Jacki Becker has hung out with The Shins. She has traveled across the country to see Ben Folds. She considers The Get Up Kids part of her “extended family” and she travels almost half the year to promote concerts and bands. As founder of Up to Eleven Productions, based out of Lawrence, she’s one of the most influential people in the Lawrence and Kansas City concert scene, and yet almost none of the fans know her name. A lot of their favorite bands do though, because she helped them when they were starting out and she continues to book and work with many of them today.
“Death Cab for Cutie are some of my dear, dear friends,” Becker said. “I remember the first time they came through here, they played at Love Garden and I passed the hat and cooked them dinner. Cookies and brownies are kind of my thing.”
Despite her work booking, promoting and dealing with the set-up and tear-down of their shows, not all bands are easy to work with.
"Ninety-nine percent of the time bands are amazing,” Becker said. “But anyone that knows me knows that there are stories of Weezer. It was never ending. Whether it was the rider or Rivers’ paranoia to people following him or needing to have an hour to play piano of golf by himself.”
No matter which band it is she’s working with though, she maintains a sense of professionalism. Up to Eleven books shows in Lawrence, Kansas City, Des Moines, Iowa City, Omaha, Springfield and St, Louis. Her job frequently allows her to work with other promoters and a variety of venues.
“I’ve never had a bad experience with Jacki,” Jon Lunkwicz, Vice-President of the Beumont Club, Grand Emporium, Westport Beach Club and Karma, said. “Jacki has a good ear for new music and creates a good reputation for new bands in the Kansas City area. Their first experience is good because of Jacki and the way she runs her operation.”
According to her friends and business associates, it is largely due to her that Lawrence has such a vibrant concert calendar throughout the year.
“I can guarantee that if she wasn’t around to book shows as a promoter we would not have as many shows as we do now,” Joe Noh, a friend and musician, said. “I don’t know if there’s anyone that could replace her as a promoter. If we were to lose her, the music scene would take a pretty big blow.”
The way she runs her operation also has a positive impact on the people she works with. She often hires new interns and students to help her with shows and she teaches them about the industry.
“She’s a crusader for women in the industry,” Jenny Kratz, who has worked with Becker and is the Live Events Director for KJHK, said. “She wants to support women interested in promotions and production. For ‘Day on the Hill’ last year we went to her to help find bands and learn how to do large scale productions and on the day of the show she just stepped back and watched the show. She championed those who did the show and is a really great mentor.”
Kratz is also connected to Becker in another way. Kratz is the current host of KJHK’s local music show Plow the Fields and it was sixteen years ago this semester that Becker founded the show and was its original host. In March, KJHK held a Sweet 16 birthday party for the show to celebrate the occasion.
In addition to her start at KJHK, Becker has also run The Bottleneck, toured with bands and, for awhile, was doing production work for the House of Blues. Though she spends most of her time working, she does have a few outside hobbies, most of which she picked up from her mother.
“I do a lot of cooking, sewing and gardening,” Becker said. “I’m a mom, but not a mom. These were things that my mom taught me. I have two gardens and a huge compost pile. I’m sort of a hippie I guess. I like the Earth.”
Those are not the only skills Becker’s parents taught her and it is her background that has made her the person she is today.
“My parents taught me to work hard and that there’s nothing I can’t accomplish. They taught me to inspire others,” Becker said.
Becker continues to run Up to Eleven Productions and also owns a bar and music venue in Iowa City. Up to Eleven Productions has several upcoming shows in Lawrence. For more information, visit www.uptoeleven.com.