INTERVIEW:Tom Millet, music impressario, internet entrpreneur talks to Eoin Butler
Explain how Balcony TV got started
Two years ago, my business partner Stephen O'Regan and I were sharing an apartment on Dame Street in Dublin. It has this great balcony, so we got the idea of hosting a daily internet TV show there. We've had bands, comedians, belly-dancers, puppet shows . . . you name it. Now there are Balcony TVs running in London and Hamburg, with another one hopefully on the way in LA.
Was it hard convincing guests to come on?
Not at all. In the early stages it was all very amateur. I'd be coming in from work and I'd meet the act in the hall outside, and I'd say: "Who are you again?" or "Anything you want me to ask you about?" It's a bit more professional now. But I still mess up all the time.
Any awkward moments?
We had Don Baker on once, I remember. There were road works going on below on Dame Street that night, so first I had to do something about the noise. Don is a no-nonsense kind of character and I don't think he understood the set-up at all. He mightn't be too big into the internet.
Wait a second, you actually got the construction workers to stop drilling?
Well, the foreman was a reasonable guy. I said to him: "Look, if the lads could take a short break we'll organise some pizza." When we were ready to film, I gave him a call and the machinery shut down on cue. Meanwhile, though, Don Baker was looking around the apartment and, to be honest, I don't think he knew what to make of us at all. I remember he said to his guitarist: "Let's just do this and get the hell out of here."
Balcony TV was recently nominated for a Webby award. That's pretty prestigious, isn't it?
They're considered the Oscars of the internet, so it was quite a surprise. There were only five nominees in the Viral Video category, so we were up against things like the girl who did the I've Got a Crush on Obamavideo. In the end, they gave the prize to the Chocolate Rain kid, who has about 28 million hits on YouTube.
When do you hope to have made your first million?The problem with me is that if I made a million, I'd spend a million. If I made six million, I'd spend six million. That's never going to change. At the moment, I've got a love of classic cars that's costing me more than I make. I've got a Volvo 145 estate, a Morris Traveller, an Alfa Romeo Spider and an MGB convertible.
Tell us the Woody Allen story, then
Okay, Stephen and I were in New York so we decided to go see Woody Allen playing clarinet at the Carlyle Hotel. It was about $50 (€34) for a seat at the bar and about $10 (€7) for a drink. Towards the end of the night we spotted this elderly couple at the front get up to leave so we snuck in and nabbed their table. This was a $300 (€205) table - literally six feet away from Woody Allen - so there might have been a few dirty looks. It was his last number and he asked if there were any requests. I suggested All of Me.
This is Woody Allen himself you were talking to?Yeah, so he looks at me and goes [impersonates Allen perfectly]: "You're a, ah, pretty young guy to know a song like that." The other musicians had left the stage at this stage. Next thing, Stephen pipes up and says that I'm this great double bass player from Ireland and that he should let me accompany him. I didn't even wait for an invitation. The crowd were completely into it anyway, so I don't think he even had a choice. We invited him for a drink downtown afterwards, but he said: "Sorry guys, I've got get back to the wife."
Do you have any cheesy chat up lines?Are you joking me? My whole life is a cheesy chat up line!
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