We recently connected with Joel Newman and have shared our conversation below.
Joel, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
Our mission is pretty simple: serve artists and guests. Of course that quickly expands to a number of adjacent goals but it all comes back to those two things at the end of the day. The shows are unique in that we bring in a food truck and the artists and guests all eat together, then the openers play for around 20 mins, and the main act gets a full 1.5 hours to play through a substantial portion of their catalog. Then everyone gets to hang out over dessert, coffee, and tea after the show. Doing shows this way benefits artists and guests because it breaks down the separation that exists at normal shows where there is no interaction without backstage or VIP passes. It’s a time commitment as the evenings generally go from 5:30-10pm, but it makes for an experience you can’t get at many other concerts.
I think these days the music industry can get lost chasing profit above all else and that could not be further from what we’re trying to accomplish. All the money from our concerts goes directly to the artists, our sound engineer (Daniel Nelson), photographer (Sammi Accola), food vendors (Chivanada and Mommy’s Tacos), or back into the business to improve future shows (coffee equipment, etc.). By not taking any money out to pay myself, the business is able to become self-sustaining much faster, ticket prices stay lower, and artists are respectably compensated. I became a realtor in 2020, and that income (along with credit, let’s be real!) has funded the project thus far, but ticket sales have started to heavily subsidize our upcoming events which is great. The events should be self-sustaining sometime in 2024 if all goes to plan.
The hope for the future is that we will be able to pay artists more, and possibly provide additional value to them in the form of either high-quality single-take videos of a couple of their songs or funding for album recording. The videos would be filmed before the show (the live show will be more exclusive to folks that come in person), and then both Alchemy Chapel and the artist can use them as promotional material.
Album funding would be more of a long term goal, but it’s something we’re actively looking into. It costs a lot (oftentimes 20-50k) to record a high-quality album and to pay everyone involved well. For anyone not signed to a label, coming up with those funds is a significant challenge. Most resort to releasing singles both to satisfy the algorithm and because of a lack of funding. Part of us serving artists involves funding the music we want to see more of. Singles are more of a fragmented view into the vision of the artists whereas albums allow them to curate a complete picture. Alchemy Chapel wants to help artists communicate that full story. The most likely means for us to gather that funding is through grants, so that’s what we’re looking into currently.
We arrived at these goals through friendship with Randy and Doralee Gordon who run Front of the Tapestry in Cleveland, TN. I started attending their house shows in 2019, and became quite enamored with their model of serving home-cooked dinners where artists and guests eat together beforehand, and enjoy a long-form concert followed by dessert, coffee, and a bonfire. They run on a donation-based model where folks can attend and give as much or little as they are able to and any amount remaining to hit the artist minimum is subsidized by the Gordon’s. Also they provide artists with a beautiful guest-suite for the night that they built out in their barn. Truly some of the best folks I know!
Late 2021, I was at one of their shows when I realized that I could host similar shows out of my parent’s cabin in Sevierville, TN. Our first show was in early 2022, and we went on to host 3 more before moving to Nashville this year and continuing the same vision on a larger scale at Home Church in East Nashville. We’ve hosted 3 shows since then and plan to host 10 per year, pausing in December and January. The next show is scheduled for Feb. 9th featuring Taylor Leonhardt with Addison Agen opening.
Joel, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’m originally from Southern California. We moved back and forth from there to TN a few times when I was younger and then I ended up back in TN for college in 2015 at Lee University in Cleveland. I graduated in 2018 with a bachelor’s in Pastoral Ministry. Throughout college I went back and forth between a desire to be a worship leader or to start a coffee shop (basic, I know), but upon graduating I became a barista at a few shops in Chattanooga. When COVID hit, I realized my job was about to evaporate for an unknown amount of time, so I moved back in with my parents and was thinking about going into project management or real estate.
I ended up pursuing real estate and went through on online program for my licensing courses. After a few months of working on that, I was licensed in late July 2020 and made my first sale that winter. Real estate has been really great for me because I get to drive a lot (which I love), help people with generally the largest purchase of their life, and fund my other endeavors. I never could have dreamed of getting into hosting concerts on a barista budget, so it’s really expanded my horizons.
When I moved to Nashville earlier this year, I joined House Haven Realty off a recommendation from Locklear Lending. It’s a really small brokerage, but I love it because my broker is super accessible to answer any questions that come up (there are a lot throughout the contract process). Also, our team has many combined years of experience in every type of real estate from flips to commercial and everywhere in-between. If you’re ever looking to buy or sell in Nashville, definitely reach out to me! I’m just a call or text away.
On the music side, my brother Jesse exposed me to everything from Def Leppard to Nickel Creek growing up, and both my parents are musical as well so I think that’s where my interest began. My Dad taught me a bit of guitar when I was 13, and I was involved with the church choir and worship band in my youth group. If I could trace my music listening habits back, I think they picked up most dramatically when I got Spotify. Before that, I was limited in the amount of music I could listen to because it was all paid. When Spotify came on the scene, I could listen to as much music as I wanted and the “fans also like” section at the bottom of each artist page led to a bunch of musical discovery as well. At some point, folks began posting music they liked from Spotify on Instagram and that also boosted the amount and variety of music I listened to.
Once I started hosting concerts, Instagram became a massive tool because suddenly accessing artists was easier than ever via DMs. Artists I would never have been able to contact before were now only a couple clicks away in general. Almost all of the shows I’ve hosted have been made possible via DM conversations with the artists on instagram, with zero management involvement. Folks like to complain about how the internet has made things more difficult for artists, which is definitely true in many cases, but I think it has unlocked so much new possibility as well. I think the challenge now is how to leverage those new possibilities to create the best possible outcomes for artists and their longevity. I hope that what I’m doing with Alchemy Chapel can help with that.
Music comes at us these days in large quantities and for a very low price. This is great in some ways for the consumer in that you can listen to anything at any time, but it also causes basically a fast-fashion dynamic in which music is devalued and quickly forgotten as we move from one artist to another in quick succession. It would be easy to throw up your hands and succumb to the will of the algorithm, but I think the better approach is to appreciate the new discovery options available and contribute to your favorites as often as possible. There are so many ways from Patreon, to concert tickets, to buying merch. The advantage to streaming music is that artists who never could have gotten airtime before can now have niche audiences worldwide. It’s just up to the fans to fund those artists. Alchemy Chapel aims to be one way for fans to contribute and get to know those artists in a more personal way. It’s pretty small right now, but if enough of us contribute in small ways to artists we love, it adds up to a living for them and more great music for us. The world needs more of that.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Most of what I do both in real estate and Alchemy Chapel is directly tied to word of mouth, so reputation really matters. It’s super basic perhaps, but many fail with building and maintaining a good reputation. It always comes back to loving everyone you’re involved with. In real estate, this looks like showing up, doing the work, communicating, and caring for the needs of your clients. If you don’t have an answer to your clients question, find out. If you see something concerning during a showing or inspection, tell them. The list goes on and on, but treating folks the way you’d like to be treated is all you need to focus on. It might cost you some deals, but you’ll prosper in the end, and your clients will really appreciate it.
With Alchemy Chapel, it’s the same concept. One example is that I pay everyone before the show, which should be normal in the industry but it’s not. I try to go above and beyond so that artists and guests have a magical and unique experience. There are ways we could probably grow faster, but I’d prefer that everyone involved has such a great time that they can’t help but invite friends to the next show. When you keep people as your top priority, growth comes naturally. It’s better that way!
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
I’m still learning this so maybe I’m not the best person to ask haha! I will say that I think it’s fun to defy the algorithm and not post very often. I want whatever we post to actually be substantive and not just for the purpose of putting out a certain amount of “content”. I’m looking to grow in effective story telling and recording more videos. I’ve been mostly posting images with long captions but I think sometimes a heartfelt video is more effective.
Ideally we wouldn’t need social media, but these days it’s a bit of a necessary evil so it’s up to us to use it in such a way as to meaningfully contribute to our followers lives. The best case scenario is to use social media to lead people off of their phones and into worthwhile in-person experiences.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.alchemychapel.com/
- Instagram: Alchemy Chapel: @alchemychapel . My personal page: @new.joel
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085586895755
Image Credits
Mia Cervantes Photography Sammi Accola Photography