News Colin Johnson “Let Go” from Chop Suey
posted by on June 4 at 17:50 PM
Colin Johnson, who’s been Chop Suey’s booker/talent buyer since Steven Severin left the club August 2006 to buy into Neumo’s, was “let go” today. Kris Kierulff, of Aero booking (USE, Death Cab For Cutie) and recently acting as Chop Suey’s local booker, will be taking over for Johnson.
“There’s some changes going on at Chop Suey,” says Kierulff. “Colin has been let go due to internal restructuring. It was a decision made by the owner, primarily for financial reasons. That’s about all I can say.”
Kierulff adds that the decision “does not” have anything to do with Johnson’s recent statements against Poster Giant. “Tension’s basically been building up. I know it looks strange with the recent controversy with Poster Giant, but they really don’t have anything to do with each other.”
It was a purely financial decision, according to Kierulff, who adds: “I don’t want people thinking that the club is in any sort of financial state. The owner was just looking at the numbers and needed to make some changes, and he thought that this was an appropriate change to make.”
“Roy and I are going to take on calls and holds and handle any business that needs to be handled in the meantime until we figure out exactly what we’re gonna do for a next step.”
From Chop Suey’s press release:
Due to some internal restructuring and a decision made by the owner John Villesvik, Colin Johnson is no longer employed by Chop Suey. The decision has nothing to do with the recent Poster Giant controversy, but a decision made by the owner to keep the club relevant to the community. It is not a reflection of the work done by Colin Johnson. He is a hard worker and tireless promoter and everyone at Chop Suey wishes him well.
Weird. Chop Suey has been booking some insanely good shows lately. It would seem odd then that the person responsible for booking said shows is the reason why the venue is suffering financially.
WE LOVE YOU COLIN AND WE WILL MISS YOU!!
That sucks. Colin is a great guy. I am sure he will find a job somewhere else soon.
I don't understand this line: "a decision made by the owner to keep the club relevant to the community."
Colin's the main reason Chop Suey even stayed afloat after Steven left and the line that the decision was made "to keep the club relevant to the community" boggles my mind.
some other venue would do well to pick up colin - dude bleeds, sweats and cries music.
i really hope the quality of the bookings stays as high as it has been - chop suey's been kicking every other seattle venue's ass the last few months with its bookings.
Colin has been a fantastic booker, and integral part of the music community as a musician, dj and proponent of Seattle's nightlife. I'm sad he's leaving Chop Suey (their loss) and excited to see where he lands!
Colin has been a fantastic booker, and integral part of the music community as a musician, dj and proponent of Seattle's nightlife. I'm sad he's leaving Chop Suey (their loss) and excited to see where he lands!
colin had my faith. chop suey: wtf.
Predict a drastic change in their booking policies, in order to appeal to a more bridge and tunnel crowd? I do.
Maki@4 is right on the money. Something sounds mighty fishy about the "official" line given here.
colin is a great booker/promoter and awesome to work with, plus he has excellent taste. as said above, lately chop suey has had some of their best bookings and it's hard to stay away. hopefully this keeps up and i'll definitely be partying wherever colin ends up.
Confusing for sure. Colin is a great booker. He has had a huge hand in supporting the local hip hop scene. I'm sure there's more to this we'll learn soon. I must say though, Kris K and Roy are good dudes too and no one should hold anything against them. Kris will do a fine job. Times are tough for music venues right now, and the City is not making it any easier. The music community needs support from the City, not more regulation.
I've had to deal with that guy numerous times regarding show bookings and he was an ass every time. Compared to some of the other club bookers around town, he was the worst of the bunch. Hopefully Kris will be easier to work with.
Roy is a rad dude. Chop Suey is a great venue, let's hope the owner has a good reason for this move.
Colin, good luck with where ever you land.
Lets just hope Chop Suey continues to NOT do business with Poser Giant I'm sure Neumos is breathing a sigh of relief.
Lets face it, times are changing and Chops gotta stay with it. We dont no thier finances maybe Colin was to expensive for them.
WHACK!!! Chop Suey has been KILLING IT lately and much of that has to do with Colin's relationships with local promoters and excellent taste in music of all types. I can't imagine Chop Suey keeping up the pace they've followed under Colin. If I owed a club, I'd hire him in a second.
Scapegoating a good man for sure. Colin helped keep the club relevant to the community. What a lame, lame statement by the club. How very passive-agressive of them. Will have a hard time doing shows or going to shows there in the future.
-- sad to see him go but no doubt he will have another rockin' job at a better club soon... go get 'em colin!!! love you buddy.
WE WIN! HAHAHAHA, DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE WE HAD MUCH A HAND IN THIS MATTER. ALL YOU MIDGETS BOW DOWN BEFORE THE LAMP POST GODS!
Above posting is a perfect example of why people hate Poster Giant.
THAT WAS NOT US THAT POSTED THAT. COLIN IS A GREAT GUY.
THAT WAS NOT US THAT POSTED THAT. COLIN IS A GREAT GUY.
WHAT?! NICE TRY, DIPSHIT. WE DID POST THAT. WHY DON'T YOU GO AND FUCK YOURSELF AND GO TO HELL.
Colin will rise above this bullshit and come back stronger than ever elsewhere, just as surely as Poster Giant is doomed for the dustbin of history.
WE'RE STILL FRIENDS OR WHATEVER WITH COLIN. BUT WE'RE EVEN BETTER FRIENDS WITH STEVEN SEVERIN. IN FACT, HE OWNS US.
From my experience with working with Colin, I have found him to be a tireless advocate of our community and a great talent buyer.His choice in bookings were in step with the modern tastes and he was always on top of what bands or artists were on their way up. I think that Chop Suey has been a great venue and under both Steven Severin and Colin, was easily one of my favorite venues that I have been to. I have lived in SF, Portland, LA,and Eugene and I have never been to a venue that was so consistantly good.
Colin has repeatedly blown my mind with the booking choices he has made. he really seemed to have his finger on what was hot (girl talk or various for example..)
I hope that eventually Chop Suey will see the error of their ways, and that this doesn't mean that they are going to completely change their format.
you are all pathetic. poster giant- midget and colin. things change get over it.
wow...sounds like bboy is a little bitter about life. in this industry, colin has the kind of integrity and character most others lack.
I miss living with jason lajuenesse; he was the best room mate ever and is hands down the best booker in the world!
Something stinks in here.. Colin is and always has been the man. He knows music and the national scene. Good luck Chop Suey....
Watch Chop Suey go down in relevance fast. Colin was that club's identity.
F**k Chop Suey!!
The truth behind this matter is that Chop Suey has been struggling lately to fill the room consistently. This would definetly fall back on the booker. Yes some shows did well but as a whole the club has been suffering and that is the reason Johnson was let go. It's probably not the wisest decision with summer coming up but the owner felt it needed to be done. I will tell you that I don't believe Chop Suey is on the verge of disaster as some predict, they've seen much worse with the previous owner's cocaine problem and poor business decisions in which employees checks would bounce more often then not. I will leave with this note, Colin Johnson is a good booker but Chop Suey needs better, any Steven Jr.s out there?
MSN I NIIPET
MSN
MSN I NIIPET
MSN
MSN I NIIPET
MSN
Comments Closed
In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 14 days old).