He was the most arrogant, cocky bastard I'd ever met.
I liked him immediately."
"He's the go-to restaurant marketing guy
I recommend to ALL my clients."
Most "About Me" pages are written by someone, describing themselves in the third person as if being featured in the Wall Street Journal...
"Kamron Karington is the most amazing dude you'll ever meet. He's rich, handsome, a member of Mensa, adored by millions, yada, yada, yada..."
None of that horseshit here and BTW I'm not a member of Mensa :-)
I left school in 9th grade when I was 15… it was never a fit for me. (They never called to see where I was either). I did spend endless hours in libraries… studying things that interested me. My home library is piled high with physics, marketing, advertising, history and self-improvement titles.
From 15 to 18 I had more fun than I can get into here. Waking up in an Oregon cow pasture should give you an idea though (funny thing is, the night started in Salt Lake City). Had one of the coolest cars in town too (all the girls wanted a ride).
At 19 I met Art Pedersen. He’d just returned from touring in a band and he was the coolest guy. We became instant friends. He started deejaying at a local nightclub. I wanted in on that action and Art hooked me up with my first gig. I can never fully thank him for taking me under his wing – but I did buy him that fancy guitar as a token of my gratitude.
Wow, I can’t even believe how long ago this was… I worked (if you could call it that) as a Disco-Dee-jay for a few years. Started when I was 20. Free booze, lots of girls, GREAT time.
One year I invested every extra dime I could into silver. I bought at around $5 an ounce… sold at $14. That was my “stake.” Everything from that point on can be traced back to that year. (Man I’m skinny here… I had just quit smoking and started jogging – a lot).
When I called a flight school to find out “what it took to learn how to fly” Bob Jenson, the owner said: “A lot of money.” I was in a Cessna 152 the next day. Bob remains a great friend to this day. I bought a Cessna 172 while taking lessons. That’s me and my very young daughter, Kalani. I’m 24.
Of course, I quickly realized that the real money was in “owning” clubs… not working in them (good thing I bought all that silver)… so that’s what I set out to do.
…adds up fast.
That plane sure came in handy. I got non-stop radio spots to promote my club in exchange for a few hundred bucks in aviation fuel every month.
I gave Sir-Mix-A-Lot one of his first gigs. My good friend Larry Serrin was Mix’s manager. Then, when Mix’s first record started heading north of 500,000 copies… I decided that “if Larry could do it… what the hell. I'll give it a whirl..."
Larry, Mix, and me...
I found the local “struggling band” – outfitted a recording studio, and produced their first record. We sold a quarter-million CDs, had videos on MTV and a nationwide tour. I took this picture of Cause & Effect playing an MTV show in New Jersey.
Sitting at a stoplight on the way to a video shoot, I sprayed a can of silly string at the car in front of me (carrying some of the band members). To my horror… it formed a large cloud that wafted right onto the windshield of a passing LAPD patrol car (he was not amused). Got the band a ton of publicity… Dan Rather even mentioned the story on the “Evening News.” The cop was a jackass… and the charges were dropped…
Riding high with Top 40 and Top 10s in Billboard
We did well – top 10 on the Dance Chart, and hitting the top 40 on Billboard's Hot 100. Two videos on MTV and a Nationwide Tour… then tragically, Sean Rowley (the keyboard player) died from a massive asthma attack during a sound-check in Minneapolis…
Ferrari's are like potato chips... you can't have just one. I love these cars. Violently fast, and just beautiful to look at.
Paula Abdul...
Remember Bud Bundy - "Married With Children?"
WTF was I thinkin'?
Then, that fateful evening. On a call to get concert tickets, I manage to buy a run-down pizzeria (huh?). Oh well. Popped sales up $137,000 a month. Been helping others ever since.
The Pizza Expo parties at my house were freakin' legendary. I had tour buses bring people in (so as not to clog my neighborhood with cars)…
Jay Cutler used to live next door to me. This picture is from his Mr. Olympia party when he won the title (formerly held by Arnold Schwarzenegger)… FYI: I'm the one on the left (LOL)...
My daughters Kalani and Brooke…
At the Rolling Stones in London at the O2 arena… It was their last show of a three year tour… what a blast!
During a recent interview I was asked, “If you could go back and change anything, what would it be?”
Nothing… absolutely nothing…