Larry Toering — Co-Founder of Von Artists Ltd.
A Portland Paramount Experience
by Ken Thompson - April 2021
Larry Toering is a passionate supporter of music and art and an advocate for indie labels and artists looking for that next step to level up. Larry wants to help them get there, and he knows the way, having learned through years of experience in the trenches working in retail, distribution, and live music production.
Larry co-owns Von Artists Music Management & Distribution and frequently writes for industry publications like Music Street Journal in Chicago and Indie Music Media — Indie Shark in Seattle.
The Paramount Theater is at the root of his experience starting in 1976 when he began attending several shows in KGON’s Catch A Rising Star concert series. These performances allowed him to witness a broad mix of gigs by new artists, like Blondie and the Ramones, for only a couple of bucks. And he watched and learned as they became stars.
Larry’s background runs from working at the quintessential indie retailer Music Millenium in Portland and managing the popular City Club Plaza on Broadway in Portland. Never being far from the music scene, Larry booked Rose Festival Shows, and Von Artists ran the Mill Ends stage on the Waterfront in 2012.
Larry grew up in a creative environment and developed an early interest in art and performance that continues to this day. His upbringing included being around musicians from an early age, such as his uncle, Larry Haggin that co-founded the group Nu Shooz, and being around local blues legend Jim Mesi from age nine until he recently passed away.
In his work with Von Distribution, Larry serves independent labels and bands by providing international distribution to record stores and digital platforms, which can be difficult for newer labels and artists to obtain. Larry’s written work is featured in over 40 books and 25 magazines, including Brave Words and Sleaze Roxx.
1. Name three of the best concerts you saw at the Paramount.
You don’t waste any time with the hard stuff. This is never easy, but I would have to say for me, the one that tops all would have to be Ozzy Osbourne’s Blizzard Of Oz tour in 1981. That concert is hard to forget for many reasons, specifically, seeing Randy Rhoads under the spotlight. I have a couple of other fond memories I can think of on the spot, one being Bad Company in 1991 on the Dangerous Age tour, and the other mention would have to be seeing the Bay City Rollers in 1977.
2. About those shows, what was most meaningful to you?
Randy’s ominous presence.
Brian Howe’s coming of age.
It was a 100% rocking show that nobody in the theater quite expected.
3. What’s your favorite story about the Paramount?
Probably the one about Jefferson Starship’s double-neck guitar getting out of Greg’s hands and making it through the crowd until the security grabbed it from someone I know and yanked him out, but the show was almost over, and he would have given it back. It just got to him, and it was over.
4. The Catch-A-Rising-Star concert run was an excellent success for KGON. What are some of your favorite moments and artists in that series?
Angel City, Blondie, Pat Benatar, Ramones, and Queensryche. These shows are just a few standouts for personal reasons, but there was never a bad night. I’d also like to give an honorable mention to the U2 concert on the War album tour, of which I have crystal clear memories.
5. Please share a couple of memories of the first concert you attended (anywhere)?
The first concerts I ever attended were at the Paramount in 1976, including RAIN, a tribute to The Beatles, and J. Geiles and Foghat. I attended other major concert events that year, but those three started it all.
6. What are three favorite Portland concerts, NOT at the Paramount?
Elvis — November 1976 at Memorial Coliseum
Deep Purple — April 1985 at Memorial Coliseum
Commodores / Brothers Johnson — November 1978 at Memorial Coliseum
7. What are three of your favorite bands from Portland?
That’s truly another hard one, I go back a long time on the scene, so it would have to include quite a number of them, but three that come to mind over the years would be Black’ N Blue, Dead Moon, and Dan Reed Network.
8. What’s the most inspiring thing happening in music right now?
Many new hard rock bands pop up, which takes my radar off the junk that always goes around, whatever it might be. It is tough to keep track because I work with a variety of artists, and their music keeps my time clock ticking away from other stuff I don’t distribute or write about. But another great thing is how anyone can pretty much build their career as long as they do not stop themselves.
9. You co-founded and run Von Artists, a music and video management company that helps indie artists and labels get heard and seen. What inspired you to start that up? How’s it going so far?
Thank you. The pandemic has somehow not been a setback for us at all, but the touring artists and playing, in general, has hurt the bands. I think artists’ needs and being able to fulfill them are what brought us together and have not allowed us to stop for one minute since 2012. I work with two over 40 years vets of the industry, and we are based in Portland and Tokyo. It is a partnership where everyone has their things to do, and the result is larger than the sum of its parts because we all run it. As for how it’s going, we are coming up on our 10th anniversary and growing now more than ever with record labels bringing the major percentage of content. We have some great award-winning artists that we distribute as well, and we’re proud of both the labels and artists we work with.
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10. What’s your advice to musical artists seeking to make a living doing what they love?
Two capitalized words for this: Don’t Stop
11. Live performances by local artists don’t usually pay what they should. The rant is people will pay six bucks for coffee but balk at a small music cover charge. What can the local industry do to promote the idea that local live music is worth paying for?
I can think of a number of things when it comes to the bar business, it gets harder with theaters and larger music venues because their traffic depends on it alone, so it’s not as much an issue for them. The advice has been the same ever since I worked in the clubs, and that is, if you’re going to have live music at the end of the night, let it just be the icing on the cake of your business. A good lunch menu always helps pad the daily income, and some will even stick around for the show. Anyone with that down should pay a band a little better and make it a better experience for all. I’ve seen it go consistently better that way in the past. Knowing what your crowd wants and delivering it makes it a better experience for all three parties: the venue, the band, and the patrons.
12. Please name three books you think everyone should read.
A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess
How To Win Friends & Influence People, by Dale Carnegie
Mr. Big — a book about Don Arden
13. Name three songs you’d include on the soundtrack to your life.
Tangled Up In Blue — Bob Dylan
Child In Time — Deep Purple
Get Ready — Rare Earth
14. What are some things you like best about Portland?
The food, the beer, the music scene, and the people. As well as some of the landscape.
15. If you were advising a new visitor to Portland on a few cool insider things to do, what would you tell them?
That would have to be to stay away from the downtown business district currently, and you will find lots of cool things to do in Portland. Once restored to some civil rest, the downtown area has all you’d want from any city, and not hard to navigate and see everything from historical museums to a variety of well-cultured shops and events to attend.
16. What’s so great about Deep Purple?
If you start early enough with a band, you’ll miss much less. I have been following them and collecting their Merch and being a fan since I was a little boy. Their three latest albums topped multi-national Billboards, and they still play to an average of two million fans a year. Needless to say, I am not alone. As for why I see them so much, it is because they don’t play this area but once every 10–20 years, but most recently did give us a show in October of 2019, and it was fantastic. I also have a deeper connection into them, but it’s also from being a writer and a fan.
17. Would you like to nominate anyone to do a PPE interview?
Brian Harrison, a local pro musician and big Rush fan, a band that has played the Paramount a good share of times, as you know. I only saw them once in those days at the Paramount, myself, but others caught those great earlier tours.
18. What would you like the world to know about you?
That I get my pleasure out of helping artists reach their goals.
13Fred Seegmuller, Cam Newton and 11 others
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