Interview with Jack Bodziak: President / Owner of Jannus Productions

REAX:  How did you get started in concert promotion and how has your role in the music community changed over the years?
Jack Bodziak:  After I graduated from The University of Florida with a degree in finance, I went into real estate and was one of four partners that purchased the Jannus Landing city block. This included the businesses on that block.  At that point, I knew very little about the music business.  Over the years, I learned a lot about the industry from my friend, Rob Douglas, and others who, I like to joke, came with the property.  In the meantime, I bought out my other partners and brought in Dan Harvey as a partner in the businesses and Tony Amico on the real estate side.  My role over the years has changed more as I have built relationships with agents and increased my booking ability by adding ownership of venues like the State Theatre and others.
 
REAX:  Does the city of St. Petersburg support you and your decisions on what kind of music you bring into the area?
JB:  Absolutely, from the mayor to Leslie Curran (my local council woman), I have many city officials who have shown their support to us here over the years.  Let’s face it, many people have moved to downtown St. Pete to be a part of the excitement that we have helped create.  However, some of those same people have tried to give us a hard time about noise issues etc.  It has taken strong city leadership to say to these wealthy individuals, “tough crap, Jannus Landing has helped the city boom into this renaissance and you can't move down here and bitch about the very things that make it cool.”

REAX:  What impact do all-day festivals have on the residents of Tampa Bay?
JB:  These festivals bring in serious money to our local economy. However, I think that it’s a feather in the cap of St. Petersburg to host events I promote, like the Vans Warped Tour.  I hate to sound sappy, but it’s about the music. I have been a huge fan of music since I was a kid and the national acts we bring in are great for the city.
 
REAX:  How is the Van’s Warped Tour different from the other touring summer festivals?
JB:  We are bigger and have a lot of things to do other than just listening to music.
 
REAX:  What steps are taken to insure that all concert attendees have a safe time at one of your shows?
JB:  I could go on for two hours about this question… mostly extra security, police, EMS, and fire marshals.
 
REAX:  What has been the highlight of your career so far?
JB:  When I went to UF, I had a good friend of mine who insisted that I go to a local Gainesville bar called "Rickinbockers" to see a new band called Sister Hazel.  He used to drive me crazy about this band, how big they were going to be, and how great they were.  I agreed with him on how great they were.  However, I used to argue with him about how hard I felt it was for a band to get picked up by a national label and make it big, especially in a small town like Gainesville.  At the time I was a finance major who thought I was going to be a real estate broker. Then, fast forward years later... I own Jannus Landing and my friend, Wayne Whibey, is a pharmacist.  I had Sister Hazel at Jannus Landing, sold out with two number one singles.  He was screaming at me over the bar, "I told you Jack!  This band is huge!"  It never felt so good to be wrong.