The music scene in North County flourishes because of music venues like The Jumping Turtle in San Marcos, which supports local bands by giving them shows on a nightly basis and helping them hone not only their skills of playing live but also their ability to make new fans. I got to meet Joe Troutman, The Jumping Turtle’s entertainment director, a few months back at one of the Turtle’s shows and thought he was a pretty interesting guy. So I gave him a call and picked his brain to understand a little bit of how booking shows for a premier North County music venue like The Jumping Turtle happens.

Joe has been booking shows for bands since 2002. Like most things, it started out completely unintentionally. He was working in a grocery store when he met a guy in a band that he really liked. Troutman was so pumped on this guy’s band that he started getting people to go to their shows, which in turn led to him getting the band more shows, which then led to him managing them somewhat.

From there, other bands he came to know would ask him to do the same for them. And in 2002, he held the first official show he promoted entirely by himself at a small biker bar in Lake Hodges. He started working for the Longshot Saloon in San Marcos booking shows for them when he got a call to check out The Jumping Turtle. Things fell into place from there and Troutman is now the venue’s entertainment director.

The Jumping Turtle, for those of you who might not know, is one of the premier locations in North County (and San Diego) not only because of its killer sound system and awesome nightly shows, but because it’s also the only all-ages venue with a bar. “The bar part is important because it brings in the drinkers who bring in the money which pays the staff and allows for the money at the door to go to the bands,” Troutman explained.

Bringing people through the door is an obvious necessity when booking bands, but venues also expect you to do some work getting your fans, and people who could be your fans, interested in the show. “There’s two parts in booking bands,” Troutman said. “One part I like, the other one is the business side of things. The big thing is shows aren’t for free. First, your band has to draw people through the door. Also, the effort a band makes to promote their show, to get fans to the venue. Also working the crowd, making new fans during and after the show. Draw is extremely important but also how much the band hustles and networks is important too.”

Troutman’s roots in the business are deep in metal. “Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to listen to anything other than the Beach Boys and music my parents listened to,” Troutman said. “They thought my instrumental Joe Satriani CD was devil music. But eventually I got my hands on some Metallica CDs but it was Ozzy and Black Sabbath that sort of sealed the deal for me with metal. There was no turning back after that.”

The Turtle is known as North County’s place for metal and loud music and it draws a lot of big metal acts. “We’ve got three huge shows coming up,” Troutman said. “As I Lay Dying is going to be shooting their DVD there Nov. 17, that’s going to be huge. Also, My Star Burning Metalfest is Aug. 30 and Aug. 31 with 24 bands in two days.”

If you’re a band interested in having your band play at The Jumping Turtle, Troutman said the best way to go about is to go to a show and meet him there. He said he likes to meet bands in person and feel them out. From there, he may book you on a Monday or Wednesday night, and depending on how good you are and how many people come, he might then graduate you to a Friday or Saturday night show.

Joe Troutman is a man who loves what he does and it shows in his work. Without his love for music, North County would be a little quieter at night, and that would be a shame. To contact Joe Troutman, go to The Jumping Turtle and meet him, or visit his MySpace page www.myspace. com/joetroutman. For information on upcoming shows at The Jumping Turtle, visit www.thejumpingturtle.com.