Powering Up for a Rock and Roll Show

After hearing about Dana Key’s death I wrote an article about the first time I saw his band, Degarmo and Key, live in concert when in was in 8th grade. It has been a concert that has always stood out as a special event for me.

One of the promoters of that very concert, Chuck Page, wrote me this morning to share some background to that event. He gave me permission to post his letter here. You can see a lot about Dana Key, Eddie Degarmo, and Chuck from this tale. Enjoy!

Chad, there’s something else you should know about the concert at the Warehouse Church, Dana Key, and Eddie Degarmo.

It started with a group of friends, me being one of them, that loved the music of Degarmo & Key. We were freshman and sophomore’s at NNC, now NNU. We were tired of the “boring” Christian artists of the day being brought to NNC for concerts. We liked D&K, Petra, The Resurrection Band, and a handful of others. One of us noticed in a Christian magazine that D&K was on the road and Denver and Seattle was part of the tour. There was a phone number listed for booking opportunities; we surmised that Boise is right between the two cities, so we called to find out if they would play here. Their agent called us back, and after some negotiation he mailed us a contract to bring the band to Boise.

We really didn’t know how to produce and promote a concert of this magnitude, but we were young and really just wanted to see a good Christian rock show. To make it happen, each of my friends had to sign for a loan from a local bank so we would have the necessary “front” money to buy radio spots, print posters and flyers, pay for mailings, rent the facility, book the hotel, etc… It really wasn’t that much money, but for college students who didn’t have any money, it was a lot!

When the band arrived they drove up with a Greyhound-size motor home bus for the band and a 18 wheel semi-truck with all their gear. For the Warehouse church they only used about 20% of their gear.

One of the requirements they needed was 220w power for their light show. We told had told that would be no problem. However, we really didn’t know the difference between 220w and 110w power, and the Warehouse church only had 110w. As the roadie manager was “chewing” me out for this Dana Key put his hand on the managers shoulder, told him not to worry about it, and asked me to help him re-wire the stage. For the next several hours I assisted Dana as his electrical helper. I’m pretty sure this wasn’t to code, but it worked.

About an hour before the show the band held a Bible study and prayer time. They invited myself and my friends to join them. As I look back on this whole experience, this time was the most meaningful. One of the “roadie” crew was not saved and he was the whole focus of the prayer time. Afterwards it was time for the show, I got the honor to announce the band and the show started. It was cool because my friends and I got to know a real rock band, sit in the front row, and see one of the best shows I’ve ever seen. In fact last week my wife and I went to the Eagles concert at the Idaho Center. Probably the greatest show I’ve ever seen, but the D&K show is right behind it.

Both Ed and Dana realized that we were going to lose a lot of money on this show, though we were able to pay them the amount promised. They asked the crowd to take a special collection for us and it really helped. There’s actually more to the whole story, but hopefully this was of some interest to you. I’m glad you were at the show and you enjoyed it so much. I know I did.

God Bless,

Chuck