2B1 Multimedia

About 2B1 Multimedia

2b1 began in 1995 but its roots are deep within the San Francisco Community via its promoter Boots Hughston. He began playing saxophone in the 60’s/70’s with many llegendary bands, including Santana, It’s a Beautiful Day, Marty Balin (form the Jefferson Starship), Nick Gravenities Blues Band, John Cipollina (from Quick Silver), Van Morrison, Bobby Blue Bland, The Hoo Doo Rhythm Devils, Gregg Allman as well as his own bands Aum and Womb. Boots promoted his first show with Lue Williams and the “Stray Cat” at California Hall in San Francisco. The concert included Janis Joplin and Big Brother. Boots recalls “It was more of an experience then a money maker, I never got paid, just had fun putting up posters and hanging out”.

In October 1995 with blessings from Chet Helms (the original promoter of the Family Dog) opened their doors at Maritime Hall as “The Family Dog/Image of the Dog”. Boots Hughston and his sons Dusty and Boot as production and stage manager made ready for their date with destiny . The 3,000, + capacity, three floor venue had chosen a formidable adversary; no venue had survived longer than a year or two against BGP. Even the original Avalon ballroom from the 60’s only lasted a couple years. In the 30 years since then no venue large enough to compete has survived. BGP (Clear Channel) controls it all, the booking agents, venues, bands, ticketing, newspapers, magazines all owed something to BGP (Clear Channel), people feared their wrath. Industry professionals, took bets on how long Maritime would last. The San Francisco music scene was suffering from stagnation, and only the bands controlled by BGP (Clear Channel) were booked.
“Maritime Hall Productions” not only survived but also grew. Now 2b1 Productions had expanded into 3 cities and 5 venues. At their height they employed over 80 people in San Francisco. The San Francisco venue produced 721 concerts with 2,211 separate performances over a 6 year period. The Venue, “Palookaville” in Santa Cruz promoted over 607 shows with 1112 separate performances over a 4-year period. This is a testament to the will and persistence of Boots Hughston and his sons, Boot and Dusty. As well as production staff: Keith Oliver, Tracy Rolluf, Josh Porter, Brent Heckerman, Bonz and Mike Horn (Palookaville).

Website: www.2b1records.com