Music industry entrepreneur Josh Grabelle ’96 G’01 to speak Oct. 13

Tuesday, October 11, 2011, By Erica Blust

Music industry entrepreneur Josh Grabelle ’96, G’01, founder of KillerTours.com and Bullet Tooth, will give a talk on Thursday, Oct. 13, at 6:45 p.m. in the Lender Auditorium, located on the concourse level of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. The lecture is part of the Bandier Program’s Soyars Leadership Lecture Series in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ (VPA) Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music. It is open to the University community.

While an undergraduate at Syracuse University, Grabelle started the hardcore fanzine Trustkill, joined a band, toured the United States and Europe with friends’ bands and interned for Dutch East India Trading Co. He then started the DIY label Trustkill and entered Syracuse University College Of Law in 1998, focusing on intellectual property.

After earning his law degree, Grabelle pursued his ever-growing passion for music—a risk that turned into a full-time career and entertainment empire that launched the careers of such artists as Bullet For My Valentine, Eighteen Visions, Bleeding Through, Poison the Well and Throwdown.

Frustrated at the lack of a “go-to” place to find out about shows and tours from bands he liked, Grabelle launched KillerTours.com, a web site for independent artists and labels, in 2008. Recent tour sponsorships and campaigns on KillerTours.com have been developed for the UFC, Ozzy Osbourne, Hurley, Puma, Atticus, Old Navy and others.

In 2010, after selling more than two million albums through his Trustkill brand, Grabelle launched the record label Bullet Tooth. He is also a graphic designer and has recently designed packaging and web sites for Jessica Simpson, Def Leppard, Motel 6 and others.

For more information about the lecture, contact David Rezak, director of the Bandier Program, at (315) 443-3280 or dmrezak@syr.edu.