San Benito Stage Company opens venue to rock bands
Three Bay Area bands will be playing a show at the Granada
Theater this Saturday
– Big Love, The Pilot’s Wife and Skyway View – due to the
efforts of local resident, Sally Hail, the show’s promoter.
”
That’s one thing I never thought I would call myself, ever,
”
said Hail, who is a director and member of the board of
directors for the San Benito Stage Company.
San Benito Stage Company opens venue to rock bands
Three Bay Area bands will be playing a show at the Granada Theater this Saturday – Big Love, The Pilot’s Wife and Skyway View – due to the efforts of local resident, Sally Hail, the show’s promoter.
“That’s one thing I never thought I would call myself, ever,” said Hail, who is a director and member of the board of directors for the San Benito Stage Company.
Stage Company officials are looking to branch out since they rent the theater fulltime, Hail said. At a board meeting, Hail suggested holding shows. All proceeds go towards the Stage Company.
The show will be a family event that is in line with the spirit of the Stage Company, Hail said.
“It’s all ages,” she said. “There are no liquor sales.”
The Granada can accommodate 300 people, Hail said. Their break-even point is 150 people.
Their first show was on April 5, the same night as San Benito High School’s battle of the bands. It was too late to cancel by the time Hail realized.
Still, 80 people showed up, Hail said. Most of them were from out of town.
“I’m willing to give it as much as it needs to be given because this is kind of my baby,” Hail said. “We’re really hoping to do this again, if we have a good crowd.”
If the audience keeps growing, the board will probably give the shows more time to catch on, Hail said.
“My goal is to bring in some bigger bands from the Bay Area maybe and supplement them with our guys,” Hail said. “We’ve got some really good bands in the area, the kids who are playing. I’m hoping to get them involved.”
Being a promoter is a whole new experience, Hail said.
“I want to hear feedback from people,” Hail said. “If I’m really off, somebody tell me.”
Originally from the Santa Barbara area, Hail spent her youth going to shows in the little venues scattered around the city.
“We don’t have anything like that,” Hail said. “I have two teenagers who are looking at me and going, ‘it’s boring.’ I was like, ‘Well, let’s do something about it.'”
It was a group effort, Hail said.
“There are so many people who helped out with these shows,” Hail said. “One person can’t do it.”
Three of the four band members in The Pilot’s Wife are Gilroy natives and will play in Hollister for the first time.
Some local teens are excited. On their MySpace page, one fan said, “I’ll be here at your Hollister show on the 16th Can’t wait! I’ll be the little girl in the front singing all the words wanting to sing with you boys.”
People can expect fresh music and good times, said Jason Habing, the guitarist.
“What I’ve heard from our friends about us live, they feel like they are really part of the music,” Robbie Xavier, the bass player. “We really try to connect with the audience.”
Childhood friends, Habing, Xavier, and Greg Smith, who is responsible for vocals and keys, have been jamming together for years. They started the Pilot’s Wife a year and a half ago. Hollis Browne, a drummer from Australia, joined the band recently.
This is the last time to catch the guys before they go up to Seattle to record the first half of their new album.
Now that the band has a manager, their lives have gotten kind of crazy, Xavier said.
“What he is going to do is a now or never kind of deal,” Habing said. “After we record, [our manager’s] going to pitch it to a whole bunch of labels.”
Hopefully record company executives will pay for the other half of the album, Habing said.
“Just yesterday we sold all our old amps to pay for the record,” Xavier said.
In October, The Pilot’s Wife is going on a five-week tour that will take them through California, Louisiana, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
“We might actually play one or two shows in Mexico,” Xavier said.
The tour is a way to expose a wider audience, one that includes record company executives, to their music, Xavier said.
“Kind of get them to see us as a legit band,” Xavier said.
The show is Sat., Aug. 16 at the Granada Theater, 336 Fifth St. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The show starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 and can be purchased at the door starting at 4:45 p.m.
