Full Sail Stories

In Chicago’s bustling West Loop neighborhood, the sounds of jazz, bluegrass, and jam bands regularly fill Garcia’s. The Jerry Garcia-themed concert venue and restaurant opened earlier this year, and Full Sail Show Production & Touring (now called Live Event Production) grad Kim Kozak helped out with the logistics of opening the venue. She also assists with day-to-day operations as Garcia’s Production Manager.

Garcia’s was born when live music and media company Dayglo Presents teamed up with the estate of Jerry Garcia to build a themed venue that celebrated the late musician’s musical and literal tastes – the concert space books bands that represent Jerry’s favorite genres of music, and the menu is complete with some of his favorite foods, including a Yoo-Hoo milkshake.

“Every detail was thought of and every picture on the wall has a story,” Kim says. “The people that did this very much love Jerry Garcia and have a lot of information about him and his life. It’s just detailed-oriented in a way that I have never seen before.”

Kim was hired a few months before Garcia’s opened and facilitated the schedule for the installation of their lighting and audio equipment. As the venue’s Production Manager, Kim contributes to Garcia’s vibe by working with the bands before, during, and after their shows.

“About a month before a show, I'll email [the band] with a list of questions and a little tech packet that I made for our venue, so they can see what consoles we have, they can see what our lighting rig looks like, how big our doors are, where they can park. And then I ask them what they're bringing in and then I handle how they're going to fit their production into our space,” she explains.

“Then on the day of show, I make sure that our hospitality coordinator has the green room ready,” Kim continues. “I'll make sure that the techs know what they need to set up, that they have the [band’s] riders, that they know what's coming in the door. I also run audio or the lighting board myself sometimes if it's a smaller event. I get the artist parked, get them loaded in, make sure that everything goes smoothly from sound check to doors, and then make sure they get out safe at the end of the night.”

Although Garcia’s has only been open for a few months, Kim has already worked on some memorable shows. A sold-out run with Preservation Hall Jazz Band was one of her favorite experiences.

“It was a little bit of a challenge to fit the band on our stage, because we're a 350-cap room and we have full restaurant service, so it's a very intimate, clubby style room. But to have a huge band with a huge horn section in that room, it really filled the space. It was just a really cool set of shows – everybody was dancing in the aisles, and we were able to sell out all four nights,” she says.

Kim has worked at other concert spaces over the years, from intimate venues to large outdoor festival stages for the City of Chicago. She says that experiencing a variety of concert settings and equipment prepared her to work as a Production Manager in a place like Garcia’s.

“In hindsight, what really helped me a lot was working in a lot of different places, as opposed to just getting one job and having it. I think it was really helpful to see different spaces, different tours, different consoles, different setups. The more different things I did, the more well-rounded I became.”