Crackin’ Nuts with Jim Kilroy

Jim Kilroy organizes huge shows.

I met up with the man behind Club Wars at his third floor office at the Uptown Theater and talked about bands, MySpace and the past 20+ years of rockin’ out.

The Pitch: So, how did you get started out promoting?

Jim Kilroy: I’ve lived in the Kansas City area my whole life, in Overland Park. I live up in Riverside, Missouri right now with my wife, Janice, we’ve been married about five years. I’ve been booking bands around the Kansas City area for like 23, 24 years. I don’t wanna date myself but that’s (laughs) the way it is. Banzai Magazine was the thing I started out with back in 1986. It started out as a little newsletter for a few years and then it kind of grew into something like The Pitch, it was a monthly back then. Back in those days, mags came out just once a month. I did that monthly probably until about ’93, ’94. Back in ’97, ’98, ’99, I brought it back. I do this thing called the Banzai Awards show once a year where I give out awards to bands for musicians around town. I’ve kept that going even though I don’t really do the magazine anymore. 2002 is when I started Club Wars…. And then I started shooting off with Cover Wars and Metal Wars, that started in about 2005, 2006 somewhere in there.

Where do you find all these bands?

MySpace, you know. On the internet is where I find most of these people nowadays. Like I said, I started Club Wars in 2002, when I started using websites and all that stuff. It makes a huge difference in contacting and promoting.

What are the prerequisites to participate in these shows?

To get into something like Club Wars, officially, you got to have at least two people in the band. That’s the major requirement. It’s always good to have a MySpace or something on the web that I can link to so people can find out about it too. You don’t need much. Once you get on stage, obviously if you are no good, then you aren’t going to go on further (in the competition).

Do people get booed off?

We’ve never really had anything like that. People boo sometimes when I announce the results at the end of the show, but nobody has ever booed a band while they are playing.

So how does one “win” Club Wars?

Generally, it’s you know, people come and vote for you. We have judges. It kind of varies. Sometimes I kind of change the rules around occasionally to kind of mix it up. Usually it’s kind of a combination of people coming and voting and the judges. My vote has decided it once or twice.

Do people have to pay to be in Club Wars?

You mean, like an entry fee? I did have that when I first started out but now, there’s not really an entry fee to get in. I give bands tickets and they go out and sell them. They make a little piece out of it, but you don’t have to pay me anything up front.

Any standout bands?

I was pushin’ the Leo Project, but they kind of split up. Red Line Chemistry, I kind of like them… Black Oxygen.

Oh yeah, Black Oxygen. They started out playing Club Wars, didn’t they?

They’ve kind of gone through a little revamping of their lineup. I haven’t seen them yet. I think they’ve got a lot of potential… and I do see a lot of young bands. I think this School of Rock thing has kind of helped some kids get some experience.

So do you go for the bands that haven’t been discovered yet?

I’m always looking to put some new people in a battle of the bands kind of thing. Club Wars, that’s generally what appeals to those sorts of bands because they are looking to get out. I want to do shows with established bands too.

What do you think about the Kansas City rock scene these days?

When I first started, the music scene was a lot different than it is now. I think it’s a lot better, there’s so much more. There’s a lot more clubs booking bands, a lot more bands around. Sure, it could be better but over the years I’ve been doing this, there’s been a lot more stuff going on. If anyone says there’s nothing happening, there’s no where to play, they are idiots.