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Rosebud is music industry's first Solar Powered facility >>

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Certified Green - The Rosebud Agency has been named among the first San Francisco businesses to become officially certified as a Green business. >>

PRESIDENT/OWNER

MIKE KAPPUS Mike Kappus began his career in his hometown of Eau Claire, WI. During college he promoted regional bands with friends and became a licensed booking agent in 1970 at age 19. Just over a year later he was invited to join an agency in Milwaukee. In his five years working full time as an agent there, he also bought talent for several local showcase clubs and a few festivals and universities. As a talent buyer and promoter he booked artists as diverse as Asleep At The Wheel, Jimmy Cliff, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee to jazz artists Grover Washington Jr., Weather Report, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and George Benson to the MC5 and Ted Nugent. He also established relationships with future Rosebud clients Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Mose Allison, John Hiatt and John Hammond who signed to Rosebud in 1977 and marked his 4000th booking with Rosebud in 2008. In 1976, just months after moving to San Francisco to join a booking agency, that company went under so Kappus started the Rosebud Agency with the concept of offering greater service to an intentionally limited number of timeless rather than trendy artists. The agency currently books close to 2000 shows a year worldwide for it’s 29 artists. Kappus helped launch the careers of Los Lobos, The Robert Cray Band, Ben Harper, John Hiatt, The Neville Brothers and more while helping to raise the profile of veteran artists such as Captain Beefheart, Muddy Waters, The Staple Singers, The Blind Boys of Alabama, John Lee Hooker and others. As a manager, Kappus’s clients have included Hooker, Hammond, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Robert Cray, John Hiatt, Duke Robillard, Loudon Wainwright III, Sierra Leone’s Refugee All Stars and J J Cale, who has been with Rosebud since 1983. As a producer / executive producer Kappus has collaborated on projects with Ry Cooder, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt and Eric Clapton to name a few. In addition to booking and management duties, Kappus has made CD deals in the past few years for Mavis Staples, Bettye LaVette and Charlie Watts. In addition to Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, his recent booking signings include Bettye LaVette, Bill Frisell, Allen Toussaint, Ruthie Foster, Trombone Shorty, Carrie Rodriguez and Meshell Ndegeocello. Most recently, Kappus was hired by Van Morrison to oversee promotion and marketing for his April 2008 CD, "Keep It Simple." The record's entry in the Billboard pop charts at number 10 marked the highest ever US chart position in Van Morrison's lengthy career. As head of The Rosebud Agency, Kappus has also incorporated policies focused on environmental and social responsibility issues into the company's daily routine. The Rosebud office was converted to full solar power in 2000 (the largest such installation in San Francisco at the time) and was named in the first wave of green business certifications in San Francisco. Kappus’s environmental concerns have also driven him to coordinate two compilations for environmental non-profit, Earthjustice, featuring artists from Tom Waits and Willie Nelson to Norah Jones, Bob Dylan, Ruben Blades, Michael Franti and many more. He is vice chair of the board of non profit organization, Music In Schools Today and is an active advisory board member for the US-Cuba Cultural Exchange, along with continuous participation in several other non profit organizations. see credits >>

BOOKING TEAM

JOHN LOCHEN John Lochen joined the Rosebud Agency in 1992 and now oversees booking in the Midwest and the Southeast in addition to his Responsible Agent duties for BeauSoleil, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Charlie Musselwhite and Savoy Doucet Cajun Band. Prior to arriving in San Francisco from The Great City of Chicago and in addition to collecting a record number of parking tickets, John worked as a Sales Representative for Cargo Records, an independent booker for The Edge of the Lookingglass performance space and earned an MA from Columbia College.

TOM GOLD Tom Gold joined Rosebud in 1999 and is the agent for the US East, Europe, Central and South America in addition to being the responsible agent for Marcia Ball, Tommy Castro, Ruthie Foster, John Hammond, Bettye LaVette, Coco Montoya and Daby Touré. Before coming to The Rosebud Agency, Tom operated his own agency and is a recipient of a Keeping The Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation for Blues Agent Of The Year 2000. A native of Germany, Tom speaks German fluently and originally moved to the United States in 1981 to go to college and graduated with an MBA degree in 1991.

MICHAEL MORRIS Michael Morris joined Rosebud in 2002 and is the agent for US West / Pacific in addition to acting as or sharing the responsible agent duties for Pieta Brown, Bill Frisell, Booker T. Jones, Meshell Ndegeocello, David Lindley, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Mavis Staples, Richard Thompson's 1000 Years of Popular Music and The Weepies. Prior to Rosebud Michael was a student promoter at the University of Missouri-Columbia and spent 4 years doing marketing / promotions at the Concord Pavilion in the San Francisco East Bay. Michael enjoys playing music with friends and is a musical legend in his own home.

DREW PALMER Drew Palmer joined The Rosebud Agency in 2003 and is the booking agent in various parts of the Midwest and Northeast as well as the Responsible Agent for Johnny A., The Duke Robillard Band and Carrie Rodriguez. Prior to Rosebud he worked at Shoreline Amphitheater as a 'Blue Coat' security staffer, as well as doing production work with promoters, Mystery Machine, in San Francisco. While at The University of Colorado he recruited crowds of students and locals to shows at The Fox Theater in Boulder before moving to San Francisco in 2000.

LIZZIE HILL Lizzie Hill joined The Rosebud Agency in 2008 and is the agent assistant to John Lochen. Lizzie's other main responsibility includes issuing contracts for all Rosebud's flourishing artists. Lizzie allocates her time between tracking matters relating to contracts for shows booked in the Midwest and the Southeast, whilst helping to maintain the flow of all contracts between the promoter and the artist. Prior to joining Rosebud Lizzie completed her studies in Events Management at London Metropolitan University, in London UK.

KATLIN PENA Katlin Pena joined The Rosebud Agency in 2009 and assists Tom Gold, Michael Morris, and Drew Palmer with contract processing, as well as creating weekly reports for artists' management. Katlin is a San Francisco native and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music from Sonoma State University with an emphasis on music production. Prior to Rosebud Katlin’s extraordinary voice could be heard on the San Diego airwaves, where she worked in production and scheduling for some of the top radio stations, including 91X and Rock 105.3.

MANAGEMENT

JEREMY MALLARD Jeremy joined Rosebud in late 2007 and assists Founder / Owner Mike Kappus in artist management. Current management clients are JJ Cale and co-management of Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. Prior to Rosebud, Jeremy worked as production assistant and backstage security at San Francisco music venue The Independent and can still be found posted at the backstage on Friday nights. In a former life Jeremy was employed by various real estate interests both in San Francisco and his native-born home of NYC, where he was also involved in a variety of music promotions. A devoted music enthusiast, Jeremy brought his interest in the music of downtown NYC to the airwaves of KZSC Santa Cruz, hosting and programming The InnerEar - explorations on the theme of jazz, which ran weekly for four years while he attended UC Santa Cruz.

ACCOUNTINGORT

DAVE FERRIS Dave Ferris joined Rosebud in July 2008 and manages the office in accounting matters such as preparing weekly gig statements for artists, accounts payable/receivable, and employee benefits. Before moving to San Francisco in late 2006, Dave earned a Bachelor's degree in Music from Northeastern University in his hometown Boston.  In his free time, Dave enjoys writing and recording music.

IT / WEBOR

SAORI KAPPUS Saori Kappus created the Rosebud website in 1996 and continues to maintain and update the site along with all other IT responsibilities for the company including desktop publishing and graphics for promotional materials and advertising. She also works actively to pursue enviromentally sensitive solutions when purchasing supplies, hiring outside services, recycling, and finding ways of re-using and donating materials no longer needed. A graduate of Tokyo's prestigious Keio University, Saori had a professional singing career in Japan in the 80s, and still enjoys singing.