Trying to get local music on the map

After spending at least a decade working in radio and the music industry in Lincoln and San Diego, Allen Kohtz returned to his hometown of Grand Island on a mission.

He's out to let the world know there's a music scene here.

"I want to put Central Nebraska on the map," Kohtz said. "Because we've got a lot of talented groups here."

Kohtz has been working with several bands and venues to put on regular concerts with the hopes of introducing good music to a wider audience -- through shows and, eventually, record deals.

He's been arranging shows at the Tank, Gibby's Pool Hall and the Circle B Hall, with about one every week.

Kohtz said the city's music scene was tough to find when he moved back to Grand Island last year. After a while, though, the scene found him, as musicians came to him at his job selling audio equipment.

What he found impressed him. The city is strong in heavy metal, with bands like Dreaming of a Nightmare, Atrophy and Day of the Locust, Kohtz said. It also has an impressive hip-hop artist with Tiny of Wicked Midwest Records, and a good honky-tonk band in the Nedwrecks.

Kohtz said he particularly appreciates the shows at the Tank because the bar will go alcohol-free until 10 p.m. on nights of shows to allow both teenagers and those over 21 to attend.

It makes for a better environment than a high school audience, he said.

"We're getting them in front of an older, more experienced crowd," Kohtz said.

The response has been encouraging. Kohtz said he's receiving dozens of phone calls and e-mails from bands who discover his company, Electric Sky Entertainment, on MySpace.

"I've got more bands wanting to play shows than I've got shows and dates so far," he said.

Kohtz is optimistic about the future of Grand Island's music scene. He's working with Atrophy to record an album at Cairo's Clamhead Studios, and he hopes he can use his connections within the music industry to help bands reach the next level.

What's missing from Grand Island, he said, is a venue that can host live music on a near-nightly basis. The venues he's working with are meant to be bars or clubs, but one more suited for live music could help local music take off.

In the meantime, he encourages Grand Island residents to come out to shows and support local artists. After all, if Kohtz's optimism is justified and one of them hits the big-time, we'll have seen them first.

"It's kind of a badge of honor to say, ’I was there. I saw them at the beginning of their careers,'" he said.