Ira Planer works with both Burriss Amps and QLighting, and is heavily involved in the house concert scene. Over the years, Ira has worked with many great artists like Bill Tom’s and Will Kimbrough, along with a host of other great bands and artists.
How did you get your start?
It’s always been a love of mine since working with Roger Wilson in Atlanta. My cousins were selling LED lighting for the medical industry and I thought, “Hey, these would be great for stage hands at concerts. I then said let’s go to the NAMM show and we tried to sell them. That led to us meeting Bob Burriss and we started being a rep for his hand-wired tube amps. It really took off from there.
What was the biggest surprise or revelation you had when you started?
It was finding how down to earth and friendly the artists are. It’s amazing. They are great musicians and really great people too. So easy to talk to.
Knowing what you know now, if you could do something over, what would it be?
Be more organized!
If you were to start fresh today and you didn’t have any contacts in the music world, but you had all of your collective knowledge and experience, how would you get started?
I would start small and get involved in your local music scene. If you see a band you like, reach out to them.
Top 3 Takeaways to support your success in the music business:
- Start Local – meet people and ask questions
- If you are interested in house concerts – go to concertsinyourhome.com. It’s a great resource.
- The #1 key is to start – get out and ask questions, join a meet up, support your local music scene.
Important Links:
How you can get in touch with Ira:
http://www.hopsandrootsfest.com
Ira Planer
Honored to be your first guest on such a finely produced and informative podcast Kelly, wonderful job!!