Colin Johnson’s Nectar
Seattle /// James Yakovich
Colin Johnson has been upping the ante on Seattle’s music scene, which is pretty hard to do. Flying bands and DJ’s into Seattle for one night, he is helping to keep Seattle as one of the best cities for music. Never satisfied or tired he keeps looking and booking acts that are going to leave you satisfied and tired. He took time a few months back to see what is happening at Nectar.
What were you doing in the “scene” to be asked to work for Nectar? So how did you end up at Nectar?
Before taking over booking and relaunching Nectar Lounge as a national touring destination, I booked at Capitol Hill club Chop Suey for 3.5 years, first as a local booker then as the national booker. Before moving to Seattle I had lived in LA for 7 years and put on, well I’ll just say it, raves (!) of all sizes, from massives to desert parties, but I think I first caught Chop Suey’s eye as a dj and member of local Seattle band Mercir. I think it was my ability to promote my band well (while not being overly sleezy and self promoting) and connections to friends’ bands and fellow djs that led them to think I could book and promote local shows well. After a few successful years of local shows I was offered the position of national buyer where I went on to bring in acts like Girl Talk, Clipse, The Thermals, Soulwax, and more to Seattle.
Did you have a grand vision of what to book and the attitude you wanted to bring?
The challenge at Nectar has been a big one, to bring a new attitude, spirit, vision, and (basically better) music to Fremont, a part of Seattle that was previously thought of as the late night spot for dive bars and for lack of a better term “frat-boys”. I’ve always thought of a show as more than just a room full of people catching a band while drinking a pint, but as an opportunity to create a real experience. So my whole goal was to make Nectar a place to catch anything and everything- hiphop, dance, indie, punk, folk, soul, whatever- and have people walk away with memories. I think it was the years of being a party promoter that have really rubbed off on the way I look at putting on even lofi indie rock shows and trying to make them more than just your average show. So far we’ve hosted Jens Lekman, The Coup, Plaid, Final Fantasy, Eek-A-Mouse and more, and I have some pretty exciting shows coming up this Spring…The Presets, The Field, Collie Buddz, The Glitch Mob, Subtle….always keeping things diverse.
What haven’t you done at Nectar that you’d like to do?
There’s a ton I’ve yet to do! Every day’s a new challenge so I don’t ever see myself getting tired of doing what I do….which is pretty much hustlin. I’m pretty restless, but as long as I keep working hard and getting a little better at what I do each day, I feel quite lucky to be able to do what I do and make a living out of it.
Busy, busy, busy. You dj, you book at Nectar, you tour with National acts, you set up live broadcasts, you answer email interview questions. What brings you the most satisfaction?
Looking out at a packed crowd and seeing them connect with the artist (perhaps even me) and knowing its a one time event that can never be recreated, and I played some part in helping make that happen.
What is left for you to do?
I’ve always taken things one day at a time, so who knows what the future will bring really. If I could balance djing and performing with being a full time booker and do them all reasonably well…I’d be stoked.
In addition to booking at Nectar Colin is apart of Mercir. An electronic indie band collaboration with fellow band mates Joel Eby, Zadok and Neal Vickers.
