That loving feeling

In going from selling printing press parts and supplies to producing and promoting rock 'n' roll concerts, Kevin Demers was especially nervous one night last November.

The first concert he booked, Rock Pack, made up of a group of longhaired '70s and '80s rock stars, was nearly underway at Germain Arena in Estero Nov. 19. Demers, who ran a Port Charlotte-based firm that sold replacement parts for Heidelberg presses in a previous business life, thought he had everything covered. Insurance. A VIP tent for a pre-show meet and greet. He even brought along his personal doctor that night to Germain, in case a star was injured while performing. That's a legitimate risk considering some of these singers are in their late 60s. “There were so many unknowns,” Demers says.

Demers now has more certainty behind what he believes is a winning business model at the production firm he co-founded in 2014, Punta Gorda-based KDIM Entertainment: The firm promotes concerts with lead singers of former superstar music acts — sans the bands they played with back in the day. A KDIM house band backs up the singer.

This model, say Demers and KDIM co-founder Iggy Magana, a longtime Las Vegas-based music and TV talent agent, brings down the costs to book the acts because it's not the full band. That in turn curbs ticket prices, which range from $45 each to $125 at most shows. The $125 includes a meet and greet pass and autographs from stars.

Performers, such as original Toto lead singer Bobby Kimball, voice behind “Rosanna” and “Africa,” and former Kansas lead singer Steve Walsh play short, hit-only set lists. It's get-in, get-out rock 'n' roll for nostalgia-starved baby boomers. “We are bringing back feelings people had when they were younger,” says Magana.

“This is a different way of doing it,” adds Demers. “We have what people really want to see in a live show.”

It's not only what concertgoers want to see. Magana, for example, says Cheap Trick lead singer Robin Zander told him the Germain Arena show was such a blast he wants to do more like it. Others echo similar thoughts. “The rock stars are talking about us,” says Demers, “and we are starting to get some calls.”

The duo launched KDIM in 2014, mostly with a $250,000 investment in startup costs covered by Demers. The pair met at a bar in Vegas — for real — and they later sketched out the idea for a series of elder statesman rock shows on a five-hour plane fight. Magana's friend, Asia lead singer John Payne, who played the Germain show last year, helped out in the planning stages. Payne and Walsh were scheduled to headline the next show in the tour, Feb. 20 at the Seminole Casino Hotel in Immokalee.

Toto's Bobby Kimball, Steve Walsh of Kansas, Robin Zander of Cheap Trick and Asia's John Payne have all performed in KDIM Entertainment's concerts.

A dozen more Rock Pack shows are planned for 2016, from another performance at Germain to shows in Tampa, Boca Raton and Orlando. Two dates are also booked in May for Mexico, one on Mexico City, and one in Cancun.

One of the biggest challenges in the venture so far, says Demers, is budgeting a show right to turn a profit. After insurance, paying the talent and assorted other costs, there's not always a lot left over, he says. And keeping ticket prices low is a key component of the model.

Yet Demers, 58, remains in pinch-me mode. “No human being would think producing classic rock 'n' roll shows could really be a on a bucket list,” he says. “But for me this is really happening.”

Magana, too, says KDIM is a career zenith moment. He hopes to bring on some other rockers, including John Waite, singer behind 1984 hit “Missing You.” Another big target get for Magana: former Foreigner lead singer Lou Gramm.

“It's been an amazing experience,” says Magana, 49. “I'm not really doing it for the money. I'm doing it more for the good vibes.”

Follow Mark Gordon on Twitter @markigordon