where the hell that sequence of personnel went. And then Beth Monroe who is here now is kind of head of marketing and so forth. So yeah, I mean we were involved in kind of looking at bands and getting the sound guys who was going to do that and

07:57 They handle most of the other kind of a financials about what kind of what kind of beer are going to have and what kind of car you going to set the admission prices know that but again right getting it with your get involved in in this sort of thing that you have to promote it properly have to get there so many layers to promoting live music somewhere that after a while for various reasons that got to be so involved. It was a pretty successful Series in the brand was established the groovin in the garden thing people started realizing what it was and we had big crowds really too big to stay at we're at that particular part of the garden the house was just the garden would kind of get trampled inviting. You know, that Garden in front of bloemendaal would just be a flattened. It would be a great spot to be able to see music. Yeah. It had some sound issues. Cramped up on the porch. You couldn't there was some of the you know any

08:56 Tactical but they were they were it was not ideal but it was a beautiful aesthetic place for people to go watch a concert on the porch of this beautiful old house. And so anyway, we started looking around for you know, I kind of run its course to be being a lot of strain on the garden to try to figure out I don't think we can do this and so

09:18 So there were times that the leadership here was almost.

09:25 Feeling like this is too much of a of a deal too big of a of a project at to take on it had its benefits but was it really worth all of the trouble in the African and the work to make this concert thing fly and so it was almost to the point where they were going to drop it Frank Robinson the you know, now the president CEO formerly executive director, he kind of gotten to the point where it just was not going to there were sort of soured on the whole thing for a lot of different reasons of management was a gross and where was going to be so-so in or Karen in and talk about how our friend Karen a b c came to

10:15 How to find you and connect you with this initiative and and make it give it a whole new life early.

10:25 Yeah, I guess.

10:28 It's not that complicated of a story just the McCarran was working the events. She was an event coordinator here and I knew Karen through mutual friends and from being on the river. I choose a white water kayaker. I'm a white water kayaker at that point in time. I was also working at the kayak shop. I'm out in Midlothian. So I got to know her well, and I think she knew what my brother and I are doing the Haymaker in Spotsylvania and that we were trying to put a concert on our farm and because we're doing it on her Farm it was

11:05 To the to the nth degree of leave no Trace, you know, so we we had and actually our mission statement had unit conservation land conservation in mind recycling everything's you could do was environmentally friendly as possible and she knew that

11:23 And I have a couple conversations with her. I told her about that and she introduced me to the garden and we just we sat down and kind of hammered out some details and all the sudden there's a little life too. And I think Shane was new at the time going to change if it was the current executive formerly the the CFO I think kind of operations. I think he

11:50 He was willing to give us a shot. At least I can say that I guess we're says a lot about you and your ability to go in there and say yeah, I can do this and then you were like a saying a pig in a poke and they didn't know what they were going to be getting with you but they trusted Karen I think and maybe I mean I knew about Tom then and I don't know about you. I mean, I knew that you brought a lot to the table. So anyway, they gave you a shot and dying eyes and crossing the t's and I think Shane really like that too. I was that's he's a detailed very detail guy and I'm I'm more of a get me out there to build a stage and moon the lights up and kind of thing. But so Karen made that connection and and I think certainly you and I credit her with kind of making that connection happened and maybe save

12:50 This great series that you took it to a whole new level in terms of bringing you no bigger name artist here and growing the you know, the size of the crowds and of course being in this beautiful new venue on the campus of the garden the Rose Garden of the Rose Belvedere that's got a lovely now of Amphitheatre terraced lawn. I mean, it's arguably the most a lot has it and because of the concert working. I mean because of the fact that when it one point it was going to probably be may be scrapped now, they they they headed to stop for a year, right? They had to cancel the season to build out this beautiful improved Rose Garden venue for the shows.

13:44 Very first the concert I did the other very the very first one was in 2005. It was in May of 2005 on the Thursday the first Thursday in May, which generally we do our shows on Thursdays in May and June and it was the Bela Fleck acoustic Trio which to me was and he's one of my music Heroes. It was listening to Baylor forever and but it was it was him and Jerry Douglas and it was what he was here. He was Bela and Bryan Sutton Casey driessen. So and was that that was the time that Kristi Lee was planning with Nickel Creek was at the weekend. I'm glad you remember that. I went up and picked up Christy Lee at the hotel and brought him down here to play State over a day though knowing this was going to happen Nickel Creek and play the night before they had what is broke or someplace. I don't know what toads or whatever, but he just wanted to have a chance.

14:44 Hey what he's got any came in and played what two or three numbers in this area has talked about the most phenomenal musicians on their instruments. But I remember I was remembering the story. We were fairly on organizer that part I didn't know at that time kind of where our Hospitality rooms were for the man's and bail is bus was pulled up back here behind the library and it was really that I was frantic kind of frantic running around. So I got a lot of pressure at the same time, you know, they play, you know, what they call the ER Factory know they played festivals that are who knows where we are now probably volume down. I remember picking up Bailey and Casey and his girlfriend Abby Washburn back here and driving around the road and coming up.

15:44 You can see the hill and he just he said whoa, look at all those people out there. I mean it was just a really good we packed it in a we sold it out for the Roadshow the weather was beautiful and I really could have been a better start absolutely to the new series and the new season, but that was a fun night. I forgot about that actually Sara Watkins. There was one point on the show. I'd there was this girl kind of hunched up against one of the pillars backstage with a hoodie on Oracle and Ina tapped her on the phone and I said, you know, you got to get out of here you're backstage and she took off her coat and that she had had a pass on it was but I know but a great I mean then after that you had Old Crow here and there early days and they early very early now and the scene was back for that and I brought the schedule cuz

16:43 Couldn't remember a lot of these but but and Robert Earl Keen and amazing, Texas songwriter who closed out the season so that was a right-skewed Marty Stuart and they were opening for a ban in 2006. I think the Avett Brothers open for the hackensaw boys go figure that has kind of a game next year and the Jerry Douglas Band came back. And I mean, it's just really been an amazing run and to get back to

17:20 To finish the the Karen story since she was kind of the link that made this new era possible since you since you ran the the James another Rivers worth her tell everybody what happened to Karen Karen. I think it was about a year after she helped me through the first season, you're such a thousand five. So I think it was in the winter of 2006 Karen drowned on the James River kayaking and I remember getting a call from my friend Doug who just who told me you won't believe what happened. I mean, it's something that kind of every tiger thinks about I guess every time you get on the river, but you not me know when it's never me and the river wasn't huge that day. The level wasn't huge, but she

18:15 Apparent I was I should have been on the river that day. I was supposed to but I was doing some work at home or something, but she went into a strainer which is a pile of logs and it's built up with water runs through so why don't get through a hot kind of idiot. You aren't going to do so much pressure. You can't get rid of it exactly and that she was experience and it happens just happens I guess and they they a friend of Doug and and Scott and Sam look for her for a couple hours before the rescue crew showed up and that's usually the way it is on the river, you know, they contain best all this money in these expensive rescue crews and Equipment, but the people who really know how to do the worker going to be out there first name of the First Responders anyway, and it's just that is a really sad and unfortunate situation, but it was a'ight. I credit her remember saying this one.

19:15 Kind of impromptu memorial service is down on the river that

19:19 I definitely changed my life from where I was before and where I am now and how I am being able to step into groovin in the garden. It did changed the professionalism of what I did. I had to be more professional I had to put on better shows. I wasn't just throwing a 3-day hippie party on my farm, you know, I had to deal with you no deal with business people in your hand in in a beautiful setting and be really responsible about you know, where my trucks parked and where it need a little things like that. But all that stuff adds up and I think about Karen a lot and and how just that phone call help me make that transition and it's led to so many other things now. I mean I've worked on so your numerous promoting other shows and you've gotten deeply into the the whole Road Tech power business tongue.

20:19 Impressive in the other people would find it interesting what you're doing now with the with setting up, you know, where the power for outdoor things like the inaugural like the Olympics and then your road stuff with Taylor Swift had a doubt at all that it happened with the biodiesel, I guess in your interest in alternative fuels and then you got in using that stuff to run generators and be able to power a places that don't we can just plug into the wall, right? So I had to do when did you get into all of that? I think it's it's on real. Well, that's a whole different story in a nutshell it in a nutshell. I had all along the same time as I would started promoting producing group in the garden at start a trucking company.

21:08 And I was using so much diesel fuel that I wanted to start making alternative fuels so I started making biodiesel about the biodiesel reactor start making diesel fuel to offset my fuel usage for my trucking business Trucking went downhill. I decided to merge the entertainment business that I was in with the alternate fuel business cuz I saw an opportunity for all these festivals at they wanted to go green the big festivals that use tens of thousands of gallons of diesel fuel. So I started doing that and got on a couple big festivals providing them with alternative fuels and met the generator company that I work for and then then you know, they started hiring me for the Olympics and you know Taylor Swift in the Mountain Dew to her and the inauguration and all that stuff. So it's just kind of weird if it's so strange how things we've their way into your life for sure. But while you've had doors open that then you had to walk through and show him that you have.

22:08 The stop to deliver I did that's V. That's everyday to get some of these opportunities over that's one thing but then you kind of make those opportunities for yourself by being able to earn people's trust and they know when you get the steaks are as high as they are for some of those things that we've mentioned, you know, you they got to know that you're going to be able to do this and and and not fall short you got to be there with all guns blazing and failures, you know, we've had some failures here and and not do to your own negligence or short-sightedness. Probably probably something that broke down somewhere then she had nothing to do with

22:58 Well just

23:01 Frustrations maybe but

23:06 The weather is once I can remember doing the show here. Dr. John great artist classic, you know classic New Orleans artist Blues Jazz and looking forward to it going to be a big sellout and my goodness. I think we have three inches of rain in that afternoon alone and he got on stage and performed at me cuz he's a rain or shine shows. You're not doing that way. They had you had it right as well, but then I got to shut him down but it started the stage is covered. So we expect people to come if if it's happening in bring an umbrella or something. I mean that's what festivals are about these are kind of full mini outdoor things. But but you still did you lose walk up or did you wasn't sold enough in advance so that you did okay with that being said it was about a break-even proposition, you know, but when you go from a huge night to a break-even is always feels like it's usually with an artist like that within speaking of weather.

24:04 Probably my favorite memory of any of the concerts that have ever happened here was last summer when Tom and I along with Legions of others are huge disciples almost followers of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, and they we are trying to get them into Richmond somewhere anywhere for years and they're just hard hard to come by their interests are Vicki. So you scored the last year August and the weather was supposed to be kind of iffy. There was something supposed to be coming in as it turned out but it but the day was beautiful and about was it in the second-set when this this big line of storms in and those of us, you know with your phone's you're looking at the radar right and we're we're trying to see where in the heck is this thing? And is it going to

25:04 Do you know who is it going to shorten this thing or we have to run out of here and it got you could is it from the audience perspective looking at the stage behind it is where the storm was coming in? Right and you could see this dark gray wall. You can see the lightning flashing in the wind came up as they were kind of coming to the end of their second set and it just added this incredible surreal almost element to their already musical magic that there that they create in this backdrop of, you know, uncontrollable butyl. I have chills thinking about you can actually mention that to Gillian Welch when I saw her over the summer and they remembered the show because of that. The half I think didn't lie about looking to say what do you think I'm going to we're going to have to should I get up at there and warn people that we might have to leave and then we decided to know what good is that going to really do if it was just if we have to stop

26:04 Apple have to stop but let's don't get that in their mind and try it, you know unless it's going to have to we have to happen. So we got away with one that night the fact that it would they got to finish and the wedding, you know, I did it did it rain after they were done that did it we are loading out at work Skies opened up. I can remember sitting over at Wally's afterwards having a beer just thinking about how we were we really just miss that one. But no that was I don't know what makes it was stuff like that. You know that that sort of makes it worthwhile to invest what you have to invest both in terms of, you know, laying your money out there, but the emotional investment of pets putting a show together and having it come off like that the only show

26:56 In the last

27:00 Probably two or three years that I've enjoyed.

27:03 Personally that as a music fan. I mean I don't I don't get to enjoy music. I don't cause you have too many things to do. You can't sit and watch the show like the rest of them and when you turn in this is one of the one of the problems with getting into this business is it's a business and it turns into a business and your and your love of music. I mean my love of music supersedes that when I sit in a quiet spot and listen to what I want to listen to you know, which is usually some Gillian Welch a Ryan Adams or something like that. But at the same time you don't get to

27:36 You know for instance working at Lollapalooza last year, I didn't see one single band wedding get time. I didn't really care. I mean you're there for a job that turns into a job and your job's not to watch music.

27:51 So what you need to get it again, if you need to Pare down then maybe not that I want you to because you've got to keep doing what you're doing cuz you're making in a great music happened around here. But I guess I'm a stage manager at merlefest which is a long. This is 25th year this year. It's a grape Festival the Doc Watson started back in well, 25 years ago. When his son Merle was killed in the tractor accident and it's a huge kind of the beginning of the season of the big probably Americana music concerts and but I've been for the last twenty-two years I've been manager of the cabin stage, which is the law alternative stage, you know to the side and it's like it's such a way cuz I get to watch the music doing that. So I'm to all I'm doing though as set that. I have an old high-school show them that we re met at the cabin stage 23 years ago and

28:51 The Two of Us in there just set the mics in the monitors and make sure just do Hospitality for make sure when they're backstage in the old unit when the cabin that they've got their needs met and and yet to meet Fascinating People and then you get to actually went to set up do you get to hear him? So maybe you'll have to think of delegating or something get some people so you can actually sit and watch a show once it's up there running character though. I don't have I mean, I haven't stayed while he's a stage manager. You know, Breton does the venue we've got stagehands got Grant who runs the sound. I don't really drunk without me. I actually wasn't here for a bunch of shows last year because I was on the road with Taylor, but I still it's just my mentality when I you know, when I get when the show is going on my head's just constantly spinning there's something to do there's something to do. Should I be here? Should I be there and let's change the way you become jaded you do but I do anybody in entertainment.

29:51 Mystery gets that way. What do you never there feel there's go to other I mean and you do force of festivals or concerts where you can just go and not worry about a thing. I mean where you actually, you know, go pay to go see something not so much.

30:07 No, no, I mean, but I'm already pretty booked up for the entire summer put work. So there's not much time to do it. When I do go see shows I choose to see them in smaller quiet venues a place if there's a good show that I want to see if the camel or maybe at the southern music hall in Charlottesville or perhaps I would like the Stray birds were coming to in your head or something like that. I love that kind of thing because you get you get kind of sick of the

30:37 Big lights in the big stages and not that groovin in the garden is by any means large. It's a really small production in comparison. But but it's the one you're talking about have to happen. You talking about on Swift tour 18 production trucks 10 staging trucks tractor trailers, you know in all your talk about 40 some tractor trailers and 22 or bus or something like that. So it's a whole different mind boggler added you have to set it up and tear it down. Maybe the same day or maybe you have a day or two today or two. I mean that level of work and coordination is just makes it's bewildering to me that had that that can actually happen. It happened. So well and efficiently so often during the course of a tour like that guy. I just went to see that from the inside and I really am envious of your getting to see that level of of stuff going on. It's fantastic.

31:37 It puts things in perspective and it makes coming back here to do shows really feel like home. Yeah. Yeah it done. You can get your hands around his house and even though every buddy and yeah, and but so yeah that that part is great. But but isn't like us the Taylor Swift typed or when you're part and a pretty integral part of a huge operation both personal Wise Equipment wise things that just have to work well to assure the public

32:13 Is going to that they're going to get the experience if they paid good money for and they expect to see it's just I'm involved with the Folk Festival here right in and that that's a big operation to make this thing happen. Any big on Earth has the same thing a few weeks ago how much running the generators myself and a friend of mine John Mills. We were running the to NBC broadcast generators that we're taking this thing to 13 and a half million people around the world. So you're sitting there going. Okay? Okay, it's halftime now good. We're halfway through. Yeah. It's like where's my ticket to Mexico? But this is what the reward from being a part of something that says big and involve is that we're ideally the public is not anywhere remotely aware of how much is involved in making something like that to happen at that level. Right? The the joy is to be part of something that

33:13 Beautifully and comes off so that the all the public gets is a great great sound great lights Great Performances. You can hear everything and then the all the other little things about how hard was it? How low how big are the lines that have to wait for get my beer or however to get in or all the little things that people you don't want him to think about but those things all have to be considered properly to you know for the extinct to work, but to be part of something big is just really cool cool. And then some when people ask me if I get home from a gig or something they say was it a good gig is a well. It was a two-day show and I didn't get one radio call. So absolutely so my motto is it you really shouldn't be seen and and that's what's cool about doing something like, you know working on the Super Bowl or the Olympics. No one has any idea how many people it takes to pull these things often. I mean something to do when people sit down at their TVs to watch they have no clue, you know,

34:13 Human resource and these broadcasts are the four races are Super Bowls. They have no idea how many cameras how many Tech I mean that have to converge on a place, you know to make that that happens to Talent, you know, I'm in a hell of a lot of time on the low in you know, when there's people that pull it together when I'm in a big way that do it all the time and it's amazing what

34:40 I do.

34:43 It's Farm still operating. It's it's been in my family since 1926. Just a few years ago there after my father passed away.

34:55 I decided not to go, you know directly into farming a help out on the farm and still help out on the farm occasionally when I am home, but the cattle operation is least out now to actually

35:06 The guy who was my father's main Farm manager to when nothing much has changed. We had to Beef Cattle and Timber Farm. How many are in Spotsylvania ahead changes with you know with Market, but I we have potential of running.

35:23 Country hundred head of cattle in the farm something like the other.

35:27 Critters or just all cow just the main I still run the hunt hunting operation. We have a we have a Hunt Club mostly deer hunting but we use. Yeah. Well we trap trap boxes hunt duck and turkey. I'm not a big hunter anymore. I used to be but my favorite I'd like to have a good dog or just you go out and waterfowl and ducks and geese

35:59 What's next what's what it what's the next Initiative for you musically where it is there anything else that you want to still do?

36:09 I'm not going to get through this Summer Avenue Festival in Charlottesville call the Tom Tom Founders Fest, which is going to be crazy. It's I mean, it's already way geared up. I have no time. I mean I was on my email till probably 2 in the morning last night on a Friday night. So just drowning in minucius going to yet exactly how many how many people sit on this email? So you are ambitious in terms of having I mean people ask you if they know you can do this so you get asked to do this and if you feel like it's a worthy idea that you think is pretty cool then yeah, you can't say that.

37:00 That's a great great season already.

37:05 You know, you got it. It's going to the bar is still high and you got any higher this year. I think because of the couple schedule changes I made but well with Vince Vince Gill with Sarah jarosz is just going to be unbelievably great Bluegrass show Anyway by Umphrey's McGee coming back which has a great rock jam band The Garden actually loves they they canceled the not canceled but they postponed one of their Thursday flowers after 5 days, but I'm going to be going to be on the road. So one of my goals this summer was to go out onto her not going Kenny Chesney tour.

37:56 Death penalty of awesome in the Olympics the London Olympics are on to stay here and concentrate on making the thing better. So

38:05 I'm doing well. You have made it better. It's just hearing music in a place like this just sort of enhances this experience. It's already glorious sensory kind of experience that you can have only in places like this where there's just so much to look at and smell and contemplate and then you add the other sense of hearing and the visuals of you know, really nicely lit show and didn't you know it. Yeah, it's like so many of the artist and certainly the people who have come have, you know, kind of dub this V the outdoor venue probably one of the best in the country. I can't thank I can't say how thankful. I am every time I walk into a club to do a show that smells like beer floors are sticky and cigarettes I come here and I am so thankful.

39:05 To be able to work in his face like this. It's really unbelievable. Thanks for keeping it going buddy. Thanks for thanks for coming in and talking this morning and maybe you can find some breakfast. Oh breakfast. That's right. We are both growling the death get picked up. I wonder I don't know. But yeah, we'll figure out something. But anyway, we'll see you soon first show.

39:31 Mesa Racine 17th, that's two months from today. That's right. Have a good one. Alright. Thanks.