Gribbin, LaBudde join forces to produce Palladium shows

They’ve been running buddies for 20 years, but the mutual admiration society between Tom Gribbin and Jon LaBudde has roots in the early ‘80s, when Gribbin and his Saltwater Cowboys band were the talk of the town.

“I used to follow them around the local bars,” explains LaBudde, who went on to make a good name for himself as a real estate developer, promoter and restauranteur. “And then of course they got big time and I didn’t see them as much as I wanted to.”

Gribbin remembers things slightly differently. “He used to sneak in to see us play at Silas Dent’s,” he laughs, “using a fake ID.”

Together they’ve formed a company, 5 Arts Entertainment, that will produce and promote concerts at the Palladium Theater.

Gribbin recently retired from a long-running executive position with Big3 Entertainment and the Mahaffey Theater. Rather than put up his feet, or (God forbid) take up fishing, he decided to chase after one of his early loves: Putting on comedy concerts.

After his band’s success cooled, Gribbin in the mid ‘80s became a co-founder of Coconuts Comedy Clubs, and also promoted concerts – both comedy and music – at other area venues.

LaBudde has a decades-long working relationship with Jannus Live; he’s been advising and promoting for co-owner Rob Douglas since the downtown club’s earliest days.

“I always want to remain modest, but I’m pretty decent getting asses in seats,” LaBudde says. “I would do a real estate deal with a restaurant and I would tell them ‘If you’re going to have a grand opening, or a soft opening, I can put people in the seats. I can’t guarantee anything else.’ So that kept going round.”

He’s also the owner of the Reno Beach Surf Shop, and a partner in The Big Catch at Salt Creek, modeled after The Big Catch, the longtime LaBudde-owned and well-remembered downtown eatery.

“I’ve been part of downtown for 40 years,” LaBudde explains. “We’ve had everything downtown, but we never really fully did the comedy thing. We’ve never been strong in comedy or in country music, and those are my two things. I think comedy is an important spoke of the wheel that we need to get out there.”

5 Arts’ first show, Sept. 30, is called “The Comics of Late-Night TV.” It will feature Caroline Rhea, Eddie Brill and Nick Griffin. (Tickets and details here.)

Gribbin, whose ties to the music business are many, wants to bring in “singer/songwriter” shows, from folk, country and Americana artists. John Prine’s son Tommy will perform at the Palladium Nov. 14.

“It’s an opportunity to have fun,” he says. “Get back to my roots a little bit, with the kind of music that I like.”

As for his new business partner, “Who better to have fun with in this town than Jon LaBudde?” He sees it all as a win/win situation.

“Doing it by yourself is a different experience. And Jon is just a really fun guy – he’s very enthusiastic. And obviously he brings a lot to the table. He knows a lot of people, and gets a lot of people involved. It’ll be like a real community effort.”

Although most shows will take place at the Palladium, Gribbin says 5 Arts will explore other venues when appropriate. “We’re only going to do a couple of things between now and the end of the year, because those were the only dates that were open at the Palladium. We’ll have more of a full schedule in the new year.”