Working 4 a Living: Hitting the street for the House of Blues

Steven Mackenzie, 24, says he is basically the “foot man” for a lot of the promotions that come out of House of Blues Myrtle Beach.

On the Grand Strand for more than five years, Mackenzie is a recent graduate of Coastal Carolina University with a degree in marketing, a calling that he decided on after exploring several majors at a couple of colleges along the way.

“I went from psychology to education to engineering, but switched to marketing because it seemed like a pragmatic approach to what I like to do and to my skill set,” he said.

He originally interviewed for an internship at House of Blues, but since his college credits were already in place and he already had one internship under his belt, he was offered a job instead.

Now roughly 18 months in, Mackenzie is a marketing assistant and what he calls a street-teamer for House of Blues – and an all-around utility player for the organization.

As street-teamer, Mackenzie zigzags the Grand Strand, dropping off tickets and event flyers to local businesses – and it is likely that many have come into contact with him.

“It’s kind of nice, because people start to recognize me after a while,” he said. “With some people, I picked up their names and they remember my name. I end up building relationships; if not personally, then on a professional House of Blues level.”

Indeed, he becomes the de facto face of the venue wherever he goes – a House of Blues evangelist of sorts.

But this is only one of the hats he wears.

“Sometimes I am like an extra man in production when there is a big show coming in with a lot of stuff and they need someone else to come in and help set up all of the equipment. I have done theatre production before and I know some of the vocabulary, but sometimes I’m kind of learning as I go – about light work and all of the sound equipment and how to set it all up correctly,” he said.

The first show he helped with in this capacity was for singer-songwriter and dancer Jason Derulo. He also did this for Pierce the Veil, a San-Diego post-hardcore outfit.

In the role of VIP host, Mackenzie helps people who have upgraded their seating and acts as concierge for them – ensuring that these folks have the best experience possible.

We asked if he also does meet-and-greets, but Mackenzie said that this was more the domain of House of Blues’ security people.

“Most of the time, the bands will manage their own meet-and-greets,” he said.

But promoting events and telling people about upcoming shows works out well for him.

“It’s kind of nice because I will end up going out to work, and when I’m done I can go to the beach for a couple of hours – and I can work wherever in town I really want to.” He can be spotted sometimes at Broadway at the Beach.

Mackenzie has helped out at a bluegrass festival at Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson and at the Myrtle Beach Marathon – all under the umbrella of House of Blues sponsorship.

He has been a constant on Bike Night on the Deck on Thursdays – emceeing sometimes and making sure that the charity – notably the Veterans Welcome Home and Resource Center – is set up with everything they need and that the guests are aware of any raffles and giveaways.

How about downtime, though?

“I invested in a surfboard a while back – and I have been getting better slowly – but my surfboard is way too small for me and the waves here, so it’s really tough to get up on that thing.”

He enjoys hanging out with friends and going to shows, which of course has been ramped up since he works them. He also enjoys camping at places like Myrtle Beach State Park or Little Pee Dee State Park in Dillon.

As for the future, Mackenzie plans to continue with all aspects of marketing and promotions as well as relationship building – continuing his trajectory with House of Blues and its parent company, Live Nation with an eye to eventually owning his own business.

“The skill set I am learning here is perfect for that,” he said.

This story was originally published September 14, 2015 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Working 4 a Living: Hitting the street for the House of Blues."