Mike Kappus

Biography

Mike Kappus was born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States. He and some of his friends at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire promoted regional bands and, in 1970 at age 19, Kappus became a licensed booking agent. During this time Kappus promoted Ted Nugent at the State Theater in Eau Claire for $1,000. In 1971, he joined an established agency based in Milwaukee. During the next five years, Kappus procured various musical talent for various clubs and music festivals and universities. These included booking Asleep at the Wheel, Jimmy Cliff, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, plus jazz musicians including Grover Washington, Jr., Weather Report, Rahsaan Roland Kirk and George Benson, and rock acts such as the MC5 and Styx. He also established relationships with future Rosebud clients such as Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker, Mose Allison, John Hiatt and John P. Hammond. In the early through mid-1970s, Kappus also gained further experience experience while curating a stage at Summerfest in Milwaukee.

In 1976, a few months after relocation to San Francisco, California, Kappus started his own Rosebud Agency. After signing Mike Bloomfield, John Hiatt and Eddie Harris on the first day of the new business, the agency grew to book about 2000 shows a year worldwide for its 30+ artists. Over the years Kappus helped launch careers for Los Lobos, Robert Cray, Ben Harper, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, John Hiatt, the Neville Brothers, and Trombone Shorty, whilst helping to raise the profile of veteran artists such as Allen Toussaint, Captain Beefheart, Muddy Waters, the Staple Singers, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Albert Collins, and John Lee Hooker. Kappus represented Thorogood's "50/50" tour in 1981, on which the band toured 50 U.S. states in the space of 50 days. Signing with the agency in 1983, Los Lobos grew from playing Los Angeles clubs when they first joined the roster to supporting U2 and touring the world in the wake of their No. 1 single, "La Bamba", from the chart-topping soundtrack album of the same name. Artists with over 20 years tenure at Rosebud included John P. Hammond, who was represented by Rosebud for 37 years, Loudon Wainwright III, The Blind Boys of Alabama and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Robert Cray (22 years), and the late John Lee Hooker (25 years). Charlie Watts was represented by Rosebud for his rare jazz performances for 17 plus years.

In his role as a music manager, Kappus has worked for Hooker, Cray, Hiatt, John P. Hammond, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Duke Robillard, Loudon Wainwright III, and represented JJ Cale for thirty years until the latter's death in 2013.

Kappus' management of John Lee Hooker included executive producer duties, financing and coordinating Hooker's later comeback albums, including The Healer, which saw Hooker win a total of four Grammy Awards. Kappus and Van Morrison co-produced Hooker's Don't Look Back (1997). His executive producer credits appeared on albums by Pops Staples, JJ Cale, Robert Cray, Duke Robillard, Loudon Wainwright III, Trombone Shorty and John P. Hammond (scoring Grammy Award nominations for four consecutive projects with Hammond). Kappus was also hired by Van Morrison to oversee promotion and marketing for his April 2008 album, Keep It Simple. Its entry in the Billboard 200 at No. 10 marked the highest US chart position in Van Morrison's career to that point. Kappus also acted as associate producer on film documentaries on both Cale and Hooker, and made an appearance in both. The former, To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J.J. Cale was released in 2005. He has also facilitated recording deals for Mavis Staples (Have a Little Faith (2004)), Bettye LaVette (I've Got My Own Hell to Raise (2005)), Charlie Watts and Buddy Guy, including that which led to Guy's Damn Right, I've Got the Blues (1991).

Kappus also initiated the HART (Handy Artists Relief Trust) Fund for the Blues Foundation in 2000. The HART Fund has gone on to thrive and attract global supporters, and has provided funds to pay for medical and funeral expenses for needy blues musicians. In his 2002 book, Boogie Man: The Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the American Twentieth Century, Charles Shaar Murray noted, "I want to thank Mike Kappus, John Lee's manager, for selecting me to be the author of this book. The Blues Foundation named Kappus 'Manager / Agent of the Year' four times.

As head of the Rosebud Agency, Kappus incorporated environmental policies and social responsibility issues, which saw the company offices fully converting to solar power in 2000. Kappus' environmental concerns also drove him to coordinate two compilations for non-profit, Earthjustice, featuring artists from Tom Waits and Willie Nelson to Norah Jones, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Rubén Blades, Michael Franti, Ani DiFranco, Keb Mo, Ruth Brown, Lou Reed and Etta James. Kappus was named as an Independent Board Director for the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation and elected to the Board of Directors at Arhoolie Records. In addition, he was consulted for San Francisco's Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. The booking side of the Rosebud Agency closed in December 2013. Kappus was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2014. In the meantime, Rosebud is busy sorting and documenting materials from its 40-year history for archiving at the Southern Folklife Center.

Highlights of the Rosebud Agency and Kappus' history will be presented in a featured exhibit at the Blues Hall of Fame, beginning in May 2017.

≠ - co-produced with JJ Cale
§ - co-produced with Van Morrison