Eric Rushing is a Sacramento music-industry figure who has worked across nearly every part of the local ecosystem: as a longtime promoter and talent buyer, a venue owner, an artist manager, and the head of a record label.[1][2] Submerge has described him as a "longtime Sacramento music enthusiast and promoter"[3] and as a "Sacramento entrepreneur and music business guru."[2]
At a glance
- Self-described as having spent "20 years in the music industry," and calls Sacramento his "hometown"[2]
- Co-owner (with Bret Bair) of the downtown all-ages venue Ace of Spades, opened Feb. 9, 2011[4][5]
- Talent buyer/booker behind Ace of Spades, Assembly, The Boardwalk, Goldfield, and other rooms[5][1][2]
- Head of Artery Foundation Artist Management and Artery Recordings (also styled Artery Records)[6][2]; reached out personally to sign bands as label CEO[7]
- Promoted shows at The Boardwalk for roughly a decade (circa 2000/2001–2010/2011) before opening Ace of Spades[5][8]
- Opened the Gold Standard Sounds recording studio in Sacramento, announced Feb. 2016[2]
Role in the scene
Rushing's footprint spans promotion, venue ownership, artist management, label work, and recording. By 2016 Submerge listed his affiliated "entities" as Artery Foundation Artist Management, Artery Recordings, Ace of Spades, The Boardwalk, Goldfield, "and other entities."[2] His partnership with Bret Bair recurs across the venue side of his business.[4][9][5]
As a promoter, Rushing built a reputation predating his venues. Papa Roach's Jacoby Shaddix recalled that Rushing had promoted Papa Roach shows during their late-1990s club era, including dates outside Sacramento; per Shaddix, Rushing said "those were my shows even down there."[3]
Early label work
In 1996 Rushing founded 720 Records, a record label and booking venture he modeled after Rusty Nail — an early-1990s Sacramento label that had released music from local acts including Far, Funky Blue Velvet, and Prayer Wheel. According to the Sacramento News & Review, 720 Records eventually grew into a full national management operation.[10] That evolution produced The Artery Foundation, co-founded in 2004 by Rushing alongside Greg Patterson and Shawn Carrano.[11][12]
Artery Foundation
The Artery Foundation expanded well beyond local booking. According to its Wikipedia entry, the company ran an annual free showcase at South by Southwest — where fans would line up early to attend — and launched an "Artery Foundation Across the Nation Tour" starting in 2008, which later expanded to Europe. The company opened an Australian office in summer 2012.[11] By 2016 Rushing's management roster included over 25 acts.[10]
Promoter and talent buyer
Rushing steadily promoted shows at The Boardwalk, an all-ages club on Greenback Lane in Orangevale, for about ten years — Submerge variously dates this run as 2001–2011[5] and "around 2000–2010"[8] — before opening Ace of Spades.[5] In 2013 he served as the band booker for Sacramento's LAUNCH Festival, where he was credited as "owner of Ace of Spades" and described assembling the lineup as building "a dream list of acts" via a programming committee.[13]
In his role as Ace of Spades talent buyer he is credited with giving local hard-rock band Some Fear None "their big break"; frontman Nathan Giguiere recounted that Rushing told the band, "You put a good lineup together, and we'll do it," leading to a May 4, 2013 headlining show that drew over 700 people.[8]
Venues
- Ace of Spades — Rushing co-owns this downtown all-ages venue with Bret Bair; it debuted Feb. 9, 2011 with a sold-out Rob Zombie show and was ranked No. 52 on Pollstar's 2011 year-end worldwide club ticket-sales list. Bair recalled that "Eric and I always felt that the city and its passionate music fans would support a larger music venue if we could get the talent."[4] Under Rushing and Bair, the venue grew from roughly 60–80 shows annually in its opening year to approximately 160 shows per year by 2015.[14][15]
- Assembly — Rushing opened Assembly (also called Assembly Music Hall) after Ace of Spades. His exit from Assembly in fall 2014 was attributed to overhead costs, according to the Sacramento News & Review.[5][9][10]
- The Boardwalk — After promoting there for roughly a decade, Rushing and Bair took over operating and booking the Orangevale club beginning in late 2014, framing it as a smaller-room complement to Ace of Spades and a replacement for the void left by Assembly's closure.[5] They stepped away in early 2017 to let original owner Mark Earl run the room as a primarily 21-and-over venue for its 30th anniversary.[16]
- Goldfield — A downtown Sacramento venue/business Rushing co-owns with Bair.[9][2]
- Holy Dive Bar / Holy Diver — In Jan. 2017 Bair and Rushing announced plans for a new all-ages venue called Holy Dive Bar, comparable in size to The Boardwalk and intended for "the burbs."[17] An Aug. 2017 update reported the project would instead open downtown in the former Starlite Lounge building (long before known as The Townhouse) as "Holy Diver."[18]
In late 2014 Rushing and Bair were rumored to have considered buying the closing Midtown venue Witch Room to keep it a live-music space, but Rushing told Submerge they "walked away from the deal."[9]
Rushing has faced criticism from local bands for requiring ticket presales to perform at his venues. According to the Sacramento News & Review, he responded to that criticism: "The scene is not what it used to be."[10]
Artist management and label work
Rushing heads Artery Foundation Artist Management and the affiliated label Artery Recordings (also referred to as Artery Records).[6][2] As label CEO he personally recruited acts; the all-female metalcore band Conquer Divide said "Eric Rushing reached out to us initially" before signing them.[7]
Artery Recordings was established in 2010 as an imprint of Razor & Tie, with Rushing founding it as a rock and metalcore specialist label.[19][12] On August 31, 2017, Warner Music Group acquired Artery Recordings' catalogue and frontline artist deals. Warner did not hire any staff from the label; future releases were to be worked and distributed through Warner's ADA division.[12][19]
He has managed or represented numerous local and national rock and metal acts:
- Acted as manager to Sacramento musicians including Kurt Travis, who called Rushing "pretty freaking connected."[20]
- Was the mutual manager linking Horseneck's Anthony Paganelli and Lennon Hudson; Rushing advised Horseneck to hold off releasing their early recordings and instead pursue a release through Artery Records.[6]
- By 2016, his management and label rosters were said to include national acts such as Alesana, Chelsea Grin, Attila, Vanna and Anvil, alongside "signed local and regional bands" including Will Haven, Hoods, Hail the Sun, Horseneck and Graveshadow.[2]
Recording studio
In Feb. 2016 Rushing announced Gold Standard Sounds, a full-fledged recording studio he opened in Sacramento under the Artery umbrella. He described it as serving recording, writing sessions, video sessions and listening parties, and said it "showcases the only SSL Console in town."[2]
Local status
Rushing is local to the Greater Sacramento region. He calls Sacramento his "hometown,"[2] is repeatedly described by Submerge as a Sacramento promoter and entrepreneur,[3][2] and his decades of work — promoting at the Orangevale Boardwalk, co-founding downtown Sacramento venues, and running a Sacramento studio and label — are rooted in the local scene.[5][8][2]