GOOD WORKS

HOMEGROWN MILITARY TOUR ENTERS A SPIRITED YEAR FOUR

One man has spent more than a quarter million dollars per year out of his own pocket to bring major headliners to domestic military bases to boost morale and say thank you to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces.

Following 9/11, retired Los Angeles attorney Robert M. Rosenthal and his wife, Nina, decided they wanted to do something charitable for the country and discovered a dearth of musical entertainment on U.S. military bases. Rosenthal searched the web, discovering that the USO, the private organization formed in 1941 to handle on-leave recreation of the U.S. Armed Forces, was doing shows oversees but no one was entertaining the troops domestically. “I could give you a thousand reasons why no one was doing them, but it’s probably the same reason I had; everybody thought somebody else was doing it,” Rosenthal told Venues Today.

Rosenthal, a retired entertainment litigation attorney, was not a known figure in concert promotion circles, so he turned to Nashville public relations executive Cathy Gurley, whose clients have included heavyweights such as Garth Brooks and Tanya Tucker. Gurley is now national liaison for the tour.

Gurley and Rosenthal invited the movers and shakers of Music Row to attend a 2003 luncheon during which Gurley introduced Rosenthal and his concept for The Spirit of America Tour. Rosenthal had gone to the Pentagon and told them he was willing to fund the tour and take responsibility for booking and logistics but he needed a representative from each division of the Armed Forces, including a representative from the Secretary of Defense’s office, to speak at the presentation in Nashville. Rosenthal knew it was important to have military representatives reiterate the importance of entertaining troops at home. By the end of the afternoon, several agents and managers were enthused.

Appreciating the value of hard working road crew, The Robert and Nina Rosenthal Foundation, Inc., a California nonprofit corporation, picks up all expenses. That way, an artist can pay their tour manager, band, bus driver, the bus lease, etc. while still volunteering to perform. While reasonable expenses are covered, the performer is a volunteer, “which is the important part of the morale-building effort we’re doing. It’s much more important for the military personnel to realize that here’s a group of entertainers who are there in fact supporting them,” Rosenthal said.

On the booking side, Rosenthal studies the routes of major touring artists who have expressed an interest in performing. They look at gaps in the touring schedule and take advantage of days off where no other options to perform exist.

Once the route and expenses are determined, Rosenthal is ready to contact his point people at the Pentagon. The agent and performer must be totally onboard at this point because once the base is contacted, changes are often made to accommodate the show.

Gurley said the way Rosenthal has set up The Spirit of America Tour, artists can do something philanthropically without watering down their market or jeopardizing a day’s pay for the touring personnel.

“Having worked with artists for as long as I have, I know artists could go broke doing all the things they are asked to do for free,” Gurley said. “And there has to be a balance because they do have families to support — and lots of families. They have road managers and band members and bus drivers who also have families. I think that’s why I love the way this was set up.”

“Businessman’s patriotism” is what Rosenthal and Gurley like to call it. “It’s a smart business move and yet it also makes you feel good,” Gurley said.

One artist to jump onboard right away was Charlie Daniels via his tour manager Bebe Evans. Daniels told Venues Today, “"The Spirit of America Tour has provided me and The CDB with a great opportunity to take it to the homefolks and our troops that are still stateside." Evans realizes that a date at a base does not interfere with Daniels’ business and it provides him with an outlet for something that he likes to do, Gurley said. Travis Tritt was another artist who jumped at the opportunity to perform for troops but his schedule and routing only allowed time for a few acoustic shows. Other artists who have volunteered their time include comedians Carrot Top and Dennis Miller, and musicians Clint Black, Patty Loveless, Billy Ray Cyrus, Marty Stuart, Joe Diffie and many more.

Gurley said they are trying to diversify the entertainment to reflect the diversification in the troops, even though the appeal of country music has been fairly universal. Jaci Valasquez, who is popular in the Latin and Christian markets, performed last year. “You’ve seen nothing until you’ve seen thousands of troops salsa dancing in front of the stage — including the drill instructor,” Gurley said.

“All of the agencies have been quite active — William Morris, Buddy Lee, APA — across the board,” she said. William Morris VP Ginger Anderson told Venues Today, “Robert and Cathy have created a win-win situation. The members of the Armed Forces get to see great shows while the artists and those of us behind the scene get that great feeling of giving back.”

At this point, Rosenthal antes up 90 percent of the funding for the project, though they do accept donations through the spiritofamericatour.org website.

Rosenthal has, however, turned down some major sponsorship offers, believing he shouldn’t ask performers to donate time if corporate money is available.

With the project in its fourth year, Rosenthal and Gurley are at a crossroads: should this be a year-to-year endeavor or has the time come to make a lasting commitment? “At the moment, I do everything in California myself,” Rosenthal said. “If we decided to make it a more permanent operation, I would then seek more substantial contributions without getting into the sponsorship area.” He would approach it as grant money, not marketing dollars.

The Spirit of America Tour has produced more than 45 concerts since its 2002 inception. They expect 16-18 shows this year, again at a cost of approximately $300,000 per year.

If an artist is interested in performing at a base, their agent or manager can contact either Rosenthal or Gurley. And the initial Music Row luncheon has turned into a yearly event, with attendance growing from the low double digits to about 100 artist representatives.

Rosenthal and Gurley point out that The Spirit of America Tour does not have a political agenda. It is an entertainment program designed to support military personnel in the same way one would honor a police officer of fire fighter. — Suzanne Kayian
Interviewed for this article: Robert M. Rosenthal, (818) 559-2480; Cathy Gurley, (615) 269-0474; Ginger Anderson and Charlie Daniels via Gurley Public Relations, (615) 269-0474.