About Gary Ballen...
The first 26 years of my life were spent in Cleveland, Columbus and Athens, Ohio. I started playing guitar at the tender age of 9 when my parents saw I was working my way towards reform school. They got the guitar to “change my focus”. It worked. I played in bands in junior high and high school, and upon graduation I grabbed my backpack & 1952 Martin 0-15 and hitchhiked across the U.S. playing in bars, on street corners and on many college greens. |
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Upon returning to reality for a minute I started college at Ohio University and continued to perform around campus and the surrounding area. I soon bought a rather large and heavy sound system and opened a sound company to go along with my performing. After college I relocated to Columbus where I moved into the promoting business and started bringing old jazz & blues acts into a popular campus night club. I booked such acts as Mose Allison, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee, Eddie Harris, Sonny Stitt, Sonny Fortune (I had a lot of Sonny’s) and various others.
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Around 1975 the country rock scene was beginning to get hot in Columbus so I switched gears and opened a big club called Zachariah’s Red Eye Saloon and started opening shows for groups like The Marshall Tucker Band, Asleep At The Wheel, Pure Prairie League, Jerry Jeff Walker and many more. I was turning into a big fish in a small pond and loving every minute of it, but I knew sooner or later I would have to move out to L.A and get into the real game.
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In 1978 I played my final show in Ohio to 4000 people, loaded up my heavy sound system, hopped in my van and headed west to run a rehearsal studio called Big Ed Productions in Los Angeles. I worked with various groups like Toto, The Knack, Chaka Kahn & Rufus, Three Dog Night, The Jackson’s to name a few. In 1980 I landed a job with Air Supply where I spent the next 3 years as production manager, merchandising manager and tour manager. I also had the opportunity to be the opening act on 10 Air Supply concerts.
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For the next 5 years I worked as a road manager for various acts such as Jeff Lorber, Lita Ford, and Richard Clayderman and in 1986 I opened my own management company Ballen Entertainment. I put together a heavy metal band called Hurricane which I represented for 3 years. I brought in two of my friends, Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Kiss) and Mike Clink (Guns & Roses) to produce the second album. We sold 200,000 units and toured non stop across the United States. As metal music was waning, the new trend was white America’s worst nightmare, Rap Music. |
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In 1988 I organized the production and toured with the infamous west coast gangsta rap group N.W.A and Eazy-E. Following the tour I worked for Eazy E’s Ruthless Records where for the next 6 years we sold approximately 22 million records. I was the general manager of the company and my responsibilities ranged from managing the office to overseeing tours, recording schedules, press, marketing meetings, T.V., etc. I also dealt with many personal facets including buying houses, cars, insurance, banking, etc.
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After my stint with Ruthless Records I re-started my management company, Ballen Entertainment, which I currently run. My current clients are Rap sensation JR Ewng (see www.jrewng.com) Flesh-N-Bone from the multi platinum group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (currently on vacation at Pleasant Valley State Penitentiary), recording producer Damon Elliott (see Damon Bio & Discography), Saxophonist & Harmonica player extraordinaire Jimmy Z (see www.ztribe.com)and vert skateboard superstar Chris Gentry (see www.chrisgentry.com) |
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I helped form and sat on the board of directors of “Music & Kids”, a non-profit organization in South Central L.A. which, teaches music, counsels high risk kids towards self worth and a life without gangs and drugs. I’m also in a mentoring program at another high risk facility in South Central L.A. called “A Place Called Home". |
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Throughout all this madness I have been performing at an English pub in Woodland Hills called the Pickwick Pub for the last 24 years, where I sang Beatles, Stones, Eagles, Motown and thousands of other songs for my loyal fans every Thursday and the first Friday of the month until it burned down on 4/1/05. I was on fire that night (just kidding).
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The latest two additions to my resume is West Coast rep for Anderson Mobile Estates (see www.andersonmobileestates.com) We build, rent and lease multi-million dollar on-location Star Trailers. Our Clients are Robert DeNiro, Jamie Foxx, Will Smith, Vin Diesel and P Diddy to name drop a few, and Ultimate Ears (see www.ultimateears.com) which provides in-ear monitors for recording and live performance artists such as Mariah Carey, U2, Korn, Big & Rich and countless others. |
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