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Gary Drake brought abundance of talent to the SIU Arena, but is stepping down after 31 years at the arena

Gary Drake doesn’t want to retire from the concert business – he may book yet again another day. But, the concerts are over, and all he has is time.

“I’d love to at some point in my life,” said Drake, who was the SIU Arena director for 25 years and retired Dec. 31 after booking acts such as Bob Dylan, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Garth Brooks.

It was not the acts themselves, but the preparation Drake enjoyed most.

“The good thing about the whole job was being able to hire a quality staff and then teaching that staff how to run a multipurpose building,” he said.

Chris Rich, Drake’s administrative assistant said his day-to-day preparation allowed him to book some of the biggest acts to hit Southern Illinois.

“He spent most of his time reading trade journals to keep him abreast of the current music trends,” Rich said. “Very knowledgeable – very.”

His ability to book concerts was excellent, according to Chris Barber, SIU Arena Box Office Manager. He knew how to bring shows to the arena and provide variety for an audience, whether it was country, rock or gospel according to Barber.

“He does know the industry forward and backward and he knows the right people to contact,” Barber said. “He’s done it and seen it all.”

The Salukis book their own games and the arena stays the same for each one, but the 54-year-old Drake has been responsible for setting up over 200 concerts in 31 years. For every show since 1971, the experience has been different.

“A concert is like taking a trip to Florida,” Drake said. “You take a different route to get there, different kind of set-up, different kind of stage.”

Drake and his staff worked constantly during shows, many of which were not concerts. Drake and his staff were constantly occupied during specialty shows, too.

“The arena’s nothing but a big, round gym, but we took it, we put ice shows in there, circuses, horse shows, we have had a home-builder show and a recreation show,” he said.

Drake said he enjoyed working with the entertainment aspects of the arena as opposed to athletics. He said booking concerts are difficult because of the amount of arenas vying for the same talent. The SIU Arena has had its share of success, nonetheless.

“The arena’s had a multitude of good shows,” Drake said. “Aerosmith was one of the great ones. Garth Brooks came for three sold-out shows.”

Rich said Drake’s expertise even rubbed off on her through the 13 years they worked alongside one another. As his assistant, she learned marketing strategy and encouragement.

“It was a pleasure,” Rich said. “I felt that Mr. Drake was not only my boss but he was my mentor.”

Drake said returning to the concert business is still up in the air, but right now, he is concerned about his family’s future. He plans to stay in Carbondale and wait for his eighth-grade son to graduate.

Reporter Brett Luster can be reached at bluster @daily egyptian.com