We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dave Country Bunker a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Dave, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea
Before Grand Ole Country Bunker was ever even an idea, Dave was going to Traditional Country Music shows and connecting with some of the older artists who made contributions to the 50s and 60s country music that he loves.
Back in the mid 2000s, California Country local favorite Cody Bryant owned and operated the greatest Country Music bar in the Los Angeles area, Viva Cantina in Burbank. Cody befriended one of the Pioneers of The Bakersfield Sound, Red Simpson and would have Red come down to his bar for special events. Cody and his band backed up Red recreating the feeling of the 60s Bakersfield Sound days. This was a truly special period of Dave’s life as a music fan and would eventually inspire him to create his own Traditional Country Music event series.
After the 2020 closure of Viva Cantina and many other live music venues it became obvious to Dave that there was a growing need for a new hub in Los Angeles for Traditional Country Music. As the bars and clubs started to open back up he started to meet the next generation of New Traditional Country Musicians.
Bands like West of Texas, Rosy Nolan, Matt Axton and Tar and Flowers were some of his first new friends in the blossoming LA Country scene. Many of these musicians are typically not being paid very much when they played but the shows they put on are as good as if not better than the average indie concert you pay 25 or so dollars to see.
In May of 2022 the Grand Ole Country Bunker instagram account changed from being an account that shares clips of Classic and local Traditional Country Music bands, to an organization that hosts and promotes Traditional Country Music events.
Grand Ole Country Bunker has curated and hosted over 25 events since May of 2022 and has brought many emerging bands to Los Angeles for their debut shows.
Grand Ole Country Bunker is about finding and supporting artists all over the world who are continuing to write original music in the traditions of Hank Williams, George Jones, Loretta Lynn and of course Red Simpson.
We want to thank Sespe Creek Distillery for their continued support of our events. Without their support, much of what Grand Ole Country Bunker has accomplished would have been impossible.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I didn’t realize there were more questions….
Ok……
Im a storyboard artist in TV animation. My college friend Mark Bodnar introduced me to Johnny Horton’s music back in 2003. I feel in love. The music sent me on an endless quest of discovery. I did not grow up loving and listening to Country. As an animator the story telling in Country Music really appeals to me. When I started listening to Country I was only willing to listen to song from 1955 – 1965 ( with the exception of Hank Williams Sr. )
Music and animation have a lot im common. I still work full time as a storyboard artist in the animation world. Grand Ole Country Bunker is a passion project.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I like this question. I have tried to build a good reputation for Grand Ole Country Bunker. I want that name to mean something.
My grandfather was a self employed photographer for high society. He started out working for a well known photographer in St Louis, MO. Eventually he created the candid portion of the business and then bought the studio from his boss. My grandfather did what he loved. He always said, do your work as if you are doing it for The Lord. That means take pride in your work and do the best you can to serve others. He believed the blessings in his life came to him from God and that you have to give back to others in thanks.
I love this California Country scene. The least I can do for all these artists is give them a quality venue to play with a full crowd and pay them at minimum a fair wage.
Im not running a business as much as Im trying to make positive change in our Country Music Community.
Any thoughts, advice, or strategies you can share for fostering brand loyalty?
I try to run Grand Ole Country Bunker with the feeling of a small town hospitality.
When we open the doors to one of our events I like to stand by the door or out front and shake the hands of our guests and thank them for being a part of our night.
We are always looking for like minded people who want to get involved. No one is in this business thinking they are going to get rich. There are bookers far more experienced than Country Bunker that will tell you, if you don’t love it, its not worth it.
I think our guests can see that everyone involved with a Grand Ole Country Bunker event is there because they love the Music and the community. People like Cody Bryant did this for me back in the day. Now its my turn to give back.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/grandolecountrybunker
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/grandolecountrybunker
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grandolecountrybunker
- Other: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/honky-tonk-holiday-hootenanny-tickets-761502814417
Image Credits
The professional Photos are taken by Liza Orozco. The rest are just off my cell phone taken at events