Brassroots District: The Opening Act for LA’s Immersive Summer (Q&A)

After a year plus of in person immersive being pretty much a no-no here in Los Angeles, there’s a vibe headed into this summer that’s pretty much undeniable.

Productions that have been holding off are starting to spin back up and there’s a pent-up passion for getting back out into the world. One such production is Brassroots District: Live in Lot Summer ‘73, a long-simmering project that is the brainchild of LA musician Ari Herstand and artist manager Andrew Leib, who have tapped Capital W’s Monica Miklas to helm the project.

Herstand has had a big few years, with a popular book about the music industry and he lead a successful lobbying effort on behalf of musicians negatively impacted by California’s AB5 law, getting the law amended to better match the original purveyors of the actual gig economy.

The Brassroots District project will take audiences on a funked out time warp back to the LA music industry heyday of the 1970’s. It’s a project that Herstand — who is a long time sustaining supporter of No Proscenium — and Leib have been developing for years. [To get a taste of the world and the music, ring (323) 596–1973.]

We spoke with Herstand, Leib, and Miklas about what’s going down in the lot this summer and how it came to be.

No Proscenium: I know the team has been working towards this for a long time what’s the origin story with Brassroots District?

Ari Herstand: About 6 years ago I went to New Orleans for a month to write my book (How To Make It in the New Music Business). Every morning I ran the streetcar tracks listening to 70s funk/soul, then I’d go to a cafe and write for 10 hours and then at night I’d hit Frenchman street to take in New Orleans’ best brass bands, funk outfits and that spicy cajun flavor that you only get in NOLA. For the previous 10 years of my career I was a touring singer/songwriter — writing, releasing and performing mostly acoustic indie folk. I returned from this New Orleans trip with a fervor for funk. I realized that was the kind of music I needed to make. Around that time I took a trip to NYC and saw Sleep No More and attended a Daybreaker in the same weekend and my artistic mind was cracked wide open. Meanwhile, back home in LA, my best friend Andrew was deep into managing funk/soul artists like Cory Henry, Emily King, Robert Randolph and we began conceiving of what this new funk outfit could look like.

And then, like divine intervention, I discovered No Proscenium and Everything Immersive, and the rest, you could say, was history. Andrew and I attended every immersive show we could that Noah recommended and we began our journey. We met with some of the most prominent players in the immersive space to learn everything we could and build this the right way (who we mostly discovered from the NoPro podcast) like Vance Garret (Sleep No More, Museum of Ice Cream), Ed Sylvanus Iskandar (Caught), Fri Forjindam and David Wally (Mycotoo, SXSWestworld), Niyia Mack (Meow Wolf, Delusion), Mikhael Tara Garver (Sleep No More, 13exp) and of course, to our current producer and co-writer, Monica Miklas (Capital W).

All the while we wrote a full album (of original 1973-inspired funk music), released a few singles, put on a couple shows at the Teragram Ballroom and Moroccan Theater in Downtown LA. Inching closer and closer to the full experience — which was set to debut at the Satellite in Silverlake last June. We know what happened next.

Needless to say we are so thrilled that the denizens of Los Angeles will get to experience Brassroots District in its full 1973 glory this Summer.

NP: Why music and immersive theatre together?

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Andrew Leib: It’s a melding of our favorite things. Ari and I have worked in the music business for years now, but got our start in the arts doing musical theater and acting when we were little kiddos. We’re also huge fans of music from the 60s and 70s and I’ve always daydreamed about catching my favorites in their heyday on their rise to fame. Brassroots District: Live in the Lot Summer ’73 will allow attendees to enjoy some of LA’s finest musicians playing original funk music while immersing themselves in one of the most iconic eras in the 20th century.

We think it’s a perfect pairing.

AH: I’ve played over 1,000 shows around the world throughout my career. Some of my favorite shows were the ones where I felt like the audience and I went on a journey together. And typically that journey started before the doors opened and ended around someone’s kitchen table. People want so much more than just a 45 minute set of music performed on stage. They want to feel something. Have catharsis. Jolt out of the monotony of their day to day. Have an unforgettable experience. The word “experience,” as we know, is far overused in the immersive realm, but it’s a brand new concept for the music space. With Andrew’s and my background in music — and Monica’s expertise in immersive — we have developed something that not only checks the boxes of what people expect, but takes them somewhere they never knew they wanted to go.

NP: The pandemic threw a real curveball into development — is there something this creative challenge put into the mix that you’re glad is in there?

AH: So, initially, we developed this as a club experience that we were going to put up at the Satellite in Silverlake (RIP). Earlier this year we were tired of waiting for the world to open up, so we began developing this show as a drive-in. Creatively, we came up with the concept of a tailgate, pre-show hang in the parking lot that is common for arena shows. Mid-development, California announced the June 15th full reopening date and we pivoted. No longer is it a drive-in concert, but we fell in love with the parking lot, pre-show concept, so we continued with that. Sly and the Family Stone is one of our favorite artists (and biggest influence for Brassroots District), so we wrote in to the story that we are the pre-show, parking lot entertainment before Sly and the Family Stone take the stage at the Fabulous Orbit Arena in Downtown Los Angeles, in their prime, Summer ’73.

NP: This one’s for Monica. You’ve produced Capital W’s shows, and turned to writing and performing with Fire Season last year. Now you’re directing work that was in development before you came onboard: how is this shift? What’s opening up for you because of this?

Monica Miklas: I’ll be honest, coming onto a pre-existing project gave me pause because I like being in on the ground floor creatively. As the creative producer of Capital W, I always have a major hand in shaping story, even on shows where co-founder Lauren Ludwig writes and directs. Our process is really wide-open, usually without a specific outcome in mind. I attempted a few collaborations like this earlier in my career, but I didn’t know how to advocate for my own artistic process while fitting into someone else’s company or vision. I credit Lauren with helping to change that: we have spent a lot of time over the years investing in our communication skills and facing down our own bad habits. That honesty is a real cornerstone of Capital W.

Fortunately, Ari and Andrew have made it easy to join their team. They’re warm, welcoming collaborators, and they’ve given me and Daysha Veronica, the stellar head writer of this experience, ample room to build upon the foundation they’ve made. I see a lot of possibilities in the future both with this Brassroots team and on other work for broader audiences. It’s a great complement to the small audience work that is Capital W’s bread and butter.

NP: Back to Ari. I know our podcast listeners know your name because you’ve for one of our core backers forever — that’s called a disclosure, folks — and almost all that time you’ve had something immersive on the back burner. Now it’s almost here: what are you feeling?

AH: I’m still in disbelief. This is probably the 5th or 6th start and stop we’ve had of this show. We got a bit further each time. And now, we’re finally here. And as I am such a fan of NoPro and Everything Immersive, I’m fanning (are the kids saying stanning?) over this interview right now. Let’s FUNK IT UP!

Brassroots District: Live in Lot Summer ’73 runs for six shows, July 10–25. Tickets are $55–197 and are on sale now.

Discover the latest immersive events, festivals, workshops, and more at our new site EVERYTHING IMMERSIVE, new home of NoPro’s show listings.

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