In the Cove likes to meet Lane Cove locals who run interesting businesses. Meet Harley Evans, a man who has tickets on himself (and we mean that in the best possible way). Sometimes you can have a chance meeting with a really interesting person. That is exactly what happened when ITC was at the Lane Cove Interchange monitoring the new bus timetables. ITC struck up a conversation with Harley Evans only to find out that he was the owner of ticketing business moshtix.
We asked Harley Evans the following questions.
Tell us about moshtix and how it started?
Well, the business started in 2003, long before I bought the business in 2013. Basically, the founder-dude, who was a band booker at the time, was sick of having to deal with Ticketek and Ticketmaster and decided to start his own ticketing business that looked after the smaller promoters and venues. He pioneered e-mail tickets, and the business developed a reputation for being a hard-working challenger. After a few years, the bigger promoters started to take an interest in what moshtix was doing, and within a few years, moshtix became known as being the “champion of the fan”. Now we work with the biggest promoters in Australia like Chugg Entertainment and the Mushroom Group – Michael Chugg and Michael Gudinski really respect and value what moshtix stands for in the market vs the two major ticketing companies.
Does Harley Evans have a musical or event background?
Yes – I was an incredible guitar player when I was 12. Actually, that’s a lie, I was an incredible dreamer when it came to music.
What is moshtix’s unique selling point?
The fact it’s run by a kiwi. Just kidding!! Our ethos is that we want to create value for our industry, rather than extract it, and we do everything we can to remove the barriers between the fan and the performer/event. That means making it really easy for people to find, buy and receive their tickets, and not discouraging them from buying with crazy fees.
What are the most popular events on moshitx?
Hmmm, depends on who you ask! Could be Splendour in the Grass, could be the Wiggles at your local, could be a cool pop culture exhibition like Supanova, which I took the kids to recently, both dressed as storm troopers. One of the things I love about moshtix is the broad range of really cool events we get to be involved with. There’s always something for everyone. You should check out our website and join our mailing list – lol.
We noticed moshtix has a ticketing service – can you tell us more?
Yes, we have a ticketing function. It is available for everyone and we have different process and procedures for council events or community events.
Have you met any big names?
Yes, I met this charming woman with a clipboard at the Lane Cove Interchange one day and it turned out to be Jaks from ITC… and after that, yeah, I’ve toured and hung with Stevie Wonder, Chris Rock, AC/DC blah blah, and they are generally very different people to what you’d expect!
How long have you lived in Lane Cove?
Not long enough. We moved here in Nov 2010 on a recommendation from another Cove-er.
What do you like about living in Lane Cove?
The leafiness, easy access to the city, Lane Cove Village of course, and probably most importantly for us, it feels safe.
Where is your fav place to hang out in Lane Cove?
The village! Where else in Sydney is there a community hang-out spot like the rotunda?
What could be done to improve Lane Cove?
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to divert the traffic that flows through the town area around it? And I reckon mums and dads with prams would be happier if we had wider and better maintained paths, and better street lighting.
With all the new peeps moving into the area, imagine how good it would be if the Longueville Road was pedestrianized as well?? I think we also have an opportunity to be more prescriptive about design standards for new buildings in the town area. I come from a place in New Zealand called Napier which is known as the Art Deco capital of the world. It’s something the locals are proud of, and there are tight design controls in place to protect that part of the CBD’s personality. I reckon Lane Cove could achieve something similar if it had a vision and then put controls in place to make sure the town doesn’t become a hodge-podge of old and new structures.
Thank you so much, Harley Evans, for sharing your story and thoughts on Lane Cove. ITC checked out moshtix and there is a huge array of events, but one really caught our attention. ITC loves a power ballad and the Never Ending 80s at The Basement Sydney looks great. Sing along and dance to the music of Prince, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, INXS, Michael Jackson and more on Saturday 8 July.
Tickets here: http://po.st/4YomC4
Contact Details
Website: www.moshtix.com.au
Facebook: @moshtix
Twitter: @moshtix_com_au
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