BY NOE GUTIERREZ
For the last six years, when you booked or played a show at Plan B Live Entertainment & Cocktails, for all intents and purposes, Plan B owner & operator Jeannette Krehbiel handed over the keys to you and backed you wholeheartedly. It’s this attitude of support that has sustained the platform for Krehbiel and her staff to persevere through some difficult times early on and to find a stable and flourishing level of success that has put them in the ‘Best Live Performance Venue’ category of the Coachella Valley Music Awards for several years running. On Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 7 p.m., Plan B will be celebrating its sixth trip around the sun with a FREE show featuring house band The Rockoholics & Red’s Rockstar Karaoke, the busiest karaoke DJ in the desert. There will be raffle prizes awarded & unprecedented drink specials all night! Plan B is located at 32025 Monterey Avenue, Thousand Palms.
September 1, 2011 marked a crossroads for Krehbiel as she took the helm of Plan B with a passion for live music & a limited knowledge of running a bar. Her background in advertising sales and marketing allowed her to visualize her business plan & make it come to fruition. Early on Krehbiel kept her peripherals on the entire spectrum of music artists that call the Coachella Valley home. She enlisted artists & promoters like Morgan James, Rob Lawrence, Tiptoe Stallone & others to rally around her concept of live music. Coachella Valley Weekly sat down with Krehbiel to discuss her journey.
What type of perseverance does it take to sustain a bar & live music venue?
“It’s a day by day week by week gig. Anything can come out of the blue to hijack my time and sway me from my ‘I gotta get this done today’ stuff. Believe me when I say that is pretty much a daily thing, With the amazing support from the regulars, the staff, my vendors and my boyfriend, I’m able to just keep going, like the Energizer Bunny”.
Why do you keep going?
“I continue because I’m a fool for punishment LOL! Just kidding, I guess it’s because I love the people; our regular & new patrons, the staff & the musicians. People depend on me to keep this bar going. Some for a job, some for a safe comfortable place to relax, some for their first chance to be on a stage and many to shoot pool and play shuffle board. I love that I can give all of that to them. Plus I’m just not a quitter. I’ve always been a hard worker and my pride just won’t allow me fail. There are times when I just shake my head and wonder how in the hell will I make it all come together, but somehow it always does. I do it for us all!”
What do the artists/bands find appealing about performing at Plan B?
“I think the bands like the large stage, the dance floor & the large room capacity. Most of the artists say they love our sound system. I’m easy to work with and I’ve also have become personal friends with many of the musicians and they just want to see me succeed and they want to see the bar stay open. They see how much I help to promote the shows and the support I show for them, not only at my bar, but Jared and I go to other bars to support as many of the bands as we can. Over the years I have become to be known as the girl who books the new bands, the inexperienced bands. I love debuting bands, and I get such a kick out being the one that gives so many people that chance to play for the first time on a stage in front of an audience. It’s very rewarding. I can’t tell you how many bands started at Plan B.”
What’s the Plan B weekly schedule like?
“We do very well with our karaoke nights. With Red’s Rockstar Karaoke every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday night from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., we get more than our fair share of great singers. Those karaoke singers even pack the dance floor. I love it! Currently we have live music every Tuesday with our established house band, The Rockoholics, which is also ‘Ladies’ Night’ where we offer special drink prices for the ladies of the desert. Thursdays the shows differ. ‘Desert Noise’ currently books our bands for most Thursdays and Morgan Elyse James hosts an acoustic show the 2nd Thursday of every month. Sunday nights we have our Open Mic Jam going on 7 p.m. to midnight. So we pretty much have something going every night.”
What do you envision for Plan B in 1 year?
“Over the next year I will be focusing on what I always have focused on, bringing more people in and keeping up on repairs. The new air conditioning unit helped so much this summer and something always needs fixing so I do my best to stay on top of it all. We are gearing up for football and our overall tourist season”.
Do you have any last thoughts?
“I hope to see many new and old faces at our FREE six year anniversary party on Saturday, September 16, 2017 at 7 p.m.!”
If you’ve never visited Plan B, I encourage you to do so. You should make it your first stop but if your other plans don’t work out, stop by, because everyone needs a ‘Plan B’.
You can reach Jeannette Krehbiel & Plan B Live Entertainment & Cocktails at (760) 275-0168 or visit them at myplanbbar.com
