Today we’d like to introduce you to Elliott Genther.
Hi Elliott , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My musical journey started in grade school. I played the violin in the orchestra and loved it. I quit when I entered high school thinking it wasn’t cool, which was so unfortunate. However, my girlfriend senior year suggested that I sell my violin and buy a guitar with the proceeds, which I did, and will never forget the night when I brought it home and was instantly hooked. It followed me everywhere, and eventually to the College of Charleston in the late summer of 2001. I remember playing it on the balcony outside my apartment at the Kelly House my freshman year, searching for other musical souls (which I found in short order), and this led to my first band. We called ourselves Swiftwater Rescue, and were happy to discover that we could actually make pretty good money playing music around the city. Those were lively times!
I hopped around the country after college, but found my way back in 2008. I reconnected with an old Swiftwater bandmate, who himself was searching for another band, and not long after Green Levels was formed. Collectively, the sound that emerged has roots in bluegrass, Americana, and the singer songwriter traditions. We spent our formative years playing at bars and restaurants in the area, and this naturally evolved into playing high end weddings and corporate events. As our customer base grew, we took on partnerships with booking agencies, namely OtherBrother Entertainment, who help manage our schedule and deal with the nuts and bolts. It has been a great run and we are continually grateful that this city supports live music in such meaningful ways.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a pretty smooth ride, to be honest. We have tried to keep things simple, and remain flexible and innovate where we can. Our collaboration with OtherBrother has really helped us scale and keep our focus on the music, and we have grown a network of really talented musicians that we call on often to play with us. We are at a point where we can “divide and conquer” if we have competing events, and can put two great bands together and call each “Green Levels”.
In the age of AI, managing the books has become much easier. I was never much of a spreadsheet guru, but with the tools we have now, you just need to know how to describe what you want from your data and follow along. In no time you’ll be able to track and filter income, create dashboards showing YOY growth, visualize trends, and all that jazz.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We sell a product. Sure, we are a band with a rootsy bluegrass sound, but “the job” is so much more involved than that. We are problem solvers, room readers, performers, creatives. We approach each performance with flexibility, and it’s almost like we are building the plane as it’s taking off. In a way, we are the ones listening to you. What’s working, what’s not, is now a good time to take a musical risk? I think this is what we have become known for. We do these things dependably and consistently and have gained the trust of countless clients in the region who continue to call on us, knowing that we are consistent in our ability to adapt to a crowd, to a space, and deliver when it counts. We depend on a great group of musicians to accomplish this, and are proud to be able to share our success with them. We pay them as much as we can, because quite simply they deserve it.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
We lead with integrity. If we make a mistake we own it and learn from it. We always strive to meeting each audience where it is at. If your toddler is digging us, we will play the wheels on the bus go round and round. Beyond this, I think we are curious. We scour the decades and are always on the hunt for a song that you love, but would never expect us to play, and that’s when we get ya! We write our own music as well. In the end, I think everyone who is in this band feels like they have an equal say. We work well together.
Pricing:
- $2500-$8000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.greenlevelsmusic.com
- Instagram: @thegreenlevels
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenlevels
