We were lucky to catch up with Lewis D’aubin recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lewis, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Covid has brought about so many changes – has your business model changed?
When Covid struck in early 2020, I had gigs booked, just weeks away. By May everything was shut down, and we had to come up with something. Glancing around my project studio, we had a lit soundstage, mics, and USB cameras. I had computers to spare… So, after a couple beers with some friends, we came up with an idea – we’d host bands in the studio each week as a live-streamed game show, pitting bands against the house, with audience members paying the band or the house (via Paypal) for points. The bands would take home whatever they earned. We called it ‘Escape From the Secret Lab’, springboarding off of the ‘Escape Room’ format that had become popular a couple years before. Very soon, we had bands lining up to perform on the show, and making, in some cases, more money than they were making on music club stages!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I run a project studio (the Secret Lab) whose primary purpose is the home of the long-running industrial/comedy band ‘The Consortium of Genius’. The band, 3 decades and running, serves up crazy music in all different styles. I front the band, record everything, and frequently do the associated filmmaking as well. I also do these things for other bands.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
It’s the same story from two panels before, about the new ‘game show’ we had to create thanks to Covid. 4 years on, we are still hosting ‘Escape From the Secret Lab’ and having a really great time doing it!
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
Much of my equipment has been bought used, donated, or just acquired broken – and been subsequently repaired by me. Our overhead is very, very low.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.consortiumofgenius.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/doctorpinkerton
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/122828820013/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/doctorpinkerton
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DoctorPinkerton
Image Credits
Image credits: Lewis D’Aubin / Consortium of Genius