TeamBall is Driving the Future of Music in Columbus — And They’re Just Getting Started.
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Max Tuber, creative director at Columbus music collective TeamBall. The group has been leading the post-pandemic revival of live music in the city, giving artists a hub to meet each other and find opportunities to perform. Even after significant shifts including the loss of home venue The Cellar and the amicable departure of core member Ted Woyak, TeamBall shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. The team is expanding their reach day by day, but their priority is still very much in the art and the artists.
“One of the things we focus on,” Tuber told me, “…especially with our event building, is the ‘by artists, for artists’ perspective. So we’re paying artists more than they would traditionally get and prioritizing their comfortability and success. Their needs come first.”
The team has made a name for themselves by hosting live music events for local artists, including frequent jam sessions at the Summit Music Hall and a sold-out concert at The Basement featuring Cellar Dwellar, Dairy Family, LUGSOL, and Fullsend. The Cellar’s closing was a significant hurdle, but Tuber welcomes the opportunity to shift into a more rugged industry. “It’s definitely a lot less profitable,” he noted, “and that was the beauty of having our own space…But I think it was an important step for us to grow. And from a more professional perspective, it’s something I wanted to do.”
While live music is the heart of TeamBall’s operation, there are exciting plans for future expansion into recording and merchandise. Tuber pointed to his team’s collaboration with Chris Salvado of Weird Music Studios and the Summit Music Hall, and how they’re combining forces to give back: “He’s a homie. Chris is honestly one of the biggest factors in us being able to do what we do. His guidance and support, giving us a chance to do the jams and walk away with ten percent…it was a big deal, starting out.”
TeamBall plans to return to the studio to continue what they started with their Cellar Sessions and All-Star Jams in 2022. A compilation album at Weird Music is supposedly in the works, and could ideally lead to the formation of a community-driven record label through TeamBall. Such a project could truly take the entire city’s scene to a new level of success and I, for one, cannot wait.
Columbus is an exciting place to be a musician right now. With such a vibrant community of talented and passionate artists, the need for a community hub for people to organize around has never been more apparent. “As the city grows,” says Tuber, “the only thing that I really want to see is people supporting each other and bringing each other up…If you’re passionate about what you’re doing, and really putting effort an love into it, that’s all that matters.”