Today we’d like to introduce you to Richard Rubin.
Hi Richard, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started in the music business in the late 80s. I was a singer in bands on Long Island. When I moved to Northern Virginia, I was in a few bands there and was a recruiter for the government getting people jobs When my band booking agent said I would be good as a booking agent, I should give it a try. Well, my first day on the job I booked 13 weeks of a jazz band for a local club and I fell in love with the booking business. That was around 2002.
When the opportunity came to move to Florida in 2005, as we had some friends down here, I thought I would start my own business booking bands. My original intent was to be blanketing the state of Florida with all kinds of cover bands in every genre, booking weddings, that sort of thing. And I did just that and I still have a very strong roster of many different genres of cover bands we have booked for corporate events. Theme parks, you name it..
The Tribute Band Revolution –
I had known about tribute bands from booking a few up in Northern Virginia. They were magical to me. My first experience was meeting and seeing a U2 tribute band. We had booked them at a local club in Northern Virginia and I met them for lunch and they look nothing like U2. But that night they came out on stage and transformed themselves into U2 and it transformed me. I couldn’t believe it was the same guys I met at lunch.
So when I started the business in Florida looking for bands, There was only a handful of tribute bands I knew about, a Lynyrd Skynyrd band, A Jimmy Buffett band and a Beatles band. That was it. There was maybe a few touring tributes around the country.
One night at a Bar in Largo I saw an AC/DC tribute band called Highway to Hell with an insane, funny, super talented Welshman named Martyn who ended up becoming my very best friend. That band was so good and high energy that wherever I put them, they would blow a room up and the buyers would want more tributes because of them. Those guys and the few other tribute bands I had really opened the doors for an amazing market for tributes now.
I literally had to go out looking for cover bands and duos and trios and Create tribute bands out of those as the demand grew. Some of those I still work with today, for example, our Fleetwood Mac show. Fleetwood Mac’s was just a duo back in 2007. And I told the lady then that she looked like Stevie Nicks and sounded like her, and we should do the band with them. And a month later they sold out the Largo Cultural Center.
The market just grew and grew from there and we rode the wave, bringing on bands from all over the country.
So Today…
My company has booked some of the biggest events around the US , Performing Arts Centers, the largest biker events in the country. You name it. You can see our schedule weekly I post on Facebook, with bands playing everywhere from Texas to New York to the Carolinas. I have booked bands to play for our troops in the Middle East. I have had a tribute band sell out 10,000 people in Mexico. We have bands flying into Canada.
My company is a top vendor for major theme parks like Busch Gardens and Sea World. And we work closely with Live Nation for their House of Blues locations. Plus, we have booked the real national artists for corporate events and large events.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Having a business for 20 years, I don’t think anybody could say they’ve had a smooth road!
I have had some struggles personally and business wise. I would say some of the hardest times we’ve had were during Covid when so many venues closed, so many buyers canceled shows and wanted their money back from deposits. That was a tough year and a half to two years. But we got through it. We still had some shows, had to be pretty creative with that.
I’ve also experienced financial loss because of venues that were destroyed during storms and hurricanes. Some of those places never came back, some of them rebuilt and are stronger than ever now.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My company is known for specializing in tribute bands, with well over 400 shows nationwide. But personally, I would say that what I’m most proud of and what separates me from others is I’ve been a graphic artist for well over 30 years.
I’m not just a booking agent That books a band and collects a commission paycheck. Everything you see on my business online was created by me. All the artwork, many of the videos were shot by me personally or edited. A lot of the copy was written by me. I started out as a pen and ink graphic artist and a graphite artist. And I’ve been a Photoshop expert and digital artist for well over 35 years. Over the past three years I have deeply gotten into Ai artwork and video creation.
I’ve personally designed dozens of Flyers and online multimedia for many bands and clients. I’ve designed magazine covers for biker events. So I am personally proud of the fact that my Artwork and graphic sense is all over my business. And many times I’ve seen my artwork on bands T shirts at shows which I always get a kick out of.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Growing up on Long Island It was always fantastic to go into New York City with my family. I love the big city life. The food was amazing. It still is. I got to see Ringling Brothers Circus at Madison Square Garden For my 13th birthday, that’s a great memory.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.maximumbands.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maximumbands/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/maximumbands
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximumbands
- Twitter: https://x.com/MAXIMUMBANDS
- Other: https://mbebooking.com/
