Meet Sequoia Slentz and some of his creative marketing ideas
The climb of a creative marketing consultant : Sequoia Slentz? Even with his busy coast-to-coast touring schedule, Slentz said he still makes time to do local bookings. It is Cleanbox who introduced bands likes Henheart and Ryan Crosby to the Piper, and Alice Wallace and the Greatest Cover Band Ever to Ocean Avenue Brewery. “You never know when all of this will end,” he said. “I know I’ll always have a place at the Piper and in Laguna.” Slentz is married to his high-school sweetheart, Leslie Christen Slentz. The couple lives in Dana Point with their 3-year-old son, Micah. Cleanbox will host its fifth concert with the Fab Faux on Saturday at Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The Beatles Tribute band was founded by the bassist for the Late Show with David Letterman, Will Lee, and also features Late Night with Conan O’Brien guitarist Jimmy Vivino and drummer Rich Pagano. The band will be accompanied by the Hogshead Horns and Creme Tangerine Strings of Saturday Night Live.
Sequoia Slentz profile in 944 Magazine : Although the world CleanBox inhabits is a far cry from the glossy photo spreads of beautiful people getting their rocks off that fill the mag’s pages, the recognition is still appreciated. Even though we despise the types of people who are into the magazine: the Armani and cologne wearing set, the bitchy, fake-titted chicks who won’t give us the time of day, we are ready and willing to accept all publicity. Plus, Sequoia and I got some free tequila at the photo shoot. Nothing beats a semi-solid excuse to drink hard liquor at noon.
About Sequoia Slentz: Owned and operated CleanBox Entertainment since 2001. Over the past 4 years we have produced major live events nationwide. My company created a television show which was licensed to Howard TV in 2009. We are interested in all ideas. Specialties: Designing, Manufacturing, Merchandise, Producing Live Shows, Creative Marketing on a budget, Event Planning.
Sequoia Slentz event planning tips: It’s best to have that all figured out in advance and rehearse with your presenters and crew. If time permits, try to gather the crew together for a show flow meeting, then go through a tech rehearsal with the crew, followed by rehearsals with each presenter. Beginnings, middle and ends, along with transitions, video rolls, lighting changes, and every audio and video cue should be rehearsed. Last minute changes can be either highly disruptive or no harm at all. Fixing a typo on a slide or slight change to an element on stage usually won’t upset the apple cart. But adding new content at the last minute, like a brand new slide show or video, should be avoided. Especially, if you don’t get time to test or practice, that last minute change could blow up in your face, and make your presenters and clients look foolish. But be prepared for last minute changes and if there’s time – update your script, rehearse if possible, but say, “No, we’re out of time” when you have to. Really, there’s nothing worse than a major on-air blunder.
Sequoia Slentz on Covid-19 times and the entertainment industry : What is the future of the music industry over the next few years? The music industry is constantly changing, though the pandemic definitely threw a curveball for live music. What I believe is that artists need to stay focused on their principles. Of course, no one knows what the future will be like, besides more streaming and technology innovations. Still, we can focus on sound principles such as creating great songs, great video content, staying engaged with one’s community, and focusing on mental and physical health. When things start to open again, artists that spent their time wisely will get a jump on their careers because they focused on their music and marketing their brand when they couldn’t do much else. I believe that people will be more excited than ever before about live music since we’ve been starved of it for the past couple of months.
Killers of Comedy & Sequoia Slentz : We travel around the country with the Killers, meeting super fans everywhere we go. When you hang out with Beetlejuice before a Killers show, you feel like you’re hanging with freak show royalty. Everyone recognizes him and everyone loves him. But the best part of all… we got it all on tape.
