Moog Music doubles as a Moogfest factory

ASHEVILLE – Moogfest is simply massive.

The five-day celebration of arts, technology and innovation starting Wednesday features an unprecedented amount of festival programming in downtown Asheville. The schedule includes more than 100 musical acts, more than 70 speakers and presenters, and is spread over almost 20 venues in the city center.

But behind this creative, complex effort, is just a core group of fewer than a dozen Moog Music employees.

"You have 10 really young, passionate people who are literally responsible for everything you see that's related to Moog Music and Moogfest," said Emmy Parker, brand and marketing manager for event organizers, Moog Music.

That type of passion has taken the company to astounding heights in the last 12 years, growing from eight employees in 2002 to 58 now and with sales figures that have grown an average of 20 percent.

Beyond passion, the employees are incredibly productive.

For about the last 20 months, the marketing department of Moog Music has help plan and promote Moogfest, all while continuing to plan and promote the company's new and heritage electronic instruments.

Parker noted they "don't separate the two." In some ways, the responsibilities directly overlap: For instance, Moog Music developed an instrument specifically for Moogfest, she said.

"It's not just lip service; it's intertwined," Parker said. "That's the efficiency of this company."

That philosophy will also be on full display during the festival: It's business as usual for the Broadway factory space on the first floor, where each Moog instrument is handmade, on Wednesday and Thursday.

Some of the 100 products the company creates will be on the production line and be highlighted in the dozens of factory tours the company will offer to visiting artists and media this week.

With more than 260 press credentials issued for Moogfest, Moog Music anticipates an unrivaled amount of attention from national and regional publications.

"There is a ton of responsibility that's not for everyone," Parker said. "A lot of people crack under that responsibility. (This group) wants it. There is something really exciting about it, but it can be really terrifying. You do realize how much you can accomplish and achieve."

New organizational emphasis

Moogfest was put on pause in 2013 after Moog Music split with A.C. Entertainment, a Tennessee concert promoter and festival organizer. The company partnered with A.C. Entertainment to produce a multiday music festival in downtown Asheville 2010-12.

The company decided it wanted to develop a festival format that emphasized technology and innovation that was more in line with the pioneering spirit of founder and inventor Bob Moog.

The ambitious revamped vision required more and new responsibilities for a company that does not specialize in major event production.

Jim DeBardi, the social media and artist liaison, noted that "the responsibilities are different than the past," but that the team is not totally "green."

The company attends regional festivals like music festival Hopscotch in Raleigh (which is hosting a concert showcase during the festival), as well as SXSW, an annual music, film, and interactive conference and festival held in Austin, Texas.

"It's good to have that experience and see which ones work and which don't," he said.

The group is, however, "still doing stuff that we have never done," DeBardi said. "Of course, that can be stressful, but it's got to be done. At the end of the day, we end up with new skills because of it."

Learning through experimentation and new experiences is a key part of the Moog Music way of life, according to Parker. Employees often start out as interns, and work in multiple departments, from customer service to engineering.

Multitalented

Cross-training has helped the team accomplish the list of festival responsibilities, DeBardi said. An engineering assistant, for instance, might have worked at the Moog Music store for a year, so he has experience leading tours.

"I started as an intern in production" about five years ago, DeBardi said. "Promoting from within is something that we try to do. For a company that's as unique as we are, it's not like we can hire someone from another U.S. synthesizer manufacturer."

DeBardi's responsibilities now include managing 10 social communities. On April 14, he edited a press release about the Moogfest free community programming in the morning, as well as posted on Moogfest Twitter and Facebook profiles about volunteer opportunities, and put up on the Moog Music Facebook page a picture of a new instrument.

And he always helps with some of the physical work: His daily duties April 14 also included packing up synthesizers.

"There is always a healthy mix," he said.

Moog Music employees are given only two rules, Parker said. "No complaining and don't say no," she said.

"When (employees) have ideas, they can take them as far as they want to take them," she said.

"It's like Willy Wonka's factory for musical instruments," Parker added. "It's amazing the freedom that we are given as employees to create here."

She says the most pressure the staff experiences comes from a passion to keep Moog's legacy intact.

"The most pressure we feel is to not mess that up," she said. "Ultimately, we love it. We would have to. We spend a lot of time together; we spend a lot of time here."

Regular work shifts don't exist on the second floor of the Moog Music building, which houses sales, marketing, engineering and more. "We all get here at around 9 a.m.," Parker said. "We leave at 6, sometimes we leave at 2 a.m. We don't have anyone to pass it off to."

DeBardi credits the close team and his care for the company partly for his work ethic. "If you aren't doing your job, you know it affects someone else," he said. "We all work in a field that we care about."

An Asheville native, DeBardi graduated from UNC Asheville's music technology degree program in 2011.

"The idea of the Asheville community, the downtown community is important to me," he said. "It's a big effort, but I also think that it's going to have a big positive impact on our city because there are all these leaders different fields to come here.

No one comes to Asheville and doesn't want to live here; no one comes to this this town and doesn't come back."

Moog Music, by the numbers

• 100 products offered

• 40,000: Number of units that will be produced 2014

• 20: Sales have grown an average of 20 percent for the last 12 years. In 2002, the company did less than $1 million in sales.

• 58: Current number of employees

• 8: Number of employees in 2002

• 6: Average length of tenure of Moog employees, in years

Source: Mike Adams, president

City street closures

The outdoor stage and art exhibits during Moogfest will require the closure of Broadway and Lexington Avenue between Starnes Avenue and Hiawassee Street from 6 p.m. April 24-27. The Interstate 240 on-ramp will remain open with the Asheville Police Department regulating pedestrian crossings during operating hours.

Programming at the U.S. Cellular Center will require the closure of Hiawassee Street between Flint Street and Rankin Avenue until 6 p.m. Sunday. The street may be opened from time to time based on necessity at the promoter's discretion.