Sometimes it’s good to have a middleman. In this case, the middleman between a band and its audience is Sam Summers, creator and owner of First Fleet Concerts. Summers, senior in economics, got his start booking local shows for his friends’ bands – but he didn’t stop there. Just six months after getting started, Summers began to book regional bands and then started working on shows all over the country with bigger venues. Working out of his room with a computer and phone line, Summers is a full-time student and entrepreneur who is building a big reputation with bands in the Des Moines area.

What do you actually do?

“A lot of people don’t know what a promoter does; they think or assume it’s just handing out flyers. I did hand out about 3,000 flyers at the Green Day concert, but it’s a lot more than that. I book shows for bands. Right now, I’m keeping it restricted and under control so I can finish the last year of school. I’m not soliciting at all; my clients are coming to me. If I ever decided to take this on full-time career, then I would pursue the bands myself.”

Why the name First Fleet Concerts?

“When I think of the name First Fleet, I think of the first one in, the first person into the market. It’s like the first fleet of ships going into the war; it means dominance.”

Why do you think you are so successful?

“There just isn’t competition around here; I don’t have any competition in Des Moines. Bands use the same person when they come back to an area. It’s credibility and loyalty, which is one problem I had starting up. You have to have credibility, and, fortunately, I’ve been building that up for the last two and a half years.”

What kind of music do you book?

“Mostly I do alternative rock, but this fall I’m going to try to get into some different genres and open things up a bit.”

Is there a possibility of making this a full-time career?

“Actually, I’m going to take the LSAT next Saturday; I am planning on going to law school. I can’t really do both [law school and booking], so I’m going to have a pretty big decision to make within the next year. I could always take a more dominant role and just run the company from a distance, but I feel like I really want to be involved with the bands. Maybe I could focus on entertainment law, which I’m really interested in. I have made a lot of connections from booking the shows and I’ve been talking to a lot of people, but it is a decision I will have to make myself.”

That is a big decision. Do you have any advice for anyone else who wants to get involved with promoting and booking shows?

“Start working with someone who is doing it to learn the ropes. You can get in over your head pretty easily, and it’s helpful to have someone that you can ask questions to. You have to know the bands and be very involved in the music scene. Professionalism is really important; the bands themselves are pretty laid back, but you definitely need to be professional with the agents. Actually, I use what I learn in my classes since I’m a marketing and economics major.”

Wow, so you actually use your major?

“Basically, I take everything I am learning in class and I directly apply it to my business. It works out pretty well.”