Want to track down the talent for Springfield’s local music scene? Talk to Johan Collins. 

Originally from New Orleans, Collins moved to Springfield 15 years ago to attend Missouri State University (then Southwest Missouri State University). Upon graduation, he found that he didn’t enjoy his day-to-day job; he was also unimpressed by the state of the Springfield local music scene. So he started his own talent booking company called Johan Presents.

Ten years later, he is still here and keeping busy.On a recent week, he had five shows booked. (To contact Collins about internship opportunities in the fields of graphic design and communication, shoot him a message here.)

He shared some of his thoughts on the music scene during a recent interview with The Scoop:

First, let’s talk about your job. What is your position?

I own my own company. It’s called Johan Presents and I do, like, all the up-and-coming kind of edgier music in Springfield. I’ve been doing it for 10 years.

I do a lot of my bookings at the Outland Ballroom, Outland Complex, which is the frontal house, and the Outland so three rooms. I do 95 percent of my booking there.

I just book a lot of shows that are really big in other markets that aren’t big here because Springfield doesn’t get it … From rap to hip-hop to rock-n-roll to punk — whatever, man, I do it all. Country, folk.  So I do a lot of touring acts, but the touring acts also need a local support. So I guess the local support is out…

I book a lot of local and the touring acts need local access to support them. And it gets the locals the chance to play with bigger acts, build their résumés, stuff like that.

Is it ever difficult to find appropriate local bands to play with the big talent, or are there a ton in each genre?

Quite a few. Actually there is a lot — there is a lot of talent in Springfield, and people have no clue. Especially college kids, they have no way to plug in. I’d love to do a college session, like showcase how much talent they have here in town.

Yeah, I think there is more of a base out there looking to get into the scene, but they can’t find their way.

Yeah, no no totally. I absolutely agree with that. There’s just not a way to plug in.  There needs to be a bridge from the college to the venues. All the colleges know is Boogie’s, Zan and Bubbles — that’s all they know. …  It’s how they’re programmed. We don’t reach out to those kids. I don’t know why — we just don’t. There’s a lot of those kids that we don’t want …

Like let’s just go to the concert and get all messed up?

Yeah, they aren’t about music. So I know that there is like a 10 percent at MSU that is probably cool. Maybe 15 percent that’s cool, that get it, that don’t know.  How to reach them, I don’t know.

Why do you think there is such a good music base in Springfield?  Why so many local bands?

Like a high number?

Yeah. Would you say there are a lot of local bands here?

Yeah, totally. … I think there’s a lot of music that inspires people. I think Springfield is lacking a lot of things, and that makes people bored and makes them start a band. … In the meantime, we have a really cool local scene that no one ever hears. And there’s a lot of good local bands, a ton of good local bands, for real, that may never get heard.

So, I think to answer that question, I think that Springfield is really creative.  It’s a really creative city, I think a lot of college kids and a lot of different people come from all over the United States and come here and that forms kind of a melting pot.  It forms bands, whatever else we have here.