As Nathan Benderson Park readies for the international spotlight with the arrival of the World Rowing Championships, new Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates [SANCA] CEO Robert Sullivan brings his experience running rock shows to make this sporting event a spectacle. The recent Texas transplant retired to the Gulf Coast last year but felt the lure of running a venue once again as SANCA started the search for a new president. SRQ spoke with Sullivan about the biggest hits in his life.

Live Music

I grew up in the 1960s, and the whole scene in San Francisco and Woodstock got me into music. I couldn’t afford to go to concerts, so I figured out how to work in concerts to go to shows. My older brother started a theater in Illinois with a coffee house, and I would work at the theater and got to know the artists who performed. To see those guys sing, it’s a difficult life, and it’s hard to expose yourself on stage every night to people that hopefully like your music. I’ve been involved in 2,000-some-odd concerts so it’s hard to say which one is the best.

Bill Graham

One person I always wanted to work for was Bill Graham, the rock ‘n’ roll promoter. I worked in the late-'80s in San Francisco; I managed his amphitheater in Mountain View (now the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium). I appreciated his philosophy and programming. He had a trademark of quality customer service, and he was the biggest influence for so many people.

Backstage Passes

I kept all my backstage passes; I have hoards of concert memorabilia and one of these days I have to do something with them. Maybe I will do a pass-a-day book or a blog. I have one from when Ozzy [Osbourne] had a heart attack on stage and we had to get him to the hospital two weeks after he bit a bat’s head off in the ‘80s. There's a pass from a Bob Dylan concert in San Francisco. Neil Young lived up the road and he just came and sat in on the show. One time, I had gotten word Peter Gabriel showed up and wanted to see Bruce Springsteen. I said, “Really?” and went down and he showed me his passport. It was really Peter Gabriel, and that’s the day he asked Springsteen to join him on the Amnesty International concert.

Behind the Curtain

I grew up in a family with actors and actresses but I never wanted to be onstage. It’s amazing to be able to produce something for the enjoyment of others. In concerts, the best moment is when the house lights go down and the show starts. There’s an energy you can’t get anywhere else. One show I did in Rockford, IL, in 1981, was in a brand-new building and we had petitioned the Rolling Stones to appear. Nobody really believed it until the lights went down and the band hit the stage.

Samurai Swords

My father-in-law was a collector, and he had a collection of samurai swords. Now we have part of that. His oldest one was from the 15th century. They are very sharp, so we keep them put away. if you touched the blade, it could destroy it. I have one crafted by [legendary 16th-century swordsmith] Muramasa. His sword was banned during the Tokugawa dynasty because the swords, all of them, were believed to be bad luck to the Tokugawa family. The people who had them hid them or changed the name of the blades. Interesting how the legend of that particularly sword has grown in effect.

Bird Watching

My wife and I love the birds we find in and around the coastline. The birds that are native to Florida, of course, are ones that we never saw in Texas. The fact that we have American bald eagles right near the house is cool. It’s fun seeking out different things, finding a bird you didn’t know and being able to document that with a picture.

Verdi, Wagner and Puccini

We subscribe to the opera; it’s one of the reasons we moved here. We got to see the end of the Verdi cycle, and we are excited about the new opera season. My mother is one of those people who loves listening to music all week, but Saturday afternoons when the Met Opera is on the radio, you can hear that throughout the house. I like the acting, singing, staging—opera engages all elements of live entertainment. I like all the Italian operas. Puccini is also very good. I picked Verdi up last year, and I love Wagner.

Oregon Trail

I read historical novels. When we travel around the United States, I find it enjoyable to go to places to relive the historical past of an area. We drove to Seattle and followed the Oregon Trail. In some places you can still see wagon ruts. In the New England area, we go and relive the American Revolutionary War, going to museums.

Museum Life

The Chicago History Museum, art museums like MOMA and the Guggenheim, there are too many to pick. The National Japanese American Historical Society museum in San Francisco is always an interesting one, and The Ringling here is quite fascinating. Of course, in Washington, DC we went through the Smithsonian—seeing some pieces from Japanese and Chinese history was fascinating. We went to an exhibit to look at samurai swords from tne 1300s, and you think, "how in the heck did they do that?"