The sunshine boys.

• Author: Johnson, J. Douglas
• Position: David Lucas and Steve Sybesma of Sunshine Promotions, concert promotion company - Profile - Company profile

A UFO?

It looks like it. Landing stilts are extended. Colored lights flicker and strobe. Sound pulses out of the side. Sight it from a distance and you'd swear it's a monstrous extraterrestrial vehicle that gulps down automobiles and nibbles people for dessert.

So it does. Last year, it devoured 318,000 people and gobbled more than 100,000 cars. The music pilgrims trekked in for 48 shows and made Deer Creek Music Center a sensational success.

Steve Sybesma and David Lucas, the guys behind Sunshine Promotions, Inc., took a big gamble, battled naysayers at every step for years, built a gigantic entertainment center miles from nowhere and saw their dream emerge as a national entertainment landmark. The Sunshine boys did it ! When ticket and concession sales were totaled, gross revenue topped $7 million. That take tossed the company into the black ink in just five months. Lucas and Sybesma projected attendance of 280,000 for the season, but 38,000 more bodies eagerly packed the hall. Each handed over a ticket normally priced between $20 and $25, except for Frank Sinatra, who commanded a premium $50. Concert goers approved.

Show biz approved, too. The industry magazine Poll Star held a contest and a jury of 30 peers voted Deer Creek the "Best New Concert Venue in 1989." Senior editor, Gary Bongiovann, commented: My guess is they voted for Deer Creek based on the fact they've heard so many good things about it." The good things were said by acts who played the center.

Last year, there was somebody for everyone: The Beach Boys, Chicago, Perry Como, Sheena Easton, Amy Grant, The Grateful Dead, Bob Hope, Englebert Humperdinck, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Elton John, Kenny G., Willie Nelson, Sandi Patti, Diana Ross, Doc Severinsen, Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart, George Strait, Randy Travis, Hank Williams, Jr., and 29 others.

This season, the Sunshine boys are coming up with even greater crowd pleasers. Lucas rattles them off: "The season opens May 19 with Najee, a jazz group. Country singer Hank Williams, Jr., comes in on the 25th. Then, another group, Aerosmith, and Don Henley, who just won a Grammy. The New Kids On The Block are scheduled for two performances-both sold out. We'll also have the Beach Boys, Chicago, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Anita Baker, Fleetwood Mac.

The stars are the glitz, so they get the billing and applause. But who ever thinks of the people who make the fun and entertainment happen? The showmen get the complaints...