Spirit of '68 president brings music to B-town

Dan Coleman doesn’t have a desk. He wakes up around 7 a.m., checks e-mails, reads blogs, posts on his company’s Tumblr and then begins his day by hanging posters and talking to people about bringing musicians to Bloomington.

“I personally don’t think what I do is terribly exciting,” he said. “I understand that I have a job that some people think is cool, but the actual doing of it is terribly monotonous.”

Coleman is founder and president of Spirit of ‘68 Promotions.

“Sometimes people want to shadow me and see what I do, and it’s like ‘do you want to see me sit at my computer and answer e-mails for three hours a day, or walk from kiosk to kiosk putting up posters?’” he said.

Coleman came to Bloomington in the fall of 2004 to attend IU to earn a master’s degree in journalism. During that time, he filled an empty position booking bands at Bear’s Place. 

After that position, Coleman described his creation of Spirit of ‘68 Promotions in 2006 as having snowballed from booking more artists and shows that Bear’s Place could not fit.

“By the time you see a tour on Pitchfork, I’ve already tried and had it not work out two months prior to that,” Coleman said.

The promotion company now has a resume containing Yeasayer, Vampire Weekend and The XX, which he booked all due to the hours he spent answering e-mails and contacting agents.

Due to the growth of Spirit of ‘68 Promotions, local venue owners have noticed changes in the Bloomington music scene.

“Since the time that Dan started Spirit of ‘68 a few years ago, the number of concerts by nationally — and internationally — beloved artists has definitely increased,” said Andy Goheen, the in-house promoter for The Bishop.

“Obviously, Bloomington couldn’t host the same amount of large concerts that a large metropolitan area could, but I definitely think people who live in Bloomington are very fortunate to have the vast amount of choices for live music that we have here.”

Junior Katie Glaser, a media relations assistant and member of the street team for The Bishop, said Coleman’s work is healthy for the Bloomington music scene.

“Dan is giving local bands more exposure when he bills them with the touring or larger acts,” she said. “Not only is he providing the opportunity for the audience to see these bands but he is also allowing these local acts to gain experience and relationships that could be really beneficial to their careers.”

However, in spite of bringing large acts to Bloomington, helping local bands and continuing to grow Spirit of ‘68, Coleman stresses that what he does is not glamorous.
Coleman can’t afford to buy a car, and a second job would require him to neglect Spirit of ‘68 resulting in either the company or the job suffering.

“It’s not a burden,” he said. “I get a lot of free music. I get to see a lot of stuff you wouldn’t normally see. A lot of it is delayed enjoyment. If I make $1,000 on a show, I also owe a lot more than that, so you never actually get to enjoy anything for long.”
Coleman’s continuing dedication can be attributed to his love of music.

“I like seeing new bands,” Coleman said. “I like bringing bands I’ve heard on an mp3 blog here.”

Coleman said there are a lot of behind-the-scenes things that he enjoys more than the actual show itself.

“It’s not all hanging out with rock stars and getting drunk and getting recognition,” Coleman said. “At the end of the day it’s a job. It’s a job with a cool product, and I get to make a lot of people happy.”