Meet Stone and Dookie | Promoters, organizers, sound engineers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stone and Dookie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stone and, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
DnD Live Productions was started by two musicians that are active in the SoCal music scene: “Stone,” keyboardist of Old Blood (an acid/doom rock band, IG handle @oldbloodgroup) and “Dookie,” bassist and lead singer of Blackstar (a thrash metal/punk rock band, IG handle @officialblackstarband).

We know all too well the struggle of pouring your time, effort, heart, and soul into music and trying to push it out there. The best way to get your music out there is performing live in as wide an area as you can, but there is a common issue in the music business of performing without pay or even the problem of “pay to play” venues that require bands to sell a predetermined amount of tickets or cover the cost themselves.

This business came to be with one primary focus: paying bands. We organize, book, promote, and run sound engineering for shows at venues where we know we have an established payment process from the place. That money is then divided up between ourselves and the performers, and in the instance there is a band that is living on the road during a tour or traveling a great distance to perform for us we sacrifice some of our profit to give more assistance to the performers. An example of this is Arizona based band Hudu Akil (IG handle @zaccrye) running through Southern California on tour. They have agreed to playing a show for us over in Glendora, California. The pay is already established for the night, and they are taking the largest cut to support them as they travel the southwest.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Art is the entire foundation of this business and line of work. As artists ourselves, we have dedicated immense amounts of time, energy, and practice to become the musicians we are today; and that work is never done.

What sets us apart from others is we are taking the extra time and effort to try and propel other bands upward, and give these bands opportunities to play at venues in areas they may have never had the chance to venture into in the past. All of the money that comes into the business at this point goes back into the work; paying for upgrades to equipment, supplying extra money to bands in need, etc. For the time being, the business is essentially nonprofit. However, the networking that is required for this line of work pays in dividends to our own bands, introducing us to bands we may wish to share the stage with in the future and obtaining us access to venues we may have not played. For example, Dookie’s band Blackstar has had limited opportunities to venture away from home to perform.

Something in the works right now that we are especially proud of are two upcoming charity events later this year. The first is in November, where admission charged at the door will be a cash donation or a can of food that will be donated to a local food bank. (It is worth noting that our events are typically free admission). The second is in December, with the same concept but with a cash or TOY donation for Christmas. We have a local fire department onboard to collaborate and work with us to try and do as much good for the community as possible.

Our message to the world is this: of you are a band looking for a show, our primary concern is to take care of you. We aren’t in this to get rich or take advantage, we are here to promote the scene and bring all of us upwards, together.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
It may sound like a conflict of interest, but our favorite spot is the place it all started: Frogee’s Bar, the epicenter of the High Desert Metal Scene. During the week, there are various events: a string of acoustic nights on Mondays, our own metal and punk DJ event every Tuesday, karaoke Wednesdays and Thursdays. However, come Friday and Saturday, you are practically guaranteed to catch a show with metal bands performing. Frogee’s is always a good time, with friendly employees and an intimate and welcoming crowd of patrons and musicians.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The biggest influence on our business is the music scene in the High Desert, California. Out here, we are a hidden gem of the heavy metal community at large. Every band that has performed out here from out of town is always shocked at how intimate and supportive the metal community is here. Stone lives here, but his band Old Blood is from the greater LA area and they were welcomed here with open arms and have become one of the most requested and loved bands of the area, even more so than many local acts. Dookie’s band Blackstar is entirely based in the area, and since changing to the current lineup 2 and a half years ago, has begun rapidly becoming one of the prominent bands of the desert. Both members of DnD Live Productions, through both the performance quality of their bands and work in the community for the scene, have become publicly recognizable individuals out in the various towns of the area. Without our local scene, the endless love and support of our fellow headbangers, none of this would be possible.

Instagram: @dndliveproductions

Image Credits
DnD Live Productions